This dissertation studies the neural basis of song, a universal human behavior. The relationship of words and melodies in the perception of song at phonological, semantic, melodic, and rhythmic levels of processing was investigated using the fine temporal resolution of Electroencephalography (EEG). The observations reported here may shed light on a ubiquitous human experience and also inform the discussion of whether language and music share neural resources or recruit domain-specific neural mechanisms. Experiment 1 was designed to determine whether words and melody in song are processed interactively or independently. Participants listened to sung words in which the melodies and/or the words were similar or different, and performed a same/different task while attending to the linguistic and musical dimensions in separate blocks of trials. Event-Related Potentials and behavioral data converged in showing interactive processing between the linguistic and musical dimensions of sung words, regardless of the direction of attention. In particular, the N400 component, a well-established marker of semantic processing, was modulated by musical melody. The observation that variations in musical features affect lexico-semantic processing in sung language was a novel finding with implications for shared neural resources between language and music. Experiment 2 was designed to explore the idea that well-aligned text-settings, in which the strong syllables occur on strong beats, capture listeners' attention and help them understand song lyrics. EEG was recorded while participants listened to sung sentences whose linguistic stress patterns were well-aligned, misaligned, or had variable alignment with the musical meter, and performed a lexical decision task on subsequently presented visual targets. / Results showed that induced beta and evoked gamma power were modulated differently for well-aligned and misaligned syllables, and that task performance was adversely affected when visual targets followed misaligned and varied sentences. These findings suggest that alignment of linguistic stress and musical meter in song enhance beat tracking and linguistic segmentation by entraining periodic fluctuations in high frequency brain activity to the stimuli. A series of follow-up studies has been outlined to further investigate the relationship between rhythmic attending in speech and music, and the influence of metrical alignment in songs on childhood language acquisition. / by Reyna Leigh Gordon. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This study explored the effects of Problem-Based Leaning (PBL) with webanchored instruction in nanotechnology on the science conceptual understanding, the attitude towards science, and the perception of science in society of elementary students. A mixed-methods approach was used. Subjects (N=46) participated in the study for approximately two and a half weeks. A pretest was administered for science conceptual understanding and for attitude towards science. An intervention, web-based nanotechnology anchor, Catching the Rays, followed. Catching the Rays navigated subjects through a nano quest on sunscreen. After the intervention, a posttest was administered for each science conceptual understanding and attitude towards science. Following, a purposeful selection of interviewees (N=6) participated in a Nano Post- Interview. Pretest/posttest data were analyzed using a paired t test. Results of the paired t test for science conceptual understanding (post- being larger than pre-, p <. 01) and attitude towards science (post- being larger than pre-, p < .01) were significant at the p < .05 alpha level. Nano Post-Interview data were coded and analyzed independently by two raters for emerging themes. Two themes of "Risks and Benefits" and "Solves Problems" emerged from subjects' (N=6) responses to perception of science in society questions. The theme of "Risks and Benefits" strongly suggests that subjects have a positive perception that nanotechnology comes with risks and benefits to society. The theme of "Solves Problems" strongly suggests subjects have a positive perception that nanotechnology is governed by society's needs and is used to help solve society's problems. Findings from this study suggest that PBL with web-anchored instruction in nanotechnology had a positive effect on subjects' science conceptual understanding, attitude towards science, and perception of science in society. / by Karla Anne Yurick. / Vita. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The quality of early caregiving and educational environments has a significant effect on children’s later cognitive outcomes. Early childhood teachers are an important determining factor in the quality of these environments. Due to inconsistencies in practice across the early childhood field, there is a call for better prepared teachers. Teacher preparation itself is criticized for its lack of innovative and effective practices. While research finds that more effective teacher preparation programs are those that are steeped in clinical practice, these types of experiences are inconsistent and fragmented in the early childhood field. Part of the issue is the lack of knowledge on how to integrate highquality clinical experiences carefully into early childhood teacher preparation in order to prepare all preservice teachers successfully for the classroom. