This study aimed to determine the efficacy of a content acquisition and reading comprehension treatment implemented by eighth‐grade social studies teachers. Using a within‐teacher design, the eighth‐grade teachers’ social studies classes were randomly assigned to treatment or comparison conditions. Teachers (n = 5) taught the same instructional content to both treatment and comparison classes, but the treatment classes used instructional practices focused on teaching essential words, text as a source for reading and discussion, and team‐based learning approaches. Students in the treatment conditions (n = 261) scored statistically higher than students in the comparison conditions (n = 158) on all three outcomes: content acquisition (ES = 0.17), content reading comprehension (ES = 0.29), and standardized reading comprehension (ES = 0.20). Findings are interpreted as demonstrating support for the treatment in improving both knowledge acquisition and reading comprehension within content area instruction.

Objective The aim of this work was to evaluate whether the treatment effects on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers at the trial level were able to predict the treatment effects on relapse rate in relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis. Methods We used a pooled analysis of all the published randomized, placebo‐controlled clinical trials in relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis reporting data both on MRI variables and relapses. We extracted data on relapses and on MRI “active” lesions. A regression analysis weighted on trial size and duration was performed to study the relation between the treatment effect on relapses and the treatment effect on MRI lesions. We validated the estimated relation on an independent set of clinical trials satisfying the same inclusion criteria but with a control arm other than placebo. Results A set of 23 randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trials in relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis was identified, for a total of 63 arms, 40 contrasts, and 6,591 patients. A strong correlation was found between the effect on the relapses and the effect on MRI activity. The adjusted R2 value of the weighted regression line was 0.81. The regression equation estimated using the placebo‐controlled trials gave a satisfactory prediction of the treatment effect on relapses when applied to the validation set. Interpretation More than 80% of the variance in the effect on relapses between trials is explained by the variance in MRI effects. Smaller and shorter phase II studies based on MRI lesion end points may give indications also on the effect of the treatment on relapse end points. Ann Neurol 2009;65:268–275

This Campbell systematic review examines the effectiveness of school‐based Mindfulness‐based interventions (MBIs) on cognition, behavior, socio‐emotional outcomes and academic achievement. The review summarizes 61 studies and synthesizes 35 studies, with a total of 6,207 student participants. MBIs have a small, statistically significant positive effect on cognitive and socio‐emotional outcomes. But there is not a significant effect on behavioral and academic outcomes. There was little heterogeneity for all outcomes, besides behavioral outcomes, suggesting that the interventions produced similar results across studies on cognitive, socio‐emotional and academic outcomes despite the interventions being quite diverse. Plain language summary Mindfulness‐based interventions in schools have positive effects on cognitive and socio‐emotional processes but do not improve behavior and academic achievementMBIs have a small, positive effect on cognitive and socio‐emotional outcomes, but not a significant effect on behavioral and academic outcomes. The review in briefThe use of mindfulness‐based interventions (MBIs) in schools has been on the rise. Schools are using MBI's to reduce student stress and anxiety and improve socio‐emotional competencies, student behavior and academic achievement.MBIs have small, positive effects on cognitive and socio‐emotional processes but these effects were not seen for behavioral or academic outcomes. The studies are mostly of moderate to low quality. Therefore, further evidence from independent evaluators is needed to be able to evaluate the effectiveness of this type of intervention. What did this review study?With the diverse application and findings of positive effects of mindfulness practices with adults, as well as the growing popularity with the public, MBIs are increasingly being used with youth. Over the past several years, MBIs have received growing interest for use in schools to support socio‐emotional development and improve behavior and academic achievement.This review examines the effects of school‐based MBIs on cognitive, behavioral, socio‐emotional and academic achievement outcomes with youth in a primary or secondary school setting. MBIs are interventions that use a mindfulness component, broadly defined as “paying attention in a particularly way: on purpose, in the present moment, non‐judgmentally”, often with other components, such as yoga, cognitive‐behavioral strategies, or relaxation skills training. What studies are included?Included studies used a randomized controlled trial, quasi‐experimental, single group pre‐post test or single subject design and reported at least one of these outcomes: cognition, academic performance, behavior, socio‐emotional, and physiological. Study populations include preschool, primary and secondary school students.A total of 61 studies are included in the review, but only the 35 randomized or quasi‐experimental studies are used in the meta‐analysis. Most of the studies were carried out in North America, and others in Asia, Europe and Canada. A...

