Do executive functions contribute to writing quality in beginning writers? A longitudinal study with second graders

Cordeiro, Carolina; Limpo, Teresa; Olive, Thierry; Castro, São Luís

doi:10.1007/s11145-019-09963-6

Cited by 48 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Although many studies have explored student writers' composition process at different ages and grade levels, most have focused on short periods such as several writing sessions (Teng, 2016(Teng, , 2020b or a few days or weeks (Sternglass, 2017). A recent study (Cordeiro, Limpo, Olive, & Lu ıs Castro, 2019) lasted 6 months, focusing on 116 Portuguese native speakers in Grade 2. The students took a test on inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning.…”

Section: Writingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of children’s metacognitive knowledge, reading, and writing in English as a foreign language: Evidence from longitudinal data using multilevel models

Teng

Zhang

2021

Brit J of Edu Psychol

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Background. Limited studies have been conducted on delineating the rationale behind individual differences in children developing metacognitive knowledge, as well as reading and writing proficiency.Aims. This study examined the dynamics of children's development of metacognitive knowledge as well as reading and writing proficiency during their progression from Grade 1 to Grade 6. Sample(s).A total of 420 students participated in the study, who were tested 6 times to assess their metacognitive knowledge, reading, and writing proficiency.Methods. The participants were invited to complete three tests: metacognitive knowledge, reading, and writing, which were administered at the end of each grade year.Results and conclusions. Three variables (i.e., metacognitive knowledge, reading, and writing) showed high stability and increasing variance over time. These findings suggest individual differences in children's development of metacognitive knowledge, as well as reading and writing proficiency. Students' metacognitive knowledge grew more quickly among those who entered primary school with already strong metacognitive skills; the same was true for their reading and writing development. Results also revealed predictive effects of students' metacognitive knowledge on their reading and writing performance. Implications are discussed based on these findings.

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Section: Writingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of children’s metacognitive knowledge, reading, and writing in English as a foreign language: Evidence from longitudinal data using multilevel models

Teng

Zhang

2021

Brit J of Edu Psychol

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“…The two potential mediators could indeed contribute separately to literacy development. For example, hierarchical regression analyses have suggested that both handwriting and EFs contribute independently to text quality in second grade [ 49 ] and in text length in fourth grade [ 50 ]. The complementarity of these two mediators on literacy has only been shown for text production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, the influence of EFs has been identified for different dimensions of literacy, but it seems that they especially play a role in higher levels of written language processing—text comprehension and text production—that require active reasoning about the content. Numerous results have highlighted the effect of EFs on text comprehension (for a review, see [ 51 , 52 ]) and on both the length and quality of text production [ 49 , 50 , 53 – 55 ]. On the other hand, handwriting skills may be more related to the dimensions of literacy concerning the learning of writing (spelling and composing).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, handwriting skills may be more related to the dimensions of literacy concerning the learning of writing (spelling and composing). For example, the alphabet task has been linked not only to word spelling [ 42 , 44 , 46 ], but also to higher-level literacy skills, such as the quality of text production [ 42 – 44 , 49 , 50 ]. Furthermore, some studies have also reported links between handwriting and word reading [ 13 , 35 ], and here, handwriting interventions seem to improve not only writing but also decoding in kindergarten [ 56 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeling the influence of motor skills on literacy in third grade: Contributions of executive functions and handwriting

et al. 2021

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Several nonlanguage factors influence literacy development, and motor skills are among those most studied. Despite the publication of several studies that have supported the existence of this relationship, the type of influence and underlying mechanisms have been little explored. Herein, we propose modeling the relationship between motor skills and literacy through structural equation modeling, testing the contribution of executive functions and handwriting skills as the possible mediators of this relationship. In a study of 278 third-grade children, we used a wide range of measures related to written language (reading, spelling, reading comprehension, and written production), fine motor skills (dominant hand, nondominant hand, and bimanual dexterity), executive functions (verbal and visuospatial working memory, inhibition, and shifting), and handwriting. Structural equation modeling of the relationship between these different variables indicated that in the third grade, the influence of fine motor skills on literacy is fully mediated by both executive functions and handwriting skills. These motor skills effects are observed for both low levels of processing (reading, spelling) and high levels of processing (reading comprehension, written production). The results are discussed in terms of the potential mechanisms underlying different literacy skills and their implications for pedagogical programs.

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“…The mindfulness-related improvements on attention and EFs are expected to generalize to academic achievement ( Maynard et al, 2017 ). Past research already showed that these cognitive skills are related to teacher-rated literacy grades ( Magalhães et al, 2020 ) as well as to specific, writing-related indicators of literacy abilities ( Cordeiro et al, 2019 ). In primary grades, two of these indicators are transcription, which is the externalization of language into written text through the basic processes of handwriting and spelling; and written composition, that is, the production of texts with good and coherently organized ideas, conveyed in well drafted sentences with rich vocabulary.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Third Graders’ Executive Functions and Literacy: A Pilot Study Examining the Benefits of Mindfulness vs. Relaxation Training

et al. 2021

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Research suggested that developing mindfulness skills in children improves proximal outcomes, such as attention and executive functions, as well as distal outcomes, such as academic achievement. Despite empirical evidence supporting this claim, research on the benefits of mindfulness training in child populations is scarce, with some mixed findings in the field. Here, we aimed to fill in this gap, by examining the effects of a mindfulness training on third graders’ proximal and distal outcomes, namely, attention and executive functions (viz., inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) as well as literacy-related achievement (viz., handwriting fluency, text quality, Portuguese grades). These outcomes were measured with behavioral tasks and teacher ratings. Sixty-six Portuguese children were randomly allocated to an experimental group receiving mindfulness training (n = 29) or an active control group receiving relaxation training (n = 37). Both training programs were implemented by psychologists in two 30-min weekly sessions for 8 weeks. All students were assessed before and after the interventions. Three main findings are noteworthy: (a) mindfulness training enhanced teacher-rated cognitive flexibility and a performance-based composite score of executive functions among children with higher pretest scores; (b) relaxation training improved performance-based cognitive flexibility and the composite score of executive functions among children with lower pretest scores; (c) children receiving mindfulness training had higher handwriting fluency and better grades in Portuguese than those receiving relaxation training. These findings provide preliminary evidence on the benefits of mindfulness training in educational settings and highlight the moderating role of baseline performance on those benefits.

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Do executive functions contribute to writing quality in beginning writers? A longitudinal study with second graders

Cited by 48 publications

References 55 publications

Development of children’s metacognitive knowledge, reading, and writing in English as a foreign language: Evidence from longitudinal data using multilevel models

Development of children’s metacognitive knowledge, reading, and writing in English as a foreign language: Evidence from longitudinal data using multilevel models

Modeling the influence of motor skills on literacy in third grade: Contributions of executive functions and handwriting

Promoting Third Graders’ Executive Functions and Literacy: A Pilot Study Examining the Benefits of Mindfulness vs. Relaxation Training

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