The Role of Child Interests and Collaborative Parent–Child Interactions in Fostering Numeracy and Literacy Development in Canadian Homes

Children’s involvement in home literacy and numeracy activities has been linked to school achievement, but the subtleties in the home environment responsible for these gains have yet to be thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine how children’s interests and collaborative parent–child interactions affect exposure to home literacy and numeracy activities. Parents of 170 four-to-five year old children completed a survey about their child’s home learning environment. They rated their children’s interests in 14 activities, and the extent of parent–child collaboration on a cooking and card-making task. Follow up interviews were also initiated with four mothers to provide validation of the survey data in numeracy. Factor analyses reduced the number of survey items. Parents whose children preferred exploratory, active or crafts activities reported frequent engagement in literacy and numeracy activities. Parents seeking a collaborative approach during activities reported increased exposure to home literacy and numeracy activities than families with less collaborative involvement. Interview data confirmed that parents of children with high numeracy scores were exposing their children to rich numeracy activities during play. The findings suggest that children’s interests and collaborative parent–child involvement impact literacy and numeracy exposure in the home.     

Educational Turbulence: The Influence of Macro and Micro-Policy on Science Education Reform

Enactment of federal educational policy has direct implications for states and local school districts across the nation, particularly in the areas of accountability and funding. This study utilized constructivist grounded theory to examine the impact of policy on science education reform in a large, urban school district over a 5-year period. The existence and interaction between macro and micro, and explicit and implicit policies created educational turbulence. Findings further extend upon Fullan’s (Change theory: a force for school improvement, 2006) change theory adding high-stakes accountability as a prevalent distractor issue and the need for quad-level, rather than tri-level engagement in reform. Suggestions for addressing educational turbulence are provided.     

Directed forgetting among third and seventh graders

The present studies examined the effectiveness of explicit and implicit Forget cues for enhancing memory of to-be-remembered items within a directed forgetting paradigm. Such a paradigm may be viewed as a laboratory analogue to a classroom testing situation where students read through an examination before beginning in order to cue themselves as to which information is important to remember. Subjects were third- and seventh-grade children. Evidence was provided that directed forgetting processes were operative at the time of recall so that memory enhancement did not merely reflect differential rehearsal of the to-be-remembered items during study. When easy partitioning of items into Remember and Forget sets was possible, subjects as young as third graders could benefit from postpresentation Forget cues. The data suggest that postpresentation Forget cues permit a selective search during recall and a consequent reduction in interference from to-be-forgotten items. Applications of these findings to a classroom testing situation were discussed.     

“Read through the test before you begin”: New support for traditional advice

After studying lists of pseudowords and their definitions, high school students were instructed to read through pseudoword vocabulary tests before beginning them in order to note which of the studied items would, in fact, be tested. When compared to students not so instructed, these students' performances were significantly better. This simple finding was explained in terms of the selective search interpretation of memory enhancement found in a directed-forgetting paradigm. The results reported here provide an important potential explanation for the effectiveness of teachers' traditional advice to students regarding the importance of a preliminary reading of test questions.     

Performance scores and standings during the 43rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, 2011

Abstract Scores in artistic gymnastics are subject to changes in the rules that occur each Olympic cycle as outlined in the Code of Points, because rules influence the composition of routines and therefore performance. The aim of this study was to identify the most important routine apparatus for success in a World competition. The data were the official results for the 478 gymnasts (262 men, 216 women) who competed in the 43rd Artistic Gymnastic World Championships in 2011 in Tokyo, Japan. The factors least influenced by the technical standard of competitors were performance scores on uneven bars and balance beam for women, and those on pommel horse for men. For uneven bars, balance beam, and pommel horse, scores were consistently good predictors of final standing. Our results suggest that high scores on these apparatus have a greater influence on overall performance than scores on the other apparatus, regardless of the competitors' standard.     

