Improvement of Word Problem Solving and Basic Mathematics Competencies in Students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Mathematical Learning Difficulties

Problem solving represents a salient deficit in students with mathematical learning difficulties (MLD) primarily caused by difficulties with informal and formal mathematical competencies. This study proposes a computerized intervention tool, the integrated dynamic representation (IDR), for enhancing the early learning of basic mathematical competencies and word problem solving skills. The goal was to compare and contrast the effects of IDR on the acquisition of informal and formal mathematical competencies in students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and MLD. Participants were 216 students (6–9 years), who were classified into three groups: ADHD (n = 72), MLD (n = 82), ADHD and MLD (n = 62). They completed the Test of Early Mathematics Ability (Third Edition). The results showed that all three diagnosed groups improved significantly postintervention in all mathematical competencies, with the MLD‐only group benefiting the most at posttest.     

Contrasting the Effectiveness of Fluency Interventions for Students with or At Risk for Learning Disabilities: A Multilevel Random Coefficient Modeling Meta‐Analysis

This study had two purposes. First, we sought to compare the overall effectiveness of different types of fluency interventions for students with learning disabilities (LD). Second, we attempted to identify how individual‐ and class‐level characteristics moderated each intervention's effectiveness. We used multilevel random coefficient modeling to analyze results from 30 single‐subject studies involving 107 students with or at risk for LD. Doing so allowed us to assess the intervention's impact in terms of both intercept‐ (i.e., mean difference between study phases) and slope‐level (i.e., rate of growth) changes. Results indicated that two motivation‐focused interventions were significantly more effective than other types of interventions across gender, age, and placement. The least effective intervention was word recognition training; this finding was consistent across all levels of analyzed variables.     

Persistence of Performance‐Approach Individuals in Achievement Situations: An application of the Rasch model

Research in goal theory has often relied on the general linear model, ignoring some central assumptions of the theoretical framework under investigation. The purpose of the two studies reported here was to illustrate how the Rasch model can supplement traditional statistical analyses when evaluating the effects of goal orientations on persistence. In Study 1, 41 adolescents participated in a series of insolvable puzzles. Means analyses failed to reveal differences between mastery‐approach and performance‐approach students. Application of the Rasch model, and in particular the differential item functioning procedure, indicated that mastery students were more severely challenged by the last puzzle, compared to performance approach students, with their probability of persisting being significantly lower. The findings of Study 1 were replicated in Study 2 with a sample of 37 college students who were also given a series of insolvable puzzles. The findings suggest that use of the Rasch model can be particularly fruitful for our understanding of the complex achievement‐goal relationship.     

Achievement Goals and Persistence Across Tasks: The Roles of Failure and Success

The focus of this study is on the role of achievement goals in students’ persistence. The authors administered 5 puzzles to 96 college students: 4 unsolvable and 1 relatively easy (acting as a hope probe). They examined whether and how persistence may deteriorate as a function of failing the puzzles, as well as whether and how persistence may rebound after an event of success. Time spent engaging in the task comprised the dependent variable persistence (representing a behavioral aspect of engagement). Results suggested that mastery-oriented students persisted significantly longer compared with performance approach–oriented, performance avoidance–oriented, and amotivated students across failure trials. However, performance approach–oriented students were more likely to rebound after experiencing success. Qualitative data provided insights into the affective processes that accompanied engagement with the task.     

On the differentiation of achievement goal orientations in physical education: a Rasch analysis approach

In two cross‐sectional studies, we investigated to what extent elementary (Study 1) and middle school (Study 2) students pursue similar, yet distinct, mastery‐related and performance‐related goals in physical education. We found that students were more likely to endorse outcome goals in conjunction with mastery‐related goals and ability goals in conjunction with normative goals. Rasch modelling suggested that students tended to endorse mastery‐approach goals than learning and outcome goals and that they tended to favour ability goals than performance‐approach goals. Differential item functioning analyses showed that autonomously motivated students were more likely to endorse learning goals and mastery‐approach goals and less likely to endorse outcome goals than less autonomously motivated students. They were also more likely to endorse ability goals and less likely to endorse normative goals than controlled motivated students. Results are discussed within the achievement goal framework and the self‐determination theory.     

