Effects of special educator peer coaching on general educator effectiveness in inclusive classroom settings

This dissertation investigated the effects of a peer coaching relationship between a special education teacher and two general education teachers. More specifically, a two-tier multiple baseline design across subjects was used to evaluate the effects of peer coaching on the general education teachers' use of effective instructional practices (EIPs) and subsequent effects on the engagement rate and academic performance of students with and without disabilities. The peer coaching process included modeling, direct support, and feedback on the use of effective instructional practices including getting student attention, giving specific directions, asking specific questions with wait time, contingent positive reinforcement, positive error correction, precorrection, prompting, and proximity control. A 30-second partial interval recording procedure was used to observe the general education teachers' use of effective instructional practices and student engagement rates. Student participants' academic performance was measured using weekly quizzes. ^ Peer coaching resulted in an overall increase in the teachers' use of EIPs. One general education teacher had a 30% increase in average EIP use from 46% during the baseline phase to 76% during intervention. Student engagement for her two student participants with and without disabilities indicated an increase from 54% to 69% and from 47% to 65% respectively. Results for the second general education teacher indicated a 34% increase in average EIP use from 55% during the baseline to 89% during intervention. Student engagement for the two student participants with and without disabilities in her class increased from 48% to 83% and from 29% to 71% respectively. Student academic performance showed a small increase. In follow-up observations, the effects of peer coaching on teacher use of EIPs and student engagement and academic performance were maintained. ^ The results of this study suggest that using peer coaching to support general education teachers can be an effective method to improve the educational outcomes of students with and without disabilities in general education. Further research is needed to investigate the effects of peer coaching with other special and general educator partnerships and other student participants. ^

The effects of peer teaching of infant massage on general elf-efficacy and mother infant attachment among mothers in a residential rehabilitation facility for drug addiction and substance abuse

Approximately 200 million people, 5% aged 15-64 worldwide are illicit drug or substance abusers (World Drug Report, 2006). Between 2002 and 2005, an average of 8.2% of 12 year olds and older in the Miami, Fort Lauderdale metropolitan areas used illicit drugs (SAMHSA, 2007). Eight percent of pregnant women, aged 15 to 25, were more likely to have used illicit drugs during pregnancy than pregnant women aged 26 to 44. Alcohol use was 9.8% and cigarette use was 18% for pregnant women aged 15 to 44 (SAMHSA, 2005). Approximately a quarter of annual birth defects are attributed to the exposure of drugs or substance abuse in utero (General Accounting Office, 1991). Physical, psychological and emotional challenges may be present for the illicit drug/substance abuse (ID/SA) mother and infant placing them at a disadvantage early in their relationship (Shonkoff & Marshall, 1990). Mothers with low self efficacy have insecurely attached infants (Donovan, Leavitt, & Walsh, 1987). As the ID/SA mother struggles with wanting to be a good parent, education is needed to help her care for her infant. In this experimental study residential rehabilitating ID/SA mothers peer taught infant massage. Massage builds bonding/attachment between mother and infant (Reese & Storm, 2008) and peer teaching is effective because participants have faced similar challenges and speak the same language (Boud, Cohen, & Sampson 2001). Quantitative data were collected using the General Self-Efficacy and Maternal Attachment Inventory-Revised Scale before and after the 4-week intervention program. A reported result of this study was that empowering ID/SA mothers increased their self-efficacy, which in turn allowed the mothers to tackle challenges encountered and created feelings of being a fit mother to their infants. This research contributes to the existing database promoting evidence-based practice in drug rehabilitation centers. Healthcare personnel, such as nurse educators and maternal-child health practitioners, can develop programs in drug rehabilitation centers that cultivate an environment where the ID/SA rehabilitating mothers can peer teach each other, while creating a support system. Using infant massage as a therapeutic tool can develop a healthy infant and nurture a more positive relationship between mother and infant.

Parental involvement and group cognitive behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: Treatment specificity and mediation effects of parent and peer variables

Phobic and anxiety disorders are one of the most common, if not the most common and debilitating psychopathological conditions found among children and adolescents. As a result, a treatment research literature has accumulated showing the efficacy of cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) for reducing anxiety disorders in youth. This dissertation study compared a CBT with parent and child (i.e., PCBT) and child group CBT (i.e., GCBT). These two treatment approaches were compared due to the recognition that a child’s context has an effect on the development, course, and outcome of childhood psychopathology and functional status. The specific aims of this dissertation were to examine treatment specificity and mediation effects of parent and peer contextual variables. The sample consisted of 183 youth and their mothers. Research questions were analyzed using analysis of variance for treatment outcome, and structural equation modeling, accounting for clustering effects, for treatment specificity and mediation effects. Results indicated that both PCBT and GCBT produced positive treatment outcomes across all indices of change (i.e., clinically significant improvement, anxiety symptom reduction) and across all informants (i.e., youths and parents) with no significant differences between treatment conditions. Results also showed partial treatment specific effects of positive peer relationships in GCBT. PCBT also showed partial treatment specific effects of parental psychological control. Mediation effects were only observed in GCBT; positive peer interactions mediated treatment response. The results support the use CBT with parents and peers for treating childhood anxiety. The findings’ implications are further discussed in terms of the need to conduct further meditational treatment outcome designs in order to continue to advance theory and research in child and anxiety treatment.

