Showing papers in "Elementary School Journal in 1976"
TL;DR: The educational scene has also witnessed many patterns of grouping, from those that attempted to increase the homogeneity of instructional groups to the more recent multiage groupings that recognize the positive potential of heterogeneous groupings as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: possible in staffing-combinations that range over the organizational spectrum from two teachers engaged in cooperative teaching to complex, hierarchical teaching teams. The educational scene has also witnessed many patterns of grouping, from those that attempted to increase the homogeneity of instructional groups-the Joplin Plan, the Detroit XYZ Plan, the Dalton Plan, and others-to the more recent multiage groupings that recognize the positive potential of heterogeneous groupings. While educational research has fo-
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TL;DR: This paper found that while boys and girls have the same problems, boys have more of them than girls and reported that for every four boys who have a problem, only one girl does.
Abstract: currence for boys and for girls. However, he found that while boys and girls have the same problems, boys have more of them. It has commonly been reported that for every four boys who have a problem, only one girl does. Ratios higher than 4:1 have also been reported (2, 3). Bentzen (4) indicated that among first-grade children, the boy-girl ratio for school-related problems was 3:1, and for socioemotional problems, 11:1. A report on dropouts in the New York City schools indicated that 63 per cent of them were boys (5). The same report found that underachievement starts in sixth
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TL;DR: Bloom as mentioned in this paper argued that 95 percent of the students can master at practically the same level of mastery as the other 1 to 3 percent who cannot grasp the ordinary school curiculum, and 1 or 2 percent at the top who are basically and perhaps innately superior.
Abstract: problem is approached sensitively and systematically" (1: 1). What the schools have to teach, Bloom says, 95 percent of the students can master at practically the same level of mastery. This leaves only 1 to 3 percent at the bottom of the heap who cannot grasp the ordinary school curiculum, and 1 or 2 percent at the top, who are basically and perhaps innately superior. The 95 percent can all learn the same material at the same
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TL;DR: Modlin et al. as discussed by the authors compared the effects that specific questioning strategies have on children and found that these strategies, which are being used in elementary-school classrooms, require pupils to disbuss stories at levels other than factual recall of information.
Abstract: Marjorie Modlin Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia Children's ability to understand-to think critically and incisively about ideas and issues-has long been regarded as a prime goal of education. Yet we are just beginning to study and devise techniques to enable pupils to use higher-level thinking abilities that can be incorporated into the average elementary-school curriculum. This study was designed to compare systematically the effects that specific questioning strategies have on children. These strategies, which are being used in elementary-school classrooms, require pupils to disbuss stories at levels other than factual recall of information.
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TL;DR: The treatment of Spanish-speaking pupils in American public schools until recent years can be described only as neglectful and negative (1, 2) as mentioned in this paper, which is the case of the treatment of Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and other linguistic minorities under labels like "nonEnglish", "disadvantaged", and "other".
Abstract: The treatment of Spanish-speaking pupils in American public schools until recent years can be described only as neglectful and negative (1, 2). The cultural and linguistic background of the sizable concentrations of Puerto Rican pupils in the Northeast, Cuban pupils in the Southeast, and MexicanAmerican pupils in the Southwest has been buried at the schoolhouse door with the heritage of other linguistic minorities under labels like "nonEnglish," "disadvantaged," and "other." The plight of these pupils first gained widespread recognition in the midsixties in educational surveys like the Coleman Report (3). Formally titled Equality of Educational Opportunity, this report revealed vast inequalities of educational opportunity in the public schools of the USA. The volume documents profound disparities in educational achievement, academic self-concept, and drop-out totals for Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and other linguistically different learners.
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TL;DR: The term "peer tutoring" was created for the individualized tutoring of one pupil by another as discussed by the authors, where a child teaches a school-related subject to another child.
Abstract: Children have helped one another to learn since antiquity. In early America, older pupils in one-room schoolhouses frequently helped younger pupils with their lessons. In the 1960's, programs in which children helped other children were in effect on a large scale. The term "peer tutoring" was created for the individualized tutoring of one pupil by another. Peer tutoring is in progress when a child teaches a school-related subject to another child. The child who tutors is frequently older than the child being tutored. Sometimes the children are the same
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TL;DR: The Child's Conception of Physical Causality as discussed by the authors describes the progression of children's thought from realism to objectivity, to reciprocity, and to relativity, and seventeen types of explanations children give to explain the causality of physical occurrences in the world.
