Maternal interaction,private speech,and task performance in preschool children

This study examined the correspondence between ontogenetic and microgenetic change in private speech, the association of private speech with task performance, and the relationship of maternal interaction during a teaching session to preschoolers' verbal self-regulation and success in independent problem solving. Thirty 4- and 5-year-olds were observed while their mothers assisted them in solving two challenging tasks. In three subsequent sessions, children's private speech and performance were tracked as they worked on tasks requiring skills similar to those taught in the mother-child session. Correspondences between age- and session-related trends in private speech and task performance appeared that are consistent with Vygotsky's assumption that private speech undergoes progressive internalization with increasing cognitive competence. Contrary to Vygotskian assumptions, utterances accompanying action were not replaced by those preceding action (planning statements) with advancing age and task mastery. Private speech predicted gain in task performance more effectively than concurrent performance. A global index of authoritative parenting was a better predictor of private speech and task performance than were microanalytic measures of scaffolding, suggesting that microanalytic indices may miss critical features of maternal teaching behavior that promote transfer of cognitive strategies from adult to child.     

The roles of collective task value and collaborative behaviors in collaborative performance through collaborative creation in CSCL

Research has suggested that self or co-regulated learning is very helpful for the development of students’ autonomy, and is particularly important in online learning environments, because such non-linear environments tend to lack focus and teachers’ monitoring. The social cognitive research suggests that highly self-regulated learners have higher motivation and more control of their learning behaviors, and thus generate better outcomes on an individual basis rather on a group basis. This study thus attempts to extend the social cognitive perspective of self-regulated learning to collective regulated learning, and to investigate the relationships among collective beliefs (i.e., collective task value, a newly developed group motivation), collaborative behaviors (i.e., group cohesion, cognitive quality of collaborative interactions), and collaborative performance through collaborative creation in the CSCL environment. A total of 96 college students participated in this study. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were applied. The results indicate that collective task value is a reliable and valid construct. The results also show that collective task value significantly predicts students’ group cohesion and collaborative performance, although it does not predict students’ cognitive quality of collaborative interactions. Students’ group cohesion and higher level of cognitive quality in collaborative interactions also both significantly predict their collaborative performance through collaborative creation in the CSCL environment.     

Understanding the role of private speech in children's emotion regulation

Self-regulation includes both cognitive and affective components, but few researchers have investigated how these components interact to better explain self-regulation. The purpose of this study was to investigate how children's private speech, which is typically related to cognitive ability, was utilized during an emotion-eliciting task. By examining the social and private speech that occurred as children coped with a frustration task, a better understanding of how children regulate their emotional displays can be achieved. Children's speech, emotional expressions (sadness and anger), and emotion regulation strategies (distraction and self-comforting) were coded during a frustration task completed by preschool-aged children (N = 116). Children's social speech to mothers and private speech were transcribed. Children's private speech was categorized according to five mutually exclusive categories: vocalizations, inaudible muttering, task-irrelevant, negatively valenced task-relevant, or facilitative task-relevant. Sadness was associated with more social speech and negatively valenced task-relevant private speech, whereas anger was associated with less distraction and facilitative task-relevant private speech and more vocalizations and negatively valenced task-relevant private speech. Additionally, private speech predicted unique variance beyond that explained by the emotion regulation strategies and moderated the relations of emotion regulation strategies to both anger and sadness. These empirical findings support theoretical propositions that language is a factor in children's emotion regulation. The implications of these findings include support for the encouragement of private speech in the classroom because of its relation to emotional, in addition to cognitive, regulatory functions.     

The role of context in a collaborative problem-solving task during professional development

This article analyses how a group of teachers managed the resources available while performing computer-supported collaborative problem-solving tasks in the context of professional development. The authors video-recorded and analysed collaborative sessions during which the group of teachers used a digital environment to prepare a pedagogical scenario for subsequent implementation in their schools. The findings provide evidence that some aspects of context management can be explained in terms of explorative (opening problem space) and focused (closing problem space) actions. The results indicate that (a) the focused problem-solving took place when the problem space reached a provisional stability and problem-solvers developed a plan for proceeding with the task, (b) the individual exploration of the context was associated with the process of appropriation of a digital educational environment, and (c) the collective exploration of the context fostered the advancement of collaborative problem-solving and the introduction of new elements in the joint problem space.     

The central task in teaching speech

SCIENCE, REASON, AND RHETORIC. Edited by Henry Krips, J.E. McGuire, and Trevor Melia. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995; pp. vii+322. $49.95

THE RHETORIC OF EUGENICS IN ANGLO‐AMERICAN THOUGHT. By Marouf A. Hasian, Jr. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1996; pp. x+265. $40.00.

DECONSTRUCTING COMMUNICATION: REPRESENTATION, SUBJECT, AND ECONOMIES OF EXCHANGE. By Briankle G. Chang. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996; pp. xvii +258. $57.95; paper $22.95.

CONTAINMENT CULTURE: AMERICAN NARRATIVES, POSTMODERNISM, AND THE ATOMIC AGE. By Alan Nadel. Durham: Duke University Press, 1995; pp. ix + 332. $49.95; paper $17.95.