The effects of parental nurturance and involvement on peer relationships and psychosocial functioning of young adults

This study examined peer relationships and psychosocial functioning as a function of maternal and paternal involvement and nurturance along with the moderating effects of gender, family form, and ethnicity. Prior research has shown the influence of mother’s involvement on peer relationship quality but not of fathers. Further, previous studies did not examine moderation by family form, gender, or ethnicity. The sample consisted of 1359 students who identified their biological mother and father as the most influential parental figures in their lives. Their ages ranged from 18 to 26; Sixty-one percent of the sample was Hispanic, 13% non-Hispanic Black, 25% non-Hispanic White; 76% female and 70% from intact families. The analytical strategy included using bivariate correlations and structural equation modeling to examine these relationships. ^ All dimensions of maternal and paternal nurturing and involvement were positively related to positive characteristics of peer relationships, self-esteem and life satisfaction consistent with the multicultural findings of PARTheory (Rohner, Khalique, & Cournoyer, 2005). A structural model was developed that was able to adequately account for the relationship between parental influence, peer relationships, and psychosocial functioning. These effects of both maternal and paternal influence were strongly moderated by culture, family form, and gender. Finally, a differential effect was found among parental influence with fathers having a greater influence on friendship quality and importance than mothers, despite greater maternal involvement. ^ These findings have theoretical, clinical, and social implications as they call for a socially based theoretical perspective within which to study these relationships. Such a perspective would better inform clinicians when using impaired social functioning as indicative of axial diagnosis, and for the implementation of social policy to encourage paternal involvement. ^

The effects of cross -age peer tutoring on writing and reading comprehension skills and attitudes and self -perceptions as writers of third and fourth grade students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cross-age peer writing response groups on the writing and reading achievement of third and fourth grade students. Students' attitudes about writing and their perceptions of themselves as writers were also measured at the end of the study. ^ One hundred and twenty-two third and fourth grade students enrolled in a public school in a middle-class, multi-cultural neighborhood participated in the study. Four existing classes of students were randomly assigned to either the experimental condition (EC) or the control condition (CC). Both groups were pretested and posttested for writing and reading achievement. The intervention, cross-age peer writing groups, met for eleven weeks. ^ Three hypotheses were examined in this study: (a) writing improvement score, (b) reading comprehension improvement score, and (c) students' attitudes toward writing and their perception of themselves as writers based on the five scales measured on the Writer Self-Perception Scale. ^ ANOVAs were done on the pretests and posttests for writing and the Stanford Achievement Test reading comprehension subtest scores for the year of the study and the previous year. ANOVAs were also done for the five areas of the Writer Self-Perception Scale. Cross-tabulations were also used to compare improvement level verses treatment group, and grade level. ^ Analysis of the data revealed that there was no evidence that the tutoring (EC) groups made more progress than the non-tutoring (CC) groups in writing and reading. There was evidence of growth in writing, especially by the fourth graders. Most importantly, the fourth grade tutors, the experimental group, had the most positive feelings about writing and themselves as writers. ^

Compensatory effects of parent and peer support on well -being and achievement during pre- and early adolescence

The current study was designed to explore the salience of parent and peer support in middle childhood and early adolescence across two time periods as indicated by measures of achievement (grade point average (GPA), Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) scores and teacher rated school adaptation) and well-being (loneliness, depression, self-concept and teacher-rated internalizing behaviors). ^ Participants were part of an initial study on social network relations and school adaptation in middle childhood and early adolescence. Participants at Time 1 (in the spring of 1997) included 782 children in grades 4 and 6 of eight lower and middle income public elementary schools. Participants (N = 694) were reinterviewed two years later in the spring of 1999 (Time 2). ^ Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) were used to investigate the change in salience of parent and peer support from Time 1 to Time 2. In addition, Tukey-HSD (Honestly Significant Difference) post hoc tests were used to test the significance of the differences among the means of four support categories: (1) low parent-low friend, (2) low parent-high friend, (3) high parent-low friend, and (4) high parent-high friend. ^ Compensatory effects were observed for loneliness and self-concept at Time 1, as well as for SAT scores, self-concept and overall achievement at Time 2. Results were consistent with existing findings that suggest a competitive model of parent/peer influence on achievement during adolescence. This study affirms the need for a more contextual approach to research examining competing and compensatory effects on adolescent development. ^

Positive Effects of Peer Modeling and Positive Reinforcement on Healthy Food Intake in Elementary School Children

The current study aims to discover the effects of “Food Dudes” peer modeling videos and positive reinforcement on vegetable consumption using a delayed multiple baseline design across subjects. Results suggest peer modeling and positive reinforcement as effective means to increase vegetable intake.

