ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Can We Talk? Creating Effective Partnerships between School and Afterschool Programs
Author: Dilles, Lisa Sweet
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: After School Programs,Partnerships in Education,Educational Objectives,Stakeholders,Principals,Academic Achievement,Administrator Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Elementary School Students,Teachers

Changing demographics and the No Child Left Behind Act have increased the need for instructional support for students. This need entails a change in the relationship between afterschool programs and schools. School districts, nonprofit organizations, and funders now require a focus on education support. The older recreational model of afterschool programming may have been admirably suited to older goals, but now the mission of afterschool has been expanded. Professionals entrusted with supporting both the education and social development of our students cannot continue to operate from an old paradigm that no longer meets this new focus. A reasonable partnership between the world of afterschool and the school day is essential. In this essay, I use my own experience and that of professionals with whom I talked to explore how school and afterschool can create a new partnership--one that benefits children--by understanding the challenges each faces.
Moving Forward and Growing Together: Interview with Sylvia Lyles
Date: 2010-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Elementary Secondary Education,After School Programs,After School Education,Professional Development,Educational Opportunities,Community Centers,Educational Change,Achievement Gap,Youth Opportunities,Youth Programs,Best Practices,Partnerships in Education,School Community Programs,Community Organizations,Interviews,Public Agencies

&quot;Afterschool Matters&quot; had the opportunity to talk with Sylvia Lyles, Ph.D., program director of the Academic Improvement Programs Group in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC. Sylvia works in the out-of-school time and school domains to keep educators' concerns front and center so they can reach their goal of providing the highest quality learning experiences for our children and youth.
Body and Soul: Reflections on Two Professional Development Credential Pilots in Massachusetts
Author: Hall, Georgia
Date: 2010-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: After School Programs,Professional Development,Program Effectiveness,Correlation,Homework,Certification,Credentials,Models,Job Skills

In many fields, the concept of professional development for workers at varying levels is well entrenched. At the heart of professional development is the desire to expand the &quot;toolbox&quot; of workers' skills. However, for out-of-school time (OST) staff and youth workers, experiences with professional development can vary widely, from high quality to no quality. Findings from the Massachusetts Afterschool Research Study (Miller and Hall, 2007) showed that, in a large sample of afterschool programs, staff development had a significant relationship with program quality. Programs with more highly educated and trained staff--both program directors and direct service workers--demonstrated higher quality staff engagement, youth engagement, activities, and homework time. Other studies show that professional development initiatives have had a major impact on afterschool and youth work staff, particularly since these workers are often without pre-service training or academic degrees (Costley, 1998; Harvard Family Research Project, 2004). Across the country, states are conducting key work in the areas of professional development, training, certification, and credentialing. Much can be learned from this work about how to build from existing models, link credentialing to core competencies, create an infrastructure to support a credential, and attend to accessibility and affordability. Massachusetts, like several other states, has begun to pilot credential programs. This article provides the example of two pilot credentials in Massachusetts--The School-Age Youth Development Credential (SAYD) and the Professional Youth Worker Credential (PYWC)--which aids in understanding the importance of establishing credentials and what accomplishments can be expected. This knowledge can guide the next steps in establishing a national credential for afterschool and youth workers.
Right Time, Right Place: Building an Online Learning Community for Afterschool Practitioners
Author: Balow, Nancy
Date: 2010-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Learning,Communities of Practice,After School Programs,Professional Education,Staff Development,Competence,Youth Programs,Standards,Web Sites

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Education awarded a contract to a team of education, youth development, and web development specialists to develop an online professional learning community for grantees in the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC). The online community, You for Youth (Y4Y, www.Y4Y.ed.gov) will support afterschool practitioners' professional development, encourage their discussion and reflection, and support positive change in their professional practice. During the first year of the contract, the team assessed the professional development needs of the 21st CCLC community. Using this input, a prototype for a user-centered web portal and learning community, was designed which includes multimedia learning modules in several topic areas. The result will be an efficient system for delivering professional development based on the expressed needs of the afterschool community.
Shared Research Dialogue: One College's Model for Professional Development of Youth Practitioners
Author: Fusco, Dana
Date: 2010-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: After School Programs,Professional Development,Certification,Youth Programs,Caseworkers,Action Research,Cooperative Learning,Colleges,Models,Community Organizations,Research Methodology

