A pulmonary rehabilitation program reduces hospitalizations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients: A cost-effectiveness study.

BACKGROUND: Although pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is recommended in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), there is a scarcity of data demonstrating the cost-effectiveness and effectiveness of PR in reducing exacerbations. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study in 200 patients with COPD was conducted to determine the number of exacerbations 1 year before and after their participation in a PR program. Quality of life was measured using the COPD assessment test and EuroQol-5D. The costs of the program and exacerbations were assessed the year before and after participation in the PR program. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was estimated in terms of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). RESULTS: The number of admissions, length of hospital stay, and admissions to the emergency department decreased after participation in the PR program by 48.2%, 46.6%, and 42.5%, respectively (P < 0.001 for all). Results on quality of life tests improved significantly (P < 0.001 for the two tests). The cost of PR per patient and the cost of pre-PR and post-PR exacerbations were €1867.7 and €7895.2 and €4201.9, respectively. The PR resulted in a cost saving of €1826 (total, €365,200) per patient/year, and the gain in QALYs was+0.107. ICER was -€17,056. The total cost was <€20,000/QALY in 78% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: PR contributes to reducing the number of exacerbations in patients with COPD, thereby slowing clinical deterioration. In addition, it is cost-effective in terms of QALYs.

Validación de la Escala de Eficacia Docente para la Escritura en el Contexto Educativo Español / Validation of the Teacher Efficacy Scale for Writing in the Spanish educational context

Este estudio se centra en adaptar y validar la escala Teacher Efficacy Scale for Writing al contexto educativo español. Participaron en el estudio 452 profesores de Lengua Castellana y Literatura de la Educación Obligatoria. Se analiza un modelo factorial de dicha escala constituido por 2 factores, eficacia general y eficacia personal, constituido este último por dos subfactores. Asimismo, se compara el ajuste factorial del modelo propuesto frente al modelo tradicional bidimensional y se analiza la invarianza de este en base al género y nivel educativo en el que imparten docencia los participantes. Los resultados obtenidos confirman un buen ajuste de los datos al modelo factorial propuesto y la invarianza factorial del mismo según las características de los participantes. Por tanto, la Escala de Eficacia Docente para la Escritura se puede considerar una herramienta de rápida aplicación, válida y fiable para determinar la eficacia docente hacia la escritura en el profesorado español.

In this study, we adapt and validate the Teacher Efficacy Scale for Writing to the Spanish educational context. The study participants comprised 452 teachers of Spanish language and literature from compulsory education. We analyse a factorial model of the scale with two factors, personal efficacy and general efficacy, and two sub-factors within the personal efficacy factor. We also compare the fit of the proposed factorial model to the traditional 2-factor model and analyse the factorial invariance of the model with respect to participants’ gender and educational level. Our results confirm that the proposed factorial model has a good fit to the data as well as its factorial invariance with respect to the sample characteristics. The Escala de Eficacia Docente para la Escritura is a valid, reliable, easy-to-use instrument for assessing teacher efficacy for writing in Spanish teachers.

El modelo de respuesta a la intervención en escritura: revisión de medidas de evaluación y prácticas instruccionales / The response to intervention model in writing: a review of assessment measures and instructional practices

La evidencia científica sitúa el modelo de Respuesta a la Intervención como el enfoque clave para la prevención y diagnóstico de las Dificultades de Aprendizaje Específicas en Escritura. La formación del psicólogo educativo en torno a la instrucción en competencia escrita y la monitorización del progreso del alumnado resulta fundamental para desarrollar su labor de orientación al profesorado en la aplicación eficiente de dicho modelo. En este estudio se presenta una revisión internacional de las dos dimensiones clave del modelo: las medidas de evaluación de las habilidades escritoras sensibles al cambio y las prácticas instruccionales empíricamente validadas para la mejora de la competencia escrita. A partir de la revisión de 34 artículos, se analizan la idoneidad de las medidas y tareas de evaluación a utilizar y se discuten las prácticas instruccionales eficaces según el proceso cognitivo de la escritura en el que se focalizan: ortografía, caligrafía o procesos cognitivo de orden superior

