A test of Rescorla and Wagner’s (1972) prediction of nonlinear effects in contingency learning

According to most theories, in a simple contingency learning situation, excitatory learning occurs when the probability of the unconditioned stimulus in the presence of the conditioned stimulus (p₁) is higher than the probability of the unconditioned stimulus in the absence of the conditioned stimulus (p₂). In Rescorla and Wagner??s (1972) model, this prediction varies, depending on the parameters used. In the following experiments, we evaluated whether the difference between p₁ and p₂ that is required to produce excitatory conditioning is the same, independent of the specific value of p₁, or whether this difference varies proportionally to p₁??s value. To do so, an appetitive procedure of Pavlovian conditioning with rats was used. In four experiments, we compared different levels of contingency (low, medium and high) and found that the difference between p₁ and p₂ that is required to produce excitatory conditioning increases when the value of p₁ is higher. The possibility of analyzing contingency learning as a discrimination between p₁ and p₂ is also discussed.     

Las ideas de los alumnos sobre la ciencia como teorías implícitas

Resumen

Durante los últimos años, los trabajos sobre el aprendizaje de las ciencias han estado dominados por dos enfoques contrapuestos: la teoría piagetiana de las operaciones formales y el enfoque de las ideas previas o concepciones alternativas. Frente a estos dos enfoques los autores proponen una alternativa intermedia basada en el concepto de «teorías implícitas». Estas teorías serían teorías personales que, como las teorías científicas, sirven para organizar y predecir el mundo circundante. No obstante, presentan también características muy diferentes de las teorías científicas tanto en lo referente a su contenido como a su organización. Estas diferentes características tienen, como se expone en el artículo, importantes consecuencias tanto para la investigación como para la práctica educativa.     

El adolescente como historiador

Resumen

Este articulo presenta una investigación sobre el desarrollo del pensamiento hipótético-deductivo en tareas históricas. Se trata de una habilidad fundamental para dominar situaciones históricas complejas, tan frecuentes en los libros de texto. Los resultados muestran un escaso dominio de esta habilidad por parte de los adolescentes. Se analizan las causas y las implicaciones educativas de esta falta de pensamiento histórico científico.     

Talking About Ourselves, Talking About Our Mothers: Latina Prospective Teachers Narrate Their Life Experiences

Through a Bakhtinian conceptual framework, this text explores Latina prospective teachers’ life histories—their experiences at home, in their K-12 schooling, on campus in a Midwestern university, and in their teacher education program. Further, it shows how often, when asked about their own experiences, Latinas responded with stories of their mothers’ past and present experiences. The author shows how drawing on stories of their mothers supported young women in rebutting discourses promulgated by white female peers regarding their cultural and language backgrounds, making them feel dismissed and unvalued. They used “mother stories” as ways to assert their strengths, knowledge, and understandings about schools and schooling.     

…Y,sin embargo,se puede enseñar ciencia

Resumen

En este artículo se resumen brevemente las condiciones psicológicas necesarias para el aprendizaje de conceptos científicos, partiendo de las posiciones de Lakatos y Piaget. Se analizan también las implicaciones de esas condiciones para el diseño de situaciones de instrucción destinadas a modificar las concepciones espontáneas erróneas de los alumnos.     

The development of referential communication: Improving message accuracy by coordinating private speech with peer questioning

In this study, we examine the development of referential communicative regulation, incorporating the Vygotskian notion of private speech. From this perspective, private speech may serve a regulatory role when the child speaker is focused on what to say when speaking to others. In a longitudinal study carried out with 10 pairs of children with a mean age of 4.5, 6.5, and 8.5 years, we analyzed the relationship between the capacity of the child in the speaker role to modify messages, increasing their informative quality, the presence of private speech embedded in the messages, and the emergence of prior questions by the child in the listener role aimed at clarifying some aspect of the message. We found that the number of modified messages, the mean frequency of private speech in the messages, and the number of peer's questions all increase with age. Only in the case of the modified messages by the speaker did we find a triple interaction among age, use of private speech, and the presence of peer's questions. At 8.5 years, the presence of peer's questions and subsequent use of private speech appeared together for the majority of the modified messages. This was not the case at the ages 4.5 or 6.5. In line with Vygotsky's theses, private speech would play an important role to allow communicators to reflect on the quality of their communicative utterances, and to modify and improve them accordingly. In this process, the capacity to improve message accuracy by coordinating private speech with peer questioning clearly emerges with age.     

Criss-cross heart three-dimensional printed models in medical education: A multicenter study on their value as a supporting tool to conventional imaging

The utility of three-dimensional (3D) printed models for medical education in complex congenital heart disease (CHD) is sparse and limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of 3D printed models for medical education in criss-cross hearts covering a wide range of participants with different levels of knowledge and experience, from medical students, clinical fellows up to senior medical personnel. Study participants were enrolled from four dedicated imaging workshops developed between 2016 and 2019. The study design was a non-randomized cross-over study to evaluate 127 participants' level of understanding of the criss-cross heart anatomy. This was evaluated using the scores obtained following teaching with conventional images (echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging) versus a 3D printed model learning approach. A significant improvement in anatomical knowledge of criss-cross heart anatomy was observed when comparing conventional imaging test scores to 3D printed model tests [76.9% (61.5%–87.8%) vs. 84.6% (76.9%–96.2%), P < 0.001]. The increase in the questionnaire marks was statistically significant across all academic groups (consultants in pediatric cardiology, fellows in pediatric cardiology, and medical students). Ninety-four percent (120) and 95.2% (121) of the participants agreed or strongly agreed, respectively, that 3D models helped them to better understand the medical images. Participants scored their overall satisfaction with the 3D printed models as 9.1 out of 10 points. In complex CHD such as criss-cross hearts, 3D printed replicas improve the understanding of cardiovascular anatomy. They enhanced the teaching experience especially when approaching medical students.