Technology-enhanced mindfulness-based collaborative social reasoning to improve adolescents' social-emotional competencies.

This study reports the preliminary efficacy of an innovative school-based, technology-enhanced social-emotional learning program called "mindfulness-based collaborative social reasoning" (MBCSR) for middle school students. MBCSR was developed by an interdisciplinary team of educational psychologists, mindfulness researchers, computer scientists, and health experts. We integrated the strengths of contemplative approaches, collaborative small group discussions, learning technology, and multidimensional assessments of students' social-emotional outcomes. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study was implemented in four sixth-grade English language arts classrooms (2 experimental and 2 business-as-usual control; N = 74) in a public middle school in the Midwest of the United States. It was co-implemented by researchers and teachers, with sessions occurring for 45 minutes, once per week, for 8 weeks. The MBCSR group showed greater self-efficacy for using Upa-yoga and mindful breathing to regulate their emotions and behaviors ( η p 2 $$ {\eta}_p^2 $$ = .13), and lower externalizing ( η p 2 $$ {\eta}_p^2 $$ = .07) and bullying behaviors ( η p 2 $$ {\eta}_p^2 $$ = .09) at the posttest compared to the control group, after controlling for baseline differences. Students in the experimental group overall showed positive and relaxed emotional and physiological states during the sessions. There were no significant differences between the two groups in mindfulness, emotional regulation, and social skills. This program sets an example for integrating social-emotional learning and academic learning into students' daily content instruction.

Blood RNA-sequencing analysis in acrylamide-induced neurotoxicity and depressive symptoms in rats.

Acrylamide (ACR) is a by-product of the Maillard reaction, which occurs when food reacts at high temperatures. Occupational exposure is a risk factor for chronic ACR toxicity. ACR may cause neurotoxicity and depressive symptoms with high concentration in the blood; however, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. We showed the rats developed neurotoxic symptoms after being fed with ACR for 28 days, such as reduced activity and hind limb muscle weakness. We investigated whether ACR exposure causes gene expression differences by blood RNA sequencing and analyzed the differential expression of depressive symptoms-associated genes. The result indicated that IFN-γ the key regulator of neurotoxicity and depressive symptoms was induced by ACR. ACR induced the ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis pathway and JAK/STAT pathways gene expression. ACR upregulated the expression of IFN-γ, inducing neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity. ACR also upregulated the expression of JAK2, STAT1, PI3K, AKT, IκBα, UBE2D4, NF-κB, TNF-α, and iNOS in rat brain tissues and Neuro-2a cells. Thus, IFN-γ induction by ACR may induce depressive symptoms, and the ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis pathway and JAK/STAT pathways may involve in ACR neurotoxicity and depressive symptoms.

Dialogic literary argumentation and close reading: effects on high school students' literature-related argumentative writing and motivational beliefs.

Given evidence that adolescent students' motivation to read and write about literature declines with age, we proffer an approach called dialogic literary argumentation (DLA) that asks students to explore literature through argumentation in pursuit of understanding the meanings and possibilities of being human. This quasi-experimental study compared the effectiveness of DLA with close reading (CR), a common approach to teaching literature in high school English language arts classrooms, in improving students' motivational beliefs about writing and literature-related argumentative writing. The study also examined how the links between motivational beliefs and argumentative writing performance varied by instructional contexts. Participants were 278 high school students in 14 classrooms across 8 public high schools. Classrooms of students received either DLA or CR throughout the academic year. While both the DLA and CR groups improved in literature-related argumentative writing, the DLA group demonstrated more growth than the CR group. Neither group exhibited changes in motivational beliefs. However, at the end of the year, both DLA and CR students' transactional writer beliefs were predictive of writing self-efficacy. Transmissional writer beliefs negatively correlated with argumentative writing in the CR group and had a null relationship in the DLA group. Overall, motivational beliefs and argumentative writing were more positively correlated in the DLA group than the CR group after the intervention. We posit that the argumentative elements unique to DLA may act to protect students from the negative impacts of transmissional beliefs. Our findings provide theoretical explanations and pedagogical recommendations on how DLA and CR can be jointly employed to heighten students' motivation and strengthen their argumentative writing competence.

Kindergarteneres' Peer Relationships and Early School Absenteeism.

