Patterns of Social Interaction of Mainstreamed Preschool Children: Hopeful News from the Field

Much of the research on social interaction in mainstreamed settings has focused on “reverse mainstreamed” or special environments in contrast, the present study observed 600 social interactions in 19 regular preschools. Three findings emerged: a) retarded children are substantially integrated into the emotional and social life of the peer group, but not fully integrated into peer group verbal life; b) there is an inverse relationship between teachers’ initiation of social interaction with retarded children and the degree to which the latter are integrated into peer group life; and c) teachers provide retarded children with more verbal enrichment and emotional protection than these children receive from their peer group. On balance, these findings are fairly encouraging, suggesting that to a considerable extent mainstreaming is working in preschool classrooms.     

The role of further government intervention in Australian international education

Trade in Australian education services has expanded rapidly over recent years. The sector is the third largest exporter of Australian services. In 2001–2002, exports of education were about $A 4.2 billion. Government assistance to the sector includes export market development, regulation of education standards, and funding education activities; university research and development, for example. This paper examines the case for further government intervention in the export of education, and the appropriate forms of assistance if further government intervention is justified. The paper predominately focuses on assisting higher education exports because this activity dominates education exports.     

Serial rapid naming skills in children with reading disabilities

This study compared the performance of children with reading disability (RD) and normal reading achievement (NRA) on tasks of serial rapid naming, verbal fluency, letter-based word retrieval, and articulatory speed. The groups, composed of children at two discrete age levels, one younger and one older, were matched for age, gender, and neighborhood school. Analyses of the on-line measurement of the children’s serial rapid naming indicated that the children with RD had significantly larger reaction times and production durations than their NRA peers despite similar levels of accuracy. They also performed significantly worse on the categorical verbal fluency task, the letter-based word retrieval task, and the test of articulatory speed. The findings suggest that both access and post-access processes, such as oral-motor inefficiency that extends the duration of word production, may be implicated in the slower serial rapid naming that has typified many samples of children with RD. This work was supported in part by Basil O’Connor Research Grant 5-340 from the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, a Scholarly and Creative Activity Award and sabbatical leave from California State University, Long Beach and grant #DCO 1904-01 from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders of the NIH to the first author.     

Impact of Anatomy Boot Camp on Students in a Medical Gross Anatomy Course

Lincoln Memorial University‐DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU‐DCOM) offers an optional three‐week summer Anatomy Boot Camp course (ABC) to facilitate students' transition into medical school and promote retention of anatomy subject matter. The pre‐matriculation program is a supplemental instruction course that utilizes a small group learning format. Boot camp instruction is led by teaching assistants and two anatomy professors. Enrollees gain early exposure to Medical Gross Anatomy (MGA) course subject matter, which is taught in the fall semester, and learn study skills necessary to excel in medical school. No grade is assigned for the course, therefore participants can study without the fear of potentially affecting grades. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the LMU‐DCOM ABC course using data from four consecutive summers. Independent two‐sample t‐tests were used to compare ABC to non‐ABC students for the following variables: incoming grade point average (GPA) and Medical College Admission Test® (MCAT®) scores, MGA written and laboratory practical examination grades, and final MGA course grade. Additionally, a 26‐question survey was administered to 2012–2014 boot camp participants. There were no significant differences in incoming GPA and MCAT scores. However, boot campers scored significantly higher on the first two lecture and laboratory examinations (P < 0.05) for each year of the study. Thereafter scores varied less, suggesting a faster head start for boot camp participants. Mean MGA final grade was on average 3% higher for the boot camp cohort. The survey feedback supports that the ABC course assists with the academic and social transition into medical school. Anat Sci Educ 10: 215–223. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.     

College Students’ Reasons for Depression Nondisclosure in Primary Care

Unwillingness to share depression experiences with primary care physicians contributes to the undertreatment of depression. This project examined college students’ reasons for depression nondisclosure to primary care providers (PCPs). Undergraduate participants read a vignette describing someone with depression and completed measures of disclosure barriers. Analyses indicated 26% of respondents would NOT disclose depression symptoms to PCPs. Reasons for nondisclosure included difficulty initiating the depression conversation, medication aversion, and fear of referral to a psychologist. Also, anger toward the vignette character varied with disclosure willingness, suggesting that nondisclosers feel more stigma than disclosers and are less likely to engage in psychotherapy. Because engagement in pharmacological and/or psychotherapeutic treatment requires identification of depression in healthcare settings, increased understanding of disclosure barriers could increase students’ access to depression treatment.     

活下去,为死者,也为生者

Anna Ling Pierce wrapped her arms around her two young sons, J. T. and Mike, as they watched a crowdof brightly clad runners warm up for the 1998 BostonMarathon. The sharp April wind stung Anna' s cheeksas she glanced upward, a hint of a smile on her face. Somehow     

Quantitative reasoning,complexity, and additive structures

Six fifth-grade children participated in a four-day teaching experiment on complex additively-structured problems, which was followed by in-depth interviews of individual children. The teaching experiment was meant to investigate children's difficulties in holding in mind at once situations in which one or more items played multiple roles. Two important difficulties were identified: (1) distinguishing between difference as the result of subtracting and difference as the amount by which one quantity exceeded another; and (2) indirect evaluation of an additive comparison. Sources of these difficulties, along with pedagogical and curricular recommendations for addressing them, are discussed.Research reported in this paper was supported by National Science Foundation Grants NO. MDR 89-50311 and 90-96275, and by a grant of equipment from Apple Computer, Inc., Office of External Research. Any conclusions or recommendations stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of NSF or Apple Computer.