Design and Development of an Instructional Program for Teaching Programming Processes to Gifted Students Using Scratch

This chapter examines practical applications of an educational program designed to teach Turkish gifted second, third, and fourth grade students programming using Scratch, an online programming website (https://scratch.mit.edu). This qualitative research study was conducted with gifted identified students in an elementary school in Ankara's Altındağ district. Qualitative data collection methods were used. The study found program strengths included practical orientation, student independence, student free expression, computer literacy, and interdisciplinary connections. Additionally, providing a variety of tools and equipment, using Scratch, having a course web site, and on-line resource sharing were also seen as strengths by the participants. Perceived weaknesses were technical difficulties, the limited number of course hours, some of Scratch's negative features, inadequate help at particular points, and negative situations caused by gender and grade level differences. Results indicate preliminary knowledge of participant computer literacy as important to programming success.

The English referencing behaviors of first- and second-grade Spanish–English emergent bilinguals in oral narrative retells

This study investigated differences in the English referencing behaviors in the context of oral narrative retell between typically developing first- and second-grade Spanish–English emergent bilingual children in dual language immersion and English-only instructional contexts (N = 105). Children heard and retold Mercer Mayer wordless picture books, and analyses were conducted to examine how they used nominals and pronominals to maintain and switch reference to potential thematic protagonists in the story. Multivariate analysis of variance showed significant grade-level differences in the proportion of pronominals used to switch and maintain reference to BOY/S (boy and dog or frog), as well as to switch to BOY. In contrast, instructional context differences were significant only for reference to the DOG or FROG. The finding that second graders in both dual language immersion and English-only programs continued to demonstrate an overreliance on pronominal forms to switch reference in a second language suggests that differences in literacy and oral language development may extend beyond the grades that we investigated. It is therefore important to continue investigating the referencing behaviors of emergent bilingual children throughout the elementary years of schooling.

Perception and Interest of English Language Learners (ELL) toward Collaborative Teaching; Evaluation towards Group Activities

This study focuses on evaluating the perceptions of Saudi ELLs enrolled in secondary classes, with an emphasis on group activities. A total of 424 ELLs were enrolled in this study on the basis of purposive sampling technique from eight public schools in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia during the time period of January 2020 to May 2020. A close-ended questionnaire comprising 23 items was distributed online to collect data regarding perceptions of participants towards collaborative teaching and group activities. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test and One-Way ANOVA were used as statistical tools to analyze the data through SPSS version 25.0. Collaborative teaching techniques and group activities were preferred by ELLs with respect to gender differences and grade-level differences, respectively. It was concluded that students studying in different classes preferred group activities in comparison with collaborative teaching techniques.

Examining the Link Between Character Strengths and Positive and Negative Mental Health Indicators in Iranian Adolescents

Character strengths are an important foundation for positive development and thriving in adolescence. Most research on character strengths has been conducted with youths in Western cultures. We examined character strengths in relation to positive and negative well-being indicators in a sample of Iranian youths. We investigated the reliability and validity of the Farsi version of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth (VIA Y-96)—a self-report survey commonly used in Western contexts. Participants were adolescents in Iran ( N = 1,359; 48.5% female; M age = 13.54, SD = 1.00) who completed the VIA Y-96 and questionnaires assessing life satisfaction, positive/negative experiences, depression, anxiety, and stress. We found that reliability coefficients were acceptable for most of the VIA subscales. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), as well as a second-order CFA, supported the construct validity of the Farsi VIA Y-96. Correlations between the character strengths and positive and negative well-being indicators supported convergent validity. Measurement invariance for the VIA Y-96 was established in this study comparing boys’ and girls’ response patterns. Sex and grade level differences were found for some of the subscales. Overall, the Farsi VIA Y-96 had acceptable psychometric properties, suggesting that it can be used in research on character strengths with Iranian youths.

