Mutual benefits for research and practice: Randomized controlled trials in the Hector Children's Academy Program.

This article describes how a series of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were implemented in the Hector Children's Academy Talent Development Program with the goal of generating mutual benefits for research and practice. The Hector Children's Academy Program, founded in 2010 and located in one of the largest states in Germany, Baden-Württemberg, is a statewide enrichment program for talented primary school students, with a focus on STEMM topics. The program is financed by a private foundation, supervised by the Ministry of Education, and offered by 69 local sites that are hosted by local schools. About 15,000 primary school students (Grades 1-4) attend enrichment courses (more than 23,000 course participations) offered by the Hector Children's Academy Program every year. A unique element of the Hector Children's Academy Program is the role of empirical research in course development. The Hector Core Courses-offered by all local sites-undergo a strict quality assurance process in which RCTs are used to test their effectiveness with regard to central outcomes. After describing the Hector Children's Academy Program, we explain how the Hector Core Courses were developed and incorporated into the program, summarize key findings from the RCTs, and discuss mutual benefits for research and practice.

Children's use of egocentric reference frames in spatial language is related to their numerical magnitude understanding.

Numerical magnitude information is assumed to be spatially represented in the form of a mental number line defined with respect to a body-centred, egocentric frame of reference. In this context, spatial language skills such as mastery of verbal descriptions of spatial position (e.g., in front of, behind, to the right/left) have been proposed to be relevant for grasping spatial relations between numerical magnitudes on the mental number line. We examined 4- to 5-year-old's spatial language skills in tasks that allow responses in egocentric and allocentric frames of reference, as well as their relative understanding of numerical magnitude (assessed by a number word comparison task). In addition, we evaluated influences of children's absolute understanding of numerical magnitude assessed by their number word comprehension (montring different numbers using their fingers) and of their knowledge on numerical sequences (determining predecessors and successors as well as identifying missing dice patterns of a series). Results indicated that when considering responses that corresponded to the egocentric perspective, children's spatial language was associated significantly with their relative numerical magnitude understanding, even after controlling for covariates, such as children's SES, mental rotation skills, and also absolute magnitude understanding or knowledge on numerical sequences. This suggests that the use of egocentric reference frames in spatial language may facilitate spatial representation of numbers along a mental number line and thus seem important for preschoolers' relative understanding of numerical magnitude.

Evaluation of an Online Version of the CFT 20-R in Third and Fourth Grade Children.

There is growing demand for digital intelligence testing. In the current study, we evaluated the validity of an online version of the revised German Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFT 20-R). A total of 4100 children from the third and fourth grades completed the online version using a smartphone or tablet. Subsequently, 220 of these children also completed the paper-pencil (PP) version. The internal consistency and construct validity of the online version appeared to be acceptable. The correlation between the raw scores and school grades in German and mathematics was slightly lower than expected. On average, the raw scores for the PP version were revealed to be higher, which was probably due to a learning effect. At the item level, the results show small differences for the subtests Series and Matrices, possibly caused by small differences in the presentation of the items. The correspondence between the versions did not depend on children's levels of impulsivity or intelligence. Altogether, the results support the hypothesis that the online version of the CFT 20-R is a valid measure of general fluid intelligence and highlight the need for separate norms.

Are Different Types of Learning Disorder Associated With Distinct Cognitive Functioning Profiles?

Introduction: DSM-5 presented a revised conceptualization of specific learning disorders (LD). Contrary to former versions, the various types of LD-i.e., mathematics disorder, reading disorder, and writing disorder-are not treated as distinct diagnostic entities but are integrated into one single LD category. In support of this new classification, it has been argued that the various types of LD overlap to a great extent in their cognitive functioning profiles and therefore do not exhibit a distinct set of cognitive causes. In contrast, ICD-11 still adheres to the idea of discrete categories and thus follows the specificity hypothesis of LD. Using latent profile analysis (LPA), we therefore tested the specificity of cognitive strengths and weaknesses in children with different types of LD. Secondly, we aimed at examining the extent to which observed LD characteristics (type and severity of LD as well as IQ-achievement discrepancy) were consistent with the membership of a given latent profile. Method: 302 German third-graders (134 girls; IQ ≥ 85; M age = 111.05 months; SD = 5.76) with single or comorbid types of LD in the domains of mathematics, reading, and spelling completed a wide range of domain-specific and domain-general cognitive functioning measures. Results: Five qualitative distinct profiles of cognitive strengths and weaknesses were identified. Profile 1 (23% of the sample) showed Comprehensive Cognitive Deficits, performing low in all measures except for naming speed, language, and inhibition. Profile 2 (21%) included children with a Double Deficit in Phonological Awareness and Phonological Short-term Memory. Profile 3 (20%) was characterized by a Double Deficit of Phonological Awareness and Naming Speed. Profile 4 (19%) included children with a Single Deficit in Attention, and profile 5 (17%) consisted of children without any cognitive deficits. Moreover, type and severity of LD as well as IQ-achievement discrepancy discriminated between the profiles, which is in line with the specificity hypothesis of LD. Discussion: Overall, the finding of specific associations between the LD types and the identified cognitive profiles supports the ICD-11 classification of LD. Yet, those inferences may not be valid for an individual child but need to be examined through comprehensive diagnostic.

