Ground rules for testing: Expectations and misunderstandings in test situations

Since young children have little experience in answering test questions, misunderstandings easily arise when they are subjected to tests. The experimenter wants to test the children, whereas they expect the experimenter to help them solve the problem. In an experiment the expectations of children about the interaction with the experimenter were influenced in a pre-task. In condition Exp:A (Expectation: Assistance) it was suggested that the experimenter would help the child. In condition Exp:T (Expectation: Test) children were made to expect that the experimenter would give no assistance. A third condition was a standard condition (S) without a pre-task. The experimental task was a conservation of number problem. The subjects in condition Exp:T performed significantly better than the children in the other conditions. It is concluded that unfamiliarity with the rules of testing contributes to children's poor results in this kind of experiment. Making explicit what is intended leads to better performances.     

Conditions for young infants' perception of object trajectories

When an object moves behind an occluder and re-emerges, 4-month-old infants perceive trajectory continuity only when the occluder is narrow, raising the question of whether time or distance out of sight is the important constraining variable. One hundred and forty 4-month-olds were tested in five experiments aimed to disambiguate time and distance out of sight. Manipulating the object's visible speed had no effect on infants' responses, but reducing occlusion time by increasing object speed while occluded induced perception of trajectory continuity. In contrast, slowing the ball while it was behind a narrow or intermediate screen did not modify performance. It is concluded that 4-month-olds perceive trajectory continuity when time or distance out of sight is short.     

Understanding the use of domain and task knowledge in the interpretation of graphical displays

Given the complexity of most cognitive processes and that of the associated knowledge base, which facilitates effective and efficient use of electronic diagnostic equipment, this paper addresses the important area of understanding how human operators interact with and construct meaningful understanding from the data displayed by such devices. Some work has been done in areas related to graphical and diagrammatical information processing. However, none of these studies considered the interaction of domain and task experts’ performance on similar graphical tasks. The exploratory study presented in this paper intends to identify patterns in cognitive processes used by ultrasound operators, and to provide an explanation for the reason for such patterns in light of the structure and deployment of domain and task-knowledge. The findings illustrate the complex interrelatedness of theoretical and practical knowledge, which constitutes professional knowledge. Professional knowledge becomes more complex when individuals depend on sophisticated tools to assist in their thinking. The study suggests a possibility to think about professional knowledge as a distributed knowledge across task and domain knowledge and knowledge inherent in the tools. Such distributed knowledge in professional practice needs further exploration.     

Tailored for China: did it work? Reflections on an intensive study abroad programme for Chinese student teachers

ABSTRACT

This study examines how a cohort of 32 Chinese student teachers experience a 3-week Intensive Study Abroad Programme in Canada, which focused on facilitating understanding of teaching and learning from an international perspective. Research findings underscore the effectiveness of a context responsive approach to cross-cultural teaching and learning that places emphasis upon modelling and deliberate explication of teaching practice, experiential learning and dialogic reflection.     

Early Effects of North Carolina’s Comprehensive Articulation Agreement on Credit Accumulation Among Community College Transfer Students

Research in Higher Education - Community college transfer pathways, whereby students begin their postsecondary enrollment at a 2-year institution, are an increasingly popular option for students...     

Inter-project learning: processes and outcomes of knowledge codification in project-based firms

In this paper, we argue that the literature on knowledge codification has been overly concerned with the economic properties of its outcomes, neglecting the importance of its underlying learning processes. Following Zollo and Winter [Organisation Science, 2001, in press], the paper distinguishes three learning processes: experience accumulation, knowledge articulation and knowledge codification and suggests a framework to analyse the learning abilities of project-based firms. We propose that mechanisms for inter-project learning draw upon these learning processes and can be found at various levels of the project-based firm. Using empirical evidence from six case studies, we discern three empirical patterns, that we defined learning landscapes, of such mechanisms. Implications for the literature and practice of knowledge codification are discussed.     

Depressive symptoms in young adults: the influences of the early home environment and early educational child care

The relationship between depressive symptoms in young adults, the quality of the early home environment, and early educational child care was investigated in young adults randomly assigned to receive early childhood intervention in the Abecedarian study. Of the original 111 infants enrolled (98% African American), 104 participated in an age-21 follow-up. Those who had early treatment reported fewer depressive symptoms. The protective effects of the early childhood program were further supported by a significant home environment by treatment interaction. Negative effects of lower quality home environments on young adult depressive symptoms were almost entirely offset by preschool treatment, whereas depressive symptoms increased as the quality of the early home environment decreased for those in the control group.