Wilma C. M. Resing

Does Cultural Background Influence the Intellectual Performance of Children from Immigrant Groups

Summary: This paper addresses both the construct validity and the criterion-related validity of the “Revisie Amsterdamse Kinder Intelligentie Test” (RAKIT), which is a cognitive ability test developed for primary school children. The present study compared immigrant primary school children (N = 559) and Dutch children (N = 604). The mean scores of Surinamese/Netherlands Antillean, Moroccan, and Turkish children differed from each other and were lower than those of the Dutch children. Comparison of the test dimensions showed that group differences with respect to the construct validity were small. We found some item bias, but the combined effects on the sum score were not large. The estimate of general intelligence (g) as computed with the RAKIT showed strong predictive validity for most school subjects and standardized achievement tests. Although some criteria revealed significant prediction bias, the effects were very small. Most of the analyses we performed on differences in test scores and differences ...

Dynamic testing with tangible electronics: Measuring children's change in strategy use with a series completion task

AIMS This study sought to explore the use of a novel approach that incorporates dynamic testing and tangible electronics in the assessment of childrens learning potential and strategy use. SAMPLE A total of 77 children with a mean age 8.9 years participated in the study; half of them were dynamically tested using graduate prompt techniques; the others served as a control group. METHOD Children in the experimental group received a series of inputs consisting of a pre-test, two training sessions, and a post-test all involving a number of series completion tasks; the controls received only pre- and post-tests. All test sessions were undertaken individually using a specially designed programme incorporating an electronic console and tangible materials equipped internally with sensors. RESULTS As a consequence of training, children significantly outperformed controls on a number of series completion tasks. Significant individual differences were noted in terms of the childrens response to assistance. The studys hypothesis that dynamic testing would increase analytical, and reduce trial-and-error, behaviour was supported. While a significant proportion of the children employed strategies that had earlier been identified as optimal, a sizeable minority demonstrated rather more idiosyncratic approaches. CONCLUSIONS Findings from the study demonstrate the potential value of electronic dynamic testing using graduated prompts. However, a number of further refinements to improve the procedure are suggested.

Spontaneous analogical transfer in 4-year-olds: A microgenetic study

The purpose of the current microgenetic study was to examine childrens spontaneous application of analogical problem solving from story problems to physical tasks. Thirty-six 4-year-olds (M=54.7 months), randomly assigned to an experimental or a control condition, participated. The results indicate that 4-year-old children did, with varying success, spontaneously apply analogical solutions to physical problems across sessions. A positive effect over time on childrens spontaneous analogical problem solving was found. Additionally, a few children even gave an analogical strategy-related explanation for their own physical behavior. There was much inter- and intra-individual variability, which may indicate that 4 years of age is a period of change in the development of analogical reasoning.

Cognitive development in congenital hypothyroidism: Is overtreatment a greater threat than undertreatment?

BACKGROUND Optimal treatment of children with congenital hypothyroidism (CHT) is still debated. Our objective was to evaluate whether early undertreatment (UT) and overtreatment (OT) influence cognitive development at age 11 years. METHODS Sixty-one patients (27 severe CHT, 34 mild CHT) were psychologically tested at ages 1.8 (Mental Development Index), 6 [intelligence quotient (IQ) 6], and 11 years (IQ11). Scores for cognitive development were related to initial levels of TSH normalization (fast, moderate, or slow) and to total durations of the UT and OT episodes within the first 2 years of life (no, short, or long UT/OT). UT and OT were defined as a free T4 (fT4) concentration below or above the individual fT4 steady-state concentration range (±2 SD). RESULTS Patients with fast and moderate TSH normalization had higher Mental Development Index scores than patients with slow TSH normalization; 14.2 and 7.7 points higher, respectively (P = .001). TSH normalization had no significant effect on IQ11. Patients with long and short overtreatment had IQ11s that were -17.8 and -13.4 points lower, respectively, than the IQ11s of patients with no overtreatment (P = .014). UT without OT was associated with normal development scores, but UT with OT was associated with -14.7 points lower IQ11s than UT without OT (P = .005). CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that CHT overtreatment during the first 2 years leads to lowered cognitive outcomes at 11 years, whereas undertreatment, if not complicated by overtreatment, results in a normal cognitive development. Fast TSH normalization at initial treatment leads to above-normal development scores at a young age but does not affect IQ at age 11 years.

Effects of prior assistance in using analogies on young children's unprompted analogical problem solving over time: a microgenetic study.

BACKGROUND Various studies on analogical problem solving have shown that children can be taught to use analogies within a single session, but it is not known whether they can be taught a strategy for using analogical problem solving that persists over a period of time. AIM Our study focused on the effects of prior assistance in analogy use on childrens unprompted analogical problem solving over time. SAMPLE Participants were 144, 5- to 7-year-old children from kindergarten and grade 1. METHODS A four-session microgenetic procedure was used. A number of children were given assistance in using analogies 1 week before the experiment started. Their analogy use over time was examined and compared with peers without such experiences. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that prior assistance in using analogies has a beneficial effect, which may last for several weeks, on analogical problem solving in children aged 6-7 years or even younger. The study also showed the use of analogies in the absence of instructions, and variability in task behaviour in all groups. Since these findings may have implications for instructional practice, the authors recommend a novel study in an educational environment and with tasks from a more educational domain.

