Classroom Peer Research Articles

Burn! How implicit and explicit attitudes predict early adolescents’ “hot sauce” aggression toward classroom peers

The current study examined to what extent early adolescents’ implicit and explicit evaluations of a classmate predict (a) their own aggressive behavior toward that classmate and (b) their classmate’s aggressive behavior toward them. Implicit and explicit peer evaluations were assessed among 148 early adolescents (78 boys and 70 girls; Mage = 11.1 years) with an approach–avoidance task and a likeability rating. Adolescents’ aggression was measured by the number of grams of hot sauce administered to the peer in a “taste test.” The analyses with the actor–partner interdependence model showed that girls’ implicit attitude predicted aggression toward their partner and that boys’ implicit attitude predicted their partner’s aggression toward them. Explicit attitudes did not predict “hot sauce” aggression. The current study demonstrates that implicit evaluation of a peer can in fact be even more impactful than explicit evaluation in social interactions among peers.

Implementation of Project Students Are Sun Safe (SASS) in Rural High Schools Along the Arizona-Mexico Border.

The incidence of skin cancer is raising in Hispanics/Latinos, which is a concern for Hispanics/Latinos living in Arizona, a state with a high amount of ultraviolet radiation exposure. There is a dearth of research on skin cancer prevention education for Hispanic/Latino adolescents in high school. Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) framework, academic and community partners conducted a project to adapt an existing efficacious skin cancer prevention program, Project Students are Sun Safe (SASS) and the current SASS online training model, for dissemination to predominantly Hispanic/Latino students attending high schools in rural southeastern Arizona, located along the Arizona-Mexico border. We assessed the feasibility of training some of these students as peer educators (n = 16) to implement the "Border SASS" lesson to their peers in high school classrooms (n = 198). Border SASS training and the classroom lesson were feasible for, and highly acceptable to, peer educators and classroom students. These students significantly improved skin cancer prevention knowledge scores and self-reported skin cancer prevention behaviors over a 3- to 4-month period post training and the intervention implementation. Here we report on the following: (1) academic-community partnership and adaptation of the SASS training model for rural Hispanic high school students, (2) training of the high school peer educators, (3) administration of the SASS lesson by the trained peer educators to high school students, and (4) further evaluation of peer educator training and classroom student outcomes.

التنمَر لدى التلامیذ ذوی الإعاقة الفکریة وعلاقته بالمشکلات الصفیة لــدى أقـرانهـم کمــا یــدرکهــا معلمُــوهـــم Bullying among students with intellectual disabilities and its relationship to classroom problems among their peers as perceived by their teachers

relationship problems with classroom peers institutes and programs Intellectual Education, Identify the differences from the point of view of teachers' institutes and programs of intellectual education about bullying behavior in students with intellectual disabilities can be attributed to the educational place, grade for students. The study sample consisted of 414 teachers studying for students with intellectual disability, the study consisted of a questionnaire tools bullying and problems with the classroom of students with intellectual disabilities (prepared by the researcher). Key word: Bullying - Intellectual Disability - Classroom Problems- The results of the study include the following:

Classroom social experiences in early elementary school relate to diurnal cortisol levels

Social stress has been linked to altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocorticol (HPA) axis activation. During elementary school, children can become exposed to negative peer relations, such as poor appraisal among classroom peers, which is considered a social stressor. However, little is known about the association between classroom peer appraisal and the physiological stress system in children. The goal of this study was to examine the association of peer acceptance and peer non-acceptance with diurnal cortisol concentrations in 222 children from 20 mainstream elementary schools (Mage = 6.97 years, SD = 0.99, 55% boys) in the Netherlands. Saliva samples were collected at awakening, 30 min post-awakening, at noon and at 8 pm during a weekend day. From these assessments, the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR), diurnal cortisol concentration (AUCg) and diurnal cortisol slope were calculated. Peer nominations of peer acceptance (being liked), and peer non-acceptance (being disliked) were collected across a one year interval. Associations were controlled for peer victimization, age, sex and SES and children’s levels of emotional problems and behavioural problems. Results showed that low peer acceptance was associated with heightened diurnal cortisol concentration (i.e., heightened AUGg), lower cortisol reductions across the day (i.e., less decreasing cortisol slope) and heightened cortisol awakening response (i.e., heightened CAR). Peer non-acceptance and the interaction between peer acceptance and peer non-acceptance (known as peer rejection) were not associated with AUCg, cortisol slope or the CAR. The findings emphasize the association between poor appraisal among classroom peers and children’s heightened HPA-axis activation. This underscores the importance of the physiological stress system in studying the consequences of negative peer relations in children.

