ABSTRACT
O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever a construção da Escala de Avaliação da Competência em Leitura pelo Professor (EACOL), para crianças do Ensino Fundamental, e apresentar os achados preliminares de sua validação e consistência interna. Procedimentos: (a) elaboração dos itens e critérios; (b) validação por consulta a especialistas; e (c) definição do formato final do instrumento e dos crivos. Resultados: os itens das formas A (para alunos do 2º. ano, n = 23) e B (para alunos do 3º. ao 5º. ano, n = 27) da EACOL se dividem em leitura "em voz alta" e "silenciosa". Em cada forma, as crianças são classificadas em uma das três categorias: "Lê bem", "Lê razoavelmente", "Lê mal". Pode-se concluir que após os aprimoramentos sugeridos, a EACOL será um instrumento válido e fidedigno.
The purpose of this study was to describe the development of the Scale of Evaluation of Reading Competence by the Teacher (EACOL) for elementary school children and present the preliminary findings of its validity and reliability. Procedures: (a) elaboration of items and criteria; (b) validation by judgment of specialists; and (c) definition of the final shape of the instrument and its scoring. Results: the items of forms A (for pupils of the 2nd year, n = 23) and B (for pupils from the 3rd to the 5th year, n = 27) of the EACOL are divided into "reading aloud" and "silent reading". In both forms, each child was classified in one of the three categories: "Reads well", "Reads reasonably" and "Reads poorly". Conclusion: after the suggested improvements, the EACOL will be a valid and reliable instrument.
Subject(s)
Reading , Reproducibility of Results , Surveys and Questionnaires , Education, Primary and Secondary , Faculty , StudentsABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the beneficial effects of a new cognitive intervention program designed for the care and prevention of dementia, namely Learning Therapy. The training program used systematized basic problems in arithmetic and Japanese language as training tasks. In study 1, 16 individuals in the experimental group and 16 in the control group were recruited from a nursing home. In both groups, all individuals were clinically diagnosed with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type. In study 2, we performed a single-blind, randomized controlled trial in our cognitive intervention program of 124 community-dwelling seniors. In both studies, the daily training program using reading and arithmetic tasks was carried out approximately 5 days a week, for 15 to 20 minutes a day in the intervention groups. Neuropsychological measures were determined simultaneously in the groups both prior to and after six months of the intervention. The results of our investigations indicate that our cognitive intervention using reading and arithmetic problems demonstrated a transfer effect and they provide convincing evidence that cognitive training maintains and improves the cognitive functions of dementia patients and healthy seniors.
Subject(s)
Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Humans , Alzheimer Disease/physiopathology , Cognition , Mathematics , Neuropsychological Tests , Nursing Homes , Quality of Life , Reading , Single-Blind MethodABSTRACT
<i>Abstract</i><br><b>Objective</b> : The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of the emotional response to “pleasant conversation” and “reading aloud”, on the autonomic nervous system of elderly subjects, in addition to the value of conversational exchange and its usefulness as part of a care strategy in the elderly.<br><b>Methods</b> : Twelve elderly subjects aged 65 years and over were included in this study. Three kinds of interventions were used including : (1) reading aloud, (2) pleasant conversation and (3) silent reading, respectively. Each task was carried out daily and the resulting effects were recorded. A task typically lasted 20 minutes in duration followed by 10 minutes of rest after which, the task was repeated for another 5 minutes followed by 5 minutes of rest. We examined changes in the autonomic nervous system by using a power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability.<br><b>Results</b> : Strong stimulation of the autonomic nervous system occurred with the implementation of the five-minutes of “pleasant conversation” in keeping with the results of previous studies. Following completion of this task, the sympathetic activity decreased with a subsequent increase in parasympathetic nervous activity which was different compared to “reading aloud”. It is considered that changes of parasympathetic activity impact on the relaxation and satisfaction centers of the brain in the elderly.<br><b>Conclusion</b> : This study identified that the introduction of “pleasant conversation”, activates a function of the autonomic nervous system involved in stimulating brain relaxation and satisfaction centers within a short time period compared to “reading aloud”. It is considered that changes in emotion brought about by the interventions in this study occurred in a short period of time and can potentially be used in clinical practice. It is suggested that “pleasant conversation” is introduced as part of a comprehensive care plan in the elderly.
ABSTRACT
O estudo descreve a análise dos itens que irão compor uma tarefa de leitura em voz alta de palavras isoladas. Um grupo de crianças do 2º ao 5º ano do Ensino Fundamental leu, por meio de microcomputadores, uma lista contendo 323 palavras de baixa frequência. Foram selecionados 112 itens-candidatos que apresentaram índices adequados de dificuldade, discriminação, correlação item-total e consistência interna. A análise mostrou que a maioria das palavras apresentou níveis de dificuldade baixos, mas paralelamente produziu níveis adequados de discriminação e de correlação item-total. Elevados índices de consistência interna foram obtidos, indicando a homogeneidade da tarefa e a unidimensionalidade do construto avaliado. Considerações de Embretson (1983) sobre as pesquisas de representação do construto e de intervalo nomotético são discutidas...
The study reports the psychometric inquiry of a word reading aloud task. A group of 1st to 4th grade school children read aloud 323 low frequency words that were presented in a computer screen. The item analysis selected 112 potential items that presented satisfactory levels of difficulty, discrimination, item total correlation, and internal consistency. Generally, the selected items were not difficult to the sample. Nevertheless, most items had good levels of discrimination and item total correlation. The internal consistency index attested for the homogeneity of the task and for the construct unidimensionality. Considerations of Embretson (1983) about construct representation research and nomothetic span research are outlined...
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child , Aptitude , Surveys and Questionnaires , Reading , Education, Primary and Secondary , PsychometricsABSTRACT
Os efeitos de lexicalidade, freqüência, regularidade e a interação entre esses últimos foram investigados por meio de uma tarefa de leitura administrada em crianças brasileiras que cursavam o correspondente a 3ª e 4ª séries do ensino fundamental. Computou-se o TR e a porcentagem de erros na leitura em voz alta de palavras e de pseudopalavras isoladas. Observou-se o efeito de freqüência e de lexicalidade, mas não o de regularidade e nem a interação entre freqüência e regularidade. Com base nesses resultados e nos resultados de outros estudos, hipotetizou-se que o efeito de regularidade, no português brasileiro, se restringe às séries iniciais. Além disso, questionou-se também a adequação de uma classificação categórica de regularidade em contraposição a uma classificação contínua.
This study investigated the effects of lexicality, frequency, regularity, and the interaction of the two latter ones on a reading aloud task conducted with Portuguese-speaking children from 3rd and 4th grades. The reaction time (RT) and error percentage scores on reading aloud isolated words and pseudowords were computed. The data analysis revealed the effects of frequency and lexicality on reading aloud, but not the effect of regularity nor the frequency vs. regularity interaction effect. Based on these results and on results of other studies, it was hypothesized that the regularity effect exists only at first grades for Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children. In addition, it was questioned the adequacy of a categorical classification of regularity in the light of a continuum classification.