Blocking in landmark-based search in honeybees

Two experiments tested blocking in landmark-based search in honeybees. Honeybees in the experimental group were trained in Phase 1 with a single landmark in a constant spatial relation to the target (sugar water). In the compound training second phase, the landmark used in Phase 1 (blocking landmark) and a new landmark (blocked landmark) were presented at constant spatial relations to the target. The blocking and blocked landmarks differed from each other in color and position, and the blocking landmark retained the same spatial relationship to the target as in Phase 1. In Experiment 1, the control group experienced only Phase 2 training with two landmarks. In Experiment 2, the control group was trained with a different landmark in a different position in Phase 1. Blocking was found in both cases.     

Dynamics of list-server discussion on genetically modified foods

Computer-mediated discussion lists, or list-servers, are popular tools in settings ranging from professional to personal to educational. A discussion list on genetically modified food (GMF) was created in September 2000 as part of the Forum on Genetically Modified Food developed by Science Controversies: Online Partnerships in Education (SCOPE), an educational project that uses computer resources to aid research and learning around unresolved scientific questions. The discussion list "GMF-Science" was actively supported from January 2001 to May 2002. The GMF-Science list welcomed anyone interested in discussing the controversies surrounding GMF. Here, we analyze the dynamics of the discussions and how the GMF-Science list may contribute to learning. Activity on the GMF-Science discussion list reflected some but not all the controversies that were appearing in more traditional publication formats, broached other topics not well represented in the published literature, and tended to leave undiscussed the more technical research developments.     

Evaluation of the science enrichment activities (SEA) program: A decision oriented model

This study examined three questions of interest to decision-makers. Results revealed that subjects made some cognitive gains and chose different types of activities. The most striking finding relates to the third question. Groups who chose different activities made similar gains in learning. Older subjects perform fewer activities but make gains similar to those made by younger subjects. These results suggest that either eighth graders learn in less time or more activities are not proportionately more instructive. A question for future studies is whether subjects who choose more challenging activities make proportionately greater gains in understanding how to control variables. Of particular importance, it was found that subjects who are more sophisticated on the basis of age or ability to control variables choose proportionately more difficult activities (those with larger numbers of variables or with unfamiliar variables). This supports Hunt's (1965) suggestion that the learner is able to select experiences which help him to learn. The decision-makers concluded that open education programs might succeed, in part, because students are able to choose experiences which help them learn. These results do not, however, imply that student selection of educational activities is the most appropriate form of instruction.This study combined with earlier studies (Linn, Chen & Thier, 1977) strongly suggests that the most one can expect students to learn in the SEA program is to criticize experiments. Even for eighth graders who are presumably more likely to learn to control variables, the SEA is not sufficient to teach controlling variables. A different approach is needed to teach this (e.g., Linn, in press).Several research and evaluation studies are consistent with the findings of this evaluation (e.g., Shann et al., 1975; Atkinson, 1976). Many educators interested in “open” education have suggested that interactive learning experiences teach children to be autonomous, curious, and able to plan investigations. These questions were suggested by the evaluators as meriting further study.The decision-making model employed in this evaluation succeeded in influencing decision-makers and also in suggesting some implications for future studies. Rather than focusing on program objectives the evaluation focused on program decisions. Setting priorities in evaluation studies is a multivariate process not fully discussed in this paper. Greater emphasis needs to be placed on the potential benifit of an evaluation plan rather than on a set of program objectives.     

Determinants of pigeons’ choice between certain and probabilistic outcomes

Pigeons chose between 50% and 100% reinforcement on a discrete-trials concurrent-chains procedure with fixed-ratio 1 initial links and fixed-time terminal links. The 100% alternative always provided food after a terminal-link delay, whereas the 50% alternative provided food or blackout equally often after a delay. Additionally, the terminal-link stimuli on the 50% alternative were correlated with the outcomes in signaled, but not in unsignaled, conditions. The effects of intertrial-interval duration and length of the terminal-link delays on choice of the 50% alternative were investigated in four experiments. Preference for the 50% alternative varied with signal condition and duration of the terminal link leading to food, but not with duration of either intertrial interval or the terminal link leading to a blackout. The results are discussed in terms of conditioned-reinforcement effects, Mazur’s hyperbolic-decay model, and delay reduction. This research was supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada research grant awarded to the first author.     

