Does Cognitive Strategy Training on Word Problems Compensate for Working Memory Capacity in Children with Math Difficulties?

Does Cognitive Strategy Training on Word Problems Compensate for Working Memory Capacity in Children with Math Difficulties? PDF Author: H. Lee Swanson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 16

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Book Description
Recent intervention studies directed to improve problem solving accuracy in children with math difficulties (MD) have found support for teaching cognitive strategies. This study addresses the question: What role does working memory capacity (WMC) play in strategy outcomes for children with MD? Four prediction models can be applied to strategy training outcomes for children with MD: (a) WMC as a limiting factor, (b) basic skills, (c) general resource, and (d) compensatory. The limiting WMC factor model suggests that children with lower WMC are less likely to benefit from strategy conditions than children with relatively higher WMC. Thus, children with MD vary in their responsiveness to strategy instruction and this is predicated on their WMC. In contrast, the basic skills model suggests that if declarative knowledge is intact (e.g., reading comprehension, and computational knowledge are in the average range), strategy instruction provides a helpful procedure to solve word problems without making demands on WMC. Participants were comprised of 146 third grade children from public school classrooms in the southwest United States. Children were drawn from 22 3rd grade classrooms. Children in the treatment conditions were provided instruction in small groups during math time and were instructed in a class or library in the same school setting. All children in the study participated with their peers in their home rooms on tasks and activities related to the district wide math school curriculum. Each experimental treatment condition included 20 scripted lessons administered over 8 weeks. Each lesson was 30 minutes in duration and was administered three times a week in small groups of 3 to 5 children. The criterion measures used to assess treatment effects were word problems from the Comprehensive Math Abilities Test (CMAT), arithmetic problems from the WRAT-3, and recall from an Operation Span measure. The results showed a significant WMC x treatment interaction across all criterion measures. In general, the results indicated that WMC played an important role in post-test performance outcomes, especially for the strategy conditions that included diagramming (visual-only condition). Tables and figures are appended.

Does Cognitive Strategy Training on Word Problems Compensate for Working Memory Capacity in Children with Math Difficulties?

Does Cognitive Strategy Training on Word Problems Compensate for Working Memory Capacity in Children with Math Difficulties? PDF Author: H. Lee Swanson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 16

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Book Description
Recent intervention studies directed to improve problem solving accuracy in children with math difficulties (MD) have found support for teaching cognitive strategies. This study addresses the question: What role does working memory capacity (WMC) play in strategy outcomes for children with MD? Four prediction models can be applied to strategy training outcomes for children with MD: (a) WMC as a limiting factor, (b) basic skills, (c) general resource, and (d) compensatory. The limiting WMC factor model suggests that children with lower WMC are less likely to benefit from strategy conditions than children with relatively higher WMC. Thus, children with MD vary in their responsiveness to strategy instruction and this is predicated on their WMC. In contrast, the basic skills model suggests that if declarative knowledge is intact (e.g., reading comprehension, and computational knowledge are in the average range), strategy instruction provides a helpful procedure to solve word problems without making demands on WMC. Participants were comprised of 146 third grade children from public school classrooms in the southwest United States. Children were drawn from 22 3rd grade classrooms. Children in the treatment conditions were provided instruction in small groups during math time and were instructed in a class or library in the same school setting. All children in the study participated with their peers in their home rooms on tasks and activities related to the district wide math school curriculum. Each experimental treatment condition included 20 scripted lessons administered over 8 weeks. Each lesson was 30 minutes in duration and was administered three times a week in small groups of 3 to 5 children. The criterion measures used to assess treatment effects were word problems from the Comprehensive Math Abilities Test (CMAT), arithmetic problems from the WRAT-3, and recall from an Operation Span measure. The results showed a significant WMC x treatment interaction across all criterion measures. In general, the results indicated that WMC played an important role in post-test performance outcomes, especially for the strategy conditions that included diagramming (visual-only condition). Tables and figures are appended.

Improving Working Memory in Learning and Intellectual Disabilities

Improving Working Memory in Learning and Intellectual Disabilities PDF Author: Silvia Lanfranchi
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889198979
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
The last forty years of research have demonstrated that working memory (WM) is a key concept for understanding higher-order cognition. To give an example, WM is involved in reading comprehension, problem solving and reasoning, but also in a number of everyday life activities. It has a clear role in the case of atypical development too. For instance, numerous studies have shown an impairment in WM in individuals with learning disabilities (LD) or intellectual disabilities (ID); and several researchers have hypothesized that this can be linked to their difficulties in learning, cognition and everyday life. The latest challenge in the field concerns the trainability of WM. If it is a construct central to our understanding of cognition in typical and atypical development, then specific intervention to sustain WM performance might also promote changes in cognitive processes associated with WM. The idea that WM can be modified is debated, however, partly because of the theoretical implications of this view, and partly due to the generally contradictory results obtained so far. In fact, most studies converge in demonstrating specific effects of WM training, i.e. improvements in the trained tasks, but few transfer effects to allied cognitive processes are generally reported. It is worth noting that any maintenance effects (when investigated) are even more meagre. In addition, a number of methodological concerns have been raised in relation to the use of: 1. single tasks to assess the effects of a training program; 2. WM tasks differing from those used in the training to assess the effects of WM training; and 3. passive control groups. These and other crucial issues have so far prevented any conclusions from being drawn on the efficacy of WM training. Bearing in mind that the opportunity to train WM could have a huge impact in the educational and clinical settings, it seems fundamentally important to shed more light on the limits and potential of this line of research. The aim of the research discussed here is to generate new evidence on the feasibility of training WM in individuals with LD and ID. There are several questions that could be raised in this field. For a start, can WM be trained in this population? Are there some aspects of WM that can be trained more easily than others? Can a WM training reduce the impact of LD and ID on learning outcomes, and on everyday living? What kind of training program is best suited to the promotion of such changes?

