Instrumentos de avaliação da linguagem: uma perspetiva global

Neste capítulo é feita uma síntese das principais metodologias usadas para a avaliação da linguagem e é efetuada uma síntese dos instrumentos desenvolvidos e/ou adaptados para a avaliação da linguagem em Português Europeu (incluindo público-alvo e dimensões avaliadas).CIEC - Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança, IE, UMinho (UI 317 da FCT), Portugalinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The interrelatedness between infants’ communicative gestures and lexicon size: a longitudinal study

Research has shown a close relationship between gestures and language development. In this study, we investigate the cross-lagged relationships between different types of gestures and two lexicon dimensions: number of words produced and comprehended. Information about gestures and lexical development was collected from 48 typically developing infants when these were aged 0;9, 1;0 and 1;3. The European Portuguese version of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Gestures (PT CDI:WG) was used. The results indicated that the total number of actions and gestures and the number of early gestures produced at 0;9 and at 1;0 year predicted the number of words comprehended three months later. Actions and gestures’ predictive power of the number of words produced was limited to the 0;9–1;0 year interval. The opposite relationship was not found: word comprehension and production did not predict action and gestures three months later. These results highlight the importance of non-verbal commu- nicative behavior in language development.CiPsi - Psychology Research Centre, Uminho (UID/PSI/ 01662/2013), PortugalCIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho (FCT R&D unit 317), PortugalNational Funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) and co-financed by European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) through the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program (POCI) with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Aprender a compreender. Da teoria à prática pedagógica

Resumo Neste artigo são apresentados dois programas de ensino explícito da compreensão de leitura – “Aprender a compreender torna mais fácil o saber” e “Aprender a compreender… Do saber ao saber fazer” – destinados a alunos do 3.º ao 6.º anos de escolaridade e que podem ser desenvolvidos em contexto de sala de aula ou em contexto de grupo de apoio/recuperação. São apresentados exemplos de operacionalização das estratégias propostas, com o recurso à Família Compreensão, um conjunto de personagens especialmente criado para estes programas com o objetivo de modelar, no leitor, o uso das estratégias mais adequadas para executar as tarefas, munindo-o de instrumentos para regular a sua compreensão e colmatar lacunas e/ou dificuldades em compreender quer os textos lidos, quer as próprias perguntas que orientam a leitura dos mesmos. Palavras chave: Compreensão da leitura, ensino explícito, metacogniçãoThis article presents two reading comprehension teaching programs. “Aprender a compreender torna mais fácil o saber” and “Aprender a compreender. Do saber… ao saber fazer” created for students from the 3rd to the 6th year of scholarship. They can be developed during class or in support/recovery work groups. In the programs, examples of the proposed learning strategies are presented, through the use of the “Comprehension Family”, a set of characters created specifically for these programs with the purpose of giving the readers different ways to use strategies fitted to complete each task, and also different instruments to regulate comprehension and complement possible gaps and/or difficulties in comprehending the texts read and the questions that complement them.CIEC - Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança, UM (UI 317 da FCT

Risco de crédito e alocação ótima para uma carteira de debêntures

A debênture vem se tornando um instrumento de captação cada vez mais importante para empresas não financeiras no mercado brasileiro e uma alternativa às elevadas taxas de juros cobradas pelos bancos comerciais em uma operação de financiamento. Um aspecto-chave para o desenvolvimento do mercado secundário deste instrumento é o correto tratamento do risco de crédito, que ocorre quando o emissor não cumpre suas obrigações contratuais. Este trabalho propõe e testa uma metodologia que determina a magnitude deste risco para uma carteira de debêntures de empresas emissoras brasileiras. A abordagem utilizada baseia-se no Modelo de Merton (1974) para bônus corporativos, que utiliza as fórmulas de Black-Scholes para o cálculo do preço de opções. Também são utilizadas técnicas de otimização para a determinação do risco da carteira. Adotando um modelo simples e de baixo custo computacional, chegamos a uma medida de risco mais conservadora do que a obtida com o tradicional modelo VaR (value at risk). Além disso, apresentamos uma metodologia para a obtenção da composição ótima da carteira de debêntures.The debenture (corporate bond) is considered a fantastic financial instrument in terms of funding for the non-financial firms in the Brazilian market. The intermediation would be done in the capital market instead of through the commercial banks. The key issue for the development of this market is the financial engineering involving the credit risk (chance that the corporate issuer can default on its debt obligation). This paper proposes and tests a methodology to quantify this risk in a cross-section of Brazilian debentures. Our approach is based on Merton’s (1974) asset pricing model that uses the Black-Schole’s put option formula. The consequent optimization techniques allow us to infer the risk of debentures. By using a simple and low-cost model, we find a risk measure that is more conservative than the usual VaR (value at risk). Thus, we present a methodology for obtaining the optimum portfolio composed of debentures subject to the default risk

