Changes in attention to an irrelevant cue that accompanies a negative patterning [corrected] discrimination

Pigeons were trained in two experiments with negative patterning discriminations that were accompanied by an irrelevant cue. For Experiment 1, the discriminations were of the form AX+ BX+ ABX–, where A and B were relevant, X was irrelevant, and + or – indicate whether or not reinforcement was delivered. The discriminations for Experiment 2 were of the form A+ B+ AX+ BX+ ABX–. A subsequent test phase in both experiments revealed that the associability of A and B, and hence the attention paid to these stimuli, was less than the associability of X. The results are explained with a modified version of a configural theory of associative learning.     

Developmental changes in uncertainty monitoring during an event recall task

The present study was conducted to examine developmental progression in children’s metacognitive monitoring competencies in the context of a complex memory task. 7- and 9-year-olds rated their confidence after answering questions in two different question formats (unbiased and misleading) and two different question types (answerable and unanswerable). Feeling-of-knowing judgments were gathered for questions that had previously been answered with “don’t know.” The results showed that children from both age groups appropriately differentiated between correct and incorrect answers to unbiased questions in their confidence judgments, between answerable and unanswerable questions, and appropriately showed lower confidence levels in their confidence judgments than in their feeling-of-knowing judgments. 9-year-olds proved to be further able to discriminate metacognitively between correct and incorrect answers to misleading answerable questions in their confidence judgments while 7-year-olds were not. The comparison of feeling-of-knowing judgments before correct and incorrect recognition indicated that metacognitive differentiation at the lower end of the uncertainty–certainty continuum posed problems for these age groups. The observation of an adult confederate modeling appropriate metamemory monitoring did not improve children’s metacognitive performance.

Monkey auditory list memory: tests with mixed and blocked retention delays

A rhesus monkey was tested in an auditory list memory task with blocked and mixed retention delays. Each list of four natural or environmental sounds (from a center speaker) was followed by a retention delay (0, 1, 2, 10, 20, or 30 sec) and then by a recognition test (from two side speakers). The monkey had been tested for 12 years in tasks with blocked delays. An earlier (4 years prior) blocked-delay test was repeated, with virtually identical results. The results from the mixed-delay test were likewise similar. Thus, the peculiarities of blocked-delay testing, such as delay predictability or differences in list spacing, apparently do not alter this monkey’s memory for auditory lists. It is concluded from this and other evidence that the monkey’s serial position functions reflect mnemonic processes that change with changes in retention delay and are not artifacts of the blocked-delay procedure. The nature of the monkey’s auditory memory is discussed.     

Reading vocabulary influences in phonological recoding during the development of reading skill: a re-examination of theory and practice

Children’s skill at recoding graphemes to phonemes is widely understood as the driver of their progress in acquiring reading vocabulary. This recoding skill is usually assessed by children’s reading of pseudowords (e.g., yeep) that represent “new words.” This study re-examined the extent to which pseudoword reading is, itself, influenced by orthographic rimes (e.g., eep) of words of the child’s reading vocabulary, during the development of reading skill. In Study 1, children with word reading levels of 6–10 years read matched pseudowords that do and do not share an orthographic rime with words of their reading vocabularies. Study 2 was conducted to further examine such a comparison for children of the 6- to 8-year word reading levels. There was a small and constant advantage of shared lexical orthographic rimes for children with reading levels 6–8 years but from 8 to 10 years that advantage increased significantly, as expected by Ehri’s phase account of word reading development. The pseudoword reading of children learning to read English involves use of lexical orthographic components as well as context-free recoding of graphemes to phonemes. This implies a qualification to the common interpretation of pseudoword reading as a measure of context-free grapheme–phoneme recoding. Such a measure should use selected pseudowords that do not share orthographic rime units or other multigrapheme components with words of the children’s reading vocabularies.     

