Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2004. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-60).

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In this study the role that language plays in the expression of intelligence, bilingualism, and the process of assessing selected cognitive abilities was explored. The primary purpose of the study was to determine if individuals who are allowed to move from one language to another when they provide responses to test items produce results that are different than those obtained by bilingual examinees assessed in one language only. The results indicate that the Experimental Group obtained significantly higher results than the Control Group on all the tests and subtests used. The Experimental Group code-switched more frequently and the examiners only code-switched with that group. The frequency of the code-switching behaviours explains, in great part, all the differences noted in the results as very few other sources of differences were identified, even when groups were compared on sex, first language and relative proficiency in French and in English.

In this study the role that language plays in the expression of intelligence, bilingualism, and the process of assessing selected cognitive abilities was explored. The primary purpose of the study was to determine if individuals who are allowed to move from one language to another when they provide responses to test items produce results that are different than those obtained by bilingual examinees assessed in one language only. The results indicate that the Experimental Group obtained significantly higher results than the Control Group on all the tests and subtests used. The Experimental Group code-switched more frequently and the examiners only code-switched with that group. The frequency of the code-switching behaviours explains, in great part, all the differences noted in the results as very few other sources of differences were identified, even when groups were compared on sex, first language and relative proficiency in French and in English.

Orientador: Carmen Maria Bueno Neme / Banca: Maria de Lourdes Merighi Tabaquim / Banca: Olga Maria Piazentin Rolim Rodrigues / Resumo: O chumbo, utilizado em larga escala em processos industriais, é um dos principais poluentes ambientais do planeta. Os efeitos de sua exposição vem ser tornando problema de saúde pública, com descobertas sobre danos cognitivos em níveis de contaminação cada vez mais baixos. Em Bauru, em 2002, uma fábrica de baterias automotivas provocou um acidente ambiental em que foram contaminadas 314 crianças de zero a 12 anos de idade, o que uniu profissionais de diversos segmentos para diagnósticos e tratamentos multiprofissionais específicos. O setor de psicologia da Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) formou um grupo de pesquisa, cujo projeto inicial denominado "Atendimento emergencial à crianças de zero a 12 anos de idade contaminadas por chumbo", vem gerando sub-projetos e pesquisas, dentre as quais a presente. Trata-se de um estudo longitudinal, que compara quantitativa, qualitativa e estatisticamente, resultados de avaliação intelectual de crianças contaminadas por chumbo, com plumbemia entre 15.40'mü'g/dl e 30'mü'g/dl na avaliação e entre 10.30'mü'g/dl a 21.90'mü'g/dl, na reavaliação. O instrumento utilizado foi o WISC-III, adaptado e padronizado para a população brasileira. Foram reavaliados 10 participantes de ambos os sexos, com idades entre 7a 5 m a 9a 9m na avaliação e 11a 8m a 13a 8m na reavaliação; com escolaridade entre 1ª e 3ª série na avaliação e 5ª e 7ª série na reavaliação, cujo critério de seleção era ter sido avaliado... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Lead, which is broadly used in industrial processes, is one of the main environmental pollutants of the planet. The effects of being exposed to lead, is becoming a public health problem, considering that it was found some cognitive damage even in levels of contamination relatively low. In Bauru, in 2002, an automotive battery plant caused an environmental accident in which 314 children, from 0 to 12 years of age were contaminated. This fact reunited professionals of several areas for specific treatment. The psychology department of São Paulo State University (UNESP), formed a research team denominted "Emergy attendance for children from 0 to 12 years, contaminated by lead", which has been arising sub-projects and researches, including the present one. This is a longitudinal study, which compares quantitative, qualitative and statistical outcomes of the intellectual assessment of Bpb children, ranging from 15.40'mü'g/dl and 30'mü'g/dl on the evaluation and ranging from 10.30'mü'g/dl to 21.90'mü'g/dl on the reevaluation. The instrument applied was WISC-III, which was adapted and standardized for the Brazilian people. Ten subjects from both sexes were evaluated; their ages ranged from 7 years and 5 months to 9 years and 9 months; when they were revaluated their ages ranged from 11 years and months to 13 years and 8 months. During the evaluation period these children were attending from first to third grades and on the reevaluation they were attending from 5th to 7th grades, in which the selection criteria was the assessment applying WISC - III in 2002 remaining with... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

In this study the role that language plays in the expression of intelligence, bilingualism, and the process of assessing selected cognitive abilities was explored. The primary purpose of the study was to determine if individuals who are allowed to move from one language to another when they provide responses to test items produce results that are different than those obtained by bilingual examinees assessed in one language only. The results indicate that the Experimental Group obtained significantly higher results than the Control Group on all the tests and subtests used. The Experimental Group code-switched more frequently and the examiners only code-switched with that group. The frequency of the code-switching behaviours explains, in great part, all the differences noted in the results as very few other sources of differences were identified, even when groups were compared on sex, first language and relative proficiency in French and in English. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

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The purpose of the present study was to examine cognitive abilities and problem solving processes of young and older adults. Specifically, three areas of inquiry were investigated: possible age-related differences in problem solving cognitive abilities, possible differences in cognitive processes used during problem solution, and possible differences in determinants of problem solving cognitive processes.