Scientific evidence points to the Response to Intervention Model as a key approach to the identification and prevention of learning disabilities in writing. In order to guide teachers in the successful implementation of this model, educational psychologists need to receive training in writing instruction and how to monitor students' progress. In this study, we present an international literature review on the two key dimensions of the model: writing assessment measures that are sensitive to change and empirically validated instructional practices to improve writing competence. Based on the 33 papers reviewed, we analyze the suitability of assessment measures and tasks and discuss several instructional practices according to their focus in a specific writing cognitive process: spelling, handwriting, and high-level cognitive processes

The online management of writing processes and their contribution to text quality in upper-primary students / La distribución temporal de los procesos de escritura y su contribución a la calidad textual al final de Educación Primaria

Background: The online management of writing processes is an important factor related to the composition of high-quality texts. In the present study we analysed the time that upper-primary students devoted to writing processes, the distribution of those processes during composition and the contribution of both aspects to text quality. Method: 120 upper-primary students were asked to write an argumentative text in pairs under thinking aloud conditions. Verbalizations were analysed considering different writing processes and sub-processes. Results: Upper-primary students rarely used planning and revising processes. Planning, which basically involved content generation, was mostly activated at the beginning of the writing task. Revision, which mainly included reading, appeared at the end. The time devoted to writing processes or the time at which they were activated had no effect on text quality. Conclusions: Not only did upper-primary students make little use of planning and revising processes, it was also ineffective. Thus, there is a need to provide them with high-quality instruction in school from early on

Antecedentes: el manejo temporal de los procesos de escritura es un factor importante que influye en la composición de textos de calidad. En este estudio se analiza el tiempo que los estudiantes de 5º-6º de Primaria dedican a los procesos de escritura, su distribución temporal durante la composición y en qué medida ambos aspectos contribuyen a la calidad textual. Método: 120 estudiantes de 5º-6º de Primaria escribieron un texto argumentativo en parejas usando pensamiento en voz alta. Las verbalizaciones fueron analizadas en base a diferentes procesos y subprocesos de escritura. Resultados: los estudiantes hacen escaso uso de procesos de planificación y revisión textual. La planificación, relacionada principalmente con la generación de información, suele activarse al inicio del proceso de escritura. La revisión, que básicamente implica lectura, aparece al final del proceso escritor. El tiempo empleado por los escritores en los diferentes procesos o el momento en que son activados durante la composición no se relaciona con la calidad textual. Conclusiones: los estudiantes de 5º-6º de Primaria no solo hacen un escaso uso de procesos de planificación y revisión, sino que este es ineficaz. Por ello, es necesario instruir al alumnado en el uso de dichos procesos desde edades tempranas

The online management of writing processes and their contribution to text quality in upper-primary students.

BACKGROUND: The online management of writing processes is an important factor related to the composition of high-quality texts. In the present study we analysed the time that upper-primary students devoted to writing processes, the distribution of those processes during composition and the contribution of both aspects to text quality. METHOD: 120 upper-primary students were asked to write an argumentative text in pairs under thinking aloud conditions. Verbalizations were analysed considering different writing processes and sub-processes. RESULTS: Upper-primary students rarely used planning and revising processes. Planning, which basically involved content generation, was mostly activated at the beginning of the writing task. Revision, which mainly included reading, appeared at the end. The time devoted to writing processes or the time at which they were activated had no effect on text quality. CONCLUSIONS: Not only did upper-primary students make little use of planning and revising processes, it was also ineffective. Thus, there is a need to provide them with high-quality instruction in school from early on.

Effects of teaching planning strategies to first-grade writers.

