Journal of Educational Psychology

Practicing versus inventing with contrasting cases: The effects of telling first on learning and transfer.
Being told procedures and concepts before problem solving can inadvertently undermine the learning of deep structures in physics. If students do not learn the underlying structure of physical phenomena, they will exhibit poor transfer. Two studies on teaching physics to adolescents compared the effects of “telling” students before and after problem solving. In Experiment 1 (N = 128), students in a tell-and-practice condition were told the relevant concepts and formulas (e.g., density) before practicing on a set of contrasting cases for each lesson. Students in an invent-with-contrasting-cases (ICC) condition had to invent formulas using the same cases and were told only afterward. Both groups exhibited equal proficiency at using the formulas on word problems. However, ICC students better learned the ratio structure of the physical phenomena and transferred more frequently to semantically unrelated topics that also had a ratio structure (e.g., spring constant). Experiment 2 (N = 120) clarified the sources of the effects while showing that ICC benefited both low- and high-achieving students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
When feedback harms and collaboration helps in computer simulation environments: An expertise reversal effect.
We investigated the effects of feedback and collaboration on undergraduates' transfer performance when using a computer networking training simulation. In Experiment 1, 65 computer science “novices” worked through an instructional protocol individually (control), individually with feedback, or collaboratively with feedback. Unexpectedly, collaboration appeared to inhibit students' transfer performance relative to individual feedback. Experiment 2 was a replication with 62 computer science “experts.” This time, collaboration facilitated transfer performance. Both experiments revealed an interaction between instructional procedures producing an expertise reversal effect: Novices who worked individually with feedback actually outperformed their expert counterparts (Kalyuga, Ayres, Chandler, & Sweller, 2003). When students have low prior knowledge, presenting feedback as they work independently is more effective than collaborating with other novices. On the other hand, when students have high prior knowledge, individual feedback may actually inhibit learning and reverse the benefits of expertise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
Basic calculation proficiency and mathematics achievement in elementary school children.
The relation between skill in simple addition and subtraction and more general math achievement in elementary school is well established but not understood. Both the intrinsic importance of skill in simple calculation for math and the influence of conceptual knowledge and cognitive factors (working memory, processing speed, oral language) on simple calculation and math are plausible. The authors investigated the development of basic calculation fluency and its relations to math achievement and other factors by tracking a group of 259 United Kingdom English children from second to third grade. In both grades the group did not retrieve the solutions to most problems, but their math achievement was typical. Improvement in basic calculation proficiency was partially predicted by conceptual knowledge and cognitive factors. These factors only partially mediated the relation between basic calculation and math achievement. The relation between reading and math was wholly mediated by number measures and cognitive factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
Effects of face-to-face and computer-mediated constructive controversy on social interdependence, motivation, and achievement.
Cooperative learning capitalizes on the relational processes by which peers promote learning, yet it remains unclear whether these processes operate similarly in face-to-face and online settings. This study addresses this issue by comparing face-to-face and computer-mediated versions of constructive controversy, a cooperative learning procedure designed to create intellectual conflict among students. One hundred and one undergraduates were randomly assigned to a 1 (control: face-to-face) × 3 (medium: video, audio, text) × 2 (synchronicity: synchronous, asynchronous) experimental-control design. Cooperative perceptions declined and individualistic perceptions increased under asynchronous computer-mediated conditions, resulting in predicted declines in motivation (i.e., relatedness, interest, value) and academic achievement (i.e., completion rate). For practice, findings suggest that synchronicity but not medium plays an important role in computer-mediated constructive controversy. For theory, findings also suggest that social psychological theories based on face-to-face assumptions may need to be modified to indicate that predicted outcomes depend on synchronous social interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
Working memory, attention, and mathematical problem solving: A longitudinal study of elementary school children.
The role of working memory (WM) in children's growth in mathematical problem solving was examined in a longitudinal study of children (N = 127). A battery of tests was administered that assessed problem solving, achievement, WM, and cognitive processing (inhibition, speed, phonological coding) in Grade 1 children, with follow-up testing in Grades 2 and 3. The results were that (a) Grade 1 predictors that contributed unique variance to Grade 3 word problem-solving performance were WM, naming speed, and inhibition and (b) growth in the executive component of WM was significantly related to growth in word problem-solving accuracy. The results support the notion that growth in the executive system of WM is an important predictor of growth in children's problem solving beyond the contribution of cognitive measures of inattention, inhibition, and processing speed as well as achievement measures related to calculation and reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
The influence of working memory and phonological processing on English language learner children's bilingual reading and language acquisition.
