Is Statistical Learning Ability Related to Reading Ability,and If So,Why?

ABSTRACT

Previous studies found a relationship between performance on statistical learning (SL) tasks and reading ability and developmental dyslexia. Thus, it has been suggested that the ability to implicitly learn patterns may be important for reading acquisition. Causal mechanisms behind this relationship are unclear: Although orthographic sensitivity to letter bigrams may emerge through SL and facilitate reading, there is no empirical support for this link. We test 84 adults on two SL tasks, reading tests, and a bigram sensitivity task. We test for correlations using Bayes factors. This serves to test the prediction that SL and reading ability are correlated and to explore sensitivity to bigram legality as a potential mediator. We find no correlations between SL tasks and reading ability, SL and bigram sensitivity, or between the SL tasks. We conclude that correlating SL with reading ability may not yield replicable results, partly due to low correlations between SL tasks.     

II: The Conflict

An environmental project in a native language German class (writing a book on environmental issues) gave the pupils, thirteen‐yea‐old girls, a large scope of freedom for independent group work. When they could not present sufficient results of their work at an interim report stage, a serious conflict resulted in which the teacher reproached the pupils heavily. In the case study this conflict is analysed: its possible causes, processes and some of its effects. Available data were the teacher's own diary and essays in which the pupils wrote frankly how they experienced the conflict. One issue arising from the analysis was the differences between the teacher"s intentions (e.g. to stimulate self‐determination in the pupils) and what he had achieved In this conflict (e.g. showing them how narrow their room for discretion actually was). Another issue was the pupils” sense of responsibility for the project (e.g. the pupils saw the project as the teacher's business and not as their project). One of the hypotheses that emerged to explain the apparent inactivity of the pupils was their perception of “work”, which seemed to have been incompatible with a largely self‐determined activity. The study ends with the teacher's reflections on what he gained from the analysis. One outcome was an involuntary caution in the use of words in his interactions with pupils and a more intense feeling of respect for them as young personalities. Another was a reconstruction of his strategic approach to the design of project work.     

Speaking of books

Changing Aims in Religious Education. Edwin Cox. New York: Humanities Press, 1967. 102 pp. $3.50.

Contemporary Mathematics for Elementary Teachers. Howard F. Fehr and Thomas J. Hill. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1966. 394 pp. $7.95.

Creative Encounters in the Classroom: Teaching and Learning Through Discovery. Bryon G. Massialas and Jack Zevin. New York: John Wiley &; Sons, Inc., 1967. 274 pp. $3.50.

Gods and Rituals: Readings in Religious Beliefs and Practices. John Middleton, New York: The Natural History Press, 1967. 468 pp. $6.95.

Language and Learning. Janet A. Emig, James T. Fleming, and Helen M. Popp, editors. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1966. 301 pp. $3.50.

Schools of Europe. Richard Emerson Werstler. Adrian, Michigan: Swenk‐Tuttle Press, 1967. 203 pp. $10.00.

Teaching Adults to Read. Wayne Otto and David Ford. Boston: Houghton‐Mifflin Company, 1967. 176 pp. $3.95.

What Is a Teacher? Henry W. Simon. New York: Collier Books, 1966. 96 pp. $.95.

Paul A. Witty, editor. The Educationally Retarded and Disadvan‐taged The Sixty‐Sixth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part 1. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1967. 384 pp.

Report of the Harvard Committee. The Graduate Study of Education. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966. 125 pp. $2.75.     

理性观的革命:从无限理性到快速节俭启发式

历史上出现了两次理性观的革命 :第一次是必然性梦想的破灭和偶然性微积分原理的诞生 ,即概率理论的产生。这次革命在科学领域和日常生活中都以“概率革命”而著称。第二次主要关心人脑适应或应付瞬息万变的未知世界的方式。无限理性不关心搜索的成本 ,而有限理性通过终止规则明确限制了搜索活动。受限制条件下的最优化模型也限制了搜索活动 ,但它是通过计算最佳终止点做到这一点的。有限理性敢于在不寻求最优化搜索和终止规则的简捷启发式上“下赌注”。它在目标或线索间进行有限搜索 ,并利用环境结构产生适应性决策。     

Can self-report data on deficits in reading and spelling predict spelling disability as defined by psychometric tests?