BACKGROUND: Traditionally writing instruction at the start of school has focused on developing students' ability to spell and handwrite. Teaching children explicit self-regulatory strategies for developing content and structure for their text has proved effective for students in later grades of primary (elementary) education. AIMS: The present study aims to determine whether first-grade students benefit from learning higher-level self-regulating strategies for explicit planning of content and structure. SAMPLE: Five mixed-ability Spanish first-grade classes were randomly assigned either to an experimental condition that received strategy-focused instruction (three classes, N = 62), or to a practice-matched control condition (two classes, N = 39). METHOD: Over 10, 50-min sessions, the intervention taught strategies for writing stories. Writing performance was assessed prior to intervention, immediately after intervention and 7 weeks post-intervention, in terms of both text features associated with written narratives and by holistic quality ratings. RESULTS: Students who received the intervention subsequently produced texts with better structure, coherence, and quality, and a larger number of features associated with narrative texts. These effects remained at follow-up and were not present in the control condition. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that teaching explicit strategies for planning text content and structure benefits young writers even when spelling and handwriting skills are not yet well established.

Timed written picture naming in 14 European languages.

We describe the Multilanguage Written Picture Naming Dataset. This gives trial-level data and time and agreement norms for written naming of the 260 pictures of everyday objects that compose the colorized Snodgrass and Vanderwart picture set (Rossion & Pourtois in Perception, 33, 217-236, 2004). Adult participants gave keyboarded responses in their first language under controlled experimental conditions (N = 1,274, with subsamples responding in Bulgarian, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish). We measured the time to initiate a response (RT) and interkeypress intervals, and calculated measures of name and spelling agreement. There was a tendency across all languages for quicker RTs to pictures with higher familiarity, image agreement, and name frequency, and with higher name agreement. Effects of spelling agreement and effects on output rates after writing onset were present in some, but not all, languages. Written naming therefore shows name retrieval effects that are similar to those found in speech, but our findings suggest the need for cross-language comparisons as we seek to understand the orthographic retrieval and/or assembly processes that are specific to written output.

Effects of Direct Instruction and Strategy Modeling on Upper-Primary Students' Writing Development.

Strategy-focused instruction is one of the most effective approaches to improve writing skills. It aims to teach developing writers strategies that give them executive control over their writing processes. Programs under this kind of instruction tend to have multiple components that include direct instruction, modeling and scaffolded practice. This multi-component nature has two drawbacks: it makes implementation challenging due to the amount of time and training required to perform each stage, and it is difficult to determine the underlying mechanisms that contribute to its effectiveness. To unpack why strategy-focused instruction is effective, we explored the specific effects of two key components: direct teaching of writing strategies and modeling of strategy use. Six classes (133 students) of upper-primary education were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions, in which students received instruction aimed at developing effective strategies for planning and drafting, or control group with no strategy instruction: Direct Instruction (N = 46), Modeling (N = 45), and Control (N = 42). Writing performance was assessed before the intervention and immediately after the intervention with two tasks, one collaborative and the other one individual to explore whether differential effects resulted from students writing alone or in pairs. Writing performance was assessed through reader-based and text-based measures of text quality. Results at post-test showed similar improvement in both intervention conditions, relatively to controls, in all measures and in both the collaborative and the individual task. No statistically significant differences were observed between experimental conditions. These findings suggest that both components, direct teaching and modeling, are equally effective in improving writing skills in upper primary students, and these effects are present even after a short training.

Do sixth-grade writers need process strategies?

BACKGROUND: Strategy-focused writing instruction trains students both to set explicit product goals and to adopt specific procedural strategies, particularly for planning text. A number of studies have demonstrated that strategy-focused writing instruction is effective in developing writing performance. AIM: This study aimed to determine whether teaching process strategies provides additional benefit over teaching students to set product goals. SAMPLE: Ninety-four typically developing Spanish sixth-grade (upper primary) students. METHOD: Students received 10 hr of instruction in one of three conditions: Strategy-focused training in setting product goals and in writing procedures (planning and revision; Product-and-Process), strategy-focused training in setting product goals (Product-Only), and product-focused instruction (Control). Students' writing performance was assessed before, during, and after intervention with process measures based on probed self-report and holistic and text-analytic measures of text quality. RESULTS: Training that included process instruction was successful in changing students' writing processes, with no equivalent process changes in the Product-Only or Control conditions. Both Process-and-Product and Product-Only conditions resulted in substantial improvements in the quality of students' texts relative to controls, but with no evidence of benefits of process instruction over those provided by the Product-Only condition. Teaching process substantially increased time-on-task. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm the value of strategy-focused writing instruction, but question the value of training specific process strategies.

