Automatic conceptual encoding of printed verbal material: Assessment of population differences

The release from proactive interference task was used to investigate categorical encoding of animal and clothing items with fourth grade low-socioeconomic status black and middle-socioeconomic status white children. The print mode of verbal presentation and an ordered recall requirement were used in order to provide hospitable conditions for the detection of population differences. The results indicated parity in buildup and release from proactive interference for the two populations. The results of this study, consistent with previous estimates of release from proactive interference for these groups (e.g., D. W. Kee & L. Helfend, Journal of Educational Psychology, 1977, 69, 344–348; S. Y. Nakayama & D. W. Kee, Journal of Educational Psychology, 1980, 72, 386–393), indicate that low-socioeconomic status black and middle-socioeconomic white children do not differ in automatic conceptual encoding. Conceptual encoding differences, however, have been detected between these populations when the free recall method has been used. Thus, discussion of the present results includes a consideration of factors which may be responsible for population differences in free recall performance and preliminary evidence on this issue is provided.     

Temporal coding in conditioned inhibition: Retardation tests

Two lick suppression experiments with rats were conducted in order to determine the nature of the temporal information that is encoded as a result of Pavlovian conditioned inhibition training (conditioned stimulus {CS} A→unconditioned stimulus {US}/AX→noUS). After inhibition training, the conditioned inhibitor (X) was paired with the US in order to measure inhibition, as assessed through retarded behavioral control by CS X. Three temporal relationships were manipulated: the A-US interval, the X-A interval of inhibition training, and the X-US interval of the retardation test pairings. Retardation was greatest when the X-US temporal relationship matched the time at which the US was expected (but not delivered) on the X-A inhibition training trials. Thus, the present experiments provide evidence with retardation tests that, during conditioned inhibition training, subjects encode the temporal location of the omitted US relative to the inhibitory CS. These findings complement those of previous studies using summation tests of conditioned inhibition (Barnet & Miller, 1996; Denniston, Blaisdell, á Miller, 1998; Denniston, Cole, & Miller, 1998).     

Problem solving in Swedish mathematics textbooks for upper secondary school

The aim of this study is to analyse how mathematical problem solving is represented in mathematical textbooks for Swedish upper secondary school. The analysis comprises dominating Swedish textbook series, and relates to uncovering (a) the quantity of tasks that are actually mathematical problems, (b) their location in the chapter, (c) their difficulty level, and (d) their context. Based on an analysis of 5,722 tasks from the area of calculus, it is concluded that the textbooks themselves contain very few tasks that can be defined as mathematical problems, and that those that are mathematical problems are found at the end of a chapter at the most difficult level, and are presented in a pure mathematical context. Implications are discussed.     

Is Visually Guided Reaching in Early Infancy a Myth?

The issue examined was whether infants require sight of their hand when first beginning to reach for, contact, and grasp objects. 7 infants were repeatedly tested between 6 and 25 weeks of age. Each session consisted of 8 trials of objects presented in the light and 8 trials of glowing or sounding objects in complete darkness. Infants first contacted the object in both conditions at comparable ages (mean age for light, 12.3 weeks, and for dark, 11.9 weeks). Infants first grasped the object in the light at 16.0 weeks and in the dark at 14.7 weeks, a nonsignificant difference. Once contact was observed, infants continued to touch and grasp the objects in both light and dark throughout all sessions. Because infants could not see their hand or arm in the dark, their early success in contacting the glowing and sounding objects indicates that proprioceptive cues, not sight of the limb, guided their early reaching. Reaching in the light developed in parallel with reaching in the dark, suggesting that visual guidance of the hand is not necessary to achieve object contact either at the onset of successful reaching or in the succeeding weeks.     

LANGUAGE IN CONSULTATION: THE EFFECT OF AFFECT AND VERB TENSE

This study was an exploration of school consultation interactions between instructional consultants and consultees. Of specific interest was how consultants (n = 18) and consultees (n = 18) used verb tense and emotion words during the problem identification and analysis instructional consultation stage, similarities and differences in communication patterns, and whether verb tense and emotion words were related to perceptions of collaboration, consultee outcomes, or client outcomes. Data provided mixed support for study hypotheses. Among the findings, consultants’ past tense verb use negatively correlated with the consultation relationship (r = ?.62, p = .01), consultees’ present tense use correlated with better consultee outcomes (r = .49, p = .05), and positive emotion word use by consultees was correlated with better consultee outcomes (r = .54, p = .05). Implications of these and other findings are explored in the context of interpersonal communication during school consultation.     

The relationship between life goals and fields of study among young European graduates

This paper analyses the relationships among life goals, job prospects and fields of study for a sample of young European higher education graduates. The results show that there is a characteristic pattern for each field of study with regard to the variables used. Graduates in a given field have similar life goals and job prospects, as well as a similar educational and social background, irrespective of cultural and labour market differences associated with their country of residence.     

K-12 Calculator Usage and College Grades

We find that students in the big mathematics service courses at the Johns Hopkins University who were encouraged to use calculators in K-12 have somewhat lower grades than those who weren't. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Applying Kaplan-Meier to Item Response Data

Some IRT models can be equivalently modeled in alternative frameworks such as logistic regression. Logistic regression can also model time-to-event data, which concerns the probability of an event occurring over time. Using the relation between time-to-event models and logistic regression and the relation between logistic regression and IRT, this article outlines how the nonparametric Kaplan-Meier estimator for time-to-event data can be applied to IRT data. Established Kaplan-Meier computational formulas are shown to aid in better approximating “parametric-type” item difficulty compared to methods from existing nonparametric methods, particularly for the less-well-defined scenario wherein the response function is monotonic but invariant item ordering is unreasonable. Limitations and the potential for Kaplan-Meier within differential item functioning are also discussed.     

Phonological attainment and foreign language anxiety in distance language learning: a quantitative approach

Learning a language through distance means is becoming increasingly widespread. The investigation reported in this paper was part of a large study (n = 590) carried out in 2011, which examined the experience of English-speaking students learning French pronunciation in a distance setting. This paper explores the hypothesis that there is a link between foreign language anxiety (FLA) and phonological attainment when learning in a distance setting. Quantitative methods included a questionnaire which explored FLA and learning pronunciation of English-speaking students learning French in a distance setting (n = 590). Pronunciation competence and FLA were measured using two instruments: an adapted version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, which was part of the questionnaire, and a phonological attainment rating table, assessed through a reading activity. A significant correlation was found between good pronunciation skills and low levels of FLA.