Search

Children with normal hearing who present with listening difficulties (LiD) are frequently referred for assessment of auditory processing disorder (APD). Complicating diagnosis is the similarities of APD to other neurodevelopmental disorders, especially attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Due to well-documented deficits in executive functioning (EF) in children with ADHD, we hypothesized that a possible root cause of observed listening deficits may be EF deficits, rather than auditory processing alone. For preliminary investigation into this hypothesis, the current study compared EF skills of children with LiD who were referred for APD assessment, with and without a diagnosis of ADHD. EF skills of 24 children between the ages of 7-16 were assessed utilizing the Behavioral Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome in Children, and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, 2nd edition. Compelling differences were found between groups of children with LiD. Children without ADHD scored lower on measures of inhibitory control compared to children with a diagnosis of ADHD. Decreased EF skills exhibited in children with LiD, even those without a diagnosis of ADHD, support the need for transdisciplinary identification and management of children with LiD.

Efforts dedicated towards broadening participation for Black and other underrepresented groups in engineering at post-secondary institutions has intensified in recent decades. However, Black women have not yet reached parity in undergraduate engineering degree attainment. To elucidate this trend, data from the U.S. Department of Education was analyzed to investigate postsecondary completion for Black women in engineering. Results indicate that the percentage of degrees awarded to Black women has slightly decreased during the last five years when compared to women of all races. However, the percentage of Black women obtaining engineering degrees has increased when compared to the general Black engineering population, with a larger percentage of Black women obtaining engineering degrees compared to their male counterparts than any other ethnicity. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide recommendations for research avenues that may strengthen knowledge around the enrollment and retention of Black women in engineering at post-secondary institutions.

Background: COVID-19 has spurred a global crisis that has disrupted everyday lives and impacted the traditional methods, experiences, and abilities of higher education institutions' students, faculty, and staff, especially at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Purpose/Hypothesis: Given the pressing need demonstrated by the National Academies to advance the utilization of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at HBCUs, this study aimed to explore the abrupt transition to remote teaching and learning at HBCUs guided by the following research question--How has COVID-19 impacted the success and persistence of engineering students, faculty, and staff at HBCUs? Design/Methods: Three surveys were developed, tested, piloted, and sent to HBCU stakeholders using a snowball sampling approach via email and social media outreach. Results: Of the 171 student respondents (126 engineering majors), 79% agreed that not being able to access faculty in person affected their academic performance. Additionally, across all HBCU stakeholders' surveys, students had a statistically significant higher response when asked if the transition to virtual learning increased their overall levels of stress and anxiety. Conclusions: During a global pandemic, HBCUs continue to provide a culture of support and inclusion for students, faculty, and staff in engineering. Increased stress levels experienced by students indicate that a safe and adequate transition back to campus is essential for their social and academic persistence. Due to the well-documented inequities HBCUs faced before the pandemic, the impact of this unprecedented on their continued contributions toward broadening participation in engineering for students should be further explored.

Training teachers to select and implement appropriate function-based interventions may reduce their reliance on behavior specialists and other support staff to help manage their students' problem behavior in the classroom. Most prior studies on this type of training evaluated outcomes by measuring teachers' verbal report rather than their implementation of interventions. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend prior research by training teachers to identify the putative function of problem behavior via assessment of descriptive data, to select the appropriate procedural variation of functional communication training (FCT), and to implement FCT accurately in role play. Five special education teachers participated. Results suggested that behavioral skills training (BST) was highly effective for all participants. These findings have important implications for disseminating behavior-analytic interventions into settings with limited resources.

Teachers of color increase school success for students of color. Yet, little attention has been paid to whether school attendance behaviors also increase from same race and ethnicity matches. To address this, our study used administrative data provided by a California high school district for the school years 2014 to 2018. We explored student absenteeism at the date and class period levels. Using this rich, longitudinal data set, we employed grade, school, class period, student, and date fixed effects models to examine the association between student-teacher matches and student absenteeism. Student-teacher race and ethnicity matches were associated with fewer unexcused absences for Latinx students. The results also indicate that associations were strongest for Latinx students in 11th and 12th grades--the age group in K-12 that has the most individual agency when it comes to getting to school. Furthermore, we found no evidence of declines in excused absences, which reflect health.

Motivated by the need for more paleodata for Pliocene paleoclimate data-model comparison, we revisited unpublished investigations of a fossiliferous site on the Niguanak River in Arctic North America. Analyses of the samples indicates forested conditions during an early phase of sedimentation in which environments were perhaps similar to those near tree line in the modern Anchorage area or farther south along the Pacific coast, whereas during a later phase of sedimentation, environments were characterized by shrub tundra vegetation and were possibly similar to the present-day conditions in the interior of southern Seward Peninsula. We describe the site stratigraphy and discuss the macrofossils and pollen recovered from the sediments, their paleoecological implications, and their significance for paleoclimate and sea ice. Mean annual temperatures were found to be 12.7°C warmer than current, with a pattern of much warmer winters, and less difference in summer warming as observed at other Pliocene Arctic sites. Finally, we discuss possible age assignments for the sediments, based on regional stratigraphy and geomorphology, and the probable sequence of evolution of arctic borderland climate and ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]