Individual differences in strategy choices: good students, not-so-good students, and perfectionists

Consistent individual differences were found in first graders' strategy choices in addition, subtraction, and reading (word identification). Differences were present along 2 dimensions: knowledge of problems and stringency of thresholds for stating retrieved answers. Cluster analyses indicated that children could be classified into 3 groups: good students, not-so-good students, and perfectionists. Perfectionists were children who had good knowledge of problems and set very high thresholds for stating retrieved answers, good students also had good knowledge of problems but set lower thresholds, and not-so-good students had less good knowledge of problems and set low thresholds. Differences among the 3 groups were evident on measures not included in the cluster analysis as well as measures that were. Further, the groups differed in standardized achievement test performance 4 months after the experiment in ways consistent with the experimental analysis. The pattern of individual differences was similar in 2 experiments with different samples of children and problems and different methods for assessing strategy use. The results illustrated how detailed cognitive models can contribute to understanding of individual differences.     

Coexisting problem behaviour in severe dyslexia

A small group of children and young adolescent with dyslexia has severely impaired reading skills despite prolonged special education. These are the students in focus. In dyslexia, problem behaviour, internalised as well as externalised, has previously been reported, so also for the participants with dyslexia in this study. The aim of the present study was to obtain more in‐depth knowledge of the behaviour problems from various informants, representing different settings. This kind of information is imperative for identifying problem behaviour, and for planning and implementing remedial programmes. A clinical group of 70 students with severe dyslexia, due to phonological problems, and a control group of 70 without reading problems participated. The two groups were pair‐wise matched on age, gender, cognitive level and whether they lived in rural or urban areas. Mean age was 150 months, and mean IQ was approximately 100 in both groups. Parents, teachers and participants provided information on behaviour through the Achenbach questionnaires Child Behavior Checklist, Teacher's Report Form and Youth Self Report. Behaviour is, in these questionnaires, divided into eight syndrome areas called Withdrawn, Somatic Complaints, Anxious/Depressed, Social Problems, Thought Problems, Attention Problems, Delinquent Behavior and Aggressive Behavior. The three informant groups reported significantly more problems in the dyslexia group than in the controls in all the syndrome areas. Parents reported more children with dyslexia to be anxious and depressed, and have social problems and attention problems than teachers. They also reported suicidal ideations in nine participants with dyslexia. In addition, parents rated more internalising and total problems in the dyslexia group than teachers.     

The Effect of Cooperative Learning Approach Based on Conceptual Change Condition on Students' Understanding of Chemical Equilibrium Concepts

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the cooperative learning approach based on conceptual change conditions over traditional instruction on 10th grade students' conceptual understanding and achievement of computational problems related to chemical equilibrium concepts. The subjects of this study consisted of 87 tenth grade students from two intact classes of a Chemistry Course instructed by the same teacher. One of the classes was randomly assigned as the experimental group, which was instructed with cooperative learning approach based on conceptual change conditions and the other class was assigned as the control group, which was instructed with traditional instruction. Chemical Equilibrium Concept Test (CECT) was administered to the experimental and the control groups as pre- and post-tests to measure the students' conceptual understanding, and Chemical Equilibrium Achievement Test (CEAT) was administered to the experimental and the control groups as a post-test to measure the students' achievements related to computational problems. Science Process Skills Test was used at the beginning of the study to determine the students' science process skills. Multivariate Analysis of Covariate (MANCOVA) was used to analyze the data. The results showed that students in the experimental group had better conceptual understanding, and achievement of computational problems related to the chemical equilibrium concepts. Furthermore, students' science process skills were accounted for a significant portion of variations in conceptual understanding and achievements related to the computational problems.     

Understanding student pathways in context-rich problems

This paper describes the ways that students’ problem-solving behaviors evolve when solving multi-faceted, context-rich problems within a web-based learning environment. During the semester, groups of two or three students worked on five physics problems that required drawing on more than one concept and, hence, could not be readily solved with simple “plug-and-chug” strategies. The problems were presented to students in a data-rich, online problem-based learning environment that tracked which information items were selected by students as they attempted to solve the problem. The students also completed a variety of tasks, like entering an initial qualitative analysis of the problem into an online form. Students were not constrained to complete these tasks in any specific order. As they gained more experience in solving context-rich physics problems, student groups showed some progression towards expert-like behavior as they completed qualitative analysis earlier and were more selective in their perusal of informational resources. However, there was room for more improvement as approximately half of the groups still completed the qualitative analysis task towards the end of the problem-solving process rather than at the beginning of the task when it would have been most useful to their work.     

