New models of teacher-student interaction: A critical review

The two instructional models, cognitive apprenticeship and reciprocal teaching, introduced in this article, have attracted wide attention among researchers. Although many empirical experiments using these models have been carried out in different settings with good results, there is still no evidence about the situational conditions or the ability of the individual students to benefit from different methods. In this article empirical experiments based on these two models are reviewed and critically evaluated in an attempt to determine whether the main principles of the models applied to the practice fulfill the general theoretical expectations upon which they are based.     

Three theoretical models of child abuse: A critical review

A review of the research on child abuse suggests three basic theoretical models to account for the etiology of abuse: (1) a psychiatric model emphasizing the role of the individual abuser; (2) a sociological model highlighting the role of social factors in abuse; and (3) the effect of the child on caregiver model pointing toward the role the child plays in stimulating his own maltreatment. After reviewing the research evidence in support of each model as well as documenting the inadequacies of each, it is concluded that only a comprehensive framework, subsuming each model, can expect to account for the occurrence of abuse. Furthermore, if treatment and prevention strategies hope to succeed in combatting this disturbing social problem, they must address the influential components highlighted by each of these three models.     

Siblings as models in early infant learning

4 groups of infants, 2 at 6 months and 2 at 12 months, were tested on the Stage IV-V and V-VI object concept tasks. All groups were then retested on the same tasks 1 week later. Retesting of the experimental groups was preceded by an all-correct demonstration of the 2 search tasks by the infant's preschool sibling; control groups were not exposed to any model prior to reassessment. No effect of exposure to the sibling model was initially found in either age group. If, however, infants' initial stage of development was taken into account, cognitive performance on the lower-level task did show a significant improvement after modeling. Overall, the results suggest that sibling modeling could possibly be an effective method of facilitating cognitive development in infancy, but that the success or failure of any modeling attempt may be stage- rather than age-dependent.     

A test of theoretical models that account for information processing demands

This study tested four theoretical models in terms of their fit with demands placed on our cognitive system by traditional tests of cognitive ability. We did so by administering seven tests of cognitive ability known to require varying types of processing demands to a large group of college undergraduates (N = 193). We compared the models using confirmatory factor analyses, including those based upon a unitary factor, speed and capacity, crystallized and fluid intelligence, and verbal and spatial ability. The crystallized/fluid model provided the best fit with the data. This finding is consistent with previous research. Implications for education and future research are discussed.     

The effects of infant day care through the prism of attachment theory: A critical appraisal

This commentary addresses the relevance of attachment theory and research to an understanding of the effects of early day care experience on sociopersonality development. Attachment theory figures prominently in Belsky's review of the day care literature both because of the theory's emphasis on formative early influences on personality functioning, and because of researchers' widespread (although not exclusive) use of the Strange Situation as a procedure for assessing the effects of day care on infant-parent attachment. This commentary offers an examination of the strength of the evidence which indicates that early day care experience may lead to insecure attachments. It is concluded that this evidence is substantially weaker than Belsky suggests. The article then draws upon the extensive research on attachment to explore the interpretation of infant behavior within the Strange Situation, and the significance of such behavior for later development, in light of the current concern about the effects of early day care experience. It is argued that this research suggests caution in concluding either that day care has negative consequences for the child or that it foreshadows long-term sociopersonality functioning. Suggested are areas of much needed future research which must be undertaken before strong conclusions concerning the effects of day care can be made.     

Fidelity of implementation framework: A critical need for response to intervention models

Response to Intervention (RtI) has gained increased attention with the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. Since RtI was introduced at the policy level as a mechanism for use in the learning disability identification process, much of the implementation work has focused on this application. School‐based implementation of RtI has occurred quickly in response to federal legislation, with little focus on fidelity. Regular and consistent monitoring of implementation fidelity can provide the data required to improve implementation and student performance. This discussion will include a brief review of the literature regarding implementation fidelity and then provide a framework for designing a fidelity system for RtI models. Further systematic research in this area is needed to support the RtI implementation that is currently under way in schools across the country. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Toward a more critical examination of structural models

TETRAD II: Tools for Causal Modeling. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 365 Broadway, Hillsdale, NJ 07642, (201) 666–4110. $150. Requirements: 386 or higher IBM computer and DOS 3.0 or higher.     

