Procedural differences in the calculation of the prevalence of reading difficulties in Spanish-speaking school children / Diferencias procedimentales en el cálculo de la prevalencia del retraso lector en escolares hispanoparlantes

The prevalence of reading difficulties (RD) reflects controversial data ranging from 3.1–3.2% to 17.5%. Possible explanations are partly based on the incidence of orthography-specific factors influencing the reading process, but also on methodological differences that hinder comparison of the reported results. For this reason, the present study aims to analyse the prevalence of RD in a sample of 1,408 Spanish-speaking school children by comparing different ways of calculating the prevalence rate. The results reflect a prevalence of 2.2?5.3%, consistent with data reported for predominantly transparent orthographies. Some of the procedures used to identify RD are more accurate in early school years than at more advanced moments of schooling. Furthermore, the consideration of students’ sex when calculating the prevalence of RD seems to represent a more sensitive way of identifying students with RD.     

How to cook a SNARC: Number placement in text rapidly changes spatial–numerical associations

Most theoreticians believe that reading habits explain why Western adults associate small numbers with left space and large numbers with right space (the SNARC effect). We challenge this belief by documenting, in both English and Hebrew, that SNARC changes during reading: small and large numbers in our texts appeared near the left or right ends of the lines, positioned either spatially congruent or incongruent with reading habits. In English, the congruent group showed reliable SNARC before and after reading and the incongruent group’s SNARC was significantly reduced. In Hebrew the incongruent reading condition even induced a reverse SNARC. These results show that SNARC is a fleeting aspect of number representation that captures multiple spatial associations.     

Exposure to media and theory-of-mind development in preschoolers

Exposure to different forms of narrative media may influence children's development of theory-of-mind. Because engagement with fictional narratives provides one with information about the social world, and possibly draws upon theory-of-mind processes during comprehension, exposure to storybooks, movies, and television may influence theory-of-mind development. We examined 4–6 year-olds’ inferred exposure to children's literature, television, and film, using an objective measure that controls for socially desirable responding. Theory-of-mind was assessed using a battery of five tasks. Controlling for age, gender, vocabulary, and parental income, inferred exposure to children's storybooks predicted theory-of-mind abilities. Inferred exposure to children's movies also predicted theory-of-mind development, but inferred exposure to children's television did not.     

小学语文教学中改善学生情绪调节困难状况的实验研究

采用实验组、控制组前后测实验设计,选取42名小学四年级学生,以语文学科教学为依托,运用教学实验方法探索语文教学中改善学生情绪调节困难状况之渗透方式的有效性。结果表明:学科渗透可以在一定程度上改善学生情绪调节困难状况、促进心理素质发展,特别是对中、高程度情绪调节困难学生的改善更为显著;实验组语文学业成绩比控制组有所提高,但并未达到显著性水平。说明学科渗透可以作为学生心理素质教育实施的有效途径之一。     

当前中国助产土面临的困境与挑战

针对目前助产工作中出现的诸多困惑,透过现象深入思考,认为这些现象发生的原因是有关部门和管理组织对助产士工作认识模糊、内涵理解不深。助产被医疗和护理两极边缘化,简单地从属于普通护理;行业缺乏有力监督,专业缺乏特色,专业体系、继续教育缺失。     

简单心算中数学学习困难儿童的数字距离效应

采用事件相关电位(ERP)方法,以阿拉伯数字的简单心算为任务,考察数学学习困难儿童(MD)的数字距离效应。行为数据的结果表明:MD组没有出现数字距离效应,对照组儿童出现了数字距离效应。事件相关电位数据显示:与对照组相比,MD组N270的潜伏期更长;两组被试在N270的波幅和潜伏期上都没有表现出数字距离效应。研究结果表明:MD儿童对数量信息的空间表征存在缺陷。     

Teacher qualifications, classroom practices, family characteristics, and preschool experience: Complex effects on first graders' vocabulary and early reading outcomes

Using an ecological model, this study explored the effects of distal and proximal sources of influence on students' learning. We first examined three markers of teacher qualification — elementary education credential, years of education, and years of experience — on observed classroom practices across three dimensions — warmth/responsivity, control/discipline, and time spent on academic activities — as they related to children's vocabulary and early reading skills. We then examined the impact of this core system embedded in a larger system that included children's vocabulary and word recognition skills prior to school entry, their home and preschool learning environments, and family SES. Results, using structural equation modeling, revealed that students whose teachers were more warm and responsive and who spent more time in academic activities demonstrated stronger vocabulary and decoding skills at the end of first grade. Teachers with more years of education interacted with students more responsively but, surprisingly, their students had weaker early reading skills. Overall, students' language and letter-word recognition scores when they were 54 months of age, their home learning environment and family SES accounted for most of the variability in vocabulary and early reading scores at the end of first grade. Implications of the multiple and concurrent sources of influence on students' language and literacy development are discussed.     

Comparison of dual discrepancy criteria to assess response to intervention

Much of the research regarding diagnosing children as LD with responsiveness-to-intervention (RTI) has examined methods to identify children as non-responsive. The current study examined the dual discrepancy (DD) definition in which children score low on a post-intervention reading measure and score below their peers in reading growth rates. Four definitions of DD were compared, student growth below the 25th percentile, 33rd percentile, 50th percentile, and less than one standard deviation below the mean. Participants were 151 children in grades 1 through 3 who were identified as experiencing reading difficulties. Results suggested that the three percentile groups significantly differentiated reading scores between DD and non-DD children, but the one standard deviation group did not. No ethnic or gender biases were noted and the 25th and 33rd percentile criteria closely matched estimates of LD prevalence. Implications for future research are included.     

Class size effects on literacy skills and literacy interest in first grade: A large-scale investigation

This article examines the impact of class size on literacy skills and on literacy interest in beginning readers from zones with specific educational needs in France. The data came from an experiment involving first graders in which teachers and pupils were randomly assigned to the different class types (small classes of 10-12 pupils vs. regular classes of 20-25 pupils).Globally, the findings reveal that class size has a (small) impact on the two basic literacy skills, reading (word recognition task) and spelling (word production task). Children with high literacy interest made more progress than children with low literacy interest. The analysis also explores the effect of four factors - early schooling, age, first language and socio-economic status - on the same type of literacy skills as above. Smaller classes most specifically improved performances in two types of population: children whose first language is French and children from intermediate and average socio-economic brackets. This means, in contrast, that neither the children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds nor the children whose first language was not French benefited from the use of smaller first grade classes. Data in this experiment are examined in the light of studies on the connections between class size, classroom procedures and pupils' engagement.     

目标设置对写作困难儿童议论文说服力的促进效应研究

将写作困难儿童随机分入三个不同的目标设置组,总目标设置条件要求儿童根据话题写议论文,目标为文章应能说服读者赞同他们的观点;分目标设置条件对儿童有同样的要求,但给儿童提供了以议论文的基本构成为基础的分目标;辩论加分目标设置除了与分目标设置组相同的条件外,还要求儿童在写作前进行辩论。研究结果表明,分目标设置组儿童的议论文比总目标设置组和辩论加分目标设置组儿童的议论文更具说服力度。在文章构成成分上,分目标设置组和辩论加分目标设置组要好于总目标设置组。这三种目标设置中,分目标对写作困难儿童的议论文说服力有很大的促进作用。