This study investigated whether enhanced rhythm training improves literacy development and working memory performance in pupils in the first and second year of school. According to recent literature, we hypothesized that rhythm-focused training could be effective for children with reading difficulties. Pupils aged 6 to 8 years participated in the…

The objective for beginning writers is to learn how to generate alphabet-letters which are recognisable and easy to read. This study investigated the accuracy of Year 1 and 2 children's alphabet-letter-writing by evaluating their alphabet and orthographic knowledge, following evidence which identifies these skills as important for correctly…

Music plays an important role in students' language development. Because the process of acquiring and developing language skills of the individual and learning to make music work have many similarities. In this quasi-experimental study, teaching the word in L1 with music with the normal intelligence and development level of 2nd-grade students on…

This study strived to determine the effectiveness of integrative teaching of reading strategies and working memory on basic math and problem-solving skills. It is a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study carried out on 50 second-graders from Chahashk Shandiz village in the academic year of 2020-2021 who were randomly selected by cluster…

As children transition from the early to later grades of elementary school, they become increasingly skilled at employing a variety of techniques -- such as rehearsal and organizational strategies -- for remembering information. Developmental changes in strategy use have been well documented, but little is known about the extent to which these…

In the present study, the relationship between the mathematics grade and the three basic cognitive abilities (inhibition, working memory, and reasoning) was analyzed regarding possible alterations during elementary school. In a sample of N = 244 children, the mathematics grade was best predicted by working memory performance in the second grade…

This study's purpose was to investigate effects of 3 intervention approaches for building working memory (WM) and improving word-problem solving (WPS). Children with mathematics difficulties (n = 240; 7.51 years [SD = 0.33]) were randomized to 4 conditions: a control group, general WM training with contiguous math practice, WPS intervention…

Although high-quality early educational environments are thought to be related to the growth of children's skills in mathematics, relatively little is known about specific aspects of classroom instruction that may promote these abilities. Data from a longitudinal investigation were used to investigate associations between teachers' language while…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about executive functions utilized in reading instruction of kindergarten through third-grade students. This research study used open-ended, semi-structured interview questions to gain a better understanding of what teachers know and…

In the present study, 144 second- and 150 fourth-grade Chinese students were recruited to complete a Chinese character learning task to explore the specific contributions of sensory-motor components (i.e., visual, motor, and haptic systems) of handwriting to Chinese character learning. After matching for age, nonverbal IQ, and a series of…

A significant number of studies have examined the cognitive components of basic academic skills, which has led to major changes in both teaching and early identification assessment practices. However, the majority of previous research has focused solely on reading. This study examines the cognitive components of academic writing skills across…

Communications studies and psychology offer analytical and methodological tools that when combined have the potential to bring novel perspectives on human interaction with technologies. In this study of children using simple and complex mathematics applications on tablet computers, cognitive load theory is used to answer the question: how…

In this paper we investigated the contribution of a dynamic testing procedure, including multiple graduated prompts protocols, in identifying differences in need for instruction of second grade children (N = 120) with arithmetic difficulties. The training was adaptive and prompts were provided according to one of six protocols, each focusing on a…

We identified child-level predictors of responsiveness to 2 types of mathematics intervention (calculation and word problem) among second-grade children with mathematics difficulty. Participants were 250 children in 107 classrooms in 23 schools pretested on mathematics and general cognitive measures and posttested on mathematics measures. We…

Building on longitudinal findings of linkages between aspects of teachers' language during instruction and children's use of mnemonic strategies, this investigation was designed to examine experimentally the impact of instruction on memory development. First and second graders ("N" = 54, "M"[subscript age] = 7 years)…