Basic Skill Areas Research Articles

Solasaldi literarioak haur hezkuntzan: Donostiako ikastola batean burututako esperientzia

Literatura unibertsalaren lanik onenak partekatzeko, elkarrizketan eta gozamenean oinarritutako hezkuntza-jarduera arrakastatsuenetako bat da solasaldi literarioa. Ikerketaren helburu orokorra da solasaldi literarioak, Oinarrizko Zeharkako Konpetentziak eta Esperientzia Eremuak, Haur Hezkuntzan garatzeko egokiak diren frogatzea. Esperientzia hau Donostiako ikastola batean landu da eta bost urteko 21 ikaslek (15 neska eta 6 mutil) parte hartu dute. Lau ipuinen solasaldiak aztertu ondoren, argi ikustenda solasaldi literarioak, estrategia metodologiko gisa, oso egokiak direla Haur Hezkuntzako Esperientzia Eremuak eta Zeharkako Oinarrizko Konpetentziak lantzeko. Gehien lantzen diren konpetentziak komunikazioa, elkarbizitza eta izaten ikastea dira. Ikasten ikasi eta ekiten ikasi konpetentziak, aldiz, askoz ere gutxiago lantzen dira. Lan honetan ondorioztatzen dena honako hau da: solasaldi literarioan irakaslearen rolak duen garrantzia, konpetentziak eta esperientzia eremuak garatzeko; kontuan izanik, hezitzailearen zeregin nagusia ikaslearen garapen osoa lortzea dela.

Etkinliklerle çocuk edebiyatı yapıtlarının Türkçe öğretiminde kullanılması

Türkçe öğretimi ile anlama ve anlatma becerileri
 gelişmiş, dil bilinci ve duyarlılığına sahip, okuma kültürü edinmiş, millî ve
 evrensel değerleri içselleştirmiş, düşünen duyarlı bireylerin yetiştirilmesi
 hedeflenmektedir. Türkçe öğretimi ile yalnız dilsel beceriler değil, düşünme,
 anlama, sıralama, sınıflama, sorgulama, ilişki kurma, eleştirme, tahmin etme,
 analiz-sentez yapma, değerlendirme gibi zihinsel becerilerin geliştirilmesi de
 hedeflenmektedir. Bu becerilerin kazandırılmasında onların ilgi, gereksinim ve
 dil evrenlerine uygun, Türkçenin anlatım olanaklarının yansıtıldığı metinlerin
 yeri ve önemi büyüktür. Bu nedenle öğrenciler, ilköğretim birinci sınıftan
 başlayarak, Türkçenin anlatım gücünü yansıtan, onların dil gelişimlerine ve
 gereksinimlerine uygun ürünlerle karşılaştırılmalıdır. Ana dili öğretimi
 bilgiden çok beceri kazandırmayı amaçladığı için hedeflenen beceri ve
 kazanımların gerçekleştirilmesinde etkinliklerden yararlanılmaktadır. Dört
 temel dil becerisine yönelik hazırlanacak etkinliklerin bütünsellik içerisinde
 geliştirilmesi ve öğrencilerin bu becerileri kullanabilecekleri,
 sınayabilecekleri ortamlar oluşturulmalıdır. Becerilerin tümünün bir denge
 içinde geliştirilmesi gerekir. Hazırlanan etkinlikler, öğrenci tarafından
 metnin anlaşılmasını, yorumlanmasını; metinden sonuçlar çıkarıp bu sonuçları
 yaşamında kullanabilmesini sağlamalıdır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Türkçe Dersi
 Öğretim Programı’nda öğrencilere kazandırılmaya çalışılan temel dil beceri
 alanlarında hedeflenen amaç ve kazanımları gerçekleştirmeye yönelik çocuk
 edebiyatı metinlerinden hareketle etkinlik oluşturmaktır. Çocuk edebiyatı
 metinleri doğrultusunda etkinlik tasarlamayı amaçlayan bu çalışmada, nitel
 araştırma yöntemlerinden belgesel tarama (doküman incelemesi) kullanılmıştır.
 Belgesel tarama, var olan kayıt ve belgelerden veri toplama tekniğidir. Bu
 çalışmada, dil becerilerini geliştirmeye yönelik uygulama ve etkinlik
 örneklerine yer verilmiştir.

General and domain-specific beliefs about intelligence, ability, and effort among preservice and practicing teachers

This study examined preservice and practicing teachers’ beliefs about factors influencing student academic performance. Participants viewed teacher factors as a more important determinant of academic performance than student or family factors. However, teachers who held a stronger entity view of students’ intelligence viewed teachers as less responsible for students’ academic performance. Teachers held the most ability-based views of performance in the arts and the most effort-based views of performance in the humanities. General beliefs about intelligence were related to domain-specific beliefs in the areas of basic skills, humanities, and math and science, but not in the arts or physical domains.

