Group items tagged

In this article, the authors hypothesis that music perception skills are linked to early reading skills in children. Using a test group of 100 4- and 5-year-olds, they discovered that while there were differences in the age groups that overall their hypothesis was well supported. Their research shows that music perception is directly related to reading skills and phonological awareness but that In the 4-year-olds, musical ability was the link to reading, while in the 5-year-olds, pitch processing was the link. Full article found on EJC.

The purpose of this paper is to describe content and methods of an academic course offered twice annually at an NCAA Division I University. With empirical support to the effectiveness of this academic approach to psychological skills training presented elsewhere (Curry & Maniar, 2003), the focus of this paper is on the type and extent of each intervention treatment during the 15-week semester course (Vealey, 1994). Course content includes applied strategies for best performance targeting, arousal/affect control, identifying purpose, goal setting, imagery, sport confidence, trust, flow, sport nutrition, on-/off-field problem solving, self-esteem, and life skills education on eating disorders and drug/alcohol abuse. Teaching methods include narrative story telling, small group activities, journal writing, cognitive-behavioral homework, brainteasers, and active learning demonstrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, Feazell explains the RAP system. The system is used by many special education programs to enhance reading skills. The system is based on Phonemic awareness training, Dictation, Phonics readers practice, Fluency training, Eliciting positive emotion, Assessing. While RAP may not specifically teach comprehension skills it does teach fluency by combining neurological impress and phonics instruction. Full PDF available

Health literacy is basic reading and numerical skills that allow a person to function in the health care environment. Even though most adults read at an eighth-grade level, and 20 percent of the population reads at or below a fifth-grade level, most health care materials are written at a 10th-grade level. Older patients are particularly affected because their reading and comprehension abilities are influenced by their cognition and their vision and hearing status. Inadequate health literacy can result in difficulty accessing health care, following instructions from a physician, and taking medication properly. Patients with inadequate health literacy are more likely to be hospitalized than patients with adequate skills. Patients understand medical information better when spoken to slowly, simple words are used, and a restricted amount of information is presented. For optimal comprehension and compliance, patient education material should be written at a sixth-grade or lower reading level, preferably including pictures and illustrations. All patients prefer reading medical information written in clear and concise language. Physicians should be alert to this problem because most patients are unwilling to admit that they have literacy problems. (Am Fam Physician 2005;72:463-8. Copyright© 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians.)

A study to be released today by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum [cites] improvements in a range of literacy skills among students who took part in a program in which the Guggenheim sends artists into schools. The study, now in its second year, interviewed hundreds of New York City third graders, some of whom had participated in the Guggenheim program, called Learning Through Art, and others who did not.

Parker and Ratzan discuss what health literacy is, the importance of having health literacy skills, and the need for a strategy to address limited health literacy. The degree to which individuals are able to understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions require a health information strategy that addresses the problems of low health literacy. Low health literacy is prevalent because current health information is somewhat complex. Parker and Ratzan present a clear definition of health literacy and why a strategy is important for better communication.

These article provides information on academic support programs for student athletes. Various athletic-academic scandals have forced universities to provide needed academic support to student athletes. Campus consensus on academic support program must be developed by involving central administration, faculty, and athletic department personnel. Before selling up an athletic support program, a careful self-assessment can also serve as an example of institutional reform. A decision must be made whether the program should operate internally in the athletic department or externally in the campus administration. The first step in beginning an academic support program is assessing athletes through testing and records. The program should emphasize skill development and counseling, preferably in programs already existing for the general student body on campus. Budgets for large programs range between $250,000 to $500,000 a year. The program should be annually evaluated by looking at retention and graduation rates of student athletes. The program's success depends on the commitment of the university and the participation of the community.

A film on OhioLINK. Could be useful for students analyzing the rhetoric of politics. As Maya Angelou points out in The Power of Speech, "If the words and delivery are powerful, they echo down the centuries." To emphasize the point, Angelou and other writers and orators examine the moving oratory of 14th-century tax protester John Ball, 19th-century slave Sojourner Truth, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Each speaker's technique is examined within the context of why the speech is being delivered, and to whom. Examples of how great orators throughout history have used their skills for good and evil drive home the immense power of the spoken word. A BBC Production. (30 minutes)

This study examined the roles of sensation seeking and self-efficacy in explaining extreme and high physical risk taking behavior. Study participants were 20 extreme risk takers chosen from participants in skiing, rock climbing, kayaking, and stunt flying. One control group was comprised of 20 high, but not extreme, risk takers from each of these activities, matched to the participants in skill and experience. A second control group consisted of 20 trained athletes involved in moderate risk sports. Percepts of self-efficacy emerged as the principle variable differentiating the groups. A social cognitive explanation for desire for mastery was used to understand what enables risk takers to overcome the potentially inhibiting influences of anxiety, fear, and the recognition of danger. This conclusion is further reinforced by converging results from interviews with the participants.

