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The goal of the current study was to investigate the role of executive functions in mathematical creativity. The sample included 278 primary school children (ages 8-13). Two models were compared: the starting model tested whether executive functions (shifting, updating, and inhibition), domain-general creativity, and mathematical ability directly predicted mathematical creativity. The second model, which fitted the data best, included the additional assumption that updating influences mathematical creativity indirectly through mathematical ability and domain-general creativity. Updating was positively related to mathematical creativity. Additionally, updating was positively related to mathematical ability and domain-general creativity. Inhibition, shifting, domain-general creativity and mathematical ability did not have a significant contribution to either model but did positively correlate with mathematical creativity. This study reports the first empirical evidence that updating is a predictor of mathematical creativity in primary school children and demonstrates that creativity is a higher order cognitive process, activating a variety of cognitive abilities.

This comparative study investigated the productivity and the process of written composition in students with and without disabilities between 8 and 16 years of age. Participants were assigned to four groups as follows: (a) 59 with both attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and writing learning disabilities (WLD), (b) 40 with ADHD, (c) 115 with WLD, and (d) 124 normal achievers (control group). Students' writing productivity was assessed by means of a compare-and-contrast essay task and a writing log that registered the processes involved in composition writing using seven categories. The findings render insight into the way children and youth with ADHD and WLD produce text and how much time they dedicate to the various writing subtasks. Among other things, students with ADHD and WLD spend much less time than normal peers thinking about a written composition or reviewing it, which negatively affects the level of coherence and quality of their texts. A critical discussion of the findings and their psychoeducational implications is included.

In this review, we discuss the historic evolution of ADHD research up until the present, and explain the actual theoretical models of writing in relation to ADHD and attention. Given the characterization of writing as a recursive process, and in order to show its relationship with attention disorders, examples of applicable writing models are also described. These models contribute to a far better understanding of the findings from empirical studies. Additionally, a review of the empirical research on ADHD and writing conducted in the last decades is presented. The conclusions obtained from this analytical review suggest a lack of empirical studies concerning writing and ADHD. Specifically, this shortfall is even more obvious in those studies that have focused on the relationship among written composition, processes followed by ADHD students during tasks, and the written products they construct. Only a few studies have been carried out in this context, however, they have approached the combined problem in a superficial way without examining it in detail. A review and analysis of the association between ADHD and writing learning difficulties is the most novel and fundamental element with respect to the theoretical contribution we herein present.

Introduction: Further inquiry into constructs such as creativity, intelligence and scholastic abilities, and understanding how they relate to each other, can promote better understanding of the variables involved in academic achievement. Consequently, the objective of the present study was to examine the predictive value of creativity and multiple intelligences (self-perceived, perceived by families and by teachers) in scholastic aptitudes related to academic achievement in primary education. Method: For this purpose, 98 third- and sixth-graders from several schools of the north of Spain completed different tests: an objective test of creative intelligence (CREA), a scholastic aptitude test (TEA1) and a self-report questionnaire on their perceived multiple intelligences. In addition, parents and teachers also completed a questionnaire on the multiple intelligences of the participating students. Results: The results of the linear regression showed that students' creative intelligence predicted students' non-verbal scholastic aptitudes in part, and that naturalistic, linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences showed some predictive ability of students' general scholastic ability, and of verbal and non-verbal components in particular. Discussion and conclusions: Creativity and some multiple intelligences were predictive of scholastic aptitudes, but not in the same way, and without generalized agreement among the informants. Teachers were taken to be the group that most accurately assessed levels of multiple intelligences that were predictive in this study.

Background: Students commonly struggle with mathematics and mathematical problem-solving. Therefore, it is necessary to design and implement interventions aimed at improving these essential components of learning. Furthermore, the outcomes of these interventions can vary significantly and appear to be a function of a student's initial competencies in mathematics. Aim: This study attempts to analyse the influence of initial levels of mathematics competency with respect to the benefits of a specific intervention known as the Integrated Dynamic Representation (IDR). Sample: Participants were 288 students (aged 6-8 years) who were divided according to their levels of mathematics competency (low-medium-high). Methods: Students were assigned to the two primary intervention groups, experimental group (EG; students who received the IDR intervention) and control group (CG; students who followed the traditional instructional methods). All participants completed the Test of Early Mathematics Abilities (TEMA-3) both before and after the intervention. Results and conclusions: Although all the three competency levels of the EG improved, the progression was different for each level. Results showed that students with low competency level improved substantially more than the students with medium and/or high baseline competency level.

