A homogeneous group of persons with learning disabilities: adults with severe learning disabilities in vocational rehabilitation

The results of a comprehensive psychoeducational assessment of adults having learning disabilities (LD) and participating in vocational rehabilitation are presented. The subjects were found to have low-average general intelligence; lower verbal than performance IQs; attention, reasoning, and auditory memory deficits; academic achievement at the fourth-/fifth-grade level; language problems; and low self-esteem. These results were contrasted with other studies of adults with LD in vocational rehabilitation, and all studies on this population reported similar findings. A comparison of studies of adults with LD who were clients of vocational rehabilitation with those in college or employed and with those who had been labeled as learning disabled in childhood indicated that the adults with LD in vocational rehabilitation seem to constitute a homogeneous group of persons with severe deficits. The need to subtype learning disabilities by severity and criteria for making such determinations are proposed.     

An examination of the relationship between athlete leadership and cohesion using social network analysis

Two studies investigated the structure of different athlete leadership networks and its relationship to cohesion using social network analysis. In Study 1, we examined the relationship between a general leadership quality network and task and social cohesion as measured by the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ). In Study 2, we investigated the leadership networks for four different athlete leadership roles (task, motivational, social and external) and their association with task and social cohesion networks. In Study 1, the results demonstrated that the general leadership quality network was positively related to task and social cohesion. The results from Study 2 indicated positive correlations between the four leadership networks and task and social cohesion networks. Further, the motivational leadership network emerged as the strongest predictor of the task cohesion network, while the social leadership network was the strongest predictor of the social cohesion network. The results complement a growing body of research indicating that athlete leadership has a positive association with cohesion.     

Motor Skill Performance by Low SES Preschool and Typically Developing Children on the PDMS-2

The purpose of this study was to compare the motor skill performance of preschool children from low socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds to their age matched typically developing peers using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 (PDMS-2). Sixty-eight children (34 low SES and 34 typically developing; ages 3–5) performed the PDMS-2. Standard scores from each subtest (i.e., stationary, locomotion, object manipulation, grasping, and visual-motor integration) and three quotient scores were calculated for the children identified as low SES and typically developing children. A MANOVA was used to analyze the PDMS-2 standard score and quotient score differences between the children identified as low SES and the typically developing children. All preschool children identified as low SES scored at average or lower on total motor quotient scores. Specifically, 88.2 % of children identified as low SES were classified as average, and 11.8 % of children were in the below average performance category. The MANOVA analysis showed that children identified as low SES scored significantly lower than the typically developing children on the visual-motor integration subtest, F(1,64) = 7.232, p = .009; locomotion subtest, F(1,64) = 11.449, p = .001; and TMQ, F(1,64) = 4.732, p = .033. Children identified as low SES were significantly delayed in both fine and gross motor skill areas when compared to their typically developing age and gender matched peers. Researchers are recommended to provide comprehensive assessments for preschool children and to include motor tasks when designing early intervention programs.     

Genetics and Neuroscience in Dyslexia: Perspectives for Education and Remediation

ABSTRACT— Our understanding of the causes of a developmental disorder like dyslexia has received recent input from both neuroscience and genetics. The discovery of 4 candidate genes for dyslexia and the identification of neuronal networks engaged when children read and spell are the basis for introducing this knowledge into education. However, the input from educational practitioners as well as empirical knowledge from research on learning also contribute significantly to our understanding of how children acquire the basic skills for learning to read and spell. It is imperative to merge the knowledge acquired from research in the fields of neuroscience, genetics, and empirical education, as well as to understand how the learning brain and instruction interact. Doing so can be seen as a major step in attaining an optimal approach for teaching, reading, and spelling and for finding the best suited and most effective treatment concepts for dyslexic children and adolescents.     

纳粹统治下的德国物理学会

1933年到1945年的德国物理学会的历史并不能完全涵盖希特勒统治下的物理学史,但它确实也反映了在第三帝国期间物理学家工作和生活的许多重要方面.     

