Mixture growth models of RAN and RAS row by row: insight into the reading system at work over time

Children (n = 122) and adults (n = 200) with dyslexia completed rapid automatic naming (RAN) letters, rapid automatic switching (RAS) letters and numbers, executive function (inhibition, verbal fluency), and phonological working memory tasks. Typically developing 3rd (n = 117) and 5th (n = 103) graders completed the RAS task. Instead of analyzing RAN/RAS results the usual way (total time), growth mixture modeling assessed trajectories of successive times for naming 10 symbols in each of five rows. For all three samples and both RAN and RAS, two latent classes were identified. The “faster” class performed slowly on the first row and increased time by small increments on subsequent rows. The “slower” latent class performed more slowly on the first row, and children, but not adults, increased time by larger increments on subsequent rows. For children, both the initial row (automaticity index) and slope (sustained controlled processing index) of the trajectory differentiated the classes. For adults, only the initial row separated the classes. The longest time was on row 3 for RAN and row 4 for RAS. For the typically developing 5th graders, close in age to the children with dyslexia, the trajectories were flatter than for children with dyslexia and only the slower class (4%) showed the peak on row 4. For children with dyslexia, inhibition predicted RAN slope within the slower latent class and phonological working memory predicted RAS slope for both latent classes. For adults with dyslexia, inhibition and phonological working memory differentiated both latent classes on RAN intercept and RAS slope. Taken together, RAN, which may assess the phonological loop of working memory, and RAS, which may assess the central executive in working memory, may explain the timing deficit in dyslexia in sustaining coordinated orthographic-phonological processing over time. This research was supported by Grant Ns. P50 33812 and R01 HD25858 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Virginia W. Berninger, PI.     

Facilitators and Barriers to the Implementation of EMOTION: An Indicated Intervention for Young Schoolchildren

ABSTRACT

Research on implementation of school-based transdiagnostic interventions, conducted by personnel from the municipal services is limited. We investigated facilitators and barriers regarding implementation of EMOTION, an intervention targeting symptoms of anxiety and depression in children 8–12 years. Trained health- and childcare professionals completed one questionnaire before (N?=?63) and a separate questionnaire after running an EMOTION group (N?=?66). Twelve of the group leaders were interviewed to provide additional information regarding implementation. Results indicated that factors such as a perceived need for the intervention and positive attitudes from the group leaders facilitated implementation. Hindering factors were related to time constraints, workload, unsupportive leaders, and lack of cooperation from the schools. Allocating resources to implementation specifically could promote future use of the program.     

Information and Digital Literacies in a Kindergarten Classroom: An I-LEARN Case Study

This case study, part of a larger qualitative research project, involved 24 kindergarteners and their teacher in the design, development, and evaluation of a research project built around the I-LEARN model (Neuman, Learning in information-rich environments: I-LEARN and the construction of knowledge in the 21st Century. Springer, New York, 2011b). I-LEARN is a six-step learning model (Identify, Locate, Evaluate, Apply, Reflect and kNow) designed to guide research for twenty first-century learning. The objectives of the study were both to improve the digital and information literacies of the participants and to validate the I-LEARN model for use in an early childhood classroom. The findings have implications for information literacy, digital literacy, and developmentally appropriate practices.     

Structured and unstructured homeschooling: a proposal for broadening the taxonomy

In recent decades, parental involvement in their children’s education has been steadily increasing. Perhaps the ultimate form of parental involvement is the phenomenon called elective home education – EHE (also known as homeschooling). It is customary to divide EHE into two categories according to the degree of structure: structured EHE and unstructured EHE (or unschooling). Advocates of structured learning study in the home framework according to a defined curriculum, whereas unstructured learning advocates study content determined in accordance with the child’s wishes, with no external dictates. This division relates to learning as one entity. This article proposes to distinguish between two dimensions of structure: content and process. In order to demonstrate this distinction, qualitative research was conducted in which 30 mothers who educate their children at home were interviewed and asked what they actually do within the framework of EHE. The research findings suggest that the two types of EHE are indeed different from one another with regard to the structure of the content of instruction and learning as well as the structure of the process. The article addresses the importance of broadening the traditional distinction (structured and unstructured EHE) to include content and process.     

Physical fitness in children with developmental coordination disorder

The protective effects of physical activity and fitness on cardiovascular health have clearly been shown among normally developed children. However data are currently lacking pertaining to children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The purpose of this study was to examine differences in fitness measures, body composition, and physical activity among children with and without DCD. A cross-sectional design was implemented examining 261 children (118 girls, 143 boys) ages 4-12 years (mean age 7.8 +/- 1.9 years). Children were categorized as having DCD if they scored less than or equal to the 5th percentile (n=71) or between the 6th and the 15th percentile (n=5) on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC; Henderson & Sugden, 1992). The typically developing children had scores between the 16th and the 50th percentile (n=16) or above the 50th percentile (n=3) on the MABC. The age-related body mass index was used to characterize body composition. Physical fitness was assessed with a 6-min run, 20-m sprint, jump-and-reach test, medicine ball throw, curl-ups, and sit-and-reach test. Physical activity was estimated with a questionnaire. The percentage of overweight and obese children ages 10-12 years were significantly higher in the DCD groups (severe: 50%, moderate: 23.1%) than in the typically developing groups (medium: 5.6%, high: 0%; p < .05). Significant interactions (MABC x Age Group) were found for the fitness tests (p values < .05), except flexibility; whereby specifically, compared to the children in the typically developing groups children in the DCD groups ages 4-6 years achieved significantly worse results for the 20-m sprint, and children of the DCD groups ages 10-12 years achieved significantly worse results for the 6-min run, jump-and-reach test, and medicine ball throw. The study demonstrates poorer performance in fitness tests with high demands on coordination in children with DCD compared to their typically developing peers. Furthermore, the differences in fitness increased with age between children in the DCD groups versus the typically developing groups.     

TV's distorted vision of poverty

Avoiding almost entirely the depiction of poverty during prime‐time broadcasts, television networks present a sentimentalized vision of economic deprivation that omits or minimizes hardship while idealizing the supposed benefits of a spartan way of life. Much happier than the harried members of middle‐ and upper‐income groups, poor and working people on television seldom strive against their economic fates or against the system. Conclusions are based on a monitoring of prime‐time entertainment broadcast by the three commercial networks during “ratings month.”     

Teacher Training For High School Students: The Cadet Program

Take any homogeneous group of students, provide them with the best teacher, curriculum, and educational materials, and in a short time you will notice differences in students' performances and achievements — more so when a class is heterogeneous in nature. Thus, the need for a supportive educational system is obvious, mainly in terms of a tutorial program and a pool of teacher aides.     

Shift of meaning and students' alternative concepts

The purpose of the study was to establish a relationship between the shift of meaning of the concept oxidation that has taken place during the historical development, and students' alternative concepts. First Examination Board papers were examined. The result enabled us to specify the research question. In the main part of the study, multiple‐choice items were given to 3074 senior high school students. They were asked to select the correct answer and to justify their choices. Additional illustrative material was collected in four interviews with senior high school students. The analysis of the data revealed the mechanism that some students used to interpret the reactions from NO₃ ^? to NO and from CO₃ ^2? to CO₂. Students' interpretations were based on the concept of a transfer of oxide ions. The mechanism explains some correct and incorrect answers to the problems. The interview study also revealed that students were reluctant to accept water as a Brønsted base. It is suggested to use students' alternative concepts about oxidation reactions in class, helping them to better understand the half‐reaction method. Students should also understand that the meaning of the concept oxidation has shifted in the course of time. In the area of acid‐base reactions, further research is needed.