Students' conditioned response to teachers' response: portfolio proponents, take note!

Portfolio advocates argue that teacher commentary becomes more meaningful for students with the use of portfolio assessment, particularly because the commentary is unaccompanied by a grade. However, my own study of portfolio classrooms suggests that students continue to regard teacher responses as directives that leave them few options in terms of revisions. My study involved six writing classrooms from the middle school to the university level and included classroom observations, interviews of students and teachers, and examination of student writing and teacher response. The students generally looked to their teachers to show them the “correct” way to write and resisted the notion of making independent judgments about their writing and the necessary revisions, primarily because they could not ignore the ultimate reality of the grade. Yet the teachers generally avoided being directive in their responses. In one instance, the teacher's best efforts to adopt a more open style of response backfired when a sensitive student read the commentary as demeaning. I argue, therefore, that even though portfolios represent a more enlightened approach to assessment, students have difficulty escaping their conditioned obeisance to teacher authority. While this finding should not be read as a condemnation of portfolio assessment, it does indicate that teachers need to be aware of how students read their responses. Otherwise, portfolios alone may not substantially alter the teacher–student dynamics.     

Individual and community practices for constructing communicative resilience: exploring the communicative processes of coping with parental alienation

ABSTRACT

Parental alienation occurs after parents divorce and intentionally or even unintentionally persuade their children to distance themselves from or reject the other parent. Framed by the communication theory of resilience, this study explores the communicative practices that enable and constrain the targeted alienated parents’ ability to create normalcy at the individual and online community levels. We also examine the relationships between individual-level and online community-level resilience. Findings from 40 narrative interviews reveal communicative practices/processes that enable and constrain alienated parents at both the individual and online support group levels. Findings also suggest that there is a robust relationship between resilience practices at the individual and community levels. Theoretical implications and practical applications are discussed.     

Increasing Positive Playground Interaction for Kindergarten Students at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Students who experience social withdrawal and anxiety (internalizing difficulties) are often overlooked in schools due to the covert nature of their symptoms. The literature lacks empirically supported preventive approaches for kindergarten students who are socially withdrawn and behind their peers in developing social skills. Furthermore, research suggests that parents often are not adequately involved in interventions during this critical period of social development. In response to this need, a school-based intervention was implemented to increase the positive social interaction of three kindergarten students on the playground. Treatment consisted of (a) social skills training, (b) adult mediation, (c) self-evaluation and reinforcement, and (d) parent involvement through home notes. The effects of this intervention were assessed on the playground during recess using partial interval recording of target students’ positive interactions. During implementation of the intervention, all target students demonstrated improvements in social interaction. Future studies should investigate whether addressing the limitations of this study would yield stronger results with this underserved population.