Abstract: read Piaget, only a small number ever read The Child's Conception of Physical Causality. To compound these obstacles, books about Piaget's theories rarely discuss the ideas in this particular work. The present article seeks to make accessible some interesting and helpful ideas from this little-known book by Piaget. The most widely discussed features of Piaget's theory usually involve large, organizational constructs or small details about attainments in particular areas. These features are helpful to teachers in constructing an overall model for cognitive growth or in testing and teaching specific concepts. However, the features do not help a teacher understand children's actions or thoughts. The first part of this article discusses the progression of children's thought from realism to objectivity, to reciprocity, and to relativity. An awareness of this progression can help teachers understand many aspects of children's behavior. The second part of this article describes seventeen types of explanations children give to explain the causality of physical occurrences in the world. The types should be of interest to elementaryschool teachers, for children use explanations of this kind every day. Teachers of adolescents and adults might also take note of the early types of explanations, for they
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TL;DR: Early career development is not a concern to educators, students, and parents until late in high school, when the student is asked to make important career decisions for which he is not prepared as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: years. Exactly how soon career development becomes meaningful to a child is uncertain. All too often, career development is not a concern to educators, students, and parents until late in high school, when the student is asked to make important career decisions for which he is not prepared. If the educational system is to assist in career development, it would be helpful to know at what age an individual can understand and benefit from activities that foster career development. Previous studies by Simmons (1), DeFleur (2), Nelson (3), O'Hara (4), and Looft (5) have shown that vocational interests and values begin at least as early as Grade 3. Research by Nelson (3), Cooker (6), and Harkness (7) has shown that pupils in the upper elementary-school grades know more about occupations than pupils in the lower elementary-school grades, but choices of occupations do not vary significantly among the different grades in elementary school. Pupils at all grades choose similar occupations. Additional evidence of early interest in careers comes from the Beverly J. Parks American Institutes for Research Palo Alto, California
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TL;DR: The cumulative impact of excessively negative articles, news stories, and specious or incomplete research reports has lowered teachers' morale and reduced teachers' satisfaction as mentioned in this paper, which has led to a decrease in teacher recruitment.
Abstract: Unfortunately, it has become a national sport to criticize American schools. Citizens who have limited contact with schools often develop and promulgate exaggerated negative views about the quality of schooling. When detailed reports from classrooms and students are examined, such claims usually turn out to be more myth than fact. Nevertheless, the cumulative impact of excessively negative articles, news stories, and specious or incomplete research reports has lowered teachers' morale and reduced
TL;DR: These typical goals for traditional kindergarten programs have perpetuated the notion that kindergarten is a place where children learn finger plays, sing songs, ride bikes, and piddle in the sandbox as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: These typical goals for traditional kindergarten programs have perpetuated the notion that kindergarten is a place where children learn finger plays, sing songs, ride bikes, and piddle in the sandbox. Each of these goals and activities is isolationist. Each encourages only one aspect of the child's development and ignores others. All are anchored in the belief that five-year-old children are not capable of more sophisticated educational involvement. The belief conflicts with the findings of Bloom, who states:
TL;DR: Wren as mentioned in this paper pointed out that although there seems to be a widespread acceptance of open schools and open education, there is no unanimity on the definition of open education and that there are many schools that do not have movable walls.
Abstract: Jean P. Wren Friendswood Independent School District Friendswood, Texas The 1960's and the 1970's have brought an increasing number of open schools. Architects' displays and journal articles describing new buildings indicate that a substantial proportion of new secondary schools and a large proportion of new elementary schools are designed to house educational programs based on open concepts. While there seems to be a widespread increase in the acceptance of open schools and open education, there is no unanimity on the definition of openness. Some schools are called "open" because they have movable walls to allow flexibility in grouping of students from classes of traditional size
TL;DR: Muller et al. as discussed by the authors reported that almost ten million persons of Spanish or Mexican origin live in the USA, according to the Current Population Report published in 1972 by the United States Department of Commerce.
