Search

This article describes the author's experience as a specialist working at a nature-based sleepaway camp for children and their families in Antalya Geyikbayiri. The camp was organized by a psychotherapist and three expert instructors to enhance the connections between parents and children, other children and parents present, and with the natural world, enabling everyone to gain different perspectives. The workshops are diverse and include activities such as nature discovery walks, awareness activities in nature, music sessions, philosophy workshops, movement exercises, circus arts, creative arts, storytelling, and rock climbing. With the support of natural settings throughout the different philosophy workshops, the participants gain insights into their perspectives on specific subjects, recognize beliefs accepted without much contemplation, understand their thought patterns, identify contradictions, and explore the possibilities of thinking differently. Their opinions may evolve, becoming clearer, more uncertain, or even changing altogether through interacting with other participants, the examples and counterexamples they provide, and the questions posed by the instructors and participants.

Over a 12-year period, this study examined the effects of the Family Check-Up preventive intervention model on both observed and self-reported parenting behaviors of mothers and fathers as well as how those parenting behaviors were associated with young adult antisocial behavior. Teachers identified 641 early adolescent youth from school settings to be at elevated risk for the development of externalizing behavior and/or substance use. These youth and their families were randomly assigned to the Family Check-Up intervention model (consisting of an adaptive, multi-tiered model of support, including a school-based family resource room, the Family Check-Up, and targeted follow-up services) or a control condition. Using an intent-to-treat approach, the Family Check-Up intervention model positively impacted mothers' observed parenting approximately 5 years later in middle adolescence but was not associated with changes in fathers' observed or self-reported parenting. Mothers' observed adaptive parenting and fathers' self-reported adaptive parenting in middle adolescence were associated with lower risk for young adult antisocial behavior. The cascading effects of brief, family-focused interventions are discussed along with implications for the measurement of parenting in mothers and fathers in the context of preventive intervention trials.

This study examined patterns of verbal responsiveness in parents of toddlers (M[subscript age] = 20 months) later identified with autism (n = 121), developmental delay (n = 46), or typical development (n = 44) during an hourlong home observation. Parent verbal responsiveness (PVR) was compared using MANOVA across groups and by child expressive language phase. Multiple regression analyses controlling for child age and maternal education were employed to examine the extent to which PVR predicted variance in concurrent child social communication and prospective language skills. Parents provided synchronous responses approximately 90% of the time. Parents of children with autism and developmental delay used smaller proportions of responses that added linguistic information (i.e., expansions and follow-in directives for language) than those of children with typical development. Parents of children in the preverbal phase were more likely, on average, to affirm their children's acts of intentional communication or provide a follow-in directive for action that did not necessitate a verbal response than to expand or elicit language. Regression results indicated that parental use of expansions and follow-in directives for language made significant contributions to child language outcomes. The patterns we observed may reflect parents' attunement to their child's developmental level. Responsiveness to a child's focus of attention is vital in the earlier stages of language learning; however, results point to the potential importance of parental expansions and follow-in directives for promoting language development across groups in this sample. Directions for intervention research targeting PVR and language skills in toddlers with autism and developmental delays are discussed.

This study examined how a video-based professional development (VBPD) initiative influenced early childhood teachers' practices. A purposive sample of 22 early childhood education teachers voluntarily participated in this study. The confidentiality of all participants was assured and their informed consent was obtained prior to the study. The design of the study was qualitative in nature and video based interventions were carried out during the research process. The study data was drawn from a larger study and collected through informal and semi-structured individual interviews. A constant comparative method of data analysis was utilised in the study. The themes identified in the data were guiding teachers' practices; self-awareness and desire to improve. The teachers expressed that VBPD was supportive for instructional awareness, instructional assessment practices, and the quantity and quality of classroom interaction. Furthermore, from the teachers' perspectives, the VBPD was found to improve their self-awareness and aid them in staying up-to-date professionally.

Collective cultural transformation is needed to save the Earth from the growing effects of the human-caused environmental problems. Music education, too, can take part in preparing future generations with the knowledge and skills needed to address the world's complex challenges and create a more sustainable future. Approaching music education from the perspective of ecosocial sustainability can foster students' sensitivity to diverse sonic environments and support the overall appreciation of multispecies communities and mutually beneficial ways of interaction in the more-than-human world. Based on the general theory of ecosocial art education, this article presents three practical approaches to music education, which can promote a sustainable life orientation: (1) "Attuning to sounds" helps cultivate one's connectedness to more-than-human others. (2) "Reconnecting with sound memories" helps recognise how sonic environments affect and indicate the lives of humans and other beings. (3) "Co-composing with the more-than-human world" helps to embrace the generative powers of creativity in experiencing interdependence with others.