Dynamic Testing and Individualized Instruction: Helpful in Cognitive Education?

An important theme in educational practice is to tailor instruction to the individual needs of children. Particular forms of group instruction may be effective for specific children; other children will profit most from a more individual approach. The contribution aims to focus on the question whether such tailored forms of instruction can be found in a dynamic assessment context and explores the potential usefulness of dynamic testing and instruction for cognitive education. The principal characteristic of dynamic testing or assessment is that children are explicitly provided with feedback, prompts, or training intended to enable them to show progress when solving cognitive tasks. Outcomes of dynamic testing and assessment could, in principle, provide educational psychologists or teachers with information regarding learning outcomes during intervention. Although it has been claimed that such approaches may have more to offer to psychologists or educationists than traditional standardized test outputs, not all approaches are suitable for this aim. This article focuses on the potential usefulness of the outcomes of the graduated prompts approach in dynamic testing and instruction. It can be concluded that a combination of both dynamic procedures is a very promising one, which needs further exploration in the future.

Learning During Dynamic Testing: Variability in Strategy Use by Indigenous and Ethnic Minority Children

The objective of this study was to explore whether dynamic testing of indigenous and ethnic minority children could provide information concerning changes in their strategy use during testing. It was hypothesized that dynamic testing with graduated prompting and trial-by-trial-assessment could reveal the development of children’s strategy use while tested. The participants were indigenous Dutch and ethnic minority children. Trial-by-trial-testing provided information of how strategy use developed during training. Experimental-group children showed significant changes towards more advanced strategies. Ethnic minority children showed most strategy changes during training, initially needing more prompting but progressively requiring less. The study provided insight into strategy use during and after training. Pretest strategy level was found to be the first predictor of posttest strategy level, followed by condition and ethnicity. Age, gender, and intelligence test scores did not change this order. The relatively short dynamic intervention provides insights into children’s strategy use and their response to prompting, particularly for ethnic minority children.

Measuring personality traits in the classroom.

In this article, a personality model for the description of childrens classroom behaviour is the main focus of interest. It is questioned whether the Five‐Factor Personality Model can be used as an organizational structure for the description of personality characteristics in the field of educational practice. Two groups of Dutch school children (N=1296 and N=367), 4–12 years old, were rated by their teachers on scales of the School Behaviour Checklist–Revised (SCHOBL‐R, we would like to thank Dr J. N. Zaal for his contribution to the construction of and research with the original School Behavior Checklist (SCHOBL). We also wish to thank Professor G. A. Kohnstamm for his suggestions and comments on the first draft of this article). Analysis of the scales produced four meaningful and identical components in both samples: Extraversion, Attitude towards School Work, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability. The factorial structure of the scales remained stable over age as well as sex. Boys and girls were rated by their teachers as having different attitudes towards school work, and as differing on emotional stability and agreeableness. The items of the school behaviour checklist were then analysed in the context of other personality scales, leading to the conclusion that the four scales of the SCHOBL‐R can be interpreted in terms of four of the five personality dimensions of the Five‐Factor Model. The strong relationship between the contents of the different scales used in this analysis supports the idea that the Five (Four) Factor Model is a valid model for the description of individual differences in Dutch school children. Copyright

The Effects of Self- and Other-Scaffolding on Progression and Variation in Children's Geometric Analogy Performance: A Microgenetic Research

The study investigated geometric analogical reasoning in 8-year-old children by microgenetically examining the (transfer) effects of self- and other-scaffolding and memory capacity on progression and variation in children’s analogy performance. Participants were 54 children, divided over three conditions, and followed for 5 weeks. Children’s initial performances showed a wide strategy repertoire. A number of children profited from repeated self-scaffolding and increased their strategy use considerably. A 20-minute graduated-prompts other-scaffolding procedure promoted strategy use beyond the effects of self-scaffolding, inducing either continuation of gradual change or a rapid change in analogical reasoning. Distinct change trajectories showed individual differences regarding timing and rate of change. There was evidence of transfer of analogy strategies between geometric and verbal tasks. Children with a larger memory capacity remained at higher levels of geometric analogical reasoning. Children with smaller memory capacities fully caught up with their peers with a larger memory capacity after other-scaffolding.

Need for instruction: dynamic testing in special education

The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of dynamic testing in the measuring of children’s need for instruction and to explore responses of special education teachers to dynamic testing results. Thirty-six 10–12-year-old children with a moderate to mild intellectual disability and their teachers participated. Children in the experimental condition were dynamically tested. This test included graduated prompts training and an analogy construction task; children in the control group were administered a static pre-test and post-test only. Outcomes of the assessments were reported to teachers. Teacher–child interactions were observed twice, learning potential ratings were gathered and teachers were interviewed regarding reports. The results showed that dynamically tested children achieved significantly higher post-test scores than untrained children. Dynamically tested children, even with comparably low IQ scores, varied in their need for instruction – measured by the number and type of prompts they required during training as well as during construction problems. Teachers appreciated the reported dynamic testing outcomes, although substantial changes in teaching practice were not observed. Supplementing intelligence testing with a dynamic testing procedure is recommended to obtain a more accurate description of children’s educational needs.