Predicting word-spelling difficulty in 7- to 11-year-olds

Some languages have simple grapheme-phoneme codes in which there is a one-to-one mapping, making them easy to teach and learn, while others have more complicated structures and are more difficult for teachers and students. There is now an increasing number of studies which demonstrate that readers in more transparent orthographies such as Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Greek and German have little difficulty in decoding written words, while English children have many more problems. Increasingly, lack of orthographic transparency in English is seen as having a powerful negative effect on the development of literacy skills in English-speaking children. In the present study, the word factors associated with poor spelling in 5 school year-groups (ages 7 to 11 years) are identified as: (a) frequency of the word in the English language, (b) length of the word and (c) a measure of the phoneticity of the word. The concept of word phoneticity is explored and data is presented illustrating the predictive model of spelling. The implications the model has for teaching and learning English are discussed, with particular reference to the beneficial effects that greater orthographic transparency would have for children.     

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.     

5～6岁儿童绘画创作中艺术思维的过程与特点

5～6岁儿童绘画创作中的艺术思维过程贯穿着对审美心理意象的创造与体验,其知觉、反省、制作三大心理系统具有直观性、直觉性、情感体验性等特征,并受到儿童心理发展水平与特征的深刻影响。教育者应为儿童提供丰富的艺术感知活动、充裕的绘画创作空间与时间,在适当指导的基础上引导儿童艺术思维的发展。     

A study of the numerical development of 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds

Forty-one Australian children were interviewed at the beginning, middle and end of a school year. The children were selected from three classes, one a class of 5-year-olds, a second a class of 6-year-olds and from the same school, and a third also a class of 5-year-olds but from a school serving a community considered to be higher in socio-economic terms than that of the first mentioned school. Five models, one based on the theories of Steffeet al., and two adapted from Fuson's study of children's elaboration of number word sequences were used to profile each child's numerical development over the school year. Significant mismatches between children's numerical development and typical curricula are described and changes to current practice recommended. Relationships between the theories of Steffe and Fuson are developed and the study's findings are compared with Young-Loveridge's study of similar focus in New Zealand.     

The microgenetic emergence of cooperative play in 6-year-olds developmentally at-risk

Cooperative play was investigated by a controlled pre/post-test intervention design with 28 dyads of 6-year-old students developmentally at-risk. Selection was based upon cut-off scores on a language development test and a nonverbal IQ test, and same-sex pairs were matched within classrooms. Co-variables were: socio economic status, free play time in school and pedagogical quality of the classrooms. Each child was rated with respect to temperament. Play session 1 served as pretest for both research conditions. Then five play sessions of 20 min within 3 weeks took place in the experimental condition. Eight weeks after session 6 a play session took place in both research conditions serving as post-test. After microgenetic analyses of the data, ANCOVA's were computed of time played in collaboration, and proportion of pretend play and of deep collaboration. The results revealed that the level of collaboration had improved dramatically in the experimental condition only. Moreover, the findings showed that the length of time dyads spent cooperating, and how deeply they collaborated on tasks, was related to how agreeable and emotionally stable they were. Gender effects also came forward. No long-term intervention effects were found.     

The role of epistemic emotions in mathematics problem solving

The purpose of this research was to examine the antecedents and consequences of epistemic and activity emotions in the context of complex mathematics problem solving. Seventy-nine elementary students from the fifth grade participated. Students self-reported their perceptions of control and value specific to mathematics problem solving, and were given a complex mathematics problem to solve over a period of several days. At specific time intervals during problem solving, students reported their epistemic and activity emotions. To capture self-regulatory processes, students thought out loud as they solved the problem. Path analyses revealed that both perceived control and value served as important antecedents to the epistemic and activity emotions students experienced during problem solving. Epistemic and activity emotions also predicted the types of processing strategies students used across three phases of self-regulated learning during problem solving. Finally, shallow and deep processing cognitive and metacognitive strategies positively predicted problem-solving performance. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed.     

Music lessons enhance executive functions in 6- to 7-year-old children

Studies have demonstrated positive associations between music lessons and executive functions (EFs) in children. Because researchers have focused on comprehensive music lessons taught in school, it remains unclear whether pure instrumental music lessons as an extracurricular activity reveal similar results. Moreover, interventional studies reported mixed findings and there is a lack of experimental designs allowing for causal conclusions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of music lessons as an extracurricular activity on EFs in children. Primary school children (N = 94) aged 6–7 years were randomly assigned to a music group, an arts group, or a waiting control group. Different measures of EFs were assessed in pre- and posttests. The results revealed an improvement in children from the music group for some components of EFs. Based on our findings we conclude that instrumental music lessons have an impact on specific EFs in children.     

The role of intuition in the solving of optimization problems

This article presents the partial results obtained in the first stage of the research, which sought to answer the following questions: (a) What is the role of intuition in university students' solutions to optimization problems? (b) What is the role of rigor in university students' solutions to optimization problems? (c) How is the combination of intuition and rigor expressed in university students' solutions to optimization problems? (d) Is there really an optimizing intuition? In the first part, we provide reasons that make it plausible to consider intuition as a vector (metaphorically speaking) with three components: idealization, generalization, and argumentation. In the second part, we present the experimental design of the research and analyze the data to answer the questions previously asked. The experimental design does not allow us to falsify the hypothesis that some students have an optimizing intuition.     

The role of model building in problem solving and conceptual change

This study examines the effects of the activity of building systems models for school-based problems on problem solving and on conceptual change in elementary science classes. During a unit on the water cycle in an Asian elementary school, students constructed systems models of the water cycle. We found that representing ill-structured problems as system models improves problem solving as well as creating beneficial conceptual change related to the topic.     

