In the first study of its kind, SF State researchers have shown that younger children who use gestures outperform their peers in a problem-solving task.
The task itself is relatively simple -- sorting cards printed with colored shapes first by color, and then by shape. But the switch from color to shape can be tricky for children younger than 5, says Professor of Psychology Patricia Miller.
In a new study due to be published in the August, 2013 issue of Developmental Psychology, Miller and SF State graduate student Gina O'Neill found that young children who gesture are more likely to make the mental switch and group the shapes accurately.
In fact, gesturing seemed to trump age when it came to the sorting performance of the children, who ranged from 2 and a half years old to 5 years old. In the color versus shape task, as well as one that asked children to sort pictures based on size and spatial orientation, younger children who gestured often were more accurate in their choices than older children who gestured less. The children's gestures included rotating their hands to show the orientation of a card or using their hands to illustrate the image on the card, for example gesturing the shape of rabbits' ears for a card depicting a rabbit.
"Gina and I were surprised by the strength of the effect. Still, the findings are consistent with a growing body of research showing that mind and body work closely together in early cognitive development," Miller said.
July 26, 2013
Ability to Learn New Words Based On Efficient Communication Between Brain Areas That Control Movement and Hearing
For the first time scientists have identified how a pathway in the brain which is unique to humans allows us to learn new words.
The average adult's vocabulary consists of about 30,000 words. This ability seems unique to humans as even the species closest to us - chimps - manage to learn no more than 100.
It has long been believed that language learning depends on the integration of hearing and repeating words but the neural mechanisms behind learning new words remained unclear.
Previous studies have shown that this may be related to a pathway in the brain only found in humans and that humans can learn only words that they can articulate.
The average adult's vocabulary consists of about 30,000 words. This ability seems unique to humans as even the species closest to us - chimps - manage to learn no more than 100.
It has long been believed that language learning depends on the integration of hearing and repeating words but the neural mechanisms behind learning new words remained unclear.
Previous studies have shown that this may be related to a pathway in the brain only found in humans and that humans can learn only words that they can articulate.
July 18, 2013
Singing helps students tune into a foreign language
Study provides the first experimental evidence that a listen-and-repeat singing method can support foreign language learning
Singing in a foreign language can significantly improve learning how to speak it, according to a new study published in Springer's journal Memory & Cognition.
Adults who listened to short Hungarian phrases and then sang them back performed better than those who spoke the phrases, researchers at the University of Edinburgh's Reid School of Music found.
People who sang the phrases back also fared better than those who repeated the phrases by speaking them rhythmically.
Singing in a foreign language can significantly improve learning how to speak it, according to a new study published in Springer's journal Memory & Cognition.
Adults who listened to short Hungarian phrases and then sang them back performed better than those who spoke the phrases, researchers at the University of Edinburgh's Reid School of Music found.
People who sang the phrases back also fared better than those who repeated the phrases by speaking them rhythmically.
July 16, 2013
Taste Rules for Kids and Healthy Food Choices
Sweet and salty flavors, repeat exposure, serving size and parental behavior are the key drivers in children’s food choices.
“Children’s decision making has few dimensions,” explained Dr. Adam Drewnowski (CQ), director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition and professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle.
Not surprisingly, children lean toward sweets like cookies, chocolate, fruits and juices as well as salty foods that make them feel full like French fries and pizza.
But environment, peer groups, family, and exposure to a variety of menu items play a key role in children’s food choices.
“Children’s decision making has few dimensions,” explained Dr. Adam Drewnowski (CQ), director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition and professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle.
Not surprisingly, children lean toward sweets like cookies, chocolate, fruits and juices as well as salty foods that make them feel full like French fries and pizza.
But environment, peer groups, family, and exposure to a variety of menu items play a key role in children’s food choices.
July 15, 2013
How to Keep Kids Engaged with Educational Games
If you want teams of students to stay engaged while playing educational games, you might want them to switch seats pretty often.
That’s one finding from a pilot study that evaluated how well middle school students were able to pay attention to game-based learning tasks.
Students at a Raleigh, N.C., middle school were divided into two-person teams for the pilot study.
Researchers from North Carolina State University then had each team test gaming concepts for an educational game called “Engage,” which allows only one student at a time to control gameplay.