Colleges and universities have recently focused more attention on incorporating high-impact practices into their curricula, often under the auspices of the potential benefits such practices have for developmental growth and student success (Lange & Stewart, 2019). Outdoor adventure education represents an experiential practice where students can extend their learning beyond the more traditional, heavily structured classroom environment. However, due to access and inclusion barriers, students with one or more intersecting marginalized identities remain less likely to participate in these activities (Warren et al., 2014). This study investigated extreme cases of self-guided experiential learning by drawing on the experiences of three college students who took a semester's leave to backpack the entirety of the Appalachian Trail. The purposes of the exploratory study were twofold: (1) to more deeply understand developmental dynamics within self-authorship theory, particularly in how self-guided experiential learning opportunities might contribute to such development; and (2) to situate these insights by exploring what they might mean within more critical contexts.

This paper presents key findings from a study that aimed to critically examine the practice of outdoor education in the Republic of Ireland. It consisted of 10 months of fieldwork across four public Outdoor Education and Training Centres (OETCs). Data were generated through participant observation, informal conversation, as well as centre websites. Findings from the thematic analysis are presented in the form of a creative non-fiction story - principally to protect the identities and centres involved. The findings were then interpreted through the theoretical lens of McDonaldization. Considering the dearth of outdoor education research in Ireland, McDonaldization provided a lens through which it was possible to more deeply understand how rationalisation has affected Irish public outdoor education practices. The discussion explores practices inconsistent with the stated Irish definitions of public outdoor education and the paper concludes with suggestions as to how the McDonaldization of outdoor education may be countered.

Purpose: This paper offers a reflection of a research process aimed at listening to young children's voices in their everyday school life through a play-based context in a Scottish school. Throughout the research process, the complexity of conducting this research was kept in mind as listening to children's voices presents methodological and conceptual difficulties and tensions. Reflecting on the research process after the data was collected, the process was critiqued using Deleuze-Guattarian ideas. The critique aims at opening and challenging each researcher, allowing them to think-again about the next research project aimed at listening to children's voices. Design/methodology/approach: The research involved an observation study that took place over one week in a primary school in Central Scotland. As part of the educators' approach to play-based pedagogy, children had the opportunity to engage in free play throughout the day. Observations were chosen as the main approach to "capture" children's voices in their natural settings. Findings: The empirical research brought forth two main ideas, that of children as agents, and how children amplify their voices through play. The reflective part offers the possibility of understanding the intensities and forces when conducting such research and the possibilities of engaging with these. Originality/value: This paper offers a critique of research aimed at listening to children's voices. The aim is not to limit engagement in researching children's voices but to open, or make complex, such processes.

Naturalistic Observation and Action Research share common qualitative rudiments. This is not inflammatory nor controversial as each means of inquiry requires careful planning, application, and review to realize worthwhile personal and professional outcomes. Both research modes are largely subjective non-experimental efforts that complement other types of research and supply perspective and next steps that generate theory while verifying data. Differences are overt and so are similarities that need be illuminated to support both research and researchers who may need to disentangle each. To aid in this exercise of clarity, exemplars are included that illustrate possibilities within tertiary contexts.

The middle level years (ages 9-15) are particularly critical for young adolescent students as they explore who they are, and how they fit into the world (AMLE, 2020). Developing an awareness and understanding of how genders are sometimes treated inequitably can have a significant impact on young adolescents' self-perceptions and developing sense of academic competency (Parker, 2010; Steensma et al., 2013). This investigation sought to incorporate student voice into the conversation by considering perspectives from both teachers and students, as well as documenting observable behaviors during regular classes. By intersecting these three data sources and analyzing for commonalities and disconnects, a more accurate picture of gender bias in middle level classrooms may result. Observational findings support existing research that teachers interact significantly more often with boys than with girls in general in both positive and negative ways. Teachers are aware and report that they do treat students of different genders differently but tend to focus on behavior/discipline as opposed to academic success. Student responses indicate that they perceive teachers to have a very stereotypical view of the content areas in which boys and girls excel, but this is not reflected in data collected from teachers about their own self-perceptions. Implications for classroom practice and further research are discussed.

This study focuses on the use of systematic social observations (SSO) to measure crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) and disorder. To improve knowledge about measurement issues in small area research, SSO is conducted by means of three different methods: in-situ, photographs, and Google Street View (GSV) imagery. By evaluating the methodological quality of the observation methods, the results of our study suggest that virtual SSO approaches have considerable promise for the reliable assessment of physical properties of small areas. We discuss challenges and provide avenues for future research to encourage the evolution of a more reliable approach to measure the physical environment.

