The Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD) of the Council for Exceptional Children holds a conference annually in late October or early November. This year it is in Philadelphia (PA, US) and it features a batch of presentations that promise to be helpful to teachers, coaches, and administrators interested in learning how to implement evidence-based instructional practices.
Check the agenda for the next Fall Conference 24 and 25 October 2008 and then register! Learn about DLD’s “Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice” and learn how you can participate in this outstanding professional development opportunity.
Please note that I am connected with DLD (long-time member, former president, currently executive director and co-editor of the Web site), but I’d be pushing this conference even if I wasn’t affiliated with it.
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The Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA) education conference is to be held in Reston (VA, US) in just a few weeks. Although the presence of the word “behavior” in the organization’s name may lead one to expect the conference to focus on social behavior, that is not the case. There are many members who focus their work on academic outcomes. This is not just a meeting for people interested in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, Autism, or discrete trial training.
After today, registration will only be possible at the site.
The last day to pre-register for ABA International’s 2008 Education Conference titled, “Evidence-Based Practice, Scientifically Based Instruction, and Educational Effectiveness” is this tomorrow, Wednesday, August 13th. The conference will be held on the second floor of the Hyatt Regency Reston, in Reston, Virginia near Washington D.C., during the weekend of September 5-7, 2008. After August 13th, registration will only be available on-site and will increase by $25. To pre-register for this conference, please visit http://www.abainternational.org/educonf/convreg/ .
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According to an analysis by Gregory J. Palardy and Russell W. Rumberger, differences in teacher effectiveness have larger effects on young children’s outcomes in reading and math than do differences in teachers’ backgrounds factors such as level of education and types of certifications held. The teacher quality effects were also substantially greater than the effects for children’s families’ SES in their study and than the effects for class-size reduction (25 25 versus 15 students per classroom) reported in another study.
Professors Palardy and Rumberger arrived at this conclusion by analyzing data from a large data set that is representative of students in the US. They used a sophisticated analytic approach that permitted them to assess the effects of inputs, processes, and outputs at the school, classroom, and individual student levels.
This study uses Early Childhood Longitudinal Study data to investigate the importance of three general aspects of teacher effects—teacher background qualifications, attitudes, and instructional practices—to reading and math achievement gains in first grade. The results indicate that compared with instructional practices, background qualifications have less robust associations with achievement gains. These findings suggest that the No Child Left Behind Act’s “highly qualified teacher” provision, which screens teachers on the basis of their background qualifications, is insufficient for ensuring that classrooms are led by teachers who are effective in raising student achievement. To meet that objective, educational policy needs to be directed toward improving aspects of teaching, such as instructional practices and teacher attitudes.
Palardy, G. J., & Rumberger, R. W. (2008). Teacher effectiveness in first grade: The importance of background qualifications, attitudes, and instructional practices for student learning. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 30, 111-140.
Link to the abstract.
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A subcommittee in the US House of Representatives plans to hold a hearing about the effects of inadequate education on the economy. I’ve gotta wonder whether someone will be able to perform the calculus to ascertain the relative benefits of teaching effectively. Let’s see, if students on average benefit as little as 10%/year from receiving effective instruction, after 13 years—without compounding—they would have 1.3 more years of concepts and operations. I wonder what that would do to the workforce.
The House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing discussing the “Opportunities Lost and Costs to Society: The Social and Economic Burden of Inadequate Education, Training and Workforce Development.” The hearing is slated for 14 February at 2:00 p.m. and will be held in 2358-C Rayburn HOB. Contact Cheryl L. Smith, Subcommittee Clerk, Room 2358-B Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, (202) 225-3508
Temporary link.
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The US Department of Education What Works Clearinghouse released new reviews of practices last week. One is about “New Chance” and the other is about “First Things First.” Here are the descriptions of the interventions from the WWC pages (based on what WWC could obtain from publicly available documents).
New Chance:
New Chance, a program for young welfare mothers who have dropped out of school, aims to improve both their employment potential and their parenting skills. Participants take GED (General Educational Development) preparation classes and complete a parenting and life skills curriculum. Once they complete this first phase of the program, they can receive occupational training and job placement assistance from New Chance, which also offers case management and child care.
First Things First:
First Things First is a reform model intended to transform elementary, middle, and high schools serving significant proportions of economically disadvantaged students. Its three main components are: (1) “small learning communities” of students and teachers, (2) a family and student advocate system that pairs staff members and students to monitor and support progress and that serves as a bridge between the school and family, and (3) instructional improvements to make classroom teaching more rigorous and engaging and more closely aligned with state standards and assessments.
Continue reading ‘WWC again’
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Bogus Bowl II
O.K, folks, here’s a second installment in the Bogus Bowl. Bogus Bowl I will close Saturday night (9 Feb 08), so jump over there (click on “polls” in the top navigation element) and vote in the first one if you’ve not done so already. Then come back here and vote on this one…. Or vice versa.
In this one, we’re examing reasons that educators give for shirking what I’ve sometimes called the “instructional obligation.” It’s your chance to consider alternative rationales for not teaching.
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