Exploring the derivative suffix frequency effect in Spanish speaking children

This study was designed to examine the developmental course of the suffix frequency effect and its role in the development of automatic morpho-lexical access. In Spanish, a highly transparent language from an orthographic point of view, this effect has been shown to be facilitative in adults, but the evidence with children is still inconclusive. A total of 90 2nd, 4th and 6th grade children performed a go/no go lexical decision task, with words containing either high or low frequency suffixes. Results showed significant main effects for grade and for derivative suffix frequency, with no interaction between both. This finding suggests that the suffix frequency effect emerges very early in reading development and that its role is well established from the beginning of reading experience, suggesting that sensitivity to suffix frequency can be a good predictor of a child’s ability to internalize orthographic regularities at an early stage. These findings are interpreted in the light of previous evidence paying special attention to orthographic transparency and morpheme regularity in Spanish language.     

Contrast and value: Beyond the work ethic effect. A reply to Zentall (2008)

Zentall (2008) challenges Arantes and Grace’s (2008) failure to replicate Clement, Feltus, Kaiser, and Zentall (2000) by suggesting that our results may have been due to insufficient training or to subjects’ experimental histories, and that our results are actually consistent with those of Clement et al. when examined closely. On the contrary, our pigeons received more training than Clement et al.’s did, and when an overall measure of preference on test trials was calculated, independent of the effect of initiating event that we reported, there was no evidence of preference for the stimulus preceded by the greater response requirement in our data. Although there have now been two unsuccessful attempts to replicate Clement et al.’s work ethic effect, there is evidence that in some situations, the value of a stimulus, as assessed by transfer tests, varies inversely with the context of reinforcement. It is important to look for convergent results using other procedures and transfer tests, such as resistance to change, to identify the principles that determine when contrast manipulations affect value and when they do not.     

The Economic Advantage of Being the “Voice of the Majority”

This article analyzes price competition in a duopolistic newspaper industry, where politically differentiated newspapers compete in 2 distinct markets: circulation and advertising. Assuming that 1 of the newspapers represents the “voice of the majority,” the theory of the circulation spiral is investigated and whether the interdependence between newspapers' demands in the circulation and advertising markets favors the majority's newspaper to the detriment of the minority's newspaper is investigated.     

Child Engagement in Inclusive Preschools: Contributions of Classroom Quality and Activity Setting

Preschool process quality and activity setting are considered important aspects influencing child engagement. As such, it is important to understand how educational settings can promote engagement, particularly for children with disabilities and/or at risk. This observational study describes process quality and activity setting in inclusive preschools, analyzing its predictive role for child engagement. Participants were 184 children attending 39 preschools. Three groups of children, nested within classrooms, were considered: with disabilities (n = 45), at risk (n = 59), typically developing (n = 80). Child Observation in Preschool assessed engagement and activity setting; Classroom Assessment Scoring System assessed quality of teacher–child interactions. Research Findings: Results from multilevel regressions show that classroom emotional support and organization and more time in free play were positively predicting child engagement, whereas more time in whole group was a negative predictor of engagement. Besides these main effects, an interaction effect between child developmental functioning and activity settings was found. For at-risk children, more time in whole-group activities had greater negative effects on child engagement. For children with disabilities, more time in free-play had greater positive effects on child engagement. Practice or Policy: Results contribute to inform teachers regarding the importance of individualizing interactions and planning activity settings to promote engagement and participation in inclusive preschools.     

Recognition as support for reasoning about horizontal motion: a further resource for school science?

Background: Even infants can recognize whether patterns of motion are or are not natural, yet an acknowledged challenge for science education is to promote adequate reasoning about such patterns. Since research indicates linkage between the conceptual bases of recognition and reasoning, it seems possible that recognition can be engaged to support reasoning.

Purpose: Noting the theoretical and practical significance of showing that recognition can support reasoning, the reported research aimed to examine the possibility in relation to horizontal motion.

Sample: The research was conducted with 167 children (mean age = 9.51 years) from Years 4, 5 and 6 of an English-medium school located in Lisbon, Portugal.

Design and methods: Individual pre-tests were administered to all participants to assess initial reasoning about the direction and speed with which rolling balls travel after collision. Reasoning was assessed in the sense of both predicting and explaining. Thereafter, about two-thirds of the sample worked with software that, via simulations of the incorrect patterns that were typically predicted (and comparison with simulations of correct patterns), engaged recognition as feedback on reasoning. The remaining children became an untutored control group. Replicating characteristic computer use in classrooms, half of the software sample worked as singletons with adult guidance available on request and half worked in pairs without the option of guidance. A few weeks later, all participants were post-tested following pre-test procedures.

Results: Pre- to post-test change amongst the children who worked with the software exceeded pre- to post-test change within the control group, and this was observed with both predictions and explanations. The differences were strongest amongst the children who worked as singletons, even though they seldom requested adult support.

Conclusions: Although issues remain to be addressed before the approach can be optimized, its viability as support for reasoning has been demonstrated, and this may have relevance beyond horizontal motion.     

The impact of polytechnic institutes on the local economy

Tertiary Education and Management - Higher education institutions and, particularly, polytechnic institutes in Portugal are, generally speaking, recognized as the key stakeholders in regional...     

Neuroanatomy education: The impact on perceptions,attitudes, and knowledge of an intensive course on general practice residents

General practitioners are responsible for the management of an increasing number of patients with neurological illness, and thus a solid education in neurosciences is a necessary component of their training. This study examines the effects of an intensive clinical neuroanatomy course on twenty general practice residents’ perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge. A knowledge test was completed by the participants and by a control group at four different time points. The participants were asked to answer a questionnaire about their reasons for signing up for the course and their attitudes and perceptions toward the course experience. Experimental and control groups demonstrated identical mean baseline test scores. The experimental group significantly increased its test scores (plus 49.0% correct answers, a mean improvement of 120%) relative to controls after the educational intervention. There were no differences among scores from the evaluated time points after the educational intervention in the experimental group. In the control group, there were likewise no significant differences between the four evaluated time points. Most participants indicated that they signed up for the course to update/acquire knowledge and skills in the field of neurosciences, and also because they had difficulty in diagnosing and managing patients with neurological diseases. Participants’ attitudes and perceptions toward the course experience were very positive. Most of the participants (n = 17; 85%) rated the course as “extremely useful,” and 3 (15%) rated it as “very useful.” This study provides evidence demonstrating the potential positive effect of neurosciences education to general practice residents. Anat Sci Educ 10: 465–474. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Creating a responsive curriculum for postgraduates: lessons from a case in Ghana

A responsive curriculum addresses the changing needs of students, bridging the gap between universal knowledge and theories on one hand and contextual, continuously changing realities of everyday life and the world of work, on the other. Though several higher education institutions appreciate the value of making curriculum responsive, how to do this remains a challenge. This paper first identified unique attributes of responsive curriculum development based on literature and assessed their manifestation in the creation of a new Masters curriculum in natural resource and environmental governance in Ghana. The role of actors within and outside academia and its implications, were also investigated. The study was designed as participatory action research. Key process attributes identified include, among others, iteration, built-in learning within the curriculum development process, and the contribution of actors from outside academia to curriculum design and implementation. The study also shows the important role of the so-called champion of the process and the expert facilitators. The paper does not seek to provide a blue-print but rather provides a valuable example for future initiatives at creating curriculum that better responds to current needs of students.