Correlations between the stanford-binet: Fourth edition and the WISC-R with a learning disabled population

The Fourth Edition of the Stanford-Binet and the WISC-R were compared as instruments for assessing the intellectual strengths and weaknesses of students classified as learning disabled in the primary and secondary grades. Results found only a 3.28-point difference (p≥.0001) between the S-B Composite score and the WISC-R Full Scale score. Correlations between the four broad areas of the S-B and the three scales of the WISC-R ranged from .494 (S-B Abstract/Visual Reasoning with WISC-R Verbal) to .920 (S-B Composite with WISC-R Full Scale). All correlations were found to be significant. Implications of the research findings were discussed.     

Factors influencing the decision to administer psychoeducational tests

Ninety-nine NASP members participated in a study designed to investigate bias in the early stages of the referral process (i.e., in the decision to administer psychological tests). Each school psychologist received one of eight case studies, which described a child referred for academic learning problems. The case studies included typical referral information and varied student race (Black, White), socioeconomic status (higher, lower), and group achievement test scores (average, below average). The decision to administer individual psychoeducational tests was not influenced by the student's race or socioeconomic status. School psychologists were influenced by the group achievement test data. Students who showed lower achievement test results were more likely to be recommended for testing than were those who showed average performance levels. Thus, these school psychologists were not biased by knowledge of a child's race or socioeconomic status, but were influenced by instructionally relevant data (i.e., achievement test scores). In addition, when objective test data indicated average achievement levels, the psychologists did not generally recommend subsequent individual psychoeducational testing. The findings suggested that, under certain conditions, testing may not automatically follow receipt of a referral.     

Caution regarding exergames: a skill acquisition perspective

Background: The advent of technology use in physical education is upon us. But the implications of using exergames as a substitute for traditional physical education instruction for some students raise questions. Although exergames have the potential to increase energy expenditure and motivation in some children, it is less clear whether they can provide skill acquisition benefits that are similar to those found in traditional physical education.

Purpose: In a previous experiment from our laboratory, we found that deliberate practice can significantly reduce the planning time required for lateral arm movements. The purpose of this study was to determine if exergames can produce a similar effect, by reducing the processing time required for children to initiate arm movements to the contralateral and ipsilateral space.

Participants and setting: Thirty children (boys?=?15, girls?=?15), between the ages of 7 and 12 years, participated in a pre- and post-test each taking 30?min and one 30?min treatment session in a university laboratory.

Research design: A repeated measures design was employed to test the effects of deliberate laterality practice on processing speed. Children were randomly assigned (n?=?10) to either a Nintendo Wii tennis contralateral movement experimental group, Nintendo Wii bowling ipsilateral movement experimental group, or handheld video-game control group. Each child participated in one 30?min treatment session.

Data collection: Upper extremity choice reaction time (RT) was measured through 27 goal-directed aiming movements for each arm separately, during the pre-test and post-test. The stimulus–response trials occurred in three randomly presented directions (ipsilateral, contralateral, and midline).

Data analysis: A 3 (treatment group)?×?2 (age group)?×?2 (test)?×?3 (direction) mixed design analysis of variance with repeated measures on the last two factors was used to test for significant differences, with an alpha level set at 0.05.

Findings: There were no significant treatment effects on RT across all groups indicating that a short bout of exergame training was unsuccessful in improving lateral movement processing.

Conclusions: Deliberate laterality practice using exergames did not improve the motor processing speed of lateral arm movements in the same manner of traditional physical education as indicated by our previous research. Explanations as to why exergames do not exhibit the same positive transfer for skill acquisition as traditional physical education instruction are discussed within this paper.     

Part 1. If We Frame It,They Will Respond: Undergraduate Student Responses to the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education

There remains significant confusion surrounding the purpose, audience, and proposed application of the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. This exploratory study addresses the question of whether undergraduate students can understand the language and concepts in this document. By presenting student responses to pretest questions recorded at the beginning of a semester-long research methods course, this article shows that students can, even on first impression, begin to make sense of the complexity and richness found in the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.     

Place,food practices,and scientific knowledge

Cultural Studies of Science Education - This commentary seeks to extend the discussion on place, food practices, and ancestral scientific knowledge presented in Silvia Lizette Ramos de...     

Strategy selection for cognitive skill acquisition depends on task demands and working memory capacity

The involvement of working memory capacity (WMC) in ruled-based cognitive skill acquisition is well-established, but the duration of its involvement and its role in learning strategy selection are less certain. Participants (N = 610) learned four logic rules, their corresponding symbols, or logic gates, and the appropriate input–output combinations in three-gate circuit patterns. Participants practiced 120 repetitions of each rule (480 total gates) over the course of 10 training blocks. Memory load varied between subjects. The confluence of task demands and individual differences in WMC (N = 518) dramatically affected speed–accuracy tradeoffs and strategic use of a computerized help function. Cluster analysis revealed five distinct groups of participants based on the combination of response accuracy, latency, and help use. Some groups with moderate to high mean WMC acquired the task with predictable performance patterns. Other groups, prevalently under a memory load and with low mean WMC, failed to learn or overused help.