1,721,029 research outputs found
Promuovere le funzioni esecutive alla Scuola dell’Infanzia con giochi carta matita di gruppo
No full textIntroduzione
Sono qui presentati due studi condotti al fine di (i) verificare l’efficacia di un intervento carta e matita “Le avventure di Chicco e Nanà” diretto a promuovere le funzioni esecutive (FE) in bambini di cinque anni condotto da un operatore esterno alla scuola dell’infanzia, (ii) verificare l’efficacia dello stesso intervento proposto dagli insegnanti di sezione in relazione alle FE e ai prerequisiti scolastici in ambito alfabetico e matematico. Con questi studi ci si è prefisso di fornire contributo alla letteratura sui training esecutivi e in particolare rispetto alla possibilità di osservare un trasferimento dei benefici in domini associati alle FE.
Metodo
Il campione del primo studio comprendeva 75 bambini tra i 62 e i 76 mesi (M=68,6; D.S.= 3,5; 53% femmine, suddivisi in gruppo sperimentale (n=32, M = 68.7; D.S. = 3.5; 47% femmine) e gruppo di controllo (n=43, M=68.6; D.S.=3.6; 58% femmine). Il campione del secondo studio includeva 126 bambini tra i 52 e i 78 mesi (M=65,4; D.S.=4,31; 44% femmine), suddivisi in gruppo sperimentale (n=69; M=64,9; D.S.=4,28%; 42% femmine) e in gruppo di controllo (n=57; M= 66,1; D.S.= 4,29; 47% femmine).
Procedura e materiali
In entrambi gli studi i bambini sono stati valutati prima e dopo il mese di intervento con una batteria per la valutazione delle FE e nel secondo studio anche con prove utili a valutare i prerequisiti scolastici. I compiti esecutivi includevano compiti inibitori, compiti di aggiornamento in memoria di lavoro e di memoria di lavoro. I prerequisiti sono stati valutati con prove tratte da batterie standardizzate e prove sperimentali. L’intervento comprendeva 12 attività da svolgere in piccolo gruppo per tre volte alla settimana nel corso di un mese.
Risultati
Nel primo studio il confronto tra il gruppo sperimentale e il gruppo di controllo con un’analisi della covarianza (punteggi al pre-test come covariate) ha rivelato un effetto significativo del gruppo sulle prestazioni post-test nella maggioranza dei compiti esecutivi. Nel secondo studio un’analisi a misure ripetute ha consentito di confermare l’efficacia dell’intervento. Inoltre, un’analisi della mediazione ha evidenziato come i benefici a livello dei prerequisiti fossero dovuti al miglioramento delle FE ottenuto grazie all’intervento.
Conclusioni
L’intervento carta e matita ha prodotto benefici a favore sia delle FE sia dei prerequisiti scolastici. Questi risultati sono discussi in relazione alle ultime rassegne e meta-analisi condotte sui training esecutivi
Beyond working memory: the role of executive functions in mathematical learning
No full textThe importance of working memory has been amply demonstrated in mathematical learning, whereas the specific contribution of executive functions, such as shifting and inhibition skills, is less clear in explaining individual differences and developmental change in mathematical cognition. We aim to present a set of studies that investigate how executive functions and working memory influence performance on diverse mathematical skills including number sense and arithmetic problem solving. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs were used with kindergarten and primary school age children. Results confirmed the greater importance of working memory compared to inhibition, nevertheless executive functions significantly contribute to mathematical learning, for example our results showed that inhibition and shifting (but not working memory) accounted for a critical phase of problem solving (i.e., devising a plan). Results are discussed in relation to the existing literature, with special attention to the theoretical and methodological issues regarding the developmental change of executive functions and their assessment across childhood
Examining the Effectiveness of Group Games in Enhancing Inhibitory Control in Preschoolers
No full textResearch Findings: Promoting inhibitory control in preschoolers could increase the likelihood of positive developmental trajectories. Nevertheless, to date only a limited number of studies have focused on inhibitory control training, reporting mixed results. To examine the efficacy and the transfer effects of the training on preschoolers, seven group games based on body movement were developed and administered across 15 sessions of 30 minutes each at preschool three times a week for over five weeks. Fifty-one children aged four to five years were randomly assigned to either a control group consisting of 14 girls and 13 boys (Mage = 4.58; S.D. = 0.32) or a training group with 13 girls and 11 boys (Mage = 4.60; S.D. = 0.30). The training group had four subgroups consisting of six children each. The pretests and delayed posttests examined executive functions and pre-academic skills while immediate posttests examined only executive functions. There was three months interval between immediate and delayed posttests. Improvements in inhibitory control, other executive functions, and mathematical cognition in the experimental group were greater than those in the control group. Practice or Policy: This design of group games for inhibitory control in preschoolers is effective and it can be improved by expanding game categories and enhancing training environment
Effectiveness of an executive function training in italian preschool educational services and far transfer effects to pre-academic skills
No full textIn this study we examine the effectiveness and far transfer effects of a training that was found to be effective in promoting Executive Function (EF) in a sample of 5-year-old children (Traverso et al., 2015). By contrast with Traverso et al. (2015), the intervention was administered by regular teachers to verify its ecological validity. Far transfer was assessed by evaluating the training effects on pre-academic skills. 126 children attending the last year of Italian preschool educational services took part in the study (mainly 5-year-old children). Pre-and post-test assessments were conducted using a large EF and pre-academic skill task battery. The results indicate that the experimental group outperformed the control group in an interference suppression composite score. Moreover, significant far transfer effects to pre-academic skills in literacy domain were found. In addition, we found that the improvement in the pre academic skills (in both literacy and math domains) was mediated by the improvement in the interference suppression score. The results suggest the possibility that this intervention, which may be easily implemented in the context of educational services, can promote EF during the preschool period before entry to primary school
Preschool Executive Function Profiles: Implications for Math Achievement in Grades 1 and 3
No full textThis longitudinal study aimed to identify specific executive function (EF) profiles in 5-year-old children and to examine the association between these profiles and later math achievement. Six EF measures were administered to 175 children who were then tested in Grades 1 and 3 on math tasks. Using a cluster analysis, four EF profiles were identified: an optimal EF profile, a typical EF profile, a weak working memory (WM)-shifting profile, and a general EF deficit profile. These groups performed differently in math. In particular, the group with a weak WM-shifting profile, whose performance was equivalent to that of the group with a typical EF profile in arithmetic facts and in math problems in Grade 1, showed difficulties similar to the group, with general EF deficits in Grade 3. The association of minor difficulties in WM at preschool ages with later math achievement and the implications for educational practices are discussed
Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Theory of Mind and Executive Functions
No full textThis study aimed to investigate the role of theory of mind (ToM) and both cool and hot executive function (EF) in accounting for prosocial behavior. Typically developing children of 3 to 6 years of age (N = 183) were assessed on a battery of EF and ToM tasks, while parents and teachers completed a questionnaire examining the children’s prosocial behavior in everyday situations. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the EF constructs and then to examine within the same model the relation among EF (both cool and hot), ToM, and prosocial behavior (teacher form), while controlling for age. The results showed that cool EF task performance was directly related to prosocial behavior, whereas neither ToM nor hot EF task performance was related to prosocial behavior. Nevertheless, both ToM and hot EF task performance were related to cool EF task performance. Interestingly, hot EF task performances were not significantly related to each other or to ToM
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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