Comparison of reading-writing patterns and performance of students with and without reading difficulties / Comparación de los patrones de lectura-escritura y el rendimiento de alumnos con y sin dificultades de lectura

BACKGROUND: This paper analyses performance and the process used in carrying out a common hybrid task, such as, summarizing a text, from a developmental point of view and comparing the differences between students with and without reading difficulties. METHOD: 548 students typically developing and 54 students with learning difficulties for reading (grades 5 to 8, ages 11 to 14) read and summarized a text using the triple task technique and then they did a comprehension questionnaire. Attention was paid to the various activities undertaken during this task, their cognitive cost, and the organization of reading and writing activities throughout the exercise, together with performance through evaluation of the summary and the reading comprehension questionnaire. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in performance or strategies used for the task between students of primary and secondary education. A linear reading-writing process was mostly employed by both, with greater cost and time needed by primary students. Students with reading difficulties did not show any strategies compensating for the greater difficulty and cognitive cost that the task represents for them. CONCLUSIONS: The effective and strategic use of summarizing as a learning tool seems to demand a specific training for students with or without reading difficulties

ANTECEDENTES: se analiza el rendimiento y el proceso seguido en la realización de una tarea híbrida, resumir un texto, desde un punto de vista del desarrollo y comparativamente entre alumnos con y sin dificultades en lectura. MÉTODO: 548 estudiantes de rendimiento normal y 54 con dificultades en el aprendizaje de la lectura (5º de Primaria a 2º de Secundaria, 11 a 14 años) realizaron la lectura y resumen de un texto, junto a la técnica de la triple tarea, y posteriormente un cuestionario de comprensión lectora. Se analizaron el tipo de actividades realizadas durante la tarea, su coste cognitivo, la distribución de los procesos de lectura y escritura, y el nivel de comprensión lectora. RESULTADOS: no hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas en el rendimiento o las estrategias usadas durante la tarea entre el alumnado de Primaria y de Secundaria; solo los primeros emplearon un mayor tiempo en la tarea, con un mayor coste cognitivo. Los alumnos con dificultades no mostraron ningún tipo de estrategia para compensar sus dificultades y el mayor coste cognitivo de este tipo de tarea. CONCLUSIONES: el uso estratégico del resumen como herramienta de aprendizaje demanda un entrenamiento específico en alumnado con y sin dificultades

Comparison of reading-writing patterns and performance of students with and without reading difficulties.

BACKGROUND: This paper analyses performance and the process used in carrying out a common hybrid task, such as, summarizing a text, from a developmental point of view and comparing the differences between students with and without reading difficulties. METHOD: 548 students typically developing and 54 students with learning difficulties for reading (grades 5 to 8, ages 11 to 14) read and summarized a text using the triple task technique and then they did a comprehension questionnaire. Attention was paid to the various activities undertaken during this task, their cognitive cost, and the organization of reading and writing activities throughout the exercise, together with performance through evaluation of the summary and the reading comprehension questionnaire. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in performance or strategies used for the task between students of primary and secondary education. A linear reading-writing process was mostly employed by both, with greater cost and time needed by primary students. Students with reading difficulties did not show any strategies compensating for the greater difficulty and cognitive cost that the task represents for them. CONCLUSIONS: The effective and strategic use of summarizing as a learning tool seems to demand a specific training for students with or without reading difficulties.

Children's high-level writing skills: development of planning and revising and their contribution to writing quality.

