Impact of School-Based Interventions for Building School Belonging in Adolescence: a Systematic Review

Educational Psychology Review - A student’s sense of school belonging is critical to school success, yet internationally, a large proportion of secondary students do not feel that they belong...     

Parental spanking of 1-year-old children and subsequent child protective services involvement

The majority of U.S. parents spank their children, often beginning when their children are very young. We examined families (N = 2,788) who participated in a longitudinal community-based study of new births in urban areas. Prospective analyses examined whether spanking by the child's mother, father, or mother's current partner when the child was 1-year-old was associated with household CPS involvement between age 1 and age 5. Results indicated that 30% of 1-year-olds were spanked at least once in the past month. Spanking at age 1 was associated with increased odds of subsequent CPS involvement (adjusted odds ratio = 1.36, 95% CI [1.08, 1.71], p < .01). When compared to non-spanked children, there was a 33% greater probability of subsequent CPS involvement for children who were spanked at age 1. Given the undesirable consequences of spanking children and a lack of empirical evidence to suggest positive effects of physical punishment, professionals who work with families should counsel parents not to spank infants and toddlers. For optimal benefits, efforts to educate parents regarding alternative forms of discipline should begin during the child's first year of life.     

Attainment of skill in using science processes. I. Instrumentation,methodology and analysis

Instrumentation, methodology, and analysis techniques were developed to measure changes in adolescent skills in the estimation of linear distance. Microcomputers were used to present and control the amount of information available to assist students in estimation. Three different levels of difficulty in estimating were developed and students estimated ten positions of a point on a vertical line within each level of difficulty. Strategies used by students to estimate were found, and a model was developed using regression analysis to allow for the separation of variance of trend and individual skill differences. This model was used to predict decreases in number of estimates and decreases in average time per estimate. The number of estimates per position decreased rapidly and a limit was soon achieved. Thus average time per estimate was used as a measure of skill. Students improved performance within the first two levels, but not within the most difficult level. Across levels, average performance improved in spite of increasing difficulty, and a transfer effect appeared to occur over time. It was concluded that micro-computers were a valuable instrument for gathering and recording data. The model using regression analysis was an effective tool to study estimation. Students used effective strategies and improved their estimation skill quickly. Learning did occur, but the level of difficulty of information or practice effect available while solving an estimation problem may limit the extent of improvement.     

Effects of Response Format on Difficulty of SAT-Mathematics Items: It's Not the Strategy

Problem-solving strategy is frequently cited as mediating the effects of response format (multiple-choice, constructed response) on item difficulty, yet there are few direct investigations of examinee solution procedures. Fifty-five high school students solved parallel constructed response and multiple-choice items that differed only in the presence of response options. Student performance was videotaped to assess solution strategies. Strategies were categorized as "traditional"–those associated with constructed response problem solving (e.g., writing and solving algebraic equations)–or "nontraditional"–those associated with multiple-choice problem solving (e.g., estimating a potential solution). Surprisingly, participants sometimes adopted nontraditional strategies to solve constructed response items. Furthermore, differences in difficulty between response formats did not correspond to differences in strategy choice: some items showed a format effect on strategy but no effect on difficulty; other items showed the reverse. We interpret these results in light of the relative comprehension challenges posed by the two groups of items.     

Attainment of skill in using science processes II. Grade and task effects

Two studies were used to examine developmental and task effects in estimation problems. Time to solution data were collected on students' performance to describe their efficiency in processing information. Study One demonstrated developmental differences in speed of processing between younger students (first grade) and older students (third and sixth grade), with younger students performing at a slower rate. Study Two demonstrated that the amount of feedback information present influenced speed of processing. Results were discussed in terms of student and task characteristics and the implications of such variables for an information processing model of learning. Implications for science teaching were also discussed in terms of diagnosing learning problems and designing science curriculum.     

Out of the toolbox: toddlers differentiate wobbly and wooden handrails

This study examined whether 16-month-old walking infants take the material composition of a handrail into account when assessing its effectiveness as a tool to augment balance. Infants were encouraged to cross from one platform to another via bridges of various widths (10, 20, 40 cm) with either a "wobbly" (foam or latex) or a wooden handrail available for assistance. Infants attempted to walk over wider bridges more often than narrow ones, and attempts were more frequent when the sturdy wooden handrail was available. Infants tailored their exploratory behaviors, bridge-crossing strategies, and handrail-use strategies to the material properties of the rail.     

Communication Research

INSIDE FAMILY VIEWING: ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH ON TELEVISION'S AUDIENCES by James Lull (New York: Routledge, 1991—$55.00/17.95, ISBN 0-415-04414-6 hard, 0-415-04997-0 paper, 190 pp.)

PROGRESS IN COMMUNICATION SCIENCES, VOLUME X edited by Brenda Dervin and Melvin Voigt (Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1991—$75.00 institutional price/$35.00 personal price, ISBN 0-89391-645-5, 336 pp.)

MEDIA RESEARCH TECHNIQUES by Arthur Asa Berger (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1991—$28.00/14.00, ISBN 0-8039-4179-X hard, 0-8039-4180-3, 148 pp.)

THE ANNUAL REVIEW 1990 by the Institute for Information Studies (a joint project of the Aspen Institute and Northern Telecom; for information write to Aspen Institute, Wye Center, PO Box 222, Queenstown, MD 21658, price not given, paper, ISBN 0-89843-094-0, 249 pp.)

COMMUNICATION THEORY: A JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION (Guilford Publications, 72 Spring St., New York, NY 10012—$60 for institutions/$30 for individuals, ISSN 1050-3293, quarterly)

CINCOM: COURSES IN COMMUNICATIONS 1989 compiled by Communications Library (Communications Institute, Lockbox 5891, 1535 Francisco St., San Francisco, CA 94101-5891—$35.00, paper, ISSN 0742-3632 and ISBN 0-934339-95-3, 100 pp.)

SESAME STREET RESEARCH BIBLIOGRAPHY: SELECTED CITATIONS RELATING TO SESAME STREET, 1969-1989 (June 1990, xx pp.)

WHAT RESEARCH INDICATES ABOUT THE EDUCATIONAL EFFECTS OF SESAME STREET (February 1991, 14 pp.)

“CHILDREN'S LEARNING FROM TELEVISION: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AT THE CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP,” Educational Technology Research and Development 38:4 (1990, 96 pp. ISSN 1042-1629)

SESAME STREET RESEARCH: A 20th ANNIVERSARY SYMPOSIUM (1990, 96 pp.)

CONTACT 1-2-3: RESEARCH BIBLIOGRAPHY (June 1990, 43 pp.)

GANNETT CENTER JOURNAL: “HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE INFORMATION AGE,” (Spring-Summer 1991, Vol 5, Nos. 2-3)

GANNETT CENTER JOURNAL: “MEDIA AND AMERICA'S SCHOOLS,” (Winter 1991, Vol 5, No. 1); both available from Gannett Center Journal, Columbia University, 2950 Broadway, New York, NY 10027—$5.00, paper, each, ISSN 0893-8342)

EXTENDING TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE TO AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES by Stuart Brotman (Annenberg Washington Program, 1455 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20004—free on request, paper, no ISBN given, 53 pp.)     

Critical Thinking is a Life Relevancy: A Hospitality Management Student Case Study

ABSTRACT

This article describes a library workshop for freshman hospitality management students enrolled at New York City College of Technology, CUNY, which features a focus on critical thinking. An active learning experience uses an element of surprise. Students evaluate the Website of a bankrupt company where information about the company's situation is not obvious. When the instructor guides the class to find unbiased information from newspapers, many students begin to think critically about sources.