Minsuk K. Shim

Whole School Improvement and Restructuring as Prevention and Promotion: Lessons from STEP and the Project on High Performance Learning Communities.

Abstract We describe two research-tested approaches, the School Transitional Environment Project and its successor, the Project on High Performance Learning Communities, that have contributed to building a developmentally based design for comprehensive school improvement called the High Performance Learning Communities Model. The model seeks to modify the ecology of schools and schooling in order to build the principles of prevention and promotion into “whole school” change. Findings from a series of studies are presented that show that whole school change efforts, when implemented comprehensively and with appropriate intensity and fidelity, may powerfully influence the prevention of socioemotional, behavioral, and academic difficulties, as well as promotion of the acquisition of the full range of developmental competencies necessary for life success, well-being, and resilience.

Mobile Computing in Higher Education: Faculty Perceptions of Benefits and Barriers

Using data from a survey of faculty at a university that is planning to adopt campus-wide mobile computing, this study examined the facultys perceptions toward the potential benefits of and barriers to mobile computing in higher education. The study also examined the role of three moderating variables associated with the facultys current use of related technologies in the formation of perceptions about the benefits and barriers. The findings can help explicate the facultys perceptions toward mobile computing to support educational activities. Such understanding will prove helpful to academic and technology administrators who are planning to adopt mobile computing.

Teachers’ and Students’ Views of Reading Fluency Issues of Consequential Validity in Adopting One-Minute Reading Fluency Assessments

In this article, we present results of a survey designed to understand teachers’ (n = 77) and students’ (n = 875) perceptions of purported negative consequences of using one-minute oral reading fluency (ORF) measures such as the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) ORF assessment and the aimsweb Reading CBM (R-CBM). Specifically, we investigated whether teachers and students in two districts that use these ORF measures support that use of ORF measures relates to teaching to ORF tests, increased pressure and anxiety for teachers and students, and misuse of ORF measures and results. We provide detailed results across teachers and students, and implications for practice.

Peer assessment on presentations of “real world” information systems case studies by students

This paper attempted to have students assess the presentation component of “real world” information systems case studies by fellow students and present the results of the peer assessment. The results could be of help to those who consider using peer assessment on presentations of “real world” information systems case studies by students.