Newsletter - October 2016
Modest Supports for Sustaining Professional Development Outcomes over the Long Term
PIs: Cathy Ringstaff (WestEd) and Judith Sandholtz
Funder: National Science Foundation
Duration: 2016-2020
Project Description
This four-year NSF (DRK-12) grant will support longitudinal research that investigates if and how modest supports for science teaching in grades K-5 sustain professional development outcomes over the long term. Similar to regular tune-ups for automobiles, the investment needed for sustainability of teacher outcomes may be minor in comparison to initial costs, but pay important dividends in terms of long-term function. In contrast to the established value of automobile tune-ups, the value of “tune-up” services for sustainability of professional development outcomes is an open question.
This project stems from findings from a prior NSF-funded DRK-12 study about the persistence of teacher change after professional development ends. That research found that changes in teachers’ attitudes and instructional practices began to decline two years after the professional development ended, but remained higher than pre-program. The most significant changes occurred in teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching science. Teachers continued to use a broader range of instructional strategies in science than pre-program but their reported frequency declined. Teachers often lacked the ongoing supports to sustain the instructional changes they had made in science as a result of the professional development. Rather than extensive, additional professional development and resources, teachers recommended modest supports to assist them in continuing to teach science and to implement the instructional strategies that they learned in the original program. The intervention in this new project is based on these findings and is designed with the aim of sustaining change in science instruction, not providing foundational professional development.
This project is uniquely situated to examine this issue because of access to pre- and post-program data (based on the same instruments) from four different professional development projects that aimed to improve science instruction by improving teachers’ content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and self-efficacy in teaching science. Using these data as a baseline, researchers will implement a modest intervention with 50 teachers who participated in one of these four professional development projects and will gather data using comparable outcome measures over a three-year period. The study will address the following research questions:
The research offers a rare opportunity to follow teachers over a 10- to 12-year period that includes a 3-year professional development program, a 4- to 6-year span after the program ended, and a 3-year intervention of modest supports.
PIs: Cathy Ringstaff (WestEd) and Judith Sandholtz
Funder: National Science Foundation
Duration: 2016-2020
Project Description
This four-year NSF (DRK-12) grant will support longitudinal research that investigates if and how modest supports for science teaching in grades K-5 sustain professional development outcomes over the long term. Similar to regular tune-ups for automobiles, the investment needed for sustainability of teacher outcomes may be minor in comparison to initial costs, but pay important dividends in terms of long-term function. In contrast to the established value of automobile tune-ups, the value of “tune-up” services for sustainability of professional development outcomes is an open question.
This project stems from findings from a prior NSF-funded DRK-12 study about the persistence of teacher change after professional development ends. That research found that changes in teachers’ attitudes and instructional practices began to decline two years after the professional development ended, but remained higher than pre-program. The most significant changes occurred in teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching science. Teachers continued to use a broader range of instructional strategies in science than pre-program but their reported frequency declined. Teachers often lacked the ongoing supports to sustain the instructional changes they had made in science as a result of the professional development. Rather than extensive, additional professional development and resources, teachers recommended modest supports to assist them in continuing to teach science and to implement the instructional strategies that they learned in the original program. The intervention in this new project is based on these findings and is designed with the aim of sustaining change in science instruction, not providing foundational professional development.
This project is uniquely situated to examine this issue because of access to pre- and post-program data (based on the same instruments) from four different professional development projects that aimed to improve science instruction by improving teachers’ content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and self-efficacy in teaching science. Using these data as a baseline, researchers will implement a modest intervention with 50 teachers who participated in one of these four professional development projects and will gather data using comparable outcome measures over a three-year period. The study will address the following research questions:
- To what extent do modest supports foster the sustainability of professional development outcomes in instructional time in science; teachers’ self-efficacy in science; and their use of inquiry-based strategies?
- Which supports are the most critical for sustainability of outcomes and the most cost-effective?
- What contextual factors support or impede the sustainability of professional development outcomes?
The research offers a rare opportunity to follow teachers over a 10- to 12-year period that includes a 3-year professional development program, a 4- to 6-year span after the program ended, and a 3-year intervention of modest supports.