Ability tests play an important role in the assessment programs of many schools. However, the inferences about ability made from such tests presume that students understand the tasks they are attempting. Task familiarity can vary by student as well as by format. By design, nonverbal reasoning tests use formats that are intended to be novel. The popularity of nonverbal reasoning tests has increased substantially in recent years because of the increasing number of English-language learner (ELL) students in many U.S. school districts. Nonverbal tests are thought to eliminate the need for language in test items and to reduce cultural content. Formats on these tests are also assumed to be equally novel for all students. However, in at least one large study, researchers found substantial differences between the average performance of ELL and non-ELL Hispanic students on three of the most widely used nonverbal tests. Although these differences might reflect real variation in cognitive development, they may also reflect differences in knowledge of test formats and the testing practices used in U.S. schools. In this study, I hypothesized that the score gaps between ELL and non-ELL students might, in part, be due to differences in test familiarity and that providing directions that include more practice and feedback might attenuate these differences. I drew from the research on universal design, dynamic assessment, and cross-cultural testing to develop three different types of directions with practice items. I then compared the effects of these three types of test directions on students completing a nonverbal figure analogies test. Figure analogies tests are generally among the best measures of reasoning abilities and are known to be quite difficult for young students. All directions were provided using video with English and Spanish audio and minor animations to concretize the instructions. The three types of directions were nonverbal-dynamic directions, verbal-dynamic directions, and a control condition that used standard test directions. The nonverbal-dynamic directions presented four practice problems that sampled the range of items on the test. Oral instructions and feedback were minimal. The verbal-dynamic directions presented the same four practice problems with more in-depth description and feedback. These directions also described useful strategies for solving items. The standard test directions presented two sample problems with minimal instruction and feedback. The sample consisted of 882 students in 40 first- and second-grade classrooms in 8 schools. A hierarchical linear model was used to control for similarity among students nested in classrooms and schools and to account for the assignment of treatment (type of directions) at the classroom level. The model included tests for main effects and interactions among treatment, ELL status, and grade. Results indicated that providing additional practice (the nonverbal-dynamic directions) led to small gains in performance, but that the more extensive set of directions (verbal-dynamic directions) were effective only for high-ability students. Contrary to the hypotheses, there was no interaction of ELL status with treatment. An unexpected finding was that use of teacher-read directions instead of video-based directions led to better performance for second-grade students. I conclude that test directions are an important means for improving test familiarity in young students, but that excessive standardization and lengthening of the directions may hinder performance. I also conclude that the choice of practice items and feedback are crucial considerations in the design of test directions.

Doctor of Philosophy / The main aim of this research is the exploration of relationships and correlations between thinking styles of student designers, their personal aptitudes, and design education. It involves discovering the role/s several groups of learning styles and cognitive abilities may play in problem solving during administered design tasks; and the influence they may have on academic performance and quality of produced design solutions. The main hypothesis is that differences in designers’ individual problem solving strategies and, ultimately, products of their expertise – designed artefacts – can be correlated with the differences in their learning styles and cognitive abilities. We suggest the following. (a) Designers with different styles adopt different approaches to design situations and use different strategies during problem solving. It is possible to find the supporting evidence by investigating their performance on design tasks. (b) Individual differences in design reasoning and problem solving could be correlated with the differences in individual cognitive abilities. (c) It may be possible to find correlations between cognitive styles and cognitive abilities. (d) It is likely that a number of visible or measurable qualities of students’ design drawings, would in some way reflect different characteristics of the above individual styles and abilities. The methodological approach draws on theoretical and empirical knowledge from several domains, including: design studies, psychology, cognitive science and study of creativity. This study is concerned with selecting and substantiating the input – a number of cognitive styles and abilities chosen for evaluation; and their subsequent assessment. It involves administering design sessions and exploring them as a process to see whether and how the above abilities and styles are reflected in problem solving. It also deals with the assessment of the product i.e. produced design solutions, and their relation to the academic performance reports. And, finally, it explores correlations between the input, the process and the product to help finding explanations for the students’ preferences in adopting particular problem solving strategies in designing. This study is based upon the analysis of six major datasets from (1) an electronic test assessing individual positions on four dimensions (two dichotomies) of learning styles; (2) tests of cognitive abilities chosen on the basis of their relevance to designing; (3) design sessions, administered individually under retrospective protocol guidelines; (4) questionnaires, containing summaries of design sessions, and introspective reports of imagery use and problem-solving styles and strategies; (5) judgements of academic performance from course supervisors based on marks and grades; and (6) assessments of design drawings by professional architects. The analysis revealed fundamentally different ways by which students approach design situations; they are positively correlated with their learning styles. Students’ approaches to problem situations change with the task and within the task. However, eighty percent of the first year and half of the final year subjects showed various degrees of inflexibility in dealing with design problems; this may have decreased the quality of performance. Learning styles proved important in predicting the process and the outcome of problem solving. They may account for moderate to low quality of design solutions in cases with either style (from both dichotomies explored) being of low development. Styles were also observed to may have a moderate to strong influence on the students’ academic performance. Correlations between the measured cognitive abilities and academic performance were moderate to significant for the first year and similar but marginally lower for the final year students. At the same time, final year students scored higher on the ability tests and showed better results on the learning styles assessments. One of the likely reasons for this is the enhancement of abilities and styles during the course of study. No significant linear correlations between preferred learning styles and most of the measured cognitive abilities have been observed. The probable inference is that abilities are among many other factors affecting the development of learning styles. It has been, however, possible to establish a number of important correlations between the measurements of learning styles, cognitive abilities, observed problem solving behaviour, and students’ design solutions. Overall, it has been demonstrated that the applied methodology, although requiring further refinement, does enable examining and elucidating the influence of learning styles and cognitive abilities on design problem solving and academic performance.