Evaluation of an innovative approach to improving middle school students' academic achievement.This article presents the results of an evaluation conducted by two middle school counselors A school counselor is a counselor and educator who works in schools, and have historically been referred to as "guidance counselors" or "educational counselors," although "Professional School Counselor" is now the preferred term. , in collaboration with university researchers, to assess the effectiveness of a classroom intervention designed to impact academic achievement. The intervention utilized was a standardized standardized pertaining to data that have been submitted to standardization procedures. standardized morbidity rate see morbidity rate. standardized mortality rate see mortality rate. conflict resolution curriculum, which then was linked to problem-solving strategies across core academic areas. The results of the evaluation indicate that students' self-efficacy beliefs regarding problem solving problem solving Process involved in finding a solution to a problem. Many animals routinely solve problems of locomotion, food finding, and shelter through trial and error. were higher in the intervention group than in the comparison group; however, no significant differences in academic achievement were found. ********** The ASCA ASCA American School Counselor Association ASCA Australian Shepherd Club of America ASCA Arab Society of Certified Accountants ASCA American Swimming Coaches Association ASCA American Society of Consulting Arborists ASCA Association of State Correctional Administrators National Model[R] (American School Counselor Association, 2003) highlights the importance of identifying school counseling interventions that impact students' academic achievement. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the ASCA National Model, developmental classroom-based interventions led by school counselors have a prominent place within school counseling programs because they enhance the capacity of school counselors to benefit all students. School counselors ought to be able to use research literature to identify classroom-based interventions they can utilize to impact academic achievement. Unfortunately, the current school counseling research literature contains relatively few outcome studies that document the impact of classroom-based interventions on students' academic achievement (Gerler, 1985; Whiston & Sexton sex·ton n. An employee or officer of a church who is responsible for the care and upkeep of church property and sometimes for ringing bells and digging graves. , 1998). In a recent Delphi study of research needs, school counseling leaders identified research that studies the outcomes of specific interventions on academic achievement to be of critical importance (Dimmitt, Carey, McGannon, & Henningson, 2005). The outcome studies of classroom-based school counseling interventions that do exist highlight the need for more documentation of this aspect of professional school counselors' work. Hadley (1988) found that elementary students who experienced classroom-based interventions from an eclectic e·clec·tic adj. 1. Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles: an eclectic taste in music; an eclectic approach to managing the economy. 2. range of personal/social skills curricula (e.g., Developing Understanding of Self and Others, Most Important Person, and 100 Ways to Improve Self-Concept in the Classroom) showed higher reading scores than students who had not participated in the program. Lee (1993) found positive effects of the Succeeding in Schools program on elementary students' standardized achievement test scores. Cams and Cams (1991) found that a program designed to enhance elementary students' self-efficacy, metacognitive skills, and understanding of preferred learning style had an impact on standardized achievement test scores. In an exceptionally well-designed study, Brigman and Campbell (2003) examined whether the combination of curriculum-based and group-based interventions with a focus on cognitive and metacognitive skills, social skills, and self-management skills known to be related to academic achievement would have a measurable impact on students' scores on a standardized state achievement test. In the treatment schools, school counselors implemented the Academic and Social Skills Support: Student Success Skills curriculum in both classroom-based and small group formats, and they included 185 students who were randomly selected from schools that implemented the study's counselor-led interventions. The control group included 185 students randomly selected from schools that did not implement the interventions. Only students who initially scored between the 25th and 50th percentiles on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or the FCAT, is the standardized test used in the primary and secondary public schools of Florida. First administered statewide in 1998[1], it replaced the State Student Assessment Test (SSAT) and the High School (FCAT FCAT Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (statewide standardized test for Florida school children) ) were included in this study. Treatment and control groups contained students from the 