Noncognitive Domains Research Articles

Designing non-cognitive construct measures that improve mathematics achievement in Grade 5-6 learners

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to design and iteratively improve the quality of survey-based measures of three non-cognitive constructs for Grade 5-6 students, keeping in mind information needs of users in education reform contexts. The constructs are: Mathematics-related Self-Efficacy, Self-Concept, and Anxiety (M-SE, M-SC, and M-ANX).Design/methodology/approachThe authors applied a multi-stage, iterative and user-centered approach to design and validate the measures, using several psychometric techniques and three data samples. They evaluated the utility of student-level scores and aggregated, classroom-level means.FindingsAt both student and classroom levels, replicated evidence supported theoretically-grounded validity arguments on information produced by four of five scales tapping M-SC, M-ANX and M-SE. The evidence confirmed a second order, two-factor structure for M-SC, representing positive math affect and perceived competence, and a one factor structure for M-ANX representing negative math affect. Consistent with the literature, these served as precursors to a perceived confidence factor of M-SE which, in turn, positively influenced mathematics achievement scores, off-setting negative effects of M-ANX. Research is continuing on a self-regulatory efficacy factor of M-SE, which yielded mixed results.Practical implicationsThe survey scales are in line with current reform policies in the United States calling for schools to monitor changes in cognitive and non-cognitive domains of student development. Validated scales could be useful in serving information needs of teachers, decision-makers and researchers in similar school-based contexts.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates a comprehensive, user-centered methodology for designing and validating construct measures, departing from purely psychometric traditions of scale development.

School readiness of maltreated children: Associations of timing, type, and chronicity of maltreatment

Children who have been maltreated during early childhood may experience a difficult transition into fulltime schooling, due to maladaptive development of the skills and abilities that are important for positive school adaptation. An understanding of how different dimensions of maltreatment relate to children’s school readiness is important for informing appropriate supports for maltreated children. In this study, the Australian Early Development Census scores of 19,203 children were linked to information on child maltreatment allegations (substantiated and unsubstantiated), including the type of alleged maltreatment, the timing of the allegation (infancy-toddlerhood or preschool), and the total number of allegations (chronicity). Children with a maltreatment allegation had increased odds of poor school readiness in cognitive and non-cognitive domains. Substantiated maltreatment was associated with poor social and emotional development in children, regardless of maltreatment type, timing, or chronicity. For children with unsubstantiated maltreatment allegations, developmental outcomes according to the type of alleged maltreatment were more heterogeneous; however, these children were also at risk of poor school readiness irrespective of the timing and/or chronicity of the alleged maltreatment. The findings suggest that all children with maltreatment allegations are at risk for poor school readiness; hence, these children may need additional support to increase the chance of a successful school transition. Interventions should commence prior to the start of school to mitigate early developmental difficulties that children with a history of maltreatment allegations may be experiencing, with the aim of reducing the incidence of continuing difficulties in the first year of school and beyond.

Threat or challenge? Teacher beliefs about gifted students and their relationship to teacher motivation

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the relationship between teachers’ beliefs about gifted students’ characteristics compared to students with average-ability and the teachers’ motivation (i.e., enthusiasm, self-efficacy). We investigated pre-service teachers’ beliefs and motivational orientations as substantial components of their professional competencies and aimed to make an empirical contribution to the discussion on the professionalization of teachers in gifted education. We expected that beliefs about the gifted would be in line with the disharmony hypothesis assuming they were intellectually strong, but deficient in non-cognitive domains. German (n = 375) and Australian (n = 315) pre-service teachers participated in a between-subjects experimental design that used student vignettes varying in ability and gender. Repeated-measures ANOVAs showed that besides a high intellect, pre-service teachers from both countries associated maladjustment with giftedness and showed lower self-efficacy for teaching the gifted. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that high intelligence ratings when paired with high maladjustment ratings were associated with lower teacher motivation. This result is of high practical relevance as perceived self-efficacy relates to actual teaching behavior in a classroom. Implications for teacher education in gifted education are discussed.