Student satisfaction with interactive telecourses as a function of demographic variables and prior telecourse experience1

An investigation was conducted in which 699 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in 33 live, interactive telecourses were asked to report their (1) telecourse facet satisfaction (satisfaction with the telecourse instruction/ instructor, technology, and logistic/management), (2) demographic characteristics (age, gender, personal income, and socioeconomic status), and (3) experience with televised courses (number of prior telecourses they had completed). Results showed that, among the demographic variables, gender reliably predicted student satisfaction with the logistic/management aspects of the telecourses. That is, male students reported being significantly more satisfied than female students with these aspects of the courses. Moreover, age, personal income, and socioeconomic status were unrelated to facet satisfaction. Finally, greater telecourse experience was significantly associated with lower degrees of instruction/instructor satisfaction. Practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.     

Gathering Requirements for Teacher Tools: Strategies for Empowering Teachers Through Co-Design

Technology can enhance teachers’ practice in multiple ways. It can help them better understand patterns in their students’ thinking, manage class progress at individual and group levels, and obtain evidence to inform modifications to curriculum and instruction. Such technology is most effective when it is aligned with teachers’ goals and expectations. Participatory methods, which involve teachers closely in the design process, are widely recommended for establishing accurate design requirements that address users’ needs. By collaborating with researchers, teachers can contribute their professional expertise to shape the tools of their practice, and ultimately ensure their sustained use. However, there is little guidance available for maintaining effective teacher–researcher design partnerships. We describe four strategies for engaging teachers in designing tools intended to support and enhance their practice within a web-based science learning environment: discussing physical artifacts, reacting to scenarios, customizing prototypes, and writing user stories. Using design artifacts and documents of teachers’ reflections, we illustrate how we applied these techniques over 5 years of annual professional development workshops, and examine their affordances for eliciting teachers’ ideas. We reflect on how these approaches have helped inform technology refinements and innovations. We moreover discuss the further benefits these strategies have had in encouraging teachers to reflect on their own practice and on the roles of technology in supporting it; and in allowing researchers to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between technology, teaching, and design.     

An investigation into pedagogical challenges facing international tertiary‐level students in New Zealand

Since the late 1990s, the overall number of international students studying at tertiary level in New Zealand has increased over 400% and, although enrolments have declined recently, there are still significant numbers of overseas students. This situation has brought continuing pedagogical challenges for tertiary teachers and students. The main purposes of this case study project were to uncover what was occurring within classrooms at one New Zealand university, what types of language and instructional styles were being used by lecturers, and which aspects of degree study international students found most difficult. It was anticipated that through developing a better understanding of key factors interacting with students' emerging academic literacy, improvements to educational practices in our multicultural, multilingual program could be established.     

In their own words: a qualitative study of the reasons Australian university students plagiarize

The ways in which universities and individual academics attempt to deter and respond to student plagiarism may be based on untested assumptions about particular or primary reasons for this behaviour. Using a series of group interviews, this qualitative study gathered the views of 56 Australian university students on the possible reasons for plagiarism within their institution. The results indicate a wide and disparate range of possible contributing reasons for plagiarism, including: institutional admission criteria; student understanding of plagiarism; poor academic skills; a range of teaching and learning factors; personality factors; and external pressures. These findings are compared with other findings about reasons for student plagiarism in Australasia. The implications of these findings are considered for universities and individual academics seeking to better engage with their students to minimize or marginalize plagiarism.     

Mentorship Matters: Does Early Faculty Contact Lead to Quality Faculty Interaction?

This study seeks to understand the factors that contribute to a type of student–faculty interaction known to have particular benefits for students, faculty mentorship. Using three-time-point data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program at the University of California, Los Angeles, this study employed structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship between contact and communication with faculty in the first year of college and faculty mentorship in the senior year. Results suggest that early interaction with faculty serves as a socialization process in college that leads students to have more meaningful interactions with faculty later in college, in the form of mentorship. The study extends the field’s understanding of faculty mentorship and offers important implications for institutional practices.