University of Windsor

About: University of Windsor is a education organization based out in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Argumentation theory. The organization has 10654 authors who have published 22307 publications receiving 435906 citations. The organization is also known as: UWindsor & Assumption University of Windsor.

Neuropsychological Assessment of Children

Abstract: ogy readers have been presented with reviews of two sets of measures that are now commonly employed in the neuropsychological assessment of children: the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised {WISC-R),3 and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC).4 It may be helpful to those who consider referrals for neuropsychological assessment to know what child-clinical neuropsychologists typically aim to provide in such assessments. The following is my attempt, within the brief space available, to characterize these aims and to suggest additional readings that may be of some benefit. Recently, there has been considerable research and theory generation in the emerging field of developmental and child-clinical neuropsychol-ogy.5-10 The findings and implications of this scientific enterprise have led to the formulation of neuro-psychological assessment strategies and techniques for the evaluation of children with various types of neurological disease and dysfunction.6·8·9·11-13 At the minimum, the child-clinical neuropsychologist typically aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of children that emphasizes the interrelationships of the following: sensory-perceptual skills, motor and psychomotor abilities, attentional and mnestic capacities , linguistic skills, and high-order cognitive and problem-solving capacities. It is for this reason that the use of multifaceted tests and batteries such as the WISC-R and the K-ABC have come to form part of this process for a number of child-clinical neuropsy-chologists. These instruments and other, more traditional , test batteries such as the Reitan-Indiana Neuropsychological Test Battery 14 are frequently employed by practitioners in the field. The purpose of this exercise is usually twofold: (1) to clarify in a reliable fashion the nature and extent of the child's adaptive abilities and deficits, and (2) to suggest ways in which the child's abilities and skills may be enhanced so that he or she may deal more effectively with present and future developmental demands. For example, in the case of a child aged 8 years who has sustained a closed head injury of some severity, it is crucial to determine prior to the child's return to the academic situation the extent to which he or she likely to deploy the attentional, mnestic, and problem-solving capacities that are demanded in the classroom milieu. It is also important that school authorities and parents become aware of the implications of any relatively permanent or transitory deficits exhibited by the child so that these caretakers might better be able to arrange for modifications in the child's environment that are necessary to enhance academic and social …

Accommodating differences: variations in differentiated literacy instruction in Grade 2/3 classrooms

Abstract: Although teachers are acutely aware of variance in students’ literacy needs, many are unsure exactly how to support these needs in the dynamic classroom. This study reports on compelling evidence from Grade 2/3 classrooms in which teachers differentiated instruction in a variety of ways to benefit all students. In particular, teachers provided additional scaffolding for struggling literacy learners by offering a menu of tiered work products, expert tutoring and additional supports. At the base of instruction were common essential understandings grounded in best literacy practices: shared reading and writing, guided reading, excellent texts and literacy centres. The article emphasises the critical importance of responding to the needs of diverse and at-risk learners in the regular classroom. Differentiated instruction is suggested as a powerful organising framework in the language arts classroom.

Individual optimization of reproduction in a long‐lived migratory bird: a test of the condition‐dependent model of laying date and clutch size

Abstract: Summary 1. Optimality theory predicts that both timing of arrival and arrival state on the breeding area will determine reproductive timing and investment in migratory organisms. We tested this idea using a condition-dependent individual optimization model (Ardea 68, 1980, 225 and The American Naturalist 143, 1994, 698) in common eider ducks through descriptive data, path analyses and experimental manipulation. 2. Our results support the causal pathways drawn from the optimization model indicating that individuals adjust their reproductive decisions as a function of their arrival date and body condition at arrival. 3. Independent of body condition, early-arriving females had a longer pre-laying period, but still initiated their nests earlier, and produced larger clutches than late-arriving birds. Independent of arrival date, females in good condition laid earlier than those in poor condition. Manipulation of pre-laying female body condition confirmed that the relationship between condition and laying date was causal. 4. Female common eiders appear to optimize reproductive decisions in response to both their external (i.e. environmental conditions affecting the egg-value) and internal (i.e. body condition) states. These adjustments seem to minimize the fitness costs of reproduction, in which higher clutch size is not associated with an apparent lower survival or future breeding probability. 5. Our study emphasizes the importance of (i) simultaneously considering the timing of migration, the state of individuals and the seasonal change in egg-value to understand clearly birds’ breeding decisions and (ii) appreciating the potential proximate and ultimate factors explaining why some individuals delay breeding and ⁄ or produce small clutches.