“The Role of Executive Function in Mathematics and Science Learning Difficulties of Students with Disabilities”
PI: Paul Morgan (Penn State University)
CO-PIs: Yoonkyung Oh, George Farkas, Marianne M. Hillemeier
Funder: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Duration: 2016-2019
Abstract
We will investigate whether executive functions (EF) deficits are related to lower mathematics and science achievement, with a particular focus on those with or at risk for disabilities. We will also use growth mixture modeling (GMM) to identify early development trajectories of EF as well as mathematics and science achievement. For students with and without disabilities, and with particular conditions, we will identify characteristics of homes, classrooms, schools, and neighborhoods that most strongly relate to their EF as well as mathematics and science achievement. Our analyses will make extensive use of newly available data from a large, diverse, and nationally representative cohort of U.S. schoolchildren followed from kindergarten entry until the end of fifth grade. Assessments of three specific types of EF (i.e., working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control) were individually and repeatedly administered, as were individually administered and untimed assessments of reading, mathematics, and science achievement. Characteristics of the students’ homes, classrooms, schools, and neighborhoods were surveyed. The cohort’s very large sample size, six-year timeframe, and rich data collection will allow us to make use of a range of quasi-experimental methods to investigate the project’s objectives. These methods include growth mixture modeling to identify latent classes of students displaying persistently lower EF as well as lower mathematics or science achievement over time. We will identify factors that increase the risk of these class memberships. We will also use fixed effects and covariate adjustment for previously identified confounds (e.g., autoregressive achievement, behavioral inhibition and self-regulation, family socioeconomic status) in multivariate regression models to identify potential targets of STEM interventions that might be delivered during the elementary grades.
Our project will provide important new information about how best to help students with disabilities who are at risk of experiencing persistently low levels of mathematics and science achievement as they age, thereby limiting their STEM-related educational and career opportunities. Our project will help answer whether underlying deficits in EF may be resulting in these students’ learning difficulties, and so might be targeted by early STEM interventions. We will further inform these efforts by providing new knowledge as to which type of EF deficit (i.e., working memory, cognitive flexibility, or inhibitory control) is more strongly related to learning difficulties in mathematics and science. Our project will inform the timing of these STEM intervention efforts by clarifying how early in schooling persistent learning difficulties in mathematics and science emerge, and whether and to what extent these difficulties begin to negatively impact students’ feelings and views towards these subjects. Thus, we will address whether STEM interventions should be designed to address attitudinal as well as academic barriers by the elementary grades. Collectively, the project’s findings will strongly inform screening, monitoring, and intervention efforts for students with or at risk for disabilities when these efforts may be most effective.
PI: Paul Morgan (Penn State University)
CO-PIs: Yoonkyung Oh, George Farkas, Marianne M. Hillemeier
Funder: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Duration: 2016-2019
Abstract
We will investigate whether executive functions (EF) deficits are related to lower mathematics and science achievement, with a particular focus on those with or at risk for disabilities. We will also use growth mixture modeling (GMM) to identify early development trajectories of EF as well as mathematics and science achievement. For students with and without disabilities, and with particular conditions, we will identify characteristics of homes, classrooms, schools, and neighborhoods that most strongly relate to their EF as well as mathematics and science achievement. Our analyses will make extensive use of newly available data from a large, diverse, and nationally representative cohort of U.S. schoolchildren followed from kindergarten entry until the end of fifth grade. Assessments of three specific types of EF (i.e., working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control) were individually and repeatedly administered, as were individually administered and untimed assessments of reading, mathematics, and science achievement. Characteristics of the students’ homes, classrooms, schools, and neighborhoods were surveyed. The cohort’s very large sample size, six-year timeframe, and rich data collection will allow us to make use of a range of quasi-experimental methods to investigate the project’s objectives. These methods include growth mixture modeling to identify latent classes of students displaying persistently lower EF as well as lower mathematics or science achievement over time. We will identify factors that increase the risk of these class memberships. We will also use fixed effects and covariate adjustment for previously identified confounds (e.g., autoregressive achievement, behavioral inhibition and self-regulation, family socioeconomic status) in multivariate regression models to identify potential targets of STEM interventions that might be delivered during the elementary grades.
Our project will provide important new information about how best to help students with disabilities who are at risk of experiencing persistently low levels of mathematics and science achievement as they age, thereby limiting their STEM-related educational and career opportunities. Our project will help answer whether underlying deficits in EF may be resulting in these students’ learning difficulties, and so might be targeted by early STEM interventions. We will further inform these efforts by providing new knowledge as to which type of EF deficit (i.e., working memory, cognitive flexibility, or inhibitory control) is more strongly related to learning difficulties in mathematics and science. Our project will inform the timing of these STEM intervention efforts by clarifying how early in schooling persistent learning difficulties in mathematics and science emerge, and whether and to what extent these difficulties begin to negatively impact students’ feelings and views towards these subjects. Thus, we will address whether STEM interventions should be designed to address attitudinal as well as academic barriers by the elementary grades. Collectively, the project’s findings will strongly inform screening, monitoring, and intervention efforts for students with or at risk for disabilities when these efforts may be most effective.
