Associate Dean Timothy Caboni with Peabody junior Wyatt Smith, Vanderbilt Student Government president, at Peabody’s barbecue welcoming new graduate and professional students to campus in August.

Montgomery Bell Academy football player Fitz Lassing helps Susan Gray School student John Cobb try on equipment as Sophia Nyman looks on. MBA and Pearl Cohn High School competed in the 59th Annual Vanderbilt Orthopaedics Clinic Bowl Classic on Aug. 22, which benefited the Susan Gray School. Student football players from both schools made several visits to the school to develop a deeper appreciation for the game’s impact.

Registering for VUconnect is easy. You’ll create your user ID and password using a 4-digit VUconnect code. If Vanderbilt has your e-mail address on file, you should have received this code in June via e-mail. Then go to www.vuconnect.com/register to get started. (Your code will help you create a password; it is not your password.)

Registered Dore2Dore users will need to create a new user ID and password for VUconnect. The user name and password you had for Dore2Dore will not automatically register you for VUconnect, and Dore2Dore is no longer active. Biographical information from Dore2Dore has been automatically transferred to VUconnect. Alumni with an @alumni.vanderbilt.edu e-mail address will continue to have e-mail forwarding service. Users of OwenConnect, the Owen Graduate School of Management’s online community, will need to also register for VUconnect to gain access to this comprehensive Vanderbilt online community.

Vanderbilt is committed to the privacy of its alumni, and registration for VUconnect is only open to Vanderbilt alumni and students.

Questions? Email vuconnect@vanderbilt.edu or call the Help Desk at (615) 322-5578. Help is available weekdays 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Central time.

Loss

Christopher Loss, assistant professor of public policy and education, has accepted an invitation to serve as a fellow for the Teagle Foundation’s new National Forum on the Future of the Liberal Arts. The forum is a three-year program designed to identify and prepare a core national group of emerging academic leaders to guide the future of the liberal arts. Loss specializes in 20th century American history with an emphasis on the social, political and policy history of American higher education. The Teagle Foundation is a philanthropic organization with a focus on engaging students in liberal arts education.

Saegert

Susan Saegert, professor of human and organizational development, received the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Socioeconomic Status 2009 Award for Distinguished Leadership at the association’s annual conference in August. Stephen N. Elliott, professor of special education, received the Senior Scientist Award from Division 16 of the American Psychological Association at the conference.

Elliott

Saegert is director of Peabody’s Center for Community Studies. Her research involves affordable housing, the mortgage crisis, how to improve distressed housing and neighborhoods, women and the environment, crowding, urban stress and the role of housing in health. Elliott, who holds the Dunn Family Chair in Educational and Psychological Assessment, is director of the Learning Sciences Institute and the interdisciplinary program in educational psychology.

David Lubinski, professor of psychology and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center investigator, and Greg Park, Peabody graduate student, each won awards from the Mensa Educational Research Foundation. Lubinski won the Mensa Award for Research Excellence, Senior Investigator, for the 2006 psychological science paper, “Tracking exceptional human capital over two decades,” of which he was the lead author.

Park won the Mensa Award for Research Excellence, Junior Investigator, for the 2007 psychological science paper, “Contrasting intellectual patterns for creativity in the arts and sciences: Tracking intellectually precocious youth over 25 years,” of which he was the lead author.

The Mensa Educational Research Foundation gives out six awards for research excellence for a scientific article each year, three to senior investigators and three to junior investigators.

Dennis Davis was selected to receive a 2009 Adolescent Literacy Predoctoral Fellowship from the National Academy of Education. Davis is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Teaching and Learning, development learning and diversity program and a member of ExpERT.

Clark

Douglas Clark, associate professor of science education in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Clark, who received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 2000, comes to Peabody from Arizona State University.

Sun-Joo Cho, assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychology and Human Development. Cho, who received her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in 2007, completed post-doctoral studies at the University of California at Berkeley.
Laurie Cutting, associate professor of special education in the Department of Special Education. Cutting, who holds a Patricia and Rodes Hart Chair in the department, received her Ph.D. from Northwestern in 1999. She comes to Peabody from the Johns Hopkins University.

