Nona Tollefson

Measuring Collaboration among Grant Partners.

Collaboration is a prerequisite for the sustainability of interagency programs, particularly those programs initially created with the support of time-limited grant-funding sources. From the perspective of evaluators, however, assessing collaboration among grant partners is often difficult. It is also challenging to present collaboration data to stakeholders in a way that is meaningful. In this article, the authors introduce the Levels of Collaboration Scale, which was developed from existing models and instruments. The authors extend prior work on measuring collaboration by exploring the reliability of the scale and developing a format for visually displaying the results obtained from using the scale.

Sensory processing in schizophrenia: missing and avoiding information

The possible coexistence of supersensitivity and overinhibition (Schizophrenia: Origins, Processes, Treatment and Outcome (1993) 335-350) in schizophrenia was studied using the Adult Sensory Profile as a measure of Dunns (Infants Young Children 9 (1997) 23-25) model of sensory processing. The quadrant model describes sensory sensitivity, sensation avoiding, low registration and sensation seeking as behavioral responses to sensation. Individuals with schizophrenia (N = 27), bipolar disorder (N = 30) and mentally healthy controls (N = 29) were compared using the Adult Sensory Profile. When compared to the mentally healthy group, the results indicated that both the schizophrenia group and the bipolar disorder group had higher scores on sensation avoiding. The schizophrenia group also had higher scores on low registration and lower scores on sensation seeking than the mentally health group. There were no differences between the schizophrenia and bipolar disorder group. According to the findings of this study, individuals with schizophrenia tend to miss available sensory stimuli. When stimuli are indeed detected, they are often avoided.

Balanced Literacy in an Urban School District

Balanced literacy is a philosophical orientation that assumes that reading and writing achievement are developed through instruction and support in multiple environments in which teachers use various approaches that differ by level of teacher support and child control. The authors describe 1 urban school districts real-world attempt to create a balance between reading and writing, between teacher-directed and student-centered activities, and between skills-based and meaning-based approaches to literacy instruction. To measure balanced literacy components, the authors used a triangulation strategy with multiple methods of data collection that included classroom observations, inventories of physical environments of classrooms and school buildings, teacher surveys, and student interviews. Results suggest that teacher-directed instruction, a fundamental aspect of balanced literacy, was implemented less often than either independent reading or writing activities. Teachers appeared to allocate instructional time as directed by district administrators, and they implemented components of a balanced literacy program. In addition, most school buildings had a physical environment that supported balanced literacy. However, the amount of time devoted to instruction and modeling effective reading and writing strategies seemed too limited for a group of students with poorly developed reading and writing skills.

Mediating stress: Survival of the hardy

The present study explored variation in individual personality characteristics, termed “hardiness,” among female elementary teachers who had differing levels of burnout despite high levels of occupational stress. One hundred thirty-four female elementary teachers completed the Teaching Events Stress Inventory, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, The Allienation Test, and the Internal-External Control Scale. Data also were collected on demographic variables, incidence of stress-related physical and mental illness, and coping activities. Teachers with high stress and low burnout were less alienated than were teachers with high stress and high burnout. The low burnout teachers chose more active types of coping activities than did the high burnout teachers. Incidence of stress-related physical illness was significantly correlated with level of stress, emotional exhaustion (burnout), and alienation. Implications for future research and school district interventions are discussed.

Giftedness and Reading: A Cross-Sectional View of Differences in Reading Attitudes and Behaviors

This study investigated the attitude toward reading and the self-reported reading behaviors of 276 gifted students in grades 1 through 12. Females had more positive attitudes toward reading and reported that reading was a hobby more frequently than males. Primary students had more positive attitudes toward reading than did senior high students. Primary students reported reading more books per month than intermediate level, junior high school, and senior high school students. Senior high school students reported reading the least number of books per month.

Response bias in college freshmen's responses to mail surveys

This study compared the attitudes and demographic characteristics of an intact group of college freshmen to those of a sample responding to a mail survey and a sample responding to a telephone follow-up. Contrary to expectation, the three samples did not differ significantly in mean attitude responses. The absence of significant mean differences indicated no significant bias in college freshmens responses to a mail survey. However, a higher percentage of returns was received from females and higher achievers than from males and low achievers.

Interaction of Locus-of-Control Orientation and the Performance of Learning Disabled Adolescents

This research investigated the interaction of locus-of-control orientation with two conditions of learning on the performance of learning disabled adolescents. Locus of control is a generalized construct wherein the individual has the power to perceive outcome as being independent of ones own behavior and the result of chance, or to believe that outcomes are related to ones own behavior and efforts. A sample of 50 learning disabled adolescents were divided into two divergent samples on the locus-of-control variable using the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire. The subjects from the two groups were administered pretest and posttest lists of 15 spelling words under two conditions of learning (highly structured rein forcement and lowly structured rein forcement). A repeated-measures analysis of covariance was used with intelligence test scores and pretest scores partialed out. Results showed that the adolescents with internal locus of control performed significantly better in the low-structure reinforcement condition, while the adolescents with external locus of control performed significantly better in the high-structure reinforcement condition.

The Effects of Peer Evaluation on Attitude toward Writing and Writing Fluency of Ninth Grade Students.

AbstractThe researchers hypothesized that peer evaluation as part of the writing process would lead to improved attitude toward writing and increased fluency in a sample of ninth grade students. Seven intact classrooms taught by three different teachers were randomly assigned to experimental and comparison groups so that each teacher had one class in each condition. Both experimental and comparison groups wrote a first draft of a paper. The experimental group received peer evaluation training and rewrote their papers based on assistance from their peer evaluation group. The control group rewrote their papers receiving assistance from the teacher only when they requested help. The subjects responded to two attitude instruments as pretest and posttest measures. A significant increase in positive attitudes toward writing was observed for the experimental group. Girls in both the experimental and comparison groups showed more positive attitudes toward writing than did boys at both pre- and posttesting. Writin...

Sources of Stress Among Administrators at Research Universities

This study compares the self-reported stress 826 of university central administrators, deans, and departmental chairpersons as measured by the University Administrative Concerns Questionnaire (UACQ). Analysis of variance indicated significant mean differences in the amount of role-based and task-based stress; departmental chairpersons reported higher levels of role-based stress, while deans and central administrators reported lower levels of task-based stress.

Goal Setting and Personal Responsibility Training for LD Adolescents.

A training program designed to teach Learning Disabled junior high school students to set realistic achievement goals, to expend effort to reach the goals, and to accept personal responsibility for achievement outcomes was conducted with 61 LD adolescents attending four junior high schools. Students were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. Goal setting strategies and effort attribution training were introduced for a six-week period. Pre- to posttesting indicated that the experimental group learned to set realistic goals and to attribute achievement outcomes to the amount of personal effort expended.