This dissertation considers different aspects of early childhood education in Germany. It aims at providing an empirical contribution to four issues in early childhood education: the development of cognitive and noncognitive skills (chapter 1-3), institutional child care (chapter 4), the intergenerational transmission of a child's health (chapter 5), and the long-term consequences of early noncognitive skills (chapter 6). This is done by using two data sets: First, we use the mother and child data from the German Socio-economic Panel (SOEP) for the years 2003-2008. The mother and child questionnaire, firstly implemented in 2003, contains detailed information on a child's cognitive and noncognitive skills and health, starting from the time of birth. This information on a child's human capital was assessed by the mothers. Second, we exploit a prospective psychological longitudinal panel study on child development from birth until adulthood, the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk (MARS). These data allow us to use more reliable information on a child's cognitive and noncognitive skills from the age of three months on. However, this study is not representative because children at risk are oversampled. Altogether, the different studies suggest that parental investment (economic resources or non-economic resources) in children explain, at least to some extent, the development of cognitive and noncognitive skills as well as the child's health status. Scope for further research is pointed out, particularly related to long-term consequences of cognitive and noncognitive skills acquired during early childhood. A deeper understanding of how skills develop over the life cycle promises to enrich the economic theory and helps to understand the sources as well as the solutions for inequality. / Die vorliegende Dissertation untersucht verschiedene Aspekte der frühkindlichen Bildung in Deutschland. Während sich die empirische Bildungsforschung in den letzten Jahren intensiv mit Fragen der institutionellen Bildung beschäftigt hat, weisen aktuell geführte familien- und bildungspolitische Diskussionen und neuere Forschungsstudien zunehmend auf die Bedeutung der frühkindlichen Entwicklungsphase als erste Phase für die Entwicklung und Förderung von Humankapital hin. Die Arbeit nimmt die aktuelle Diskussion zum Anlass, unterschiedliche Aspekte der frühkindlichen Bildung in Deutschland zu untersuchen. Die ersten drei Kapitel dieser Arbeit untersuchen, wie sich Fähigkeiten in der (frühen) Kindheit entwickeln. Dafür wird eine Fähigkeitsproduktionsfunktion zugrunde gelegt und deren zentrale Eigenschaften zu unterschiedlichen Phasen innerhalb der (frühen) Kindheit auf ihre empirische Relevanz hin untersucht. Darüber hinaus ist es möglich, Wirkungen unterschiedlicher Investitionen für die Entwicklung kognitiver und nicht-kognitiver Fähigkeiten innerhalb der ersten Lebensjahre zu beleuchten und geeignete politische Instrumente daraus abzuleiten. Kapitel vier beleuchtet den Aspekt der institutionellen Kinderbetreuung für die frühkindliche Bildung in Westdeutschland. Die zugrundeliegende Überlegung dieses Abschnitts ist die Frage, ob der institutionellen Kinderbetreuung in Deutschland neben seiner Betreuungsfunktion neuerdings auch eine Bildungsfunktion zugesprochen wird. Zahlreiche Studien zeigen, dass die Gesundheit in der frühen Kindheit eine zentrale Rolle für die Gesundheit im Erwachsenenalter spielt, und gleichzeitig den Erwerb von Fähigkeiten in der frühen Kindheit und damit auch für spätere Lebensphasen unmittelbar beeinflusst. Die Rolle der Gesundheit innerhalb in der ersten Lebensjahre wird in Kapitel 5 untersucht. Neben der unumstrittenen Bedeutung kognitiver Fähigkeiten für eine Vielzahl ökonomischer und nicht-ökonomischer Outcomes, zeigen neuere Studien die Bedeutung nicht-kognitiver Fähigkeiten. Im letzten Kapitel (sechs) werden daher mittel- bis langfristige Konsequenzen geringer nicht-kognitiver Fähigkeiten in der frühen Kindheit für eine Reihe von sozialen Outcomes (Schulleistungen, Gesundheitsverhalten, Persönlichkeit) im Jugendalter analysiert.

