Development and Testing of a Curriculum to Improve Decision-Making Skills in Middle and High School Students

Adolescence is a key developmental period for developing and strengthening brain circuits that underlie effective decision-making skills, which profoundly impact lifelong health and academic, professional, and economic achievement. But decision-making skills are learned rather than inherent. School presents an ideal environment for the direct instruction and frequent practice of decision-making skills, however, finding time in the school day is a challenge for contemporary educators. We have developed a learning curriculum that involves active student participation to strengthen decision-making skills that is sufficiently flexible and adaptable to be utilized in a wide variety of content-specific classwork. Using this curriculum, students show evidence of improved decision-making skills, including increased consideration of the number of factors that are relevant to their decision, the resources needed to make a particular decision, and both the short-term and long-term consequences of decisions.     

Lessons Learned from a Predominantly Latinx Autistic Population: Preliminary Effects of the PEERS Intervention on Neural and Perceived Educational Performance

Thirteen autistic teens, who were predominantly Latinx, completed the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS), a 16-week social skills intervention. Time-frequency decomposition was calculated using advanced electroencephalographic techniques to measure oscillatory brain activity during reward anticipation and processing before and after PEERS. Fourteen neurotypical teens participated but did not receive intervention. The perception of educational performance was also measured. The perception of educational performance did not differ between groups and did not change after participation in PEERS. Approach motivation increased after intervention in the autistic group. This suggests an enhancement of social motivation after learning social skills in a group composed of a majority of Latinx autistic teens.     

Exploring the variety of parental talk during shared book reading and its contributions to preschool language and literacy: evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort

Although many studies have explored shared book reading between preschoolers and their families, very few have examined this practice within a large, nationally representative sample. Using the ECLS-B dataset, this study investigated shared reading among nearly 700 families of diverse ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Coding of families’ book-related discussion focused on the variety of types of talk that parents used during reading. Results showed that parents focused primarily on the meaning of the story, with little attention to the code of the text. The range of talk techniques that parents used was largely independent of background factors such as child gender, ethnicity, or age, as well as family home language. A wider variety of meaning-related remarks by parents was linked to more advanced language skills among preschoolers. Findings provide a portrait of the nature of shared book reading discussion among American families, a profile of the background factors that are linked to this talk, and a precise account of the unique contributions of this talk to key emergent language and literacy competencies.     

Teaching for well-being? Introducing mindfulness in an undergraduate course

Student mental health and well-being are increasing concerns in higher education. This exploratory study examined students’ learning in a mindfulness programme incorporated into an undergraduate class. Six brief mindfulness-based practices were introduced: mindfulness meditation, walking meditation, body scan, mindful eating, loving-kindness and Tonglen meditation. Fourteen students were interviewed after completion of the course to explore their conceptions and use of mindfulness and other self-care practices. Results of thematic analyses suggest that there were variations in students’ adoption of mindfulness-based practices and students’ preferred mindfulness techniques. Most participants reported that mindfulness instruction and practice were beneficial but this was not universal; some students reported that mindfulness was ‘not for them’. Findings suggest that mindfulness fostered self-reflection, self-awareness and relaxation for many students and incorporating mindfulness at the beginning of class improved the overall quality of discussion and facilitated students’ learning. Findings further suggest that students incorporated mindfulness into existing self-care practices that included a variety of other preferred techniques to enhance self-reflection, self-awareness and relaxation. Overall, our findings suggest that students should be helped, through explicit instruction, to develop a ‘toolbox’ of self-care approaches that may include, but are not necessarily limited to, mindfulness techniques.     

Charting the development of technology-enhanced learning developments across the UK higher education sector: a longitudinal perspective (2001–2012)

This article reviews key findings from six surveys of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) across the UK higher education (HE) sector, conducted by Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association in association with Jisc. Updating the findings presented by Jenkins, Browne, Walker, and Hewitt [2010. The development of technology enhanced learning: Findings from a 2008 survey of UK higher education institutions, Interactive Learning Environments. First published on: 22 January 2010 (iFirst)], the article reports on the emerging and planned patterns of TEL across the UK HE sector over the last decade. Our analysis shows that against the backdrop of Higher Education Funding Council for England capital funding, institutions have made considerable investments in technology and infrastructure to support learning and teaching – specifically in the domain of learning management and assessment systems. While the drivers for TEL development have consistently focused on enhancing teaching and learning over the years, the subject of this investment has been directed to the implementation of enterprise-wide systems to manage and control learning processes, delivering efficiencies of scale and standardised learning experiences through centrally managed solutions, rather than support for student-controlled tools. In contrast, the diffusion of technologies supporting collaborative learning and knowledge sharing has been more a feature of local TEL provision, as evidenced through the informal learning practice of students and departmental projects. The evolution of course delivery models and pedagogic developments supported through the use of technology have been noticeably much slower to realise; growth in “web-dependent” rather than “supplementary” course design models has been quite limited across the sector and we have observed negligible growth in distance learning provision over this period. The evidence suggests that challenges remain in developing course delivery models which focus on active student learning, maximising the opportunities that web and mobile technologies now offer for interactive student-centred learning design. We speculate that the recent upsurge of interest in Massive Open Online Courses may act as a catalyst in this respect, in driving campus-based courses to embrace new learning models supported by TEL tools.     

Who Upgrades to Higher Level Qualifications in Midlife?

This paper investigates why people return to study in their 30s and beyond and upgrade to a higher level qualifications. Some previous research has argued that attitudes formed in childhood, via family background and schooling, continue to shape a person’s engagement in learning throughout the adult lifecourse. Psychologists distinguish extrinsic motivation, determination to progress in a career, from intrinsic motivation, love of learning and suggest that both may be relevant to participation in adult education. A well-established education literature focuses on barriers to adult learning, such as lack of time or lack of funds.

The research focuses on people who did not enter higher education at the conventional ages of late teens or early twenties but who did subsequently obtain degree-level or equivalent qualifications in midlife, defined here as from their early 30s through to age 50. The research uses data from the 1958 British birth cohort, a large-scale longitudinal survey. In the paper, a comparison group methodology and binary logistic regression models are used to isolate the key factors which explain why cgertain individuals progress to higher level qualifications in midlife while others do not.     

Students' preferences for service delivery: pull-out, in-class, or integrated models

This study assessed students' preferences about where and by whom they receive instruction for learning difficulties. Subjects were 686 special, remedial, and regular education students in grades 2, 4, and 5, from classrooms that used a pull-out, in-class, or integrated model for specialized instruction. Results of student interviews indicated that children's preferences for in-class and pull-out services were affected by the service delivery model used in their classroom and their grade level. The majority of children preferred to receive additional help from their classroom teacher rather than from a specialist.     

Some trends in distance education in Africa: An examination of the past and future role of distance education as a tool for national development

Distance education figures prominently among strategies recently proposed to assist African countries escape from educational crisis. Africa has already made considerable use of distance education to extend access to formal education, although most public institutions have often been severely constrained by lack of finance and manpower. Case studies of Zambia, Kenya and Zimbabwe suggest that critical factors for the effectiveness of distance education are the provision of adequate resources and firm political backing. It is probable that distance education will continue to be used to strengthen formal education by training primary teachers, extending access to secondary education and by providing tertiary education although, so far, few African countries have attempted degree level studies at a distance. In order for all these programmes to be effective, more resources must be forthcoming and integration of distance education with the formal system is desirable. Otherwise distance education may remain at the periphery, its potential under‐used.