[Differential Stability and Interrater-Dependencies in the Assessment of Psychopathological Symptoms: Longitudinal Analyses Based on the SDQ in Children with and without Specific Learning Disabilities]. / Differentielle Stabilität und Interrater-Dependenzen bei der Beurteilung psychischer Auffälligkeiten: Längsschnittliche Analysen mit dem SDQ bei Kindern mit und ohne Lernstörungen.

Differential Stability and Interrater-Dependencies in the Assessment of Psychopathological Symptoms: Longitudinal Analyses Based on the SDQ in Children with and without Specific Learning Disabilities A widely used open access instrument for screening of internalising and externalising problem behaviour is the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). For the use of the SDQ in clinical practice, information about its differential validity and applicability for follow-up assessments is relevant. Therefore, the aim was to study the SDQ regarding differential stability in the repeatedly collected child, parent and teacher reports. As the social context influences the perception of symptoms, we additionally explored the extent to which the child, parent and teacher reports influenced each other. Also, we studied differences in problem behaviour between children with and without specific learning disabilities and between girls and boys. To this end, 60 children from 5th and 6th grade with and without specific learning disabilities and their parents and teachers filled in the SDQ at three time points during secondary school. The results of the cross-lagged-panel-analyses showed substantial stability for almost all subscales. This shows that in their SDQ-reports, parents, children and teachers can separate the stable parts of problem behaviour from situational variations therein. Inter-rater dependencies between the different reports in the form of cross-delayed effects could be identified mainly from the adult to the child reports and clarify the caregiver's influence on the children's symptom perception. With respect to specific learning disabilities, the results showed differences only for the subscale related to hyperactivity: children with specific learning disabilities had more parent-reported, but less self-reported hyperactive symptoms than children without. Girls reported more emotional problems and boys more conduct problems and less prosocial behavior. Teacher and parents reported almost no differences between boys and girls. The results support the usefulness of the SDQ for repeated assessments in clinical practice.

Comorbidities Between Specific Learning Disorders and Psychopathology in Elementary School Children in Germany.

Children with reading and/or spelling disorders have increased rates of behavioral and emotional problems and combinations of these. Some studies also find increased rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, anxiety disorder, and depression. However, the comorbidities of, e.g., arithmetic disorders with ADHD, anxiety disorder, and depression have been addressed only rarely. The current study explored the probability of children with specific learning disorders (SLD) in reading, spelling, and/or arithmetic to also have anxiety disorder, depression, ADHD, and/or conduct disorder. The sample consisted of 3,014 German children from grades 3 and 4 (mean age 9;9 years) who completed tests assessing reading, spelling as well as arithmetic achievement and intelligence via a web-based application. Psychopathology was assessed using questionnaires filled in by the parents. In children with a SLD we found high rates of anxiety disorder (21%), depression (28%), ADHD (28%), and conduct disorder (22%). Children with SLD in multiple learning domains had a higher risk for psychopathology and had a broader spectrum of psychopathology than children with an isolated SLD. The results highlight the importance of screening for and diagnosing psychiatric comorbidities in children with SLD.

Being proven wrong elicits learning in children - but only in those with higher executive function skills.

