Our Princess Is in Another Castle-A Review of Trends in Serious Gaming for Education

Young, Slota, Cutter, Jalette, Mullin, Lai, Simeoni, Tran, & Yukhymenko reviewed over 300 articles whose descriptions related to video games and academic achievement. They report that many educationally interesting games exist, yet evidence for their impact on student achievement is slim. The authors recommend separating simulations from games and refocusing the question onto the situated nature of game-player-context interactions, including meta-game social collaborative elements.

Review of Educational Research, 2012, 82, 61-89

Manipulating word properties: Targeting vocabulary learning for children with and without speech sound inaccuracies

McDowell & Carroll reported both speech sound accuracy and vocabulary predicted unique variance in phonological awareness in children with speech sound inaccuracies. The authors suggest that children with speech sound inaccuracies may be at risk for later reading difficulties and that intervention should include targeting words that promote change within a child’s phonological system (sublexical) and lexical system .

Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 2012, 28, 101-121

Uncovering the dynamic in static assessment interaction

Muskett, Body, and Perkins identify complex interactional processes above and beyond what might be assumed in assessment. The authors interpret these processes as significant for a deeper understanding of the child’s profile of abilities and argue a clinical value in empirically re-examining routine assessment from alternative methodological perspectives.

Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 2012, 28, 87-89

Peer acceptance of children with language and communication impairments in a mainstream primary school

Laws, Bates, Feuerstein, Mason-Apps, and White reported peer rejection more common for children with profiles consistent with autistic spectrum disorder than for children with specific language impairment, and peer acceptance was significantly associated with social communication abilities. Children with clearer speech and more mature syntax also had more positive peer relationships. Language and communication appeared to be more important for peer acceptance than classroom behavior. Changing children’s principal placements from the language resource to the mainstream classes had some beneficial effect; peer rejection was reduced and most children were more tolerated.

Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 2012, 28, 73-86

Communication interventions and their impact on behaviour in the young child: A systematic review

Law, Plunkett, and Stringer reviewed nineteen studies that reported positive effects of intervention on both communication and behavioural outcomes, and found the majority were relatively low quality. They found gaps in the evidence, and suggested that study quality needs to improve, that comparative work is rare, and that it is difficult to use these interventions to reflect on the type of systematic classroom models of service delivery recommended.

Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 2012, 28, 17-23

Common Problem Behaviors of Children and Adolescents in General Education Classrooms in the United States

Harrison, Vannest, David, and Reynolds sought to identify the “most common” problem behaviors in classrooms in the United States as reported by teachers on a broadband  rating scale with a demographically representative sample of 3,600 children and adolescents. Results indicate 17 common problem behaviors of children and adolescents, each in four behavioral domains. Findings include behaviors associated  with anxiety, learning problems, and distractibility as the most commonly addressed by teachers in the classroom.

Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 2012, 20, 55-64

Special Education Implications of Point and Cumulative Prevalence for Children With Emotional or Behavioral Disorders

Forness, Freeman, Paparella, Kauffman, and Walker report that prevelence of children with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) has previously focused almost exclusively on point prevalence or the number of children with EBD presumably needing services at any single point in time.  Cumulative prevalence, on the other hand, is the number of children who have had EBD at some point in their lives before high school graduation. In the authors’ review of both types of prevalence, they found that estimates of the latter far exceed those of the former, significantly highlighting the service gap that exists between prevalence estimates and special education identification.

Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 2012, 20, 4-18