Does reasoning training improve fluid reasoning and academic achievement for children and adolescents? A systematic review - ScienceDirect https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2211949321000053
Abstract BACKGROUND Studies of children and adolescents suggest that reasoning training may improve both reasoning and academic achievement, but evidence and systematic evaluation of this research is limited. Accordingly, this paper provides a systematic review of the literature on reasoning training in order to describe current methods and evaluate their efficacy. METHOD A systematic search identified eleven articles—published between 1996 and 2016—that reported findings from thirteen separate studies of reasoning training effects on fluid reasoning (Gf) and academic achievement in children and adolescents. Specific Gf outcomes examined were analogical, deductive, inductive, nonverbal, and/or relational reasoning ability. Specific academic achievement outcomes examined were math and reading achievement. This paper reviewed studies utilizing both computerized and non-computerized methods of Gftraining. FINDINGS Findings from the review show that reasoning training improves Gf(near transfer effects). Although less conclusive, when considered on balance, evidence suggests that reasoning training also improves academic achievement (far transfer effects). CONCLUSIONS Research is needed to parameterize the effects of Gftraining on academic achievement, and in particular to identify moderators of training efficacy on academic outcomes. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
****************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational & School Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) https://www.themindhub.com ******************************************
APS Journals Access – Association for Psychological Science – APS https://www.psychologicalscience.org/sage?ru=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691620966789
Student Motivation and Associated Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis From Self-Determination Theory Joshua L. Howard, Julien Bureau, Frédéric Guay, Jane X. Y. Chong, and Richard M. Ryan Perspectives on Psychological ScienceIntrinsic motivation and behaving on the basis of perceived personal value and meaning appear to be key for school adjustment and student success. In this meta-analysis, Howard and colleagues examined how different types of motivation relate to 26 student outcomes, including performance and well-being. The researchers analyzed 344 samples of students and found that (a) intrinsic motivation was related to students' success and well-being, and (b) personal value (identified regulation) was related with persistence. Ego-involved motivation (introjected regulation) was related with persistence and performance but also with ill-being. Motivation to obtain rewards or avoid punishment was associated only with decreased well-being.
APS Journals Access – Association for Psychological Science – APS https://www.psychologicalscience.org/sage?ru=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691620969647
Theory Construction Methodology: A Practical Framework for Building Theories in Psychology Denny Borsboom, Han L. J. van der Maas, Jonas Dalege, Rogier A. Kievit, and Brian D. Haig Perspectives on Psychological ScienceBorsboom and colleagues propose a five-step methodology for constructing explanatory theories: The theorist (a) identifies the empirical phenomena that become the target of explanation, (b) constructs a prototheory that putatively explains the target phenomena, (c) uses the prototheory to construct a formal model (a set of equations that encode explanatory principles), (d) assesses the explanatory adequacy of the model, and (e) studies the overall adequacy of the theory by evaluating whether the phenomena are reproducible and the explanatory principles are parsimonious and plausible. The authors explain this theory construction methodology using the mutualism model of intelligence.
****************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational & School Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) https://www.themindhub.com ******************************************
****************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational & School Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) https://www.themindhub.com ******************************************
Navigating the link between processing speed and network communication in the human brain | SpringerLink https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00429-021-02241-8
Abstract Processing speed on cognitive tasks relies upon efficient communication between widespread regions of the brain. Recently, novel methods of quantifying network communication like 'navigation efficiency' have emerged, which aim to be more biologically plausible compared to traditional shortest path length-based measures. However, it is still unclear whether there is a direct link between these communication measures and processing speed. We tested this relationship in forty-five healthy adults (27 females), where processing speed was defined as decision-making time and measured using drift rate from the hierarchical drift diffusion model. Communication measures were calculated from a graph theoretical analysis of the whole-brain structural connectome and of a task-relevant fronto-parietal structural subnetwork, using the large-scale Desikan–Killiany atlas. We found that faster processing speed on trials that require greater cognitive control are correlated with higher navigation efficiency (of both the whole-brain and the task-relevant subnetwork). In contrast, faster processing speed on trials that require more automatic processing are correlated with shorter path length within the task-relevant subnetwork. Our findings reveal that differences in the way communication is modelled between shortest path length and navigation may be sensitive to processing of automatic and controlled responses, respectively. Further, our findings suggest that there is a relationship between the speed of cognitive processing and the structural constraints of the human brain network.
