Kathleen M. Cauley

The Eyes Have It: Lexical and Syntactic Comprehension in a New Paradigm.

A new method to assess language comprehension in infants and young children is introduced in three experiments which test separately for the comprehension of nouns, verbs, and word order. This method requires a minimum of motor movement, no speech production, and relies on the differential visual fixation of two simultaneously presented video events accompanied by a single linguistic stimulus. The linguistic stimulus matches only one of the video events. In all three experiments patterns of visual fixation favour the screen which matches the linguistic stimulus. This new method may provide insight into the childs emerging linguistic capabilities and help resolve longstanding controversies concerning language production versus language comprehension.

Formative Assessment Techniques to Support Student Motivation and Achievement

Abstract Formative assessment can have a powerful impact on student motivation and achievement. This article discusses five key practices that teachers can use to gather important information about student understanding, provide feedback to students, and enable students to set and attain meaningful learning goals. Each of the techniques can enhance student motivation as well as achievement.

Curriculum Reform in Middle Level and High School Mathematics

Reform in mathematics has broad support, and it is nudging changes in standardized testing. Those changes will require a sustained effort over a number of years.