Understanding Interest and Self-Efficacy in the Reading and Writing of Students with Persisting Specific Learning Disabilities during Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence

Abstract

Three methodological approaches were applied to understand the role of interest and self-efficacy in reading and/or writing in students without and with persisting specific learning disabilities (SLDs) in literacy. For each approach students in grades 4 to 9 completed a survey in which they rated 10 reading items and 10 writing items on a Scale 1 to 5; all items were the same but domain varied. The first approach applied Principal Component Analysis with Varimax Rotation to a sample that varied in specific kinds of literacy achievement. The second approach applied bidirectional multiple regressions in a sample of students with diagnosed SLDs-WL to (a) predict literacy achievement from ratings on interest and self-efficacy survey items; and (b) predict ratings on interest and self-efficacy survey items from literacy achievement. The third approach correlated ratings on the surveys with BOLD activation on an fMRI word reading/spelling task in a brain region associated with approach/avoidance and affect in a sample with diagnosed SLDs-WL. The first approach identified two components for the reading items (each correlated differently with reading skills) and two components for the writing items (each correlated differently with writing skills), but the components were not the same for both domains. Multiple regressions supported predicting interest and self-efficacy ratings from current reading achievement, rather than predicting reading achievement from interest and self-efficacy ratings, but also bidirectional relationships between interest or self-efficacy in writing and writing achievement.  The third approach found negative correlations with amygdala connectivity for 2 reading items, but 5 positive and 2 negative correlations with amygdala connectivity for writing items; negative correlations may reflect avoidance and positive correlations approach. Collectively results show the relevance and domain-specificity of interest and self-efficacy in reading and writing for students with persisting SLDs in literacy.

Keywords

• Interest in reading,self-efficacy in reading,interest in writing,self-efficacy in writing,approach/avoidance,amygdala

References

1. Arana, F., Parkinson, J., Hinton, E., Holland, A., Owen, A., & Roberts, A. (2003). Dissociable contributions of the human amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex to incentive motivation and goal selection. The Journal of Neuroscience, 23, 9632-9638.
2. Barnett, A., Henderson, L., Scheib, B., Schulz, C. (2007). Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting (DASH) Copy Best and Fast. London: Pearson.
3. Berninger, V., & Abbott, R. (1992). Unit of analysis and constructive processes of the learner: Key concepts for educational neuropsychology. Educational Psychologist, 27, 223-242.
4. Berninger, V., Abbott, R., Cook, C., & Nagy, W. (2016). Relationships of attention and executive functions to oral language, reading, and writing skills and systems in middle childhood and early adolescence. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1-16.
5. Berninger, V., Winn, W., Stock, P., Abbott, R., Eschen, K., Lin, C. et al., & Nagy, W. (2008). Tier 3 specialized writing instruction for students with dyslexia. . Reading and Writing. An Interdisciplinary Journal, 21, 95-129.
6. Berninger, V., & Wolf, B. (2009). Helping students with dyslexia and dysgraphia make connections: Differentiated instruction lesson plans in reading and writing. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
7. Bowers, P.G., & Wolf, M. (1993). Theoretical links among naming, speed, precise timing mechanisms and orthographic skill in dyslexia. Reading and Writing, 5, 69-85.
8. Eccles, J. S., Adler, T. F., Futterman, R., Goff, S. B., Kaczala, C. M., Meece, J. L., & Midgley, C. (1983). Expectancies, values and academic behaviors. In J. Spence (Ed.) Achievement and achievement motivation. San Francisco, CA: W. H. Freeman.

