How do pre-kindergarteners spend their time? Gender,ethnicity, and income as predictors of experiences in pre-kindergarten classrooms

The current paper considers how children spend their time in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs and how time use relates to ethnicity, gender, and family income, based on the assumption that how time is spent in pre-kindergarten is relevant for the programs’ success in narrowing achievement gaps. Classroom observations of 2061 children in 652 pre-k programs in 11 states were analyzed. Findings indicated that the pre-kindergarten day was roughly equally divided among free choice, teacher-assigned activities, and meals/routines. Children spent much of their time in language/literacy, social studies, and art, and less time in math and gross motor activities. Much of the pre-k day was spent in ‘no coded learning activity.’ Children in classes with lower proportions of Latino and African American children and higher average income-to-need ratios were generally engaged in richer and more stimulating experiences. The child-level variables of ethnicity and income were generally unrelated to how children spent their time, above and beyond the effects of classroom-level ethnicity and income. There were generally small, but significant gender differences – always in the gender-stereotyped direction – in how time was spent, especially during free choice time.     

The relative effects of group size on reading progress of older students with reading difficulties

This study reports findings on the relative effects from a yearlong secondary intervention contrasting large-group, small-group, and school-provided interventions emphasizing word study, vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension with seventh- and eighth-graders with reading difficulties. Findings indicate that few statistically significant results or clinically significant gains were associated with group size or intervention. Findings also indicate that a significant acceleration of reading outcomes for seventh- and eighth-graders from high-poverty schools is unlikely to result from a 50 min daily class. Instead, the findings indicate, achieving this outcome will require more comprehensive models including more extensive intervention (e.g., more time, even smaller groups), interventions that are longer in duration (multiple years), and interventions that vary in emphasis based on specific students’ needs (e.g., increased focus on comprehension or word study).     

Intervention Provided to Linguistically Diverse Middle School Students with Severe Reading Difficulties

This study investigated the effectiveness of a multicomponent reading intervention implemented with middle school students with severe reading difficulties, all of whom had received remedial and/or special education for several years with minimal response to intervention. Participants were 38 students in grades 6-8 who had severe deficits in word reading, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Most were Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) with identified disabilities. Nearly all demonstrated severely limited oral vocabularies in English and, for ELLs, in both English and Spanish. Students were randomly assigned to receive the research intervention (n = 20) or typical instruction provided in their school's remedial reading or special education classes (n = 18). Students in the treatment group received daily explicit and systematic small-group intervention for 40 minutes over 13 weeks, consisting of a modified version of a phonics-based remedial program augmented with English as a Second Language practices and instruction in vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension strategies. Results indicated that treatment students did not demonstrate significantly higher outcomes in word recognition, comprehension, or fluency than students who received the school's typical instruction and that neither group demonstrated significant growth over the course of the study. Significant correlations were found between scores on teachers' ratings of students' social skills and problem behaviors and posttest decoding and spelling scores, and between English oral vocabulary scores and scores in word identification and comprehension. The researchers hypothesize that middle school students with the most severe reading difficulties, particularly those who are ELLs and those with limited oral vocabularies, may require intervention of considerably greater intensity than that provided in this study. Further research directly addressing features of effective remediation for these students is needed.     

