[New trends in the evaluation of mathematics learning disabilities. The role of metacognition]. / Nuevas tendencias en la evaluación de las dificultades de aprendizaje de las matemáticas. El papel de la metacognición.

INTRODUCTION: The current trends in the evaluation of mathematics learning disabilities (MLD), based on cognitive and empirical models, are oriented towards combining procedures involving the criteria and the evaluation of cognitive and metacognitive processes, associated to performance in mathematical tasks. AIMS: The objective of this study is to analyse the metacognitive skills of prediction and evaluation in performing maths tasks and to compare metacognitive performance among pupils with MLD and younger pupils without MLD, who have the same level of mathematical performance. Likewise, we analyse these pupils' desire to learn. Subjects and methods. We compare a total of 44 pupils from the second cycle of primary education (8-10 years old) with and without mathematics learning disabilities. RESULTS: Significant differences are observed between pupils with and without mathematics learning disabilities in their capacity to predict and assess all of the tasks evaluated. As regards their 'desire to learn', no significant differences were found between pupils with and without MLD, which indicated that those with MLD assess their chances of successfully performing maths tasks in the same way as those without MLD. Finally, the findings reveal a similar metacognitive profile in pupils with MLD and the younger pupils with no mathematics learning disabilities. CONCLUSIONS: In future studies we consider it important to analyse the influence of the socio-affective belief system in the use of metacognitive skills.

Nuevas tendencias en la evaluación de las dificultades de aprendizaje de las matemáticas. El papel de la metacognición / New trends in the evaluation of mathematics learning disabilities. The role of metacognition

Introducción. Las tendencias actuales en la evaluación de las dificultades de aprendizaje de las matemáticas (DAM), fundamentadas en los modelos cognitivo y empírico, se orientan hacia la combinación de procedimientos referidos al criterio y a la valoración de los procesos cognitivos y metacognitivos, asociados al desempeño en tareas matemáticas. Objetivos. Analizar las habilidades metacognitivas de predicción y evaluación en el desempeño de tareas matemáticas, y comparar el rendimiento metacognitivo entre estudiantes con DAM y estudiantes más jóvenes sin DAM, igualados en el mismo nivel de desempeño matemático. Así mismo se analiza la ilusión de conocer de estos estudiantes. Sujetos y métodos. Se comparan un total de 44 estudiantes de segundo ciclo de primaria con y sin dificultades de aprendizaje en las matemáticas. Resultados. Se observan diferencias significativas entre los estudiantes con y sin dificultades de aprendizaje en las matemáticas, en su capacidad para predecir y evaluar el conjunto de tareas valoradas. En cuanto a la ‘ilusión de conocer’, no se encontraron diferencias significativas entre los estudiantes con y sin DAM, indicando que los estudiantes con DAM valoran sus posibilidades de tener éxito en la ejecución de tareas matemáticas de igual forma que los estudiantes sin DAM. Finalmente, los resultados revelan un perfil metacognitivo semejante en los estudiantes con DAM y los estudiantes más jóvenes sin dificultades de aprendizaje en las matemáticas. Conclusión. Se considera importante analizar en futuros estudios la influencia del sistema de creencias socioafectivas en el uso de habilidades metacognitivas (AU)

Introduction. The current trends in the evaluation of mathematics learning disabilities (MLD), based on cognitive and empirical models, are oriented towards combining procedures involving the criteria and the evaluation of cognitive and metacognitive processes, associated to performance in mathematical tasks. Aims. The objective of this study is to analyse the metacognitive skills of prediction and evaluation in performing maths tasks and to compare metacognitive performance among pupils with MLD and younger pupils without MLD, who have the same level of mathematical performance. Likewise, we analyse these pupils’ desire to learn. Subjects and methods. We compare a total of 44 pupils from the second cycle of primary education (8-10 years old) with and without mathematics learning disabilities. Results. Significant differences are observed between pupils with and without mathematics learning disabilities in their capacity to predict and assess all of the tasks evaluated. As regards their ‘desire to learn’, no significant differences were found between pupils with and without MLD, which indicated that those with MLD assess their chances of successfully performing maths tasks in the same way as those without MLD. Finally, the findings reveal a similar metacognitive profile in pupils with MLD and the younger pupils with no mathematics learning disabilities. Conclusions. In future studies we consider it important to analyse the influence of the socioaffective belief system in the use of metacognitive skills (AU)

[Grammatical complexity and cohesion mechanisms in the communicative pragmatics of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]. / Complejidad gramatical y mecanismos de cohesion en la pragmatica comunicativa de los niños con trastorno por deficit de atencion con hiperactividad.

