Teaching Disruptive Students: An Indictment of Colorblind Teacher Education Programs

Teacher education programs do not sufficiently prepare White teachers to work with Black and Latino students in disciplinary alternative schools. From a critical race theory in education perspective, prepared White teachers are aware of their own ethnocentrism and, subsequently, develop anti-racist pedagogy and curricula.

A longitudinal exploration of the relationship between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension achievement among a sample of diverse young learners

Exploring the relationship between early oral reading fluency ability and reading comprehension achievement among an ethnically and racially diverse sample of young learners from low-income families, attending elementary school within a large public school district in southeast Florida is the purpose of this longitudinal study. Although many studies have been conducted to address the relationship between oral reading fluency ability and reading comprehension achievement, most of the existing research failed either to disaggregate the data by demographic subgroups or secure a large enough sample of students to adequately represent the diverse subgroups. The research questions that guided this study were: (a) To what extent does early oral reading fluency ability measured in first, second, or third grade correlate with reading comprehension achievement in third grade? (b) To what extent does the relationship of early oral reading fluency ability and reading comprehension achievement vary by demographic subgroup membership (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status) among a diverse sample of students? A predictive research design using archived secondary data was employed in this nonexperimental quantitative methods study of 1,663 third grade students who attended a cohort of 25 Reading First funded schools. The data analyzed derived from the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Oral Reading Fluency (DIBELS ORF) measure administered in first, second, and third grades and the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test of the Sunshine State Standards (FCAT-SSS) Reading administered in third grade. Linear regression analyses between each of the oral reading fluency and reading comprehension measures produced significant positive correlations. Hierarchical regression analyses supported the predictive potential of all three oral reading fluency ability measures toward reading comprehension achievement, with the first grade oral reading fluency ability measure explaining the most significant variance in third grade reading comprehension achievement. Male students produced significant overall differences in variance when compared to female students as did the Other student subgroup (i.e., Asian, Multiracial, and Native American) when compared to Black, White, and Hispanic students. No significant differences in variance were produced between students from low and moderate socioeconomic families. These findings are vital toward adding to the literature of diverse young learners.

Career technical education adjunct faculty teacher readiness: An investigation of teacher excellence and variables of preparedness

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between teaching readiness and teaching excellence with three variables of preparedness of adjunct professors teaching career technical education courses through student surveys using a correlational design of two statistical techniques; least-squares regression and one-way analysis of variance. That is, the research tested the relationship between teacher readiness and teacher excellence with the number of years teaching, the number of years of experience in the professional field and exposure to teaching related professional development, referred to as variables of preparedness.^ The results of the research provided insight to the relationship between the variables of preparedness and student assessment of their adjunct professors. Concerning the years of teaching experience, this research found a negative inverse relationship with how students rated their professors' teaching readiness and excellence. The research also found no relationship between years of professional experience and the students' assessment. Lastly, the research found a significant positive relationship between the amount of teaching related professional development taken by an adjunct professor and the students' assessment in teaching readiness and excellence.^ This research suggests that policies and practices at colleges should address the professional development needs of adjunct professors. Also, to design a model that meets the practices of inclusion for adjunct faculty and to make professional development a priority within the organization. Lastly, implement that model over time to prepare adjuncts in readiness and excellence. ^

Students' Response to Ethical Dilemmas

The teaching of ethics in hospitality curricula is an important part of students’ overall education. Past research has indicated that college students are generally as ethically aware as their professional counterparts. The authors replicated a study by Damitio and Schmidgall (1993) in which over 700 college students were asked if they agreed with decisions in 15 hypothetical scenarios. Students were also asked if the decisions were in fact ethical. Results are reported. The authors use these results as further evidence that ethical awareness in hospitality students needs to be raised. There does not appear to be any change in students’ ethical awareness since the original study in the early 1990s. A discussion of the direction ethics education might take follows. Implications for hospitality curricula and hospitality students are analyzed. A course of action is recommended

Students’ Perspective of the Role of Facebook in Their Studies

The purpose of this research was to examine students’ perspective of their use of Facebook to further their studies. There were two major findings relating to usage of Facebook: personal, and academically. Students used Facebook to stay in touch with people and wanted to keep Facebook separate from their academics.

