EFFECT OF A BALANCED LITERARY PROGRAM IN KINDERGARTEN

The purpose of this study was to show the effect of a balanced reading instruction on kindergartners. The subjects were students from 10 kindergarten classes in 2 consecutive school years. This was a causal-comparative study with 129 students in the control group and 151 students in the experimental group. Both the control group and the experimental group were pretested in the the fall and posttested in the spring, using the Lexia Comprehensive Reading Test. The posttest mean of the experimental group (M = 28.0, SD = 10.3) was higher than the mean of the control group (M = 24.1, SD = 5.21). The results of the AN COVA using the pretest as the covariate showed that the differenc was statistically significant, F (2,274) + 95.8, p \u3c .001. The results support the hypothesis and are consistent with The Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read. For over two years the National Reading Panel reviewed research based knowledge on reading instruction and held open panel meetings in Washington, D.C., and regional meetings across the United States. This research is driving the reading instruction in elementary schools throughout the nation

Using Concept Inventories to Measure Understanding

Measuring understanding is notoriously difficult. Indeed, in formulating learning outcomes the word “understanding” is usually avoided, but in the sciences, developing understanding is one of the main aims of instruction. Scientific knowledge is factual, having been tested against empirical observation and experimentation, but knowledge of facts alone is not enough. There are also models and theories containing complex ideas and inter-relationships that must be understood, and considerable attention has been devoted across a range of scientific disciplines to measuring understanding. This case study will focus on one of the main tools employed: the concept inventory and in particular the Force Concept Inventory. The success of concept inventories in physics has spawned concept inventories in chemistry, biology, astronomy, materials science and maths, to name a few. We focus here on the FCI, ask how useful concept inventories are for evaluating learning gains. Finally, we report on recent work by the authors to extend conceptual testing beyond the multiple-choice format

Harnessing the Power of Storytelling and Storylistening: Fostering Challenging Conversations in Coastal Communities

As sustainability practitioners we often spend our time in vibrant echo chambers. We’re invigorated by debates about how to support just and sustainable communities and environments. But what happens outside that echo chamber? What happens when we meet a neighbor, a colleague or a decisionmaker who doesn’t share our urgency for action? Do we go it alone as we seek to make change? Or do we need to build new, unexpected partnerships? In a time when technology and political and social divisiveness make it easy to dismiss the other, it is vital that we build pathways to understanding opposing points of view and better communicating our own. Storytelling and storylistening are vital tools to breaking down perceived barriers to collaboration and cooperation. Sustainability practitioners should challenge ourselves to approach those of opposing views with empathy

Measuring Expressed Emotion: An Evaluation of the Shortcuts

The construct of expressed emotion (EE) is a highly reliable and valid predictor of poor clinical outcomes in patients with major psychopathology. Patients are at early risk for relapse if they live with family members who are classified as high in EE. Conventionally, EE is assessed with the Camberwell Family Interview (CFI), a semistructured interview that is conducted with the patient's key relatives. Unfortunately, training in the CFI is difficult to obtain. The CFI is also time-consuming to administer and labor intensive to rate. In this article, the authors discuss alternative ways of assessing EE. They also evaluate the predictive validity of these measures and make recommendations for researchers and clinicians interested in using these assessments.Psycholog

Human Cortical Activity Evoked by the Assignment of Authenticity when Viewing Works of Art

The expertise of others is a major social influence on our everyday decisions and actions. Many viewers of art, whether expert or naïve, are convinced that the full esthetic appreciation of an artwork depends upon the assurance that the work is genuine rather than fake. Rembrandt portraits provide an interesting image set for testing this idea, as there is a large number of them and recent scholarship has determined that quite a few fakes and copies exist. Use of this image set allowed us to separate the brain’s response to images of genuine and fake pictures from the brain’s response to external advice about the authenticity of the paintings. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, viewing of artworks assigned as “copy,” rather than “authentic,” evoked stronger responses in frontopolar cortex (FPC), and right precuneus, regardless of whether the portrait was actually genuine. Advice about authenticity had no direct effect on the cortical visual areas responsive to the paintings, but there was a significant psycho-physiological interaction between the FPC and the lateral occipital area, which suggests that these visual areas may be modulated by FPC. We propose that the activation of brain networks rather than a single cortical area in this paradigm supports the art scholars’ view that esthetic judgments are multi-faceted and multi-dimensional in nature

Learning Starts with Design: Higher Education Faculty Explore the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to Address the Needs of all Students