Cognitive Rehabilitation in Alzheimer's Disease: A Controlled Intervention Trial.

Cognitive Rehabilitation for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an integrative multimodal intervention. It aims to maintain autonomy and quality of life by enhancing the patients' abilities to compensate for decreased cognitive functioning. We evaluated the feasibility of a group-based Cognitive Rehabilitation approach in mild AD dementia and assessed its effect on activities of daily living (ADL). We included 16 patients with AD dementia in a controlled partial-randomized design. We adapted the manual-guided Cognitive Rehabilitation program (CORDIAL) to a group setting. Over the course of three months, one group received the Cognitive Rehabilitation intervention (n = 8), while the other group received a standardized Cognitive Training as an active control condition (n = 8). ADL-competence was measured as primary outcome. The secondary outcome parameters included cognitive abilities related to daily living, functional cognitive state, and non-cognitive domains, e.g., quality of life. For each scale, we assessed the interaction effect 'intervention by time', i.e., from pre-to post-intervention. We found no significant interaction effect of intervention by time on the primary outcome ADL-competence. The interaction effect was significant for quality of life (Cohen's d: -1.43), showing an increase in the intervention group compared with the control group. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of a group-based Cognitive Rehabilitation program for patients with mild AD dementia. The Cognitive Rehabilitation showed no significant effect on ADL, possibly reflecting a lack of transfer between the therapy setting and real life. However, the group setting enhanced communication skills and coping mechanisms. Effects on ADL may not have reached statistical significance due to a limited sample size. Furthermore, future studies might use an extended duration of the intervention and integrate caregivers to a greater extent to increase transfer to activities of daily living.

A Feasibility Assessment of Behavioral-based Interviewing to Improve Candidate Selection for a Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program.

Traditional interviews for residency and fellowship training programs are an important component in the selection process, but can be of variable value due to a nonstandardized approach. We redesigned the candidate interview process for our large pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship program in the United States using a behavioral-based interview (BBI) structure. The primary goal of this approach was to standardize the assessment of candidates within noncognitive domains with the goal of selecting those with the best fit for our institution's fellowship program. Eight faculty members attended two BBI workshops. The first workshop identified our program's "best fit" criteria using the framework of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's six core competencies and additional behaviors that fit within our programs. BBI questions were then selected from a national database and refined based on the attributes deemed most important by our faculty. In the second workshop, faculty practiced the BBI format in mock interviews with third-year fellows. The interview process was further refined based on feedback from the interviewees, and then applied with fellowship candidates for the 2014 recruitment season. The 1-year pilot of behavioral-based interviewing allowed us to achieve consensus on the traits sought for our incoming fellows and to standardize the interview process for our program using the framework of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies. Although the effects of this change on the clinical performance of our fellows have not yet been assessed, this description of our development and implementation processes may be helpful for programs seeking to redesign their applicant interviews.

Adapting the concepts of brain and cognitive reserve to post-stroke cognitive deficits: Implications for understanding neglect

Advanced lesion mapping and connectivity analyses are currently the main tools used to understand the mechanisms underlying post-stroke cognitive deficits. However, the factors contributing to pre-stroke architecture of cognitive networks are often ignored, even though they reportedly play a decisive role in the manifestation of cognitive impairment in neurodegeneration. The present review on post-stroke cognitive deficits therefore adopts the concept of brain and cognitive reserve, which was originally developed to account for the individual differences in the course of aging and neurodegenerative diseases. By focusing on spatial neglect, a typical network disorder, it is discussed how individual susceptibility to stroke lesion might explain the reported discrepancies in lesion anatomy, non-spatial deficits and recovery courses. A detailed analysis of the literature reveals that premorbid brain (age, brain atrophy, previous strokes, leukoaraiosis, genetic factors, etc.) and cognitive reserve (IQ, life experience, education, occupation, premorbid cognitive impairment, etc.) greatly impact the brain's capacity for compensation. Furthermore, the interaction between pre-stroke brain/cognitive reserve and the degree of stroke-induced system impairment (e.g., hypoperfusion, lesion load) determines both the extent of neglect symptoms variability and the course of recovery. Premorbid brain/cognitive reserves should thus be considered to: (i) understand the mechanisms of post-stroke cognitive disorders and sufficiently explain their inter-individual variability; (ii) provide a prognosis for cognitive recovery and hence post-stroke dependency; (iii) identify individual targets for cognitive rehabilitation: in the case of reduced brain/cognitive reserve, neglect might occur even with a confined lesion, and non-spatial training of general attentional capacity should represent the main therapeutic target also for treatment of neglect; this might be true also for non-cognitive domains, e.g., motor deficit. This alternative view of how neglect and other cognitive deficits occur and recover promotes discussion about plasticity and recovery to a general rather than a single stroke-based domain, providing more efficiency in recovery research.