This study used a short-term longitudinal design to examine the extent to which kindergartners': (a) peer relationships are associated with their school absenteeism; and (b) development of positive peer relationships vary as a function of their time spent in school. To address these aims, data were drawn from 801 kindergartners across 64 classrooms and 15 schools in a Midwest city in the United States. Results from covariate-adjusted regression models revealed that kindergartners' relational bonds were not predictive of their time away from school, and that their relationships with classmates were generally unaffected by absenteeism. There was, however, some indication that children's relationships with their classmates were more strongly predicted by their absenteeism for children from less educated households relative to children from more educated households.

Parent Time Investments in their Children's Learning during a Policy-Mandated Shutdown: Parent, Child, and Household Influences.

State-level policies in Ohio during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. involved physical school closures and work-from-home requirements when possible. Presumably, these policies and resulting impacts on homes with children would alter parent time investments in their children with respect to home-learning activities. In this study, we assessed parent time investments specific to home-learning activities with their children, and key predictors of these investments. Using data from a comprehensive survey completed by 559 caregivers of children (aged birth to 9 years) during a state-mandated stay-at-home order and widespread school closure, we assessed whether parent time investments in children's learning were associated with: (1) parents' mental health and social connectedness, (2) children's level of emotional distress, and (3) household characteristics including chaos, social needs, and structure. Results indicate significant negative associations between each of parent loneliness, children's emotional distress, and household chaos with parent time investments in children's learning, controlling for parents' socio-demographic and economic status. This suggests that parent time investments during the early stages of the pandemic were limited by a number of factors outside of socioeconomic resources. Further research is needed to understand the long-term effects of home environments, including parent time investments in children's learning, on child development during this unprecedented time in world history.

Understanding family life during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Objective: Our study investigates how changes in family contexts were associated with child behaviors during Ohio's COVID-19 shutdown of early 2020. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused major economic and social changes for families. Rapid research was conducted to assess these changes and their potential impacts on child behaviors. Method: Using a diverse sample of families with children aged birth to 9 years (N = 559), we describe key economic changes and parent-reported stressors experienced during Ohio's shutdown period. Then, we use regression models to examine how these family conditions were associated with child emotional distress and changes in sleep routines. Results: When parents experienced more total COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors, they also reported that their children exhibited more anxious and withdrawn, fearful, acting out, and COVID-19 pandemic-related behaviors (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Families and children living at home in Ohio experienced significant stress during the shutdown. These findings can be used to inform future studies of the social and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for parents and children. Implications: Families and children have experienced multiple stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers and practitioners should continue to monitor and support families and children to mitigate potential lasting consequences.

AQP4 Attenuated TRAF6/NFκB Activation in Acrylamide-Induced Neurotoxicity.

Acrylamide (ACR) is present in high-temperature-processed high-carbohydrate foods, cigarette smoke, and industrial pollution. Chronic exposure to ACR may induce neurotoxicity from reactive oxygen species (ROS); however, the mechanisms underlying ACR-induced neurotoxicity remain unclear. We studied 28-day subacute ACR toxicity by repeatedly feeding ACR (0, 15, or 30 mg/kg) to rats. We conducted RNA sequencing and Western blot analyses to identify differences in mRNA expression in the blood and in protein expression in the brain tissues, respectively, of the rats. AQP4 transient transfection was performed to identify potential associations with protein regulation. The rats treated with 30 mg/kg ACR exhibited hind-limb muscle weakness. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP9) expression was higher in the ACR-treated group than in the control group. ACR induced MMP-9 and AQP4 protein expression in the brain tissues of the rats, which subsequently presented with neurotoxicity. In the in vitro study, Neuro-2a cells were transiently transfected with AQP4, which inhibited MMP-9 and TNF receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) expression, and inhibited ACR induced expression of TRAF6, IκBα, and nuclear factor κB (NFκB). Using a combination of in vivo and in vitro experiments, this study revealed that depressive symptoms associated with ACR-induced neurotoxicity are associated with downregulation of AQP4 and induction of the TRAF6 pathway.

Shaping classroom social experiences through collaborative small-group discussions.

