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This study explored how fifth-grade teachers and their students use indexical expressions (i.e. verbal expressions to convey the degree of certainty or tentativeness) as being indicative of dialogism in whole-class discussions in four elementary classes. Half of the classes received instruction on geographic information system (GIS)-related topics by way of technology integration and inquiry-based instruction, whereas the other half received typical social-studies lessons involving paper maps, serving as a baseline group. Technology integration was associated with relatively more use of indexical expressions, both boosters (to convey certainty) and hedges (to denote tentativeness), by teachers and their students and higher impact of student language on teacher language in the degree of absoluteness and tentativeness. Moreover, whereas the network of indexical expressions in the technology-integrated classes included a reciprocal impact between teachers and students and among students, the network in the baseline classes was limited to student-student exchanges alone. These findings suggest that technology integration in inquiry lessons tends to encourage the use of tentative and confirmatory language that aligns with the nature of the discipline.

Perceptual variables such as perceived distance containinformation about future actions. Often our goals involve theintegration of another’s goals, such as lifting heavy objectstogether. The purpose of this study was to investigate howanother’s actions might influence one’s own goal-orientedperceptions, specifically, verbal distance estimates. Using awithin-subject paradigm, we replicated a well-known findingthat carrying a weighted backpack results in larger distanceestimates relative to not carrying a backpack. In a crucialsecond condition, this effect was reversed: distance estimateswere significantly greater when not carrying a weightedbackpack than when carrying a backpack. In this condition,participants provided distance estimates while wearing aweighted backpack during the first phase and then gaveestimates while not wearing a backpack, but following anexperimenter wearing a weighted backpack in the secondphase. Three additional conditions systematically documentedhow the observations of another’s actions influenced distanceestimates.

The current study specified the extent to which hot and cool aspects of executive functioning predicted academic and social-emotional indicators of school readiness. It was unique in focusing on positive aspects of social-emotional readiness, rather than problem behaviors. One hundred four 3-5-year-old children completed tasks measuring executive functioning, social-emotional readiness, academic readiness, and vocabulary. As expected, age predicted executive functioning components and social-emotional readiness. Moreover, working memory and inhibitory control directly predicted academic readiness, whereas delay of gratification predicted social-emotional readiness. Working memory and inhibitory control predicted delay of gratification, consistent with the notion that simpler executive functions may set the stage for more complex executive functions. Interestingly, social-emotional readiness predicted academic readiness. These findings confirm that hot and cool aspects of executive functioning are related to social-emotional and academic school readiness.

This study explores the effects of geographic information systems (GIS) curriculum on fifth-grade students' spatial ability and map-analysis skills. A total of 174 students from an urban public school district and their teachers participated in a quasi-experimental design study. Four teachers implemented a GIS curriculum in experimental classes over six weeks while three teachers continued with regular teaching in control classes. Both groups completed pre- and post-tests measuring spatial ability and map-analysis skills. Students in the GIS classes demonstrated more growth over time in spatial ability and map-analysis skills than did their peers in the control classes.

The goal was to test whether cognitive flexibility moderates the relation between reading strategy use and reading comprehension during the elementary years. Seventy-five second- through fifth-grade students completed a think aloud task and a metacognitive questionnaire to measure reading strategies, two card-sorting tasks to measure general and reading-specific cognitive flexibility, and one standardized measure of reading comprehension, as well as measures of oral reading fluency and vocabulary. As expected, oral reading fluency and vocabulary predicted reading comprehension, as did reading-specific flexibility. Importantly, reading-specific flexibility had a significant moderating effect, over and above the other effects. Specifically, weak reading-specific flexibility skills were associated with a negative relation between reading strategy use during think aloud and reading comprehension, suggesting that children with weak flexibility skills are less adept at using reading strategies effectively.

