Fair Pairs and Three Part Praise – developing the sustained use of differential reinforcement of alternative behaviour

A training course of two after-school sessions was run for teaching assistants (TAs) in a UK inner city primary school. The subject of the training was classroom use of a version of differential reinforcement of alternative behaviours (DRAs) known as Fair Pairs. The training introduced the concept of “Three Part Praise” within Fair Pairs. The method of introduction involved training sessions, with the TAs explaining the process to their class teacher colleagues following each session. The TAs and class teachers were then asked to try the methodology in their classrooms. A follow-up session was held after six months for the TAs to feedback on their experiences. Results showed that most of the TA/class teacher “teams” were still using the approach after six months. Of those who responded most reported improvement in behaviour in the class. The implications of the methodology for training and the effectiveness of the approach being taught are discussed with suggestions for future research.     

Do new information and communications technologies have a role to play in the achievement of education for all?

Many commentators have suggested that the use of new information and communications technologies (ICTs) has significant potential in providing access to, and improving the quality of, teacher education. Such an idea is particularly relevant for the Global South, it is argued, where tens of thousands more qualified teachers are required if universal primary education (UPE) is to be achieved. This article explores six arguments commonly used to critique the relevance of ICT for development, encompassing technical, cost, philosophical, cultural and pedagogic issues. The arguments are categorised as the ‘technological’ view; the ‘donor’ view; the ‘anthropological’ view; the ‘standard’ view; the ‘individual’ view; and the ‘transmissional’ view. Drawing on empirical research into ICT and teacher education in sub‐Saharan Africa, including the work of the Digital Education Enhancement Project, six responses are used to review these arguments (‘developmental’, ‘democratic’, ‘cultural’, ‘deep’, ‘community’ and ‘pedagogic’). The author concludes that these contemporary data offer new ways of thinking about such debates and concludes with recommendations for policy makers, educators and the donor community.     

Present/absent sample matching in pigeons: Is comparison choice controlled by the sample stimulus or by differential sample responding?

In two experiments involving present/absent sample matching, we tested whether the visual stimuli or differential sample behavior served as the basis for comparison choice. In both experiments, one group (FR/DRO) was required to peck the present sample and to refrain from pecking the absent sample (as typically occurs with fixed duration present/absent samples), and the other group (FR/FR) was required to peck both samples. In Experiment 1, the samples were a black dot on a white field (present) and the white field alone (absent). In Experiment 2, the samples were a yellow hue (present) and a dark response key (absent). In both experiments, divergent retention functions were found only for the FR/DRO group. These results suggest that, in nonhedonic present/absent sample matching, it is the behavior directed toward the present sample, rather than the visual stimulus itself, that serves as the basis for comparison choice.     

Does permeation work? promoting the use of information technology in teacher education

Abstract

Initial Teacher Education Centres have a crucial role in promoting the use of Information Technology in schools through the opportunity to influence new teachers. Valid educational justification, combined with the need to limit course congestion, have resulted in enthusiasm for permeated approaches. The results of a survey of United Kingdom teacher education centres suggest concern about the effectiveness of permeated approaches, especially in the areas of school experience and the ‘non-numeric’ disciplines. The potential educational benefits resulting from a permeated approach are restated and a commitment on the part of institutions to support initiatives which may lead to their realisation is called for.     

How can evaluation contribute to educational policy? the uses of information in Australia

Conclusion There are volumes of data and much other information potentially available for school systems and schools for evaluating performance and modifying policy and practice. There is always a risk of injudicious data gathering that creates more information than can sensibly be used. We often known more than we understand. Careful selection of the data to be used and appropriate analysis and interpretation can turn information into understanding and perhaps, finally, wisdom. Original language: English Barry McGaw (Australia) Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Since 1986, Director of the Australian Council for Educational Research. Originally trained as a secondary science teacher. After completing a post-graduate B.Ed. Honours degree, he joined the Research and Curriculum Branch of the Queensland Department of Education. Following a period of further study in the United States, he became Head of that Branch. In 1976, he was appointed Professor of Education at the Murdoch University in Western Australia. Research interests are in measurement, learning and research policy. He has been engaged in a number of projects for UNESCO and the OECD Presentation at the joint UNESCO: International Bureau of Education and Brazilian Ministry of Education and Sport,International Seminar on Educational Evaluation, Rio de Janiero, Brazil, 30 November–3 December 1997.     

