Completion of partially worked-out examples as a generation strategy for improving monitoring accuracy

Students’ Judgments of Learning (JOLs) are often inaccurate: students often overestimate their future test performance. Because of the consequences that JOL inaccuracy can have for regulating study activities, an important question is how JOL accuracy can be improved. When learning texts, JOL accuracy has been shown to improve through ‘generation strategies’, such as generating keywords, summaries, or concept maps. This study investigated whether JOL accuracy can also be improved by means of a generation strategy (i.e., completing blank steps in the examples) when learning to solve problems through worked example study. Secondary education students of 14–15 years old (cf. USA 9th grade) either studied worked examples or completed partially worked examples and gave JOLs. It was found that completion of worked examples resulted in underestimation of future test performance. It seems that completing partially worked-out examples made students less confident about future performance than studying fully worked examples. However, this did not lead to better regulation of study.     

Cross-language transfer in English immersion programs in Germany: Reading comprehension and reading fluency

Cross-language effects on reading skills are of particular interest in the context of foreign language immersion programs. Although there is an extensive literature on cross-language effects on reading in general, research focusing on immersion students and including different dimensions of reading acquisition such as reading fluency and reading comprehension is scarce. This study therefore investigated cross-language transfer between first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) reading fluency and reading comprehension in a group of 220 German elementary school students who were enrolled in English partial immersion programs. Students were tested in grades 3 and 4. Structural equation modeling was used to examine cross-language transfer in a cross-lagged panel design. Results showed moderate cross-language paths when controlling for autoregressive effects. These findings are in line with previous results showing reciprocal transfer effects between L1 and L2 reading comprehension and reading fluency. In addition, the overall dominance of paths from L2 to L1 over paths from L1 to L2 suggests immersion-specific relations that may be attributable to the plentiful opportunities for academic reading in the L2 at school. Hence, skills necessary for successful reading can evidently be acquired in an L2 context and transferred to the L1. These findings underline the importance of cross-language transfer between reading skills in immersion programs.     

Children Also Need to Believe

Curriculum Development in the Elementary School by W. Ray Rucker. New York: Harper &; Brothers, 1960. 41 I pp. $5.00.

Education: A History of Western Education (2 ed.) by H. G. Good, New York: The MacMillan Co., 1960. 620 pp. $6.50.

An Introduction to the Study of Comparative Education by Vernon Mallinson. New York: The Macmillan Company, Second Edition, 1960. 257 pp. $3.50.

Crucial Issues in Education by Henry Ehlers and Gordon Lee. New York: Holt-Dryden, 1959. 342 pp. $2.75.

Discipline, Achievement and Mental Health by E. Lakin Phillips, Daniel N. Wiener and Norris G. Haring. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. 1960. 198 pages. $5.00.

Fives at School by Elenora Haegle Moore. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1959, 333 pp. $4.75-

Focus on Values in Elementary Education by Laura Zirbes. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1960. 238 pp. $4.50.

Improving the Quality of Public School Programs, Approaches to Curriculum Development by Harold J. McNally, A. Harry Passow and Associates. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University. 1960. 321 pp. $4.95.

Literature Study in the High Schools by Dwight L. Burton. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1959. 277 pp. $4.00.

Philosophy for American Education by Kenneth H. Hansen. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1958.475 pp. $5.50.

Teaching Art to Children by Blanche Jefferson. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1959. $6.75.

Teaching the Language Arts by Willard F. Tidyman and Marguerite Butterfield. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. 1959. 403 pp. $6.50.

The American College President by Harold W. Stoke. Harper &; Brothers, New York, New York. c. 1959. pp. 175. $3.50.

The American Secondary School by L. O. Taylor, Don R. McMahill and Bob L. Taylor. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 481 pp. $5.50.

The Changing Soviet School. Edited by: George 2. F. Bereday, William W. Brickman, Gerald H. Read, with he assistance of Ina Schlesinger. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1960. xvii, 514. $3.50.

