Systematic errors in pigeons’ memory for event duration: Interaction between training and test delay

Pigeons trained to choose different stimuli following short- and long-duration signals make disproportionately more “short” choices (i.e., “choose-short errors”) following an increase in the retention interval and more “choose-long errors” following a decrease in this delay. The present experiment provided a systematic investigation of how these selective errors depend on the relationship between the training delay and the test delay. Pigeons were first trained with a 0-sec delay between the signal (2- or 8-sec food presentations) and the choice stimuli (red- and blue-lit keys). On subsequent test trials with 5- and 10-sec delays, choose-short errors predominated. Next, the birds were trained with a constant 10-sec delay and then tested with shorter or longer delays on some trials. The birds now responded accurately and without selective errors at the 10-sec training delay, but made choose-long errors at shorter delays and choose-short errors at longer delays. Finally, the birds were trained with a constant 20-sec delay and then tested with shorter and longer delays. Choose-long errors again appeared at shorter test delays, choose-short errors at longer test delays, and no differential errors at the 20-sec training delay. The selectivity of these errors generally increased with the absolute difference between the training and test delay. Theoretical implications of these results are discussed.     

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.     

The effect of sample and comparison ratio schedules on delayed matching to sample in the pigeon

In Experiment 1, three food-deprived pigeons received trials that began with red or green illumination of the center pecking key. Two or four pecks on this sample key turned it off and initiated a 0- to 10-sec delay. Following the delay, the two outer comparison keys were illuminated, one with red and one with green light. In one condition, a single peck on either of these keys turned the other key off and produced either grain reinforcement (if the comparison that was pecked matched the preceding sample) or the intertrial interval (if it did not match). In other conditions, 3 or 15 additional pecks were required to produce reinforcement or the intertrial interval. The frequency of pecking the matching comparison stimulus (matching accuracy) decreased as the delay increased, increased as the sample ratio was increased, and decreased as the comparison ratio was increased. The results of Experiment 2 suggested that higher comparison ratios adversely affect matching accuracy primarily by delaying reinforcement for choosing the correct comparison. The results of Experiment 3, in which delay of reinforcement for choosing the matching comparison was manipulated, confirmed that delayed reinforcement decreases matching accuracy.     

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.     

Improving Biology Performance with Workshop Groups

This 2-year quasi-experiment evaluated the effect of peer-led workshop groups on performance of minority and majority undergraduate biology students. The workshop intervention used was modeled after a program pioneered by Treisman (1992). Majority volunteers randomly assigned to workshops (n = 61) performed significantly better than those assigned to the control group (n = 60, p < 0.05) without spending more time studying. Workshop minority students (n = 25) showed a pattern of increasing exam performance in comparison to historic control minority students (n = 21), who showed a decreasing pattern (p < 0.05). Volunteers (n = 121) initially reported that biology was more interesting and more important to their futures than to nonvolunteers' (n = 435, p < 0.05). Volunteers also reported higher levels of anxiety related to class performance (p < 0.05). The relationship of anxiety to performance was moderated by volunteer status. Performance of volunteers was negatively associated with self-reported anxiety (r = –0.41, p < 0.01). Performance of nonvolunteers was unrelated to self-reported anxiety (r = –0.02). Results suggest elevated anxiety related to class performance may increase willingness to participate in activities such as workshop interventions. In addition, students who volunteer for interventions such as workshops may be at increased risk of performance decrements associated with anxiety. Even so, workshop programs appear to be an effective way to promote excellence among both majority and minority students who volunteer to participate, despite the increased risk of underperformance associated with higher levels of anxiety.