CONSTITUTING AMERICANS: CULTURAL ANXIETY AND NARRATIVE FORM. By Priscilla Wald. Durham: Duke University Press, 1995; pp. ix+390. $56.95; paper $ 17.95.

CONTESTED BOUNDARIES: ITINERANCY AND THE RESHAPING OF THE COLONIAL AMERICAN RELIGIOUS WORLD. By Timothy D. Hall. Durham: Duke University Press, 1994; pp. x + 196. $39.95; paper $16.95.

TELEVISION FORM AND PUBLIC ADDRESS. By John Corner. New York: Edward Arnold and St. Martin's Press, 1995; pp. 200. $59.95; paper $18.95.

THE IRONY OF FREE SPEECH. By Owen M. Fiss. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996; pp. 98. $18.95.

GOING NEGATIVE: HOW POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTS SHRINK AND POLARIZE THE ELECTORATE. By Stephen Ansolabehere and Shanto Iyengar. New York: The Free Press, 1995; pp. 243. $24.00.

ARS POETRIAE: RHETORICAL AND GRAMMATICAL INVENTION AT THE MARGIN OF LITERACY. By William M. Purcell. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1996; pp. 193. $34.95

COMPUTER NETWORKING AND SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION IN THE TWENTY‐FIRST CENTURY UNIVERSITY. Edited by Teresa M. Harrison and Timothy Stephen. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996; pp. xii + 468. $59.50; paper $ 19.95.

EVALUATING WOMEN'S HEALTH MESSAGES: A RESOURCE BOOK. Edited by Roxanne Louiselle Parrott and Celeste Michelle Condit. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1996; xiv + 445. $69.95; paper $32.95.

RELATING: DIALOGUES AND DIALECTICS. By Leslie A. Baxter and Barbara M. Montgomery. New York: Guilford Press, 1996; pp. xv + 285. $42.00; paper $18.95.

THE ART OF FRAMING: MANAGING THE LANGUAGE OF LEADERSHIP. By Gail T. Fairhurst and Robert A. Sarr. San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass, 1996; pp. xviii + 213. $25.00.

FRAME REFLECTION: TOWARD THE RESOLUTION OF INTRACTABLE POLICY CONTROVERSIES. By Donald A. Schon and Martin Rein. New York: Basic Books, 1994; pp. xv + 247. $30.00; paper $15.00.

CESAR CHAVEZ: A TRIUMPH OF SPIRIT. By Richard Griswold del Castillo and Richard A. Garcia. The Oklahoma Western Biographies Series, Vol. 2. Preface By Richard W. Etulain. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995; pp. xvii + 206. $19.95.     

The effects of verbal scaffolding instruction on young children's private speech and problem-solving capabilities

This investigation examined the efficacy of a verbal scaffolding instructional program designed to teach young children how to use private speech while working on school tasks and problems. Two different contexts for solving problems were used; common school tasks and analogical reasoning problems. Thirty-four 5-year olds who attended public school kindergartens were assigned to either the comparison group or the treatment group. Comparison group subjects were presented with a series of 8 lessons which focused on a cognitive strategy to be used in the solutions of geometric analogy problems. Treatment group subjects were presented with a series of 8 lessons which employed cognitive self-instruction in a verbal scaffolding format. After initial instruction using self-verbalizations, treatment group subjects were shown how to apply the cognitive self-instruction to routine school tasks and geometric analogy problems. The data analysis revealed that there was an effect on the treatment group's use of 3 of the 4 levels of private speech. When the two groups were compared, the treatment group used significantly less task irrelevant private speech and significantly more task relevant private speech. There were no significant differences between the two groups on the post-assessment of geometric analogy reasoning. Additionally, when the two groups were compared there were positive effects of the instructional program on the treatment group's classroom behavior (near transfer) and locus of control scores (far transfer). The results of this study provide support for the use of cognitive self-instruction to improve young children's problem-solving private speech in the context of a public school classroom.Portions of this paper were presented at the 2nd Annual European Congress of Psychology, Budapest Hungary, July 1991 by the first author.This paper was presented at the 1993 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta, GA.     

The role of sweeteners in the diet of young children

The health and nutrition implications of high sugar intake for young children are discussed. Infants and young children prefer foods that taste sweet. Sugar substitutes used in moderation can provide a compromise for child care providers who want to offer nutritious food which young children will eat. This study examined sweetener preferences of young children, including a new sweetener (Sweet One^®). Participants (3–8 years of age) sampled a beverage and plain cottage cheese sweetened with either sugar or Sweet One^® as part of a sensory difference test. They also ranked four vanilla puddings sweetened with sugar and three FDA approved sweeteners. In the difference test, the subjects were able to tell the difference between sugar and Sweet One^® in the beverage, but not in the cottage cheese. There was no consensus among the panelists for a sweetener preference in the rank-order test.     