The Effects of Peer Teaching of Infant Massage on General Self-Efficacy and Mother Infant Attachment Among Mothers in a Residential Rehabilitation Facility for Drug Addiction and Substance Abuse

Approximately 200 million people, 5% aged 15-64 worldwide are illicit drug or substance abusers (World Drug Report, 2006). Between 2002 and 2005, an average of 8.2% of 12 year olds and older in the Miami, Fort Lauderdale metropolitan areas used illicit drugs (SAMHSA, 2007). Eight percent of pregnant women, aged 15 to 25, were more likely to have used illicit drugs during pregnancy than pregnant women aged 26 to 44. Alcohol use was 9.8% and cigarette use was 18% for pregnant women aged 15 to 44 (SAMHSA, 2005). Approximately a quarter of annual birth defects are attributed to the exposure of drugs or substance abuse in utero (General Accounting Office, 1991). Physical, psychological and emotional challenges may be present for the illicit drug/substance abuse (ID/SA) mother and infant placing them at a disadvantage early in their relationship (Shonkoff & Marshall, 1990). Mothers with low self efficacy have insecurely attached infants (Donovan, Leavitt, & Walsh, 1987). As the ID/SA mother struggles with wanting to be a good parent, education is needed to help her care for her infant. In this experimental study residential rehabilitating ID/SA mothers peer taught infant massage. Massage builds bonding/attachment between mother and infant (Reese & Storm, 2008) and peer teaching is effective because participants have faced similar challenges and speak the same language (Boud, Cohen, & Sampson 2001). Quantitative data were collected using the General Self-Efficacy and Maternal Attachment Inventory-Revised Scale before and after the 4-week intervention program. A reported result of this study was that empowering ID/SA mothers increased their self-efficacy, which in turn allowed the mothers to tackle challenges encountered and created feelings of being a fit mother to their infants. This research contributes to the existing database promoting evidence-based practice in drug rehabilitation centers. Healthcare personnel, such as nurse educators and maternal-child health practitioners, can develop programs in drug rehabilitation centers that cultivate an environment where the ID/SA rehabilitating mothers can peer teach each other, while creating a support system. Using infant massage as a therapeutic tool can develop a healthy infant and nurture a more positive relationship between mother and infant.

Social adaptation of children with mild intellectual disability : effects of partial integration within primary school classes

Examined the social adaptation of 32 children in grades 3–6 with mild intellectual disability: 13 Ss were partially integrated into regular primary school classes and 19 Ss were full-time in separate classes. Sociometric status was assessed using best friend and play rating measures. Consistent with previous research, children with intellectual disability were less socially accepted than were a matched group of 32 children with no learning disabilities. Children in partially integrated classes received more play nominations than those in separate classes, but had no greater acceptance as a best friend. On teachers' reports, disabled children had higher levels of inappropriate social behaviours, but there was no significant difference in appropriate behaviours. Self-assessments by integrated children were more negative than those by children in separate classes, and their peer-relationship satisfaction was lower. Ratings by disabled children of their satisfaction with peer relationships were associated with ratings of appropriate social skills by themselves and their teachers, and with self-ratings of negative behaviour. The study confirmed that partial integration can have negative consequences for children with an intellectual disability.

Online professional communities : understanding the effects of membership on teacher practice

Online communities offer teachers a forum to discuss ideas, seek support, engage in professional discussions and network with a wider peer group. The popularity of online communities for teachers is self-evident by the quantity that has emerged in recent years and they present as opportunities to engage in continued pedagogical growth. The study presented in this paper has focused on the electronic discussions of three online communities for teachers, two Australian-based communities and one UK-based community. The aim was to analyse the content of the messages, via content analysis using the Practical Inquiry Model (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2001) in an attempt to determine if membership had an impact pedagogy. This study will present findings that support the conclusion that membership to online communities provides genuine opportunities for continued pedagogical growth for teachers. It will also show that they are being used as a problem solving resource, provide opportunities for professional discourse and professional support.