Effects of Cognitive Strategy Interventions on Word Problem Solving and Working Memory in Children with Math Disabilities

Effects of Cognitive Strategy Interventions on Word Problem Solving and Working Memory in Children with Math Disabilities PDF Author: H. Lee Swanson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 10

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Book Description
Although current categories of learning disabilities include as specific disabilities calculation and mathematical problem solving [see IDEA reauthorization, 2004, Sec. 300.8(c)(10)], the majority of research focuses on calculation disabilities. Previous studies have shown, however, that deficits in word problem solving difficulties are persistent across the elementary school years even when calculation and reading skills are in the normal achievement range (Swanson et al., 2008). Previous research shows that growth in working memory (WM) is related to growth in word problem solving accuracy for children with math disabilities (MD e.g., Swanson, 2006, Swanson et al., 2008). However, the research is unclear as to the interventions that compensate for WM limitations in children with MD that in turn positively influence performance on problem solving measures. The purpose of this intervention study was to determine whether children with MD improve in problem solving ability as a function of strategy intervention that emphasizes relevant components of word problems. Children with MD and without MD were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: verbal strategies, visual strategies or a combination of both verbal and visual strategies. This study addressed three questions:(1) Do cognitive strategies that direct MD children's attention to relevant components of word problems in the context of distracting or irrelevant information enhance mathematical problem solving accuracy when compared to control conditions? (2) Are visual-spatial strategies in isolation or when combined with verbal strategies more effective than verbal strategies in isolation for children with MD? and (3) Do specific cognitive strategies and increases in WM load (number of irrelevant sentences in word problems) play an independent or interactive role in facilitating solution accuracy and transfer? One hundred and twenty (120) children from grades 2 and 3 in a Southern California public school district participated in this study. The primary findings were: both children with and without MD significantly improved word problem solving accuracy at post-test relative to other conditions, (b) pretest/post-test changes in correctly identifying relevant/irrelevant components mediated the effects of treatment on solution accuracy, (c) transfer (tasks independent of training) occurred on CBM of text word problems, verbal WM and calculation, and (d) individual differences in WM capacity interacted with treatment conditions when predicting overall solution accuracy.

The Cambridge Handbook of Working Memory and Language

The Cambridge Handbook of Working Memory and Language PDF Author: John W. Schwieter
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108960502
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 1211

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Book Description
Bringing together cutting-edge research, this Handbook is the first comprehensive text to examine the pivotal role of working memory in first and second language acquisition, processing, impairments, and training. Authored by a stellar cast of distinguished scholars from around the world, the Handbook provides authoritative insights on work from diverse, multi-disciplinary perspectives, and introduces key models of working memory in relation to language. Following an introductory chapter by working memory pioneer Alan Baddeley, the collection is organized into thematic sections that discuss working memory in relation to: Theoretical models and measures; Linguistic theories and frameworks; First language processing; Bilingual acquisition and processing; and Language disorders, interventions, and instruction. The Handbook is sure to interest and benefit researchers, clinicians, speech therapists, and advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in linguistics, psychology, education, speech therapy, cognitive science, and neuroscience, or anyone seeking to learn more about language, cognition and the human mind.

Numeracy and Learning Difficulties

Numeracy and Learning Difficulties PDF Author: Peter Westwood
Publisher: ACER Press
ISBN: 1742864287
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
Drawing on research from the fields of developmental and cognitive psychology, Peter Westwood presents a case for high-quality 'first teaching' to prevent students failing in the initial acquisition of numeracy skills.

