Browsing mixed structured and unstructured data

Both structured and unstructured data, as well as structured data representing several different types of tuples, may be integrated into a single list for browsing or retrieval. Data may be arranged in the Gray code order of the features and metadata, producing optimal ordering for browsing. We provide several metrics for evaluating the performance of systems supporting browsing, given some constraints. Metadata and indexing terms are used for sorting keys and attributes for structured data, as well as for semi-structured or unstructured documents, images, media, etc. Economic and information theoretic models are suggested that enable the ordering to adapt to user preferences. Different relational structures and unstructured data may be integrated into a single, optimal ordering for browsing or for displaying tables in digital libraries, database management systems, or information retrieval systems. Adaptive displays of data are discussed.     

Teachers' education, classroom quality, and young children's academic skills: results from seven studies of preschool programs

In an effort to provide high-quality preschool education, policymakers are increasingly requiring public preschool teachers to have at least a Bachelor's degree, preferably in early childhood education. Seven major studies of early care and education were used to predict classroom quality and children's academic outcomes from the educational attainment and major of teachers of 4-year-olds. The findings indicate largely null or contradictory associations, indicating that policies focused solely on increasing teachers' education will not suffice for improving classroom quality or maximizing children's academic gains. Instead, raising the effectiveness of early childhood education likely will require a broad range of professional development activities and supports targeted toward teachers' interactions with children.     

Marital conflict and conduct problems in Children of Twins

The Children-of-Twins design was used to test whether associations between marital conflict frequency and conduct problems can be replicated within the children of discordant twin pairs. A sample of 2,051 children (age 14-39 years) of 1,045 twins was used to estimate the genetic and environmental influences on marital conflict and determine whether genetic or environmental selection processes underlie the observed association between marital conflict and conduct problems. Results indicate that genetic and nonshared environmental factors influence the risk of marital conflict. Furthermore, genetic influences mediated the association between marital conflict frequency and conduct problems. These results highlight the need for quasiexperimental designs in investigations of intergenerational associations.     

Language and theory of mind: a study of deaf children

Theory-of-mind (ToM) abilities were studied in 176 deaf children aged 3 years 11 months to 8 years 3 months who use either American Sign Language (ASL) or oral English, with hearing parents or deaf parents. A battery of tasks tapping understanding of false belief and knowledge state and language skills, ASL or English, was given to each child. There was a significant delay on ToM tasks in deaf children of hearing parents, who typically demonstrate language delays, regardless of whether they used spoken English or ASL. In contrast, deaf children from deaf families performed identically to same-aged hearing controls (N=42). Both vocabulary and understanding syntactic complements were significant independent predictors of success on verbal and low-verbal ToM tasks.     

Why are hyperactivity and academic achievement related?

Although a negative association between hyperactivity and academic achievement is well documented, little is known about the genetic and/or environmental mechanisms responsible for the association. The present study explored links between parent and teacher ratings of hyperactive behavior problems and teacher-assessed achievement in a sample of 1,876 twin pairs (mean age 7.04 years). The results did not differ across rater, nor were there significant differences between males or females or for twins in the same or different classrooms. Hyperactivity was significantly correlated with achievement. Multivariate model-fitting analyses revealed significant genetic and nonshared environmental covariance between the two phenotypes. In addition, bivariate heritabilities were substantial, indicating that the phenotypic correlations between hyperactivity and achievement were largely mediated by genetic influences.     

Retooling Education: Testing and the Liberal Arts

The motivation and methodology for measuring intelligence have changed repeatedly in the modern history of large-scale student testing. Test makers have always sought to identify raw aptitude for cultivation, but they have never figured out how to promote excellence while preserving equality. They’ve settled for egalitarianism, which gives rise to “culturally fair” tests that substitute vagaries for knowledge, deprive students of any real appreciation for language, and trivialize education. Robert Jackson yearns for traditional oratorical approaches to schooling that venerate and imitate essential, time-tested masters. Unfortunately, he writes, such an education defies measurement with today’s multiple-choice instruments.

The Effects of State Higher Education Policies and Institutions on Access by Economically Disadvantaged Students

Research in Higher Education - Do state government policies and institutions promote access to postsecondary education by economically disadvantaged students? I analyze the number of state...     

Mastery Learning and Instructional Design Originally published in 1988, PIQ 1.1

Comparisons are drawn between the ideas of mastery learning and those of instructional design. Considerable agreement is noted concerning the main factors contributing to the quality of instruction. Similarities are pointed out in Bloom's alterable variables and a number of the events of instruction described by Gagné. Differences exist in the taxonomic categories of learned performances of the two systems, and in the proposal of instructional design that each category requires a different set of instructional tactics. A noteworthy area of agreement is emphasis on the instructional importance of skill automaticity.     

Parental anxiety,language, assertion,and expectation factors in subsequent understanding and recall of assessment information

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between initial understanding of information given by the school psychologist at parent conferences and characteristics of parents (anxiety, parental expectations, assertion, and language level). Demographic variables were also explored as they related to postassessment recall and understanding of data. Results indicated that language level of the parent, age of the parent, and SES were significantly related to recall. Anxiety, assertion, and expectation of results were not significant factors. Implications for practice and training are discussed.