Analogy construction versus analogy solution, and their influence on transfer

This study compares transfer performed by subjects trained to solve verbal analogies, with transfer by subjects trained to construct them. The first group (n = 57) received instruction in a strategy to solve verbal analogies and the second group (n = 66) was trained in strategies for constructing such analogies.Before and after intervention, all subjects received three analogical tasks: verbal, figural and numerical. The success rate was measured by an effectiveness measure. Even though both interventions improved performance, the construction group scored higher results in the numerical and figural analogy tasks. Following Sternberg's “componential sub-theory of intelligence”, the constructors' advantage is attributed primarily to higher-level activation of the three significant metacomponents: problem recognition, strategy planning and supervision in task performance.     

MULTIPLE PROCESSING STRATEGIES AND THE CONSTRUCT VALIDITY OF VERBAL REASONING TESTS

This study examines the influence of processing strategies, and the associated metacomponents that determine when to apply them, on the construct validity of a verbal reasoning test. Three strategies for solving verbal analogy items were examined: a rule-oriented strategy, an association strategy, and a partial rule strategy. Construct validity was studied in two separate stages: construct representation and nomothetic span. For construct representation, evidence was obtained that all three strategies, and their related metacomponents, are associated with performance on analogy items. For nomothetic span, the current study found that all three strategies contribute to individual differences in verbal reasoning and to the predictive validity of the test. The results of this study also point to the utility of metacomponents as constructs for describing and understanding test performance. Implications of the results for test development and theories of aptitude are elaborated.     

The effects of cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction on the mathematical problem solving of middle school students with learning disabilities.

This study investigated the effects of cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction on the mathematical problem solving of six middle school students with learning disabilities. Conditions of the multiple baseline, across-subjects design included baseline, two levels of treatment, setting and temporal generalization, and retraining. For Treatment 1, subjects received either cognitive or metacognitive strategy instruction. Treatment 2 consisted of instruction in the complementary component of the instructional program so that all subjects eventually received both cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction. This design allowed a componential analysis of the content as well as sequence of instruction. Generally, subjects improved their mathematical problem solving as measured by performance on one-, two-, and three-step word problems. Discussion focused on effectiveness of treatment, acquisition and application of strategic knowledge, error pattern analysis, and the need to tailor instruction to the learner's individual characteristics.     

The role of the working memory and language skills in the prediction of word problem solving in 4- to 7-year-old children

The aim of this study was to analyse the role of verbal and visuo-spatial working memory (WM) and language skills (vocabulary, listening comprehension) in predicting preschool and kindergarten-aged children’s ability to solve mathematical word problems presented orally. The participants were 116 Finnish-speaking children aged 4–7?years. The results showed that verbal WM (VWM) did not have a direct effect on word problems in young children but was indirectly related to word problems through vocabulary and listening comprehension. These results suggest that in young children, VWM resources support language skills which, furthermore, contribute to variation in solving orally presented word problems. The results also showed that visuo-spatial WM had a direct effect on performance in word problems, suggesting that it plays an important role in word problem solving among this age group.     

Motives,beliefs, and perceptions among learners affect preparatory learning strategies

Preparation is an effective and necessary activity; however, most students do not prepare for future lessons. The present study addressed this problem and examined how learners' motives, beliefs, and perceptions affected their strategy use during preparation for future lessons. Participants were 219 Japanese junior high school students who responded to a questionnaire about mathematics learning. The result of a path analysis suggested that learners' intrinsic motives, extrinsic motives, and cognitive beliefs about learning positively related to their spontaneously obtaining prior knowledge and solving example problems. In addition, noncognitive beliefs positively affected perceived cost of preparation and decreased obtaining prior knowledge. Implications for educational practice, limitations of the present study, and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

词汇广度和句法知识对二语阅读理解的预测

基于阅读组合模式的理论框架、Nation提出的词汇广度测试构念和结构语言学家对于句法知识的界定,考察词汇广度和句法知识对二语阅读理解测试成绩的预测,以了解此预测是否受二语水平的调节作用。实验结果表明：受试的词汇广度和句法知识都与其阅读理解测试成绩存在线性相关关系;无论对于高水平受试还是低水平受试,句法知识对阅读理解测试成绩的预测能力都大于词汇广度对其的预测。     

Tower of Hanoi disk-transfer task: Influences of strategy knowledge and learning on performance

Tower of Hanoi has become a popular tool in cognitive and neuropsychology to assess a set of behaviors collectively referred to as executive functions. Substantial variability in performance on the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) disk-transfer task among normally functioning young adults, and potential contributions to these individual differences, were examined. In this expanded 60-problem version of the four-disk TOH, the degree to which problem administration (blocked vs. random) and strategy knowledge influenced overall performance and changes in accuracy across problems was examined. Eighty-seven college students were randomly assigned to a Blocked Group (problems given in ascending order of move-length) and a Random Group (problems given in a random order). After administration of the TOH task, participants described their problem solving and these verbal protocols were analyzed with regard to four elements of a strategic approach to problem solving. Problem administration order demonstrated no effect on task performance or on expressed strategy knowledge; however, strategy knowledge did predict performance on the TOH. An expected decrease in performance across trials was observed in the Blocked Group, and an increase in accuracy in the Random group indicated a learning effect. Strategy knowledge did not interact with these changes in performance across the items. These results suggest that external cues do not influence performance on the TOH to the same extent as individual differences in strategy induction relatively early in the problem solving process.     

