Role Of Strategy Use Research Articles

A - 126 Examining Five Point Test Strategy Use on Everyday Problem-Solving Abilities in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract Objective Activities of daily living (ADLs) and executive functional abilities are increasingly impaired in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (ad). Impaired individuals adopt executive strategies to aid in executing executive everyday tasks. The Five Point Test measures indices of executive functioning when completing the task. The study examines the role of strategy use in everyday problem-solving in healthy older adults (HOA), MCI, and ad. Method Participants included HOA adults (n = 58), persons with MCI (n = 63), and individuals with ad (n = 18). Participants completed a background questionnaire, including the Everyday Problems Test (EPT). In the Five Point Test, using straight lines, participants were instructed to draw various designs in three minutes, avoiding errors across three conditions. The use of the Rotational Strategy is measured by participants generating a new design by rotating the previous spatial configuration. The use of an enumerative strategy was measured by participants generating a pattern by consecutively adding or deleting a line from the previous design. Results Linear regressions were conducted to determine the role of strategy use in everyday problem-solving (i.e., rotational and enumerative strategies). It was revealed that the use of the rotational strategy predicted EPT solving in the MCI group. However, problem-solving abilities did not predict EPT solving in HOA and ad. Conclusion Interestingly, the rotational strategy was better executed across all groups, while the ad group exhibited limited strategy use. Results suggest that those with subtle cognitive deficits adopt strategies to better execute problem-solving in real-life problems.

Development of reasoning performance in Raven's matrices is grounded in the development of effective strategy use.

Performance in reasoning tasks such as Raven's matrices experiences a dramatic increase over cognitive development, but the mechanisms responsible for this increase are unknown. Many cognitive processes are involved in a matrix task and could potentially change with age; strategy use appears to be a good candidate, as it typically improves over development and has a large impact on reasoning performance in adults. The present study tested the role of effective strategy use in Raven's standard progressive matrices in groups of 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, 14-, 16-, and 18-year-olds (total N = 474). Strategy use was assessed with behavioral measures of gaze patterns in Raven's matrices. We also measured working memory capacity (WMC), a good predictor of strategy use in adults, using a battery of complex spans. The results showed that the effective strategy of constructive matching substantially increased with age, along with performance. Strategy use mediated over half the effect of age on reasoning performance. Older participants were also better at adapting strategy use to difficulty of the problems. Effective strategy use was beneficial to the same extent for participants of all ages. Age-related improvements in strategy use occurred in tandem with improvements in WMC, but did not appear to be primarily driven by them. Overall, our results indicate that strategy use is a critical underpinning of reasoning performance in children as well as in adults, and that theories of cognitive development of reasoning have to consider the central role of strategy use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Mentoring underrepresented students for success: Self-regulated learning strategies as a critical link between mentor support and educational attainment

Growing and diversifying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional communities is critically important. According to the Process Model of Mentoring Interactions, two areas of research can be leveraged in pursuit of this goal: mentoring and self-regulated learning (SRL). This study examined the mediating role of learning strategies in explaining how implicit theories of intelligence (mindset) and mentoring support predict academic achievement among university students (operationalized as highest degree attained). Participants (N = 1,094) were from historically underrepresented backgrounds pursuing an undergraduate STEM degree from one of 38 universities across the U.S. Longitudinal data were collected via biannual surveys (fall, spring semesters) to assess academic mindset, faculty mentoring, learning strategy use, and highest degree attained (measured by National Student Clearinghouse graduation/enrollment data). Parallel processes latent growth-curves in a structural equation modeling framework were used to test the mediating role of strategy use on academic achievement. Results showed that reported strategy use was stable over time and mediated the relationship between faculty mentoring support and highest degree attained. Both having a faculty mentor as an undergraduate (vs. not) and higher quality of mentor support predicted higher strategy use, which in turn predicted higher degree attainment. Mindset was unrelated to strategy use or academic achievement. This study is one of the first to empirically demonstrate one process by which mentoring leads to greater academic achievement: via students’ use of SRL strategies.

Reasoning strategies and prior knowledge effects in contingency learning.

Prior knowledge has been shown to be an important factor in causal judgments. However, inconsistent patterns have been reported regarding the interaction between prior knowledge and the processing of contingency information. In three studies, we examined the effect of the plausibility of the putative cause on causal judgments, when prior expectations about the rate at which the cause is accompanied by the effect in question are explicitly controlled for. Results clearly show that plausibility has a clear effect that is independent of contingency information and type of task (passive or active). We also examined the role of strategy use as an individual difference in causal judgments. Specifically, the dual-strategy model suggests that people can either use a Statistical or a Counterexample strategy to process information. Across all three studies, results showed that Strategy use has a clear effect on causal judgments that is independent of both plausibility and contingency.

