Working memory resources and children's reading comprehension

Reading and Writing - Working memory capacity is described as a pool of limited resources that carry out processing and storage functions. Its role has been emphasised in adults' reading...     

Parent involvement and views of school success: The role of parents' Latino and White American cultural orientations

We examined ethnicity and cultural orientation as predictors of parents' views of and involvement in children's education, using data gathered from the Latino (n = 74) and non‐Latino (17 White and 13 ethnic minority) parents of children in an elementary school's dual‐language program. Parents completed a questionnaire that assessed Latino and White American cultural orientations, importance of children's academic and social success, and self‐ and significant other involvement in children's education. Results indicated that Latino (and other ethnic minority) parents valued academic and social success equally and more strongly than did Whites and that Whites valued social success more strongly than academic success. Latinos also reported greater involvement of significant others. These differences were largely accounted for by cultural orientations. Educational practices that take into account differences in cultural orientations and the involvement of significant others thus seem more likely to improve academic outcomes than do efforts intended to promote the valuing of education. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Taking Library Instruction into the Online Classroom: Best Practices for Embedded Librarians

ABSTRACT

The proliferation of online courses has led librarians to adapt their instructional techniques and follow teaching faculty and students into the online environment. Moving beyond Web pages and online research guides, librarians are now becoming instructional partners in online course management systems. Through an online survey of librarians and a literature review, the authors examine best practices for these “embedded librarians.”     

Healthcare needs of older adults: in their own words

Community-based health and human services professionals can play an important role in bolstering wellness through offering education to elderly residents and healthcare providers on how to address the unique needs of this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the healthcare needs of the elderly living in two metropolitan counties in Georgia that have experienced an increase in the number of elderly residents. Utilizing qualitative data garnered through focus groups, two main themes were identified: the role of exercise as a means of personal power and feelings of powerlessness. Participants’ narratives reflected opportunities and situations fostering good health through exerting their personal power to alter or improve individual health. On the other hand, negative pathways leading away from optimal health were realized when participants felt powerless to change their health status. For health and human services professionals working with the elderly, these findings should be considered as population, personal well-being, and power changes overtime.     

Aspects of pronominal resolution as markers of reading comprehension: the role of antecedent variability

This study explored pronominal resolution as a measure of reading comprehension beyond single sentences. Specifically, it was hypothesized that the ability to specify the referents of pronouns like this and these that have variable antecedents would be a good probe of the quality of the reader’s mental model. This idea was tested in a study of 123 French eight-year-olds. After controlling for word decoding, vocabulary and syntactic knowledge, various aspects of pronominal comprehension were found to contribute independent variance to reading comprehension: (1) pronominal knowledge as measured in a pronoun selection task, (2) referent specification of pronouns that refer to protagonists. In addition, (3) referent specification of pronouns (French y and en) with variable antecedents added further independent variance. The results support the idea that the ability to specify referents accounts for unique variance in reading comprehension and may tap the quality of the reader’s mental model of preceding text.     

One‐teacher schools in America

Abstract

At the turn of the century some 200,000 one‐teacher schools were in existence in the United States. This number now stands at approximately 380. A study of these schools found them to be staffed with qualified teachers with extensive experience. The teachers are typically female and live near where they teach.

Teachers work an average of nine hours a day teaching all subjects including physical education and music. Other activities include custodial duties, driving the school bus, performing secretarial functions, ordering supplies, and lunch supervision.

Student enrollment has a present average level of 9.4, a level that helps teachers meet the needs of each student. Low enrollment may also create concern about school closures in the future. Teachers indicate that they use individualized instruction, peer tutoring, and cooperative learning. They have few discipline problems and no violence or drug issues.