How do beginners learn to read irregular words as sight words?

Learning irregular words involves mental marking of irregular letters in the spelling, a process not fully understood. In a within‐subjects experiment, we manipulated the type of scaffolding given to beginning readers to evoke mental marking. We pretested to sort 103 kindergarten and first‐grade participants into sequential decoders, who decode letter by letter, and hierarchical decoders, who recognise vowel patterns. In the control phase, children read irregular words in sentence contexts with minimal scaffolding. In the experimental phase, participants read additional irregular words in sentence contexts by ‘operating on the word’ to mark irregular letters. Results indicated that the experimental condition induced better untimed word reading, but it did not improve spelling or reading in a flash presentation. Hierarchical decoders were significantly more successful than sequential decoders in untimed word reading, spelling and reading in the flash presentation. These results suggest that learning hierarchical decoding predisposes readers to learn irregular words.     

Can primary teachers still be subject generalists?

Within the teaching profession a crisis of competence is developing, one that affects both primary and secondary schools but is especially acute at the primary level. This paper seeks to (a) identify and characterize this crisis, (b) explain why the crisis has arisen at this time, and (c) suggest how we might alleviate it. It is argued that we can no longer reasonably expect primary teachers to be subject-matter generalists; they must specialize.     

A training technique for improving the parent-child interaction skills of an abusive-neglectful mother

Several recent investigations have shown that abusive and neglectful parents exhibit deficits in skills for interacting with their children. In the current study, an inattentive and neglectful parent was taught to provide positive verbal and physical attention towards her 4-year-old child. Training was accomplished using a “bug-in-the-ear” microphone device while the parent interacted with her child in a clinic playroom. After use of the device was discontinued, the parent continued to use the newly trained skills at rates higher than during baseline. Four month follow-up and at home observations were suggestive of skill maintenance. Training of this kind may prove useful for parents who lack skills for effective interaction with their children.     

The automation of curriculum development using the Authoring Instructional Materials (AIM) system

The Authoring Instructional Materials (AIM) program is a set of software tools for curriculum design and maintenance for use in the Navy. Several Navy test sites are conducting cooperative development and testing of the AIM software. This paper describes the rationale for the AIM system, the development process and products, and some possibilities for further development.     

Teachers’ Personal Agency: Making Sense of Slope Through Additive Structures

In the context of a three-year professional development program in mathematics, practicing elementary teachers persistently engaged in collaborative inquiry and reflection to build connected meanings for slope. One teacher invented a compelling representation for slope as a process of repeated addition, using Cuisenaire rods, based on teachers' shared experiences developing recursively defined linear equations. The presence of and tension between different representations of slope, brought forth by the teachers, catalyzed productive cycles of choice and inquiry for the entire class. Personal agency, purposeful choice, and performance provide a valuable lens for fine-grained analysis of mathematical learning. Preliminary versions of portions of this paper were presented at PME 28 and PME-NA 26.     

Educational psychologists’ responses to a post-16 service user film on their practice: a participatory research project

ABSTRACT

A film was made by a group of young people (YP) which aimed to inform educational psychologists (EPs) about how they would like EPs to work with them. A participatory research project was established with the YP which aimed to establish, through two focus groups, EPs’ views on the film. EPs responded positively to the film; they valued hearing from YP and expressed feelings including both pride and guilt. Interest was shown in plans for the distribution of the film, and critical reflections were made on the representativeness of the film. Findings are discussed in relation to the current context of gaining the voice of children and young people (CYP) and on improving services through service user feedback. The authors reflect on the strengths and limitations of using a participatory approach, considering challenges regarding methodological rigour and the opportunity that research poses for widening participation.     

Profile of the new generation of teachers in the Turkish educational system

In the context of a decline both in the quantity and quality of young teachers, the author concludes that multiple efforts must be undertaken to enhance the attraction of the teaching profession. A profile of students entering the profession in Turkey was developed based on demographic and academic information obtained from the University Entrance Examination for 1982 and 1986. Findings reveal that low-achieving students and others from low-income families comprise the majority of persons desiring to become teachers at the elementary and secondary levels, thus posing the possibility of education serving as an upward mobility vehicle. Alternatives are considered for ameliorating the consequences of less capable practitioners entering education than has been the case in the post-Ataturk period when educators were held in high esteem. Material incentives and support from the private sector are among the author's recommendations for improving educational standards.

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Zusammenfassung Ausgehend von der Tatsache, daß die Anzahl der Junglehrer rückläufig ist und überdies deren Qualität absinkt, schlußfolgert die Verfasserin, daß vielfältige Bemühungen eingeleitet werden müssen, um den Beruf des Lehrers anziehender zu machen. Eine kurze Übersicht über die Lehramtsanwärter in der Türkei stützt sich auf demographische und akademische Daten, die an Hand der Aufnahmeprüfung für die Universität in der Zeit von 1982 bis 1986 erhoben wurden. Aus dieser Untersuchung geht hervor, daß sowohl weniger leistungsfähige Anwärter als auch Studenten aus minderbemittelten Familien den Hauptanteil der Lehramtsanwärter für die Elementar- und Sekundarstufen bilden, für die eine solche Erziehung zum Vehikel des sozialen Aufstiegs wird. Von der Verfasserin werden alternative Möglichkeiten zur Verbesserung der Auswirkung vorgeschlagen, die dadurch bedingt sind, daß weniger befähigte Lehrer in das Erziehungssystem eingestellt werden, als es in der Zeit nach Atatürk der Fall war und Erzieher noch ein hohes Ansehen genossen. Zu den Empfehlungen der Verfasserin, den Erziehungsstandard zu erhöhen, gehören Leistungszulagen und Hilfeleistungen von privater Seite.

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Résumé Dans le contexte de la baisse du nombre et de la qualité des jeunes enseignants, l'auteur conclut que de multiples efforts doivent être déployés pour rendre la profession d'enseignant plus attrayante. Le profil des étudiants qui s'engagent dans cette profession en Turquie a été développé sur la base des informations démographiques et académiques fournies par le service des Examens d'Entrée à l'Université pour les années 1982 et 1986. Les résultats de cette étude révèlent que les étudiants moyens et ceux issus de familles aux revenus faibles constituent la majorité des personnes désirant devenir enseignants aux niveaux élémentaire et secondaire, faisant ainsi de l'éducation un moyen de promotion. On envisage des alternatives pour minimiser les conséquences d'un système d'éducation reposant sur des practiciens moins compétents que ne l'étaient ceux de la période post Ataturc où les maîtres étaient tenus en haute estime. L'auteur recommande entre autres que le secteur privé apporte une aide et un soutien matériels en vue d'une amélioration des niveaux d'instruction.

     

Evaluation of Jigsaw,a cooperative learning technique

Cooperative learning techniques have been promoted for the development of academic and social competencies. One such technique, Jigsaw, creates cooperation by structuring student interdependence through the learning task, rather than through the grading system. A process and outcome evaluation of Jigsaw was conducted. Eleven teachers of fifth-grade classes received Jigsaw in-service training and conducted Jigsaw in their classes over a school year. Students in 13 other fifth-grade classes served as a comparison group. Students received a pretest and a post-test assessing attitudes toward self, peers, and school, and achievement and attendance records were collected. The process evaluation revealed that the quality and frequency of Jigsaw implementation varied greatly. Jigsaw failed to have a positive effect on the outcome variables, even for the five classes where it was implemented proficiently. The results, which are consistent with an earlier study (J. Moskowitz, J. Malvin, G. Schaeffer, & E. Schaps, 1983, American Education Research Journal, 20, 687–696), are discussed in terms of a theoretical shortcoming of this technique.