The consistency and cognitive predictors of children's oral language, reading, and math learning profiles

Publication date: February 2019Source: Learning and Individual Differences, Volume 70Author(s): Lisa M.D. Archibald, Janis Oram Cardy, Daniel Ansari, Thomas Olino, Marc F. JoanisseAbstractEfforts to understand learning disorders in children by focusing on specific domains and within restricted ability ranges have failed to identify consistent and stable learning profiles. Given evidence for dimensional distribution of oral language, reading, and mathematical skills among those identified with and without learning disorders, examining learning across a range of abilities and domains should provide a better estimate of learning profiles. The present study examined the 1-year stability of cross-domain learning profiles and associated cognitive characteristics of 327 children. Results revealed highly stable profiles with 95% of participants remaining in the same learning profiles across data years. Generally similar performance across domains was observed for three profiles (below average, average, above average) comprising 63% of the sample, with relatively specific differences in oral language or reading characterizing the remaining profiles. Cognitive measures and teacher ratings accurately predicted learning profile in about 55% of participants either at the time of testing or in the following year. The most effective models for categorizing learning profiles all included teacher ratings of reading. Cognitive measures of verbal working memory, verbal intelligence, phonologica...

Source: Learning and Individual Differences - February 13, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research