Artificial grammar learning in primary school children with and without developmental dyslexia

This paper explores implicit learning in typically developing and primary school children (9–12 years old) with developmental dyslexia using an artificial grammar learning (AGL) task. Two experiments were conducted, which differed in time of presentation and nature of the instructional set (experiment 1—implicit instructions vs experiment 2—explicit instructions). Repeated measures analysis of variance (group × grammaticality × chunk strength) showed a group effect only in experiment 1 (implicit instructions), with only the typically developing children showing evidence of AGL. There was a grammaticality effect (adherence to the rules) for both groups in the two experimental situations. We suggest that the typically developing children exhibited intact implicit learning as manifested in AGL performance, whereas children with developmental dyslexia failed to provide such evidence due to possible mediating cognitive developmental factors.     

Collaborative learning in university grammar courses

An innovative collaborative learning model, used for the teaching of modern English grammar classes, combined elements from peer teaching and cooperative learning. This model is innovative for higher education since it involved students and instructor co-laboring to master knowledge as a socially held phenomenon without any authoritarian leveling. It involved: 1) Student lectures explaining assigned readings from the text(s); 2) Daily quizzes of the material from the assigned reading; and 3) Student grading of the daily quizzes and exams with the instructor checking for accuracy. Student attitudinal surveys revealed positive perceptions of students on the whole toward the conduct of the class. An even greater positive aspect of the collaborative learning model used here is the attainment of a high level of mastery of the subject matter and almost perfect classroom attendance.He obtained his Ed.D. at the University of Michigan in 1963. His major areas of interest include the teaching of written composition and TESL.     

An investigation of ambiguous-cue learning in pigeons

Two experiments demonstrated that pigeons can solve a simultaneous discrimination in which on half the trials the positive and an ambiguous cue (A) are presented and on half the trials choice is between A and the negative stimulus. In Experiment 1, where a relatively nondistinctive A cue was used, performance on the former type of trial was superior to that shown on the latter. In Experiment 2, where a distinctive A cue was provided, this pattern of results was reversed. These findings are interpreted in terms of an approach-avoidance explanation first proposed by Leary (1958). Experiment 3 tested and confirmed a central prediction of this explanation by showing that in an orthodox simultaneous discrimination, occasional reinforcements of the negative stimulus produce less accurate performance than do nonreinforcements of the positive.     

The nature of discrimination learning in pigeons

The results from five experiments are considered in relation to two of Spence's (1937, 1938) proposals concerning discrimination learning. In Experiments 1 and 2, we investigated whether his ideas about the interaction between excitatory and inhibitory generalization gradients can be used to understand how animals solve a complex patterning discrimination. The results supported a development of his proposals as put forward by Pearce (1994), provided a modification was made to Pearce's rulefor determining the shape ofthe generalization gradient. In Experiments 3, 4, and 5, we examined whether animals would pay more attention to stimuli that are relevant, rather than irrelevant, to the solution of a discrimination. The results supported this proposal for stimuli comprising visual patterns, but not for those comprising plain colors. The results also indicated that change of attention was a consequence of preliminary receptor-exposure acts, as envisaged by Spence, and not of more central changes in attention.     

Artificial intelligence tools for grammar and spelling instruction

In The Netherlands, grammar teaching is an especially important subject in the curriculum of children aged 10–15 for several reasons. However, in spite of all attention and time invested, the results are poor. This article describes the problems and our attempt to overcome them by developing an intelligent computational instructional environment consisting of: a linsuistic expert system, containing a module representing grammar and spelling rules and a number of modules to manipulate these rules; a didactic module; and a student interface with special facilities for grammar and spelling. Three prototypes of the functionality are discussed: BOUWSTEEN and COGO, which are programs for constructing and analyzing Dutch sentences; and TDTDT, a program for the conjugation of Dutch verbs.     

内隐学习与英语语法教学

内隐学习是内隐认知的一个重要内容，是当今心理学界研究的一个重要课题。该理论不再满足于外显认知对于学习过程的解释，而力求从刺激大脑神经反应间起中介作用的内部心理结构和机制来寻求学习的最佳途径。深入的研究该理论并有效地应用于教学之中，一定会提高学生对于英语学习尤其是语法学习的兴趣和效果。     

英语语法教学与学习现状研究综述

英语语法一直是英语教学领域的研究热点。人们对英语语法的看法也随着教学法和学习法的改变而改变。教师和学生对英语语法的态度、学生学习英语语法的策略、教师教学英语语法的教学方式等都是非常值得研究的问题。本研究就以上这些问题的相关文章进行了综述,期望本研究能对以后的英语语法教学有所启示。     

Time-of-day discriminative learning in homing pigeons,Columba livia

Pigeons were trained on an operant procedure to discriminate between morning and afternoon when location did not vary (Experiment 1). The pigeons were placed on a fixed interval (FI) schedule in the morning and on a different FI schedule in the afternoon. Probe trials that occurred at the beginning of the training sessions were examined. The pigeons responded differently, depending on the time of day, reflecting the learning of a stable 24-h memory representation of the association between the FI schedules and the time of day. The pigeons from Experiment 1 were then clock shifted and tested twice, to determine whether they were relying on an endogenous circadian oscillator, an hourglass mechanism influenced by the photoperiod, or environmental noise to make the time-of-day discrimination (Experiment 2). The results of the second experiment indicated a circadian mechanism was most important for the observed time-of-day learning.     

