Developmental pathways of early numerical skills during the preschool to school transition

Most longitudinal evidence explores the average level of development, suggesting that the relationships between a limited number of variables applies to all learners in the same way. This is the first longitudinal study that investigates multiple component numeric skills within a preschool population using a person-centered approach (i.e., a latent transition analysis), thus allowing for an investigation of different subgroup learning pathways of mathematical skills over time. 128 children aged 43–54 months (at Time 1) were tracked at three time points over 8 months encompassing the transition from preschool through to their first year of primary education. Findings suggest that there are five developmental pathways of mathematical learning with some groups of children making more rapid progress on entry to school than other groups. Those children in the low number skill pathway have a lower rate of growth than more advanced pathways, possibly due to a lack of understanding in cardinality. Findings highlighted the potential importance of language and working memory abilities on mathematical skills development over time.     

Mathematical performance predicts progress in reading comprehension among 7-year olds

The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate cross-lagged relationships between mathematical performance and reading comprehension during the first and second years of primary school. 114 Finnish-speaking children were examined six times on mathematics and reading comprehension during Years 1 and 2. At the beginning of Year 1, they were also tested on initial mathematics and reading skill, general concept ability and visual-motor skills. The results showed, firstly, that mathematics and reading comprehension were highly associated with each other across both years. Secondly, mathematical performance predicted subsequent reading comprehension during the first year rather than vice versa. The results suggest that it is important to pay more attention to the role of mathematical knowledge when children are entering to school.     

Balancing competing demands: Enhancing the mathematical problem posing skills of prospective teachers through a mathematical letter writing initiative

Responding to mathematical problems is a core activity in classrooms. The problems that teachers select determine the mathematical content, processes and nature of mathematical inquiry occurring in classrooms and thereby contribute to the development of mathematical skills and dispositions. Selecting, designing or reformulating mathematical problems is a critical skill, then, for prospective and practising teachers. This study explores the influence of a mathematical letter writing initiative in developing the problem posing skills of 28 prospective primary teachers. We examine the characteristics of mathematical problems designed by prospective teachers, and their understandings of what constitutes a good mathematical problem, prior to and following completion of a 12-week letter writing initiative with 10–11-year-old children. Analysis of the data reveals the benefits of engaging in the initiative as evidenced in improvements in several problem characteristics. There was an increase in the number of multiple approach and multiple solution problems and in the level of cognitive demand of problems posed. The challenge of posing non-traditional problems, alongside the competing demands of building in opportunities for success, may have diminished participants’ ability to evaluate and attend to the cognitive demand of problems.

     

与体育教师谈少儿业余田径训练

对7－13岁这一年龄段的学生在业余田径训练的任务和年训周期中各类训练内容、手段的基本比例，以及少年儿童业务田径训练中应注意的问题做出了研究和总结，希望对提高中小学体育教师的训练水平和业务能力有所帮助，为田径后备力量的培养作出贡献。     

Accounting for repetition and dropout in contemporaneous cross-section learning profiles: Evidence from Rwanda

How much do children learn in a year of school? Longitudinal data that tracks children over time is scarce in developing countries, and so recent studies estimate learning profiles by comparing the ability of people with different amounts of schooling, at a single point in time. Such estimates of the effect of schooling on learning may be biased upwards by not controlling for repetition and dropout. In this paper I estimate contemporaneous cross-section learning profiles for Rwanda, using data from a nationally representative survey of 3053 children aged six to eighteen. I show how adjusting this learning profile for the total number of years enrolled in school (accounting for repetition and dropout), using detailed schooling histories, reduces the average amount learnt per year by over 60 percent. The learning profile for Rwanda is not just too flat, but flatter than previous estimates suggest.     

What is the unknown? The ability to identify the semantic role of the unknown from word problems longitudinally predicts mathematical problem solving performance

The current study aimed to investigate children’s difficulties in word problem solving through assessing their ability to mathematize, or to identify the semantic role of the unknown from word problems. Fifth graders (n = 213) were given an advanced word problem reasoning task in which they had to match word problems with schematic diagrams that depict different processes (multiplication versus division) and the unknown being in different semantic roles (e.g., unit size, number of units, or total in an equal group problem). They were also tested on their mathematical problem solving as well as some potential confounding variables (i.e., intelligence and working memory) and mediators. The ability to identify the semantic role of the unknown was shown to be longitudinally predictive of children’s mathematical problem solving performance even after controlling for the effects of covariates and autoregressor. Such a relation was partially mediated by children’s ability to convert word problems into the correct number sentences/equations. The findings not only highlight the importance of unknown identification in mathematical problem solving process, but also provide a practical tool to assess such an ability.     

The role of letter knowledge and phonological awareness in young Braille readers

Research into sighted children’s reading shows that letter recognition skill predicts phonological awareness skill. Congenitally–blind children do not receive exposure to environmental print and do not generally learn to recognise written letters of the alphabet prior to schooling in Braille. A cross–sectional analysis revealed that blind children with no knowledge of written letters or written words showed no ability at measures of phonological awareness. Blind children with knowledge of written letters and no written words showed much increased phonological awareness scores and blind children with knowledge of written letters and written words scored higher still on phonological awareness measures. It was concluded that letter learning is a major contributor to the development of phonological awareness in blind children. It suggests key similarities in the underlying processes of reading development across two different populations using different modalities to learn to read.     