Characterizing High School Students’ Written Explanations in Biology Laboratories

The purpose of this qualitative interpretive research study was to examine high school students’ written scientific explanations during biology laboratory investigations. Specifically, we characterized the types of epistemologies and forms of reasoning involved in students’ scientific explanations and students’ perceptions of scientific explanations. Sixteen students from a rural high school in the Southeastern United States were the participants of this research study. The data consisted of students’ laboratory reports and individual interviews. The results indicated that students’ explanations were primarily based on first-hand knowledge gained in the science laboratories and mostly representing procedural recounts. Most students did not give explanations based on a theory or a principle and did not use deductive reasoning in their explanations. The students had difficulties explaining phenomena that involved intricate cause–effect relationships. Students perceived scientific explanation as the final step of a scientific inquiry and as an account of what happened in the inquiry process, and held a constructivist–empiricist view of scientific explanations. Our results imply the need for more explicit guidance to help students construct better scientific explanations and explicit teaching of the explanatory genre with particular focus on theoretical and causal explanations.     

A Pilot Study of a Cultural-Historical Approach to Teaching Geometry

There appears to be a widespread assumption that deductive geometry is inappropriate for most learners and that they are incapable of engaging with the abstract and rule-governed intellectual processes that became the world’s first fully developed and comprehensive formalised system of thought. This article discusses a curriculum initiative that aims to ‘bring to life’ the major transformative (primary) events in the history of Greek geometry, aims to encourage a meta-discourse that can develop a reflective consciousness and aims to provide an opportunity for the induction into the formalities of proof and to engage with the abstract. The results of a pilot study to see whether 14–15 year old ‘mixed ability’ and 15–16 year old ‘gifted and talented’ students can be meaningfully engaged with two such transformative events are discussed.     

A working memory model applied to mathematical word problem solving

The main objective of this study is (a) to explore the relationship among cognitive style (field dependence/independence), working memory, and mathematics anxiety and (b) to examine their effects on students’ mathematics problem solving. A sample of 161 school girls (13–14 years old) were tested on (1) the Witkin’s cognitive style (Group Embedded Figure Test) and (2) Digit Span Backwards Test, with two mathematics exams. Results obtained indicate that the effect of field dependency, working memory, and mathematics anxiety on students' mathematical word problem solving was significant. Moreover, the correlation among working memory capacity, cognitive style, and students’ mathematics anxiety was significant. Overall, these findings could help to provide some practical implications for adapting problem solving skills and effective teaching/learning.     

Response variability in pigeons in a pavlovian task

Instrumental response variation is inversely related to reward probability. Gharib, Derby, and Roberts (2001) theorized that individuals behave more variably when their expectation of reward is low. They postulate that this behavioral rule assists the discovery of alternative actions when a target response is unlikely to be reinforced. This suggests that response variability may be unaffected in a situation in which an animal’s behavior is inconsequential to outcome delivery. We trained 6 pigeons in a within-subjects Pavlovian autoshaping procedure. On any given trial, the pigeons were presented with one of six colored discs on a touchscreen; each stimulus was associated with a particular probability of food, ranging from 100% to 0.6%. Pecking was more variable with low probabilities of food delivery, thus extending the rule relating variability and expectation to a Pavlovian situation.     

Hybridity in a Guidance Curriculum in Hong Kong

This paper presents findings on a hybrid guidance curriculum in Hong Kong, a place where East meets West in education and in many other spheres. A qualitative case study method is applied that uses questions for understanding the ‘self’ in guidance but incorporates Confucian cardinal human relationships of parent–child, brother–sister, husband–wife, superior–subordinate, teacher–pupil and friend–friend in understanding the ‘other’ relationships. The study of ‘self–other relationship’ is combined with Lawton’s (Social change, educational theory and curriculum planning, Hodder, London, 1973) model of curriculum development in Western traditions. Data obtained from stakeholders in schools include traditional Chinese ideas as well as modern Western ideas. Implications of this framework to the study of other societies with a mix of Western and traditional cultures are discussed.

Examining the Relationship of Children’s Behavior to Emotion Regulation Ability

This study investigated the relationship between children’s ability to regulate emotions and display of appropriate behavior in social settings. A sample of 33 children representing a wide range of social economic status was randomly selected from a Head Start Program and an Early Childhood Development Center in the Midwest. Data were collected using the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC) developed by Shields and Cicchetti (Dev Psychol 33:906–916, 1997, J Clin child Psychol, 27:231–395, 1998). A “Behavior Recording” checklist was developed and used to record appropriate and inappropriate behavior observed during children social interactions. Teacher ratings identified children as generally high emotion regulators. Girls had generally higher scores than boys in emotion regulation ability. A high relationship (r = .76) was also found between emotion regulation and display of appropriate behavior. Results indicate the importance of emotions in relation to a child’s well being and academic achievement. Additionally, these findings suggest a need for parents and early childhood educators to teach children appropriate emotional behavior when confronted with situations that are in conflict with societal norms.     

