Effects of a Reading Strategy Training Aimed at Improving Mental Simulation in Primary School Children

This study investigated the effects of a mental simulation training targeted at improving children’s reading comprehension. In a 4-week period, one group of third and fourth graders (n?=?75) learned to draw upon their sensorimotor memories and experiences to mentally simulate text (experimental training group), whereas another group (n?=?51) received the schools’ regular reading comprehension instructions (control training group). Pre-to-posttest differences in general reading comprehension, reading motivation, and mental simulation (distinguishing between perceptual and motor simulation) were examined to evaluate the trainings’ effectiveness. Compared to the control group, children who had received the mental simulation training showed improved performance on general reading comprehension (in Grade 3) and scored higher on reading motivation (in Grades 3 and 4). There were no performance differences between groups on the mental simulation measures. These findings indicate that it is beneficial for children to encourage and teach them to connect their sensorimotor experiences to the text they are reading.     

PISA mathematics and reading performance differences of mainstream European and Turkish immigrant students

Lower reading and mathematics performance of Turkish immigrant students as compared to mainstream European students could reflect differential learning outcomes, differential socioeconomic backgrounds of the groups, differential mainstream language proficiency, and/or test bias. Using PISA reading and mathematics scores of these groups, we examined the role of bias and various measures related to immigrant integration policies of the host societies. Results of a multilevel analysis of reading and mathematics tests demonstrated that at individual level, students with higher scores on an index of economic, social, and cultural status obtained higher achievement scores. At country level, MIPEX scores of education and the human development index of participating countries could predict differences in reading results but not in mathematics. After correction for background characteristics, effect sizes showed a difference of .65 SD (down from a value of .96 before correction) for reading and .58 SD (down from .78) for mathematics. However, a similar correction for background variables increased the score differences between Turkish immigrants and mainstreamers.     

Foreign language reading and spelling in gifted students with dyslexia in secondary education

A few studies suggest that gifted children with dyslexia have better literacy skills than averagely intelligent children with dyslexia. This finding aligns with the hypothesis that giftedness-related factors provide compensation for poor reading. The present study investigated whether, as in the native language (NL), the level of foreign language (FL) literacy of gifted students with dyslexia is higher than the literacy level of averagely intelligent students with dyslexia and whether this difference can be accounted for by the difference in their NL literacy level. The sample consisted of 148 Dutch native speaking secondary school students divided in four groups: dyslexia, gifted/dyslexia, typically developing (TD), and gifted. All students were assessed on word reading and orthographic knowledge in Dutch and English when they were in 7th or 8th grade. A subsample (n = 71) was (re)assessed on Dutch, English, French, and German literacy one year later. Results showed that Dutch gifted students with dyslexia have higher NL literacy levels than averagely intelligent students with dyslexia. As in the NL, a stepwise pattern of group differences was found for English word reading and spelling, i.e., dyslexia < gifted/dyslexia < TD < gifted. However, it was not found for French and German literacy performance. These results point towards compensation: the higher English literacy levels of gifted/dyslexic students compared to their averagely intelligent dyslexic peers result from mechanisms that are unique to English as a FL. Differences in results between FLs are discussed in terms of variation in orthographic transparency and exposure.     

Cultural artifact and children’s understanding of the shape of the Earth: The case of Moroccan children

The non-computational brand of cognitivism is based on the premise that performances, including those of children, are generated by mental models or representations, i.e., “internal” resources. The sociocultural approach, on the other hand, regards context, i.e., an “external” resource, as the chief means of elaborating knowledge. The results of empirical research on how Moroccan children develop their understanding of the shape and properties of the Earth highlight some of the limitations not only of the representationalist paradigm but also of the more “radical” socioculturalist approach. They show that, while the sociocultural context does indeed play a vital role in the development of understanding, the latter in turn helps to increase children’s autonomy of mind.     

Youngsters and technology

The decreasing number of students in technical studies becomes a major threat for technology-driven economic growth. In this paper, we analyse whether the choices of young people for technical studies or occupations are based on economic, socio-psychological, or other motives. Apart from the traditional human capital variables and personal and social background characteristics, we also link pupils’ vocational choices to their value-judgement with respect to technological development. We find that the choice for technical studies and jobs is only slightly affected by economic motives. Also negative views on the economic and social consequences of technological developments do not affect the choice for technical studies or jobs. Much more important reasons for not choosing a technical or science study are both poor school grades in Maths and Sciences and lack of interest in technological developments. Moreover, girls scarcely choose technical studies even if they have high grades in Maths and Sciences. Policies to increase the inflow of youngsters in technical studies should therefore focus on a long-term strategy that attempts to increase the interest of youngsters in technical issues. Moreover, policies should focus on girls with high grades in Maths and Sciences as a specific target group instead of mass campaigns focusing on the good employment opportunities of technical studies.     

The transformation of technological regimes

This article explores how the transformation of technological regimes is enabled and constrained by sectoral patterns of innovation. Four innovation patterns are distinguished: the supplier-dependent, the user-driven, the mission-oriented and the R&D-dependent innovation pattern. On the basis of a multiple case, it is shown that there are distinct differences between how these four innovation patterns enable and constrain the transformation of technological regimes and in the degree to which they do so. It is further shown that innovation patterns sometimes enable the development and acceptance of innovations that radically deviate from existing regimes and may help to transform such regimes. The implications for the management of technology are discussed.     

Pedagogic strategies supporting the use of Synchronous Audiographic Conferencing: A review of the literature

Synchronous audiographic conferencing (SAC) refers to a combination of technologies for real-time communication and interaction using multiple media and modes. With an increasing institutional uptake of SAC, users require an understanding of the complex interrelations of multiple media in learning scenarios in order to support pedagogic-driven planning and effective use of the tool. This paper provides a review of recent literature that explores the pedagogic strategies used to underpin practical uses of SAC for the benefit of learners especially in non-standard contexts such as distance education. The paper reports on approaches from practitioner-oriented perspectives as well as approaches based on educational theory, notably the community of inquiry model, task design and multimodal models of cognition, meaning and interaction. The main features of these models were extracted to provide both a synthesis for future work on dedicated pedagogic models for SAC and a resource for practitioners wanting to link SAC with educational theory.