In this study, we explored whether the contribution of working memory (WM) to children's (N = 471) 2nd language (L2) reading and language acquisition was best accounted for by processing efficiency at a phonological level and/or by executive processes independent of phonological processing. Elementary school children (Grades 1, 2, & 3) whose 1st language (L1) was Spanish were administered a battery of cognitive (short-term memory [STM], working memory [WM], rapid naming, and random letter and number generation), vocabulary, and reading measures in both Spanish and English. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that in addition to phonological processing, naming speed, and inattention, both WM and STM contributed significant variance to L2 reading and language acquisition. Regression modeling showed no significant cross-language effects when L1 measures were entered into the analysis. The results showed that both STM and WM contributed unique variance to L2 reading and language acquisition beyond the contribution of L1 phonological processing skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
Spanish phonological awareness: Dimensionality and sequence of development during the preschool and kindergarten years.
This study describes the dimensionality and continuum of Spanish phonological awareness (PA) skills in 3- to 6-year-old children. A 3 × 4 factorial design crossed word structure of test items (word, syllable, phoneme) with task (blending multiple-choice, blending free-response, elision multiple-choice, elision free-response) to assess 12 PA skills. Over 1,200 Spanish speakers were assessed at 2 points in time. Confirmatory factor analyses found that a 2nd-order unifying ability along with 1st-order task factors well explained children's performances (comparative fit index = .96, Tucker–Lewis index = .96, root-mean-square error of approximation = .03). Confirmatory factor analysis also indicated that test items varied in difficulty and in how well they discriminated individual differences in latent PA. Item parameters were stable across item sets (rs = .75–.86) and time (rs = .60–1.00), and ability estimates were moderately stable across time (r = .64). Finally, test information curves were used to describe the continuum of PA skills. Children were able to first detect blending of sound information, then detect elision of sound information, then blend sounds together to form words, and finally delete sounds from words to form new words. Sequence of skill acquisition along the dimension of word structure was ambiguous. Implications for assessment, early intervention, and cross-linguistic theories of phonological awareness are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
What readers have and do: Effects of students' verbal ability and reading time components on comprehension with and without text availability.
This study investigated the reading behavior of 15-year-old students while reading texts and answering corresponding multiple-choice questions. The availability of the texts during question answering was manipulated experimentally. Allocation of resources to several cognitive processes at the word, sentence, and text level was measured by decomposing word-by-word reading times in mixed-model analyses. Results showed that resource allocation was systematically related to measures of verbal ability and test performance. Students with higher verbal ability and better comprehension encoded infrequent concepts more carefully, spent more time on conceptual integration, and updated their situation model more carefully. In addition, reading time components associated with high-level integration processing proved more important when students were unable to reread the texts during question answering. This finding provides support for the claim that test performance without text availability is more sensitive to the quality of the mental representation that readers form online while reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
What is in the naming? A 5-year longitudinal study of early rapid naming and phonological sensitivity in relation to subsequent reading skills in both native Chinese and English as a second language.
Among 262 Chinese children, syllable awareness and rapid automatized naming (RAN) at age 5 years and invented spelling of Pinyin at age 6 years independently predicted subsequent Chinese character recognition and English word reading at ages 8 years and 10 years, even with initial Chinese character reading ability statistically controlled. In addition, reading fluency in Chinese was predicted by RAN but not by phonological sensitivity, whereas Chinese dictation was uniquely predicted by phonological sensitivity but not by RAN. Finally, vocabulary knowledge emerged as a unique developmental predictor of all Chinese literacy skills tested. Findings underscore the importance of both early phonological awareness and RAN for literacy development in Chinese as a first language and English as a second language over time and suggest some differences in patterns of literacy acquisition for Chinese, compared with more regular alphabetic orthographies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
Executive functioning skills uniquely predict Chinese word reading.
Eighty-five Hong Kong Chinese children were tested across both the 2nd and 3rd years of kindergarten (ages 4-5 years) on tasks of inhibitory control, working memory, vocabulary knowledge, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and word reading. With age, vocabulary knowledge, and metalinguistic skills statistically controlled, the combination of working memory and inhibitory control together independently explained approximately 14%–16% of the variance in word reading at both ages. Furthermore, the executive functioning skills as a block contributed unique variance to word reading at Time 2, even when word recognition at Time 1 was statistically controlled. These findings highlight the unique importance of executive functioning skills, even beyond vocabulary knowledge and metalinguistic awareness, for the development of Chinese word recognition in beginning readers of Chinese. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
Testing a path-analytic mediation model of how self-regulated writing strategies improve fourth graders' composition skills: A randomized controlled trial.
