Reading instruction in first-grade classrooms: Do basals control teachers?

This study describes first-grade teachers beliefs and practices about reading instruction. Drawing from interview and observational data, 16 teachers from four districts were placed on a continuum from skills-based to literature-based in relationship to their use of the basal. Only 2 teachers were found to rely solely on the basal, while 3 teachers enhanced the basal with literature, and 4 teachers used only literature in their reading instruction. Six teachers enhanced their basal use with additional skills and 1 teacher relied on skills only in her reading instruction. This diversity\u27 of teaching beliefs and practices was corroborated by questionnaire data from a larger sample of teachers. Next, a framework developed by Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule (1986) was used to categorize teachers\u27 ways of knowing. The findings showed 1 teacher to be a silent knower, 6 were received knowers, 1 was a subjective knower, 7 were procedural knowers, and 1 was a connected knower. Results challenge Shannon\u27s (1987) hypothesis that basals deskill teachers while supporting Sosniak and Stodolskv\u27s (1993) view that teachers are more autonomous in their use of textbook materials

A case study on the implementation of an early sequential bilingual methodology on three- to five-year-old children at a public early childhood development center in the city of Pereira

Esta investigación surgió de la necesidad de consolidar una metodología bilingüe significativa para niños de tres a cinco años de edad, pertenecientes a niveles socioeconómicos bajos y que hacen parte del sistema de educación pública. El proyecto busca fortalecer el inglés y el español a través de una metodología bilingüe que proporcione a estos niños las mismas oportunidades que tienen los menores de estrato medio y alto. Este estudio tiene como objetivo implementar una metodología bilingüe secuencial temprana en un Centro de Desarrollo Infantil (CDI) público, y recolectar información de observaciones de clase, respuesta de los infantes, y percepciones de los educadores bilingües y de los padres de los niños que hicieron parte del proyecto, con el fin de contribuir a la modificación de la actual política bilingüe colombiana, de modo que incluya la primera infancia. Así mismo, se ofrecerá a los niños nuevas oportunidades para desarrollar habilidades cognitivas y neuronales que permitan maximizar su rendimiento académico durante los años escolares. Esta investigación cualitativa es un estudio de caso descriptivo financiado por la Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, y fue implementado en un CDI en Pereira (Risaralda-Colombia) basado en una propuesta metodológica bilingüe presentadas por Rodao (2011) y Arias et al. (2015). Esta investigación detalla y sistematiza las técnicas metodológicas más predominantes utilizadas en la enseñanza del inglés en un CDI público e interpreta su efectividad basada en los datos recogidos en encuestas, entrevistas, observaciones y notas de campo, así como las percepciones de las profesoras de primera infancia, educadores bilingües, investigadores, y padres acerca de la implementación

Children's naming and word-finding difficulties: descriptions and explanations

Purpose: There are a substantial minority of children for whom lexical retrieval problems impede the normal pattern of language development and use. These problems include accurately producing the correct word even when the word?s meaning is understood; such children are often referred to as having word-finding difficulties (WFDs). This review examines the nature of naming and lexical retrieval difficulties in these and other groups of children. Method: A review of the relevant literature on lexical access difficulties in children with word finding difficulties was conducted. Studies were examined in the terms of population parameters and comparison groups included in the study. Results and Conclusions: Most discussions of the cognitive processes causing lexical retrieval difficulties have referred to semantics, phonology and processing speed. It is argued that our understanding of these topics will be further advanced by the use of appropriate methodology to test developmental models that both identify the processes in successfully performing different lexical retrieval tasks and more precisely locating the difficulties experienced by children with such tasks

Academic attainment and special educational needs in extremely preterm children at 11 years of age : the EPICure Study

Aim: To assess academic attainment and special educational needs (SEN) in extremely preterm (EP) children in middle childhood. Methods: Of 307 EP (=25 weeks) survivors born in the UK and Ireland in 1995, 219 (71%) were re-assessed at 11 years, with a comparison group of 153 classmates born at term, using standardised tests of cognitive ability and academic attainment and teacher reports of school performance and special educational needs (SEN). Multiple imputation was used to correct for selective dropout. Results: EP children had significantly lower scores than classmates for cognitive ability (-20 points; 95%CI: -23,-17), reading (-18 points; -22,-15) and mathematics (-27 points; -31,-23). Twenty-nine (13%) EP children attended special school. In mainstream schools, 105 (57%) EP children had SEN (OR: 10; 6, 18) and 103 (55%) required SEN resource provision (OR: 10; 5, 18). Teachers rated 50% of EP children with attainment below the average range compared with 5% of classmates (OR: 18; CI: 8, 41). EP children who are entered for mainstream education an academic year early due to preterm birth had similar academic attainment but required more SEN support (OR: 2; 1.1,3.8). Conclusions: EP survivors remain at high risk for learning impairments and poor academic attainment in middle childhood. A significant proportion require full-time specialist education and over half of those attending mainstream schools require additional health or educational resources in order to access the national curriculum. The prevalence and impact of SEN is likely to increase as these children approach the transition to secondary school. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOME LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND CHILDREN’S LEARNING OUTCOMES: A REVIEW OF RECENT EVIDENCE

