Fidget toys are recommended as "sensory" tools to improve the attention and performance of elementary students with autism. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how fidget toys affected the visual attention and skill acquisition of elementary students with autism during storybook reading. Provision of fidget toys was compared with a…

Research indicates that students with intellectual disability (ID) frequently engage in off-task and disruptive behaviors, which may lead to the exclusion of these students from general education classrooms and school dropouts. In the current study, researchers implemented self-monitoring to improve the on-task behaviors of four participants with…

This study explores how elementary gifted learners, through the use of fidget strategies, self-regulate levels of attention to increase focus and decrease inattentiveness in the gifted support and general education classrooms. Gifted learners may often be overlooked in areas such as self-regulation and explicitly taught strategies because they…

This paper discusses strategies for capturing and maintaining the attention of primary school students in the classroom. The ability to engage young minds is critical for effective teaching and learning. In this paper, we explore various approaches that educators can use to ensure that their lessons are interesting, stimulating, and relevant to…

The current study examined the potentially changing relations of vocabulary knowledge and attentional control with word reading and spelling from Grade 2 to Grade 4. Spelling was scored using a conventional correctness score and an alternative nonbinary scoring method that reflects the degree of correctness (i.e., text distance). A total of 165…

Longitudinal studies on mainstream children and training studies in the dyslexic population suggest that visual attention span (VAS) abilities contribute to reading acquisition. We evaluated to what extent VAS training in beginning readers might enhance later literacy skills. A large cohort of 453 children was followed from the beginning to the…

This empirical cross-sectional study explored the effect of chronotypes on classroom behaviour. One hundred and forty young Portuguese children, from 1st to 4th grades, were examined regarding their chronotype and disruptive behaviours occurring in the classroom. Three groups of chronotypes (i.e., morning, intermediate and evening) were…

Learning-related attention is one of the most important factors influencing learning. Although technologies have enabled the automatic detection of students' attention levels, previous studies mainly focused on colleges or high schools, lacking further validations in primary school students. More importantly, the detected attention might fail to…

Brain breaks are often used during lessons to replenish childrens' attention, but children may respond differently to the variety of brain breaks they are offered. Therefore, two studies were conducted to identify both teachers' current use of brain breaks (Study 1) as well as the types of brain breaks children prefer (Study 2). Study 1 consisted…

Prior research suggests that visual features of the classroom environment (e.g., charts and posters) are potential sources of distraction hindering children's ability to maintain attention to instructional activities and reducing learning gains in a laboratory classroom. However, prior research only examined short-term exposure to elements of…

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of two electronic tactile prompting devices when used as part of a self-monitoring intervention for increasing on-task behavior for girls who struggle with inattention. A secondary purpose was to better understand if differences in on-task behavior emerged between the two devices. Situated…

This study evaluated the impact of a theory-driven cognitive attention training program, "Keeping Score!," in improving students' sustained attention capacity. Training was based on sustained updating. Students engaged this process by mentally keeping score during an interactive game of table tennis without external aids. Students (9-11…

The vast majority of joint attention interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are geared toward toddlers and preschoolers as it is an early developmental skill. However, many of the youngsters do not acquire joint attention despite these early interventions and subsequently do not exhibit joint attention later in life. In the…

According to the Ethiopia Ministry of Education (2015), school feeding initiatives, such as feeding children in food insecure conditions, providing educational resources, and school meals are essential for supporting access to general education. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of school feeding program on the academic…

Augmented reality (AR) technology can enhance picture book reading experience. The present study aimed to explore the influence of reading AR picture books on primary school students' reading comprehension, story retelling, and reading motivation. Eighty second graders, who were from two classes at a rural primary school in a coastal city in East…