The Mini-Mental State Examination: pitfalls and limitations

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) first appeared in 1975 having been developed as a screening tool for patients with dementia and psychiatric disorders in an inpatient setting.1 Folstein and colleagues...

Bare Writing: Comparing Multiliteracies Theory and Nonrepresentational Theory Approaches to a Young Writer Writing

AbstractIn this article, the author argues that new theoretical approaches to literacy are necessary for making visible the affective, embodied, and noncognitive domains of textual meaning making that are often obscured in traditional approaches. To experiment with this argument, the author conducted two analyses on the same data set, using multiliteracies theory and nonrepresentational theory as respective lenses through which to view the data. The data were from a three‐year virtual ethnographic case study that the author conducted of Emily, a young writer, while she wrote a series of young adult gothic novels. These side‐by‐side analyses demonstrated how different views of Emily as an author emerged through each treatment of the data. In the analysis via the multiliteracies theory, she was shown to be a shrewd consumer and designer of multimodal compositions. The analysis via the nonrepresentational theory revealed Emily's writing to be produced through its participation with affective intensities, objects, and her haunting by novels’ characters in a process that the author calls bare writing. The author suggests that nonrepresentational theory provides an alternative model for the research of literacies that instantiates an ontological view of literacies, thereby including more people and more texts in the everyday doing of literacies.

A Neuropsychoanalytic Approach to Case Studies

Neuropsychoanalysis is an interdisciplinary field that attempts to generate links between psychoanalytic schools and the neurosciences. Historically speaking, neuropsychoanalysis emerged as a response to ‘cognitive’ views of the mind/brain problem, which tended to neglect the influence of emotional and instinctual processes in the constitution, and functioning, of the human mind. Since its origins, neuropsychoanalysis has used case studies, of brain injured individuals undergoing psychoanalytic treatment, to explore how focal damage to specific brain areas is related to changes in non-cognitive domains of the mind, such as emotion, motivation or personality. This approach is a useful contribution to the neurosciences since it allows observing, at the same time, objective and subjective aspects of the mind/brain, thus bridging third and first person methodologies. In this article a neuropsychoanalytic approach to case studies is introduced, describing both its historical roots as well as its present status. Then, a brief case study, of a man with focal damage to the left dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex, who presented with changes in his capacity to intrinsically regulate feelings, is used to exemplify this approach.

Using the Early Development Instrument to examine cognitive and non-cognitive school readiness and elementary student achievement

There is currently no accepted consensus over which aspects of school readiness abilities have noteworthy associations with later student achievement, independent of cognitive readiness, largely due to a limited range of non-cognitive abilities that are typically analyzed in school-based surveys. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) measures children’s school readiness prior to Grade 1 entry in five areas of development: physical, social, emotional, language and cognitive, as well as communication. EDI data in kindergarten were linked to Grade 3 reading, writing and math standardized achievement scores for 45,000 kindergarten students in Ontario, Canada to investigate the impact of kindergarten abilities on later academic achievement. Multi-level regression models showed that the cognitive domains had the strongest correlations with reading, writing, and math with the largest coefficients, controlling for individual and school-level demographic factors, but the physical, social, and emotional domains also were significantly associated with achievement scores, independent of cognitive readiness. The effect sizes of the non-cognitive domains’ impact were comparable to or larger than variables such as gender or first language. These findings demonstrate the importance of holistic measures of school readiness, encompassing cognitive and non-cognitive areas, for understanding early achievement and potential prevention of continuing underachievement.