Engel

Mimi Engel, assistant professor of public policy and education in the Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations. Engel received her Ph.D. from Northwestern in 2008.

Deborah D. Hatton, associate professor of special education in the Department of Special Education. Hatton, who will lead the visual impairments program, received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995. She comes to Peabody from the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Horn

Ilana Horn, associate professor of mathematics education in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Horn received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 2002. She comes to Peabody from the University of Washington.

Joseph McLaughlin, associate clinical professor of psychology in the Department of Psychology and Human Development. McLaughlin received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt in 1979 and has been in private practice.

Pratim Sengupta, assistant professor of science education in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Sengupta received his Ph.D. from Northwestern in 2009.

Turner

William L. Turner, professor of human and organizational development in the Department of Human and Organizational Development. Turner, who holds the Betts Chair of Education and Human Development, received his Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic and State University in 1990. He comes to Peabody from the University of Minnesota.

“William Troutt is one of American higher education’s most talented leaders,” Dean Benbow said. “His leadership of Belmont University was simply brilliant, and now he is steadily moving Rhodes College up the ranks of national liberal arts colleges. He is an intelligent and charismatic leader and a role model for college presidents nationally.”

Troutt earned his Ph.D. in higher education from Peabody in 1978, one year prior to Peabody’s merger with Vanderbilt. He received his master’s degree from the University of Louisville (1972) and his bachelor’s degree from Union University (1971) in Jackson, Tenn.

Troutt served for 17 years as president of Belmont University in Nashville. At the time of his election to the Belmont presidency he was 32 and the youngest college president in America. Troutt was named president of Rhodes in 1999.

On being named Distinguished Alumnus, Troutt said, “I am so honored to receive this award. It is especially meaningful to return to Peabody at a time when it has just been recognized as our nation’s best.”

In April, Peabody was named the No. 1 graduate school of education in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.

Troutt also delivered the Commencement address as part of Peabody’s diploma awards ceremony for students receiving master’s or doctor of education degrees.

Troutt has written research articles for the Peabody Journal of Education, The Journal of Higher Education and New Directions for Institutional Research. He is currently completing a book on leadership.

Troutt and his wife, Carole, are the parents of Carole Ann Schmidt of Atlanta, Ga., and Jackson Cunliffe Troutt of Austin, Texas.

“The six professors receiving these chairs are high-impact individuals who make important contributions to the practice of education or psychology,” Dean Benbow said. “Rewarding them with an endowed chair is our way of recognizing their accomplishments and of signifying to the world that Peabody is a place where great intellects gather and interact.” Nineteen faculty members currently hold endowed chairs.

“This is a great moment for Peabody College,” said Provost Richard McCarty, whom Benbow credited with making the new chairs possible. “Everyone at Vanderbilt celebrates your accomplishments, and we are inspired by your success.” The new chairs were awarded to:

Bickman

Len Bickman, Betts Chair. Bickman is professor of psychology and psychiatry, director of the Center for Evaluation and Program Improvement and an investigator in the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. Bickman is a nationally recognized leader in program evaluation and research on mental health services for children and adolescents.

He has published more than 15 books and monographs and 180 articles and chapters.

Cole

David Cole, Patricia and Rodes Hart Chair. Cole is chair of the Department of Psychology and Human Development, professor of psychology and an investigator in the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. Cole’s scholarly interests encompass developmental psychopathology and childhood depression. He also studies the assessment of childhood disorders and the prediction of adolescent suicide.

Ellen Goldring, Patricia and Rodes Hart Chair. Goldring is professor of educational policy and leadership and chair of the Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations. Her research focuses on understanding and shaping school reform efforts that connect families, communities and schools and the changing roles of school leaders. She is editor of a new book, From the Courtroom to the Classroom: The Shifting Landscape of School Desegregation.

Guthrie

James Guthrie, Patricia and Rodes Hart Chair of Educational Leadership and Policy. Guthrie is professor of public policy and education, director of the Peabody Center for Education Policy, executive director of the National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt and served as chair of the Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations for 10 years. Guthrie is a widely acknowledged expert on school finance, legal issues of equity and adequacy and education reform strategies.