Until recently, youth practitioners learned how to support team building, maximize the participation of diverse groups of youth, and measure the desired effects of new strategies through experience, ingenuity, mentoring, and an occasional workshop. As research amasses about the critical role of staff quality in predicting positive outcomes for children and youth, the professional development of youth practitioners is becoming more intentional. Even higher education is playing an increasingly intentional role in the professional development of youth workers. College programs designed for youth workers and afterschool practitioners have been emerging across the United States at a rapid pace. Many of these programs earn participants a certificate and/or college credits transferable toward a degree. York College, a senior college of the City University of New York, developed such an offering in 2001. The Certificate Program for Child and Youth Workers is an interdisciplinary program designed to support the increasing number of competencies needed for youth practitioners to handle their jobs effectively. One author of this article, Dana Fusco, developed the curriculum for this certificate program. The other, Ivana Espinet, taught its capstone course, Action Research for Educators. This paper describes what the authors call the &quot;shared research dialogue&quot; that emerged throughout the semester, and served as a valuable component in the professional development of youth practitioners. The authors discuss the Action Research method used in the course and consider how the participants grew from the experience. The authors argue for the inclusion of a consistent set of competencies in the college curriculum for youth workers by making the claim that supporting the capacity for reflective practice should be a component of that curriculum.
Using E-Learning to Train Youth Workers: The Bell Experience
Author: Marquart, Matthea
Date: 2010-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: After School Programs,Job Training,Electronic Learning,Blended Learning,Disadvantaged Schools,Models,Educational Objectives,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation,Student Needs,Stakeholders,Social Networks,Computer Literacy,Web Sites

A national provider of afterschool and summer programming plans to expand quickly into new regions, bringing its successful model of out-of-school learning to more children in disadvantaged schools and neighborhoods. A large number of staff members must be trained in the provider's program model in a short window of time. The organization needs to maintain its high training standards while reserving the bulk of its funds for the education of the children it serves. For BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life), the answer to this conundrum was e-learning--or, more precisely, a blended learning solution combining web-based learning with traditional classroom-based training. In 2007, BELL's summer training for teachers and teaching assistants consisted of three consecutive ten-hour days of classroom training. That summer, BELL served three regions: Baltimore, Boston, and New York City. In the summer of 2008, BELL expanded to two additional cities: Detroit and Springfield, Massachusetts. The organization trained over 800 instructional staff and their managers in all five regions using the new blended training format. BELL's example demonstrates the worth of allocating significant time up front to set clear goals, establishes ways to measure effectiveness, develops internal expertise about e-learning design, and plans how to meet anticipated learner and stakeholder needs. The time invested in establishing a program pays off when expensive pitfalls are avoided and business objectives are achieved on time and within budget. Most importantly, the time spent in planning demonstrates its worth when e-learning produces youth workers who are trained to serve children well.
Student and Teacher Perceptions of Online Student Engagement in an Online Middle School
Author: Louwrens, Nathaniel
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Middle School Students,Middle School Teachers,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Web Based Instruction,Online Courses,Distance Education,Learner Engagement,Learning Processes,Asynchronous Communication,Computer Mediated Communication,Statistical Analysis,Cognitive Processes,Foreign Countries,Case Studies,Semi Structured Interviews,Qualitative Research,Coding

While our understanding of student engagement in the compulsory schooling sector is well developed in face-to-face contexts, the same cannot be said for online and distance learning environments. Indeed, most of what is currently known about online engagement has come from research with older students in tertiary education contexts. This study directly addresses this gap in the research by exploring student engagement in an online, middle school in a New Zealand distance education context. By considering three key dimensions of student engagement--namely, behavioural engagement, cognitive engagement, and emotional engagement--this in-depth investigation explores what engages middle school students when they learn online. Data collection techniques comprised student and teacher interviews, online asynchronous discussion transcripts, and statistical data from the learning management system (LMS). Results found that students in this study tended to engage behaviourally (i.e., do what was expected of them) with all required activities. Cognitive engagement (i.e., students' personal investment in their own learning) was evident in the giving and receiving of feedback as well as the interest and relevance certain activities generated for learners. Emotional engagement was elicited through the design and facilitation of the activities, and through the ongoing development of a learning community in which students felt safe to contribute.
Honoring 15 Years of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program: A Polity-Centered Analysis
Author: Phillips, Sarah Fierberg
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Learning Resources Centers,After School Programs,Community Centers,Educational History,Educational Change,Program Development,Federal Programs,Success,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,Elementary Secondary Education,Youth Programs