With pursuit of incremental progress and generalizability of findings in mind, we examined a possible boundary for older and younger adults' metacognitive distinction between what is not stored in memory versus merely inaccessible with materials that are not process pure to knowledge or events: information regarding news events. Participants were asked questions about public events such as celebrity news, tragedies, and political events that were widely experienced in the previous 10-12 years, responding "I don't know" (DK) or "I don't remember" (DR) when retrieval failed. Memories of these events are relatively recently acquired in rich, naturalistic contexts and are likely not fully separated from episodic details. When retrieval failed, DR items were recognized with higher accuracy than DK items, both immediately and 2 years later, confirming that self-reported "not remembering" reflects failures of accessibility, whereas "not knowing" better captures a lack of availability. In fact, older adults distinguished between the causes of retrieval failures more precisely than younger adults. Together, these findings advance the reliability, validity, and generalizability of using DR and DK as a metacognitive tool to address the phenomenological experience and behavioral consequences of retrieval failures of information that contains both semantic and episodic features. Implications for metacognition in aging and related constructs like familiarity, remembering, and knowing are discussed.

One limitation of the naturalistic observation method is that it is understudied how accurately personal relationships may be judged by observers in real-life settings. To assess this judgment accuracy, we observed 285 dyads of individuals in public places and then asked whether they were affiliated or strangers. We found that human observers were very accurate in judging peoples' actual personal relationships. Moreover, several nonverbal cues, including direct interaction and age similarities, were identified as correlates of affiliation. We conclude that researchers may accurately judge personal relationships from nonverbal observational data and recommend that this should be utilized as a methodological tool in naturalistic observational studies.

Identifying family strengths is central to early childhood practices. Moving beyond identification to exploring and explicitly applying those strengths can evolve strengths-based and family capacity-building practices. Assessment and planning processes that focus on the strategies families use to help their child learn can give agency to families in this parenting role. This exploratory study examined the perspectives of seven families who participated in an early intervention assessment-to-planning approach that sought to uncover, understand, and utilize the strategies families used to help their child learn and their appraisals of those strategies. Family responses during qualitative interviews were analyzed into three themes: (1) naturalistic observations yield naturalistic understandings, (2) practices that honor family strengths and family fit, and (3) self-discovery and self-affirmation. Implications for evolving family capacity-building approaches are discussed.

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the teacher training programs in the United States of America in terms of student-centered practices used in class. Learning and teaching processes were evaluated based on classroom observations (the methods, techniques, materials and student-centered practices used in class). Qualitative research method was used in the research. The researcher collected the data through direct participatory and unstructured observation. In participatory observation approach, the observer makes observations without any external influence. The researcher made observations in three different classes during the spring semester of 2017-2018 academic year. The observations were made at the 4th grade level. The study group of the observations was composed of three teachers. The first of the classes in which the observations were made was social studies teaching, while the second was psychological counseling and guidance teaching, and the third was primary school teaching. The researcher kept the duration of the observations long. The reason for this was to try to ensure that teacher candidates and the teacher considered the researcher as if she were a member of the class. This precaution is necessary so as to be able to capture the natural atmosphere of the class and minimize artificial behaviors, which, in turn, positively affects the validity and reliability of the research. According to the findings obtained from the research, it was found that a total of 19 active learning methods, techniques and practices were used in the three classes. In class, question-answer was used most. It was observed that there were 17 different types of active methods, techniques and instructional practices. It was determined that a total of 19 different kinds of active learning materials were used in the three classes. Projector was the material which used the most in class. Based on the findings of the research, it was determined that there were also active learning practices that were not used in class. Depending on the fact that learning by doing is the most permanent traced learning, practices that can make the student active can be included more.

The purpose of this naturalistic observation study was to observe, in a natural setting, the actions of attendees at educational professional development conferences. In doing so, it was hoped that numerous behaviors could be observed that would indicate a level or extent of engagement or disengagement within presentations. It was found that the observed sample was often communicating with others or looking around the room while the presentation was unfolding. Fiddling with objects was common since arriving at a presentation takes time to settle. Overall, the audience was mostly distracted and not engaged which would logically diminish the utility of the professional development.

This article presents theoretical orientations and practical applications for the assessment of d/Deaf and hard of hearing (d/Dhh) children. It discusses current approaches to assessment and the factors affecting d/Dhh children's participation in assessments using those approaches. Gaps in the field around access to appropriate assessments are discussed. This review also shares information on the relationship between the purpose of the assessment and the approach selected. Basic considerations for both d/Deaf and hard of hearing multilingual learners (d/DMLs) and d/Dhh children with additional disabilities will be addressed. Finally, general recommendations are made for research and practice.

