Photosensitivity or photoparoxysmal response (PPR) is a highly heritable electroencephalographic trait characterized by an abnormal cortical response to intermittent photic stimulation (IPS). In PPR-positive individuals, IPS induces spikes, spike-waves or intermittent slow waves. The PPR may be restricted to posterior visual areas (i.e. local PPR…

This study investigates the role of students' sense of belonging to their university in college student retention. Using individual growth curve modeling, we examined (a) whether sense of belonging predicts intentions to persist, and (b) the effects of an intervention designed to enhance students' sense of belonging. African American and white…

We report an eye-movement study that demonstrates differences in regularity effects between adult developmental dyslexic and control non-impaired readers, in contrast to findings from a large number of word recognition studies (see G. Brown, 1997). For low frequency words, controls showed an advantage for Regular items, in which…

This study aimed to explore the perception of different components of biological movement in individuals with autism and Asperger syndrome. The ability to recognize a person's actions, subjective states, emotions, and objects conveyed by moving point-light displays was assessed in 19 participants with autism and 19 comparable typical control…

Rapid processing deficits have been the subject of much debate in the literature on specific language impairment (SLI). Hari and Renvall (2001) [Hari, R. & Renvall, H. (2001). Impaired processing of rapid stimulus sequences in dyslexia. "Trends in cognitive sciences", 5, 525-532.] proposed that the source of this deficit can be attributed to…

Purpose: To examine perceptual deficits as a potential underlying cause of specific language impairments (SLI). Method: Twenty-one children with SLI (8;7-11;11 [years;months]) and 21 age-matched controls participated in categorical perception tasks using four series of syllables for which perceived syllable-initial voicing varied. Series were…

One phenomenon of language development is a dramatic increase in vocabulary size, driven by rapid word learning. For individuals with intellectual disabilities, the size of the lexicon often lags behind what would be expected both for CA and MA. I examined how well individuals with severely limited receptive vocabulary associated with intellectual…

In 2007, using funds from the federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) and private foundations, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began piloting its version of a schoolwide reform model called the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP). Under the TAP model, teachers can earn extra pay and take on increased responsibilities through promotion (to mentor…

Comprehending high-imagery sentences like "The number eight when rotated 90 degrees looks like a pair of eyeglasses" involves the participation and integration of several cortical regions. The linguistic content must be processed to determine what is to be mentally imaged, and then the mental image must be evaluated and related to the sentence. A…

This investigation, which employed a modified quasi-experimental approach, was undertaken to understand usage patterns in instructional podcasting and the impact of instructional podcasting on students and their performance in a community college setting. The experimental course sections included in the pilot study were taught in the fall of 2007.…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there are changes in student motivation to read and reading comprehension when the instructional strategy of shared reading is used with sixth grade students. The quasi-experimental design for the study was based on the pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design. The sample for the study…

This study is a comparative analysis of the objective writing skills of pre-service teachers to determine the efficacy of utilizing a master verb list based on Bloom's Taxonomy. Students enrolled in a mid-size university were asked to create a set of objectives to measure Bloom's Taxonomy learning outcomes. One group received a master list of…

This study aims to describe in detail the linguistic skills of a large group of SLI participants. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of age-related effects on their linguistic performance and to whether a linguistic assessment of a narrative task can capture language impairments that might not be adequately pointed out by standardized…

Movement interference occurs when concurrently observing and executing incompatible actions and is believed to be due to co-activation of conflicting populations of mirror neurons. It has also been suggested that mirror neurons contribute towards the imitation of observed actions. However, the exact neural substrate of imitation may depend on task…

This study determined the effect of Cuisenaire Rods' approach on some Nigeria primary pupils' achievement in decimal fractions. Three hypotheses guided the study. A total of 200 Primary six pupils (that is, 6th grade) from randomly selected schools in Makurdi metropolis of Benue State of Nigeria served as the sample for the study. A Mathematics…