Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor, Juan Carlos Gomez, for taking me on as a stude... more Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor, Juan Carlos Gomez, for taking me on as a student and patiently indulging my many interests. His guidance and encouragement went a long way to seeing this dissertation to fruition. I was also very fortunate to work with someone so kind and considerate. Several others in the department participated directly, or indirectly, in my scientific training. I am gratefol to Andy Whiten for stimulating discussions, for insight into the "business" of academia and for his encouragement. Verity Brown proved an extremely useful and enthusiastic sounding board from time to time. Dick Byrne and Dave Perrett provided helpful comments on manuscript drafts, Paul Gardner and Emanuele Castano shared their statistical expertise and Nadia Corp and Eva Loth patiently helped me to think through research ideas. I would also like to acknowledge the substantive input and encouragement of academics outside the department especially Lynn Lib en, David Uttal and Annette Karmiloff-Smith. This research could not have been carried out without the co-operation and kindness of those who provided practical support. Sincere thanks to Jackie, Lesley and Brian in our very accommodating workshop for providing technical assistance with a smile. I also thank the undergraduate students at St. Andrews, Heriot-Watt and Edinburgh Universities who assisted with videotaping the many test sessions. And I am deeply grateful to the nursery teachers, parents and children in Edinburgh and St. Andrews who cheerfully participated in the research. I am fortunate to have had the support of loyal friends too numerous to mention here-a very big thank-you to all. Special thanks goes to Eva Loth for her friendship, keen insights and enthusiasm for research. Finally, I am especially grateful to Philip Awadalla without whose sharp mind, unwavering optimism, patience and understanding this work could not have been completed.
Students in many western countries struggle to achieve acceptable standards in numeracy despite i... more Students in many western countries struggle to achieve acceptable standards in numeracy despite its recognition as an important 21 st century skill. As commercial math programs remain a staple of classroom instruction, investigations of their effectiveness are essential to inform decision-making regarding how to invest limited resources while maximizing student gains. We conducted a cluster randomized-controlled trial of the effectiveness of JUMP Math, a distinctive math program whose central tenets are empirically supported, for improving elementary math achievement (clinical trial.gov no. NCT02456181). The study involved 554 grade 2 (primary) and 592 grade 5 (junior) students and 193 teachers in 41 schools, in an urban-rural Canadian school board. Schools were randomly assigned to use either JUMP Math or their business-as-usual, problem-based approach to math instruction. We tracked student progress in math achievement on standardized and curriculum-based measures of computation and problem solving, for 2 consecutive school years. Junior students taught with JUMP Math made significantly greater progress in computation than their non-JUMP peers but the groups did not differ significantly in problem solving. Effects took hold relatively quickly, replicating the results from an earlier pilot study. Primary students in the non-JUMP group made significantly greater gains in problem solving and computation in year 1. But those taught with JUMP Math made significantly greater gains in problem solving and the groups did not differ in computation, in year 2. The positive effects of JUMP Math are noteworthy given that the JUMP Math teachers were likely still adjusting to the new program. That these positive findings were obtained in an effectiveness study (i.e. in real-world conditions), suggests that JUMP Math may be a valuable evidence-based addition to the teacher's toolbox. Given the importance of numeracy for 21 st century functioning, identifying and implementing effective math instruction programs could have far-reaching, positive implications.
Three experiments investigated the effect of an adult's social cues on 2-and 3-year-old children'... more Three experiments investigated the effect of an adult's social cues on 2-and 3-year-old children's ability to use a sign or symbol to locate a hidden object. Results showed that an adult's positive, engaging facial expression facilitated children's ability to identify the correct referent, particularly for 3-year-olds. A neutral facial expression and the presence of the adult's hand also facilitated performance, but to a lesser degree than did an engaging facial expression. The effect of the adult's social cues was greater for relatively unfamiliar signs and symbols (replica or arrow) than it was for a more familiar sign (pointing finger). These findings indicate that non-directional social cues such as facial expression help to convey communicative intent and facilitate children's comprehension of signs and symbols.
The research reported here investigated the nature of young children’s understanding of a novel s... more The research reported here investigated the nature of young children’s understanding of a novel symbol—a scale model. Children witnessed the hiding of a small toy in a scale model of a room and were then required to search for an analogous larger toy that had been surreptitiously hidden in the actual room. At issue was whether children succeed by attending to the target location (object strategy), to the spatial location of the target location (spatial strategy), or to both types of information. It has been suggested that at three years of age (the age at which children first succeed on the task) children succeed by recognizing the correspondence between analogous objects in the two spaces (Bence & Presson, 1997; Blades & Cooke, 1994; Perner, 1991; Lillard, 1993) but that an understanding of the model as a whole as a representation of the room necessitates also attending to the spatial relations between the objects (Perner, 1991; Lillard, 1993). In five Experiments, children partici...
