Evaluation of Low-Cost,Objective Instruments for Assessing Physical Activity in 10–11-Year-Old Children

This study compared step counts detected by four, low-cost, objective, physical-activity-assessment instruments and evaluated their ability to detect moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared to the ActiGraph accelerometer (AG). Thirty-six 10–11-year-old children wore the NL-1000, Yamax Digiwalker SW 200, Omron HJ-151, and Walk4Life MVP concurrently with the AG during school hours on a single day. AG MVPA was derived from activity count data using previously validated cut points. Two of the evaluated instruments provided similar group mean MVPA and step counts compared to AG (dependent on cut point). Low-cost instruments may be useful for measurement of both MVPA and steps in children's physical activity interventions and program evaluation.     

Deconstructing Delphinium: Violence and Flowers in Rousseau’s émile and Henke’s Chrysanthemum

This article is an attempt to contribute to the conversation about “go[ing] beyond all kinds of binary thinking” (Lenz Taguchi, Going beyond the theory/practice divide in early childhood education: introducing an intra-active pedagogy, 2010, p. 50), especially the binary which positions “adults” and “children” as being powerful and powerless, respectively, in educational settings. It is also a personal reflection on “naming.” At the center of the reflection are two literary works, the picture book by Henkes, Chrysanthemum (1991), and the novel by Rousseau, émile, ou l’education (1762a). The central metaphor of émile—that of the developing child as organically unfolding, like a flower—is deconstructed by the plot involving two flower-named characters in Chrysanthemum. These characters are the protagonist, Chrysanthemum, and her music teacher, Delphinium Twinkle. Two acts of “naming” are considered: the literal act of naming a newborn baby and the abstract concept of “naming” [or labeling] a particular time in the life of a human being: “Childhood” (Cannella, Deconstructing early childhood education: social justice and revolution, 1997).     

Earnings benefits of Tulsa's pre-K program for different income groups

This paper estimates future adult earnings effects associated with a universal pre-K program in Tulsa, Oklahoma. These projections help to compensate for the lack of long-term data on universal pre-K programs, while using metrics that relate test scores to social benefits. Combining test-score data from the fall of 2006 and recent findings by Chetty et al. (2011) on the relationship between kindergarten test scores and adult earnings, we generate projections of adult earnings effects and a partial cost–benefit analysis of the Tulsa pre-K program. For both half-day and full-day programs, benefits are similar across program participants of different income, with benefit-to-cost ratios of 3- or 4-to-1. Because we only consider adult earnings benefits, actual benefit–cost ratios are likely higher, especially for disadvantaged children.     

Examining Sender and Judge Variability in Honesty Assessments and Deception Detection Accuracy: Evidence for a Transparent Liar but No Evidence of Deception-General Ability

A round-robin experiment unpacked message veracity, sender believability (demeanor), judge truth-bias, sender transparency, and judge deception detection accuracy. Generally, more variance was observed in senders than in judges. The data were suggestive of the existence of an unusually transparent liar, but the data were not consistent with a deception-general ability. The results highlight the importance of considering variability in addition to central tendency and the importance of individual differences in senders in deception detection.     

Beliefs about teaching and uses of technology among pre‐service teachers

In the current learning environments, technology is integrated in different ways. Teachers acting in the capacity of main change agents bring with them beliefs about teaching which effects their use of technology in the classroom. This study aims to examine the possible relationship between teachers' beliefs about teaching and uses of technology. Unlike past research on this issue, the results from this study show that belief in constructivist teaching correlates significantly with both constructivist and traditional uses of technology. However, a belief in traditional teaching is only significantly correlated (negatively) with constructivist use of technology. Implications for teaching training and future research are discussed.     

Phonological and cognitive correlates of word-reading acquisition under two different instructional approaches in Greek

This study examined whether phonological and cognitive tasks correlate with beginning reading acquisition in Hellenic populations under two different instructional approaches: a whole language approach supplemented by implicit coding instruction through incidental learning, as used in Cyprus, versus the syllable-splitting approach characterised by explicit decoding instruction, as used in Greece. Planning, attention, simultaneous, and successive processing tasks together with three phonological coding tasks (Oddity task, Phoneme Elision, and Sound Isolation) were administered to 50 Greek and 50 Cypriot Grade 1 students. Word Attack and Word Identification were also administered to measure early reading competency. The main findings of the study were as follows: (a) significant group differences were revealed in word-decoding accuracy but not in realword reading accuracy, an expected finding in a system characterised by high grapheme-phoneme consistency; (b) successive processing and phonological coding consisted of the fundamental abilities that differentiated the Greek from the Cypriot first-graders; and (c) the Greek group exhibited a higher linguistic ability than the Cypriot group. This was facilitated by the use of the distal cognitive processes to reading, that is, successive and simultaneous processing. The discussion focuses on the need to reconsider the nature of early reading instruction in languages such as Greek with high grapheme-phoneme consistency.     

Estimating School Climate Traits Across Multiple Informants: An Illustration of a Multitrait–Multimethod Validation Through Latent Variable Modeling

The use of multiple informants is common in assessments that rely on the judgments of others. However, ratings obtained from different informants often vary as a function of their perspectives and roles in relation to the target of measurement, and causes unrelated to the trait being measured. We illustrate the usefulness of a latent variable multilevel multitrait–multimethod measurement model for extracting trait factors from reports of school climate obtained by students (N = 45,641) and teachers (N = 12,808) residing within 302 high schools. We then extend this framework to include assessments of linkages between the resulting trait factors and potential outcomes that might be used for addressing questions of substantive interest or providing evidence of concurrent validity. The approach is illustrated with data obtained from student and teacher reports of two dimensions of school climate, student engagement, and the prevalence of teasing and bullying in their schools.     

Beyond the Rainbow: Retrieval Practice Leads to Better Spelling than does Rainbow Writing

In three experiments, we compared the effectiveness of rainbow writing and retrieval practice, two common methods of spelling instruction. In experiment 1 (n?=?14), second graders completed 2 days of spelling practice, followed by spelling tests 1 day and 5 weeks later. A repeated measures analysis of variance demonstrated that spelling accuracy for words trained with retrieval practice was higher than for words trained with rainbow writing on both tests (η _p ² ?=?.49). In experiments 2 (second graders, n?=?16) and 3 (first graders, n?=?12), students completed 2 days of spelling practice followed by a spelling test 1 day later. Results replicated experiment 1; spelling accuracy was higher for words trained with retrieval practice compared with rainbow writing (η _p ² ?=?.42 and .64, respectively). Furthermore, students endorsed both liking and learning from retrieval practice at least as much as (and sometimes more than) rainbow writing. Results demonstrate that retrieval practice is a more useful (and as engaging) training method than is rainbow writing and extend the well-established testing effect to beginning spellers.