Over the last year, TransformEd has had the fortune of adding several new staff members. Ji Won Paek (Research Associate), Akira Gutierrez (Manager of Research-Practice Integration), and Sushmita Subedi (Senior Research Associate) have all brought impressive expertise to their respective positions. Continuing this organizational growth, we are excited to announce a new staff member, Stephanie Hurley, who will serve as our District Partnerships Manager. Stephanie recently completed an MBA program at Brandeis University, where she focused on nonprofit management, and she received her BA in English and Secondary Education from Boston College. She has varied and great experience, including as a content specialist at The Achievement Network, a data leader and middle school teacher at the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter School in Boston, and a strategy consultant at the Boston Schools Fund.
Also, On Thursday, May 18, 2017 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) will host a webinar to explore educator practices supporting a growth mindset. Join this webinar to hear from teachers of Colorado’s District 51 on how they are working to instill growth mindset in their students, and to learn strategies and examples of teaching with a growth mindset for your school and classroom.
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Source: inacol.org/event/teaching-growth-mindset/
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In the Press
MINDSETS, ESSENTIAL SKILLS, & HABITS | MESH
Teachers Weave Social-Emotional Learning Into Academics
Education Week – Evie Blad, May 5, 2017
Social-Emotional Learning Is the Rage in K-12. So Why Not in College?
EdSurge – Norian Caporale-Berkowitz, May 4, 2017
Can K-12 Education Prepare Students For 'Jobs of the Future?
Education Week – Sarah Schwartz, May 4, 2017
How to Prepare for an Automated Future
The New York Times – Claire Cain Miller, May 3, 2017
3 Tips to Close the Poverty Gap
ASCD Smart Brief – Eric Jensen, May 3, 2017
MEASUREMENTS & INTERVENTIONS
More Sonoma County Schools Turn to Alternative Discipline to Reduce Suspensions
The Press Democrat – Eloísa Ruano González, May 7, 2017
Workout Session Prepares Students’ Minds, Bodies for State Standardized Testing
The News-Herald – Jonathan Tressler, May 4, 2017
EDUCATION POLICY & REFORM
Early ESSA Plans Favor Cash to Districts Over Optional Set-Asides
Education Week – Andrew Ujifusa, May 10, 2017
How We Stopped Sending Students to Jail
Education Week – Robert W. Runcie and Antwan Wilson, May 8, 2017
Trump's Budget Proposal Threatens Funding For Major After-School Program
NPR – Pam Fessler, May 1, 2017
PROJECTS, PARTNERS, & ADVISORS
ClassDojo, Yale Roll Out New Video Series on Mindfulness to Help Young Students Tame ‘The Beast’
The 74 – Tim Newcombe, May 8, 2017
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Recent Research
Effects of the Self-Regulation Empowerment Program (SREP) on Middle School Students’ Strategic Skills, Self-Efficacy, and Mathematics Achievement
Journal of School Psychology – Timothy J. Cleary, Brittany Velardi, Bracha Schnaidman, May 1, 2017
Abstract: The current study examined the effectiveness of an applied self-regulated learning intervention (Self-Regulation Empowerment Program (SREP)) relative to an existing, school-based remedial mathematics intervention for improving the motivation, strategic skills, and mathematics achievement of academically at-risk middle school students. Although significant group differences in student self-regulated learning (SRL) were not observed when using self-report questionnaires, medium to large and statistically significant group differences were observed across several contextualized, situation-specific measures of strategic and regulatory thinking. The SREP group also exhibited a statistically significant and more positive trend in achievement scores over two years in middle school relative to the comparison condition. Finally, SREP students and coaches reported SREP to be a socially-valid intervention, in terms of acceptability and importance. The importance of this study and critical areas for future research are highlighted and discussed.
Does Choice of Measure Matter? Assessing the Similarities and Differences Among Self-Control Scales
Journal of Criminal Justice – Shayne Jones, April 28, 2017
Abstract: To assess the extent to which three well-validated measures of self-control are assessing the same construct. Two student samples (ns = 315 and 172) completed multiple self-control scales (the Grasmick et al. scale, Weinberger Adjustment Inventory-Restraint, and the Tangney et al. scale), as well as other personality traits, aggression, and offending scales. The three scales correlated highly with one another (rs ranged from 0.65–0.69) and rank-order differences were uncommon (approximately 80% were within 1 standard deviation). However, each scale demonstrated somewhat different patterns in terms of their relationships with other personality indices, aggression, and offending. The Grasmick scale and Weinberger Adjustment Inventory were similar to one another in many (but not all) instances, and both were distinct from the Tangney scale. The three self-control scales used in this analysis have much in common, but they are not identical. Moreover, with the exception of the Tangney scale, the constructs assessed by the self-control scales are not synonymous with Conscientiousness or impulsivity. Care should be exercised in including these different self-control scales and similar constructs (e.g., impulsivity) within meta-analytic studies as effect sizes risk being misspecified.
