Social communication is a core deficit of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) play a key role in evaluating social skills of individuals with autism. Use of person-centered assessment tools in individuals with autism to explore social communication may facilitate improved consideration of perspectives of individuals…

In this timely and thoughtful call to action, author and educator Starr Sackstein examines the critical intersection between assessment and social and emotional learning (SEL), particularly as it affects students of color and other marginalized groups. The book addresses the five SEL competencies identified by the Collaborative for Academic,…

The challenge of teaching communication skills outlined in Goal 4 of the "APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major" is that it occurs in many contexts and the communicator must adapt the form to match both context and purpose. We created a taxonomy of dimensions and kinds of communication that represents the various contexts…

Robust investment in early childhood education can help expand children's access to high-quality pre-K programs. These investments can also strengthen the ability of educators to gather valuable information about young children's behaviors, skills, and competencies in order to make better decisions about how to support their learning and…

Social and emotional skills are important for students in 21st century study, life, and future work. In 2018, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) officially launched the first round of social and emotional skills tests for 10-year-old and 15-year-old students worldwide. After 3 years of research, the first round of…

Michael Shaughnessy, shares a conversation with Helen Dudeney, a private consultant who has been actively involved in working with gifted children since 1988. She was originally, trained and worked as an accountant and was very involved with working with children through volunteering for many years as a leader in the Scout Association. She started…

In addition to excelling in subjects such as science, math, arts, and social studies, students must also develop skills like resiliency, adaptability, and collaboration in order to truly succeed in the world. But how do schools effectively measure those skills when they so often rely on standardized assessments? This article provides a thorough…

As pressure builds to assess students, teachers, and schools, educational practitioners and policy makers are increasingly looking toward student perception surveys as a promising means to collect high-quality, useful data. For instance, the widely cited Measures of Effective Teaching study lists student perception surveys as one of the three key…

I have worked with students at-risk for the greater majority of my career. The term has a number of meanings. Officially, it means they are at-risk of failing, but often the risks are much greater. At one extreme they are at-risk of losing their lives to substance abuse or suicide. Less drastically they are at-risk of making their way through the…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is crucial for improved educational attainment. As teachers help students achieve new college and career readiness standards, they need to use teaching practices that promote student social and emotional learning in the classroom. Our new resource, "Self-Assessing Social and Emotional Instruction and…

Generalist practice social workers need to master group leadership and facilitation skills, and the best way to achieve this goal is through actual practice. An innovative teaching approach used to engage undergraduate social work majors in developing group facilitation skills is a "hands-on" service-learning experience leading social…

Peer-play experiences are a vital part of children's socialization, development, and culture. Children with autism face distinct challenges in social and imaginary play, which place them at high risk for being excluded by peers. Without explicit support, they are likely to remain isolated from peers and the consistent interactive play that…

Recent publications in the "Journal of Youth and Adolescence" present a variety of topics exploring adolescents' mental functioning in the twenty first century. Conceptually, many of the articles address the intriguing, though rarely explicit, question of developmental continuities and change from adolescence to adulthood. Such…

Socializing is an integral part of human relations and auger well for the human development. Defined as "the involvement of students in identifying standards and/or criteria to apply to their work and making judgments about the extent to which they have met these criteria and standards", self assessment by its nature teaches students how to…

Despite decades of successful implementation at the K-12 level, cooperative learning (CL) has been slow to catch on at the college level. Resistance by instructors and students alike has slowed its diffusion. Some resistance stems from poor experiences with CL, but potential adopters often fail to realize that effective CL rests on a set of…