Lawson’s Shoehorn, Reprise

Lawson’s (Lawson, A.: 2004, Science & Education, 13, 155–177) analysis of the meteorite hypothesis of dinosaur extinction exhibits flaws similar to his earlier (2002) analysis of Galileo’s discovery of Jupiter’s moons (Allchin, D.: 2003, Science & Education, 12, 315–329).     

Rats’ choices between one and two delayed reinforcers

Rats chose between alternatives that differed in the number of reinforcers and in the delay to each reinforcer. A left leverpress led to two reinforcers, each delivered after a fixed delay. A right leverpress led to one reinforcer after an adjusting delay. The adjusting delay was increased or decreased many times in a session, depending on the rat’s choices, in order to estimate an indifference point& #x2014;a delay at which the two alternatives were chosen about equally often. Both the number of reinforcers and their individual delays affected the indifference points. The overall pattern of results was well described by the hyperbolic-decay model, which states that each additional reinforcer delivered by an alternative increases preference for that alternative but that a reinforcer’s effect is inversely related to its delay. Two other possible delay-discounting equations, an exponential equation and a reciprocal equation, did not produce satisfactory predictions for these data. Adding an additional free parameter to the hyperbolic equation as an exponent for delay did not appreciably improve the predictions, suggesting that raising delay to some power other than 1.0 was unnecessary. The results were qualitatively similar to those from a previous experiment with pigeons (Mazur, 1986), but quantitative differences suggested that the rates of delay discounting were several times slower for rats than for pigeons.     

The Effect of Conceptual Change Pedagogy on Students’ Conceptions of Rate of Reaction

This paper reports on an investigation of the effect of conceptual change pedagogy on students’ conceptions of ‘rate of reaction’ concepts. The study used a pre-test/post-test non-equivalent comparison group design approach and the sample consisted of 72 Turkish grade-11 students (aged 16–18 years) selected from two intact classrooms. The ‘Rate of Reaction’ Concept Test comprising 9 lead and 10 sub-questions (total 19 items) was employed. The results suggest that the teaching intervention helped the students to overcome their alternative conceptions and to store their newly structured knowledge in their long-term memories. It is suggested that combining different conceptual change methods such conceptual change text/refutation text, argumentation with the intervention used here may be more effective in reducing student alternative conceptions.     

Quasi-Bayesian software reliability model with small samples

In traditional Bayesian software reliability models, it was assume that all probabilities are precise. In practical applications the parameters of the probability distributions are often under uncertainty due to strong dependence on subjective information of experts’ judgments on sparse statistical data. In this paper, a quasi-Bayesian software reliability model using interval-valued probabilities to clearly quantify experts’ prior beliefs on possible intervals of the parameters of the probability distributions is presented. The model integrates experts’ judgments with statistical data to obtain more convincible assessments of software reliability with small samples. For some actual data sets, the presented model yields better predictions than the Jelinski-Moranda (JM) model using maximum likelihood (ML). Project supported by the National High-Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant Nos.2006AA01Z187, 2007AA040605)     

The role of constructivist educational software on students’ learning regarding mechanical interaction

This paper mainly describes the role of the multimedia software package ‘Interactions between Objects’ on students’ learning of mechanical interaction forces and Newton’s laws. We designed and developed this software within social constructivism on the basis of 226 students’ initial conceptions (categorized in six categories), in order to help students construct appropriate knowledge about the subject. Teaching with the software was conducted in 13 primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school classes. In the software’s evaluation research 226 students (aged 11–16) and 13 teachers of the classes participated. Data analysis showed students’ substantial learning gains with respect to their initial alternative conceptions of the six conceptual categories. Particularly, the students’ incorrect answers to the post-test questionnaire have perceptibly decreased (a mean of 65%). In contrast, their correct answers to the questions reached high percentages, from 60% to 90% depending on the question and the students’ age. Also the teachers’ opinions and comments enhanced software’s evaluation. The contribution of the software’s specific characteristics on students’ learning is discussed along with implications for designing constructivist science learning tools.     