Preliminary development of a questionnaire to assess peer athlete mentoring functions: the Athlete Mentoring Questionnaire (AMQ)

Using a multiphase approach, the purpose of the present study was to develop a psychometrically sound questionnaire to measure protégés’ perceptions of peer athlete mentoring functions. Phase 1 consisted of three stages: (a) item development, (b) assessment of content validity via think-aloud interviews with peer mentored athletes, and (c) assessment of content validity via an expert rating panel. In phase 2, 377 Canadian National team and varsity athletes who were peer mentored completed an initial 42-item version of the Athlete Mentoring Questionnaire (AMQ) and its factor structure was examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), and hierarchical ESEM (ESEM-within-CFA). Measurement invariance testing was also performed in phase 2. The final version of the AMQ contains 34 items that measure six peer athlete mentoring functions. It is hoped that the development of the AMQ will spur research in the emerging area of peer athlete mentoring.     

Metacognition and Multiplicity: The Arts as Models and Agents

This article proposes (1) that educational theories usually reserved for behind-the-scenes curriculum design should be considered as the open content of metacognitive activities in the classroom; and (2) that works of art are particularly rich sources for the invitation and validation of multiple perspectives. The author provides examples of reflection on evolving theories of education that may help students' metacognition with regard to their own learning and the learning of others. As specific examples of this claim, Gardner's theories of multiple intelligences and entry points are explored as authentic topics for classroom learning. Suggesting and reviewing art-related metacognitive activities that engage inquiry, access, and reflection, the paper draws from research led by the author in Project Museums Uniting with Schools in Education (MUSE).     

The impact of technology-push and demand-pull policies on technical change - Does the locus of policies matter?

How to foster technical change is a highly relevant and intricate question in the arena of policymaking. Various studies have shown that technology-push and demand-pull policies induce innovation. However, there is a lack of work that distinguishes between the loci of policy support when assessing the policy-innovation relationship. We address this gap by shedding light on the question how the innovation effects of domestic and foreign demand-pull and technology-push policies differ. Using solar photovoltaic modules as a research case we conduct a panel analysis on 15 OECD countries over the period 1978 through 2005 with patent data. Three key findings emerged: First, our analyses find no evidence that domestic technology-push policies foster innovative output outside of national borders. Second, both domestic and foreign demand-pull policies trigger innovative output in a country. Third, we detect no indication that market growth induced by domestic demand-pull policies leads to more national innovative output than market growth induced by foreign demand-pull policies. Consequently, demand-pull policies create significant country-level innovation spillovers, which could disincentivize national policymakers to engage in domestic market creation. Based on these findings we discuss the need to establish supranational demand-pull policy schemes in order to address the spillover issue.     

Elementary teachers' use and perception of rewards in the classroom

In the past four decades much research has gone into the use of rewards in education yet little attention has been given to the use of rewards from the perspective of teachers. This mixed method study examined how elementary school teachers define and use rewards in their classrooms and how various motivational constructs such as goal orientation, self-efficacy, and autonomy relate to teachers' use of rewards. Results revealed that all teachers in our sample use some form of rewards in their classrooms and the majority use some form of tangible rewards. Rewards were most frequently given for behaviour management, but there was a significant relationship between the use of rewards for behaviour and those given for academic achievement. Performance goal orientations for teaching were positively related to the use of tangible rewards and a higher degree of classroom control and negatively related to teacher self-efficacy. When asked to report on the appropriateness of using rewards in the classroom only one-third of the teachers reported that they should be used conditionally.     

Rethinking strategy instruction: direct reading strategy instruction versus computer‐based guided practice

There are many established reading strategy training programmes, which explicitly teach strategic and meta‐cognitive knowledge to improve reading comprehension. Although instruction in strategy knowledge leads to improvements in meta‐cognitive skills, the effects do not always transfer to reading comprehension. Therefore, to investigate preconditions for knowledge transfer, two different strategy training programmes were implemented in nine classes of Grade 6 students (N = 148) over the course of one school year. One programme involved teacher‐directed instruction of declarative meta‐cognitive knowledge (Reading Detectives; Rühl & Souvignier, 2006). The other aimed at improving executive meta‐cognition by guided practice: students worked with a computer program based on latent semantic analysis (LSA) (conText) and received immediate feedback on written summaries. Although both groups improved their strategy knowledge to the same extent, the conText group showed a greater improvement in reading comprehension. These fndings suggest that guided practice, which is characterised by intensive practice and individualised corrective feedback, is superior to explicitly teaching strategy knowledge.