Students' self-beliefs about mathematics, such as mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics anxiety, can interact with each other in the explanation of mathematics achievement. The present study aimed to identify mathematics self-belief profiles (derived from combinations of mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics anxiety) and their relationships to mathematics achievement in a sample of secondary-school students. The participants were 2,365 students who completed a self-report instrument for the assessment of mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics anxiety. A latent profile analysis was conducted to identify the participants' mathematics self-belief profiles. The relationship between the profiles, mathematics achievement, gender and school year, was determined. Six student profiles were identified based on combined levels of mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics anxiety. Specifically, three patterns were found based on the combination of low, medium-low and high levels of mathematics self-efficacy with mathematics anxiety. While the detected profiles indicated statistically significant differences in the explanation of mathematics achievement, gender and school year were not relevant to the relationship between mathematics self-belief profiles and mathematics achievement. The study provides insights into the importance of students' beliefs, and perceptions in the explanation of academic achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aimed to analyze aggression–victimization differentiation in middle-school students by empathy level, gender, and grade level. A total of 260 students living in a middle-low-socioeconomic region of Ankara, Turkey, participated in the study (mean age = 12.89, standard deviation = 0.96). Results indicated that the students were more likely to be victims of violent behaviors rather than being aggressors. We found a high probability that victims could become aggressors or vice versa. There were no significant differences between empathy and victimization–aggression. Besides, the results revealed that boys were more prone to being victims and aggressors, especially concerning physical–verbal aggression and harming properties. However, girls were more likely to be victims of isolation and—to a lesser extent—verbal aggression. We discussed these results in light of literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calibration, or the correspondence between perceived performance and actual performance, is linked to students' metacognitive and self-regulatory skills. Making students more aware of the quality of their performance is important in elementary school settings, and more so when math problems are involved. However, many students seem to be poorly calibrated, with a tendency towards over-confidence. The present study analyzes the relationship between post-performance calibration accuracy and the metacognitive process shown by 524 fifth- and sixth-grade students while solving two math problems. After calculating a calibration index and establishing the stability of students' judgments and actual performance, differences in the metacognitive process exhibited by students with different calibration accuracy (Accurate vs. Inaccurate groups) were analyzed. The emergence of different calibration patterns and differences in the metacognitive process as a function of mathematics achievement and grade level were also examined. Results indicated that: (a) students in the overall sample were little calibrated and over-confident, showing high stability in their judgments and actual performance across problems; (b) inaccurate students reported using information representation sub-processes (drawing/summarizing) less frequently, but writing and reviewing (and also correcting mistakes) more frequently than their accurate peers; and (c) differences in calibration patterns and the metacognitive process were found when achievement level was considered, whereas grade level did not generate any important effect. These findings suggest the usefulness of process-based measures to examine the metacognitive processes involved in making post-performance judgments, considering achievement and its possible mediating role in this relationship.

In this study, the primers of different protocols for the detection of White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) were analyzed in silico to evaluate their potential performance in PCR. As with any biological entity, this virus evolves constantly. Thus, this analysis showed that a few primers, including those recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), might mismatch with some isolates of WSSV, specially with isolates more recently sequenced. Furthermore, a set of primers recommended by WOAH, showed the potential to self-dimer and form hairpin loop structures, which could affect the efficiency of PCR, resulting in an inaccurate diagnostic result. From our perspective, and considering the evolutionary trajectory of this virus, it may be time for the WOAH to update the PCR protocols recommended for WSSV detection, which remains as a highly prevalent and lethal virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Executive functions and creativity could play an important role in children's education. To date, research on the relationship between these constructs has focused on adults. The objective of this systematic review was to analyze the relationship between executive functions (EFs) and creativity in children to provide teachers with tools to improve students' abilities. (2) Methods: A total of 12 studies were identified using WOS, SCOPUS and PsycINFO, which matched the following criteria: (i) empirical studies with measures of executive functions and creativity; (ii) a sample of children or adolescents (3 to 18 years old); and (iii) in the previous decade (2012–2021). (3) Results: The results indicated a clear relationship between flexibility and creativity. Flexibility is positively correlated and inhibition is negatively correlated with creativity. There is no clear evidence that the remaining EFs, such as working memory, correlate with creativity. There was insufficient evidence on the relationship between intelligence, executive functions and creativity in a sample of children for the results to be generalized. (4) Conclusion: Future studies should consider the variability of standardized tests that measure these two constructs in order to be able to compare measurements and obtain generalizable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]