Science and Mathematics Instruction of Beginning Elementary Teachers

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Metacognition and EFL/ESL reading

Several distinct research streams are converging in the field of foreign or second language reading in the U.S. Separate research streams in metacognition, in reading strategies, and in the training of reading strategies are converging in the field of English as a foreign or second language. This confluence of research is dramatically impacting the teaching of English to adult non-native speakers for academic purposes. In this article we will briefly review these distinct research streams for their relevance to the population in question, and will then describe the research design for an empirical study we are currently conducting to further investigate the efficacy of metacognitive strategy training for adult EFL/ESL reading.     

Young Children Are Wishful Thinkers: The Development of Wishful Thinking in 3- to 10-Year-Old Children

Previously, research on wishful thinking has found that desires bias older children’s and adults’ predictions during probabilistic reasoning tasks. In this article, we explore wishful thinking in children aged 3- to 10-years-old. Do young children learn to be wishful thinkers? Or do they begin with a wishful thinking bias that is gradually overturned during development? Across five experiments, we compare low- and middle-income United States and Peruvian 3- to 10-year-old children (N = 682). Children were asked to make predictions during games of chance. Across experiments, preschool-aged children from all backgrounds consistently displayed a strong wishful thinking bias. However, the bias declined with age.     

Recycling Piaget: Posthumanism and making children’s knowledge matter

A growing body of research incorporates children’s perspectives into the research process. If we are to take children’s perspectives seriously in education research, research methodologies must be capable of addressing issues that matter to children. This article engages in a theoretical discussion that considers how a posthuman research methodology can support such an effort. Piaget’s early and lesser known qualitative studies on children’s conception of the world are re-read along with Karen Barad’s posthuman theory, using Catherine Malabou’s concept of plasticity. Through a plastic reading of Piaget and Barad, I consider how a posthuman theoretical framework might contribute to research seeking to access children’s perspectives. Before concluding, I reflect on some ethical concerns regarding posthuman research in education.     

The efficacy of `whole word' versus `analytic' reading instruction for children with Down syndrome

An intervention study was conducted toinvestigate whether children with Down syndrome(DS) would benefit from an `analytic' approachto reading instruction, which encompassedexplicit training in phonological awareness.Participants were seven English-speakingchildren with DS aged 8;6 (years;months) to11;1, who demonstrated little or nononword-reading ability prior to intervention.The children received weekly instruction (forsix weeks) in reading aloud 30 regularly speltmonosyllables (e.g., ten, bake) using an`analytic' approach, in which words werelearned by combining onsets with rimes (fourchildren), or a `whole-word' approach (threechildren). Participants' oral reading wasassessed pre- and post-intervention using areading test comprising the 30 trained wordsand 30 untrained (generalisation) words. Mostchildren (six out of seven) read more trainingwords correctly after intervention than before,with significant improvement shown by fourchildren (two trained analytically, and twotrained with whole words). More importantly,reading of generalisation words improvedsignificantly in only three children, all ofwhom had received analytic training. It wasconcluded that children with DS benefit from ananalytic approach to reading instruction, eventhough their auditory-verbal memory (assessedusing digit span) is poor.     

Differences between WISC‐R and WISC‐III performance scale among children with ADHD

Reviews involving the Wechsler Scales for children suggest that Full Scale IQ scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition, average 5 to 6 points lower than scores on the second edition of the scale [WISC‐R, Wechsler, D. (1974). Zimmerman & Woo‐Sam, 1997], with the differences distributed disproportionately over subtests, i.e., with larger discrepancies found within the Performance Scale (Wechsler, 1991). Changes on the revised subtests of the WISC‐III Performance Scale may place children with ADHD at a disadvantage compared to their performance on analogous WISC‐R subtests. We examined IQ test performance in 122 unmedicated children with ADHD (61 given the WISC‐R, 61 given the WISC‐III), and 46 children from a healthy, comparison group (23 given the WISC‐R, 23 given the WISC‐III). The ADHD and comparison group samples were matched for sex and for Verbal IQ between WISC‐R and WISC‐III. Children with ADHD had significantly lower Performance IQ on WISC‐III compared to the WISC‐R, with the Picture Arrangement subtest showing the most significant difference. In contrast, there were no significant differences between the WISC‐R and WISC‐III cohorts on Performance IQ or any Performance subtests among the comparison group. These findings highlight the importance of examining the comparability of ability test revisions among clinical and non‐clinical populations, and will be especially salient when the WISC‐III is revised. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 40: 331–340, 2003.     

Employment self-disclosure of postsecondary graduates with learning disabilities: rates and rationales

One hundred thirty-two graduates with learning disabilities (LD) of a large, public, competitive postsecondary institution were surveyed to determine if they had self-disclosed their LD to their current employer and to provide the reasons for choosing to self-disclose or not to self-disclose. Based on a response rate of 67.4% (n = 89), the results indicated that 86.5% of the respondents were employed full time. Although nearly 90% of the respondents stated that their LD affected their work in some way, only 30.3% self-disclosed to their employer. Of those who had not self-disclosed, the majority reported that there was no reason or need to self-disclose. However, 46.1% reported not self-disclosing due to fear of a potentially negative impact in the workplace or due to a concern for job security. Specific rationales for disclosure and information related to the use of self-reported accommodations and strategies are presented.     

Learning design and learning analytics in mobile and ubiquitous learning: A systematic review

Mobile and Ubiquitous Learning (m/u-learning) are finding an increasing adoption in education. They are often distinguished by hybrid learning environments that encompass elements of formal and informal learning, in activities that happen in distributed settings (indoors and outdoors), across physical and virtual spaces. Despite their purported benefits, these environments imply additional complexity in the design, monitoring and evaluation of learning activities. The research literature on learning design (LD) and learning analytics (LA) has started to deal with these issues. This paper presents a systematic literature review of LD and LA, in m/u-learning. Apart from providing an overview of the current research in the field, this review elicits elements of common ground between both communities, as shown by the similar learning contexts and complementary research contributions, and based on the research gaps, proposes to: address m/u-learning beyond higher education settings, reinforce the connection between physical and virtual learning spaces, and more systematically align LD and LA processes.     

Critical thinking,executive functions and their potential relationship

The central issue of this paper is to review the possible relationships between the constructs of critical thinking and executive functions. To do this, we first analyse the essential components of critical thinking from a psychological and neurological point of view. Second, we examine the scope of the cognitive and neurological nature of executive functions. Third, we propose a model for comparing or mapping between the most important processes of both constructs. Fourth, we offer some conclusions on the relational path between the two concepts based on the studies reviewed and suggest possible lines of investigation that will undoubtedly facilitate the understanding of shared features and key differences between critical thinking and executive functions.     

Designing Nordic technology-enhanced learning

The latest developments of information and communication technologies (ICT) and its large penetration in different sectors of our society pose new challenges and demands in the field of education. This special issue entitled “Designing Nordic technology-enhanced learning (TEL)”, presents and discusses how researchers in the Nordic countries are currently framing and thinking about issues that are related to pedagogical design of learning spaces, digital literacies, educational professional development, design of tools engaging students in collaborative inquiry learning as well as design-oriented multimodal understandings of learning.The objective pursued with the special issue has been to reflect upon current problems that educational institutions, practitioners and TEL researchers are facing in the Nordic countries as regards the acknowledgment of young people's ICT practices within formal education. Such analytical work has led us to identify and elaborate on what we believe constitute forthcoming research challenges for learning and education in the Nordic countries.