Improving children's working memory and classroom performance

Previous research has demonstrated close relationships between working memory and children's scholastic attainment. The aim of the present study was to explore a method of improving working memory, using memory strategy training. Two hundred and fifty‐four children aged five to eight years were tested on measures of the phonological loop, visuo‐spatial sketchpad and central executive components of the multiple component model of working memory. Subgroups of children also completed tasks of following instructions and mental arithmetic in the classroom, and standardised tests of reading, arithmetic and mathematics. Half of the children then used Memory Booster, a computer game that teaches memory strategies, over a period of six to eight weeks. All the children were then retested on the memory and ability measures. The standardised tests were also administered five months later. The results revealed that working memory strategy training resulted in significant improvements in tasks assessing the phonological loop and central executive components of working memory, and tasks assessing following instructions and mental arithmetic in the classroom. However, no improvements were observed on standardised tests of reading, arithmetic or mathematics, either immediately following training or five months later. The results are discussed in terms of implications for educational practice.     

Personality Traits Are Associated With Cortical Development Across Adolescence: A Longitudinal Structural MRI Study

How personality traits relate to structural brain changes in development is an important but understudied question. In this study, cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA), estimated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), were investigated in 99 participants aged 8–19 years. Follow‐up MRI data were collected after on average 2.6 years for 74 individuals. The Big Five personality traits were related to longitudinal regional CT or SA development, but limited cross‐sectional relations were observed. Conscientiousness, emotional stability, and imagination were associated with more age‐expected cortical thinning over time. The results suggest that the substantial individual variability observed in personality traits may partly be explained by cortical maturation across adolescence, implying a developmental origin for personality–brain relations observed in adults.     

User Democracy in Schools? Comparing Norwegian Schools With Nursing Homes

Democratic user control is a hallmark of Scandinavian schools, but also of other services of the Scandinavian welfare states. This article studies variations in parental control and influences in public and non-public schools. In addition, how the use of different governance tools inspired by markets affects user control is analyzed. The empirical investigation consists of matching public and non-public schools and nursing homes in three Norwegian municipalities. The study concludes that there is important variation between public and non-public schools, while there is little variation between public and non-public nursing homes. The organization of the quasi-market is an important explanation for this.     

Want students to engage? Contextualise graduate learning outcomes and assess for employability

The ability of graduates to proactively develop, adapt and repackage their capabilities (or attributes) is an essential aspect of employability. This study was conducted at Deakin University, where graduate capabilities have been recast as graduate learning outcomes, and employability is frequently referenced. In light of significant curriculum reform to make graduate capabilities prominent, we investigated student perceptions of graduate capabilities and associated learning outcomes, as well as preparation for employment, to better understand how we can engage students in developing and showcasing their employability. We interviewed 45 students across 10 focus groups and qualitatively analysed their responses for commonly recurring themes. Focus groups were completed in two stages with data analysis and adjustment of questions between stages to enable validation and greater depth of understanding. Our analysis suggests that even with capabilities renamed as learning outcomes, students find graduate learning outcomes too generic to be meaningful and are most likely to engage with learning outcomes that are contextualised and assessed. Our case study illustrates ways to combat this – particularly the importance of assessment design and consistent, student-focused communication in engaging students in the development of capabilities and in the curation of evidence for employability. Students also suggest that advice from employers, professionals and recent graduates, and exposure to industry-related experiences could help make graduate capabilities more meaningful.     

Testgütekriterien der „Profilanalyse nach Grießhaber“. Evaluation eines Verfahrens zur Erfassung grammatischer Fähigkeiten von ein- und mehrsprachigen Grundschulkindern

A diagnostic goal of the “Profile analysis according to Grießhaber” is the assessment of the grammatical ability to place verbs in German sentences in the correct syntactical position. To evaluate the test quality for the first time, 403 monolingual and multilingual primary school children were randomly assigned to three different test materials: Test material that specifically stimulated the target competence led to the best test results. This indicates a low objectivity of application. In addition, ceiling effects for primary school children were detected, which means that the profile analysis can only slightly differentiate among the grammatical abilities of the children. Retest reliability and objectivity of analysis are also too small. In summary, the test quality of the assessment tool should be improved with respect to all of the test quality criteria considered. Hence, we recommend standardizing the profile analysis better and adding more sensitive diagnostic criteria for primary school aged children. Other aspects of profile analysis, for example the improvement of diagnostic competencies of teachers, are recommended for future research.     

Kinematic differences of elite and high-performance tennis players in the cross court and down the line forehand

This study identified and compared the full body kinematics of different skill levels in the forehand groundstroke when balls were hit cross court and down the line. Forty-three three-dimensional retro-reflective marker trajectories of six elite and seven high-performance players were recorded using an eight-camera 400 Hz, Vicon motion analysis system. The six highest horizontal velocity forehands with reliable kinematics of all participants were analysed for each specific situation (a total of 156 analysed shots). Significant differences (p < 0.01) and large effect sizes were observed between elite and high-performance players in linear velocity of the shoulder (2.0 vs. 1.2 m/s), angular velocity of the pelvis (295 vs. 168 °/s), and angular velocity of the upper trunk (453 vs. 292 °/s) at impact. The elite group showed a tendency towards higher racquet velocities at impact (p < 0.05). No significant differences were found in angular displacement of the racquet, hip alignment, or shoulder alignment at the completion of the backswing; nor did angular displacement vary significantly at impact. Irrespective of the group, different shoulder, hip, and racquet angles were found at impact, depending on the situation. The results should assist coaches when striving to improve their players' forehand.     

Word-Decoding Deficits in Norwegian: The Impact of Psycholinguistic Marker Effects

The effects of regularity, frequency, lexicality, and granularity on single word reading in Norwegian children with dyslexia and control children matched for age and reading level were examined. The reading impaired children showed the same pattern of performance as younger children matched for reading level on most tasks except for the fact that they worse at nonword reading. The findings are discussed against different theoretical models of reading.