The Nongraded Elementary School by John I. Goodlad and Robert H. Anderson. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company. 1959.248 pp. $4.95.

Social Studies: Government for the People by James M. Burns and Jack W. Peltason. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1960. 948 PP. $7.95     

Impact of an Early Reading First program on the language and literacy achievement of children from diverse language backgrounds

This study used an age-cutoff regression discontinuity design to examine the impact of a well-resourced Early Reading First prekindergarten program designed to foster the language and literacy development of 4-year-old children from low-income homes. A special challenge for the application of the language-rich curriculum and professional development package implemented in this study was the presence of a large proportion of ELL children in essentially English-speaking classrooms. We, therefore, sought to determine whether the program was effective for improving English language and literacy outcomes for English-language learners as well as native English speakers. There were large and significant differences between treatment and control groups on literacy outcomes for all students. On the literacy tasks, ELL students in the treatment groups performed nearly as well or better than non-ELL students at the beginning of kindergarten, and reached national norms on standardized tests. There were also significant program impacts on some language outcomes for all students. ELL students who received the intervention significantly outperformed ELL students in the control groups on English receptive and expressive vocabulary. On the more complex oral comprehension skills, preschool did not have a significant impact for ELL students. Intervention effects on receptive vocabulary and oral comprehension for native speakers were found only for the third cohort and were not found for expressive vocabulary. These results provide evidence that, given material supports, coaching, professional development, and the use of a language and literacy-focused curriculum, prekindergarten classrooms can enable low-SES children from diverse language backgrounds to enter kindergarten with literacy skills at or near national norms and can significantly impact some language skills. While non-native speakers of English continued to score lower on language measures than their native-speaking peers, results show that 1 year of preschool can put all children on a positive trajectory for long-term success in school.     

The Nature of Discourse throughout 5E Lessons in a Large Enrolment College Biology Course

Large enrolment science courses play a significant role in educating undergraduate students. The discourse in these classes usually involves an instructor lecturing with little or no student participation, despite calls from current science education reform documents to elicit and utilize students’ ideas in teaching. In this study, we used the 5E instructional model to develop and implement four lessons in a large enrolment introductory biology course with multiple opportunities for teacher-student and student-student interaction. Data consisted of video and audio recordings of whole-class and small-group discussions that took place throughout the study. We then used a science classroom discourse framework developed by Mortimer and Scott (2003) to characterize the discursive interactions in each 5E lesson phase. Analysis of the data resulted in two assertions. First, the purpose, communicative approach, patterns of discourse, and teaching interventions were unique to each 5E lesson phase. Second, the type of lesson topic influenced the content of the discourse. We discuss how the findings help characterize the discourse of each phase in a 5E college science lesson and propose a model to understand internalization through discursive interaction using this reform-based approach. We conclude with implications for facilitating discourse in college science lessons and future research. This study provides support for using the discourse framework to characterize discursive interaction in college science courses.     

Ways to leave your lover: A conversational analysis of literature

A conversational analysis of lovers’ exiting dialogues in contemporary fiction revealed three metacommunicative strategies used to terminate a romantic relationship: (1) suspension of the conversational rule of “let it pass;”; (2) zero‐sum strategizing; and(3) consensus on dissensus (i.e., agreement to disagree). The study suggests that fiction is a viable source for conversational data. Particularly germane to research on disengagement strategies, fictive dialogue permits examination of the interactive work of communicators as they accomplish relationship termination.     

Aesthetics and civilization 1

Thirty-five states and more than 400 districts offer incentives to teachers who are certified as "accomplished" by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. However, the board's criteria for assessing teachers are not universally accepted and may conflict with criteria important to local authorities. The board relies on a very slender evidentiary basis for assessments. It is unable to authenticate or verify the accuracy of the materials it receives. The secrecy surrounding the board's assessments means teachers who fail do not know the reasons why. The involvement of teacher unions in the board constrains the uses to which board assessments can be put. These issues raise the question of whether it is cost-effective to rely on the board to identify accomplished teachers rather than improve local efforts.