Education Commons^™

Use Of Social Emotional Learning Skills To Predict Future Academic Success And Progress Toward Graduation, Alan Davis, V. Solberg, Christine De Baca, Taryn Hargrove Gore

Alan Davis

This study evaluated the degree to which a range of social emotional learning skills—academic self-efficacy, academic motivation, social connections, importance of school, and managing psychological and emotional distress and academic stress— could be used as an indicator of future academic outcomes. Using a sample of 4,797 from a large urban school district, we found that high school students classified as performing in the lowest 25% of their grade reported lower social emotional skills than students classified in the top 25% of academic performers by the end of the 8th grade. Two variables, perceived importance of attending college and psychological and …

The Bell Curve And Its Critical Progeny: A Review, Alan Davis

Alan Davis

No abstract provided.

The History And Politics Of An Evaluation: The Colorado Learning Disabilities Study, Alan Davis, Mary Smith

Alan Davis

No abstract provided.

Upping The Stakes: Using Gain Scores To Judge Local Program Effectiveness In Chapter 1, Alan Davis

Alan Davis

Since 1978, the national evaluation and reporting system for Title I/Chapter 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has depended upon a norm-referenced evaluation system to determine the effectiveness of compensatory education programs funded under the act. For a decade, policy directives urged caution in interpreting local results and encouraged use of additional indicators. Since 1988, legislative amendments have required that the national evaluation system serve, without adjustment or interpretation, to identify individual school projects in need of improvement. In this article I argue that the system is technically unsuited for this purpose. Problems with regression and measurement error …

The Effects Of Books In Spanish And Free Reading Time On Hispanic Students’ Reading Abilities And Attitudes, Isabel Schon, Kenneth Hopkins, Alan Davis

Alan Davis

The Spanish and English reading abilities, reading attitudes and academic self-concepts of two comparable groups of elementary Hispanic students were investigated. The effects of providing a great variety of books in Spanish and sixty minutes a week of free reading time were studied by analyzing the results of the Tests of Reading: Inter-American Series and by having students respond anonymously to reading attitude and academic self-concept inventories. There was a trend for significantly higher Spanish reading performance in the E groups with no loss in their English reading proficiency. The reading attitudes of the E groups also improved significantly.

Wealth, Traditional Socioeconomic Indicators, And The Achievement Debt, Donald Easton-Brooks, Alan Davis

Alan Davis

No abstract provided.

State Strategies To Support Local School Improvement, Beverly Anderson, Allan Odden, Eleanor Farrar, Susan Fuhrman, Alan Davis, Eugene Huddle, Jane Armstrong, Patricia Flakus-Mosqueda

Alan Davis

In recent years, state departments of education have undertaken strategies to support local school improvement. Some emphasize school wide improvement while others focus specifically on instructional improvement. This study, based on case study methodology, sought to determine what factors were most important in the process of actually putting in place an improvement effort. The study indicated that the implementation within the school could be best thought of in four stages—initiation, initial implementation, complete implementation, and institutionalization. Each stage contained several factors that seemed essential to success. These factors included district support of several types as well as characteristics and actions …

Positive Directions In Research On Teaching To Inform Theory And Practice [Book Chapter], Alan Davis

Alan Davis

No abstract provided.

Providing Feedback To Teacher Candidates For National Board Certification: A Study Of Teacher Preferences And Learning [Book Chapter], Kenneth Wolf, Alan Davis, Hildo Borko

Alan Davis

About this book:

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) in the USA is the most ambitious and successful attempt by any country to establish a certification system for recognizing and rewarding teachers who reach high professional standards. This book focuses on The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).

Lessons Learned In 4th-Grade Classrooms, Mark Clarke, Alan Davis, Lynn Rhodes, Elaine Baker

Alan Davis

For the past thirty years or so the profession has been focused on teaching method in one way or another. Over thirty years ago, Anthony articulated the distinction of approach, method, technique, and the profession has used this basic framework in all subsequent discussions of teaching (Anthony, 1963; Clarke, 1983; Clarke, 1984; Clarke, 1994; Richards& Rodgers, 1986). The focus on method has been productive. However, in 1976, Earl Stevick presented us with a conundrum that has not yet been resolved:

In the field of language teaching, Method A is the logical contradiction of Method B: if the assumptions from …