Preparing students for clinical placements: The student's perspective

Educating undergraduate nurses in the 21st century provides some very realistic challenges. Decreased government health budgets, increased student numbers and higher patient acuities have resulted in a reduction in the availability and quality of clinical placements. Simulated nursing practice is an innovative strategy designed to address these concerns. A simulation programme was designed for first year undergraduate nursing students to help prepare them for clinical placement.The aim of this research is to assess student perspectives and learning from the newly introduced simulation programme.This study is a descriptive design with Kolb's experiential theory providing a theoretical framework. 158 first year students taking part in a four day simulation programme chose to complete a questionnaire on programme completion. Students responded to five statements using a likert scale and categories developed and refined for the remaining four questions.Students reported significant learning in the areas of basic clinical skills and clinical documentation and collaborative care. 100% of students recommended the programme continue.

Can skill diversification improve welfare in rural areas? Evidence from Bhutan

Income growth in rural areas is a considerable challenge to further poverty reduction and economic development. Using a survey of rural Bhutanese households, we investigate the impacts of a vocational skills training programme that was intended to diversify incomes outside agriculture. We find that the programme had limited positive impacts along various economic and psychosocial dimensions, but that it diversified household incomes into the basic construction skill areas that it provided. Notably, the programme did raise incomes for trainees in non-competitive labour markets where trainees accounted for only a small percentage of the overall population. The results and findings from qualitative assessments suggest that: a greater emphasis on creating a mechanism to connect the training programme with income-generating opportunities via job placement services, entrepreneurship or mentoring services is needed – especially in competitive labour markets where there are too many trainees in relation to the population; refining the curriculum and extending the training time to allow trainees to develop their skills may be important; and encouraging greater equality in the skill development process may require providing more female-friendly training that has flexibility in training time and venues and focuses on other skill areas.

IMPACT ANALYSIS OF HEC- BASED TRAINING PROGRAMS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE UNIVERSITY TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN

The current research investigates the HEC based training for the University teachers in Pakistan and its impact on the performance on University teachers. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Pakistan seeks to improve the quality of teaching by University teachers. The Commission has initiated different forms of training according to the areas of expertise in order to improve skills and impact on the performance of University teachers. HEC based training plays a crucial role in the personal development among the University Teachers in Pakistan. Survey was conducted from 200 University teachers who have recently got training from HEC skill development or professional development training from HEC from all provinces. Structural questionnaire was design for reliability and accuracy the data. Analysis and evaluation was done by using GENSTAT statistical software. Major findings of the study showed that training should be provided according to discipline and more interactive training should be design for the University teachers. It was revealed that HEC based training not only equipped with knowledge but also improving the confidence level of the University teacher. Moreover due to the government policies, rules and regulations, such as introduction of the Tenure Track System, the and hiring the foreign faculty in various all Public sector universities it also has impact on the performance of students in job market. It revealed that teacher training was beneficial for professional development as well as for teaching performance. It also suggested that improved knowledge, skills and attitudes was necessary for the teacher aides to support the teaching program and facilitate learning and communication. It was further revealed that effective teacher aides required competencies in broad areas of human relations, instructional activities, non-instructional activities, and basic skills. The study concluded that basic and advanced level training is necessary for future training programs in Pakistan and 190 respondents responded to the questionnaires, by producing 95.0% response rate. Among which 70 % were male respondents and 30% were female respondents

Tools and Technologies for Computer-Aided Speech and Language Therapy

This paper addresses the problem of Computer-Aided Speech and Language Therapy (CASLT). The goal of the work described in the paper is to develop and evaluate a semi-automated system for providing interactive speech therapy to the increasing population of impaired individuals and help professional speech therapists. A discussion on the development and evaluation of a set of interactive therapy tools, along with the underlying speech technologies that support these tools is provided. The interactive tools are designed to facilitate the acquisition of language skills in the areas of basic phonatory skills, phonetic articulation and language understanding primarily for children with neuromuscular disorders like dysarthria. Human–machine interaction for all of these areas requires the existence of speech analysis, speech recognition, and speech verification algorithms that are robust with respect to the sources of speech variability that are characteristic of this population of speakers. The paper will present an experimental study that demonstrates the effectiveness of an interactive system for eliciting speech from a population of impaired children and young speakers ranging in age from 11 to 21 years. The performance of automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems and subword-based pronunciation verification (PV) on this domain are also presented. The results indicate that ASR and PV systems configured from speech utterances taken from the impaired speech domain can provide adequate performance, similar to the experts’ agreement rate, for supporting the presented CASLT applications.