Understanding Mediating and Moderating Factors that Determine Transfer of Working Memory Training
PI: Aaron Seitz (UC Riverside)
CO-PI: Susanne Jaeggi
Funder: National Institute of Health (NIH) RO1
Duration: 2016-2021
Summary
The overall objective is to understand the factors mediating and moderating transfer of learning in the context of training Working Memory (WM) systems. There is accumulating evidence that WM training impacts performance in a wide variety of tasks; however, to date, knowledge is extremely limited regarding the underlying mechanisms that mediate plasticity in WM systems, and what components of training give rise to transfer to different tasks. This proposal is transformative in how it applies knowledge derived from plasticity in other brain systems (such as perceptual learning, where there is substantial understanding of mechanisms that drive transfer) to test their impact in WM systems (Aim 1), in the creation of novel measures to asses transfer to real-world cognition (Aim 2), and in the use of online ‘crowd- sourced’ studies to characterize individual differences using a large population (Aim 3).
These studies are particularly important and timely given current state of the field, which is fraught with controversy, and the lack of understanding of the relevant attributes of training and individual differences factors that give rise to successful training outcomes. Understanding the factors that mediate successful learning, as well as the individual differences moderating these is critical to resolve the current controversies and to move towards a theoretical model of training and transfer. Potential for knowledge gain and translational impact is substantial. Understanding how our memory systems work and the mechanisms that guide learning has great potential to be applied broadly in society. Our acquisition of knowledge in the world intimately relies on WM processes, thus, improvements in WM can benefit almost all aspects of our lives. This has driven a now billion-dollar commercial market that has provided early generation training approaches, which are extremely controversial in the scientific community.
The proposed research can shed light on the factors that mediate and moderate these types of cognitive interventions and address the extent to which some procedures may, and others may not, lead to improvements in real world cognition. This can potentially lead to educational, rehabilitative, and technological advancements. For example, WM deficits exist in a wide range of mental health conditions, cases of disease and brain damage, and in cognitive declines with aging, and training approaches that promote better functioning WM systems can promote health and well-being in these groups. Further this research can elucidate approaches that may not work and help people avoid use of infective procedures. The proposed training software will be created on cross-platform game engines to enable dissemination to diverse populations. In this sense, the research output has innovative and broad impacts that can be directly realized from the proposed research. Many individuals are already using “brain training” products, however, none incorporate the theoretically-driven approaches designed to optimize WM learning with an aim to transfer that training to real world benefit, and that are systematically researched, as proposed here. Programs created in the proposed work will be made publicly available.
PI: Aaron Seitz (UC Riverside)
CO-PI: Susanne Jaeggi
Funder: National Institute of Health (NIH) RO1
Duration: 2016-2021
Summary
The overall objective is to understand the factors mediating and moderating transfer of learning in the context of training Working Memory (WM) systems. There is accumulating evidence that WM training impacts performance in a wide variety of tasks; however, to date, knowledge is extremely limited regarding the underlying mechanisms that mediate plasticity in WM systems, and what components of training give rise to transfer to different tasks. This proposal is transformative in how it applies knowledge derived from plasticity in other brain systems (such as perceptual learning, where there is substantial understanding of mechanisms that drive transfer) to test their impact in WM systems (Aim 1), in the creation of novel measures to asses transfer to real-world cognition (Aim 2), and in the use of online ‘crowd- sourced’ studies to characterize individual differences using a large population (Aim 3).
These studies are particularly important and timely given current state of the field, which is fraught with controversy, and the lack of understanding of the relevant attributes of training and individual differences factors that give rise to successful training outcomes. Understanding the factors that mediate successful learning, as well as the individual differences moderating these is critical to resolve the current controversies and to move towards a theoretical model of training and transfer. Potential for knowledge gain and translational impact is substantial. Understanding how our memory systems work and the mechanisms that guide learning has great potential to be applied broadly in society. Our acquisition of knowledge in the world intimately relies on WM processes, thus, improvements in WM can benefit almost all aspects of our lives. This has driven a now billion-dollar commercial market that has provided early generation training approaches, which are extremely controversial in the scientific community.
