Naming speed deficits in adults with reading disabilities: a test of the double-deficit hypothesis

The present study investigated the persistent nature of naming speed deficits within the context of the double-deficit hypothesis in a university sample of adults with reading disabilities (RD). Twenty-five university students with RD were compared to 28 typically achieving readers on measures of reading skill, phonological processing, and naming speed. The results indicated that both naming speed and phonological processing deficits characterized the RD group. In a regression analysis, neither naming speed nor phonological processing were important variables in explaining comprehension when reading rate was in the model. The results of the present study are mixed at best and are consistent with earlier conclusions that support for the double-deficit hypothesis of dyslexia remains limited.     

A Review of Children's,Teachers' and Parents' Influences on Children's Drawing Experience

In this article we argue that research into children's drawings should consider the context in which drawing occurs and that it is crucial to investigate the attitudes and practices of teachers, parents and children themselves that shape children's drawing experience and the drawings which they produce. We review the findings of seven empirical studies reporting data collected through direct observations, interviews and questionnaires from the three main players (teachers, parents and children) on the attitudes and practices shaping children's drawing. Issues covered include teachers' perceptions of the purposes and importance of drawing, support offered by teachers, parents and children for children's drawing endeavours, and possible factors that may lead to an age‐related decline in the amount of drawing children choose to do. We end the review by reporting some preliminary findings from our own large‐scale interview and survey study of 270 5–14 year old children, their parents and teachers, that provides a comprehensive assessment of attitudes and practices influencing children's drawing experience at home and at school. The findings provide further insight into the aforementioned issues, particularly children's, teachers' and parent's explanations of why children's drawing behaviour might decline with age. It is hoped that by reporting these preliminary findings some additional understanding of the context in which children produce their drawings can be gained and new areas for debate opened up.     

Enhancement of Mentor Selection Using the Ideal Mentor Scale

Doctoral students seeking faculty mentors have few tools available to assist them. The Ideal Mentor Scale (IMS) is a new measure designed to help graduate students consider the qualities they as individuals most value in a potential mentor. Ph.D. students at 3 different universities (Ns = 82, 250, 380) contributed to the development and cross-validation of the 34-item IMS. Item frequencies indicated that 2 universal qualities were central to graduate students' definitions of a mentor: communication skills and provision of feedback. Principal factor analysis of the IMS indicated that 3 individual differences dimensions reliably underlaid graduate students' importance ratings of mentor attributes: Integrity, Guidance, and Relationship. In one sample, Guidance and Relationship were significantly related to student satisfaction with their mentor. The IMS is an assessment tool that could individualize the initiation and maintenance of mentoring relationships, enhance communication, and ultimately improve the satisfaction of students with their doctoral education.     

Modifying the distribution of attention in infants

In three experiments, the distribution and malleability of infant visual attention were studied in 5-month-olds (N = 72) while they inspected large geometric designs. In Experiment 1, we established that infants maintained their distribution of attention from a pretest to a familiarization phase. We also replicated and extended our previous findings that infants who examined targets with briefer, more numerous looks and shifts-short lookers-had novelty scores above chance, whereas long lookers demonstrated chance responding. In Experiment 2, different portions of the display were successively illuminated with red light. This manipulation induced long lookers to scan like short lookers during familiarization; they then showed novelty scores well above chance. A third experiment ruled out the simple presence of a red light as the source of this effect. In sum, then, these results suggest that the distribution of attention is malleable, and that a broader distribution of attention, as reflected in briefer and more numerous looks and shifts, can improve processing.     

Is There a Role for Executive Functions in the Development of Mathematics Ability?

ABSTRACT— This article examines the role of working memory, attention shifting, and inhibitory control executive cognitive functions in the development of mathematics knowledge and ability in children. It suggests that an examination of the executive cognitive demand of mathematical thinking can complement procedural and conceptual knowledge-based approaches to understanding the ways in which children become proficient in mathematics. Task analysis indicates that executive cognitive functions likely operate in concert with procedural and conceptual knowledge and in some instances might act as a unique influence on mathematics problem-solving ability. It is concluded that consideration of the executive cognitive demand of mathematics can contribute to research on best practices in mathematics education.     