An analysis of nonfirst-generation community college men of color: Comparing GPA, noncognitive, and campus ethos differences across race

ABSTRACTDrawing upon the Community College Socio-Ecological Outcomes model, this study is among the first to have addressed the outcomes of nonfirst-generation community college men of color. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences across ethnicities for key factors in two socioecological domains, including noncognitive and campus ethos domains, for nonfirst-generation college status men in 2-year, degree-granting institutions. Findings of this study indicated that despite generational status White men outperformed Latino and African American men in grade point average (GPA) regardless of similar confidence levels and the fact that men of color had higher rates in degree utility and intrinsic interest.

Stereotype Threat Lowers Older Adults' Self-Reported Hearing Abilities

Background: Although stereotype threat is a well-documented phenomenon, previous studies examining it in older adults have almost exclusively focused on objective cognitive outcomes. Considerably less attention has been paid to the impact of stereotype threat on older adults' subjective assessments of their own abilities or to the impact of stereotype threat in noncognitive domains. Objective: Older adults are stereotyped as having experienced not only cognitive declines, but physical declines as well. The current study tested the prediction that stereotype threat can negatively influence older adults' subjective hearing abilities. Methods: To test this, 115 adults (mean age 50.03 years, range 41-67) read either a positive or negative description about how aging affects hearing. All participants then answered a questionnaire in which they assessed their own hearing abilities. Results: The impact of stereotype threat on self-reported hearing was moderated by chronological age. Participants in their 40s and early 50s were unaffected by the stereotype threat manipulation. In contrast, participants in their late 50s and 60s rated their hearing as being subjectively worse when under stereotype threat. Conclusion: The current study provides a clear demonstration that stereotype threat negatively impacts older adults' subjective assessments of their own abilities. It is also the first study to demonstrate an effect of stereotype threat within the domain of hearing. These results have important implications for researchers investigating age-related hearing decline. Stereotype threat can lead to overestimation of the prevalence of age-related hearing decline. It can also serve as a confounding variable when examining the psychosocial correlates of hearing loss. Because of this, researchers studying age-related hearing loss should aim to provide a stereotype threat-free testing environment and also include assessments of stereotype threat within their studies.

Are Dual Enrollment Students College Ready? Evidence from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education

We examine whether dual enrolled students display greater levels of college readiness than nonparticipants. Advocates assert that dual enrollment improves students’ college readiness, but despite these assertions, few researchers have evaluated this relationship. Moreover, researchers that do consider whether dual enrollment improves college readiness examine this relationship while students participate in dual enrollment or shortly thereafter. Unlike traditional measures of college readiness that tend to emphasize the cognitive domain of college readiness, we use measures that integrate both cognitive and noncognitive domains of college readiness. We find that students who participated in dual enrollment tend to be more college ready than those who did not earn college credit in high school. The exception is that there is no statistical difference between dual enrollees and non-accelerators in their key transition knowledge and skills. The magnitude of the dual enrollment effect is second only to gender.

Longitudinal Analysis of Physical Performance, Functional Status, Physical Activity, and Mood in Relation to Executive Function in Older Adults Who Fall.

To examine whether good executive function (EF; the cognitive processes important for goal-oriented and controlled behavior) at baseline and maintenance of EF over time predict maintenance of physical performance, functional status, physical activity, and mood over a 1-year period, and conversely, to examine whether baseline functioning in these noncognitive domains predicts maintenance of EF over the same period of time. 12-month prospective cohort study. Vancouver Falls Prevention Clinic. Community-dwelling older adults (N=199; mean age 81.6±6.5; 63% female) referred to the clinic after a fall. At each time point, structural equation modeling created a latent EF variable from performance on five EF tasks. Physical performance (physiological falls risk and gait speed), instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), physical activity, and depressive symptoms were also assessed at each time point. Higher baseline EF predicted decreases in depressive symptoms (P=.005) and maintenance of IADLs (P=.006) from baseline to follow-up. Improvements in EF correlated with increases in gait speed (P=.005) and physical activity (P=.03) and with the maintenance of IADLs (P=.002) over follow-up. All effects were independent of demographic characteristics and global cognitive function. Baseline performance in the noncognitive domains did not predict changes in EF. In older fallers, EF is a marker of resiliency in several noncognitive domains and should therefore be assessed. Furthermore, interventions to improve EF should be tested in older fallers with EF deficits.