There is a growing consensus that the character of pedagogy must shift from one of teacher- and textbook-directed instruction to one of student-centered learning. This transition stems from the need to maintain the United States’ competitive edge in the world market and prepare young people for a society that is more socially, economically, and politically complex. Progressive educators advocate for a “learning reform” facilitated by digital media, and the skills and competencies that young people develop through using participatory media in an informal setting. This study examined how the use of new media can support subject-area knowledge building and 21st century skills development in nine classrooms in an independent high school. A constructivist grounded theory approach guided the collection and analysis of empirical data. This process took the form of semi-structured interviews with students and teachers, classroom observations, and an examination of course-related documents. A symbolic interactionist perspective framed the data analysis. The study examined wiki use, blogging, microblogging, and document sharing in six high school subject areas: ninth grade History, Latin II, Advanced Placement Art History, twelfth grade English, Anatomy and Physiology, and Environmental Science. Conceptual categories derived from the findings suggest that the use of specific new media tools support subject-area knowledge building, both explicit and tacit. This occurs by promoting participation among all students, which helps students broaden their perspectives through universal access to their peers’ thinking. Findings also suggest that the integration and use of these specific new media tools support the development of certain 21st century cognitive and interpersonal skills. The findings from this study support two substantive theories: 1) The use of new media support knowledge building and skills development through increased participation, leading to broadening students’ perspectives about subject-area content, and 2) as students engage in knowledge building activities, specific features of new media support the development of specific 21st century skills within the cognitive and interpersonal domains. The results of this study provide educators with a set of guidelines to consider as they integrate new media into subject-area curricula, and offer an agenda for further research on a local and national level. / text

As a result of the interactive nature of modern programming languages the perception has developed that proper planning of a solution, reasoned action during the process of problem solving and evaluation of the solution have become less important during computer programming. Learn often rely on the programming language to help them solve a problem, without themselves planning the solution beforehand and then using a computer language to implement the solution. This approach usually leads to using bad programming techniques, resulting in unstructured programmes or rendering the learner unable to solve the problem. The importance of continuous reflection by learners while doing a programming activity has been advocated for quite some time... / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

With the development and rapid spread of new teaching methods involving the use of Information and Communication technologies (ICT) the need of new researches has appeared. Cognitive skills (skills of achieving theoretical and practical knowledge) can be effectively developed through chemistry experiments when theoretical and practical knowledge are juxtaposed. The research topic of the dissertation is the impact of ICT based chemistry experiments on cognitive skills education during chemistry lessons. The research was conducted in one of city’s gymnasiums by construction of cognitive skills expression during chemistry lessons model and its’ implementation in education project. Summarized research results showed weaknesses of ICT implementation in chemistry teaching and limitations of virtual chemistry experiments application for cognitive skills education. The dissertation creates guidelines for other researches in the field of ICT implementation for natural science education. / Tobulėjant informacinėms ir komunikacinėms technologijoms (IKT) vis didesnį populiarumą ir plėtrą įgauna mokomosios kompiuterinės priemonės, todėl atsiranda būtinumas tirti šių mokymo priemonių įtaką ugdymui. Pažintinių mokėjimų (mokėjimų įgyti teorines ir praktines žinias) ugdymas efektyviai vyksta per chemijos pamokų demonstracinius ir laboratorinius eksperimentus, kai yra sugretinamos teorinės žinios su praktiniais mokėjimais. Disertacijoje nagrinėjama, kokią įtaką pažintinių mokėjimų ugdymui turi chemijos demonstraciniai bandymai ir laboratoriniai darbai atlikti IKT pagalba. Nagrinėjant disertacijoje keliamą mokslinę problemą sukurtas pažintinių mokėjimų raiškos chemijos pamokose modelis, parengtas ir vienoje iš miesto gimnazijų įgyvendintas ugdymo projektas. Apibendrinus atliktų tyrimų rezultatus, nustatyti IKT taikymo chemijos ugdyme trūkumai, aprašyti virtualių chemijos eksperimentų taikymo pažintinių mokėjimų ugdymui ribotumai. Disertacinis tyrimas sukuria gaires kitiems IKT taikymo gamtamoksliniame ugdyme moksliniams tyrimams.

