Researching Special Needs

In the March 2002 issue of BJSE , Richard Rose argued that the agenda for research in special education should be determined by establishing 'effective partnerships' between teachers and researchers. He suggested that teachers are beginning to be more involved in research but that educational researchers needed to 'take a lead in involving classroom practitioners in the development of school–based projects'. John Wilson, an author of many books on philosophy and education, and currently Senior Research Associate at the Oxford University Department of Educational Studies, agrees that, if educational research is to drive forward improvements in practice, it must engage 'the minds and understandings of practitioners'. This article takes the debate further, however. John Wilson proposes that research into special educational needs has also to engage with an exploration of the meaning of the phrase 'special needs' and a review of the values that underpin the use of this phrase by practitioners, policy makers and researchers. He concludes that this process will entail the development of new forms of enquiry, new ways of working, and new ways of thinking about research and special educational needs.     

Real-Time Feedback on Rater Drift in Constructed-Response Items: An Example From the Golden State Examination

In this study, patterns of variation in severities of a group of raters over time or so-called "rater drift" was examined when raters scored an essay written under examination conditions. At the same time feedback was given to rater leaders (called "table leaders") who then interpreted the feedback and reported to the raters. Rater severities in five successive periods were estimated using a modified linear logistic test model (LLTM, Fischer, 1973) approach. It was found that the raters did indeed drift towards the mean, but a planned comparision of the feedback with a control condition was not successful; it was believed that this was due to contamination at the table leader level. A series of models was also estimated designed to detect other types of rater effects beyond severity: a tendency to use extreme scores, and tendency to prefer certain categories. The models for these effects were found to be showing significant improvement in fit, implying that these effects were indeed present, although they were difficult to detect in relatively short time periods.     

Dietary and non-dietary correlates of gastrointestinal distress during the cycle and run of a triathlon

The purpose of this investigation was to assess whether pre-race dietary and non-dietary factors were associated with gastrointestinal (GI) distress during the cycle and run of a 70.3-mile triathlon. Fifty three participants recorded dietary details the day before and morning of the triathlon and retrospectively reported GI symptoms from the cycle and run. Occurrence and severity of nausea, regurgitation and fullness were combined into an upper GI (UGI) category, while lower abdominal cramps, flatulence and urge to defecate were combined into a lower GI (LGI) category. Spearman's rho coefficients were used to examine whether UGI and LGI were associated with: (1) pre-race diet (kilocalories, carbohydrate, fibre, fat, protein, caffeine); and (2) non-dietary factors (age, body mass index, experience, weight change, GI distress history, finishing time). Of non-dietary factors, only a history of GI distress showed significant associations with GI symptoms during the triathlon (ρ = .32–.36; P < .05). Morning kilocalorie (ρ = .28, P = .04) and carbohydrate (ρ = .36, P < .01) intakes were modestly, positively associated with UGI during the cycle, while morning caffeine intake (ρ = .30, P = .03) showed a modest positive association with LGI during the run. The associations between diet and GI distress variables remained significant after adjusting for non-dietary factors. Competitors of 70.3-mile triathlons should carefully weigh the benefits of higher race-morning energy, carbohydrate and caffeine intakes against their potential to increase GI distress.     

Building learning communities with distance learning intruction

The results presented in this study represent only one of four assigned discussion board activities from only one course. However, these results are not atypical of the amount or nature of student engagement in successive discussion board assignments to these same 23 graduate students. By the final of the four on-line discussions, student engagement did decrease slightly, but still remained well above the assigned requirements. Also, similar patterns of high frequency of student involvement were found in other courses using the same type of on-line discussion board assignments. An additional anecdotal observation was completed by the course instructor; after the first on-line activity had been completed and the students re-convened on campus for class, class members appeared more comfortable and more engaged during in class discussions. In summary, the results of this study indicate that specific types of on-line instruction are capable of developing learning communities among on-line learners and creating a satisfying learning experience.     

Addressing Self‐Injury on College Campuses: Institutional Recommendations

Nonsuicidal self‐injury is a significant concern on college campuses. Hence, the authors, the International Consortium on Self‐Injury in Educational Settings, offer the current position paper. First, the authors review current research in the field. Next, they discuss considerations for colleges' institutional‐wide response to self‐injury, including the role of and recommendations for relevant stakeholders (students, residence staff, mental health professionals) who directly and indirectly support students who self‐injure. Guidelines for response and suggested resources are also presented.