Rich Lehrer, Frank W. Mayborn Chair. Lehrer, professor of science education, is an internationally recognized scholar in the field of mathematics and science education. His research, which he conducts in direct partnership with kindergarten through middle school teachers, applies knowledge of young children’s thinking about space and geometry to teach mathematic and scientific concepts built upon everyday experiences.

Joseph F. Murphy, Frank W. Mayborn Chair. Murphy is professor of education and associate dean of Peabody College. He is a nationally recognized scholar in the field of school administration and a leading advocate for school leadership reforms. He has authored or co-authored 15 books and two major monographs in this area and edited another 12 books. In February 2009, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards announced that he will serve as chairman of a steering committee to develop an advanced certification for educational leaders.

Also at the meeting, Kimberly Paulsen, associate professor of the practice in special education, was awarded the annual Peabody Award for Excellence, this year presented for advising and service. The 2009-2010 Faculty Council was also announced. It includes Donna Ford, Brian Griffith, Rogers Hall, Stephen Heyneman, Craig Smith, Rich Milner, Paul Speer, Dan Levin and Georgene Troseth.

Chancellor Alexander Heard signs the historic Peabody-Vanderbilt merger agreement in the spring of 1979.

Alexander Heard, an adviser to three U.S. presidents who, as Vanderbilt’s fifth chancellor, guided the university smoothly through the stormy period of the 1960s and 1970s without the unrest and violence that afflicted many college campuses, died July 24 at his home after a long illness. He was 92.

“For more than 40 years, Alex Heard was a powerful presence at Vanderbilt University,” Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos said. “Through his intellect and calm demeanor, he raised Vanderbilt’s stature on the national stage during his 20-year administration. And even after he stepped down as chancellor he graciously made himself available to his successors for advice and guidance. I was gratefully one of the beneficiaries of his wisdom, and his loss is one I feel deeply.”

Under Heard’s leadership, Vanderbilt grew and prospered, adding three schools to the seven it already contained, including Peabody College.

“The Peabody merger with Vanderbilt was a huge event for both institutions, with long-lasting repercussions,” Dean Camilla Benbow said. “Chancellor Heard was highly sensitive to Peabody’s position and to his credit, the merger paid off. Alexander Heard had the foresight to see what an asset Peabody might become, and he took care to preserve those areas of greatest strength. The results today seem obvious, although at the time they were far more of a gamble. In retrospect, we can all be grateful to him.”

Heard had been serving as dean of the graduate school at the University of North Carolina when Vanderbilt tapped him for its top job in 1963, succeeding Harvie Branscomb. A giant in the field of political science, Heard was the recipient of 27 honorary degrees from various colleges and universities over the years and published numerous books on the presidential election process.

Heard is survived by his wife, Jean Keller Heard, and four children: Stephen, a Nashville attorney; Christopher, an acknowledgements coordinator for Vanderbilt’s development office; Frank, a Florida businessman; and Cornelia Heard, Valere Blair Potter Professor of Violin at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music; and two grandchildren: Alexander Michael Heard of Boca Raton, Fla., and George Alexander Meyer of Nashville.

A memorial service was held on July 29 in Benton Chapel on Vanderbilt’s campus. Donations may be made to the Alexander Heard Memorial Fund at Vanderbilt. By arrangement with the university, Heard’s ashes will be interred at Benton Chapel.

The National Science Board sets policy for the National Science Foundation and advises the president and Congress on national science and engineering research and education policy.

Benbow was nominated to the board by President George W. Bush and confirmed by Congress in 2006.

Connie Vinita Dowell, MLS’79, is Vanderbilt’s first dean of libraries.

Under Dowell’s leadership, Vanderbilt will initiate a comprehensive study of its libraries, with a view toward launching a major library-enhancement effort. The Heard Library system has a collection of more than three million volumes and an annual budget exceeding $20 million.

“Being asked to return to Vanderbilt in this capacity is truly a dream come true,” Dowell said. “Vanderbilt’s generosity to me as a student paved the way for my entire career.” 

At San Diego State University Dowell was responsible for the overall guidance and leadership of the library, which has a collection of almost two million volumes.

