Marika Ginsburg-Block

A Meta-Analytic Review of Social, Self-Concept, and Behavioral Outcomes of Peer-Assisted Learning

Meta-analysis was used to examine social, self-concept, and behavioral effects of peer-assisted learning (PAL) interventions with elementary school students. An electronic search of PsycINFO and ERIC databases resulted in 36 relevant PAL studies. Overall, effect sizes were small to moderate across the 3 outcome variable domains. Both social and self-concept outcomes were positively correlated with academic outcomes. Specific PAL components--student autonomy, individualized evaluation, structured student roles, interdependent group rewards, and same-gender grouping--were related to effect sizes. PAL interventions were more effective for low-income versus higher income, urban versus suburban-rural, minority versus nonminority, and Grades 1-3 students versus Grades 4-6 students. Results suggest that PAL interventions that focus on academics can also improve social and self-concept outcomes.

An evaluation of the relative effectiveness of NCTM standards-based interventions for low-achieving urban elementary students.

The effects of 2 instructional methods, problem solving and peer collaboration, were evaluated for enhancing mathematics achievement, academic motivation, and self-concept of 104 low-achieving 3rd and 4th graders. Students were assigned randomly to 1 of 4 conditions: control, problem solving, peer collaboration, and problem solving + peer collaboration. Students in all conditions met twice weekly for 30-min mathematics sessions over a 7-week period. Results indicate that problem-solving students performed significantly higher than their counterparts who did not receive problem solving on measures of computation and word problems and reported higher levels of academic motivation, academic self-concept, and social competence. Students who participated in peer collaboration scored higher on measures of computation and word problems and reported higher levels of academic motivation and social competence than did students who did not participate in peer collaboration. No significant interaction effect was found.

A Long-Term Predictive Validity Study: Can the CDI Short Form be Used to Predict Language and Early Literacy Skills Four Years Later?.

This longitudinal study examined the predictive validity of the MacArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories-Short Form (CDI-SF), a parent report questionnaire about childrens language development (Fenson, Pethick, Renda, Cox, Dale & Reznick, 2000). Data were first gathered from parents on the CDI-SF vocabulary scores for seventy-six children (mean age=1 ; 10). Four years later (mean age=6 ; 1), children were assessed on language outcomes (expressive vocabulary, syntax, semantics and pragmatics) and code-related skills, including phonemic awareness, word recognition and decoding skills. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that early expressive vocabulary accounted for 17% of the variance in picture vocabulary, 11% of the variance in syntax, and 7% of the variance in semantics, while not accounting for any variance in pragmatics in kindergarten. CDI-SF scores did not predict code-related skills in kindergarten. The importance of early vocabulary skills for later language development and CDI-SF as a valuable research tool are discussed.

Partnership-Based, Community-Assisted Early Intervention for Literacy: An Application of the Participatory Intervention Model

Many schools, particularly those in low-income, urban neighborhoods serving children from diverse backgrounds, have a high percentage of students with literacy deficits and limited resources for providing remedial services. Addressing these needs requires the use of empirically supported reading intervention strategies and expanding the availability of qualified persons to implement these approaches. Just as importantly, students need to be educated in a culturally meaningful context by one or more individuals who are committed to addressing their educational, emotional, and social needs. One method of expanding the instructional work force and engaging students in attachments with caring adults in a culturally relevant context is to establish a community-assisted tutoring program, that is a program implemented by residents from the community who work in the school. This article describes the process of establishing a partnership-based, community-assisted early intervention program for literacy, based upon a participatory intervention model, by presenting two case illustrations. Challenges for school consultants in establishing such a program in schools are described and directions for future research and practice are outlined.

Examination of the Family Involvement Questionnaire-Early Childhood (FIQ-EC) with Low-Income, Latino Families of Young Children.

Given the growing numbers of Latino children entering the U.S. educational system, there is a need to understand the ways Latino parents support their childrens early education. However, tools used to measure family engagement have been developed primarily with middle-income, English-speaking European American families in the United States. The present study builds upon prior empirical work with the Family Involvement Questionnaire-Early Childhood (FIQ-EC), a multidimensional scale developed for use with culturally diverse low-income families of young children. With a cross-site sample of 450 Latino parents of children in preschool through first grade, construct validity of the FIQ-EC was examined using Rasch methods and expert panel review. Results from Rasch analyses provided further support for the reliability of the factors comprising the FIQ-EC, as well as provided nuanced information regarding item and person functioning for this Latino sample. These results, in combination with expert panel reviews, suggested avenues for further item development when using this scale with low-income, Latino families. The current study has implications for validating measurement tools for use with diverse populations and also provides some clues about the role low-income, Latino families play in their childrens schooling for consideration in future research.