The Profile of Task Performances for Cognitive-communicative Intervention in the Oldest-Old

Purpose: The “oldest-old” is the heterogeneous population compared with the younger-old in several cognitive-communication aspects. Accordingly, it is necessary to intervene in them discriminately. This study aimed to suggest the performance profiles by cognitive-communication tasks for intervention in oldest-old.Methods: Sixty-four oldest-old subjects aged 80 or older years performed 16 subtasks for the five cognitive-communication domains. And the performance profiles of group I (84.00 ± 2.62 years) and II (93.38 ± 1.61 years) were analyzed.Results: The main findings were as follows. Firstly, two groups had significant differences in performances of most tasks including working memory, reasoning, word fluency, and subjective communication. Secondly, five communication tasks were significantly correlated with all cognitive tasks and were predicted by the reasoning tasks like similarity in group I. Thirdly, word fluency and pragmatic expression tasks were significantly correlated with all cognitive tasks. Tasks including verbal problem solving were found to be the best predictors of confrontation naming in group II.Conclusion: Current study provides evidence-based information to support cognitive-communication intervention for the oldest-old. These results also can contribute to increase the efficacy of the cognitive-communicative intervention.

First-Year Life Science Students’ Understanding of the Role of Plants in the Ecosystem—A Concept Network Analysis

The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding about undergraduate life science students’ conceptions concerning the role of photosynthesizing plants in the ecosystem, utilizing a network analysis method. Science learning requires the integration and linking of abstract and often counterintuitive concepts successfully into multifaceted networks. The quality of these networks, together with their abilities to communicate via the language of science, influences students’ success in academic, verbal problem-solving tasks. This study contributes to investigating students’ understanding, utilizing a modern network analysis method in exploring first-year university life science students’ written answers. In this study, a total of 150 first-year life science students answered two open-ended tasks related to the role of photosynthesizing plants in the ecosystem. A network analysis tool was used in exploring the occurrence of different-level science concepts and the interrelatedness between these concepts in students’ verbal outputs. The results showed that the richness of concept networks and students’ use of macro-concepts were remarkably varied between the tasks. Higher communicability measures were connected to the more abundant existence of macro-concepts in the task concerning the role of plants from the food-chain perspective. In the answers for the task concerning the role of plants regarding the atmosphere, the students operated mainly with single facts, and there were only minor interconnections made between the central concepts. On the basis of these results, the need for more all-encompassing biology teaching concerning complex environmental and socio-economic problems became evident. Thus, methodological and pedagogical contributions are discussed.

Different Perspectives on Success in Solving Stand-Alone Problems by 14 to 15-Year-Old Students / Različite prespektive o uspješnosti 14 i 15-godišnjaka u rješavanju izoliranoga problema

The paper defines a special type of problem tasks and considers its didactic potential, as well as the success of students in solving the selected problem. The research instrument used is a geometrical task from the National Secondary School Leaving Exam in Croatia (State Matura). The geometrical task is presented in three versions: as a verbal problem, as a verbal problem with a corresponding image and as a problem in context. The material analysed in the present paper was collected from 182 students in 7th and 8th grade of Croatian urban elementary schools. The didactic potential is considered from the aspect of use of mathematical concepts and connections. The success of students in problem-solving is considered from the aspect of implementation of the problem-solving process and producing correct answers, depending on the manner in which the tasks are set up. The results show that the stand-alone problem, as a special type of problem task, has considerable didactic potential. However, the students’ skills of discovering and connecting mathematical concepts and their properties are underdeveloped. In addition, the manner in which the tasks are set up considerably affects the process of solving the task and consequently the success of that process. Based on the results of the research, proposals are given for application of stand-alone problems in teaching mathematics.Key words: isolated problem; mathematical task; problem solving; problem evaluation. --- U radu se definira posebna vrsta problemskoga zadatka te se razmatra njegov didaktički potencijal kao i uspješnost učenika u rješavanju odabranoga problema. Instrument istraživanja je geometrijski zadatak s državne mature koji se postavlja u tri inačice: kao tekstualni problem, kao tekstualni problem uz odgovarajuću sliku te kao zadatak u kontekstu. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 182 učenika 7. i 8. razreda hrvatskih gradskih osnovnih škola. Didaktički potencijal razmatra se s aspekta iskoristivosti matematičkih koncepata i veza, a uspješnost učenika u rješavanju problema razmatra se s aspekta provedbe procesa rješavanja i otkrivanja točnoga rješenja ovisno o načinu postavljanja zadatka. Rezultati pokazuju da promatrani problem kao posebna vrsta problemskoga zadatka ima veliki didaktički potencijal, ali da učenici imaju nedovoljno razvijene vještine otkrivanja i povezivanja matematičkih koncepata i njihovih svojstava. Osim toga, način postavljanja zadatka značajno utječe na proces rješavanja, a posljedično i na uspješnost određivanja rješenja. Na temelju rezultata daju se prijedlozi primjene opisane vrste problema u nastavi Matematike.Ključne riječi: izolirani problem; matematički zadatak; rješavanje problema; vrednovanje problema

