Educational Resilience at Risk? The Challenges of Attending an Early College High School

The Urban Review - This study sought to explain student success at an Early College High School. Guided by previous research on Early College High Schools as well as by the construct of educational...     

Kindergarten reasoning and achievement in grades K-3

Performance of kindergarten children on reasoning (Piaget tasks of logical thinking), visual-motor integration, and verbal development was related to achievement scores in kindergarten, second grade, and third grade. Subjects were 52 children in the kindergarten classes of a middle-class, suburban/rural school. Reasoning and visual-motor integration were related to achievement on the Metropolitan Achievement Test at the end of kindergarten. For the 43 children remaining in second grade, there was a relationship between reasoning in kindergarten and achievement on the Reading and Math Concepts sections of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. For the 38 children remaining in third grade, kindergarten reasoning was related to total and Vocabulary scores of the California Achievement Test. Kindergarten visual-motor integration and verbal development were not related to achievement test performance at the end of the second and third grade for these subjects. Early intervention programs that encourage the development of thinking and match the child's reasoning to his academic tasks may stimulate both reasoning and achievement.     

Issues in secondary teacher preparation

As teacher educators who have had extensive experience working in the field‐based secondary programs of two universities, the authors recognize the benefits, as well as the challenges, of forming partnerships with secondary educators to design and deliver collaboratively the teacher preparation program. In this article, experiences are shared and some of the major issues related to secondary teacher preparation that have been identified and contemplated are discussed.     

ENGAGING WITH FACULTY TO DEVELOP,IMPLEMENT, AND PILOT ELECTRONIC PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS OF STUDENT TEACHERS USING MOBILE DEVICES

This article discusses the development and implementation of a technology-supported student teacher performance assessment that supports integration with a larger electronic assessment system. The authors spearheaded a multidisciplinary team to develop a comprehensive performance assessment based on the Pathwise framework. The team collaborated with a third party vendor to implement and field test these assessments supported with mobile technologies in the field. Twenty supervisors completed the field test using 10 iPAQ PDAs and 10 laptops. Eighteen participated in a posttest survey and eight in a focus group debriefing session. Supervisors were overwhelmingly positive about the experience, the value of the updated assessments, and the ongoing plans to support field observations with mobile technologies. However, issues related to training, support, and trust loom largely for successful adoption, diffusion, and successful use of technology-supported assessments.     

Designing programs for computeranxious adults: The trainer’s dilemma

Summary Recognizing and validating the existence of computer anxiety in the training process is the first step toward helping adult learners to overcome this barrier. By taking steps to ensure that the environment is conducive to learning, trainers will effectively traverse the first hurdle in an often tedious process-developing trust and encouraging exploration among the computerphobic.     

��It depends on what science teacher you got��: urban science self-efficacy from teacher and student voices

In the United States today, urban schools serve the majority of high-poverty and high minority populations including large numbers of Hispanic students. While many Hispanic students perform below grade level in middle school science, the science teaching community as a whole is lacking elements of diversity as teachers struggle to meet the needs of all learners. Researchers have recognized that science teacher effectiveness, one consequence of self-efficacy among teachers, is associated with future science achievement and science-related careers of their students. This qualitative study explores how three science teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom impacts students’ science self-efficacy beliefs at one urban middle school. Hispanic students were the focus of this investigation due to demographics and history of underperformance within this district. Teachers’ perspectives, as well as outside observer evaluations of instructional strategies and classroom climates were triangulated to explore dynamics that influence students’ interests and motivation to learn science using a framework to link teachers’ sense of efficacy (focusing on student outcomes). Findings suggest the impact teacher effectiveness can have on student outcomes, including strengthened student science self-efficacy and increased science achievement. Building awareness and support in teachers’ sense of efficacy, as well as developing respectful and supportive relationships between educator/facilitator and pupil during the transition to middle school may construct permanence and accomplishment for all in science.