Early self-regulation predicts school readiness, academic success, and quality of life in adultho... more Early self-regulation predicts school readiness, academic success, and quality of life in adulthood. Its development in the preschool years is rapid and also malleable. Thus, preschool curricula that promote the development of self-regulation may help set children on a more positive developmental trajectory. We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial of the Tools of the Mind preschool curriculum, a program that targets self-regulation through imaginative play and self-regulatory language (Tools; clinical trials identifier NCT02462733). Previous research with Tools is limited, with mixed evidence of its effectiveness. Moreover, it is unclear whether it would benefit all preschoolers or primarily those with poorly developed cognitive capacities (e.g., language, executive function, attention). The study goals were to ascertain whether the Tools program leads to greater gains in self-regulation compared to Playing to Learn (YMCA PTL), another play based program that does not tar...
Understanding measurement units is critical to mathematics and science learning, but it is a topi... more Understanding measurement units is critical to mathematics and science learning, but it is a topic that American students find difficult. In 3 studies, we investigated the challenges underlying this difficulty in kindergarten and second grade by comparing performance on different versions of a linear measurement task. Children measured crayons that were either aligned or shifted relative to the left edge of either a continuous ruler or a row of discrete units. The alignment (aligned, shifted) and the measuring tool (ruler, discrete units) were crossed to form 4 types of problems. Study 1 showed good performance in both grades on both types of aligned problems as well as on the shifted problems with discrete units. In contrast, performance was at chance on the shifted ruler problems. Study 2 showed that performance on shifted discrete unit problems declined when numbers were placed on the units, particularly for kindergarteners, suggesting that on the shifted ruler problems, the pres...
The current study: (1) examined the relation between therapeutic alliance and changes in adolesce... more The current study: (1) examined the relation between therapeutic alliance and changes in adolescent externalizing behavior in Multisystemic Therapy; (2) tested whether maternal depression mediates this relation; and (3) determined whether mothers' and clinicians' perceptions of the alliance differentially predicted outcomes. Alliance was rated near the end of the first month of treatment. At pre-, mid- and posttreatment, maternal depression and adolescents' externalizing behavior were assessed via mother reports, and by clinicians at pre- and posttreatment only. Mediational analyses showed that therapist-rated alliance was related to improvements in maternal depression, which, in turn, was associated with reductions in adolescent externalizing behavior as rated by mothers. There was no association between mothers' and therapists' perceptions of the therapeutic alliance.
Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor, Juan Carlos Gomez, for taking me on as a stude... more Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor, Juan Carlos Gomez, for taking me on as a student and patiently indulging my many interests. His guidance and encouragement went a long way to seeing this dissertation to fruition. I was also very fortunate to work with someone so kind and considerate. Several others in the department participated directly, or indirectly, in my scientific training. I am gratefol to Andy Whiten for stimulating discussions, for insight into the "business" of academia and for his encouragement. Verity Brown proved an extremely useful and enthusiastic sounding board from time to time. Dick Byrne and Dave Perrett provided helpful comments on manuscript drafts, Paul Gardner and Emanuele Castano shared their statistical expertise and Nadia Corp and Eva Loth patiently helped me to think through research ideas. I would also like to acknowledge the substantive input and encouragement of academics outside the department especially Lynn Lib en, David Uttal and Annette Karmiloff-Smith. This research could not have been carried out without the co-operation and kindness of those who provided practical support. Sincere thanks to Jackie, Lesley and Brian in our very accommodating workshop for providing technical assistance with a smile. I also thank the undergraduate students at St. Andrews, Heriot-Watt and Edinburgh Universities who assisted with videotaping the many test sessions. And I am deeply grateful to the nursery teachers, parents and children in Edinburgh and St. Andrews who cheerfully participated in the research. I am fortunate to have had the support of loyal friends too numerous to mention here-a very big thank-you to all. Special thanks goes to Eva Loth for her friendship, keen insights and enthusiasm for research. Finally, I am especially grateful to Philip Awadalla without whose sharp mind, unwavering optimism, patience and understanding this work could not have been completed.
