Training Mispronunciation Correction and Word Meanings Improves Children’s Ability to Learn to Read Words

Previous research has suggested that learning to read irregular words depends upon knowledge of a word’s meaning and the ability to correct imperfect decoding attempts by reference to the known pronunciations of a word. In an experimental training study, 84 children ages 5–7 years were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. Children in the intervention group participated in a 4-week programme in which they were taught to correct mispronunciations of spoken words as well as being taught the meanings of those words. Children in the control group received no additional teaching. The intervention group made significant gains in their ability to correct mispronunciations and to read and define the taught words; these gains also generalised to a comparable set of untaught control words. Children can be taught to correct errors in the pronunciation of irregular words, and this may produce generalised effects on learning to read.     

The effectiveness of peer mediation in a low‐SES rural elementary school

Thirty 6th‐8th‐grade students were trained to serve as mediators for peers in conflict. Student mediators were taught conflict resolution and mediation techniques from the Conflict Resolution Unlimited (1995) manual. Mediation was available to students school‐wide (N = 798); disputants were given the option to go to mediation or to the principal for resolutions. Mediators' responses to written tests indicated increased knowledge of mediation skills after training, which was maintained at 6‐week follow‐up. During the 6 weeks following training, 32 of 34 mediations resulted in satisfactory conflict resolution. School‐wide suspensions decreased during the intervention year, as compared to 3 years of baseline data. In addition, mediators' own office referrals were lower than a randomly selected matched control group. Further, mediators' current referrals were lower than in the previous year, while there was no such change for the control group. Results and process variables of the implementation are discussed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The Effect of Conflict Resolution Training on Turkish Elementary School Students: A Quasi-Experimental Investigation

This study investigated the effect of conflict resolution training on Turkish elementary school students' conflict resolution strategies. The participants were 54 fourth grade students. A pre-test, post-test, follow-up control group quasi-experimental design was used. Two 4th grade classes were selected out of three eligible 4th grade classes on the basis of Conflict Scenario Written Measure (Johnson, Johnson, & Dudley, 1992) and randomly assigned as control and experimental group. The experimental group consisted of 28 students (17 boys, 11 girls) and the control group consisted of 26 students (15 boys, 11 girls). Those in experimental group received 45 minutes of conflict resolution training twice a week, for four weeks. The results indicated that treatment was effective in changing the conflict resolution strategies used by the experimental group subjects in three different hypothetical situations and this effect was maintained six months after the treatment.     

Evaluation of a core team centred professional development programme for building a whole-school cooperative problem solving approach to conflict

This study evaluated a professional learning approach using a core team (CT) model to assist primary (elementary) schools to develop whole-school collaborative conflict resolution processes. Thirteen schools were matched and randomly assigned to the enhancing relationships in school communities programme (n?=?10) or a non-programme control group (n?=?3). Programme schools provided a core (professional learning) team, who attended professional learning days, and disseminated programme content throughout their schools. Programme schools also received one full school staff workshop. After one year, CT participants were more likely to apply a collaborative conflict resolution model to problem scenarios and report greater knowledge and skills compared to non-programme-school control participants. Compared to the non-programme control group, non-core team programme school staff described using more cooperative approaches to handling conflict, especially when they had received more professional development from their CT. Programme school teachers taught more hours conflict resolution curriculum, and increases in hours taught by programme (but not control) teachers were associated with teacher reported increases in student understanding and use of cooperative methods. Patterns also supported a role of self-efficacy in implementation. The potential usefulness of a CT professional learning model for assisting schools to develop cooperative conflict resolution approaches was supported.     

Training maltreating parents in elaborative and emotion-rich reminiscing with their preschool-aged children

Objective

In the current study, the effects of training maltreating parents and their preschool-aged children in elaborative and emotion-rich reminiscing were examined.

Method

44 Parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to a training (reminiscing) or wait-list (control) condition. All participating parents had substantiated maltreatment and were involved with the Department of Child Services at the time of enrollment. Children were 3–6 years old (M = 4.88, SD = .99) and living in the custody of the participating parent. Dyads in the reminiscing condition received four, weekly, in-home sessions in elaborative and emotion rich reminiscing.