Neural Correlates of Numerical Estimation: The Role of Strategy Use.

Introduction: Computation estimation is the ability to provide an approximate answer to a complex arithmetic problem without calculating it exactly. Despite its importance in daily life, the neuronal network underlying computation estimation is largely unknown. Methods: We looked at the neuronal correlates of two computational estimation strategies: approximated calculation and sense of magnitude (SOM)–intuitive representation of magnitude, without calculation. During an fMRI scan, thirty-one college students judged whether the result of a two-digit multiplication problem was larger or smaller than a given reference number. In two different blocks, they were asked to use a specific strategy (AC or SOM). Results: The two strategies activated brain regions related to calculation, numerical cognition, decision-making, and working memory. AC more than SOM elicited activations in multiple, domain-specific brain regions in the parietal lobule, including the left SMG (BA 40), the bilateral superior parietal lobule (BA 7), and the right inferior parietal lobule (BA 7). The activation level of the IFG was positively correlated to individual accuracy, indicating that the IFG has an essential role in both strategies. Conclusions: These finding suggest that the analogic code of magnitude is more involved in the AC than the SOM strategy.

ELLs in Higher Education: Learning Strategy Use and Goal Orientation

This study examined language learning strategy and goal orientation of college-level English Language Learners (ELLs) by using a questionnaire survey. It analyzed the relationship between goal orientation and demographic characteristics and further explored the correlation between learning strategy use and goal orientation. The results of the study show that non-Asian ELLs had a greater performance goal orientation tendency than Asian ELLs. ELLs who had bachelor’s degree had a higher level of mastery goal orientation, as well as performance-approach goals than those who had master’s and doctoral degree. Female ELLs had a higher level of mastery goal orientation than male ELLs. Mastery goal orientation is positively related to all types of strategy, and it possessed the beneficial role in strategy use. Effective instructional methods for ELLs were provided to promote their adopting of mastery goals.

Strategy Transfer on Fluid Reasoning Tasks

Strategy use on reasoning tasks has consistently been shown to correlate with working memory capacity and accuracy, but it is still unclear to what degree individual preferences, working memory capacity, and features of the task itself contribute to strategy use. The present studies used eye tracking to explore the potential for strategy transfer between reasoning tasks. Study 1 demonstrated that participants are consistent in what strategy they use across reasoning tasks and that strategy transfer between tasks is possible. Additionally, post-hoc analyses identified certain ambiguous items in the figural analogies task that required participants to assess the response bank to reach solution, which appeared to push participants towards a more response-based strategy. Study 2 utilized a between-subjects design to manipulate this “ambiguity” in figural analogies problems prior to completing the RAPM. Once again, participants transferred strategies between tasks when primed with different strategies, although this did not affect their ability to accurately solve the problem. Importantly, strategy use changed considerably depending on the ambiguity of the initial reasoning task. The results provided across the two studies suggest that participants are consistent in what strategies they employ across reasoning tasks, and that if features of the task push participants towards a different strategy, they will transfer that strategy to another reasoning task. Furthermore, to understand the role of strategy use on reasoning tasks, future work will require a diverse sample of both reasoning tasks and strategy use measures.

Impact of strategy use during N-Back training in older adults

ABSTRACT Little is known about the effect of strategy use on working memory training in aging. Here, we aim to assess the impact of strategy on trained and transfer tasks for accuracy and P300, while investigating the effect of age, gender and education. We recruited 26 elderly and recorded EEGs from the cognitive training group and active control group. Our results showed changes in P300, but only a positive trend in accuracy for the trained task across groups. We found transfers to untrained tasks, but we did not observe any difference in transfer effects between training groups. However, our results showed significant differences between training groups for a similar version of the trained task, suggesting that strategy use might have prolonged effects. Individual characteristics had a significant impact on accuracy and P300 for trained and transfer tasks. These findings underline the role of strategy use and individual characteristics during N-Back training.

The role of strategy use in working memory training outcomes

Abstract Cognitive mechanisms underlying the limited transfer effects of working memory (WM) training remain poorly understood. We tested in detail the Strategy Mediation hypothesis, according to which WM training generates task-specific strategies that facilitate performance on the trained task and its untrained variants. This large-scale pre-registered randomized controlled trial (n = 258) used a 4-week adaptive WM training with a single digit n-back task. Strategy use was probed with open-ended strategy reports. We employed a Strategy training group (n = 73) receiving external strategy instruction, a Traditional training group (n = 118) practicing without strategy instruction, and Passive controls (n = 67). Both training groups showed emerging transfer to untrained n-back task variants already at intermediate test after 3 training sessions, extending to all untrained n-back task variants at posttest after 12 training sessions. The Strategy training group outperformed the Traditional training group only at the beginning of training, indicating short-lived strategy manipulation effects. Importantly, in the Traditional training group, strategy evolvement modulated the gains in the trained and untrained n-back tasks, supporting the Strategy Mediation hypothesis. Our results concur with the view of WM training as cognitive skill learning.