Abstract: Douglas G. Muller New Mexico State University Las Cruces, New Mexico Almost ten million persons of Spanish or Mexican origin live in the USA, according to the Current Population Report published in 1972 by the United States Department of Commerce (1). In the early 1970's, approximately 60 per cent of them were living in five southwestern states: Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. These ten million make up the third largest minority in the country (2). The educational attainment of this
TL;DR: In this article, the authors extended the range of inquiry to grade 8 and sought to discover relationships between attitude, grade, and sex-relationships that apparently could not be detected in research limited to the lower grades.
Abstract: Much educational literature assumes that pupils in open classrooms have positive attitudes toward school and learning. Some research (1-4) supports this assumption, while other research (5-9) contradicts it. Many research studies, whatever their findings, have been limited to Grades 1-3. The present study extended the range of inquiry to Grade 8 and sought to discover relationships between attitude, grade, and sex-relationships that apparently could not be detected in research limited to the lower grades. The nonempirical, descriptive literature on education has many statements about the positive effect of open education on pupils' attitudes. Frequently, claims about the effectiveness of open education are based not on academic outcomes but on affective outcomes. Some observers (10-12) describe the typical traditional classroom as one in which pupils sit at their desks drearily reading textbooks or listening to dull lectures. The same writers describe open classrooms as filled with pupils actively choosing their topics, moving around freely, using resources other than teacher and textbook, and interacting in friendly, productive ways with peers and teachers. Open education has been described as an approach marked by honest encounters, respect for individuals, warmth, and "humaneness" (13, 14). Articles on open education
TL;DR: Open education, an educational approach first used in the British infant school, is gaining increasing recognition in the USA (1). Proponents of this approach maintain that, in contrast to the often preconceived and set patterns of learning experiences provided for the child in the traditional self-contained classroom, the open classroom provides the means for developing a more flexible, child-oriented approach as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Open education, an educational approach first used in the British infant school, is gaining increasing recognition in the USA (1). Proponents of this approach maintain that, in contrast to the often preconceived and set patterns of learning experiences provided for the child in the traditional selfcontained classroom, the open classroom provides the means for developing a more flexible, child-oriented approach. In open education the emphasis is not placed on giving the child experiences that are primarily teacher controlled and initiated. Rather, each child is involved with the teacher and with other children in structuring his own learning experiences. Consideration is given to the child's cognitive, emotional, and physical development (2, 3). Certainly many variations of educational experience exist in both types of classrooms. There is evidence (4), however, that observable and measurable differences do exist between the educational experiences provided in traditional self-contained classrooms and those provided in open classrooms. These differences in educational experiences can lead one to assume that children in open classrooms will differ from children in traditional
TL;DR: In a culturally diverse, suburban town, a standardized, nationally respected achievement test was being administered each spring and fall to all pupils in Grades 2 through 8 as discussed by the authors, and teachers were required to adhere strictly to test directions.
Abstract: In a culturally diverse, suburban town, a standardized, nationally respected achievement test was being administered each spring and fall to all pupils in Grades 2 through 8. Teachers were required to adhere strictly to test directions. Make-up tests were scheduled wherever possible. A variety of computer-generated scores were requested from the testing service, at additional cost. Professionals who had extensive experience in evaluation regularly reported on overall scores and their relevance to the quality of public education. The reports were traditionally dissected at meetings of the Board of Education, published in the town paper, and disseminated to all residents in a letter from the superintendent of schools. This was a thorough, open examination of students' progress. The scrutiny to which the scores were subjected indicated a community-wide commitment to tangible achievement. For several years, however, the test scores had been disappointing. This community paid substantially for what it expected to be superior schools. Yet the test results were persistently average, and the mathematics scores were often lower than the national norms. The superintendent of schools in this community traditionally issues a letter to all residents reporting and evaluating the scores for the test given in the spring. In one recent letter he
TL;DR: There has been much interest in, and research on, identifying characteristics related either indirectly or directly to significant classroom achievement as mentioned in this paper, which is one of the main goals, if not the goal, of education is to step up achievement of an entire class.
