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Research -- StepUp to Learn

Preschool Teachers Aren't Asking Challenging Questions

by StepUp Staff

Preschool Teachers Aren't Asking Challenging Questions

UTHealth study reveals that preschool and kindergarten teachers ask too many simple questions and offer ideas on how to enhance student learning.
Posted in Attention, Education, Engagement, Reading Skills, Speech & Language

A “million word gap” for children who aren’t read to at home

by StepUp Staff

A “million word gap” for children who aren’t read to at home

Young children whose parents read them five books a day enter kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to, a new study found.
Posted in Education, Language, Social Development, Speech & Language

HKBU scholar invents new tangram games to test children's visual-related literacy skills

by StepUp Staff

HKBU scholar invents new tangram games to test children's visual-related literacy skills

A new series of tangrams games helps identify children with early visual processing difficulties and can be used to improve reading, writing and word identification skills at an early age.
Posted in Education, Reading Skills, Speech & Language

How the arts can help students who struggle most

by StepUp Staff

How the arts can help students who struggle most

Researchers show that using artistic activities -- such as rhyming, movement, and drawing, -- helps students retain more of what they learn.

Posted in Education, Engagement, Memory, Reading Skills, Speech & Language

Writing bursts: How important are spelling accuracy and handwriting speed?

by StepUp Staff

Writing bursts: How important are spelling accuracy and handwriting speed?

Researchers from the University of London found that spelling accuracy, handwriting speed, and frequent pausing for misspellings were significant predictors of the length and quality of children's writing bursts.
Posted in Education, Handwriting, Neuroscience, Speech & Language

Babies who hear two languages at home develop advantages in attention

by StepUp Staff

Babies who hear two languages at home develop advantages in attention

Six-month-old babies who are brought up hearing more than one language show advantages in early development of attention
Posted in Attention, Neuroscience, Speech & Language

Need to remember something? Better draw it, study finds

by StepUp Staff

Need to remember something? Better draw it, study finds

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have found that drawing pictures of information that needs to be remembered is a strong and reliable strategy to enhance memory.

Posted in Handwriting, Memory, Neuroscience, Speech & Language

Developing Instruments to Detect Language Problems Earlier

by StepUp Staff

Developing Instruments to Detect Language Problems Earlier

The research team at San Diego State University is working on ways to better detect language problems in children prior to age 3, when intervention might be more effective.
Posted in School Readiness, Speech & Language

Sensory Integration Dysfunction Case Study

by Jonathan Rowe

Sensory Integration Dysfunction Case Study

An August 2010 doctor’s report included history of Oromotor Dyspraxia, Auditory Sensitivity, Articulation Disorder, Developmental Language Delay, and Heavy Metal Toxicity which had improved with prior therapeutic interventions. Current diagnoses include Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Metabolic Disorder, and Developmental Coordination Disorder. Michael was receiving Speech Therapy 5 days a week and Occupational Therapy once a week. His delays first became evident at age 2 when he had not begun to talk.
Posted in Attention, Education, Language, Movement & Exercise, Neuroscience, School Readiness, Speech & Language

Selecting Sounds: How the Brain Knows What To Listen To

by StepUp Staff

Selecting Sounds: How the Brain Knows What To Listen To

Scientists developed a new approach to how the brain singles out a specific stream of sound from other distracting sounds. Using a novel experimental approach, the scientists non-invasively mapped sustained auditory selective attention in the human brain. Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the study lays crucial groundwork to track deficits in auditory attention due to aging, disease or brain trauma and to create clinical interventions, like behavioral training, to potentially correct or prevent hearing issues.
Posted in Attention, Neuroscience, Speech & Language

Children take longer to learn two languages at once

by StepUp Staff

Children take longer to learn two languages at once

Worldwide immigration patterns are increasing the number of children who grow up exposed to two languages, a circumstance that provides numerous benefits as well as some challenges.
Posted in Education, Language, Speech & Language

How music lessons can improve language skills

by StepUp Staff

How music lessons can improve language skills

MIT study links piano education with better word discrimination by kindergartners. Many studies have shown that musical training can enhance language skills. However, it was unknown whether music lessons improve general cognitive ability, leading to better language proficiency, or if the effect of music is more specific to language processing.
Posted in Education, Music, Speech & Language