Academic help-seeking interactions in the classroom: A microlongitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Help-seeking research has traditionally inferred behavioural responses to the need for help from post-hoc reflections and experiments outside of the classroom context.

AIM

We aimed to gain an ecologically valid understanding of the help-seeking process by examining the association between pupils' task-specific perceptions and their help-seeking interactions with teachers and peers during lessons.

SAMPLE

Participants were 290 pupils in Years 4-6 (aged 8.22-11.48) and 12 teachers in 12 classrooms in three schools across two local authorities in South East England, UK.

METHOD

The microlongitudinal data consisted of 6,592 task-specific reports. Pupils reported on their task understanding and need for help and their help-seeking (teacher and peer) and help-giving behaviours at the end of each lesson. On average, pupils completed 25.44 reports across 14.64 lessons, 13 school subjects and 4.80 days. Teachers reported on pupils' academic performance. Data were analysed using two-level logistic and multinomial logistic regressions.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Task-specific understanding and need for help were associated with help-seeking and help-giving behaviour during lessons. Understanding was associated also with the type of help sought and given among classmates and appeared to influence whether pupils were help-seekers or help-givers during peer interactions. There was an apparent reciprocity in peer help-seeking interactions, occurring namely among girls and higher performers. Overall, girls were more likely than boys to seek and give help across tasks. Pupils for whom English was an additional language were less likely than classmates to seek help when they needed it. The study (1) sheds new light on the dynamics of everyday help-seeking interactions in the classroom, (2) provides a conceptual framework for researchers interested in reciprocal processes of social interaction in self-regulated learning, and (3) highlights groups who might benefit from intervention.

The effect of anxiety on working memory and language abilities in elementary schoolchildren with and without Additional Health and Developmental Needs

Although excessive childhood anxiety is recognised as a significant public health, education and socioeconomic concern, the specific effects of such anxiety on language development and working memory, particularly visual working memory, are relatively unknown. Thus, this study aimed to examine parent-reported trait anxiety, parent-reported functional language (daily communication skills) and clinical measures of non-verbal intelligence, receptive and expressive vocabulary, phonological awareness, and visual and auditory-verbal short-term and working memory in elementary schoolchildren. The final sample included 41 children categorised as Additional Health and Developmental Needs (AHDN) due to medical, neurodevelopmental or educational concerns and 41 age- and IQ-matched neurotypical (NT) children, aged 5- to 9-years. Results showed that 26% of all children in our entire sample (AHDN and NT) experienced moderate, sub-clinical anxiety (as reported by parents), and that AHDN children were 10.5 times more likely to experience high anxiety than the NT group (odds ratio). Parents of AHDN children reported lower functional language in their children than parents of NT children. Cognitive testing indicated that the AHDN group also had poorer visual and auditory-verbal working memory than the NT group. Further, High Anxiety children (drawn from both AHDN and NT groups) showed poorer parent-reported functional language skills, and lower visual and auditory-verbal working memory capacities. Our findings are amongst the first to confirm that the presence of high parent-rated trait anxiety is associated with reduced visual working memory in children, which is consistent with biological and theoretical expectations of the impact of anxiety on visually driven, goal-directed attention and working memory. Our results regarding the high prevalence of sub-clinical anxiety in both ADHD and neurotypical children highlight the need for early assessment of anxiety in all schoolchildren, especially those classified as AHDN.

Effect of an Inclusive Physical Education (IPE) Training Workshop on Trainee Teachers' Self-Efficacy

Purpose: Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are often excluded from physical education (PE). Opportunities exist to enhance the competence of trainee teachers, thus preparing them for the demands of inclusive PE (IPE). In this study, we examined the effect of IPE training workshops on trainee teachers' self-efficacy for including SEND children within PE. Method: Data was collection from 366 trainee teachers across 44 workshops (63% females; 57% primary-school trainees; age, 23 ± 5 y, mean ± standard deviation; age range 18-53 y). A pre-post design was used to assess the effect of the workshop and possible moderating factors. Data were analyzed using mixed modelling. Results: IPE training had a large beneficial effect on trainees' self-efficacy (1.61, ±0.21; standardized effect size, 99% confidence limits). Mixed modelling revealed substantial differences in the mean outcome between workshops. The standard deviation (SD) representing this variation between workshops was moderate-sized (SD = 0.30, ±0.30). We also found that trainees with an above average sense of self-efficacy at baseline (mean +1SD) were likely to benefit more. Workshop size (0.35, ±0.42) and trainees' perception of workshop quality (0.39, ±0.19) were substantial moderators of changes in self-efficacy. Other moderators with possible substantial effects were trainee specialization and completion of a school-based placement. Conclusion: This study supports the viability of embedding IPE within teacher training. Attention should be paid to trainees' starting points prior to scheduling training. The size of workshops and quality of delivery should also be considered when developing IPE competencies within trainees.

