Filipino and American student perceptions of teacher effectiveness

Filipino and American undergraduate students rated college instructor characteristics according to their perceived importance for effective teaching. Items were selected to reflect relevant value orientations in Filipino and American cultures. Factor analysis of the ratings revealed six underlying dimensions. MANOVA results showed that the group ratings on the six corresponding subscales were significantly different. Discriminant function analysis revealed that Filipino students rated items pertaining to authoritarianism and personal appearance of the instructor as significantly more important for effective teaching than did American students. This suggests that cross-cultural differences in perceptions of effective teaching may be predictable from a knowledge of both similar and conflicting value orientations in the specific cultures. Implications for the academic adjustment of students from different cultures were discussed.     

Benzodiazepine administration prevents the use of error-correction mechanisms during fear extinction

Three experiments examined the effect of systemic administration of the benzodiazepine midazolam on extinction and re-extinction of conditioned fear. Experiment 1 demonstrated that midazolam administration prior to extinction of a conditioned stimulus (CS) impaired that extinction when rats were subsequently tested drug free; however, extinction was spared if rats were extinguished, reconditioned, and re-extinguished under midazolam. Experiment 2 provided a replication of this effect within-subjects; rats were conditioned to two CSs (A and B), extinguished to one (A-), reconditioned to both, and then extinguished/re-extinguished to both stimuli in compound (AB-), under either vehicle or midazolam. On the drug-free test, rats given midazolam froze more to the CS that had been extinguished (B) than the one that been re-extinguished (A). The final experiment examined whether extinction under midazolam was regulated by prediction error. Rats were trained with three CSs (A, B, C) and extinguished to two (A-, C-). These stimuli then underwent additional extinction under midazolam or vehicle, with one CS now presented in compound with the non-extinguished CS (AB-, C-). Rats were then tested for fear of A relative to C. Rats given vehicle showed a deepening of extinction to A relative to C, as is predicted from error-correction models; however, rats given midazolam failed to show any such discrepancy in responding. The results are interpreted to indicate that the drug reduced prediction error during extinction by reducing fear, and rats were able to re-extinguish fear via a retrieval mechanism that is independent of prediction error.     

Teacher pupil control ideology and pupils' projected feelings toward teachers

The relationship between teacher pupil control ideology and pupils' projected feelings toward teachers was examined. The Pupil Control Ideology Form, based on a custodial-humanistic continuum, served as the operational definition for teacher views toward pupil control. Lemeshnik's Draw-A-Teacher technique, a projective device based on a negative-positive continuum, served as the operational definition of pupils' projected feelings toward teachers. A sample of 131 teachers and their students responded to these instruments, respectively. Pearson product-moment correlations indicated that custodialism in teacher pupil control ideology was directly related to pupils' negative feelings toward teachers. Multiple regression analysis indicated that pupil control ideology, followed by teacher sex and grade level, predicted pupils' feelings toward teachers. Further analysis revealed that boys projected more negative feelings toward teachers than did girls.     

Fluvial processes in geomorphology and environmental management: The 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth and Environmental Science awarded to Luna B. Leopold and M. Gordon Wolman

Starting in the 1950s Luna B. Leopold and M. Gordon Wolman transformed the field of geomorphology with quantitative and process-orientated studies designed to understand landscape adjustments to temporal and spatial changes in sediment supply and streamflow. By integrating fundamental science with keen observations they developed the first comprehensive and mechanistic understanding of rivers and floodplains. Their research has not only provided a quantitative framework for understanding landscape evolution, it is a cornerstone of modern water resource management and environmental impact analysis. Specific research areas included quantifying: (1) the “hydraulic geometry” of rivers; (2) the morphology and processes of rivers; (3) channel networks and the longitudinal profiles of rivers; (4) processes controlling floodplain formation; (5) the magnitude and frequency of geomorphic processes; and (6) the cycle of sedimentation in response to urban development. Much of this research was published in seven co-authored articles and in a widely used 1964 book that they co-authored with John Miller, Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology. While their contributions are synergistically linked and stem from their co-authored papers, their individual contributions are distinct and extend over 50 years. For these accomplishments, Luna Leopold and M. Gordon Wolman were awarded the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth and Environmental Science.