The Centre for Studies in Science Education at the University of Leeds

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of aesthetic science activities on improving elementary school at-risk families’ children's positive thinking, attitudes toward science, and decreasing their anxiety about learning science. Thirty-six 4th-grade children from at-risk families volunteered to participate in a 12-week intervention and formed the experimental group; another 97 typical 4th graders were randomly selected to participant in the assessment and were used as the comparison group. The treatment for experimental group children emphasized scaffolding aesthetic science activities and inquiry strategies. The Elementary School Student Questionnaire was administered to assess all children's positive thinking, attitudes toward science, and anxiety about learning science. In addition, nine target children from the experimental group with the lowest scores on either positive thinking, or attitudes toward science, or with the highest scores on anxiety about learning science in the pre-test were recruited to be interviewed at the end of the intervention and observed weekly. Confirmatory factor analyses, analyses of covariance, and content theme analysis assessed the similarities and differences between groups. It was found that the at-risk families’ children were motivated by the treatment and made significant progress on positive thinking and attitudes toward science, and also decreased their anxiety about learning science. The findings from interviews and classroom observations also revealed that the intervention made differences in children's affective perceptions of learning science. Implication and research recommendation are discussed.     

Teaching at-risk students to read using specialized techniques in the regular classroom

The reading achievement of at-risk first, second, and third grade students participating in a systematic, sequential, multi-sensory, synthetic, phonetically-based approach to reading (Project Read) was compared with that of control group students instructed through the use of traditional basal readers. Data were analyzed for both the full study and a sub-group in which the teacher variable was controlled. Significant differences were found at first grade for all subtests and the total reading achievement of treatment group students. First grade students reached achievement levels thought possible only through tutoring.     

Using response to kindergarten and first grade intervention to identify children at-risk for long-term reading difficulties

Entry-level kindergartners in classrooms from five middle class school districts were given a test of letter identification and children who scored at or below the 30th percentile on the test were classified as “at risk” for early reading difficulties. Half of these children were randomly assigned to a project-based intervention condition where they received supplementary intervention in small groups until the end of their kindergarten year. The other half received whatever remedial services were available at their home schools and literacy skills development in both groups was tracked throughout kindergarten. All available at-risk children were again assessed at the beginning of first grade and dichotomized into a “continued-risk” group and a “no-longer-at-risk” group using a composite measure of basic word level skills. Normal reader controls were also identified using the same measure. Children in the continued-risk group received either project-based intervention (one-to-one tutoring 30 min daily) or school-based intervention throughout first grade. Intervention for project treatment children was discontinued at the end of first grade and literacy development in all groups was tracked until the end of third grade. The present study focused on literacy development in children who received only project-based kindergarten intervention or both (project-based) kindergarten and first grade intervention, relative to the normal reader controls. Of special interest was the question of whether measures of response to intervention would more effectively distinguish between continued-risk and no-longer-at-risk children than would kindergarten screening measures, measures of intelligence, or measures of reading-related cognitive abilities. Results indicated that the RTI measures more effectively and more consistently distinguished between these two groups than did the psychometric measures.

Understanding Persistence of At-Risk Students in Higher Education Enrollment Management Using Multiple Linear Regression and Network Analysis

Abstract

This article presents research on persistence among at-risk students using network analysis following multiple linear regression (MLR). Data on a population of enrolled undergraduate students at an urban-serving university over several years (P?=?35,239) is tested using multiple linear regression. Variables interacting at different dimensions of the model are analyzed using IBM SPSS Neural Networks (2017) and Cytoscape (2018) to show network linkages. While variables may not be significant in MLR models where anomalies are ruled out, network analysis takes these anomalies into account and reveals complex layers of interactions between and among variables. Findings show that loans of any kind contribute to attrition while financial aid of any kind contributes to persistence and offsets attrition from loans.     

Investigating video as a means to promote vocabulary for at-risk children

Two studies on the role of video on vocabulary learning were conducted in kindergarten classrooms with substantial numbers of children from low-income and Dual Language Learning (DLL) backgrounds. In the first study (n = 78), the effect of video viewing was compared with the effect of book reading on vocabulary learning. In the second study (n = 89), the effect of repeated viewing of video was compared with the effect of single viewing of video on vocabulary learning. Pre-test and post-test receptive and expressive vocabulary measures, which were aligned with the content in the studies, were administered. Analysis of Variance was used to test the effect of condition (i.e., video viewing versus book reading and single versus repeated reading) on children’s word knowledge. Results showed no difference in vocabulary learning between the video viewing and book reading conditions. Findings showed that there was no difference in vocabulary learning between children in the single and repeated viewing condition on the receptive measure, but children in the repeated viewing condition showed higher gains in vocabulary on the expressive measure. No differences were found in either study between children with higher and lower vocabulary knowledge.     