Twice-Exceptional Students: Review of Implications for Special and Inclusive Education - ProQuest https://search.proquest.com/openview/d0866e35149e71cf9484c9e2cc0f35b9/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2032405
****************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational & School Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) https://www.themindhub.com ******************************************
Rationale and Design of the National Neuropsychology Network | Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society | Cambridge Core https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-neuropsychological-society/article/abs/rationale-and-design-of-the-national-neuropsychology-network/FC3E4709E208CA3FA52E08D8FD05D799
Testing (quizzing) boosts classroom learning: A systematic and meta-analytic review. - PsycNET https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-24563-001
Abstract Over the last century hundreds of studies have demonstrated that testing is an effective intervention to enhance long-term retention of studied knowledge and facilitate mastery of new information, compared with restudying and many other learning strategies (e.g., concept mapping), a phenomenon termed the testing effect. How robust is this effect in applied settings beyond the laboratory? The current review integrated 48,478 students' data, extracted from 222 independent studies, to investigate the magnitude, boundary conditions, and psychological underpinnings of test-enhanced learning in the classroom. The results show that overall testing (quizzing) raises student academic achievement to a medium extent (g = 0.499). The magnitude of the effect is modulated by a variety of factors, including learning strategy in the control condition, test format consistency, material matching, provision of corrective feedback, number of test repetitions, test administration location and timepoint, treatment duration, and experimental design. The documented findings support 3 theories to account for the classroom testing effect: additional exposure, transfer-appropriate processing, and motivation. In addition to their implications for theory development, these results have practical significance for enhancing teaching practice and guiding education policy and highlight important directions for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
-- *********************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) www.themindhub.com ************************************************
Abstract Executive functions (EFs) refer to a range of cognitive control and regulation processes that coordinate thoughts and actions in a goal-directed way and are regarded as a hallmark of intellectual abilities. However, most studies have used a single measurement to explore the relationship between EFs and intelligence, and there is a lack of robust evidence to demonstrate the link between EF-related neural substrates and intelligence under an integrative framework. To address this issue, we employed a large sample (primary dataset, n = 881; hold-out dataset, n = 181) from the Human Connectome Project, which included high-quality MRI data and multiple EF and intelligence measurements. Based on a machine learning framework, we examined the predictive effect of EF-related functional connectivity(FC) on fluid intelligence (Gf) and crystallized intelligence (Gc) using a connectome-based predictive model. The results showed that all types of EF-related FCs (i.e., EF-common, updating-, shifting-, and inhibition-specific FCs) predicted novel subjects' Gf and Gc in the primary dataset and successfully generalized to the hold-out dataset. Additionally, EF-related FCs appeared to demonstrate better performance in predicting Gc. Identified predictive FCs revealed the domain-general and domain-specific connectivity patterns of EFs, and the network hubs were mainly located in the default mode, cognitive control, salience, and visual networks. These findings facilitate our understanding of the relation between multiple EF domains and intelligence from the perspective of network neuroscience, suggesting that different intellectual abilities and EFs share similar neural bases to some extent, which allows the link between EFs and intelligence to be revisited.
****************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational & School Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) https://www.themindhub.com ******************************************
ABSTRACT There are many working memory (WM) models, generally formulated and developed in adults. Controversies arise as to whether such models are adequate conceptualizations of WM in children. The aim of the present study is to perform a systematic review of studies that evaluate the structure of WM during childhood. Databases (PubMed, Scopus) and article reference lists were reviewed, identifying 264 studies and including 14 in the review. These include participants between 4 and 15 years of age, with typical development, and they evaluated the structure of WM using confirmatory factor analysis. Results show that from 4 to 6 years onwards a structure composed of a domain-general executive component together with two domain-specific storage components (verbal, visuospatial) is identified, generally being the best fitting model. Limitations and potential contributions of the reported results are discussed.