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.     

Science knowledge and cognitive strategy use among culturally and linguistically diverse students

Science performance is determined, to a large extent, by what students already know about science (i.e., science knowledge) and what techniques or methods students use in performing science tasks (i.e., cognitive strategies). This study describes and compares science knowledge, science vocabulary, and cognitive strategy use among four diverse groups of elementary students: (a) monolingual English Caucasian, (b) African-American, (c) bilingual Spanish, and (d) bilingual Haitian Creole. To facilitate science performance in culturally and linguistically congruent settings, the study included student dyads and teachers of the same language, culture, and gender. Science performance was observed using three science tasks: weather phenomena, simple machines, and buoyancy. Data analysis involved a range of qualitative methods focusing on major themes and patterns, and quantitative methods using coding systems to summarize frequencies and total scores. The findings reveal distinct patterns of science knowledge, science vocabulary, and cognitive strategy use among the four language and culture groups. The findings also indicate relationships among science knowledge, science vocabulary, and cognitive strategy use. These findings raise important issues about science instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse groups of students.     

Vocabulary learning from reading: examining interactions between task and learner related variables

In the field of second and foreign language learning, how various task characteristics affect language learning has been the focus of many recent studies. Much of this research examined the relationship between task characteristics and task performance without fully taking into account learner related variables. The present study aimed to assess task complexity and sequence in relation to the learner related variables drawn from the social cognitive perspective of self-regulated learning, i.e. self-efficacy beliefs and frequency of learning strategy use, as they were applied to two versions of vocabulary learning from reading tasks. The tasks designed for the present study were based on the componential framework for second language task design. With tasks and task sequence counterbalanced, 146 first-year university students (mean age?=?18.59 years) were randomly assigned to one of four groups. Results reveal a significant effect of task sequence on vocabulary learning self-efficacy beliefs, frequency of learning strategy use and task performance, and a significant interaction effect of sequence with task complexity. Findings are discussed in terms of complex interactions between task and learner factors.     

Social Categorization on Perception Bias in the Practice of Microteaching

Microteaching has gained considerable attention for its effectiveness in rapid and contextual training in professional development programs. However, the interpretive quality of the teaching demonstration and peer feedback may influence individuals’ attribution and self-correction, leading to ineffective learning. In this study, a microteaching workshop in a professional development program for 78 elementary school science teachers was investigated. The results showed that the effectiveness of microteaching was negatively affected by participants’ perception bias due to social categorization. Moreover, it was indicated that the participants’ perception of the in-group and out-group, classified by the degree of the individuals’ science knowledge, fostered social categorization. Participants tended to experience perception conflicts caused by their inability to see personal faults, and a typical perception bias of “seeing one’s own strengths and seeing others’ shortcomings” was more frequently recognized in the out-group. These results converge to highlight the importance of social categorization in perception bias relevant to microteaching.     

Technical problem solving among 10-year-old students as related to science achievement,out-of-school experience,domain-specific control beliefs,and attribution patterns

Using a sample of 531 10-year-olds from Germany and the United States, the study investigated the relationships among the structure of everyday experience, domain-specific control beliefs, acquisition of science knowledge, and solving of everyday technical problems. It assumed that children acquire operative schemata through daily experiences with technical objects and toys which not only transfer to solving technical everyday problems but also have a positive influence on school science learning. It was also thought that the covariation between technical everyday experiences and science achievement/technical problem solving would be mediated by control beliefs. A causal model, developed and tested by means of structural equation modeling, showed that domain-specific out-of-school experience only indirectly influences problem-solving performance, mediated by control beliefs. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 987–1013, 1998.     

Algebraic Problem Solving for Middle School Students with Autism and Intellectual Disability

Problem solving is an important yet neglected mathematical skill for students with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability (ASD/ID). In addition, the terminology and vocabulary used in mathematical tasks may be unfamiliar to students with ASD/ID. The current study evaluated the effects of modified schema-based instruction (SBI) on the algebra problem solving skills of three middle school students with ASD/ID. Mathematics vocabulary terms were taught using constant time delay. Participants were then taught how to use an iPad that displayed a task analysis with embedded prompts to complete each step of solving the word problems. This study also examined participant’s ability to generalize skills when supports were faded. Results of the multiple probe across participants design showed a functional relation between modified SBI and mathematical problem solving as well as constant time delay and acquisition of mathematics vocabulary terms. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

