Infants' attention to patterned stimuli: developmental change from 3 to 12 months of age

To examine the development of look duration as a function of age and stimulus type, 14- to 52-week-old infants were shown static and dynamic versions of faces, Sesame Street material, and achromatic patterns for 20 s of accumulated looking. Heart rate was recorded during looking and parsed into stimulus orienting, sustained attention, and attention termination phases. Infants' peak look durations indicated that prior to 26 weeks there was a linear decrease with age for all stimuli. Older infants' look durations continued to decline for patterns but increased for Sesame Street and faces. Measures of heart rate change during sustained attention and the proportion of time spent in each phase of attention confirmed infants' greater engagement with the more complex stimuli.     

Untangling the links of parental responsiveness to distress and warmth to child outcomes

This study demonstrated separate linkages between 2 features of positive parenting--responsiveness to distress and warmth--and different aspects of children's socio-emotional functioning, in a sample of 106 children (6-8 years old). As expected, mothers' and fathers' responsiveness to distress, but not warmth, predicted better negative affect regulation. Maternal responsiveness to distress also predicted children's empathy and prosocial responding. Maternal warmth, but not responsiveness to distress, was linked to better regulation of positive affect and (in boys only) to greater peer acceptance. Additionally, negative affect regulation mediated between maternal responsiveness to distress and children's empathic responding. Positive affect regulation mediated between maternal warmth and boys' peer acceptance. The findings support a differentiated approach to positive parenting.     

Assessing students' ability to trace matter in dynamic systems in cell biology

College-level biology courses contain many complex processes that are often taught and learned as detailed narratives. These processes can be better understood by perceiving them as dynamic systems that are governed by common fundamental principles. Conservation of matter is such a principle, and thus tracing matter is an essential step in learning to reason about biological processes. We present here multiple-choice questions that measure students' ability and inclination to trace matter through photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Data associated with each question come from students in a large undergraduate biology course that was undergoing a shift in instructional strategy toward making fundamental principles (such as tracing matter) a central theme. We also present findings from interviews with students in the course. Our data indicate that 1) many students are not using tracing matter as a tool to reason about biological processes, 2) students have particular difficulties tracing matter between systems and have a persistent tendency to interconvert matter and energy, and 3) instructional changes seem to be effective in promoting application of the tracing matter principle. Using these items as diagnostic tools allows instructors to be proactive in addressing students' misconceptions and ineffective reasoning.     

高等职业学院体育教学改革的特色与创新研究

高等职业学院体育教学改革必须树立"健康第一"的教育思想和"以人为本"的教学与管理理念,根据高职学生专业特点及未来从事职业需要及学生自身需求,掌握有效提高身体素质的技能和健身运动方法,积极参与各种体育活动,能科学地进行体育锻炼,为未来生活及工作储备职业体能、技能和生活的能力.     

Community-based inquiry improves critical thinking in general education biology

National stakeholders are becoming increasingly concerned about the inability of college graduates to think critically. Research shows that, while both faculty and students deem critical thinking essential, only a small fraction of graduates can demonstrate the thinking skills necessary for academic and professional success. Many faculty are considering nontraditional teaching methods that incorporate undergraduate research because they more closely align with the process of doing investigative science. This study compared a research-focused teaching method called community-based inquiry (CBI) with traditional lecture/laboratory in general education biology to discover which method would elicit greater gains in critical thinking. Results showed significant critical-thinking gains in the CBI group but decreases in a traditional group and a mixed CBI/traditional group. Prior critical-thinking skill, instructor, and ethnicity also significantly influenced critical-thinking gains, with nearly all ethnicities in the CBI group outperforming peers in both the mixed and traditional groups. Females, who showed decreased critical thinking in traditional courses relative to males, outperformed their male counterparts in CBI courses. Through the results of this study, it is hoped that faculty who value both research and critical thinking will consider using the CBI method.     

Effectiveness of the MASTER program for teaching special children multiplication and division

In this study, the utility of a MAthematics Strategy Training for Educational Remediation (MASTER) program, (Van Luit, Kaskens, & Van der Krol, 1993) was examined. The effectiveness of the program, designed to encourage strategy utilization with multiplication and division problems, was investigated for 84 students with poor mathematics skills, some of whom had learning disabilities (n = 42) and others with mild levels of mental retardation (n = 42). The results showed that the use of the self-instruction program resulted in significant improvement over the general instruction program. Furthermore, far transfer was found for the children with learning disabilities in the experimental group when they used effective problem-solving strategies on nontrained tasks. The results are consistent with previous findings suggesting the importance of self-instruction in mathematics training programs.     

静水椎实螺的经典条件反射的建立

本文所介绍的经典条件反射实验,是由俄国著名生理学家巴甫洛夫创立的。巴甫洛夫先给狗一个无效的刺激(铃声,他称为条件刺激),然后给狗喂肉糜(非条件刺激),而肉糜能诱导狗的唾液分泌。巴甫洛夫发现通过反复给狗这样的两种刺激——铃声和肉糜,单单铃声也能诱导狗的唾液分泌。将一个原先无关的刺激与一个有关的刺激联系起来,并作出反应,这样一个学习方式被称为经典条件反射。在巴甫洛夫的先驱性工作发表后,经典条件反射和其其他一些学习方式在许多动物身上     

Thought in the face of violence: a child's need

OBJECTIVE: This article provides a clinical perspective on the combined impacts on children of spousal violence in the home and the absence of attuned parental thought that accompanies it. METHODS: This article takes the form of a commentary, drawing on clinical case studies and research literature to illustrate the child's experience of "unthinking," nonreflective parental states of mind, from the point of witnessing violence through to contact arrangements post-separation. Parallel dynamics and impacts are discussed with caregiving and legislative systems. RESULTS: The article suggests that "unthinking" states of mind in parents can be as damaging for a child as the overt witnessing and experiencing of violence. CONCLUSIONS: The prevention or early overturning of unthinking states of mind, in and out of the home, greatly influences the nature of a child's recovery from domestic violence.     

Do the effects of computer-assisted practice differ for children with reading disabilities with and without IQ-achievement discrepancy?

This study was designed to assess whether the effects of computer-assisted practice on visual word recognition differed for children with reading disabilities (RD) with or without aptitude-achievement discrepancy. A sample of 73 Spanish children with low reading performance was selected using the discrepancy method, based on a standard score comparison (i.e., the difference between IQ and achievement standard scores). The sample was classified into three groups: (1) a group of 14 children with dyslexia (age M = 103.85 months; SD = 8.45) who received computer-based reading practice; (2) a group of 31 "garden-variety" (GV) poor readers (age M = 107.06 months; SD = 6.75) who received the same type of instruction; and (3) a group of 28 children with low reading performance (age M = 103.33 months; SD = 9.04) who did not receive computer-assisted practice. Children were pre- and posttested in word recognition, reading comprehension, phonological awareness, and visual and phonological tasks. The results indicated that both computer-assisted intervention groups showed improved word recognition compared to the control group. Nevertheless, children with dyslexia had more difficulties than GV poor readers during computer-based word reading under conditions that required extensive phonological computation, because their performance was more affected by low-frequency words and long words. In conclusion, we did not find empirical evidence in favor of the IQ-achievement discrepancy definition of reading disability, because IQ did not differentially predict treatment outcomes.