Program of neuropsychological stimulation of cognition in students: Emphasis on executive functions - development and evidence of content validity

Abstract

ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to describe the construction process and content validity evidence of an early and preventive intervention program for stimulating executive functions (EF) in Elementary School children within the school environment.MethodsThe process has followed the recommended steps for creating neuropsychological instruments: internal phase of program organization, with literature search and analyses of available materials in the classroom; program construction; analysis by expert judges; data integration and program finalization. To determine the level of agreement among the judges, a Content Validity Index (CVI) was calculated.ResultsContent validity was evidenced by the agreement among the experts with regards to the program, both in general and for each activity. All steps taken were deemed necessary because they contributed to the identification of positive aspects and possible flaws in the process.ConclusionThe steps also helped to adapt stimuli and improve program tasks and activities. Methodological procedures implemented in this study can be adopted by other researchers to create or adapt neuropsychological stimulation and rehabilitation programs. Furthermore, the methodological approach allows the reader to understand, in detail, the technical and scientific rigor adopted in devising this program.

Autoavaliação da memória de jovens universitários

“…Outra intervenção que pode ser realizada é o treino cognitivo computadorizado, que tem o objetivo de aprimorar e prevenir o declínio cognitivo, atividade que pode ser realizada online, com o auxílio de softwares, de forma intensiva e com ajuste do nível de complexidade (23) . Estudo (24) realizou um treinamento cognitivo computadorizado em idosos, por um período de oito a dez semanas, com o objetivo de melhorar as habilidades cognitivas; ao fim do treinamento, foi possível verificar o melhor desempenho nas habilidades de memória, atenção auditiva e velocidade de processamento.…”

Programa de intervenção em funções executivas pró-aprendizagem acadêmica para jovens/universitários: Desenvolvimento e evidências de validade de conteúdo

“…For the construction of neuropsychological interventions, however, there is a scarcity of studies describing the procedures that should be adopted. Accordingly, the procedure described here was based on the systematization suggested by Cardoso et al (2017), with four essential stages: (1) Internal phase of organization of the program; (2) Construction of the program; (3) Analysis by expert judges; and (4) Finalization of the program. To these, step (5) Pilot Study was added in the construction of the πFex-Academics.…”

“…The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. The development of the program was based on 4 stages delimited by Cardoso, Dias, Seabra and Fonseca (2017); plus a 5th stage, with a pilot application.…”

Response to Intervention (RTI) Tier 2 Executive Functions Program for 1<sup>st</sup> Grade Level Brazilian Schoolchildren: Pilot Study

“…Each of the components of executive functions was considered as an objective of the program, developed for application in a school environment, in the group modality. For each objective, strategies were developed, developed for this study, based on gold standard instruments existing in the national and international literature, intended for the assessment of executive functions (Strauss, Sherman, & Spreen, 2006;Zimmermann, Cardoso, Kristensen, & Fonseca, 2017), in addition to intervention programs in executive functions existing in the national literature (Cardoso, Dias, Seabra, & Fonseca, 2017;Dias & Seabra, 2013).…”

“…Studies have been published both nationally (Cardoso, Dias, Seabra, & Fonseca, 2017;Gonçalves, Viapiana, Sartori, Giacomoni, Stein, & Fonseca, 2017) and internationally (Shuai, Daley, Wang, Zhang, Kong, Tan, & Ji, 2017;Van der Ven, Kroesbergen, Boom, & Leseman, 2012;Rudasill, Acar, & Xu, 2022), on the use of early interventions for the development of executive functions and problems of learning, as well as the performance of skills involved, however, there are still few studies that focus on the development of executive functions in students at risk for learning difficulties through the Response to Intervention (RTI) (Dvorsky, Becker, Tamm, & Willoughby, 2021;Grosche & Volpe, 2013;Reynolds & Shaywitz, 2009;Rodríguez, Areces, García, Cueli, Gonzalez-Castro, 2021).…”