Emphasizing the intersection of policy and politics, this paper uses Theda Skocpol's polity-centered approach (1992) to analyze two key moments in the history of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program: (1) 1998, when the program's budget grew from $40 million to $200 million; and (2) 2003, when President Bush attempted to cut the program's budget from $1 billion to $400 million. A thorough understanding of this history can help afterschool advocates successfully respond to President Obama's recent proposal to dramatically change the 21st CCLC program once again. This paper uses Skocpol's polity-centered approach to explain why efforts to change the 21st CCLC program were successful in 1998 and unsuccessful in 2003. It explores the way that changing work patterns and growing interest in positive youth development helped create broad support for afterschool during the 1990s. This paper pays particular attention to the congruence among the interests and abilities of philanthropists, U.S. Department of Education (US DOE) leaders, and the White House during the late 1990s, as well as between Congressional leaders and afterschool advocates during 2003. It discusses changes to the balance of power between the Democrats and Republicans during both time periods and explores the way that the expansion of the 21st CCLC program in 1998, and subsequent changes, worked to frustrate the President's efforts in 2003. This paper concludes by reviewing recent controversy surrounding President Obama's proposed changes to the 21st CCLC program, suggesting that afterschool advocates consider the President's efforts in light of history, and draw on the past to shape their response.
School Counseling Programs: Comparing GEAR UP Schools with Non-GEAR UP Schools
Author: Thorngren, Jill M.
Date: 2004-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: School Counseling,Surveys,Qualitative Research,College Readiness,Middle Schools,High Schools,School Counselors,Comparative Analysis,Demonstration Programs,Counseling Services

A survey was conducted using qualitative means to assess school counseling programs in Montana. Schools that were demonstration schools in a federal initiative, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) were compared to non-GEAR UP schools. Several differences between GEAR UP and non-GEAR UP schools are noted and discussed.
Using Professional Development to Enhance Staff Retention
Author: Huang, Denise
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: After School Programs,Elementary School Students,Middle School Students,Professional Development,Role Models,Work Environment,Human Capital,Feedback (Response),Interviews,Labor Turnover,Recruitment,Community Centers,Mixed Methods Research

The data and research findings for this paper were derived from two studies. The first was commissioned to the National Afterschool Partnership (NAP) by the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate effective practices at the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLCs). The purpose of this study was to develop resources and professional development tools related to the establishment and sustainability of afterschool programs nationwide. Using rigorous methods, researchers identified 53 high-functioning programs representative of eight geographic regions, including rural, urban, community-based, and school district related programs. Exemplary practices in organization, structure, and especially in content delivery were examined. The second study, the Extension Study, was set up to further evaluate how effective programs retain high quality staff members. Four of the 53 programs in the NAP Study were examined in greater depth regarding staff recruitment, professional development, staff retention, and student outcomes. This paper extracts critical data and findings from both studies to reflect on how professional development may create a program climate conducive to effective staff retention. Findings discussed in this article are consistent with extant literature on professional development and support state licensure guidelines and accreditation standards.
Effectiveness of Mind Mapping in English Teaching among VIII Standard Students
Author: Hallen, D.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English Instruction,Concept Mapping,Instructional Effectiveness,Teaching Methods,English Teachers,High School Students,Educational Experiments,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Achievement Tests,Pretests Posttests,Statistical Analysis,Conventional Instruction,Comparative Analysis,Hypothesis Testing

The aim of the study is to find out the effectiveness of mind mapping technique over conventional method in teaching English at high school level (VIII), in terms of Control and Experimental group. The sample of the study comprised, 60 VIII Standard students in Tiruchendur Taluk. Mind Maps and Achievement Test (Pretest &amp; Posttest) were developed by the investigator. Two equivalent group Pretest-Posttest Experimental Design was employed for this study. In analysis Mean, S.D. and &quot;t&quot; values were computed and the present study reveals that the Mind Mapping Technique is more effective than the Conventional method.
Technology-Enhanced Teaching of Pragmatic Competence
Author: Shirkhani, Servat
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Pragmatics,Competence,Technology Uses in Education,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Language Skills,Communicative Competence (Languages),Teaching Methods,Electronic Publishing,Web Sites,Web 2.0 Technologies,Computer Mediated Communication,Group Discussion,Audio Equipment,Handheld Devices