Today‘s college students, who are often referred to as ―Millennials‖, are entering college with different expectations for learning than students born before 1982 (Howe & Strauss, 2000). They expect to be able to access information instantly with their smart phones or laptop computers. At the same time, increasing numbers of students entering higher education have a disability of some kind. Some of these are observable disabilities that require specific accommodations to learning materials and the learning environment, such as ramps for students using wheelchairs and interpreters for students with hearing impairment. Students with learning disabilities represent a kind of ―invisible‖ disability in that their challenges may not be readily observable by faculty members, but must be accommodated through changes to curriculum materials and instructional approaches. One of the greatest challenges to meeting the needs of all students is the perception of negative faculty attitudes toward students with disabilities, and the subsequent choice made by many students not to disclose a hidden disability (Getzel & Wehman, 2005; Madaus, Scott, & McGuire, 2003; National Center for the Study of Postsecondary Educational Supports (NCSPES), 2000). Within the last 10 years, a new way of designing learning for K-12 students has emerged to address the needs of all the learners in the classroom. This framework for design is called Universal Design for Learning (Rose & Meyer, 2002). More recently, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has begun to be introduced to faculty in higher education as a framework for course design that meets the needs of an increasingly diverse student body. This mixed methods study explored the promise of the UDL at a small New England research university where a faculty professional development model was implemented to enhance the use of UDL practices among faculty members. A baseline study of faculty attitudes was conducted in the fall of 2010. One hundred ninety-two faculty members responded to the survey, yielding a 30% return. In addition, four faculty who had participated in the UDL grant consultation team model and who taught classes of 65 students or more were interviewed for the purpose of gathering information on their perceptions of the effectiveness of the model. Results of the volunteer faculty survey revealed positive attitudes from the majority of respondents, with at least 60% indicating that they ―strongly agreed‖ with four of the five questions related to the provision of learning accommodations for students with disabilities. In contrast, less than 30% of respondents indicated they ―strongly agreed‖ with statements demonstrating their general knowledge of disabilities and/or knowledge of disability policy and law. Four main themes emerged from the data analysis of the faculty interviews. These themes addressed faculty members‘ descriptions of general course modifications made as a result of the UDL consultation team work, description of their course, reflections about the UDL consultation team model, and the processes through which faculty members chose to refer themselves for course design assistance from the UDL consultation team. Overall, results of the study suggest promising practices for professional development designed to increase use of UDL approaches in higher education. Further research is needed to determine the transferability of this model among a larger range of faculty and higher education institutions

Health Researchers' Use of Social Media: Scoping Review.

BackgroundHealth researchers are increasingly using social media in a professional capacity, and the applications of social media for health researchers are vast. However, there is currently no published evidence synthesis of the ways in which health researchers use social media professionally, and uncertainty remains as to how best to harness its potential.ObjectiveThis scoping review aimed to explore how social media is used by health researchers professionally, as reported in the literature.MethodsThe scoping review methodology guided by Arksey and O'Malley and Levac et al was used. Comprehensive searches based on the concepts of health research and social media were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ERIC, and Web of Science databases, with no limitations applied. Articles were screened at the title and abstract level and at full text by two reviewers. One reviewer extracted data that were analyzed descriptively to map the available evidence.ResultsA total of 8359 articles were screened at the title and abstract level, of which 719 were also assessed at full text for eligibility. The 414 articles identified for inclusion were published in 278 different journals. Studies originated from 31 different countries, with the most prevalent being the United States (52.7% [218/414]). The health discipline of the first authors varied, with medicine (33.3% [138/414]) being the most common. A third of the articles covered health generally, with 61 health-specific topics. Papers used a range of social media platforms (mean 1.33 [SD 0.7]). A quarter of the articles screened reported on social media use for participant recruitment (25.1% [104/414]), followed by practical ways to use social media (15.5% [64/414]), and use of social media for content analysis research (13.3% [55/414]). Articles were categorized as celebratory (ie, opportunities for engagement, 72.2% [299/414]), contingent (ie, opportunities and possible limitations, 22.7% [94/414]) and concerned (ie, potentially harmful, 5.1% [21/414]).ConclusionsHealth researchers are increasingly publishing on their use of social media for a range of professional purposes. Although most of the sentiment around the use of social media in health research was celebratory, the uses of social media varied widely. Future research is needed to support health researchers to optimize their social media use

A brief review of the diagnosis and treatment of infantile esotropia

The purpose of this review is to provide a brief overview of the literature as it relates to the differential diagnosis, testing, and treatment of infantile esotropia. The primary emphasis is on how all of these topics are approached when the patient is between birth and 24 months of age. Treatment strategy options for the practitioner are described with optometric therapy highlighted