Heidi Legg Burross

Interests

Teaching

educational assessment, development, learning, statistics and research

Research

adolescent and adult learning and development, improving educational practices

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• Schutz, P. A., Burross, H. L., Dotzler, K. A., & Pope, E. J. (2024). Considerations and importance of generational changes for teaching. In Teaching Human Development for Educators, Theory to Practice: Educational Psychology for Teachers and Teaching.
• Schutz, P. A., Pope, E. J., Burross, H. L., & Roloff, T. A. (2022). Developing autonomy, competence, and relatedness at the annex. In Educational Psychology and Transformational Classrooms: Research and Theory Meets Teaching and Learning(pp 107-114). Routledge. doi:10.4342/9781003276098
• Schutz, P., Pope, E., Burross, H., & Rolof, T. (2022). DEVELOPING AUTONOMY, COMPETENCE, AND RELATEDNESS AT THE ANNEX. In Educational Psychology and Transformational Classrooms. doi:10.4324/9781003276098-14
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  In this chapter the authors contextualize John’s experiences at The Annex by integrating research on identity development, motivation, and social-emotional well-being. To do so, they begin with a brief discussion of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and the importance of basic needs. Then they discuss teacher identity development and the potential influence of critical events on that development. Next, they develop connections among basic needs, identity development, and social-emotional well-being. Researchers who study the efficacy of social-emotional learning programs (designed to teach skills related to emotional self-awareness, social awareness, responsible decision-making, self-management, and relationship management) found that the adoption and use of these skills among school and district leaders, teachers, other school personnel, and students is crucial to the success of these programs and the people who take part in the programs. As such, the authors conclude with suggestions for John’s future growth as a professional.
• Burross, H. L. (2015). Teachers in Training. In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Classroom Management(pp 822-824). SAGE.
• Burross, H. L. (2008). Students as Peers/Friends. In The Encyclopedia of Education. doi:10.4135/9781412964012.n67

Journals/Publications

• Buzick, H. M., Robertson, C., Findley, J. D., Burross, H. L., Charles, M., & Klieger, D. M. (2023).

  The Association of Participation in a Summer Prelaw Training Program and First-Year Law School Students’ Grades

  . Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 13(1). doi:10.5590/jerap.2023.13.1.14
• Klieger, D. M., Charles, M., Burross, H. L., Robertson, C., Buzick, H. M., & Findley, J. D. (2023). The Association of Participating in a Summer Prelaw Training Program and First-Year Law School Students’ Grades. The Journal Education, Research, & Practice, 13(1), 181-202. doi:https://doi.org/10.5590/JERAP.2023.13.1.14
• Robertson, C., Li, R., Balser, C. B., Charles, M., Chang, K., Burross, H. L., Cimetta, A. D., & Findley, J. D. (2023). JD-Next: A Valid and Reliable Tool to Predict Diverse Students’ Success in Law School . Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 20(1), 31.
• Robertson, C., Li, R., Balser, C., Cheng, K. C., Burross, H. L., Cimetta, A., Findley, J., & Charles, M. (2023). JD‐Next : A valid and reliable tool to predict diverse students' success in law school. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. doi:10.1111/jels.12342
• Cheng, K., Findley, J., Cimetta, A., Burross, H., Charles, M., Balser, C., Li, R., & Robertson, C. (2022). JD-Next: A Randomized Experiment of an Online Scalable Program to Prepare Diverse Students for Law School. Arizona Legal Studies Discussion, 71(4).
• Cimetta, A. D., Burross, H. L., Balser, C., Robertson, C. T., Li, R., Charles, M., Findley, J., & Cheng, K. C. (2021). JD-Next: A Randomized Experiment of an Online Scalable Program to Prepare Diverse Students for Law School. Social Science Research Network. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3845577
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  We sought to expose diverse potential law students to the methods of JD education and to prepare them for success in law school. This paper reports on the efficacy of the 2019 pilot test of the precursor to the JD-Next program: a fully-online, non-credit, 7.5-week course to train potential JD students in case reading and analysis skills, prior to their first year of law school. We recruited a national sample of potential JD students, enriched for racial/ethnic diversity so that less than half were White non-Hispanics, and randomized them to the course or an active placebo control group (where participants watched legal television shows). We also recruited a sample of volunteers at one university who self-selected into the course and who were propensity score-matched to non-participants, using university archival data. We found that participating in the course is associated with substantial improvement in grades for the targeted 1L course (Contracts) and overall first semester 1L GPA. We also report substantial student confidence gains and satisfaction with the course, in qualitative and quantitative terms, based on a survey at three points in time (pre-course, post-course, and post-semester). In a companion article, we report on the validity and reliability of the JD-Next exam for use in law school admissions.
• Burross, H. L., Olson, A., & Pope, E. J. (2017). Preservice teachers’ perspectives of working with learners who struggle. Teacher Education and Practice, 30(1), 98-114.
• Burross, H. L., Freiberg, E. J., & Olson, A. L. (2014). Preservice teachers' approaches to working with learners who struggle. PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e569622014-001
• McCaslin, M., & Burross, H. L. (2011). Research on Individual Differences within a Sociocultural Perspective: Co-regulation and Adaptive Learning. Teachers College Record, 113(2), 325-349. doi:10.1177/016146811111300203
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  Background/Context Research is presented on teacher-centered instruction and individual differences among students within a sociocultural perspective—specifically, within a co-regulation model. Purpose of Study To determine the utility of a co-regulation model for understanding teacher and student adaptation to the press of cultural and social demands for student achievement. Research Design Multiple methods were used and quantitative procedures applied to data obtained in Grades 3–5 classrooms (N = 47) in schools (N = 5) that primarily served students living in poverty and were engaged in comprehensive school reform. Data sources include observation of classroom practices (N = 108; mean = 2 observations per classroom) to identify differences in instructional opportunity within teacher-centered instruction; students’ (N = 439) reported self-monitoring of their classroom activity to ascertain individual differences among them in their adaptation to classroom demands; and student performance on classroom-like tasks (story writing; individual student unit of analysis) and standardized tests (SAT9 language, math, and reading subtests; grade-level unit of analysis) to illuminate the dynamics of opportunity, activity, and adaptation in student achievement. Conclusions/Recommendations Results support the potential of a co-regulation model to understand and enhance teacher-centered instruction of students who differ in adaptation to classroom demands and achievement expectations in nontrivial ways. The practicable instructional opportunities that most aligned with cultural demands for improving student performance on mandated tests was a basic form of direct instruction. Direct instruction appears to cast a wide safety net, including students who are and are not yet ready to profit from this mode of instruction as expressed by mandated test performance. Students not yet ready for culturally mandated performances are nonetheless acquiring desirable and personally meaningful adaptations to learning challenges that are co-regulated by direct instruction opportunities. Unfortunately, these students remain largely invisible to sociocultural policy makers who portray them as uninvested in, if not resistant to, school learning. It is reasonable to ask how long students will continue to participate in and adapt to classroom demands without cultural validation of that participation and recognition of the learners these students are and wish to become. It is time for deliberate examination of cultural beliefs and regulations that equate student performance on mandated tests with meaningful learning, a prepared future citizenry, and the effectiveness of the public school.