This study investigated whether prompting children to generate predictions about an outcome facilitates activation of prior knowledge and improves belief revision. 51 children aged 9-12 were tested on two experimental tasks in which generating a prediction was compared to closely matched control conditions, as well as on a test of executive functions (EF). In Experiment 1, we showed that children exhibited a pupillary surprise response to events that they had predicted incorrectly, hypothesized to reflect the transient release of noradrenaline in response to cognitive conflict. However, children's surprise response was not associated with better belief revision, in contrast to a previous study involving adults. Experiment 2 revealed that, while generating predictions helped children activate their prior knowledge, only those with better inhibitory control skills learned from incorrectly predicted outcomes. Together, these results suggest that good inhibitory control skills are needed for learning through cognitive conflict. Thus, generating predictions benefits learning - but only among children with sufficient EF capacities to harness surprise for revising their beliefs.

The role of ADHD symptoms in the relationship between academic achievement and psychopathological symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Previous research results suggest that ADHD symptoms explain the relationship between specific learning disability and externalising psychopathology and between math disability and anxiety, but not between reading disability and anxiety. For depression, previous results are mixed. AIMS: The current study aims to clarify this role of ADHD symptoms in the relationship between various areas of academic achievement (reading, writing, and math skills) and psychopathological symptoms (anxiety, depression, and conduct disorder). METHODS AND PROCEDURES: We used linear regressions based on data from a general population sample (N = 3014) collected using online assessment of 3rd and 4th grade students in Germany, which included measures of academic achievement and parent-reported psychopathological symptoms. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: ADHD symptoms completely account for the relationship between reading/writing achievement and anxiety and between writing/math achievement and conduct problems. The negative relationship between academic achievement and depression was strongest for children with average or high ADHD symptom scores. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: ADHD symptoms play an important role in explaining the relationship between academic achievement and psychopathological symptoms in elementary school children. The nature and size of this role depend on the exact constructs under study. We discuss implications for the support of children with learning problems, ADHD, and/or psychopathological problems.

Analyzing the developmental relation of academic self-concept and achievement in elementary school children: Alternative models point to different results.

The association between academic self-concept and achievement is assumed to be reciprocal. Typically, the association is analyzed by variants of the classical cross-lagged panel model. Results with more recently developed methodological approaches, for example, the random intercept cross-lagged panel model, its continuous-time implementation, and the latent change score model, are not available so far. The present study aimed to test the association between reading self-concept and reading achievement with different models to evaluate whether positive cross-lagged effects can be demonstrated with the alternative models. Drawing on a sample of 2,014 elementary students from Grade 1 to Grade 4, results of alternative models yielded noticeable differences. Support for reciprocal effects between reading self-concept and reading achievement was found using the classical and the full-forward cross-lagged panel models. No such effects were found in the other models. Thus, the reciprocal effect model can be called into question for elementary schoolchildren. The results are discussed with regard to the theoretical assumptions and appropriate methodological approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The influence of visual-spatial skills on the association between processing of nonsymbolic numerical magnitude and number word sequence skills.

Nonsymbolic numerical magnitude processing skills are assumed to be fundamental to mathematical learning. Recent findings suggest that visual-spatial skills account for associations between children's performance in visually presented nonsymbolic numerical magnitude comparison tasks and their performance in visually presented arithmetic tasks. The aim of the current study was to examine whether associations between children's performance in visually presented tasks assessing nonsymbolic numerical magnitude processing skills and their performance in tasks assessing early mathematical skills, which do not involve visual stimulation, may also be mediated by visual-spatial skills. This line of reasoning is based on the assumption that children make use of mental visualization processes when working on tasks assessing early mathematical skills, such as knowledge of the sequence of number words, even when these tasks do not involve visual stimulation. We assessed 4- to 6-year-old children's performance in a nonsymbolic numerical magnitude comparison task, in tasks concerning knowledge of the sequence of number words, and in a developmental test to assess visual-spatial skills. Children's nonsymbolic numerical magnitude processing skills were found to be associated with their number word sequence skills. This association was fully mediated by interindividual differences in visual-spatial skills. The effect size of this mediation effect was small. We assume that the ability to construct mental visualizations constitutes the key factor underlying this mediation effect.

Exploring factors underlying children's acquisition and retrieval of sound-symbol association skills.