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th grades, and they were from schools matched on geographic proximity, race, and socioeconomic so·ci·o·ec·o·nom·ic adj. Of or involving both social and economic factors. socioeconomic Adjective of or involving economic and social factors Adj. 1. level. The performance of the treatment group on the FCAT was significantly higher than that of the control group, and it demonstrated that classroom-based interventions that focus on certain skills can have a substantial impact on academic achievement. Related studies have suggested that violence-prevention curricula integrated into the academic curriculum can increase students' academic achievement. Stevahn, Johnson, Johnson, and Schultz (2002) evaluated the impact of the Teaching Students to be Peacemakers This article is about the pacifist organization. For other meanings, see Peacemaker (disambiguation). Peacemakers was an American pacifist organization. curriculum on a variety of student outcomes. They found that integrating the Peacemakers curriculum into a high school's social studies curriculum resulted in increased conflict management skills and short- and long-term academic achievement. PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY After reviewing the performance of seventh-grade students on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning The Washington Assessment of Student Learning, or "WASL", is a standards-based assessment (not to be confused with a standardized test) used as a high school graduation examination in Washington State. , the state's achievement test, we found that student performance in problem identification, exploration, and problem-solving cognitive skill cognitive skill Psychology Any of a number of acquired skills that reflect an individual's ability to think; CSs include verbal and spatial abilities, and have a significant hereditary component areas was weak across all subject areas. Given these data, we focused our intervention on problem solving. We reasoned that middle school students would be particularly engaged in learning how to problem-solve in the context of peer conflict. We also thought that if students learned the problem-solving/conflict resolution process and then explicitly applied that process to various academic content areas (e.g., history, math, writing) by connecting the concepts and vocabulary from the interpersonal in·ter·per·son·al adj. 1. Of or relating to the interactions between individuals: interpersonal skills. 2. problem-solving process to all subject areas, then student achievement would increase. This study was conducted within the context of a research partnership between practicing school counselors at a middle school (Grades 6, 7, and 8) and the national Center for School Counseling Outcome Research. Given the recent recognition of the potential of university--public school research partnerships to enhance the school counseling knowledge base (e.g., Dimmitt, 2003), we were careful to attend to factors related to effective collaboration. We were particularly interested in how technology could be used to link partners across a great distance. The identification of factors related to successful technology-supported research partnerships could be a tremendous benefit to professional school counseling. In the context of this partnership, the current study was designed to expand the knowledge base of the impact that classroom-based school counseling interventions have on students' academic achievement. Specifically, we were interested in determining whether teaching interpersonal conflict resolution concepts and strategies connected across the academic curriculum would enhance student achievement and achievement-related factors such as academic self-efficacy and logical problem-solving ability. METHOD Participants Participants in this study included a total of 115 students; 53 students were in the seventh grade, and 62 were in the eighth grade. School records were used to obtain demographic information regarding the participants. Of the total sample, 47% were male and 53% were female. The sample was largely homogenous homogenous - homogeneous with regards to ethnicity ethnicity Vox populi Racial status–ie, African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic : Ninety-four percent were Caucasian, 3.5% were Hispanic, and there was one student from each of the following ethnic groups: African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. , American Indian/Alaska native, and Asian/Pacific Islander. With regard to special education and English Language English language, member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). Spoken by about 470 million people throughout the world, English is the official language of about 45 nations. Learner (ELL) services, 9.6% received special education services and 2.6% received ELL services. Seventeen percent of the sample participated in the federal free/reduced lunch program. The school district in which this study took place is in a rural area of the Northwestern United States Noun 1. northwestern United States - the northwestern region of the United States Northwest western United States, West - the region of the United States lying to the west of the Mississippi River approximately 40 miles