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Studies have shown that human infants can integrate the multisensory attributes of their world and, thus, have coherent perceptual experiences. Multisensory attributes can either specify non-arbitrary (e.g., amodal stimulus/event properties and typical relations) or arbitrary properties (e.g., visuospatial height and pitch). The goal of the current study was to expand on Walker et al.'s (2010) finding that 4-month-old infants looked longer at rising/falling objects when accompanied by rising/falling pitch than when accompanied by falling/rising pitch. We did so by conducting two experiments. In Experiment 1, our procedure matched Walker et al.'s (2010) single screen presentation while in Experiment 2 we used a multisensory paired-preference procedure. Additionally, we examined infants' responsiveness to these synesthetic-like events at multiple ages throughout development (four, six, and 12 months of age). ... In sum, our findings indicate that the ability to match changing visuospatial height with rising/falling pitch does not emerge until the end of the first year of life and throw into doubt Walker et al.'s (2010) claim that 4-month-old infants perceive audiovisual synesthetic relations in a manner similar to adults. / by Nicholas Minar. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

This qualitative study examined the nature of 5th-grade students' oral and written discourse in relation to their conceptual learning during six science inquiry-based lessons. Qualitative data were collected using small group observations, transcriptions of small group discourse, students' science notebooks, and student interviews. These data were used to create an in-depth illustration of 5th-grade students' discourse and the impact of that discourse on their science conceptual learning. Findings indicated students spoke in three main discourse classifications during small group inquiries and two of these discourses were also present in the science notebook entries. Findings further indicated gender did not impact the nature of students' oral or written discourse regarding their conceptual learning. Implications for classroom practice and suggestions for further research in elementary science education are offered. / by Melissa Y. Parks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Many studies have supported the overall health benefits of mindfulness meditation practices for adults, but research exploring such benefits for children is sparse. The present study explored the psychophysiological effects of mindfulness meditation over a 10 week-period on a sample of 2nd-and 4th-grade children. Electroencephalograph (EEG) asymmetry and coherence were recorded at baseline and immediately after the meditation intervention for the experimental group, and at baseline and after 10 weeks for the control group. Measures of affect, behavioral motivation, creativity, and depression were also administered. The primary findings indicated that when improvement in depressive symptoms occurred for 4th-grade students who were somewhat engaged in meditation practice, left-sided frontal EEG activity was also more prominent. Additionally, 4th-grade students who actively participated in meditation practice experienced decreases in self-reported levels of negative affect. Results suggest that mindfulness meditation is beneficial for improving 4th-grade students’ mood and brain regions associated with mood. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The current study assessed whether the accuracy of children’s self-reports of events experienced differs as a function of age and how the question is asked. Additional factors like metamemory and distractibility were assessed. Primary-school students (M= 7.7 years) and middle-school students (M = 9.7 years) completed two different versions of an event frequency measure, two times, at one week intervals. In one of the measures of event frequency, no memory prompts were provided (uncued questionnaire condition), while in the other measure, recall categories for aiding recollections were provided (cued questionnaire condition). Participants’ self-reported event frequencies for the cued and uncued questionnaires were compared with trained observers’ event frequencies for the cued and uncued conditions. Older children reported event frequency more accurately than younger participants. Participants also reported events with greater accuracy with the aid of memory prompts than without, an effect that was especially strong among the younger children. Neither metamemory nor distractibility was accountable for the differences within age groups. The findings suggest that age-related improvements in accuracy of event frequency across the transition into adolescence may, in part, be due to improvements in the ability to recall and recount those events in the absence of memory cues. