Training Mispronunciation Correction and Word Meanings Improves Children’s Ability to Learn to Read Words

Previous research has suggested that learning to read irregular words depends upon knowledge of a word’s meaning and the ability to correct imperfect decoding attempts by reference to the known pronunciations of a word. In an experimental training study, 84 children ages 5–7 years were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. Children in the intervention group participated in a 4-week programme in which they were taught to correct mispronunciations of spoken words as well as being taught the meanings of those words. Children in the control group received no additional teaching. The intervention group made significant gains in their ability to correct mispronunciations and to read and define the taught words; these gains also generalised to a comparable set of untaught control words. Children can be taught to correct errors in the pronunciation of irregular words, and this may produce generalised effects on learning to read.     

Children-at-risk for poor nutrition: expanding the approach of future professionals in educational institutions

Objectives

To examine how the subject of nutrition is being addressed in the work with children at risk of poor nutrition in educational institutions and what the barriers are which may hinder inclusion of this subject.

Methods

A structured questionnaire was constructed for the purpose of this study and was implemented with 111 students in Israel who are working in their internships in educational institutions with children who are exposed to risk factors of poor nutrition (e.g., parental neglect, lack of knowledge, poverty).

Results

Participants attributed a high level of importance to integrating nutrition-related components in their work. However, the findings indicate less emphasis on nutrition-related components than on psycho-social-educational components, as well as a low level of collaboration with specialists in the area of nutrition. In addition, it was found that knowledge-based barriers and institutional-related systemic barriers may hinder future teachers’ capabilities to incorporate those components despite their favorable approach towards this subject.

Conclusions

The findings illuminate the need to reduce barriers hampering the individual work with children at risk of poor nutrition in educational institutions.

Practice implications

In the training of future teachers, there is a need to advance a bio-psycho-social educational approach incorporating a knowledge base about assessing situations of poor nutrition, including how to advance an interdisciplinary collaboration with specialists in the area of nutrition.     

Effects of instruction and stage-fright on intelligence testing

In the present research, it was tried to unravel the influence of various types of instruction on test anxiety levels and, in turn, its influence on intelligence test performance. Three types of instruction were compared: a stressful, achievement-orientated instruction; a reassuring, task-orientated instruction; and an ambiguous instruction. Before the instruction, trait anxiety was measured with the trait version of the state-trait anxiety questionnaire and negative fear of failure with a standard questionnaire. Within each instructional condition, there were two test sessions with four intelligence tests each. Before each session, state anxiety was measured with the state version of the state-trait anxiety questionnaire and test anxiety with a standard test anxiety questionnaire. It turns out that state anxiety and test anxiety do not increase more rapidly as a function of anxiety disposition under stressful conditions compared with reassuring conditions. As in previous research, stage-fright effects were observed in the sense that repeated measures of state anxiety and test anxiety showed a decline of average anxiety levels.     

Teachers' experiences and perceptions of primary EFL in Norway and the Netherlands: a comparative study

This article compares the organization and practice of primary English language teaching in Norway and The Netherlands, considering the strengths and weaknesses of the respective systems. It is based on surveys carried out in each country. Several issues considered essential to the success of a primary EFL program are addressed, such as starting age, contact hours, teacher competence, teaching priorities, classroom practice, the use of the target language as the language of instruction, and materials used. Special attention is given to the transition from the primary to secondary level. Although both countries share common challenges and problems, these appear to be far greater in the Netherlands than in Norway, especially with regard to continuity from primary to secondary.

Cet article compare l'organisation et la pratique de l'enseignement de l'anglais à l'école primaire en Norvège et aux Pays‐Bas, en considérant les forces et les faiblesses des systèmes respectifs. L'article se base sur des enquêtes réalisées dans chaque pays. Plusieurs éléments essentiels ont été pris en compte pour le succès du programme de EFL (anglais langue étrangère) à l'école primaire, comme l'âge des élèves, le nombre d'heures d'enseignement, la compétence du professeur, les priorités de l'enseignement, les pratiques de classe, l'utilisation de la langue cible pendant l'enseignement et le matériel utilisé. Une attention toute particulière a été accordée à la transition du niveau primaire au niveau secondaire. Bien que les deux pays partagent les mêmes ambitions et les mêmes problèmes, il semble qu'ils soient mieux abordés aux Pays‐Bas qu'en Norvège, particulièrement si l'on considère la continuité entre le niveau primaire et le niveau secondaire.