A film on OhioLINK. Could be useful for students analyzing the rhetoric of politics. As Maya Angelou points out in The Power of Speech, "If the words and delivery are powerful, they echo down the centuries." To emphasize the point, Angelou and other writers and orators examine the moving oratory of 14th-century tax protester John Ball, 19th-century slave Sojourner Truth, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Each speaker's technique is examined within the context of why the speech is being delivered, and to whom. Examples of how great orators throughout history have used their skills for good and evil drive home the immense power of the spoken word. A BBC Production. (30 minutes)

The author states that music and reading are essentially learned the same way. He provides evidence by breaking down the learning process and comparing the music and reading skills. Though music can be beneficial to reading, Chappell warns that music still needs to be it's own course.

An OhioLINK film from the series "Childhood Development: A Cognitive Approach to Developmental Psychology." Starting right from infancy, this program charts the development of language during childhood. Basic language acquisition, learned from rudimentary and higher-level child/caregiver interactions, is described. Aspects of competence that go beyond the purpose of simple communication are also considered, including the skill of using conversation for establishing and furthering social relationships, the ability to employ language as a part of games, the capacity to understand jokes, and the awareness of what other people know and understand at various stages of maturation. (25 minutes)

A film on OhioLINK. Why do girls demonstrate greater reading and writing ability than boys? Is the female brain hardwired for faster verbal development? Should men let women do the talking? This program studies language differences between the sexes and explores the possibility that many communication skills are gender-specific. Following two teams of well-educated adults as they undergo a crash course in broadcast journalism, the program documents wide variations between male and female abilities to verbally multitask, and examines distinctions in physical interaction, eye contact, and other behavioral factors. Clinical evidence regarding the significance of testosterone levels is also explored. (45 minutes)

A film on OhioLINK. Communication is at the core of the human experience, even though effective communication takes a lifetime to learn. This program explores how we develop the arts of speech and physical expression to make ourselves understood and to understand others. Visiting a group of 25 three-year-olds, the film observes them learning as many as ten new words a day-some already grasping the first 1,500 components of the 20,000-word vocabulary collected in the average life span. The "nonverbal leakage" or body language that supplements verbal skills is also explored, demonstrating that children with verbal disadvantages can compensate through other techniques. Original BBCW broadcast title: Read My Lips. Part of the BBC series Child of Our Time 2004. (60 minutes)

This article disscuses on problems faced with literacy in athletic training. It touches on the fact that in order to engage in athletic activities, they must be able by athletic training educators to ingage knowledge and skills, as well as information literacy.

An article that explains a debate that has raged for years in academic circles. When you read online, are you reading or skimming? Is the Internet killing reading or just helping students develop different skills?

The article explores how literacy reforms alter the issues of identity, and cites the influence of technology on student's literacy skills. The author said that the emergence of MySpace site, Facebook, and cellphone cameras have changed the way young people communicate and write, and informed a statement from a young adolescent girl which validates the literacy changes. He also stressed several intriguing developments which allow students to manipulate and play with their identities, and informs that students spend much more time reading and writing online.

One possibility for those interested in sports to consider is the concept of physical literacy, here called "movement literacy," the idea that just as our minds learn to function at higher levels and acquire new skills, our bodies must do the same. However, between phyical education budgets being cut and increasing importance placed on technology, our understanding of movement literacy is decreasing. This article focuses on students in Kenya, where the most original innovative learning takes place during unstructed playtime. Includes a PDF and several photographs.

Wilder discusses how the communication problems with health professional can negatively impact the outcome of medical care for patients with low health literacy skills. Because of the way health information is presented by clinicians, patients have trouble comprehending what is said. Because patients are expected to play an active role in their own medical care and treatment, it is necessary that health information be given in ways that patients and families can understand. Low literacy gets in the way of good health care and leads to more health problems in patients. Wilder makes a good case for the importance of good communication techniques in health matters.

Hanging out online helps teenagers develop "technological skills and literacy," a researcher on a new study said.