9. Eccles, J. S., Fredricks, J. A., & Epstein, A. (2015). Understanding Well-Developed Interests and Activity Commitment. In K. A. Renninger, M. Nieswandt, S. Hidi (Eds), Interest in Mathematics and Science Learning. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
10. Eccles, J. S., Wigfield, A., Harold, D., & Blumenfeld, P. (1993). Age and gender differences in children’s self- and task perceptions during elementary school. Child Development, 64 (3), 830-847.
11. Elliot, A.J. & Covington, M.V. (2001). Approach and avoidance motivation. Educational Psychology Review, 13, 73-92. doi:10.1023/A:1009009018235
12. Fenker, D., Frey, J., Schuetze, H., Heipertz, D., Heinze, H., & Duzel, E. (2008). Novel scenes improve recollection and recall of words. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20, 1250-1265.
13. Fink, R. (2015). Reading, writing, and rhythm: Engaging content-area literacy strategies. Huntington Beach, CA: Shell Education.
14. Gallagher, M., & Chiba, A. (1996). The amygdala and emotion. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 6, 221-227.
15. Gozzi, M., Zamboni, G., Krueger, F., & Grafman, J. (2010). Interest in politics modulates neural activity in the amygdala and ventral striatum. Human Brain Mapping, 11, 1763-71.
16. Gut, J., Heckmann, C., Meyer, C. S., Schmid, M. & Grob, A. (2012). Language skills, mathematical thinking, and achievement motivation in children with ADHD, disruptive behavior disorders, and normal controls. Learning and Individual Differences, 22 (2012) 375–379.
17. Hamann, S., Ely, T., Grafton, S., & Kilts, C. (1999). Amygdala activity related to enhanced memory for pleasant and aversive stimuli. Nature neuroscience, 2, 289-293.
18. Hamann, S.B., Ely, T.D., Hoffman, J.M., & Kitts, C.D. (2002). Ecstasy and agony: Activation of the human amygdala in positive and negative emotion. Psychological Science, 13, 135-141.
19. Hamann, S.B. , & Mao, H. (2002). Positive and negative emotional verbal stimuli elicit activity in the left amygdala. NeuroReport, 13, 15-19. DOI: 10.1097/00001756-200201210-00008
20. Hidi, S. (1995). A re-examination of the role of attention in learning from text. Educational Psychology Review, 7, 323-350.
21. Hidi, S. (2006). Interest: A unique motivational variable. Educational Research Review, 1, 69-82.
22. Hidi, S., and V. Anderson (1992) Situational Interest and Its Impact on Reading and Expository Writing, in K. A. Renninger, S. Hidi, and A. Krapp (eds), The Role of Interest in Learning and Development, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
23. Hidi, S., and J. McLaren (1990) The Effect of Topic and Theme Interestingness on the Production of School Expositions. In H. Mandl, E. De Corte, N. Bennet, and H. F. Friedrich (eds), Learning and Instruction: European Research in an International Context, 2 (2).
24. Hidi, S., & Renninger, K.A. (2006). The four-phase model of interest development. Educational Psychologist, 41, 111-127.
25. Hoza, B., Pelham, W. E., Waschbusch, D. A., Kipp, H., & Owens, J. S. (2001). Academic task persistence of normally achieving ADHD and control boys: Performance, self-evaluations, and attributions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 271–283.
26. IBM Corp (2010). SPSS Statistics 19.0. Chicago, Ill: IBM Corp.
27. James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology. London, UK: Macmillan.
28. Jenkinson, M., Bannister, P., Brady, M., & Smith, S. (2002). Improved optimization for the robust and accurate linear registration and motion correction of brain images. Neuroimage 17, 825–841.
29. Konrad, K., Gauggel, S., Manz, A., & Schöll, M. (2000). Lack of inhibition: A motivational deficit in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and children with traumatic brain injury. Child Neuropsychology, 6, 286–296.
30. Lee, J., & Zentall, S. S. (2012). Reading motivational differences among groups: Reading disability (RD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), RD+ ADHD, and typical comparison. Learning and individual Differences, 22(6), 778-785.