Ryan Farmer just tweeted a link to the set of slides he used for a remote assessment seminar last week sponsored by CPA. I watched the seminar and found it very informative and balanced.
Long-term stability of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–fifth edition scores in a clinical sample: Applied Neuropsychology: Child: Vol 0, No 0 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21622965.2021.1875827
Abstract This study investigated the stability of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fifth Edition (WISC-V) scores for 225 children and adolescents from an outpatient neuropsychological clinic across, on average, a 2.6 year test-retest interval. WISC-V mean scores were relatively constant but subtest stability score coefficients were all below 0.80 (M = 0.66) and only the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Visual Spatial Index (VSI), and omnibus Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) stability coefficients exceeded 0.80. Neither intraindividual subtest difference scores nor intraindividual composite difference scores were stable across time (M = 0.26 and 0.36, respectively). Rare and unusual subtest and composite score differences as well as subtest and index scatter at initial testing were unlikely to be repeated at retest (kappa = 0.03 to 0.49). It was concluded that VCI, VSI, and FSIQ scores might be sufficiently stable to support normative comparisons but that none of the intraindividual (i.e. idiographic, ipsative, or person-relative) measures were stable enough for confident clinical decision making.
Valuing Educational Measurement - Sireci - - Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice - Wiley Online Library https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/emip.12415
Abstract The community of educational measurement researchers and practitioners has made many positive contributions to education, but has also become complacent and lost the public trust. In this article, reasons for the lack of public trust in educational testing are described, and core values for educational measurement are proposed. Reasons for distrust of educational measurement include hypocritical practices that conflict with our professional standards, a biased and selected presentation of the history of testing, and inattention to social problems associated with educational measurement. The five core values proposed to help educational measurement serve education are: (a) everyone is capable of learning; (b) there are no differences in the capacity to learn across groups defined by race, ethnicity, or sex; (c) all educational tests are fallible to some degree; (d) educational tests can provide valuable information to improve student learning and certify competence; and (e) all uses of educational test scores must be sufficiently justified by validity evidence. The importance of these core values for improving the science and practice of educational measurement to benefit society is discussed.
Age and ability differentiation in children: A review and empirical investigation. - PsycNET https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-14006-001
Abstract Differentiation hypotheses concern changes in the structural organization of cognitive abilities that depend on the level of general intelligence (ability differentiation) or age (developmental differentiation). Part 1 of this article presents a review of the literature on ability and developmental differentiation effects in children, revealing the need for studies that examine both effects simultaneously in this age group with appropriate statistical methods. Part 2 presents an empirical study in which nonlinear factor analytic models were applied to the standardization sample (N= 2,619 German elementary schoolchildren; 48% female; age: M = 8.8 years, SD = 1.2, range 6–12 years) of the THINK 1–4 intelligence test to investigate ability differentiation, developmental differentiation, and their interaction. The sample was nationally representative regarding age, gender, urbanization, and geographic location of residence but not regarding parents' education and migration background (overrepresentation of children with more educated parents, underrepresentation of children with migration background). The results showed no consistent evidence for the presence of differentiation effects or their interaction. Instead, different patterns were observed for figural, numerical, and verbal reasoning. Implications for the construction of intelligence tests, the assessment of intelligence in children, and for theories of cognitive development are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
While recent survey findings suggest graduate programs in health service psychology (HSP) are allocating the same or increased time to education and training in psychological assessment over the last two decades, there is a lack of clear guidance for programs to implement practices associated with quality education and training. These Guidelines (found in full at https://www .apa.org/about/policy/guidelines-assessment-health-service.pdf) were developed to address this critical need. Developed by a task force of the American Psychological Association Board of Educational Affairs in 2018 and 2019, the Guidelines serve to inform faculty/supervisors, students, and the public as to quality practices associated with graduate education and training in psychological assessment. They are organized around seven domains: theory; psychological assessment process; psychometrics; tests and methods; ethics, legal issues, and professionalism; diversity; and supervision. These domains are drawn from a review of the scholarly literature on psychological assessment, as well as graduate psychology education and training. The domains and their associated Guidelines are interdependent, and, while some overlap exists among them, they should be considered in their entirety. While a summary of each section is provided in the present article, the full explanation of each domain is presented in the actual Guidelines document.