Letter knowledge is considered an important cognitive foundation for learning to read. The underlying mechanisms of the association between letter knowledge and reading skills are, however, not fully understood. Acquiring letter knowledge depends on the ability to learn and retrieve sound-symbol pairings. In the current study, this process was explored by setting preschool children's (N = 242, mean age = 5.57 years) performance in the acquisition and retrieval of a paired associate learning (PAL) task in relation to their letter knowledge as well as to their performance in tasks assessing precursors of reading skills (i.e., phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, phonological short-term memory, backward recall, and response inhibition). Multiple regression analyses revealed that performance in the acquisition of the PAL task was significantly associated with phonological awareness and backward recall, whereas performance in the retrieval of the PAL task was significantly associated with rapid automatized naming, phonological awareness, and backward recall. Moreover, PAL proved to be mediating the relation between reading precursors and letter knowledge. Together, these findings indicate that the acquisition of letter knowledge may depend on a visual-verbal associative learning mechanism and that different factors contribute to the acquisition and retrieval of such visual-verbal associations.

Differences in Counting Skills Between Chinese and German Children Are Accompanied by Differences in Processing of Approximate Numerical Magnitude Information.

Human beings are supposed to possess an approximate number system (ANS) dedicated to extracting and representing approximate numerical magnitude information as well as an object tracking system (OTS) for the rapid and accurate enumeration of small sets. It is assumed that the OTS and the ANS independently contribute to the acquisition of more elaborate numerical concepts. Chinese children have been shown to exhibit more elaborate numerical concepts than their non-Chinese peers, but it is still an open question whether similar cross-national differences exist with regard to the underlying systems, namely the ANS and the OTS. In the present study, we investigated this question by comparing Chinese and German preschool children with regard to their performance in a non-symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task (assessing the ANS) and in an enumeration task (assessing the OTS). In addition, we compared children's counting skills. To ensure that possible between-group differences could not be explained by differences in more general performance factors, we also assessed children's reasoning ability and processing speed. Chinese children showed a better counting performance and a more accurate performance in the non-symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task. These differences in performance could not be ascribed to differences in reasoning abilities and processing speed. In contrast, Chinese and German children did not differ significantly in the enumeration of small sets. The superior counting performance of Chinese children was thus found to be reflected in the ANS but not in the OTS.

The Training of Morphological Decomposition in Word Processing and Its Effects on Literacy Skills.

This study set out to examine the effects of a morpheme-based training on reading and spelling in fifth and sixth graders (N = 47), who present poor literacy skills and speak German as a second language. A computerized training, consisting of a visual lexical decision task (comprising 2,880 items, presented in 12 sessions), was designed to encourage fast morphological analysis in word processing. The children were divided between two groups: the one underwent a morpheme-based training, in which word-stems of inflections and derivations were presented for a limited duration, while their pre- and suffixes remained on screen until response. Another group received a control training consisting of the same task, except that the duration of presentation of a non-morphological unit was restricted. In a Word Disruption Task, participants read words under three conditions: morphological separation (with symbols separating between the words' morphemes), non-morphological separation (with symbols separating between non-morphological units of words), and no-separation (with symbols presented at the beginning and end of each word). The group receiving the morpheme-based program improved more than the control group in terms of word reading fluency in the morphological condition. The former group also presented similar word reading fluency after training in the morphological condition and in the no-separation condition, thereby suggesting that the morpheme-based training contributed to the integration of morphological decomposition into the process of word recognition. At the same time, both groups similarly improved in other measures of word reading fluency. With regard to spelling, the morpheme-based training group showed a larger improvement than the control group in spelling of trained items, and a unique improvement in spelling of untrained items (untrained word-stems integrated into trained pre- and suffixes). The results further suggest some contribution of the morpheme-based training to performance in a standardized spelling task. The morpheme-based training did not, however, show any unique effect on comprehension. These results suggest that the morpheme-based training is effective in enhancing some basic literacy skill in the population examined, i.e., morphological analysis in word processing and the access to orthographic representations in spelling, with no specific effects on reading fluency and comprehension.

Differences in arithmetic performance between Chinese and German adults are accompanied by differences in processing of non-symbolic numerical magnitude.