BACKGROUND: Students form interpersonal and intrapersonal classroom social experiences with peers. While diverse intervention programmes have been developed, few have integrated social-emotional learning into academic activities to maximize the potential for learning and development. AIMS: This study examined the effects of collaborative small-group discussions on students' classroom social experiences at the interpersonal and intrapersonal levels. SAMPLE: The study included 250 students (Mage = 10.98, female = 52%) and six teachers from 12 English language arts fifth-grade classrooms in two public schools in the United States. METHODS: Students were assigned to one of three conditions: Collaborative Social Reasoning (CSR), Read-Aloud (RA), or Regular Instruction (RI). Students in the CSR condition participated in recurrent collaborative small-group discussions about stories related to complex social-moral issues, including friendship, social exclusion, ethics of care, and responsibility. Students in the RA condition read the same stories without discussions. RESULTS: Collaborative Social Reasoning students were more socially accepted by peers and were less aggressive to others compared to students in the other conditions. RA students revealed more aggressive behaviour than other groups. In a post-intervention interview, CSR students reported improved communication and group work strategies, ability to maintain harmonious relationships, and class participation. A higher proportion of CSR students in the CSR than the other conditions reported experiencing positive change in classroom relationships. Teacher interviews were used in conjunction with student interviews to triangulate conclusions from qualitative interview data. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest effective ways to structure collaborative small-group discussions to foster positive classroom social experiences with peers.

Child behavior problems during COVID-19: Associations with parent distress and child social-emotional skills.

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated government-mandated shutdowns disrupted schooling, socialization, and family life for school-aged children during spring 2020. These disruptions may have contributed to increased child behavior problems. Thus, we examined behavior problems in 247 children aged 7 to 9 years during Ohio's shutdown period. We investigated whether differences in parent-reported child behavior problems were associated with concurrent parent distress during spring 2020 and/or children's social-emotional skills measured via teacher-reports from the previous year (spring 2019). Parent distress significantly predicted behavior problems, such that more distressed parents also reported more child behavior problems. Child pre-pandemic peer social skills also significantly predicted behavior problems, such that more skilled children exhibited fewer behavior problems. There were no interaction effects between parent distress and children's social-emotional skills on child behavior problems. Further research is needed to understand how children's social-emotional skills impact their ability to cope during times of epidemiological crisis.

Automatized analysis of children's exposure to child-directed speech in reschool settings: Validation and application.

The present study explored whether a tool for automatic detection and recognition of interactions and child-directed speech (CDS) in preschool classrooms could be developed, validated, and applied to non-coded video recordings representing children's classroom experiences. Using first-person video recordings collected by 13 preschool children during a morning in their classrooms, we extracted high-level audiovisual features from recordings using automatic speech recognition and computer vision services from a cloud computing provider. Using manual coding for interactions and transcriptions of CDS as reference, we trained and tested supervised classifiers and linear mappings to measure five variables of interest. We show that the supervised classifiers trained with speech activity, proximity, and high-level facial features achieve adequate accuracy in detecting interactions. Furthermore, in combination with an automatic speech recognition service, the supervised classifier achieved error rates for CDS measures that are in line with other open-source automatic decoding tools in early childhood settings. Finally, we demonstrate our tool's applicability by using it to automatically code and transcribe children's interactions and CDS exposure vertically within a classroom day (morning to afternoon) and horizontally over time (fall to winter). Developing and scaling tools for automatized capture of children's interactions with others in the preschool classroom, as well as exposure to CDS, may revolutionize scientific efforts to identify precise mechanisms that foster young children's language development.

Teacher Scaffolding of Social and Intellectual Collaboration in Small Groups: A Comparative Case Study.

This comparative case study features two small groups of students engaging in collaborative dialog about social issues. Based on social constructivist theories, the two groups were compared across three major components of the small groups system: social dynamics, intellectual collaboration, and teacher scaffolding. Our goal was to holistically analyze these small group processes to understand why some small groups were highly successful while others were not, even within the same intervention and with the same teacher. Successful groups were those in which all students were able to access the conversational floor, many ideas were considered, students were able to share ideas and discuss collaboratively, and students were able to raise multiple forms of social reasoning to support and explain ideas. Change in social reasoning essay scores prior to and after the intervention were also considered as evidence of group success. Results show that teacher scaffolding and existing student processes served to amplify one another reciprocally. The teacher heightened productive social norms when they were present, which then served to encourage productive intellectual collaboration. However, when productive group norms were not present, the teacher took increasing control over the group, which further hampered productive social and intellectual interactions.

Influences of Teacher-Child Relationships and Classroom Social Management on Child-Perceived Peer Social Experiences During Early School Years.

