The discourse of the non-traditional classroom has found itself fundamentally intertwined with the rationalities of creating learning relevant for the future-orientated twenty-first century. In such an imaginary the idea of the conventional classroom – with its four walls, blackboard, ‘closed’ door,teacher-centred pedagogy and student learning conceptualised through the logics of the indu…
This article is an attempt at a systematic presentation of the knowledge of problems related to the value system of gifted persons. Psychological literature was reviewed to make the reader familiar with the concept of the value system and to present the current state of research. The problem of the value system of gifted persons was discussed from the perspective of its relationship with intel…
A number of characteristics are shared between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and gifted populations. They include issues with sustaining attention, following directions, and completing tasks. When an individual is both gifted and has ADHD (gifted–ADHD) he has unique educational needs that may put him at risk for underachievement. To date the literature largely addresses how…
The study was conducted during the Easter holidays of 2010 at Rawmarsh City Learning Centre with 16 students from school years 8 to 11 who had participated, during their infant years, in a gifted and talented Key Stage One Enrichment Cluster. The students represented a wide range of backgrounds, and five were identified as being on the autistic spectrum. The Enrichment Cluster was known as ori…
Performance-based assessment clearly represents an indispensable approach for assessing gifted student learning. Challenging performance tasks allow gifted learners to reveal their considerable intellectual capacity and energy. Through performance tasks, teachers gain insights into a gifted student’s true level of capability in a domain of knowledge. As the majority of programs for the gif…
In the context of increasing interest and support for a developmental conception of giftedness,there is perhaps an ever-greater need for off-level testing for students with high potential. Off-level testing is no longer merely a single-use tool that helps administrators identify students for gifted programs, but provides essential information about where students’ various strengths are curre…
Identification of gifted and talented students presents a conceptual and practical challenge for educators. On the one hand, giftedness can be represented by potential, a difficult trait to measure reliably given the multifaceted approach supported by many gifted programs. On the other hand, some behaviors that are indicative of potential, especially in academic areas, may only develop if stude…
Flipping the classroom can be an effective instructional strategy for differentiating instruction for gifted and talented students. The author presents a rationale for using the strategy with gifted students, possible problems educators might encounter, and practical tips for beginning the process of flipping the classroom. Keywords: differentiation, technology
Using assessment data to determine student growth has become an integral part of the accountability movement, and researchers and educators are currently examining how new rules impact the academic assessment of gifted learners. In 2008, the Association for the Gifted’s Annual Symposium at the Council for Exceptional Children Convention focused on policy and legislative issues and their effec…
The United States is considered the land of immigrants and cultural diversity, and our nation’s ever changing demographics attests to this. Yearly, our nation and schools become more racially and linguistically different. In what ways, we must ask, are schools welcoming and providing for students who come from different cultural backgrounds, especially Black and Hispanic students? The author …
Above-level testing is the practice of administering aptitude or academic achievement tests that are designed for typical students in higher grades or older age-groups to gifted or high-achieving students. Although widely accepted in gifted education, above-level testing has not been subject to careful psychometric scrutiny. In this study, I examine reliability data,growth trajectories, distrib…
Positive socioemotional outcomes and developments represent important educational goals. Full-time ability grouping of gifted students has been criticized for potentially detrimental socioemotional effects. Therefore, in the present longitudinal study, we investigated whether or not social self-concepts and school-related attitudes and beliefs are affected by full-time ability grouping of the …
Academic motivation is important for students’ task persistence, academic performance, and college selection. The goal of this qualitative study was to understand academic motivation from the students’ perspective. Focus group discussions with 28 university honors freshman revealed that students most often attributed their interest and motivation in high school to their interactions with th…
Best practice in gifted and talented identification procedures involves making decisions on the basis of multiple measures. However,very little research has investigated the impact of different methods of combining multiple measures. This article examines the consequences of the conjunctive (“and”), disjunctive/complementary (“or”), and compensatory (“mean”) models for combining sco…
Students of color are often underrepresented in academic programs for gifted and talented students. This study explored the impact of The Teacher’s Observation of Potential in Students (TOPS) tool on teachers’ ability to systematically observe and document the academic strengths of 5- to 9-year-old students across nine domains. Teachers indicated that without the TOPS, they would have over…
A randomized pretest–posttest control group design was utilized to measure the effects of a platform swing on independent work behaviors of 30 children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Participants engaged in two 5-min intervals of independent work. Between the intervals, participants in the treatment group received 5 min of vestibular stimulation using a platform swing and children in t…
Next generation sequencing (NGS) has surpassed the traditional Sanger sequencing method to become the main choice for large-scale, genome-wide sequencing studies with ultra-high-throughput production and a huge reduction in costs. The NGS technologies have had enormous impact on the studies of structural and functional genomics in all the life sciences. In this book, Next Generation Sequencing …