An Interprofessional Approach to Dialect-Shifting Instruction for Early Elementary School Students

Purpose Dialect-shifting has shown promise as an effective way to improve academic outcomes of students who speak nonmainstream dialects such as African American English (AAE); however, limited studies have examined the impacts of an interprofessional approach with multiple instructional methods. In this study, we developed a dialect-shifting curriculum for early elementary school students who speak AAE and evaluated the curriculum for feasibility and preliminary impacts. Method Forty-one kindergarten, first-, second-, and third-grade students and their teachers in one elementary school participated in a 7-week dialect-shifting instruction co-taught by the classroom teachers and a speech-language pathology graduate clinician. Students' use of dialect-shifting and dialect density was measured by calculating dialect density measures in retells presented in AAE and mainstream American English and responses to situational dialect-shifting and applied dialect-shifting tasks. Teacher surveys and interviews about the feasibility and perceived impacts were conducted. Results Initial impacts of the curriculum demonstrated increased dialect awareness for all students, with grade-level differences when students were asked to explicitly dialect-shift. In particular, second- and third-grade students were more proficient at dialect-shifting AAE features included in the curriculum. Additionally, high rates of administrator, teacher, and student satisfaction, teacher generalization, and maintenance of incorporating contrastive analysis instruction into class activities were reported. Conclusions Literacy and play-based instruction are feasible methods to create a dialect-shifting curriculum tailored to younger students. Furthermore, the feasibility and effectiveness of the curriculum were supported by an interprofessional approach. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13524317

A Rasch Analysis of the School-Related Well-Being (SRW) Scale: Measuring Well-Being in the Transition from Primary to Secondary School

Within educational systems, promoting well-being is an essential objective along with traditional aims focused on students’ learning. However, scarce attention has been devoted to school-related well-being in the transition from primary to lower secondary school, also for the paucity of brief instruments deputed to measure it. We assessed well-being at school for fourth-graders and seventh-graders, by adapting and validating the Italian version of the School-Related Well-Being (SRW) scale, using in sequence exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and Rasch analysis. Through the Rasch analysis, we transformed the SRW scale into an instrument that respects the properties of the fundamental measurement. We measured well-being and achievement emotions at time 1 and grades at time 2. The SRW scale correlated with another measure of well-being and with students’ achievement emotions. Grade-level differences emerged, with a decrease of well-being that attested a maladaptive trend at increasing age; moreover, females reported higher well-being than males. Well-being at school was positively linked to achievement. Beyond its methodological relevance, this study highlights the need for developing interventions to support students in the transition from primary to lower secondary school, which is such a pivotal time in their learning path.

Self-Compassion in Relation to Career and Talent Development Self-Efficacy of High School Students when Mediated by Hope

This study aimed to determine if there are significant direct and indirect relationships between self-compassion and career and talent development self-efficacy of high school students when mediated by hope. Additionally, levels of and differences in terms of sex and grade level were also explored. Through descriptive-comparative and correlational research designs, 261 respondents answered three standardized self-report questionnaires. Analyses of the data using appropriate statistical tools revealed moderate levels of self-compassion and career and talent development self-efficacy and a high level of hope among the respondents. Significant sex and grade level differences were found in self-compassion, while such differences do not exist in their level of career and talent development self-efficacy. Likewise, no significant sex differences, but significant grade level differences in the respondents' levels of hope were found. Most importantly, direct and indirect relationships between self-compassion and career and talent development self-efficacy, when mediated by hope, were found to be significant. The results of the study were used as the basis for an Enhanced Career Guidance Program.

Characteristics of Secondary Age Students With Intellectual Disability Who Participate in School-Sponsored Extracurricular Activities

This study investigated the relation between grade level, support needs, and use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and the participation of secondary age students with intellectual disability in school-sponsored extracurricular activities. Participants were special education teachers with at least one student with an intellectual disability on their caseload who participated in a school-sponsored extracurricular activity ( N = 498). Data were collected using an online questionnaire sent to members of a national listserv for transition professionals. Teachers reported students participated in a variety of extracurricular activities within the categories of sports/fitness, school clubs, special events, and performing arts. The majority of students participated in activities for less than 3 hr per week and did not participate in activities that only included students with disabilities. Support needs and use of AAC were related to the type of extracurricular activities in which students participated, the amount of time students spent in extracurricular activities each week, and the extent to which students participated in extracurricular activities that only included students with disabilities. Grade-level differences were nonsignificant, except in relation to activities that only included students with disabilities.