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Pediatrician Or Professional Athlete? Gender, Ethnicity, And Occupational Aspirations Of Urban Adolescents, Alan Davis

Alan Davis

This study compared the occupational aspirations of beginning high school students by gender and ethnicity, and examined the relationship between the educational demands of the occupations desired by students and their academic performance before and after entering high school. Desired occupations were obtained from 662 entering 9th-grade students in a large urban district, and linked to General Educational Demand ratings and to student grades. Young women were more likely than young men to aspire to professional occupations and to occupations requiring more education. The educational demands associated with students' aspirations accounted for about 3% of variance in grades. Educational demands …

Digital Storytelling [Book Chapter], Alan Davis, L. Foley

Alan Davis

About this book: The evolution of digital media has enhanced global perspectives in all facets of communication, greatly increasing the range, scope, and accessibility of shared information. Due to the tremendously broad-reaching influence of digital media, its impact on learning, behavior, and social interaction has become a widely discussed topic of study, synthesizing the research of academic scholars, community educators, and developers of civic programs. The Handbook of Research on the Societal Impact of Digital Media is an authoritative reference source for recent developments in the dynamic field of digital media. This timely publication provides an overview of technological developments …

How To Focus An Evaluation (Cse Program Evaluation Kit), Brian Stecher, Alan Davis

Alan Davis

About this book: Changes in the initial stages of the evaluation process over the last decade are reflected in How to Focus an Evaluation. A new book in the series, this volume replaces the first edition's How to Deal with Goals and Objectives. The volume recognizes that deciding what to evaluate is a complex negotiation process that involves the methodological predisposition of the evaluator and the client, client needs, the nature of the program and the constraints surrounding the evaluation. It outlines five models that characterize different methodological approaches and considers how each may contribute to the focusing process. The …

Co-Authoring Identity: Digital Storytelling In An Urban Middle School, Alan Davis

Alan Davis

Working after school in the Cyber Cougars Fifth Dimension Club in a large city in the western US, African American youth age 12 to 14 produced digital stories representing episodes of change in their own lives. A close examination of how three of these stories came into being explores the dialogic process of authoring and considers some of the ways that self-narratives can serve as developmental tools for the authors. [This study was supported by Field Initiated Study Grant R305T010285, OERI, U. S. Department of Education]

High-Achieving Middle Schools For Latino Students In Poverty, Dan Jesse, Alan Davis, Nanacy Pokorny

Alan Davis

This study was conducted to examine the characteristics of middle schools in which Latino students from low-income families made substantial achievement gains. Nine schools in Texas were selected where Latino students had shown strong gains in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Data from onsite interviews, focus groups, and documents were reviewed for evidence of 57 characteristics of effective schools. As expected, schools were characterized by strong leadership; a clear focus on achievement; positive climate, including supportive relationships among students and teachers; and good communications with parents. Surprisingly little attention was paid to providing culturally relevant curriculum or bilingual instruction. …

Crossing Divides: The Legacy Of Graham Nuthall, Alan Davis

Alan Davis

Graham Nuthall's work cuts across methodological and conceptual divides that have worked against the development of a theory of learning and teaching that is at once predictive and practical. The micro-genetic approach to research on learning in classrooms that he developed with Adrienne Alton-Lee successfully transcends the unhelpful dichotomy between qualitative and quantitative methods. Crossing the borders between the individual focus of cognitive psychology and the central role of social activity of sociocultural theory, he has suggested a synthesis that is both grounded in social context and predictive of individual learning. His theoretical contribution can become still more useful by …

Chapter 1 Program Improvement: Cause For Cautious Optimism And A Call For Much More Research, Sam Stringfield, Shelley Billig, Alan Davis

Alan Davis

No abstract provided.

Critical Friends' Perspectives On Problems Of Practice And Inquiry In An Edd Program [Book Chapter], Deanna Sands, Connie Fulmer, Alan Davis, Shelley Zion, Rodney Blunck, Nancy Leech, Ron Tzur, Maria Ruiz-Primo

Alan Davis

About this book: This volume demonstrates that Critical Friendship Theory can help distinguish education doctorate (EdD) programs from research doctorates (education PhDs). Drawing on multiple, detailed case studies of CFT implementation at universities, it covers curriculum and implementation, online and in-person education, challenges, and strategies for success.