TEACHING INDUCTIVE THINKING TO HIGHLY ABLE CHILDREN

Two criteria were used to identify highly able kindergarten children: assessment by teachers and an IQ ≥ 115 on Raven's Progressive Matrices. In this way, 16 highly able children were found, matched pairwise according to age and IQ, and then randomly allotted to two treatment conditions. In one condition the children were trained using a program for fostering inductive thinking, whereas the children in the other condition continued their normal kindergarten activities. Based upon a new theory of inductive reasoning, the training was expected to have a positive effect on intelligence test performance. Results showed that all of the trained children outperformed their matched counterparts. It was concluded that, even with highly able children, the level of cognitive functioning can be improved, and that training of inductive thinking is an effective means to this end.     

Generative Processes: Thick Drawing

This article presents techniques and theories of generative drawing as a means for developing complex content in architecture design studios. Appending the word ‘generative’ to drawing adds specificity to the most common representation tool and clarifies that such drawings are not singularly about communication or documentation but are also productive instruments for architectural inquiry. A particular aspect of generative drawings is their potential to directly activate conceptualisation processes. Such advancement is demonstrated through evidence of continued design thinking development rather than isolation of schemes at a particular point in a process. Generative drawings offer the means of advancing multiple paths of inquiry rather than singular research channels typified in introductory pedagogies. The relevance of drawings as polemical instruments or tools of critique and history is well established, but the intellectual and physical techniques of generative drawing that advance multiple modes of architectural research are less explicit. The use of drawings as discursive instruments is a critical step towards the alignment of authorship as but one category of priority alongside the rich and complex field of forces beyond individual intuition. The recognition of design research as a category of inquiry commensurate with scientific or historical disciplines requires that our instruments have explicitly defined purpose. By discussing specific techniques and the reasons for communicating such intuitive or inexplicit architectural conditions, this article seeks to disperse the mysterious haze that obscures the legibility of architectural drawing from the uninitiated.     

Symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and home learning environment (HLE): findings from a longitudinal study

The concept of “Home Learning Environment” (HLE) covers activities in a family providing intellectual stimulation for a child, such as reading to him or her or visiting libraries. Numerous studies have shown an association between HLE and children's cognitive development. In this longitudinal study, we focus on HLE as a predictor for children's behavioral development, namely, for later symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), controlling for relevant aspects like socioeconomic status (SES), or television viewing behavior. We analyzed the development of ADHD symptoms from kindergarten to the end of grade 2 and possible associations with HLE, SES, and television exposure, using a German community sample (N?=?924). Results indicated that ADHD symptoms were negatively and significantly correlated to HLE for all five measurement points as well as to SES (except T4) and to television exposure for T1 to T4. Observing later development, only early HLE but not SES or television exposure served as a significant predictor for ADHD symptoms at school, when age, sex, and ADHD symptoms in kindergarten were controlled for. A structural equation model showed that HLE acted as a mediator between SES and later ADHD symptoms. Our results highlight the importance of the concept of home learning environment also for children's behavioral development. As a consequence, parents should be supported in offering their children a more favorable learning environment.     

Casting the die before the die is cast: the importance of the home numeracy environment for preschool children

Mathematical competencies are important not only for academic achievement at school but also for professional success later in life. Although we know a lot about the impact of “Home Literacy Environment” on the development of early linguistic competencies, research on “Home Numeracy Environment” (HNE) and the assessment of its influence on the development of mathematical abilities is in its infancy. We still lack studies analysing this relationship and simultaneously controlling for other variables concerning the individual and the environment. Thus, in this article, we focussed on the development of mathematical competencies in a sample of 609 German children from the end of kindergarten until the end of Grade 1. In particular, we were interested in the role HNE plays in regard to this development while controlling for age, sex, intelligence, rapid naming, number span, linguistic competencies, kindergarten attendance and socioeconomic status. Moreover, HNE was compared between families with or without a history of mathematical disability. HNE was not only an important predictor of mathematical abilities at the end of kindergarten, but it also influenced the further development of mathematical competencies above and beyond its initial impact. Families with a history of dyscalculia provided a more unfavourable HNE than families with no such problems. Results are shown in a structural equation model, which highlights the importance of HNE. The findings indicate that those involved in policy and intervention should focus more on the learning environments in families to improve children's achievement.     

Developing and validating test items for first-year computer science courses

We report on the development, validation, and implementation of a collection of test items designed to detect misconceptions related to first-year computer science courses. To this end, we reworked the development scheme proposed by Almstrum et al. (SIGCSE Bulletin 38(4):132–145, 2006) to include students’ artifacts and to simultaneously incorporate think-aloud interviews and flash tests. We also investigated to what extent the practical efficiency of detecting certain misconceptions could be increased without significantly affecting the sensitivity of the instrument, and present positive and negative results regarding this goal. The results of a first transfer and implementation study suggest that it is indeed possible to use the test items in a large-scale practical setting – both as diagnostic instruments and as interventions.     

Teaching Literature for General Education

This study explored the relationship between identity development, as gauged by Marcia's identity development construct, and student perception of instructor political bias. Regression analysis was employed to compare participant responses on the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire, a measure of Marcia's construct, with the Political Bias in the Classroom Survey, a measure gauging perceptions of and reactions to instructor political bias. The EIPQ's commitment scale was found to be a significant positive indicator for the PBCS's perception scale, suggesting that students who are strongly committed to their identity are more likely to perceive an instructor as having a political bias. Recommendations are made for how to address perceptions of political bias.     

Strategies for Selling Paid Content on Newspaper and Magazine Web Sites: An Empirical Analysis of Bundling and Splitting of News and Magazine Articles

More and more newspaper and magazine Web sites offer paid content. However, selling information goods at a price higher than the marginal cost means finding a strategy for product or price differentiation. A possible strategy to solve this problem is the bundling of information goods. In this article, we analyze empirically, with quantitative statistic methods, strategies for selling bundled and unbundled content on newspaper and magazine Web sites. This analysis is based on the theoretical approach of Bakos and Brynjolfsson (1996). The article shows that a cannibalization takes place if the same bundle of information goods is offered in offline (printed) and online (digital) media at the same time. Traditional bundling models work nonetheless in an online media if the online content is rebundled (e.g., as dossiers about a topic), but thereby do not compete with the printed version.     

Television news and status conferral

In September 1996 a federal appeals court ruled that broadcasters cannot refuse daytime or prime time television federal candidates’ political advertisements containing abortion images. Broadcasters argued the advertisements were harmful to children and, thus, should be restricted. This article explores this public interest dilemma involving two competing interests: the concern for the welfare of children and the public interest in informed political debate. This article also discusses implications of the court decision.