BACKGROUND: It is well established that the activity of producing a text is a complex one involving three main cognitive processes: Planning, translating, and revising. Although these processes are crucial in skilled writing, beginning and developing writers seem to struggle with them, mainly with planning and revising. AIMS: To trace the development of the high-level writing processes of planning and revising, from Grades 4 to 9, and to examine whether these skills predict writing quality in younger and older students (Grades 4-6 vs. 7-9), after controlling for gender, school achievement, age, handwriting fluency, spelling, and text structure. SAMPLE: Participants were 381 students from Grades 4 to 9 (age 9-15). METHOD: Students were asked to plan and write a story and to revise another story by detecting and correcting mechanical and substantive errors. RESULTS: From Grades 4 to 9, we found a growing trend in students' ability to plan and revise despite the observed decreases and stationary periods from Grades 4 to 5 and 6 to 7. Moreover, whereas younger students' planning and revising skills made no contribution to the quality of their writing, in older students, these high-level skills contributed to writing quality above and beyond control predictors. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study seem to indicate that besides the increase in planning and revising, these skills are not fully operational in school-age children. Indeed, given the contribution of these high-level skills to older students' writing, supplementary instruction and practice should be provided from early on.

El ámbito de las dificultades específicas de aprendizaje en España a partir de la ley orgánica de educación / No disponible

La evaluación e intervención en alumnos con dificultades de aprendizaje (DA) requiere un tratamiento específico que entienda la realidad de esta problemática, en coherencia con el conocimiento científico internacionalmente establecido y las evidencias empíricas. En España, la LOE se ha convertido en un punto de inflexión determinante en este aspecto, al incluir por primera vez las DA dentro de la categoría de necesidades específicas. Sin embargo, la Ley no clarifica las medidas organizativas y funcionales que se deben emprender, delegando en las Comunidades Autónomas su concreción. A lo largo del presente artículo se reflexiona acerca de los cambios ligados al ámbito de las DA introducidos por la LOE, abordando además el análisis de las medidas emprendidas por las Administraciones autonómicas. A partir de las limitaciones detectadas en estos primeros avances se aportan sugerencias sobre aspectos que todavía es necesario concretar o mejorar para asegurar un tratamiento educativo adecuado a los alumnos DA (AU)

Assessment and intervention in students with learning disabilities (LD) require a specific processing which comprises this real problem according to the international scientific knowledge and the empirical evidences. In Spain, the Educational Organic Law (LOE, 2006)supposed a significant change in LD field, because of, it included for the first time, LD as a specific special education category. However,the law does not clarify the specific organizing and functional measures which should be started. Their concretions are delegated to the specific regional governments. In this paper, we reflect about the changes of LD field in Spain from LOE law, analyzing the specific measures of regional governments. Some practical and educational implications are suggested from the gaps and limitations of these first steps in the LD field of Spain, which allows a suitable educational intervention of LD students (AU)

Writing self-efficacy changes after cognitive strategy intervention in students with learning disabilities: the mediational role of gender in calibration.

This study examines the mediational role of gender in the effects of two patterns of cognitive and self-regulatory strategy interventions in the writing self-efficacy calibration of students with learning disabilities (LD). 121 5th and 6th Primary grade students with LD (43 girls and 78 boys), ranging in age from 10 to 12 years old were randomly allocated either to one of the experimental intervention groups, (n=48, 19 girls and 29 boys), and followed a intervention program based on the Self-Regulated Strategy Development Model, or they received training based on the Social Cognitive Model of Sequential Skill Acquisition (n=31, 15 girls and 26 boys), or alternatively they were allocated to the ordinary instruction group (n=32, 9 girls and 23 boys). Writing performance was assessed using two types of writing evaluation: a reader-based score concerned with structure, coherence and quality, and a text based score regarding productivity, coherence and structure. Writing self-efficacy beliefs were also assessed using a self-report scale including eight items about the students' confidence in completing a writing task and to gain specific writing skills. The results suggest that the miscalibration of writing self-efficacy in girls with LD was significantly modified to a more realistic calibration of their writing competence after experimental intervention. However, the findings do not confirm the same clear statement for boys.