Effects of Peer Support Arrangements Across Instructional Formats and Environments for Students With Severe Disabilities

Peer support arrangements are an evidence-based practice for increasing interactions between students with severe disabilities and their peers in general education classrooms, but it is unclear how interactions vary across instructional formats or generalize outside the classroom. In this single-case design study, we tested the efficacy of peer support arrangements with three middle school students with severe disabilities, and focused on variability across instructional formats and generalization to the cafeteria and recess yard. We replicated previous findings of increased interactions and extended the literature by demonstrating positive effects across instructional formats with the largest gains during small group instruction and independent work time. We found no evidence of generalization; interactions only increased in nonclassroom settings after we directly targeted those settings. We recommend educators to implement peer support arrangements in general education classrooms, increase opportunities for small group instruction when appropriate, and purposefully target social interactions across settings.

Values Affirmation Intervention Reduces Achievement Gap between Underrepresented Minority and White Students in Introductory Biology Classes.

Achievement gaps between underrepresented minority (URM) students and their white peers in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics classrooms are persistent across many white-majority institutions of higher education. Attempts to reduce this phenomenon of underperformance through increasing classroom structure via active learning have been partially successful. In this study, we address the hypothesis that the achievement gap between white and URM students in an undergraduate biology course has a psychological and emotional component arising from stereotype threat. Specifically, we introduced a values affirmation exercise that counters stereotype threat by reinforcing a student's feelings of integrity and self-worth in three iterations of an intensive active-learning college biology course. On average, this exercise reduced the achievement gap between URM and white students who entered the course with the same incoming grade point average. This result suggests that achievement gaps resulting from the underperformance of URM students could be mitigated by providing students with a learning environment that removes psychological and emotional impediments of performance through short psychosocial interventions.

Exploring a relationship between students’ interpreting self-efficacy and performance: triangulating data on interpreter performance assessment

ABSTRACTInterpreting Self-Efficacy (ISE) is the belief one holds about their own interpreting capabilities. One of the first instruments to measure this self-belief is S.-B. Lee’s ISE scale, a statistically sound self-report questionnaire designed to measure the ISE levels of undergraduate students majoring in consecutive interpreting (Cronbach’s α = .896). In theory, this scale helps to predict how successful a student will be in an interpreting task. The present study aims to show whether there is a strong correlation between ISE and actual performance among undergraduate students. For this purpose, the study was conducted in three steps. First, the ISE scale was administered to 33 undergraduate students enrolled in an advanced course on consecutive interpreting, in order to measure the students’ ISE levels. Second, the students’ interpreting performances were assessed on multiple occasions, using triangulation involving three different assessor groups, namely the classroom teacher, peer students, and external raters. Third, statistical analysis was performed to find out whether there is a relationship (and what kind of relationship exists) between the students’ ISE and performance levels. Findings from this study and their implications for interpreter training are also discussed.

Perceptions of Relatedness with Classroom Peers Promote Adolescents' Behavioral Engagement and Achievement in Secondary School.

Secondary school is a vulnerable time where stagnation or declines in classroom behavioral engagement occur for many students, and peer relationships take on a heightened significance. We examined the implications of adolescents' perceptions of relatedness with classroom peers for their academic learning. Participants were 1084 adolescents (53% female) in 65 middle and high school classrooms. Multilevel cross-lagged path analyses found that adolescents' perceived relatedness with classroom peers subsequently predicted their increased self-reported behavioral engagement in that classroom from fall to winter and again from winter to spring. Higher engagement in spring predicted higher end of year objective achievement test scores after statistical control of prior year test scores. Implications are discussed for increasing classroom peer relatedness to enhance adolescents' achievement.