Students in many western countries struggle to achieve acceptable standards in numeracy despite i... more Students in many western countries struggle to achieve acceptable standards in numeracy despite its recognition as an important 21 st century skill. As commercial math programs remain a staple of classroom instruction, investigations of their effectiveness are essential to inform decision-making regarding how to invest limited resources while maximizing student gains. We conducted a cluster randomized-controlled trial of the effectiveness of JUMP Math, a distinctive math program whose central tenets are empirically supported, for improving elementary math achievement (clinical trial.gov no. NCT02456181). The study involved 554 grade 2 (primary) and 592 grade 5 (junior) students and 193 teachers in 41 schools, in an urban-rural Canadian school board. Schools were randomly assigned to use either JUMP Math or their business-as-usual, problem-based approach to math instruction. We tracked student progress in math achievement on standardized and curriculum-based measures of computation and problem solving, for 2 consecutive school years. Junior students taught with JUMP Math made significantly greater progress in computation than their non-JUMP peers but the groups did not differ significantly in problem solving. Effects took hold relatively quickly, replicating the results from an earlier pilot study. Primary students in the non-JUMP group made significantly greater gains in problem solving and computation in year 1. But those taught with JUMP Math made significantly greater gains in problem solving and the groups did not differ in computation, in year 2. The positive effects of JUMP Math are noteworthy given that the JUMP Math teachers were likely still adjusting to the new program. That these positive findings were obtained in an effectiveness study (i.e. in real-world conditions), suggests that JUMP Math may be a valuable evidence-based addition to the teacher's toolbox. Given the importance of numeracy for 21 st century functioning, identifying and implementing effective math instruction programs could have far-reaching, positive implications.
Three experiments investigated the effect of an adult's social cues on 2-and 3-year-old children'... more Three experiments investigated the effect of an adult's social cues on 2-and 3-year-old children's ability to use a sign or symbol to locate a hidden object. Results showed that an adult's positive, engaging facial expression facilitated children's ability to identify the correct referent, particularly for 3-year-olds. A neutral facial expression and the presence of the adult's hand also facilitated performance, but to a lesser degree than did an engaging facial expression. The effect of the adult's social cues was greater for relatively unfamiliar signs and symbols (replica or arrow) than it was for a more familiar sign (pointing finger). These findings indicate that non-directional social cues such as facial expression help to convey communicative intent and facilitate children's comprehension of signs and symbols.
The research reported here investigated the nature of young children’s understanding of a novel s... more The research reported here investigated the nature of young children’s understanding of a novel symbol—a scale model. Children witnessed the hiding of a small toy in a scale model of a room and were then required to search for an analogous larger toy that had been surreptitiously hidden in the actual room. At issue was whether children succeed by attending to the target location (object strategy), to the spatial location of the target location (spatial strategy), or to both types of information. It has been suggested that at three years of age (the age at which children first succeed on the task) children succeed by recognizing the correspondence between analogous objects in the two spaces (Bence & Presson, 1997; Blades & Cooke, 1994; Perner, 1991; Lillard, 1993) but that an understanding of the model as a whole as a representation of the room necessitates also attending to the spatial relations between the objects (Perner, 1991; Lillard, 1993). In five Experiments, children partici...
Early self-regulation predicts school readiness, academic success, and quality of life in adultho... more Early self-regulation predicts school readiness, academic success, and quality of life in adulthood. Its development in the preschool years is rapid and also malleable. Thus, preschool curricula that promote the development of self-regulation may help set children on a more positive developmental trajectory. We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial of the Tools of the Mind preschool curriculum, a program that targets self-regulation through imaginative play and self-regulatory language (Tools; clinical trials identifier NCT02462733). Previous research with Tools is limited, with mixed evidence of its effectiveness. Moreover, it is unclear whether it would benefit all preschoolers or primarily those with poorly developed cognitive capacities (e.g., language, executive function, attention). The study goals were to ascertain whether the Tools program leads to greater gains in self-regulation compared to Playing to Learn (YMCA PTL), another play based program that does not tar...
Understanding measurement units is critical to mathematics and science learning, but it is a topi... more Understanding measurement units is critical to mathematics and science learning, but it is a topic that American students find difficult. In 3 studies, we investigated the challenges underlying this difficulty in kindergarten and second grade by comparing performance on different versions of a linear measurement task. Children measured crayons that were either aligned or shifted relative to the left edge of either a continuous ruler or a row of discrete units. The alignment (aligned, shifted) and the measuring tool (ruler, discrete units) were crossed to form 4 types of problems. Study 1 showed good performance in both grades on both types of aligned problems as well as on the shifted problems with discrete units. In contrast, performance was at chance on the shifted ruler problems. Study 2 showed that performance on shifted discrete unit problems declined when numbers were placed on the units, particularly for kindergarteners, suggesting that on the shifted ruler problems, the pres...
The current study: (1) examined the relation between therapeutic alliance and changes in adolesce... more The current study: (1) examined the relation between therapeutic alliance and changes in adolescent externalizing behavior in Multisystemic Therapy; (2) tested whether maternal depression mediates this relation; and (3) determined whether mothers' and clinicians' perceptions of the alliance differentially predicted outcomes. Alliance was rated near the end of the first month of treatment. At pre-, mid- and posttreatment, maternal depression and adolescents' externalizing behavior were assessed via mother reports, and by clinicians at pre- and posttreatment only. Mediational analyses showed that therapist-rated alliance was related to improvements in maternal depression, which, in turn, was associated with reductions in adolescent externalizing behavior as rated by mothers. There was no association between mothers' and therapists' perceptions of the therapeutic alliance.
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