Academic literature on the topic 'Visual attention, executive attention, learning , primary school'

Background: Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) have a wide range of neuropsychological deficits including attention, memory, and executive functioning. The study was targeted to use a neuropsychological approach in remediating attention and fine motor training or the incoordination of children with ADHD- Inattentive type (IA). Material/Methods: A total of 20 primary school children fulfilling the criteria of ADHD- IA type were selected from different schools in Mysuru, India. Neuropsychological deficits were assessed using appropriate tools. Children in the experimental group were given attention and fine motor training for 3 months. A post test was conducted after 3 months training. The maintenance effect of therapy was studied until the completion of 1 year. Results: Results revealed that attention fine motor training was effective in improving focused and selective attention, working memory, new learning ability, visual fluency and fine motor training incoordination. Conclusions: It can be concluded that a neuropsychological rehabilitation is effective in remediating the deficits faced by children with ADHD-IA.

IntroductionSelf-regulation (the ability to regulate emotion, attention, cognition and behaviour) is an integral part of early learning competence in the years prior to school. Self-regulation skills are critical to ongoing learning behaviours, achievement and well-being. Emerging neurological evidence suggests coordinated music and movement participation could support self-regulation development for all children. A pilot study in 2016 introduced a coordinated music and movement programme designed to boost self-regulation skills in children in disadvantaged communities, delivered by visiting specialists, with promising findings. The intervention is based on the neuroscience of beat synchronisation, rhythmic entrainment and the cognitive benefits of music therapy and music education—and is called Rhythm and Movement for Self-Regulation (RAMSR). This study builds on the pilot by training regular teachers to deliver RAMSR in their classrooms (rather than visiting specialists). The study aims to establish the effectiveness of RAMSR, which is designed to translate the cognitive benefits that accrue from rhythm participation to address self-regulation for children who do not typically access high-quality music programmes.Methods and analysisWe will recruit 237 children from up to eight kindergartens in low socioeconomic areas. Intervention: teachers will be trained to deliver the RAMSR intervention during group time in kindergartens, daily for 8 weeks. Control: usual practice kindergarten programme. Follow-up: end of intervention using child assessments and teacher report; 12 months postbaseline using school teacher reports following school transition. Primary outcomes: executive function and self-regulation. Secondary outcomes: school readiness; visual-motor integration; teacher-reported behaviour problems, school transition and academic competency; teacher knowledge, confidence, practice and attitudes related to self-regulation, rhythm and movement; fidelity of intervention implementation.Ethics and disseminationQueensland University of Technology Human Research Ethics Committee, approval 1900000566. Findings dissemination: in-field workshops to service providers, conference presentations, journal and professional publications.Trial registration numberACTRN12619001342101; Pre-results (30 September 2019).

