Are Linguistic Responses Similar in Adult Literacy Students and Third-Fifth Grade Children?

This roundtable discussion will focus on a study of adult learners and children who recognize words at the third-fifth grade levels. Their responses to different linguistic task items will be compared and analyzed. Theoretical and instructional implications will be discussed

The Challenges Facing Adult Literacy Programs

The field of adult literacy is complex. This complexity poses many challenges for literacy programs. This paper addresses the challenges of collaboration, diversity, attendance, assessment and professional development as they apply to adult literacy programs. Recommendations for increasing the success of literacy programs are provided

Changes in reading habits by low literate adults through extensive reading

This study analyzes the effect of two reading interventions on reading habits by 181 low literate adults who read at the 3-5.9 grade levels. One intervention implemented extensive reading (ER group) and the other one had direct instruction (no-ER group). A Reading Pattern survey was administered at the beginning, at the end, and 6 months after the intervention. Statistical results suggest that the ER group, which had access to books, free choice of reading material, and time to read during instruction hours, was more motivated to read, developed a reading habit, and experienced a positive change in reading behavior. These changes stayed over time, 6 months after treatment. This study strongly suggests that adult learners can benefit from extensive and pleasure reading and that a well-equipped library, easy access to books, and encouragement and time to read are all key factors in the development of reading habits

Characteristics of Executive Functioning in a Small Sample of Children with Tourette Syndrome

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a disorder that involves at least one vocal tic and two or more motor tics, however associated symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Attention Deficit Disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) are common. Many children with TS exhibit educational difficulties and one possible explanation may be deficits in executive functioning. The focus of this study was to look at the severity of symptoms often associated with TS (tics, OCS, and ADHD symptoms) and its potential relationship with the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) parent form in eleven children diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, ages 8-14. The BRIEF was completed by the parent of the child along with symptom measures evaluating tics, obsessive-compulsive behaviors and attention deficit symptoms. Despite relative low mean scores on the symptom measures and just a few children exhibiting clinically significant scores on the BRIEF indexes, at least half the children exhibited abnormal scores on the working memory, inhibit, and shift subscales on the BRIEF. Varying patterns of relationships were found on the BRIEF subscales for each symptom severity scales. Results suggest that the BRIEF may be useful in determining the specific areas of difficulty in a population with variable symptomatology

Modeling Child-Based Theoretical Reading Constructs with Struggling Adult Readers

This study examined whether measurement constructs behind reading-related tests for struggling adult readers are similar to what is known about measurement constructs for children. The sample included 371 adults reading between the third- and fifth-grade levels, including 127 men and 153 English speakers of other languages. Using measures of skills and subskills, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test child-based theoretical measurement models of reading: an achievement model of reading skills, a core deficit model of reading subskills, and an integrated model containing achievement and deficit variables. Although the findings present the best measurement models, the contribution of this article is the description of the difficulties encountered when applying child-based assumptions to developing measurement models for struggling adult readers

Postsecondary Outcomes of Georgia’s Adult Education Students

The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) oversees Georgia’s public technical colleges, workforce development programs, and adult basic skills education (“adult education”) system. Classes in this system help adult students (“adult learners”) improve literacy, numeracy, communications, and other skills. A goal for some learners is to develop the skills needed to enroll and succeed in a two- or four-year postsecondary institution. This report, by researchers in the Adult Literacy Research Center and the Child & Family Policy Lab, examines the number and characteristics of these learners in Georgia who subsequently enroll in the state’s public technical colleges, colleges, and universities and their postsecondary academic outcomes. It analyzes administrative data from the TCSG adult education system, TCSG technical colleges, and the University System of Georgia (USG). It also compares the characteristics of technical college and USG students who had and had not previously enrolled in this system. A quarter of learners who enter with advanced secondary education skills subsequently enroll in public postsecondary institutions. Enrollments are lower if learners enter with fewer skills. Learners who are younger, attend more hours of classes, earn high school equivalency credentials, take integrated education and training classes, make measurable skill gains, or have more experienced or full-time teachers have higher postsecondary enrollment rates than other learners. Compared to other students in public technical colleges, students with adult education backgrounds are more likely to be women or Asian and slightly less likely to be Black or Hispanic.https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/gpl_reports/1042/thumbnail.jp

The Ursinus Weekly, April 1, 1971

Pilot group sets guidelines for Ursinus Student Union • UC morality survey tabulated; Sophomore promiscuity revealed • Chapter scholars named • April social life • State of our prisons: Prisoners relate restrictive conditions at Graterford • Editorial: Unsightly minority • Focus: Warren Cohen • Shrunken heads • From the editor\u27s desk: Twenty-five months later • Movie critic: Lovers and other strangers; Cold turkey • Lana addresses Psychology Club • USGA consolidated notes • Team prepares for Swarthmore; Gurzynski hopeful for M.A.C. • Sports corner • Snellbelles vie in Delaware hoop tourney • Baseball previewhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1143/thumbnail.jp

