A Comparison of Reading Ages with Menta1 Ages

Abstract

This study examines the differences in verbal concept development between Indian and non-Indian 5- and 6-year-old children entering kindergarten and first grade in a Canadian school. The Boehm Test of Basic Concepts was used as a measure of verbal concept development. Results indicate that significant differences exist between groups in favor of non-Indian Ss. Implications for intervention programs which will insure that Indian children have mastered simple verbal concepts used in conversation and in classroom instruction are briefly discussed.     

Environmental Education Needs of Special Populations

Abstract

Behavioral modification techniques were evaluated by observing litter collection behavior of commercial rafting groups. A verbal appeal and role modeling comprised a treatment intended to prompt litter pickup. Designated pieces of trash were planted at the first night's campsite. The number of litter pieces retrieved by treatment and control groups was deemed statistically significant at the .10 alpha level. Treatment groups left campsites cleaner; therefore, results support the hypothesis that verbal appeal and role modeling by river guides can be effective litter control techniques.     

Teacher Perception and Secondary School Classroom Discussion

Abstract

Although the significance of student-teacher perception of student role in elementary school classroom verbal interaction has been shown, a void has tended to exist in such research at the secondary level. Therefore, using the Flanders Interaction Analysis system to quantify and record classroom verbal interaction and the Feshbach Situation test to sample student-teacher perception of student role, an investigation was conducted in 11th and 12th grade classrooms. An analysis of variance revealed significant differences in the mean number of indirect student-teacher verbalizations preceding and following the talk of selected role groups. Differences were also found among the eight role groups in the mean number of student responses to student-teacher questions and in the mean number of episodes of talk initiated by the variously perceived role groups.     

Comparing the Efficiency of Special Teaching Methods by Means of Standardized Tests

Abstract

An attempt was made to detect an aptitude-treatment interaction between instructional treatment and spatial-visualization ability. Two groups of elementary education majors were given instruction on the fundamental properties of algebraic structures. The treatments given to the groups (verbal and verbal-spatial) were designed to differ as much as possible in the amounts of spatial visualization they required. It was expected that the slope of the regression line for the verbal-spatial group would be greater than that for the verbal group. However, no significant ATI was found. A rationale is provided that explains the present results and predicts that such an ATI will exist for some topics in mathematics but not for others.     

A Study of The Effectiveness of A Summer Remedial Course In English For College Freshmen

Abstract

Elementary school teachers (N= 260)employed by a suburban St. Louis school district responded to the Pupil Control Ideology Form (PCI). Twenty teachers were selected to comprise two experimental groups. Groups were determined by high and low scores on the PCI. The investigation was undertaken to determine if the pupil control ideology of teachers differentially affects their operational behavior in the classroom. There was no significant difference among the proportions of indirect verbal behavior, direct verbal behavior, or student verbal behavior. However, the humanistic and custodial Ss differed in the frequency of use of verbal behaviors categorized as (1) accepting and developing student ideas (3-3 cell); (2) lecturing, giving facts or opinions (5-5 cell); and (3) student initiated verbal behaviors (9-9 cell). In each case, the humanistic group utilized significantly more verbal behaviors classified as indirect than did the custodial group.     

Research in Secondary School Methods

Abstract

An in-service program of cognitive verbal awareness training focusing on careful development of a rationale for change and an introduction to a verbal analysis tool (ICOI), was used to determine if student teachers of social studies could develop verbal patterns in their classrooms which would encourage the growth of intellectual abilities and skills in students beyond the cognitive-memory level of operation. It was determined that the experimental group’s (N=12) operational gain was significant at the .01 level, while half of the control group (N=12) actually became more concerned with a search for ’Tactual knowledge." In addition, it was noted that student teachers in both groups persisted in the use of a particular performance style even when they succeeded in changing their level of cognitive operation.     

The Computer Paint Program

Abstract

The goal of this research was to explore the relationship between the use of a computer paint program to create visual images and the subsequent verbal expression of these illustrations. First- and fourth-grade children created visual stories using either traditional media or a computer paint program and subsequently word-processed a verbal representation of their stories. Analyses indicated that the paint program visuals illustrated greater creative strength and the accompanying written stories were richer in detail. Additionally, the creative process varied across the two groups in that the students who used the paint program engaged in more peer collaboration, were more likely to experiment with media effects, and made more revisions in both their visual and written products.     