What is Program Evaluation? Generating Knowledge for Improvement

In this introductory article, we discuss the nature of Program Evaluation, describing the concepts that underlie our formal and informal evaluative efforts. Program Evaluation, like any deliberate inquiry process, is about learning. The process explicates program purposes, activities, and outcomes and generates knowledge about their merit and worth. This knowledge can inform planning and lead to program improvement. We present and discuss various definitions of Program Evaluation, focussing on its purposes and uses. We also provide an overview of the inquiry process, grounding the search for merit and worth in the American Evaluation Association's Guiding Principles for Evaluators. Because program evaluations are typically conducted to inform decision makers, we discuss aspects of professional practise that contribute to the use of an evaluation. This chapter draws heavily on previous work by Sharon Rallis and Gretchen Rossman; see the following references. Rallis, S.F. and Rossman, G.B., “Mixed Methods in Evaluation Contexts: A Pragmatic framework”, in A. Tashakkori and C. Teddlie (eds.),Handbook of Mixed Methods in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2002). Rallis, S.F. and Rossman, G.B., “Communicating Quality and Qualities: The Role of the Evaluator as Critical Friend”, in A.P. Benson, D.M. Hinn and C. Lloyd (eds.),Visions of Quality: How Evaluators Define, Understand, and Represent Program Quality (Oxford: JAI Press, 2001), pp. 107–120. Rallis, S.F. and Rossman, G.B. “Dialogue for Learning: Evaluator as Critical Friend”, in R. Hopson and M.Q. Patton (eds.),How and Why Language Matters in Evaluation, New Directions for Evaluation, 86 (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000). Rossman, G.B. and Rallis, S.F.,Learning in the Field: An Introduction to Qualitive Research, 2nd edition (Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2003). Rossman, G.B. and Rallis, S.F., “Evaluation as Learning: Critical Inquiry and Use as Action”, in V.J. Caracelli and H. Preskill (eds.),The Expanding Scope of Evaluation Use, New Directions in Evaluation 88 (San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2000).     

Creativity and the Design Process

This research examined the role of creativity in the process of designing human resource development (HRD) interventions. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to study the preferences and practices of ten experienced HRD practitioners. Results include a comparison of the subjects' creativity styles/preferences using the Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator and the Kirton Adaption Innovation Inventory as well as a model derived from the data, which describes the creative process used by the subjects. The phases include: 1) diagnosis, 2) immersion, 3) percolation, 4) “aha,” and 5) checking. This model focuses on how creativity is used to make design decisions. The design process used by the subjects in this research is similar to a generic creativity model. However, it includes an extensive preliminary diagnostic phase in which the HRD practitioner explores the business need, searches for the root cause of the problem, and establishes a collaborative relationship with stakeholders in the organization.     

Transfer of Learning From An Action Reflection Learning™ Program*

Learning transfer from training and development programs to the workplace is a central issue of concern for human resource development specialists. Action Reflection Learning™ (ARL™) is a form of action learning that places emphasis on the development of targeted competencies while teams of participants work on real problems which have been given to them by a sponsor. This article examines the kinds of learning and learning transfer that took place in an international food company that was striving to become a global organization. Data were collected through both field observation and formal interviews and analyzed by a team of researchers. Conclusions about the degree of transfer and the mechanisms and process supporting it are presented.     

Can a Multiple-Choice Exam Discriminate Between Masters and Nonniasters of Instructional Design?

This study was conducted to determine if a norm-referenced test designed to assess instructional design competency could be statistically validated (i.e., confirmed statistically to discriminate between known masters and known nonmasters of instructional design). The test was composed of items written to assess verified competencies required of instructional design professionals. A total of 257 respondents participated in the study over the course of three stages: initial item bank construction, item analysis to determine those items with discrimination power, and the concurrent validity calculation, including determination of the mastery cut-off score. Mean scores of five groups of respondents were analyzed in the final stage. Statistically significant differences were found among the Professional Masters, Education Graduate Students and Undergraduates, Noneducation Graduate Students, and Noneducation Undergraduates. The article concludes with a discussion of the role of such an instrument in conducting research in the field.     

Stability reliability for elementary-age students on the Woodcock-Johnson psychoeducational battery-Revised (achievement section) and the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement

These two studies examined the stability reliability for the Woodcock-Johnson-Revised (WJ-R; Woodcock & Johnson, 1989) and the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievment (KTEA; Kaufman & Kaufman, 1985) with approximately a 2-week retest interval for elementary-age students. Results indicated that across grade levels, the Broad Reading Cluster for the WJ-R remained stable. Most correlations for the clusters for mathematics and written language as well as the subtests for reading, mathematics, and written language were less than .90. Correlations for all composites and subtests for the KTEA exceeded .90. These data illustrate the need for more specific information in test manuals on test-retest reliability in order to enable examiners to select the most reliable measures.