Classical thermodynamics, the subject of this book, is concerned with macroscopic aspects of the interaction of matter with energy in its various forms. This book is designed as a text for a onesemester course for senior undergraduate or graduate students who have already been introduced to thermodynamics in an undergraduate physical chemistry course. Anyone who studies and uses thermodyn…
Efforts to preserve fragile ecosystems that focus on removing human intervention from the environment risk ignoring the political and social systems underlying environmentally destructive economic activities. In contrast, a biocultural diversity perspective allows for environmental protection to be approached with sensitivity to human needs. This paper explores the case of Karanrang Island,…
The islands in the delta of the Mahakam River in East Kalimantan have for a very long time been of little interest to anybody. It was a hostile environment for human settlement, exploitable resources were limited and nobody could think of options for alternative forms of land use. The area was classified as ‘marginal or empty land’. Things started to change dramatically in the 1990’…
As a province composed of hundreds of small islands, Maluku is highly susceptible to decreasing biodiversity of plant resources for agriculture. Pressures from pests and disease infestations, difficulty of seed storage, market demands for specific cultivars, and the introduction of new superior varieties are decreasing crop and plant genetic diversity and will impact the food security in th…
This article outlines the development of Vietnam’s Con Dao archipelago (and Con Son island in particular) as tourism destinations since the formal reunification of Vietnam in 1975. In particular it examines the nature of the area’s two main tourism attractions, Con Son’s prison sites and memorials and the archipelago’s natural environment, and how these have been marketed to and exp…
Human behavior and the environment interact reciprocally. It is necessary to understand social and ecological systems as an integrated co-evolving social–ecological system (SES) to reveal why an environment is in its current condition and how humans have impacted upon and been influenced by the dynamics of natural system. Many societies in coastal and marine SESs rely on marine natural ca…
Families in rural or remote areas have limited access to evidence-based intervention for their children with autism. Using web-based training and telemedicine technology, the current study investigated the feasibility of training seven parents to implement Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) strategies with their children with autism. In this exploratory formative evaluation, parents increased thei…
This article reports the findings of a qualitative inquiry involving two focus groups made up of experienced faculty who met to discuss academic concerns faced by college students with autism spectrum disorders, including Asperger’s disorder. Analysis of group meeting transcripts indicated that student concerns fell into categories related to difficulties with theory of mind and understanding…
Although electronic tools such as handheld computers have become increasingly common throughout society, implementation of such tools to improve skills in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities has lagged in the professional literature. However, the use of visual scripts for individuals with disabilities, particularly those with autism spectrum disorders, has been demonst…
The increased attention given to the implementation of personnel preparation programs in the field of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has directly paralleled the significant increase in the number of students identified with ASD. For this study, we sought to analyze key aspects of programs for professionals who work with students with ASD. In addition to a detailed analysis of multiple demogra…
Despite the high prevalence of comorbidity between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities (LD) or emotional disturbances (ED), few studies have examined the long-term effects of these comorbid relationships on student outcomes. We estimated the longitudinal academic, social, and behavioral outcomes in children with LD or ED comorbid with or without ADHD in a n…
This study used a large statewide database to examine the oral reading fluency development of second- and third-grade students with emotional disturbance or learning disabilities and their general education peers. Oral reading fluency measures were administered to 185,367 students without disabilities (general education), 2,146 students identified with an emotional disturbance,and 10,339 studen…
This study investigated the role of strategy instruction on solution accuracy in children with and without serious math difficulties (MD) in problem solving. Children’s posttest solutionaccuracy was compared on standardized and experimental measures as a function of strategy conditions. Strategy conditions included curriculum materials that gradually increased the number of irrelevant proposi…
The authors used data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2;SRI International, 2000) to examine the aspects of self-determination assessed in NLTS2 and measurement equivalence and latent differences across the 12 disability categories recognized in the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 2004). NLTS2 included a direct assessment with items representing 3 of the…
Low language proficiency and problem behavior often co-occur, yet language deficits are likely to be overlooked in children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Random effects meta-analyses were conducted to determine prevalence and severity of the problem. Across 22 studies, participants included 1,171 children ages 5-13 with formally identified EBD and no history of developmental, n…
Findings from a meta-analysis of 26 studies investigating the effects of either the Kids on the Block or Count Me In puppet shows on changes in elementary students’ attitudes toward and knowledge of individuals with disabilities are reported. The studies included 5,302 intervention group participants and 2,642 comparison group participants. Results indicated that the puppet shows had small to…
This article describes a follow-up analysis of findings from a randomized study that tested the efficacy of a blended version of Enhanced Anchored Instruction (EAI) designed to improve both the computation and problem-solving performances of middle school students with disabilities. The goals of the secondary analysis were to track overall error patterns of students in computing with fractions …