Verbal abuse during pregnancy increases frequency of newborn hearing screening referral: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study

BackgroundVerbal abuse during pregnancy has a greater impact than physical and sexual violence on the incidence of postnatal depression and maternal abuse behavior towards their children. In addition, exposure of children (aged 12 months to adolescence) to verbal abuse from their parents exerts an adverse impact to the children’s auditory function. However, the effect of verbal abuse during pregnancy on fetal auditory function has not yet been thoroughly investigated.ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to examine the relationship between intimate partner verbal abuse during pregnancy and newborn hearing screening (NHS) referral, which indicates immature or impaired auditory function.Participants and settingThe Japan Environment and Children’s Study is an ongoing nationwide population-based birth-cohort study designed to determine environmental factors during and after pregnancy that affect the development, health, or wellbeing of children. Pregnant women living in 15 areas of Japan were recruited between January 2011 and March 2014.MethodsMultiple imputation for missing data was performed, followed by multiple logistic regression using 16 confounding variables.ResultsOf 104,102 records in the dataset, 79,985 mother–infant pairs submitted complete data for questions related to verbal and physical abuse and the results of NHS. Of 79,985 pregnant women, 10,786 (13.5%) experienced verbal abuse and 978 (1.2%) experienced physical abuse. Of 79,985 newborns, 787 (0.98%) received a NHS referral. Verbal abuse was significantly associated with NHS referral (adjusted odds ratio: 1.44; 95% confidence interval: 1.05–1.98).ConclusionsVerbal abuse should be avoided during pregnancy to preserve the newborn’s auditory function.     

A Study of Experimental Methods for Teaching Emotionally Disturbed,Brain Damaged,Retarded Readers

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate possible differences in verbal exchanges between supervisors and teachers contrasting clinical supervision and traditional supervision. Past study of supervisors indicated that they were predominantly authoritarian in their relationships with teachers. Clinical supervision was hypothesized to create a more democratic relationship as revealed by the verbal interaction. Seven supervisors each worked with one teacher in the clinical pattern and one in the traditional pattern. Their post-observation conferences were taped and analyzed by trained observers using Blumberg's A System for Analyzing Supervisor Teacher Interaction. Univariate ANOVA analysis of the data revealed a significant difference between the treatment groups favoring the clinical supervision style. Teachers responding on a semantic differential scale also favored the clinical supervision style.     

Effects of Self-Concept on Learning with Gifted Children

Abstract

The present study examined die influence self-concept played in a verbal free recall and non-verbal paired associate learning task with gifted children. Twenty-four male and 24 female pre-adolescents were divided into high and low self-concept groups for each sex, forming four groups with 12 subjects in each group. A 20-item free recall task and a five-trial, six-item non-verbal paired associate learning task were administered. High self-esteem boys and girls showed significantly greater mastery of all learning tasks than lower self-concept counterparts. Analysis of organization scores supported the use of more sophisticated learning strategies by children with higher self-perceptions.     

The Effects of Play Tutoring on Young Children’s Cognitive Performance

Abstract

Seventeen preschoolers were divided into a play tutoring group and a skills tutoring group. Subjects in the first group received nine 20-minute sessions in which an adult attempted to enhance their make-believe play. The other group received an equal number of skills tutoring sessions. Both groups received a comparable amount of adult contact. The subjects were assessed on measures of play quality, verbal intelligence, and creativity , on three occasions: prior to training, immediately after training, and three months later. Results showed that the play tutoring and skills tutoring treatments both resulted in stable gains in verbal intelligence and ideational fluency. Neither treatment resulted in significant increases in play quality. It was concluded that the play tutoring gains were caused by adult contact rather than by enhanced levels of play.     

The Utilization of Psychoanalytic Concepts for Assessing Classroom Transaction

Abstract

The problem was to determine the usefulness of psychoanalytic theory for analyzing classroom verbal transaction. Five concepts : interpretation, transference, counter-transference, resistance, and discoverance were formulated from psychoanalytic theory. A curriculum class of 19 students was recorded and the verbal interaction was classified by the author and another researcher according to indicators developed for these concepts.

Reliability of the raters varied from 84 percent to 92 percent. Validity evidence is based upon the fact that all the verbal interaction of a classroom was able to be classified according to categories formulated from psychoanalytic theory.

It is clear from this analysis that classroom transaction may be a complexly related intellectual and emotional activity. Approximately 25 percent of the verbal interaction consists of resistance, transference and counter-transference. Classroom interaction is not emotionally neutral verbal interaction. It is also clear that classroom activity can be analyzed from concepts drawn from psychoanalytic theory.     