from a large urban center. The school district has six elementary schools elementary school: see school. , two middle schools (Grades 6, 7, and 8), and a senior high school (Grades 9-12). There are approximately 5,000 students enrolled in the district, divided fairly evenly between the elementary and secondary levels. The middle school this study took place in received national recognition from the U.S. Department of Education's Secondary Schools Recognition Program, and it is located in a town of approximately 11,000 people. Procedures Two school counselors partnered with four classroom teachers to conduct the evaluation: Two teachers' classes were assigned as·sign tr.v. as·signed, as·sign·ing, as·signs 1. To set apart for a particular purpose; designate: assigned a day for the inspection. 2. to the intervention group, and two were assigned to the comparison group. Teachers were selected for the intervention group based on their willingness to allocate instructional time for classroom guidance lessons. These teachers shared two mixed seventh- and eighth-grade classroom groups of students for the core academic subjects: English, history, science, and math. The teachers making up the comparison group were selected to make as close a match as possible to students in the experimental group in the areas of race, free or reduced lunch program participation, grade, and math level. Once classes were identified for participation in the study, students in both the intervention and comparison groups completed the pretest pre·test n. 1. a. A preliminary test administered to determine a student's baseline knowledge or preparedness for an educational experience or course of study. b. A test taken for practice. 2. measures (described below) early in the spring of 2004. After the pretests were completed, the intervention group began receiving the classroom guidance lessons twice per week for the next 9 weeks. Upon completion of the lessons, posttests were administered to students in both the intervention and comparison groups. At the end of the school year, the school counselors created a database containing all of the data from the pretests, posttests, standardized test A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a standard manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the "questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent" [1] scores, and demographic information. Intervention The intervention consisted of 18 classroom guidance lessons, using the Conflict Resolution Unlimited middle-level peer mediation mediation, in law, type of intervention in which the disputing parties accept the offer of a third party to recommend a solution for their controversy. Mediation has long been a part of international law, frequently involving the use of an international commission, curriculum (Kaplan, 1995) as a basis. Over the course of 9 weeks, the school counselors met biweekly bi·week·ly adj. 1. Happening every two weeks. 2. Happening twice a week; semiweekly. n. pl. bi·week·lies A publication issued every two weeks. adv. 1. Every two weeks. to plan with the two classroom teachers assigned to the intervention group. The school counselors and classroom teachers biweekly cotaught 45-minute classroom guidance lessons, first on the conflict resolution content, then later applying that content to other subject areas. The first objective of the intervention was for students to understand the conflict resolution process and to learn techniques and strategies to deal with interpersonal conflict. The conflict resolution process taught students to identify the problem, explore the problem, and create a solution. Understanding the conflict resolution process is often difficult for students. One way it can be clarified is through peer mediation. Peer mediation involves employing a specific set of guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. that are applied to conflicts that help two "disputants" come to a resolution. To illustrate this process, students were led in a discussion of what "conflict" is and different types of conflicts to clearly define the idea. Students then were exposed to a staged conflict between a student and a teacher, and they observed a mediation in which the conflict resolution process was demonstrated. In stage 1 of problem identification, we expressed to the students the importance of following the guidelines of the process. These "rules" of mediation included making a commitment to solve the problem, no interrupting, no name-calling or putdowns, telling the truth, no physical fighting, and keeping confidentially. In stage 2, we emphasized specific skills used for problem exploration, such as following the rules of mediation, brainstorming, perspective taking, avoiding "dirty laundry dirty laundry n. Informal Personal affairs that could cause embarrassment or distress if made public: Let's not air our dirty laundry in front of our guests. Also called dirty linen. " (staying on a current, relevant topic), digging for underlying information, and focusing on one issue at a time. In stage 3 of the process, we encouraged students to pick an acceptable solution to the conflict. The second objective of the intervention was to help students make connections between the conflict