Stability of WISC-R scores in children with learning difficulties

Student records of 130 children with learning difficulties who had been tested twice were examined to determine the stability of WISC-R scores over time. There were significant losses in Verbal IQ and Full Scale IQ. Subjects in the above-average IQ range had greater losses in Verbal IQ and Full Scale IQ and greater gains in Performance IQ than did those in the below-average IQ range. Children initially tested before age 8 had a significant IQ loss, but those tested after age 8 maintained a constant IQ. The WISC-R is most frequently administered to children with learning difficulties. Results presented here suggest that the IQs in this population are not as stable as was previously thought, and this may provide a rationale for the periodic readministration of the WISC-R.     

Simultaneous Statistical Tests on Categorical Data

Educable mentally retarded children and normal children of average intelligence were compared in performance on the Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. The purpose of the study was to determine the following: 1.) a measure of long-term test-retest reliability, 2.) suitability of the scale with a younger chronological age group, and 3.) comparative data on differences in anxiety scores between normal and retarded children.Controls for procedural modifications, residential and educational status, sex differences, chronological age range, and range of IQ were employed. Test-retest correlations indicated that the scale was reliable for normal Ss but not for the retarded Ss. CMAS effects based on age and IQ did exist. Older retardates received higher anxiety scores than younger retardates on Test 2, while Test 1 difference was not significant. Retarded children obtained higher anxiety scores than normal children on Test 1. It was concluded that reliability over a 10-month period is poor for retarded Ss. Moreover, the instrument is of doubtful utility with younger retarded Ss.     

Developmental dyscalculia is a familial learning disability

Whereas current evidence attests to a genetic component in the etiology of dyslexia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), little is known about the role of genetics in developmental dyscalculia (DC). The objective of this study was to determine the familial aggregation of DC. Siblings and parents of children with DC were assessed for arithmetic, reading and attention disorders. The criteria for DC were an IQ higher than 85, poor performance in arithmetic, and a significant discrepancy between arithmetic achievement and IQ. The study group was composed of 39 children with DC, 21 mothers, 22 fathers, 90 siblings, and 16 second-degree relatives. We found that 66% of mothers, 40% of fathers, 53% of siblings, and 44% of second-degree relatives had DC. The intraclass correlation between the sib pairs was .27. A 95% confidential interval (CI) for the prevalence of DC among siblings of DC probands (see Note 1) ranged from 40% to 64%, indicating a familial prevalence almost tenfold higher than expected for the general population. IQ and attention problems were not risk factors for DC. We conclude that DC, like other learning disabilities, has a significant familial aggregation, suggesting a role for genetics in the evolution of this disorder.     

Criteria for the Evaluation of High-School English Composition

Abstract

Normals, Institutionalized retardates, and non-Institutionallzed retardates, matched on the basis of MA, were tested on a simple performance task under social and tangible reinforcement conditions. Differences in performance under the two reinforcement conditions were belle red to reflect differences In the motivational systems of the groups. The performances of the normals and institutionalized retardates were very similar, as these two groups did not perform significantly longer or faster than each other on the task. The non-institutionalized retardates performed significantly longer than either of the other two groups, and significantly faster than the Institutionalized retardate group. This result was explained In terms of the greater frustration and failure which these Ss may experience In their daily lives.     

儿童伴随学习研究对汉字学习的启示

伴随学习是儿童学习生字的重要方式之一。伴随学习相关研究对儿童汉字学习具有一定的启示:首先,应重视伴随学习生字在儿童汉字学习中的重要作用,充分利用伴随学习促进儿童生字学习;其次,应注意设置良好的学习材料为伴随学习服务。选择恰当的注音方式,摒弃生字注音方式,采用全文注音,为学习材料设置良好的语境,促进儿童利用多种线索学习生字;再次,合理的设置学习材料的生字密度,为儿童创造良好的生活语言环境,促进其标准口语的掌握,为书面语言中音、形、义的通达打下基础。     

英语阅读理解中词汇附带习得探析

词汇是英语学习的基石,但英语教师不可能把大部分的时间都用来教学生词汇,近年来许多学者开始关注词汇附带习得,就是学生在完成别的学习任务时,并没有把注意力放在词汇学习上,却附带习得了词汇。文章通过纵览近几年词汇附带习得方面的研究,分析了影响阅读理解中词汇附带习得的因素,重点阐释了提高阅读理解中词汇附带习得的方法,如通过对阅读理解中生词不同方式的注释或者设置不同的与生词相关的任务,并探讨了这些方法的理论支撑,最后提出了一些对英语教学有益的建议,以更好的促进词汇附带习得。     

词汇附带习得与大学英语阅读教学

介绍了词汇附带习得是相对于词汇有意学习的一种有效的学习方法。结合词汇附带习得的相关理论,分析了阅读中影响词汇附带习得的因素有学习动机和注意力、阅读能力、词汇量、猜词能力等,探讨了词汇附带习得对改进阅读教学的启示。     

阅读中附带习得英语词汇探析

词汇附带习得是英语词汇学习的一个重要途径.介绍词汇附带习得的理论研究,分析阅读任务、词频以及学习者自身词汇量的大小及词汇学习方法和策略等因素对词汇附带习得的影响,提出一些教学建议以期提高和促进英语阅读教学.     