****************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational & School Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) https://www.themindhub.com ******************************************
Abstract Several studies have demonstrated that individual differences in processing speed fully mediate the association between age and intelligence, whereas the association between processing speed and intelligence cannot be explained by age differences. Because measures of processing speed reflect a plethora of cognitive and motivational processes, it cannot be determined which specific processes give rise to this mediation effect. This makes it hard to decide whether these processes should be conceived of as a cause or an indicator of cognitive aging. In the present study, we addressed this question by using a neurocognitive psychometrics approach to decompose the association between age differences and fluid intelligence. Reanalyzing data from two previously published datasets containing 223 participants between 18 and 61 years, we investigated whether individual differences in diffusion model parameters and in ERP latencies associated with higher-order attentional processing explained the association between age differences and fluid intelligence. We demonstrate that individual differences in the speed of non-decisional processes such as encoding, response preparation, and response execution, and individual differences in latencies of ERP components associated with higher-order cognitive processes explained the negative association between age differences and fluid intelligence. Because both parameters jointly accounted for the association between age differences and fluid intelligence, age-related differences in both parameters may reflect age-related differences in anterior brain regions associated with response planning that are prone to be affected by age-related changes. Conversely, age differences did not account for the association between processing speed and fluid intelligence. Our results suggest that the relationship between age differences and fluid intelligence is multifactorially determined. View Full-Text
****************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational & School Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) https://www.themindhub.com ******************************************
The best professional organization for research on intelligence. I would urge my fellow school psychology colleagues interested in serious cutting edge intelligence research to consider joining, if for no other reason than access to articles from the journal of Intelligence.
Intelligence – International Society For Intelligence Research https://isironline.org/
-- *********************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) www.themindhub.com ************************************************
New open access journal Psychological Test Adaptation and Development (PTAD) launched – Intelligence https://isironline.org/2020/07/new-open-access-journal-psychological-test-adaptation-and-development-ptad-launched/
More on the central role of central control (AC-Gsm) in general intelligence.
"Earlier we noted positive manifold, the finding of ubiquitous positive correlations between different cognitive tests, and Spearman's original proposal that some general or g factor contributes to success in any cognitive activity [11,12]. One simple interpretation is that g reflects the attentional integration functions of the MD system and, in agreement with Spearman's hypothesis, we suggest that MD functions contribute very broadly to effective cognition. At the same time, it seems likely that the full explanation for positive manifold is more nuanced, with multiple contributory factors [39,58]."
Integrated Intelligence from Distributed Brain Activity: Trends in Cognitive Sciences
****************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational & School Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) https://www.themindhub.com ******************************************
Important method info for those doing research related to the "g or not to g" question in intelligence.