Testing the translational-symmetry hypothesis of abstract-concept learning in pigeons

The translational-symmetry hypothesis of abstract-concept learning was tested in a same/different (S/D) task with pairs of pictures. The translational-symmetry hypothesis proposes that subjects discriminate same trials by the simultaneous repetition of features in the two pictures (and different trials by the lack of feature repetition). Pigeons that had learned a simultaneous S/D task were tested with delays between the two pictures to remove emergent perceptual cues. In Experiment 1, we tested delays of 0 and 1 sec. The results did not show the accuracy decrease expected according to the translational-symmetry hypothesis. In Experiment 2, we expanded the delays to 2 and 6 sec. Even at the longest delay, there was no evidence of the precipitous performance decline or default strategy that would be predicted by translational symmetry. The results provide evidence against translational symmetry (or other perceptually emergent features) that might control these pigeons’ performance in our two-item S/D task.     

Conditioned inhibition in feature negative discrimination learning with pigeons

Discrimination performance was investigated with pigeons using feature negative (FN) discrimination procedures which differed in the temporal arrangement of the stimuli on S? trials. In both procedures, a single common element was presented on reinforced (S+) trials. In thesimultaneous FN procedure, a distinguishing element was presented simultaneously with the common element of S? trials. In thesequential FN procedure, the distinguishing element preceded onset of the common element on S? trials. In two experiments, the sequential FN procedure yielded better discrimination performance. In Experiment 1, a summation test designed to separate learning and performance variables indicated that sequential FN subjects had learned the negative relationship between the distinguishing element and reinforcement while simultaneous FN subjects had not. In Experiment 2, summation and acquisition tests indicated that the distinguishing element developed inhibitory properties in the sequential FN procedure but not in the simultaneous FN procedure.     

中介语语法特征在大学英语学习中的表现

以认知心理学的理论为基础的中介语理论是旨在揭示第二语言习得者的语法表现的语言习得理论.文章的第一部分首先介绍了中介语的概念及特点,包括石化现象、文化迁移、母语特征以及任务变异.第二部分再深入介绍了现实中大学英语教学的现状,进一步解释了在大学生英语学习中展开中介语语法特征表现调查的原因.在研究方法上,本文主要是运用了资料收集和调查问卷的方式,调查大学生英语学习中出现的中介语语用错误、所处阶段及中介语语用错误的原因.     

Within-event learning contributes to value transfer in simultaneous instrumental discriminations by pigeons

Following simultaneous discrimination training with pigeons, in which responding to the S−was reinforced on half of the trials and responding to the S− was never reinforced, we examined the effect on the S− of presenting the S− by itself and the effect on the S+ of presenting the S− by itself (relative to an S− or an S− for which there had been no single-stimulus presentations). For Group A−, responding to the S− presented by itself was always reinforced, whereas for Group A−, such responding was extinguished. For Group B−, responding to the S− presented by itself was always reinforced, whereas for Group B+, responding was extinguished. Although both Group A+ and Group A−tended to avoid their associated S− (relative to a control S−), Group A+ avoided its associated S− less than did Group A−. In contrast, although for Group B−, presentation of the S− alone increased the pigeons’ preference for its associated S−(relative to a control S+), for Group B−, presentation of the S−alone had little effect on its preference for its associated S+. These results suggest that presentation of one stimulus from a simultaneous discrimination has two independent and sometimes opposite effects on the other discriminative stimulus. First, it reduces the strength of within-event conditioning between the S+ and the S−, and second, if the value of the singly presented stimulus has increased, some of its newly acquired value will transfer retroactively to the stimulus with which it was originally paired.     

Affective knowledge versus affective pedagogy: the case of native grammar learning

ABSTRACT

In recent years, there has been growing interest in the role of affect within education. Within this paper, the authors make a distinction between affective pedagogy, which they refer to as ways of teaching that are designed to evoke particular emotional states, and affective knowledge, which they refer to as aspects of knowledge or knowing which seem to bring forth particular emotions organically. Using explicit grammar knowledge as a test case, they explore student teachers’ affective responses to learning, drawing upon interview data and observations made during a series of grammar courses. They argue that grammar learning is a potential source of pleasure, wonder and intensity. The findings provide an important counter-narrative to the prevailing discourse of grammar as dull and threatening. They also draw broader conclusions about the significance of affect in education, drawing upon affect theory and recent work on epistemic emotions.     

