New neuroscientific knowledge is redefining possibilities for K-12 education. There are five critical variables in the brain's learning process: neural history, context, acquisition, elaboration, and encoding. This article tracks one student's unique brain activity throughout her school day to illustrate these variables. (MLH)

A study investigated the role of video and/or sound in the processing of aural French as a second language in grade-eight core French. Results indicate visual cues were informative and enhanced general comprehension but did not necessarily stimulate understanding of the specific text. Affective and attentional advantages were noted. (Contains 28…

This article describes a teacher's techniques and strategies for promoting productive discourse and supporting active learning in the mathematics classroom. The lesson excerpts included are from two days of a workshop with primarily middle-grades teachers. These excerpts demonstrate the teacher's typical progression through defining a problem,…

Background: Recent government papers have expressed concern about the poor educational attainment of "looked after" children. Early reading development has been found to be significant in their subsequent academic achievement. The possibility that biosocial factors extraneous to their experiences in public care may underpin their low…

This study investigated the utility of central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) assessments in 70 children being evaluated for learning and attention problems, by assessing their relationship to auditory-based neuropsychological tests with varying degrees of attentional, linguistic, and cognitive complexity. Students were given several tests to…

This report describes a 12-week program designed to increase time on task for kindergarten students. Members of a targeted group of kindergarten students were identified as being off task an average of 1.9 times more than the rest of the class. A program that incorporated the dominant learning styles of students in the target group with…

From a co-operative education class in an urban high school, 16 adolescent males were identified as impulsive and as high-risk based on their performance on the Matching Familiar Figures test and the advice of teachers and counselors. Students participated in 12 to 15 videotaped group problem-solving sessions (20-25 minutes in length) over a…

Considerable research has been conducted on the effect of anxiety on academic achievement. The most consistent finding is that high anxiety is associated with low performance, particularly at the elementary school level. To explain this situation, some researchers have hypothesized that anxiety debilitates students' attention span or time-on-task…

The lack of integration in children with learning disabilities is discussed, and the need presented for early identification and special education. Recommendations are made for times for screening and areas of learning to be assessed from kindergarten through high school. Observation of behavior in preschool children in the realms of attention,…

Observational instruments were developed for measuring the visual attention and verbal reactions of children watching "The Electric Company." Using the instruments, ten primary school classrooms, representing a broad range of classroom structures, were observed five or six times. The measures of attention proved to be reliable, and…

This study investigated the specific learning abilities and general adjustment of 50 children, 5-14 years of age, who had pyloric stenosis (PS) in infancy, compared to 44 siblings and 50 matched control children. PS involves a period of brief starvation in early infancy, unrelated to socioeconomic conditions and is surgically correctable. The…

Twenty mothers of culturally disadvantaged children took part in a program of self-help which was both child- and mother-centered. Two groups of ten mothers each met weekly with two staff members over an 8-month period and were trained to tutor their infants (1 to 2-years-old) in their homes. Fifteen of the initial 20 mothers remained in the…

WISC performance of 77 boys with serious school learning problems was analyzed according to three factors hypothesized to reflect functional differences in learning styles. Sub-samples identified as Learning Disordered, Learning Disordered-Hyperactive, or Educable Mentally Retarded, differed in patterns of subtest scores, although within groups…

Thirty-four stimulant-treated, academically deficient, and attention deficit disordered, hyperactive (ADDH) boys (ages 7-12) participated in a 16-week, intensive cognitive training program focusing on academic skills and tasks. Intervention did not enhance self-esteem and there was poor agreement between teacher ratings of academic competence and…

The strong association established between attention skills and school performance has led to increased research in understanding the development of children's attentional processes. How attention develops during early childhood is crucial to understanding partly why children enter school with varying readiness skills. This Snapshot highlights the…