As a result of the interactive nature of modern programming languages the perception has developed that proper planning of a solution, reasoned action during the process of problem solving and evaluation of the solution have become less important during computer programming. Learn often rely on the programming language to help them solve a problem, without themselves planning the solution beforehand and then using a computer language to implement the solution. This approach usually leads to using bad programming techniques, resulting in unstructured programmes or rendering the learner unable to solve the problem. The importance of continuous reflection by learners while doing a programming activity has been advocated for quite some time... / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Den svenska skolan har genomgått stora förändringar, samhället ställer andra krav på dagens unga och internationella mätningar visar att svenska elever presterar sämre i skolan. Forskning har visat på att icke-kognitiva kunskaper spelar stor roll för framtidsutvecklingen samt för utvecklingen av kognitiva kunskaper. Vad är skolans uppdrag för att utveckla barn och ungas icke-kognitiva kunskaper? Genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys granskas Skollagen, grundskolans läroplan och FN:s barnkonvention, med fokus på skolans uppdrag för barn och ungdomars utveckling av icke-kognitiva kunskaper, ungas rättigheter till en trygg skolmiljö och möjlighet till socialisering samt hur dokumenten fördelar ansvaret mellan skolan respektive hemmet i barnets utveckling. Studien har också granskat utbildningsplanen för grundskollärarutbildningen på Högskolan Väst för att klargöra lärares kunskapsområde och analyserat hur en socialpedagogisk referensram kan komplettera lärare i ovanstående ansvar och uppdrag i förhållande till hemmet. Den socialpedagogiska referensramen betonar vikten av att se helheten i ett barns situation och det viktiga i att barn och unga inkluderas i sociala gemenskaper och verksamheter för att utvecklas. För att utvecklas behöver barn få de grundläggande behoven i Maslows behovspyramid tillgodosedda. Vilket ger en förståelse för hur viktigt det är att ge barn och unga rätt förutsättningar för att utvecklas optimalt. Utifrån kategorierna socialisering, hemmet och skolan, trygg skolmiljö, icke-kognitiv kunskap och disposition framkommer bland annat att skolan har ett viktigt ansvar för barnets utveckling men att hemmet har det grundläggande ansvaret samt att skolan har ett ansvar för mer än bara kognitiva kunskaper. / The Swedish school has undergone great changes, society places different demands on today's youth's and international measurements show that Swedish pupils perform lower results in school. Research has shown that non- cognitive skills play a major role in the future progress and development of cognitive skills. What is the school's mission to develop children and young people's non- cognitive skills? Through a qualitative content analysis examines the Education Act, the compulsory school curriculum and the UNCRC, focusing on school assignments for child and adolescent development of non- cognitive skills, young people's rights to a safe school environment and the opportunity for socialization and how the document allocates responsibility between school and home in child development. The study also examines the curriculum for elementary teacher program at University West to clarify teachers' knowledge area and analyzed how a social pedagogical framework can supplement teacher in the above responsibilities and tasks in relation to home. The social pedagogical reference framework emphasizes the importance of seeing the big picture of a child's situation and that it´s important that young people are included in social communities and businesses to develop. To thrive, children need to get the basic needs in Maslow's needs pyramid satisfied. This gives an understanding of how important it is to give children and young people right conditions to develop optimally. Based on the categories of socialization, home and school, safe school environment, non- cognitive skills and disposition reveals among other things that the school has an important responsibility for the child's development but that the home has the primary responsibility and that the school is responsible for more than just cognitive skills.

No description available.

