Curriculum-based measurement yearly growth rates: An examination of English Language Learners and native English speakers

The use of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is supported by several decades of research regarding their technical adequacy, practical utility, and use with diverse populations. Questions remain regarding the measurement of growth using tri-annual reading CBM (R-CBM) assessment. Existing research on annual rates of growth is inconclusive with some studies suggesting that the most growth occurs from the fall to the winter and others finding growth accelerates from winter to spring. With a sample of students in third through fifth grades, consisting of a high percentage of English Language Learners (ELLs) and students exited from bilingual instruction, this study found that Non-ELL students demonstrated semester differences in R-CBM growth consistent with prior research in third and fourth grades, but not in fifth grade. However, this pattern was not always consistent for ELLs and students recently exited from bilingual instruction, suggesting that conclusions regarding semester differences in R-CBM growth rates should not be consistently extended to ELLs.     

Senior fashion models’ perspectives on serious leisure and successful aging

ABSTRACT

Studies have revealed the positive impact of serious leisure among older adults. Serious leisure is the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer core activity that is highly substantial, interesting, and fulfilling and where, in the typical case, participants find a career in acquiring and expressing a combination of special skills, knowledge, and experience. As serious leisure involves productive engagement and commitment, performing as a senior model reflects the serious leisure participation of older adults, which might offer a new insight into promoting healthy lifestyles. While many studies have been conducted in the context of leisure behavior of older adults, a study is yet to explore the behavior of senior fashion models. Given that serious leisure offers positive outcomes (e.g., personal growth, happiness) and demands substantial effort as and perseverance, the behavior of senior modeling can be understood using a serious leisure framework. The purpose of the study is to explore the behavior of older adults engaged in fashion modeling as a form of serious leisure. We conducted a series of face-to-face interviews with 31 participants. Interview questions focused on the participants’ perception as senior models and the meaning of being senior models. The ages of the participants ranged from 54 to 85 years (Mean age = 66.9). The constant comparison method was applied to continuously compare the views and experiences of the participants. Two central themes that shaped the participants’ senior fashion modeling experiences were identified: (1) the benefits of senior fashion modeling and (2) the costs of senior fashion modeling. Under each theme, several sub-categories were identified: confidence, stylish and ageless, friendships, painful training and investing effort, barriers associated with aging, and structural constraints. The findings obtained in this study highlight the important link between serious leisure and successful aging. Considering the benefits identified by the study participants, it is suggested that engaging in senior fashion modeling positively affects older adults’ quality of life.     

Theory of Mind and Language in Childhood Epilepsy

We examined theory of mind (ToM; mental state understanding) and language in children with epilepsy (EP; n = 10; mean age = 9.92, SD = 2.34) and with typical development (TD; n = 20; mean age = 10.05, SD = 2.08). The EP group demonstrated worse ToM compared to the TD group (t(28) = ?1.11, p = .28, d = .44) but differences did not persist when controlling for language. Syntactic language was correlated with ToM in the EP group (rho (10) = .79, p < .01). This study confirms language is important for ToM in a group of children with a neurological disorder and indicates that children with epilepsy are at risk for difficulties in understanding the mental states of others due to their language deficits. This may help to explain the social difficulties these children have with their peers.     

Yoko's Story and the battle of memory: fragmentation and suture of national memory and gender in the age of globalization

Abstract

Since its publication in 1986, Yoko Watkins’ So Far from the Bamboo Grove has been used as a textbook by some primary and middle schools in the US. The book is an autobiographical novel about the experiences of a Japanese girl named Yoko who returns to her home country with her mother and sister with an anti‐war and peace message. However, it became the center of attention and was referred to as the Yoko incident when, in January 2007, it became known to the Koreans that the book was being used as a textbook by American students and contained a story about Japanese women raped by Korean men at the end of Japanese colonial rule. It immediately incited outcries from the Korean media and online communities, complaining that any suggestion of the rape of Japanese women by Korean men at the end of Japanese colonial rule is a grave distortion of history and a reversal of the perpetrator and the victim. This paper analyzes how the memory structure of the Koreans regarding colonialism is based on a victim nationalism and how Korean feminism has intervened in the fragmentation and suture of national memory since the 1990s. Furthermore, the paper reveals how American multiculturalism turns a blind eye to, or even promotes, the clashing of collective identities in the age of globalization. The so called Yoko incident illustrates how the competition of East Asian countries for a historical position of ‘victim’ in a battle of memory in the US not only strengthens exclusive nationalism in the area but also connives in ‘Americanization of world justice’.     

International e-benchmarking: flexible peer development of authentic learning principles in higher education

More and more, social technologies and virtual work methods are facilitating new ways of crossing boundaries in professional development and international collaborations. This paper examines the peer development of higher education teachers through the experiences of the IVBM project (International Virtual Benchmarking, 2009–2010). The e-benchmarking process in which teachers applied authentic learning criteria is described, as are the e-tools (Ning, ACP) and the methods employed collaboratively to develop e-learning competence. Cases came from Finland, Korea, Canada, Belgium and Great Britain. The project formed an international virtual learning community for teachers. In peer development, elements of authentic learning were assigned meaning, development alternatives were considered and the interpretation of authentic learning in different situations and cultures was made concrete. The results promote and inform the planning of e-benchmarking communities and flexible virtual teamwork in professional development and education contexts.     

A comparison of US and Korean students' mathematics skills using a cognitive diagnostic testing method: linkage to instruction

The purposes of the present study were (a) to compare US and Korean 8th graders' mastery of knowledge and skills in the mathematics test of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 using a cognitive diagnostic testing method and (b) to find links between teachers' instruction and students' mastery of mathematics knowledge and skills. The participants included 740 US and 439 Korean 8th graders who took the Booklet 3 mathematics test. The results showed substantial differences between the US and Korean students' performance in problem restructuring and reasoning, measurement, and geometry. The most helpful instructional strategy for both Korean and US students was encouraging students' independent problem solving. Reviewing, re-teaching, and clarifying content were especially effective for the US students. Implications for teaching and learning are discussed.