类比法在“大学数学”教学中的应用

类比方法是用已有的知识和已掌握的技能去解决新问题,从而加深学生对新知识的理解,促进学生对新规律的认识;找出问题、探究问题、解决问题,有助于思想、方法和技巧的开拓与延伸。类比法对提高教学效果和培养学生的创新意识是十分必要的,也是课程改革所倡导的。介绍类比式教学的基本概念,分别大学数学的基础学科和应用学科两类课程来以类比式教学方法的使用情况。运用好类比式教学法将有助于学生加深对数学课程的认识,形成系统全面的知识体系。     

Influence of Verbal Working Memory Depends on Vocabulary: Oral Reading Fluency in Adolescents With Dyslexia

Most research on dyslexia to date has focused on early childhood, while comparatively little is known about the nature of dyslexia in adolescence. The current study had two objectives. The first was to investigate the relative contributions of several cognitive and linguistic factors to connected‐text oral reading fluency in a sample of adolescents with dyslexia (n = 77). The second was to test the hypothesis that the effect of verbal working memory on connected‐text oral reading fluency is moderated by word‐level skills and/or vocabulary knowledge. The results suggest that many deficits associated with childhood dyslexia remain prominent in adolescence, but the nature of the relationships between key cognitive and linguistic predictors (i.e., word‐level reading, vocabulary, verbal working memory) and reading fluency appear to be different in adolescence. For example, while word‐level skills remain a significant predictor, the strength of the effect is relatively weak. In contrast, the data support an increased role for vocabulary and verbal working memory, including an interaction between these factors. The presence of an interaction can be interpreted as evidence that the influence of verbal working memory on connected‐text oral reading fluency in adolescents with dyslexia depends on individual differences in vocabulary knowledge. These results offer support for the changing nature of dyslexia across development, and suggest that researchers should study dyslexia in adolescents on its own terms, rather than treating it as an extension of reading problems in early childhood.     

The effects of speech production and vocabulary training on different components of spoken language performance

A group of 21 hard-of-hearing and deaf children attending primary school were trained by their teachers on the production of selected consonants and on the meanings of selected words. Speech production, vocabulary knowledge, reading aloud, and speech perception measures were obtained before and after each type of training. The speech production training produced a small but significant improvement in the percentage of consonants correctly produced in words. The vocabulary training improved knowledge of word meanings substantially. Performance on speech perception and reading aloud were significantly improved by both types of training. These results were in accord with the predictions of a mathematical model put forward to describe the relationships between speech perception, speech production, and language measures in children (Paatsch, Blamey, Sarant, Martin, & Bow, 2004). These training data demonstrate that the relationships between the measures are causal. In other words, improvements in speech production and vocabulary performance produced by training will carry over into predictable improvements in speech perception and reading scores. Furthermore, the model will help educators identify the most effective methods of improving receptive and expressive spoken language for individual children who are deaf or hard of hearing.     

Spreadsheets as cognitive tools: A study of the impact of spreadsheets on problem solving of math story problems

In this study, we investigated the impact of computer spreadsheets on the problem solving practices of students for math story problems, and more specifically on the transition from arithmetic to algebraic reasoning, through the construction of algebraic expressions. We investigated the relationships among the students’ prior knowledge and skills, the verification processes, and the effectiveness of the problem solving tasks. For identifying the factors involved in the problem solving process and their role, in our analysis we employed the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. We mainly focused on math story problems and on students of tertiary education with little prior experience on the use of computers and spreadsheets. Analysis of the data indicates that spreadsheets can support the transition from arithmetic to algebraic reasoning and this transition is influenced by prior skills of the students relevant to the interaction with the interface (enter formula skills), and the students’ frequency of verification of the solution.     

儿童认知策略的发展特点

认知策略是个体在解决问题的过程中,运用已有的知识和经验,以期达到目的的智力活动.认知策略的层次性使得其分类方式交叉重叠.儿童认知策略的发展具有以下特征:随着年龄的增长儿童开始产生策略,进而自发使用这些策略,策略使用的有效性也在增加.许多实证研究表明,西格勒的重叠波浪模型符合儿童认知策略发展的特点.     

Phonological awareness,speech development,and letter knowledge in preschool children

Phonological awareness has been shown to be one of the most reliable predictors and associates of reading ability. In an attempt to better understand its development, we have examined the interrelations of speech skills and letter knowledge to the phonological awareness and early reading skills of 99 preschool children. We found that phoneme awareness, but not rhyme awareness, correlated with early reading measures. We further found that phoneme manipulation was closely associated with letter knowledge and with letter sound knowledge, in particular, where rhyme awareness was closely linked with speech perception and vocabulary. Phoneme judgment fell in between. The overall pattern of results is consistent with phonological representation as an important factor in the complex relationship between preschool children’s phonological awareness, their emerging knowledge of the orthography, and their developing speech skills. However, where rhyme awareness is a concomitant of speech and vocabulary development, phoneme awareness more clearly associates with the products of literacy experience.