一维自组织临界米堆模型的临界行为

对一维链上的具有固定位置驱动机制和随机位置驱动机制的米堆模型的临界行为进行了数值模拟研究.系统经一个暂态过程后达到一个临界态,雪崩大小的概率统计分布服从"幂指"规律.固定位置驱动机制模型的临界雪崩指数为τs=1.51±0.02和τt=1.83±0.02.随机位置驱动机制的模型的临界雪崩指数为τs=1.01±0.02和τt=1.03±0.02.固定位置驱动机制和随机位置驱动机制的米堆模型属于不同的普适类.     

Consistency across methods of observativn-an in-depth study of the cognitive preference test

If the same constructs embedded in different tests result in parallel or identical score patterns and high intercorrelations, this can be taken as evidence of construct validity. If results do not converge across instruments and/or response formats, this can be taken as evidence of lack of construct validity and/or impurity of the test as indicator of the constructs. In this study two response formats as well as a request for reasons-for-choices of the traditional Cognitive Preference Test (CPT), and an association (open-ended) CPT, were used in order to test for consistency across methods of observation on both the individual and the populational levels. Convergence of results was found to be minimal. None of the hypotheses was confirmed. It was concluded that construct validation of CPT constructs had not yet reached the state of unequivocality necessary for their application in curriculum research.     

Demonstrator influence on observer diet preference: Analyses of critical social interactions and olfactory signals

Previous studies have shown that interaction of an observer rat with a previously fed conspecific demonstrator enhances the observer’s subsequent preference for the diet its demonstrator ate. The present series of experiments were undertaken to explore both the conditions sufficient to permit demonstrator influence on observer diet preference and the behavioral processes underlying such influence. We found (1) that an observer rat can be influenced in its subsequent diet selection by interaction for as little as 2 min with a demonstrator, (2) that during such brief interactions mouth-to-mouth contact between demonstrator and observer is necessary for demonstrator influence on observer diet preference, (3) that both cues emerging from the digestive tract of a rat fed by intragastric intubation and particles of food clinging to the fur of a demonstrator are sufficient to permit observers to identify their respective demonstrators’ diets, (4) that exposure to a diet is effective in enhancing an observer’s subsequent preference for that diet only if the diet is experienced in the presence of another rat, and (5) that diets experienced on the anterior of a live rat are more effective in altering observers’ subsequent diet preferences than the same diets experienced either on the anterior of a dead rat or the posterior of a live one.     

高职英语口语测试模式的构建

本文主要分析高职英语口语测试的现状,提出改革的方法和思路,探讨了构建一套标准化的高职英语口语测试模式的可行性和实施过程。     

Action learning and critical thinking: a synthesis of two models

Recent scholarship and the news media have identified a lack of critical thinking and ethical behavior in the business world. These deficiencies have led to faulty decision-making, ineffective planning, and frequent organizational dysfunction. This situation has focused attention on both practitioners in the field of business and on the university programs that educate them. A number of upper-tier universities have begun to address these important issues by exploring ways of revising their Master of Business Administration programs to place greater emphasis on their graduates' ability to think critically and consider ethical implications before and after taking action. The authors propose a potential means of addressing these issues in both the business and academic environments through a synthesis of two well-established models based on the constructs of critical thinking and action learning. This synthesis has the potential to produce symbiotic and synergistic effects that may provide educators and practitioners with a new tool for encouraging critical thinking and ethical behavior. The implications for future research and practice are also discussed.     