Examining the unique contributions and developmental stability of individual forms of relational reasoning to mathematical problem solving

Relational reasoning, a higher-order cognitive ability that identifies meaningful patterns among information streams, has been suggested to underlie STEM development. This study attempted to explore the potentially unique contributions of four forms of relational reasoning (i.e., analogy, anomaly, antinomy, and antithesis) to mathematical problem solving. Two separate samples, fifth graders (n = 254) and ninth graders (n = 198), were assessed on their mathematical problem solving ability and the different forms of relational reasoning ability. Linear regression analysis was conducted, with participants’ age, working memory, and spatial skills as covariates. The results showed that analogical and antithetical reasoning abilities uniquely predicted mathematical problem solving. This pattern demonstrated developmental stability across a four-year time frame. The findings clarify the unique significance of individual forms of relational reasoning to mathematical problem solving and call for a shift of research direction to reasoning abilities when exploring dissimilarity-based relations (opposites in particular).     

Early stages of proportional reasoning: a cross-sectional study with 5- to 9-year-olds

European Journal of Psychology of Education - The present study cross-sectionally investigated proportional reasoning abilities in 5- to 9-year-old children (n = 185) before they...     

例谈导数法在解题中的应用

导数是中学数学中新加入的内容之一.许多数学问题,如果利用导数法去解,不仅使得问题的解答显得简捷,巧妙,而且还给人一种耳目一新之感,有着独特的功效.下面举例说明导数法在解题中的若干应用,供同学们在学习中参考.     

The role of strategy-based motivation in mathematical problem solving: The case of learner-generated drawings

This study investigated the role of strategy-based motivation (SBM) in solving real-world geometry problems. Students from 19 classes (N = 437) were assigned to the strategy training or control condition. Before the treatment, students were asked about their SBM (i.e., self-efficacy, cost, and value). After the treatment, they were instructed to generate drawings and solve problems. The results revealed that self-efficacy expectations and cost (but not value) regarding the drawing strategy predicted drawing quality and performance. The relation between SBM and performance was mediated by drawing quality. SBM did not moderate the effects of strategy training on drawing quality or performance. The results emphasize the importance of SBM in the context of strategy training for predicting the quality of strategy use and problem-solving performance. The results are consistent with assumptions of expectancy-value and learner-generated drawing theories. One practical implication is that attention should be given to SBM in mathematics lessons.     

Rolle中值定理的推广及其在解题方面的应用

微分中值定理把函数在区间上的值的变化与导数联系起来,是利用导数研究函数整体性状最基本的理论依据,在数学中十分重要,内容极为丰富。以Rolle中值定理为例,把一元函数的Rolle中值定理推广到多元函数及向量值函数的情形,并进行了几何分析,最后通过实例阐述了Rolle中值定理在解题方面的应用。     

Common sense clarified: The role of intuitive knowledge in physics problem solving

Over the last two decades, a significant body of research has documented the nature of intuitive physics knowledge—the knowledge of the world that students bring to the learning of formal physics. However, this research has yet to document the roles played by intuitive physics knowledge in expert physics practice. In this article, I discuss three related questions: (1) What role, if any, does intuitive knowledge play in physics problem solving? (2) How does intuitive physics knowledge change in order to play that role, if at all? (3) When and how do these changes typically occur? In answer to these questions, I attempt to show that intuitive physics knowledge can play a variety of roles in expert problem solving, including some roles that are central and directly connected to equations. This research draws on observations of college students working in pairs to solve physics problems. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 535–555, 2006     

Peer collaboration in solving qualitative physics problems: The role of collaborative talk

This study investigated whether and how peer collaboration facilitated students' problem solving in physics. A qualitative physics test was administered to two Secondary 6 (Year 12) classes, with half of the students in each class randomly assigned to take the test individually and the other half to work in dyads. The abilities of the individuals and dyads were matched such that there was no significant difference between their physics examination grades. The test results show that the dyads performed better than the individuals on each problem and the test as a whole. The rich collaborative talk of the dyads shows that peer collaboration provided students with experiences of co-construction and conflict that were conducive to successful problem solving. However, it was found that co-construction could lead to correct as well as wrong solutions and that conflict and co-construction could occur in the same instance rather than as separate activities. The study also found that students' success in problem solving depended not so much on their ability but on how they interacted and whether and how they invoked the relevant physics principles and strategies.     

Collaboration between 3- and 4-year-olds in self-initiated play on instruments

This article reports on a study of collaborative music-making on instruments among 3- and 4-year-old children. An area equipped with musical instruments was provided as a free-choice play option in an early childhood setting and a fixed camera recorded the children's play continuously during a number of visits. From the total 17 h of data five episodes of paired play were selected. Through a process of comparison across these episodes, it was established that children were coordinating their play through a repertoire of communicative and expressive behaviours. One episode of paired play considered to be representative was micro-analysed in detail.     

职前中学数学教师解题能力的培养

解题是中学数学教师的基本功之一,但目前职前中学数学教师在解题方面的能力比较弱。因此,需要有效地、全面地提高职前中学数学教师解题的能力。具体来说,需要系统地、有计划地培养职前中学数学教师解题能力。在第一学年研读中学数学课标和教材,强化中学数学的概念性知识;在第二学年熟练掌握中学数学解题中的解题思想和方法;在第三、四学年对解题中的有意识控制的知识进行训练。同时,将解题的书面表达、口头表达的训练融入每一个阶段当中。