Behavior problems among children from different family structures: the influence of genetic self-selection

To examine both genetic and environmental influences on children's behavior problems in households defined by marital status and sibling relatedness, this study applied behavioral genetic methodology to four groups totalling 1524 sibling pairs drawn from 796 households: (1) two-parent full siblings, (2) two-parent half siblings, (3) mother-only full siblings, and (4) mother-only half siblings. Model-fitting procedures found that within-group variation on four subscales from the Behavior Problems Index was best explained by a model including both genetic and shared environmental factors. This model was then fit to the behavior problems means of the four groups. Its successful fit to these mean structures suggested that mean-level differences between groups were explained with the same influences that accounted for within-group variation. Genetic influences accounted for 81% to 94% of the mean-level difference in behavior problems between the two-parent, full sibling and the mother-only, half sibling groups. In contrast, shared environmental influences accounted for 67% to 88% of the mean-level difference in behavior problems between the two-parent, full sibling and mother-only, full sibling groups. The genetic influences are interpreted in terms of genetic self-selection into family structures.     

The effect of success or failure on self-efficacy and task persistence of conduct-disordered children

Twenty-four children with conduct disorders were familiarized with a pattern-matching task, and their self-efficacy expectations for this task were assessed. Subjects were then given either “Success” or “Failure” feedback for a series of similar problems, and their self-efficacy was reassessed. Finally, task persistence was evaluated by allowing subjects to attempt as many additional pattern-matching problems as they wished, with all subjects receiving failure feedback. Results indicated that, although the two groups of subjects were initially similar, the success group's self-efficacy was significantly higher following feedback. The success group also attempted significantly more problems while later receiving failure feedback, and there was a significant positive correlation between task persistence and the second self-efficacy rating. These findings were related to Bandura's self-efficacy theory and to educational programming for conduct-disordered children.     

The Relation between Reading Comprehension and Task‐specific Strategies used in Arithmetical Word Problems

The study was concerned with the relation between reading comprehension and task‐specific strategies used in arithmetical word problems. Two hypotheses were formulated in the study. H1 stated that subjects good at arithmetic as well as reading (Group 1) would emphasize deductive strategies to a greater extent than subjects in the remaining groups. H2 considered IQ to be a stronger predictor for subjects’ strategies in arithmetical word tasks than reading comprehension. Four groups of 9‐year‐old children with different competencies in arithmetic and reading were sampled for the investigation. An intelligence test (WISC) and three other tests, Mathematical tests 1‐3, were constructed and administered to the 20 subjects. The tests were used to examine subjects’ strategies in completed task solutions. The findings indicated that great similarities existed between Groups 1 (good at both skills) and 2 (good at arithmetic and poor at reading) as to strategies used in addition and subtraction problems. Whereas subjects in groups 1 and 2 mainly used deductive strategies, those in Groups 3 (good at reading and poor at arithmetic) and 4 (poor at both skills) rather used procedural strategies in solving the problems. Concerning strategies applied in multiplication and division tasks a more diverse pattern of strategies was revealed in all of the four groups, but the majority of subjects emphasized deductive strategies. Multiple regression analyses of the data indicated strong linear relationships between the predictors and the criteria used in the analyses. However, IQ was the only significant single predictor found in the regression analyses. H1 had to be suspended, but H2 could not be rejected.     

Teachers’, Students’ and Parents’ Attitudes Towards Disruptive Behaviour Problems in High School: a case study

The present study maps the attitudes towards students’ disruptive behaviour as part of the school discipline. Research studies on the subject usually examine the attitudes of one or two groups of relevant subjects, that is, teachers, parents or students. As teachers, students and parents do share a common milieu, the relationship of their attitudes towards student misbehaviour is important in the crystallisation of such discipline. The present study is innovative in that all three groups were examined simultaneously in one school. A standardised questionnaire was designed for all three groups which identified typical disruptive behaviour by adolescent students. The study was conducted in a centre for technological education in Central Israel which caters, especially, for low‐achieving students. Findings reveal large gaps among the three groups. While teachers seem to agree among themselves as to the severity of most of the disruptive behaviour problems at school, students and parents were found to disagree among themselves on the severity of most of the examined issues. Differences among the groups indicate a possible source for the emergence of student disruptive behaviour problems. Findings also suggest that there is a need for increased involvement of both parents and students in discipline‐related issues in the school.     