Learning outcomes of children with teacher-identified emerging health and developmental needs

OBJECTIVES

Children's additional health and developmental needs are often first identified by teachers when they begin school. This study estimates the Grade 3 literacy and numeracy outcomes of children with teacher-identified additional needs emerging in the first year of school, including the added burden conferred by socioeconomic disadvantage.

METHODS

Population linked data (n = 42,619) were analysed from the Australian Early Development Census, which include teacher reports on children's health and development at school entry, and the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy, a direct assessment of reading and numeracy skills at Grade 3. Linear regression analyses were used to estimate associations between emerging needs and learning outcomes, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics. The combined effect of emerging needs and low maternal education (an indicator of socioeconomic disadvantage) on academic outcomes was examined by estimating the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI).

RESULTS

Emerging health and developmental needs at school entry were associated with lower reading (b = -26.86, 95% CI = -29.19, -24.52) and numeracy (b = -24.39, 95% CI = -26.43, -22.35) outcomes at Grade 3. The combined effect of emerging needs and socioeconomic disadvantage was greater than expected when their individual effects are summed (RERI = 0.38, 95% CI 0.22, 0.55 for reading and RERI = 0.27, 95% CI 0.10, 0.43 for numeracy).

CONCLUSION

In the current study, emerging health and developmental needs identified by teachers at the outset of schooling were associated with poorer literacy and numeracy skills at Grade 3, and family socioeconomic disadvantage appeared to further amplify this effect. Meeting the needs of these children will require timely and coordinated supports across the health and education systems, particularly for those children who are also disadvantaged.

Interactive Apps Promote Learning of Basic Mathematics in Children With Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Interactive apps delivered on touch-screen tablets can be effective at supporting the acquisition of basic skills in mainstream primary school children. This technology may also be beneficial for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) as it can promote high levels of engagement with the learning task and an inclusive learning environment. However, few studies have measured extent of learning for SEND pupils when using interactive apps, so it has yet to be determined if this technology is effective at raising attainment for these pupils. We report the first observational study of a group of 33 pupils with SEND from two primary schools in Malawi that are implementing a new digital technology intervention which uses touch-screen tablets to deliver interactive apps designed to teach basic mathematical skills. The apps contain topics that align to the national curriculum. To assess learning gains, rate of progress (minutes per topic) for each pupil was determined by calculating the average time taken to complete a topic. Progress rate was then correlated with teacher ratings of extent of disability and independent ratings of pupil engagement with the apps. Results showed SEND pupils could interact with the apps and all pupils passed at least one topic. Average progress rate for SEND pupils was twice as long as mainstream peers. Stepwise regression revealed extent of disability significantly predicted progress rate. Further exploratory correlations revealed pupils with moderate to severe difficulties with hearing and/or language made slower progress through the apps than those with greater functionality in these two domains because the use of verbal instructions within the apps limited their capacity to learn. This original quantitative analysis demonstrates that interactive apps can raise learning standards in pupils with SEND but may have limited utility for pupils with severe difficulties. Software modifications are needed to address specific areas of difficulty preventing pupils from progressing.

Risk factors in the development of behaviour difficulties among students with special educational needs and disabilities: A multilevel analysis

BACKGROUND

Students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are more likely to exhibit behaviour difficulties than their typically developing peers.

AIM

The aim of this study was to identify specific risk factors that influence variability in behaviour difficulties among individuals with SEND.

SAMPLE

The study sample comprised 4,228 students with SEND, aged 5-15, drawn from 305 primary and secondary schools across England.

METHOD

Explanatory variables were measured at the individual and school levels at baseline, along with a teacher-reported measure of behaviour difficulties (assessed at baseline and at 18-month follow-up).

RESULTS

Hierarchical linear modelling of data revealed that differences between schools accounted for between 13% (secondary) and 15.4% (primary) of the total variance in the development of students' behaviour difficulties, with the remainder attributable to individual differences. Statistically significant risk markers for these problems across both phases of education were being male, eligibility for free school meals, being identified as a bully, and lower academic achievement. Additional risk markers specific to each phase of education at the individual and school levels are also acknowledged.

CONCLUSION

Behaviour difficulties are affected by risks across multiple ecological levels. Addressing any one of these potential influences is therefore likely to contribute to the reduction in the problems displayed.