Understanding the Learning & Advocacy Needs of a Twice-Exceptional Student Through A Strengths-Based Lens: A Case Study in California

Twice-exceptional students possess both high ability and learning disabilities. The complex interaction of their gifts and disabilities perplexes both educators and parents. Educators often use a deficit approach when working with these learners; new research calls for multi-dimensional, strengths-based approaches to engage these students. Strengths-based approaches draw upon student strengths, interests, and talents to help address their disabilities. In this study, information was gathered from a mixed-methods, strengths-based approach to gauge a student’s strengths, interests, talents and disabilities to add to the research on traditional assessment and intervention approaches. The researcher also explored how parents’ understanding of their child aligned with the child’s perception of those variables and their understanding of a strengths-based advocacy approach. Findings from the study provide rich data on the subject’s strengths, interests, talents and disabilities which can be used in future advocacy efforts. The overarching theme of the research was the achievement the student attained through his parents’ successful advocacy. The parents utilized a strengths-based approach in their advocacy most notably by prioritizing their son’s giftedness and met his dual educational needs by adopting a separate spheres approach, two key component themes. Another key component theme that emerged from the data is the way in which complexity engaged the student in learning

Primary School Teachers’ Constructions of Mathematics Attainment Differences: A Critical and Bioecological Exploration

There is a persistent gap between the mathematical attainment of children from vulnerable groups and their peers. This has a significant effect upon the access of children from disadvantaged backgrounds to educational and social opportunities both in childhood and into their adult lives. It also impacts upon their perceptions of their mathematics abilities. It is therefore important that educational psychologists seek to equalise opportunities for mathematical success, regardless of a child’s circumstances. Teachers’ perspectives surrounding the mathematics attainment gap not only impact upon how they interact with students; they can also directly affect students’ mathematics performance. Despite this, little research has been undertaken to explore what factors influence teachers’ constructions of attainment differences. While some studies have considered teachers’ mathematics attainment views as part of intervention evaluations or quantitative studies, there is little in-depth research considering the breadth and origin of their views. This is of importance to educational psychologists as teachers’ perspectives will affect their responsiveness to psychological approaches and interventions designed to reduce the mathematics attainment gap. In this research I present four case studies that explore the ways in which primary teachers conceptualise mathematics attainment differences and how this is influenced by their personal characteristics, contexts and experiences (bioecology). Completing four semi-structured interviews with each participant, I analysed these interviews to identify each teacher’s bioecological influences. I then critically examined their views around mathematics attainment differences to identify themes in their perspectives. Finally, these analyses were combined to consider how each teacher’s bioecology influenced their conceptualisations of mathematics attainment differences. Each of the teachers in this study presented different views surrounding the origins of mathematics attainment differences and how these differences should be approached. Exploration of their bioecology in relation to these views suggested there were multiple interconnected influences upon their perspectives. Teachers’ own experiences of learning mathematics at school and the impact of universal attainment expectations were consistently related to teachers’ views, although the type of influence they conferred was highly variable. As teachers’ views and influences were so varied, different psychological approaches and knowledge would be required when working with each teacher to reduce the mathematics attainment gap within their classes most effectively: one approach would be unlikely to fit all. The findings of this research suggest that deeper exploration of teacher perspectives can be supportive to understanding their views around mathematics attainment differences. Greater knowledge of teachers’ perspectives and influences may support educational psychologists to tailor their training and casework to address mathematical attainment differences more effectively. In addition, exploration of views and influences upon them allows both teachers and educational psychologists the time and space to critically reflect upon their own assumptions and practice. Future research with different teacher groups and demographics is suggested to broaden our understanding of how teachers form their mathematics attainment views. Further exploration of the importance of the wider educational context and teachers’ school experiences on their views and practices is also suggested