Efecto de un programa de intervención en los procesos y estrategias para la comprensión lectora en estudiantes de 5º y 6º grado

Background: Various investigations have revealed that the promotion of cognitive and metacognitive strategies can improve reading comprehension and that when readers receive this type of instruction, they can use monitoring processes and regulation strategies adequately. The goal of this work is to analyze the effects of strategic and metacognitive instruction on reading comprehension processes and strategies, using the "Aprender a Comprender" [Learning to Understand] program. Method: Instruction was carried out in the classroom by two teachers during six months. Ninety-four students participated, 49 from 5th grade and 45 from 6th grade. A pretest-intervention-posttest-follow-up design was used with a comparison group by grade. Results: The analysis of variance shows an impact of the intervention and its differential maintenance in each grade. The 5th-grade intervention group scored higher than the comparison group in the reading comprehension test, both at posttest and at follow-up. The 6th-grade intervention group scored higher than the comparison group in the Planning scale, both at posttest and at follow-up. Conclusions: Textual strategy instruction favors reading comprehension and the progressive development of planning, which is necessary for supervision and regulation, and its effects are maintained over time.Antecedentes: diferentes investigaciones han evidenciado que el fomento de estrategias cognitivas y metacognitivas puede mejorar la comprensión lectora y su instrucción favorece la utilización adecuada de los procesos de monitoreo y de las estrategias de regulación. El objetivo del estudio es analizar los efectos de la instrucción estratégica y metacognitiva con el programa “Aprender a Comprender” en los procesos y estrategias para la comprensión lectora. Método: la instrucción se llevó a cabo durante seis meses, en el aula, a cargo de dos docentes. Participaron 94 escolares, 49 de 5º grado y 45 de 6º grado. Se utilizó un diseño pretest-intervenciónpostest-seguimiento con un grupo de comparación por grado. Resultados: los análisis de varianza muestran un impacto de la intervención y su mantenimiento diferencial en cada grado. Los estudiantes del grupo de intervención de 5º grado puntuaron más alto en la prueba de comprensión lectora en postest y en el seguimiento. Los del grupo de intervención de 6º grado puntuaron más alto en la escala de planifi cación tanto en postest como en el seguimiento. Conclusiones: la instrucción estratégica textual favorece la comprensión lectora y el progresivo desarrollo de la planifi cación necesaria para su supervisión y regulación, manteniendo sus efectos en el tiempo.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Well-being and academic achievement in secondary school pupils: The unique effects of burnout and engagement

The main goal of this study was to examine the relationship among burnout, engagement, well-being, and academic performance in Portuguese secondary school pupils. The existence of gender related differences in these relationships was also investigated. The sample was composed of 489 pupils who attended an academic track at secondary school. Results of multi-group structural equation modelling indicated that higher levels of cynicism towards studies were associated with lower academic achievement. Exhaustion was not uniquely related to the adolescents' academic achievement or well-being. However, higher levels of engagement, namely dedication and vigour, were related to higher levels of wellbeing. Moreover, vigour was also uniquely associated with academic achievement. The results were similar for boys and girls. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed. (C) 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This study was partially conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, through national funds, and co-financed by FEDER, through COMPETE2020, under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653). The first author is also supported by grant SFRH/BPD/102549/2014 from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of listening comprehension, word recognition, and oral reading fluency on reading comprehension in second-grade students

Several studies have provided evidence regarding the importance of listening comprehension, word recognition and oral reading fluency in successful reading comprehension; however, most of the research has been conducted with English language speakers. This study aims to examine the direct effects of these three variables on reading comprehension using a sample of European Portuguese speakers. A sample of 325 second- grade Portuguese students completed the Test of Word Reading, the Reading Fluency Assessment Test, the Test of Listening Comprehension of Narrative Texts and the Test of Reading Comprehension of Narrative Texts. Path analysis showed that listening comprehension, word recognition and oral reading fluency were all significant predictors with unique effects on reading comprehension at this grade level. The combination of all three predictors explained 41% of the variance observed in reading comprehension. The results are discussed in terms of the practical implications and limitations of the study, and guidelines for future research are presented.CIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho (FCT R&D unit 317), PortugalThis study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre, University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds and, when applicable, co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (UID/PSI/01662/2013) and by grant FCOMP-01-0124- FEDER-010733 from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) through the European program COMPETE (Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors) under the National Strategic Reference Framework (QREN)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Validity of a reading comprehension test for portuguese students