Impact of Verbal Praise on College Students' Time Spent on Homework

Abstract

Verbal praise, a type of external reward addressed in many theories of motivation, has often been recognized as an important mediator in the development of students' motivation in the classroom. However, the lack of consistently replicated findings regarding students' reactions to verbal praise, combined with the paucity of research on post-secondary students, prompted the current investigation. Using an experimental design, the author found that college students exposed to well-administered verbal praise by a professor spent significantly more time doing homework than did students who received no verbal praise. Characteristics of effective verbal praise that contributed to the results, the potential usefulness of verbal praise as an enhancer of student motivation, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Instructors Learn to Help Students Apply Principles

Abstract

The Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Tests, verbal and nonverbal, were administered to 115 eighth-grade boys and 150 eighth-grade girls who had taken the tests in grade three or four. Estimated true changes in IQ from grades three and four to grade eight were calculated. It was found that 1) estimated true (E.T.) nonverbal changes were more than three times as great as (E.T.) verbal changes for both boys and girls, 2) both verbal and nonverbal IQ scores tended to rise, 3) grades three, four, and eight verbal IQ scores correlated more highly with each other than did grades three, four, and eight nonverbal IQ scores, and 4) there was no significant product moment correlation between (E.T.) verbal and (E.T.) nonverbal IQ change scores.     

Gatekeeping and Student Role

Abstract

This study examined verbal interruptions of eight role groups of third grade students when responding to or initiating talk with teachers. Attention was also given students interrupting their classmates. Data were collected from ten classrooms-245 heterogeneously grouped students-using the Feshbach Situation Test and Flanders Interaction Analysis. Teachers and Students were found to use interruptions differently with the Active, Independent, Assertive; Passive, Dependent, Acquiescent; Flexible, Nonconforming, Untidy; and Rigid, Conforming, Orderly. It was also found that the amount of time used by students initiating talk before interruption was different.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

The verbal and nonverbal behaviors of sixth grade children tutoring third grade children were analyzed. Results showed that when the tutee was doing well there was a greater proportion of positively toned affective statements made by the tutor, and when the tutee was doing poorly there were more negatively toned affective statements. Similarly, the nonverbal behavior of tutors tended to reflect the performance of the tutee. The relationship between verbal and nonverbal behavior was examined.     

Arab youth involvement in violence: A socio-ecological gendered perspective

BackgroundPrevious research has extensively used a socio-ecological perspective to find the correlates of youth involvement in violence. However, little is known about the extent to which ecological factors correlated with youth violence are affected by gender, especially in non-Western cultures.ObjectiveThe role of gender in the association between individual, family, and contextual factors and Arab youth involvement in several types of violence (severe physical, moderate physical, and verbal and indirect violence) was explored using a socio-ecological perspective.Participants and Setting: The study was based on a large random sample of 3,178 Arab students, aged 11–18, from Israel.MethodsInformation was collected from the adolescents through a structured, anonymous self-report questionnaire which they completed in the classroom under the guidance of a research assistant. Confidentiality and anonymity were ensured for all participants.ResultsGender was found to moderate the association between impulsivity and parental support and all types of violence except verbal violence. No interaction effect was found in the association between affiliation with delinquent peers and exposure to community violence and Arab youth involvement in violence.ConclusionsThe results emphasize the importance of exploring gender differences with respect to risk and protective factors for violence. This knowledge is an important step in the design and implementation of gender-specific intervention strategies to deal with youth violence.     

Longitudinal Consistency of Elaboration Scores

Sixty kindergarten, sixty second grade, and sixty fourth grade students performed several memory tasks under one of six conditions. The conditions differed as to the method of presentation of information. The study focused on developmental changes in children’s use of verbal, nonverbal, and spatial-positional cues for memory. The results, in general, showed consistent trends suggestive of a developmental change in representational ability, such that younger children tended to rely on visual cues and older children tended to rely on verbal cues to retain information. Children in all grades performed better when both visual and verbal cues were available and demonstrated an ability to utilize spatial-positional cues for retention.     

A Study of College Dropouts with Respect to Academic and Personality Variables

Abstract

This Is a study of dropouts with respect to verbal scores of School and College Ability Tests and personality scores of the Gordon Personal Profile and the Gordon Personal Inventory.

The sample consisted of 1,263 college freshmen. The statistical procedure used was the t-test.

High academic aptitude students differed from low academic aptitude students beyond .001 level of confidence on verbal scores of the SCAT. Statistically significant evidence was found between dropouts and students who remained in college on several personality variables-trustful and tolerant, perseverant, inquiring, energetic, vigorous, calm and collected, and cautious.

High academic aptitude students are more likely to remain in college than low academic aptitude students. Low academic aptitude students are more homogeneous with respect to personality variables than high academic aptitude students.