****************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational & School Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) https://www.themindhub.com ******************************************
James R. Flynn, Who Found We Are Getting Smarter, Dies at 86 https://flip.it/HQ6wrM
****************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational & School Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) https://www.themindhub.com ******************************************
The secular trend of intelligence test scores in the present century: The Danish experience - ScienceDirect https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016028962100009X
Highlights • Changes in mean intelligence test scores were minimal in Denmark in 2006–2019. • A change in the format of the intelligence test resulted in a sudden drop in scores. • Neither changes in parental age, dysgenics, or immigration can explain the findings. • Changes in sample composition may conceal a true decline in intelligence test scores. Abstract The present register-based study investigated the secular trend of intelligence test scores during the period from 2006 through 2019 in a Danish population-representative sample, as well as whether the observed trend could be explained by changes in parental age, dysgenics, and immigration or changes in the format of the intelligence test and sample characteristics. The study population consisted of all Danish men appearing before a draft board during the study period (N = 400,288). Intelligence test scores were obtained by the use of Børge Priens Prøve, typically at age 19. For each of the included draft board cohorts, the intelligence test score mean and standard deviation were estimated. The results showed that changes in mean intelligence test scores were minimal during the study period. A slight decline was observed from 2006 to 2010. Furthermore, there was a drop of 1.5 IQ points from 2010 to 2011, which coincided with the change in the format of the intelligence test from paper-and-pencil to computer-based, but there was essentially no change after 2011. Neither changes in parental age, dysgenics, or immigration seem to have influenced the observations. However, changes in sample composition may conceal a true decline in intelligence test scores given that a larger proportion of individuals with low intelligence seems to be exempted from testing. In conclusion, the study findings suggest no systematic change in intelligence test scores during the last decade, but due to changes in sample composition, it cannot be excluded that there has been a negative secular trend.
The Model of Achievement Competence Motivation (MACM)has been under development since the early 2000's by Dr. Kevin S. McGrew. The work is (has) been formally presented in an invited article--"The Model of
Achievement
Competence Motivation (MACM)--Standing on the shoulders of giants"
(McGrew, in press, 2021), for a forthcoming special issue on motivation
in the
Canadian Journal of School Psychology).
Due to the page length constraints of the journal, significant background and explanatory information could not be presented in the article. Thus, I have "off-loaded" this material for supplementary viewing via on-line PPT slide shows and downloadable PDF files.
Five MACM PPT modules have been posted at SlideShare and can be viewed and downloaded from that site. For those who would prefer to directly download PDF versions of the PPT modules from one page...here it is. Below are the titles of the five modules and associated download links. In addition, the paper includes, in a table footnote, definitions for 16 self-regulatory constructs from a recent article by Sitzman and Ely (2011). That PDF file is also available from download below.
Enjoy.
The Model of Achievement Competence Motivation (MACM)
The Model of Achievement Competence Motivation (MACM)is
a series of slide modules. By clicking on the link you can view the
slides at SlideShare. This is the fifth and final (Part E) in the series. This one is brief...only 11 slides. Crossing the Rubicon Commitment Pathway Model to Learning. There will be a total of five modules. The
modules will serve as supplemental materials to "The Model of
Achievement
Competence Motivation (MACM)--Standing on the shoulders of giants"
(McGrew, in press, 2021 - in a forthcoming special issue on motivation
in the
Canadian Journal of School Psychology)
You should be able to access the prior modules (A-C) from the link above.
Click here for prior "beyond IQ" labeled posts at this blog.
All professionals in the field need this important reference book, which integrates the findings and developments of the last 10 years in a systematic approach to diagnosis, optional subgroup classification, and planning of systems of supports for people with ID.
In addition, the 12th edition examines the construct of age of onset as a criterion in diagnosis and presents the operational definition in a way that will be critically important to professionals in the field.
To explore our other titles, visit our online bookstore by clicking here.
Members get even more savings! Join or Renew AAIDD Membership for Journal Access and Discounts on All AAIDD Books & Curriculum
**Members: Login for your member discount to also be applied at checkout**
American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) 8403 Colesville Road, Suite 900 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Telephone: 202-387-1968 Fax: 202-387-2193 www.aaidd.org
Keeping Creativity under Control: Contributions of Attention Control and Fluid Intelligence to Divergent Thinking: Creativity Research Journal: Vol 0, No 0 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10400419.2020.1855906
More research implicating attentional control (AC) as a key cognitive process.