Abstract: One of the main goals, if not the goal, of education is to step up achievement of an entire class, not merely the achievement of selected individuals. Significant overall classroom achievement is one test of an effective teacher. The less-than-effective teacher often promotes significant achievement for a few select pupils. The result is increased variation in performance scores among all individuals in the classroom; only the most capable individuals make significant gains, while others in the classroom do not. There has been much interest in, and research on, identifying characteristics related either indirectly or directly to significant classroom achievement. Studies by Ryans (1), Joyce (2, 3), and Brown and Murphy (4) have examined relationships between teacher characteristics and teaching behaviors believed to have an effect on favorable classroom achievement. Studies by Flanders (5), Soar (6), and Harvey (7) have described the effective teacher, particularly the background characteristics and the teaching behaviors linked to overall class achievement.
TL;DR: The prescription has been defended on the basis of effectiveness and efficiency in learning as discussed by the authors, and teachers should avoid generality and vagueness in decision-making because they result in ineffectiveness and inefficiency.
Abstract: Among the loudest and most resonant cries of the past twenty-five years have been those demanding specificity in curriculum-planning. Choruses of voices have urged teachers and other curriculum-planners to be specific and precise in all their decisions. The prescription has been defended on the basis of effectiveness and efficiency in learning. If teachers know exactly what they want pupils to learn and exactly how they want them to learn it, the chances are good that pupils will indeed learn, and learn with the least expenditure of time and effort. Conversely, teachers should avoid generality and vagueness in decision-making because they result in ineffectiveness and inefficiency. If teachers have only a general idea of what they want pupils to learn and a general idea of how they want them to learn it, the chances are good that the pupils may not learn anything at all.
TL;DR: The reformers have often been romantic, child-centered, pedagogical reforms that lacked a social perspective and bore little resemblance to Dewey's ideas, and they have tended not to use the intricate, profound, and often obscure core of.
Abstract: least sophisticated of America's educational critics (4). In this sense, Dewey was the created hero of a decade of reform. However, the reformers have tended not to use the intricate, profound, and often obscure core of Dewey's work. Rather, to support their particular innovations, the reformers have used whatever in Dewey's writing lent itself to easy sloganeering. Their innovations have often been romantic, child-centered, pedagogical reforms that lacked a social perspective and bore little resemblance to Dewey's ideas.
TL;DR: The concept of maturity has had a long and varied history in the psychological and educational literature as discussed by the authors, and concerns about immaturity often lead to referrals to school psychological services and child guidance clinics.
Abstract: Elizabeth Meyers Hyde John Carroll University University Heights, Ohio The concept of maturity has had a long and varied history in the psychological and educational literature. Major theories of personality and child development hold maturity as a primary goal of socialization (1). Maturity repeatedly emerges as a relevant dimension in factor analytic studies of children's behaviors (2, 3). The term maturity is popular with laymen, and concerns about immaturity often lead to referrals to school psychological services and child guidance clinics (4). Yet what maturity is remains unclear. Few psychologists have concerned themselves with maturity. Those who have seem predisposed to vague terms like "ego identity" (5) and "healthy responses" (6). Some seem interested in maturity or "academic readiness" in the preschooler (7) or in maturity or "psychological health" in the adult (8)-but not in the school-age child. Few have tried to define maturity through psychometric test patterns (9-13). Nowhere in the literature is there an attempt to learn what behaviors make up maturity at different ages in childhood. The case for describing constructs like maturity in terms of observable behaviors and events has been well advanced in the
TL;DR: In fairy tales, the power lies in the symb6ls as mentioned in this paper, and the power of the universal symbology is diminished or lost when fairy tales are read, the action of the tales is accented and diminished.
Abstract: levels. When children read fairy tales they experience the sequential nature of language, the cause-and-effect sentence structure characteristic of English. Thus, the action of the tale is emphasized, and the child experiences the fairy tale as literature. However, the literary approach disregards the symbolic nature of fairy tales and emphasizes the language structure and action of the tale. Indeed, the power of fairy tales lies in the symb6ls. Because fairy tales are symbolic, they should be heard not read. When the tales are told, the symbols become paramount, and the listener can respond consciously and unconsciously to the total story. When fairy tales are read, the action of the tales is accented, and the power of the universal symbology is diminished or lost. MarieLouise von Franz, through her analysis of the origins of fairy tales, offers some understanding of their symbolic nature. Marie-Louise von Franz believes that
TL;DR: For instance, this paper found that children internalize personality traits such as aggression, affiliation, and autonomy in children's literature, and that such personality traits can help children identify with characters, events, and settings.
