Gender, task contexts, and children's performance on a computer-based task

Gender differences in response to computers have been widely reported. This study addresses the question of how far the context in which a computer task is presented can affect girls' and boys' on-task performance. In an experimental study involving 60 ten and eleven year-olds, we examine the effects of differential contextualisation on girls' and boys' performance on a computer-based perceptual-motor skills task. Our findings illustrate that even with a single, standard piece of software, children's performance can be substantially affected by the context in which that software is presented. The results suggest that gender differences in children's responses to computer tasks are relatively labile, and highly context sensitive. The implications and possible explanations for these findings are considered.     

儿童比例推理研究的最新进展

儿童比例概念和比例推理能力的形成和发展是自皮亚杰以来的心理学研究焦点之一，也是学科教学中的一个难点。章简要介绍了近年来该领域的一些研究进展。     

The role of task design and argumentation in cognitive development during peer interaction: The case of proportional reasoning

This paper examines task design that affords deep changes in mathematical thinking in the context of peer interaction. We describe a study in which 60 low-level high-school students solved a proportional reasoning task, the “blocks” task as individuals and/or in dyadic interaction. We show that we could tailor the design of the task in order to create a cognitive conflict among dyads, notwithstanding the strategies used by the students. We show that students' proportional reasoning strategies did not improve as a result of discussion even when guided by an experimenter dedicated at reaching consensus; however the introduction of a hypothesis testing device and the guidance of the experimenter to accommodate divergent views led peers to impressive conceptual change in their discussion and in an individual post-test. Examination of one case of dyadic interaction shows that beyond the value of given characteristics of individuals or of tasks, the process of argumentation that takes place between the peers explains the subsequent gains of the individuals. The conditions under which conceptual change was attained challenge theoretical views on cognitive development and social interactions.     

The role of cognitive style and its influence on proportional reasoning

It has been suggested that proportional reasoning tasks contain field effects. Field-dependent students are considered to be highly influenced by the structure of the perceptual field and lack an articulated conceptual framework. To test the hypothesis that there is a significant correlation between field independence and proportional reasoning tasks, a sample of science students were tested to determine performance in proportional reasoning and degree of field independence. It was found that even students who are normally capable of proportional reasoning can be misled by the presence of field effects. A significant correlation (r = 0.50; p = 0.001) was found between the test of field independence and the nine items of proportional reasoning. Educational implications are drawn.     

Relative expertise in an everyday reasoning task: Epistemic understanding, problem representation, and reasoning competence

Experts in cognitive domains differ from non-experts in how they represent problems and knowledge, and in their epistemic understandings of tasks in their domain of expertise. This study investigates whether task-specific epistemic understanding also underlies the representation of knowledge on an everyday reasoning task on which the competent reasoners have neither expert domain knowledge nor training. 180 people on jury duty were assessed for epistemological understanding about the nature of knowledge and knowing in general, understanding of the specific task of the juror, and level of argument skill and evidence representation on two jury cases. Epistemic construal of the juror task and task-specific competent reasoning was found related to general epistemology, argument skills, and representation of the evidence. Additionally, estimations of the possibility of certainty in general and in a juror task predicted the participants' expressed certainty about their verdict choices. Implications for developing everyday reasoning competence are discussed.     

场独立/场依存与监察假设

本文通过探讨场独立/场依存认知方式、监察假设以及它们之间的关系,试图揭示场独立者比场依存者在SLA中更善于运用语言监察机制的现象,从而说明和场独立/场依存相关的第二条L2认知假设不能成立的原因.     

The effects of instructional intervention on improving proportional,probabilistic, and correlational reasoning skills among undergraduate education majors

The main purpose of this study was to test the effect of instruction to improve the reasoning skills of undergraduates majoring in the field of education. The results of this investigation demonstrate the lack of proficiency in formal reasoning by undergraduate education majors in the areas of proportional, probabilistic, and correlational reasoning. However, after receiving three specifically planned interventions, students in the experimental group showed improvement in all three areas of reasoning (p ≤ 0.05). Also, it was noted that students with science and/or math in their backgrounds performed significantly (p ≤ 0.05) better in all three areas of reasoning on both pre‐ and post‐tests than did students with no science or math in their backgrounds. This study is among the first to show that background knowledge obtained from college level science and math courses correlates with better reasoning skills. Data from this study also demonstrated that interventions focusing on probability and proportionality improved the correlational reasoning skills of students. The results of this investigation indicate that deficiencies in reasoning abilities in the areas of proportionality, probability, and correlational reasoning can be successfully addressed even with limited classroom intervention. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 981–995, 2000     

Achievement goals in a presentation task: Performance expectancy,achievement goals,state anxiety,and task performance

The aims of the study were to test the linkages between achievement goals to task performance, as mediated by state anxiety arousal. Performance expectancy was also examined as antecedents of achievement goals. A presentation task in a computer practice class was used as achievement task. Fifty-three undergraduates (37 females and 16 males) were administered self-report questionnaire measures before and immediately following the task performance. As expected, results of regression analyses showed that performance-avoidance goals were positively related to state anxiety. State anxiety was related to poor task performance. The positive relationship between mastery goals and the task score was shown to be independent of anxiety processes. Performance expectancy was related to state anxiety through achievement goals.     

Early childhood mathematical development: the association between patterning and proportional reasoning

Educational Studies in Mathematics - Insight into early precursors of proportional reasoning is necessary to further our theoretical understanding of mathematical development and to guide early...     

Early stages of proportional reasoning: a cross-sectional study with 5- to 9-year-olds

European Journal of Psychology of Education - The present study cross-sectionally investigated proportional reasoning abilities in 5- to 9-year-old children (n = 185) before they...     

语义结构歧义及其表现

歧义现象是汉语研究中不可缺少的一部分,不少人从句法、语义、语用三个平面的角度对其作了分析,本文着重分析语义结构引起的歧义,探讨语义结构歧义形成的基础及其表现形式,以便语言中歧义的消解。     

Mobile Field‐independence and Rating as a ‘Good Teacher‘

Mobile field‐independence is described and the relationship between such cognitive style, when present in a teacher, and the pupil's designation of the person possessing such cognitive style as a ‘good teacher’ is studied. Sixty‐two ‘good’ teachers were sorted on the basis of two scales, with the extremes on the continuum identified as field‐dependent and field‐independent. A group of ‘mobiles’ (those who performed differentially with cognitive and social stimuli), was also identified. A degree of ‘goodness’ was assigned to 62 teachers by 1580 of their pupils. The results were compared for the three types of cognitive style. Tests of Pascual‐Leone's theory regarding problem‐solving strategy and Improvement Scores on the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) were also performed. The group of 10 ‘mobile’ teachers received the highest ratings as good teachers and showed the highest improvement score (the latter difference is not statistically significant). The strategy hypotheses received partial support.