resolution and peer mediation process and the curricular content and processes in math, reading, and writing. This was accomplished by coteaching reading, math, and social studies lessons with academic teachers, and then integrating the conflict resolution process into each lesson. Lessons were broken down into specific components of the problem-solving process and linked by the teacher through Socratic instructional methods. For example, the rules of mediation were compared to the rules of writing a three-paragraph essay and the rules of solving a math problem. Students were asked, "What happens if you don't follow the rules of a three-paragraph essay?" Answers to this question were linked to a discussion about what happens if you do not follow the rules of mediation. Another example of the linkages that students made was taking the concept of "digging for underlying information" in a conflict and asking, "What happens when you are reading something and you don't have all the information you need to understand something?" (using context clues to construct meaning). In this way, concepts and strategies from the conflict resolution process were purposefully pur·pose·ful adj. 1. Having a purpose; intentional: a purposeful musician. 2. Having or manifesting purpose; determined: entered the room with a purposeful look. linked to concepts and strategies that the students had been taught in math, writing, and reading. For assessment of the learning, we took story problems from their math text, or current issue topics from their social studies/language arts classes, and worked through them as a class on an overhead projector in groups of 15 students, applying the concepts and strategies from the peer mediation curriculum. Measures ITBS ITBS Iowa Test of Basic Skills ITBS Iliotibial Band Syndrome ITBS Industrial Technologies Business Solutions . The Iowa Test of Basic Skills The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) are a set of standardized tests given annually to school students in the United States. These tests are given to students beginning in kindergarten and progressing until Grade 8 to assess educational development. (ITBS) was administered to all students in sixth grade as part of Washington's assessment program, and it was used to determine if there were preexisting pre·ex·ist or pre-ex·ist v. pre·ex·ist·ed, pre·ex·ist·ing, pre·ex·ists v.tr. To exist before (something); precede: Dinosaurs preexisted humans. v.intr. differences between the intervention and comparison groups in academic ability. The ITBS is a common standardized test to assess students' academic achievement. The ITBS core area and subtest scores that were utilized in this study were the reading total score, with reading vocabulary and reading comprehension Reading comprehension can be defined as the level of understanding of a passage or text. For normal reading rates (around 200-220 words per minute) an acceptable level of comprehension is above 75%. subtest scores; and the mathematics total score, with math concepts, math problems, and math computation Computation is a general term for any type of information processing that can be represented mathematically. This includes phenomena ranging from simple calculations to human thinking. subtest scores. WASL WASL Washington Assessment of Student Learning (Washington State) WASL Wisconsin Association of School Librarians . The Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) was administered to all students at the end of seventh grade, and it contains reading, math, and writing scores. For seventh-grade students, this test was administered shortly after the intervention was completed. The WASL contains items to assess listening, writing, expository ex·po·si·tion n. 1. A setting forth of meaning or intent. 2. a. A statement or rhetorical discourse intended to give information about or an explanation of difficult material. b. and persuasive writing Persuasive writing is used to convince the reader of the writer’s argument. This may involve persuading the reader to perform an action, or simply consist of an argument convincing the reader of the writer’s point of view. , reading, and mathematics. The WASL scores used in this study were the reading total score, math total, and writing total. A reading, writing, and math WASL is given in the 3rd, 7th, and 10th grades. For the class of 2008, passing the 10th-grade WASL is a graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. requirement for students in the state of Washington. Quizzle. The Quizzle is a measure of logical problem-solving ability taken from a book of logic problems and administered to students as a pretest and a posttest post·test n. A test given after a lesson or a period of instruction to determine what the students have learned. . Students were given one scenario describing a logic problem and provided with a matrix to facilitate the use of logic skills. Five "clues" then were provided, and students were to fill in the correct boxes on the matrix to solve the logic problem. Total scores on the Quizzle could range from 0 to 10; students were asked to answer five specific questions, with each question worth 2 points (Williams, 1976). PSLR PSLR Peak Sidelobe Ratio . The Problem Solving and Logical