A-191 The Role of Memory in Mathematical Abilities

Objective To determine the contribution of different types of memory (Visual Memory, Auditory Memory and Visual Working Memory) to mathematical abilities. Method The participants were drawn from a deidentified adult clinical database. A multiple regression tested (n = 91, Mage = 29.9, Medu = 13.3, 49% Caucasian, 57% Female) the ability of the Wechsler Memory Scale Fourth edition (WMS-IV) Auditory Memory Index Score, Visual Memory Index Score, and Visual Working Memory Index Score to predict the Key Math-3rd edition (KM3) Total Test Standard Score. Results In a standard regression, Visual Memory, Auditory Memory, and Visual Working Memory indexes significantly predicted KM3 Total Test Standard Scores. The regression was statistically significant, F(3,87) = 17.1, p = < .001, R2 = .370. In this model, WMS-IV Visual Working Memory (beta = .338, p = .004) and Auditory Memory (beta = .271, p = .007) added significantly to the prediction. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that memory is important in mathematical calculations and different types of memory make distinct contributions. Furthermore, the Visual Working Memory Index explained a greater percentage of variance than the Auditory Memory Index. This suggests that visual working memory skills play a greater role in mathematical abilities and highlights the importance of the ability to remember and manipulate figures in our minds when solving math problems. The significance of auditory memory to mathematics may be related to remembering how to solve problems, word problems, and verbal problem-solving strategies. The Visual Memory Index may not have contributed unique variance because this composite may overlap with the Visual Working Memory Index, and academic learning may be stored verbally.

ANALISIS KEMAMPUAN MEMECAHKAN PERSOALAN ARITMATIKA BERBENTUK VERBAL

This research purpose to determine the ability of students<br />completing the form arithmetic word problem. This research<br />was conducted to analyze test results to students 6th grade<br />elementary school 067774 Medan. The sample selection is<br />done randomly. The data were analyzed using qualitatif<br />method. Wherever in neared is using content analysis.<br />Content analysis is intended to describe the ability of students<br />in solving problems in the form of verbal arithmetic.The<br />result showed that : the identification of the student answers<br />in solving arithmetic word problem from the aspect of<br />students ability to understand the context of language or<br />verbal problem, compile the relevant models, and draw<br />conclusions contextually still very low. After you know how<br />the student’s ability to solve arithmetic word problem form of<br />the fourth aspect of the student’s ability is still low, is<br />expected to allow the reader to take action to minimize<br />mistakes by students while solving the problems of verbal<br />arithmetic shaped so that ability can be improved.

Experiential Avoidance as a Common Psychological Process in European Cultures

Experiential avoidance, the tendency to rigidly escape or avoid private psychological experiences, represents one of the most prominent transdiagnostic psychological processes with a known role in a wide variety of psychological disorders and practical contexts. Experiential avoidance is argued to be based on a fundamental verbal/cognitive process: an overextension of verbal problem solving into the world within. Although cultures apparently differ in their patterns of emotional expression, to the extent that experiential avoidance is based on a fundamental verbal/cognitive process, measures of this process should be comparable across countries, with similar relationships to health outcomes regardless of the language community. This research tests this view in European countries. The psychometric properties of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, a measure of experiential avoidance, are compared across six languages and seven European countries, for a total of 2,170 nonclinical participants. Multiple group analysis showed that the instrument can be considered invariant across the language samples. The questionnaire constitutes a unidimensional instrument with similar relationships to psychopathology, and has good and very similar psychometric properties in each assessed country. Experiential avoidance reveals not just as transdiagnostic, but also as a transcultural process independent of a specific language community.

A Bridge Too Far: Conceptual Distance and Creative Ideation

Previous research has shown changing perspectives to be important in problem finding, with viewpoint-based techniques like the 'six thinking hats' and the 'six honest serving men' improving performance (e.g. Vernon & Hocking, 2014). To date, however, evidence for similar techniques based on conceptually 'near' and 'far' cues, where conceptual distance is defined topologically in a semantic space, has shown mixed results. In a sample of 171 participants, we used two standard verbal problem scenarios together with a novel technique comprising six concepts that were either conceptually near or far from the problem scenario. Participants in the experimental group used the concepts when generating solutions; controls were given empty placeholders instead of concepts. Performance was measured for fluency, quality, originality and flexibility. Apart from flexibility, participants did worse when using concepts of either type in comparison to controls. For flexibility, a borderline boost for far concepts was observed (η2 = .03, p = .06). We conclude that the cognitive load overhead introduced by our concept-cueing technique, or any other similar technique that attempts to shape the creative process, needs to be minimised through a variety of methods before we can better determine its usefulness and, thus, the role of conceptual distance in creative problem solving.