Contextual cues and depth of processing in short prose passages

Two experiments compared context and depth-of-processing strategies applied to the learning of short aurally presented prose passages. In the first study, contextual orientation led to significantly higher recall than a continue-paragraph condition, and both strategy groups performed significantly better than a nonstrategy control group. In the second experiment, continuing paragraphs was superior to generating contextual theme statements, with both strategies again superior to the controls. These results were discussed in terms of the ways in which processing demands effect memory for connected discourse.     

Effective Strategies for Information Technology in Teacher Education: the use of an evolving permeation model

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the debate in recent years about the most effective strategy for establishing the use of information technology in teacher training establishments in the United Kingdom. Evidence is presented to support the notion that efforts should continue to permeate the use of information technology throughout the courses of such establishments. However, the paper suggests that staff development and the degree of permeation of information technology within the culture develop alongside each other. As one of these variables change, it feeds the development of the other; neither is an independent variable though both are influenced by external factors. Recognising this as a relatively slow process, the paper proposes a model of evolutionary permeation.     

The Role of Set for Variability in Irregular Word Reading: Word and Child Predictors in Typically Developing Readers and Students At-Risk for Reading Disabilities

ABSTRACT

In a quasiregular orthography like English, children inevitably encounter irregular words during reading. Previous research suggests successful reading of an irregular word depends at least partially on a child’s ability to address the mismatch between decoded form and stored word pronunciation, referred to as a child’s set for variability, and the word’s relative transparency, measured here using a spelling to pronunciation transparency rating. Item-level analyses were used to explore the relationship between general child performance on the set for variability mispronunciation task, word specific set for variability (predicting reading of that word), spelling to pronunciation transparency rating, and irregular word reading. Significant predictors included general word reading, general set for variability performance, and item-specific set for variability performance; word frequency and spelling to pronunciation transparency rating; and an interaction between word reading and the transparency rating. Results underscore the importance of considering both general and item-specific factors affecting irregular word reading.     

Caregiver Responsiveness During Preschool Supports Cooperation in Kindergarten: Moderation by Children’s Early Compliance

Research Findings: The current study examined how children’s parent-reported compliance at age 3 (36 months) moderated the effects of 2 dimensions of directly observed early care and education (ECE) process quality (positivity/responsivity and cognitive stimulation) during the prekindergarten year (54 months) on teacher reports of children’s classroom cooperation in the fall of kindergarten. Compliance at 36 months and cooperation in kindergarten are operationalized as overt, behavioral aspects of self-regulation as appraised by parents and teachers. The sample consisted of 996 children from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development who attended formal or informal ECE settings during the prekindergarten year. Results indicated that children with low compliance at age 3 tend to demonstrate stronger cooperation skills by kindergarten when they experience more positivity/responsivity from their ECE caregivers. Main effects of positivity/responsivity and cognitive stimulation on classroom cooperation were not detected for the overall sample. Practice or Policy: The discussion addresses the importance of preparing and empowering ECE providers to help young children who enter the preschool period struggling with behavioral aspects of self-regulation, such as compliance, to improve these skills through positive and responsive caregiving.     

Contemporary Classics? The Early Onset of Influence of Articles Published in Criminology and Criminal Justice Journals, 2010–2015

Citation analysis is a valuable method for tracking the growth and transmission of scientific knowledge. In criminology and criminal justice, such analyses tend to be focused on “classic” works or on highly cited scholars over many years. As an alternative approach, we focus on work that has been cited rather quickly – what we term the “early onset” of impact. In doing so, we identified 221 of the most highly cited peer-reviewed articles, authored by 480 scholars, which were published in criminology and criminal justice journals between 2010 and 2015. Analyses reveal wide variation in substantive topics and methodological approaches, as well as a substantial gender gap with respect to authorship. Additional analyses provide insight into both journal and institutional/program prestige. We conclude with directions for future research and stress the importance of tracking over time articles that appear to be off to an early start with respect to scholarly impact.     

Value judgments in textbooks: The coefficient of evaluation as a quantitative measure

Treatment of minority groups in textbooks has traditionally been studied by subjective means. This factor has rendered the research, despite its volume, essentially noncumulative. Evaluative Coefficient (ECO) Analysis was designed to provide a valid quantitative index of the evaluative treatment of a subject by a communication source. Use of the instrument in an analysis of evaluative treatment of four minority groups in history textbooks used in Ontario schools revealed significant differences among evaluations accorded to the different minorities, and between different classes of textbooks. The ability of ECO Analysis to produce a quantitative measure of evaluation, along with its relative simplicity, suggests its potential for further comparative analysis of textbooks and of other communications content.

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Résumé Le traitement des groupes de minorité a traditionnellement été étudié par des moyens subjectifs. D'où les recherches en ce domaine, malgré leur volume, sont essentiellement noncumulatives.Evaluative Coefficient (ECO) Analysis a été conçu afin de fournir un indice valide quantitatif du traitement évaluatif d'un sujet par une source de communication. L'emploi de cet instrument pour analyser le traitement évaluatif de quatres groupes de minorité dans les textes d'histoire employés par les écoles de l'Ontario a révélé des différences significatives parmi les évaluations accordées aux différentes minorités, et parmi les différents groupes de textes scolaires. La capacité de l'ECO à produire une mesure quantitative d'évaluation, et sa relative simplicité, suggère son potentiel pour d'autres analyses comparatives de textes et contenus de communication.

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Queen's University     

Young Children Understand That Looking Leads to Knowing (So Long as They Are Looking into a Single Barrel)

3 experiments were conducted to investigate the claim made by Wimmer, Hogrefe, and Perner that 3-4-year-old children do not understand that people gain knowledge about something by looking at it. The first experiment involved a simple forced-choice procedure in which children had to judge which of 2 assistants knew what was inside a box when one of the assistants had looked inside and the other had lifted it up. In this experiment, the children did realize that the assistant who had looked in the box knew its contents. The second experiment followed the Wimmer et al. procedure, but with a simpler question form. The children were just asked to state whether someone knew what was in the box. Again, the children were able to work out that a person who had looked in a box knew what was inside it. In the third experiment, a direct comparison was made between the simpler question and the more complex, double-barreled question asked by Wimmer et al. The children found the more complex question considerably harder. The results of these experiments suggest that, in contrast to the claims made by Wimmer et al., 3- and 4-year-old children do understand that looking leads to knowing, and that their difficulty in the Wimmer et al. study was mainly with the form of the question that they were asked.