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AbstractThe present study illustrates the usefulness of the choice/no‐choice method to investigate age‐related changes in children's strategies. This method enables independent assessments of strategy use and execution. It is applied in children's spelling strategies. Third‐ and fifth‐grade children were asked to write down words using a dictionary or not (choice condition). Then, they were successively required to spell words using each strategy (no‐choice condition). Performance showed that (a) strategy choices and accuracy differed in younger and older children, (b) strategy effectiveness was the strongest predictor of children's strategy use, and (c) having the choice resulted in higher level of spelling accuracy (especially in older children) than having no choice. We discuss the implications of these results on how the choice/no‐choice method can be useful for understanding and investigating children's strategy choices in spelling and other cognitive domains.

Ascidian species of the Phallusia and Ciona genera are distantly related, their last common ancestor dating several hundred million years ago. Although their genome sequences have extensively diverged since this radiation, Phallusia and Ciona species share almost identical early morphogenesis and stereotyped cell lineages. Here, we explored the evolution of transcriptional control between P. mammillata and C. robusta. We combined genome-wide mapping of open chromatin regions in both species with a comparative analysis of the regulatory sequences of a test set of 10 pairs of orthologous early regulatory genes with conserved expression patterns. We find that ascidian chromatin accessibility landscapes obey similar rules as in other metazoa. Open-chromatin regions are short, highly conserved within each genus and cluster around regulatory genes. The dynamics of chromatin accessibility and closest-gene expression are strongly correlated during early embryogenesis. Open-chromatin regions are highly enriched in cis-regulatory elements: 73% of 49 open chromatin regions around our test genes behaved as either distal enhancers or proximal enhancer/promoters following electroporation in Phallusia eggs. Analysis of this datasets suggests a pervasive use in ascidians of "shadow" enhancers with partially overlapping activities. Cross-species electroporations point to a deep conservation of both the trans-regulatory logic between these distantly-related ascidians and the cis-regulatory activities of individual enhancers. Finally, we found that the relative order and approximate distance to the transcription start site of open chromatin regions can be conserved between Ciona and Phallusia species despite extensive sequence divergence, a property that can be used to identify orthologous enhancers, whose regulatory activity can partially diverge. ; PL's lab was supported by grants from the Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (TED project, ANR-13-BSV2–0011). JLG-S's lab was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No's ERC-AdG-LS8), the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (BFU2016-74961-P and BFU2014-55738), the 'Unidad de Excelencia María de Maetzu 2017–2021′ (MDM-2016-0687) to the Department of Gene Regulation and Morphogenesis of CABD), and the Andalusian Government (BIO-396). AM was a PhD student of the University of Montpellier, supported successively by the EpiGenMed Laboratory of excellence and FRM (FDT20160435698). MSM was a PhD student from the University Pablo de Olavide supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, and by an EMBO short-term fellowship to visit PL's laboratory. DG and SH were supported by TED. UMF and LG were post-doctoral fellows supported by the FRM (SPF20120523969) and HHMI, respectively. ; Peer reviewed

In this article we discuss a number of objectives we consider important for improving graduate training. In addition, we propose several methods by which each objective may be attained. The suggestions are geared toward Francophone universities in Europe (including France, Belgium, and Switzerland) and their particular constraints, but they may prove useful for colleagues in other countries as well. First, we discuss how doctoral students can receive top-quality training in order to acquire the knowledge specific to the demands of a future university professor and researcher. Next, we develop more general objectives, including the development of a broad view of the discipline and the acquisition of skills such as the ability to write and publish scientific articles. We also emphasize the involvement of graduate students in professional activities and the necessity of developing close contacts with members of the broader scientific community. Finally, we discuss the selection of and the financial support for graduate students.