Training letter and orthographic pattern recognition in children with slow naming speed

Although research has established that performance on a rapid automatized naming (RAN) task is related to reading, the nature of this relationship is unclear. Bowers (2001) proposed that processes underlying performance on the RAN task and orthographic knowledge make independent and additive contributions to reading performance. We examined the benefits of training orthographic pattern recognition and speeded letter recognition for children in Grades 1 and 2 with slow naming speed. Children first received training in either orthographic pattern recognition or speeded letter recognition, and then switched to the other type of training. Results indicated that speeded letter recognition can improve through training, but only when preceded by training in orthographic pattern recognition. Orthographic pattern recognition training improved the accuracy and speed of reading training words, whether training occurred alone or following letter training. Letter training prior to the orthographic training provided no additional benefit. Together, these results argue for the importance of orthographic training for children with slow naming speed.     

How can academics stay in control?

As universities transform into enterprises, academics are facing new challenges, especially in their teaching. This is because of the demands for student‐centred programmes that offer more flexibility, the use of Course Management Systems such as Blackboard, and the expectation that instructors will perform (more) efficiently and effectively. In this research, the focus is on teaching‐related activities to support instructors to stay in control, given these increasing pressures. A Personal Performance Model that shows key aspects of academics’ performance relating to teaching tasks was developed. A series of studies relating to gaps between expected and actual performance was carried out using the Human Performance Technology methodology. As an intervention based on these gaps, a Personal Performance Support Tool was developed to support instructors with their time and task management in relation to teaching, as well as to develop an elaborated insight on how to support instructors as they respond to changing expectations for their teaching performance. Key steps to guide universities in implementing such a support tool have been identified as a result of the research.     

WWW-Based Environments for Collaborative Group Work

Since 1994, we have been involved in the design and use of a series of WWW-based environments to support collaborative group work for students in a technical university in The Netherlands. These environments, and the course re-design that accompanies each new environment, began in April 1994 and continue to the present (March 1998). What are the major issues emerging from this stream of experiences? What are the major lessons we have learned about the design and deployment of WWW-based environments to support collaborative learning in project groups in higher education? How has HCI (human-computer interaction) research informed our work? These questions will be addressed in this paper. One conclusion is that HCI research needs to become more focused on supporting HHD (human-human dialogue) than on human- computer interaction in order to better support collaborative learning in higher education. © IFIP, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers     

Concurrent and discriminant validity of the Gordon Diagnostic System: A preliminary study

The discriminant and concurrent validity of the Gordon Diagnostic System (GDS) was investigated in 29 youngsters categorized into “normals” or “ADHDs” based on teacher ratings. The results failed to demonstrate the discriminant validity of any GDS score regardless of the behavior rating used. The Vigilance Correct and Vigilance Omission scores were significantly correlated with ADHD Rating Scale scores completed by teachers. The sample size in the study demands cautious interpretation of these results; however, the authors suggest the continued use of multiple behavior ratings by teachers as the “gold standard” for the classification of youngsters with a suspected Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.     

Utility of school psychologists' recommendations: Perception of elementary teachers

This study was designed to investigate perceptions by elementary school teachers of the usefulness and ease of implementation of traditional recommendations that attribute the cause of referral problems to the individual student's characteristics or environmental conditions, as compared to recommendations that address a student's problem with varying degrees of specificity. Teachers rated recommendations that contained specifics for implementation as being more useful than those that attributed the cause of the problem to individual characteristics or environmental conditions. In spite of their high ratings on usefulness, the most specific recommendations, written in contract form, were rated as being difficult to implement, as were the recommendations that mentioned individual characteristics or nonspecific environmental condition as causes of the problem.     

Relationship among McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities,WPPSI, and Columbia mental maturity scale

Concurrent validity of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities for 60 kindergartners was investigated, using the WPPSI and Columbia Mental Maturity Scale. Although correlations were of acceptable magnitude, the General Cognitive Index of the MSCA was significantly lower than major scores obtained on the other two tests. Analyses of the different scales of the MSCA are also reported.