幼儿能力的开发与培养

能力是一个人适应社会生存环境的一种本领。一个人只有具备了良好的能力,才能更好地适应时代的发展和所处的生存环境。能力的开发和培养应从幼儿期开始,在幼儿的性格、正确的判断力、交往合作能力、语言能力、学习能力等方面进行科学系统的开发与培养。     

Numerical magnitude processing in abacus-trained children with superior mathematical ability: an EEG study

Distance effect has been regarded as the best established marker of basic numerical magnitude processes and is related to individual mathematical abilities. A larger behavioral distance effect is suggested to be concomitant with lower mathematical achievement in children. However, the relationship between distance effect and superior mathematical abilities is unclear. One could get superior mathematical abilities by acquiring the skill of abacus-based mental calculation (AMC), which can be used to solve calculation problems with exceptional speed and high accuracy. In the current study, we explore the relationship between distance effect and superior mathematical abilities by examining whether and how the AMC training modifies numerical magnitude processing. Thus, mathematical competencies were tested in 18 abacus-trained children (who accepted the AMC training) and 18 non-trained children. Electroencephalography (EEG) waveforms were recorded when these children executed numerical comparison tasks in both Arabic digit and dot array forms. We found that: (a) the abacus-trained group had superior mathematical abilities than their peers; (b) distance effects were found both in behavioral results and on EEG waveforms; (c) the distance effect size of the average amplitude on the late negative-going component was different between groups in the digit task, with a larger effect size for abacus-trained children; (d) both the behavioral and EEG distance effects were modulated by the notation. These results revealed that the neural substrates of magnitude processing were modified by AMC training, and suggested that the mechanism of the representation of numerical magnitude for children with superior mathematical abilities was different from their peers. In addition, the results provide evidence for a view of non-abstract numerical representation.     

Conditional Standard Error of Measurement in Prediction

Previous methods for estimating the conditional standard error of measurement (CSEM) at specific score or ability levels are critically discussed, and a brief summary of prior empirical results is given. A new method is developed that avoids theoretical problems inherent in some prior methods, is easy to implement, and estimates not only a quantity analogous to the CSEM at each score but also the conditional standard error of prediction (CSEP) at each score and the conditional true score standard deviation (CTSSD) at each score, The new method differs from previous methods in that previous methods have concentrated on attempting to estimate error variance conditional on a fixed value of true score, whereas the new method considers the variance of observed scores conditional on a fixed value of an observed parallel measurement and decomposes these conditional observed score variances into true and error parts. The new method and several older methods are applied to a variety of tests, and representative results are graphically displayed. The CSEM-Iike estimates produced by the new method are called conditional standard error of measurement in prediction (CSEMP) estimates and are similar to those produced by older methods, but the CSEP estimates produced by the new method offer an alternative interpretation of the accuracy of a test at different scores. Finally, evidence is presented that shows that previous methods can produce dissimilar results and that the shape of the score distribution may influence the way in which the CSEM varies across the score scale.     

Deconstructing Building Blocks: Preschoolers' Spatial Assembly Performance Relates to Early Mathematical Skills

This study focuses on three main goals: First, 3‐year‐olds' spatial assembly skills are probed using interlocking block constructions (N = 102). A detailed scoring scheme provides insight into early spatial processing and offers information beyond a basic accuracy score. Second, the relation of spatial assembly to early mathematical skills was evaluated. Spatial skill independently predicted a significant amount of the variability in concurrent mathematical performance. Finally, the relation between spatial assembly skill and socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and parent‐reported spatial language was examined. While children's performance did not differ by gender, lower SES children were already lagging behind higher SES children in block assembly. Furthermore, lower SES parents reported using significantly fewer spatial words with their children.     

Children’s Intuitive Theories of Academic Performance

How do children reason about academic performance across development? A classic view suggests children’s intuitive theories in this domain undergo qualitative changes. According to this view, older children and adults consider both effort and skill as sources of performance (i.e., a “performance = effort + skill” theory), but younger children can only consider effort (i.e., a “performance = effort” theory). Results from two studies (N = 240 children aged 4–9) contradict the claim of theory change, suggesting instead that children as young as 4 operate with an intuitive theory of academic performance that incorporates both effort and skill as explanatory concepts. This work reveals that children’s understanding of academic performance is more continuous across development than previously assumed.     

A Cognitive-Developmental Approach to Racial Stereotyping and Reconstructive Memory in Euro-American Children

To examine the role of cognitive skill and racial stereotyping in Euro-American children's processing of race-related information, 75 Euro-American children, aged 4–9 years, were asked to recall stories that were either consistent with or inconsistent with cultural racial stereotypes. In 6 trait stories, a Euro-American main character encounters both a Euro-American and an African American child. A negative trait is attributed to either the African American (stereotypic story) or the Euro-American child (counterstereotypic story). In 6 social relationship stories, main characters interact with neighbors, friends, or married couples, portrayed either intraracially (stereotypic) or interracially (counterstereotypic). Individual difference measures were used to assess subjects' racial stereotyping and their classification skill (ability to sort stimuli along multiple dimensions). As predicted, lower degrees of racial stereotyping and the ability to classify persons along multiple dimensions were associated with better memory for counterstereotypic stories. Implications for intervention programs aimed at reducing racial stereotyping are discussed.     