Classroom observation research plays an important role in policy, practice, and scholarship for students with disabilities. When interpreting results of observation studies, it is important to consider the validity evidence provided by researchers and how that speaks to the intended use of those results. In this literature synthesis, we used Kane's argument-based approach to validity to describe evidence of validity for uses of observation instruments in classroom observation research regarding teachers of students with disabilities. We identified 102 studies from 1975 to 2020 that met inclusion criteria. Results indicated many studies did not report validity evidence to support their use of the observation instruments. Over time, reporting levels for much of the evidence has remained relatively constant, but we noted a consistent decrease in number of observations conducted per teacher and a consistent and large increase in reporting of teacher participant characteristics. We provide implications of this for research and practice and suggestions for improving classroom observation research.

Memory for the time associated with past events is critical for our understanding of episodic memory and its development. Relatively little is known about the factors that influence temporal memory development. One such factor examined in the literature is semantic knowledge for time (conventional time knowledge; CTK). Other possible factors include domain general skills (e.g., working memory). The goals of this study were to a) assess temporal memory for past events in middle to late childhood using a naturalistic, yet controlled task, b) examine the relation between temporal memory performance and CTK, c) examine the factors that support the development of conventional time knowledge, and d) test which factors best predict temporal memory performance. Participants included 7-year-olds, 9-year-olds, 11-year-olds and young adults (N = 140). They engaged in naturalistic events in unique locations in the lab over a span of 2-3 hours. One week later, participants were asked to place the events on an arbitrary timeline, and we measured deviations from the precise time that each event took place. Performance on the CTK task, but not age, contributed unique variance to accuracy in the timeline task, replicating findings from previous work. Further, vocabulary and working memory but not inhibitory control or age, were unique predictors of performance on the CTK task. Finally, vocabulary surpassed CTK task performance as a significant predictor of temporal memory. The implications of this work to our understanding of temporal memory, semantic knowledge for time and episodic memory development are discussed.

With benefits international students bring to campus, universities have adopted aggressive recruitment practices and increased institutional support for their retention and positive college engagement (Hegarty, 2014). Due to globalization, increasing numbers of international students enter college with multiple cultural/national affiliations (Gomes, Berry, Alzougool, & Chang, 2014). Yet, little is known about these complex identities and how they shape students' experiences in U.S. higher education. Using Schlossberg's Transition Theory, the article leverages interview data to theorize hybrid national/cultural identities of five "international" undergraduate students at a private university on the Eastern seaboard. Although the institution used passport information to categorize student nationality, participants chose to self-identify less categorically. Our discussion recommends dialogue around international students' identity constructs to thoughtfully affirm hybridity.

This article investigates how students in third grade learn to reason on multiplication when they first encounter that concept in the classroom context. By analysing the data from 24 classrooms focused on teaching and learning multiplication, the article aims at contributing to the research and conceptualisations about how students learn to distinguish multiplicative from additive reasoning in a primary school. A central feature is the strong emphasis students have on addition when they work with multiplication. This emphasis on addition causes tensions in the discussions between the teacher and students. Results are discussed in relation to previous studies of students' multiplicative reasoning and implications for practice are elaborated upon.

This review examined school-based social skills interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder who were educated in inclusive school settings. Secondary aims sought to explore observation protocols and the resulting social outcomes used to measure the social behaviors of students with autism spectrum disorder within authentic social environments at school. To meet the inclusion criteria, 18 studies (a) tested school-based social skills interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder who were educated in inclusive settings; (b) included typically developing peers to some degree within the intervention condition; (c) used naturalistic observation protocols; and (d) scored "strong" or "adequate" for group design, or "high quality" or "acceptable" for single-case design on methodological rating scales. Interventions were largely rooted in evidence-based practices, but were varied in terms of type, dose, and duration, and the extent to which typically developing peers and school personnel were trained to participate in the intervention. Observable social outcomes were similar across studies, and salient outcomes were able to measure post-intervention change across a wide age range. The identification of the active ingredients used in school-based social skills interventions as well as the salient social outcomes provides a roadmap for school practitioners as they move to incorporate evidence-based social skills interventions into their practice.

