Sustaining affective resonance: Co-constructing care in a school-based digital design studio

Based on two years of ethnographic engagement in a school-based digital design studio in a high school on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, this paper conceptualizes the development and maintenance of an ethos of care in teaching and learning through sustaining affective resonance. Adopting musical metaphors as a vocabulary for affective movements, we operationalize practical and practiced methods for sustaining (actively extending) affective (care-giving and care-taking intensities) resonance (shared meaning making and cultural production). Sharing examples across years, we show the specific ways that mentors and students in the digital design studio built and nurtured care-full practices. The purpose of the paper is to explicate the development and enactment of mentoring practices that we observed in the design studio and then to consider how these practices might be shared, spread, and adapted across contexts of teaching and learning.     

Preparing expectant couples for new-parent experiences: a comparison of two models of antenatal education

This paper describes a pilot antenatal education program intended to better prepare couples for the early weeks of lifestyle changes and parenting. Eight weeks after birth, data were collected by questionnaire from 19 couples who participated in a pilot program and from 14 couples who were enrolled in a routine hospital program. Women in the pilot program were significantly more satisfied with their experience of parenthood. Facilitated gender-specific discussion groups formed a key strategy in the pilot program.     

Adult spelling strategies

The goal of this study was to investigate how adult English speakers, who are good readers, but who differ in spelling ability, remember word-specific spelling information. In the first experiment, participants learned the spellings of words they had previously misspelled, while thinking out loud. The main strategies observed in order of popularity were: letter rehearsal, overpronunciation, comparison of the remembered and the correct spelling, morphological analysis and visualisation. All strategies produced good learning success for the better spellers, but weaker spellers had less success with overpronunciation, comparison and morphological analysis. In a second experiment, when participants were shown their misspelling and the correct spelling, and instructed to use either overpronunciation or comparison to learn the correct spelling, learning success was independent of spelling ability. However, sequential verbal memory ability was associated with greater success in using overpronunciation, and sequential visual memory ability with greater success in using comparison. The findings provide new insight into the types of strategies that advanced learners use spontaneously to memorise arbitrary letter sequences, as well as revealing how effective the strategies are.     

School evolution: scientist-practitioner educators creating optimal learning environments for all students

Similarities and differences between discursive practitioners and scientist-practitioners are discussed in reference to a variety of issues. The scientist-practitioner's approach to generating and evaluating new knowledge is illustrated with two partnerships: (a) between the University of Washington Multidisciplinary Learning Disability Center and a school district (at-risk first graders in the Los Angeles Unified School District) and (b) between the University of Washington Literacy Trek Project and a local school (at-risk second graders in Seattle public schools). Both partnerships involved mostly children who were English language learners. These partnerships also illustrated how Vygotsky's approach to fostering cognitive development through social interaction can be integrated with that of his pupil Luria, who assessed the neuropsychological processes of the individual mind/brain. The most effective instruction for school-age children, who exhibit biological and cultural diversity, takes into account individual and social-cultural variables.     

Assessing Paraprofessionals’ Perceived Educational Needs and Skill Level with Function-based Behavioral Intervention

The purpose of this survey study was to assess the perceived skill level and educational needs of special education paraprofessionals in the area of function-based intervention and to identify paraprofessionals’ preferred training delivery method(s) and any variables that affect paraprofessionals’ preference for these methods. Special education paraprofessionals working during the 2012–2013 school year in the state of Virginia were asked to complete an anonymous online survey. A total of 487 special education paraprofessionals responded to some or all survey items. Findings suggest that a large number of paraprofessionals reported low skill level and high educational needs across 10 domains of function-based intervention. Overall, paraprofessionals preferred training that is delivered within school settings, involves experiential learning, and requires minimal time. Implications for practice, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Single or Dual Representations for Reading and Spelling?

Neuropsychological models postulate that the memory representation acquired for use in reading words is separate from the one acquired for use in spelling, while developmental models assume that the same representation is developed for access in both reading and spelling. The dual-representation model contends that there is often more precise information in reading representations than in spelling representations. This claim was tested in the current study using adult native speakers of English. People were supplied with minimal visual feedback while they spelled words that they knew and could read, and were then shown their whole spelling and asked whether they could improve upon it. People detected spelling mistakes on fewer than one in six trials after the reading check. They also returned many spellings to the original form, and were unable to improve upon them any more often than to change them to something equally bad or worse. The findings favour the view that normal individuals acquire a single orthographic representation from repeated exposures to a word during both reading and spelling. The representation may be adequate to permit successful reading but be insufficient for reproduction of the word-specific knowledge required for accurate spelling.     

Young children's comprehension and recall of computer screen displayed text

In this study 26 third grade and 36 fifth grade students, experienced in computer-assisted instruction, were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions: computer screen displayed text or traditional printed page text. According to assigned treatment condition, subjects either read a story from the computer screen or printed page booklet. There were no statistically significant differences between the two treatment conditions on measures of reading comprehension. On the attitude survey subjects reported greater interest in the story when reading from the computer, however, they reported that the story was more difficult when reading from the computer screen. The results of the study suggest that extended reading of prose materials on computer screens is feasible for children as young as eight years of age.     

International Demand For Spanish University Education: an analysis in the context of the European Higher Education Area

In the current context of globalisation it seems inevitable that the international openness of universities would also lead to efforts to attract foreign students. In the case of Spain, this is more necessary, insofar as the drop in population, the existence of other quality educational offerings, and the greater number of public and private universities have made students a target to compete for. Cutbacks in public funds have accentuated this trend. This article analyses the international demand at Spanish universities in order to determine whether there are significant differences because of the level of local competition faced by universities and public or private ownership. The Herfindhal index and analysis of variance are used to this end. Using data from the Statistics on University Students for the 2005‐2006 and 2011‐2012 academic years, we found that the creation of the European Higher Education Area partially affected international demand at Spanish universities. The overall international attractiveness of the Spanish university system improved considerably and universities have assumed an international view, regardless of the competition in their respective areas. Therefore, local competition is no longer a decisive factor to explain the international demand. In contrast, although public or private ownership does not determine the international attractiveness of universities, it does serve to explain their type of international demand.