On the Use of Prediction Strategy in Korean EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

Despite the widespread understanding about the facilitative role of strategy use in reading comprehension, there has been little research evidence regarding the potential contribution of the readers’ actual performance on a specific strategy, especially prediction strategies, to their reading comprehension. Moreover, although second/foreign language readers’ strategy use may be related to their reading abilities and language proficiency in the target language, not many studies have controlled for such effects in identifying the relationship between strategy uses and reading comprehension. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the Korean middle school EFL learners’ actual use of prediction strategy and their reading comprehension. Furthermore, it examines whether such relationships may differ as a function of their English reading abilities and proficiency. One hundred thirty three Korean EFL middle school readers’ performance on the tests of English reading comprehension, prediction abilities, vocabulary and oral comprehension abilities was analyzed. The findings not only demonstrated the positive relations prediction strategy has with reading comprehension, but also identified different predictive roles it plays in the reading comprehension of good versus poor readers.

The strong link between fluid intelligence and working memory cannot be explained away by strategy use

In order to evaluate recent claims that individual differences in strategy use (i.e., using either constructive matching or response elimination to solve a gf problem) can explain away, or at least significantly weaken, the strong relationship between working memory capacity (WMC) and fluid intelligence (gf), in two large-sample studies we applied multiple measures of WMC, gf, and strategy use, and tested if the mediation of strategy use affected the WMC-gf relationship. We observed no significant drop in the WMC-gf link due to mediation, thus refuting the alleged role of strategy use in the involvement of working memory processes in fluid reasoning. Moreover, our results suggest that it is the significant correlation of both strategy use and cognitive style with WMC which is the driving force for their moderate correlation with gf.

The Effect of Central Executive Load on Fourth and Sixth Graders' Use of Arithmetic Strategies.

In the present study, we set out to investigate whether and how central executive load constrains the strategies that children use during arithmetic processing. Using a dual-task paradigm accompanied by the choice/no-choice method, we tested 233 children (115 6th graders, 118 4th graders). Results showed that the impact of central executive load on reaction times and accuracy scores related to strategy use increased with the magnitude of the demands of the central executive, with central executive load playing an important role in strategy use. Sixth graders performed better than 4th graders in the application of appropriate strategies. Children’s adaptability with respect to strategy choice was affected by the type and magnitude of the central executive load; children showed better adaptability under the no-load condition and the inconsistent/low load condition than under conditions with greater load. Grade level affected children’s adaptability with respect to strategy choice, with 6th graders exhibiting significantly better performance than 4th graders. These results confirm that the development of central executive skills contributes to children’s overall strategy use and adaptability. These findings have important implications for understanding the category specificity of central executive working memory in arithmetic cognition and the mechanisms of strategy development in childhood.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GRAMMAR LEARNING STRATEGY USE AND LANGUAGE ACHIEVEMENT OF IRANIAN HIGH SCHOOL EFL LEARNERS

This paper sought to explore the relationship between grammar learning strategy use and language achievement of Iranian high school EFL learners. The participants of the study were 300 students from three different proficiency levels (Elementary, pre-intermediate, and intermediate), 230 of whom completed and returned an Oxford Solution Test, and a Likert-scale Grammar learning strategies questionnaire (GLSQ) containing 35 statements. The participants were divided to the above mentioned proficiency groups based on Oxford placement test categorization and their total GPAs. The results of descriptive statistics, interview session, and rank-ordering indicated that cognitive and social affective strategies were the most frequently grammar strategies used by Iranian EFL learners. The analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data revealed that Iranian high school EFL learners used a variety of learning strategies while learning and using grammar structures; however, the results of one-way ANOVA indicated that there was a significant difference in the frequency of use of grammar learning strategies among different proficiency levels. Additionally, the results of ANCOVA analysis showed that gender did not play a significant role in strategy use. Furthermore, the results of Pearson correlation coefficient indicated that there was a positive relationship between language achievement and grammar strategy use. The findings of the study might provide Iranian EFL teachers and learners with some helpful implications for teaching and testing, and learning grammar strategies respectively at high schools, as well as useful directions for future studies in this domain. Keywords: grammar learning strategies, language proficiency, language achievement, gender