The purpose of this teacher inquiry is to explore the effects of signing and gesturing on the expressive language development of non-verbal children. The first phase of my inquiry begins with the observations of several non-verbal students with various etiologies in three different educational settings. The focus of these observations is to identify current sign and gesture usage and determine the students' abilities to acquire signed language as as additional form of expression and whether or not there is potential value in that acquisition. I also want to explore any differences in signed language acquisition between children with Downs Syndrome and children who are on the Autism Spectrum. The next phase of inquiry includes surveys of Early Intervention speech language and behavioral therapists to establish if signing is a commonly used intervention and determine the therapists' opinions regarding the value of incorporating signing among non-verbal clients. The final phase of this inquiry includes interviews with parents of non-verbal children who have received training in signed language during Early Intervention to explore the family component of learning a second language to facilitate basic communication. Through my work, I hope to encourage larger scale research projects that could determine potential benefits of incorporating signed language throughout a non-verbal child's education.

In kindergarten classrooms (5 to 6 year olds) in the United States, interactive reading aloud has long been considered an important part of a comprehensive emergent literacy program. However, while individual components of interactive reading aloud (for example, teacher activity, student activity and text) have been studied, researchers have lacked a model to holistically assess this important practice. Thus, a model was created--Class Interactive Reading Aloud (CIRA)--to use as a lens for the study. Through non-participant observations and interviews covering a four-month period, this case study examined four experienced kindergarten teachers during four interactive read aloud sessions in the naturalistic setting of their classrooms. Strong patterns emerged across the practice of the teachers in each of the components of interactive read aloud sessions. All teachers exemplified the CIRA model to varying degrees. Teacher activity fell along a continuum from highly controlled sessions to sessions that appeared to have little apparent planning. All types of sessions yielded extremely engaged students.

As special education enrollment for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has increased, school-based programs and providers have been challenged to expand the scope and quality of services. Researchers and school-based providers are aligned in the goal of providing high-quality services to students with ASD, however current literature does not address how training and implementation needs may differ by the age of children served. The current study evaluates variability in teacher fidelity of Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching (CPRT), an evidence-based naturalistic behavioral intervention based on the principals of applied behavior analysis. Data included 479 individual video units collected from 101 teacher and 221 student participants. Videos were coded using behavioral coding definitions and student demographic information was collected from parents of participating children. Analyses explored differences in fidelity of CPRT by age of students. Results indicate a significant relationship between classroom type (preschool/elementary) and teachers' fidelity of CPRT, suggesting the possibility of targeted training based on student age.

As special education enrollment for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has increased, school-based programs and providers have been challenged to expand the scope and quality of services. Researchers and school-based providers are aligned in the goal of providing high-quality services to students with ASD, however current literature does not address how training and implementation needs may differ by the age of children served. The current study evaluates variability in teacher fidelity of Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching (CPRT), an evidence-based naturalistic behavioral intervention based on the principals of applied behavior analysis. Data included 479 individual video units collected from 101 teacher and 221 student participants. Videos were coded using behavioral coding definitions and student demographic information was collected from parents of participating children. Analyses explored differences in fidelity of CPRT by age of students. Results indicate a significant relationship between classroom type (preschool/elementary) and teachers' fidelity of CPRT, suggesting the possibility of targeted training based on student age. [For the corresponding record from the publisher, see EJ1126630.]

This paper presents findings from a study into the value of lecture captures for online postgraduate courses. There has been little scrutiny of the role of on-campus lecture capture in online courses. We addressed this gap by exploring online distance learning students' perceptions of lecture captures through the lens of the community of inquiry framework. We found that students were enthusiastic about campus lecture captures due to their naturalistic lecturing style and the opportunity to learn vicariously. However, students also expressed preferences for video material that was produced specifically for online audiences. Overall, we found that lecture captures do not contribute to the creation of a community of inquiry as there is no substantial increase in cognitive, social, or teaching presence for online students. We suggest greater consideration of the role of vicarious learning in online education and the tendency to perceive campus-based education as more authentic.

Young children's misbehaviours can be challenging to interpret, evaluate, and intervene on. In turn, adults' interventions on children's transgressions inform children about how others view their actions. In the current research, we examined adult responses to recordings of everyday transgressions committed by young children. This research adopted a new method for assessing adults' interpretations, evaluations, and proposed interventions in response to children's transgressions. In two studies, participants watched videos of young children engaging in actions that could be considered wrong, such as hitting someone else or making a mess. Across both studies, adults expressed uncertainty about how to interpret children's transgressions. Different transgressions led adults to make different intention attributions and evaluations, which in turn related to how they said they would intervene on the child's behaviour. This research has implications for early childhood educators, and develops a new tool for investigating these implications.

The relation between episodic and semantic memory was examined by testing how semantic knowledge influences children's episodic memory for events and their locations. Five-, six-, and seven-year-olds (N = 87) engaged in events in a children's museum designed as a town. Events were semantically congruent or incongruent with the spatial location (e.g., sorting mail at post office vs. grocery store). In addition to this experimental paradigm, a semantic interview assessed children's semantic knowledge about real-world locations. Accuracy in the experimental paradigm showed that children's semantic memory influenced memory for locations. Interviews revealed age-related improvements in children's semantic knowledge. Regression analyses examined factors that best supported episodic memory. These results provide novel insights and highlight the utility of research in naturalistic settings.