Retention and special education referral practices before and after the implementation of high -stakes testing

The rewards and sanctions associated with high-stakes testing may induce educators to participate in practices that will ensure the elimination of the scores of low-achieving students from the testing pool. Two ways in which scores may be eliminated is through retention or referral to special education. ^ This study examined the use of these practices at 179 elementary schools in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the 4th largest school district in the country. Between- and within-subjects designs were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance to compare retention and referral to special education practices over a five-year period of time, two years prior to and two years after the implementation of Florida's high-stakes test, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, FCAT. ^ Significant main effects for referral and retention over time were demonstrated. The use of retention steadily increased over the first three years, with its usage maintained during the fourth year. While the use of referral actually decreased from the first to second years, a significant change occurred after the implementation of the FCAT. ^ Examination of the use of these practices according to student and school characteristics revealed significant differences. Increases in the use of referral across time was significant for Black, non-Hispanic and Hispanic students, all limited English proficiency population categories, medium and low socioeconomic status category schools, all grade levels, and for schools with accountability grades of A. C, D and F with the most striking absolute increase occurring for F schools. Increases in the use of retention across time were significant for all ethnic groups, limited English proficiency categories, and socioeconomic status categories, for grades kindergarten through four and by gender. Significant increases occurred for schools with accountability performance grades of C, D and F; however the most dramatic increase occurred for the F schools. A direct relationship between performance category grade of school and their use of retention was demonstrated. The results suggest that schools changed their use of referral and retention in response to the implementation of the FCAT. ^

Outdoor experiential team -building and the college adjustment and persistence of freshmen in learning communities

Student retention is a primary goal in all higher education institutions. Students who are more adjusted to college life are more likely to persist. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of an outdoor experiential team-building program on the college adjustment of first-semester freshmen in learning communities at a diverse, urban university. The participants in this quasi-experimental study were first-semester freshmen enrolled in learning communities. A total of 123 students participated, with 61 students in the experimental group and 62 students in the comparison group. There were no significant differences between the two groups in relation to age, gender, or ethnicity. The students in the experimental group participated in the team-building program, which consisted of three events spaced three and four weeks apart. At the end of the semester, students in both the experimental and comparison groups completed the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ), a 67-item self-report survey. ^ Independent samples t-test of the SACQ scores (for attachment to the institution, social adjustment, and overall adaptation to college) between groups was done, and the analyses revealed no statistically significant differences. Chi-square analyses revealed no significant difference in the enrollment pattern between the two groups over a four-year period. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that from the first semester of enrollment to the second semester there was a significant drop in GPA for students from the comparison group and no such drop in GPA for students from the experimental group who had participated in at least two of the team building activities. A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted for the first year by semester and ethnicity. No ethnic differences were found, and no interaction was found by ethnicity and semester. ^ Should colleges and universities continue to utilize outdoor experiential team-building programs as a creative way to influence students' connection to the institution they should further investigate its value on students' adjustment to college. Future studies should also consider other variables influenced by team-building programs that affect students' college adjustment, such as collaborative learning. Faculty should be included in the planning process to increase their participation. ^

The impact of standards -based practices in mathematics on the achievement of low -performing students

This study examined standards-based mathematics reform initiatives to determine if they would improve student achievement on the part of low-performing students. New curricula, the Carnegie Learning Cognitive Tutor®, were provided for algebra and geometry students. The new instructional strategy relied on both the teacher-led instruction and the use of computers to differentiate instruction for individual students. Mathematics teachers received ongoing professional development to help them implement the new curricula. In addition, teachers were provided with ongoing support to assist them with the transformation of the learning environments for students using standards-based practices. This quasi-experimental (nonrandomized) study involved teachers in two matched urban high schools. Analyses (ANCOVAs) revealed that the experimental group with an appropriately implemented program had significantly higher learning gains than the comparison group as determined by the students' 2007 mathematics Developmental Scale Score (DSS). In addition, the experimental group's adjusted mean for the second interim mathematics assessment was significantly higher than the comparison group's mean. The findings support the idea that if the traditional curriculum is replaced with standards-based curriculum, and the curriculum is implemented as intended, low-performing students may make significant learning gains. With respect to the teaching practices as observed with the Classroom Observation Protocol (COP), t-tests were conducted on four constructs. The results for both the algebra and geometry teachers on the constructs were not significant. The COP indicated that teachers in both the experimental and comparison groups used traditional instruction strategies in their classrooms. The analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) on the use of technology revealed no significant main effects for computer use.