The researchers were trying to determine how effective educational gaming tasks were at teaching computer science concepts, but were also monitoring how engaged each student was.
The researchers found that, for each team, the student actively performing the game tasks was much more likely to stay engaged – but that the second student would often lose focus.
“This is a very useful finding, because..."
That’s one finding from a pilot study that evaluated how well middle school students were able to pay attention to game-based learning tasks.
Students at a Raleigh, N.C., middle school were divided into two-person teams for the pilot study.
Researchers from North Carolina State University then had each team test gaming concepts for an educational game called “Engage,” which allows only one student at a time to control gameplay.
The researchers were trying to determine how effective educational gaming tasks were at teaching computer science concepts, but were also monitoring how engaged each student was.
The researchers found that, for each team, the student actively performing the game tasks was much more likely to stay engaged – but that the second student would often lose focus.
“This is a very useful finding, because..."
Educators Explore Innovative "Theater" as a Way to Learn Physics
In a study released last week, education researchers found that personifying energy allowed students to grapple with difficult ideas about how energy works.
Contrasted with more traditional lectures and graphs, this innovative instructional technique may be useful for teaching about other ideas in physical science, which commonly deals with things that change form over time.
Energy is a very important concept across many fields of science, and is a key focus of the new national science standards.
Energy is also a central player in several global issues, such as climate change and fuel economy.
However, energy is a challenging concept to fully understand.
Contrasted with more traditional lectures and graphs, this innovative instructional technique may be useful for teaching about other ideas in physical science, which commonly deals with things that change form over time.
Energy is a very important concept across many fields of science, and is a key focus of the new national science standards.
Energy is also a central player in several global issues, such as climate change and fuel economy.
However, energy is a challenging concept to fully understand.
Bilingual Children Have a Two-Tracked Mind
Adults learning a foreign language often need flash cards, tapes, and
practice, practice, practice.
Children, on the other hand, seem to pick up their native language out of thin air.
The learning process is even more remarkable when two languages are involved.
In a study examining how bilingual children learn the two different sound systems of languages they are acquiring simultaneously, Ithaca College faculty member Skott Freedman has discovered insights that indicate children can learn two native languages as easily as they can learn one.
Children, on the other hand, seem to pick up their native language out of thin air.
The learning process is even more remarkable when two languages are involved.
In a study examining how bilingual children learn the two different sound systems of languages they are acquiring simultaneously, Ithaca College faculty member Skott Freedman has discovered insights that indicate children can learn two native languages as easily as they can learn one.
July 9, 2013
Dip, Dip, Hooray -- Kids Eat More Veggies With Flavored Dips
Many parents have a difficult time persuading their preschool-aged children to try vegetables, let alone eat them regularly.
Food and nutrition researchers have found that by offering a dip flavored with spices, children were more likely to try vegetables -- including those they had previously rejected.
"Less than 10 percent of 4- to 8-year-olds consume the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) recommended daily servings of vegetables," said Jennifer S. Savage, associate director of the Center for Childhood Obesity Research at Penn State. "
Even more striking is that over one-third of children consume no servings of vegetables on a typical day. We wanted to figure out a way to increase vegetable consumption."
Food and nutrition researchers have found that by offering a dip flavored with spices, children were more likely to try vegetables -- including those they had previously rejected.
"Less than 10 percent of 4- to 8-year-olds consume the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) recommended daily servings of vegetables," said Jennifer S. Savage, associate director of the Center for Childhood Obesity Research at Penn State. "
Even more striking is that over one-third of children consume no servings of vegetables on a typical day. We wanted to figure out a way to increase vegetable consumption."
July 1, 2013
Place Matters in Analyzing Students’ Performance
Where a child lives makes a difference in how demographics and other factors influence algebra performance, and policies should take into account local variation, research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests.
Head Start children and parents show robust gains in new intervention
An eight-week intervention involving 141 preschoolers in a Head Start program and their parents produced significant improvements in the children's behavior and brain functions supporting attention and reduced levels of parental stress that, in turn, improved the families' quality of life.
The findings — from the first phase of a long-term research project by University of Oregon neuroscientists that will monitor the families over time — appear this week online in advance of regular publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The findings — from the first phase of a long-term research project by University of Oregon neuroscientists that will monitor the families over time — appear this week online in advance of regular publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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