Interactions with teachers and peers are critical for children's social, behavioral, and academic development in the classroom context. However, these two types of interpersonal interactions in the classroom are usually pursued via separate lines of inquiries. The current study bridges these two areas of research to examine the way in which teachers influence child-perceived peer social support and peer victimization for 2,678 children within 183 classrooms in preschool through grade three. Two levels of teacher influence are considered, namely teacher-child closeness and conflict relationships at the child-level, and teacher management of interpersonal interactions at the classroom-level. Results of multilevel regression models showed that teacher-child closeness was associated with the growth of child-perceived peer social support from fall to spring, whereas teacher-child conflict and teachers' behavior management practices were associated with the change in child-perceived peer victimization across the academic year. These associations were unique and above and beyond the influence of children's actual peer social interactions, including reciprocal friendships and the collective classroom reputation of peer victimization. Collectively, findings highlight the multi-faceted teacher roles in shaping children's perceptions of their peer social experiences during the earliest years of schooling.

Characteristics of Children's Media Use and Gains in Language and Literacy Skills.

Media use could be detrimental to children's language and literacy skills because it may displace other language-enhancing activities like shared reading and caregiver-child interactions. Furthermore, the extent to which children use media with adults (joint media engagement), the extent to which they use interactive media (apps/games), and the time of the day and week during which media use occurs may attenuate any negative effects. The current study examines the relation between characteristics of children's media use and gains in first graders' language and literacy skills. Children (N = 488) completed direct assessments of language and literacy skills in the spring of kindergarten and the spring of first grade. Parents reported how many hours children used both interactive and non-interactive media during different times of the day on the most recent weekday and weekend day and responded to items about the extent to which they engage with their children during media use. A quadratic relationship between media use and language gains showed that a moderate amount of media use was related to larger language gains, whereas high use was related to smaller gains. For literacy, an interaction between media use and joint media engagement showed a small negative effect of media use at low levels of joint media engagement and little to no relation between media use and literacy gains at higher levels of joint media engagement. Children's language and literacy skills were not predicted by either the proportion of media time that was spent with apps/games or morning and weekday media use. These results show that moderate amounts of media use may not be a negative influence on children's developing language skills, whereas high levels may displace other language-enhancing activities. Additionally, joint media engagement may play an important buffering role in the relation between media use and early literacy skills, aligned with current recommendations encouraging co-viewing.

Associations Between Children's Media Use and Language and Literacy Skills.

Media use is a pervasive aspect of children's home experiences but is often not considered in studies of the home learning environment. Media use could be detrimental to children's language and literacy skills because it may displace other literacy-enhancing activities like shared reading and decrease the quantity and quality of caregiver-child interaction. Thus, the current study asked whether media use is associated with gains in children's language and literacy skills both at a single time point and across a school year and whether age moderates any association. Children (N = 1583) were from preschool through third grade classrooms and language and literacy skills were measured in the fall and spring of the school year. Parents reported how much time their child spends using media on a typical school day. Regression analyses showed that using 4 h or more of media was related to lower literacy gains, but not to language gains. Multilevel models conducted as a robustness check showed that this effect did not hold when accounting for classroom. In neither set of models was there an interaction between age and media use. Single-time-point models did show some associations that did not manifest in more stringent models, highlighting the limitations of correlational designs that do not have measures of children's skills over time. Given the concern and popular press coverage around children's media use, it is important to acknowledge non-significant effects in this domain. These non-significant associations suggest that societal fears around children's media use may be exaggerated. Notably, however, characteristics of children's media use, like educational content or adult co-use, may moderate any effects. The relation between media use and language and literacy growth did not differ across the age range investigated suggesting that, within this range, younger children are not more vulnerable to detrimental effects.

Triple Alignment: Congruency of Perceived Preschool Classroom Social Networks Among Teachers, Children, and Researchers.

Classroom social networks are influential to young children's cognitive, social-emotional, and language development, but assessment and analyses of social networks are complex. Findings have been mixed regarding whether different informants (teachers, children, researchers) are congruent in perceiving classroom social networks. There is also a lack of discussion about the roles of network transformation (converting value networks into binary networks), a required data step for widely used statistical network analyses. This study addressed these issues based on network data of 16 preschool children containing 240 potential dyadic interactions collected from teacher ratings, child nominations, and researcher observations across 44 observation cycles over four school days. Results showed that the three informants were congruent in perceiving the classroom social network, whereas the level of congruency between the teacher-report and the researcher-report networks was the highest. Binary transformation of social networks tended to decrease the level of congruency across informants, although the level of congruency tended to be higher when more stringent binary transformation thresholds were selected.

