Effects of varying sucrose reinforcers and amobarbital sodium on positive contrast in rats

The effect of quantity and quality of reinforcement on performance change following a shift to uniform high reward was studied in four groups of rats. Twenty or 200 licks of a 5% or 20% sucrose solution constituted the four incentive conditions. Two additional subject groups were run in the high (20%–200 licks) and low (5%-20 licks) reward conditions to determine how amobarbital sodium, an emotional depressant, influences incentive shift performance. All six groups received 60 preshift runway trials (6/day), followed by 30 high reward trials. Twenty-four extinction trials contrasted drugged and normal performance relating to high and low reward Postshift positive contrast appeared in all nondrugged groups. An emotional base for positive contrast is considered.     

Critical intercultural conversations: using activity systems analysis as a tool for educational ethnography

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the tensions that exist between the recognition of the importance of ethnicity and culture for individual and group identities without essentilisation, by reframing conceptualisations of multi- and interculturalism. Drawing from our ongoing ethnography conducted with a research community of Alaska Native PhD candidates involved in participatory action research, we examine how situated and multiple positionalities enacted through participation in Engeström’s concept of an ‘activity system’ can: (a) contribute to the ‘doing’ of ethnography and provide an analytic framework for ethnographic research; and, (b) contribute to understandings of multi- and intercultural education that promote the questioning of hierarchical power structures through dialogue aimed toward equity and social justice.     

Training for content teachers of English Language Learners: using experiential learning to improve instruction*

Abstract

Experiential learning theory places experience at the center of learning. Kolb’s four-stage cycle of experiential learning suggests that effective learners must engage fully in each stage of the cycle – feeling, reflection, thinking, and action. This research assesses the alignment of Kolb’s experiential learning cycle with the week-long Summer Institute of Assisting, Collaborating, and Training ESL Secondary Content Teachers (ACT-ESL), the first stage of a professional development model designed to train content teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs). Qualitative and quantitative data analysis from pre- and post-surveys determined positive changes in participants’ understanding of key ELL concepts, knowledge, and understanding of instructional strategies and practices. Analysis indicated that the Summer Institute had a large effect (d > 2.00 for each scale), regardless of previous training in ELL instructional strategies. Findings show that the Summer Institute incorporated the cycle of learning and tenets of Kolb’s experiential learning theory and evidenced teacher learning.     

Assessment activities at large,research universities

Assessment and outcomes measurement is receiving considerable attention in higher education nationwide. But what are colleges and universities doing and calling assessment? To answer these and other questions, a telephone survey was conducted with a sample of large, research universities. Responses to the survey are presented and discussed in this paper. Results indicated limited university involvement in activities commonly associated with the current assessment “movement,” i.e., measures of added value or student progress and growth. Instead, much of the reported activities are “traditional” testing and evaluation activities such as placement testing and student evaluation of instruction. In sum, assessmentis evaluation at large, research universities.     

The effects of prior information upon perceptions of exceptional children

Students in a university special education course were shown three identical videotapes of children in a school setting. The subjects were randomly divided into three groups, each receiving different written background information (“positive,” “neutral,” or “negative”) prior to viewing the videotapes. It was found that the variations in written information had significant effects upon the subjects' perceptions of the children's behavior, and upon the degree to which the children were regarded as able to function successfully in a regular classroom. These findings suggest that attitudes toward exceptional children are influenced by the way in which prior information, such as that contained in a child's educational records, is presented. Teacher and peer acceptance of exceptional children can be increased if information is presented in a realistic and positive manner.     

For social justice and inclusion: engaging with the other

This paper opens with a discussion of the relevance of service integration to the successful implementation of the Integrated Community Schools (ICS) policy in Scotland. It continues to offer an overview of the teacher/speech and language therapist (SLT) collaboration policy context and introduces some of the relevant wider children's services integration policy themes. The approach and aim of a discourse-based analysis are then discussed and the paper continues to suggest how such an approach may be used to uncover individuals' identifications and subject positions. The analytical framework of five dimensions of power is introduced, empirical data are analysed to demonstrate how collaboration operates in practice in one specific collaboration relationship, and the issues of power which were uncovered are examined. The analysis would suggest that while policy discourses construct collaboration in particular ways, practitioners differentially appropriate collaboration and other professional discourses as resources with which to construct acceptable identities.     

Flavor- vs. tone-cued shock avoidance

In a direct comparison, flavor-cued rats learned to avoid shock in a two-way shuttlebox as well as, or better than, tone-cued rats. These results stand in contrast to the prevalent view that rats encounter difficulty in forming flavor-shock, but not tone-shock, associations. In attempting to account for this contrast, we note that experiments revealing cue-modality specificity employ an aversion paradigm and record ingestive behavior. It is argued that both the paradigm and the dependent variable are inappropriate for assessing shock-avoidance learning, and that cue-modality specificity in such a setting reflects paradigm and response choice rather than a general characteristic of rats.