Results

At a follow-up assessment, maltreating parents in the reminiscing condition provided more high-elaborative utterances, references to children's negative emotions, and explanations of children's emotion during reminiscing than did parents in the control condition. Children in the reminiscing condition had richer memory recall and made more emotion references than did children in the control condition during reminiscing with their mothers, but not with an experimenter.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that maltreating parents can be taught elaborative and emotion-rich reminiscing skills, with benefits for child cognitive and emotional development. The potential clinical utility of a reminiscing-based training for maltreating families with young children is discussed.     

Conflict Resolution Among Preschool Children: The Appeal of Negotiation in Hypothetical Disputes

Young children's preferences for conflict management strategies were assessed with hypothetical puppet interviews. A total of 48 children enrolled in a university nursery school were each presented 12 vignettes depicting common peer conflicts. Vignettes varied as a function of conflict issue (roles and possessions) and peer friendship status (friends and nonfriends). Three conflict resolution strategies were contrasted: negotiation, power assertion, and disengagement. The results indicated an overwhelming preference for negotiation. In contrast, power assertion was the least desirable means of resolving disputes. No differences emerged as a function of conflict issue or friendship status. Neither were there differences according to the age or sex of the subject. The findings indicate that young children evince a similar preference for resolving conflicts through negotiation and cooperation as has been reported in studies of older children and adolescents.     

Commentary on Comparative Evaluation of Early Intervention Alternatives

Young children's preferences for conflict management strategies were assessed with hypothetical puppet interviews. A total of 48 children enrolled in a university nursery school were each presented 12 vignettes depicting common peer conflicts. Vignettes varied as a function of conflict issue (roles and possessions) and peer friendship status (friends and nonfriends). Three conflict resolution strategies were contrasted: negotiation, power assertion, and disengagement. The results indicated an overwhelming preference for negotiation. In contrast, power assertion was the least desirable means of resolving disputes. No differences emerged as a function of conflict issue or friendship status. Neither were there differences according to the age or sex of the subject. The findings indicate that young children evince a similar preference for resolving conflicts through negotiation and cooperation as has been reported in studies of older children and adolescents.     

Training parents to mediate sibling disputes affects children's negotiation and conflict understanding

The effects of training parents to use formal mediation procedures in sibling disputes were examined in 48 families with 5- to 10-years-old children, randomly assigned to mediation and control conditions. Children whose parents were trained in mediation were compared with those whose parents intervened normally. Parents reported that children used more constructive conflict resolution strategies, compromised more often, and controlled the outcomes of conflicts more often in mediation families than in control families. Observations indicated less negativity in children's independent negotiations of recurrent conflicts, better understanding of the role of interpretation in assessing blame, and better knowledge of their siblings' perspectives in the mediation group. Thus, both social and social-cognitive gains resulted from experience with constructive conflict resolution.     

Conflict in the Dyadic Play of 3-Year-Old Children

Episodes of conflict provide a rich source of information about children's development of interactive skills. In the present study, 184 3-year-old children were observed in dyadic play and the 287 conflicts that occurred during their play were transcribed and coded. In general, children's conflicts arose in the context of ongoing play and were brief, lasting less than 15 seconds. Most disputes concerned toy possession, and almost 80% were ended by the simple withdrawal of one or the other children from the conflict. When children responded with emotional intensity to conflict, their conflicts lasted longer and were more likely to be followed by continued negative interaction. Individual difference data were available for one member of each dyad observed in play. Children rated in infancy as having difficult temperaments were found to be more intense during conflict, to spend more time in conflict, and to score higher on an index of conflict resolution competence, whereas concurrent social behavior was not related to conflict variables. Girls scored higher than boys on competence at conflict resolution, and children with better language skills spent less time in conflict. The more time children spent in nonmaternal child care up to age 3, the less likely they were to initiate conflict.     

