Instructors’ perspectives on the utility of student ratings of instruction

This study investigates instructors’ attitudes about student ratings of instruction. The sample consisted of 357 instructors at a major Canadian university, where student evaluation is carried out in all courses at the end of each term. Instructors tend to agree that the student rating practice is an acceptable means of assessing institutional integrity, and is useful to administrators in making summative decisions. However, they consider the student evaluations only marginally valuable in their impact on enhancing instruction. Implications for the development of student ratings are discussed.     

The role of topic‐related background knowledge in visual attention to illustration and children's word learning during shared book reading

The purpose of this study was to examine how background knowledge of a topic may influence children's attention to different elements of storybook illustrations and how that influences word learning. Forty‐one kindergarten students were administered a test about a familiar topic (i.e., birds). Participants were then read either a fictional story about a familiar topic (birds) or a fictional story about a novel topic (wugs) on an eye‐tracker monitor. Results suggest that, for children who heard the familiar story, those who knew more about the category were faster to orient to the illustration of the novel word than children with lower background knowledge. Accordingly, children who were faster to orient to the illustration were more likely to learn the word. These results may suggest that one mechanism by which background knowledge improves implicit learning in shared‐book reading contexts is by guiding attention to the named elements of the illustrations.     

A Common Factors Approach to Supporting University Students Experiencing Psychological Distress

This study empirically assessed the applicability of the common factors model to students accessing university-based counseling (n = 102). Participants rated symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatization at intake and discharge. Therapists kept detailed session notes on client factors and therapy process variables. Data were analyzed utilizing structural equation modeling to assess what common factors significantly predicted outcome improvements. Authors found duration of therapy, positive life events, and intimate relationship supports positively influenced outcomes. Increases in the number of intervention approaches and sessions negatively influenced certain outcomes. The present findings have important implications for programming and treatment planning within on-campus counseling services.     

The Reality of Sustaining Community-Based Sport and Physical Activity Programs to Enhance the Development of Underserved Youth: Challenges and Potential Strategies

Many community-based sport and physical activity programs take a positive youth development approach when operating in underserved communities around the world (Forneris, Whitley, & Barker, 2013). However, one of the biggest challenges for these programs is sustainability (Lindsey, 2008). The purpose of this article is to present the 3 authors’ experiences related to program sustainability when working with community-based sport and physical activity programs using a positive youth development approach in underserved communities. The authors describe the challenges faced with program sustainability, including ineffective development approaches, building strong relationships with community partners, knowledge translation, and securing funding. Also described are the strategies used to overcome these challenges, such as planning, capacity building, recruitment, and evaluation. This article is intended to stimulate more open and honest discussions about the realities of positive youth development program sustainability around the world.     

Children’s Daily Routines During Kindergarten Transition

Routines are an important feature of family life and functioning in families with young children. Common daily routines such as dinnertime, bedtime, and waking activities are powerful organizers of family behavior and may be instrumental to children and families during times of transition, such as elementary school entry. Daily routines were examined in 132 families with children entering kindergarten. Although the majority of families reported regular daily routines for their children, parents anticipated that their child’s daily routines would substantially shift upon kindergarten entry, including changes in children’s sleep habits. Significant changes in child and family routines have been implicated in adjustment difficulties during kindergarten transition. Results of this investigation are discussed in terms of aligning family daily routines with kindergarten expectations. Furthermore, educational professionals in early childhood education and elementary school can partner with families to promote seamless kindergarten transitions for all children.     

Exploring a Community of Practice Model for Professional Development to Address Challenges to Classroom Practices in Early Childhood

This study explored whether or not, and how, an on-site and research–teacher community of practice model for professional development addressed the challenges to classroom practices in a Head Start program. Data sources included interviews with teachers, videos of planning and teaching sessions, and the researchers' fieldwork log and reflective notes. Qualitative analysis revealed (a) five major challenges to classroom practice that aligned with previous research—existing practices did not always cohere with research-based practice, lack of teacher buy-in, lack of planning between the lead and assistant teachers, lack of assistant teacher participation in instruction, and high teacher turnover; (b) five aspects of professional development that aligned with the community of practice model—sharing stories with teachers, being on-site and interacting with teachers and children, inviting all teachers to participate, beginning by building on existing practices, and negotiating practices by reflecting with teachers; and (c) how these aspects of our professional development model addressed the challenges to classroom practice in the focal classroom. Implications for in-service professional development and teacher education are discussed.     

Supporting Vocabulary Teaching and Learning in Prekindergarten: The Role of Educative Curriculum Materials

The purpose of this study was to support teachers' child-directed language and student outcomes by enhancing the educative features of an intervention targeted to vocabulary, conceptual development and comprehension. Using a set of design heuristics (Davis &; Krajcik, 2005 Davis, E. A., &; Krajcik, J. S. (2005). Designing educative curriculum materials to promote teacher learning. Educational Researcher, 34, 3–14.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), our goal was to support teachers’ professional development within the curriculum materials. Ten pre-K classrooms with a total of 143 children were randomly selected into treatment and control groups. Observations of teacher talk, including characteristics of lexically-rich and cognitively demanding language were conducted before and during the intervention. Measures of child outcomes, pre- and post-intervention included both standardized and curriculum-based assessments. Results indicated significant improvements in the quality of teachers’ talk in the treatment compared to the control group, and significant gains for child outcomes. These results suggest that educative curriculum may be a promising approach to facilitate both teacher and student learning.