Although we are constantly making spatial decisions about where to place our objects and ourselves, few studies in psychology have investigated this phenomenon in-depth. In the current study, we examined how spatial decisions are made over time by tracking students' seating choices in classrooms over the course of a semester (i.e., 12 weeks). We found that seating choice became more fixed over time (i.e., a decrease in the distance between seats chosen on adjacent days), though this was disrupted by individuals' time of arrival to class; latecomers often sat further away from where they last sat. We also observed a surprising de-stabilization of this pattern on the last day of class wherein seating choices became more varied. These results suggest that although spatial preference stabilizes over time, this pattern of stabilization may weaken once individuals no longer expect to occupy that space in the future.

It is aimed to develop a measurement tool which is a basic motor movement, social skill, attitude observation and evaluation scale for Basic Movement Education. In the study, the natural observation from qualitative research methods is used. The scale outline with 40 items is formed as a result of literature review and negotiations. To determine the content validity of the scale draft, the opinions of six field experts (lecturers), two preschool teachers, two physical education (PE) teachers, and two language experts were analyzed using the Lashwe technique. By analyzing the experts' opinions according to Lashwe technique, four items are removed since their content validity rate (CVR) assets are less than 0.75. CVR shows that the scale provides 4-point Likert-type construct validity and consists of two subdimensions with 36 items (the basic motor movement skill dimension is 16 items and social skill dimension is 20 items). Total points of the Spearman correlation coefficient are checked among the observers. While the correlation coefficient of the basic motor movement skill dimension is 0.71 (p = 0.000), the correlation coefficient of social skill dimension is 0.82 (p = 0.002). The correlation coefficient among the total points is more than 0.70, and the results (p < 0.01) are meaningful. This shows that the measurement tool is reliable, and the scale provides reliability with 4-point Likert-type gradation.

Research has shown that young children's socio-emotional development may benefit from participating in a music programme. In this study, we explored the association between participation in a general music programme and the development of socio-emotional skills in relation to the duration of the programme. Children aged 4 and 5 (N=50), from a low socio-economic neighbourhood, participated in an 8- or 15-week music programme. Children's social skills development and emotion comprehension were measured. Teachers reported an increase in the social interaction and independence skills scores of the younger children and a decrease in the cooperation skills scores of the older children. Additionally, the older children showed an increase in their comprehension of emotions. The duration of the programme, however, did not yield any significant effect. Results suggest that the association between participation in a music programme and the development of social-emotional skills may be influenced by the age of the children.

Greg MacDonald leaves no stone unturned as he places the complexity of second-plane observation into one coherent vision that includes the fundamentals of self-construction, the essential field of observation (freedom of work within the prepared environment), the role of the human tendencies, the construction of developmental facets, and the importance of the elementary child's weekly conference with the teacher. The article reveals an integrated worldview. He suggests that we observe for progress and avoid placing obstacles in the way of the child's true self-construction, and to do this we must be humble and non-judgmental, create with the right degree of difficulty or opportunity, see the physical evidence, and understand the psychical manifestations. The comprehensive nature of this article shows us why observation is an integrating mechanism in building an understanding of human development.

Collaboration between student teacher trainers, the cooperating teacher, and the university supervisor, is directly connected with the sharing of respective knowledge (Gervais & Desrosiers, 2005). However, fruitful exchanges are not necessarily usual (Sanford & Hopper, 2000), which is considered the most detrimental factor in the student teacher training process (Kauffman, 1992). This paper presents some results of a study on the circulation of knowledge between the student trainers. Data was collected using audio recordings of conversations in the natural setting of secondary teacher internship. Identification and analysis of the predominant roles illustrated in their discourse reveal that interprofessional collaboration and collaborative dialog need specific competencies.

This was a descriptive survey study design which sought to establish the school based factors that affect the learning of Kenyan Sign Language in primary schools for learners with hearing impairment in Embu and Isiolo counties in Kenya. The target population was all teachers teaching in primary schools for learners with hearing impairment in the two counties. From the selected schools, the study purposively and randomly sampled 2 head teachers and 8 teachers respectively. Interview guides were used to obtain data from the head teachers, questionnaires from teachers while observation schedules were used to obtain data on the general nature of the school environment. Quantitative data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and tabulated in frequency tables, bar charts and pie charts while qualitative data were analyzed and presented in narrative form. The study findings revealed that all the sampled respondents had training in special needs education but only 25% had training in KSL as a subject. Basing on the findings the researcher recommends that the TSC should post only teachers trained in KSL to teach KSL among learners with HI and that the universities should introduce KSL as a teaching subject alongside other subjects like Mathematics, English and Kiswahili.

