Adult stakeholder perceptions of 4th grade participation in children’s forest environmental education programming

An environmental education (EE) consortium located in the pacific northwest United States coalesced an external evaluation team to research its K-5 EE programming. The purpose of this article is to describe one phase of this program evaluation process including the exploration of adult stakeholder perceptions of EE programming accessed by 4th grade children. The author highlights the goals of the consortium and the context for the program evaluation, and the relevant literature addressing adult perspectives on EE is reviewed. The study framing, method, and qualitative results are reported. Findings suggest that adult stakeholders perceived positive impacts from 4th grade participation in EE, though the programming was viewed as being most beneficial to children coming from economically disadvantaged families. Implications for EE practice and research are discussed.     

Evaluating Corrective Feedback Self‐Efficacy Changes Among Counselor Educators and Site Supervisors

Analysis of pretest–posttest scores on the Corrective Feedback Self‐Efficacy Instrument (Page & Hulse‐Killacky, 1999 ) following a supervision workshop indicated a significant positive relationship between workshop training and supervisors' feedback self‐efficacy in giving corrective feedback. Furthermore, the association between prior supervision training, supervision experience, and feedback self‐efficacy was measured. Practical and research implications are discussed.     

Examining the mediating effect of learning strategies on the relationship between students’ history interest and achievement

Research into the effect of interest consistently indicated that interest positively related to students’ achievement; however, the mechanism through which it affected the learning result remained an open question. This study intended to examine how learning strategies mediated the relationship between interest and achievement in the domain of history learning. Biggs Learning Process Questionnaire, which distinguishes between the surface and deep-level learning strategies, was adopted to describe students’ learning process. Structural equation modelling and the distribution of products test were used to evaluate the mediating effect. Based on available resources, the participants were seventh grade students in China. Analyses revealed that the surface-learning strategy served as a mediator, but the deep-learning strategy did not play the same role.     

Statistical Techniques Employed in AERJ and JCP Articles from 1988 to 1997: A Methodological Review

The authors of the present methodological review investigated the patterns of statistical usage and reporting practices in 756 articles published in the American Educational Research Journal (AERJ) and in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (JCP) over a 10-year period. First, some findings from other similar reviews are summarized. Second, the authors present a framework for characterizing selected research practices that emphasizes, in part, elements of the recent report of the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Statistical Inference (Wilkinson & APA Task Force on Statistical Inference, 1999). Third, characterizations of 10 years of analytic practices in 2 journals are presented and evaluated within that framework. The article concludes with a discussion of the changes that may be necessary to improve the statistical state of affairs in behavioral research.     

Can an Advance Organizer Technique Compensate for Poor Reading Conditions?

In Experiment 1, 201 college students read both a literary and a technical text either in an advance organizer condition or a non-organizer control condition. Results failed to support the hypothesis that an organizing schema would help subjects with good reasoning skills compensate for poor memory skills or information overload caused by speeded reading conditions. In Experiment 2, data from a sample of 189 college subjects demonstrated that real-world distractions do cause significant learning decrements but failed to support predictions that an organizer would aid distractible students and would compensate for distracting study conditions. Findings suggest that the organizer technique does not help compensate for processing deficits related to information overload or distracting study conditions.     

Exploratory insights from the right-sided electrocardiogram following prolonged endurance exercise

Background: Prolonged strenuous exercise has a profound effect on cardiac function. The right heart may be more susceptible to this imposition; yet, right-sided chest leads have not been utilised in this setting. Methods: Thirty highly trained athletes at the 2014 Western States 100-mile Endurance Run from Squaw Valley to Auburn, California (body mass 68?±?12?kg, age 45?±?10?years, 57?±?15?miles per week) were recruited for the study. Pre- and post-race, a right-sided 12-lead ECG was obtained and data were extracted for P, R and S waves, J point, ST segment and T wave amplitude. Data were compared using Students T-test and statistical significance set as P?Results: There was a significant increase in P wave amplitude (29%) and QTc interval (4%) pre- to post-race from standard 12-lead ECG. From the right-sided12-lead ECG, a 23% (P?=?.01) and 38% (P?=?.03) increase in J point amplitude in V1R and V2R and a 22% (P?=?.05) increase in ST segment integral in V2R and V3R were evident. T wave inversion was evident in leads V2R–V6R in 50–90% of athletes, respectively. Close examination revealed marked heterogeneity in individual ECGs. Conclusions: Completion of a 100-mile ultra-marathon resulted in significant changes in the right-sided ECG alongside more marked responses in specific individuals. P wave, ST segment and T wave changes post-race are indicative of acute exercise-induced right heart electrical adaptation.     

THE KNOWLEDGE OF MEMORY AGING QUESTIONNAIRE

A new questionnaire, the Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire, assesses general knowledge of normal and pathological memory aging for use with students, older adults, and service providers who work with the elderly. The questionnaire consists of 28 true/false items covering a broad range of memory behaviors     

Children’s oral narrative and reading skills in the first 3?years of reading instruction

This research investigated the link between oral narrative and reading skills in the first 3 years of reading instruction. Study 1 consisted of 61 children (M = 6:1 years) who had experienced 1 year of reading instruction on average. Children’s story retelling was scored for memory and narrative quality. The quality of children’s narratives correlated positively with their reading skill at this age, but narrative quality did not uniquely predict their reading skill 1 year later. Study 2 consisted of 39 children (M = 7:0 years) who had experienced 2 years of reading instruction on average. At this age, the quality of children’s narratives uniquely predicted their reading skill concurrently and 1 year later, even after controlling for their receptive vocabulary and early decoding. These findings have implications for theories of the oral language foundations of reading and for assessment in the early years of reading instruction.     

A review of psychotherapy outcome research: Considerations for school‐based mental health providers

Evaluating psychotherapeutic outcome is an important endeavor given psychology's focus on identifying effective treatments. There is ample evidence to suggest that psychotherapy interventions for children and adolescents are effective. Unfortunately, the child and adolescent psychotherapy outcome literature lags behind the adult‐focused outcome literature in some important areas, as children and adolescents are often viewed as extensions of adults. This review analyzes the pertinent youth meta‐analyses, examining treatment, client, and therapist variables relevant to positive outcomes. We also consider the impact of variables that have received more attention in the adult psychotherapy outcome literature (i.e., the therapeutic alliance, therapist effects, and allegiance effects) and their possible impact on child and adolescent outcomes. Our hope is that this discussion benefits school‐based mental health professionals when discerning what works best with the youth population. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.