Appropriate interpretation of assessment data requires an appreciation that tools are subject to measurement error. School psychologists recognize, at least on an intellectual level, that measures are imperfect--that test scores and other quantitative measures (e.g., rating scales, systematic behavioral observations) are best estimates of…

Beliefs about socioeconomic mobility have important consequences, writes Mesmin Destin, especially for young people. Moreover, research by psychologists shows that such beliefs are malleable, based on the information and circumstances people encounter. The consequences of beliefs about mobility can be quite positive. When young people perceive…

Formal thought organization obtained from free speech, a key feature for psychiatric evaluations, has been poorly investigated during typical development. Computational tools such as speech graph connectedness (LSC) currently allow for an accurate quantification in naturalistic settings. LSC's typical development is better predicted by years of…

Spatial skill assessment and training are promising fields of application for tablets, as touch-based interaction can prime and support mental transformations of spatial knowledge. We report on a study with 49 secondary school students who used our iPad app to solve mental and physical rotation tasks. During physical rotation, students were able…

Learning outcomes are inevitably to be declared by any university and educational institution at every level of their programmes. It should have a general scheme for all programmes regardless of the discipline specificities, individual courses or even independent instructional units. Such outcomes are stated at different levels based on the…

To determine whether a gluten-free diet (GFD) compared with a gluten-containing diet (GD) influences functioning of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), we performed a randomized, controlled, single-blinded trial. Sixty-six children (36-69 months) with ASD, within the normal IQ (> 70) range, who had been on a GFD for at least 8 weeks…

As executive functioning (EF) is especially sensitive to age-related cognitive decline, EF was evaluated by using a multi-method assessment. Fifty males (60-85 years) with a late adulthood autism spectrum condition (ASC) diagnosis and 51 non-ASC males (60-83 years) were compared on cognitive tests across EF domains (cognitive flexibility,…

William's Syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a genetic abnormality, affecting about 1 in 10,000 people worldwide. While there are some behavioral similarities between WS and other high incidence disabilities, such as autism, several unique physical, cognitive, and behavioral characteristics are expressed in individuals…

Attrition of anatomy knowledge has been an area of concern in health professions curricula. To ensure safe and effective clinical practice, the study of chiropractic requires a good knowledge of musculoskeletal anatomy. In this study, musculoskeletal limb knowledge retention was investigated among students in the 5-year chiropractic program at…

One of the overriding hopes of the Down syndrome (DS) research community is to arrive at a better understanding of how trisomy 21 affects brain development and function, and that doing so will improve quality of life and independence for people with DS. In searching for the underlying causes of intellectual disability in DS, researchers and…

Background: The need to focus more on children's abilities to change requires new assessment technologies in education. Process-oriented assessment can be useful in this regard. Dynamic testing has the potential to provide in-depth information about children's learning processes and cognitive abilities. Aim: This study implemented a…

Studies show that spatial skills are essential to engineering success, and particularly in engineering graphics courses. Research also shows that sketching is important in developing spatial skills. Aimed at improving the spatial skills of engineering students, an intervention was developed consisting of a workbook and software (Sorby et al.,…

International comparisons suggest that middle school American students compare poorly to their international peers in tasks that require spatial skills. This deficiency in spatial skills is more prominent in females and has been linked to a lack of developmental activities influenced by gender norms. These deficiencies are especially concerning as…

The current study was designed to examine the relationship between cognitive ability and player experience in shaping how players think within, and acclimate to, video games as complex systems. Specifically, researchers examined the relationship between player's cognitive ability and gameplay outcomes within a video game (i.e., The Deed). Outcomes…

Visuospatial (VS) skills, or one's ability to mentally manipulate information about objects' positions, relations, orientation, and transformations in space, are one of the cornerstones of STEM enrollment, retention, and achievement. Low level of visuospatial skills may deter some people from joining the STEM workforce or complicate their learning…