Reasoning The three methods for logical reasoning, deduction, induction and abduction can be explained in the following way: [1] Given preconditions α, postconditions β and the rule R1: α ∴ β (α therefore β). Survey (PSLR) is an instrument developed by the school counselors with the consultation of a university professor. The instrument contained 18 items scored on a 5-point Likert scale Likert scale A subjective scoring system that allows a person being surveyed to quantify likes and preferences on a 5-point scale, with 1 being the least important, relevant, interesting, most ho-hum, or other, and 5 being most excellent, yeehah important, etc to assess students' perceived self-efficacy to use critical thinking, problem-solving, and logical reasoning skills. The survey contained 10 items assessing perceptions of these skills in math, science, and reading and 8 items assessing these skills across all academic areas. This measure was administered as a pretest and a posttest. The Cronbach's alpha Cronbach's  (alpha) has an important use as a measure of the reliability of a psychometric instrument. It was first named as alpha by Cronbach (1951), as he had intended to continue with further instruments. for this instrument was .91 at
pretest and .93 at posttest for all 18 items. The Cronbach's alpha
for each of the subscales at pretest and posttest ranged from .76 to
.89, indicating that the PSLR has relatively high internal consistency In statistics and research, internal consistency is a measure based on the correlations between different items on the same test (or the same subscale on a larger test). It measures whether several items that propose to measure the same general construct produce similar scores. across all subscales. The survey is available from
http://www.cscor.org/pslr.htm.Sample WASL items. An additional measure of academic achievement was created by selecting eight published WASL items from previous WASL tests--five reading items and three math items. The sample WASL items were pulled from among the 2002 and 2003 released items, and they targeted academic standards related to problem solving and logical reasoning. This measure was administered as a pretest to both groups, and a posttest to the intervention group only, due to a miscommunication mis·com·mu·ni·ca·tion n. 1. Lack of clear or adequate communication. 2. An unclear or inadequate communication. with the comparison group teachers. Data Analyses The data analyses used in this study are slightly complicated by the fact that the standardized tests used to assess academic achievement were not completed the same way by seventh- and eighth-grade students. For example, 90% of the students (N=103) in the study encountered the ITBS test in sixth grade, but the test was taken during 2003 for the seventh-grade students and 2002 by eighth-grade students. Also, the WASL, which was used as a posttest to assess effects of the intervention on seventh-grade students, was a pretest for the eighth-grade students who took the test at the end of their seventh grade. To simplify interpretation of these data analyses, the results are presented for the entire sample where appropriate, and by grade level. To assess the effectiveness of the intervention on the PSLR and Quizzle, 2 x 2 x 2 analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were employed; grade level (seventh or eighth) and group (intervention or comparison) were between-subjects factors, and time (pretest to posttest) was a within-subjects factor. By using ANOVA anova see analysis of variance. ANOVA Analysis of variance, see there in this way, we were able to control for the effect of grade level while examining the effect of the intervention on the pretest to posttest differences for each group. Independent-samples t tests were employed to determine if preexisting differences existed on the ITBS for the seventh grade and the WASL for the eighth grade, and to determine if seventh-grade students differed significantly on the WASL after exposure to the intervention. Paired-samples t tests were used to determine the statistical significance of pretest to posttest differences on the sample WASL items for the intervention group. RESULTS Tests for Preexisting Differences between Intervention and Comparison Groups To determine whether preexisting differences in academic ability existed between groups, independent-samples t tests were performed on the ITBS for seventh-grade students and the WASL for eighth-grade students. No significant differences were observed between groups on any of these standardized tests, indicating that there were no preexisting differences between groups in academic ability, or achievement as assessed by the WASL and ITBS. Tests for Effects of the Intervention A 2 x 2 x 2 ANOVA was performed to assess the effect of the intervention on PSLR scores. The main effect of time (F[1, 97] = 6.47, p < .05) was statistically significant, indicating that scores improved significantly across grades and groups from pretest to posttest. The interaction effect of time and group approached statistical significance (F[1, 97] = 3.85, p = .053). The nearly significant time by group interaction indicated that the observed change from pretest to posttest, while different for each group, could