'There's no way this kid's retarded': teachers' optimistic constructions of students' ability

Historical research in the field of autism has suggested that judgements regarding the ability of students with autism should be made carefully, taking into consideration the person with autism's difficulty with communication, movement and performance in general. Although the historical literature has urged professionals to proceed with caution regarding judgements about ability, a haphazard understanding of people with autism as retarded prevails. This qualitative study analyses the experiences of four teachers who, within the context of the inclusive classroom, resist interpreting non-verbal students with autism as mentally retarded and seek to form a new understanding of ability. The following themes will be discussed: (1) finding situations where students demonstrate competence, (2) rethinking performance and understanding, and (3) expecting struggles.     

“I am thinking that speech is asinine”: Narrating Complexities and Rethinking the Notion of “Independence” in Communication

This article presents a narrative accounting of a critical interpretivist research study that sought to document the emergence of useful speech in participants who had previously been described as largely nonverbal. The purpose of this piece is to narrate this inquiry process through examination not only of our participants' own accounts of their experiences but also through critical examination of the ways in which we as researchers solicit and respond to those accounts. Our analytic gaze, therefore, focuses on the dialectic process through which we interactively co-construct concepts related to disability in our participants' experiences, alternating between narrating our own experience of this process as researchers and narrating our participants' accounts of their own experiences with this interpretive process. Discussion focuses on critique of the cultural value accorded to the notions of “independence” and “normalcy,” and on the participants' demonstration of their own agency in the complex, fluid, and constant process of managing and constructing, in concert with those around them, and often in the face of significant resistance to the process, their own positive and valued identities as competent communicators.     

Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness Using Classroom Observations: A Rasch Analysis of the Rater Effects of Principals

In most U.S. schools, teachers are evaluated using observation of teaching practice (OTP). This study investigates rater effects on OTP ratings among 421 principals in an authentic teacher evaluation system. Many-facet Rasch analysis (MFR) using a block of shared ratings revealed that principals generally (a) differentiated between more and less effective teachers, (b) rated their teachers with leniency (i.e., overused higher rating categories), and (c) differentiated between teaching practices (e.g., Cognitive Engagement vs. Classroom Management) with minimal halo effect. Individual principals varied significantly in degree of leniency, and approximately 12% of principals exhibited severe rater bias. Implications for use of OTP ratings for evaluating teachers’ effectiveness are discussed. Strengths and limitations of MFR to analyze rater effects in OTP are also discussed.     

The lack of representation of educational psychology and school psychology in introductory psychology textbooks

The first goal of this study was to look at the representation of educational and school psychology in introductory psychology textbooks. Research into the representation of other sub‐fields of psychology has been conducted but no research has looked specifically at educational or school psychology. The second goal was to compare the representation of educational and school psychology in introductory psychology textbooks to see if one or the other is receiving more coverage. Third, the textbooks with the most coverage were listed in order to aid educational and school psychologists teaching introductory psychology courses in selecting textbooks that adequately cover material from their sub‐fields. A total of 57 introductory psychology textbooks were content analyzed: 65% of the introductory psychology textbooks had educational psychology material and 65% had school psychology material. However, in the textbooks containing this material the educational and school psychology material made up only .29% and .19% of the textbooks’ total content.     

Looking on the bright side: children's knowledge about the benefits of positive versus negative thinking

Five- to 10-year-olds (N = 90) listened to 6 illustrated scenarios featuring 2 characters that jointly experience the same positive event (and feel good), negative event (and feel bad), or ambiguous event (and feel okay). Afterward, one character thinks a positive thought and the other thinks a negative thought. Children predicted and explained each character's emotions. Results showed significant development between 5 and 10 years in children's understanding that thinking positively improves emotions and thinking negatively makes one feel worse, with earliest knowledge demonstrated when reasoning about ambiguous and positive events. Individual differences in child and parental optimism and hope predicted children's knowledge about thought-emotion connections on some measures, including their beliefs about the emotional benefits of thinking positively in negative situations.     

Assessing the Need for Decision-Making Capacity Education in Hospitals and Long Term Care (LTC) Settings

Clinicians are often asked to evaluate older individuals for their capacity to make decisions regarding their medical care, often referred to as “medical decision-making capacity” (MDMC). However, the degree to which clinicians have the necessary knowledge to properly evaluate MDMC is uncertain. To assess the level of training and knowledge that clinicians report having regarding MDMC, and to determine the best avenue for further education on this issue, a survey was developed and distributed to clinicians at a large medical center and long-term-care (LTC) facility. The majority of responders reported having minimal training about MDMC. They endorsed a limited to moderate level of current knowledge regarding the topic, although responders also ascribed a high level of importance/relevance of such knowledge to their line of work. Such responses suggest that the current educational modality has not met the needs of the respondents and that MDMC education has high importance/relevance.     

Principals may inflate teacher evaluation scores to achieve important goals

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - A concerning attribute of teacher evaluations across countries is the systemic leniency of principals during classroom observations. However,...     

Principals’ use of rating scale categories in classroom observations for teacher evaluation

Teacher evaluation systems commonly rely on observation of teaching practice (OTP) by school principals. However, the value of OTP as evidence of teacher effectiveness depends on its psychometric quality. In this study, we address a key aspect of the psychometric quality of principals’ OTP ratings. Specifically, we investigate the degree to which rating scale categories have a consistent interpretation across teaching episodes and practices. Results suggest that the 1,324 principals’ use of the rating scale categories functioned as intended overall. However, we also found that the midpoint category is underutilized and that rating categories do not always reflect similar levels of teaching effectiveness across teaching episodes and practices. When such discrepancies occur, we cannot assume principals’ ratings reflect a consistent level of teacher effectiveness within and across classrooms. This is a critical component of validity evidence that can inform the interpretation of OTP ratings and point to areas for improvement in both the rubrics and in principals’ training for classroom observations.     

Discovery Tools in the Classroom: A Usability Study and Implications for Information Literacy Instruction

In 2016, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) library acquired ProQuest’s discovery tool Summon. To determine when information literacy instruction using Summon would be effective and what aspects should be taught, librarians conducted a usability study. Students completed tasks focused on determining whether Summon is intuitive and whether the interface needs to be taught. Results indicate that students are comfortable with the interface and have few problems with the tool. Instead, participants struggled with critical thinking processes associated with research. Results were used to integrate the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education into instruction.