任务前后语言形式聚焦对英语学习者语法习得影响的对比研究

本研究对比了任务前和任务后形式聚焦对英语学习者学习被动语态的教学效果。127名初中生被分为任务前、任务后形式聚焦组和控制组。在任务前组,教师先引导学生聚焦被动语态的规则和使用,然后完成相关的交际活动任务。在任务后组,学生先进行与被动语态相关的交际活动任务,然后再聚焦被动语态的语法规则。控制组只完成测试。错误改正题和图片描述题的结果表明,任务前和任务后聚焦形式都能显著促进学生对被动语态的掌握,总体上任务前聚焦形式的效果更好。     

Concept learning by pigeons: Matching-to-sample with trial-unique video picture stimuli

Pigeons were trained to match-to-sample with several new methodologies: a large number of stimuli, computer-drawn color picture stimuli, responses monitored by a computer touch screen, stimuli presented horizontally from the floor, and grain reinforcement delivered onto the picture stimuli. Following acquisition, matching-to-sample concept learning was assessed by transfer to novel stimuli on the first exposure to pairs of novel stimuli. One group (trial-unique), trained with 152 different pictures presented once daily, showed excellent transfer (80% correct). Transfer and baseline performances were equivalent, indicating that the matching-to-sample concept had been learned. A second group (2-stimulus), trained with only two different pictures, showed no evidence of transfer. These results are discussed in terms of the effect of numbers of exemplars on previous failures to find concept learning in pigeons, and the implications of the positive finding from this experiment on abstract concept learning and evolutionary cognitive development.     

Simultaneous discrimination reversal learning in pigeons and humans: anticipatory and perseverative errors

Pigeons were trained on a two-choice simultaneous discrimination (red vs. green) that reversed midway through each session. After considerable training, they consistently made both anticipatory errors prior to the reversal and perseverative errors after the reversal, suggesting that time (or number of trials) into the session served as a cue for reversal. In Experiment 2, to discourage the use of time as a cue, we varied the location of the reversal point within the session such that it occurred semirandomly after Trial 10, 25, 40, 55, or 70. Pigeons still tended both to anticipate and to perseverate. In Experiment 3, we required 20 pecks to a stimulus on each trial to facilitate memory for the preceding response and sensitivity to local reinforcement contingencies, but the results were similar to those of Experiment 2. We then tested humans on a similar task with a constant (Experiment 4) or variable (Experiment 5) reversal location. When the reversal occurred consistently at the midpoint of the session, humans, like pigeons, showed a tendency to anticipate the reversal; however, they did not show perseverative errors. When the reversal location varied between sessions, unlike pigeons, humans adopted a win–stay/lose–shift strategy, making only a single error on the first trial of the reversal.     

Intradimensional vs. extradimensional transfer in the discriminative learning of goldfish and pigeons

Evidence of better intradimensional than extradimensional transfer was sought in naive goldfish trained under free-operant single-stimulus conditions (Experiment I), sophisticated pigeons trained under free-operant single-stimulus conditions (Experiment II), sophisticated pigeons trained under discrete-trials choice conditions (Experiment III), and naive pigeons trained under discrete-trials choice conditions (Experiment IV). The results provide no support for attention theory.     

Reinstatement of postresponse stimuli prior to reward in delayed-reward discrimination learning by pigeons

Delayed-reward learning in pigeons was examined using a simultaneous red-green visual discrimination task in which the conditions during the delay interval were varied between groups. The nondifferential group received training in which the stimulus present during the 1-min delay was the same following a peck on the correct and incorrect colors. The other three groups received 1-min delay training in which different stimuli occurred in the delay interval following correct and incorrect choices. The differential group received continuous, differential stimuli during the delay. The reinstatement group received the differential stimuli in the 10 sec immediately following the choice and during the last 10 sec of the delay. The reversedcue group was treated in the same way, except that the 10-sec delay stimulus immediately following an incorrect response was also presented for 10 sec prior to reward on correct choices, and the stimulus following a correct response also occurred 10 sec before nonreward on incorrect choices. Nondifferential birds failed to learn the discrimination, while differential and reinstatement birds learned it readily. The reversed-cue birds learned to choose the incorrect stimulus. Differential and reinstatement birds showed no decrement in performance when the delay was increased to 2 min. These findings suggest that similarity of prereward and postresponse delay stimuli controls choice responding in long-delay learning, a finding compatible with both memorial and conditioned reinforcement interpretations.     

Story grammar: effective literature instruction for high school students with learning disabilities

This study examined the effectiveness of an instructional strategy for teaching comprehension of literature to 8 high school students with learning disabilities. The strategy integrated recent advances in cognitive psychology with empirically derived principles of effective instruction. The texts included short stories from middle school and high school literature anthologies. A modified multiple baseline design was utilized. Results indicated improvements in the students' ability to answer questions based on the stories read.     

建构主义学习观指导下的高职英语语法教学的研究

就近几年高校学生学习的状态来看,高职英语的教学一直都是难题,尤其传统的英语教学方式更是不被学生接纳。这就需要及时对高职英语教学方法进行革新与完善,将学生的中心转移到学习上来。本文就高职英语的现状进行分析,并提出有效的解决策略,让学生在英语学上的兴趣得以提高。