The role of goal orientations and goal structures in explaining classroom social and affective characteristics

Examining motivational variables may prove to be particularly fruitful towards our understanding of classroom processes, student behaviors and school outcomes. The present study examined the role of personal and contextual goals (goals and goal structures) towards explaining social relationships (peer, teacher–student and home–school). 1493 fifth and sixth grade primary school students (10 to 12 years of age) from different areas of Greece formed a representative sample. Questionnaires were administered assessing students' goal orientations, goal structures and classroom relationships. The data were analyzed using latent variable modeling. Mastery goal structures had significant effects on positive school relationships such as student relations, teacher–student relations, peer inclusion, and peer conflict (the latter two reversely coded). Performance goal structures exerted negative or null effects on the same processes, demonstrating their negative propensities. In addition, the effects of mastery goal structures were partially mediated by the effects of personal mastery goals with regard to teacher–student relations with the former exerting both direct and indirect effects. On the contrary, the negative effects of performance goal structures were not buffered by the presence of high levels of personal performance goals. The findings have significant implications for educational practice in terms of the importance of classroom contexts as predictors of classroom relatedness specifically where mastery goals are concerned.     

Cognitive and academic abilities associated with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a comparison between subtypes in a Greek non-clinical sample

The study assessed cognitive and academic performance of children demonstrating teacher-rated ADHD-related symptoms (Inattention [IA] and/or Hyperactivity/Impulsivity [H/I]) in a representative sample of, largely untreated, Greek elementary school students (N?=?923). A battery of tests assessing short-term memory (STM), sustained attention, executive functions (EFs), reading and math skills were administered. Significant deficits in EFs and STM were restricted to the groups of students displaying inattention symptoms and were only marginally elevated among students showing hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms alone, in comparison to their non-symptomatic peers. A similar pattern of group differences was observed on tests assessing word- and text-level reading skills. Impaired performance on sustained attention tasks was less evident. Among students who manifested inattention symptoms, those who also showed impaired reading skills presented more severe EFs deficits than typically achieving students. Results demonstrated a close link between EFs, other than inhibition and set-shifting, everyday symptoms of inattention, and achievement in math and word-level reading skills.     

A cross‐cultural examination of typically developing children's attitudes toward individuals with special needs

This study explores children's attitudes toward individuals with special needs in Greece and in the United States. A total of 196 kindergarten‐age children participated in the study. Children's attitudes were examined using the Acceptance Scale for Kindergartners‐Revised (ASK‐R) and were further explored with the use of an open‐ended interview. In addition, the Inventory of Disability Representation (IDR) was used to collect information about how individuals with special needs are represented in school and classroom environments through books, displays, materials and curriculum. The results indicated that children in Greece and the United States were accepting of individuals with special needs. Also, children attending inclusive kindergartens held more positive attitudes when compared with children attending non‐inclusive kindergartens. Results from the interviews provided further information that contributes to the understanding of children's perceptions of people with special needs and the reasons why children become more or less favourably disposed towards individuals with special needs. Finally, IDR results indicated that the classrooms in Greece had low representations of individuals with special needs compared with US classrooms, which had moderate and high representations of individuals with disabilities in the classroom and school environments.     

Predicting LD on the basis of motivation, metacognition, and psychopathology: an ROC analysis

We examined how strongly motivation, metacognition, and psychopathology acted as predictors of learning disabilities (LD). The results from five studies suggested that level of motivation (as shown through self-efficacy, motivational force, task avoidance, goal commitment, or self-concept) was highly accurate in classifying students with or at risk for LD. Metacognition and psychopathology were also strong predictors. Classification accuracy using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves ranged between 77% and 96%. These rates were much higher than the chance-level (i.e., 50%-55%) rates sometimes yielded by cognitive indices. Linear discriminant function (LDF) analysis substantiated classification accuracy. These results suggest that motivation, metacognition, and psychopathology are strong predictors of LD. Understanding the influence of these characteristics may help researchers and practitioners more accurately screen and treat students with LD.