Enhancing the Executive Functions of 3‐Year‐Olds in the Dimensional Change Card Sort Task

Executive functions enable flexible thinking, something young children are notoriously bad at. For instance, in the dimensional change card sort (DCCS) task, 3‐year‐olds can sort cards by one dimension (shape), but continue to sort by this dimension when asked to switch (to color). This study tests a prediction of a dynamic neural field model that prior experience with the postswitch dimension can enhance 3‐year‐olds' performance in the DCCS. In Experiment 1A, a matching game was used to preexpose 3‐year‐olds (n = 36) to color. This facilitated switching from sorting by shape to color. In 3 , 3‐year‐olds (n = 18) were preexposed to shape. This did not facilitate switching from sorting by color to shape. The model was used to explain this asymmetry.     

Aging IQ Intervention with Older Korean Americans: A Comparison of Internet-Based and In-Class Education

Using the translated contents of the National Institute on Aging (NIA)'s Aging IQ, an educational intervention was delivered to older Korean Americans. The educational program was delivered via two different modalities, Internet-based education (n = 12) and in-class education (n = 11), and the overall feasibility and efficacy were evaluated by the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. A high level of completion and overall satisfaction with the program was observed in both groups. Both groups also exhibited a significant improvement in their knowledge about aging after the completion of the educational program. However, at the one-month follow-up, the Internet-based group showed a greater retention of the knowledge gained. The findings not only support the value of education on aging for older ethnic minorities but also suggest the use of the Internet as an integral modality of intervention delivery.     

Computers in Artificial Intelligence Education

Both the origin and development of artificial intelligence (AI) are connected with the origin and development of computers. Computers play a very important role in engineering education. AI influences such disciplines like CAD, CASE, CAE, and others. The specific experience concerning AI education at a technical university has been gathered in this paper. There is stressed need of good balance between theoretical background and individual training with computers as well as importance of personal experience in solving practical AI.     

The elaboration theory of instruction: A model for sequencing and synthesizing instruction

This paper describes a novel instructional model for sequencing, syntheizing, and summarizing subject-matter content. The importance of such models is discussed, along with the need for a significant change in the role of subject-matter structure in instruction. A zoom-lens analogy is presented to facilitate an understanding of the elaboration model of instruction. Some basic concepts and principles upon which the model is based are described. The basic unvarying components of the elaboration model are described. And finally, some variations in the model for different kinds of goals are described. The elaboration model follows a general-to-detailed pattern of sequencing, as opposed to the hierarchically based sequences derived from Gagné-type task analyses.Many of the ideas described in this paper were developed under two projeets, one funded by Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and the other by the Navy Personnel Research and Development Center in San Diego, California; however, the ideas expressed do not necessarily constitute the opinions of the funding institutions.     

TEACHERS’ EXPECTATIONS AND SELF‐EFFICACY FOR WORKING WITH BULLIES AND VICTIMS

Bullying is a significant concern in schools, and both bullies and victims are at risk for negative outcomes. In this study, 239 sixth‐grade teachers completed questionnaires about their perceptions of four components of school climate: high‐risk student behaviors, school‐wide barriers to learning, principal support, and cooperation among teachers. Teachers’ expectations and self‐efficacy for working effectively with both bullies and victims were assessed using case study vignettes. The results indicated that teachers’ perceptions of principal support were significantly related to teachers’ expectations and self‐efficacy for working with bullies. A graduate degree was also related to greater self‐efficacy for working with bullies. Administrators and school psychologists should consider the role of perceived principal support as an important factor in influencing teachers’ expectations and beliefs in working with bullies.     

Stability of Core Language Skill from Early Childhood to Adolescence: A Latent Variable Approach

This four‐wave prospective longitudinal study evaluated stability of language in 324 children from early childhood to adolescence. Structural equation modeling supported loadings of multiple age‐appropriate multisource measures of child language on single‐factor core language skills at 20 months and 4, 10, and 14 years. Large stability coefficients (standardized indirect effect = .46) were obtained between language latent variables from early childhood to adolescence even when accounting for child nonverbal intelligence and social competence and maternal verbal intelligence, education, speech, and social desirability. Stability coefficients were similar for girls and boys. Stability of core language skill was stronger from 4 to 10 to 14 years than from 20 months to 4 years, so early intervention to improve lagging language is recommended.     

The Professional Education of Handicapped People in Moscow

The provision of access to professional education for handicapped students in Russia faces a number of problems. Research shows that special attention needs to be given to such issues as the practice of preferential enrollment for handicapped people, the main factors limiting access to a professional education, and the provision of an obstacle-free environment.     

Effect of Rasch Calibration on Ability and DIF Estimation in Computer-Adaptive Tests

In a previous simulation study of methods for assessing differential item functioning (DIF) in computer-adaptive tests (Zwick, Thayer, & Wingersky, 1993, 1994), modified versions of the Mantel-Haenszel and standardization methods were found to perform well. In that study, data were generated using the 3-parameter logistic (3PL) model and this same model was assumed in obtaining item parameter estimates. In the current study, the 3PL data were used but the Rasch model was assumed in obtaining the item parameter estimates, which determined the information table used for item selection. Although the obtained DIF statistics were highly correlated with the generating DIF values, they tended to be smaller in magnitude than in the 3PL analysis, resulting in a lower probability of DIF detection. This reduced sensitivity appeared to be related to a degradation in the accuracy of matching. Expected true scores from the Rasch-based computer-adaptive test tended to be biased downward, particularly for lower-ability examinees     

Gender Effects in Children’s Development and Education

This paper attempts to clarify several lines of research on gender in development and education, inter‐relating findings from studies on intuitive/informal knowledge with those from research on achievements and attitudes in science. It acknowledges the declining proportions of male teachers world‐wide and examination successes which indicate a reversal of educational disadvantage from female to male; as well as the recent evidence on the effects of the gender of teachers upon student success. An empirical contribution to the literature is offered, drawing from the gender‐related findings from research on children’s cosmologies in China and New Zealand with 346 boys and 340 girls (of whom 119 boys and 121 girls participated in the current study). The investigation focused on children’s concepts of the motion and shape of the Earth through observational astronomy and gave children opportunities to express their ideas in several modalities. The in‐depth interviews allowed children to share their meanings with gender differences becoming apparent (e.g. girls’ superior ability to visually represent their cosmologies and boys’ greater awareness of gravity). However, these differences were not universal across genders or cultures and marked similarities were apparent both in the content of children’s responses and in their reasoning processes. By comparing boy/girl cosmological concept categories and by tracking their developmental trends by age, statistical evidence revealed the extent of the similarities within and across these diverse cultures. The findings reinforce those from the authors’ knowledge restructuring and cultural mediation studies and provide support for the view that boys and girls have similar, holistic‐rather‐than‐fragmented, cosmologies which have features in common across cultures and ethnic groups.