Our goal was to document professional skills and attitudes gained via out-of-class teaching and research experiences during the undergraduate years. Qualitative analysis of reflection papers revealed that students noted gains in professional skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills, and intrapersonal skills. Importantly, students also noted gains in understanding content, research methods, and principles related to teaching and learning emerging from their hands-on experiences guided by role models. Students noted that their out-of-class experiences were relevant for their futures. These results may be useful for instructors and administrators seeking to design and implement out-of-class experiences for undergraduate students that facilitate the emergence and refinement of professional skills and attitudes, growth in understanding, and lifelong application of learning.

The purpose of this study was to specify the development of and links between executive functioning and theory of mind during middle childhood. One hundred four 7- to 12-year-old children completed a battery of age-appropriate tasks measuring working memory, inhibition, flexibility, theory of mind, and vocabulary. As expected, spatial working memory and flexibility increased significantly with age, especially after 7 years. Moreover, flexibility predicted social understanding over and above the effects of age, vocabulary, working memory, and inhibition. Together, these findings highlight improvements in and tight relations between complex aspects of executive functioning and theory of mind during middle childhood and suggest that executive functioning and theory of mind are linked beyond their emergence in early childhood.

The primary goal was to specify the impact of scaffolding and overhearing on young children's use of the spatial terms "between" and "middle". Four- and five-year-old children described the location of a mouse hidden between two furniture items in a dollhouse with assistance from a parent. Children's use of "between" and "middle" increased significantly across trials, and in concert, parents' directive scaffolding involving "middle" decreased across trials. In the second study, three common scaffolding types (Between Directive, Middle Directive, non-directive) were compared with a no prompt condition by having children receive prompts from a doll and with overhearing conditions in which children overheard conversations between two adult experimenters containing "between" or 'middle". Children's use of "between" and "middle" was much more frequent following directive prompting than following non-directive prompting, no prompting, or overhearing. Moreover, children showed some evidence of using "between" and "middle" in response to non-directive prompting and overhearing. (Contains 1 footnote.)

Anecdotally and empirically, there is clear evidence that children with the Combined subtype of Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experience disturbed peer relations, yet the field has not clearly established the origin of these difficulties. This is the first known investigation to examine the role of peer entry as a means to determine the social competence of boys with ADHD as they joined lab-based games played by age-mates who were good friends but unfamiliar with entry boys. Observational data of entry boys and their hosts, plus coders' ratings, indicate that 7- to 12-year-old boys with and without ADHD did not differ in the use of competent entry strategies known to lead to acceptance from peers. However, boys with ADHD relied more heavily on incompetent entry strategies (e.g., disruptive attention-getting) known to exacerbate negative peer reputation. In addition, they failed to apply a frame-of-reference that was relevant to host boys' ongoing activity. As such, host boys considered boys with ADHD less likeable as they spent more time with them. This pattern of findings has theoretical implications and informs the foci of social skills interventions for children with ADHD.

Executive functioning skills develop rapidly during early childhood. Recent research has focused on specifying this development, particularly predictors of executive functioning skills. Here we focus on sustained attention as a predictor of inhibitory control, one key executive functioning component. Although sustained attention and inhibitory control have been linked in older children and adults, these links have not been well specified during early childhood. The current study examined both parent-rated and laboratory measures of sustained attention as predictors of both parent-rated and laboratory measures of inhibitory control among 3- to 6-year-olds. As expected, children with higher sustained attention abilities exhibited greater inhibitory control. Moreover, inhibitory control increased across age. These findings reveal important details about the development of sustained attention and inhibitory control during early childhood. (Contains 3 tables.)

Objective: To determine whether 7- to 12-year-old boys with ADHD, relative to non-ADHD age-mates, exhibit greater difficulty learning and remembering object locations. The second purpose was to examine the functional utility of mnemonic strategies, specifically speech-to-self, used by boys with and without ADHD. Method: Boys with and without ADHD were videotaped while completing a well-established, laboratory-based object location learning and memory task. Results: Boys with ADHD evinced a deficit while learning the location of objects and employed less sophisticated forms of private speech during the memory task. Conclusion: These findings reveal details about the utility of private speech during spatial working memory performance and further a theoretical understanding of ADHD. (Contains 1 note and 3 tables.)