Curriculum‐based assessment

AbstractCurriculum‐based assessment (CBA) measures have become a frequently used assessment tool of school psychologists to assess the academic performance functioning of students in the basic skill areas of reading, mathematics, spelling, and written expression. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the different approaches to CBA, with a particular focus on the defining measurement characteristics of each technique. Following this, an illustrative case example is presented that demonstrates how different CBA procedures can be used for (a) making screening and problem‐identification/certification decisions, (b) formulating instructional intervention plans, and (c) monitoring progress toward goal attainment and response to instruction. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 45–56, 2006.

Interactional models of learning disabilities: Evidence from students entering foster care

AbstractChildren are increasingly entering foster care due to primary or secondary neglect in the home environment. They provide a unique opportunity to examine the relationship between learning and extrascholastic environments. Achievement and intelligence scores were obtained for 3483 school‐age children during the first 30 to 60 days of foster care placement. Results showed average to low‐average mean achievement and IQ, with primary academic deficits in basic skill areas. One or more severe (≥1.75 SD) regressed discrepancies was found for 25.4% of children, and 76.6% showed one or more areas of academic underachievement (≤25th percentile). Results are interpreted as supporting interactional models of learning disability etiology that recognize environmental, neurologic, instructional, and behavioral variables. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Tennessee Study of Class Size in the Early School Grades

The Tennessee class size project is a three-phase study designed to determine the effect of smaller class size in the earliest grades on short-term and long-term pupil performance. The first phase of this project, termed Project STAR (for Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio), was begun in 1985, when Lamar Alexander was governor of Tennessee. Governor Alexander, who later served as secretary of education in the cabinet of President George Bush, had made education a top priority for his second term. The legislature and the educational community of Tennessee were mindful of a promising study of the benefits of small class size carried out in nearby Indiana, but were also aware of the costs associated with additional classrooms and teachers. Wishing to obtain data on the effectiveness of reduced class size before committing additional funds, the Tennessee legislature authorized this four-year study in which results obtained in kindergarten, first, second, and third grade classrooms of 13 to 17 pupils were compared with those obtained in classrooms of 22 to 25 pupils and in classrooms of this larger size where the teacher was assisted by a paid aide. Both standardized and curriculum-based tests were used to assess and compare the performance of some 6,500 pupils in about 330 classrooms at approximately 80 schools in the areas of reading, mathematics, and basic study skills. After four years, it was clear that smaller classes did produce substantial improvement in early learning and cognitive studies and that the effect of small class size on the achievement of minority children was initially about double that observed for majority children, but in later years, it was about the same. The second phase of the project, called the Lasting Benefits Study, was begun in 1989 to determine whether these perceived benefits persisted. Observations made as a part of this phase confirmed that the children who were originally enrolled in smaller classes continued to perform better than their grade-mates (whose school experience had begun in larger classes) when they were returned to regular-sized classes in later grades. Under the third phase, Project Challenge, the 17 economically poorest school districts were given small classes in kindergarten, first, second, and third grades. These districts improved their end-of-year standing in rank among the 139 districts from well below average to above average in reading and mathematics.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Empirical Advances in Technology-Assisted Instruction for Students With Mild and Moderate Disabilities

AbstractIn this literature review, the effects of technology-assisted instruction on the learning of students with mild and moderate disabilities are synthesized for the 1988–1995 period. Empirically based findings are reviewed and discussed in the basic skill areas of reading, written expression, whole language, and mathematics, as well as in the content areas of social studies and science. Results are interpreted and recommendations are provided regarding the design of software for students with disabilities, effective instructional practices, curricular integration, and uses of newer technologies. Future directions for research and challenges facing teachers of students with disabilities are identified.