Assessing the relationship between global warming and mortality : lag effects of temperature fluctuations by age and mortality categories

Although interests in assessing the relationship between temperature and mortality have arisen due to climate change, relatively few data are available on lag structure of temperature-mortality relationship, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. This study identified the lag effects of mean temperature on mortality among age groups and death categories using polynomial distributed lag models in Brisbane, Australia, a subtropical city, 1996-2004. For a 1 °C increase above the threshold, the highest percent increase in mortality on the current day occurred among people over 85 years (7.2% (95% CI: 4.3%, 10.2%)). The effect estimates among cardiovascular deaths were higher than those among all-cause mortality. For a 1 °C decrease below the threshold, the percent increases in mortality at 21 lag days were 3.9% (95% CI: 1.9%, 6.0%) and 3.4% (95% CI: 0.9%, 6.0%) for people aged over 85 years and with cardiovascular diseases, respectively. These findings may have implications for developing intervention strategies to reduce and prevent temperature-related mortality.

A comparison of the effects of a chlamydial vaccine administered during or after a C. muridarum urogenital infection of female mice

There are approximately 92 million new chlamydial infections of the genital tract in humans diagnosed each year, costing health care systems billions of dollars in treatment not only of acute infections, but also of associated inflammatory sequelae, such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and ectopic pregnancy. These numbers are increasing at a steady rate and, due to the asymptomatic nature of infections, the incidence may be underestimated and the costs of treatment therefore higher. Over the previous few decades there has been a large amount of research into the development of an efficacious vaccine against genital tract chlamydial infections. The majority of this research has focused on females, due to the high rate of development of associated diseases, including PID, which can lead to ectopic pregnancy and infertility. In light of the increasing infection rates that have occurred despite the availability of antibiotics, and the asymptomatic nature of chlamydial infections, it is imperative that an efficacious vaccine that protects against infection and associated pathology be developed.

Effects of climate change on the wash-off of volatile organic compounds from urban roads

The predicted changes in rainfall characteristics due to climate change could adversely affect stormwater quality in highly urbanised coastal areas throughout the world. This in turn will exert a significant influence on the discharge of pollutants to estuarine and marine waters. Hence, an in-depth analysis of the effects of such changes on the wash-off of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from urban roads in the Gold Coast region in Australia was undertaken. The rainfall characteristics were simulated using a rainfall simulator. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Multicriteria Decision tools such as PROMETHEE and GAIA were employed to understand the VOC wash-off under climate change. It was found that low, low to moderate and high rain events due to climate change will affect the wash-off of toluene, ethylbenzene, meta-xylene, para-xylene and ortho-xylene from urban roads in Gold Coast. Total organic carbon (TOC) was identified as predominant carrier of toluene, meta-xylene and para-xylene in <1µm to 150µm fractions and for ethylbenzene in 150µm to >300µm fractions under such dominant rain events due to climate change. However, ortho-xylene did not show such affinity towards either TOC or TSS (total suspended solids) under the simulated climatic conditions.

Effects of corrugation frequency and aspect ratio on natural convection within an enclosure having sinusoidal corrugation over a heated top surface

Natural convection of a two-dimensional laminar steady-state incompressible fluid flow in a modified rectangular enclosure with sinusoidal corrugated top surface has been investigated numerically. The present study has been carried out for different corrugation frequencies on the top surface as well as aspect ratios of the enclosure in order to observe the change in hydrodynamic and thermal behavior with constant corrugation amplitude. A constant flux heat source is flush mounted on the top sinusoidal wall, modeling a wavy sheet shaded room exposed to sunlight. The flat bottom surface is considered as adiabatic, while the both vertical side walls are maintained at the constant ambient temperature. The fluid considered inside the enclosure is air having Prandtl number of 0.71. The numerical scheme is based on the finite element method adapted to triangular non-uniform mesh element by a non-linear parametric solution algorithm. The results in terms of isotherms, streamlines and average Nusselt numbers are obtained for the Rayleigh number ranging from 10^3 to 10^6 with constant physical properties for the fluid medium considered. It is found that the convective phenomena are greatly influenced by the presence of the corrugation and variation of aspect ratios.

“Modeling with tools is easier, believe me” : the effects of tool functionality on modeling grammar usage beliefs

Increasingly, studies are reported that examine how conceptual modeling is conducted in practice. Yet, typically the studies to date have examined in isolation how modeling grammars can be, or are, used to develop models of information systems or organizational processes, without considering that such modeling is typically done by means of a modeling tool that extends the modeling functionality offered by a grammar through complementary features. This paper extends the literature by examining how the use of seven different features of modeling tools affects usage beliefs users develop when using modeling grammars for process modeling. We show that five distinct tool features positively affect usefulness, ease of use and satisfaction beliefs of users. We offer a number of interpretations about the findings. We also describe how the results inform decisions of relevance to developers of modeling tools as well as managers in charge for making modeling-related investment decisions.