Many studies have shown a link between being competent in early mathematics and achievement in school. Early math skills have the potential to be the best predictors of later performance in reading and mathematics. Movement and songs are activities that children like, making it easier for teachers to apply mathematical concepts through this method. This study aims to develop audio-visual learning media in the form of songs with a mixture of western and traditional musical idioms, accompanied by movements that represent some of the teaching of early mathematics concepts. The stages of developing the ADDIE model are the basis for launching new learning media products related to math and art, and also planting the nation's cultural arts from an early age. These instructional media products were analyzed by experts and tested for their effectiveness through experiments on five children aged 3-4 years. The qualitative data were analyzed using transcripts of field notes and observations and interpreted in a descriptive narrative. The quantitative data were analyzed using gain score statistics. The results showed that there was a significant increase in value for early mathematical understanding of the concepts of geometry, numbers and measurement through this learning medium. The results of the effectiveness test become the final basis of reference for revision and complement the shortcomings of this learning medium. Further research can be carried out to develop other mathematical concepts through motion and song learning media, and to create experiments with a wider sample. Keywords: Early Mathematical Skills, Movement and Song Idiom Traditional, Audio-visual Learning Media References An, S. A., & Tillman, D. A. (2015). Music activities as a meaningful context for teaching elementary students mathematics: a quasi-experiment time series design with random assigned control group. 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Home Numeracy Environments of Preschoolers: Examining Relations Among Mathematical Activities, Parent Mathematical Beliefs, and Early Mathematical Skills. Early Education and Development, 26(3), 356–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2015.968243 Moreno, S., Bialystok, E., Barac, R., Schellenberg, E. G., Cepeda, N. J., & Chau, T. (2011). Short-term music training enhances verbal intelligence and executive function. Psychological Science, 22(11), 1425–1433. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611416999 Nketia, J. H. K. (1982). Developing Contemporary Idioms out of Traditional Music. Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 24, 81. https://doi.org/10.2307/902027 Nyota, S., & Mapara, J. (2008). Shona Traditional Children ’ s Games and Play : Songs as Indigenous Ways of Knowing. English, 2(4), 189–203. Östergren, R., & Träff, U. (2013). Early number knowledge and cognitive ability affect early arithmetic ability. 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It is known that the formation of executive functions (EF), which exert control over cognitive processes and behavior is crucial for children’s cognitive development and social adaptation. It has been shown that the efficiency of EF during the preschool period is a predictor of academic performance in primary and secondary school. However, it is still unknown to what extent the age and individual characteristics of EF during the preschool period determine children’s potential school readiness and success in mastering preschool educational programs. To address this issue, we conducted a comparative study using qualitative and quantitative neuropsychological tests. Children aged 5—6 (n=132, M=5.67±0.46 years) and 6—7 years (n=163, M=6.67±0.37 years) participated in the study. According to teachers’ estimates, both groups were subdivided into three subgroups of participants with low, medium and high school readiness. The statistical analysis showed that such cognitive functions as programming, selective regulation and control of behavior, working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility and sustained attention were developed significantly (ps<0.05-0.001) better in children with a high level of school readiness (compared to children with low and medium levels of school readiness).

This paper presents the current researches revealing the peculiarities of neurocognitive status in primary school age and illustrating the achievements of the scientific school of foreign universities in such areas as: neuroscience compensatory-regulatory mechanisms of overcoming congenital learning difficulties; educational strategies that optimize the neurobiological status of the student; neurobiological tools for the development of the cognitive sphere of students; environmental and psychosomatic factors that affect the neurocognitive status of young students. The authors allocated memory resources, executive activity capabilities, inhibition reactions and self-control as the main elements in cognitive competencies’ formation. The materials provide evidence in favor of the importance of the quality of educational environments and attention to students with learning difficulties in their first school years.

The article presents results of the research of relations between executive functions and prospective memory in primary school-age children with symptoms of subthreshold attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome (ADHD). The ADHD Assessment Scale ― ICD-10 criteria (Sukhotina, 2008) and Observation Form for Recording ADHD Behaviors During Academic Performance in the Clinic or in School) (Carter, 1994) were used to assess the symptoms of ADHD. Cognitive functions were assessed using the Wisconsin Sorting Card Test (Grant & Berg, 1948), Сanum (Gutierrez-Martinez, 2018), Вlock span (Isaacs, Vargha-Khadem, 1989), Digit span-backward (Wechsler, 1997), and measurement by Ana B. Cejudo (Cejudo, 2019). 51 children were recruited, 27 subjects were 6–7 years old and 24 subjects were 10 years old. All participants were divided into 2 control groups (children with typical development) and 2 experimental groups (children with symptoms of subthreshold ADHD). Overall, it was found that children in the group of 6–7 years old with symptoms of subthreshold ADHD have no significant differences with children from the control group in basal components of executive function: working memory, cognitive flexibility and executive attention. However, they show a decrease in learning abilities, self-regulation and an increase of non-perseverative errors along with the fall of event-based prospective memory. Children in the group of 10 years old with symptoms of subthreshold ADHD also showed the fall of learning abilities and prospective memory. The results of correlation analysis show that subjects with symptoms of subthreshold ADHD have changes in the systemic ― functional level which appear as a decreasing amount of links between executive functions and features of prospective memory.

