Reading ability and memory span: Long-term memory contributions to span for good and poor readers     

McDougall  Siné J.P.  Donohoe  Rachael 《Reading and writing》2002,15(3-4):359-387

A number of studies have shown that childrenwith reading difficulties perform poorly ontests of verbal memory span. The extent towhich differences in memory span for good andpoor readers can be explained by differences ina long-term memory component to span as well asby differences in short-term memory processeswas investigated in this study. Memory spanand rehearsal rate were measured for high andlow frequency words and nonwords. Althoughmemory span performance for high frequencywords was comparable for all reading abilitygroups, good readers had better memory spanperformance for low frequency words. This wasattributable to differences in both short-termand long-term memory contributions to spanperformance. Differences between readingability groups also emerged when memory spanfor nonwords was measured. In this case,differences between groups also appeared to bethe result of difficulties which poor readersencountered in learning newphonologically-based materials (i.e. nonwords). The nature of the inter-relationships betweenmemory span, reading and measures ofphonological awareness are discussed in thelight of these findings.  相似文献   

The impact of an online intervention (Brainology) on the mindset and resiliency of secondary school pupils: a preliminary mixed methods study     

Claire Donohoe  Keith Topping  Elizabeth Hannah 《教育心理学》2012,32(5):641-655

This preliminary study investigated the impact of the online interactive programme Brainology (which aimed to encourage a growth mindset) on the mindset, resiliency and sense of mastery of secondary school pupils. A quasi-experimental pre-, post- and follow-up mixed-methods study was carried out with 33 participants aged 13–14?years. The measures were Dweck’s theories of intelligence scale and Prince-Embury’s resiliency scales for children and adolescents. Quantitative data were analysed using analysis of variance. Qualitative data from focus groups were categorised and coded. The programme led to a significant increase in pre- to post-mindset scores for the intervention group. However, there was a significant decline at follow-up and the initial impact of the intervention was not sustained. There were no significant changes in mindset for the comparison group. There were no significant changes in resiliency or sense of mastery for either group. The significant short-term impact of Brainology and non-significant follow-up findings are discussed. The present study has limitations such as small sample size, which has implications for generalisability. Future research should investigate the longer term effectiveness of educational interventions in schools.

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.  相似文献   

The effect of a familiarisation period on subsequent strength gain     

John Andrew Sampson  Darryl McAndrew  Alison Donohoe  Arthur Jenkins  Herbert Groeller 《Journal of sports sciences》2013,31(2):204-211

Abstract

Untrained subjects can display diverse strength gain following an identical period of resistance exercise. In this investigation, 28 untrained males completed 16-weeks of resistance exercise, comprising 4-weeks familiarisation, and 12-weeks of heavy-load (80–85%) activity. High and low responders were identified by the Δ1RM (Δ one repetition maximum) observed following familiarisation (25.1 ± 1.4%, 9.5 ± 1.4%, P < 0.0001) and differences in electromyographic root mean square amplitude (ΔEMG_RMS 29.5 ± 8.3%, 2.4 ± 6.0%, P = 0.0140), and habitual and occupational activity patterns were observed between these respective groups. The strength gain (P < 0.0001) observed within high (29.6 ± 1.7%) and low (31.4 ± 2.7%) responding groups was similar during the heavy-load phase, yet ΔEMG_RMS increased (P = 0.0048) only in low responders (31.5 ± 9.3%). Retrospectively, differences (P < 0.0001) in baseline 1RM strength of high- (19.7 ± 0.9 kg) and low-responding (15.6 ± 0.7 kg) groups were identified, and a strong negative correlation with Δ1RM after 16-weeks (r ² = ?0.85) was observed. As such, baseline 1RM strength provided a strong predicative measure of strength adaptation. The ΔEMG_RMS suggests strength variability within high and low responders may be attributed to neural adaptation. However, differences in habitual endurance and occupational physical activity suggests one should consider screening not only recent resistance training, but also other modes of physical activity during participant recruitment.  相似文献