Evidence-based diagnosis and treatment for specific learning disabilities involving impairments in written and/or oral language

Programmatic, multidisciplinary research provided converging brain, genetic, and developmental support for evidence-based diagnoses of three specific learning disabilities based on hallmark phenotypes (behavioral expression of underlying genotypes) with treatment relevance: dysgraphia (impaired legible automatic letter writing, orthographic coding, and finger sequencing), dyslexia (impaired pseudoword reading, spelling, phonological and orthographic coding, rapid automatic naming, and executive functions; inhibition and rapid automatic switching), and oral and written language learning disability (same impairments as dyslexia plus morphological and syntactic coding and comprehension). Two case studies illustrate how these differential diagnoses can be made within a conceptual framework of a working memory architecture and generate treatment plans that transformed treatment nonresponders into treatment responders. Findings are discussed in reference to the importance of (a) considering individual differences (diagnosis of impaired hallmark phenotypes) in planning and evaluating response to instruction and modifying instruction when a student is not responding; (b) recognizing that teaching may change epigenetic gene expression at one stage of schooling, but not the underlying gene sequences that render individuals still vulnerable as curriculum requirements increase in nature, complexity, and volume in the upper grades; and (c) using evidence-based diagnoses of specific learning disabilities that are consistent across states for free and appropriate education K to 12 and for accommodations throughout higher education and professional credentialing.     

Paths to reading comprehension in at-risk second-grade readers

Two studies of second graders at risk for reading disability, which were guided by levels of language and functional reading system theory, focused on reading comprehension in this population. In Study 1 (n = 96), confirmatory factor analysis of five comprehension measures loaded on one factor in both fall and spring of second grade. Phonological decoding predicted accuracy of real-word reading; automatic letter naming predicted rate of real-word reading; accuracy and rate of both real-word reading (more so than decoding of pseudowords) and text reading predicted reading comprehension; and Verbal IQ also predicted reading comprehension. In Study 2 (n = 98), the treatment group (before/after school clubs receiving an integrated instructional approach that was supplementary to the general reading program) improved significantly more in phonological decoding and state standards for reading fluency than the control group (general reading program that had some code instruction but emphasized comprehension). The rate of phonological decoding explained 60.3% of real-word reading. Both treatment and control children improved significantly in reading comprehension, but controlling for pretreatment individual differences in oral vocabulary or in phonological decoding eliminated this effect. Taken together, the results of the two studies support two paths to reading comprehension: one from vocabulary and verbal reasoning, and one from written language that has multiple links between subskills: (a) alphabetic principle --> phonological decoding, (b) automatic phonological decoding --> accurate real-word reading, (c) automatic letter coding ---> automatic word reading, and (d) automatic word reading --> fluent text reading. Instructional implications of both paths and the links within the written language are discussed.     

High-throughput study of alpha-synuclein expression in yeast using microfluidics for control of local cellular microenvironment

Microfluidics is an emerging technology which allows the miniaturization, integration, and automation of fluid handling processes. Microfluidic systems offer low sample consumption, significantly reduced processing time, and the prospect of massive parallelization. A microfluidic platform was developed for the control of the soluble cellular microenvironment of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells, which enabled high-throughput monitoring of the controlled expression of alpha-synuclein (aSyn), a protein involved in Parkinson's disease. Y-shaped structures were fabricated using particle desorption mass spectrometry-based soft-lithography techniques to generate biomolecular gradients along a microchannel. Cell traps integrated along the microchannel allowed the positioning and monitoring of cells in precise locations, where different, well-controlled chemical environments were established. S. cerevisiae cells genetically engineered to encode the fusion protein aSyn-GFP (green fluorescent protein) under the control of GAL1, a galactose inducible promoter, were loaded in the microfluidic structure. A galactose concentration gradient was established in the channel and a time-dependent aSyn-GFP expression was obtained as a function of the positioning of cells along the galactose gradient. Our results demonstrate the applicability of this microfluidic platform to the spatiotemporal control of cellular microenvironment and open a range of possibilities for the study of cellular processes based on single-cell analysis.     

