The language and art of policy and politics: neophyte version.
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Journal Article↗
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[Arno Holz and his art of language; comments on his method of presentation and his theory based on I. P. Pavlov's teachings].
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Humans↗
Effects of prior attention training on child dyslexics' response to composition instruction.
Twenty children (Grades 4 to 6) who met research criteria for dyslexia were randomly assigned to a treatment (attention training) or contact control (reading fluency training) group during their regular language arts block at a school that had emphasized multisensory, structured language treatment for reading disability. A university team provided either individual attention training (sustained, selective, alternating, and divided attention) or reading fluency training during the first 10 sessions and group composition instruction during the next 10 sessions. Analysis of variance evaluated the significance of Treatment x Session interactions from pretest to midtest (before composition instruction began) and midtest to posttest (when compositon instruction ends). Treatment x Time interactions were not significant between pretest and midtest, but the Treatment x Time interactions were significant from midtest to posttest for Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition Written Composition and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Verbal Fluency (attention treatment group improved more over time). Individual children showed the same pattern as group results. For child dyslexics in upper elementary school, attention training did not transfer directly to improved composition but prior attention training led to faster improvement in composing and oral verbal fluency once composition instruction was introduced. Effective instruction for dyslexia may depend on the sequencing as well as the nature of instructional components and require specialized instruction for writing as well as reading.
Achievement↗
Interactive radio instruction: developing instructional methods.
The USAID has, since 1972, funded the development of a new methodology for educational radio for young children through 3 projects: the Radio Mathematics PRoject of Nicaragua, the Radio Language Arts Project of Kenya, and the Radio Science PRoject of Papua New Guinea. These projects developed math programs for grades 1-4 and English as a second language for grades 1-3; programs to teach science in grades 4-6 are now being developed. Appropriate techniques were developed to engage young children actively in the learning process. Lessons are planned as a "conversation" between the children and the radio; scripts are written as 1/2 of a dialogue, with pauses carefully timed so that written as 12 of a dialogue, with pauses carefully timed so that students can contribute their 1/2. Teaching techniques used in all 3 projects include choral responses, simultaneous individual seatwork, and activities using simple materials such as pebbles and rulers. Certain techniques were specific to the subject being taught, or to the circumstances in which the lessons were to be used. Patterned oral drill was used frequently in the English lessons, including sound-cued drills. "Deferred" oral responses were used often in the math lessons. In this method, the children are instructed to solve a problem silently, not giving the answer aloud until requested, thus allowing time for even the slower children to participate. "One-child" questions were used in both English and science: the radio asks a question to be answered by a single child, who is selected on the spot by the classroom teacher. This allows for open-ended questions, but also requires constant supervision of the classroom teacher. Songs and games were used in all programs, and extensively for didactic purposes in the teaching of English. Instructions for science activities are often more complex than in other courses, particularly when the children are using science apparatus, especially when they work in pairs to share scarce equipment, a cost-saving device developed specifically for use in the science course.
Adolescent↗
A unifying concept for the neuropsychological organization of children with reading disability.
Normative studies successfully predicting reading failure in 5- and 6-year-old children suggest that if the neuropsychological functions relating to spatial orientation and temporal organization are not age-appropriate, that child will not have normal achievement in the language arts, particularly in reading. This concept unifying the diverse symptoms found in elementary school children with reading failure has been used to develop a test battery predictive of reading failure, valid to 1 to 3% false positives and 10% false negatives. Further, a simple clinical test, the arm Extension Test, suggests that in these children hemisphere specialization for language has not been established.
Auditory Perception↗
ARTS: a flexible laboratory instrument control language.
A generalized computer program, ARTS (Analytical Robot Telecommunications Software), has been developed to give the research scientist more flexible control of laboratory robots and instruments. As a stand-alone program, ARTS is a complete laboratory control language. ARTS can also be an extension of other software in either a master or slave mode. As master, ARTS can call on other software to perform certain tasks. In a slave mode, ARTS can act as a sensory extension of the calling software. ARTS is a flexible laboratory control language capable of adapting to changing laboratory requirements.
Laboratories↗
Use of three writing tasks at an adolescent treatment center.