The proposed research can shed light on the factors that mediate and moderate these types of cognitive interventions and address the extent to which some procedures may, and others may not, lead to improvements in real world cognition. This can potentially lead to educational, rehabilitative, and technological advancements. For example, WM deficits exist in a wide range of mental health conditions, cases of disease and brain damage, and in cognitive declines with aging, and training approaches that promote better functioning WM systems can promote health and well-being in these groups. Further this research can elucidate approaches that may not work and help people avoid use of infective procedures. The proposed training software will be created on cross-platform game engines to enable dissemination to diverse populations. In this sense, the research output has innovative and broad impacts that can be directly realized from the proposed research. Many individuals are already using “brain training” products, however, none incorporate the theoretically-driven approaches designed to optimize WM learning with an aim to transfer that training to real world benefit, and that are systematically researched, as proposed here. Programs created in the proposed work will be made publicly available.
Solving the Equation: Recruiting, Hiring, and Retaining Math and Science Teachers
PI: Susanna Loeb (Stanford University)
CO-PIs: Emily Penner (UCI), Andrew Penner (UCI), Thad Domina (UNC), Sonya Porter (US Census Bureau), Quentin Brummet (US Census Bureau)
Funder: National Science Foundation: Directorate of Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social Science Research
Duration: 2016-2019
Project Summary
Using novel administrative data and cutting-edge statistical methods, this project will advance knowledge on the dynamics of STEM teacher recruitment, hiring, and retention in the midst of competitive labor and housing markets. Training the next generation of scientists and engineers is one of the most pressing problems our nation faces, and the changing global labor market presents a two-sided challenge to U.S. public schools. As the demand for workers with advanced training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) increases, educational institutions at all levels must provide high-quality and rigorous STEM education to an ever-larger number of students. To do so, schools must hire and retain a corps of highly educated and skilled science and mathematics teachers. But the same market forces that necessitate improvements in the American STEM education system place fundamental constraints on schools’ abilities to hire and retain STEM teachers, as schools struggle to compete with the relatively high-paying private sector labor market to hire and retain individuals with strong STEM skills as teachers.
Examining the pipeline for STEM teachers will provide insights into how labor markets work more broadly. The processes involved in matching individuals looking for work and employers looking for workers are a core concern in the social sciences, and this project will provide information on a central and largely elusive question: Who does and does not apply to a particular job? Further, this project contributes to the literature on teacher labor markets by providing a rich portrait of where teachers go when they leave teaching, focusing particularly on the potential pressures that schools face in retaining highly effective STEM teachers. Growing teacher shortages, accelerating retirement rates, and declining enrollments in teacher preparation programs represent mounting challenges facing school districts, and these challenges are particularly pronounced in recruiting high-quality STEM teachers to low-income schools. The findings from this project will thus inform policy by providing a better understanding of the challenges associated with recruiting and retaining highly effective STEM teachers. Results will be actively disseminated to policy makers and practitioners in school districts and beyond. This project will also support the training of graduate students in the use of large-scale administrative data, as graduate students will be actively involved in all aspects of the project.
PI: Susanna Loeb (Stanford University)
CO-PIs: Emily Penner (UCI), Andrew Penner (UCI), Thad Domina (UNC), Sonya Porter (US Census Bureau), Quentin Brummet (US Census Bureau)
Funder: National Science Foundation: Directorate of Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social Science Research
Duration: 2016-2019
Project Summary
Using novel administrative data and cutting-edge statistical methods, this project will advance knowledge on the dynamics of STEM teacher recruitment, hiring, and retention in the midst of competitive labor and housing markets. Training the next generation of scientists and engineers is one of the most pressing problems our nation faces, and the changing global labor market presents a two-sided challenge to U.S. public schools. As the demand for workers with advanced training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) increases, educational institutions at all levels must provide high-quality and rigorous STEM education to an ever-larger number of students. To do so, schools must hire and retain a corps of highly educated and skilled science and mathematics teachers. But the same market forces that necessitate improvements in the American STEM education system place fundamental constraints on schools’ abilities to hire and retain STEM teachers, as schools struggle to compete with the relatively high-paying private sector labor market to hire and retain individuals with strong STEM skills as teachers.