The Model of Achievement Competence Motivation (MACM) is
a series of slide modules. By clicking on the link you can view the
slides at SlideShare. This is the fourth (Part D) in the series--Volition and Self-regulated Learning Domains described.. There will be a total of five modules. The
modules will serve as supplemental materials to "The Model of
Achievement
Competence Motivation (MACM)--Standing on the shoulders of giants"
(McGrew, in press, 2021 - in a forthcoming special issue on motivation
in the
Canadian Journal of School Psychology)
You should be able to access the prior modules (A-C) from the link above.
Click here for prior "beyond IQ" labeled posts at this blog.
The Model of Achievement Competence Motivation (MACM) is
a series of slide modules. By clicking on the link you can view the
slides at SlideShare. This is the second (Part B) in the series--An overview of the model. There will be a total of five modules. The
modules will serve as supplemental materials to "The Model of
Achievement
Competence Motivation (MACM)--Standing on the shoulders of giants"
(McGrew, in press, 2021 - in a forthcoming special issue on motivation
in the
Canadian Journal of School Psychology)
Click here for first of the series (Part A: Introduction and Background)
Click here for prior "beyond IQ" labeled posts at this blog.
The Model of Achievement Competence Motivation (MACM) is a series of slide modules. By clicking on the link you can view the slides at SlideShare. This is the first (Part A) in the series. The
modules will serve as supplemental materials to "The Model of Achievement
Competence Motivation (MACM)--Standing on the shoulders of giants"
(McGrew, in press, 2021 - in a forthcoming special issue on motivation in the
Canadian Journal of School Psychology)
Click here for prior "beyond IQ" labeled posts at this blog.
******************************************************
Kevin McGrew, PhD
Educational Psychologist
Director, Institute for Applied Psychometrics
IAP
www.themindhub.com ******************************************************
Where Does Creativity Come from? What Is Creativity? Where Is Creativity Going in Giftedness? | SpringerLink https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-56869-6_5
****************************************** Kevin S. McGrew, PhD Educational & School Psychologist Director Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP) https://www.themindhub.com ******************************************
Testing Our Children When the World Shuts Down: Analyzing Recommendations for Adapted Tele-Assessment during COVID-19 - Shelley Kathleen Krach, Tracy L. Paskiewicz, Malaya M. Monk, 2020 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0734282920962839
Abstract In 2017, the National Association of School Psychologists described tele-assessment as the least researched area of telehealth. This became problematic in 2020 when COVID-19 curtailed the administration of face-to-face assessments. Publishers began to offer computer-adapted tele-assessment methods for tests that had only previously been administered in person. Recommendations for adapted tele-assessment practice had to be developed with little empirical data. The current study analyzed recommendations from entities including professional organizations, test publishers, and governmental offices. The samples for each were small, but the findings were noteworthy. Test publishers were unanimous in recommending the use of their face-to-face assessments through adapted tele-assessment methods (either with or without caution). Governmental agencies were more likely to recommend not using adapted tele-assessment methods or to use these methods with caution. Finally, professional organizations were almost unanimous in their recommendations to use adapted tele-assessment but to do so with caution. In addition to deviations in the types of recommendations provided, entities varied in how the information was distributed. About one-fifth (23.5%) of all entities surveyed provided no recommendations at all. About 45% of the remaining entities provided recommendations on their Web sites. The rest provided information through shared documents, online toolkits, peer-reviewed journals, and emails. Implications for the field of psychology's future crisis management planning are discussed in response to these findings. Keywords tele-assessment, validity, best practices, technology, assessment, COVID-19, crisis, program evaluatio
Towards a Model of Valued Human Cognitive Abilities: An African Perspective Based on a Systematic Review
Seth Oppong*
Department of Psychology, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
Studies that investigate cognitive ability in African children and estimate the general cognitive abilities of African adults tend to work with existing models of intelligence. However, African philosophy and empirical studies in cross-cultural psychology have demonstrated that conceptualizations of human cognitive ability vary with location. This paper begins with the assumption that the existing Anglo-American models of cognitive abilities are valuable but limited in their capacity to account for the various conceptualizations of valued cognitive abilities in different human societies. On the basis of this assumption, I employ extant empirical evidence generated through ethnographic studies across Africa to formulate what an African model of valued human cognitive ability
ought to be. The output of this formulation has been so christened a model of valued cognitive ability in order to draw attention to the fact that models of cognitive abilities have currency and values in each human society. This value allocation is expected to influence which elements of cognitive ability each human society will promote and develop. In
addition, implications for theory, research and praxes are discussed.