Willingness to communicate and employee success in U.S. organizations

This article presents a view of the influence and effects of individuals’ willingness to communicate in an organizational setting. Definitional explanations of the willingness to communicate construct are provided along with an extensive review of the relevant research and theory in this area. Communication apprehension is explicated and considered in context of willingness to communicate. The manner in which low willingness to communicate affects individuals and fosters specific organizational outcomes is explored. In general, research indicates negative results from low willingness to communicate, both on individual and organizational levels. Appropriate organizational responses to “at risk individuals”; are explored in terms of diagnosis and remediation.     

A new instrument for measuring pre-service biology teachers' pedagogical content knowledge: The PCK-IBI

Teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is highly important for effective design and implementation of school teaching. Thus, the current status, development and efficacy of this knowledge, its relationships with teaching quality parameters, and its impact on students' learning processes and success, require rigorous examination. Thoroughly validated, objective and reliable test instruments that are highly sensitive to changes in variables of proven knowledge-related relevance in teacher education are also required. Previous attempts to design such instruments for assessing science teachers' PCK have largely focused on mathematical content. Therefore, here we present an instrument (the pedagogical content knowledge in biology inventory, PCK-IBI), based on conceptualizations of teachers' professional competence, for assessing secondary school pre-service biology teachers' PCK. In a series of three evaluations and refinements it was tested with samples of N = 274 and N = 432 German pre-service as well as one sample of n = 65 German pre-service and n = 35 German in-service biology teachers. Item analysis, scale analysis and empirically obtained indicators of validity suggest that the final 34-item-version of the PCK-IBI is unidimensional, provides objective test scores and enables reliable and valid registration of pre-service biology teachers' PCK. Thus, hypotheses regarding specific aspects of the model on which the PCK-IBI's construction is based on are empirically supported. The results of our study provide empirical support for the instrument's potential utility.     

Using the outdoor scavenger hunt to teach theories of organizational communication

Courses: Communication Theory, Organizational Communication, Strategic Communication.

Objectives: Students will identify and categorize organizational discourses on their campuses; students will become aware of the ethical considerations of communication; students will recognize the different perceptions of organizational culture on campus.     

自知之明

有自知之明的人才是独立的；他永不厌倦，他明白生命苦短，所以完全沉浸于深深的而又适度的幸福之中。     

Characteristics of children referred to school psychologists: A discriminant analysis

This study compared characteristics of 114 elementary school children of average intelligence who had been referred for psychological services with 120 children of average intelligence who had not been referred. Variables included, sex, relative age, race, socioeconomic status, familial stability, achievement test scores, and intraschool factors. At the primary level, significant differences were found between the groups in terms of sex and relative age. Boys were referred 4 times as frequently as girls, and 16 times as many boys within the relatively youngest group were referred as girls within the oldest group. The total groups were successfully discriminated using math achievement, sex, race, and father of the same name in the household. The variables that best discriminated the primary level groups included sex, relative age, father with the same name in the household, and having attended the same school the previous year. Implications and possible preventative measures are discussed.     

Connecting girls and science: A feminist teacher research study of a high school prenatal testing unit

In this article, I explore how a dozen high-school sophomore girls expressed their relationship to and understanding of prenatal testing, and its possible place in their lives and in the lives of others, in the context of a short unit on prenatal testing during a semester-long course in human genetics. The data come from an assignment designed to help students bring their understanding of prenatal testing into the realm of personal choice, as well as practice applying the science of chromosomal inheritance. Difference feminism is used to develop themes evident in these girls' talk about prenatal testing. The instructional choices made were based on difference feminism, which implies that girls would be interested in science that connects to human bodies, children, and traditional women's responsibilities. This claim is elaborated on and applied by this study, in which I concentrate on the question: How can difference feminism help us better to hear and comprehend high school girls' relationships with reproductive technology, their own bodies, and their own lives? I propose that focusing on girls' lives and knowledge is a way to consider alternatives in curricular content, in addition to helping us learn how to help more girls connect with science. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 877–896, 1998.