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to compare the grammatical structures and cohesion used in the narrative sequencing of real events by children with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 27 children, between the ages of seven and eight, took part in the study; 15 of them had the combined subtype of ADHD and 12 participated as a control group. To obtain the narration the children were asked to talk about two real events they had experienced: 'What happened the last time you went to the doctor's?' and 'Have you ever been bitten by an insect?' An analysis of their narrations allowed us to obtain the following variables: the total number of communication units, their average length, the syntactic complexity index, the rate of lexical diversity, the lexical type referential cohesion procedures, the deictic and anaphoric grammatical procedures, the conjunctive procedures, discourse markers, changes of subject matter and dysfluency. RESULTS: Results show that there are significant differences between the two groups in the narrative cohesion indicators used, the group of normal children being those that were favoured by these differences. The most striking pragmatic peculiarities were difficulties in the use of conversational markers and the changes in the subject being discussed. CONCLUSIONS: The narratives of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are more difficult to understand, which means that the listener has to adopt a more active role in order to make up for the missing information and has to infer a great deal more. This is an aspect that can have social implications and may make communication more difficult, especially with their peers, since these usually make less effort to understand the conversations than adults do.

Complejidad gramatical y mecanismos de cohesión en la pragmática comunicativa de los niños con trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad / Grammatical complexity and cohesion mechanisms in the communicative pragmatics of children with attention déficit hyperactivity disorder

Objetivo. Comparar la secuencia narrativa de los sucesos reales de los niños con y sin trastorno por déficit atención con hiperactividad en su estructura gramatical y en su cohesión. Sujetos y métodos. Participaron 27 niños, de entre siete y ocho años, 15 de los cuales tenían TDAH del subtipo combinado, y 12 participaban como grupo control. Para obtener la narración se pidió a los niños que contasen dos sucesos reales vividos por ellos: ‘¿Qué ocurrió la última vez que fuiste al médico?’ y ‘¿Te ha picado alguna vez un bicho?’. A partir del análisis de sus narraciones se obtuvieron las siguientes variables: el número total de las unidades de comunicación, la longitud media de las mismas, el índice de complejidad sintáctica, el índice de diversidad léxica, los procedimientos de cohesión referencial de tipo léxico, los procedimientos gramaticales deícticos y anafóricos, los procedimientos conjuntivos, los marcadores discursivos, los cambios de tópico y de disfluencias. Resultados. Los resultados indicaron que existían diferencias significativas entre ambos grupos, en los indicadores de cohesión narrativa utilizados que favorecían al grupo de niños normales. Las dificultades en el uso de marcadores conversacionales y los cambios de tópico conversacional fueron las peculiaridades pragmáticas más evidentes. Conclusiones. Los niños con trastorno por déficit atención con hiperactividad ofrecen una narración más difí- cil de entender. Esto hace que el oyente de estas narraciones necesite adoptar un rol más activo para suplir la información omitida y llevar a cabo una mayor actividad inferencial. Este es un aspecto que puede tener implicaciones sociales y puede crear dificultades comunicativas, especialmente con sus iguales, ya que éstos suelen realizar un esfuerzo menor que los adultos para comprender sus conversaciones (AU)

Aims. The purpose of this study was to compare the grammatical structures and cohesion used in the narrative sequencing of real events by children with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Subjects and methods. A total of 27 children, between the ages of seven and eight, took part in the study; 15 of them had the combined subtype of ADHD and 12 participated as a control group. To obtain the narration the children were asked to talk about two real events they had experienced: ‘What happened the last time you went to the doctor’s?’ and ‘Have you ever been bitten by a bug?’ An analysis of their narrations allowed us to obtain the following variables: the total number of communication units, their average length, the syntactic complexity index, the rate of lexical diversity, the lexical-type referential cohesion procedures, the deictic and anaphoric grammatical procedures, the conjunctive procedures, discourse markers, changes of subject matter and dysfluency. Results. Results show that there are significant differences between the two groups in the narrative cohesion indicators used, the group of normal children being those that were favoured by these differences. The most striking pragmatic peculiarities were difficulties in the use of conversational markers and the changes in the subject being discussed. Conclusions. The narratives of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are more difficult to understand, which means that the listener has to adopt a more active role in order to make up for the missing information and has to infer a great deal more. This is an aspect that can have social implications and may make communication more difficult, especially with their peers, since these usually make less effort to understand the conversations than adults do (AU)

Family and personal correlates of academic achievement.

Researchers and educators raise the question of whether pupils' academic performance can be improved through parental involvement in academic activities. The main objective of the following study is to verify whether parental involvement in school activities and family socioeconomic status are associated with children's academic achievement. 150 Spanish seventh grade pupils completed intelligence tests, and their teachers assessed parents' involvement in the school and estimated parents' cultural levels. To measure academic achievement the pupil's overall grade was taken from the Pupils' Final Evaluation Registers. The education and professional level of the mother and father and home size were obtained from the Pupil Personal Register; these variables define the family socioeconomic status. The data, analyzed through application of structural equations, suggest that academic achievement is directly influenced by the cultural level of the family and the child's intelligence but is indirectly influenced by parental involvement in school activities and the socioeconomic status of the child's family.