not be safely attributed to the intervention. The means of both groups when collapsed across grade levels were very similar at pretest, but not different enough at posttest to reach statistical significance (pretest intervention group M = 66.88, SD = 10.61, pretest comparison group M = 67.04, SD = 10.27; posttest intervention group M = 70.39, SD = 11.10, posttest comparison group M = 67.15, SD = 9.56). The means and standard deviations In statistics, the average amount a number varies from the average number in a series of numbers. (statistics) standard deviation - (SD) A measure of the range of values in a set of numbers. of the PSLR scores for each grade level and group are presented in Table 1. A 2 x 2 x 2 ANOVA was performed to assess the effect of the intervention on the Quizzle. No significant main or interaction effects were observed, although the main effect of time (pretest to posttest) and the interaction effect of grade level and group approached significance, p = .07 and. 10, respectively. The nearly significant finding on the main effect for time was largely due to improvements from pretest to posttest by seventh-grade students in both groups, illustrated in Table 1. The grade by group interaction was attributable to lower scores in the intervention group for both grade levels and discrepant dis·crep·ant adj. Marked by discrepancy; disagreeing. [Middle English discrepaunt, from Latin discrep scores between grades. To assess the effect of the intervention on the sample WASL items for the intervention group, paired-samples t tests were conducted on the pretest and posttest sample WASL item reading and math total scores. The only statistically significant finding was found in the eighth-grade sample WASL item reading score, where the amount of improvement from pretest (M = 5.77, SD = 1.76) to posttest (M = 6.2, SD = 1.65) was statistically significant, t(30) = -1.814, p < .08. An independent-samples t test was conducted on seventh-grade WASL scores to determine if the intervention had a measurable effect on the standardized test. The intervention group evidenced slightly higher reading (intervention group M = 402.56, SD = 17.76; comparison group M = 401.33, SD = 25.20) and math scores (intervention group M = 393.64, SD = 30.06; comparison group M = 390.86, SD = 43.98), and slightly lower writing scores (intervention group M= 385.83, SD = 52.85; comparison group M = 390.30, SD = 37.04), than the comparison group. None of the observed differences reached statistical significance. Overall, the intervention had a measurable, although not statistically significant, positive effect on students' ratings of confidence in Their logical reasoning and problem-solving abilities. No significant changes in logical problem-solving performance or scores on the actual state achievement test were found. DISCUSSION The results from this study indicate that the intervention had its largest impact on the students' confidence in their problem-solving and logical reasoning abilities. However, in this study, these improvements in their perceived abilities were not reflected in significantly higher scores on more objective measures of problem solving and academic achievement, such as the Quizzle, sample WASL items, and the WASL itself for the seventh-grade students. These findings suggest that, as a consequence of the intervention, students had an enhanced confidence in their ability to perform well on problem-solving and logical reasoning tasks. The effect of self-efficacy on achievement-related variables is well documented (e.g., Shunk, 1984, 1989; for recta-analysis, see Multon, Brown, & Lent Lent [Old Eng. lencten,=spring], Latin Quadragesima (meaning 40; thus the 40 days of Lent). In Christianity, Lent is a time of penance, prayer, preparation for or recollection of baptism, and preparation for the celebration of Easter. , 1991), and the results of this study indicate that participation in the intervention did lead to improved self efficacy beliefs surrounding problem solving and logical reasoning. With enhanced self-efficacy, students could be expected to show a greater likelihood of engaging in these activities and greater persistence (1) In a CRT, the time a phosphor dot remains illuminated after being energized. Long-persistence phosphors reduce flicker, but generate ghost-like images that linger on screen for a fraction of a second. in these activities in the face of adversity ad·ver·si·ty n. pl. ad·ver·si·ties 1. A state of hardship or affliction; misfortune. 