Child and Adolescent Development for Educators

Child and Adolescent Development for Educators PDF Author: Christine B. McCormick
Publisher: Guilford Publications
ISBN: 146253483X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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Book Description
This accessible text--now revised and updated--has given thousands of future educators a solid grounding in developmental science to inform their work in schools. The book reviews major theories of development and their impact on educational practice. Chapters examine how teaching and learning intersect with specific domains of child and adolescent development--language, intelligence and intellectual diversity, motivation, family and peer relationships, gender roles, and mental health. Pedagogical features include chapter summaries, definitions of key terms, and boxes addressing topics of special interest to educators. Instructors requesting a desk copy receive a supplemental test bank with objective test items and essay questions for each chapter. (First edition authors: Michael Pressley and Christine B. McCormick.) New to This Edition *Extensively revised to reflect a decade's worth of advances in developmental research, neuroscience, and genetics. *Greatly expanded coverage of family and peer relationships, with new content on social–emotional learning, social media, child care, and early intervention. *Discussions of executive function, theory of mind, and teacher–student relationships. *Increased attention to ethnic–racial, gender, and LGBT identity development. *Many new and revised practical examples and topic boxes.

Handbook of Educational Psychology and Students with Special Needs

Handbook of Educational Psychology and Students with Special Needs PDF Author: Andrew J. Martin
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351586742
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 748

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Book Description
Handbook of Educational Psychology and Students with Special Needs provides educational and psychological researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, and graduate students with critical expertise on the factors and processes relevant to learning for students with special needs. This includes students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, other executive function difficulties, behavior and emotional disorders, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, dyslexia, language and communication difficulties, physical and sensory disabilities, and more. With the bulk of educational psychology focused on "mainstream" or "typically developing" learners, relatively little educational psychology theory, research, measurement, or practice has attended to students with "special needs." As clearly demonstrated in this book, the factors and processes studied within educational psychology—motivation and engagement, cognition and neuroscience, social-emotional development, instruction, home and school environments, and more—are vital to all learners, especially those at risk or disabled. Integrating guidance from the DSM-5 by the American Psychiatric Association and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) by the World Health Organization, this book synthesizes and builds on existing interdisciplinary research to establish a comprehensive case for effective psycho-educational theory, research, and practice that address learners with special needs. Twenty-seven chapters by experts in the field are structured into three parts on diverse special needs categories, perspectives from major educational psychology theories, and constructs relevant to special needs learning, development, and knowledge building.

Contemporary Intellectual Assessment

Contemporary Intellectual Assessment PDF Author: Dawn P. Flanagan
Publisher: Guilford Publications
ISBN: 146255203X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 1153

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Book Description
This leading practitioner reference and text--now in a revised and expanded fourth edition--provides the knowledge needed to use state-of-the-art cognitive tests with individuals of all ages, from preschoolers to adults. The volume examines major theories and tests of intelligence (in chapters written by the theorists and test developers themselves) and presents research-based approaches to test interpretation. Contributors address critical issues in evaluating culturally and linguistically diverse students, gifted students, and those with intellectual disability, sensory–motor impairments, traumatic brain injuries, and learning difficulties and disabilities. The fourth edition highlights the use of cognitive test results in planning school-based interventions. New to This Edition *Complete coverage of new or updated tests: WPPSI-IV, WISC-V, WISC-V Integrated, WJ IV, ECAD, CAS2, RIAS-2, KABC-II Normative Update, and UNIT2. *Chapters on cutting-edge approaches to identifying specific learning disabilities and reading disorders. *Chapters on brain imaging, neuropsychological intervention in schools, adult intellectual development, and DSM-5 criteria for learning disorders. *Updated chapters on theories of intelligence, their research base, and their clinical utility in guiding cognitive and neuropsychological assessment practice.

Interventions in Learning Disabilities

Interventions in Learning Disabilities PDF Author: Rachel Schiff
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319312359
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
This book reviews systematic training programs that are designed to enhance the language, reading, literacy and cognitive skills of individuals with Learning Disabilities in various disciplines. Most titles on Learning Disabilities intervention often focus on the linguistic area of the disability, while there are many more areas of difficulty. Students with learning disabilities struggle with such as math, cognitive abilities, and organizational skills. Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, this book encompasses a wide variety of remedial treatments and therapies developed by expert researchers and scholars in the Learning Disabilities area.

Occupation-Centred Practice with Children

Occupation-Centred Practice with Children PDF Author: Sylvia Rodger
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119057752
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 411

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Book Description
Occupation-Centred Practice with Children remains the only occupational therapy book which supports the development and implementation of occupation-centred practice with children. Drawing on the latest occupational therapy theory and research, this new edition has been fully updated throughout, and includes new chapters on occupational transitions for children and young people, assessing children’s occupations and participation, intervention within schools, the arts and children’s occupational opportunities, as well as using animals to support children’s occupational engagement. Key features: Written by an international expert team of contributors. Each chapter begins with preliminary questions to assist with consideration of current knowledge, and then reflection questions at the conclusion to allow revision of key content in order to support independent learning. Highly practical, with a range of case studies, key point summaries, reflective questions, best practice guidelines, and a range of tools, interventions and techniques to aid applications to practice. A new appendix outlining all the assessments referred to in the book has now been included. Occupation-Centred Practice with Children is a practical, theoretically grounded and evidence based guide to contemporary occupational therapy practice, and is important reading for all occupational therapy students and therapists wishing to make a real difference to children and their families’ lives.