Prior to going to San Diego, Dowell was employed at Connecticut College for six years, starting as college librarian in 1993 and then dean. In 1998 she became vice president/CIO and oversaw the merger of libraries and computing. Connecticut’s faculty elected her to chair their academic strategic plan for the college.

Dowell earned her master’s in library science from Peabody College in 1979, the same year that Peabody merged with Vanderbilt. She had received her bachelor’s degree in 1977 from Middle Tennessee State University, where she double majored in mass communications and social work.

Dowell is a three-time recipient of the John Cotton Dana Public Relations Award from the American Library Association’s Library Administration and Management Association, and has participated in numerous panels. In 2006, she gave the Library Science Alumni Lecture at Peabody on “Libraries: Rapid Change, Enduring Values.” 

Professor Bruce McCandliss conducts studies using fMRI and other technologies that place him on the leading edge of developmental cognitive neuroscience. He moves to Vanderbilt from the Sackler Institute of Weill Medical College at Cornell. McCandliss holds a Patricia and Rodes Hart endowed chair in the department.

“We are very pleased by this ranking, which speaks to the high quality of the college and especially our faculty, our students and our staff,” said Dean Camilla Benbow. “Along with our alumni, who do great work in the world, they are the ones to be congratulated.”

Peabody moved up one spot from its No. 2 ranking last year, and now sits atop a list boasting Stanford, Columbia, Harvard and Johns Hopkins in the top 10. In addition to the overall ranking, Peabody’s programs in special education and administration/supervision were each ranked No. 1. Peabody’s educational policy and elementary education programs each ranked No. 5, its educational psychology program was No. 7 and higher education administration No. 8.

“We measure our own success by the knowledge we discover; our support for practitioners; the leaders we prepare for classrooms, universities and other organizations; and our engagement with the world around us,” Benbow said. “Our goal is to change lives through education and human development, and we do that very effectively.”

Trying to find the highest-quality program for their child can overwhelm parents choosing an early childhood education program. NAEYC accreditation is a mark of quality that families can look for when making this decision. 

To achieve NAEYC accreditation, early childhood education programs volunteer to be measured against stringent national standards for education, health and safety. More than 8,000 early childhood education programs around the U.S. were accredited under the old system, and each must reapply for accreditation to meet the new standards. 

The Susan Gray School was granted the new NAEYC accreditation in November. The accreditation is valid through November 2013. 

To learn more: http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/sgs.

The No. 98 ranking released in the February 2 issue encompasses approximately 21,000 employees at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. 

“I am proud and humbled that my colleagues are content and happy to be here. It is a great compliment to the employees at both the university and medical center to be the first educational institution to be ranked on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list,” Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos said. 

The rankings are determined through an extensive survey process. More than 81,000 employees from 353 companies responded to the survey nationwide, and a wealth of further information was submitted by management. The survey was conducted by Fortune in conjunction with the Great Place to Work Institute, based in San Francisco. 

To learn more: www.greatplacetowork.com.

In addition, Cummings is being awarded the NASA SEMAA Leadership Award in recognition of her exemplary work supporting the project’s efforts. The program has provided 6,000 K-12 students with free programs designed to increase interest and participation in science, technology, engineering and math.

Erin Rodriguez won a National Research Service Award Fellowship.

Erin Rodriguez won a National Research Service Award fellowship for her project “Communication, Coping and Executive Function in Children with Cancer,” which also was selected for funding by the National Cancer Institute. Professor Bruce Compas is her mentor on this grant.

Janet Eyler, professor of the practice of education and director of undergraduate studies for the Department of Leader-ship, Policy and Organizations, is the co-recipient of the 2008 National Society for Experiential Education Researcher of the Year Award. This award was made in recognition of Eyler’s research and publications in experiential education, and in particular, research she has conducted with Dwight Giles at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

The award was presented at the group’s conference in Orlando, Fla.

Ford

Donna Ford, professor of special education, has been selected as the 2008 National Association for Gifted Children Distinguished Scholar. 

The association annually presents the Distinguished Scholar Award to an individual who has made significant contributions to the study of the education of gifted and talented individuals. Ford was judged by the association to have “a continued record of distinguished scholarship and contributions to the field of gifted education for more than 10 years.” 

