Long-Term Effects of First-Grade Multitier Intervention

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the long-term effects of 2 first-grade Response to Intervention (RTI) models (Dynamic and Typical RTI) on the reading performance of students in second and third grade. Participants included 419 first-grade students (352 in second grade and 278 in third grade after attrition). Students were classified based on first-grade screeners as at risk or not at risk and then based on their RTI (no risk [NR], relative easy to remediate [ER], and requiring sustained remediation [SR]). Students in the dynamic RTI condition had higher reading comprehension scores at the end of third grade. At the end of second grade, ER and SR students had lower reading scores than NR students. At the end of third grade, there were no differences in reading skills between ER and NR students, but SR students had lower scores than NR students. ER students in the dynamic RTI condition had higher reading scores at the end of second grade than those in the typical RTI condition. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

Repatriated Germans and ‘British Spirit’

Following the end of the Second World War, the ideals of public service broadcasting that had first been exemplified by the BBC came to lay the groundwork for a new type of broadcasting system in Northern Germany. This led to intensive discussions between British Military Officers and their German counterparts about the principles of public service broadcasting. Repatriated Germans came to play a crucial role. Having worked for the BBC German Service during their years of exile, some of them helped to nurture a new generation of democratic journalists. Focusing on these men, this article reveals the difficulties in transferring and adapting public service ideals. Making use of a wide range of sources, we highlight the multifaceted roles of the repatriated Germans, as both intermediaries and transmitters of public service broadcasting. We show how many of them came to play a pivotal role in resisting pressure from conservative forces in West German society.     

Piercing the veil: Examining demographic and political variables in state FOI Law administration

State and local governments play an important, and growing, role in everyday lives. The exploratory study positions FOI laws as a central mechanism in providing transparency to these more proximate governments. It is premised on a FOI audit, or field experiment, of 1002 requests across 9 U.S. state laws and 334 jurisdictions. The sample represents a broad cross-section of geographic, demographic and political variables, and the study analyzes these variables predictive and correlative value in determining outcomes, timeliness and communication in FOI requests. The results suggest significance in race and political variables in FOI outcomes and processes. The study's strongest finding was the influence of geographic location, namely the central South of the United States, and its considerable effect on FOI compliance.     

Causes,prevention, and interventions regarding classroom disruptions in digital teaching: A systematic review

Education and Information Technologies - Digitization and the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic are accelerating the use of digital tools in teaching. Therefore, this systematic literature review offers an...     

Teacher support for collective argumentation: A framework for examining how teachers support students’ engagement in mathematical activities

We propose a framework for examining how teachers may support collective argumentation in secondary mathematics classrooms, including teachers’ direct contributions to arguments, the kinds of questions teachers ask, and teachers’ other supportive actions. We illustrate our framework with examples from episodes of collective argumentation occurring across 2 days in a teacher’s classroom. Following from these examples, we discuss how the framework can be used to examine mathematical aspects of conversations in mathematics classrooms. We propose that the framework is useful for investigating and possibly enhancing how teachers support students’ reasoning and argumentation as fundamentally mathematical activities.     

Mathematics teachers’ representations of authority

Issues of authority abound in education and schooling but have not been interrogated sufficiently. We describe a tool that we have developed to initiate dialogue with teachers about authority in their classrooms—using a diagram to represent authority in their classrooms. Our analysis of the diagrams mathematics teachers created and discussed in our work with them illustrates the importance of understanding teachers’ perspectives about authority. To understand better how mathematics teachers think about the authority in their classrooms, we investigated what sources of authority they represented in their diagrams, and how the teachers related these sources to each other. The diversity in the teachers’ representations exceeded our anticipations, indicating that research on authority in classrooms has merely scratched the surface of understanding the ways mathematics teachers think about authority in their classrooms.     

Physical performance in female handball players according to playing position

Demands for female handball players are not yet sufficiently specified, especially not with respect to position-specific performance. For optimal match preparation, individual training based on specific demands of each position is necessary. Consequently, the aim of the study was to gain insight into position-specific differences in female handball players in order to establish position-specific training recommendations. Data from 652 female players from German leagues of all levels were analyzed using a test-battery assessing handball-relevant physical performance factors. Players were tested during their usual training in their regular training locations for running, throwing speed, jumping height, reaction-speed, basic running endurance, arm and abdominal muscle strength and hamstrings and lower back flexibility. Significant differences between positions were found for several parameters, while the differences were pronounced variably at the different performance levels. For example, goalkeepers performed worst in the Half-Cooper test (p?<?0.001) at elite level with wings displaying the best values. Halfbacks had the highest throwing speed (p?<?0.001) and jumping heights (p?<?0.002) at elite level. Goalkeepers were slowest for best and mean value out of five attempts (p?<?0.001; p?<?0.010) in 20?m sprint but, together with wings outperformed half and centre backs at elite level in 30?m sprint (best out of two attempts, p?<?0.001). Goalkeepers also did fewer chin ups than wing and back players at elite level (p?<?0.003). The present study demonstrated positional differences regarding physical performance parameters, thus suggesting the need to intensify position-specific training, especially for goalkeepers during preparation and in-season. Also, position-specific testing during selection-processes might be indicated.