The effects of speech production and vocabulary training on different components of spoken language performance

A group of 21 hard-of-hearing and deaf children attending primary school were trained by their teachers on the production of selected consonants and on the meanings of selected words. Speech production, vocabulary knowledge, reading aloud, and speech perception measures were obtained before and after each type of training. The speech production training produced a small but significant improvement in the percentage of consonants correctly produced in words. The vocabulary training improved knowledge of word meanings substantially. Performance on speech perception and reading aloud were significantly improved by both types of training. These results were in accord with the predictions of a mathematical model put forward to describe the relationships between speech perception, speech production, and language measures in children (Paatsch, Blamey, Sarant, Martin, & Bow, 2004). These training data demonstrate that the relationships between the measures are causal. In other words, improvements in speech production and vocabulary performance produced by training will carry over into predictable improvements in speech perception and reading scores. Furthermore, the model will help educators identify the most effective methods of improving receptive and expressive spoken language for individual children who are deaf or hard of hearing.     

Report on the 1984 conference on gender and communication research

This essay maintains that a major shift has occurred in how Kenneth Burke explains symbol‐using. While previously viewing rhetoric as predominantly epistemic, since 1968 Burke has examined human communication as both ontological and epistemic. It is further posited that Burke's conception of symbol‐using is now dialectical, with both ontological and epistemic perspectives simultaneously cast as governing the symbol‐using process. Implications of this epistemic‐ontological view of symbol‐using are outlined for the functions of rhetoric, understanding of Burke's theory of communication, the long‐term effectiveness of Burke's concepts and methods, the literal functions of symbol‐using, the study of mediated communication, reconceiving the definition of a symbol, and for ideological and postmodern criticism.     

Genetic Change and Continuity from Fourteen to Twenty Months: The MacArthur Longitudinal Twin Study

Genetic change as well as continuity was investigated within the domains of temperament, emotion, and cognition/language for 200 pairs of twins assessed at 14 and 20 months of age in the laboratory and home. The second year of life is marked by change rather than continuity: correlations from 14 to 20 months averaged about .30 for observational measures of temperament and emotion, about .40 for language measures, and about .50 for mental development. 2 types of genetic change were examined: changes in the magnitude of genetic influence (heritability) and genetic contributions to change from 14 to 20 months. In general, heritability estimates were similar at 14 and 20 months. Evidence for genetic influence on change from 14 to 20 months emerged for several measures, implying that heritability cannot be equated with stability. Analyses of continuity indicated that genetic factors are largely responsible for continuity from 14 to 20 months.     

The Rub Between Fact and Fiction: Ideology in Lois Lenski’s Regional Maps

From the early 1940s until the late 1960s, Lois Lenski embarked on an exploration of American regions through children’s books. This body of work, which has become known as Lenski’s Regional Series, began by exploring the regions Lenski herself experienced each year as she traveled from Connecticut to Florida for her health. As Lenski realized the importance and success of these books, demonstrated by a Newberry Medal award for Strawberry Girl in 1946, she broadened her reach to include more geographical areas of the United States including such states as California and South Dakota. Through her books, Lenski emphasizes the importance of community and shared nationhood even across regional lines. This paper examines Lenski’s regional series first from her own purpose in aiming for objectivity and fact that she could communicate to children of other regions, instructing and exposing them to new ways of life. Second, this paper considers the paratextual elements of the Regional series, the forewords and the maps that accompany each book, to reveal the ideology that Lenski unconsciously incorporates into her stories. A product of her time, Lenski may have been influenced by the government’s American Guide Series, created by the Federal Writers’ Project, which demonstrates the same successes and flaws. Lenski’s maps in particular demonstrate the influence of a particular time, the layering of fact and fiction, and the reflection of Lenski’s personal values of certain regional characteristics. Recognition of the ideology incorporated into Lenski’s series remains important as child readers receive not objective fact, but one perspective of their nation.     

Three-Dimensional Printing of Archived Human Fetal Material for Teaching Purposes

The practical aspect of human developmental biology education is often limited to the observation and use of animal models to illustrate developmental anatomy. This is due in part to the difficulty of accessing human embryonic and fetal specimens, and the sensitivity inherent to presenting these specimens as teaching materials. This report presents a new approach using three-dimensional (3D) printed replicas of actual human materials in practical classes, thus allowing for the inclusion of accurate examples of human developmental anatomy in the educational context. A series of 3D prints have been produced from digital data collected by computed tomography (CT) imaging of an archived series of preserved human embryonic and fetal specimens. The final versions of 3D prints have been generated in a range of single or multiple materials to illustrate the progression of human development, including the development of internal anatomy. Furthermore, multiple copies of each replica have been printed for large group teaching. In addition to the educational benefit of examining accurate 3D replicas, this approach lessens the potential for adverse student reaction (due to cultural background or personal experience) to observing actual human embryonic/fetal anatomical specimens, and reduces the potential of damage or loss of original specimens. This approach, in combination with ongoing improvements in the management and analysis of digital data and advances in scanning technology, has enormous potential to allow embryology students access to both local and international collections of human gestational material. Anat Sci Educ 00: 000–000. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.     

‘If you were the researcher what would you research?’: understanding children's perspectives on educational research in Mongolia and Zambia

This paper draws on data from a project undertaken with children (N?=?72) in Mongolia and Zambia. The research is distinctive in bringing together diverse children, ranging from those living on the street to those in mainstream education and involving them in discussions about educational research. Being conscious of critiques of adult-initiated research as well as being influenced by work on participatory action research and research on understanding children's perspectives, we were keen to hear the views of children about research and how research should be carried out. This included enabling children's participation in discussions about potential research areas that could be focused upon as well as discussions about ethical issues and methodology. In this paper we report on our experiences of involving children in discussions about research and explore the numerous insights that the children provided. We conclude that while understanding children's perspectives on research and including children in the research process is important there are many issues which arise from doing so and which need to be reflected upon. These include issues around power and identity, the importance of the context, including local expectations of children as well as children's prior experiences, including how ‘vulnerable’ children are represented.     

A small-scale concept-based laboratory component: the best of both worlds

In this article, we describe an exploratory study of a small-scale, concept-driven, voluntary laboratory component of Introductory Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We wished to investigate whether students' attitudes toward biology and their understanding of basic biological principles would improve through concept-based learning in a laboratory environment. With these goals in mind, and using our Biology Concept Framework as a guide, we designed laboratory exercises to connect topics from the lecture portion of the course and highlight key concepts. We also strove to make abstract concepts tangible, encourage learning in nonlecture format, expose the students to scientific method in action, and convey the excitement of performing experiments. Our initial small-scale assessments indicate participation in the laboratory component, which featured both hands-on and minds-on components, improved student learning and retention of basic biological concepts. Further investigation will focus on improving the balance between the minds-on concept-based learning and the hands-on experimental component of the laboratory.