Dyslexia and sequential order errors in reading

This paper reports a study of the antecedent-consequent model of reading dysfunction and possible relationships between verbal spatial order memory and sequence errors in word reading. It provides data on the nature and frequency of such errors. Performance by normal and dyslexic readers on a number of tasks was compared. The study supports the hypothesis that sequence errors of dyslexic readers are related to a developmental lag. This research was carried out in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ed.D. at the University of Rochester. The author would like to express appreciation to Drs. Keith Rayner, Harry Reis, Ellsworth Woestehoff, Frank Greene and Achilles de Berardinis for their advice and assistance in the study.     

Index for Volume 56 (1985)

Abstract

This study was a staff experiment carried out in 1953 as a follow-up to several preliminary experiments by graduate students at the University of Illinois, School of Physical Education. The studies were carried out in the Physical Fitness Research Laboratory. The preliminary studies as well as the staff experiment of 1953 and the reversal experiment of 1954 all showed some advantage for supplementary feedings of wheat germ oil (WGO) administered during or immediately following physical conditioning periods of conditioning exercises and swimming in an indoor pool with water temperature 74°-76° F. The subjects were adult men, 26–60 years of age, mainly sedentary, volunteers from the nonphysical education staff.

The WGO capsules (20 capsules per day, 3 minims each, and each containing 175 mg. of WGO and 0.44 mg. of mixed tocopherol) were fed for eight weeks in connection with the progressive physical training experiment. Two groups of eight men each were matched in treadmill-running time, the brachial pulse wave and age. Two other inactive control groups of 5 men each were tested at the beginning (T₁) and at the end (T₂) of the eight week period. The group results show significant advantage for the experimental subjects who took WGO over those who did not in both performance (willpower dominated) tests and in naive (non-willpower) tests.

The physiological advantage is shown in terms of running endurance in “all-out” treadmill runs, T-wave of the ECG (CR_iv-vlead), lower systolic blood pressure, the Schneider Index and the Illinois total body reaction-time test in response to light, sound, and combined signals. Individual differences in response are shown and some of the factors which cause such variations are identified.     

Stability of performance on the PPVT-R for three ethnic groups attending a bilingual kindergarten

The degree of temporal stability of the PPVT-R was examined for Native American, Mexican-American, and Anglo-American kindergarten children. In addition, stability was examined for home language groups. The PPVT-R was administerd to 56 kindergarten children in September and May of the school year. Results indicated that strong temporal stability existed over an eight-month period for Native American, Mexican-American, and English-speaking kindergarten students.     

GIFTED EDUCATION IN JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS

Although there are many Jewish day schools within the United States, relatively few offer gifted programs. The schools that do offer programs differ from each other, offering various forms of enrichment. We discuss the exemplary standards for gifted programs established by the National Association for Gifted Children and illustrate how the standards could be applied to Jewish day schools. The information provided can be useful for decision making, implementing and improving gifted programs in Jewish day schools.     

The construction of word meaning in a multicultural classroom. Mediational tools in peer collaboration during mathematics lessons

In this article, we examine the construction of word meaning by students during collaborative activities in a multicultural classroom at a Dutch primary school. The analysis is based on recordings of student talk in small groups of four or five students during mathematics lessons. Difficulties with specific terms and expressions frequently arose during group work. Students could easily ask each other about the meaning of difficult words as a part of the collaborative activities they were accustomed to. In the groups with both Dutch and minority children, the minority students addressed their Dutch classmates as language experts. Conversations about language difficulties also occurred in the groups with only minority students. The conversations about word meaning revealed four patterns: (1) ignoring a question about the meaning of a word, (2) showing the meaning using gestures, (3) explaining, or (4) discussing word meaning. In none of the cases were the language problems solved by referring to the everyday meaning of the word. Instead, the conversations focussed directly on the specialised meaning which the word had in the context of the mathematics lesson. This means that the children used the mathematical discourse as a mediational tool for constructing a mathematical meaning of the words.