This literature review studies the recent research conducted in many countries and demonstrates the connection between the home learning activities and young children's literacy and numeracy skills. Can parents improve their young children's performance in literacy and mathematics? This question is at the heart of research on the home learning environment. Parents are the primary architects of a child's experiences through their childcare indoor and outdoor activities. This search strategy resulted in a total of 102 articles and our criteria were again applied to the full-text versions of these articles, which resulted in a total of 66 articles that were selected for the final quality check. The conclusion is that the more the parents interact with their children learning activities in their early childhood years, the better the children get in literacy and mathematics.Αυτή η βιβλιογραφική επισκόπηση μελετά την πρόσφατη έρευνα που διεξάγεται σε πολλές χώρες και καταδεικνύει τη σχέση μεταξύ των δραστηριοτήτων εκμάθησης στο σπίτι και των δεξιοτήτων γραφής και αριθμητικής των μικρών παιδιών. Μπορούν οι γονείς να βελτιώσουν τις επιδόσεις των μικρών παιδιών τους στον τομέα της γλώσσας (γραφή, ανάγνωση) και των μαθηματικών; Αυτή η ερώτηση βρίσκεται στο επίκεντρο της έρευνας για το περιβάλλον εκμάθησης στο σπίτι. Οι γονείς είναι οι κύριοι αρχιτέκτονες των εμπειριών ενός παιδιού μέσα από τις εσωτερικές και εξωτερικές δραστηριότητες παιδικής φροντίδας. Η στρατηγική αναζήτησης οδήγησε σε ένα σύνολο 102 άρθρων και τα κριτήρια που εφαρμόστηκαν στις εκδόσεις πλήρους κειμένου αυτών των άρθρων είχαν ως αποτέλεσμα την επιλογή συνολικά 66 άρθρων για τον τελικό ποιοτικό έλεγχο. Το συμπέρασμα είναι ότι όσο περισσότερο αλληλεπιδρούν οι γονείς με τις μαθησιακές δραστηριότητες των παιδιών τους, στα πρώτα τους παιδικά χρόνια, τόσο καλύτερη είναι η σχολική επίδοση των παιδιών αργότερα στη γλώσσα και στα μαθηματικά

Nutrition and student achievement in kindergarten students: an experimental study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the effects of nutrition on student achievement. The subjects were a transitional kindergarten class, ages 5-6, who took part in a 3-week experimental study. Each week the subjects were instructed to perform a cognitive task directly following a treatment. Week 1, the cognitive task was performed following a nutritional snack; week 2, the cognitive task was performed following a non-nutritional snack; and week 3, a cognitive task was performed without any snack at all. The results indicated that the findings for each week were not statistically significant: F (1,13)=213.86, p \u3c .000. The snacks or lack thereof, did not have any affect on the ability of the students to complete cognitive tasks. The highest mean of scores, although not enough to make the week statistically significant, occurred week 3 when the cognitive task was performed after no snack at all. The findings are not congruent with research on the effects of nutrition and cognitive development. Research shows that proper nutrition yields the highest level of child development, both mentally and physically. Limitations which may have threatened the internal validity of the experiment, and implications for future research are discussed

Diplomas for Learning, not Seat Time: The Impacts of New York Regents Examinations

[Excerpt] New York State has been administering curriculum-based Regents Examinations to high school students ever since June 1878. As Sherman Tinkelman, Assistant Commissioner for Examinations and Scholarships described in a 1966 report: The Regents examinations are closely related to the curriculum in New York State. They are, as you can see, inseparably intertwined. One supports and reinforces the other.... These instruments presuppose and define standards.... They are a strong supervisory and instructional tool-- and deliberately so. They are effective in stimulating good teaching and good learning practices (Tinkelman, 1966 p. 12)