The emotions experienced by primary school students have both positive and negative effects on learning processes. Thus, to better understand learning processes, research should consider emotions during class. Standard survey-based methods, such as self-reports, are limited in terms of capturing the detailed trajectories of primary school children’s emotions, as their abilities of self-reporting are developing and still limited. Emotions can also be tracked by capturing emotional responses as they occur e.g. from physiological reaction measured with sensor wristbands. This technology generates an emotional responsestypology based on continuously captured physiological data, such as skin conductivity and skin temperature. However, such measurement methods need to be validated before being used. The present study thus attempted to validate this instrument with primary school students. We used the BM Sensor Wristband technology, as its emotional response typology is based on the categorical emotion and homeostasis approach. In our research, we focus on the emotional responses that can be distinguished by the BM Typology and that can influence learning processes. These emotional responses are: “joy”, “curiosity”, “attention”, “fear”, “anger” and “passivity”. Therefore, we induced emotional responses in primary school children through specifically developed audio-visual stimuli. Using logistic mixed effects modelling, we investigated the occurrence of opposing reactions. We observed that primary school children’s reactions to audio-visual stimuli could be differentiated. We conclude that primary school children’s emotional responses, such as “joy”, “curiosity”, “attention”, “fear”, “anger” and “passivity”, can be accurately measured by evaluating physiological data.

The aim of this study was to identify specific aspects of the cognitive and socioemotional functioning of a school-age child with autoimmune-resistant epilepsy, and to provide a detailed explanation of the executive dysfunctions significant in this type of disorder. A battery of neuropsychological tests and clinical trials were used to neuropsychologically diagnose an eight-year-old girl. Data from an interview with the patient’s mother, observational data, and the results of previous psychological and medical tests were also taken account. Neuropsychological diagnosis was performed in line with the clinical–experimental and psychometric -test models. The patient’s current level of intellectual functions is below average. The patient obtained low results in tests examining executive functions, direct auditory memory, phonemic hearing, and visual–spatial organization. In comparison with children of her age group and with similar intelligence quotients, she obtained average results relating to tasks involving direct visual memory. No difficulty was seen in terms of semantic fluency, concentration, or persistence of the attention process. Executive dysfunctions are among the dominant disorders seen in clinical settings; these significantly hinder the systematic and orderly organization of the child’s learning process. Such difficulties in cognitive functioning, but also in emotional and social functioning, can significantly impede the normal development of the child.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have serious difficulties to ignore visual and auditory distractors, or to inhibit ongoing activity on behalf of a new one, or to extract themselves from a routine. Such so-called executive functions enable us to control ourselves and to consider things from multiple points of view. They also involve paying attention, remembering what we need to remember to pursue our goals, thinking flexibly and not going on automatic, exercising inhibition. Then, the observed executive inefficiency of ASD could be one of the main cause of perseverating behaviors in daily life and school activities. If the question of the efficient evolution of these executive functions from childhood to neurotypical adulthood has been addressed in many cognitive development researches, very few studies have focused on the atypical development of ASD patients. Following Diamond et al. , it is important to note that beyond acquiring always more knowledge, it is crucial to be able to inhibit reactions that get in the way of learning something new. Using preliminary data, we will explain how LearnEnjoy apps could become an essential basis of an innovative experimental paradigm, aiming at a better understanding of the atypical executive development of school-age ASD children. Based on new executive digital apps such as Stroop or Flanker Tasks testing for executive inhibition, the main goal of this scientific project is to show evidence of the possibility of executive training in children with ASD. As executive function skills predict children's success in life and in school , such a new scientific study should allow us to envisage creating innovative remediation protocols for improving the deliberate, goal-directed control of behavior of ASD patients.

ABSTRACT: At present there is very little attention regarding visual impairment, especially in school children, whereas a poor learning environment is one of the triggers for a decrease in visual acuity in children. Myopia is one of the causes of decreased visual acuity in children, while good vision is very important in the teaching and learning process. This study aims to determine the relationship of family support in maintaining eye health with visual acuity in primary school-aged children in RW 10 Desa Kramat Jegu Taman Sidoarjo. The design of this research using a cros-sectional approach. The sample in this study were 22 elementary and sixth grade elementary school children and their mothers as many as 22 pairs. Sampling by total sampling method. Data analysis using Rank Spearman statistical test with a significance level of 5% (0.05). The results showed that of the 22 respondents most (61.18%) had good family support and from 22 respondents most (63.63%) had normal visual acuity. Spearman rank correlation test results, obtained ρ = 0.032 <α = 0.05 so that H0 is rejected which means that there is a relationship between family support about maintaining eye health with visual acuity in primary school-aged children. Good family support for maintaining eye health can improve children's visual acuity. It is expected that nurses can use the results of this study as a guide in providing nursing services for patients with eye refraction disorders. Keywords: family support, visual acuity

