Computer-assisted learning is an approach which has been used widely to support people with autism spectrum disorders. Commercial and research-driven technologies continue to be produced at a rapid rate, particularly mobile device applications. However, the field lacks a consistent, evidence-based methodology for design, implementation and…

In this work, we describe youth outreach activities carried out under the Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for Ontario (CWSE-ON) program. Specifically, we outline our design and implementation of robotics workshops to introduce and engage middle and secondary school students in engineering and computer science. Toward the goal of…

While the importance of evaluation program offerings is acknowledge by Extension educators, less emphasis is given to understanding program implementation. Simply assessing program impact without a clear understanding of the degree to which a program was actually implemented can result in inaccurate findings. The effective evaluation of both…

Many universities have Common Book programs, but few of them are driven by clear goals and little research about the effectiveness of programs exists. The current study examined social and academic correlates of self-reported common book readership. As expected, upper-level students who read their entire common book as freshmen reported a stronger…

This article summarizes an evaluation of the Safe Babies Court Teams Project. The study compared children in the Court Teams Project at the four initial sites (n = 298) with a nationally representative sample of young child welfare participants (n = 511) from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). The Court Teams Project…

Background: Social experiments frequently exploit data from administrative records. However, most administrative data systems are designed to track earnings or benefit payments among residents within a single state. When an experimental participant moves across state lines, his entries in the data system of his state of origin consist entirely of…

The goal of improving student academic and behavior outcomes is to ensure that all students have access to the most effective and accurately implemented instructional and behavioral practices and interventions possible. Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) provides an operational framework for achieving these outcomes. In general,…

The research study will examine the impact of using the ClassScape program and targeted interventions on 3rd grade reading levels of performance. The conceptual and theoretical framework for the study suggests the need to connect formative, benchmark, and summative assessments in North Carolina. Furthermore, the review of the literature will…

The Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP) was developed in response to a lack of validated instruments designed specifically to measure the quality of inclusive practices, and it is based on research evidence on the effectiveness of specialized instructional strategies for meeting the individual needs of children in inclusive settings (Odom, 2004;…

The Assessment of Afterschool Program Practices Tool ("APT"), developed by the National Institute of Out-of-School Time (NIOST), is an observational instrument designed to measure the aspects of afterschool program quality that research suggests contribute to the 21st century skills, attitudes, and behaviors youth need to be successful…

Minnesota provides supplemental state funding to existing federal Head Start and Early Head Start (EHS) grantees to increase their capacity to serve additional infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. The initiative was started in 1997 when the state legislature earmarked $1 million of the general state Head Start supplemental funds for children…

The Case Management Partnership Initiative (CMPI) addresses chronic truancy by linking truant ninth graders and their families to social services and case management, along with regular interagency case management meetings. A pilot was conducted at Anacostia and Ballou High Schools in 2011-2012. The implementation evaluation found that the pilot…

With increased pressure on programs to evaluate outcomes, the issue of evaluation in social work has never been so topical. In response to these pressures, there has been a growing interest in evidence-based practice and strategies for the evaluation of social work programs. The American Evaluation Association (AEA) is an international…

E. Paul Torrance, a pioneer in creative education, and his associates founded the Future Problem Solving Program (now FPSPI, or Future Problem Solving Program International) in the mid-1970s as a competitive, interscholastic program and as a curriculum project integrating creative problem-solving and future studies. Since its founding, the program…

Several years ago, when the author was associate dean in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, a new senior administrator on campus expressed the view that one of their premier first-year experience programs in the college was too expensive and that a different model, based on an approach taken at the administrator's previous…