Classroom Social Dynamics Management: Why the Invisible Hand of the Teacher Matters for Special Education

The invisible hand is a metaphor that refers to teachers’ impact on the classroom peer ecology. Although teachers have the capacity to organize the classroom environment and activities in ways that contribute to students’ social experiences, their contributions are often overlooked in research on students’ peer relations and the development of social interventions. To address this, researchers have begun to focus on clarifying strategies to manage classroom social dynamics. The goal of this article is to consider potential contributions of this perspective for understanding the social experiences of students with disabilities and to explore associated implications for the delivery of classroom-focused interventions to support their adaptation. Conceptual foundations of classroom social dynamics management and empirical research on the peer relationships of students with disabilities are outlined and the potential of the concept of the invisible hand is discussed in relation to other social support interventions for students with disabilities.

The mediating role of classroom quality on peer effects and language gain in pre-kindergarten ECSE classrooms

ABSTRACTThe current study was designed to determine whether classroom quality (i.e., the quality of teacher–child interactions) served as a mediator of peer effects with respect to preschool children’s gain in language skills over an academic year. Participants were 670 preschool-age children (64.6% boys; M = 4 years, 4 months, SD = 7 months) enrolled in 83 inclusive early childhood special education (ECSE) classrooms in multiple school districts in a single Midwestern state. Measures included an index of classroom quality, average level of classmates’ language skills, and fall and spring language assessments for each child. Results showed that both classroom quality and peer effects contributed to children’s language gain over an academic year, showing that both instructional quality and peers are influential to language development. Results did not support a mediating role for classroom quality: that is, classroom quality did not mediate the effects of peers on children’s language gain.

Centrality Measures and Academic Achievement in Computerized Classroom Social Networks

The current empirical study examines relationships between network measures and learning performance from a social network analysis perspective. We collected computerized, networking data to analyze how 401 junior high students connected to classroom peers using text- and video-based material on iPads. Following a period of computerized interaction, learning assessments were taken at individual or group consensus levels. Social network analysis suggested highly connected students became information sources with higher individual assessment achievements. Students receiving information from central sources exhibited higher achievements in group consensus treatments. Students acting as bridges between others on the network regulated themselves better and achieved higher academic outcomes. However, a subset of students were motivated by social interaction rather than learning task. This finding, consistent with general social networking research, cautions educators to ensure socializing does not override learning objectives when using classroom social networking.

New to School and New to Print: Everyday Peer Interaction Among Adolescent High School Newcomers

ABSTRACTThis article examines everyday classroom peer interaction among emergent multilingual high school students who are new to the United States, new to school, new to English, and new to alphabetic print literacy. Data were collected through observation and video recording within a daily 90-minute, English language and literacy block class over the course of one academic year in a public high school. All students were older adolescents (16–22 years of age) who had recently arrived from East Africa and had extremely limited or no previous formal schooling experiences. Our close analysis of classroom discourse within typical daily routines reveals how students provided feedback, recasts, and support during activities that are often considered to be noninteractive and teacher-led. Concomitantly, we demonstrate how students in some cases did not take up opportunities that were intended to generate peer interaction and to provide opportunities for negotiation of meaning and form. These findings point to the importance of critically examining peer interaction in everyday contexts and suggest the need to expand conceptions of productive activities and the characteristics of peer interaction among students who are new to basic print literacy skills and new to classroom language learning routines.