The Tennessee Study of Class Size in the Early School Grades

The Tennessee class size project is a three-phase study designed to determine the effect of smaller class size in the earliest grades on short-term and long-term pupil performance. The first phase of this project, termed Project STAR (for Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio), was begun in 1985, when Lamar Alexander was governor of Tennessee. Governor Alexander, who later served as secretary of education in the cabinet of President George Bush, had made education a top priority for his second term. The legislature and the educational community of Tennessee were mindful of a promising study of the benefits of small class size carried out in nearby Indiana, but were also aware of the costs associated with additional classrooms and teachers. Wishing to obtain data on the effectiveness of reduced class size before committing additional funds, the Tennessee legislature authorized this four-year study in which results obtained in kindergarten, first, second, and third grade classrooms of 13 to 17 pupils were compared with those obtained in classrooms of 22 to 25 pupils and in classrooms of this larger size where the teacher was assisted by a paid aide. Both standardized and curriculum-based tests were used to assess and compare the performance of some 6,500 pupils in about 330 classrooms at approximately 80 schools in the areas of reading, mathematics, and basic study skills. After four years, it was clear that smaller classes did produce substantial improvement in early learning and cognitive studies and that the effect of small class size on the achievement of minority children was initially about double that observed for majority children, but in later years, it was about the same. The second phase of the project, called the Lasting Benefits Study, was begun in 1989 to determine whether these perceived benefits persisted. Observations made as a part of this phase confirmed that the children who were originally enrolled in smaller classes continued to perform better than their grade-mates (whose school experience had begun in larger classes) when they were returned to regular-sized classes in later grades. Under the third phase, Project Challenge, the 17 economically poorest school districts were given small classes in kindergarten, first, second, and third grades. These districts improved their end-of-year standing in rank among the 139 districts from well below average to above average in reading and mathematics.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Prevention Training and Medical Residency

We developed a questionnaire to assess training and perceived competence in prevention skills during medical residency. We asked residents at a university training program about 20 prevention interventions recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Primary care and categorical medicine residents rated the adequacy of training and the perceived relevance to clinical practice of these interventions as well as basic skill and knowledge areas (such as patient education) on five-point Likert-type scales (1 = very inadequate or very unimportant and 5 = very adequate or very important). Fifty-eight residents (n = 19 primary care and 39 categorical medicine) completed the questionnaire (response rate = 63%). Primary care residents felt significantly (P < .05) more competent than categorical medicine residents in 14 of the 20 prevention interventions. Primary care residents rated the adequacy of training in eight of 10 basic skill and knowledge areas significantly (P < .05) higher than did categorical medicine residents. For both groups of residents, mean relevance scores significantly exceeded mean perceived competence scores in 18 of 20 prevention interventions and in all 10 skill and knowledge areas. Primary care residents felt more competent than categorical medicine residents in performing most prevention interventions. However, residents in both training programs rate the relevance of several basic skill and knowledge areas as higher than their perceived competence, suggesting training underemphasis. Both primary care and categorical medicine training programs could use this instrument to assess the adequacy of their training in these areas.

Functional screening of lower-limb amputees: a role in predicting rehabilitation outcome?

The Functional Independence Measure (FIM), a single-score instrument used to measure independent functioning in six areas of basic self-care skills, was used to evaluate 68 patients following lower-limb amputation. Patients in a rehabilitation hospital were assessed with the FIM upon admission and discharge. Admission scores averaged 52.7, ranging from 25.2 to 70.0. Patients scoring in the lowest and highest quartiles were compared: no remarkable gender, ethnic, or age differences were evident. Persons with the lowest scores (ie, lowest functioning) had a higher prevalence of hypertension, coronary artery disease, and noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The success of rehabilitation in patients in the lower two quartiles upon admission was variable and not predicted well by the FIM. In contrast, predictability of rehabilitation success was high in patients functioning higher at admission, the majority achieving near-perfect scores by discharge. Length of hospitalization appeared to be largely unrelated to the net difference in FIM scores over the course of hospitalization.

A national survey of medical risk assessment instruction in general practice residency programs (Part II).

This is the second part of a three-part series reporting a national survey of general practice residency directors and their evaluation of the medical risk assessment (MRA) instruction curriculum in their programs. The purpose of Part II is to evaluate the degree of success of the implementation of the ADA Commission on Accreditation's standard for MRA programs. Acceptable levels of achievement were attained in most areas of basic and intermediate-level skills. However, approximately one-third to one-half of general practice residency directors report that they are not achieving the standard for some intermediate or advanced assessment skills. When various instructor categories were compared, physicians scored significantly higher than oral and maxillofacial surgeons or other dentists in their ability to achieve acceptable outcomes in MRA instruction. The results of this survey, coupled with available literature concerning medical risk assessment instruction, support that changes in the undergraduate curriculum, a mandatory additional year of training, or modification of defined goals and outcomes should be considered.