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Our everyday world consists of people and objects that are usually specified by dynamic and concurrent auditory and visual attributes, which is known to increase perceptual salience and, therefore, facilitate learning and discrimination in infancy. Interestingly, early experience with faces and vocalizations has two seemingly opposite effects during the first year of life, 1) it enables infants to gradually acquire perceptual expertise for the faces and vocalizations of their own race and, 2) it narrows their ability to discriminate the faces of other-race faces (Kelly et al., 2007). It is not known whether multisensory redundancy might help older infants overcome the other-race effect reported in previous studies. The current project investigated infant discrimination of dynamic and vocalizing other-race faces in younger and older infants using habituation and eye-tracking methodologies. Experiment 1 examined 4-6 and 10-12-month-old infants' ability to discriminate either a native or non-native face articulating the syllable /a/. Results showed that both the 4-6- and the 10-12-month-olds successfully discriminated the faces,regardless of whether they were same- or other-race faces. Experiment 2 investigated the contribution of auditory speech cues by repeating Experiment 1 but in silence. Results showed that only the 10-12-month-olds tested with native-race faces successfully discriminated them. Experiment 3 investigated whether it was speech per se or sound in general that facilitated discrimination of the other-race faces in Experiment 1 by presenting a synchronous, computer-generated "boing" sound instead of audible speech cues. Results indicated that the 4-6-month olds discriminated both types of faces but that 10-12-month-olds only discriminated own-race faces. These results indicate that auditory cues, along with dynamic visual cues, can help infants overcome the effects of previously reported narrowing and facilitate discrimination of other-race static, silent faces. Critically, our results show that older infants can overcome the other race-effect when dynamic faces are accompanied by speech but not when they are accompanied by non- speech cues. Overall, a generalized auditory facilitation effect was found as a result of multisensory speech. Moreover, our findings suggest that infants' ability to process other- race faces following perceptual narrowing is more plastic than previously thought. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

A sequential design characterized by a mixture of a cross-sectional and a nine-month follow-up longitudinal design was used to allow both between and within groups comparisons. Two schools using the "through-train mode" for school promotion were invited to participate in order to ensure that follow-up measures could be made. A total of 405 schoolchildren (213 boys, 192 girls) completed the study, with 144 in the G5-6 group (i.e., grade promotion from Grade 5 to Grade 6), 142 in the G6-7 group (i.e., school transition from Grade 6 to Grade 7), and 119 in the G7-8 group (i.e., grade promotion from Grade 7 to Grade 8). The creative thinking, stress levels, and conventionality in thinking of the participants were measured using three parallel forms of the Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production (TCT-DP), Stress Appraisal Measures (SAM), and the Conventionality Test at 3 time-points (i.e., before, during, and after promotion to a new school or higher grade). / In the fast-changing modern world, creativity has become increasingly important for dealing with complex problems and opportunities. Improving creativity is therefore important for both individuals and societies. Studying creativity development can help us to infer the contributing factors that may hinder or enhance creativity. Studies on creativity development during childhood and adolescence have suggested that a creativity slump is a special, but common, phenomenon. Yet it remains unclear why a creativity slump occurs at a specific age or at a specific time of development. The present dissertation provides a direct empirical comparison of two competing hypotheses on the creativity slump. The school transition stress hypothesis, drawn from the continuity or experience perspective of human development, suggests that a creativity slump is related to the stress associated with school transition, whereas the cognitive-developmental hypothesis, which takes the stage perspective of human development, suggests that the conventional thinking stage inhibits the expression of creativity and is hence conducive to a slump. The explanatory power of these two theoretical perspectives in relation to a creativity slump was tested by addressing the research question as to whether a creativity slump would still occur if school transition occurred at the cognitive stage that is beyond the conventional thinking stage (i.e., the postconventional thinking stage). The study explicitly compared the relative contribution of stress appraisal and conventionality in thinking to creativity development. / In the present study, it was found that a creativity slump still occurred when school transition took place during the postconventional thinking stage, lending support to the school transition stress hypothesis, but not to the cognitive-developmental hypothesis, regarding a creativity slump at school transition. We further clarified the specific roles of cognitive appraisals of stress in relation to creativity. Negative stress appraisals (i.e., appraising school life as threatening) were negatively predictive of creativity, whereas positive stress appraisals (i.e., appraising school life as challenging and controllable) were positively predictive of creativity. Regarding the role of level of conventionality in thinking in creativity, the results suggest that although postconventional thinking has a positive effect