From Parents to Peers: Trajectories in Sources of Academic Influence Grades 4 to 8

Prior research and anecdotal evidence from educators suggest that classroom peers play a meaningful role in how students learn. However, the literature has failed to consider the dynamic and context-dependent nature of classroom peer influence. Developmental psychology theories suggest that peer influence will increase and family influence will decrease as children enter adolescence. This study uses rich administrative data from North Carolina in 2006 to 2012, matching students to all peers in each of their courses in third through eighth grades. The analysis identifies trends in the magnitude of classroom peer effects across grade levels, with special attention to controlling for confounding factors such as simultaneous influence, student–classroom sorting, nonlinearity, and school-type effects. Consistent with psychological theories about adolescence, our findings indicate that the effect of average peer quality multiplies by a factor of nearly 3 for reading and 5 for math between fourth grade and seventh grade; contemporaneously, family socioeconomic status effects on academic performance nearly vanish by the end of middle school. We uncover additional evidence that ability grouping, while often harmful in an elementary school setting, becomes increasingly beneficial in later grades—particularly for math subjects.

Examining early adolescents’ peer climate using descriptive and status norms on academic engagement and aggressive behavior in the classroom

This study is aimed to gain insights into adolescents’ classroom peer climate by examining descriptive and status norms of academic and social behaviors. Descriptive norm was assessed as the average score for each behavior and status norm was assessed using the correlation between each behavior and social status within each classroom. Expanded sets of academic and social behaviors (i.e., academic engagement, disruptive, overt and relational aggressive, bullying, and prosocial behavior) and three different social status of admired, popularity, and leader were examined. The sample was from 28 elementary school classrooms in South Korea (N = 736 at w1 and N = 677 at w2; 13 fifth and 13 sixth grade classrooms). Results indicated that descriptive norms for disruptive, relational aggressive, and bullying behavior became more positive over time across the school year. Status norms displayed distinct pattern for each social status. Although admired was associated with academic engagement and prosocial behavior, popularity and leader were associated with both positive and negative behaviors in both academic and social domain. Further, when adolescents increased their level of behaviors that are perceived to be important (i.e., associated with positive status norms) in their classrooms, they gained elevated social status over time across the school year.

Improving Social Initiations of Children with Autism Using Video Self-Modeling with Video Feedback: A Case Study

AbstractThe purpose of this A-B subject research design was to investigate the efficacy of video self-modeling with video feedback using an iPad to promote social initiation skills in a young child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It was hypothesized that the participant would increase social initiations toward peers in an inclusive preschool classroom by viewing a video of himself performing four targeted behaviors. The participant’s paraprofessional and his early childhood special educator implemented the intervention and provided feedback on his performance. Findings of this case study revealed improvements in the four targeted behaviors: approaching, greeting, inviting, and interacting with a peer. As a result of the intervention, the participant demonstrated generalization of target behaviors across settings, peers, items, and activities. In addition, the target behaviors were maintained one month after the intervention was withdrawn. Social validity results from the participant’s parents as well as his paraprofessional and teachers supported efficacy of the intervention.

Investigating why Japanese students remain silent in Australian university classrooms

Abstract While Australian academic contexts generally prioritize verbal participation, Japanese educational environments expect students to participate silently. This research project explored why Japanese students remain silent in Australian classrooms despite knowing the expectations of western universities. Contrary to prevailing conceptions of silence in classroom contexts, findings revealed that some participants’ silent in-class behavior does not necessarily suggest reluctance or inability. Rather, participants assumed that verbally contributing to the class would impede the teacher’s lecture and their peers’ learning. Additional findings indicated that while cultural, identity traits, and previous education in Japan may have shaped their silent in-class behavior, some participants acknowledged the need to participate verbally to satisfy their teachers and peers in Australian classrooms. Peripheral factors such as the size of classrooms and lack of genuine rapport between classmates also influenced their classroom behavior. The findings expand upon existing literature which shows that Japanese students’ silence in Australian classrooms is often juxtaposed with teacher and student expectations.

