Recently Published Articles & Research

MINDSETS, ESSENTIAL SKILLS, & HABITS (MESH) HIGHLIGHTS

The Cornerstone of Social and Emotional Learning
Edutopia – Maurice J. Elias, November 7, 2017
 
There’s Lots of Social-Emotional Support for Students, but Not for Teachers. Here Are Some Programs Looking to Change That
The 74 – Kate Stringer, November 7, 2017


MESH IN PRACTICE

In Era of Standardized Tests, Southland Teachers Say Perseverance, Love of Learning as Important as Scores
Chicago Tribune – Donna Vickroy, November 13, 2017
 
Carol Dweck: The Three Biggest Misconceptions about Growth Mindset
TES – Will Hazell, November 10, 2017
 
4 Ways to Ensure a Successful School Culture Initiative
eSchool News – Tom Hierck, November 8, 2017
 
Principals Like Social-Emotional Learning. Here’s Why Schools Struggle with It
Education Week ­– Evie Blad, November 7, 2017
 
6 Ways to Make Collective Feedback Work in Classrooms
Education Week – Amy Epstein, Mike Fauteux, and Kate Levitt, November 7, 2017


MESH IN EDUCATION POLICY

Is Testing the Only Way a Student Can Achieve Success under ESSA?
Education Week – Alyson Klein, November 13, 2017
 
Iowa to Include Student Feedback in ESSA School Accountability
District Administration – Alison DeNisco, November 10, 2017
 
Can Schools Use Arts to Support Academics under ESSA? It’s Tricky
Education Week – Stephen Sawchuk, November 9, 2017


MESH IN RESEARCH & MEASUREMENT 
Waiting for a Treat. Studying Behaviors related to Self-Regulation in 18- and 24-month-olds
Infant Behavior and Development – Marta Bialecka-Pikul, Karolina Byczewska-Konieczny, Magdalena Kosno, Arkadiusz Bialek, and Malgorzata Stepien-Nycz, November 7, 2017
Abstract: The ability to delay gratification – conceived as an early expression of self-regulation – develops in the second half of the second year of life. We used inductive methodology to identify different behaviors and set of behaviors performed by children while waiting for a treat. We asked which sets are more effective when it comes to successfully delaying gratification and how all observed sets change during toddler age. 130 children were tested twice – at 18 and at 24 months – using a Snack Delay Task. We observed 20 different behaviors and distinguished 4 sets of behaviors. The most important and effective set for delaying gratification in 18 and in 24 month olds was the set called Attention and Movements. We concluded that growth in the ability to delay gratification resulted from increased ability to overcome temptation by using an active strategy mainly based on attention.
 
Developing a School-Based Multitiered Model for Self-Regulation
Intervention in School and Clinic – M. Brady Webb, Evelyn S. Johnson, Julie Meek, Brooke Herzog, and Anne B. Clohessy, November 7, 2017
Abstract: Self-regulation is the control mechanism that enables a student to manage attention, emotion, behavior, and cognition to engage in goal-directed actions, such as learning. Too often, students at risk for poor school outcomes do not enter school with strongly developed self-regulation skills and have difficulty developing them on their own. Self-regulation skills can be taught and are especially effective when introduced within the school setting. This article describes a school-based model for fostering self-regulation.
 
Combining a Kindergarten Readiness Summer Program with a Self-Regulation Intervention Improves School Readiness
Early Childhood Research Quarterly – Robert J. Duncan, Sara A. Schmitt, Maura Burke, and Megan M. McClelland, November 7, 2017
Abstract: Self-regulation and academic skills in kindergarten are strong predictors of later achievement. However, many children enter kindergarten without adequate levels of these skills, often because of limited participation in early childhood education. The current study examined a kindergarten readiness summer program (Bridge to Kindergarten; B2K) that served children with no prior preschool experience. The first study goal was to examine the effects of adding a self-regulation intervention to the B2K program on children’s self-regulation, math, and literacy. The second study goal was to compare changes in self-regulation, math, and literacy during the kindergarten transition period for children attending the B2K program with the intervention to expected development. Results from a randomized trial indicated that children who participated in the B2K program that included the self-regulation intervention experienced more gains in self-regulation relative to children who participated in the B2K program alone. There were no significant effects on math or literacy at the end of the program. However, when examining change during the kindergarten transition period, participation in the B2K program with the self-regulation intervention was associated with improved growth in self-regulation, math, and literacy into the fall of kindergarten compared to expected development. Collectively, the findings suggest a kindergarten readiness summer program that incorporates a self-regulation intervention leads to improved school readiness in children at higher risk for later school difficulties.
 
