Applied Cognitive Research in K-3 Classrooms

This volume summarizes research on important topics in cognitive research and discusses what must be done to apply this research in early elementary classrooms. Purposefully, it focuses on areas of cognitive research that have only recently begun to be studied in early elementary classrooms or that, based on educational and psychological theory, appear to have the greatest implications for early classroom learning - Part 1, "Cognitive Applications in Early Elementary Classrooms," examines topics germane to the cognitive functioning of young children: working memory, executive functioning, theory of mind, phonemic awareness, and neuropsychological processing in the context of early elementary classrooms. - Part 2, "Considerations for Further Research: Methods, Policy, and Issues," looks at practical and methodological issues of which applied cognitive researchers must remain cognizant: methodology, research designs, the gap between science and policy and means by which this gap can be diminished, and the need to consider how issues like ecological validity, individual differences, treatment integrity, and the relation between assessment and intervention are integral to designing applied cognitive research studies. The current emphasis on empirically supported treatments and research-based teaching and intervention in the schools, and legislation such as No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, have focused attention on the scientific basis of educational practice. However, applying research to the environment of the schools is not an automatic process. Bridging the gap has several prerequisites: researchers must attend to the ecological validity of their studies, universities must incorporate the results of research into their pre-professional training programs, and schools must support their inservice staff in developing new knowledge and skills. Applied Cognitive Research in K-3 Classrooms contributes strongly to these goals, not only by providing researchers, professionals, and graduate students in the fields of cognitive psychology, school psychology, educational psychology, educational research, and early elementary-level education with current understanding but also helping to set an agenda for further research that applies cognitive psychology in early elementary classrooms.

S. Kenneth Thurman, Catherine A. Fiorello

@contents: Selected Contents: Table of Contents Preface INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: Cognition in the Early Elementary Classroom Mary C. McKenna, Erin K. Jurgensen, and S. Kenneth Thurman PART ONE: Cognitive Applications in Early Elementary Classrooms Chapter 2: Working Memory and Classroom Learning Susan E. Gathercole and Tracy Packiam Alloway Chapter 3: Executive Function, School Readiness and School Achievement Ulrich Muller, Dana Lieberman, Douglas Frye and Philip David Zelazo Chapter 4: Theory of Mind, Understanding Teaching and Early Childhood Education Douglas Frye and Zhenlin Wang Chapter 5: Translating Cognitive Science to the Classroom: The Role of Phonological Sensitivity and Vocabulary in the Development of Early Literacy Skills James P. Byrnes and Barbara A. Wasik Chapter 6: Validating Individual Differences through Examination of Converging Psychometric and Neuropsychological Models of Cognitive Functioning Catherine A. Fiorello, James B. Hale, Lindsey E. Snyder, Elizabeth Forrest and Annemarie Teodori PART TWO: Considerations for Further Research: Methods, Policy and Issues Chapter 7: Data Collection Methods: Potential Pitfalls when Implementing Early Reading Programs as Educational Interventions Gary D. Phye Chapter 8: Experimental Approaches for Overcoming Practical Challenges of Classroom Research Sharon M. Carver Chapter 9: Bridging the Gap between Psychological Science and Educational Policy and Practice Gregory White, Gwen Frishkoff, and Merry Bullock Chapter 10: Issues and Concerns in Conducting Applied Cognitive Research S. Kenneth Thurman and Marissa H. Kiepert