Abstract: Children's literature hosts a great variety of occupational roles. As children read, they can envision themselves dressmakers, singers, cabdrivers, or surgeons. Literature in general has the power to evoke an identification with characters, events, and settings. Because of this power, many investigators, particularly those concerned with sex-role behavior, have studied psychological traits presented in material written for children (1-4). If children internalize such personality traits as aggression, affiliation, and autonomy, it seems plausible that children can glean from
TL;DR: Christofferson Diagnostic Survey Test in Computational Arithmetic as discussed by the authors was the first standardized test for mathematics education in the United States and was used in the public schools of Ohio during the 1929-30 school year.
Abstract: Christofferson Diagnostic Survey Test in Computational Arithmetic. The instrument covered five areas of computation: "whole numbers," "fractions," "decimals," "practical measurements," and "percentage." Each area consisted of ten problems worth one point each if correctly solved. All teachers in the study had taught arithmetic, along with other subjects, in the public schools of Ohio during the 1929-30 school year. Education in general, but specifically mathematics education, has undergone drastic changes since 1930. Requirements for graduation from college and for certification to teach in the 1970's are much more stringent than they were in the 1930's. In general, teachers in the 1970's are much more sophisticated than their 1930 counterparts. The only requirements for certification to teach in an elementary school in Ohio in 1930 were graduation from a "first grade" high
TL;DR: The authors argue that the most valuable technique that a teacher must have at her disposal is the ability to motivate her pupils in positive ways, thus making it unnecessary to punish and to drive them to effort in ways that can only be aversive.
Abstract: not the system or the method in itself that is important, but whether the teacher is happy with it and capable of using it effectively. I shall also argue that the most valuable technique that the teacher must have at her disposal is the ability to motivate her pupils in positive ways, thus making it unnecessary to punish and to drive them to effort in ways that can only be aversive. Indeed, the necessity for positive
TL;DR: The authors compared two widely used reading programs that differ in degree of teacher direction, and found that the Lippincott series does not emphasize any of these components of a teaching presentation, whereas the DISTAR series does.
Abstract: University of Washington Seattle, Washington At the primary level, reading instruction is likely to set the tone for the entire school day. If the content and the recommended presentation of a reading program are highly structured, will they affect a child's behavior and achievement? Does structure depress creativity? Questions like these are seldom considered in reading studies. Our study was designed to explore the influence of reading programs on several intellectual variables only secondarily related to reading programs. Measures of three intellectual abilities defined by Guilford were used in the study (1). The test battery was designed to measure cognition, convergent production, and divergent production. We compared two widely used reading programs that differ in degree of teacher direction. DISTAR (2) and Lippincott Basic Readers (3) both emphasize the decoding of sound-letter relationships. Both programs are tightly sequenced in the order of presentation. DISTAR prescribes teacher presentation, pupil-response patterns, and reinforcement: the Lippincott series does not emphasize any of these components of a teaching presentation. Hence the major difference between the two programs lies in the degree of control the teacher exerts over presentation, pupils' responses, and reinforcement. The sample consisted of 136 urban kindergarten and first-grade children from widely ranging socioeconomic backgrounds. At the time of testing the children were completing either one year or two years of consistent instruction using either the DISTAR or the Lippincott programs. At the kindergarten level, there
TL;DR: The authors empirically tested this assumption and found that successful adaptation to different environments does in fact require different learning styles and that if we are not exposed to a variety of environments, certain styles may atrophy with the result that potential for adaptation and development will be curtailed.
Abstract: posed to an infinite variety of environments to which we must adapt. Changes in our society are moving at such a rapid pace that adaptation requires complex forms of learning (1, 2). Because learning embraces a variety of forms or styles, it can be assumed that some styles of learning are better suited for adapting to some environments than to others. Recently Cohen (3) empirically tested this assumption and found that successful adaptation to different environments does in fact require different learning styles. Thus, it can be argued that if we are not exposed to a variety of environments, certain styles may atrophy with the result that potential for adaptation and development will be curtailed.