Differential results of instruction at the preoperational/concrete operational transition

The same cognitive intervention was attempted with children from two schools serving different populations. All children were identified by their teachers as having cognitive difficulties in kindergarten. Within each school, children were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Children in the experimental groups received more than 40 short lessons on unidimensional classification (oddity), seriation, and number conservation. These lessons were taught via a learning-set procedure employing 160 kinds of manipulatable objects. Children in the control groups received an equal amount of instruction on verbal and mathematics materials recommended by their teachers. Five months after the instruction was concluded, the experimental group in one school scored significantly better on a psychometric test of reasoning. There was no significant difference in verbal and mathematics achievement. Differences in the significance of outcomes of the intervention at the two schools suggest that children at different stages of cognitive development will benefit differently from cognitive interventions. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Conflict in the Dyadic Play of 3-Year-Old Children

Episodes of conflict provide a rich source of information about children's development of interactive skills. In the present study, 184 3-year-old children were observed in dyadic play and the 287 conflicts that occurred during their play were transcribed and coded. In general, children's conflicts arose in the context of ongoing play and were brief, lasting less than 15 seconds. Most disputes concerned toy possession, and almost 80% were ended by the simple withdrawal of one or the other children from the conflict. When children responded with emotional intensity to conflict, their conflicts lasted longer and were more likely to be followed by continued negative interaction. Individual difference data were available for one member of each dyad observed in play. Children rated in infancy as having difficult temperaments were found to be more intense during conflict, to spend more time in conflict, and to score higher on an index of conflict resolution competence, whereas concurrent social behavior was not related to conflict variables. Girls scored higher than boys on competence at conflict resolution, and children with better language skills spent less time in conflict. The more time children spent in nonmaternal child care up to age 3, the less likely they were to initiate conflict.     

Using elaboration strategies training in computer-based instruction to promote generative learning

Use of subject-generated elaborations, taught via embedded and detached training strategies, was compared with experimenter-provided elaborations or no elaborations (control) on a CBI training unit on computer professional development. Subjects were 80 administrative assistants (20 per treatment) at a large corporation. Results showed advantages for one or both subject-generated elaborations strategies relative to the control treatment on measures of recall and application learning; the experimenter-generated group did not differ significantly from any other group. Additional analyses indicated that the embedded-training elaborations group gave more personal and paraphrased elaborations than did the detached-training group. Results are interpreted as favoring the use of elaborations strategies, particularly when taught by embedded training, for promoting generative learning.     

Conflict and Its Resolution in Preschoolers with and without Disabilities

The sources of conflict, its resolution, and additional conflict components were described for 16 preschoolers with mild disabilities. Conflict episodes were contrasted to those of a comparison group of 15 preschoolers without disabilities. Children were videotaped for two 15-minute freeplay sessions, which were categorized and analyzed using a procedure developed by Laursen and Hartup (1989). Results indicated that children with and without disabilities engaged in conflict on a relatively infrequent basis, and that it was of short duration. In general, there were few differences between the sources of conflict and how they were resolved for children with and without disabilities. There was a tendency, however, for children with disabilities to have more disputes over objects, and for children without disabilities to have more disputes over pretend play. Children resolved their conflicts largely through insistence, and in the majority of conflicts there was a clear winner and loser. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed.     

Effects of a specific numeracy educational program in kindergarten children: A pilot study

The present study compared the relative effects of 2 educational programs on kindergarten children. The experimental group took part in a numeracy-specific program, which focused on conceptual knowledge. Children were taught basic numerical skills such as understanding and handling numbers and their relations as well as counting principles. The control group participated in a more general program which involved training in procedural skills.

Results revealed significant learning effects in the children who participated in the numeracy program particularly for counting sequences and mental calculation. Since neither group was explicitly trained in mental calculation, our findings suggest that a learning transfer took place in the experimental group.     