Intuition and its component parts in the heuristic processing of deception detection: Hunch, *evidence, and reliance on intuitive efficacy

Rated trust in intuitive efficacy (measured as trust, belief, use, accuracy and weighting of intuition) was investigated as a predictor of self-designated use of intuitive (hunch and hunch plus evidential belief) vs. deliberative (evidential belief and evidential belief plus hunch) deception detection judgments and actual accuracy. Twenty-nine student participants were filmed as they made true and deceptive statements about their everyday activities on a given evening (last Friday night), and college students (N=238) judged 20 (10=true, 10=deceptive) of these filmed statements as truthful or deceptive. Participants provided ratings of reliance on hunches vs. evidential belief, confidence in film judgments, intuitive efficacy, accuracy in deception detection, reliance on cues to deception, and experiences with intuition. Generalized estimated equation modeling using binary logistics demonstrated accuracy in identifying true vs. deceptive statements was predicted by film number, hunch-evidence ratings, weighting of intuition, and total cues cited. Weighting of intuition was predictive of accuracy across participants, with higher weighting predictive of higher accuracy in general. Participants who cited evidential belief plus hunch and moderate to high weighting incorrectly reversed their true vs. deceptive judgments. Accuracy for true statements was higher for hunches and hunch plus evidential belief, whereas accuracy for deceptive statements was higher for evidential belief Accuracy for participants who relied on evidential belief plus hunch was at chance. Subjective experiences underlying judgments differed by participant and type of film viewed (true vs. deceptive) and were predicted by hunch-evidence ratings, trust, use, intuitive accuracy, and total cues cited. Trust predicted increases in judging films to be true, whereas use and accuracy predicted increases in judging films as deceptive; none were predictive of accuracy. Increased number of cues cited predicted judgments of deception, whereas decreased number of cues cited predicted truth. The study concluded that participants have the capacity to self-define their judgments as subjectively vs. deliberately based, provide subjective assessments of the influence of intuitive vs. objective information on their judgments, and can apply this self-knowledge, through effective weighting of intuition vs. other types of information, in making accurate judgments of true and deceptive everyday statements.

Predicting the in-term persistence of community college English-as-a-second-language students

The English-as-a-second-language (ESL) community college student population has increased notably in the past decade, but a decreasing number of these students are completing courses, programs, or degrees (Erisman & Looney, 2008). These students come to college with unique background experiences, and once in college, deal with challenging linguistic, academic, and social integration issues. Though they are not linguistically homogenous, and they do not have a common purpose, ESL students share the common goal of attending community college to learn to speak English (Szelényi & Chang, 2002). Course completion is a primary measure of progress toward that goal, and is therefore an issue of concern for both ESL students and community colleges, which continue to be the access point for language-minority students progressing into higher education (Laden, 2004).^ The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that predict in-term persistence of community college ESL students. A mixed methods research design consisting of two phases was utilized, and participants in this study were ESL students enrolled in a large community college in south Florida. Phase 1 students completed the Community College ESL Student Questionnaire (CCSEQ), which collected demographic data and data on entry characteristics, academic integration, and social integration. Discriminant and descriptive analyses were used to report the data collected in Phase I. Phase 2 students were a matching cohort of completing and non-completing students who participated in semi-structured interviews at the end of the term. Data collected in the interviews were analyzed thematically, using a constant comparative method as described by Glaser and Strauss (1967).^ Students’ self reported demographic data, background characteristics, goal commitment, and integration factors on the CCSEQ showed no significance between the students who completed the term and the students who did not complete the term. However, several differentiating themes emerged from the interview data, which indicated differences in goal commitment and integration between the two groups. The focus of non-completers on getting good grades rather than completing the course, and the commitment of completers to the goal of finishing the class in order to go forward, both raise questions for future research studies.^

