Hemoglobin, growth, and attention of infants in southern Ethiopia     

Aubuchon-Endsley NL  Grant SL  Berhanu G  Thomas DG  Schrader SE  Eldridge D  Kennedy T  Hambidge M 《Child development》2011,82(4):1238-1251

Male and female infants from rural Ethiopia were tested to investigate relations among hemoglobin (Hb), anthropometry, and attention. A longitudinal design was used to examine differences in attention performance from 6 (M = 24.9 weeks, n = 89) to 9 months of age (M = 40.6 weeks, n = 85), differences hypothesized to be related to changes in iron status and growth delays. Stunting (length‐for‐age z scores < ?2.0) and attention performance, t(30) = ?2.42, p = .022, worsened over time. Growth and Hb predicted attention at 9 months, R² = .15, p < .05, but not at 6. The study contributes to the knowledge base concerning the relations among Hb, early growth, and attention.  相似文献   

Computer-assisted remedial reading intervention for school beginners at risk for reading disability     

Saine NL  Lerkkanen MK  Ahonen T  Tolvanen A  Lyytinen H 《Child development》2011,82(3):1013-1028

The aim of the longitudinal study was to investigate whether a computer application designed for remedial reading training can enhance letter knowledge, reading accuracy, fluency, and spelling of at-risk children. The participants, 7-year-old Finnish school beginners (N=166), were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (a) regular remedial reading intervention (n=25), (b) computer-assessed reading intervention (n=25), and (c) mainstream reading instruction (n=116). Based on the results, computer-assisted remedial reading intervention was highly beneficial, whereas regular type of intervention was less successful. The results indicated that at-risk children require computer-based letter-name and letter-sound training to acquire adequate decoding and spelling skills, and to reach the level of their non-at-risk peers.  相似文献   

Dynamic and static assessment of phonological awareness in preschool: a behavior-genetic study     

Coventry WL  Byrne B  Olson RK  Corley R  Samuelsson S 《Journal of learning disabilities》2011,44(4):322-329

The genetic and environmental overlap between static and dynamic measures of preschool phonological awareness (PA) and their relation to preschool letter knowledge (LK) and kindergarten reading were examined using monozygotic and dizygotic twin children (maximum N = 1,988). The static tests were those typically used to assess a child's current level of PA such as blending and elision, and the dynamic test included instruction in phoneme identity to assess the child's ability to respond to this instruction. Both forms were influenced by genes and by shared and nonshared environment. The static and dynamic versions were influenced by the same genes, and part of the total genetic influence was shared with LK. They were subject to both overlapping and independent shared environment influences, with the component in common also affecting LK. Nonshared environment influences were mostly independent. Scores from dynamic assessment added only minimally to variance explained in kindergarten reading after LK and static assessment had been factored in. Although one of the genetic factors that influenced both forms of PA also affected kindergarten reading, it was only the one shared with LK. The authors conclude that dynamic assessment of PA in preschool offers little advantage over the more commonly used static forms, especially if LK scores are available, although they acknowledge its potential in cases of preschool educational disadvantage.  相似文献   

Kindergarten children's growth trajectories in reading and mathematics: who falls increasingly behind?     

Morgan PL  Farkas G  Wu Q 《Journal of learning disabilities》2011,44(5):472-488

The authors used a large sample of children (N ≈ 7,400) participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) to estimate kindergarten children's academic achievement growth trajectories in reading and mathematics. The authors were particularly interested in whether the growth trajectories of children with learning disabilities (LD) or speech language impairments (SLI)--as well as those of other groups of children--were consistent with a cumulative or compensatory developmental cycle. Both LD and SLI children displayed significantly lower levels of kindergarten reading achievement than nondisabled children. However, and over the subsequent 5 years of elementary school, only children with SLI lagged increasingly behind nondisabled peers in their reading skills growth. The authors observed a different pattern for mathematics achievement. Children with LD, but not SLI, lagged increasingly behind nondisabled children in their mathematics skills growth. The authors also observed some consistency in "poor-get-poorer" effects across reading and mathematic achievement for additional population subgroups. Those kindergarten children who were from lower socioeconomic status families, who were African American, and who more frequently displayed learning-related behavior problems initially had lower levels of reading and mathematics achievement and also lagged increasingly behind in their acquisition of these skills over time. Some groups of children, including those with SLI, experience a cumulative rather than a compensatory cycle of achievement growth.  相似文献   

Two-stage screening for math problem-solving difficulty using dynamic assessment of algebraic learning     

Fuchs LS  Compton DL  Fuchs D  Hollenbeck KN  Hamlett CL  Seethaler PM 《Journal of learning disabilities》2011,44(4):372-380

The purpose of this study was to explore the utility of a dynamic assessment (DA) of algebraic learning in predicting third graders' development of mathematics word-problem difficulty. In the fall, 122 third-grade students were assessed on a test of math word-problem skill and DA of algebraic learning. In the spring, they were assessed on word-problem performance. Logistic regression was conducted to contrast two models. One relied exclusively on the fall test of math word-problem skill to predict word-problem difficulty on the spring outcome (less than the 25th percentile). The second model relied on a combination of the fall test of math word-problem skill and the fall DA to predict the same outcome. Holding sensitivity at 87.5%, the universal screener alone resulted in a high proportion of false positives, which was practically reduced when DA was included in the prediction model. Findings are discussed in terms of a two-stage process for screening students within a responsiveness-to-intervention prevention model.  相似文献   

