Reciprocal Teaching (RT) is a metacognitive training programme that was found to improve reading comprehension during the 1980s (Palincsar and Brown, 1984). Four strategies: predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarising are taught, then students gradually assume control of teaching within a heterogeneous small group until they are actively involved in constructing meaning from text. A review of the literature revealed that there is “very little” research on RT in the UK (Brooks, 2013), little research worldwide in whole class settings, and little evidence that RT is effective for children under twelve (Cain, 2010). Three intervention studies presented here investigated the effectiveness of RT in whole class UK settings with young readers, and the effect of incorporating visualisation as an additional strategy (RTV). Study 1 was delivered by the researcher with three Year 5 classes (N=50). Results revealed a significant improvement in comprehension scores for the RT groups over a normal instruction group after ten hours of training, but no difference between the RT and RTV groups. A second mixed-methods study (Study 2) involved Year 3 children (N=12) with ten weeks of RT instruction, followed by ten weeks of RTV, delivered by the class teacher. Think-aloud protocols and interviews revealed an increase in strategy use. There was a significant improvement in reading comprehension scores immediately after the intervention, and a one year follow-up assessment showed improvement close to significance (p=.09). The third study (Study 3) in a different school with Year 3 children (N=28), replicated the results from Study 2, but with a significant increase in reading comprehension scores at the one-year follow-up assessment. Overall, the results revealed that RT was effective in three different whole class settings, with children as young as seven. Qualitative measures indicated that the instruction worked by increasing strategy use.

Other people greatly influence behaviour – a phenomenon known as social influence. One reason people change their behaviour when others are present is to manage their reputation. Individuals with autism have social and communicative difficulties, which may result in difficulties in reputation management. This thesis aimed to examine reputation management in autistic individuals, the development of reputation management, and the cognitive mechanisms underpinning reputation management. In Chapter Two, autistic adults managed their reputation in a donation task when it was explicitly clear that they should manage it. Despite this ability, the autistic adults demonstrated a reduced propensity for reputation management, which results suggested was due to low expectations of reciprocity. In Chapters Three and Four, reputation management and potential mechanisms – theory of mind, social motivation, reciprocity, and inhibitory control – were examined in typical children aged 6 to 14. Two forms of reputation management were tested: an automatic or implicit form and a deliberate or explicit form. Implicit reputation management appeared in adolescence, while explicit reputation management occurred at 8-years-old. Theory of mind and social motivation underpinned explicit reputation management. In Chapters Five and Six, autistic children did not implicitly manage their reputation, although some were able to do so explicitly. Autistic children who were fairer and more sensitive to reciprocity were more likely to explicitly manage reputation. None of the suggested mechanisms underpinned implicit reputation management in either typical or autistic children. Finally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with autistic adolescents and school staff (Chapter Seven). Thematic analysis showed that autistic adolescents were concerned about their reputation; however, many preferred to stay true to themselves rather than appear “cool”. Overall, this thesis noted autistic individuals do have the ability to manage reputation, yet there was variation in this ability, due to a number of factors. These results suggest autistic individuals are not completely immune to social influence.

Informed by Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) eco-systemic model of development, the current research sought to explore how children and young people with selective mutism are understood, identified and supported in school settings. In order to gain detailed and distinct information about these issues, the perceptions and experiences of key stakeholders involved in cases of selective mutism were examined. Participants included nine Educational Psychologists (EPs), five Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs), 3 teachers and two parents (n=19). This research adopted a qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews which were analysed according to Thematic Analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Results indicated that selective mutism can have a significant impact on not just the selectively mute child, but also the individuals around the child. However, there is not a good understanding of selective mutism or the roles which individuals can play in the cases within schools today, particularly with regards to the contributions which EPs can make to cases of selective mutism. Practice on these cases could be improved, therefore, by raising awareness of selective mutism and the work which individuals can undertake to support selectively mute children. The findings are presented and interpreted in light of their significance for promoting the role of EPs, SLTs, teachers and parents on cases of selective mutism. Further research into selective mutism is also suggested.

Children with learning difficulties often demonstrate a decreased level of motor proficiency. Researchers have identified learning disability subtypes and discovered a link between math-related learning difficulties and perceptual-motor, spatial and organizational deficits. Learning difficulties are typically not diagnosed until the middle primary grades following repeated academic failure, however clumsiness, which has also been linked to difficulties with academic learning, can often be detected earlier. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between motor proficiency and preacademic difficulties in the young child; specifically the relationship between early development of visual spatial skills, sequencing and arithmetic ability. Fifty children, ages 4 years 3 months to 5 years 8 months, were tested during two 30-40 minute sessions using: (1) the Miller Assessment for Preschoolers (MAP), a screening test designed to identify children at-risk for learning difficulties; (2) a pursuit tracking task (Buck, Leonardo & Hyde, 1981); (3) number/counting concept items (Miller, 1990). Subjects were divided into high and low performance groups based on total MAP score, specified MAP spatial items and number/counting concept items, and their performance on the pursuit tracking task examined.

This study examined joint kinematics and muscle activation patterns produced by infants of different bouncing skill levels as they bounced in a Jolly Jumper harness system. The relationship between three components of bouncing was also determined. The three components were: (i) the oscillation pattern of the mass-spring system which can be characterized as a harmonic oscillator; (ii) the baby's contribution to the bouncing behaviour which can be characterized in part as a forcing function and in part as a harmonic oscillator; and (iii) the combination of these two components which corresponds to the output or the bouncing behaviour. Infants (N = 9) were instrumented with five surface electrodes over the lower leg muscles and dressed in black tights and a black long-sleeved body suit with reflective markers placed on the tights over seven body landmarks. Infants were then supported in a modified Jolly Jumper harness and encouraged to bounce. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Behind every purposeful movement lies a pattern of control and activation. One of the most fundamental movement patterns for humans is that of walking or gait. This study was conducted to further understand gait development of toddlers. This developmental stage was investigated with 13 healthy normal toddlers (11 girls and 2 boys) between the ages of 10 and 24 months who were autonomous walkers of less than a year. All toddlers walked across two force plates (ANITI) touching only with the right foot and were filmed with three (Panasonic) video cameras. Support moments as well as hip, knee and ankle joint moments and powers were calculated for between 6 and 14 steps per toddler. Joint moments and powers were normalized to percent of stride and body mass and were examined across subjects to observe developmental changes over the first year of walking. As well, the toddler joint moments and powers were compared to that of adult slow walking reported by Winter (1991). The data suggests two things: (1) toddler joint moments and joint powers develop over the first year of walking in a distal to proximal fashion and (2) toddler support moments, joint moments and joint powers are different from that of adults.

Goldfish are able to drastically change their gill morphology by forming an interlamellar cell mass (ILCM) when acclimated to temperatures below 15 ° C. This morphological change is reversed when the fish is exposed to hypoxia or an increase in temperature. The main goal of this thesis was to investigate how the presence of the ILCM affects the transfer and sensing of respiratory gases as well as to identify the cues that trigger gill remodelling. Using an extracorporeal blood shunt to measure blood gases, I show that the presence of the ILCM does not impede O2 uptake under normoxic or hypoxic conditions but presents an additional diffusion limitation to CO 2 excretion owing to chemical equilibrium constraints. Hypoxemia induced by carbon monoxide or phenylhydrazine elicited a decrease in the ILCM in cold (70 C) acclimated goldfish while exposure to hyperoxia partially prevented the reduction of the ILCM during a temperature increase.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.