ABSTRACT L’attenzione è un processo trasversale e prerequisito per l’automatizzazione degli apprendimenti scolastici ed il suo non corretto funzionamento incide sulle prestazioni di scrittura , lettura, calcolo. Obiettivi della ricerca sono: 1) verificare la relazione tra attenzione e apprendimento nei primi tre anni di istruzione formalizzata, 2) analizzare le caratteristiche del costrutto attentivo in bambini di età 6-9, 3) valutare quali siano gli aspetti dell’attenzione implicati nei processi di apprendimento e nell’automatizzazione di alcune abilità come la lettura (decodifica), la correttezza ortografica, velocità di scrittura e il calcolo e 4) verificare se l’efficienza di alcuni processi di apprendimento influisca sullo sviluppo delle abilità attentive. La ricerca si articola su due misurazioni. Ad una prima fase (t1) hanno partecipato un totale di 212 bambini (100 maschi e 112 femmine) di età compresa tra 6,4 anni e 10,5 anni. Gli stessi bambini sono stati ricontattati a distanza di un anno (t2) al fine di raccogliere dati longitudinali. Il campione a t2 era composto da 181 bambini di cui 87 maschi e 94 femmine di età compresa tra 7,4 e 10,5 anni. Tutti i bambini hanno eseguito prove standardizzate per età relative alle performance scolastiche (lettura, scrittura e calcolo) e alle caratteristiche attentive. Le prove di attenzione sono state scelte sia in base ai livelli di controllo esecutivo implicati nel processo (basso controllo vs alto controllo) che al tipo di materiale oggetto di elaborazione (verbale vs visuospaziale). I risultati della ricerca confermano una relazione tra attenzione e apprendimento in tutte e tre le classi considerate e al netto della stima del Quoziente Intellettivo. Lo sviluppo delle abilità attentive sembra progredire da un tipo di attenzione prevalentemente visiva e rapida, verso una forma attentiva nella quale sono maggiormente implicati processi di elaborazione strategica del materiale. Le caratteristiche di sviluppo dell’attenzione risultano inoltre predittive delle modalità con cui il bambino elabora i compiti proposti: in bambini più piccoli l’efficienza dei processi di apprendimento risulta predetta prevalentemente dall’attenzione selettiva visiva mentre nei bambini più grandi si rileva un maggiore potere predittivo dei processi che implicano maggiori livelli di controllo e coordinamento delle risorse attentive. Si rileva infine un rapporto di predittività tra le performances scolastiche e lo sviluppo delle funzioni attentive a partire dalla seconda classe della scuola primaria. I dati della ricerca permettono di considerare il rapporto tra attenzione e apprendimento come un processo di co-costruzione reciproca, per il quale un lavoro di potenziamento di uno dei due processi può comunque attivare circoli virtuosi per lo sviluppo dell’altro. Attention is a prerequisite for the development of academic learning and its incorrect operation affects the performance of writing, reading , calculating . Aims of the research are: 1 ) to verify the relationship between attention and learning in the first three years of formal education, 2) analyze the features of the attentional construct in children aging 6-9 , 3 ) assess which aspects of attention are involved in learning and in the development of some skills such as reading, spelling, writing and calculation, 4 ) verify if the efficiency of some learning processes affects the development of attentional skills . The research is based on two measurements. A total of 212 children (100 males and 112 females, aged 6.4 -10.5 years) partecipated in the first phase ( t1 ). The same children were contacted after one year ( t2 ) in order to collect longitudinal data. The sample consisted of 181 children t2 (87 males and 94 females aged between 7.4 and 10.5 years). All children performed tests standardized by age in order to collect data on school performance (reading , writing and arithmetic ) and attentional features. The tests on attention have been chosen either on the basis of levels of executive control involved in the process (low vs high control) that the type of material (verbal vs. visuospatial) . The results confirm a relationship between attention and learning even controlling for IQ. The development of attentional abilities appears to progress from a visual and rapid 6 form of attention towards a process which involves planning and a strategic elaboration of the task. The charachteristics of the development of attention are predictive of how the child processes the learning tasks. In younger children the efficiency of learning processes is predicted mainly by the fast visual attentional system, while in older children increases the predictive power of processes which involve greater levels of control and coordination of attentional resources . Moreover it has been found a predictive relationship between the school performances and the development of attentional functions, mainly in the second grade of primary school . The research data allow to consider the relationship between attention and learning as a process of mutual co-construction, in which the strengthening of one process could activate virtuous circles for the development of the other.

