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This study examined the unfolding in real time of original ideas during divergent thinking (DT) in five- to six-year-olds and related individual differences in DT to executive functions (EFs). The Alternative Uses Task was administered with verbal prompts that encouraged children to report on their thinking processes while generating uses for daily objects. In addition to coding the originality of each use, the domain-specific DT processes memory retrieval and mental operations were coded from children's explanations. Six EF tasks were administered and combined into composites to measure working memory, shifting, inhibition, and selective attention. The results replicated findings of a previous study with the same children but at age four years: (1) there was a serial order effect of the originality of uses; and (2) the process mental operations predicted the originality of uses. Next, the results revealed that both domain-general EFs and domain-specific executive processes played a role in the real-time unfolding of original ideas during DT. Particularly, the DT process mental operations was positively related to the early generation of original ideas, while selective attention was negatively related to the later generation of original ideas. These findings deepen our understanding of how controlled executive processes operate during DT.

Taking a perception-action perspective, we investigated how the presence of different real objects in children's immediate situation affected their creativity and whether this effect was moderated by their selective attention. Seventy children between ages 9 and 12 years old participated. Verbal responses on a visual Alternative Uses Task with a low stimulus and high stimulus condition were coded on fluency, flexibility, and originality. Selective attention was measured with a visual search task. Results showed that fluency was not affected by stimulus condition and was unrelated to selective attention. Flexibility was positively associated with selective attention. Originality, net of fluency and flexibility, showed a main effect of stimulus condition in an unexpected direction, as children gave more original responses in the low stimulus condition compared to the high stimulus condition. A significant moderation effect revealed that children with better selective attention skills benefitted from a low stimulus environment, whereas children with weaker selective attention performed better in a high stimulus environment. The findings demonstrate differential effects of the immediate situation and selective attention, and support the hypothesis that creativity is impacted by immediate situation and selective attention, yet in unexpected ways.

Aim: In the current study we aimed to investigate the relation between creativity and mathematical problem solving in the upper grades of elementary school. Methods: To examine how student's levels of general creativity were related to their performance on different types of geometrical problems, a geometry test with diverse problems was administered to a sample of 1665 Dutch students from third to sixth grade, as well as a creativity test. The geometry test consisted of four closed-ended routine problems, six closed-ended non-routine problems (related to a visual artwork) and four open-ended non-routine problems (multiple solutions problems). The Test of Creative Thinking-Drawing Production was used to measure students' creativity. Multivariate multilevel analyses were conducted to take the nested structure of the data into account. Results: The results showed that creativity was a significant predictor of students' performance on all types of geometrical problems, but most strongly associated with performance on open-ended non-routine problems, suggesting that students with higher levels of creativity perform better in solving geometry problems in general, but especially in geometry problems asking for multiple solutions.

Providing first language (L1) translations in L2 vocabulary interventions may be beneficial for L2 vocabulary learning. However, in linguistically diverse L2 classrooms, teachers cannot provide L1 translations to all children. Social robots do offer such opportunities, as they can be programmed to speak any combination of languages. This study investigates whether providing L1 translations in a robot-assisted L2 vocabulary training facilitates children's learning. Participants were Turkish-Dutch kindergartners (n = 67) who were taught six Dutch (L2) words for which they knew the L1 (Turkish), but not the L2 Dutch form. Half of these words were taught by a Turkish-Dutch bilingual robot, alongside their Turkish translations; the other half by a monolingual Dutch robot. Children also completed Dutch and Turkish receptive vocabulary tests. Results of generalized linear regression models indicated better performance in the Dutch-only condition than in the Turkish-Dutch condition. Children with well-developed Turkish and Dutch vocabulary knowledge outperformed children with less well-developed vocabulary knowledge. The majority of children preferred working with the bilingual robot, but children's preference did not affect word learning. Thus, contrary to our prediction, we found no evidence for a facilitating effect of providing L1 translations through a robot on bilingual children's L2 word learning.

