Teachers' Spatial Anxiety Relates to 1st‐ and 2nd‐Graders' Spatial Learning

Teachers' anxiety about an academic domain, such as math, can impact students' learning in that domain. We asked whether this relation held in the domain of spatial skill, given the importance of spatial skill for success in math and science and its malleability at a young age. We measured 1st‐ and 2nd‐grade teachers' spatial anxiety (N = 19) and students' spatial skill (N = 132). Teachers' spatial anxiety significantly predicted students' end‐of‐year spatial skill, even after accounting for students' beginning‐of‐year spatial skill, phonological working memory, grade level, and teachers' math anxiety. Since spatial skill is not a stand‐alone part of the curriculum like math or reading, teachers with high levels of spatial anxiety may simply avoid incorporating spatial activities in the classroom. Results suggest that addressing teachers' spatial anxieties may improve spatial learning in early elementary school.     

核心自我评价:教师心理幸福感的重要影响因素

采用因素分析、回归分析等方法,分析了663名中小学教师核心自我评价概念与心理幸福感之间的关系.结果表明:(1)教师核心自我评价概念是一个二阶结构模型,具体由积极因子、消极囚子以及"现实-宿命"因子构成模型的二阶因子;经删除项日后,核心自我评价量表具有良好的信、效度指标.(2)在心理幸福感的"个人成长"维度,女教师的得分显著高于男教师;小学教师心理幸福感的六个维度得分均显著高于中学教师.(3)核心自我评价的积极因子与消极因子能很好地预测心理幸福感.     

Validity evidence for the Chinese version Classroom Appraisal of Resources and Demands (CARD)

The Classroom Appraisal of Resources and Demands (CARD) was designed to evaluate teacher stress based on subjective evaluations of classroom demands and resources. However, the CARD has been mostly utilized in western countries. The aim of the current study was to provide aspects of the validity of responses to a Chinese version of the CARD that considers Chinese teachers’ unique vocational conditions in the classroom. A sample of 580 Chinese elementary school teachers (510 female teachers and 70 male teachers) were asked to respond to the Chinese version of the CARD. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the data fit the theoretical model very well (e.g., CFI: .982; NFI: .977; GFI: .968; SRMR: .028; RMSEA: .075; where CFI is comparative fit index, NFI is normed fit index, GFI is goodness of fit, SRMR is standardized root mean square residual, RMSEA is root mean square error of approximation), thus providing evidence of construct validity. Latent constructs of the Chinese version of the CARD were also found to be significantly associated with other measures that are related to teacher stress such as self‐efficacy, job satisfaction, personal habits to deal with stress, and intention to leave their current job.     

Increasing engagement of students with learning disabilities in mathematical problem‐solving and discussion

Engagement in problem‐solving and mathematical discussion is critical for learning mathematics. This research review describes a gap in the literature surrounding engagement of students with Learning Disabilities in standards‐based mathematical classrooms. Taking a sociocultural view of engagement as participation in mathematical practices, this review found that students with LD were supported towards equal engagement in standards‐based mathematics through multi‐modal curriculum, consistent routines for problem‐solving, and teachers trained in Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching. Using this small set of studies (7), we identify the need to deepen the engagement of students with LD in mathematical problem‐solving and discussion. This review concludes with implications for teaching and learning.     

Confirmatory factor analyses comparing parental involvement frameworks with secondary students

Given the lack of research on measurement models used to operationalize parental involvement with secondary students, the goal of this research is to examine the measurement properties of the three‐domain conceptualization of parental involvement including school‐based involvement, home‐based involvement, and academic socialization, compared to a more nuanced six domain conceptualization school‐based (1) school/parent communication, (2) attending school activities, home‐based (3) home activities, (4) homework help, academic socialization, (5) parent–child communication about education, and (6) parental aspirations for child's education. When comparing the fit among the models, the six‐factor model had best fit indices and indicated varied correlations among the subdomains. The six‐factor model allowed for more nuanced variations among the subdomains that may be helpful when assessing parental involvement with high school students.     

Lasting leadership: Toward sustainable school improvement

After decades of meager results in school improvement efforts that work and that last, it may seem irrational to hope that this time it could be different—that we could learn and apply approaches to lasting school improvement. Obama (2006, The audacity of hope. New York: Crown publications) might refer to such hope as audacious. What gives us the impulse for hope in the face of continued disappointment? This is not to suggest that all of our efforts have come to naught. Having witnessed and participated in hopeful approaches for more than 40 years, I’ve seen noteworthy programs and heard exceptionally wise ideas. Islands of hope existed in each decade, yet even these remarkable islands drop below sea level when founders, principals or key teachers leave. As long as any one individual is indispensable, sustainability is a distant dream. As I’ve talked with educators, parents, students and community members over these years, I’ve been bombarded with questions. The question I find most compelling is: “We can now understand our schools as they exist. And, we have an improving image of what sustainable schools look like, but how do we get there from here? How do we find our way to the sustainability we yearn for?     

Designing Curriculum-Based Mathematics Professional Development for Kindergarten Teachers

This study examines the influence of a year-long mathematics professional development program on Kindergarten teachers’ beliefs, content knowledge, instructional practices, and their students’ achievement. The professional development program is grounded in the theoretical construct of learner-centered professional development and focuses on supporting teachers’ integration of standards-based pedagogies aligned with the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. Data analysis included examining 15 Kindergarten teachers’ mathematics content knowledge, their beliefs about mathematics, their enactment of student-centered pedagogies, and student achievement on curriculum-based assessments. Findings indicated that teachers adopted more student-centered pedagogies and embraced more student-centered beliefs about mathematics teaching during their time in the project. Further, Kindergarten teachers also demonstrated gains in their mathematical content knowledge, and those content knowledge gains were linked to gains in student achievement.     

Devil in the detail: using a pupil questionnaire survey in an evaluation of out-of-school classes for gifted and talented children

The use of questionnaires to evaluate educational initiatives is widespread, but often problematic. This paper examines four aspects of an evaluation survey carried out with very able pupils attending out-of-school classes: ethics, design, bias and interpretation. There is a particular focus on the interpretation and analysis of pupils' answers to open questions. Conclusions are drawn from this analysis which will help teachers and others to take a careful and critical approach to their use of questionnaires in educational evaluation.     

More than meets the eye: Curricular and Programmatic Effects on Student Learning

This article reports the effects of program characteristics and faculty activities on students’ experiences and, ultimately, the development of students’ analytical and group skills. Data come from nationally representative samples of 4,330 seniors, 1,243 faculty members, and 147 engineering program chairs on 40 campuses nationwide. Findings indicate that program characteristics and faculty behaviors and values have significant, if relatively small and largely indirect, effects on student learning by encouraging (or discouraging) certain kinds of student experiences, which, in turn, influence student learning. The results point to a need for more complex designs than are typically adopted in most learning outcomes studies. Paper presented at the meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, May 16, 2006, Chicago, IL.