Effectiveness of Spanish intervention for first-grade English language learners at risk for reading difficulties

The effectiveness of an explicit, systematic reading intervention for first-grade students whose home language was Spanish and who were at risk for reading difficulties was examined. Participants were 69 students in 20 classrooms in 7 schools from 3 districts who initially did not pass the screening in Spanish and were randomly assigned within schools to a treatment or comparison group; after 7 months, 64 students remained in the study. The intervention matched the language of instruction of their core reading program (Spanish). Treatment groups of 3 to 5 students met daily for 50 min and were provided systematic and explicit instruction in oral language and reading by trained bilingual intervention teachers. Comparison students received the school's standard intervention for struggling readers. Observations during core reading instruction provided information about the reading instruction and language use of the teachers. There were no differences between the treatment and comparison groups in either Spanish or English on any measures at pretest, but there were significant posttest differences in favor of the treatment group for the following outcomes in Spanish: Letter-Sound Identification (d = 0.72), Phonological Awareness composite (d = 0.73), Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery-Revised Oral Language composite (d = 0.35), Word Attack (d = 0.85), Passage Comprehension (d = 0.55), and two measures of reading fluency (d = 0.58-0.75).     

STAFF DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND PRACTICES IN U.S. COMMUNITY COLLEGES

The staff development goals and activities of United States community colleges were studied. A total of 1,315 questionnaires were mailed to community college academic deans in the spring of 1979. Of the 687 colleges responding, 413 indicated that their college had an organized staff development program or set of activities, and another 241 colleges indicated no such program at this time.

The results showed that the most frequently mentioned staff development goals of the 31 goals studied related to the improvement of the full‐time teaching faculty as opposed to part‐time faculty and other academic and non‐academic support personnel. Second, the most highly rated and used practices were travel and grants programs for faculty. Some of the least effective of 48 practices investigated were programs for the “faculty evaluation of college administrators” and “lighter than normal teaching loads for first‐year faculty.”

It is recommended that colleges offer a variety of staff development programs for each of their staff development groups and that research be conducted to determine participant perceptions of the usefulness of various staff development practices.     

Iowa Lakes Community College: Partnerships for Academic and Economic Success in a Rapidly Evolving Wind-Energy Industry

Iowa Lakes Community College responded to a national need for wind-energy technicians. The Wind-Energy and Turbine Program aligned industry and academic competencies with experiential learning components to foster exploration of additional renewable energy applications. Completers understand both the physical and academic rigor a career in wind energy demands.     

Let’s Stay Together

全球许多传媒实况报道了奥巴马第二任就职大典的过程,包括祷告会、宣誓就职、检阅仪仗队、午餐、就职庆祝游行、晚餐以及舞会。在整个就职大典中,舞会扮演了十分重要的角色。在今年的舞会上,奥巴马夫妇跳了第一支舞,由著名演员、歌唱家詹妮弗·哈德森(Jennifer Hudson)伴唱,歌曲是"让我们在一起"(Let’s Stay Together),这是一首七十年代的当红流行曲,被列入美国五百首最了不起歌曲排行榜的第六十名。春节、情人节,一中一西两个节日,总是让整个虽然还春寒料峭的2月天都洋溢着温暖甜蜜的气氛,这首歌很是应景呢。     

UAE’s Publishing Industry: A Vision of an Avant-Garde Nation

This article outlines in detail the ten strategic goals that the UAE publishing industry has identified to lead a comprehensive transformation of the industry and to cement its position as a regional leader. The main goals revolve around building regional and global partnerships, developing a global publishing hub, improving legal framework for the all the stakeholders of the industry, building quality Arabic content for local and regional readers, supporting educational publishing, launching initiatives to encourage reading for pleasure, improving distribution networks and retail, transforming libraries, and instilling a sense of pride and understanding of local culture while supporting creative talents and skills. Also, this article will share information about some leading initiatives being implemented in Sharjah and the United Arab Emirates, and future initiatives to be implemented to achieve the ten goals.     

Pursuing higher education: adaptation challenges and coping strategies of rural students at urban universities in Bangladesh

Tertiary Education and Management - This study examines how students from rural areas in Bangladesh face particular challenges in adapting to university dormitories in urban areas. There has been...     

Introducing teaching cases with face-to-face and computer-mediated discussion: Two multi-classroom quasi-experiments

Two studies were conducted in multisection introductory child and adolescent development classes to determine effects of introducing abbreviated teaching case studies that were then discussed either in face-to-face or online formats. Students receiving teaching case studies in either format in both classes showed improved ability to critically analyze probe and final cases compared to control participants. Both case study groups in the child development class also showed increased application of psychological concepts in analyzing new cases. No differences in course knowledge were expected as a function of condition and none were found. Hypothesized case-related increases in efficacy for teaching also were not observed. Results were interpreted as supporting a case analysis approach in educational psychology classes and use of online methods for presentation and discussion of abbreviated cases.