Hands-On: Investigating the role of physical manipulatives in spatial training

Studies show that spatial interventions lead to improvements in mathematics. However, outcomes vary based on whether physical manipulatives (embodied action) are used during training. This study compares the effects of embodied and non-embodied spatial interventions on spatial and mathematics outcomes. The study has a randomized, controlled, pre-post, follow-up, training design (N = 182; mean age 8 years; 49% female; 83.5% White). We show that both embodied and non-embodied spatial training approaches improve spatial skills compared to control. However, we conclude that embodied spatial training using physical manipulatives leads to larger, more consistent gains in mathematics and greater depth of spatial processing than non-embodied training. These findings highlight the potential of spatial activities, particularly those that use physical materials, for improving children's mathematics skills.     

Assessing and developing critical-thinking skills in higher education

Generic skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication are essential for students' success in higher education and their careers. This article presents findings from an international study of students' (n ≈ 120,000) generic skills from six countries using a performance-based assessment. Results indicate that higher education students, on average, gain generic skills between entry and exit. However, learning gain is less marked than could be expected and varies significantly among country samples. Various background variables such as gender, ethnicity, parental level of education, and primary language are also explored. The authors conclude that it is feasible to reliably and validly measure generic skills in a cross-cultural context and that assessment of these skills is an essential component of best practices in higher education.     

African American Students at Predominantly White Institutions: A Motivational and Self-Systems Approach to Understanding Retention

Predominantly White institutions have not been as effective as historically Black institutions in retaining and conferring degrees upon African American college students. This review seeks to embed the psychological aspects of the retention process proposed by Bean and Eaton [A psychological model of college student retention. In J. M. Braxton (Ed.), Reworking the student departure puzzle (pp. 48–61). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 2000] in a culturally-sensitive framework and consider how African American students attending PWIs may experience the processes in retention. We first give a brief overview of Bean and Eaton’s [A psychological model of college student retention. In J. M. Braxton (Ed.), Reworking the student departure puzzle (pp. 48–61). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 2000] model of retention, then we propose and discuss revisions to Bean and Eaton’s model that we believe would make the model more applicable to African American students attending predominantly White institutions. Specifically, we address students’ attitudes towards their institution, academic self-efficacy, motivation, achievement goals, attributions, and ethnic and bicultural identity development. The discussion concludes with implications and directions for future study.     

Peer victimization and depression in children with and without motor coordination difficulties

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a chronic disability that impacts children's performance of everyday motor‐based activities and is associated with the development of secondary social and mental health problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate peer victimization and depression in children who were and were not at risk for DCD. Selected from a population‐based sample, 159 at‐risk fifth graders were matched for age and gender to 159 controls. Children completed measures of depression and frequency of peer victimization. Results showed that children at risk for DCD reported more symptoms of depression and more frequent verbal and relational victimization than their peers. Being at risk for DCD and being bullied more frequently, especially relationally, significantly predicted increased depression symptoms. Findings highlight the importance of school psychologists remaining aware that children with DCD are at increased risk of experiencing bullying and depression. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Misbehavior or Missed Opportunity? Challenges in Interpreting the Behavior of Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasingly being included in early childhood classrooms that include typically developing peers and in general education classrooms once they enter school. Many of these learners have the requisite academic skills to be successful, yet their social communication and behavioral challenges often impede their successful inclusion in general education settings. The challenges educators may experience when interpreting and responding to some behaviors exhibited by young students with ASD are explored and analyzed using an illustrative case vignette of a Kindergarten child with ASD. Recommendations for analyzing the communicative function of children’s behavior and for embedding social communication opportunities in inclusive classroom settings are described.     

‘The power to squash people’: understanding girls’ relational aggression

While researchers and concerned adults alike draw attention to relational aggression among girls, how this aggression is associated with girls’ agency remains a matter of debate. In this paper we explore relational aggression among girls designated by their peers as ‘popular’ in order to understand how social power constructs girls’ agency as aggression. We locate this power, hence girls’ agency, in contradictory messages about girlhood that, although ever‐present ‘in girls heads,’ are typically absent in adult panic about girls’ aggression. Within peer culture, power comes from the ability to invoke the unspoken ‘rules’ that police the boundaries of acceptable femininity. We thus challenge the notion advanced by Pipher and others that girls’ empowerment entails (re)gaining an ‘authentic voice.’ In contrast, we suggest that such projects must be informed by an interrogation of how girls are positioned as speaking subjects.     

U.S. and Korean children's comprehension of fraction names: a reexamination of cross-national differences

Two experiments tested the claim that the transparency of Korean fraction names promotes fraction concepts (Miura, Okamoto, Vlahovic-Stetic, Kim, & Han, 1999). In Experiment 1, U.S. and Korean first and second graders made similar errors on a fraction-identification task, by treating fractions as whole numbers. Contrary to previous findings, Korean children performed at chance when a whole-number representation was included. Nonetheless, Korean children outperformed their U.S. peers overall. In Experiment 2, U.S. children's performance improved when fraction names were used that explicitly referred to part-whole relations like Korean fraction names. U.S. children's scores actually exceeded those of Korean children. Thus, although the differences in fraction names may influence children's performance, this may not account for the reported cross-national differences.     

Coordination of perspective by sixth graders and teacher trainees

Sixth grade students were compared by sex for their performance on two perspective coordination tasks. Responses were compared with understanding of the principle that still water remains invariantly horizontal. Forty-eight randomly selected sixth grade students (24 girls and 24 boys) and 12 college women were individually shown a standardized three-dimensional scene. While seated in a single position, subjects completed two tasks: (1) selecting from a set of 12 pictures (displayed together) the one which could be seen from each of eight positions marked on the displayed scene and (2) choosing the positions from which could be seen eight of the 12 pictures (shown one at a time). Four of the 12 pictures were mirror images which were impossible views. Males outperformed females on both of the coordination-of-perspective tasks. For both males and females, choosing the place was more difficult than choosing the picture. Strong relationships were found between understanding of horizontality and performance on the perspective tasks. Selection of mirror images (impossible views) indicated more understanding of perspective than other, less systematic errors. Finally, female teacher trainees performed only marginally better than sixth grade students, suggesting possible remediation needs.