A longitudinal investigation of the role of quantity and quality of child-directed speech in vocabulary development

Quantity and quality of caregiver input was examined longitudinally in a sample of 50 parent–child dyads to determine which aspects of input contribute most to children’s vocabulary skill across early development. Measures of input gleaned from parent–child interactions at child ages 18, 30, and 42 months were examined in relation to children’s vocabulary skill on a standardized measure 1 year later (e.g., 30, 42, and 54 months). Results show that controlling for socioeconomic status, input quantity, and children’s previous vocabulary skill; using a diverse and sophisticated vocabulary with toddlers; and using decontextualized language (e.g., narrative) with preschoolers explains additional variation in later vocabulary ability. The differential effects of various aspects of the communicative environment at several points in early vocabulary development are discussed.     

Performance of bilingual and monolingual Hispanic children on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised and the McCarthy Perceptual Performance Scale

This study evaluated the receptive vocabulary ability and nonverbal cognitive ability of 20 monolingual (Spanish-speaking) and 11 bilingual (Spanish/English-speaking) Mexican-American preschool children, ages 45 to 65 months. The children obtained significantly lower scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) than on the Perceptual Performance Scale of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities. On both measures, the bilingual group obtained significantly higher scores than did the monolingual group. The results support prior recommendations that the PPVT-R not be used to estimate the intelligence level of Hispanic children.     

Gender Cue Effects in Children’s Pronoun Processing: A Longitudinal Eye Tracking Study

ABSTRACT

Children struggle with the resolution of pronouns during reading, but little is known about the sources of their difficulties. We conducted a longitudinal eye tracking experiment with 70 children in the final years of primary school. The children read sentences with a contextual resolution preference in which gender was either an informative resolution cue for the pronoun or not. We were interested in children’s processing of the pronoun and their resolution preferences, as well as the effects of individual differences of Grade level and reading skill. Children’s resolution ability improved with age, and good readers were more accurate than poor readers. In the eye-tracking measures, we found strong individual differences related to reading skill: Children with good reading skill took more time to read the pronoun region when pronoun gender was informative, suggesting that good readers make better use of the available information at the pronoun than poor readers.     

Ability stereotyping in mathematics

Ability is a concept central to the current practice of mathematics teaching. However, the widespread view of mathematics learning as an ordered progression through a hierarchy of knowledge and skill, mediated by the stable cognitive capability of the individual pupil, can be sustained only as a gross global model, and is of limited value in describing and understanding the particular cognitive capabilities of individual pupils in order to plan, promote and evaluate their learning. In effect, individual pupils, and groups of pupils, are subject to ability stereotyping; characterisation in terms of a summary global judgement of cognitive capability, associated with overgeneralised and stereotyped expectations of mathematical behaviour, and stereotyped perceptions of an appropriate mathematics curriculum.     

Are mathematics disabilities due to a domain-general or a domain-specific working memory deficit?

The relationship between verbal and visual-spatial working memory and mathematical computation skill was examined in children and adults with and without disabilities in mathematics. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that, when partialing for the influence of reading ability, age, and gender, mathematical computation was better predicted by verbal than by visual-spatial working memory. Furthermore, the results showed that the relationship between mathematics ability and working memory were not significantly moderated by age but were stable across a broad age span. We concluded that, regardless of age, deficits in mathematics are mediated by both a domain-general and a domain-specific working memory system.     

Gender differences in reading motivation: does sex or gender identity provide a better account?

This study examined sex differences in reading skill and reading motivation, investigating whether these differences could be better accounted for by sex, or by gender identity. One hundred and eighty‐two primary school children (98 males) aged 8–11 completed a reading comprehension assessment, reading motivation questionnaire and a gender role questionnaire. While there were no sex differences in reading skill or extrinsic reading motivation, girls had significantly higher intrinsic reading motivation. However, responses to intrinsic motivation were better explained by gender identity than sex. In addition, a feminine identity was more closely associated with many different aspects of reading motivation than a masculine identity. Implications for our understanding of sex differences in reading are discussed.     

Interpretations of literacy

The National Literacy Strategy (NLS) was introduced into schools in England in 1998 with the aim of raising the literacy attainments of primary‐aged children. The Framework for Teaching the Literacy Hour, a key component of the NLS, proposes an interpretation of literacy that emphasises reading, writing and spelling skills. An investigation of the Literacy Hour for pupils with a range of special needs raised questions about teachers' interpretation of literacy when children have severe and complex learning needs. The research suggested that a skill‐based view of literacy is limited and has the potential to exclude pupils who cannot access or produce written material by conventional means. These issues are discussed within the context of views drawn from contemporary literature. Implications for further research are identified.