31. Mather, N., Hammill, D., Allen, E., & Roberts, R. (2004). Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency TOSWRF. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
32. Mather, N., Roberts, R., Hammill, D., & Allen, E. (2008). Test of Orthographic Competence (TOC). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
33. doi 10.1016/j.lindif.2014.03.013 NIHMS ID: NIHMS580076
34. McInerney, R. J., & Kerns, K. A. (2003). Time reproduction in children with ADHD: Motivation matters. Child Neuropsychology, 9, 91–108.
35. Nolen, S. B. (2007a). Young children’s motivation to read and write: Development in social contexts. Cognition and Instruction, 25, 219-270.
36. Nolen, S. B. (2007b) The Role of Literate Communities in the Development of Children’s Interest in Writing. In S. Hidi and P. Boscolo (eds), Writing and Motivation, Oxford, UK: Elsevier.
37. Owens, J. S., Goldfine, M. E., Evangelista, N. M., Hoza, B., & Kaiser, N. M. (2007). A critical review of self-perceptions and the positive illusory bias in children with ADHD. Clinical child and family psychology review, 10(4), 335-351.
38. Pearson (2009). Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, 3rd Ed. San Antonio, TX.
39. Pugh, K., Linnenbrink-Garcia, K., Koskey, .V. Stewart, V., & Manzey, C. (2010). Motivation, learning, and transformative experience: A study of deep engagement in science. Science Education, 94, 1-28.
40. Renninger, K. A., Ewen, L., & Lasher, A. K. (2002). Individual interest as context in expository text and mathematical word problems. Learning and Instruction, 12(4), 467-490.
41. Renninger, K. A., & Hidi, S. (2011), Revisiting the conceptualization, measurement, and generation of interest. Educational Psychologist, 46, 168-184.
42. Renninger, K. A., & Hidi, S. (2016). The power of interest for motivation and engagement. New York: Routledge.
43. Renninger, K. A., & Wozniak, R. W. (1985). Effect of interest on attentional shift, recognition, and recall in young children. Developmental Psychology, 21 (4), 624-632.
44. Richards, T.L, Grabowksi, T., Askren, K., Boord, P., Yagle, K.,Mestre, Z., et al. (2015, posted on line March 28). Contrasting brain patterns of writing-related DTI parameters, fMRI connectivity, and DTI-fMRI connectivity correlations in children with and without dysgraphia or dyslexia Neuroimage Clinical. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11145-015-9565-0 10.1016/j.nicl.2015.03.018 NIHMS695386 PMC 44737 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4473717
45. Schiefele, U. (1991). Interest, learning, and motivation. Educational Psychologist, 26, 299-323.
46. Silliman, E., & Berninger, V. (2011). Cross-disciplinary dialogue about the nature of oral and written language problems in the context of developmental, academic, and phenotypic profiles. Topics in Language Disorders, 31, 6-23. free access at http://journals.lww.com/topicsinlanguagedisorders/Fulltext/2011/01000/Cross_ Disciplinary_Dialogue_about_the_Nature_of.3.aspx
47. Stein, M., Simmons, A., Feinstein, J., & Paulus, M. (2007). Increased amygdala and insula activation during emotion processing in anxiety-prone subjects. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 318-327.
48. Tabachnick, B., & Fidell, L. (2013). Using multivariate statistics, 6th Edition. Boston: Pearson Education.
49. Treiman, R. & Kessler, B. (2014). How children learn to write words. New York: Oxford University Press.
50. Torgesen, J., Wagner, R., & Rashotte, C. (1999). Test of Word Reading Efficiency. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
51. Wigfield, A. and J. Cambria (2010). Students’ Achievement Values, Goal Orientations, and Interest: Definitions, Development, and Relations to Achievement Outcomes, Developmental Review, 20 (1): 1 – 35.
52. Woodcock, R., McGrew, K., & Mather, N. (2001). Woodcock-Johnson III Achievement Battery . Itasca, IL: Riverside.
53. Yarkoni, T., Poldrack, R. Nichols, T., Van Essen, D., & Wager, T. (2011). Large-scale automated syntheses of human functional neuroimaging data. Nature Methods, 8, 665-670. doi:10.1038/nmeth.1635
54. Zald, DH. (2003). The human amygdala and the emotional evaluation of sensory stimuli. Brain Research Review, 41, 88–123.