This study investigates the degree to which children anthropomorphize a robot tutor and whether this anthropomorphism relates to their vocabulary learning in a second-language (L2) tutoring intervention. With this aim, an anthropomorphism questionnaire was administered to 5-year-old children (N = 104) twice: prior to and following a seven-session L2 vocabulary training with a humanoid robot. On average, children tended to anthropomorphize the robot prior to and after the lessons to a similar degree, but many children changed their attributed anthropomorphic features. Boys anthropomorphized the robot less after the lessons than girls. Moreover, there was a weak but significant positive correlation between anthropomorphism as measured before the lessons and scores on a word-knowledge post-test administered the day after the last lesson. There was also a weak but significant positive correlation between the change in anthropomorphism over time and scores on a word-knowledge post-test administered approximately 2 weeks after the last lesson. Our results underscore the need to manage children's expectations in robot-assisted education. Also, future research could explore adaptations to individual children's expectations in child-robot interactions.

The challenging task of establishing meaningful translanguaging in multilingual classrooms necessitates negotiation between different stakeholders. Such negotiation requires investigation of the contexts and ways in which translanguaging may be implemented as a suitable teaching strategy. The aim of the current study was to elicit practical and pedagogical issues of translanguaging in the classroom via interviews with three different groups of stakeholders: language education researchers, teachers, and multilingual learners. We visited four differently composed multilingual high schools from which concrete examples were recalled in semi-structured interviews on the topic of translanguaging with the selected stakeholders. Adopting an iterative study design, interviewees were presented with daily life examples from the school visits as well as statements from other stakeholder interviews. Their statements and reactions to the statements of others were recorded, qualitatively analysed and categorised. Overall, seven distinct pedagogical challenges concerning a translanguaging pedagogy emerged from the interview analysis: (1) Side effects; (2) Goal formulation; (3) Learning the language of schooling; (4) English and other semiotic resources; (5) Affective functions; (6) Effort; and (7) Confusion. These palpable pedagogic issues may be helpful in understanding how translanguaging in multilingual contexts can be implemented, thus bridging the gap between theory and practice.

The development of (early) numerical cognition builds on children's ability to understand and manipulate quantities and numbers. However, previous research did not find conclusive evidence on the role of symbolic and non-symbolic skills in the development of (early) numerical cognition. The aim of the current study was to clarify the relation between different types of non-symbolic quantity skills, symbolic numerical skills and early numerical cognition. A sample of 43 children was tested at the age of 3.5 years and at the age of 5 years. At 3.5 years, non-symbolic number line estimation, non-symbolic quantity comparison and symbolic enumerating skills were measured. At 5 years, early numerical cognition, defined as symbolic number line estimation and counting, were measured It was found that non-symbolic number line estimation at 3.5 years could predict both symbolic number line estimation and counting at 5 years. Enumerating at 3.5 years could only predict counting at 5 years. This suggests that both non-symbolic and symbolic skills play a role in the development of early numerical cognition, although enumerating skills do not transfer to all types of early numerical cognition. Furthermore, not all non-symbolic skills seem to play an important role in the development of early numerical cognition. The results suggest that non-symbolic quantity comparison does not contribute much to the development of early numerical cognition. Associations between non-symbolic quantities and space, operationalized here as non-symbolic number line estimation, seem central to the development of early math from preschool to kindergarten age.

This study evaluates the effects of the Mathematics, Arts, and Creativity in Education (MACE) program on students' ability in geometry and visual arts in the upper grades of elementary school. The program consisted of a lesson series for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students in which geometry and visual arts were integrated, alongside with a professional development program for teachers. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in which three groups of teachers and their classes were investigated. One group of teachers taught the lesson series and followed a professional development program (n=36), one group of teachers only taught the lesson series (n=36), and a comparison group taught a series of traditional geometry lessons from mathematical textbooks (n=43). A geometrical ability, creativity, and vocabulary test and a visual arts assignment were used in a pre- and post-measurements to test the effects of the MACE program. Results showed that students who received the MACE lesson series improved more than students who received regular geometry lessons only in geometrical aspects perceived in a visual artwork. Regarding students' understanding and explanation of geometrical phenomena and geometrical creative thinking, all students improved, but no differences between the groups were found, which implies that on these aspects the MACE program was as effective as the comparison group that received a more traditional form of geometry education.

