Portable computers for teachers and support services working with pupils with Special Educational Needs: An evaluation of the 1999 United Kingdom Department for Education and Employment scheme

This study arose from the distribution of portable computers ("portables") to special educational needs coordinators and support services by the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) through Standards Grant 36 in mid 1999. The study comprised two successive questionnaires. The aim of the surveys was to elicit the benefits of portables in relation to the special educational needs coordinator/support service roles as well as to evaluate this process of distributing resources.
Questionnaire A to local education authorities (LEAs) was returned by 96 LEAs (a 64% return rate). There were 778 returns of questionnaire B from recipients of portables and 405 returns from the matched group of non-recipients.
Overall the distribution of portables under this grant was well-regarded by LEA personnel, particularly in the smaller authorities, with reservations relating mainly to the lack of time to administer the scheme. The guidance from the DfEE was regarded as helpful with inherent (valued) flexibility. Amount and level of training appeared to have varied greatly across LEAs but where training had been relatively substantial there was evidence of its impact on teachers' reported use of the portables. The scheme was welcomed by school and, particularly, support service staff. However all recipient groups tended to reflect some disappointment with what the portable provided in practice.
Three particular aspects are discussed in more detail. First, in relation to time and workload issues, it was reported that teachers were spending considerable "non work" time in learning to make good use of the portables. Second, there were considerable training needs for teachers and others, spanning a wide range of levels. Third, the position of support service staff warranted more attention as their apparently comparatively disadvantageous position has implications for wider changes concerning centralised LEA, as opposed to school-based, resources.     

Multiple Representations in Computational Thinking Tasks: A Clinical Study of Second-Grade Students

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Computational thinking requires high cognitive load as students work to manage multiple tasks in their problem-solving environment. Through research in...     

Examining the Validity of GOLD® With 4-Year-Old Dual Language Learners

Research Findings: This study builds on prior work related to the assessment of young dual language learners (DLLs). The purposes of the study were to (a) determine whether latent subgroups of preschool DLLs would replicate those found previously and (b) examine the validity of GOLD^® by Teaching Strategies with empirically derived subgroups. Latent class analysis confirmed previous findings of 3 distinct latent subgroups of DLLs (bilingual children, emergent bilingual children, and heritage language speakers). Results of differential item functioning analysis showed that with few exceptions, GOLD items functioned similarly, which indicates that groups matched on ability were similar in their item scores. The item pertaining to using conventional grammar consistently favored non-DLLs over heritage language speakers. The item pertaining to name writing consistently favored DLLs as a single group, emergent bilingual children, and heritage language speakers. Practice or Policy: Study results provide further support for the heterogeneity of DLLs and the use of GOLD with DLL subgroups. This provides the field with an opportunity to better understand this special population of children and enables teachers to plan with greater precision experiences that contribute to their development and learning.     

Empirically Informed Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Evaluation With College Students

Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is both an underdiagnosed and a misdiagnosed problem on college campuses, leading to pronounced academic and psychosocial difficulties. Counselors encounter diagnostic criteria that are child oriented, long lists of differential diagnoses, high rates of coexisting disorders, and no definitive tests for ADHD. This article reviews research findings concerning adults with ADHD, outlines empirical solutions for meeting diagnostic challenges, and provides new effect size data for selecting screening instruments.     

Agreement in activity energy expenditure assessed by accelerometer and self-report in adolescents: Variation by sex,age, and weight status

