Are Chinese and German Children Taxonomic, Thematic, or Shape Biased? Influence of Classifiers and Cultural Contexts

This paper explores the effect of classifiers on young children's conceptual structures. For this purpose we studied Mandarin Chinese- and German-speaking 3- and 5-year-olds on non-lexical classification, novel-noun label extension, and inductive inference of novel properties. Some effect of the classifier system was found in Chinese children, but this effect was observed only in a non-lexical categorization task. In the label extension and property generalization tasks, children of the two language groups show strikingly similar behavior. The implications of the results for theories of the relation between language and thought as well as cultural influence on thought are discussed

The Brain Differentially Prepares Inner and Overt Speech Production: Electrophysiological and Vascular Evidence

Speech production not only relies on spoken (overt speech) but also on silent output (inner speech). Little is known about whether inner and overt speech are processed differently and which neural mechanisms are involved. By simultaneously applying electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we tried to disentangle executive control from motor and linguistic processes. A preparation phase was introduced additionally to the examination of overt and inner speech directly during naming (i.e., speech execution). Participants completed a picture-naming paradigm in which the pure preparation phase of a subsequent speech production and the actual speech execution phase could be differentiated. fNIRS results revealed a larger activation for overt rather than inner speech at bilateral prefrontal to parietal regions during the preparation and at bilateral temporal regions during the execution phase. EEG results showed a larger negativity for inner compared to overt speech between 200 and 500 ms during the preparation phase and between 300 and 500 ms during the execution phase. Findings of the preparation phase indicated that differences between inner and overt speech are not exclusively driven by specific linguistic and motor processes but also impacted by inhibitory mechanisms. Results of the execution phase suggest that inhibitory processes operate during phonological code retrieval and encoding

Inner versus Overt Speech Production: Does This Make a Difference in the Developing Brain?

Studies in adults showed differential neural processing between overt and inner speech. So far, it is unclear whether inner and overt speech are processed differentially in children. The present study examines the pre-activation of the speech network in order to disentangle domain-general executive control from linguistic control of inner and overt speech production in 6- to 7-year-olds by simultaneously applying electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Children underwent a picture-naming task in which the pure preparation of a subsequent speech production and the actual execution of speech can be differentiated. The preparation phase does not represent speech per se but it resembles the setting up of the language production network. Only the fNIRS revealed a larger activation for overt, compared to inner, speech over bilateral prefrontal to parietal regions during the preparation phase. Findings suggest that the children’s brain can prepare the subsequent speech production. The preparation for overt and inner speech requires different domain-general executive control. In contrast to adults, the children’s brain did not show differences between inner and overt speech when a concrete linguistic content occurs and a concrete execution is required. This might indicate that domain-specific executive control processes are still under development

Gesund und kompetent: Beanspruchungserleben, gesundheitliche Beschwerden und Berufseignung – Eine Studie mit Schweizer Lehramtsstudierenden

Die Studie untersucht die Fragestellung, inwieweit bei Studierenden des gymnasialen Lehramts günstige bzw. ungünstige psychosoziale Bewältigungsmuster (AVEM) mit gesundheitlichen Beschwerden sowie der Berufseignung einhergehen. Insgesamt 192 Schweizer Studierende des Studiengangs "Lehrdiplom für Maturitätsschulen" (gymnasiales Lehramt) nahmen an einer entsprechenden Befragung teil. Im Gegensatz zu früheren Studien ergab sich ein hoher Prozentsatz von Studierenden mit günstigen Bewältigungsmustern. Diese Studierenden wiesen weniger gesundheitliche Beschwerden, stärker ausgeprägte konstruktivistische Vorstellungen und eine höhere Passung in Bezug auf typische berufliche Anforderungen auf als Studierende in einem der Risikomuster. Unsere Befunde stärken die Bedeutung der Vermittlung von Kompetenzen zur Bewältigung psychosozialer Anforderungen in der Lehramtsausbildung.&nbsp

Kognitiv aktivierende Methoden zur Förderung des Theorie-Praxis-Transfers in der Lehrerbildung: Theorie-Praxis-Transfers in der Lehrerbildung: Werkstattbericht

Das Ziel des Projekts ist die Förderung des Theorie-Praxis-Transfers und eines vertieften Lernverständnisses bei Lehramtsstudierenden an zwei Universitäten in Sachsen. Konkret bedeutet dies, dass theoretische und empirische Erkenntnisse psychologischer und didaktischer Forschung in einer Weise elaboriert werden, dass vor dem Hintergrund persönlicher pädagogischer Überzeugungen handlungsleitende Schlussfolgerungen für die künftige Lehrtätigkeit gezogen werden können. Ein vertieftes Verständnis von Lernen meint in diesem Zusammenhang die explizite Bewusstmachung eigener Lernprozesse mit dem Ziel, diese Erfahrungen ebenfalls in die zukünftige Lehrpraxis zu übertragen. Erreicht werden soll dies durch ein innovatives Seminarkonzept, welches den Schwerpunkt auf kognitiv aktivierende Methoden legt und insbesondere durch den Einsatz von Workshops und Lerntagebüchern realisiert wird. Der Beitrag umfasst eine kurze Darstellung des Seminarkonzeptes sowie die Präsentation der drei durchgeführten Teilprojekte und der wesentlichen Ergebnisse aus der Evaluation

Categorization, Label Extension, and Inductive Reasoning in Chinese and German Preschoolers: Influence of a Classifier System and Universal Cognitive Constraints

This paper explores the effect of classifiers on young chil-dren’s conceptual structures. For this purpose we studied Mandarin Chinese- and German-speaking three- and five-year-olds and adults on no-word classification, novel-noun label extension and inductive inference of novel properties. Some effect of the classifier system was found in Chinese children, but this effect was observed only in a no-word cate-gorization task. In the label extension and property generali-zation tasks, children of the two language groups show strik-ingly similar behavior, but their performance was markedly different across the two task contexts. The implications of the results for theories of language and thought as well as cogni-tive development are discussed