Abstract Treating a patient with epilepsy involves more than just treating seizures. Many patients have associated learning and cognitive problems that can lead to significant difficulties at school or work, such as reductions in attention, IQ, language and perceptual skills, executive functions including problem-solving, verbal and visual memory, and motor speed. Children with epilepsy, even those with normal intelligence, often experience educational difficulties more often than unaffected children. These educational problems tend to persist into adulthood and are sometimes manifested as underemployment. The causes of cognitive impairment in patients with epilepsy include the effect of ongoing seizures, underlying structural brain lesions, and the adverse effects of antiseizure medications.

The study has been carried out within the subproject No. 8 “Latvian Language Acquisition” framework of the National Research Programme “Latvian Language”. The aim of this article is to analyse the results of Latvian language skills of the minority pre-school children who attend pre-school groups with Russian as the everyday communication language, the minority pre-school children who attend pre-school groups with Latvian as the everyday language, and Latvian pre-school children. The recordings of children’s speeches were made in Kurzeme pre-school education institu-tions during May and June of 2019 and 2020 before the children started to attend primary school. The findings obtained in this study are illustrated only with the results in vocabulary acquisition, taking into account that one of the most important tasks in learning a second language at pre-school age is vocabulary acquisition. Creating a conviction for beginning a new activity – communication in another language, not in the mother tongue, is of linguodidactic and psychological importance. Knowledge of a larger or smaller vocabulary is the basis for starting to speak a language. The study uses a picture-based conversation, with a maximum of 20 minutes spent in conversation with each child. The criteria proposed by Ingēra Tomme-Jukēvica (Tomme-Jukēvica 2018) have been used; they indicate the level of language skills (0 (insufficient level) – not showing or showing very minimal (<5%) knowledge and skills; 1 (low level) shows minimal (<25%) knowledge and skills; 2 (medium level) shows mediocre (>50%) knowledge and skills; 3 (high level) shows good (>75%) knowledge and skills. The article points out that each individual’s worldview forms with the mother tongue’s help and compares some striking linguistic lexical differences, paying particular attention to the comparative examples of Latvian and Russian languages. By referring to Latvian and Russian examples, the authors demonstrate that it may be necessary to divide the action expressed in one word in one language by creating a word group or even a phrase in another language. The Latvian language proficiency researchers should be aware that children with different native languages (Latvian or Russian) may have different worldviews, demanding additional actions of thinking and speech from the second language speaker. Therefore, second language acquisition at the pre-school age is an essential prerequisite for continuing bilingual studies or studies in Latvian at school. Observations made during the research in the National Research Programme testify that in pre-school education institutions, the process of education usually is interesting for children. However, as the analysis of the recordings of children’s speech in Kurzeme reveals, in those minority children groups where the everyday communication language is Russian and where Latvian is usually taught only two times a week for approximately 30–45 minutes, and also where the visual information in Russian dominates, insufficient skills of the state language and substantially worse experience of the Latvian language use have been observed. At the same time, it should be acknowledged that those minority children who attend groups with Latvian as the everyday language have learned Latvian sufficiently to continue education in the first grade of primary school. These children have not lost their native language, usually Russian, which they use actively at home. Therefore, they have the basis for several language acquisitions when they start learning at school. Learning Latvian as the second language requires optimization of this process in the pre-school education institutions, ensuring regular communication with the child in Latvian, and the use of appropriate methodologies in teaching activities. In this context, not only teaching and practicing Latvian lessons are particularly important, but also communication with other children and the possibility of talking Latvian with the staff of the pre-school educational institution. In accordance with earlier conclusions of linguists, the study conducted in Kurzeme shows that in the speech of pre-school children, independently of their mother tongue, nouns are dominating, but minority children attending groups with the dominant Russian language mostly use nouns in the nominative. Because of the task of preparing minority children for bilingual studies or studies in Latvian in the first grade, the authors of the article recommend ensuring bilingual communication on a day-to-day basis in minority groups of pre-school children.