This paper presents the Learn to Think preschool (LTT-P) program for promoting creativity in preschoolers and reviews its potential benefits. LTT-P was designed within the framework of the successful LTT creativity program for older students and both were developed to fit the Chinese education system. To assess the potential benefits of LTT-P, a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group study was conducted in a preschool in an urban region in the northwest of China, involving 68 middle level and 87 senior level children. The Lines and Circles subtests of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking were used to examine the development of children's creativity on the dimensions fluency, originality, and elaboration between pretest and posttest. The results suggest that the LTT-P program has the potential to promote young children's creative thinking, especially with regard to the aspects of originality and elaboration. The results for fluency are less clear. To the best of our knowledge, LTT-P is the first program, grounded in a structured learning theory and sound curriculum framework, to support children's creativity development in Chinese early childhood education.

We analysed effective and promising interventions, within the classroom and school microsystems, aiming to promote equality and belongingness for immigrant, Roma, and low-income children attending early childhood education and care (ECEC) and primary education in eight European countries. Over 500 interventions were identified, and 78 interventions were analysed. We found that while 79% of the interventions provided some type of language support, only 32% considered children's heritage language. Importantly, around 22% of the interventions targeted ECEC settings specifically, with most ECEC interventions implemented at the national level, taking place in the classroom and implemented by classroom teachers, and involving language support and family involvement activities. Language support seems to be widespread, recognising the foundational nature of language for learning, communication, and belongingness. However, comprehensive intercultural policies that explicitly support culture maintenance, communication, and positive contact may be valuable in guiding future developments. [This article was co-authored by the ISOTIS research team.]

Early individual differences in self-control are predictive of numerous developmental outcomes, such as physical health and risk-taking behaviours. Therefore, it is important to improve our understanding of how young children manage to exert self-control. This study investigates two- and three-year-old children's behaviours during two self-control tasks and the association between the occurrence of these behaviours and task success. Furthermore, the study examines relations between timing and occurrence of these behaviours and caregiver-rated self-control. Two- and three-year-olds (N = 62) were given a snack and gift delay of gratification task to measure self-control. The following behaviours were coded second-by-second during the delay: direction of visual attention and the body (directed towards or away from the reward), distracting with the hands (fidgeting), and actively 'withholding' the hands (e.g., holding one hand with the other). To assess caregiver-rated self-control, parents and teachers filled out a selected set of items from the Early Childhood Behaviour Questionnaire inhibitory control scale (Putnam et al. 2006). The percentage of time that children looked away and withheld their hands from the reward positively predicted task success, suggesting that these behaviours are strategic at this young age. Average latency of initiating these behaviours was <10 s for successful children. Teacher-rated (but not parent-rated) self-control related to both the timing and co-occurrence of these behaviours, supporting the ecological validity of the observations. These findings call for future studies to examine further how individual and contextual factors shape the fine-grained dynamics of strategy use in self-control early in life.

Embodied learning environments have a substantial share in teaching interventions and research for enhancing learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. In these learning environments, students' bodily experiences are an essential part of the learning activities and hence, of the learning. In this systematic review, we focused on embodied learning environments supporting students' understanding of graphing change in the context of modeling motion. Our goal was to deepen the theoretical understanding of what aspects of these embodied learning environments are important for teaching and learning. We specified four embodied configurations by juxtaposing embodied learning environments on the degree of "bodily involvement" (own and others/objects' motion) and "immediacy" (immediate and non-immediate) resulting in four classes of embodied learning environments. Our review included 44 articles (comprising 62 learning environments) and uncovered eight mediating factors, as described by the authors of the reviewed articles: "real-world context," "multimodality," "linking motion to graph," "multiple representations," "semiotics," "student control," "attention capturing," and "cognitive conflict." Different combinations of mediating factors were identified in each class of embodied learning environments. Additionally, we found that learning environments making use of students' own motion immediately linked to its representation were most effective in terms of learning outcomes. Implications of this review for future research and the design of embodied learning environments are discussed.