Understanding intelligence testing in the context of Bronfrenbrenner's ecological systems model--is COVID seriously damaging, rearranging, decoupling, etc. the major proximal and distal sources of influence on a child's learning, resulting in a need to look closer at non-cognitive (conative) variables...beyond IQ?
This morning I revisited one of my favorite videos (of those I have posted), first posted in 2015, where I explained how intelligence testing needed to be understood in the context of distal and proximal influences in a child's environment. I believe that a "big picture" understanding of the wide range of variables that influence school learning requires a "humbling" of the status of intelligence testing, a field where I have spent the majority of my professional career. After one finishes the video, think about the "big picture" ecological systems model that is described. IMHO, COVID may be seriously impacting that the primary distal and proximal variables that influence (both positively and negatively) school learning (national educational policy; school systems and local community sources of formal and informal support; individual schools; the lack of in class learning; parents working from home or being unemployed), as well as peer interactions in a child's neighborhood (due to social distancing). Stare at the final big picture figure and reflect on how COVID is disrupting all the primary sets of variables that influence school learning. The range of disrupted causal influences is staggering.
The end result, for many children, is learning via distance learning methods, often with the aid of parents who are not educators. Although intelligence is very important, and may be more important as children must use their abilities to learn more independently, it strikes me that at this point in our countries (global) current crises, it may be the non-cognitive variables that might need better understanding and enhancement. That is, the conative (aka., noncognitive) "beyond IQ" variables of motivation and self-regulated learning (aka., a part of volition) may be more important today than ever. To engage in independent, loosely (dis)organized instruction, students who have strong motivation and independent self-regulation learning strategies may have a distinct advantage--those who do not, may be at a serious disadvantage. Jack Carroll's seminal model of school learning, that spawned decades of research on models of school learning, reminds us, in elegant terms, that aside from key student individual difference variables, the quantity (opportunity for instruction) and quality of instruction are key variables in school learning. Both of these are being seriously impacted due to COVID.
COVID appears to be a high level all encompassing distal variable (wielding impact at the global, national, community, and school system levels) that is rearranging the the relative importance of variables in school learning. Students now, and in the future, may need more assistance in acquiring critical non-cognitive motivational dispositions and independent self-regulated learning strategies in order to maximize what they can from their repertoire of cognitive abilities in order to continue and maintain academic growth. If may be necessary to revise the degree of influence of distal and proximal school learning influence variables as per Bronfrenbreener's ecological systems model.
Creativity and Innovation in Times of Crisis (COVID-19) | Frontiers Research Topic https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/13833/creativity-and-innovation-in-times-of-crisis-covid-19#articles
******************************************************
Kevin McGrew, PhD
Educational Psychologist
Director, Institute for Applied Psychometrics
IAP
www.themindhub.com ******************************************************
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0734282920977718 Abstract The current article provides a response to concerns raised by Dombrowski, McGill, Canivez, Watkins, & Beaujean (2020) regarding the methodological confounds identified by Decker, Bridges, Luedke, and Eason (2020) for using a bifactor (BF) model and Schmid–Leiman (SL) procedure in previous studies supporting a general factor of intelligence (i.e., "g"). While Dombrowski et al. (2020) raised important theoretical and practical issues, the theoretical justification for using a BF model and SL procedure to identify cognitive dimensions remain unaddressed, as well as significant concerns for using these statistical methods as the basis for informing the use of cognitive tests in clinical applications