Examining the pipeline for STEM teachers will provide insights into how labor markets work more broadly. The processes involved in matching individuals looking for work and employers looking for workers are a core concern in the social sciences, and this project will provide information on a central and largely elusive question: Who does and does not apply to a particular job? Further, this project contributes to the literature on teacher labor markets by providing a rich portrait of where teachers go when they leave teaching, focusing particularly on the potential pressures that schools face in retaining highly effective STEM teachers. Growing teacher shortages, accelerating retirement rates, and declining enrollments in teacher preparation programs represent mounting challenges facing school districts, and these challenges are particularly pronounced in recruiting high-quality STEM teachers to low-income schools. The findings from this project will thus inform policy by providing a better understanding of the challenges associated with recruiting and retaining highly effective STEM teachers. Results will be actively disseminated to policy makers and practitioners in school districts and beyond. This project will also support the training of graduate students in the use of large-scale administrative data, as graduate students will be actively involved in all aspects of the project.
"The Importance of Early Childhood Poverty"
Duncan, G., Magnuson, K., Kalil, A., & Ziol-Guest, K. (August 2016). The importance of early childhood poverty. Social Indicators Research, 108(1):1-12.
Abstract
Most poor children achieve less, exhibit more problem behaviors and are less healthy than children reared in more affluent families. We look beyond correlations such as these to a recent set of studies that attempt to assess the causal impact of childhood poverty on adult well-being. We pay particular attention to the potentially harmful effects of poverty early in childhood on adult labor market success (as measured by earnings), but also show results for other outcomes, including out-of-wedlock childbearing, criminal arrests and health status. Evidence suggests that early poverty has substantial detrimental effects on adult earnings and work hours, but on neither general adult health nor such behavioral outcomes as out-of-wedlock childbearing and arrests. We discuss implications for indicators tracking child well-being as well as policies designed to promote the well-being of children.
Duncan, G., Magnuson, K., Kalil, A., & Ziol-Guest, K. (August 2016). The importance of early childhood poverty. Social Indicators Research, 108(1):1-12.
Abstract
Most poor children achieve less, exhibit more problem behaviors and are less healthy than children reared in more affluent families. We look beyond correlations such as these to a recent set of studies that attempt to assess the causal impact of childhood poverty on adult well-being. We pay particular attention to the potentially harmful effects of poverty early in childhood on adult labor market success (as measured by earnings), but also show results for other outcomes, including out-of-wedlock childbearing, criminal arrests and health status. Evidence suggests that early poverty has substantial detrimental effects on adult earnings and work hours, but on neither general adult health nor such behavioral outcomes as out-of-wedlock childbearing and arrests. We discuss implications for indicators tracking child well-being as well as policies designed to promote the well-being of children.
The Cognitive Development of Reading and Reading Comprehension
Chancellor's Professor Carol M. Connor has edited a new book, The Cognitive Development of Reading and Reading Comprehension, published by Routledge (2016).
Abstract
Learning to read may be the most complex cognitive operation that children are expected to master, and the latest research in cognitive development has offered important insights into how children succeed or fail at this task. The Cognitive Development of Reading and Reading Comprehension is a multidisciplinary, evidence-based resource for teachers and researchers that examines reading comprehension from a cognitive development perspective, including the principal theories and methods used in the discipline. The book combines research into basic cognitive processes―genetics, perception, memory, executive functioning, and language―with an investigation of the effects that context and environment have on literacy outcomes, making clear how factors such as health, family life, community, policy, and ecology can influence children’s cognitive development.
In addition to serving as editor, Professor Connor, Andre D. Mansion (ASU), and Greg J. Duncan have authored Chapter 11: Policy and Community Influences on Learning to Read (pp. 149-165).
Chapter 11 Abstract
In the United States, providing public education has been held as one of the most important functions of the federal, state, and local governments (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954). Education is not only important for the acquisition of knowledge, but is the foundation for the performance of our public responsibilities, professional training, and good citizenship (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954). At the heart of the educational experience is the process of learning to read (Common Core State Standards Initiative, CCSSI, 2010). Basic literacy is important because it provides the foundation for social communication, the achievement of goals, and cognitive growth, as well as a multitude of other important life experiences and outcomes. Fields such as cognitive and educational psychology have long been aware of the importance of teaching children to read (Stanovich, 2000). These fields are constantly developing new approaches to improve reading instruction (see, e.g., Connor, Morrison, Fishman, Cameron Ponitz, Glasney, Underwood, Piasta, Crowe, & Schatschneider, 2009). However, the governments that legislate scholastic policy, as well as the educational institutions that provide children with reading instruction, have only slowly utilized the innovative approaches suggested by these fields.
Chancellor's Professor Carol M. Connor has edited a new book, The Cognitive Development of Reading and Reading Comprehension, published by Routledge (2016).