The Effect of Language Learning Aptitude, Strategy Use and Learning Context on L2 Pronunciation Learning

This study examined whether learning context (ESL versus EFL) and language learning aptitude (high versus low) affected the use of second-language pronunciation strategies and pronunciation achievement. The top and lowest scorers (n = 60) on the Pimsleur Language Learning Aptitude Battery (PLAB) Test were asked to complete a pronunciation strategies inventory and participate in pronunciation proficiency tests at the beginning and end of a 10-week speaking class. Pronunciation scores in global foreign accent, fluency, comprehensibility, and accuracy were compared with both overall and individual section PLAB scores and pronunciation strategies use. Results indicated that neither types of learning strategies nor degree of language gains differed over EFL and ESL contexts. However, participants’ post-test pronunciation scores in global foreign accent, fluency, and accuracy were positively correlated with auditory aptitude and motivation, while comprehensibility post-test scores were correlated with pronunciation strategies use. The findings for this study suggest that learning context plays a limited role in strategy use and that aptitude affects pronunciation accuracy and pronunciation strategies affect comprehensibility. Thus, strategy and aptitude affect different aspects of pronunciation.

The functional profile of young adults with suspected Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)

We assessed the non-academic and academic functioning of young adults with DCD, and investigated the emotional influences and the role of strategy use within this population. A random sample of 2379 adolescents and young adults aged 19-25 (1081 males [45.4%]; mean age=20.68, SD=3.42) was used to develop the instruments. From this sample, three study groups were identified (n=429) based on the Adolescents & Adults Coordination Questionnaire: probable DCD (n=135; 67.2% males), suspected borderline DCD (n=149; 51.4% males) and control (145; 70.5% males). Participants completed the Daily Life Functions Questionnaire (assessing non-academic and academic functioning), the Recent Emotional State Test (assessing feelings resulting from task performance), the Internal Factors Attributed to Success Questionnaire and the Problem Solving Questionnaire to assess strategy and executive strategy use. A MANOVA revealed statistically significant differences between-groups (F[7,422]=16.19; p<.001; η=.197); post hoc analyses revealed differences for all measures (except the Problem Solving Questionnaire), with the probable DCD and suspected borderline DCD groups performing worse than controls. Severity of motor deficits was correlated with all outcomes except strategy use. Logistic regression revealed that non-academic functioning was the most significant predictor of group placement (B=-1.32; p<.001); academic functioning/handwriting was the second most significant predictor (B=0.44; p=.047). Deficits in motor coordination continue into adulthood and have an effect on academic and non-academic function, as well as on the emotional state of the individual.

On the Role of Strategy Use and Strategy Instruction in Listening Comprehension

This paper provides a review of ideas and research regarding the role of strategy use and strategy instruction in listening comprehension. Firstly, it provides a brief explanation of different models of listening comprehension. Secondly, it sketches out different categories of learning and listening strategies. Thirdly models of strategy instruction and different attitudes towards it are reviewed. Finally, empirical studies carried out to examine the role of strategy use and strategy instruction on listening comprehension is presented.

Use of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation Strategies in Health Self-Regulation

This study investigated the interplay of exercise strategy use (i.e., strategies of selection, optimization, and compensation) and perceived loss of exercise resources in individuals prescribed to engage in physical exercise. Specifically, 368 individuals (18 to 80 years) were assessed during orthopedic rehabilitation and 6 and 12 months thereafter. Exercise, orthopedic outcome, and subjective well-being served as indicators of successful development. There was no evidence for an interaction of age and strategy use. There was also no support for an interaction between resource loss and strategy use but rather for a mediating role of strategy use between resource loss and exercise. The effect of strategy use on orthopedic outcome and subjective well-being was mediated by exercise. Strategy use seems to be beneficial for exercise regardless of age. In addition, strategy use seems to enhance resources and is not only associated with exercise but also with orthopedic outcome and subjective well-being.

Working memory capacity and strategy use.

In this study, we examine the role of strategy use in working memory (WM) tasks by providing short-term memory (STM) task strategy training to participants. In Experiment 1, the participants received four sessions of training to use a story-formation (i.e., chaining) strategy. There were substantial improvements from pretest to posttest (after training) in terms of both STM and WM task performance. Experiment 2 demonstrated that WM task improvement did not occur for control participants, who were given the same amount of practice but were not provided with strategy instructions. An assessment of participants' strategy use on the STM task before training indicated that more strategic participants displayed better WM task performance and better verbal skills. These results support our hypothesis that strategy use influences performance on WM tasks.