Multilingual assessment of early child development: Analyses from repeated observations of children in Kenya

In many low‐ and middle‐income countries, young children learn a mother tongue or indigenous language at home before entering the formal education system where they will need to understand and speak a country's official language(s). Thus, assessments of children before school age, conducted in a nation's official language, may not fully reflect a child's development, underscoring the importance of test translation and adaptation. To examine differences in vocabulary development by language of assessment, we adapted and validated instruments to measure developmental outcomes, including expressive and receptive vocabulary. We assessed 505 2‐to‐6‐year‐old children in rural communities in Western Kenya with comparable vocabulary tests in three languages: Luo (the local language or mother tongue), Swahili, and English (official languages) at two time points, 5–6 weeks apart, between September 2015 and October 2016. Younger children responded to the expressive vocabulary measure exclusively in Luo (44%–59% of 2‐to‐4‐year‐olds) much more frequently than did older children (20%–21% of 5‐to‐6‐year‐olds). Baseline receptive vocabulary scores in Luo (β = 0.26, SE = 0.05, p < 0.001) and Swahili (β = 0.10, SE = 0.05, p = 0.032) were strongly associated with receptive vocabulary in English at follow‐up, even after controlling for English vocabulary at baseline. Parental Luo literacy at baseline (β = 0.11, SE = 0.05, p = 0.045) was associated with child English vocabulary at follow‐up, while parental English literacy at baseline was not. Our findings suggest that multilingual testing is essential to understanding the developmental environment and cognitive growth of multilingual children.     

Comparison of interventions to treat prompt dependence for children with developmental disabilities

Prior research has examined interventions to prevent prompt dependence from occurring during the training of novel skills. Nevertheless, the relative efficacy and efficiency of different intervention procedures may be idiosyncratic across learners, suggesting the potential benefit of an individualized assessment. The purpose of the current study was to extend the literature on prompt dependence by comparing interventions for 3 participants with developmental disabilities who consistently engaged in correct responses following prompts but did not perform tasks independently. We compared the efficacy and efficiency of 3 interventions including differential reinforcement, prompt fading, and extended response interval. Intervention results differed across participants, indicating that the most efficacious and efficient intervention for prompt dependence should be individualized via assessment.     

Are seductive details seductive only when you think they are relevant? An experimental test of the moderating role of perceived relevance

We investigated whether seductive details (i.e., interesting but irrelevant adjuncts) are harmful to learning only when students (mistakenly) think that they are relevant. We therefore conducted a study in which participants (N = 86) learned either without seductive details (control condition) or with seductive details—in the latter case with or without being informed about the seductive details' irrelevance. In line with our hypotheses, only participants who were not informed about the irrelevance of seductive details revealed worse learning outcomes than those in the control condition, thereby revealing a seductive details effect. Extraneous cognitive load, but not perceived time pressure, mediated the negative effects of being uninformed about the irrelevance of seductive details on learning outcomes. Taken together, our results suggest that the perceived relevance of seductive details is a boundary condition of the seductive details effect.     

作业时间和指导语导向对10-12岁儿童发散性思维的影响

研究者以239名10岁、11岁和12岁的儿童为实验对象,采用四种作业时间(2分钟、4分钟、6分钟和8分钟)和两种指导语导向(无导向、导向独特性)为实验条件,考察了这些条件对儿童发散性思维的影响.结果发现,作业时间和指导语导向对儿童发散性思维的流畅性,变通性和独特性均有明显的影响.在该实验条件下,发散性思维的三个指标随作业时间的增加而增加.有导向组儿童的发散性思维作业成绩显著高于无导向组.另外,在各实验条件下,儿童的作业成绩都有随着年龄的增长而上升的趋势.     

Effects of Computer-Based Fluency Training on Concept Formation

This study provides a preliminary analysis of how the techniques of fluency training can be combined with systematic concept instruction to improve the learning of complex verbal concepts. Fluency techniques, which require the learner to respond accurately at high rates, have typically focused on definition learning when teaching concepts. Instructional psychologists, however, recommend multiple exemplar training for conceptual instruction. To examine this issue, 41 undergraduate students completed a computer-based instructional module on logical fallacies. Participants were assigned to one of four groups, with the modules for each group differing only in the type of practice provided—either fluency or practice with either examples or definitions. Examination of posttest scores revealed significantly higher scores for participants in the examples groups than those in the definitions groups, but low experimental power prevented a clear conclusion to be drawn about differences between the fluency and practice groups. Implications of results and several methodological issues relevant to this area of research are discussed.     

论心理学发展的困境与出路

近年来西方心理学家对心理学发展取向提出强烈批评。综合各家所论,心理学以往发展的困境乃是由于：(1)自哲学心理学到科学心理学对人性解释的理论始终纷歧,以致无法形成常规科学条件;(2)科学心理学自始即标榜自然科学而缺独立意识;(3)强调科学方法,忽视人性特质而陷入削足适履困境。因此,今后国内心理学的发展势不能再全盘西化,而应在人性特质与本土文化基础上吸取西方心理学精义,针对国人心理特质研究发展出属於自己的理论与应用心理学。本文最后提出的四会能力教学构想,希望对本土文化取向应用心理学的研究发挥一点抛砖引玉作用。     

语音训练对幼儿英语语音意识和字母知识的促进

语音意识是影响英语阅读能力的关键因素。本研究结合语音教学法的思想,采用自编的教学材料和语音游戏,通过字母故事和语音训练游戏,训练儿童的语音意识。研究者在北京市一所普通幼儿园选取了无英语学习经验的3岁左右中国幼儿63名,随机分为实验组和控制组,经过8周的语音教学实验,发现接受语音教学的实验组儿童在音节意识、音韵意识、音素意识和字母识别等方面较接受普通英语教学的控制组都有显著提高。结果表明早期有针对性的语音训练可能能够更快地提高幼儿的语音意识。     

VIDEO MODELING TO TRAIN STAFF TO IMPLEMENT DISCRETE‐TRIAL INSTRUCTION

Three new direct‐service staff participated in a program that used a video model to train target skills needed to conduct a discrete‐trial session. Percentage accuracy in completing a discrete‐trial teaching session was evaluated using a multiple baseline design across participants. During baseline, performances ranged from a mean of 12% to 63% accuracy. During video modeling, there was an immediate increase in accuracy to a mean of 98%, 85%, and 94% for each participant. Performance during maintenance and generalization probes remained at high levels. Results suggest that video modeling can be an effective technique to train staff to conduct discrete‐trial sessions.     

Gesture and metaphor comprehension: Electrophysiological evidence of cross-modal coordination by audiovisual stimulation

In recent years, studies have suggested that gestures influence comprehension of linguistic expressions, for example, eliciting an N400 component in response to a speech/gesture mismatch. In this paper, we investigate the role of gestural information in the understanding of metaphors. Event related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants viewed video clips of an actor uttering metaphorical expressions and producing bodily gestures that were congruent or incongruent with the metaphorical meaning of such expressions. This modality of stimuli presentation allows a more ecological approach to meaning integration. When ERPs were calculated using gesture stroke as time-lock event, gesture incongruity with metaphorical expression modulated the amplitude of the N400 and of the late positive complex (LPC). This suggests that gestural and speech information are combined online to make sense of the interlocutor’s linguistic production in an early stage of metaphor comprehension. Our data favor the idea that meaning construction is globally integrative and highly context-sensitive.