Darlene DeMarie

Capacity, strategies, and metamemory: Tests of a three-factor model of memory development

Multiple measures of three of the factors (capacity, strategies, and metamemory) hypothesized to cause improvements in memory with age were obtained from 179 children in kindergarten to second grade (younger: ages 5-8) or third and fourth grade (older: ages 8-11) during nine sessions of testing. Confirmatory factor analysis was computed separately for each age group. Results suggested that the fit of the three-factor model was statistically significantly better than a one-factor, general memory model for both age groups. However, the fit indices were borderline, and there was not sufficient evidence for a metamemory factor for younger children. The factors that influence memory performance may differ with age.

Path Analysis Tests of Theoretical Models of Children's Memory Performance.

Path analysis was used to test theoretical models of relations among variables known to predict differences in childrens memory-strategies, capacity, and metamemory. Children in kindergarten to fourth grade (chronological ages 5 to 11) performed different memory tasks. Several strategies (i.e., sorting, clustering, rehearsal, and self-testing) were coded from videotapes and their average number of different strategies served as the strategy variable. Memory span and task-specific metamemory tasks served as the capacity and metamemory variables, respectively. The W�rzburg Model, derived from laboratories in Germany, had a significant chi-square statistic. The more successful Utilization Deficiency Model had a nonsignificant chi-square statistic and accounted for 48% of the variance in recall. Additional support for the Utilization Deficiency Model was evident from the significant path coefficients, which suggested that metamemory drives the production of strategies and that both metamemory and capacity constrain or enhance the effectiveness of those strategies.

Age and experience influence different verbal and nonverbal measures of children's scripts for the zoo

Abstract Age and experience are usually confounded in developmental research. In the present study, age and experience were quantified more precisely to determine whether each of them, controlling the other, was significant in estimating various measures of childrens scripts for the zoo. Children (3- to 12-year-olds) were interviewed about the zoo before and after a group of them went to the zoo. Experience was the best predictor of the number of propositions children stated about the zoo. Whereas experience predicted tense use before, age predicted tense use after the zoo trip. The complexity of childrens scripts (i.e., number of optionals and conditionals) depended on both age and experience. Childrens photographs of the zoo served as a nonverbal assessment, and the percentage of animal photographs was predicted by age. The results suggested that script development is not complete by 7 years of age. Age and experience predict different measures of script knowledge.

Transition Practices into Kindergarten and the Barriers Teachers Encounter

A child’s transition to Kindergarten is a critical time to establish a positive school trajectory. This chapter presents results from a survey of 484 Kindergarten teachers across the United States who reported on their transition practices and the barriers to using those practices. Results indicated teachers’ primary strategies for transition involved communicating to the parents of the entire class by way of newsletters, by emails, or by hosting open houses. Teachers viewed parents and school structures as key barriers to implementing transition practices.