The purpose of this work was to collect construct and criterion-related evidence of validity for a reading comprehension test (TCL - Teste de Compreensão da Leitura) with three vertically scaled forms, designed to assess students from second, third and fourth grade. Method: Two studies were conducted. In the fi rst (n = 1,229), a confi rmatory factor analysis was performed to analyse the test dimensionality. In the second (n= 402), concurrent and predictive evidence of validity was analysed using correlations between TCL, other reading tests and academic achievement. Results: Confi rmatory factor analysis results supported a one-factor structure. Correlation coeffi cients with other reading tests were low to moderate and statistically signifi cant. The TCL forms were shown to be good predictors of students’ reading comprehension as assessed by teachers and of the National Exams of Portuguese Language results. Conclusions: Present results provide empirical evidence for the validity of the TCL forms.Validez de un test de comprensión lectora para alumnos portugueses. Antecedentes: el objetivo de este trabajo fue recoger evidencia de validez de constructo y de criterio para un test de comprensión lectora (TCL- Teste de Compreensão da Leitura) con tres versiones escaladas verticalmente para evaluar alumnos portugueses de segundo, tercero y cuarto cursos de Primaria. Método: se efectuaron dos estudios. En el primero (n= 1,229) se analizó la dimensionalidad de la prueba recurriendo al análisis factorial confi rmatorio. En el segundo (n= 402) se proporcionan datos sobre evidencia de validez concurrente y predictiva, analizando las correlaciones entre los resultados en TCL, los resultados en otras pruebas de lectura y los resultados académicos. Resultados: los análisis factoriales confi rmatorios revelaron que el modelo de un factor se ajusta a los datos. Se obtuvieron coefi cientes de correlación bajos a moderados y estadísticamente signifi cativos entre las puntuaciones en el TCL y en otros tests de lectura. Las puntuaciones en TCL predijeron las puntuaciones obtenidas por los alumnos en los exámenes nacionales de lengua portuguesa y en las competencias de comprensión evaluadas por los maestros. Conclusiones: estos resultados proporcionan evidencia empírica para la validez de las versiones de TCL.This research was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, grant SFRH/BD/39980/2007 and CIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, UM (FCT R&D 317

Bateria de avaliação da leitura: estudos de validade

Publicado em "Atas do 10.º Encontro Nacional (8.º Internacional) de Investigação em Leitura, Literatura Infantil e Ilustração", ISBN 978-972-8952-31-0In this paper the Battery of Reading Assessment [Bateria de Avaliação da Leitura - BAL] is described and the results of the validity studies are presented. The BAL includes five tests organized into three areas of assessment: word reading; reading comprehension of texts (narrative and expository); and listening comprehension of texts (narrative and expository). Each test consists of vertically scaled forms for Portuguese elementary students from grades 1 to 4. Criterion-related validity evidence was gathered for the five tests by studying, through correlation and regression analyses, the association between each test score and the results on other tests assessing reading, memory and vocabulary and on teachers assessment. The dimensionality of each test was studied through confirmatory factor analyses. The results provided evidence of statistically significant correlations of the tests with the external criteria and evidence of an acceptable fit for the one-factor solution for all tests.Nesta comunicação são apresentados os estudos de validade da Bateria de Avaliação da Leitura (BAL) (PTDC/PSI-EDU/098592/2008). A BAL inclui cinco testes organizados em três domínios de avaliação: (a) a leitura de palavras; (b) a compreensão de textos (narrativos e informativos) na modalidade de leitura; (c) a compreensão de textos (narrativos e informativos) na modalidade oral. Cada teste é composto por versões equalizadas verticalmente para alunos do 1.º ao 4.º anos de escolaridade. Foi recolhida evidência de validade de critério para os cinco testes estudando-se, através de análises de correlação e regressão, a associação entre os resultados de cada teste e os resultados em outros testes de leitura, de memória e de vocabulário e, ainda, na avaliação dos professores. Estudou-se a dimensionalidade dos testes com recurso à análise fatorial confirmatória. Os resultados evidenciaram correlações estatisticamente significativas entre os testes e os critérios externos e permitiram confirmar a unidimensionalidade dos testes.This research was supported by Grant COMPETE: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-010733 from FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) through the European program COMPETE (Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors) under the National Strategic Reference Framework (QREN)