Analyzing student thinking reflected in self-constructed cognitive maps and its influence on inquiry task performance

Instructional Science - Higher-order thinking is crucial to inquiry learning. It is important to investigate how students think in inquiry contexts. Given the tacit nature of higher-order thinking,...     

All better than being disengaged: Student engagement patterns and their relations to academic self-concept and achievement

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Student participation and cognitive and emotional engagement in learning activities play a key role in student academic achievement and are driven by...     

Early feelings about school and later academic outcomes of children with special needs living in poverty

In this investigation we examined the relation of children's reported feelings about school during kindergarten or first grade to their academic achievement at the end of fifth grade. Participants were children (N = 103) who lived in poverty during early childhood and who were placed on individualized education programs (IEPs) during their elementary school years. Results indicated that early feelings about school predicted fifth-grade outcomes above and beyond predictions based on an assessment of receptive language at age 5. Specifically, general positive feelings about school predicted higher fifth-grade literacy skills whereas feelings of greater competence in academics predicted higher fifth-grade math skills. The findings have implications for interventions with young children who have special learning needs, live in poverty, and report early ambivalent or negative feelings about school.     

The literature of educational psychology and the literature used by writers in educational psychology

Using Psychological Abstracts as the source of the original sample (“first-level”), various characteristics of the literature of educational psychology are compared with the characteristics of a “second-level” literature (defined as the literature that the first level cites). In particular, the scatter (dispersion) of periodical articles over periodical titles is looked at for both levels. The journals most cited within the literature of educational psychology are identified.     

Stress and the American black woman: Analysis of research

This study obtained information on causes of stress and its relationship to the performance of the American working woman in the classroom and on the job. In order to implement the study, a questionnaire which included categories of personal information, job-related information, educational information and symptoms of stress information was used. Interviews were conducted with available subjects in order to secure additional information.The study was concerned with 281 American females enrolled and/or employed in institutions of higher education in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Wisconsin and New Jersey. A total of fourteen educational institutions from these seven states was represented in the study.Data secured from questionnaire and interview results were used to compare subjects on the basis of demographics, attitudinal, adjustment, educational and other factors which contributed significantly to performance and style of the American black working woman; to present information on how to alleviate some of the stress factors that cause poor performance; and to help the American working woman to recognize stress in order to learn how to manage it without having to deal with possible consequences of poor health and additional financial obligations.Of the fifty-two variables compared, significant differences were found in eleven variables in fifty-nine instances when cross-tabulated. A probability of 05 was considered a significant difference and was the criterion for support or non-support of the specific hypothesis.     

A meta-analysis on the relationship between school characteristics and student outcomes in science and maths – evidence from large-scale studies

ABSTRACT

In the present meta-analysis, we examine how secondary school characteristics – such as schools’ academic press, school climate, material resources, personnel resources, classroom climate, instructional practices, out-of-school activities, and socioeconomic status (SES) composition – provide opportunities for students to engage in science and maths, and how these matter with regard to students’ cognitive and motivational-affective outcomes. The meta-analysis includes 71 (international) articles from large-scale studies with a total of 3,960,281 students, 260,390 schools, and 285 effect sizes that were transformed to correlation coefficients. Multilevel meta-analyses were performed. Results identified a number of school variables that can be regarded as relevant for making a difference in student outcomes and at the same time be influenced by education. These refer to school variables such schools’ academic press, classroom climate, instructional practices, and out-of-school activities. Moreover, SES composition was significantly related to student outcomes. Material and personnel resources as well as school climate yielded a close to zero effect. No differences were found between cognitive and motivational-affective outcome variables or between science and maths. The results point to the most promising school characteristics for promoting students’ outcomes and emphasise schools’ potential for students’ engagement in science and maths.     

Racial Identity and Psychological Symptoms Among African Americans Attending a Historically Black University

Previous research found racial identity predictive of psychological distress among African American students at predominantly White colleges. This study examined these relationships among 154 African American undergraduates attending a historically Black university. Racial identity was independent of psychological distress, suggesting that African American students' racial identity predicts psychological distress only in settings in which they are the minority.     

Grouping for reading instruction: does one size fit all?

Twenty-nine third-grade teachers and selected students from their classes participated. Study 1 used teacher interviews and classroom observations to examine teachers' perceptions and practices for grouping for reading instruction; Study 2 examined the impact of these grouping practices on the academic progress, social progress, and attitudes about reading of students representing a range of achievement levels, including students with learning disabilities. Results indicated that, overall, teachers used whole class instruction for reading and the same materials for all students, including students with learning disabilities. Students with learning disabilities made little academic progress and their attitudes about reading did not improve over time.     

社会化搜索研究进展综述

首先,引入互联网群体协作的思想,对社会化搜索的概念进行初步界定;随后,在宏观与微观两个层面上,重点从动因（why）、用户（who）、目标（what）、形式（how）4个维度对社会化搜索的概念进行深入解析,并分别从行为、技术、应用、资源4个视角对当前社会化搜索的主要研究内容和主题进行归纳,试图从理论上明晰社会化搜索今后的研究思路与方向;最后阐述当前社会化搜索的研究不足和发展趋势。     

The CAEP Standards and Research on Educator Preparation Programs: Linking Clinical Partnerships With Program Impact

Responding to the challenge of more rigorous and outcome-oriented program evaluation criteria of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), authors take a critical look at the intersection of two standards: Clinical Partnerships and Practice (Standard 2) and Program Impact (Standard 4). Illustrating one aspect of a secondary education teacher preparation program, authors consider how clinical partnerships can be designed in light of these standards to have a positive impact on P-12 student learning. Focusing on the program evaluation framework, authors describe a spectrum of diverse formative and summative growth measures that document the scope of impact for all stakeholders, including students. In light of the Feuer, Floden, Chudowsky, and Ahn (2013) questioning framework, authors assess program outcomes. In closing, the authors (a) conclude that comprehensive evaluation models are needed to document complex outcomes, which will make program impact more visible and measureable; (b) recommend using the Feuer et al. decision-making framework to initiate and guide programmatic design and evaluation model development; and (c) affirm CAEP's expectations—clinical partnerships go beyond positive relationships, coselection of mentor teachers and candidates, and commitment to diverse settings to ensuring P-12 student achievement—as attainable goals for educator preparation accreditation.