This study was designed to identify, through mediation analysis, potential causal mechanisms by which procedures of self-regulated learning increase the efficaciousness of teaching young students strategies for writing stories. In a randomized controlled trial with 3 measurement points (pretest, posttest, maintenance), 117 fourth graders either received self-regulatory writing strategies training or were taught writing strategies without self-regulation procedures. Path analyses indicated that relative to teaching writing strategies alone, teaching strategies in tandem with self-regulation procedures improved students' skills of planning and revising stories and thereby enhanced the quality of the resulting stories. Self-regulated learning also enhanced students' knowledge about good writing and strengthened their self-efficacy beliefs, which both had a positive effect on the use of the learned strategies while planning narratives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
Is silence golden? Elementary school teachers' strategies and beliefs regarding hypothetical shy/quiet and exuberant/talkative children.
The primary goal of the present study was to examine elementary teachers' strategies, attitudes, and beliefs regarding hypothetical shy (i.e., quiet), exuberant (i.e., overly talkative), and average (i.e., typical) children. We explored whether these strategies and beliefs varied as a function of the gender of the hypothetical child as well as teachers' own shyness. Participants were 275 elementary school teachers (241 women, 34 men) ranging in age from 23 to 64 years (M = 40.97, SD = 10.02). Teachers were presented with vignettes depicting hypothetical children displaying shy/quiet, exuberant/talkative, or average/typical behaviors in the classroom and responded to follow-up questions assessing their strategies and beliefs. Teachers also completed a self-report measure of shyness. Among the results, teachers were more likely to respond to exuberant/talkative children with high-powered and social learning strategies and to employ peer-focused and indirect strategies for shy/quiet children. Teachers also believed that shy/quiet children were less intelligent and would do more poorly academically than would exuberant/talkative children. However, some of these findings were moderated by teachers' own level of shyness. Results are discussed in terms of their educational implications for the social and academic functioning of shy and exuberant children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
Assessing teacher candidates' general pedagogical/psychological knowledge: Test construction and validation.
Teachers' general pedagogical/psychological knowledge (PPK) can be defined as the knowledge needed to create and optimize teaching–learning situations across subjects, including declarative and procedural knowledge of classroom management, teaching methods, classroom assessment, and student heterogeneity. Although PPK is thought to be an important aspect of teacher quality, it has seen little empirical investigation—largely because no direct and valid measure of PPK has previously been available. Study 1 describes the development of a 39-item measure using multiple-choice items, short-answer items, and video-based items to assess PPK. Experts rated the items to be relevant for teaching and domain general. Study 2 provides further evidence for the measure's validity. Data obtained from 746 German teacher candidates supported the hypothesized nomological network of PPK; the measure was sensitive to differences between groups; and variations in PPK did not overlap to any great extent with variations in discriminant constructs such as general reasoning abilities, personal beliefs, and domain-specific knowledge. Furthermore, PPK was positively associated with indicators of instructional quality from the students' perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
The twofold multidimensionality of academic self-concept: Domain specificity and separation between competence and affect components.
Academic self-concept is consistently proven to be multidimensional rather than unidimensional as it is domain specific in nature. However, each specific self-concept domain may be further separated into competence and affect components. This study examines the twofold multidimensionality of academic self-concept (i.e., its domain specificity and competence–affect distinction) and extends previous research by applying both within-network and between-network approaches to construct validation. The academic self-concept scales of a German version of the Self Description Questionnaire I (SDQ I) were administered to students from 3rd to 6th grades (N = 1,958). Confirmatory factor analysis models positing separate factors for competence and affect components of math, German, and general school self-concepts fitted better than models assuming domain specificity only. This was demonstrated for the total sample as well as for different subsamples based on age and gender. Although the competence and affect components within each academic self-concept domain were substantially correlated, they were found to be separable constructs. In between-network studies, the competence component was found to be more highly correlated with achievement than the affect component within and across matching academic domains, providing a new argument for the separation of competence and affect components of academic self-concept. Implications of the distinctiveness of competence and affect components of academic self-concept for self-concept theory, research, and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
The family–study interface and academic outcomes: Testing a structural model.
Expanding on family–work and work–study models, this article investigated a model for family–study conflict and family–study facilitation. The focus of the study was the relationship of family–study conflict and family–study facilitation with students' effortful behaviors and academic performance among a sample of university students (N = 1,656). Model tests using structural equation modeling identified participation in family activities, family social support, and involvement with family as antecedents of both family–study conflict and family–study facilitation. In turn, family–study conflict was negatively related to study effort, and family–study facilitation positively contributed to students' study effort. Effort positively predicted students' grade point average. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)

Journal of Educational Psychology - Vol 103, Iss 4