An Expanded View of Joint Attention: Skill,Engagement, and Language in Typical Development and Autism

This study provides an expanded view of joint attention and its relation to expressive language development. A total of 144 toddlers (40 typically developing, 58 with autism spectrum disorder [ASD], 46 with developmental delay [DD]) participated at 24 and 31 months. Toddlers who screened positive for ASD risk, especially those subsequently diagnosed with ASD, had poorer joint attention skills, joint engagement during parent–toddler interaction, and expressive language. Findings highlight the dynamic relation between joint attention and language development. In the ASD and DD groups, joint engagement predicted later expressive vocabulary, significantly more than predictions based on joint attention skills. Joint engagement was most severely impacted when toddlers did not talk initially and improved markedly if they subsequently began to speak.     

Coteaching in early childhood clinical field experiences: a cross-case study of learning affordances

ABSTRACT

Coteaching, a model for learning to teach, places teacher candidates alongside clinical educators in classrooms. Learning occurs through shared practice and on-going explication of thinking and reflection. This cross-case study of six dyads from an undergraduate early childhood inclusive preservice education program examines ways that coteaching afforded opportunities for developing collaborative and adaptive expertise. It was found that opportunities for learning these skills were afforded through coteaching student teaching experiences, although in different ways, and that limited affordances outnumbered strong learning opportunities. Implications for further development of the early childhood coteaching teacher education model, and for professional development, are discussed.     

Curriculum as Experienced by Students: How Teacher Identity Shapes Science Notebook Use

This mixed-methods case study examined the notebook entries of one class of 22 second graders as a way of examining how teacher identity shaped the way students experienced their science curriculum. These notebook entries were created during lessons with three different teachers over the course of one school year, using similar kit-based materials to teach science. The entries were coded for inquiry phase, percent missing or incomplete entries, and driving force (teacher-driven, student-driven, or balanced); chi-squared analyses revealed significant differences among the notebook entries created by the same students during lessons taught by each of the three teachers. Qualitative observations of each teachers' instruction around notebook use supported these quantitative differences, and suggested that the differences in curriculum as experienced by students could be attributed to differences in teacher identity, both who the teacher is and what they do in the classroom. These findings indicate that students' notebooks are useful tools for examining how teachers' identities might shape how elementary students experience science curriculum, and that they can be used to help structure more effective professional development plans for each teacher.     

Exploring the Influences of a Partner-Based Teacher Credential Program on Candidates’ Performance Outcomes

The study compared candidates in a 4-year undergraduate program for secondary mathematics and science teaching, based on the UTeach model, with candidates in a 1-year postbaccalaureate program at the same institution. Candidates in the undergraduate program participated in a partnership of university mathematics, science, and education departments and intensive field-based experiences in high-needs schools. We conjectured that this approach would better prepare prospective teachers to develop beginning teacher competencies. Analysis of the Performance Assessment for California Teachers Teaching Event identified few differences between candidates in both groups. Surveys revealed significant differences between candidates’ perceptions of their preparation for teaching. These findings suggest that different program models can offer differential support to prospective teachers but how the program features are enacted influences the impact that these programs have on teacher preparation.     

Cross‐Curricular Gallery Learning: A Phenomenological Case Study

This article examines the strategies that can be used to enhance students' understanding of how subjects link together and whether cross‐curricular approaches, through a gallery project, have any real impact on students' understanding of the links between subjects. A substantial part of this article, however, describes the methodological aspect of the project. A phenomenological case study approach was used in order to engage fully with individual students' learning experiences. It was found that the students who were involved directly with the study felt that the links between subjects had more relevance to their learning when the teacher made such links explicit. They were unaware of the relevance of many cross‐curricular links made in lessons, but the study indicated that cross‐curricular learning can enable students to transfer skills and knowledge in order to understand concepts more fully.     

Assessing anxiety in youth with autism spectrum disorder

Anxiety is now recognized as one of the most common co-occurring conditions in youth diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite the prevalence of this comorbid condition, accurate assessment and diagnosis of anxiety in ASD has proven difficult. This paper will address the considerable research literature on assessing anxiety in youth with ASD, including difficulties related to assessment and differential diagnosis. In addition, this paper will describe relevant tools and methods for assessing anxiety in this complex population.     

Education,Welfare Reform and Psychological Well-Being: A Critical Psychology Perspective

There are established links between education and well-being, and between poverty and education. This article draws on interviews with parents of school-aged children impacted by a policy in the UK commonly referred to as the ‘bedroom tax’. A critical psychology perspective to education is put forward, acknowledging the complex interrelationships between psychological well-being, sociopolitical factors and education.     

Letting the village be the teacher: a look at community-based learning in Northern Thailand

ABSTRACT

Higher education in the U.S. sees global learning as critical to student development. Over the last seventy years, study abroad has emerged as the method of choice for teaching global knowledge and intercultural competence. In this context, community-based global learning programs are a type of program where students live in communities to learn directly from people and place. Looking at a field studies program in Northern Thailand, this paper explores the educational mobility of study abroad and impact on host communities. It shares findings on the experiences of two communities who have hosted study abroad students for almost twenty years. Best practices and recommendations for faculty and institutions running community-based global learning programs are shared, including the centrality of community voice in curriculum, benefits of applying a range of pedagogical methods on course, the critical nature of adequately preparing students for cultural immersion, and compensating communities justly for their work.