Early Identification and Remediation of Learning Problems: The PIRL Project

Simple Precision Teaching-based probes were used in a regular kindergarten class to identify pupils who might be at risk for demonstrating potentially serious learning problems. Two, one-minute probes were completed with each pupil to assess their performances in six basic skill areas targeted for instruction in the kindergarten curriculum and listed on the kindergarten report card: see-say letter names from ordered and random lists, see-say letter sounds from ordered and random lists, seewrite (copy) numbers from a random list, and see-say colors. The probe on seelsay letter sounds from a random list proved to discriminate most easily among students who had already mastered the skill and those who had not yet mastered it, so it was selected as the instructional target for a special remedial program. The nine lowest performing students on that skill were provided 15 minutes of small group direct instruction for three days each week over an eleven week period. During the course of the remedial program, six of the students mastered the skill, but three did not. Those students were therefore considered at risk of potentially serious learning problems, and in need of more highly individualized instructional attention. Implications for practice and the continued development of procedures for identifying children in need of more individualized instruction are discussed. If they are identified as having learning difficulties early in their school years, students might be helped before their problems multiply (Epstein, Kauffman, & Cullinan, 1985; Wallace & Larsen, 1986). The Precise Identification and Remediation for Learning (PIRL) project was established to accomplish this goal of early identification using procedures that could be implemented easily in a regular education kindergarten.

The content of internal medicine residency training and its relevance to the practice of medicine: implications for primary care curricula.

Using survey items from Kern et al. (1985), 192 former residents rated their preparation in, and the importance of, three content areas of their residency training ("basic skill and knowledge areas," "allied medical disciplines," and "areas related to the practice of medicine"). Mean ratings replicated those reported by Kern et al. (r = 0.70 to 0.97, p less than 0.004). Using additional data about current practice patterns, ratings by general internists were compared with ratings by subspecialists. Both groups identified basic skill and knowledge areas as most important and felt that many areas related to practice management had been underemphasized. Most allied medical disciplines, however, were more important to generalists. Exposure to non-internal medicine areas seems important for residents considering subspecialization. However, all residents may benefit from increased emphasis on basic clinical skills and practice management. Program directors may want to address these issues, given the recent decline in applications to internal medicine programs.

The Lasting Value of Clinical Skills

To assess the lasting value of clinical skills learned by residents in a subspecialty-oriented training program in internal medicine, we surveyed recent graduates. Graduates received a questionnaire contrasting separate ratings of the amount of training (preparation) they received during residency with the importance of this training in subsequent career activities. Topics included 12 traditional medical disciplines, 15 areas related to the practice of medicine, 15 allied medical disciplines, ten basic skill and knowledge areas, and 28 technical procedures. Response rate was 91.8% (56/61). Ninety-five percent of respondents had certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine, 80% had subspecialty training, and 89% rendered direct patient care. Fifty-six topics showed disparity between preparation and importance scores (45 with P less than .0001). For 14 categories, mainly technical procedures, disparate ratings suggested excessive programmatic emphasis, while for 42 categories, including history taking and physical examination, there may have been inadequate emphasis. These data suggest that basic clinical skills may require greater emphasis, even in traditional programs. The opinion of program graduates is an important resource in designing training programs in internal medicine.

A Management Progression System for Nurse Administrators, Part 1

This article describes the rationale for developing a Management Progression Systems for Nurse Administrators. A format is presented which depicts critical decision areas for managers. The importance of gathering appropriate and quality information is stressed as a basic to effective decision making. Sample representative decisions for each of three administrative positions are presented. Part 2 of this series will deal with the three most important areas of managerial skills. Judgments about the appropriate combination of necessary skills will be presented. Then, competencies related to the basic skill areas and selected factors which assess those skills will be discussed.

Screening and Placing Basic Skills Students

Basic Skills Programs (BSPs) are the fastest growing college and university programs in the nation. Yet there are many unsettled questions regarding the ad ministration and organization of these programs. One of these questions is how to select students for BSPs. Once students have been identified as lacking the minimum competence?in reading or writing or mathematics?necessary to function on the college level, should they be required to enroll in BSP instruc tion or should they volunteer? Four multi-campus systems of higher education came to grips with this issue by establishing systemwide guidelines. The Department of Higher Education, State of New Jersey (3); the University System of Georgia (2:2); and the City University of New York (4:26) adopted the policy that students showing deficiencies were required to enroll in Basic Skills Program courses. Entering freshmen at Pennsylvania State University who tested below the acceptable minimum scores on the system's BSP test had three terms (the normal freshman year) to raise their scores to acceptable levels. Deficien cies could be corrected by voluntary enrollment in BSPs, self-study, or by seeking tutoring (4:26). A search of the literature shows that multi-campus systemwide guidelines on the selection of students for BSPs such as those of New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania State University, and the City University of New York were the exception, not the rule. A survey of the practices of BSPs in the twenty-four colleges and universities of West Virginia, conducted by this writer, revealed a diversity in student selection policies, not only between institutions but also within institutions. Four of the twenty-four institutions had centralized programs?one division or department responsible for all three basic skill areas. There were a total of fifty-eight separate BSPs.