GENDER MODERATES ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EMOTIONAL‐BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS AND TEXT COMPREHENSION IN CHILDREN WITH BOTH READING DIFFICULTIES AND ADHD

Evidence suggests that higher order linguistic functioning such as text comprehension is particularly vulnerable to emotional modulation. Gender has been identified as an important moderating variable in emotional expression such that girls tend toward internalizing emotions (e.g., sadness, anxiety) whereas boys tend toward externalizing emotions (e.g., anger, combativeness), which may influence the relationship between emotion and text comprehension. The present study examined whether gender moderates the relationship between emotional‐behavioral problems and text comprehension among children (n = 187; boys = 115, girls = 72) with both word reading difficulties (RD) and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a sample widely acknowledged to be at increased risk for developing emotional‐behavioral problems such as anxiety, poor academic self‐concept, and delinquency. A moderated regression analysis tested for the significance of two separate interaction terms (i.e., gender × externalizing problems, gender × internalizing problems) after controlling for gender, IQ, basic reading skills, cognitive‐linguistic processes closely related to reading, attentional problems, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems. Results indicated that gender significantly and uniquely moderates the relationship between emotional‐behavioral problems and text comprehension. Specifically, text comprehension was relatively lower among girls with relatively higher externalizing problems, whereas no such association was observed among boys. These results contribute to our understanding of cognition–emotion interactions within reading development and raise important implications.     

A longitudinal study of visual expectation and reaction time in the first year of life

Developmental change and stability of visual expectation and reaction times (RT) were examined at 5, 7, and 12 months in a longitudinal sample of term and preterm infants (birthweight <1,750 g). Using the traditional 200-ms cut-point to separate anticipatory from reactive saccades, RTs (and their standard deviations) declined markedly over age, whereas anticipations increased. Those infants who had faster RTs were more likely to anticipate upcoming events and were more attentive (fewer trials off-task and less response variability). Crossage stability was modest for most measures from 5 to 7 and 7 to 12 months, but rarely significant from 5 to 12 months. When the cut-point was lowered to 150 ms (to accommodate recent concerns that the higher cut-point may misclassify some true RTs as anticipations), the age-related increase in anticipations disappeared. Thus, although the results indicate marked increases in processing speed with age, evidence for increasing anticipations is equivocal. Findings were similar for preterm and term infants.     

Promises and Pitfalls of Adapting Utility Value Interventions for Online Math Courses

A growing body of research suggests that interventions promoting students’ utility value for a subject can improve their academic outcomes. However, numerous questions remain regarding how much to adapt prior intervention materials to promote utility value in new educational contexts and how implementation constraints of an educational context may impact the success of these interventions. In this study, using a design-based process we developed and tested three utility value interventions in a new educational context (online high school math). We found that one of the interventions increased utility value compared to control conditions, but we also encountered constraints on intervention implementation that limited the effectiveness of our intervention and the conclusions we could draw from this work. We use our experience as a case study to illustrate the costs and benefits of making certain implementation choices when partnering with practitioners to administer utility value interventions in new contexts.     

A study of the presence of evolutionary protoconcepts in pre-high school textbooks

Abstract Elementary and middle school science texts were analyzed for the presence of evolutionary protoconcepts, which are defined as topics that prepare students to study evolution in later years. Elementary and middle school texts were content-analyzed for protoconcepts in both life science and earth science. Seventeen concepts considered important for student understanding of evolution were gleaned from the misconception literature and used to review the life science texts. Concepts used to analyze other texts were chosen by exploring all texts used in the analysis for any topics that might qualify as evolutionary protoconcepts, thus generating grounded theory. Coverage of evolutionary protoconcepts varies considerably among published textbooks. We recommend using this analysis when considering textbooks for adoption and for supplementing texts currently in use. We also recommended this type of analysis of textbooks for inclusion of other topics of interest to science education research.     

Pathways from prematurity and infant abilities to later cognition

This study examined the relation of information processing in 7-month-old preterms (<1750 g at birth) and full-terms to Bayley Mental Development Indexes (MDIs) at 2 and 3 years. The infant measures were drawn from four cognitive domains: attention, speed, memory, and representational competence. Structural equation modeling showed that these measures of infant information processing mediated the effects of prematurity, and that there was a cascade of effects, with infant processing speed influencing memory and representational competence, which in turn influenced later MDI. This study shows that infant information processing mediates the effect of prematurity on later cognition, and delineates pathways whereby infant abilities relate to one another and to later outcome.     

Measuring Science Instructional Practice: A Survey Tool for the Age of NGSS

Ambitious efforts are taking place to implement a new vision for science education in the United States, in both Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-adopted states and those states creating their own, often related, standards. In-service and pre-service teacher educators are involved in supporting teacher shifts in practice toward the new standards. With these efforts, it will be important to document shifts in science instruction toward the goals of NGSS and broader science education reform. Survey instruments are often used to capture instructional practices; however, existing surveys primarily measure inquiry based on previous definitions and standards and with a few exceptions, disregard key instructional practices considered outside the scope of inquiry. A comprehensive survey and a clearly defined set of items do not exist. Moreover, items specific to the NGSS Science and Engineering practices have not yet been tested. To address this need, we developed and validated a Science Instructional Practices survey instrument that is appropriate for NGSS and other related science standards. Survey construction was based on a literature review establishing key areas of science instruction, followed by a systematic process for identifying and creating items. Instrument validity and reliability were then tested through a procedure that included cognitive interviews, expert review, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (using independent samples), and analysis of criterion validity. Based on these analyses, final subscales include: Instigating an Investigation, Data Collection and Analysis, Critique, Explanation and Argumentation, Modeling, Traditional Instruction, Prior Knowledge, Science Communication, and Discourse.