2. A calamitous event. . The intervention may not have been implemented over a sufficient time period to see the positive effects of enhanced self-efficacy translate into actual gains in academic achievement. It is possible that, if the intervention had been continued over a longer time period, significant effects on achievement would have been noted. Of course, it also could be that the self-efficacy-related effects are "illusory il·lu·so·ry adj. Produced by, based on, or having the nature of an illusion; deceptive: "Secret activities offer presidents the alluring but often illusory promise that they can achieve foreign policy goals without the " and are more related to students' expectancies than to actual changes in skills. Research replicating this intervention over a longer period is needed to determine whether the promising self-report results are reflected in actual enhanced academic performance. Limitations Interpretation of any of the results presented here, positive or negative, need to be tempered by two important facts: (a) The relatively small sample size when analyses are broken down by grade level can lead to spurious spu·ri·ous adj. Similar in appearance or symptoms but unrelated in morphology or pathology; false. spurious simulated; not genuine; false. findings, and (b) the nonrandom assignment of students to intervention and comparison groups could have introduced confounding variables A confounding variable (also confounding factor, lurking variable, a confound, or confounder) is an extraneous variable in a statistical or research model that should have been experimentally controlled, but was not. into the study. Examples of these confounding variables are having different teachers or types of teachers, having not been randomly assigned a schedule at the start of the school year, and having teachers self-select into the intervention group. Random assignment to experimental and comparison conditions is often difficult in educational settings because the interventions that educators typically evaluate involve assigning as·sign tr.v. as·signed, as·sign·ing, as·signs 1. To set apart for a particular purpose; designate: assigned a day for the inspection. 2. entire classrooms to conditions. Because truly random assignment to classes is nearly impossible, the interpretation of evaluation and research activities in schools must always be mindful mind·ful adj. Attentive; heedful: always mindful of family responsibilities. See Synonyms at careful. mind of this limitation. A strength of this study, however, is the use of multiple measures to assess academic achievement with standardized test scores and achievement-related variables with surveys. Conclusion The themes upon which the ASCA National Model is structured are advocacy, leadership, collaboration, and systemic systemic /sys·tem·ic/ (sis-tem´ik) pertaining to or affecting the body as a whole. sys·tem·ic adj. 1. Of or relating to a system. 2. change. The ASCA National Model discusses the professional school counselor's role visa-vis collaboration and teaming. Collaboration "may include collecting and analyzing data to identify needed changes in the educational program" (ASCA, 2003, p. 25). Additionally, "school counselors serve as leaders who are engaged in systemwide change to ensure student success" (ASCA, p. 24) by working "with all stakeholders Stakeholders All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. , both inside and outside the school system, to develop and implement responsive educational programs that support achievement of the identified goals for every student" (p. 25). For our study to take place, three levels of collaboration were necessary: collaboration as leaders in a data-based decision-making process, collaboration with teachers on instructional practices, and collaboration with university-level researchers for assistance with research design and data analysis. Collaborating as de facto [Latin, In fact.] In fact, in deed, actually. This phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate. members of the school leadership team provided the impetus Impetus is a stimulus or impulse, a moving force that sparks momentum. Impetus may also refer to:
However, this variety of collaboration is quite different from partnering with individual classroom teachers, which was another interesting aspect of this study. While school counselors often are viewed as the expert regarding students' emotional and academic needs, school counselors in this study served in a more collegial col·le·gi·al adj. 1. a. Characterized by or having power and authority vested equally among colleagues: "He . . . role with teachers, working with them to improve student learning in the context of a classroom instead of on an individual or small group basis. The positive outcomes we observed from engaging in this type of relationship with teachers were a greater appreciation and understanding by school counselors of the work being done in the classroom, a recognition by teachers that the school counselor operates as an educator, and the benefits of having school counselors participate in planning for academic instruction. However, the amount of time required to engage in these classroom-based activities can leave other areas of the counseling program vulnerable. Also, conflict or disagreements between school counselors and teachers will occur during professional discourse and may negatively influence other aspects of the counselor-teacher relationship. Finally, the time to process and plan activities may be limited due to interruptions by the numerous, unscheduled unscheduled Adjective not planned or intended Adj. 1. unscheduled - not scheduled or not on a regular schedule; "an unscheduled meeting"; "the plane made an unscheduled stop at Gander for refueling" daily demands that are a part of most school counselors' days. This study can serve as a realistic example of how "action research" can be conducted by school counselors through collaboration with other professionals within and outside of the school. The use of the word realistic above is intentional in·ten·tion·al adj. 1. Done deliberately; intended: an intentional slight. See Synonyms at voluntary. 