Abstract
Learning to read may be the most complex cognitive operation that children are expected to master, and the latest research in cognitive development has offered important insights into how children succeed or fail at this task. The Cognitive Development of Reading and Reading Comprehension is a multidisciplinary, evidence-based resource for teachers and researchers that examines reading comprehension from a cognitive development perspective, including the principal theories and methods used in the discipline. The book combines research into basic cognitive processes―genetics, perception, memory, executive functioning, and language―with an investigation of the effects that context and environment have on literacy outcomes, making clear how factors such as health, family life, community, policy, and ecology can influence children’s cognitive development.
In addition to serving as editor, Professor Connor, Andre D. Mansion (ASU), and Greg J. Duncan have authored Chapter 11: Policy and Community Influences on Learning to Read (pp. 149-165).
Chapter 11 Abstract
In the United States, providing public education has been held as one of the most important functions of the federal, state, and local governments (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954). Education is not only important for the acquisition of knowledge, but is the foundation for the performance of our public responsibilities, professional training, and good citizenship (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954). At the heart of the educational experience is the process of learning to read (Common Core State Standards Initiative, CCSSI, 2010). Basic literacy is important because it provides the foundation for social communication, the achievement of goals, and cognitive growth, as well as a multitude of other important life experiences and outcomes. Fields such as cognitive and educational psychology have long been aware of the importance of teaching children to read (Stanovich, 2000). These fields are constantly developing new approaches to improve reading instruction (see, e.g., Connor, Morrison, Fishman, Cameron Ponitz, Glasney, Underwood, Piasta, Crowe, & Schatschneider, 2009). However, the governments that legislate scholastic policy, as well as the educational institutions that provide children with reading instruction, have only slowly utilized the innovative approaches suggested by these fields.
"Persistence and Fadeout in the Impacts of Child and Adolescent Interventions"
Bailey, D.H., Duncan, G., Odgers, C., & Yu, W. (September 2016). Persistence and fadeout in the impacts of child and adolescent interventions. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.
DOI: 10.1080/19345747.2016.1232459
Abstract
Many interventions targeting cognitive skills or socioemotional skills and behaviors demonstrate initially promising but then quickly disappearing impacts. Our paper seeks to identify the key features of interventions, as well as the characteristics and environments of the children and adolescents who participate in them, that can be expected to sustain persistently beneficial program impacts. We describe three such processes: skill-building, foot-in-the-door and sustaining environments. We argue that skill-building interventions should target “trifecta” skills – ones that are malleable, fundamental, and would not have developed eventually in the absence of the intervention. Successful foot-in-the-door interventions equip a child with the right skills or capacities at the right time to avoid imminent risks (e.g., grade failure or teen drinking) or seize emerging opportunities (e.g., entry into honors classes). The sustaining environments perspective views high quality of environments subsequent to the completion of the intervention as crucial for sustaining early skill gains. These three perspectives generate both complementary and competing hypotheses regarding the nature, timing and targeting of interventions that generate enduring impacts.
Bailey, D.H., Duncan, G., Odgers, C., & Yu, W. (September 2016). Persistence and fadeout in the impacts of child and adolescent interventions. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.
DOI: 10.1080/19345747.2016.1232459
Abstract
Many interventions targeting cognitive skills or socioemotional skills and behaviors demonstrate initially promising but then quickly disappearing impacts. Our paper seeks to identify the key features of interventions, as well as the characteristics and environments of the children and adolescents who participate in them, that can be expected to sustain persistently beneficial program impacts. We describe three such processes: skill-building, foot-in-the-door and sustaining environments. We argue that skill-building interventions should target “trifecta” skills – ones that are malleable, fundamental, and would not have developed eventually in the absence of the intervention. Successful foot-in-the-door interventions equip a child with the right skills or capacities at the right time to avoid imminent risks (e.g., grade failure or teen drinking) or seize emerging opportunities (e.g., entry into honors classes). The sustaining environments perspective views high quality of environments subsequent to the completion of the intervention as crucial for sustaining early skill gains. These three perspectives generate both complementary and competing hypotheses regarding the nature, timing and targeting of interventions that generate enduring impacts.