Abstract

The agreement between self-reported and objective estimates of activity energy expenditure was evaluated in adolescents by age, sex, and weight status. Altogether, 403 participants (217 females, 186 males) aged 13–16 years completed a 3-day physical activity diary and wore a GT1M accelerometer on the same days. Partial correlations (controlling for body mass) were used to determine associations between estimated activity energy expenditure (kcal · min^?1) from the diary and accelerometry. Differences in the magnitude of the correlations were examined using Fisher's r to z transformations. Bland–Altman procedures were used to determine concordance between the self-reported and objective estimates. Partial correlations between assessments of activity energy expenditure (kcal · min^?1) did not differ significantly by age (13–14 years: r = 0.41; 15–16 years: r = 0.42) or weight status (normal weight: r = 0.42; overweight: r = 0.39). The magnitude of the association was significantly affected by sex (Δr = 0.11; P < 0.05). The agreement was significantly higher in males than in females. The relationship between activity energy expenditure assessed by the objective method and the 3-day diary was moderate (controlling for weight, correlations ranged between 0.33 and 0.44). However, the 3-day diary revealed less agreement in specific group analyses; it markedly underestimated activity energy expenditure in overweight/obese and older adolescents. The assessment of activity energy expenditure is complex and may require a combination of methods.     

Attentional Bias for Exercise-Related Images

Abstract

This research examined attentional bias toward exercise-related images using a visual probe task. It was hypothesized that more-active participants would display attentional bias toward the exercise-related images. The results showed that men displayed attentional bias for the exercise images. There was a significant interaction of activity level by gender, and simple slopes analysis showed that active women displayed attentional bias toward the exercise-related images and inactive women displayed attentional bias toward the control images. A similar analysis with explicit attention to the pictures as the outcome variable was not significant. These findings confirm that attention for exercise-related images can be captured automatically regardless of whether people report they are attending to them.     

Improving engagement: the use of ‘Authentic self-and peer-assessment for learning’ to enhance the student learning experience

Innovative assessment practices have the potential to shift the way universities function. By focusing on well-designed assessment tasks, where students are expected to work collegially and are actively involved in self- and peer-assessment, the opportunity to engage students in the assessment process is realised. This article contends that students are significantly and detrimentally disengaged from the assessment process as a result of traditional assessments that do not address key issues of learning. Notable issues that arose from observations and questioning of students indicated that vast proportions of students were not proofreading their own work were not collaborating on tasks; had not been involved in the development of assessment tasks; and that students had insufficient skills in relation to their ability to evaluate their own efforts. These facts led the author to conceptualise new models of assessment focusing on authentic learning and the authentic assessment of that learning through self- and peer-assessment. Authentic assessment for sustainable learning (AASL) and Authentic self-and peer-assessment for learning (ASPAL) were trialled with approximately 300 undergraduate education students at the University of Notre Dame Australia. This article explains the conceptual development of the models and provides justification for their implementation.     

Social identity theories and educational engagement

There is a large body of research in studies of schooling, particularly ethnographic case studies, which posits that collective action among students undermines engagement in school and contributes to educational inequality. In this paper I review studies of engagement from a social identity theory perspective. To what extent can collective action explain why some student groups are less engaged than others? I discuss four approaches to identifying social identity‐related problems of engagement frequently used in prior research. While researchers often find problems of engagement among low‐academic‐status students, research on educational engagement has had difficulty locating the underlying causes of inequality in student engagement. Social identity theories of educational engagement are inherently theories of collective action. I conclude that a fifth approach, large‐scale observational studies of monitoring and sanctioning, provides the best framework for identifying both the prevalence of, and solutions to, this particular source of disengagement.     

Negotiations of the ageing process: older adults' stories of sports participation

The purpose of this paper is to examine the talk of older athletes, with particular focus on how the context of sport helps them negotiate the ageing process. It draws on personal stories provided by 44 World Masters Games competitors (23 women; 21 men; aged 56–90 years; M = 72). Four themes emerged: ‘There's no such thing as old’ (a story of avoiding old age); ‘Keep moving’ (a story of fighting the ageing process); ‘Fun, fitness, friendship … [and] competing’ (a story of redefining self and ‘old age’) and; ‘Making the most of your life … with the capabilities that you still have’ (a story of adaptation and acceptance). Together, the four themes show how through sports participation older individuals can simultaneously resist, redefine and accept the ageing process. These stories of a ‘sporting later life’ allow for alternative meanings to the dominant ‘declining body’ narrative of ageing. Therefore, these narratives present the possibility for personal, pedagogical and social transformation.