Influence of Verbal Working Memory Depends on Vocabulary: Oral Reading Fluency in Adolescents With Dyslexia

Most research on dyslexia to date has focused on early childhood, while comparatively little is known about the nature of dyslexia in adolescence. The current study had two objectives. The first was to investigate the relative contributions of several cognitive and linguistic factors to connected‐text oral reading fluency in a sample of adolescents with dyslexia (n = 77). The second was to test the hypothesis that the effect of verbal working memory on connected‐text oral reading fluency is moderated by word‐level skills and/or vocabulary knowledge. The results suggest that many deficits associated with childhood dyslexia remain prominent in adolescence, but the nature of the relationships between key cognitive and linguistic predictors (i.e., word‐level reading, vocabulary, verbal working memory) and reading fluency appear to be different in adolescence. For example, while word‐level skills remain a significant predictor, the strength of the effect is relatively weak. In contrast, the data support an increased role for vocabulary and verbal working memory, including an interaction between these factors. The presence of an interaction can be interpreted as evidence that the influence of verbal working memory on connected‐text oral reading fluency in adolescents with dyslexia depends on individual differences in vocabulary knowledge. These results offer support for the changing nature of dyslexia across development, and suggest that researchers should study dyslexia in adolescents on its own terms, rather than treating it as an extension of reading problems in early childhood.     

Effective practices for creating transformative informal science education programs grounded in Native ways of knowing

There are a growing number of informal science education (ISE) programs in Native communities that engage youth in science education and that are grounded in Native ways of knowing. There is also a growing body of research focusing on the relationship between culture, traditional knowledge, and science education. However, there is little research documenting how these programs are being developed and the ways in which culture and Western science are incorporated into the activities. This study outlines effective practices for using Native ways of knowing to strengthen ISE programs. These effective practices may also be used to promote change in formal education. The authors combine an overview of current research in informal science education with personal interviews with educators engaged in ISE programs offered to youth both on and off tribal reservations as well as experts in Indigenous education. Participating individuals and programs included Native communities across the United States, including Alaska and Hawai??i. Keeping in mind that each community is unique, ISE programs that are grounded in Native ways of knowing will benefit by utilizing the effective practices outlined here as a guide for starting or strengthening existing ISE programs relevant to the needs of their communities.     

Deficits in emotion regulation mediate the relationship between childhood abuse and later eating disorder symptoms

The present study examined the relationship of child maltreatment to both emotion dysregulation and subsequent eating pathology. In an effort to extend previous research, the authors examined the unique impact of childhood emotional abuse (CEA) on emotion dysregulation and eating disorder (ED) symptoms while controlling for the effects of sexual and physical abuse. Structural equation modeling was utilized to simultaneously examine the effects of all three abuse types on multiple dependent variables as well as examine whether deficits in emotion regulation mediated the relationship between abuse and eating pathology. Results from a survey of 1,254 female college students revealed significant paths from abuse subtypes to specific eating disorder symptoms, with CEA evidencing the strongest association with ED symptoms. Additionally, emotion dysregulation was positively associated with ED symptoms, and mediated the effects of emotional abuse on symptoms. Findings support previous research on the enduring effects of emotional abuse as well as highlight the importance of the assessment of CEA in the treatment of ED symptoms.     

Meeting needs assessment challenges: Applying the performance pyramid in the U.S. Army

This article describes an application of the Performance Pyramid, a needs assessment framework that supports a holistic view of an organization allowing assessors to identify how organizational culture may affect performance. We illustrate use of the Performance Pyramid for a needs assessment with human systems integration practitioners in the U.S. Army. We describe how the Performance Pyramid guided our methods, data collection, and results interpretation and discuss advantages and disadvantages of the methodology.