The aim of this longitudinal study is to evaluate 3 views on the relationship between nonword repetition and vocabulary: (i) the storage-based view that considers nonword repetition, a measure of phonological storage, as the driving force behind vocabulary development, (ii) the lexical restructuring view that considers improvements in nonword repetition as the result of vocabulary growth, and (iii) the "combined" view that assumes that both storage-based learning and lexical restructuring play a role, resulting in reciprocal relationships between nonword repetition and vocabulary during language development. Data are analyzed from 471 monolingual Dutch children who performed tasks assessing nonword repetition and vocabulary at yearly intervals, from ages 2 to 5. Latent Change Score (LCS) modeling of Item Response Theory-scaled scores was used to investigate the relationships between nonword repetition and vocabulary growth over time. Additionally, the statistical techniques used in earlier work--cross-lagged and latent growth modeling--were applied to see whether the results changed as a function of the analytical technique used. Results from a bivariate LCS model showed positive reciprocal influences from nonword repetition on vocabulary between 2 and 5 years. Such positive cross-influences also emerged from the cross-lagged and latent growth models. Predictive relationships from vocabulary to nonword repetition were stronger than vice versa. These results indicate that both storage-based learning and lexical restructuring play a role in vocabulary learning, at least in early stages of language development, with the clearest support found for lexical restructuring.

In this paper, the association between bilingualism and creativity is investigated. In the first part, the results of a literature review are reported. Previous research predominantly found that bilinguals outperform monolinguals on creativity tasks, which was explained by bilinguals' enhanced executive functioning compared to monolinguals, and their experience with multiple cultures. Most previous research has examined the relationship between bilingualism and creativity within a psychological trait framework, which does not take into account that cognitive processes are regarded to be situated-embodied, meaning that they are influenced by environmental factors, and by a person's perceptions of and actions towards these environmental factors. In the second part, we discuss an alternative approach, in which creativity can be defined as the emerging skill of an individual to discover affordances, to come up with creative ideas and products. Recommendations for future research are discussed as well.

In recent years, robots have increasingly been implemented as tutors in both first- and second-language education. The field of robot-assisted language learning (RALL) is developing rapidly. Studies have been published targeting different languages, age groups, and aspects of language and using different robots and methodologies. The present review presents an overview of the results obtained so far in RALL research and discusses the current possibilities and limitations of using social robots for first- and second-language learning. Thirty-three studies in which vocabulary, reading skills, speaking skills, grammar, and sign language were taught are discussed. Beside insights into learning gains attained in RALL situations, these studies raise more general issues regarding students' motivation and robots' social behavior in learning situations. This review concludes with directions for future research on the use of social robots in language education.

This study examined the value of using a group-centered approach to evaluate process quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC). Is observed support of group processes a different aspect of classroom quality, and does it predict children's collaborative play in ECEC in the Netherlands? In two play situations, 37 teachers and 120 two- to four-year-old children were observed with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) Toddler and two new measures. In a two-level structural equation model, teachers' support of group processes was positively related to the CLASS domains and to children's collaborative play, over and above the effect of children's cognitive ability and social competence. These findings suggest that ECEC quality evaluation could be enriched by adding group-centered indicators of classroom quality.

Background: Mathematics achievement is related to positive and negative emotions. Pekrun's control-value theory of achievement emotions suggests that students' self-concept (i.e., self-appraisal of ability) may be an important mediator of the relation between mathematics achievement and emotions. Aims: The aims were (1) to investigate the mediating role of mathematical self-concept in the relation between mathematics achievement and the achievement emotions of enjoyment and anxiety in a comprehensive model, and (2) to test possible differences in this mediating role between low-, average-, and high-achieving students. Sample: Participants were ninth-grade students (n = 1,014) from eight secondary schools in the Netherlands. Methods: Through an online survey including mathematical problems, students were asked to indicate their levels of mathematics enjoyment, anxiety, and self-concept. Structural equation modelling was used to test the mediating role of self-concept in the relation between mathematics achievement and emotions. Multigroup analyses were performed to compare these relations across the three achievement groups. Results: Results confirmed full mediation of the relation between mathematics achievement and emotions by mathematical self-concept. Furthermore, we found higher self-concepts, more enjoyment and less math anxiety in high-achieving students compared to their average and low-achieving peers. No differences across these achievement groups were found in the relations in the mediational model. Conclusions: Mathematical self-concept plays a pivotal role in students' appraisal of mathematics. Mathematics achievement is only one factor explaining students' self-concept. Likely also classroom instruction and teachers' feedback strategies help to shape students' self-concept.