Morphological awareness and reading comprehension: Differential mediation mechanisms in native English speakers, fluent English learners, and limited English learners.

The current study examined how morphological awareness contributes to reading comprehension across three levels of English proficiency designation. Participants were 377 fourth- and fifth-grade students, including 198 native English speakers (NE group) and two groups of English learners: 117 students with fluent English proficiency (FEP) and 62 students with limited English proficiency (LEP). Students were assessed on morphological analysis (the ability to use morphological information to infer word meanings while reading), morphological awareness, word reading fluency, reading vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Results showed that the NE and FEP groups were better able to use morphological analysis to infer new word meanings while reading than the LEP group. Multiple-group path modeling indicated that, for all three groups, the relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension was mediated by reading vocabulary and morphological analysis; word reading fluency mediated the relationship only for the LEP group. The results call for attention to the role of English proficiency in how morphological awareness supports reading comprehension.

Influence of Teachers' Grouping Strategies on Children's Peer Social Experiences in Early Elementary Classrooms.

Most children experience some form of grouping in the classroom every day. Understanding how teachers make grouping decisions and their impacts on children's social development can shed light on effective teacher practices for promoting positive social dynamics in the classroom. This study examined the influence of teachers' grouping strategies on changes in young children's social experiences with peers across an academic year. A total of 1,463 children (51% girls, M age = 6.79, SDage = 1.22) and 79 teachers from kindergarten to third-grade classrooms participated in this study. Teachers rated children's behavioral problems as the most important consideration when creating seating charts or assigning children to small groups. Promoting existing or new friendships was rated as the least important consideration. Heterogeneous ability grouping, rated as somewhat important by the teachers, was associated with a decrease in children's friendships and yet also a decrease in girls' experience with peer conflicts. Our findings begin to fill in the gaps in the literature on the social impacts of ability grouping for young children.

Social Networks of Children With Developmental Language Disorder in Inclusive Preschool Programs.

This study takes an ecological approach to examine how children with developmental language disorder (DLD) interact with their classmates within early childhood special education (ECSE) inclusive classrooms. Participants were 124 children with DLD, 56 children with other disabilities, and 247 typically developing children (Mage  = 52.42 months, SD = 6.27) from 56 ECSE inclusive classrooms. Results of social network analysis showed that children with DLD had significantly smaller peer social networks and were more likely to be isolated. Children tended to interact with peers with the same DLD status. These effects of children's DLD status were above and beyond the effects of children's social pragmatics skills.

The preschool classroom linguistic environment: Children's first-person experiences.

The linguistic environment of the classroom is influential to young children's language development. To date, however, literature on the linguistic environment of child-care centers has largely examined teacher practices or children's aggregate environment, overlooking the child's first-person experiences and differentiated experiences within the classroom. In this study we used a new method in the educational setting that captures the learner's perspective: head-mounted cameras. Thirteen children in one preschool classroom wore a head-mounted camera to capture their first-person experiences in one morning session, including interactions with others and the features of the child-directed speech (CDS) addressed to them. Results revealed that, from children's personal view, the linguistic environment of the classroom is more dynamic from what previous studies have reported. Children interacted for longer with their teachers than their peers and heard more CDS from them, but for some children peers served as an additional source of language. Further, our analysis highlighted within-classroom variability in language experiences in terms of the properties of the CDS addressed to target children and how they were exposed to this input over time. Results are discussed with respect to peer influence on children's learning, heterogeneity in learning opportunities in classrooms, and the variability of the linguistic environment over time.

The Social Networks of Children With and Without Disabilities in Early Childhood Special Education Classrooms.

Interaction with peers is an important contributor to young children's social and cognitive development. Yet, little is known about the nature of social networks within preschool inclusive classrooms. The current study applied a social network analysis to characterize children's peer interactions in inclusive classrooms and their relations with children's disability status. The participants were 485 preschoolers from 64 early childhood special education (ECSE) inclusive classrooms. Results from teachers' report of children's social networks showed that children with disabilities formed smaller play networks compared to their typically developing peers in the classroom, but no evidence indicated that children with disabilities engaged in more conflict networks than their counterparts. Children's play and conflict networks were segregated by children's disability status.