Dietary Fat Intake and Exercise Among Two- and Four-Year College Students: Differences in Behavior and Psychosocial Factors

Given the demographic differences among two-year colleges and four-year universities and the relatively limited access to health education and campus-based health resources, this study compares the frequency of limiting dietary fat intake and exercising among two- and four-year college students. A total of 2,265 undergraduate students aged 18–25 at a two-year college and a four-year university completed a 108-item online survey in October 2008. We found that two-year college students had less confidence, motivation, and intention to engage in healthy behaviors and reported fewer close friends who exercise regularly but more friends who eat high-fat foods. After controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, and parental education, two-year (versus four-year) college students less frequently limited dietary fat (F(2,2227) = 21.64, p < .001) and less frequently exercised ≥ 20 minutes a day (F(5,2232) = 14.21, p < .001). Thus, research should focus on developing interventions targeting the different psychosocial factors that influence nutrition and exercise among two-year college students.     

Treatment Fidelity Challenges in a Five-State Consultation Study

Consultation is a promising approach to creating change in early childhood programs, from innovations in instructional strategies to the enhancement of global program quality. Studies of consultation effectiveness have been hampered by limited reports of implementation fidelity related to consultation procedures. This article describes the challenges of supporting and measuring implementation fidelity in a 5-state study in which community consultants followed a collaborative consultation model to enhance global quality in childcare programs. The authors consider the limitations of using a randomized experimental design to study the effectiveness of consultation and share lessons learned in their efforts to enhance treatment fidelity without compromising the basic tenets of the model or the rigorous design.     

Cytocompatible cellulose nanofibers from invasive plant species Agave americana L. and Ricinus communis L.: a renewable green source of highly crystalline nanocellulose

In this study, the fibers of invasive species Agave americana L. and Ricinus communis L. were successfully used for the first time as new sources to produce cytocompatible and highly crystalline cellulose nanofibers. Cellulose nanofibers were obtained by two methods, based on either alkaline or acid hydrolysis. The morphology, chemical composition, and crystallinity of the obtained materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) together with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX), dynamic light scattering(DLS), X-ray diffraction(XRD), and Fourier transform infrared(FTIR)spectroscopy. The crystallinity indexes(CIs) of the cellulose nanofibers extracted from A. americana and R. communis were very high(94.1% and 92.7%, respectively). Biological studies evaluating the cytotoxic effects of the prepared cellulose nanofibers on human embryonic kidney 293 T(HEK293 T) cells were also performed. The nanofibers obtained using the two different extraction methods were all shown to be cytocompatible in the concentration range assayed(i.e., 0-500 μg/mL). Our results showed that the nanocellulose extracted from A. americana and R. communis fibers has high potential as a new renewable green source of highly crystalline cellulose-based cytocompatible nanomaterials for biomedical applications.     

Matthew effects in writing productivity during second grade

The primary aims of this study were twofold: (a) to describe average change in the written narrative performance of second grade students from the fall and spring of the school year and (b) examine patterns of individual growth to test for Matthew effects. Participants included 299 children in second grade. Microstructural measures were derived from students’ written narratives including: number of different words (NDW), total number of words (TNW), and accuracy of spelling and grammar. Significant increases in NDW, TNW, and spelling accuracy were evidenced from fall to spring. Students averaged 55 total words in the fall and averaged 69 words in the spring, with a statistically significant increase of 14 words t(299)?=?8.4, p?<?.0001). The variance in TNW from fall to spring increased from Var?=?791 to Var?=?1005, which was a significant increase and the correlation of initial Fall TNW and growth in TNW was also significant (r?=?0.39). Additionally, results from a two-level hierarchical linear model with students nested within teachers indicated that initial level of TNW predicted the change in TNW from fall to spring, with higher levels of initial TNW being related to larger gains in TNW. Significant predictors of Matthew effects included teacher or classroom and free/reduced lunch eligibility. Written personal narrative measures are sensitive to developmental change across a school year. Evidence of Matthew effects in lexical productivity suggests additional support may be warranted to ameliorate gaps in writing achievement.