Human beings are assumed to possess an approximate number system (ANS) dedicated to extracting and representing approximate numerical magnitude information. The ANS is assumed to be fundamental to arithmetic learning and has been shown to be associated with arithmetic performance. It is, however, still a matter of debate whether better arithmetic skills are reflected in the ANS. To address this issue, Chinese and German adults were compared regarding their performance in simple arithmetic tasks and in a non-symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task. Chinese participants showed a better performance in solving simple arithmetic tasks and faster reaction times in the non-symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task without making more errors than their German peers. These differences in performance could not be ascribed to differences in general cognitive abilities. Better arithmetic skills were thus found to be accompanied by a higher speed of retrieving non-symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge but not by a higher precision of non-symbolic numerical magnitude representations. The group difference in the speed of retrieving non-symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge was fully mediated by the performance in arithmetic tasks, suggesting that arithmetic skills shape non-symbolic numerical magnitude processing skills.

Differences in Arithmetic Performance between Chinese and German Children Are Accompanied by Differences in Processing of Symbolic Numerical Magnitude.

Symbolic numerical magnitude processing skills are assumed to be fundamental to arithmetic learning. It is, however, still an open question whether better arithmetic skills are reflected in symbolic numerical magnitude processing skills. To address this issue, Chinese and German third graders were compared regarding their performance in arithmetic tasks and in a symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task. Chinese children performed better in the arithmetic tasks and were faster in deciding which one of two Arabic numbers was numerically larger. The group difference in symbolic numerical magnitude processing was fully mediated by the performance in arithmetic tasks. We assume that a higher degree of familiarity with arithmetic in Chinese compared to German children leads to a higher speed of retrieving symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge.

The association of ADHD symptoms and reading acquisition during elementary school years.

The present longitudinal study aimed to investigate the influence of ADHD symptoms on reading development in elementary schoolchildren. To this end, repeated assessments of ADHD symptoms (teacher ratings of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity) and reading achievement (standardized tests of decoding speed and text comprehension) were examined in a sample comprising 2,014 elementary schoolchildren at the end of Grades 1, 2, 3, respectively, and in the middle of Grade 4. Latent change score models revealed that the level of ADHD symptoms was associated with lower levels and less growth in decoding speed and text comprehension. Furthermore, individual differences in changes in ADHD symptoms and reading performance were negatively associated. Together, these results indicate commonalities in the development of ADHD symptomatology and reading achievement throughout elementary school. (PsycINFO Database Record

Individual Differences in Moral Development: Does Intelligence Really Affect Children's Moral Reasoning and Moral Emotions?

This study investigates the relationship between intelligence and individual differences in children's moral development across a range of different moral transgressions. Taking up prior research that showed morality and intelligence to be related in adolescents and adults, the current study wants to test if these findings can be extended to younger children. The study was designed to address some of the shortcomings in prior research by examining young children aged between 6 years; 4 months and 8 years; 10 months, using a broad concept of moral development including emotional aspects and applying an approach that is closely connected to children's daily lives. Participants (N = 129) completed a standardized intelligence test and were presented four moral transgression stories to assess moral development. Results demonstrated that findings from prior research with adolescents or adults cannot simply be extended to younger participants. No significant correlations of moral development and intelligence were found for any of the presented stories. This provides first evidence that - at least in middle childhood - moral developmental status seems to be independent from children's general intelligence assessed by figural inductive reasoning tests.

In search of methods enhancing fluency in reading: An examination of the relations between time constraints and processes of reading in readers of German.

The attainment of fluency in reading is a major difficulty for reading-disabled people. Manipulations applied on the presentation of texts, leading to "on-line" effects on reading (i.e., while texts are manipulated), are one direction of examinations in search of methods affecting reading. The imposing of time constraints, by deleting one letter after the other from texts presented on a computer screen, has been established as such a method. In an attempt to further understand its nature, we tested the relations between time constraints and processes of reading: phonological decoding of small orthogrpahic units and the addressing of orthographic representations from the mental lexicon. We also examined whether the type of orthogrpahic unit deleted (lexical, sublexical, or nonlexical unit) has any additional effect. Participants were German fifth graders with (n = 29) or without (n = 34) reading disability. Time constraints enhanced fluency in reading in both groups, and to a similar extent, across conditions. Comprehension was unimpaired. These results place the very principle of time constraints, regardless of the orthographic unit manipulated, as a critical factor affecting fluency in reading. However, phonological decoding explained a significant amount of variance in fluency in reading across all conditions in reading-disabled children, whereas the addressing of orthographic representations was the consistent predictor of fluency in reading in regular readers. These results indicate a qualitative difference in the processes explaining the variance in fluency in reading in regular and reading-disabled readers and suggest that time constraints might not have an effect on the relations between these processes and reading performance.