Principals Application Of Knowledge To The Structure And Support Of Special Education Programs In Florida Middle Schools

This study was developed to determine middle school principals\u27 knowledge about the structure of the special education program in their schools and the support given to the personnel who serve students with disabilities in that program. The principals\u27 knowledge was compared to the application of their knowledge to determine if principals were applying what they knew when making decisions about structuring and supporting the special education program in the school and the teachers and staff who work within the programs. In addition, various personal and school factors were analyzed to determine if any of these variables were significant in explaining any differences that were found between the principals\u27 knowledge and application of their knowledge. Finally, the principals\u27 innovativeness was determined, and the factors in common to the groups of principals who were most and least innovative were analyzed. When the data were analyzed, a statistically significant difference was found between reported knowledge and application of knowledge. None of the school and personal variables explained this difference. A statistically significant difference existed between the two groups of principals found to be most and least innovative. When analyzed, several school and personal variables were found to possibly explain the difference, and a profile was proposed for each group. The variables included gender, subject area taught, number of years as a professional educator, number of years since completing educational leadership training, number of years as a principal, primary source of information for structuring the special education program at their school, school size, district size, and types of classes offered to students with disabilities. Further research is needed to confirm these profiles and recommendations for future research are included

A journey through course development: The design process for a new early childhood education course

This paper discusses the design process in the development of an undergraduate early childhood course. This design process was grounded in learning theory, using a team-based collaborative process to consider, develop and refine the course design. It started with a reflection on the learners and the learning environment. It then moved into an iterative process of investigation, creation and refinement of a new course that addresses the characteristics of the learners, the learning environment, authentic assessment and the learning outcomes holistically. This paper details the design process from initial conceptual thinking through to the final proposal ready for the University governance process and accreditation approval. Future directions could consider investigating the experience of all stakeholders involved in the process, as well as the student experience of the new course, to inform the process of collaborative course design

A Two-Minute Paper-and-Pencil Test of Symbolic and Nonsymbolic Numerical Magnitude Processing Explains Variability in Primary School Children\u27s Arithmetic Competence

Recently, there has been a growing emphasis on basic number processing competencies (such as the ability to judge which of two numbers is larger) and their role in predicting individual differences in school-relevant math achievement. Children\u27s ability to compare both symbolic (e.g. Arabic numerals) and nonsymbolic (e.g. dot arrays) magnitudes has been found to correlate with their math achievement. The available evidence, however, has focused on computerized paradigms, which may not always be suitable for universal, quick application in the classroom. Furthermore, it is currently unclear whether both symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison are related to children\u27s performance on tests of arithmetic competence and whether either of these factors relate to arithmetic achievement over and above other factors such as working memory and reading ability. In order to address these outstanding issues, we designed a quick (2 minute) paper-and-pencil tool to assess children\u27s ability to compare symbolic and nonsymbolic numerical magnitudes and assessed the degree to which performance on this measure explains individual differences in achievement. Children were required to cross out the larger of two, single-digit numerical magnitudes under time constraints. Results from a group of 160 children from grades 1-3 revealed that both symbolic and nonsymbolic number comparison accuracy were related to individual differences in arithmetic achievement. However, only symbolic number comparison performance accounted for unique variance in arithmetic achievement. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed which include the use of this measure as a possible tool for identifying students at risk for future difficulties in mathematics. © 2013 Nosworthy et al

A two-minute paper and pencil test of symbolic and nonsymbolic numerical magnitude processing explains variability in primary school children’s arithmetic competence

Recently, there has been a growing emphasis on basic number processing competencies (such as the ability to judge which of two numbers is larger) and their role in predicting individual differences in school-relevant math achievement. Children’s ability to compare both symbolic (e.g. Arabic numerals) and nonsymbolic (e.g. dot arrays) magnitudes has been found to correlate with their math achievement. The available evidence, however, has focused on computerized paradigms, which may not always be suitable for universal, quick application in the classroom. Furthermore, it is currently unclear whether both symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison are related to children’s performance on tests of arithmetic competence and whether either of these factors relate to arithmetic achievement over and above other factors such as working memory and reading ability. In order to address these outstanding issues, we designed a quick (2 minute) paper-and-pencil tool to assess children’s ability to compare symbolic and nonsymbolic numerical magnitudes and assessed the degree to which performance on this measure explains individual differences in achievement. Children were required to cross out the larger of two, single-digit numerical magnitudes under time constraints. Results from a group of 160 children from grades 1–3 revealed that both symbolic and nonsymbolic number comparison accuracy were related to individual differences in arithmetic achievement. However, only symbolic number comparison performance accounted for unique variance in arithmetic achievement. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed which include the use of this measure as a possible tool for identifying students at risk for future difficulties in mathematics

Online collaboration as a pedagogical approach to learning and teaching undergraduate legal education

Legal education is in a period of rapid development driven by changing industry demands and developing technologies. This paper will describe an innovative pilot study which utilises new technologies to provide an alternative mode of teaching and learning to meet growing industry demands for graduates who are technologically savvy and have strong communication and collaboration skills. The pilot redesigns a law unit combining a more traditional approach with an approach in which online collaboration is critical to student learning as a teaching and assessment tool. After completing an online collaboration activity as part of their assessment for the unit, students completed an online survey to identify their perspectives of the online collaborative experience. The online survey data was analysed to identify common themes and the experiences of students are shared in this paper. The paper provides an example of how instructors might take advantage of a learning design process, online tools and infrastructure to develop educational experiences which promote communication and collaboration within the law discipline. It will also include five recommendations to consider when including online collaboration in unit design for law students

A Two-Minute Paper-and-Pencil Test of Symbolic and Nonsymbolic Numerical Magnitude Processing Explains Variability in Primary School Children\u27s Arithmetic Competence

Recently, there has been a growing emphasis on basic number processing competencies (such as the ability to judge which of two numbers is larger) and their role in predicting individual differences in school-relevant math achievement. Children\u27s ability to compare both symbolic (e.g. Arabic numerals) and nonsymbolic (e.g. dot arrays) magnitudes has been found to correlate with their math achievement. The available evidence, however, has focused on computerized paradigms, which may not always be suitable for universal, quick application in the classroom. Furthermore, it is currently unclear whether both symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison are related to children\u27s performance on tests of arithmetic competence and whether either of these factors relate to arithmetic achievement over and above other factors such as working memory and reading ability. In order to address these outstanding issues, we designed a quick (2 minute) paper-and-pencil tool to assess children\u27s ability to compare symbolic and nonsymbolic numerical magnitudes and assessed the degree to which performance on this measure explains individual differences in achievement. Children were required to cross out the larger of two, single-digit numerical magnitudes under time constraints. Results from a group of 160 children from grades 1-3 revealed that both symbolic and nonsymbolic number comparison accuracy were related to individual differences in arithmetic achievement. However, only symbolic number comparison performance accounted for unique variance in arithmetic achievement. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed which include the use of this measure as a possible tool for identifying students at risk for future difficulties in mathematics. © 2013 Nosworthy et al

Grade 3 correlations between arithmetic achievement and magnitude comparison.

<p><i>Note.</i> MC – Calculation raw scores; MF - Math Fluency raw scores; Sym – symbolic mean score; Nonsym – nonsymbolic mean score; Overall – overall mean score.</p>*<p><i>p</i><.05.</p>**<p><i>p<</i>.01.</p

Paper-and-pencil measure.

<p>Figures A, B, and C are examples of symbolic items. Figures D, E and F are examples of nonsymbolic items.</p