Title: The physical load on the body as a factor influencing perceptual cognitive functions. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between the size of the physical load and the visual-motor response time and the accuracy of the decision-making by junior soccer players. Methods: The fourty two respondents (in an average age of 19 ± 1.2 years) participated in the study. It was the single factor quasiexperimental, multilevel and intragroup in which we tried to reveal the causal relationship between the visual-motor response time and the accuracy of the decision-making depending on the size of the previous physical load. We proposed a diagnostic instrument containing the video of the offensive game situations which would allow simultaneous evaluation of the visual-motor response time (using Dartfish software program) and the accuracy of the decision-making (through experts assessment). Results and discussion: The diagnostic instrument contains sixteen video clips of the offensive game situations according to the highest degree of conformity of the panelists. I used polychoric correlation matrix to express dependencies between each game situation within each group comprising four video clips of the offensive game situations. The results of the matrix (range -0.437 to 0.306)...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:46:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1935.pdf: 3958213 bytes, checksum: a0c4b39152b1526967689c4de8929368 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-02-25 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / Population aging is an increasing reality in developing countries. As a result, in the past decades the dementia has become one of the major problems of public health, affecting at least 5% of the population over the age of 65 years. Alzheimer s disease (AD), which is one form of dementia, is related to memory impairment, loss of capacity to learn new skills and forgetfulness of those skills previously mastered. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to investigate whether or not people with AD can learn new conditional discriminations; (2) to verify the extent to which learning of and memory for the stimuli decrease in elderly people without AD. The matching-to-sample (MTS) has been used to assist different populations with special needs in the acquisition of discriminative skills that cannot be learned through conventional teaching methods. The participants in this study were six elderly individuals with AD (two in the initial phase and four in the moderate phase), eight elderly individuals without any form of dementia, and seven young adults aged between 18 and 38 years. The elderly with AD failed to learn conditional discriminations with arbitrary stimuli, but they did learn identity conditional discriminations and simple discriminations. The typically developing elderly participants learned the conditional discriminations and did form equivalence classes; however, they required more training than the younger participants. This study allowed the identification of the process by which every participant learned the relationships, as well as the analysis of the differences between ages and health conditions of the elderly. The systematic teaching of new discriminations could be a useful strategy to maintain the cognitive skills along the aging process. / O envelhecimento populacional é uma realidade crescente nos países em desenvolvimento e nas últimas décadas as demências passaram a constituir um sério problema de saúde pública, acometendo, no mínimo, 5% da população com idade superior a 65 anos. A doença de Alzheimer (DA) é uma demência relativa ao déficit da memória, perda da capacidade de aprender novas habilidades e esquecimento de habilidades previamente aprendidas. O presente projeto teve por objetivo investigar se o doente de Alzheimer poderia aprender novas discriminações e o quanto a aprendizagem e a lembrança dos estímulos decaem na velhice, sem a presença de DA. O emparelhamento com o modelo é um procedimento de ensino de discriminações condicionais que vem sendo utilizado com diferentes populações com necessidades especiais, auxiliando na aquisição de habilidades e repertórios não aprendidos pelos métodos convencionais de ensino a partir do manejo de conseqüências diferenciais para as respostas. Participaram da pesquisa seis idosos diagnosticados com doença de Alzheimer (dois na fase inicial da doença e quatro em fase moderada), oito idosos sem acometimento de qualquer tipo de demência, e sete adultos jovens, com idades de 18 a 38 anos. O procedimento de emparelhamento era simultâneo ou com atraso, para todos os participantes, para problemas discriminativos diferentes. A ordem das condições foi balanceada entre os problemas. Os idosos com Alzheimer não aprenderam discriminações condicionais com estímulos arbitrários; entretanto, aprenderam discriminações condicionais de identidade e discriminações simples. Os idosos com desenvolvimento típico aprenderam as relações condicionais e formaram classes, porém, com maior dificuldade que os jovens. O trabalho permitiu identificar o processo de aprendizagem das relações para cada participante, bem como analisar as diferenças entre cada faixa etária e condições de saúde na velhice. O ensino sistemático de novas discriminações pode ser uma estratégia para manter a cognição ao longo do envelhecimento.

The Aronson Cognitive Residual Evaluation Scale (ACRES) is a new, relatively short neuropsychological test which attempts to measure residual cognitive skills. This study evaluated the ACRES test-retest reliability over a one to twelve month interval. The Trail Making Test (TMT) was included as a validation measure. Subjects were 58 males and females, aged 68 to 94, living in a retirement center or in the community. The ACRES exhibited moderate to strong reliability correlations and the TMT demonstrated low to moderate correlations with the ACRES. There was no time interval effect. Age had a negative effect on four of five ACRES subtests and gender was significant for one ACRES subtest and the TMT Part B. Percent of subjects classified as brain impaired using traditional cutoffs was higher than when age-corrected norms were used. Clinical utility of the ACRES and the TMT is discussed regarding need for age-corrected norms.