A Systematic Review of Function‐Based Interventions for Students with Learning Disabilities

Students with learning disabilities (LD) experience pervasive academic deficits requiring extensive academic intervention; however, they may also engage in problem behaviors that adversely affect teaching and learning, thus lessening the potential impact of specialized instruction and supports. The learning deficits of students with LD are prevalent in the extant research, but behavioral needs appear to receive less attention. The authors report the results of a systematic review investigating the evidence‐base for function‐based interventions for students with LD using the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) criteria for evaluating single‐case studies. Fourteen studies with 17 participants met inclusion criteria, with the majority occurring in elementary settings. Although interventions tended to be effective, few included maintenance and generalization measures. Because of the small number of studies (n = 4) that met WWC design and effectiveness standards, the authors conclude that function‐based interventions, although promising, cannot currently be considered an evidence‐based practice for students with LD. Implications for practice, areas for future research, and study limitations are reported.     

The impact of an elaborated assessee’s role in peer assessment

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an elaborated assessee’s role on metacognitive awareness, performance and attitude in peer assessment. Two intact groups (a total of 82 students) were randomly assigned to a treatment condition (having back‐feedback activity) or a control condition (not having back‐feedback activity). The results indicated that, regarding metacognitive awareness, when participants played the elaborated assessee role, they tended to report higher metacognitive awareness in their learning process. Regarding performance, when participants played the elaborated assessee role, they tended to receive better scores in making a concept map. Regarding attitude, when participants played the elaborated assessee role, they reported greater motivation towards the peer assessment. The findings of this study suggest instructional implications for those who want to employ peer assessment as a learning method by showing the effectiveness of a well‐developed role design, specifically one that includes the back‐feedback activity.     

Confidence Intervals for Weighted Composite Scores Under the Compound Binomial Error Model

Reporting confidence intervals with test scores helps test users make important decisions about examinees by providing information about the precision of test scores. Although a variety of estimation procedures based on the binomial error model are available for computing intervals for test scores, these procedures assume that items are randomly drawn from a undifferentiated universe of items, and therefore might not be suitable for tests developed according to a table of specifications. To address this issue, four interval estimation procedures that use category subscores for the computation of confidence intervals are presented in this article. All four estimation procedures assume that subscores instead of test scores follow a binomial distribution (i.e., compound binomial error model). The relative performance of the four compound binomial–based interval estimation procedures is compared to each other and to the better known normal approximation and Wilson score procedures based on the binomial error model.     

A Cross‐Cultural and Interdisciplinary Collaboration in a Joint Design Studio

A design studio is a critical venue for design students, as they are educated to develop design thinking and other skills through studio courses. This article introduces a design studio project in which Korean and Malaysian students worked jointly for one semester to design affordable urban housing. The Korean students were interior design majors and the Malaysian students were architecture majors; thus it was thought that the students' areas of expertise were likely to differ. It was also anticipated that the students would display cultural differences in terms of housing and planning practices. The motive for starting the joint design studio was the idea that a cross‐cultural collaborative working setting could redefine students' thinking styles and stimulate students to obtain non‐routine perspectives on the design of buildings and spaces. Through observation and interviews, we explored how students tackled affordable housing problems within the context of cross‐cultural and interdisciplinary design education. Collaborative learning in a joint studio situation supplemented students' expertise, re‐orienting approaches to design and opening up a holistic approach to the design issues of affordability, sustainability and community. Overall, the practical learning in the joint studio project validated the importance of exploring alternative solutions based on varied levels of information, and input of those from different educational and cultural backgrounds. The cross‐cultural and interdisciplinary collaboration allowed for a previously unavailable enhancement of design education by encouraging students to obtain divergent thinking for innovative design ideas.     

Teaching Across the Grades: Dispositions of Ideally Competent Teachers

ABSTRACT

The study of dispositions for effective teaching has become a key topic in education. Diverse characteristics, skills, and behaviors have been proposed as centrally important. Nevertheless, little work has been done on evaluating these disparate claims, or whether importance varies across primary and secondary teaching contexts. We address these issues by using a new instrument that incorporated a wide range and a large number of individual dispositions with an established methodology (the Q-sort; Block, 2008) that allows dispositions to be meaningfully ranked by importance and then compared across grade level. A diverse group of experienced teachers were consistent in their rankings, and their judgments showed both similarities and differences across grade level. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.     

Evaluating the outcomes of a school based Theraplay® project for looked after children

Research shows that Looked After Children (LAC) may experience emotional instability which can reduce their capacity to engage with education. This study evaluates an attachment based therapeutic Theraplay® intervention designed to bridge the gap between the emotional well-being of LAC and their engagement in education. Twenty LAC between the ages of five to 11 from nine schools participated in the project over eight months. The mixed method study used a repeated measures design. Strengths and difficulties questionnaires were used pre- and post-intervention; semi-structured interviews with teaching staff were conducted and children’s views were gathered. Quantitative results show a reduction in the children’s total strengths and difficulties stress scores post-intervention. Qualitative feedback shows noticeable changes in the children’s relationship skills, confidence and engagement with education. The complexities of supporting LAC in education and implications for educational psychology practice are explored.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AND COLLEGE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

The present study examined the relationshipbetween college classroom environment, academiccheating, and the neutralization (justification) ofacademic cheating. Two-hundred eighty undergraduatestudents from two liberal arts colleges in the Midwestparticipated in the study. Participants completed theCollege and University Classroom Environment Instrument(CUCEI) and the Survey on Academic Dishonesty (SAD), with instructions to complete thesequestionnaires (anonymously) in a manner that woulddescribe their perceptions, behavior, and attitudes inthe class in which the survey was completed. Three CUCEI scales were identified that discriminatedsignificantly between admitted cheaters and noncheaters.Cheaters described their classes as significantly lesspersonalized, satisfying, and task oriented than did noncheaters. Together, the seven scales ofthe CUCEI explained 4% of the variance in cheatingbehavior. Six CUCEI scales were found to be correlatedsignificantly with a measure of cheating neutralization. Specifically, neutralization increased withdecreases in perceived classroom personalization,involvement, student cohesiveness, satisfaction, taskorientation, and individualization. Together, the seven scales of the CUCEI explained 14% of thevariance in neutralization. It is concluded thatclassroom environment is a significant situationalvariable in academic dishonesty, as both cheatingbehavior and attitudes toward cheating are related toperceptions of classroom environment.     

Opinions on computing education in Korean K-12 system: higher education perspective

The need for computing education in the K-12 curriculum has grown globally. The Republic of Korea is not an exception. In response to the need, the Korean Ministry of Education has announced an outline for software-centric computing education in the K-12 system, which aims at enhancing the current computing education with software emphasis. In this paper, we review the outline from a higher education perspective and provide insights into its constructive improvement based on our experience in computer science education in higher education and a study of global initiatives on computing education. We also consider the social environment for computing education in Korea. In the proposed implementation, we first discuss goals for software-centric computing education and identify areas of focus. The identified areas are discussed in terms of topics to be covered and appropriate exposure of knowledge depth in the three levels in the Korean K-12 system. We then discuss necessary preparations for the success of the plan from academic, governmental and social perspectives.