This study reports on the perceptions and instructional practices of Grades 3 through 5 special education teachers in a school district that implemented a multitiered response to intervention (RTI) framework for the previous 5 years. The authors used focus groups and interviews to examine special education teachers' perceptions of RTI. In addition, the authors observed the mathematics and reading instruction that these teachers provided. This study contributes to the literature by presenting a qualitative, in-depth description of special education teachers' perceptions related to RTI implementation at the upper elementary level.

The authors conducted a synthesis of studies of reading comprehension interventions for middle school students (Grades 6-8) identified with a learning disability. They identified 12 studies between 1979 and 2009 with treatment and comparison designs and 2 single-participant studies. Findings from the studies indicate large effect sizes for researcher-developed comprehension measures. Few studies (n = 4) reported standardized measures of reading comprehension, which indicated medium effect sizes. The majority of study treatments (n = 13) utilized strategy instruction related to main idea or summarization.

This article reports a synthesis and meta-analysis of intervention studies investigating the effects of teambased learning on content knowledge outcomes. Team-based learning is a particular set of instructional components most often used in higher education classrooms. Authors of team-based learning reviews report that team-based learning improves students' end of course grades, test performance, and classroom engagement. Students report that team-based learning is interesting, allows for deeper understanding of content, and prepares them more effectively for assessment and course performance. A total of 30 studies were located and synthesized. In total, 17 studies met criteria for a meta-analysis, yielding a mean effect size estimate of 0.55, p < 0.001 across all measures. Moderator analysis indicated that group size moderated the magnitude of effect to a statistically significant degree, with smaller group sizes contributing to additional effects. The meta-analysis is followed by a confirmatory synthesis of the remaining 13 studies. Implications for instruction incorporating the use of team-based learning are described.

The authors synthesized reading intervention studies conducted between 1980 and 2012 with K-12 students identified with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Nine single-subject design studies, one quasi-experimental study, and two single-group design studies met the criteria for inclusion. Findings from the studies indicate that modifying instructional interventions associated with improved comprehension for students with reading difficulties may improve reading comprehension in students with ASD. Four studies implemented strategy instruction that included (a) question generation; (b) graphic organizers; and (c) making predictions. Two studies utilized anaphoric cueing instruction, three implemented explicit instruction, and three examined student grouping practices. Among the reviewed studies, the majority (n = 9) measured reading comprehension through researcher-developed probes, and two studies reported results from standardized measures.

This study examined the effectiveness of a researcher-provided intervention with 4th-graders with significant reading difficulties. The intervention emphasized multi-syllable word reading, fluent reading of high frequency words and phrases, vocabulary, and comprehension. To identify the participants, 1,695 fourth grade students were screened using the Gates MacGinitie Reading Test, and those whose standard score was 85 or lower were included in the study (N=485). Participants were randomly assigned (2:1) to receive either researcher-provided intervention (n=324) or intervention provided by school personnel (business as usual, BAU) (n=161). Findings revealed no statistically significant differences between students in the researcher-provided intervention and BAU groups. Using effect sizes as an indicator of impact, students in the researcher implemented treatment generally outperformed students in the school implemented treatment (BAU). Examining growth in standard scores, both groups made significant gains in reading outcomes with standard score growth from pretest to posttest of 3 standard score points on decoding, 5 on fluency,, and 2.0 to 7 standard score points on reading comprehension measures.