Response rate is not an effective mediator of learned stimulus equivalence in pigeons

We explored response rate as a possible mediator of learned stimulus equivalence. Five pigeons were trained to discriminate four clip art pictures presented during a 10-sec discrete-trial fixed interval (FI) schedule: two paired with a one-pellet reinforcer, which supported a low rate of responding, and two paired with a nine-pellet reinforcer, which supported a high rate of responding. After subjects associated one stimulus from each of these pairs with a discriminative choice response, researchers presented two new clip art stimuli during a 10-sec FI: one trained with a differential reinforcement of low rate schedule (DRL) after the FI and the other trained with a differential reinforcement of high rate schedule (DRH) after the FI. Each of the stimuli that were withheld during choice training was later shown to see if the choice responses would transfer to these stimuli. The results suggest that response rate alone does not mediate learned stimulus equivalence.     

The (Untold) Drama of the Turning Page: The Role of Page Breaks in Understanding Picture Books

While scholars have recognized the importance of page breaks in both the construction and comprehension of narrative within picture books, there has previously been limited research that focused directly on how children discuss and make sense of these spaces in the text. Yet, because of their nature as dramatic gaps in the narrative, page breaks offer unique and exciting opportunities to understand how children make meaning of picture books (Sipe in Storytime: young children’s literary understanding in the classroom, Teachers College Press, New York, 2008). This study explores how explicitly inviting young children to discuss page breaks offers insights into how these spaces function within the children’s readings. Drawing on transcribed audio-recordings of a series of read-aloud sessions held with a group of children ages five to eight, the analysis focused on coding themes within the children’s talk around page breaks in picture books. Specifically, the children referenced the role of page breaks as aesthetic choices; the utilization of page breaks to comprehend word/picture relationships; and the negotiation of these gaps in the story as they worked construct a cohesive understanding of the narrative. Overall, the data represents the rich possibilities for educators to include explicit talk around page breaks during picture book read-alouds as a pathway toward better understanding children’s sense-making of these texts.     

Food sharing in albino rat pups: Does familiarity breed contempt?

The present experiment investigated the effects of kinship and familiarity upon food sharing in pairs of albino rat pups. Five pairs of rats from each of the following groups were tested: (1) familiar siblings, (2) nonfamiliar siblings, (3) familiar nonsiblings, and (4) nonfamiliar non-siblings. A small food portion was used, necessitating not only close physical contact, but also cooperation in the sense that both pups were required to remain relatively immobile in order for both to feed simultaneously. Results indicated more frequent sharing among unfamiliar pups, whether related or not. Results also indicated that food sharing increased in frequency among all four groups over the 5-day testing period, suggesting that cooperation in the form of food sharing can develop, or increase in frequency, over time in albino rat pups.     

Dzierzbicka/Kubac/Sattler (Hrsg.), Bildung riskiert

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Reinstatement-induced recovery of a taste-LiCl association following extinction

Water-deprived rats were given a single exposure to saccharin and LiCl, either paired or unpaired. Half the subjects then received three saccharin-only exposures (extinction) in the training enclosure, followed by a single LiCl-only presentation (unconditioned stimulus reinstatement) 8 days after conditioning. The remaining subjects received six saccharin-only exposures, followed by LiCl reinstatement 13 days after conditioning. In both cases LiCl reinstatement occurred outside the training/test context. Appreciable recovery from extinction was observed after the partial loss of taste aversion obtained with three extinction sessions and the 8-day conditioning-reinstatement interval, but not after the asymptotic loss of taste aversion obtained with six extinction sessions and the 13-day conditioning-reinstatement interval. Conditioned taste aversions appear to be similar to more traditional associations with respect to both extinction and reinstatement-induced recovery from extinction. The results are discussed with reference to the event-memory, contextual-conditioning, and facilitated-retrieval hypotheses of postextinction reinstatement effects.     

Enhancing the effectiveness of concept inventories using textual analysis: investigations in an electrical engineering subject

ABSTRACT

Concept inventories (CIs) are assessment instruments designed to measure students’ conceptual understanding of fundamental concepts in particular fields. CIs utilise multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and specifically designed response selections, to help identify misconceptions. One shortcoming of this assessment instrument is that it fails to provide evidence of the causes of the misconceptions, or the nature of students’ conceptual understanding. In this article, we present the results of conducting textual analysis on students’ written explanations in order to provide better judgements into their conceptual understanding. We compared students’ MCQ scores in Signals and Systems Concept Inventory questions, with the textual analysis utilising vector analysis approaches. Our analysis of the textual data provided the ability to detect answers that students identified as a ‘guessed’ response. However, the analysis was unable to detect if conceptually correct ideas existed within the ‘guessed’ responses. The presented approach can be used as a framework to analyse assessment instruments that utilise textual, short-answer responses. This analysis framework is best suited for the restricted conditions imposed by the short-answer structure.     

Erratum to: Dragons,Ladybugs, and Softballs: Girls’ STEM Engagement with Human-Centered Robotics

Journal of Science Education and Technology -