Training of poor readers' phonological decoding skills: Evidence for syllable-bound processing

A flash card computer program designed to increase decoding speed in reading was evaluated with a sample of 55 eight- to twelve-year-old Dutch poor readers by using a pretest-training-posttest control group design. The reading level of the poor readers was comparable to the reading level of normal readers in grade two. After 8 weeks of practicing (twice a week) for 30 minutes per session, children in the training group showed substantial improvements in decoding speed not only on pseudowords directly practiced during the training, but also in untrained pseudowords and in existing words. The no-training control group did not improve in decoding speed from pre- to posttest. The results, furthermore, indicate that syllable-bound processes play a role in phonological decoding in Dutch, and that the flash card method used in this study stimulates poor readers to decode letter strings into syllabic units, which leads to an increase in decoding speed. The role of the syllable in phonological decoding and the potential of a specific flash card technique as a means to improve decoding skills of poor readers are discussed.     

EFFECTS OF INCORPORATING HUMOR IN TEST ITEMS

Two matched forms of a 50 item multiple-choice grammar test were developed. Twenty items designed to be humorous were included in one form. Test forms were randomly assigned to 126 eighth graders who received the test plus alternate forms of a questionnaire. Inclusion of humorous items did not affect grammar scores on matched humorous/nonhumorous items nor on common post-treatment items, nor did inclusion affect results of anxiety measures. Students favored inclusion of humor on tests, judged effects of humor positively, and estimated humorous items to be easier. Humor did not lower performance but was sought by the students. Potential for more valid and humane measurement is discussed.     

EVIDENCE ON THE QUALITY OF SEVERAL APPROXIMATIONS FOR COMMONLY USED MEASUREMENT STATISTICS1

What is the extent of error likely with each of several approximations for the standard deviation, internal consistency reliability, and the standard error of measurement? To help answer this question, approximations were compared with exact statistics obtained on 85 different classroom tests constructed and administered by professors in a variety of fields; means and standard deviations of the resulting differences supported the use of approximations in practical situations. Results of this analysis (1) suggest a greater number of alternative formulas that might be employed, and (2) provide additional information concerning the accuracy of approximations with non-normal distributions.     

The Reflecting Team in Counselor Education

The reflecting team is a group learning experience for counselor trainees in which they can give and receive immediate feedback on their perceptions and learn about intervention strategies for working with couples.     

Forty Years Later: C.P. Snow's Two Cultures Revisited

About 40 years ago, in May 1959, the British novelist Charles Percy Snow was invited to give that year's Rede Lecture at Cambridge. The event became the cause of a major dispute that has not died down since. His concept of ‘The two cultures’ as the lecture was entitled echoes to our day, especially in the technical curriculum discussion. In fact, Snow's Rede Lecture is the only work of his still in print.     

EMPIRICAL COMPARISON OF SELECTED ITEM BIAS DETECTION PROCEDURES WITH BIAS MANIPULATION

Biased test items were intentionally imbedded within a set of test items, and the resulting instrument was administered to large samples of blacks and whites. Three popular item bias detection procedures were then applied to the data: (1) the three-parameter item characteristic curve procedure, (2) the chi-square method, and (3) the transformed item difficulty approach. The three-parameter item characteristic curve procedure proved most effective at detecting the intentionally biased test items; and the chi-square method was viewed as the best alternative. The transformed item difficulty approach has certain limitations yet represents a practical alternative if sample size, lack of computer facilities, or the like preclude the use of the other two procedures.     

Mentoring in a Graduate Counseling Program: Students Helping Students

This article presents a student-to-student mentoring program, which matches current and incoming students to ease the new student's transition to and involvement in graduate school.     

Face‐to‐face with children

This paper investigates the motivational power of children to change teachers' beliefs about teaching. Weekly and summary reflections written by 18 preservice teachers served as data sources. Preservice teachers were learning from the children what they expect their teachers to know, to do, and to be, and in consequence of the face‐to‐face encounters with children, teachers were likely to establish and change their beliefs about children and how to teach. Teacher educators may encourage this learning by asking preservice teachers, during and after their work in classrooms, to respond to the questions: ‘As I related to the children, what did they require from me?’, and ‘How did I respond to these demands?’. The work of Emmanuel Levinas on the relationship in the face‐to‐face encounter between people provided an interpretive framework for evaluating responses to these questions.