Evaluation of a modified version of a cognitive training with developmentally retarded kindergarten children

The original version (Klauer, 1989) of the Cognitive Training for Children by Klauer and Phye (1994) is enhanced by some components which seem essenti al for the effectiveness of training programs. To answer the question if th e program is effective despite of the various modifications, the modified p rogram is compared to a control program. The assessment of its aims rests o n some subtests of a conventional intelligence test (CFT) and on concept fo rmation tasks especially devised to gain insight into the children's abilit y to derive and to apply rules, since the main objective of the program is to enhance inductive reasoning. Both programs lead to substantial pretest-p osttest improvements for the psychometric subtests, whereas the results for the task of concept formation give differential patterns for both programs , although not all comparisons between the programs reach statistical signi ficance. Overall, the results indicate that the modifications do not work a s well as intended, especially when the results of a follow-up study are ta ken into account.