Orthographic processing and visual sequential memory in unexpectedly poor spellers

Does unexpectedly poor spelling in adults result from inferior visual sequential memory? In one experiment, unexpectedly poor spellers performed significantly worse than better spellers in the immediate reproduction of sequences of visual symbols, but in a second experiment, the effect was not replicated. Poor spellers were also no worse at the immediate recognition of symbol sequences. Overall, the results indicate that inferior visual memory is not characteristic of unexpectedly poor spellers. However, they do have less efficient orthographic processing skill: they were significantly slower and more error prone than better spellers at classifying both regularly and strangely spelt words, as well as at detecting letter transpositions in long words. They can thus be considered as subtly worse word readers than better spellers. While the findings question the notion of unexpectedly poor spelling in relation to normal adults, they provide confirmation of the intimate relationship between reading and spelling processes.     

Classroom Process and Practices in Public Pre-K Programs: Describing and Predicting Educational Opportunities in the Early Learning Sector

Research Findings: The present study used data from 117 publicly funded preschool classrooms within a large, diverse, suburban county to describe teacher practices and child engagement along with classroom activity settings and children’s exposure to instructional content. Practice or Policy: Results from this investigation revealed that children spent the largest share of the day in teacher-directed whole-group instruction and in free play and very little time was spent in individual and small-group settings. Although a 3rd of the school day was dedicated to academic activities, there were few opportunities for socioemotional learning, and children spent roughly a 3rd of the school day in routines/transitions and meals. Few differences emerged in the classroom observations across school- and community-based programs; however, more educated and experienced teachers spent more time teaching and in teacher-directed instruction.     

More than chalkboards: classroom spaces and collaborative learning attitudes

Learning Environments Research - The well-known benefits of collaborative learning have prompted the development of active learning classrooms that are designed to facilitate peer interaction....     

Family disruption and academic functioning in urban,black youth

The purpose of this study was to examine from an ecological perspective the relationships between multiple levels of family disruption and children's academic functioning in a sample of 390 urban, Black adolescents at age 14. Subjects in this cohort have been followed longitudinally since before their birth. Data from previous assessments at birth and age 7 years allowed for control of important correlates in this analyses. Examination of this unique sample, using multisource data collection procedures, provides important information about the many family disruptions among urban, low‐income families and the effects of these disruptions on academic outcomes. Results revealed several consistent findings, the most notable of which is that, when parents were married, adolescents demonstrated significantly higher grades, mediated through paternal involvement. Of all variables studied, the role of fathers in the lives of these adolescents was the most influential on academic outcomes. In this unique sample, even variables such as involvement with child protective services were not significantly related to outcomes after important control variables were factored into analyses. Results of this study have important implications for future research and for prevention and intervention efforts in urban, at‐risk samples. Emphasis is made for work in the school context, particularly for school psychologists. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

High Pressure Reform: Examining Urban Schools’ Response to Multiple School Choice Policies

Over the past several decades, policymakers have sought to address the problem of school failure by exposing traditional public schools to competitive market forces. In this analysis, we examine how two traditional public schools in a “high pressure/high choice” urban school cluster in Texas responded to a number of overlapping choice policies that have caused them to lose significant numbers of students. We explore how these two traditional public schools made sense of, and formulated a response to, their multiple “competitors,” how they balanced market pressures and the other external (accountability) pressures that they faced. In this analysis, we illustrate how competition does not always lead to significant or productive change in low performing schools.     

Applications of Social Cognitive Theory to Gifted Education

Social cognitive theory emphasizes a dynamic interactive process to explain human functioning. This theory ascribes a central role to cognitive processes in which the individual can observe others and the environment, reflect on that in combination with his or her own thoughts and behaviors, and alter his or her own self-regulatory functions accordingly. The purpose of relating the theory to gifted education is to examine the implications of the theoretical extensions for planning appropriate curricular and instructional experiences for advanced learners. Some of the more commonly found gifted education service models are considered in terms of how well they align with and address what is known to be integral to student learning according to social cognitive theory.     

Inference generation, story comprehension, and language skills in the preschool years

Several researchers have shown that children’s ability to make inferences is related to their reading comprehension. The majority of research on this topic has been conducted on older children. However, given the recent focus on the importance of narrative comprehension in prereaders, the current study examined the relationship between inference making and story comprehension in 4- to 5-year-olds. We examined children’s online inferences while narrating a wordless book as well as children’s story comprehension of a different storybook. We found that children’s total number of inferences was significantly related to their story comprehension. Three types of inferences were significantly related to story comprehension—characters goals, actions that achieved those goals, and character states. In a hierarchical regression controlling for children’s age and expressive vocabulary, a composite of these three inference types significantly predicted children’s story comprehension.     

Play therapy with emotionally damaged adolescents

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical period of development for all individuals, but particularly for those who have suffered earlier emotional difficulties or abuse. If these problems go unresolved, patterns of behaviour which become established during this period may be more difficult to change later on. However, more traditional talk therapies may be resisted by adolescents. This article argues that non-directive play therapy, given age-appropriate adaptations, offers an approach which, since it encompasses both play and verbal communication, is well suited to addressing adolescent concerns, particularly those of early adolescence.This argument is illustrated by two accounts of therapy with a boy and a girl, both in early adolescence, which show how a more traditional non-directive counselling approach was combined with play therapy by the adolescents themselves, allowing exploration of emotional difficulties on all levels of mental functioning. The cases show how traumatic or painful early memories may be reworked on a bodily and emotional level, without the feeling of over-intrusion risked by a directive or interpretive stance.     

A PRELIMINARY TYPOLOGY OF MOTIVATIONAL ORIENTATIONS OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to identify the reasons students were enrolled in individual courses at one metropolitan community college. Unstructured interviews, supplemented by participant observation, were used to collect data on students in eight transfer and occupational day classes observed in Fall 1980. On the basis of their motivational orientations toward individual courses, most students were classified as requirement meeters, knowledge seekers, or specific information users. These three motivational orientations were compared along three dimensions: (1) the student's major criterion of success, (2) the aspect (instrumental or expressive) of education the student emphasized, and (3) the willingness of the student to tolerate a time‐lag prior to the application of acquired knowledge and/or skills. Less common motivational orientations also were identified. The data showed that students could be guided by more than one motivational orientation or change their initial motivational orientation toward a course as the result of classroom experiences. The modal type of student in this sample was a requirement meeter. Requirement meeters establish norms whereby students derive status by spending as little time as possible on school‐related matters.