Este artículo compara la organización y la práctica de la enseñanza del idioma inglés en la escuela primaria en Noruega y en los Países Bajos, considerando lo positivo y lo negativo de los sistemas respectivos. Se basa en investigaciones realizadas en cada país. Se toman en cuenta varios elementos esenciales para el éxito del programa de EFL (enseñanza del inglés para extranjeros) en la escuela primaria, como la edad de los alumnos, las horas de enseñanza, la competencia del profesor, las prácticas de clase, el uso del idioma enseñado en la situación de enseñanza y el material utilizado. Una atención particular está otorgada a la transición de la escuela primaria a la segundaria. Aunque los dos países compartan los mismos desafíos y problemas, aparece que son tratados mejor en los Países Bajos que en Noruega, especialmente si se considera la continuidad entre el nivel primario y el segundario.

Im Mittelpunkt des Beitrags steht ein Vergleich der Organisation und Praxis des Grundschul‐Englischunterrichts in den Niederlanden und in Norwegen, wobei Stärken und Schwächen der jeweiligen Systeme aufgezeigt werden. Die Untersuchung beruht auf Umfragen, die unter Lehrkräften in den beiden Ländern durchgeführt wurden. Eine Reihe wichtiger Aspekte, die für den Erfolg von Englischprogrammen im Grundschulbereich verantwortlich sind, wie Eingangsalter der Schüler, Stundendeputat, Kompetenz der Lehrkraft, Unterrichtsziele, Unterrichtspraxis, Unterrichtsprache und Lehrmittel, werden angesprochen. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird dem Übergang vom Grundschul‐ zum Sekundarbereich gewidmet. Obwohl beide Länder vor ähnlichen Problemen und Herausforderungen stehen, scheinen diese in den Niederlanden sehr viel schwerwiegender als in Norwegen zu sein, ganz besonders in Bezug auf die Frage der Kontinuität beim Wechsel von der Grundschule zur Sekundarstufe.     

Using Science Teaching Case Narratives to Evaluate the Level of Acceptance of Scientific Inquiry Teaching in Preservice Elementary Teachers

The National Science Education Standards have outlined flexible processes children perform when engaging in scientific inquiry. Cases narratives are a common component of many university science education courses but rarely are they used as a tool to evaluate the preservice teachers within these courses. This article describes the construction of a positive and negative science teaching case narrative. These case narratives can be used to evaluate the level of acceptance of scientific inquiry teaching in preservice elementary teachers.     

A developmental perspective on executive function

This review article examines theoretical and methodological issues in the construction of a developmental perspective on executive function (EF) in childhood and adolescence. Unlike most reviews of EF, which focus on preschoolers, this review focuses on studies that include large age ranges. It outlines the development of the foundational components of EF-inhibition, working memory, and shifting. Cognitive and neurophysiological assessments show that although EF emerges during the first few years of life, it continues to strengthen significantly throughout childhood and adolescence. The components vary somewhat in their developmental trajectories. The article relates the findings to long-standing issues of development (e.g., developmental sequences, trajectories, and processes) and suggests research needed for constructing a developmental framework encompassing early childhood through adolescence.     

Partially correct constructs illuminate students’ inconsistent answers

We present a view of knowledge construction processes, focusing on partially correct constructs. Motivated by unexpected and seemingly inconsistent quantitative data based on the written reports of students working on an elementary probability task, we analyze in detail the knowledge construction processes of a representative student. We show how the nested epistemic actions model for abstraction in context facilitates following the emergence of a learner’s partially correct constructs (PaCCs). These PaCCs provide added insight into processes of knowledge construction. They are also used in order to analyze and explain students’ thinking in situations where some of the students’ answers were unexpected in light of their earlier answers or inconsistent with earlier answers. In particular, PaCCs are explanatory tools for correct answers based on (partially) faulty knowledge and for wrong answers based on largely correct knowledge.