Transfer by very young children in the symbolic retrieval task

Cumulative experience with a variety of symbolic artifacts has been hypothesized as a source of young children's increasing sensitivity to new symbol-referent relations. Evidence for this hypothesis comes from transfer studies showing that experience with a relatively easy symbolic retrieval task improves performance on a more difficult task. Significant transfer was found for the 2(1/2)-year-old children in the 3 studies reported here, even with relatively low levels of contextual support (according to the taxonomy of transfer by Barnett & Ceci, 2002). Transfer occurred even though the 2 tasks were encountered in very different settings and there was a prolonged (1-week) delay interval between them. Transfer also occurred to a much more difficult task (one that even 3-year-olds typically fail).     

The children's centre teacher role: developing practice in the private,voluntary and independent sector

This study assessed the impact of the role of the teacher in two children's centres in England and identified some of the supporting and limiting factors that influenced outcomes. The teachers worked across several settings in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector, with the aim of enhancing early years practice and practitioner confidence. A conceptual framework was devised to model the impact of the teacher role based on Leithwood and Levin (2005 Leithwood K, Levin B. 2005. Assessing school leader and leadership programme effects on pupil learning. DfES Research Report 662. http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR662.pdf (accessed December 2006) [Google Scholar]). Teachers were found to bring vital professional knowledge and experience to the role and delivered their methods through a range of leadership styles as identified in the literature. Teachers were successful in developing practice and staff confidence in settings; this also impacted positively on outcomes for children. However, success was dependent on a number of moderating factors, including sector‐related factors such as the qualifications of staff. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

The effects of extraneous speech on visual vigilance performance of children

First-grade males performed a 30-min visual vigilance task under 5 conditions of auditory background stimulation. The 5 conditions consisted of (1) continuous conversation, in which subjects listened to a tape of conversation spliced so that there were no intervals of silence lasting longer than 3 sec; (2) continuous reverse, in which subjects heard the continuous conversation tape played in reverse; (3) intermittent conversation, in which subjects heard alternating segments of conversation and silence; (4) intermittent reverse, in which subjects heard alternating segments of reverse conversation and silence; and (5) silence control. Compared with silence or continuous stimulation, intermittent stimulation produced better detection regardless of whether or not it was meaningful. High achievers made more correct detections than low achievers, but only in the second and third time periods. Few subjects made errors of commission.     

从学院翻译到商业翻译的译者角色转换

基于翻译目的、文本偏向、指导理论、影响因素等的不同,学院翻译与商业翻译中的译者角色也有所不同。在学院翻译中译者主要承担翻译活动的绝对主体、文本的纯转述者和文字校对员三种角色,而在商业翻译中译者则转换为发起人／委托人的遵从者、基于受众的创造者和文本内外的协调员。译者如果能尽快了解商业翻译并及早适应这些角色转换,就有助于其成为优秀的专职商业译者。     

The role of the Connexions service in supporting the transition from school to post-16 education, employment training and work for young people with a history of specific speech and language difficulties or learning difficulties

The transition from school to the world of post-compulsory education is a major landmark in the lives of young people with special educational needs (SEN). In England the Connexions service set up to support young people during transition was planned to provide both a universal service and one that provided special support to vulnerable young people, particularly those at risk of not being in education, employment or training (NEET). The present paper reports the findings of a study of 46 Connexions personal advisers (PAs) who were supporting young people with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) or general learning difficulties, as part of a longitudinal study of these young people's development. Interviews were held with the PAs to identify patterns of organisation, the nature of services delivered to these young people and the factors that influenced successful support. The findings highlight the diversity among Connexions services, the limited expertise with young people with SEN and the structural barriers that may limit effectiveness. In addition, the Assessment, Planning, Implementation and Review Framework was not consistently used. The Connexions service has the potential to provide important support to young people with SEN at this key transition point but our study indicates the need for modifications to its operation.     

Sexuality education for young children: The role of parents

An important component of family life is sexuality education. Being comfortable with one's sexuality is an essential component of individual and family wellness. To this end, parents and teachers who intend to assist in young children's sexuality education must be comfortable and well informed.Nilufer P. Medora is Associate Professor, Department of Home Economics, California State University, Long Beach, CA. Stephan Wilson is Associate Professor, and Director, Center for Kentucky Children and Family Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. 40506.     

Imitation and performance in confrontations between competent peers: The role of the representation of the task

This study (N=75) examined the influence dynamics that take place between two competent individuals presenting divergent solutions for a cognitive task. The hypothesis was that such settings (i.e., conflict of competencies) are unlikely to have a positive effect on intellectual performance because of the representation of the task, and that an increase in performance may be found if such a representation is modified. Three conditions were examined: a control condition in which participants completed the task by themselves, a conflict of competencies condition in which participants declared to be highly competent where confronted with a equally highly competent (bogus) partner who offered diverging solutions (standard conflict of competencies condition), and a conflict of competencies condition in which a decentring procedure was induced to modify the representation of the task. The results showed that participants in the decentring condition solved the task better compared to the standard conflict of competencies condition and the control condition. However, the results unexpectedly revealed imitation in the two conflict of competencies conditions compared to the control condition. Complementary analyses suggest that in the standard conflict of competencies condition imitation corresponds to a defensive motivation.