on creative thinking, its effect on creative thinking is significantly mediated by stress appraisals. The results also showed individual differences in experiencing a creativity slump. The statistic that only 44.4% of the students in the school transition group experienced a slump lends support to the idea that a creativity slump is neither overwhelming nor unavoidable. In accounting for these individual differences, stress appraisal variables were found to be the significant predictors when both the stress appraisal and conventionality in thinking variables were included in the logistic regression equation to predict the occurrence of a slump. / The present dissertation contributes to the current literature by offering empirical evidence to address the explanatory power of the cognitive-relational theory of stress and the cognitive-developmental perspective in relation to the existence of a creativity slump. The findings suggest that the major factors that are detrimental to creative thinking at school transition are negative appraisals and lack of positive appraisals on school life (i.e., viewing school life as more threatening, less challenging, and less controllable). These findings are helpful for understanding the critical factors that either facilitate or hinder the development of creativity in schoolchildren, which, in turn, could shed further light on effective creativity education. / He Wu, Jing. / Adviser: Wan Chi Wong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-03, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-138). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese; form A-C, appendix III in Chinese.

Metacomprehension refers to the ability to judge one's own comprehension. Studies in the literature have shown that generating keywords after reading helps adults and children make comprehension judgments that are better correlated with their actual comprehension. Researchers have also found that when metacomprehension is framed in terms of confidence, there is an effect of ability, where individuals with low ability tend to be overconfident in their judgments, while those with high ability tend to be underconfident. This paper describes two experiments investigating metacomprehension in seventh graders. Experiment 1 sought to replicate and extend the finding that generating keywords after reading improves the accuracy of comprehension judgments and the effectiveness of study choices. To account for potential effects of time on task, participants in the control condition were asked to read passages twice in lieu of generating keywords. Two measures of metacomprehension accuracy (signed differences and gamma correlations) were based on comprehension judgments taken at two time points (pre-test and post-test). The moderating effects of reading ability were also examined. The results of Experiment 1 showed that participants were overconfident in their judgments of their own comprehension. Overconfidence was greater for pre-test predictions than for post-test reflections, and it was also greater for participants with lower reading ability. Generating keywords caused participants to become significantly less overconfident- or more accurate- from pre-test to post-test in their comprehension judgments, but it did not actually boost comprehension scores. In other words, generating keywords helped participants know that they did not know; it did not, however, help them know more. In Experiment 2, the investigation of generating keywords and rereading text was situated within a new context incorporating practice test questions. Studies have shown that practice testing is an effective study strategy. Additionally, since researchers have found that learners can use information about peer performance as a basis for making judgments about themselves, Experiment 2 also asked whether peer collaboration might increase metacomprehension accuracy. Participants were randomly assigned to four conditions: individual/keyword, individual/reread, collaborate/keyword, and collaborate/reread. All participants answered practice test questions; participants in the individual conditions worked on the questions alone, while participants in the collaborative conditions discussed the questions with a partner. As in Experiment 1, participants in Experiment 2 were also overconfident in judging their own comprehension. Again, there was an effect for time of judgment, such that predictions were more overconfident than were reflections. Surprisingly, peer collaboration was found to lead to greater overconfidence in comprehension judgments. Participants who collaborated with a peer were more overconfident than participants who worked alone. Experiment 2 showed that in the presence of practice testing and peer collaboration, the interactive effect of keyword generation and time of judgment was minimized. Within the keyword group, participants who collaborated and participants who worked alone did not differ in overconfidence. Within the reread group, however, participants who collaborated were significantly more overconfident than those who worked alone. Taken together, these two studies suggest that middle school students are generally overconfident in their judgments of comprehension. However, the results indicate that study strategies designed to enhance comprehension and learning can be effective in reducing students' overconfidence about themselves.