The impact of a peer-tutoring program on quality standards in higher education     

José L. Arco-Tirado  Francisco D. Fernández-Martín  Juan-Miguel Fernández-Balboa 《Higher Education》2011,62(6):773-788

The purposes of this study were, on one had, to determine the impact of a peer tutoring program on preventing academic failure and dropouts among first-year students (N = 100), from Civil Engineering, Economics, Pharmacy, and Chemical Engineering careers; while, on the other hand, to identify the potential benefits of such tutoring program on the cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies and social skills of student mentors in their last year of studies or already in a postgraduate program (N = 41) at the University of Granada (Spain). After building and selecting the measurement instruments necessary to gather demographic and academic relevant information on both samples, and assigning first-year students to either an experimental or control group, the intervention consisted of ten 90-min tutoring sessions during the first semester lead by student tutors who, in turn, had undergone four 3-h training sessions on tutoring contents like planning and time management, cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies, motivational strategies and the use of materials designed ad hoc for this program. The results show differences in favour of the treatment group on grade point average, performance rate, success rate and learning strategies and, also, statistically significant pre-post differences for the tutors on learning strategies and social skills.  相似文献   

Problem analysis: Examining the selection and evaluation of data during problem‐solving consultation     

Markeda L. Newell  Terrance S. Newell 《Psychology in the schools》2011,48(10):943-957

The purpose of this study was to analyze how school psychologists engaged in problem analysis during problem‐solving consultation. Five aspects of the problem analysis process were examined: 1) the types of questions participants asked during problem identification, 2) the types of data participants requested, 3) the frequency of requests for each type of data, 4) the use of multiple methods and sources of data across multiple domains, and 5) the criteria used to interpret the data. Four school psychologists were recruited to each complete three fictional consultation cases within a computer‐simulated environment. A qualitative case study method was used. The results of this study revealed how school psychologists used theory, a multidimensional assessment framework, and self‐referent data to analyze a problem. Implications for future research are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.  相似文献   

VIII. THE SITUATION FOR CHILDREN WITHOUT PARENTAL CARE AND STRATEGIES FOR POLICY CHANGE     

Patrice L. Engle  Victor K. Groza  Christina J. Groark  Aaron Greenberg  Kelley McCreery Bunkers  Rifkat J. Muhamedrahimov 《Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development》2011,76(4):190-222

Research that clearly demonstrates the negative effects of institutionalization, particularly for young children, has been critical for changing policy. However, actually putting science into action requires advocacy, persistence, and perseverance. Policy makers and advocates must be informed about the research and use it effectively. This paper proposes a number of key components for translating research into policy and programs: analyzing the situation, using evidence to build the case for action, developing policies, building program capacity in child welfare and early childhood development, creating a family‐based child welfare system, and developing a system of monitoring and accountability. Much of the knowledge in this paper comes from experiences, desk reviews, and case studies of successful practices. Research provides the basis, but moving research to practice depends on collaboration between researchers who understand the key policy perspectives and policy makers who understand the research.  相似文献   

Perceived physical competence,enjoyment and effort in same‐sex and coeducational physical education classes     

Minjeong Lyu  Diane L. Gill 《教育心理学》2011,31(2):247-260

Perceived competence is a key motivational determinant of physical activity behaviours in adolescents, and motivational determinants are influenced by the class environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate levels of perceived physical competence, enjoyment and effort in class, focusing on gender and class‐type differences. Participants were 546 adolescents (289 males, 257 females) who were in same‐sex or coeducational physical education classes. The Hierarchical Physical Competence Scale (HPCS) and questionnaire measures of enjoyment and effort in classes were used to investigate students’ perceptions. Results of 2 × 2 multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated that students’ perceptions of physical competence, enjoyment and effort in classes differed according to gender and class type, but these differences must be viewed in light of strong interaction effects. That is, female students reported more positive and adaptive perceptions in same‐sex classes and were more affected by class type than were male students.  相似文献   

Self-regulation of assessment beliefs and attitudes: a review of the Students’ Conceptions of Assessment inventory     

Gavin T. L. Brown 《教育心理学》2011,31(6):731-748

How students understand, feel about and respond to assessment might contribute significantly to learning behaviour and academic achievement. This paper reviews studies that have used a relatively new self-reported survey questionnaire (Students’ Conceptions of Assessment – SCoA) about student perceptions and understandings of assessment. Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modelling results have shown, consistent with self-regulation theory, that the SCoA inventory has meaningful relations with academic performance among New Zealand high school students. Further, German, Hong Kong, American, and New Zealand studies have shown that the SCoA has relations to motivational constructs (e.g. effort, learning strategies, interest, self-efficacy and anxiety) that are also consistent with self-regulation. The SCoA inventory extends our understanding of how student conceptions of assessment are an integral part of self-regulation and provide a warrant for use in research studies investigating test-taker responses to assessment practices and innovations at both university and high school levels.  相似文献