Standards-based performance assessment for the evaluation of student teachers: a consequential validity study

The instrument Samples of Teaching Performance (STP) was developed to assess student teachers' capacity to plan, deliver and evaluate a unit of instruction. The current study reports consequential validity data collected from supervisors (n?=?20) and student teachers (n?=?62) from three elementary and five secondary teacher preparation programs in Chile that participated in the field-testing of the STP. Student teachers described how this assessment had honed their sense of professionalism and promoted learning of the skills assessed. Supervisors reported enlarging the topics discussed with student teachers and making some changes to the supervisory process. These findings are complemented by an analysis of the STP scores obtained by 24 student teachers, which showed better development of instructional skills when compared to pedagogical reasoning and reflection. These results raise questions about the structure of student teaching to support the implementation of standards-based assessments that entail tasks at different levels of cognitive complexity.     

An Innocent Eye: The "Pictorial Turn," Film Studies, and History

Marcia Landy, ed. The Historical Film: History and Memory in Media. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2000.350pp. Cloth $50.00.
Peter Burke. Eyewitnessing: The Uses of Images as Historical Evidence. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2001. 224pp. Cloth $35.00.
"What do pictures want?"—W.J.T. Mitchell
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master – that's all."—Lewis Carroll     

Comparison of dynamic visual acuity between water polo players and sedentary students

In this study, we examined differences in dynamic visual acuity between elite and subelite water polo players and sedentary students. To measure dynamic visual acuity binocularly, we asked participants to indicate the orientation of a broken ring, similar to the Landolt C, which increased in size as it moved across a computer screen. Two different speeds, three possible trajectories, and two different levels of contrast were evaluated. There were statistically significant differences between elite players and sedentary students for each combination of speed, contrast, and trajectory. Elite players achieved better dynamic visual acuity scores, and results also improved for some combinations of speed, contrast, and trajectory. Comparison between elite and subelite groups failed to reveal any     

Assessment and interpretation of teachers’ attitudes towards students with disabilities / Evaluación e interpretación de la actitud del profesorado hacia alumnos con discapacidad

Abstract

The process of including students with disabilities is necessarily influenced by teachers’ attitudes towards them and towards their inclusion in education. After detecting the need to study the attitudes present in preschool and primary and secondary school teachers, this study was proposed as it was decided that an analysis of such attitudes could help to develop a better understanding of the current needs of the education system. This study analysed data on attitudes from a total of 175 teachers (29.10% male) working in state schools (50.30%) and semi-private schools in different autonomous communities of the Spanish state. An adapted version of the teacher questionnaire on attitudes towards students with special educational needs arising from disability was used. After analysing the psychometric properties of the questionnaire, further purification of these properties resulted in an assessment instrument comprising 22 items. It is worth highlighting the appraisal that teachers carry out of their training, the existence of resources, as well as their own level of involvement.     

Exploring effects of an early math intervention: The importance of parent–child interaction

We explore whether training parents' math skills or playing number games improves children's mathematical skills. Participants were 162 parent–child dyads; 88.3% were white and children (79 female) were 4 years (M = 46.88 months). Dyads were assigned to a number game, shape game, parent-only approximate number system training, parent-only general trivia, or a no-training control condition and asked to play twice weekly for 8 weeks. Children in the number game condition gained over 15% SD on an assessment of mathematical skill than did those in the no-training control. After 8 additional weeks without training, effects diminished; however, children of parents in the ANS condition underperformed those in the no-treatment control, which was partially explained by changes in the home numeracy environment.     

Synthesising information from various texts: A study of procedures and products at different educational levels

The production of written syntheses, which requires reading various sources and integrating information from these sources into one’s own text, has been characterised as a potentially useful task for promoting constructive learning. This article describes research aimed at examining and characterising written syntheses and the processes involved in producing them. A case study was carried out of 45 students from four different educational levels (ranging from secondary school to university) performing synthesis tasks set by their teachers. An analysis was made of the synthesis tasks set and the syntheses produced, the prototypical procedures carried out at each educational level, and the quality of the written products.     

Measuring and Predicting Individual Differences in Executive Functions at 14 Months: A Longitudinal Study

This study of 195 (108 boys) children seen twice during infancy (Time 1: 4.12 months; Time 2: 14.42 months) aimed to investigate the associations between and infant predictors of executive function (EF) at 14 months. Infants showed high levels of compliance with the EF tasks at 14 months. There was little evidence of cohesion among EF tasks but simple response inhibition was related to performance on two other EF tasks. Infant attention (but not parent-rated temperament) at 4 months predicted performance on two of the four EF tasks at 14 months. Results suggest that EF skills build on simpler component skills such as attention and response inhibition.