Twice-Exceptional Identification and Identity Formation: A Mixed Methods Study

This research study examined the parent perceptions of and relationships among intellectual potential, academic achievement, and the order of identification of exceptionality for twice-exceptional students. Twice-exceptional students exhibit both giftedness and a learning disability or difference. Consistently and equitably identifying and serving twice-exceptional students is a persistent problem of practice in the field of education (Artiles et al., 2010; Gentry et al., 2019; List & Dykeman, 2019; Moon & Reis, 2004; Webb et al., 2019). This study was supported by a community partner, a private educational testing and advocacy agency in a Western state. This mixed methods study utilized a two-phase research design. The quantitative phase consisted of data analysis of assessment records of twice exceptional students. These data were collected by the community partner and de-identified and shared with the researcher. Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Welch t-tests. For the qualitative phase, participants were recruited through the community partner. Participants engaged in two hour-long interviews to share their perceptions of the experiences of their twice-exceptional child. Qualitative data were analyzed and presented in a narrative format to explore patterns and themes. Data were interpreted through the lens of identity formation, and the conceptual frames of intersectionality, stereotype threat, and self-concept

In-Point assessment. Authentic simulation role play, as a pedagogical approach to assist adult nursing students with clinical practice assessments: A collaborative approach between academic and professional support staff in the School of Healthcare Sciences

Clinical assessment within the Nursing Undergraduate Programme was being interpreted in ways that did not offer consistency,parity, and fairness to students. The purpose of ‘in-point assessment’ is to confirm students are meeting levels of proficiencyexpected across all three years of the nursing programme. To remedy this, lecturers from the Adult Nursing faculty and the Simulation Team developed high quality exemplar videos to clearly identify the expectations of this assessment. These video resources offered students an inclusive, innovative and authentic design and enabled co- production between academics and professional staff which was highly rewarding and enabled further development for future projects. A series of four 20-minute role-play videos were developed to address the clinical assessment criteria across the programme,including assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating care (year one); medicines management (year two), supervising and supporting learning; and leading, managing and coordinating care (year three). Preliminary evaluations using Mentimeter response tools and online survey forms has revealed that such resources were valued as an effective way of learning and understanding the criteria associated with in-point assessments. Ultimately, this resource has offered an inclusive learning experience that enabled students to meet their clinical proficiencies

Enhancing visuospatial processing skills in children

Growing evidence highlights the importance of visual-spatial processing skills (VSPS) but teaching and training of these skills at early age in schools remain understudied. To this end, we have developed a computerized application called TangSolver that aim to move one step toward assessment and training of VSPS of school age children. First, we compared the effectiveness of an experimental computerized VSPS-enhancing approach, a conventional face-to-face training regime, and a non-training control group in improving performance in a tangram game among typical children. Second, we investigated how training-resistant possible visuospatial processing differences between children with and without ASD are. We studied the effect of computerized vs. face-to-face visuospatial training in a group of normally intelligent children with ASD and typically developing children as control. Findings show that (a) children with and without ASD do not differ much in visuospatial processing (as assessed by a tangram-like task) and the few differences we observed were all eliminated by training; (b) training can improve visuospatial processing (equally) in both children with ASD and normally developing children; and (c) computer-based and face-to-face training was equally effective.NWOUBL - phd migration 201

Predictors of U.S. Teachers\u27 Use of Metacognition in Mathematics Instruction

American schools have been struggling with improving achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for decades. For the last four decades, the overall mathematics performance of 17 year-olds on the National Assessment of Educational Progress has not shown any significant improvement. Mathematics teachers can use metacognitive techniques to make immediate adjustments in instruction that may assist students in becoming more skillful problem solvers. The purpose of this study was to provide new knowledge about the potential predictors of mathematics teachers\u27 use of the six subfactors of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory for Teachers. The inventory was administered to 120 K-12 grade teachers from the membership list of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics via an online survey. Multiple regression analysis indicates that there are significant differences among the participants in the influence of potential predictor variables for declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, conditional knowledge, planning awareness, and monitoring awareness. The positive β coefficient indicates that the number of years of teaching experience plays a role in increasing the mathematics teachers\u27 awareness of metacognition, β=.207,