Adolescent residents placed in a state youth facility for crimes, misdemeanors, and anti-social behavior were presented with three writing modes during their language arts instruction. The modes required that they write a composition based on viewing a slide arrangement (Visual Composition), on imagery generated while the teacher provided sensual impressions (Imagery Composition), and on embellishing and rearranging a list of sentence fragments (Report Writing). The mean of a composition holistically scored prior to the writing treatment was significantly lower than the means of Report, Imagery, and Visual Composition writing for 14 subjects present for all writing tasks. While no significant differences emerged among the writing modes the percent gain over baseline was highest for Visual Composition (50%), a technique in which no printed language cues were available to the writer. Perhaps for problem adolescents with low literacy skills, direct emphasis on traditional and non-traditional, nonverbal approaches to composition may increase writing proficiency.
Adolescent↗
Impact of a school-based interdisciplinary intervention on diet and physical activity among urban primary school children: eat well and keep moving.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a school-based interdisciplinary health behavior intervention on diet and physical activity among children in grades 4 and 5. DESIGN: A quasiexperimental field trial with 6 intervention and 8 matched control schools. Outcomes were assessed longitudinally using preintervention (fall 1995) and follow-up (spring 1997) student survey food frequency and activity measures and follow-up 24-hour recall measures of diet and activity. Change was also assessed using yearly repeated cross-sectional surveys of all grade 5 students from 1995 through 1997. PARTICIPANTS: Longitudinal data were collected from 479 students initially in grade 4 in Baltimore, Md, public schools; 91% were African American. Repeated 24-hour recall measures in 1997 were collected for a random subsample of 336 students. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from all grade 5 students in 1995,1996, and 1997 (n = 2103). INTERVENTION: The Eat Well and Keep Moving Program was taught by classroom teachers over 2 years in math, science, language arts, and social studies classes. Materials provided links to school food services and families and provided training and wellness programs for teachers and other staff members. Intervention materials focused on decreasing consumption of foods high in total and saturated fat and increasing fruit and vegetable intake, as well as reducing television viewing and increasing physical activity. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dietary intake and physical activity measured via repeated 24-hour recall were primary end points, with additional food frequency and activity measures. RESULTS: The 24-hour recall measures indicated that, after controlling for baseline covariates, the percentages of total energy from fat and saturated fat were reduced among students in intervention compared with control schools (-1.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.8 to -0.04; P = .04 and -0.60%; 95% CI, -1.2 to -0.01; P = .05). There was an increase in fruit and vegetable intake (0.36 servings/4184 kJ; 95% CI, 0.10-0.62; P=.01), in vitamin C intake (8.8 mg/4184 kJ; 95% CI, 2.0-16; P=.01), and in fiber consumption (0.7 g/4184 kJ; 95% CI, 0.0-1.4; P=.05). Television viewing was marginally reduced (-0.55 h/d; 95% CI, -1.04 to 0.04; P=.06). Analysis of longitudinal and repeated cross-sectional food frequency data indicated similar significant decreases in the percentages of total energy from fat and saturated fat. CONCLUSION: Evaluation of the Eat Well and Keep Moving Program indicates effectiveness in improving dietary intake of students and reducing television viewing.
Baltimore↗
The remote, the mouse, and the no. 2 pencil: the household media environment and academic achievement among third grade students.
BACKGROUND: Media can influence aspects of a child's physical, social, and cognitive development; however, the associations between a child's household media environment, media use, and academic achievement have yet to be determined. OBJECTIVE: To examine relationships among a child's household media environment, media use, and academic achievement. METHODS: During a single academic year, data were collected through classroom surveys and telephone interviews from an ethnically diverse sample of third grade students and their parents from 6 northern California public elementary schools. The majority of our analyses derive from spring 2000 data, including academic achievement assessed through the mathematics, reading, and language arts sections of the Stanford Achievement Test. We fit linear regression models to determine the associations between variations in household media and performance on the standardized tests, adjusting for demographic and media use variables. RESULTS: The household media environment is significantly associated with students' performance on the standardized tests. It was found that having a bedroom television set was significantly and negatively associated with students' test scores, while home computer access and use were positively associated with the scores. Regression models significantly predicted up to 24% of the variation in the scores. Absence of a bedroom television combined with access to a home computer was consistently associated with the highest standardized test scores. CONCLUSION: This study adds to the growing literature reporting that having a bedroom television set may be detrimental to young elementary school children. It also suggests that having and using a home computer may be associated with better academic achievement.