Over 30 years ago the original teaching games for understanding (TGfU) proposition was published in a special edition of the Bulletin of Physical Education (Bunker and Thorpe, 1982). In that time TGfU has attracted significant attention from a theoretical and pedagogical perspective as an improved approach to games and sport teaching in physical education (PE). It has been particularly champion…
Creating environments in physical education (PE) that foster perceived competence and physical activity during gender-mixed game play lessons is a challenge, especially with adolescent girls. This study is a small experiment in one PE lesson that aimed to increase the perceived competence and in-class physical activity in girls, by applying a single-gender grouping strategy within co-educationa…
The aim of this paper is to explore and develop ways to describe what there is to know, from the perspective of the one who knows, when knowing how to carry out a complex movement. The paper will challenge the distinction between mental and physical skills, drawing on theories of tacit knowing (Polanyi, 1969), knowing how (Ryle, 1949) and knowing-in-action (Scho¨ n, 1991), together with empiri…
There has been growing interest in alternative assessment strategies that focus on student participation within higher education over the past 20 years. At the same time, it is important to note that there is very little published research dealing with alternative forms of assessment in the field of physical education teacher education (PETE). In this paper we seek to make a case for democrati…
Physical education (PE) is steeped in history, tradition and ritual. The accepted tradition of excuse notes allowing pupils to self-exempt from lessons is one such ritual associated with the subject in schools. This paper explores the impact of this phenomenon, focusing on participation and engagement levels within PE lessons. Data was collected over a five-year period, through the use of surve…
Validating selected theoretical assumptions associated with the Spectrum of Teaching Styles is critical to the pursuit of knowledge about effective instructional strategies. To assess these styles, a total f 77 college-aged students at one university enrolled in four physical activity classes and participated in three 50-minute lessons with different teaching styles. One lesson was delivered in…
In the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model, cognitive presence indicators can be used to evaluate the quality of inquiry in a discussion forum. Engagement in critical thinking and deep knowledge can occur through reflective processes. When learners move through the four phases of cognitive presence (triggering, exploration, integration, resolution), the processes of discussion and reflection are i…
Understanding how blogs can support collaborative learning is a vital concern for researchers and teachers. This article explores how blogs may be used to support secondary education students’ collaborative interaction and how such an interaction process can promote the creation of a Community of Inquiry to enhance critical thinking and meaningful learning. A science case-based project in whi…
Networked learning environments that embed the essence of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework utilise pedagogies that encourage dialogic practices. This can be of significance for classroom teaching across all curriculum areas. In science education, networked environments are thought to support student investigations of scientific problems, including the collection and processing of data, …
To improve Community of Inquiry research, a group of researchers created the Community of Inquiry Questionnaire (CoIQ). While the development of the CoIQ is a step in the right direction, this instrument does not align as well as it could with previous research on each of the individual ‘presences’ (i.e., cognitive presence, teaching presence, social presence) that make up the Community of …
A cohort-based online professional doctorate program that consisted of both online coursework and research activities was designed using Garrison et al’s community of inquiry (CoI) framework. The evaluation of the program proved a challenge because all existing CoI assessment methods in the past have dealt with online courses, not with online programs. In the absence of a validated instrument…
Social presence is a construct that has attracted the attention of many educational scholars involved in online collaborative learning settings wherein all the dialogue is happening through textbased asynchronous and synchronous communication channels. The social presence of the learning group members is associated with the degree of participation and social interaction amongst them and, as suc…
We studied in detail the mean microfibril angle and the width of cellulose crystals from the pith to the bark of a 15-year-old Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba L.). The orientation of cellulose microfibrils with respect to the cell axis and the width and length of cellulose crystallites were determined using Xray diffraction. Raman microscopy was used to compare the lignin distribution in the cel…
Despite their shortcomings, state bans on SOCE for minors are an important development in legislative efforts to build a safer and more inclusive culture for LGBT youth. In the past fifteen years, for instance, California has passed several other archetypal laws to protect LGBT youth and encourage LGBT tolerance, including laws that: require public schools to include LGBT community’s achievem…
The nitrogen fixation by strains belonging to the Bacillus genus remains poorly explored. In this work, the diversity of endospore-forming bacilli isolated from the rhizosphere of sunflower was evaluated. A total of 101 strains were identified based on the V1-V2 variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Strains belonging to the genera Bacillus and Paenibacillus represented 41.6% and 58.4%, re…
The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model provides a well-researched theoretical framework to understand how learners and teachers interact and learn together in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). Most CoI research focuses on asynchronous learning. However, with the arrival of easy-to-use synchronous communication tools the relevance of the CoI model needs verification for these new e…