Pragmatic competence has been defined as the ability to express and interpret the intended meaning with regard to the context in which the utterance mentioned has been referred to as one of the main components of communicative ability in a second language (L2). However, various studies have indicated that, this ability does not develop in L2 learners along with their linguistic competence. Therefore, it is necessary to think most of the effective ways and resources for the development of this aspect of communicative competence in L2 learners. Different studies have mentioned lack of enough exposure to the L2 in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context and have called for the necessity of instruction of pragmatic aspects of language in these contexts. This study, admitting the need for the instruction of pragmatics, suggests using the available technology to enhance the learning of this ability in language learners. It suggests teachers to guide their learners to use some technological tools which are easy, quick, and available almost everywhere and at any time in order to enhance their development of pragmatics.
The Relationship between Iranian EFL Learners' Beliefs about Language Learning and Language Learning Strategy Use
Author: Zarei, Abbas Ali
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Language Attitudes,Student Attitudes,Measures (Individuals),Multiple Regression Analysis,Metacognition,Language Aptitude,Student Motivation,Expectation,Learning Strategies

The present study investigated the relationship between Iranian EFL learners' beliefs about language learning and language learning strategy use. A sample of 104 B.A and M.A Iranian EFL learners majoring in English participated in this study. Three instruments, the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP), Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI), and the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) were used for data collection. Multiple Regression analysis showed that meta-cognitive strategies were significant predictors of &quot;foreign language aptitude&quot;, &quot;nature of foreign language learning&quot;, &quot;learning and communication strategies&quot;, and &quot;motivation and expectation&quot;. Affective strategies also turned out to be predictors of &quot;the nature of foreign language&quot;. Another finding was that cognitive strategies were negative predictors of &quot;learning and communication strategies&quot;. The findings of the present study may have significant, theoretical and pedagogical implications for learners and teachers.
Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: Understanding the Challenges
Author: Nelson, Mark D.
Date: 2004-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Affective Behavior,Emotional Disturbances,Behavior Disorders,Educational Diagnosis,Intervention,Partnerships in Education,Teacher Collaboration,Mainstreaming,Teaching Conditions,Functional Behavioral Assessment,Educational Practices,Accessibility (for Disabled),Barriers,Performance Factors,Change Strategies

It is important to realize that students who are diagnosed with E/BD often have or should have dual diagnoses. Regular classroom teachers may perceive a sense of ineffectiveness and consequently develop resistance in working with students with E/BD. Mainstreaming students with E/BD allows them to interact and learn more effective interaction styles and interpersonal skills. Behavioral assessments and interventions when implemented on a consistent basis by all involved can help both the teacher and student succeed in the classroom. Students with E/BD present challenges to public schools and stretch a system that is probably already expected to accomplish too much. However, when teachers work in collaboration with school counselors and other members of the school system, the team concept increases consistency for the student and effectiveness of interventions used.
Demonstrating Functional Interactive Language Teaching in the Nigerian Universities
Author: Bello, Rachael O.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),College Instruction,Second Language Instruction,College Faculty,English Teachers,Learning Strategies,Educational Strategies,Teaching Methods,Individualized Instruction,Group Instruction,Teacher Role,Student Role

Applied linguistics affords Linguists the opportunity of solving language related problems using various methods. In this paper, we x-ray the Nigerian University classroom situation in the teaching of the English language viz-a-viz the use of functional interactive method. Following Littlewood (1981) and Krashen (1982), we posit that the teaching and learning of the English language in the Nigerian classroom situation needs to be done in two ways, so as to aid easy acquisition of the language: provide natural discourse and the need to put learners at the core of the learning. Apart from these, the teacher's roles are highlighted as: identifying learners' strategy, teaching the standard, accentuating standard not status and providing a comprehensive input. A comprehensive blend of the learners' and teachers' roles will make interaction meaningful in the Nigerian Universities ESL classroom.