Two experiments investigated how absolute and relative distance shape adults' and young children's ratings concerning the extent to which the term "by" describes the relation between locations. Three- and 4-year-old children and adults were asked to rate how well the word "by" described the relation between several blocks and a landmark. The blocks were arranged so that their absolute and relative distances from the landmark varied. All ages relied on absolute and relative distance between the blocks and the landmark when making "by" ratings; however, older children and adults showed more differentiated responses. These findings add to our growing understanding of how adults and young children use relative distance to understand the proximity term "by." (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

Two experiments investigated how young children and adults understand whether objects are "by" a landmark and remember their locations. Three- and 4-year-old children and adults were asked to judge whether several blocks were "by" a landmark. The blocks were arranged so that their absolute and relative distances from the landmark varied. Later, the blocks were removed, and participants were asked to place them in their original locations. All ages relied on relative distance between objects and a landmark when making "by" judgments; however, older children and adults showed systematic judgments. Relative distance also affected block placement, and systematicity increased across development. Children's understanding of the relative nature of "by" and their ability to remember locations precisely increased during the preschool years, indicating developmental changes in the adaptive combination of location cues for spatial language and memory. (Contains 6 figures, 4 tables and 3 footnotes.)

Two experiments examined the flexibility and stability with which children and adults organize locations into categories on the basis of object relatedness. Seven-, 9-, and 11-year-olds and adults learned the locations of 20 objects belonging to 4 categories. Displacement patterns revealed that children and adults used object cues to organize the locations into groups. The organization remained the same following a 7-day delay for all 4 ages, demonstrating stability. Moreover, for 11-year-olds and adults, this organization shifted after a new pattern of object-location pairings was introduced. The pattern was less clear for the younger children, suggesting that flexibility increases across childhood. Discussion focuses on the dynamics of organization processes, particularly stability and flexibility, and the integration of objects and locations.

This investigation tracked changes in categorical bias (i.e., placing objects belonging to the same spatial group closer together than they really are) while 7-, 9-, and 11-year-olds and adults were learning a set of locations. Participants learned the locations of 20 objects marked by dots on the floor of an open square box divided into quadrants. At test, participants attempted to place the objects in the correct locations without the dots and boundaries. In Experiment 1, we probed categorical bias during learning by alternating learning and test trials. Categorical bias was high during the first test trial and decreased over the second and third test trials. In Experiment 2, we manipulated opportunities for learning by providing participants with either one, two, three, or four learning trials prior to test. Participants who experienced one or two learning trials exhibited more bias at test than did those who experienced four learning trials. The discussion focuses on how categorical bias emerges through interactions between the cognitive system and task structure.

The authors investigated how 3- and 4-year-old children and adults use relative distance to judge nearbyness. Participants judged whether several blocks were by a landmark. The absolute and relative distance of the blocks from the landmark varied. In Experiment 1, judgments of nearbyness decreased as the distance from the landmark increased, particularly for 4-year-olds and adults. In Experiment 2, 4-year-olds and adults were more likely to judge objects at an intermediate distance as by the landmark when intervening objects were absent than when intervening objects were present. In Experiment 3, participants of all ages were more likely to judge objects at a short distance as by the landmark when intervening objects were absent. Reliance on relative distance to judge nearbyness becomes more systematic and applicable to larger spatial extents across development.

Four experiments examined the flexibility and stability with which children and adults organize locations into categories based on their spatiotemporal experience with locations. Seven-, 9-, 11-year-olds, and adults learned the locations of 20 objects in an open, square box. During learning, participants experienced the locations in four spatiotemporally defined groups (i.e., four sets of nearby locations learned together in time). At test, participants attempted to place the objects in the correct locations without the aid of the dots marking the locations. Children and adults displaced the objects toward the corners of the box consistent with the organization they experienced during learning, suggesting that they used spatiotemporal experience to organize the locations into groups. Importantly, the pattern of organization remained the same following a long delay for all four age groups, demonstrating stability. For adults, this organization shifted after a new pattern of spatiotemporal experience was introduced, suggesting that adults' categories based on spatiotemporal experience are quite flexible. Children only exhibited flexibility when the new pattern of spatiotemporal organization was consistent with available perceptual cues, demonstrating that the flexibility with which children organize locations into categories is intimately tied to both remembered and perceptual sources of information.