The award was presented in October at the group’s 55th annual convention.

Goldring

Ellen Goldring, holder of the Patricia and Rodes Hart Chair in the Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations will begin her five-year term as chair of the department on July 1. She takes over for James Guthrie, who led the department for the past decade.

A team led by Melanie Hundley, senior lecturer in the Department of Teaching and Learning, was recently named editor of the ALAN Review, the journal of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents.

Lehrer

Richard Lehrer, professor of science education in the Department of Teaching and Learning, will receive the Award for Distinguished Contributions on Applications of Psychology to Education and Training by the American Psychological Association’s board of educational affairs. 

The award is given in recognition of the efforts of psychologists who have made distinguished contributions to education and training, produced imaginative innovations, or have been involved in the developmental phases of programs in education and training
in psychology. 

Velma McBride Murry, Betts Professor of Education and Human Development, was appointed action editor of the Journal of Family Psychology beginning in January and joined the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology in December. Murry gave an invited lecture at the National Institute of Mental Health in January on “Prevention Programs for Rural African American Families: Coping with Chronic Illness and Mental Health Issues.”

Vicki Risko was awarded the College Reading Association’s Laureate Award for her research and work with students in Peabody’s reading specialist program. She recently was elected vice-president of the International Reading Association.

“We are very excited to be able to tap the expertise of two individuals who have played important roles in the formulation of recent federal education policy,” Dean Camilla Benbow said. “The course exposed our students to firsthand knowledge of policymaking at a very high level.”

From left, Chad Colby, former deputy assistant secretary, U.S. Department of Education; Catherine Freeman, senior program officer, National Research Center of the National Academies of Science; Claire Sullivan, former associate director, Domestic Policy Council; and Kerri Briggs, assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, U.S. Department of Education. Colby and Sullivan joined Briggs and Freeman to teach one section of the course.

The course, The Development and Implementation of Federal Education Policy, examined the intersection between politics and policy and the institutions and variables—political, legal, financial or public relations—that affect the way issues are resolved. It was designed to assist students in developing skills in research, analysis, writing and policy strategy, including learning how to absorb large amounts of material in a short time, analyze that material and prepare decision memoranda.

As assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, Briggs played a pivotal role in policy and management issues affecting schools under the No Child Left Behind Act by directing, coordinating and recommending policy for programs designed to assist state and local education agencies with improving academic achievement, helping ensure equal access to services, and providing financial assistance to local education agencies whose revenues are affected by federal activities.

Freeman manages projects that examine the use of research data in the social sciences, the role of language acquisition in closing the achievement gap, and whether the development of common metrics is beneficial to the social sciences. She previously served as deputy assistant secretary for policy in the U.S. Department of Education, where she formulated and executed No Child Left Behind policies nationwide.

Peabody first-year student Natalie Wills shows off her new wheels as she prepares to say goodbye to mom, dad and sister during move-in weekend in August.

Sandra Barnes, professor of human and organizational development and sociology of religion (Ph.D., 1999, Georgia State University; M.S., 1995, Interdenominational Theological Center; M.S., 1989, Georgia Institute of Technology; B.A., 1986, Fisk University)

Torin Monahan, associate professor of human and organizational development and medicine (Ph.D, 2003, M.S., 2002, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; M.A., 1996, B.A., 1993, California State University, Northridge)  

Acie Murry, research associate professor of human and organizational development (Ph.D., 1988, University of Missouri, Columbia; M.S., 1983, Tuskegee University; B.S., 1969, Tennessee State University)  

Velma McBride Murry, Betts Professor of Education and Human Development (Ph.D., 1987, M.S., 1985, University of Missouri, Columbia; B.S., 1974, University of Tennessee, Knoxville)  

Susan Saegert, professor of human and organizational development (Ph.D., 1974, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; B.A., 1968, University of Texas, Austin)

Marybeth Shinn, professor of human and organizational development (Ph.D., 1978, M.A., 1976, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; B.A., 1973, Radcliffe College)

Department of Leadership, Policy and Organization

Xiu Chen Cravens, research assistant professor (Ph.D., 2008, Vanderbilt; M.A., 1992, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; B.A., 1989, Peking University)

