The effectiveness of inhibitors in human predictive judgments depends on the strength of the positive predictor

We tested whether the development of inhibitory strength, as measured by a summation test, is proportional to the strength of the positive cue (P) against which the inhibitory cue (I) is trained. P predicted the outcome, whereas the co-occurrence of P with I (PI) predicted no outcome. In Experiments 1, 2, and 3, we compared the latter design against a version in which P was overshadowed by another cue (X). In this design, the compound P^oX predicted the outcome, but P^oI^o predicted no outcome. In all three experiments, overshadowed cue I^o was less inhibitory than I. In Experiment 4, a P produced by fewer training trials also supported weaker inhibitory learning. Overall, the results were consistent with associative learning theories, especially Pearce’s (1994) configural model. Contingency models need to make additional assumptions to accommodate this property of inhibitory learning.     

Approaches to Classroom Assessment Inventory: A New Instrument to Support Teacher Assessment Literacy

Teacher assessment literacy has become a central priority across many educational systems in North America and elsewhere in response to growing accountability demands. Although many scholars have aimed to measure teacher assessment literacy, recent research has identified that current assessment literacy instruments do not fully reflect current transformations in the assessment landscape and remain predicated on dated standards for teacher classroom assessment practice. Given significant shifts in classroom assessment over the past 20 years, the purpose of this article is to construct a reliable instrument reflective of contemporary assessment practices and contexts. Specifically, this article describes our instrument development process including construct validation and reliability testing with more than 400 teachers. The result of this research is the Approaches to Classroom Assessment Inventory, which can be used by researchers and practitioners to support teacher assessment literacy in relation to the current accountability framework evident across educational systems.     

We can be as busy as a bee: a grounded theory study of Filipino elderly prisoners’ engagement

ABSTRACT

The centrality of social relationship for older adults living in prison cannot be underestimated. While previous studies have investigated the loss of social functioning among older prisoners, there is no known information pertaining to how engagement is experienced among this vulnerable group. This grounded study purports to describe the process by which engagement is experienced among a select group of incarcerated Filipino elderly. Strauss and Corbin’s Grounded Theory design was utilized. A total of 25 incarcerated Filipino elderly in the largest penitentiary in the country were purposively chosen to participate in semi-structured interviews. Field texts were subjected to thematic analysis involving open, axial, and selective coding. Finally, themes were validated via member checking procedure. Interestingly, the study afforded the development of de Guzman, Herrera, Hernando, Hipe, and Valdez Zipper of Engagement Theory among incarcerated elderly. Interestingly, three phases relative to engagement emerged, namely: Initiating, Connecting, and Enabling. Primarily, the Initiating phase involves feelings of fear and nervousness as the incarcerated elderly familiarize themselves with the prison environment. The Connecting phase typifies recognition of the benefits of engagement leading to voluntary participation in activities. Finally, in the Enabling phase, inmates empower themselves and others to grow as they fully acquire the sense of engagement. Gerontological education and research implications are discussed.     

Bolstering graduates’ success through working as student ambassadors in university widening participation programs

Since 2010, the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) has provided funding for Australian universities to ‘raise aspiration’ among under-represented groups. Underpinned by utilitarian discourses of human capital and individual capacitation, these resources have transformed the ways that universities seek to engage prospective students. This paper turns to an overlooked cohort that is integral to widening participation initiatives, but has rarely been the focus of research. These are the student ambassadors – university students who work within HEPPP programs. This paper reports findings from the alumni component of a mixed-method study which examines how widening participation programs, which are ostensibly directed at future university enrolments, might also help university students who work as student ambassadors to become successful professionals and citizens once they graduate from university. Alumni accounts of their experiences and self-reported impact of their ambassador work advocate a more holistic view of graduate success and how activities beyond mandatory coursework can contribute to success beyond university graduation. Evidence from student ambassador alumni suggests that these positive impacts are broad and long-lasting, contributing to students’ professional successes and personal lives.     

Research Schools: Grounding Research in Educational Practice

ABSTRACT— Education lacks a strong infrastructure for connecting research with educational practice and policy. The need for this linkage grows as findings in cognitive science and biology become ever more relevant to education. Teachers often lack the background knowledge needed to interpret scientific results, whereas scientists often lack an understanding of pedagogical goals. We need to build an infrastructure that supports sustainable collaboration between researchers and teachers and creates a strong research foundation for education. A primary agent of the lasting collaboration between researchers and practitioners in medicine is the teaching hospital, where researchers and practitioners work together on research that is relevant to practice and the training of young professionals. Education needs analogous institutions—research schools—that join researchers and teachers in living, community‐based schools. In these schools, practice shapes research as much as research informs practice. Research schools will provide a fundamental infrastructure for linking transdisciplinary research on learning with educational policy and practice.     

My Website Reads at an Eighth Grade Level: Why Plain Language Benefits Your Users (and You)

ABSTRACT

Writing in plain language aims to help users find what they need and ensures that the information is both useful and understandable. This is key for distance students whose primary library interaction may be with the library Website. A mix of user research and readability scores can be used to measure whether content is findable, useful, and understandable. There are several strategies authors can adopt to help them write in plain language, including keeping the users' needs and tasks in mind and structuring the content so that it can be quickly scanned. Converting existing Website content to a plain language format can be a large task; running a content audit can help determine which pages should be prioritized for revision. Once the Website is written in plain language, an ongoing content strategy is necessary to help it stay that way.     

Psychological Well-Being as a Function of Affectionate Communication and Emotional Intelligence

This study examined indicators of psychological well-being as a function of affectionate communication and emotional intelligence. Two hundred and seventeen college-aged students completed measures of expressed and received affection; mental health, happiness, self-esteem, depression, and stress; and emotional intelligence. Results indicated that expressed affection is negatively associated with stress; received affection is positively associated with mental health and self-esteem and negatively associated with depression and stress. Furthermore, results provided support for models in which emotional intelligence impacts psychological well-being after accounting for the variance explained by expressed and received affection.     

How do parents acquire information to support their child with a disability and navigate individualised funding schemes?

With the international trend towards individualised funding packages that allocate funds to individuals to spend on disability support needs, the challenge of ensuring parents can readily access useful information to make decisions becomes paramount. The present research used a two stage, mixed method sequential approach (with 291 parents surveyed and 56 parents participating in focus groups) to determine how parents acquire information to enhance their understanding of their child's disability and determine how to use an individualised funding scheme to benefit their child and family. Parents attested to the importance of person‐to‐person communication and valued information that originated from other parents of a child with a disability, and from professionals who knew their child. Parents also spoke about the limitations of the internet, noting that reliance on the internet could cause confusion as the validity of information could not be assured. Early childhood intervention services emerged as a key instrument in developing the capacity of families to make informed choices. Understanding families'’ perspectives on the utility of information sources is critical and timely as policy‐makers and service providers within the disability sector shift practice to meet the rise of individualised funding internationally.