Behavioral abnormalities in APPSwe/PS1dE9 mouse model of AD-like pathology: comparative analysis across multiple behavioral domains

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by dysfunction in cognitive and noncognitive domains with clinical diagnosis based on multiple neuropsychological tests. Here, we evaluated cognitive and noncognitive behaviors in 2 age cohorts (8 and 14 months at the start of the study) of APPSwe/PS1dE9 transgenic mice that model AD-like amyloidosis. We used a battery of tests that included fear-conditioned context and tone memories, swimming activity, and orientation to a proximal cue in a visible platform water maze test and burrowing and nest building activity. To compare the performance of mice across all tests, we used z-score normalization of data. The analyses revealed that the behavior of the transgenic mice was significantly compromised in cognitive as well as in noncognitive domains. Combining scores across multiple behavioral tests produced an integrated index characterizing the overall phenotypic abnormality in this model of AD-like amyloidosis. Assessing multiple behavioral domains provides a broader view of the breadth of impairments in multiple behavioral systems. Greater implementation of such approaches could enable reliable and clinically predictive evaluation of therapeutics in mouse models of amyloidosis.

Inside the Black Box: What Happens on a One-Time Field Trip?

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened on November 11, 2011. Located in Bentonville, Arkansas, it was the first art museum of its size in the region. Since few students had ever been to a museum, this situation provided an opportunity to causally measure the impact of a one-time art museum field trip upon student outcomes through the implementation of a random control trial experiment. Conducted by researchers at the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform, the research found gains in cognitive and non-cognitive domains in students who received the treatment versus the control group. This article provides background about the programmatic conditions in which the evaluation was conducted, which may have played a significant role in the outcomes.

Inside the Black Box: What Happens on a One-Time Field Trip?

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened on November 11, 2011. Located in Bentonville, Arkansas, it was the first art museum of its size in the region. Since few students had ever been to a museum, this situation provided an opportunity to causally measure the impact of a one-time art museum field trip upon student outcomes through the implementation of a random control trial experiment. Conducted by researchers at the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform, the research found gains in cognitive and non-cognitive domains in students who received the treatment versus the control group. This article provides background about the programmatic conditions in which the evaluation was conducted, which may have played a significant role in the outcomes.

Multiple Mini-Interviews (MMI) and Semistructured Interviews for the Selection of Family Medicine Residents: A Comparative Analysis.

Background. Family Medicine Residency Program at the Aga Khan University has applicants for the residency position in excess of the positions offered resulting in formulation of certain selection criteria. The objective of this study was to compare MMI versus semistructured interviews for assessing noncognitive domains in the selection of residents. The secondary objectives were to determine perceptions of the interviewers and candidates for the acceptability and feasibility of MMI as a selection tool. Methods. The candidates underwent semistructured interviews along with MMI and identical attributes were tested in both. The attributes tested were safe doctor, communication skills, professionalism, problem solving, team approach, ethical issues, reasons for selecting family medicine, and commitment to the program. Descriptive statistics were calculated and comparison between ratings for MMI and interview was performed by Wilcoxon sign rank test. Results. Total number of candidates was 14. On comparison between interview and MMI, the scores were not statistically different for all attributes except ethics (mean interview scores: 3.04, mean MMI scores: 2.5, and P value 0.046). Conclusion. The study showed no difference between MMI and semistructured interviews. However, it needs to be replicated in order to determine the predictive validity and feasibility of MMI over time.

Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors' standardized letter of recommendation: the program director's perspective.