"Dispersed vs. Centralized Policy Governance: The Case of State Early Care and Education Policy"
Jenkins, J.M., & Henry, G.T. (2016). Dispersed vs. centralized policy governance: The case of state early care and education policy. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 26(4), pp. 709-725.
doi:10.1093/jopart/muw003
Abstract
Policy and public management scholars have long theorized about the fragmentation of policy governance across numerous agencies, yet the effects of concentrated or dispersed governance on outcomes of the target population are largely unknown. Child policy is a policy field where dispersion has raised particular concerns, leading several states to consolidate governance for children’s programs in recent years. After presenting arguments both for and against the dispersion of policies across agencies, we estimate the effect of dispersion of state-level early childhood education policy governance on children’s reading skills. Using a unique nationally representative, longitudinal data set of young children merged with rich state-level data, we use instrumental variables estimation to address potential endogeneity of state governance policies. Our findings indicate that there is a significant positive effect of dispersed governance on children’s reading skills in kindergarten. The returns to dispersion diminish above four agencies. Future research in this area should explore the specific mechanisms through which policy governance affects child outcomes.
Jenkins, J.M., & Henry, G.T. (2016). Dispersed vs. centralized policy governance: The case of state early care and education policy. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 26(4), pp. 709-725.
doi:10.1093/jopart/muw003
Abstract
Policy and public management scholars have long theorized about the fragmentation of policy governance across numerous agencies, yet the effects of concentrated or dispersed governance on outcomes of the target population are largely unknown. Child policy is a policy field where dispersion has raised particular concerns, leading several states to consolidate governance for children’s programs in recent years. After presenting arguments both for and against the dispersion of policies across agencies, we estimate the effect of dispersion of state-level early childhood education policy governance on children’s reading skills. Using a unique nationally representative, longitudinal data set of young children merged with rich state-level data, we use instrumental variables estimation to address potential endogeneity of state governance policies. Our findings indicate that there is a significant positive effect of dispersed governance on children’s reading skills in kindergarten. The returns to dispersion diminish above four agencies. Future research in this area should explore the specific mechanisms through which policy governance affects child outcomes.
Receives Distinguished Early Career Award
Associate Professor Stephanie Reich has been honored with the "Distinguished Early Career Applied Contributions to Media Psychology and Technology Award", from Division 46 of the American Psychological Association (APA). The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of media psychology and technology during the first seven years postdoctorate.
APA was founded in 1892. Current membership include more than 122,500 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultant, and students.
Division 46 was founded in the 1980s to bring scholars, researchers, practitioners, and clinicians together to understand the implications of mediated communications and the increasing integration of media technologies across society.
Dr. Reich's research focuses on understanding and improving the social context of children’s lives. Her work explores direct and indirect influences (i.e., transactions) on the child, specifically through the family, online, and school environments.
Associate Professor Stephanie Reich has been honored with the "Distinguished Early Career Applied Contributions to Media Psychology and Technology Award", from Division 46 of the American Psychological Association (APA). The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of media psychology and technology during the first seven years postdoctorate.
APA was founded in 1892. Current membership include more than 122,500 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultant, and students.
Division 46 was founded in the 1980s to bring scholars, researchers, practitioners, and clinicians together to understand the implications of mediated communications and the increasing integration of media technologies across society.
Dr. Reich's research focuses on understanding and improving the social context of children’s lives. Her work explores direct and indirect influences (i.e., transactions) on the child, specifically through the family, online, and school environments.
School Admits 18 to Ph.D. in Education Program
Eighteen new students, fifteen women and three men, have joined the UC Irvine Ph.D. in Education Program. Ten have selected the Learning, Cognition, and Development (LCD) specialization; five will be pursuing the Educational Policy and Social Context (EPSC) specialization; and three chose Language, Literacy, and Technology (LLT).
The 18 students were selected from a highly competitive pool of 174 national and international applicants.
The Fall 2016 students represent six countries of origin: China, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, and the United States.
They earned bachelor's degrees from 15 different universities: ASU, Columbia, Furman, Old Dominion, Providence College, Stanford, Sun Yatsen University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, University of Huazhong, University of Texas, USC, University of Wisconsin, and Wellesley. Their undergraduate majors included Applied Physics, Chemistry, Chinese Language and Literature, Cognitive Science, Communications, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Economics and Policy, Family Studies, Human Development, Psychology, Religious Studies, Science and Technology, and Sociology.
Nine of the incoming students also earned advanced degrees, from George Mason, Harvard, Loyola-Marymount, SDSU, UCLA, UCSB, University of Massachusetts, and Washington University. Degrees were awarded in Education, Global and International Studies, Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology, Social Work, Urban Education, and World Literature. One student holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from South China Normal University.
The students' professional experience includes employment in early childhood, K-12, community college, university, online, and after-school education; curriculum design, adult literacy, and parent engagement.
