The Implementation of HOTS-based ESCOTING (Relay Writing and Collaborative Writing) Model in Writing Fable at a Primary School

Language skills are the most important part of language learning at primary schools that need to be taken seriously. If not, then this results in low writing skills of students in expressing ideas in writing. So, students' thinking skills or what so-called Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) are essential to be developed by teachers through learning. This study aims to determine the implementation of the HOTS-based ESCOTING model in writing skills of fables at primary school level. The method used was a pre-experimental research design with a single treatment design (one-shot case study). The sample used in this study was 23 second-grade students of a primary school in Bandung. The results showed that there was a significant increase in student learning outcomes in writing skills. From these results it can be concluded that the implementation of the HOTS-based ESCOTING model can be used as a solution by the teacher to develop students' writing skills, especially in writing fables for the second-grade students

Development of Integrated Writing Materials Based on Multiliteracies and High-Order Thinking Skills

This study aimed to develop Integrated Writing Materials Based on High-Order Thinking Skills and Multiliteracies. This research utilized the D&D research method with the ADDIE design (Analysis, Design, Develop, Implementation, Evaluation). The subjects in this study are Elementary Schools located in the Garut regency. The instruments in this study include expert validation questionnaires, teacher and student response questionnaires, and test instruments to assess high-order thinking skills. Data analysis is conducted using a mixed methods approach. The results of developing multiliteracy-based teaching materials and high-level thinking skills obtained a good category from expert validation, teacher responses, and student responses. Subsequently, the teaching material developed in this research was piloted to students to assess its effectiveness on students' high-order thinking skills. The results of the high-order thinking skills test after using the developed teaching material show that the average N-gain score at school 1 is 78%, which falls into the highly effective category. The average N-gain score at school 2 is 79%, also classified as highly effective. Lastly, the average N-gain score at school 3 is 81%, once again falling into the highly effective category. From these results, it can be concluded that the development of multiliteracy-based teaching materials effectively enhances students' higher-order thinking abilities

Differentiating the Cognitive Profile of Schizophrenia from That of Alzheimer Disease and Depression in Late Life

To compare the cognitive profile of older patients with schizophrenia to those with other neuropsychiatric disorders assessed in a hospital-based memory clinic.Demographic, clinical, and cognitive data of all patients referred to the memory clinic at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health between April 1, 2006 and August 15, 2008 were reviewed. We then identified four groups of older patients with: (1) late-life schizophrenia (LLS) and no dementia or depression (DEP); (2) Alzheimer's disease (AD); (3) DEP and no dementia or LLS; (4) normal cognition (NC) and no DEP or LLS.The four groups did not differ in demographic data except that patients with AD were about 12 years older than those with LLS. However, they differed on cognitive tests even after controlling for age. Patients with LLS were impaired on most cognitive tests in comparison with patients with NC but not on recalling newly learned verbal information at a short delay. They experienced equivalent performance on learning new verbal information in comparison with patients with AD, but better performance on all other tests of memory, including the ability to recall newly learned verbal information. Finally, they were more impaired than patients with DEP in overall memory.Patients with LLS have a different cognitive profile than patients with AD or DEP. Particularly, memory impairment in LLS seems to be more pronounced in learning than recall. These findings suggest that cognitive and psychosocial interventions designed to compensate for learning deficits may be beneficial in LLS

Myelin-Associated Glycoprotein Gene and Brain Morphometry in Schizophrenia

Myelin and oligodendrocyte disruption may be a core feature of schizophrenia pathophysiology. The purpose of the present study was to localize the effects of previously identified risk variants in the myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) gene on brain morphometry in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Forty-five schizophrenia patients and 47 matched healthy controls underwent clinical, structural magnetic resonance imaging, and genetics procedures. Gray and white matter cortical lobe volumes along with hippocampal volumes were calculated from T1-weighted MRI scans. Each subject was also genotyped for the two disease-associated MAG single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs720308 and rs720309). Repeated measures general linear model (GLM) analysis found significant region by genotype and region by genotype by diagnosis interactions for the effects of MAG risk variants on lobar gray matter volumes. No significant associations were found with lobar white matter volumes or hippocampal volumes. Follow-up univariate GLMs found the AA genotype of rs720308 predisposed schizophrenia patients to left temporal and parietal gray matter volume deficits. These results suggest that the effects of the MAG gene on cortical gray matter volume in schizophrenia patients can be localized to temporal and parietal cortices. Our results support a role for MAG gene variation in brain morphometry in schizophrenia, align with other lines of evidence implicating MAG in schizophrenia, and provide genetically based insight into the heterogeneity of brain imaging findings in this disorder

Resting state electroencephalography microstates in autism spectrum disorder: a mini-review

Atypical spatial organization and temporal characteristics, found via resting state electroencephalography (EEG) microstate analysis, have been associated with psychiatric disorders but these temporal and spatial parameters are less known in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). EEG microstates reflect a short time period of stable scalp potential topography. These canonical microstates (i.e., A, B, C, and D) and more are identified by their unique topographic map, mean duration, fraction of time covered, frequency of occurrence and global explained variance percentage; a measure of how well topographical maps represent EEG data. We reviewed the current literature for resting state microstate analysis in ASD and identified eight publications. This current review indicates there is significant alterations in microstate parameters in ASD populations as compared to typically developing (TD) populations. Microstate parameters were also found to change in relation to specific cognitive processes. However, as microstate parameters are found to be changed by cognitive states, the differently acquired data (e.g., eyes closed or open) resting state EEG are likely to produce disparate results. We also review the current understanding of EEG sources of microstates and the underlying brain networks