Executive Function and Metacognition: Towards a Unifying Framework of Cognitive Self-Regulation
Developmental Review – Claudia M. Roebers, May 4, 2017
Abstract: Executive function and metacognition are higher-order cognitive processes that undergo steady improvements throughout childhood. They are highly relevant to daily functioning in various domains, including academic achievement. Both concepts have been intensively researched, but surprisingly little literature has sought to connect them theoretically and empirically. In the present review, I elaborate on the similarities between these concepts from a developmental perspective, including the definitions, developmental timetables, factors that lead to changes over time, and relations to academic achievement and intelligence. Simultaneously, the differences between these two domains of cognitive development are discussed. These include, in particular, the relative neglect of quantifying monitoring within research on executive functions and the disregard for the neuropsychological underpinnings of metacognition. Finally, this paper presents several avenues for future research and proposes a possible unifying framework of cognitive self-regulation that integrates executive function and metacognition and may lead to a better understanding of the emergence of cognitive self-regulation in development.
From Compliance to Self-Regulation: Development During Early Childhood
Social Development – Xin Feng, Emma G. Hooper, Rongfang Jia, May 4, 2017
Abstract: This study examined the development of self-regulation during early childhood and the reciprocal relations between self-regulation and maternal sensitivity. Data (N = 1,364) were drawn from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD SECCYD). Children's situational and committed compliance were assessed in the laboratory at 24 and 36 months, delay of gratification at 54 months, self-control at 54 months and kindergarten age, and maternal sensitivity was observed at 24, 36, and 54 months. Self-regulation was characterized to progress from situational compliance to committed compliance and then to fully self-motivated regulation. Findings also suggest that the development of self-regulation reflects an ongoing transactional process in which child self-regulation and maternal sensitivity mutually influence each other.
A Review of the Evidence on the Effects of Community-based Programs on Young People’s Social and Emotional Skills Development
Adolescent Research Review – Margaret M. Barry, Aleisha M. Clarke, Silvia E. Morreale, Catherine Anne Field, May 4, 2017
Abstract: There is a growing body of international research which shows that social and emotional skills development programs lead to positive outcomes on a range of educational, health, social and behavioral outcomes for young people. However, the evidence is less well developed outside of the US and there is, therefore, a need to determine how well these programs can be implemented and scaled up in other countries and policy contexts. This review provides a narrative synthesis of the evidence on the effectiveness of community-based interventions for enhancing young people’s social and emotional skills in the UK. A range of electronic databases were searched and responses to a call for evidence to youth organizations were analysed. A total of 14 intervention studies employing experimental designs that were conducted in the UK in the period from 2004 to 2016 fulfilled the criteria and were selected for full review. Seven of the studies evaluated the impact of youth social action interventions, five focused on mentoring programs and two on community arts and sports interventions. Six of the intervention studies were conducted within the last 2 years, primarily with young people living in deprived communities, and five studies employed randomized control trials. The results indicate that there is a small number of robust evaluation studies that provide evidence of the impact of social action trials (N = 4) and mentoring programs (N = 2) on enhancing young people’s social and emotional skills, community engagement and reducing behavioral problems. However, none of the studies were rated as strong and eight studies received a weak quality rating indicating poor quality evidence of intervention effectiveness. The current evidence base needs to be strengthened to determine the effectiveness of community-based youth programs, including which intervention approaches are most effective, and their long-term impact and sustainability.
Accelerating Progress: A New Era of Research on Character Development
Journal of Youth and Adolescence – Sarah Clement, Richard Bollinger, May 3, 2017
Abstract: Adolescent character development is a high priority for educators, policymakers, and front-line youth workers. To meet this growing demand, and as exemplified in the five articles in this special section, character development scholars are drawing from a range of academic disciplines to push beyond the traditional boundaries of the science of character development. These articles highlight important trends in character research, including the co-development of a subset of character strengths, the articulation of developmental trajectories of character, the use of advanced methodological approaches, and the implications for education. Studies such as these are critically important for establishing the research base that will be used to design the character development programs of tomorrow.
The Effects of Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies Preschool Program on Teacher-Children Relationships and Children’s Social Competence in Turkey
International Journal of Psychology – Gamze Bilir Seyhan, Sakire Ocak Karabay, Tugce B. Arda Tuncdemir, Mark T. Greenberg, Celene Domitrovich, May 2, 2017
Abstract: This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) Preschool Program on the outcomes of children's social-emotional competence, perceived relationships between teacher and children and teachers' ability to create a positive classroom atmosphere. Two hundred and eighty five children (48–72 months) and teachers in Izmir participated in the intervention, and 280 children (48–72 months) and teachers participated as comparison group. Intervention teachers implemented PATHS in their classrooms. For data triangulation, multiple sources of data were collected in the study. Classrooms were observed using two different scales. Teacher rated students using another two different scales. Children were assessed with an interview to evaluate their perceptions of relationships. Intervention group teachers reported greater improvement of children's social-emotional skills, interpersonal relationship skills and emotion regulation. Furthermore, when observed intervention group children showed higher levels of pro-social behaviour, increased levels of compliance, better problem solving skills and more positive feelings. Intervention group children also described their relationships with their teachers as significantly more positively. Finally, intervention group teachers perceived more dependency in their relationships with children.
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