Corbette Doyle, lecturer in organizational studies (M.B.A., 1987, Vanderbilt; B.A., 1978, State University of New York, College at Oswego)

Catherine Gavin Loss, lecturer in public policy and education (Ph.D., 2005, University of Virginia, Charlottesville; M.A., 1993, University of Chicago; B.A., 1992, Purdue University)

Christina R. Neiman, lecturer in organizational studies (M.A., 1975, University of New Mexico)

Jane Robbins, senior lecturer in organizational leadership (Ph.D., 2004, University of Pennsylvania; M.A., 1992, University of Massachusetts, Boston; B.A., 1970, University of Rhode Island)

Department of Teaching and Learning

Lisa Pray, associate professor of the practice of English language learners (Ph.D., 2003, M.Ed., 1998, B.S., 1986, Arizona State University)

Emily Shahan, assistant professor of the practice of mathematics education (M.A., 2001, Stanford University; B.A., 1995, Williams College)

Department of Special Education

Alex da Fonte, assistant professor of special education (Ph.D., 2008, M.S., 2001, Purdue University)

Camilla P. Benbow

John Braxton, professor of education in the Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations, is the new editor of The Journal of College Student Development.

Lynn and Doug Fuchs, Nicholas Hobbs Professors of Special Education and Human Development, were awarded The Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Learning Disabilities’ Jeannette E. Fleischner Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Learning Disabilities during the Council’s 2008 annual meeting in April. 

Judy Garber, professor of psychology and investigator, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, is serving as secretary/treasurer of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology (ISRCAP), a term she will hold through 2011.

Karen Harris and Steve Graham, Currey Ingram Professors of Special Education, are the chief co-editors for a new edition of the Handbook of Educational Psychology to be published by the APA. 

Deborah Rowe, associate professor of early childhood education, will serve as the U.S. editor of The Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, an international journal.

Remember when it cost just $38 for seven hours of coursework? No one here remembers that either, but we have newfound evidence that it was so, as this 1940 receipt indicates. Found in a book donation to the Goodlettsville Public Library, the receipt was sent to the Peabody Library this summer, as was this supplement to a 1928 Reflector, sent by Charlotte Vedeler, whose mother, Eloise Blakslee, studied at Peabody about 80 years ago. (click image to view larger version)

Calculators are useful tools in elementary mathematics classes, if students already have some basic skills, new research has found. The findings shed light on the debate about whether and when calculators should be used in the classroom. 

“These findings suggest that it is important children first learn how to calculate answers on their own, but after that initial phase, using calculators is a fine thing to do, even for basic multiplication facts,” said Bethany Rittle-Johnson, assistant professor of psychology at Peabody and co-author of the study. 

The research is currently in press at the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology and is available on the journal’s Web site. 

Rittle-Johnson and co-author Alexander Kmicikewycz, who completed the work as his undergraduate honors thesis at Peabody, found that the level of a student’s knowledge of mathematics facts was the determining factor in whether a calculator hindered his or her learning. 

“The study indicates technology such as calculators can help kids who already have a strong foundation in basic skills,” said Kmicikewycz, now a teacher in New York City public schools. 

“For students who did not know many multiplication facts, generating the answers on their own, without a calculator, was important and helped their performance on subsequent tests,” Rittle-Johnson added. “But for students who already knew some multiplication facts, it didn’t matter—using a calculator to practice neither helped nor harmed them.” 

The researchers compared third graders’ performance on multiplication problems after they had spent a class period working on other multiplication problems. Some of the students spent that class period generating answers on their own, while others simply read the answers from a calculator. All students used a calculator to check their answers. 

The researchers found that the calculator’s effect on subsequent performance depended on how much the students knew to begin with. For those students who already had some multiplication skills, using the calculator before taking the test had no impact. But for those who were not good at multiplying, use of the calculator had a negative impact on their performance. 

The researchers also found that the students using calculators were able to practice more problems and had fewer errors. 

And, for many of the students, using calculators was simply fun. 

“Kids enjoyed them. It’s one way to make memorizing your multiplication facts a more interesting thing to do,” Rittle-Johnson said. 