“It’s the X and Y Thing”: Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Changes in Children’s Understanding of Genes

Studies from different theoretical traditions investigating children’s inheritance and genetics concepts have adopted a cross-sectional method. This paper is the first to examine both cross-sectional and longitudinal changes in children’s basic genetic concepts. It forms part of a larger investigation into the development of intuitive inheritance and genetics concepts in childhood. Four age cohorts (4–5 years, 7–8 years, 10–11 years, 14–15 years) were interviewed individually at two measurement occasions (T1, N = 182; T2, N = 164) separated by a 1-year interval. Cross-sectional analyses revealed an increase in children’s knowledge of genetics by 10 years. Between 10 and 14 years, there were fewer changes in the content of children’s knowledge, especially at the level of scientific genetic understanding. There was little evidence of longitudinal changes over the 1-year period. Overall, children may hold an understanding of genetics that is tied to knowledge of inheritance within families. This may pose challenges for acquiring more abstract and formal concepts of genes.     

Open queueing network model of Shanghai public transportation problem

In this paper, the open queueing network model is proposed for solving the problem of public transportation in cities. The vertices of the networks (i.e., the bus stops) are determined by means of the fuzzy clustering method. The arcs (i.e., the paths of the public transportation) can be set up by using the shortest path model in the time sense or the 0–1 integer programming method. Applying the statistics method, we can calculate the parameters (such as the passenger flow’s distribution, passenger flow’s transition probability, mean waiting time for the bus etc.) of the public transportation network. In this paper, we suggest to divide the network into two or three stages to implement the public transportation system in the form of “frog jumping” fast transfer and “permeation” fast dispersion. Combining the computer simulation and the evaluation of the achievement and effect of public transportation system, we modify the model so as to solve the public transportation problem better.     

The relationship among elementary teachers’ content knowledge,attitudes, beliefs,and practices

This study investigated 481 in-service elementary teachers’ level of mathematical content knowledge, attitudes toward mathematics, beliefs about the effectiveness of inquiry-based instruction, use of inquiry-based instruction and modeled the relationship among these variables. Upper elementary teachers (grades 3–5) were found to have greater content knowledge and more positive attitudes toward mathematics than primary teachers (grades K-2). There was no difference in teachers’ beliefs about effective instruction, but primary level teachers were found to use inquiry-based instruction more frequently than upper elementary teachers. Consistent with Ernest’s [Ernest (1989). The knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of the mathematics teacher: A model. Journal of Education for Teaching, 15(1), 13–33] model of mathematics teaching, content knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs were all found to be related to teachers’ instructional practice. Furthermore, beliefs were found to partially mediate the effects of content knowledge and attitudes on instructional practice. Content knowledge was found to be negatively related to beliefs in the effectiveness of inquiry-based instruction and teachers’ use of inquiry-based instruction in their classrooms. However, overall, teachers with more positive attitudes toward mathematics were more likely to believe in the effectiveness of inquiry-based instruction and use it more frequently in their classroom. Teacher beliefs were found to have the strongest effect on teachers’ practice. Implications for the goals and objectives of elementary mathematics methods courses and professional development are discussed.

Inter-relations of tutor’s and peers’ scaffolding and decision-making discourse acts

This study investigates the mechanisms of scaffolding in a synchronous network-based environment – the ‘collaborative virtual workplace’. A theoretical ‘multi-actor’ scaffolding model was formulated. The study itself focused on the role and inter-relations of verbal scaffolding by tutor and peers during a collaborative process of making decisions about environmental issues. The analysis drew on data from the decision-making discussions of 31 groups – material that was saved automatically by the learning environment software. The age of the 62 students ranged from 14 to 17. Discourse act categories were devised to describe the tutor’s and the students’ task-related, supportive and social communicative acts. The scaffolding situation was characterized through a causal discourse act interaction approach. Tutor and students appeared to be elaborating and replacing each other’s process scaffolding acts in the collaborative decision-making situation. The influence of certain tutor’s and students’ inter-related scaffolding patterns on students’ decision-making provided empirical support for the ‘multi-actor’ scaffolding model. in final form: 12 May 2005