Purpose: Grammatical morphology is often a locus of difficulty for both children with language impairment (LI) and bilingual children. In contrast to previous research that mainly focused on verbal tense and agreement markings, the present study investigated whether plural and past participle formation can disentangle the effects of LI and bilingualism and, in addition, can point to weaknesses of LI that hold across monolingual and bilingual contexts. Method: Monolingual and bilingual children with and without LI (n = 33 per group) were tested at 2 waves with a word formation task that elicited Dutch noun plurals and past participles. The quantity and quality of errors as well as children's development over time were examined. Results: The plural formation task discriminated between monolingual children with and without LI, but a less differentiated picture emerged in the bilingual group. Moreover, plural accuracy showed fully overlapping language profiles of monolinguals with LI and bilinguals without LI, in contrast to accuracy scores on the past participle formation task. Error analyses suggested that frequent omission of participial affixes may be indicative of LI, irrespective of lingual status. Conclusion: The elicited production of past participles may support a reliable diagnosis of LI in monolingual and bilingual learning contexts.

This study investigates the relationship between nonword repetition (NWR) and vocabulary in 2-year-olds. Questions addressed are whether (1) NWR and vocabulary are associated, (2) phonotactic probability affects NWR, and (3) there is an interaction effect between phonotactic probability and vocabulary on NWR performance. The general aim of the study is to investigate whether NWR, as a task of phonological storage, assesses the quality of phonological representations in children as young as 2 years of age. 557 Dutch 2-year-olds performed an NWR task containing items of varying phonotactic probability as well as a receptive vocabulary task. The results showed a moderate, significant correlation between NWR and vocabulary. Phonotactic probability had an effect on NWR performance. Further analyses showed that there was a significant interaction between phonotactic probability and vocabulary for part of the items. These results support previously reported effects of vocabulary and phonotactic probability on NWR in older, English-speaking children for a large sample of Dutch-speaking 2-year-olds, and provide evidence that NWR assesses the quality of phonological representations already in very young children.

The preschool period is marked by rapid growth of children's self-regulation and related executive functions. Self-regulation is considered an important aspect of school readiness and is related to academic and social--emotional outcomes in childhood. Pretend play, as part of the early childhood curriculum, is hypothesized to support self-regulation. An important question concerns whether self-regulation should be considered an individual ability or, partly, a situated skill that is influenced by aspects of the classroom context. The aims of this study were to investigate the degree to which 3-year-olds showed cognitive and emotional self-regulation in a naturalistic play setting and to examine how test-based measures of children's cool and hot executive functions and the quality of their pretend play contributed to this observed self-regulation. The results indicated that 3-year-olds showed aspects of cognitive and emotional self-regulation. Cool executive functions appeared significantly related to emotional self-regulation, whereas hot executive functions were not significantly related to cognitive or emotional self-regulation. The quality of pretend play was strongly associated with cognitive self-regulation and, to a lesser extent, emotional self-regulation. The findings of this study suggest that both preschoolers' cool executive functions and the quality of play contributed to their self-regulation skills in naturalistic settings.

Previous research suggests that block adding, subtracting and counting direction are early forms of number-space mapping. In this study, an embodiment perspective on these skills was taken. Embodiment theory assumes that cognition emerges through sensory-motor interaction with the environment. In line with this assumption, it was investigated if counting and adding/subtracting direction in young children is related to the hand they use during task performance. Forty-eight 3.5-year-old children completed a block adding, subtracting and counting task. They had to add and remove a block from a row of three blocks and count a row of five blocks. Adding, subtracting and counting direction were related to the hand the children used for task performance. Most children who used their right hand added, removed and started counting the blocks at the right side of the row. Most children who used their left hand added, removed and started counting the blocks at the left side of the row. It can be concluded that number-space mapping, as measured by direction of adding, subtracting and counting blocks, in young children is embodied: It is not fixed, but is related to the situation.