The standardized letter of evaluation (SLOE) was created in 1997 to provide residency program directors (PDs) with a summative evaluation that incorporates normative grading (i.e., comparisons to peers applying to emergency medicine [EM] training). Although the standard letter of recommendation (SLOR) has become increasingly popular and important in decision-making, it has not been studied in the past 12 years. To assess the SLOR's effectiveness and limitations, the perspective of EM PDs was surveyed in this study. After validation of the questionnaire by 10 retired PDs, the survey was sent to the PD of each of the 159 EM residencies that existed at that time. The survey was circulated via the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors' (CORD) listserv from January 24, 2013, to February 13, 2013. Weekly e-mail reminders to all PDs served to increase participation. A total of 150 of 159 PDs (94.3%) completed the questionnaire. Nearly all respondents (149 of 150; 99.3%) agreed that the SLOR is an important evaluative tool and should continue to be used. In the application process, 91 of 150 (60.7%) programs require one or more SLORs, and an additional 55 (36.7%) recommend but do not require a SLOR to be considered for interview. When asked to identify the top three factors in deciding who should be interviewed, the SLOR was ranked first (139 of 150; 92.7%), with EM rotation grades ranked second (73 of 150; 48.7%). The factors that were most often identified as the top three that diminish the value of the SLOR in order were 1) "inflated evaluations" (121 of 146; 82.9%), 2) "inconsistency between comments and grades" (106 of 146; 72.6%), and 3) "inadequate perspective on candidate attributes in the written comments" and "inexperienced authors" (60 of 146; 41.1% each). The SLOR appears to be the most important tool in the EM PD's armamentarium for determining which candidates should be interviewed for residency training. Although valuable, the SLOR's potential utility is hampered by a number of factors, the most important of which is inflated evaluations. Focused changes in the SLOR template should be mindful that it appears, in general, to be successful in its intended purpose.

Characterization of the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors' Standardized Letter of Recommendation in 2011-2012

The Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) introduced the standardized letter of recommendation (SLOR) in 1997, and it has become a critical tool for assessing candidates for emergency medicine (EM) training. It has not itself been evaluated since the initial studies associated with its introduction. This study characterizes current SLOR use to evaluate whether it serves its intended purpose of being standardized, concise, and discriminating. This retrospective, multi-institutional study evaluated letters of recommendation from U.S. allopathic applicants to three EM training programs during the 2011-2012 Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) application cycle. Distributions of responses to each question on the SLOR were calculated, and the free-text responses were analyzed. Two pilots, performed on five applicants each, assisted in developing a strategy for limiting interrater reliability. Each of the three geographically diverse programs provided a complete list of U.S. allopathic applicants to their program. Upon randomization, each program received a list of coded applicants unique to their program randomly selected for data collection. The number of applicants was selected to reach a goal of approximately 200 SLORs per site (n = 602). Among this group, comprising 278 of 1,498 applicants (18.6%) from U.S. allopathic schools, a total of 1,037 letters of recommendation were written, with 724 (69.8%) written by emergency physicians. SLORs represented 57.9% (602/1037) of all LORs (by any kind of author) and 83.1% (602/724) of letters written by emergency physicians. Three hundred ninety-two of 602 SLORs had a single author (65.1%). For the question on "global assessment," students were scored in the top 10% in 234 of 583 of applications (40.1%; question not answered by some), and 485 of 583 (83.2%) of the applicants were ranked above the level of their peers. Similarly, >95% of all applicants were ranked in the top third compared to peers, for all but one section under "qualifications for emergency medicine." For 405 of 602 of all SLORs (67.2%), one or more questions were left unanswered, while 76 of all SLORs (12.6%) were "customized" or changed from the standard template. Finally, in 291 of 599 of SLORs (48.6%), the word count was greater than the recommended maximum of 200 words. Grade inflation is marked throughout the SLOR, limiting its ability to be discriminating. Furthermore, template customization and skipped questions work against the intention to standardize the SLOR. Finally, it is not uncommon for comments to be longer than guideline recommendations. As an assessment tool, the SLOR could be more discerning, concise, and standardized to serve its intended purpose.