Preschool intellectual assessment with the ammons quick test

The Quick Test, Form 1 (QT) and the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Form L-M (SB) were administered to 70 preschool children. A low significant correlation of.36 for the MA scores and.39 for the IQ scores were found. However, the mean IQ achieved on the QT was 73 which is at the borderline intellectual level, while the mean IQ achieved on the SB was 111, which falls in the bright-normal range of intelligence. This 38-point difference is highly significant. These findings raise serious doubt about the validity of the QT for the intellectual estimation of preschool children with above average functioning. Further research with a group that also includes children of below average intelligence is indicated.     

认知心理视阈下二语词汇附带习得研究评述

近年来,以认知心理学为理论基础的词汇附带习得的效果逐渐受到二语研究者的重视。对阅读促成词汇附带习得这一研究热点从理论模型、认知机制、实证研究3个角度对国内外近10年研究作一综述和评论,阐述了学习者通过阅读附带习得词汇的心理认知机制,并对影响其词汇习得效果的因素进行了探讨。为了提高国内二语词汇教学效果,语言教师可尝试将词汇附带习得理论应用于词汇教学中,将有意学习和附带学习两种方式有机结合,设计学习任务时注意提高目标词在语篇中的凸显度和出现频率,并针对不同学生水平设计难度各异的教学任务。     

Tourette syndrome and learning disabilities.

We reviewed the records of 42 consecutive cases of children with Tourette Syndrome (TS) who had IQs above 70, and contrasted the reading, reading comprehension, math, and spelling quotients with IQ scores to determine how many would meet criteria for a learning disability. The mean IQ of the 35 males and 7 females was 94.4 and was higher than the mean math score (82.8), spelling score (90.4), reading score (87.4), and reading comprehension score (85.3). Using a 1.5 standard deviation discrepancy, 51% met criteria for learning disability in at least one academic area; 21% had a 2-standard-deviation discrepancy. Children with TS frequently have learning disabilities, and assessment of academic achievement should be a routine aspect in the evaluation of such children.     

The Influence of Referral Information on the Diagnostic Classification of Exceptional Children

Guidance officers who received referral information in which a child's sex, age, reason for referral, attainment and IQ levels were systematically varied, were asked to indicate the likelihood that the child was emotionally disturbed (ED), learning disabled (LD), mildly intellectually handicapped (MIH), or perceptually‐motor impaired (PMI). There was inconsistency in their identification of children as ED, LD and PMI; most cases were classified as MIH with IQ as the main influencing factor. The least exceptional children were the most likely to be categorized as PMI.     

Hyperactivity and incidental memory: evidence for attentional diffusion

2 experiments examined hyperactive children's attentional diffusion, that is, their tendency to underfocus their attention during learning. In Experiment 1 hyperactive children correctly rejected more incorrect incidental information than their nonhyperactive peers, indicating they were more likely to process noncentral attributes. This type of diffuse attention did not interfere with hyperactive children's overall memory performance. Experiment 2 varied the difficulty level of encoding central information, either by limiting the time available for encoding it (brief vs. long) or by varying the meaningfulness of the central information (high associative value shapes vs. low associative value ones). Results showed that hyperactives outperformed nonhyperactives on incidental recognition only when the encoding demands of the central task were easy. Easy encoding permitted them to attend to incidental information without sacrificing central information. Taken together, the results of both experiments demonstrated the validity of the attentional diffusion hypothesis and indicate the need to assess the central processing demands associated with central and incidental learning in order to evaluate the extent of hyperactive children's attentional diffusion.     

Deficits in bannatyne's sequencing ability on the WISC and WISC-R for mildly retarded and borderline functioning children over time

The WISC and WISC-R protocols of 94 special education students (51 white males, 5 black males, 30 white females, and 8 black females) who tested in the mildly retarded and borderline range of abilities (IQs of 50–78) were examined. Their test performance was then followed longitudinally for two additional WISC and WISC-R assessments. Mean age of subjects was 8 years at Test 1, 10.75 years at Test 2, and 14.9 years at Test 3. As predicted, subjects had lower IQ equivalent scores on Bannatyne's Sequencing Ability category than their IQ equivalent scores on the Verbal Comprehension or Perceptual Organization factors of the WISC and WISC-R for all three testings. Results were interpreted as supporting the notion that mildly retarded children and learning disabled children have qualitatively similar learning patterns.     