The relationship of culturally responsive instruction and the reading comprehension and attitude of struggling urban adolescent readers

Culturally responsive instruction refers to the identification of relevant cultural aspects of students' lives and infusion of these into the curriculum. This instructional approach assumes that a culturally appropriate curriculum can potentially motivate, engage, and lead students to higher rates of achievement. This quasi-experimental study (N=44) investigated the relationship of culturally responsive instruction and the reading comprehension and attitude of struggling urban adolescent readers. The study incorporated the use of culturally responsive instruction using culturally relevant literature (CRL), the Bluford Series Novels, as authentic texts of instruction. Participants were seventh grade reading students at a Title I middle school in South Florida. After a baseline period, two different classes were taught for 8 weeks using different methods. One class formed the experimental group ( n=22) and the other class formed the comparison group (n =22). The CRI curriculum for the experimental group embraced the socio-cultural perspective through the use of small discussion groups in which students read and constructed meaning with peers through interaction with the Bluford Series Novels; gave written responses to multiple strategies according to SCRAP - Summarize, Connect, Reflect, Ask Questions, Predict; responded to literal and inferential questions, while at the same time validating their responses through evidence from the text. The Read XL (basal reader) curriculum of the comparison group utilized a traditional form of instruction which incorporated the reading of passages followed by responses to comprehension questions, and teacher-led whole group discussion. The main sources of data were collected from the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR), and the Rhody Secondary Reading Attitude Assessment. Statistical analyses were performed using Repeated Measures ANOVAs. Findings from the study revealed that the experimental participants' reading attitudes and FAIR comprehension scores increased when compared to the comparison group. Overall, the results from the study revealed that culturally responsive instruction can potentially foster reading comprehension and a more positive attitude towards reading. However, a replication of this study in other settings with a larger, more randomized sample size and a greater ethnic variation is needed in order to make full generalizations.

The effect of reciprocal mapping on high-risk sixth-grade students' social studies achievement

Reading deficits in students in Grades 4 to 12 are evident in American schools. Informational text is particularly difficult for students. This quasi-experimental study (N=138) investigated sixth-grade students' achievement in social studies using the Reciprocal Mapping instructional routine, compared to sixth-grade students' achievement taught with a traditional approach. The Reciprocal Mapping instructional routine incorporated explicit instruction in text structure using graphic organizers. Students created their own graphic organizers and used them to write about social studies content. The comparison group used a traditional approach, students' reading the textbook and answering questions. Students for this study included sixth-graders in the seven sixth-grade classrooms in two public schools in a small, rural south Florida school district. A focus of this study was to determine the helpfulness of the intervention for at-risk readers. To determine students considered to be at-risk, the researcher used data from the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), 2011-2012, that considers Level 1 and 2 as at-risk readers. The quasi-experimental study used a pretest-posttest control group design, with students assigned to treatment groups by class. Two teachers at the two rural sites were trained on the Reciprocal Mapping instructional routine and taught students in both the experimental and control groups for an equivalent amount of time over a 5-week period. Results of the 3 x 2 factorial ANCOVA found a significant positive difference favoring the experimental group's social studies achievement as compared to that of the comparison group as measured by the pre/post unit test from the social studies series (McGraw-Hill, 2013), when controlling for initial differences in students' reading FCAT scores. Interactions for high-risk struggling readers were investigated using the significance level p < .05. Due to no significant interaction the main effects of treatment were interpreted. The pretest was used as a covariate and the multivariate analysis was found to be significant. Therefore, analysis of covariance was run on each of the dependent variable as a follow-up. Reciprocal Mapping was found to be significant in posttest scores, independent of gender and level of risk, and while holding the pretest scores constant. Findings showed there was a significant difference in the performance of the high-risk reading students taught with the Reciprocal Mapping intervention who scored statistically better than students in the control group. Further study findings showed that teacher fidelity of implementation of the treatment had a statistically significant relationship in predicting posttest scores when controlling for pretest scores. Study results indicated that improving students' use of text structure through the Reciprocal Mapping instructional routine positively supported sixth-grade students' social studies achievement.