Alternative models of school effectiveness put to the test

The term “educational effectiveness” designates causal models of educational outcomes that may or may not contain school-level variables. The term “school effectiveness models” is used in the more restricted sense of outcome-oriented models that explicitly contain school-level variables. These models are categorized to a context-input-process-output structure, are multi-level, recognize causal chains, and sometimes include feedback loops. In this chapter the advantages of comprehensive vs. partial school effectiveness models are discussed. Furthermore alternative interpretations of the idea that higher-level variables some way facilitate lower-level variables in the production of educational outcomes are given. The debate concerns: (i) additive vs. interactive models, (ii) direct vs. indirect models, (iii) contextual vs. genuine effects, (iv) additive vs. synergetic interpretations, and (v) recursive vs. non-recursive models. In this chapter the results of empirical research are presented to test the first four completing interpretations. The results indicate that the indirect model is the least productive. The synergetic model looks promising, but more simple interactive models account for almost the same percentage of variance in students outcomes. The actual problem might be that the most likely school effectiveness models are indirect, non-recursive, contextual, synergetic, and interactive at the same time. To avoid complexities in future research decompositions are advocated. And therefore it is contended that organizational variables of interest first be examined on their possible alternative interpretation of cross-level facilitation, before formulating the model.     

Technical characteristics and some correlates of the california critical thinking skills test,forms A and B

Forms A and B of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) were administered to two randomly formed groups of undergraduate students at a large eastern university, as part of the freshman orientation process. Arithmetic means for the forms were significantly different, indicating a lack of equivalence between forms. Principal component analyses and specific patterns of item intercorrelations differed between forms, with the lack of equivalence apparently due to the changes in Form A items, which were carried out in order to create Form B items. Internal consistency reliabilities for total and subtest scores were uniformly low, and it appears the CCTST scores largely reflect verbal intelligence of the type measured by the SAT. It was concluded that the CCTST may be acceptable for research purposes (e.g., as a blocking variable or covariate), but not for decision making concerning individual students, especially with respect to subtest scores and score differences.     

Stimulus preference and the transitivity of preference

Four pigeons were exposed to multiple schedules with concurrent variable interval (VI) components and then tested for preference transfer. Half of the pigeons were trained on a multiple concurrent VI 20-sec, VI 40-sec/cuncurrent VI 4G-sec5 VI 80-sec schedule. The remaining pigeons were trained on a multiple concurrent VI 80-sec, VI 40-sec/concurrent VI 40-sec, VI 20-sec schedule-After stability criteria for time and response proportions were simultaneously met, four preference transfer tests were conducted with the stimuli associated with the VI 40-sec schedules. During the transfer tests, each pigeon allocated a greater proportion of responses (M=0,79) and time (M=0.82) to the stimulus associated with the VI 40-sec schedule that was paired with the VI 80-sec schedule than lo the VI 40-sec schedule stimulus paired with the VI 20-sec schedule. Absolute reinforcement rates on the two VI 40 sec schedules were approximately equal and unlikely to account for the observed preference. Nor was the preference consistent with the differences in local reinforcement rates associated with the two stimuli. Instead, the results were interpreted in terms of the differential value that stimuli acquire as a function of previous pairings with alternative schedules of reinforcement.     

"中山包装学院":人才培养模式创新试验

高等教育必须与社会经济发展相适应，必须创新教育模式。株洲工学院把教学实践基地建在行业内具有国际先进水平的企业前沿，共建“中山包装学院”，实施“四个结合”的合作教育办学方针，取得了良好的成效。     

Relationship of creativity and critical thinking to pattern recognition among Singapore private school students

Abstract

Cognitive pattern recognition is known to be an important skill for academic subjects such as mathematics, science, languages, or even humanities. In this study, we investigate the relationships between creativity, critical thinking, and pattern recognition among 203 private school students in Singapore. The instruments used include a creativity test (modified Creativity Selected Elements Questionnaire), a Critical Thinking Test (modified Cornell Critical Thinking), and a pattern recognition test. The main data analysis is done using the SMART-PLS structural equation modeling software. The results of the study reveal that creativity is a weak predictor of pattern recognition (β?=?0.131, p?>?0.05, f² = 0.024) but critical thinking is a good predictor (β?=?0.517, p?<?0.05, f² = 0.374). An implication of the research outcome is that more training on critical thinking should be given to the students to improve their pattern recognition ability.     

一种基于加权的新型模糊偏好关系及其解析表达式

通过对Nakamura和Yuan所定义的模糊偏好关系的对比研究，给出了一种新的加权模糊偏好关系及其解析表达式．