This study investigated whether children's spatial recall performance shows three separable characteristics: (1) biases away from symmetry axes (geometric effects); (2) systematic drift over delays; and (3) biases toward the exemplar distribution experienced in the task (experience-dependent effects). In Experiment 1, the location of one target within each geometric category was varied. Children's responses showed biases away from a midline axis that increased over delays. In Experiment 2, multiple targets were placed within each category at the same locations used in Experiment 1. After removing geometric effects, 6-year-olds'--but not 11-year-olds'--responses were biased toward the average remembered location over learning. In Experiment 3, children responded to one target more frequently than the others. Both 6- and 11-year-olds showed biases toward the most frequent target over learning. These results provide a bridge between the performance of younger children and adults, demonstrating continuity in the processes that underlie spatial memory abilities across development.

Two experiments examined how information about what objects are influences memory for where objects are located. Seven-, 9-, and 11-year-old children and adults learned the locations of 20 objects marked by dots on the floor of a box. The objects belonged to 4 categories. In one condition, objects belonging to the same category were located in the same quadrant of the box. In another condition, objects and locations were randomly paired. After learning, participants attempted to replace the objects without the aid of the dots. Children and adults placed the objects in the same quadrant closer together when they were related than when they were unrelated, indicating that object information led to systematic biases in location memory.

Three studies investigated how experiencing nearby locations together in time influenced memory for location in 7-, 9-, and 11- year-olds and adults. Findings suggested that experiencing nearby locations together in time increased the weight children assigned to categorical information in their later estimates of location. Results were similar when participants learned locations by region and then replaced objects by region or in a random order. (Author/KB)

In recent years, executive functioning (EF) has received increasing attention from researchers and practitioners focusing on how EF predicts important outcomes such as success at school and in life. For example, EF has been described as the single best predictor of school readiness (Blair & Razza, 2007). Moreover, EF has been implicated in numerous facets of functioning, such as academic, social, psychological, and behavioural domains (Zhou, Chen, & Main, 2012). Due to the wide-ranging influence of EF, school psychologists can benefit from knowledge of EF and its core components. The goal of this review is to integrate theoretical, empirical, and applied details concerning EF, paying careful attention to aspects relevant for school readiness and success.

Learning about sexuality is a lifelong process that begins in childhood and continues through the lifespan. Through family and peer interactions and media sources, youth learn about sexuality and relationships, and develop their own values. The learning process and trajectory, however, may differ among youth from diverse cultures. In fact, differences in cultural values, identity, and experience as a minority person and unequal access to resources can influence sexual values and behavior, perhaps leading to increased risk of negative consequences of sexual behavior. Across ethnic and racial groups, there are a variety of important risk and protective factors related to sexual behaviors and outcomes. For instance, among youth from Latino and Black cultures, there is significantly less communication in the home about sexuality compared to families in White cultures. As such, the school becomes an integral part of sexuality education, and for many youth from Latino and Black cultures, the only source of accurate information. Schools must tailor their sex education programs to fit the diverse needs of their students. This article highlights the importance of understanding culture-specific sexual values and behavior to develop and implement sex education programs that are effective for youth from Latino and Black cultures. (Contains 4 online resources.)

People use geometric cues to form spatial categories. This study investigated whether people also use the spatial distribution of exemplars. Adults pointed to remembered locations on a tabletop. In Experiment 1, a target was placed in each geometric category, and the location of targets was varied. Adults' responses were biased away from a midline category boundary toward geometric prototypes located at the centers of left and right categories. Experiment 2 showed that prototype effects were not influenced by cross-category interactions. In Experiment 3, subsets of targets were positioned at different locations within each category. When prototype effects were removed, there was a bias toward the center of the exemplar distribution, suggesting that common categorization processes operate across spatial and object domains.