Establishing the Reliability and Developmental Validity of a Neurobehavioral Assessment for Preterm Infants: A Methodological Process

The Neurobehavioral Assessment of the Preterm Infant was developed in 3 phases: a pilot study, an exploratory study, and a validation study. In the exploratory study, clusters characterized by conceptual cohesion and face validity were systematically subjected to statistical analyses to determine whether they also had high test-retest reliability and developmental validity. In the validation study, a shortened version of the test was used with an independent cohort of 290 preterm infants. A step-by-step methodological process was used to test whether the results from the exploratory study would generalize over cohorts, different versions of the test, different hospitals, and changes in examiners. This process yielded 7 highly stable, developmentally valid, and representative preterm neurobehavioral functions that generalized over the exploratory and the validation studies. These were: motor development and vigor, scarf sign, popliteal angle, alertness and orientation, percent asleep ratings, irritability, and vigor of crying.     

An Investigation into the Attitudes of Teachers at Key Stage 2 to Speaking and Listening in the National Curriculum in Wales

The attitudes of teachers in Wales to speaking and listening in the National Curriculum, both as a profile component in English and as a requirement across the curriculum, were tested using a Likert-type attitude scale. A 10%, sample of the whole of Wales was involved, specifically teachers of key stage 2. The results show the differences in attitudes between the teachers according to age, years in teaching and training. A factor analysis revealed almost universal agreement that speaking and listening help children to learn. This is discussed in relation to a group of statements concerning classroom practices in speaking and listening.     

Perceived stress among deaf adults

THE PRESENT ARTICLE describes the effectiveness of stress management classes in decreasing perceived stress among Deaf adults. Deaf adults may experience unique stressors, in addition to circumstances associated with increased stress in the general population. The Perceived Stress Scale (S. Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein, 1983) was used as a pretest and posttest measure for participants in a study of the Deaf Heart Health Intervention. Results indicated that (a) some Deaf adults may have higher levels of perceived stress than the general population, and (b) culturally appropriate stress management interventions are promising as a means of assisting Deaf adults to decrease levels of perceived stress, and hence decrease risk for stress-related illnesses. Future research will focus on obtaining a larger, more diverse sample of Deaf adults and refining the intervention for maximum effectiveness.     

The second-year slump – now you see it,now you don’t: using DREEM-S to monitor changes in student perception of their educational environment

Recent studies have indicated that the ‘sophomore slump’ (dissatisfaction and disengagement of second year students in the US) may also be observed in other countries, including the UK. However, no studies have reported on the effects of support interventions on student perceptions. This study used the DREEM-S survey, a modification of the validated Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure, to monitor changes in student perceptions of their educational environment over a three-year period for 690 students in a large UK faculty. While the initial survey detected decreased satisfaction in all areas of their educational environment amongst second-year students, the follow-up study, after the introduction of additional support resources, no longer showed this decrease. Other changes in student perception, notably increased stress and tiredness reported by first-year students, were also observed during this time period. Other areas of concern, particularly the factual content of programmes and the ability of students to memorise all that they need, were identified as issues to be addressed. While this study may indicate the effectiveness of introducing on-line support resources to help students adapt to the increased requirements of second-year study, further studies are needed to determine whether the ‘second-year slump’ is as persistent a feature of UK higher education as it is in the US. This study highlights the value of educational environment surveys in identifying areas of educational practice that would benefit from closer attention, as well as the changes in student perceptions across and between years.     

‘The learning sticks’: reflections on a case study of role-playing for sustainability

Use of role-plays to develop deep student-learning has many advocates. Role-play is a powerful approach for learning that develops relevant skills in a range of disciplines and situations. In Higher Education, sustainability programmes role-play pedagogy appears to have great relevance for developing the competencies that these graduates will need. The ability of role-play pedagogy to develop these competencies was assessed through a case study of students in a first-year subject/course at an Australian university. Analysis of the students’ written comments indicate that the students were involved in significant learning, and had made substantial progress in developing five key skills for sustainability. The enjoyment and engagement they demonstrated was an added benefit of their experience and potentially of the role-play approach. While it is acknowledged that a role-play requires careful planning and support, and may be considered resource intensive, it can be argued that the student learning achieved is worth the effort.