UNESCO Training-the-Trainers “Information Literacy Workshop,Montego Bay,Jamaica, June 1–6, 2008”

This is a brief report highlighting the key elements of an information literacy training workshop jointly organized by UNESCO and the University of the West Indies in Montego Bay, June 1–6, 2008, providing information giving the background of why the workshop was mounted and what the expected results and outcomes were, how it was organized and structured, including the programme/agenda, who the expert-presenters were, a list of participants, and some conclusions, and some recommendations.     

Pedagogical renewal: Improving the quality of classroom interaction in Nigerian primary schools

This study reports on an investigation of classroom interaction and discourse practices in Nigerian primary schools. Its purpose was to identify key issues affecting patterns of teacher–pupil interaction and discourse as research suggests managing the quality of classroom interaction will play a central role in improving the quality of teaching and learning, particularly in contexts where learning resources and teacher training are limited. The study was based on the interaction and discourse analysis of video recordings of 42 lessons and 59 teacher questionnaires from 10 States, drawn mainly from the north of Nigeria. The findings revealed the prevalence of teacher explanation, recitation and rote in the classroom discourse with little attention being paid to securing pupil understanding. The wider implications of the findings for improving the quality of classroom interaction in Nigerian primary schools through more effective school-based training are considered.     

The role of number words in preschoolers’ addition concepts and problem‐solving procedures

Preschoolers’ conceptual understanding and procedural skills were examined so as to explore the role of number‐words and concept–procedure interactions in their additional knowledge. Eighteen three‐ to four‐year‐olds and 24 four‐ to five‐year‐olds judged commutativity and associativity principles and solved two‐term problems involving number words and unknown numbers. The older preschoolers outperformed younger preschoolers in judging concepts involving unknown numbers and children made more accurate commutativity than associativity judgements. Children with conceptual profiles indicating a strong understanding of concepts applied to unknown numbers were more accurate at solving number‐word problems than those with a poor conceptual understanding. The findings suggest that an important mathematical development during the preschool years may be learning to appreciate addition concepts as general principles that apply when exact numbers are unknown.     

Testing Alternative Hypotheses Regarding the Association Between Behavioral Inhibition and Language Development in Toddlerhood

Studies have reported an inverse association between language development and behavioral inhibition or shyness across childhood, but the direction of this association remains unclear. This study tested alternative hypotheses regarding this association in a large sample of toddlers. Data on behavioral inhibition and expressive and receptive language abilities were collected from 816 twins at ages 14, 20, and 24 months. Growth and regression models were fit to the data to assess the longitudinal associations between behavioral inhibition and language development from 14 to 24 months. Overall, there were significant associations between behavioral inhibition and expressive language, and minimal associations with receptive language, indicating that the association is better explained by reticence to respond rather than deficient language development.     

ANCHORING ADHD SYMPTOMS TO MENTAL AGE

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM‐5), requires that symptoms of ADHD must be developmentally inappropriate in order for an ADHD diagnosis to be considered. Because the DSM‐5 does not specifically outline procedure for determining developmental inappropriateness of behaviors, practitioners do not have guidance for making this consideration. To explore the relationship between mental age and behavior ratings of ADHD symptoms, the cognitive and behavioral data from 50 children who were evaluated in a school or clinic were compiled for this study. Cognitive ability scores were used to calculate mental age and behavior rating scores were then recalculated using the assessed mental age. Using the recalculated behavior ratings, scores based on mental age decreased significantly on the Attention Problems, Hyperactivity, and Atypicality scales of the BASC‐2. Additionally, as the discrepancy between mental and chronological age increased, larger differences in scores were found.