Achievement↗
The impact of developmental speech and language impairments on the acquisition of literacy skills.
Children with developmental speech/language impairments are at higher risk for reading disability than typical peers with no history of speech/language impairment. This article reviews the literacy outcomes of children with speech/language impairments, clarifying the differential risk for three groups of children: speech production impairments alone, oral language impairments alone, and speech production and oral language impairments. Children at greatest risk for reading and writing disabilities are children with language impairments alone and children with comorbid speech impairments and language impairments. For children with speech impairments alone, there is limited risk for literacy difficulties. However, even when reading skills are within the average range, children with speech impairments may have difficulties in spelling. Children with language impairments are likely to display reading deficits in word decoding and reading comprehension. It is not clear what role early literacy interventions play in the amelioration of reading difficulties in these populations.
Child↗
Gender Differences in Writing Motivation and Achievement of Middle School Students: A Function of Gender Orientation?
The aim of this study was to determine whether gender differences in the writing motivation and achievement of middle school students (N = 497) are a function of gender-stereotypic beliefs rather than of gender. Girls reported stronger writing self-efficacy, writing self-concept, self-efficacy for self-regulation, value of writing, and task goals, and they received higher grades in language arts. Boys reported stronger performance-approach goals. All gender differences favoring girls in writing motivation and achievement were rendered nonsignificant when feminine orientation beliefs were controlled. Findings suggest that a feminine orientation is adaptive in the area of writing, whereas a masculine orientation is beneficial when escorted by a feminine orientation. Results are interpreted from the perspective of A. Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.
Journal Article↗
Training phonological awareness with and without explicit attention to articulation.
One hundred twenty-two second- to fifth-grade (7- to 11-year-old) children with reading difficulties studied phonological awareness with or without explicit attention to articulation and with or without manipulation of sounds. They all studied identical phonics and read stories on the computer with speech and decoding support for difficult words. Regular-instruction controls received regularly scheduled language-arts or reading activities. After 40 h of training, children in all three trained conditions outperformed controls on all tests except math. Conditions that manipulated sounds showed advantages over the condition without explicit practice manipulating sounds, but only on the two measures of phonological awareness. Articulatory awareness training yielded no unique benefits during this training period. Individual differences in response to treatment related to initial levels of phonological awareness, naming speed, IQ, and grade. The similar outcomes of the three conditions suggest that specific variations in good phonological training may be less important than once thought for most children with reading difficulties.
Attention↗
Multiple metal accumulation as a factor in learning achievement within various New Orleans elementary school communities.
In New Orleans, the elementary school system is divided into attendance districts with established boundaries that define student enrollment among schools. This study concerns environmental quality as defined by amount of soil metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, Ni, Mn, Cu, Co, Cr, and V) in attendance district elementary school communities (n = 111) paired with learning achievement as measured by individual test scores (n = 32,741) of students enrolled at each school. The Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) 4th grade scores measure learning achievement for English language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science. The best fit between environmental quality and higher learning achievement is found to be inversely associated with the sum of the metals or multiple metal accumulations (MMA) in New Orleans communities. The P values for MMA partitions for ELA, SOC, MAT, and SCI are 0.57 x 10(-7), 0.29 x 10(-8), 0.41 x 10(-6), and 0.17 x 10(-8), respectively. Efforts to prevent childhood metal exposure should improve New Orleanians' learning achievement as measured by the LEAP scores and thereby enhance the socioeconomic situation in contaminated communities. This study establishes global relationships between LEAP scores in schools and soil metal concentrations in school neighborhoods. However, these data do not allow relating of the LEAP scores with metal levels for individual students.
Achievement↗
California teachers perceive school gardens as an effective nutritional tool to promote healthful eating habits.