“So much of how you teach depends on how you market the material—presentation is very important to kids,” Kmicikewycz added. “Many of these students had never used a calculator before, so it added a fun aspect to math class for them.” 

“It’s a good tool that some teachers shy away from, because they are worried it’s going to have negative consequences,” Rittle-Johnson said. “I think that the evidence suggests there are good uses of calculators, even in elementary school.”

After arriving home on July 27, Westlake added this entry to their travel blog:

“We did it. We made it home safely. Our trip was a lot of fun and we learned a lot about this big country in which we live. We learned that every mountain range is different in shape and surface, that different areas of the country have unique smells, that local rules and regulations vastly affect the appearance of an area, and that Tennessee is truly one of the most beautiful states….We each feel incredibly lucky to have been able to take this trip. It has been a wonderful sharing experience. And now, after two years of planning and undertaking the ‘Four Corners’ trip, we have to focus on other life goals.”

 To see other entries and many photos of the trip, go to inifinityusa.blogspot.com.

“This tool should help all test developers systematically apply principles of universal design to advance the accessibility of tests for all students, not just students identified with disabilities. TAMI is helping test developers achieve their dual goals of better tests and better testing practices,” said Elliott, Dunn Family Professor of Education, director of the Learning Sciences Institute and director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Educational Psychology. 

“We define accessibility as ‘the extent to which an environment, product or service eliminates barriers and permits equal access to all components and services for all individuals’,” said Beddow, a research assistant in special education and a member of the Learning Sciences Institute. “In the case of standardized testing, this means developing assessment tools that do not place students at a disadvantage because of difficulties with reading, comprehension or other problems when it comes to being able to understand the question posed and its corresponding answer set.”

The researchers began by developing an item modification guide that was used to modify a set of questions given to students with and without identified disabilities, in both their original and modified forms. They partnered with testing boards in Indiana, Idaho, Arizona and Hawaii to carry out their initial research. 

“The findings largely confirmed our hypothesis,” Beddow said. “We were able to close the achievement gap with the regularly performing students by modifying the questions that might have been problematic for students with special needs.”

TAMI is the result of a thorough revision of this initial guide. It consists of two parts: an item analysis, which uses multiple categories with detailed rubrics to judge the actual questions, and a computer-based test analysis that can be used to assess the accessibility of a specific computer-based test delivery system. The item analysis takes into account factors like the clarity of the question’s wording, whether or not necessary visuals are included and the choice of wrong answers, which are the parts of standardized tests that can be problematic for students with special needs. Revising questions with an aim towards streamlining and simplifying unnecessarily complex questions is the focus of the item analysis.

“Modifying these types of test is not just a matter of ensuring computer literacy,” Beddow said. “It is also about making sure that the screen is legible, that answer selection is simple and intuitive, and that audio is available to those who need it. The goal of this part of TAMI is to make sure that the computers are not further complicating the test or altering the validity of the students’ responses.”

The instrument is currently available to be freely used by the public at http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/TAMI.xml. It is being distributed to state assessment departments and testing companies in all 50 states. 

The project was funded by an Enhanced Assessment Grant from the U.S. Department of Education in the Consortium for Alternate Assessment Validity and Experimental Studies.

Under the direction of Mark Lipsey, research professor, and Dale Farran, professor of education and psychology, the PRI will bring with it a number of active projects, including several using meta-analysis of research on the effectiveness of substance abuse treatment for adolescents; the development of evidence-based practice guidelines for juvenile justice programs in Arizona, funded by the Arizona Supreme Court; the development of evidence-based practice guidelines for juvenile justice programs in Tennessee, funded by the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and Juvenile Justice; an evaluation of the effects of a middle school conflict resolution program in Ohio, funded by the Department of Education; a meta-analysis of predictors of school success and failure from longitudinal studies, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; the analysis of achievement gains for pre-K children in classrooms using the OWL curriculum (Opening the World of Learning), funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; development of intervention fidelity measures for a pre-K curriculum intervention, funded by the Department of Education; and the effects of a pre-K math curriculum when scaled-up for multi-site implementation, funded by the Department of Education and State University of New York, Buffalo.