• Burross, H. L., Johnson, S. R., Finifrock, D., Marshall, C. A., Jaakola, J. (., Setterquist, J., & Hodge, F. S. (2010). Cancer, Employment, and American Indians: A Participatory Action Research Pilot Study. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 54(3), 175-180. doi:10.1177/0034355210380143
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  American Indian cancer survivors are an underserved and understudied group. In this pilot study we attempted to address, through participatory action research, missing information about those factors that serve to either facilitate employment or hinder it for adult cancer survivors. One task of the study was to develop and/or modify instrumentation that could be used in a subsequent, in-depth census study. The pilot sample consisted of 10 cancer survivors, all members of a Northern Minnesota American Indian tribe, and 10 family members. All survivors reported having health problems such as fatigue since their cancer treatments. Rehabilitation counselors can assist survivors and their family members by advising them in regard to employment discrimination and accommodations such as flexible work schedules.
• Burross, H. L. (2008). Change and Continuity in Grades 3-5: Effects of Poverty and Grade on Standardized Test Scores.. Teachers College Record, 110(11), 2464-2474. doi:10.1177/016146810811001102
• McCaslin, M., & Burross, H. L. (2008). Student Motivational Dynamics. Teachers College Record, 110(11), 2452-2463. doi:10.1177/016146810811001107
• Burross, H. L., Cuizon‐Garcia, R., Bozack, A. R., Wiley, C. R., Zhang, J., Nichols, S. L., Good, T. L., & McCaslin, M. (2006). Comprehensive School Reform: An Observational Study of Teaching in Grades 3 through 5. Elementary School Journal. doi:10.1086/503634
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  Abstract This observational study involved literacy and mathematics instruction of 145 teachers in grades 3 through 5 in 20 low‐income schools enrolled in the U.S. government's Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Demonstration program. Observed curriculum and instructional practices were primarily and coherently focused on acquisition of basic facts and skills and related elaborations and thinking. With few exceptions, students were on task and productive and teacher‐student relationships were friendly and mutually supportive. Observations were compared with normative teaching practices. This comparison supported the conclusion that instruction in CSR classrooms did not differ from instruction typically observed in elementary school. Recommendations for enhancing normative practice within the constraints of modern school reform are made.
• Burross, H. L., Good, T. L., & McCaslin, M. (2005). Change and Continuity in Student Achievement from Grades 3 to 5: A Policy Dilemma. Education Policy Analysis Archives. doi:10.14507/epaa.v13n1.2005
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  In this article, we examine student performance on mandated tests in grades 3, 4, and 5 in one state. We focus on this interval, which we term "the fourth grade window," based on our hypothesis that students in grade four are particularly vulnerable to decrements in achievement. The national focus on the third grade as the critical benchmark in student performance has distracted researchers and policy makers from recognition that the fourth grade transition is essential to our understanding of how to promote complex thinking and reasoning that are built upon a foundation of basic skills that may be necessary, but are not sufficient, for the more nuanced learning expected in subsequent grades. We hypothesized that the basic skills that define a successful third grade performance do not predict successful performance in subsequent years. We examined student performance over time using two measures of student success: the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS), a standards based test; and the Stanford 9 (SAT9), a norm-referenced test. Three groups of schools were included in these analyses. Schools were individually matched to the original sample of interest, which were schools serving students of poverty that received state funding to implement Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) models that emphasize continuity across grade levels. The first comparison sample includes schools that also serve students of poverty but did not receive CSR funding, "nonCSR" schools. The second comparison sample includes schools individually matched on all variables except economic status. These schools, which we term "ow poverty" schools, are the wealthiest public schools in the state, with less than 10% of attending students receiving free or reduced lunch. Student test scores in math, reading, and writing (AIMS) or language (SAT9) were analyzed for the years 2000-2003. These intervals allowed the analysis of two cohorts of the fourth grade window. Our results suggest that the reliance on third grade performance to label students and schools is untenable.
• Good, T. L., Burross, H. L., & McCaslin, M. (2005). Comprehensive School Reform: A Longitudinal Study of School Improvement in One State. Teachers College Record, 107(10), 2205-2226. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9620.2005.00589.x
• Burross, H. L., Rey, P. F., Juarez, L. G., Martínez, P. V., McAllan, L., Gotto, G. S., & Marshall, C. A. (2004). The United States and Mexico: Creating Partnerships in Rehabilitation.. Rehabilitation Psychology. doi:10.1037/0090-5550.49.1.14
• Burross, H. L. (2001). Student perceptions of the transition to junior high. Dissertation.

Presentations

• Schutz, P. A., Pope, E. J., Burross, H. L., & Roloff, T. A. (2021). Growth and learning at the annex. APA Annual Convention.
• Burross, H. L., & Caldera, B. (2017, April 2017). Post-graduate Reflections on Graduate Teaching Training and Experiences. American Educational Research Association. San Antonio, TX.

Poster Presentations

• Burross, H. L., Olson, A. M., & Freiberg, E. J. (2014, August). Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Working with Learners Who Struggle. American Psychological Association Annual Convention.
• Burross, H. L., Olson, A., & Freiberg, E. (2014, August). Preservice Teachers’ Approaches to Learners Who Struggle. American Psychological Association Annual Meeting. Washington D.C..