Investigating the Efficacy of a Web‐Based Early Reading and Professional Development Intervention for Young English Learners

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI), a professional development and early reading intervention program delivered via webcam technology, could support the early reading progress of English learners (ELs). Participants for the current study were drawn from a larger three‐year randomized controlled trial and included 108ELs from 47 classrooms randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. Teachers in treatment classrooms used theTRIin one‐on‐one sessions in the regular classroom for approximately 15 minutes per day. Weekly, and later biweekly, webcam coaching sessions between aTRIcoach and each classroom teacher allowed the coach to interact with both the teacher and students in real time and allowed classroom teachers to receive real‐time feedback from the coach. Two‐level hierarchical linear models suggested thatELs struggling with learning to read in intervention classrooms significantly outperformed their peers in control classrooms on word‐level measures of early reading, with effect sizes of .43 and .45, but not on text‐level measures. Results also suggested thatELs struggling with learning to read were gaining at the same rate as their nonstruggling peers but were unable to catch up within the study year.

Shifting timescales in peer group interactions: a multilingual classroom perspective

ABSTRACTIn his model of classroom social identification and learning, Wortham (2006. Learning Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press) conceptualizes identity processes as enveloped within multiple timescales unfolding simultaneously in varying paces. For Wortham (2008. “Shifting Identities in the Classroom.” In Identity Trouble: Critical Discourse and Contested Identities, edited by C. Caldas-Coulthard, and R. Iedema, 205–228. New York: Palgrave Macmillan), identities are locally constructed and mediated within and across shorter timescales, but shifts in identity take place across longer timescales. Wortham (2006. Learning Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press; 2008. “Shifting Identities in the Classroom.” In Identity Trouble: Critical Discourse and Contested Identities, edited by C. Caldas-Coulthard, and R. Iedema, 205–228. New York: Palgrave Macmillan) does not necessarily problematize shifts in identity within and across shorter timescales of micro-level discourse. Meanwhile, research in second language classroom settings has considerably focused on identity as constructed in and through language at the micro-level (Norton 2013), depicting an array of linguistic practices involving shifts in timescales. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on these shifts within the micro-level discourses of classroom peer interactions. Through focusing on language events in a multilingual ninth-grade German classroom, I demonstrate how shifts in locally constructed social identification processes are constructed, which identity practices they index, and which linguistic practices are involved.

Attachment security mediates the longitudinal association between child-parent psychotherapy and peer relations for toddlers of depressed mothers.

Numerous investigations have demonstrated that child-parent psychotherapy (CPP) promotes secure attachment between mothers and offspring. However, the role of postintervention attachment security as it relates to long-term child outcomes has never been evaluated. The present study therefore examined postintervention attachment status as a mediator of the association between CPP for depressed mothers and their offspring and subsequent peer relations among offspring. Depressed mothers and their toddlers were randomized to receive CPP (n = 45) or to a control group (n = 55). A prior investigation with this sample indicated that offspring who received CPP attained significantly higher rates of secure attachment postintervention, whereas insecure attachment continued to predominate for offspring in the control group. The present study examined follow-up data of teachers' reports on participants' competence with classroom peers when they were approximately 9 years old. Findings indicated that children who received CPP were more likely to evidence secure attachments at postintervention, which in turn was associated with more positive peer relationships at age 9.

Peer Effects on Children’s Expressive Vocabulary Development Using Conceptual Scoring in Linguistically Diverse Preschools

ABSTRACTResearch Findings: This study examined associations between the expressive vocabulary of classroom peers and children’s own vocabulary knowledge using conceptual scoring in a linguistically diverse sample of 4-year-olds who attended universal preschool programs in a metropolitan area. Higher peer conceptually scored expressive vocabulary was associated with higher conceptually scored expressive vocabulary for all children. The association was stronger for children who were dual language learners (DLLs), such that higher peer ability was associated with stronger growth in conceptually scored expressive vocabulary for DLLs across languages than for children fluent in English. Practice or Policy: This research suggests that policymakers may want to investigate the advantages of setting aside slots in targeted programs for children who have stronger conceptual vocabularies. Administrators should consider conceptual and verbal ability and classroom composition when assigning children to classes. This research also suggests that greater use of intentional pairs or small groups and strategies such as coaching peers in supporting one another’s conceptual vocabulary may be particularly important for DLLs.