Using Microsoft<Superscript>®</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">PowerPoint</Emphasis>™ to Support Emergent Literacy Skill Development for Young Children At-Risk or Who Have Disabilities

The increasing availability and use of technology applications for teaching emergent literacy skills in early childhood education settings nationwide requires that early childhood education professionals develop skills with readily available software programs. This paper provides general recommendations in using Microsoft^® PowerPoint? to support emergent literacy skill development for young children at-risk or who have disabilities. Specific suggestions are presented in the areas of phonological awareness, alphabetic principles, comprehension, concepts about print, and vocabulary development.     

Web-Based Training of Metacognitive Strategies for Text Comprehension: Focus on Poor Comprehenders

Metacognitive reading strategies were trained and practiced using interactive Web-based tools. Twenty middle school poor reading comprehenders were trained in two metacognitive strategies using a Web-based application called 3D-Readers. The training texts were science-oriented and merged the narrative and expository genres. Results from a within-subjects design answered two main experimental questions: (1) Were greater comprehension gains demonstrated after reading experimental texts with embedded verbal (generate questions) and visual (create a model) strategies compared to control texts? (2) Did the embedded strategies affect elective rereading of the texts? The data answered both questions in the affirmative. Comprehension, as assessed with constructed answers, was significantly higher in the experimental condition, thus demonstrating the efficacy of training verbal and visual strategies in a Web-based environment. In addition, participants elected to reread more often in the experimental condition (as assessed with number of clicks to “ScrollBack” through the text), thus demonstrating the efficacy of strategy training on text reprocessing. Interestingly, the poorer comprehenders altered their rereading behavior the most. Implications for Web-based instructional applications are discussed.     

Effects of remedial numeracy instruction throughout kindergarten starting at different ages: Evidence from a large-scale longitudinal study

The aims of this study are to investigate the effects of remedial numeracy support throughout kindergarten, and to compare the effects of interventions from different lengths. Support occurred two times per week for either 1.5 (90 sessions: complete condition) or 0.5 school years (28 sessions: short condition). Below-average students were randomly assigned to complete intervention (N = 155), short intervention (N = 105), or control (systematically offered education-as-usual; N = 150). Accounting for achievements at pretest, children who received one of the interventions outperformed the control children in early numeracy at post-test and follow-up, suggesting that children internalized the learned knowledge. Transfer effects on simple arithmetic were only found in the complete support group, whereas both interventions were effective for complex mathematics.     

Is this what we want them to say? Examining the tensions in what U.S. preservice teachers say about risk and academic achievement

Questions abound in the U.S. based teacher education literature about the kind of knowledge teachers should possess about learning and academic achievement that will enable them to provide all students with an equitable, effective schooling experience. This article examines how a group of preservice teachers—enrolled in a teacher education program that challenges deficit thinking—understand and talk about academic achievement, paying particular attention to the extent to which the candidates account for academic achievement and recognize potential academic risk. Based on the paradoxical stability and tentativeness of teacher candidates' talk about risk, academic achievement and the deployment of the “at-risk” category, I suggest the need to illuminate the complex body of knowledge that informs teacher candidates' understanding, particularly the knowledge deployed in teacher education curriculum.     

The microgenetic emergence of cooperative play in 6-year-olds developmentally at-risk

Cooperative play was investigated by a controlled pre/post-test intervention design with 28 dyads of 6-year-old students developmentally at-risk. Selection was based upon cut-off scores on a language development test and a nonverbal IQ test, and same-sex pairs were matched within classrooms. Co-variables were: socio economic status, free play time in school and pedagogical quality of the classrooms. Each child was rated with respect to temperament. Play session 1 served as pretest for both research conditions. Then five play sessions of 20 min within 3 weeks took place in the experimental condition. Eight weeks after session 6 a play session took place in both research conditions serving as post-test. After microgenetic analyses of the data, ANCOVA's were computed of time played in collaboration, and proportion of pretend play and of deep collaboration. The results revealed that the level of collaboration had improved dramatically in the experimental condition only. Moreover, the findings showed that the length of time dyads spent cooperating, and how deeply they collaborated on tasks, was related to how agreeable and emotionally stable they were. Gender effects also came forward. No long-term intervention effects were found.