Beauty Pageants, FIU, and "Worlds Ahead": An Open Letter to FIU President Mark Rosenberg

In response to FIU's decision to rent space to Donald Trump's Miss Universe Beauty pageant, it is argued that FIU has a responsibility toward its female and male students to work for a less sexist world. As the leadership of the university does not seem to be aware of the dangers of exaggerated beauty standards and female objectification, the letter draws on feminist insights to add non-sexist substance to FIU's vision of being "worlds ahead".

Advanced Placement and American education: A Foucauldian analysis of the Advanced Placement Program of the college board

Advanced Placement is a series of courses and tests designed to determine mastery over introductory college material. It has become part of the American educational system. The changing conception of AP was examined using critical theory to determine what led to a view of continual success. The study utilized David Armstrong's variation of Michel Foucault's critical theory to construct an analytical framework. Black and Ubbes' data gathering techniques and Braun and Clark's data analysis were utilized as the analytical framework. Data included 1135 documents: 641 journal articles, 421 newspaper articles and 82 government documents. ^ The study revealed three historical ruptures correlated to three themes containing subthemes. The first rupture was the Sputnik launch in 1958. Its correlated theme was AP leading to school reform with subthemes of AP as reform for able students and AP's gaining of acceptance from secondary schools and higher education. The second rupture was the Nation at Risk report published in 1983. Its correlated theme was AP's shift in emphasis from the exam to the course with the subthemes of AP as a course, a shift in AP's target population, using AP courses to promote equity, and AP courses modifying curricula. The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was the third rupture. Its correlated theme was AP as a means to narrow the achievement gap with the subthemes of AP as a college preparatory program and the shifting of AP to an open access program. ^ The themes revealed a perception that progressively integrated the program into American education. The AP program changed emphasis from tests to curriculum, and is seen as the nation's premier academic program to promote reform and prepare students for college. It has become a major source of income for the College Board. In effect, AP has become an agent of privatization, spurring other private entities into competition for government funding. The change and growth of the program over the past 57 years resulted in a deep integration into American education. As such the program remains an intrinsic part of the system and continues to evolve within American education. ^

Psychosocial variables associated with the co-occurance of risky sexual behavior with alcohol consumption among university students

This study examined the association of theoretically guided and empirically identified psychosocial variables on the co-occurrence of risky sexual behavior with alcohol consumption among university students. The study utilized event analysis to determine whether risky sex occurred during the same event in which alcohol was consumed. Relevant conceptualizations included alcohol disinhibition, self-efficacy, and social network theories. Predictor variables included negative condom attitudes, general risk taking, drinking motives, mistrust, social group membership, and gender. Factor analysis was employed to identify dimensions of drinking motives. Measured risky sex behaviors were (a) sex without a condom, (b) sex with people not known very well, (c) sex with injecting drug users (IDUs), (d) sex with people without knowing whether they had a STD, and (e) sex with using drugs. A purposive sample was used and included 222 male and female students recruited from a major urban university. Chi-square analysis was used to determine whether participants were more likely to engage in risky sex behavior in different alcohol use contexts. These contexts were only when drinking, only when not drinking, and when drinking or not. The chi-square findings did not support the hypothesis that university students who use alcohol with sex will engage in riskier sex. These results added to the literature by extending other similar findings to a university student sample. For each of the observed risky sex behaviors, discriminant analysis methodology was used to determine whether the predictor variables would differentiate the drinking contexts, or whether the behavior occurred. Results from discriminant analyses indicated that sex with people not known very well was the only behavior for which there were significant discriminant functions. Gender and enhancement drinking motives were important constructs in the classification model. Limitations of the study and implications for future research, social work practice and policy are discussed.