This paper reports on an integrative literature review of published articles that used either quantitative or qualitative observation methods to research creativity in learning contexts. Observation is an empirical research method used in quantitative and qualitative naturalistic studies focused on understanding behavior and interactions as they unfold in real-time, which makes it particularly salient for examining the processes associated with the generation and adoption of creative ideas. However, observation remains underutilized in the field of creativity studies, partly because data collection can be time and resource intensive, but also because there are a lack of protocols and recommended research practices for observing creative thinking and problem solving in an educational environment that covers all phases of design, collection, analysis, and reporting. Thirty-seven articles from 1980-2018 were reviewed along seven dimensions: definition of creativity, unit of observation, observer role, observation sampling method, research design, data collection, and data analysis. The paper concludes with five recommendations for using observation to advance the state of research on creativity and education.

Observation-based ecology (OBE) generates critical knowledge about the health of ecological systems and human impacts on these systems. Systematic observations of organisms and processes from an early age can help children develop ecological knowledge and skills, and deepen their connection to the natural world. Yet recent educational reforms may privilege other scientific and engineering practices (SEPs) over OBE methods. We used lexical analysis of Next Generation Science Standards documents to identify instances of observational methods suggested in the SEPs and ecology-related performance expectations (PEs). We identify where observations are included and omitted in these documents. Only 16 of the 175 (9%) learning progression descriptions for the SEPs explicitly mention observations. Nine out of 142 (6%) PEs related to ecology require observations. OBE opportunities were particularly scarce in middle and high school years, and missing entirely from PEs for disciplinary core ideas related to ecosystems and human impacts on ecosystems. We consider how these missed opportunities may constrain place-based learning in natural environments, and reflect on implications for educators, students, and nonhuman others.

This article discusses how the teaching of qualitative research in higher education is threatened by the effects of new public management, by academic culture wars and by a growing belief in big data. The controversy over Alice Goffman's book "On the Run" presents one recent example of this. In an effort to counterbalance these developments, this article stresses the importance in social science curricula of 'naturalistic inquiry' -- the artisanal core of qualitative research. Explicitly acknowledging emic viewpoints, naturalistic inquiry upholds the emancipatory ideal of making society transparent to its members. Teaching naturalistic inquiry as a craft may be the best way to assure 'qualitative literacy' among graduates in their various careers as socially responsible professionals.

Future global challenges that engineering graduates face have placed demands on engineering education and how graduates develop competency in collaborative problem-solving. Such demand has seen an increase in the use of pedagogies like problem-based learning (PBL) that provide opportunities for developing collaborative problem-solving skills. PBL has been well studied however there is still much to understand about 'how' students solve problems collaboratively in PBL settings. This work investigates the processes taking place when students set out to solve problems in a group. Naturalistic data from video recordings of participants in chemical process design PBL sessions is used. Participants conversations were transcribed and their language analysed using qualitative content analysis to provide a description of 'what' strategies students use. The findings indicate that students tend to adhere to relatively rigid structures and minimise effort when tackling unfamiliar ill-defined problems. Additionally, students appear to struggle making connections between knowledge domains.

Naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention is an emerging class of interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorder. The present article is a meta-analysis of outcomes of group-design studies (n = 27) testing interventions using naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention strategies. Small, significant positive effects of naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention were found for expressive language (g = 0.32), reduction in symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (g = -0.38), and play skills (g = 0.23). Larger effects were found for social engagement (g = 0.65) and overall cognitive development (g = 0.48). A marginal effect was found for joint attention (g = 0.14) and receptive language (g = 0.28). For joint attention, improvement was moderated by hours of professional involvement. Evidence of publication and reporting bias was present for language outcomes. This meta-analysis grows the evidence base for naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions, particularly in the key areas of social engagement and cognition.

Research suggests that developing deep understanding of text requires sustained emphasis on reading comprehension instruction and scaffolded strategy practices. However, although research has shown explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies to be effective, we know little about whether strategy instruction and use are part of "daily life" in classrooms (Pearson, & Cervetti, 2017). The present study analyses 60 video recorded English as a second language (L2) lessons in seven lower secondary schools in Norway, across two school years (9th and 10th grade) based on The Protocol for Language Arts Teaching Observation. The article investigates the types of text-based reading comprehension instruction and strategy use that goes on in these classrooms. Key findings show that teachers engage their students in reading comprehension instruction of narrative and expository texts more than half the time, offering guided strategy practice based on student needs, and encouraging daily use of known reading comprehension strategies, instead of explicitly teaching new ones. These are powerful examples of successful reading comprehension instruction, and show that when English teachers prioritise reading comprehension instruction, they use authentic L2 texts to develop and scaffold critical literacy and metadiscursive awareness.

