The development of children's early memory skills

Child development assessment: Practitioner input in the revision for Griffiths III

INTRODUCTION

The input from practitioners in developmental assessment test revision is a crucial and leading component of the project. This paper highlights six key phases of the Griffiths III revision process and the value of having a guiding plan that includes test practitioner input.

METHODS

The revision of the Griffiths III consisted of six separate phases that were supported by practitioner and user input and feedback. These six phases and practitioner views ensured that the necessary core constructs and new areas for item development were included in the revised version. These processes also underscored the construct development and task review, item design, piloting and standardization of the revised version, as well as its production, release and subsequent training methods.

RESULTS

The six guiding phases provided a methodologically robust frame to the revision process. Practitioners valued an overall developmental measure with discrete data about and within the 'avenues of learning' allowing them to analyse a child's strengths and weaknesses. Communication with practitioners across the world demonstrated the wide disparity of culture and environments that the Griffiths Scales are deployed in. It is not possible to design a revised scale that is appropriate for all areas of use, so in this revision process, it was decided to design the scales as culturally fair as possible and support practitioners in other countries to translate and validate the scales for use.

CONCLUSIONS

The revision of the Griffiths III found test users to be valuable sources of information on the basis of their experiences with the test and professional knowledge. Creating a continuous feedback mechanism within a phased process provided opportunities for the revision team to engage meaningfully with the data being obtained as well as test users to advance the scope and quality of the test. Revision teams are encouraged to consider the process and engagement methods explored in this study during their projects.

The Development of Implicit Memory From Infancy to Childhood: On Average Performance Levels and Interindividual Differences

The present multimethod longitudinal study aimed at investigating development and stability of implicit memory during infancy and early childhood. A total of 134 children were followed longitudinally from 3 months to 3 years of life assessing different age-appropriate measures of implicit memory. Results from structural equation modeling give further evidence that implicit memory is stable from 9 months of life on, with earlier performance predicting later performance. Second, it was found that implicit memory is present from early on, and no age-related improvements are found from 3 months on. Results are discussed with respect to the basic brain structures implicit memory builds on, as well as methodological issues.

Structure and function of large-scale brain systems

This article introduces the functional neuroanatomy of large-scale brain systems. Both the structure and functions of these brain networks are presented. All human behavior is the result of interactions within and between these brain systems. This system of brain function completely changes our understanding of how cognition and behavior are organized within the brain, replacing the traditional lesion model. Understanding behavior within the context of brain network interactions has profound implications for modifying abstract constructs such as attention, learning, and memory. These constructs also must be understood within the framework of a paradigm shift, which emphasizes ongoing interactions within a dynamically changing environment.

Tarefas que avaliam a memória operacional na infância e adolescência: uma revisão sistemática da literatura

A Memória Operacional (MO) é um componente das funções executivas essenciais para o desenvolvimento cognitivo da criança. Ela tem efeitos sobre a aprendizagem e as tarefas diárias. O objetivo foi revisar a literatura para identificar as principais tarefas que foram utilizadas para avaliar a MO e a qualidade psicométrica. Foi realizada uma revisão da literatura em bancos de dados (Pubmed, Medline, Lilacs, SciELO). Foram analisados 44 artigos que utilizaram tarefas que avaliaram a alça fonológica e/ou esboço visuoespacial. A partir das análises dos artigos foram descritas um total de 20 diferentes tarefas para avaliar a MO. Com a revisão sistemática foi possível descrever diferentes tarefas a partir de um modelo cognitivo. No entanto, são necessários estudos psicométricos, para validação das medidas dentro do modelo teórico e o refinamento sobre o entendimento da MO.

It's all about location, location, location: children's memory for the "where" of personally experienced events

Episodic memory is defined as the ability to recall specific past events located in a particular time and place. Over the preschool and into the school years, there are clear developmental changes in memory for when events took place. In contrast, little is known about developmental changes in memory for where events were experienced. In the current research, we tested 4-, 6-, and 8-year-old children's memories for specific laboratory events, each of which was experienced in a unique location. We also tested the children's memories for the conjunction of the events and their locations. Age-related differences were observed in all three types of memory (event, location, and conjunction of event and location), with the most pronounced differences being in memory for conjunctions of events and their locations. The results have implications for our understanding of the development of episodic memory, including suggestions of protracted development of the ability to contextualize events in their spatial locations.