Genetically informative data can be used to address fundamental questions concerning the measurement of behavior in children. The authors illustrate this with longitudinal multiple-rater data on internalizing problems in twins. Valid information on the behavior of a child is obtained for behavior that multiple raters agree upon and for…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student centered approach whereby students deal with ill-structured problems while working in small groups. In this study, a path model was utilized to model the relationships among reasoning ability, learning approach, prior knowledge, motivational variables, and achievement in genetics in PBL classes. 126 eighth…

The study examined the relationship between the big-five model of personality and the use of self-regulated learning strategies. Measures of self-regulated learning strategies and big-five personality traits were administered to a sample of undergraduate students. Results from canonical correlation analysis indicated an overlap between the…

Studies have reported a right visual field (RVF) advantage for coherent motion detection by deaf and hearing signers but not non-signers. Yet two studies [Bosworth R. G., & Dobkins, K. R. (2002). Visual field asymmetries for motion processing in deaf and hearing signers. "Brain and Cognition," 49, 170-181; Samar, V. J., & Parasnis, I. (2005).…

Understanding complex systems is fundamental to understanding science. The complexity of such systems makes them very difficult to understand because they are composed of multiple interrelated levels that interact in dynamic ways. The goal of this study was to understand how experts and novices differed in their understanding of two complex…

Background: Children's physiological reactivity was examined as a moderator of relations between parental dysphoria and child adjustment problems, addressing gaps in the study of child characteristics as risk processes. Method: One hundred fifty-seven children (86 boys, 71 girls) were assessed twice over a two-year interval. Skin conductance level…

In contemporary U.S. culture, young children are not only oriented by their own multiple cultures (racial, ethnic, age, gender, and family, to name several), but also by living and learning within a socioculturally conditioned world filled with many different conditions of cultural difference. In this article, the author presents several vignettes…

Children's exposure to mind-related talk has been shown to foster young children's metacognitive understanding and to orient them to the patterns of literate language long before they commence formal literacy instruction at school. In this paper, we report on a longitudinal study of the mind-related talk of 22 mothers when their infants were aged…

Working memory (WM) has been associated with the acquisition of arithmetic skills, however, the components of WM that underlie this acquisition have not been explored. This study explored the contribution of two WM systems (the phonological loop and the central executive) to mathematical performance in young children. The results showed that a…

Bilingualism (Sanz, 2000), motivation (Pintrich, 1989), and language aptitude (Grigorenko, Sternberg, and Ehrman, 2000) are crucial individual differences that contribute to successful adult language learning. Since Gardner's (1985) seminal work on motivation, many studies have shown that motivation is dynamic and that it affects language…

The purpose of this study was to examine individual differences in attitudes toward Audience Response Systems (ARSs) in secondary school classrooms. Specifically, the impact of gender, grade, subject area, computer comfort level, participation level, and type of use were examined in 659 students. Males had significantly more positive attitudes…

This paper explores the relationship between the gender schema and sex typing. Drawing on previous research and personal experience, the suggestion is made that the two are distinct and separate, not necessarily co-occurring. It is further suggested that it is possible to activate the gender schema situationally. This will affect women of…

Noting that humans do not deal very well with differences despite thousands of years of practice, this paper argues that dealing with differences is an ethical issue for the 21st century to which speech communication departments must respond. The first part of the paper follows R. Johannesen's recommendation that ethical issues, particularly…

Learning style is a factor researchers claim influences student educational performance. This article summarizes information about student learning styles. The idea of learning styles is based on the theory that there are different methods of gathering, organizing, and evaluating information. Research has not produced conclusive evidence about…

The primary goal of this discussion is to summarize research on the role of expertise in accounting for individual differences in analogical problem solving among college students. The discussion also relates expertise differences to current theorizing in the developmental literature that concerns analogical reasoning in children. Contents focus…