Action video games improve reading abilities and visual-to-auditory attentional shifting in English-speaking children with dyslexia.

Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties in learning to read and there is some evidence that action video games (AVG), without any direct phonological or orthographic stimulation, improve reading efficiency in Italian children with dyslexia. However, the cognitive mechanism underlying this improvement and the extent to which the benefits of AVG training would generalize to deep English orthography, remain two critical questions. During reading acquisition, children have to integrate written letters with speech sounds, rapidly shifting their attention from visual to auditory modality. In our study, we tested reading skills and phonological working memory, visuo-spatial attention, auditory, visual and audio-visual stimuli localization, and cross-sensory attentional shifting in two matched groups of English-speaking children with dyslexia before and after they played AVG or non-action video games. The speed of words recognition and phonological decoding increased after playing AVG, but not non-action video games. Furthermore, focused visuo-spatial attention and visual-to-auditory attentional shifting also improved only after AVG training. This unconventional reading remediation program also increased phonological short-term memory and phoneme blending skills. Our report shows that an enhancement of visuo-spatial attention and phonological working memory, and an acceleration of visual-to-auditory attentional shifting can directly translate into better reading in English-speaking children with dyslexia.

Academic motivation, self-concept, engagement, and performance in high school: key processes from a longitudinal perspective.

The study tested three theoretically/conceptually hypothesized longitudinal models of academic processes leading to academic performance. Based on a longitudinal sample of 1866 high-school students across two consecutive years of high school (Time 1 and Time 2), the model with the most superior heuristic value demonstrated: (a) academic motivation and self-concept positively predicted attitudes toward school; (b) attitudes toward school positively predicted class participation and homework completion and negatively predicted absenteeism; and (c) class participation and homework completion positively predicted test performance whilst absenteeism negatively predicted test performance. Taken together, these findings provide support for the relevance of the self-system model and, particularly, the importance of examining the dynamic relationships amongst engagement factors of the model. The study highlights implications for educational and psychological theory, measurement, and intervention.

Longitudinal modelling of academic buoyancy and motivation: do the '5Cs' hold up over time?

BACKGROUND: Academic buoyancy is students' ability to successfully deal with setbacks and challenges that are typical of academic life. The present study extends previous preliminary cross-sectional work that tentatively identified five motivational predictors of academic buoyancy - referred to as the '5Cs' of academic buoyancy: confidence (self-efficacy), coordination (planning), commitment (persistence), composure (low anxiety), and control (low uncertain control). AIMS: The study seeks to more clearly ascertain the effects of motivation (and its mediating role) on academic buoyancy over and above prior academic buoyancy. SAMPLE: The study comprised N=1,866 high school students from six schools. METHOD: Longitudinal data were collected (1 year apart) and the hypothesized model exploring longitudinal effects was tested using structural equation modelling. RESULTS: After controlling for prior variance in academic buoyancy, the 5Cs were significant predictors of subsequent academic buoyancy. Furthermore, over and above the direct effects of prior academic buoyancy on subsequent academic buoyancy, the 5Cs significantly mediated this relationship. CONCLUSIONS: The study concludes with a discussion of the substantive, applied, and methodological implications for researchers and practitioners seeking to investigate and address the academic buoyancy of students who require the capacity to effectively function in an ever-challenging school environment.