Questionnaire data concerning spelling and reading self-assessment, habits, and school history were obtained for 79 adults (54 women and 25 men). The items were used to predict affectedness as defined on the basis of psychometric tests. For this purpose, two different discriminant analytical approaches (linear discriminant analysis and hierarchical classification with CART) were compared using a cross-validation design. 86.8–92.6% of the learning sample and 87.5–88% of the cross-validation sample were classified correctly. The CART model was preferred due to a balanced relation of sensitivity and specificity. Our results support the conclusion that self-report data are appropriate to substitute psychometric tests if these cannot be administered.     

Men in limbo: former students with special educational needs caught between economic independence and social security dependence

Individuals in their mid-thirties are expected to be employed and economically independent. However, people with disabilities and health problems – for example, former students with special educational needs (SEN) – may have problems in this domain of adult life. In Norway, individuals with SEN frequently rely on social security and support measures from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). This article is based on the narrative analysis of life course trajectories of seven young adult males over a period of 17 years – from their enrolment in upper secondary school with special needs teaching whilst in their teens to their participation in various NAV programmes whilst in their mid-thirties. The life course approach, with an emphasis on transitions and trajectories, has been used as the theoretical framework for analysing the presented data. The hope is that, taken together, these seven stories provide a deeper insight than one individual story could offer. We find that both social structures and the earlier life course affect one’s opportunities for joining the labour market.     

Determination of the prevalence of anabolic steroids, stimulants, and selected drugs subject to doping controls among elite sport students using analytical chemistry

Drug abuse by adolescents has been investigated in various surveys that reported correlations between age, gender, and activity. However, none of these studies included chemical analyses to help substantiate the statements of participants. In the present study, the urine specimens of 964 students (439 females, 525 males; mean age 22.1 years, s = 1.7), who applied to study sports sciences at university, were assessed for anabolic steroids, stimulants, and selected drugs prohibited in sports. In total, 11.2% of the urine specimens provided contained drugs covered by doping controls. The most frequently detected compound was the major metabolite of tetrahydrocannabinol (9.8%) followed by various stimulants related to amphetamine and cocaine (1.0%). Indications of anabolic steroid use were found in 0.4% of urine samples but originated from contraceptives containing norethisterone. The present study provided unambiguous data on the status quo of drug (ab)use by adolescents hoping for a career related to elite sport or sports sciences. No use of anabolic steroids was detected. However, evidence for stimulants and tetrahydrocannabinol administration was obtained, although not reported by any participant, which highlights the issue of under-reporting in surveys based solely on questionnaires.     

Work Habits of Students in Traditional and Online Sections of an Introductory Physics Course: A Case Study

The study compares the work habits of two student groups in an introductory physics course, one in traditional and one in online sections. Both groups shared the same online materials and online homework, as well as the same discussion boards and examinations, but one group in addition had traditional lectures. The groups were compared with respect to amount and frequency of access to different online course resources. It was found that with few exceptions, both groups exhibited very similar work habits. Students in the online sections more frequently accessed content pages and more frequently contributed to course discussions. It was also found that regular access of the materials throughout the week, rather than only on homework deadline nights, is a predictor of success on examinations, and that this indicator is more reliable for students in the online sections. Overall, though, the effect of traditional lectures is minimal.     

Football,Masculinities and Health on the Gaza Strip

This analysis is built on two questions: first, what discourses of a masculinity of resistance maintaining a sense of normality under abnormal conditions are drawn from the interviews of the footballers referred to in this article, and second, to what extent is football experienced as and felt to be a ‘free space of health’ for the Gaza players in a context of war and blockade and in relation to the situation before 2007. To answer these questions, the author interviewed, during July 2011, male athletes, coaches and managers in nine football clubs in Khan Younis and Gaza City. She also conducted 18 qualitative interviews during November 2011 with footballers in the two top Gaza leagues in Rafah, Khan Younis, Gaza City and Shati Prison Camp.