Do Black students misbehave more? Investigating the differential involvement hypothesis and out-of-school suspensions

Black students are much more likely to be disciplined using out-of-school suspensions (OSS) compared with White students. One often-cited hypothesis, though relatively untested, is the role of misconduct and students attitudes that support deviant behavior. The differential involvement hypothesis suggests that disproportionate sanctioning may result if one group of students is engaged in greater levels of misbehavior compared with the other group. Using a national high school dataset, the author used various student-reported measures of misconduct (e.g., fighting) and 18 attitudes supporting deviant behavior (e.g., it is okay to disobey school rules) to investigate their association with receiving an OSS. Findings showed that misconduct and deviant attitudes were important factors in predicting the receipt of OSS though results indicated that Black students did not generally misbehave or endorse deviant attitudes more than White students did.     

School absenteeism and academic achievement: Does the timing of the absence matter?

A large body of research demonstrates that school absenteeism is detrimental to learning, academic achievement and educational outcomes. However, questions remain whether this relationship varies according to the timing and reasons of absenteeism. Using time-stamped administrative school attendance data among 62,841 students enrolled in secondary education, this study examined whether the association between school absenteeism and student's examination results at the end of the school year varies with the timing and reasons of absenteeism. The findings show that unexcused absenteeism, sickness absenteeism and school exclusion all have a negative impact on student's academic achievement. In addition, the findings suggested that unexcused absenteeism is more harmful at the beginning of the school year and at the end of the school year. Sickness absenteeism seems also more harmful at the end of the school year. In the discussion I elaborate on the implications of these findings for policy and practice.     

Do adjustments in search behavior depend on the precision of spatial memory?

Various forms of uncertainty are important for decision making. How aware are we of the precision of knowledge, and how accessible it is? In three experiments, an assessment of the precision of spatial memory was needed to make optimal decisions. First, we examined search strategies in a search task in which the most efficient strategy was to head to one side of the target by a margin depending on the precision of spatial information, the “where to start” task. We found that nine out of of our 20 human subjects adapted the margin according to precision. Second, we let the subjects search for the location of a sample picture. On one-third of the trials, the target was not present, making it a “when to stop searching” task. We found that the subjects did not adjust their investment in search according to their precision. In the third experiment, we looked at whether there was transfer between the two tasks. Subjects who had been reminded of the relevance of uncertainty by the “where to start” task increased their search effort more in the “when to stop searching” task. Thus, the results show that the use of information about precision is not automatic, but can be triggered.     

On Paradigms and Methods: What Do You Do When the Ones You Know Don't Do What You Want Them To? issues in the Analysis of Data in the Form of Videotapes

This article examines a range of issues related to the development of nonstandard methods for the analysis of videotapes of problem-solving sessions. It proposes some rather stringent standards for novel methods, standards concerned with issues of validity, reliability, and the communication of methods and data. The discussion is illustrated by the detailed examination of two case studies that employ two different grain sizes of analysis—the first macroscopic, the second microscopic. In the light of those case studies, theoretical issues regarding the relationships among theory-based, method-based, and problem-based approaches to programmatic research in the learning sciences are considered.     

What Do Learning Scientists Do? A Survey of the ISLS Membership

This study responds to a question that people working in the field of learning sciences get asked regularly: What do learning scientists do? Earlier attempts to answer this question came from a need to define a new field of educational research. Now that the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) has grown into a robust and productive society, it is time to gain a more nuanced understanding of learning sciences research and practices—including where it takes place, for whom, and in what form—as defined by members of the learning sciences community. Here we report on the responses of 253 ISLS members to a survey conducted in 2014. We discuss implications of the findings in terms of the type of impact learning scientists have. We also discuss how these results might be used to advise prospective students and to create a vision for our future.     

Do we click in the right way? A meta-analytic review of clicker-integrated instruction

Clickers, formerly known as instant response systems, have gradually become an integral part of the classroom. Though several reviews on research into clicker-integrated instruction have been published within this decade, the controversy over whether clicker-integrated instruction is effective to enhance students' learning gains has not been settled because the early reviews mainly focus on students' perceptions toward and acceptance of clicker-integrated instruction. Furthermore, so far there is no consistent and clear framework to explain why the use of clickers is effective or ineffective to facilitate academic learning outcomes. Based on the literature from the 1970s to the early 2010s, this review article identifies and summarizes the theoretical aspects accounting for possible relations between clicker-integrated instruction and academic learning outcomes. The theoretical aspects are subsequently evaluated and expanded in reference to primary studies. The results suggest that the superior effect of clicker-integrated instruction, compared to conventional lectures, stands on firm empirical ground. In addition, engaging students in explaining and justifying their answers to clicker questions is highly recommended because such an instructional strategy is associated with positive and strong effect sizes on academic learning outcomes.     

Do the Conditions Exist for Pedagogic Development in the Swedish University?