Writing Self-efficacy Changes after Cognitive Strategy Intervention in Students with Learning Disabilities: The Mediational Role of Gender in Calibration

This study examines the mediational role of gender in the effects of two patterns of cognitive and self-regulatory strategy interventions in the writing self-efficacy calibration of students with learning disabilities (LD). 121 5th and 6th Primary grade students with LD (43 girls and 78 boys), ranging in age from 10 to 12 years old were randomly allocated either to one of the experimental intervention groups, (n = 48, 19 girls and 29 boys), and followed a intervention program based on the Self-Regulated Strategy Development Model, or they received training based on the Social Cognitive Model of Sequential Skill Acquisition (n = 31, 15 girls and 26 boys), or alternatively they were allocated to the ordinary instruction group (n = 32, 9 girls and 23 boys). Writing performance was assessed using two types of writing evaluation: a reader based score concerned with structure, coherence and quality, and a text based score regarding productivity, coherence and structure. Writing self-efficacy beliefs were also assessed using a self-report scale including eight items about the students’ confidence in completing a writing task and to gain specific writing skills. The results suggest that the miscalibration of writing self-efficacy in girls with LD was significantly modified to a more realistic calibration of their writing competence after experimental intervention. However, the findings do not confirm the same clear statement for boys (AU)

Este estudio examina el papel mediacional del género en los efectos de dos patrones de intervenciones de estrategias cognitivas y auto-reguladoras en la calibración de la autoeficacia escritora de alumnos con dificultades de aprendizaje (DA).Se asignaron al azar a 121 alumnos de educación primaria de 5º y 6º con DA (43 chicas y 78 chicos), edades entre 10 y 12 años, o a uno de los grupos de intervención experimental (n = 48, 19 chicas y 29 chicos), y recibieron un programa de intervención basado en el modelo de desarrollo de estrategia auto-regulada o un entrenamiento basado en el modelo cognitivo de adquisición secuencial de habilidades (n = 31, 15 chicas y 26 chicos), o alternativamente, fueron asignados a un grupo de instrucción normal (n = 32, 9 chicas y 23 chicos). Se evaluó la ejecución de escritura con dos tipos evaluación: una puntuación basada en el lector, ligada a la estructura, la coherencia y la calidad, y una puntuación basada en el texto, ligada a la productividad, la coherencia y la estructura. Las creencias de autoeficacia sobre la escritura también se evaluaron con una escala de auto-informe que incluía ocho ítems acerca de la confianza de los alumnos al completar una tarea de escritura y al ganar habilidades de escritura específica. Los resultados sugieren que la calibración errónea de la autoeficacia de escritura en chicas con DA se modificó significativamente a una calibración más realista de su competencia en escritura después de la intervención experimental. Sin embargo, los resultados no confirman lo mismo para los chicos (AU)

La psicología del desarrollo y de la educación en los últimos quince años de Psicothema / Developmental and educational psychology in Psicothema during the last 15 years

Se hace un análisis de contenido de los últimos quince años de Psicothema a partir de los artículos publicados en la revista con contenidos de psicología del desarrollo y de la educación. Tras registrar y codificar los datos, según los criterios previamente elaborados, se extraen tres tipos de variables: de identificación formal o por criterios externos (autores, procedencia, período, etc.), de clasificación por criterios internos o de contenido (origen y tipo de artículo, metodología de investigación, marcos teóricos de referencia y tematización) y ciclo temporal en la publicación de los artículos. Se identifican 171 artículos, sobre un total de 1.134 (15,08%), en los cuales han participado un total de 337 autores de 52 instituciones y universidades diferentes. Se observa un proceso de participación diversificada de autores y procedencias y de asunción de los estándares internacionales. Se discuten los resultados y se propone la búsqueda de metas adecuadas para los próximos años

A content analysis of 15 years of Psicothema is undertaken based on the papers about developmental and educational contents published by the journal. After registering and coding the data according to previously established criteria, three types of variables are obtained: Formal identification or by external criteria (authors, origin, period, etc.); classification by internal criteria or by content (paper source and genre, research methodology, theoretical approach, and topic); and time period for publication. 171 papers are identified, of a total of 1134 (15,08 %), where a total of 337 authors from 52 differents institutions and universities have participated. We observe an increased process of participation and diversification of author and origins and of assumption of international standards. We discuss the results and propose the searching of appropriate goals for the next years