This study assessed elementary school teachers' perceived attitudes and barriers associated with school gardens, as well as the purpose and use of gardens in schools, specifically in relation to the link between gardens and nutrition. The questionnaire was mailed to California fourth-grade teachers at schools with gardens (N = 1,665). The response rate was 36% (n = 592). Teachers perceived the garden to be somewhat to very effective at enhancing academic performance, physical activity, language arts, and healthful eating habits. Nutrition was taught with the use of the garden by 47% of responding teachers. This research provides evidence for needed standards-based curricula materials and teacher training in relation to gardening and nutrition. The results from this study will contribute to development of needed resources and methods by which to encourage the use of gardens and nutrition education in schools.
Adult↗
Adaptations, exaptations, and spandrels.
Adaptation and natural selection are central concepts in the emerging science of evolutionary psychology. Natural selection is the only known causal process capable of producing complex functional organic mechanisms. These adaptations, along with their incidental by-products and a residue of noise, comprise all forms of life. Recently, S. J. Gould (1991) proposed that exaptations and spandrels may be more important than adaptations for evolutionary psychology. These refer to features that did not originally arise for their current use but rather were co-opted for new purposes. He suggested that many important phenomena--such as art, language, commerce, and war--although evolutionary in origin, are incidental spandrels of the large human brain. The authors outline the conceptual and evidentiary standards that apply to adaptations, exaptations, and spandrels and discuss the relative utility of these concepts for psychological science.
Adaptation, Physiological↗
Effects of conflict resolution training integrated into a high school social studies curriculum.
The authors examined the effectiveness of conflict resolution and peer mediation training among California high school students. The authors randomly assigned 2 of 4 classes to receive 5 weeks of conflict resolution and peer mediation training integrated into the required social studies curriculum. The remaining 2 classes studied the same social studies curriculum for an identical amount of time (105 min every other day) without conflict resolution and peer mediation training. The authors investigated 2 issues. The 1st was the effectiveness of the conflict resolution and peer mediation training. The trained students, compared with the untrained students, learned the integrative negotiation and peer mediation procedures better, applied the procedures more completely, chose an integrative over a distributive approach to negotiation, and developed more positive attitudes toward conflict. The 2nd issue was the impact of the training program on academic achievement. Integrating conflict resolution and peer mediation training into an academic course promoted higher achievement, greater long-term retention of the academic learning, and greater transfer of academic learning in social studies to language arts.
Adolescent↗
Children's grammatical categories of verb and noun: a comparative look at children with specific language impairment (SLI) and normal language (NL).
The study investigated the development of grammatical categories (noun and verb) in young language learners. Twenty-eight children with specific language impairment (SLI) with a mean language age of 35 months and 28 children with normal language (NL) with a mean language age of 34 months were exposed to four novel verbs and four novel nouns during 10 experimental child-directed play sessions. The lexical items were modelled with four experimentally controlled argument structures. Both groups of children showed little productivity with syntactic marking of arguments in the novel verb conditions. Thus, both groups of children mostly followed the surface structure of the model presented to them, regardless of the argument they were trying to express. Therefore, there was little evidence of verb-general processes. In contrast, both groups used nouns in semantic roles that had not been modelled for them. Importantly, however, children with SLI still appeared to be more input dependent than NL children. This suggests that children with NL were working with a robust noun schema, whereas children with SLI were not. Taken together, the findings suggest that neither group of children had a grammatical category of verb, but demonstrated a general knowledge of the grammatical category of noun. These findings are discussed in relation to current theories of normal and impaired language development.
Case-Control Studies↗
Enhancing Science Literacy for All Students With Embedded Reading Instruction and Writing-to-Learn Activities.
Reading and writing in science have been frequently maligned but infrequently studied since the 1960s move toward hands-on science. Current interest in the printed-based language arts in science is supported by contemporary educational reforms and the realization that simply doing more hands-on activities may not improve meaningful learning. Students need opportunities to consolidate their science experiences and to contrast their understandings with the interpretations of the science establishment. Science literacy means that students learn about the "big" ideas of science and how to inform and persuade others about these ideas. This article attempts to sketch a substantive framework for using science reading and science writing with deaf students based on research and informed practice with hearing students.
Journal Article↗