"Designerly Talk in Non-Pedagogical Social Spaces" (Gray and Howard, 2014) is a paper on a study that was conducted as an early attempt to understand the kinds of talk students engaged in outside of the formal curriculum in student-run communities that enhanced their design learning. While the paper has only been available for a relatively short time, there has been wide interest in the confluence of social media, design education, and learning opportunities that exist outside of the formal curriculum. This reflection discusses more recent work conducted by the authors, and explores the occurrence of designerly talk in a non-classroom studio space and the ways in which designerly talk arises without the initiation or management by academics. The paper, "Designerly Talk in Non-Pedagogical Social Spaces" (Gray and Howard, 2014) is included as it appeared in "Journal of Learning Design" v7 n1 2014, with minor edits. [For "Designerly Talk in Non-Pedagogical Social Spaces," see EJ1020704.]

The goal of the present study was to investigate preschool teachers' emotion socialization responses to Turkish preschoolers' emotional expressions based on children's age and gender. The participants in the current study were 12 preschool full time teachers from 4 preschool and 288 preschoolers ranging in age from 4 to 6 years in Aksaray. In order to perform naturalistic observation a coding system was created by researcher based on previous studies. The results indicated that preschool teachers more likely encouraged children to show empathy to others, teach positive emotions, encouraged expressing positive emotions, matched positive emotions, responded physical affection in 4 year old age children more than 5 and 6 year old age children. Preschool teachers were more often minimized negative responses, distracted, labeled negative emotion in 4 year old age children than 5 and 6 year old children. Results also revealed that there was a significant but low relationship between children's gender and teacher's responses to negative emotional expressions and a modest relationship between children's gender and teacher's responses to positive emotional expressions.

A key challenge in marketing courses is to stimulate student curiosity and interest in marketing research. Depending on how the material is presented, student perceptions are often favorably or unfavorably polarized on this subject. That is, research can be perceived as either intriguing and intellectually stimulating or uninteresting and uninspiring. Understanding and appreciating marketing research is an essential part of learning about consumer behavior, service quality, market segmentation, targeting, and positioning, marketing strategy, and other important marketing concepts. Many of today's marketing managers appreciate the inherent value of quality research in making better decisions. Students also need to understand the critical role that marketing research plays in the decision-making process. To help students gain a greater understanding and appreciation of marketing research methods, the author has effectively utilized students as secret shoppers in numerous client-based, class projects. This observational research method is a great way to involve students in the subject matter. It also ensures a high level of student participation throughout the course. An online survey was conducted among 102 students who participated in secret shopping research in two different marketing courses. Key results reveal that the secret shopping method increased students' interest in marketing research. The students found the research to be fun and relatively easy to conduct. Most importantly, using this observational research technique increased students' understanding of marketing research.

Playgrounds with spaces that attract children increase the likelihood children will use them, the authors note, and playgrounds offer an opportunity for children to experience the risks of outdoor play. The authors used natural observation to study the children at play in a newly built New Zealand playground where such an important kind of behavioral learning was possible. In five-minute intervals over 615 minutes, they observed children of various ages and genders using the playground equipment. They discovered that swinging, spinning, and climbing--all at speeds and heights that made them risky--were the most popular activities overall for children. They discuss the important implications of these and their other findings for playground designers and for those worried about the decreasing time children spend playing outdoors.

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of self-efficacy of prospective mathematics teachers (PMTs) on the competency "planning and organizing instruction" that is one of the teacher competencies identified in 2009 by Ministry of Education. The sample of this study consists of 111 total prospective teachers (PTs) study in mathematics department of Faculty of Science and Faculty of Education, in Inonu University, in Turkey. To determine the level of self-efficacy on teacher competencies of PMTs, "Scale for Self-efficacy on the Competence of Planning and Organizing Instruction" was prepared and used by researcher. "Subject-Specific Competencies" published by Ministry of Education (2009) was used to prepare the scale. In this study, the levels of self-efficacy of PMTs on planning and organizing instruction and the variables that affect the levels were tried to determine. According to data, the level of self-efficacy on teacher competencies of PMTs both is adequate and has some differences in terms of some demographical variables. In addition, a few new teacher competencies were identified by researcher using the PMTs' views