During recent years the need for pedagogic development in the Swedish university has been given great prominence in the public discussion of higher education. The present article indicates how the conditions for such development can be studied from various perspectives. There is a more thorough presentation of studies based on the rationalistic perspective, the system perspective or the anarchistic perspective. In conclusion there is a discussion of the possibilities for, and obstacles to, pedagogic development.     

Decision making by humans in a behavioral task: Do humans, like pigeons, show suboptimal choice?

Consistent with human gambling behavior but contrary to optimal foraging theory, pigeons show a strong preference for an alternative with low probability and high payoff (a gambling-like alternative) over an alternative with a greater net payoff (Zentall & Stagner, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 278, 1203-1208, 2011). In the present research, we asked whether humans would show suboptimal choice on a task involving choices with probabilities similar to those for pigeons. In Experiment 1, when we selected participants on the basis of their self-reported gambling activities, we found a significantly greater choice of the alternative involving low probability and high payoff (gambling-like alternative) than for a group that reported an absence of gambling activity. In Experiment 2, we found that when the inhibiting abilities of typical humans were impaired by a self-regulatory depletion manipulation, they were more likely to choose the gambling-like alternative. Taken together, the results suggest that this task is suitable for the comparative study of suboptimal decision-making behavior and the mechanisms that underlie it.     

A step function in pigeons’ temporal generalization in the peak shift task

Pigeons were reinforced for pecking a key following one signal duration (S+) but not following another signal duration (S?). The S+ and S? were 2.52 and 5.67 sec, respectively, counterbalanced across birds. Subsequent generalization tests with a range of signal durations revealed a step function, with high response rates for all durations on the S+ side of the distribution, low response rates for all durations on the S? side, and an intermediate rate for the intermediate duration. A comparison group of pigeons trained with only the S+ duration showed a flat generalization function. For the discrimination-trained birds, the delay between signal termination and opportunity to respond was subsequently varied during generalization testing. A step function again appeared, and no evidence of subjective shortening over the delay was found. The overall pattern of results suggests that the birds categorized the temporal signal into two classes and retained a categorical code over the delay.     

The role of “nothing” in memory for event duration in pigeons

The research reported herein is designed to test a signal detection account of thechoose-short effect, which is the tendency of birds to report (after a long delay) that a short-duration sample was presented, regardless of whether a short or long sample initiated the trial. According to the detection account, the choose-short effect arises because birds learn to selectively search memory for evidence that the long sample appeared on a given trial. This idea is tested, in part, by replacing short-sample trials with nosample trials and showing that performance is unaffected by this manipulation for birds exhibiting a choose-short effect. In addition, when no samples and long samples were associated with the same choice alternative (and the short sample was associated with the other alternative), birds were flexible enough to learn to respond on the basis of the presence versus the absence of the short sample (and, as a result, a choose-long effect was observed).     

Do in-state tuition benefits affect the enrollment of non-citizens? Evidence from universities in Texas

In 2001, the Texas state legislature passed House Bill 1403. With the passage of the law, Texas became the first state to offer in-state tuition rates at public universities for non-citizens (including illegal immigrants) who attended high school in the state for three years. As a result of the policy change, the cost of attending college at public universities in Texas fell dramatically for non-citizens. Using administrative data from five universities in Texas, we employ a quasi-experimental design to identify the effects of the policy change on the probability of enrollment at each of the universities. The results demonstrate a large and significant positive effect of lowering tuition on the enrollment of non-citizens at the University of Texas at Pan American and the University of Texas at San Antonio.     

Associations between school absence and academic achievement: Do socioeconomics matter?

This study examined the extent to which the association between increased student absence and lower achievement outcomes varied by student and school‐level socioeconomic characteristics. Analyses were based on the enrolment, absence and achievement records of 89,365 Year 5, 7 and 9 students attending government schools in Western Australian between 2008 and 2012. Multivariate multi‐level modelling methods were used to estimate numeracy, writing and reading outcomes based on school absence, and interactions between levels of absence and school socioeconomic index (SEI), prior achievement, gender, ethnicity, language background, parent education and occupation status. While the effects of absence on achievement were greater for previously high‐achieving students, there were few significant interactions between absence and any of the socioeconomic measures on achievement outcomes. The results of first‐difference regression models indicated that the negative effect of an increase in absence was marginally larger for students attending more advantaged schools, though most effects were very small. While students from disadvantaged schools have, on average, more absences than their advantaged peers, there is very little evidence to suggest that the effects of absence are greater for those attending lower‐SEI schools. School attendance should therefore be a priority for all schools, and not just those with high rates of absence or low average achievement.