刑事附带民事诉讼制度的反思

附带民事诉讼本质上是一种民事诉讼,仅在程序运作上具有"有限"的从属性,故最理想的模式是将其从刑事诉讼中分离出去,归并到民事诉讼中。但在目前条件下不宜立刻取消这一制度,而应在以下方面逐步加以完善:赋予当事人程序选择权;扩大请求赔偿损失的范围;限制附带民事诉讼案件的受理范围;明确附带民事诉讼的时效。     

Learning Efficiency Versus Low IQ and/or Teachers’ Ratings as Predictors of Reading Ability of ‘Mentally Defective’ Children: a longitudinal study 1

The major thrust of this study was to test the hypothesis that some of the conventional assessment procedures are not necessarily valid indexes of learning efficiency of children whose tested abilities fall in the ‘mentally defective’ range. The sample of the longitudinal study consisted of 27 second year Junior children, of which six were English and twenty one Asian children. All these children were given the Coloured Progressive Matrices, Draw‐a‐Man test, Schonell Graded Word Recognition Test and the author designed Learning Efficiency Test Battery. The results quite clearly suggest that the information about these children's learning efficiency as measured by the Learning Efficiency Test Battery is more useful for predicting reading and definitely better for predicting changes in reading levels over a period of time than the conventinal type of assessment. It is concluded that the low IQ, should not be deemed as an index of poor learning ability.

     

The Secret of Eternal Youth: Identity,risk and learning difficulties

Post-war theories of 'youth' as a transitional phase of life are reviewed in terms of their common assumption about the formation of a stable adult identity. The post-modern challenge to the assumption of a stable self is outlined together with attempts by theorists of late modernity to hold structure and agency in creative tension. People with learning difficulties, it is argued, represent an abnormal transition in a Learning Society, thus enabling us to understand the nature of transition and identity in such a society more clearly. Ethnographic case studies of a man of 23, a man of 33 and a woman of 43, all being Down's Syndrome, are presented. The limits of their transition to full adulthood are specified in terms of four key markers of adulthood. The paper concludes by reflecting on the purchase of different theories of youth and identity, and on the politics of learning difficulties.     

Diagnostic utility of the number of Wisc‐III subtests deviating from mean performance among students with learning disabilities

This paper examined the diagnostic utility of subtest variability, as represented by the number of subtests that deviate from examinees' mean IQ scores, for identifying students with a learning disability (LD). Participants consisted of the 2,200 students in the WISC‐III normative sample and 684 students (Mdngrade = 5; Mage = 10.8) identified as LD. The number of subtests deviating from examinees' Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ by ±3 points for normative and exceptional samples were contrasted via Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) analyses. Results indicated that LD students did not differ from normative sample children at levels above chance. It was concluded that deviation of individual subtest scores from mean IQ scores has no diagnostic utility for hypothesizing about students with learning disabilities. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Facilitating Development in Preschoolers with Down's Syndrome in Hong Kong: A Controlled Evaluation Study of the Effects of Centre-based Intervention and Regular Preschool Attendance

Six preschoolers with Down's syndrome who attended a centre-based educational intervention program, for three mornings a week, were assessed on the Merrill-Palmer Scale and matched on chronological age (CA), mental age (MA), intelligence quotient (IQ) and the mother's educational level. Three of them also attended regular preschools, two days per week, but the rest did not. Children were reassessed on the Merrill-Palmer Scale one year late. At that time, parents were interviewed in order to determine their views on the educational intervention program. Results indicated that all children increased in terms of MA, but decreased in terms of IQ and that children in the Program Plus Preschool group, fared better than those in the Program Only group in terms of both MA and IQ. Responses to interview questions indicated that parents were very satisfied with the program; they felt that their children's therapy sessions and the training that they themselves received as part of the intervention, were the most beneficial aspects.     

影响阅读中二语词汇附带习得的学习者因素

英语阅读中的词汇附带习得是一种十分有效的词汇习得方式。不少学者就影响阅读中二语词汇附带习得的因素进行了实证研究,然而目前对这些研究中的影响因素作深入的介绍的文章却寥寥无几。因此,就学习者因素在阅读中对词汇附带习得的影响进行了整体的概括．并且在此基础上探讨这些影响因素对大学英语教学的启示。以期促进英语教学的改革与进步。