Studied children's perceptions of what constitutes good writing to see how those might better inform the teacher's instruction. Found that when supported by peers and teachers, the children were able to balance their need to produce conventionally correct writing with their need to make writing interesting to themselves and others. (Author)

Describes an introductory exercise from an undergraduate class taught at the Pratt Institute (New York). Students are asked to move away from their desks to stand in the middle of the classroom. Addresses the students' reactions to moving beyond their normal space in the classroom. (CMK)

This study aimed to advance understanding of how doctoral students perceive postmodernism's influence in the field of Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT). Focus group interviews were utilized to investigate perceptions of MFT doctoral students. Findings suggest participants are attracted to postmodern tenets but also feel liberation and confusion…

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of early maternal touch to the neurodevelopmental status of low birth weight (LBW) infants. One hundred and eight LBW infants and their mothers were videotaped during a typical feeding when the infant was 3 months old. This tape was used to analyze both the mother's touch and other facets…

The relationship between recall memory, visual recognition memory, social communication, and the emergence of language skills was measured in a longitudinal study. Thirty typically developing Swedish children were tested at 6, 9 and 14 months. The result showed that, in combination, visual recognition memory at 6 months, deferred imitation at 9…

Accreditation bodies increasingly force institutions to merge their accountability reporting, institutional research, outcomes assessment, and decision-making activities, thus serving as catalysts for enhancing institutional effectiveness. (Contains 3 figures.)

In recent years, college administrators have become concerned with survey fatigue among students and declining response rates. Some campuses have responded by implementing policies about who can conduct surveys and which topics are permitted. This chapter describes the development of such policies and provides valuable suggestions to campus…

Technology increasingly has become a driving force in the evolution of the student affairs profession. Student affairs professionals must have a baseline of technology skills to advance the student affairs profession. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Physical guidance and tactile modeling, coupled with explanation, are effective methods of improving the motor skills and physical activities of students who are blind (O'Connell, 2000). It is important that students with visual impairment are given the option to use one or the other method with each new skill, since they may have a preference for…

The current research investigates infants' perception of a novel object from a category that is familiar to young infants: key rings. We ask whether experiences obtained outside the lab would allow young infants to parse the visible portions of a partly occluded key ring display into one single unit, presumably as a result of having categorized it…

A surprising validation of expectation experienced during a recognition test induces the perception of discrepancy and a feeling of familiarity. The authors investigated whether that perception also affects memory performance when it is experienced in the original encounter with a stimulus. Target words were presented in a study phase, half in…

The relation between perceptual organization and categorization processes in 3- and 4-month-olds was explored. The question was whether an invariant part abstracted during category learning could interfere with Gestalt organizational processes. A 2003 study by Quinn and Schyns had reported that an initial category familiarization experience in…

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in family involvement following a relative's move to a long-term care facility as well as factors associated with these changes. Qualitative data, using in-depth, active interviews were gathered from 35 family members at two points in time following a relative's move to a facility. Findings showed…

This study used a copying task to examine spelling acquisition in French and Spanish from a perception and action perspective. Experiment 1 compared French and Spanish-speaking monolingual children's performance. Experiment 2 analysed the behaviour of bilingual children when copying words in French and Spanish. Gaze lift analysis showed that in…

Lip movements were examined across several repetitive speaking conditions (speech alone and speaking concurrently with a linguistic, cognitive, or visuomotor challenge task) in 20 young adults. Performance in these nonspeech activities was also compared between isolated tasks and concurrent speech conditions. Linguistic challenges resulted in…