Pre-dialysis patients' perceived autonomy, self-esteem and labor participation: associations with illness perceptions and treatment perceptions. A cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Compared to healthy people, patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) participate less in paid jobs and social activities. The aim of the study was to examine a) the perceived autonomy, self-esteem and labor participation of patients in the pre-dialysis phase, b) pre-dialysis patients' illness perceptions and treatment perceptions, and c) the association of these perceptions with autonomy, self-esteem and labor participation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients (N = 109) completed questionnaires at home. Data were analysed using bivariate and multivariate analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results showed that the average autonomy levels were not very high, but the average level of self-esteem was rather high, and that drop out of the labor market already occurs during the pre-dialysis phase. Positive illness and treatment beliefs were associated with higher autonomy and self-esteem levels, but not with employment. Multiple regression analyses revealed that illness and treatment perceptions explained a substantial amount of variance in autonomy (17%) and self-esteem (26%). The perception of less treatment disruption was an important predictor.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patient education on possibilities to combine CKD and its treatment with activities, including paid work, might stimulate positive (realistic) beliefs and prevent or challenge negative beliefs. Interventions focusing on these aspects may assist patients to adjust to CKD, and ultimately prevent unnecessary drop out of the labor market.</p

Interobserver reliability of classification and characterization of proximal humeral fractures: a comparison of two and three-dimensional CT

Interobserver reliability for the classification of proximal humeral fractures is limited. The aim of this study was to test the null hypothesis that interobserver reliability of the AO classification of proximal humeral fractures, the preferred treatment, and fracture characteristics is the same for two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) computed tomography (CT). Members of the Science of Variation Group--fully trained practicing orthopaedic and trauma surgeons from around the world--were randomized to evaluate radiographs and either 2-D CT or 3-D CT images of fifteen proximal humeral fractures via a web-based survey and respond to the following four questions: (1) Is the greater tuberosity displaced? (2) Is the humeral head split? (3) Is the arterial supply compromised? (4) Is the glenohumeral joint dislocated? They also classified the fracture according to the AO system and indicated their preferred treatment of the fracture (operative or nonoperative). Agreement among observers was assessed with use of the multirater kappa (&kappa;) measure. Interobserver reliability of the AO classification, fracture characteristics, and preferred treatment generally ranged from &quot;slight&quot; to &quot;fair.&quot; A few small but statistically significant differences were found. Observers randomized to the 2-D CT group had slightly but significantly better agreement on displacement of the greater tuberosity (&kappa; = 0.35 compared with 0.30, p &lt; 0.001) and on the AO classification (&kappa; = 0.18 compared with 0.17, p = 0.018). A subgroup analysis of the AO classification results revealed that shoulder and elbow surgeons, orthopaedic trauma surgeons, and surgeons in the United States had slightly greater reliability on 2-D CT, whereas surgeons in practice for ten years or less and surgeons from other subspecialties had slightly greater reliability on 3-D CT. Proximal humeral fracture classifications may be helpful conceptually, but they have poor interobserver reliability even when 3-D rather than 2-D CT is utilized. This may contribute to the similarly poor interobserver reliability that was observed for selection of the treatment for proximal humeral fractures. The lack of a reliable classification confounds efforts to compare the outcomes of treatment methods among different clinical trials and reports

Changes in reading habits by low literate adults through extensive reading

Abstract This study analyzes the effect of two reading interventions on reading habits by 181 low literate adults who read at the 3-5.9 grade levels. One intervention implemented extensive reading (ER group) and the other one had direct instruction (no-ER group). A Reading Pattern survey was administered at the beginning, at the end, and 6 months after the intervention. Statistical results suggest that the ER group, which had access to books, free choice of reading material, and time to read during instruction hours, was more motivated to read, developed a reading habit, and experienced a positive change in reading behavior. These changes stayed over time, 6 months after treatment. This study strongly suggests that adult learners can benefit from extensive and pleasure reading and that a wellequipped library, easy access to books, and encouragement and time to read are all key factors in the development of reading habits. Keywords: reading habit, literacy behavior, low literate adults, extensive reading, pleasure reading, library, reading attitude This study is part of a larger research 1 endeavor on the effect of different instructional approaches to reading for adults (ages 16 and older) who read single words and are between 3 and 5.9 grade equivalency levels (both native and non-native speakers of English were included in this study). As part of the larger study, gains in phonological awareness, orthography, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension were measured. The results showed that the participants showed some improvement, albeit with small effect sizes and no statistically significant differences among the several instructional approaches (for a detailed explanation of the results se