The 18 students have received a total of 15 awards in support of their doctoral studies, including Eugene Cota Robles Fellowships, Provost Ph.D. Fellowships, Graduate Opportunity Fellowships, Graduate Dean's Recruitment Awards, and Graduate Diversity Recruitment Awards.
Eighteen new students, fifteen women and three men, have joined the UC Irvine Ph.D. in Education Program. Ten have selected the Learning, Cognition, and Development (LCD) specialization; five will be pursuing the Educational Policy and Social Context (EPSC) specialization; and three chose Language, Literacy, and Technology (LLT).
The 18 students were selected from a highly competitive pool of 174 national and international applicants.
The Fall 2016 students represent six countries of origin: China, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, and the United States.
They earned bachelor's degrees from 15 different universities: ASU, Columbia, Furman, Old Dominion, Providence College, Stanford, Sun Yatsen University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, University of Huazhong, University of Texas, USC, University of Wisconsin, and Wellesley. Their undergraduate majors included Applied Physics, Chemistry, Chinese Language and Literature, Cognitive Science, Communications, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Economics and Policy, Family Studies, Human Development, Psychology, Religious Studies, Science and Technology, and Sociology.
Nine of the incoming students also earned advanced degrees, from George Mason, Harvard, Loyola-Marymount, SDSU, UCLA, UCSB, University of Massachusetts, and Washington University. Degrees were awarded in Education, Global and International Studies, Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology, Social Work, Urban Education, and World Literature. One student holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from South China Normal University.
The students' professional experience includes employment in early childhood, K-12, community college, university, online, and after-school education; curriculum design, adult literacy, and parent engagement.
The 18 students have received a total of 15 awards in support of their doctoral studies, including Eugene Cota Robles Fellowships, Provost Ph.D. Fellowships, Graduate Opportunity Fellowships, Graduate Dean's Recruitment Awards, and Graduate Diversity Recruitment Awards.
School Hosts Workshop for MAT Mentor Teachers
On September 12, the UCI Master of Arts in Teaching/Teaching Credential Program hosted the Fall 2016 Mentoring Workshop for over 60 Orange County educators who are welcoming the program's student teachers into their classrooms.
During the late afternoon event at the University Club, mentor teachers first engaged in small group discussions of strategies and best practices for helping student teachers move from field work activity to classroom instruction, then identified those practices considered most important for a successful experience, including establishing routines, co-planning, daily reflections, and guided weekly foci.
A panel of five mentor teachers (pictured below) shared their experiences and invited questions. Participating as panelists were Valerie Smith (Estancia High School, Newport-Mesa USD), Danielle Lopez (Davis Magnet School, Newport-Mesa USD), Annie Kensinger (Taft Elementary School, Santa Ana USD), Matt Conover (Valley High School, Santa Ana USD), and Sue Royal (Aliso Viejo, Capistrano USD).
The workshop was facilitated by Director of Teacher Education Virginia Panish, Single Subject Coordinator Sue Vaughn, and Multiple Subject Coordinator Susan Toma-Berge, with support from SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union. The workshops are designed to draw on the expertise of the mentor teachers and the UCI teaching faculty to maximum the student teaching experience for the Master of Arts in Teaching/Teaching Credential candidates.
On September 12, the UCI Master of Arts in Teaching/Teaching Credential Program hosted the Fall 2016 Mentoring Workshop for over 60 Orange County educators who are welcoming the program's student teachers into their classrooms.
During the late afternoon event at the University Club, mentor teachers first engaged in small group discussions of strategies and best practices for helping student teachers move from field work activity to classroom instruction, then identified those practices considered most important for a successful experience, including establishing routines, co-planning, daily reflections, and guided weekly foci.
A panel of five mentor teachers (pictured below) shared their experiences and invited questions. Participating as panelists were Valerie Smith (Estancia High School, Newport-Mesa USD), Danielle Lopez (Davis Magnet School, Newport-Mesa USD), Annie Kensinger (Taft Elementary School, Santa Ana USD), Matt Conover (Valley High School, Santa Ana USD), and Sue Royal (Aliso Viejo, Capistrano USD).
The workshop was facilitated by Director of Teacher Education Virginia Panish, Single Subject Coordinator Sue Vaughn, and Multiple Subject Coordinator Susan Toma-Berge, with support from SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union. The workshops are designed to draw on the expertise of the mentor teachers and the UCI teaching faculty to maximum the student teaching experience for the Master of Arts in Teaching/Teaching Credential candidates.
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