An Evaluation of the Linearity of Curriculum‐Based Measurement of Oral Reading (CBM‐R) Progress Monitoring Data: Idiographic Considerations

Educators use curriculum‐based measurement of oral reading (CBM‐R) to measure student response to instruction. Current decision‐making frameworks assume students demonstrate linear growth across a school year. However, growth appears nonlinear for at least a subgroup of students. We assessed the degree to which grade two (n = 800) and grade three (n = 800) students receiving intensive interventions experienced discontinuous growth. We also explored when discontinuous growth tended to occur, and whether students improved or regressed afterward. Results indicate linear patterns were adequate for most students (80 percent). Students who showed discontinuous growth early tended to improve afterward. Conversely, students who showed discontinuous growth later tended to plateau. Findings suggest multilevel models may obscure variability in growth patterns. Practice and research implications are discussed.     

Reliability and Validity of Behavior Problem Checklists as Measures of Stable Traits in Low Birth Weight, Premature Preschoolers

Mothers, teachers, and assistant teachers completed the Richman Behavior Checklist (BCL) at ages 2 and 3 years and the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 2-3 (CBCL 2-3) at 3 years for a large sample of low birth weight, premature children. Interinstrument correlations for total scores were moderate, higher for teachers and assistant teachers than for mothers, with moderate temporal stability for BCL scores. Interrater agreement for either total scores or classifications of clinically significant scores was moderately high between teachers and assistant teachers only, and children identified as disturbed by mothers versus teachers represent almost nonoverlapping groups. Furthermore, many more children were identified as disturbed using the BCL. The most powerful predictors of mothers' total CBCL 2-3 scores were HOME Inventory scores and self-reported depression. The use of these scales in clinical and research contexts is discussed.     

Shifting economic boundaries in Europe and North America: Implications for counseling

In Europe and in North America, the creation of new economic alliances that are boundary free for corporations and workers in the nations involved will stimulate new needs for counseling. Planning for counseling to deal with the individual needs caused by economic boundary shifting should encompass two broad themes: (1) the likely psychological dynamics of boundary changing; and (2) the possible effects of boundary changing on the structure and choice of and planning for occupations.As economic structures change, counselors and counseling will need to address the resulting transformations of the psychological environments, the sets of behavioral expectations, the national mythologies and social metaphors in which persons negotiate their identities, find their sources of self-validation and pursue a career. The counselors will need to be prepared to deal with the stresses and anxieties that accompany such change as well as the threats to cultural identity that accompany worker migration from nations of origin. Assisting workers to deal with evolving skill requirements from new technologies, cultural transitions, retraining, underemployment, and unemployment will become increasingly important aspects of the counselor's agenda.The Pennsylvania State University and The University of British Columbia     

The combined effects of dosage level and interstimulus interval on the formation of one-trial poison-based aversions in rats

Adult male rats were allowed to drink a novel solution of sodium saccharin which was followed .5, 1.5, 4.5, 7.0, 13.5, or 24.0 h later by intubation of a .9, 2.7, 8.1, or 12.15% (w/v) solution of sodium chloride (NaCl). Three days after the single training trial, consumption of saccharin was again measured. Significant differences between groups were found. When consumption by the experimental groups at each CS-UCS delay was compared with that of the isotonic NaCl (.9%) control group, it was found that all groups showed aversions at delays of .5, 1.5, and 4.5 h. Animals intubated with 8.1% or 12.15% NaCl solution also showed aversions at a delay of 7.0 h, and those intubated with the 12.15% solution showed an aversion at a delay of 13.5 h. No NaCl concentration used produced aversions at a CS-UCS interval of 24.0. These results reflect differences in the effectiveness of a range of NaCl concentrations in producing one-trial aversions at long CS-UCS intervals.     

Ontogenetic differences in conditioning to context and CS as a function of context saliency and CS-US interval

A series of experiments examined ontogenetically the effects of context saliency and CS-US interval on the learning of CS-US and context-US associations. Although adult rats generally showed an inverse relationship between CS and context learning that depended upon CS-US interval and context saliency, the opposite relationship held for preweanlings. Consistent with many contemporary learning theories, adult rats expressed CS-context competition in learning about the US. Preweanlings, on the other hand, exhibited potentiated responding to either the context or the CS as a result of strong learning about the other element. These results suggest that adult and infant rats process information in a qualitatively different manner.     

An assessment of the quantitative skills of students taking introductory college biology courses

Twenty-three mathematical competencies were identified and a 46-item multiple choice test was developed to measure the extent to which students entering introductory college biology courses possessed these competencies. Students enrolled in semester-long introductory courses for science majors and non-science majors were given the test at the beginning and end of the courses. The relationships between the mathematical competencies possessed by students at the beginning of the semester and 15 variables dealing with student characteristics were examined. Also investigated was the relationship between test scores and the type of mathematics courses taken during the semester students were enrolled in the introductory biology courses.     

The role of cognitive style in educational computer conferencing

This paper reports an investigation of the impact of students’ cognitive style on their effective use of educational text‐based computer‐mediated conferences. The research centres on an empirical study involving students from three courses run by the British Open University. Statistical analysis of the data does not suggest that cognitive style has a strong influence on student participation in the conference, but does suggest that, contrary to expectations, ‘imagers’ may send more messages to conferences than ‘verbalisers’. The data also suggest a possible link between certain cognitive styles and course completion, and that the interaction of different styles within a group, as described by Riding and Rayner's (1998 ) team roles, may have an indirect influence on task completion.     

Maternal Socialization of Children''s Eating Habits: Strategies Used by Obese Mexican-American Mothers

Mexican-Americans are more likely to be obese than the general population, yet little research has been conducted on the socialization of eating habits in Mexican-American children. 38 obese mothers enrolled in a weight-loss program and their 4-8-year-old children were observed during mealtime and the mothers interviewed about their socialization practices. Mothers relied primarily on nondirective verbal control strategies during the observation. Child compliance was more likely to follow a maternal serving or command than a nondirective behavior. Mothers encouraged sons to eat more than did mothers of girls. Child age was negatively correlated with mother's use of commands, reasoning, threats, and bribes, and positively correlated with maternal nondirectives, servings, and child compliance. Mothers with more years of formal education served healthier foods and were more likely to report using reasoning strategies, prohibiting consumption of unhealthy food, monitoring child food consumption away from home, and allowing child input into the eating situation than were less educated mothers.