Effect of Twinning on Chinese and English Vocabulary Knowledge

Vocabulary knowledge was tested in a native (Cantonese-Chinese) and foreign (English) language in 150 twins and 150 singletons aged 6–11 years, matched on age, gender, grade level, nonverbal intelligence, parents’ education, family income, and number of siblings and household members. The singletons clearly outperformed the twins on the native vocabulary, but this “twinning effect” was much less noticeable for the foreign vocabulary. The effect on English vocabulary was further reduced after exposure to English at home was controlled. Given that these participants learned most of their English in school rather than home, the present findings support the notion that the twinning effect is associated with increased competition for family interaction in twins compared with singletons.     

Teachers as child advocates: A continuum of involvement

Conclusion First steps into advocacy must encourage involvement, not intimidate. Instead of struggling with the complexities of advocacy, a simple continuum of advocacy involvement helps ground teachers into roles which are more comfortable and encourages active participation, even by novices. Reinforcing advocacy activity, even at the simplest levels, aids teachers in gaining skill and experience as they move toward advocating for solutions to the more complex problems facing children and families.     

Support for Students with Hidden Disabilities in Universities: A Case Study

More students with disabilities are accessing the tertiary sector with many disabilities not easily observed (or hidden), because there are no physical indicators. These “hidden” disabilities affect a variety of cognitive processes and may be developmental or acquired. To ensure students with hidden disabilities can enrol, engage in and benefit from tertiary education, universities generally provide a range of supports. Typically these supports and any reasonable adjustments are negotiated with students taking into account a number of factors including, where available, any supporting documentation that they might be able to provide. This case study reports efforts within one large Australian university to support higher education students with hidden disabilities on campus. Perceptions on the use of and barriers to support available were collected from seven undergraduate students who self-identified as having hidden disabilities and from eight support staff. Results indicated that students found their informal networks to be their most effective supports, closely followed by clear, caring and flexible lecturers and tutors. There were mixed positive and negative perceptions reported on the universal and disability-specific supports available. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Why Talk about Mental States? The Significance of Children's Conversations with Friends, Siblings, and Mothers

Natural language data from 38 47-month-olds recorded at home in unstructured observations were analyzed and comparisons made of characteristics of mental state term use in child-friend, child-sibling, and child-mother dyads. Significantly more references to mental states were made by the children in conversations with siblings and friends than with mothers. Frequent use of mental state terms by both partners was related to cooperative interaction in both child-friend and child-sibling dyads and several associations were found with measures of language fluency, gender, and maternal education, although these varied across the 2 dyads. Children's use of mental state terms in conversations with siblings and friends was correlated with their performance on two false belief measures. Results highlight the importance of extending investigations into the social implications of the development of children's "theories of mind."     

Teachers' and At‐Risk Students' Stimulated Recall of Instruction

Abstract

Using the stimulated recall of instruction methodology, we interviewed teachers and students at risk for referral to special education about their perceptions, judgments, and decision making during the course of instruction. The results of the teacher interviews suggest that teachers respond to complex collections of student cues in their decision making about students. Teachers described themselves as more frequently monitoring the at‐risk students, although their attempts to modify instruction consisted primarily of attempts to motivate these students. The at‐risk students indicated awareness that they are experiencing difficulty in class, had somewhat less understanding of how teachers attempt to help them, and responded with anger and frustration to their learning problems.     

The experiences of deaf and hard of hearing students at a Queensland University: 1985–2005

This article reports on the experiences of deaf and hard of hearing students at a Queensland university, which offers an extensive deaf student support program. Seventy‐two current students and graduates since the program’s inception twenty years ago completed a survey about their experiences, highlights, challenges and use of communication tools and support services at university. Findings indicate, both quantitatively and qualitatively, that students valued the specialised support services they received, although challenges in accessing the academic curriculum remained for many students. In the important area of social factors, many students reported enjoying satisfying friendships and a sense of belonging with other deaf people, often for the first time, while others experienced feelings of social isolation in a largely hearing peer group. Overall, deaf and hard of hearing students who had attended Griffith over the 20 years had a high rate of graduation, comparing favourably with other university students.     

Ethics in Neuroscience Graduate Training Programs: Views and Models from Canada

Consideration of the ethical, social, and policy implications of research has become increasingly important to scientists and scholars whose work focuses on brain and mind, but limited empirical data exist on the education in ethics available to them. We examined the current landscape of ethics training in neuroscience programs, beginning with the Canadian context specifically, to elucidate the perceived needs of mentors and trainees and offer recommendations for resource development to meet those needs. We surveyed neuroscientists at all training levels and interviewed directors of neuroscience programs and training grants. A total of 88% of survey respondents reported general interest in ethics, and 96% indicated a desire for more ethics content as it applies to brain research and clinical translation. Expert interviews revealed formal ethics education in over half of programs and in 90% of grants-based programs. Lack of time, resources, and expertise, however, are major barriers to expanding ethics content in neuroscience education. We conclude with an initial set of recommendations to address these barriers which includes the development of flexible, tailored ethics education tools, increased financial support for ethics training, and strategies for fostering collaboration between ethics experts, neuroscience program directors, and funding agencies.