Learning from Apps and Objects: The Human Touch

In three studies, we examined children's geography learning from a physical puzzle and an app designed to mimic the puzzle. In Study 1, 5‐ and 6‐year‐olds were taught Australia's states by an experimenter using a puzzle or were taught by an app. Children learned significantly more states from instruction with the puzzle than when they used the app independently. When children were allowed to bring home the puzzle or app for 1 week in Study 2, total learning between conditions was comparable. Length and frequency of use were related to learning only for puzzle users. In Study 3, children were taught the geography lesson by an experimenter using the app. Children's learning from this social app condition was equal to the social puzzle condition but higher than the solo app condition of the earlier studies, suggesting that learning from digital devices is most successful when supplemented with in‐person social interaction.     

Using a picture-embedded method to support acquisition of sight words

This study investigated whether an intervention using words embedded with pictures can be more effective in sight word instruction than one using words alone. Participants included sixty-nine children in junior kindergarten (ages 4–5) enrolled in school in Ontario, Canada. Children were split randomly into treatment and control groups; the treatment group was taught four words using picture-embedded words, and the control group was taught using text alone. Both groups also received phonics instruction to support sight word acquisition. Children in the picture-embedded word condition performed significantly higher than those in the word-alone condition on an immediate post-training test and later retention tests. This outcome, which contrasts with previous studies using picture-embedded words, may result from this method's use of a relevant linking phrase and action that help build an association between picture and word, as well as its incorporation of phonics instruction, with future work needed to test this hypothesis.     

Peer‐Mediated Instruction in Inclusive Secondary Social Studies Learning: Direct and Indirect Learning Effects

Ten inclusive middle school social studies classes, including 133 general education students, and 24 students with mild disabilities (21 with learning disabilities and 3 with emotional disabilities), were assigned at random to a traditional instruction condition, or an experimental condition involving classwide peer tutoring with specialized materials and parent training. After 18 weeks of instruction, posttest data revealed that students in the experimental condition gained significantly more than students in the traditional instruction condition. These effects were observed on content included in the tutoring intervention, as well as on related content that was taught but not included in the tutoring intervention. Results are discussed within the context of recent research on inclusive secondary content area instruction.     

Sex-related differences in response to practice on a visual-spatial test and generalization to a related test

93 first graders (mean age 6.5 years) were given a pretest and posttest on half of the items from the Children's Embedded Figures Test. Half of the children were randomly assigned to a training condition and received a brief training procedure on visual-spatial disembedding prior to the administration of the posttest. Children in the control condition received no training. The performance of girls improved significantly more from pretest to posttest than the performance of boys. Boys and girls showed similar beneficial effects of training in addition to the benefit of direct practice. The tendency that was observed for boys to perform higher than girls on the pretest, p less than .10, was not evident on the posttest. Scores on the pretest predicted scores on a different measure of visual-spatial ability only for children in the control group. The results are interpreted in terms of current theories of sex differences in visual-spatial perception.     

Exploring effects of an early math intervention: The importance of parent–child interaction

We explore whether training parents' math skills or playing number games improves children's mathematical skills. Participants were 162 parent–child dyads; 88.3% were white and children (79 female) were 4 years (M = 46.88 months). Dyads were assigned to a number game, shape game, parent-only approximate number system training, parent-only general trivia, or a no-training control condition and asked to play twice weekly for 8 weeks. Children in the number game condition gained over 15% SD on an assessment of mathematical skill than did those in the no-training control. After 8 additional weeks without training, effects diminished; however, children of parents in the ANS condition underperformed those in the no-treatment control, which was partially explained by changes in the home numeracy environment.     

Effect of instructional procedure and pupil locus of control on achievement and attitudes

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of instructional procedures differing in degree of student control on achievement and attitudes of pupils identified as having an internal or external locus of control. Two sixth-grade classes (N=47) were divided into internal and external locus of control groups. Half of the internals and externals in each class were randomly assigned a structured instructional procedure and half assigned a contract procedure. A two-week unit on nutrition was taught to all students, using a structured or contract method. There were no significant differences in achievement among any of the groups. However, the internal-contract group seemed to show a more positive attitude toward the unit than did the other three groups. These results suggest that instructional procedure may not differentially affect achievement of internal and external sixth graders over a short period, but that attitudes toward instruction may be affected.