A decade of research with dyslexic college students: A summary of findings

The major findings of several research projects that investigated dyslexic college students are summarized in this paper. Consistent findings of these investigations led to the following conclusions. 1) Developmental dyslexia is a syndrome made up of the following four symptoms: slow rate of reading, error-prone oral reading, poor written spelling, and grammatically incorrect writing; 2) all these symptoms could be traced to a poor mastery of the grapheme-phoneme relational rules; 3) developmental dyslexia can be found in subjects who appear to have adequate oral language skills; 4) ex-dyslexics who appear to be “poor spellers but good readers” have subtle reading deficits; and 5) the 20 dyslexic subjects investigated appear to constitute a homogeneous group which raises questions regarding dyslexia subtypes.     

The outcomes of doctoral education: An institutional study

This study sought to establish baseline data on the outcomes of doctoral education at a private, urban university. Through the use of a survey instrument developed by the researchers, Ph.D. and Ed.D. recipients from 16 departments who had graduated between 1963 and 1984 were contacted. Three primary areas were examined: (1) the impact of doctoral education on career development, (2) the perceived influence of the institutional values on graduates, and (3) the frequency and type of research/scholarly activities engaged in during and after graduate school. Data provided by 707 respondents to the 168 item survey were analyzed by department, by degree, and by four general academic fields, and a number of indices were developed. The main thrust of this paper is the development of the instrument and indices, and the preliminary comparison of four fields with the indices.     

Use of hierarchical linear modeling and curriculum-based measurement for assessing academic growth and instructional factors for students with learning difficulties

The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how to apply the Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) technique to multi-wave Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) measures in modeling academic growth and assessing its relations to student- and instruction-related variables. HLM has advantages over other statistical methods (e.g., repeated measures ANOVA, Structural Equation Modeling) in modeling academic growth. The advantages include allowing more flexible research designs in collecting multiple data points and estimating growth rates and their relations to correlates in more reliable, accurate ways. CBM, as a multi-wave progressmonitoring system, also has distinctive psychometric features that facilitate longitudinal research on academic skill development. These features include provision of multiple data points within short time periods, good validity and reliability, and sensitivity for detecting small degrees of change. Finally, research questions related to assessing the academic growth of students with learning difficulties and using assessment results to improve educational practices for them are discussed     

Beginning readers' use of talking books: styles of working

This paper examines young children's working styles when they are engaged with a peer on a computer‐based reading task. Two types of pairing were investigated: (i) ‘Equal’ pairs, where the children were of equal reading attainment and (ii) ‘Unequal pairs’, where there was a disparity between the children's reading attainment. The results suggest that the children's reading attainment and/or their gender may be more significant factors in determining the nature of children's collaborative activity than pair type. The implications of these results for practitioners who wish to use talking books as a classroom resource are discussed.     

An appropriate curriculum for 4–5‐year‐old children in Northern Ireland: comparing play‐based and formal approaches

This paper reports on an investigation into the quality of the learning experiences for 4–5‐year‐old children in Northern Ireland schools in the context of the debate about play‐based and formal approaches to learning and teaching. Detailed observations were carried out in 70 Year 1 classes: 38 in traditional Year 1 classes where the Northern Ireland National Curriculum is being delivered, and 32 in Enriched Curriculum classes, where a more developmentally appropriate, play‐based and child‐centred curriculum is being piloted. The quality of the learning experience in each class was assessed using a structured observation schedule, i.e. Walsh and Gardner's Quality learning instrument. Overall the Enriched Curriculum appears to be providing 4–5‐year‐old children in Northern Ireland with a higher‐quality learning experience. The children are given more opportunities to act independently, are engaged in more challenging activities and are more learning disposed, and they show higher levels of emotional, social and physical well‐being. The findings are discussed in terms of what constitutes an appropriate curriculum for this age group.     

Facebook group dynamics: an ethnographic study of the teaching and learning potential for secondary school teachers

ABSTRACT

This study examines the role of social networking sites on the learning processes, teaching practices and professional development of secondary school teachers. By conducting observations and in-depth interviews with active participants, we present an ethnographic study of the Facebook group Teaching ideas secondary education [author’s translation], which is hosted and primarily employed by Flemish teachers. By drawing parallels between the study findings and the theory of affinity spaces we aim to gain greater insight into emerging group dynamics and social informal learning processes. According to respondents, the Facebook group has the potential to address teachers’ needs with respect to the exchange of teaching ideas, experiences and materials. The findings point to a number of emerging developments in the educational landscape, highlighting that social media environments present a new source of inspiration, and combined with a collaborative atmosphere are able to stimulate cross-fertilization, social informal learning processes and self-management and -reflection. We hold these findings up to the light of current education discourses.     

Examining a mathematical model of mastery learning in a classroom setting

The purpose of mathematical models in any discipline is to describe accurately the relationships among significant variables of a system. The use of mathematical models is widespread in the sciences, but has rarely found its way into educational research. In developing a mathematical model for mastery learning, empirical research has shown that prior learning, motivation, and time on task are part of the significant variables that work together in some way in a determination of student achievement. A mathematical model that shows the relationship among these variables has been developed. To test the appropriateness of this mathematical model, carefully designed and controlled experiments must be conducted to collect numerical data on the significant variables. Using the model, the accuracy of its predictions can be compared with actual results. This is the technique used in testing mathematical models in the sciences and should be applicable to mathematical models of learning.     

Rabbit nictitating membrane conditioning: Lower limit of the effective interstimulus interval

In three experiments, the nictitating membrane response of rabbits was conditioned for 10 daily sessions at interstimulus intervals (ISIs) ranging from 48 to 125 msec, followed by a shift to 250 msec for 5 days. At tested ISIs shorter than 67 msec, there was no evidence of conditioning, and postshift performance revealed neither facilitation nor interference as a result of the first 10 conditioning sessions. Postshift performance of groups conditioned at preshift ISIs of 67 msec or longer revealed a gradient of increasing savings with increasing ISI. One of the groups in Experiment 1, initially conditioned at 250 msec ISI and then shifted to 48 msec, exhibited extinction of the previously well-conditioned response. Analysis of CR-onset latencies substantiated the absence of associative effects at very short ISIs. It was concluded that there is a temporal limit below which classical conditioning of the nictitating membrane response of rabbits employing forward CS-US pairing does not occur.