Intergroup differences in student counselling: how prepared are we to deal with it in South Africa?

Student Counsellors in South Africa have to deal with a multitude of groups by nature of the composition of the student population on the various campuses. The various groups represent many different world views and concern is expressed over the preparedness of student counsellors to deal effectively with these divergent world views in their counselling endeavours. The issue was discussed at a national conference of student counsellors. Intergroup problems (resulting from different world views) raised by the representative group, pertained to the strong group orientation of Black people, witchcraft as an explanation for severe psychological problems, different interpretations of interpersonal communication characteristics, the influence of authoritarian environments on therapeutic orientations, age, social class, language and political factors as influences in the counselling relationship. It was suggested that particular attention should be paid to the re- and ongoing training of student counsellors to enable them to deal effectively with problems resulting from these differences. More Black student counsellors and possibly paraprofessionals should be trained and employed and student counselling centres should reflect a more balanced staff composition representative of the student body.     

对报业改革的一些思考

本文对中国报业改革的党性原则和舆论导向等问题简要地进行了分析,探讨了报业改革集团化的紧迫性、可能性和必然性、提出了组建和发展报业集团可能出现的若干问题,并对未来报团的发展予以展望。     

Number sense growth in kindergarten: a longitudinal investigation of children at risk for mathematics difficulties

Number sense development of 411 middle- and low-income kindergartners (mean age 5.8 years) was examined over 4 time points while controlling for gender, age, and reading skill. Although low-income children performed significantly worse than middle-income children at the end of kindergarten on all tasks, both groups progressed at about the same rate. An exception was story problems, on which the low-income group achieved at a slower rate; both income groups made comparable progress when the same problems were presented nonverbally with visual referents. Holding other predictors constant, there were small but reliable gender effects favoring boys on overall number sense performance as well as on nonverbal calculation. Using growth mixture modeling, 3 classes of growth trajectories in number sense emerged.     

Direct instruction in math word problems: students with learning disabilities

This investigation was conducted to test the effectiveness of strategy teaching and sequencing practice problems in teaching students with learning disabilities to identify the correct algorithm for solving addition and subtraction word problems. Sixty-two students were assigned to one of three experimental groups: strategy plus sequence, strategy only, and sequence only. The results indicated that students in the strategy-plus-sequence group, as well as those in the strategy-only group, scored significantly higher than did students in the sequence-only group. Findings indicated that strategy teaching was the more effective of the two instructional components. Implications are discussed in terms of instructional design for students with learning disabilities.     

关于新疆双语教育工作的调研报告

2011年4月12—24日,自治区关心下一代工作委员会组成四个调研组,分别就推进新疆学前和中小学双语教育工作在南北疆地区进行了调研。调研结果表明,新疆学前和q-小学双语教育还有许多问题亟待解决,文章就存在的问题提出了一些对策和建议。     

Effects of outpatient treatment of dyslexia

The effects of a Dutch intervention program for dyslexia are reported. The program was individually tailored, depending on the style of reading, the phase of the learning process, and the intermediate results of the treatment. Two groups of participants were involved: (a) a group of children with pure dyslexia (n = 109) and (b) a group that had reading problems but also suffered from cognitive deficits or psychiatric symptoms (n = 29). Scores of reading single words and text at intake and after the intervention were analyzed to assess the efficacy of the intervention program. Furthermore, the effects of pre-intervention variables such as intelligence, reported speech, and language problems and of intervention variables such as the initial level of performance and the duration of the treatment were examined. Both groups benefitted from the intervention, but the children with pure dyslexia profited most. Neither of the groups could catch up the reading deficit. Intelligence and reported speech and language problems did not affect the treatment outcomes. Individual differences in treatment outcome were related to the absolute level of word reading and age at intake. In the group with comorbidity, the intervention program was more successful in relatively younger children. Within this group, the cognitive deficits and types of psychiatric problems were not related to the treatment.     