2. Having to do with intention. ; the results of our study found few statistically significant differences between the intervention and comparison groups, but the process of systematically analyzing data to determine how to meet the academic needs of students and the creation of a promising, school counselor-led intervention to meet those needs epitomizes data-based decision making. Additional studies such as this need to be conducted to solidify so·lid·i·fy v. so·lid·i·fied, so·lid·i·fy·ing, so·lid·i·fies v.tr. 1. To make solid, compact, or hard. 2. To make strong or united. v.intr. school counselors' roles in academic achievement, and to provide models of evaluation, collaboration, and leadership that can be employed at the school and district levels by professional school counselors. References American School Counselor Association. (2003). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs. Alexandria, VA: Author. Brigman, G., & Campbell, C. (2003). Helping students improve academic achievement and school success behavior. Professional School Counseling, 7, 91-98. Carns, A. W., & Carns, M. R. (1991). Teaching study skills, cognitive strategies, and metacognitive skills through self-diagnosed learning styles. School Counselor, 38, 341-346. Dimmitt, C. (2003). Transforming school counseling practice through collaboration and the use of data: A study of academic failure in high school. Professional School Counseling, 6, 340-349. Dimmitt, C., Carey, J. C., McGannon, W., & Henningson, I. (2005). Identifying a school counseling research agenda: A Delphi study. Counselor Education and Supervision, 44, 214-228. Gerler, E. R. (1985). Elementary school counseling research and the classroom learning environment. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, 20, 39-48. Hadley, H. R. (1988). Improving reading scores through a self-esteem intervention program. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, 22, 248-252. Kaplan, N. (1995). Conflict Resolution Unlimited for middle school peer mediators. Bellevue, WA: CRU Institute. Lee, R. S. (1993). Effects of classroom guidance on student achievement. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, 27, 163-171. Multon, K. D., Brown, S. D., & Lent, R.W. (1991). Relation of self-efficacy beliefs to academic outcomes: A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Counseling Psychology Counseling psychology as a psychological specialty facilitates personal and interpersonal functioning across the life span with a focus on emotional, social, vocational, educational, health-related, developmental, and organizational concerns. , 38, 30-38. Shunk, D. H. (1984). Self-efficacy perspective on achievement behavior. Educational Psychologist psy·chol·o·gist n. A person trained and educated to perform psychological research, testing, and therapy. psychologist , 19, 48-58. Shunk, D. H. (1989). Self-efficacy and achievement behaviors. Educational Psychology Review, 1, 173-208. Stevahn, L., Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., & Schultz, R. (2002). Effects of conflict resolution training integrated into a high school social studies curriculum. Journal of Social Psychology, 142, 305-331. Whiston, S. C., & Sexton, T. L. (1998). A review of school counseling outcome research: Implications for practice. Journal of Counseling and Development, 76, 412-426. Williams, W. (1976). You're the detective when you solve Quizzles: Logic problem puzzles. Palo Alto Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. , CA: Dale Seymour Publications. Timothy A. Poynton is an assistant professor and director of the School Counseling Program in the Department of Education and Human Services, Suffolk University During the 1990s Suffolk University constructed its first residence halls, began satellite programs with other colleges in Massachusetts, and opened campuses in both Madrid, Spain, and Dakar, Senegal, (the Suffolk University Dakar Campus). , Boston. E-mail: tpoynton@suffolk.edu Matt W. Carlson and James A. Hopper A tray, or chute, that accepts input to a mechanical device, such as a disk duplicator or printer. In the days of punch cards, millions of cards were numerically or alphabetically organized by placing them into the hopper of a card sorter, taking them out of all the stackers and putting are professional school counselors at Enumclaw Middle School, Enumclaw, WA. John C. Carey is with the Center for School Counseling Outcome Research, University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Table 1. Means and Standard Deviations of the Quizzle
and PSLR
Seventh Grade
Measure Group n Pre Post
Quizzle Intervention 25 3.76 4.72
3.4# 3.7#
Comparison 26 4.23 5.31
3.9# 3.6#
PSLR Intervention 25 67.68 71.16
9.9# 7.95#
Comparison 25 66.60 65.56
12.7# 11.2#
Eighth Grade
Measure Group n Pre Post
Quizzle Intervention 31 5.87 6.10
3.3# 3.4#
Comparison 19 6.58 6.47
3.5# 3.5#
PSLR Intervention 31 66.19 69.77
11.6# 13.2#
Comparison 20 67.40 69.35
6.3# 6.7#
Note. Standard deviations are italicized indicated with #.
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