An After-School Intervention Targeting Executive Function and Visuospatial Skills Also Improves Classroom Behavior
International Journal of Behavioral Development – Laura L. Brock, William M. Murrah, Elizabeth A. Cottone, Andrew J. Mashburn, and David W. Grissmer, November 6, 2017
Abstract: Executive function (EF) describes a complex set of skills, including flexible attention, inhibitory control, and working memory, that coordinate to achieve behavioral regulation. Visuospatial skills (VS) describe the capacity to visually perceive and understand spatial relationships among objects. Emerging research suggests VS skills are associated with classroom functioning, including behavioral adjustment. Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to enter school with EF and VS deficits, with consequences for classroom adjustment. In response, we developed and experimentally tested an after-school intervention that incorporates fine and gross motor activities targeting EF and VS skills in a sample of 87 kindergarten and first-grade students from low-income communities. The aim of the present study was to preliminarily explore whether EF and VS skills were bolstered by the intervention and subsequently whether EF and VS skills mediate or moderate intervention impacts on learning-related and problem behaviors in the classroom. Intent-to-treat analyses confirm intervention effects for EF and VS skills. Using full information maximum likelihood and bias-corrected bootstrapping, results indicate that improvements in EF mediated the impact of assignment to the treatment condition on improvements in learning-related behaviors and reductions in problem behavior. Taken together, findings suggest out-of-school contexts are a reasonable point of intervention for improving daytime classroom behavior.
 
Associations between Grit, Motivation, and Achievement in High School Students
Motivation Science – Katherine Muenks, Ji Seung Yang, and Allan Wigfield, November 2017
Abstract: In the present study, we examined the extent to which grit’s 2 components, consistency of interests and perseverance of effort, overlap with future-oriented motivation, relate to other motivational variables including self-efficacy, task values, and goal orientations, and predict achievement in high school students (N = 190) controlling for motivational variables. Exploratory factor analyses revealed that grit was empirically distinct from, and relatively weakly related to, the future-oriented motivation variables future time perspective and instrumentality. The perseverance of effort component of grit was more strongly correlated with self-efficacy, task values, and goal orientations than was consistency of interests. When controlling for motivational variables, perseverance of effort emerged as a significant predictor of end-of-semester grades, but consistency of interests did not. However, self-efficacy was a stronger predictor of grades than either of the grit components. Together, these results suggest that grit is distinct from future oriented motivation, and that perseverance of effort is more strongly associated with motivation and achievement than is consistency of interests for high school students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)
 
The Role of Child Socioeconomic Status in Cognitive Training Outcomes
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology – Benjamin Katz and Priti Shah, November 6, 2017
Abstract: Socioeconomic status (SES) has been shown to influence children's executive function and cognitive function more generally, and may play a role in one's ability to benefit from a cognitive or academic intervention. However, SES remains largely unstudied in the context of computerized cognitive training. Here we draw from two datasets of 6–18 year-old children completing online cognitive training to examine the impact of SES on executive function. The first study utilizes hierarchical linear modeling to examine how school-level free/reduced-price lunch status relates to executive function following cognitive training. The second study focuses on individual-level free/reduced-price lunch status and adds an active control condition. Both studies find that free/reduced-price lunch status and age are associated with improvements in executive function following training. However, there were no interaction effects between SES and condition, suggesting that there is little difference in how children from different SES groups benefit from computerized cognitive training.
 
Self-Explaining Steps in Problem-Solving Tasks to Improve Self-Regulation in Secondary Education
Journal of Educational Psychology – Martine Baars, Claudia Leopold, and Fred Paas, November 2017
Abstract: The ability to learn in a self-regulated way is important for adolescents’ academic achievements. Monitoring one’s own learning is a prerequisite skill for successful self-regulated learning. However, accurate monitoring has been found to be difficult for adolescents, especially for learning problem-solving tasks such as can be found in math and biology. This study investigated whether a self-explaining strategy, which has been found effective for improving monitoring accuracy in learning from text, can improve monitoring and regulation-choice effectiveness, and problem-solving performance in secondary biology education. In 2 experiments, one half of the participants learned to solve biology problems by studying video-modeling examples, and the other one half learned by giving step-by-step self-explanations following the video-modeling examples (Experiment 1) or by following the posttest problem-solving tasks (Experiment 2). Results showed that in contrast to earlier studies, self-explaining did not improve monitoring and regulation-choice effectiveness. However, the quality of self-explanations was found to be related to monitoring accuracy and performance. Interestingly, the complexity of the problem-solving tasks affected monitoring and regulation-choice effectiveness, and problem-solving performance. These results are discussed in relation to the cognitive demands that monitoring and regulating learning to solve problems combined with self-explaining pose on learners.
 
A Thematic and Content Analysis of Instructional and Rehearsal Procedures of Preschool Social Emotional Learning Programs
Australasian Journal of Early Childhood – Antoinette White, Dennis William Moore, Marilyn Fleer, and Angelika Anderson, September 2017
Abstract: Research has documented the positive effects of social emotional learning (SEL), and educational policy developments and accepted learning standards are beginning to reflect these findings. However, how best to include evidence-based practices in the instruction of social emotional competencies in regular preschool settings is not yet fully understood. Through a thematic and content analysis, this study identifies the target skills, implementation, instructional and rehearsal procedures in eight effective preschool SEL programs. The analysis describes a differential relationship between target skills and instructional and rehearsal procedures. The findings highlight the relevance of particular procedures in the instruction of specific competencies, and in broader social emotional instruction. These findings may assist educators in instructional planning with current learning documents, such as the ‘Early Years Learning Framework’ (DEEWR, 2009).