我国弱势群体的构成及社会保障救助

我国的弱势群体主要由城镇贫困人口、农民工等群体构成,在经济、政治和文化等方面表现出弱势特征。弱势群体问题事关我国经济社会发展全局,解决弱势群体问题是建设中国特色社会主义的战略任务。解决社会弱势群体问题,必须建立健全合乎中国国情的完善的社会保障制度,完善政府、企业和个人在社会保障体系中应承担的责任,坚持把发展作为解决弱势群体问题的基础,建立和完善针对弱势群体社会公平保障机制。     

Pervasive and Non‐pervasive Conduct Problems in a Clinic Sample Aged 4–8 years: Child,family and day‐care/school factors

Differences between pervasive (home and day‐care/school) versus non‐pervasive (home only) conduct problems were examined in regard to various child, parent/family, and day‐care/school characteristics in an outpatient clinic sample of 120 children aged 4–8 years. All children scored above the 90th percentile on the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory for home problems and met the criteria for a possible or a confirmed diagnosis of oppositional defiant behaviours. The proportion of children with pervasive conduct problems was high, 83%. Teachers in day care and school reported children in the pervasive group to have significantly more attention and internalizing problems as well as lower social competence scores than those in the non‐pervasive group. Children in the pervasive group also showed consistently more problems in their relationships both with teachers and peers than those in the non‐pervasive group. The implications for assessment and treatment of children with conduct problems in these age‐groups are discussed.     

Emotional and behavioral characteristics over a six-year period in youths with persistent and nonpersistent dyscalculia

The authors examined behavior problems in a matched sample of 58 youths with persistent dyscalculia (PD) and nonpersistent dyscalculia (NPD). Participants were classified as having dyscalculia at age 10-11 years. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist for their children at ages 10-11, 13-14, and 16-17 years, while the youths did so at the last two age periods. Only at age 16-17 years were there significantly more problems, particularly attention problems and externalizing problems, reported by parents for PD youths compared to NPD youths. A higher percentage in the PD group than in the NPD group received scores in the clinical range for externalizing problems. However, the mean levels of behavior problems at this age and the earlier ages were within the normal range for both groups. For youth-reported problems, the only significant difference was for attention problems at 16-17 years. Therapeutic interventions should focus on the academic domain and improving and altering behavioral patterns.     

Problem solving as a function of abstract or concrete words

Two groups of undergraduates were required to verbally reorder previously memorized pairs of nouns to detect the underlying structural relationship or chain among certain memorized pairs. While the types of word chains were always structurally identical for the two groups, the groups differed as to whether the list of word pairs were concrete or abstract nouns. Subjects who received concrete words both memorized the pairs and solved the problems in less time than did subjects who received abstract word pairs. Superior performance was supposedly due to the differential effect of imaginai versus verbal encoding. Implications were discussed regarding both educational and psychological issues.     

Family Conflict and Children's Behavior Problems: The Moderating Role of Child Temperament

Child temperament was examined as a moderator of the link between family conflict and child behavior problems. Temperament assessed in early childhood was used to predict the relation between family conflict and externalizing behavior problems measured during the early elementary school years. For children with difficult temperament, a strong association between subsequent family conflict and behavioral adjustment was predicted; for children with easy or intermediate temperaments, low to moderate associations were predicted. These hypotheses were tested across 3 temperament groups (easy, intermediate, and difficult). Data were collected from 108 children and families participating in the Fullerton Longitudinal Study at ages 3 through 10 years. Consistent with the hypotheses, the data provided support for the moderating role of temperament in predicting the association between family conflict and child externalizing behavior problems. These findings suggest that temperamental difficultness operates as a vulnerability factor with respect to the development of children's behavior problems in families with high conflict.     

优化教师队伍结构 促进教育均衡发展——溆浦县教师队伍建设情况调查

在教师队伍建设中,结构性问题是其核心问题,是实现教育均衡发展的前提条件。为了优化我县教师队伍结构,促进教育均衡发展,针对我县教师队伍存在学段结构不合理、学科结构不合理以及年龄结构不舍理等情况,分析了其根源在于生源波动引起学段结构变化、专业限制导致学科结构偏科以及年龄结构不合理等因素,在此基础上,探寻了其应对之策主要从三方面着手。即要建立教师补充机制、教师培训机制以及教师流动机制。