Analysis of the Latin Square Task with linear logistic test models

The Latin Square Task (LST) was developed by Birney, Halford, and Andrews [Birney, D. P., Halford, G. S., & Andrews, G. (2006). Measuring the influence of cognitive complexity on relational reasoning: The development of the Latin Square Task. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 146–171.] and represents a non-domain specific, language-free operationalization of Relational Complexity (RC-)Theory. The current study investigates the basic cognitive parameters and structure of LST as defined by RC-Theory, using IRT-based linear logistic test models (LLTM). 850 German school students completed 26 systematically designed LST items. Results support the notion of Rasch-scalability. LLTM analyses reveal that both operation complexity and number of operations affect item difficulty. It is shown how LLTM and its variants can provide substantial insights into cognitive solution processes and composition of item difficulty in relational reasoning in order to make item construction more efficient.     

Comparison of students’ perceptions of their teaching–learning environments in three professional academic disciplines: A valuable tool for quality enhancement

The present study explored differences in students’ perceptions of their teaching–learning environments in three professional academic disciplines at the University of Helsinki, using a modified version of the Experiences of Teaching & Learning Questionnaire. A total of 426 first-year students from the Faculties of Law, Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine participated in the study. When six scales measuring students’ perceptions of their teaching–learning environments were devised, veterinary and pharmacy students experienced their teaching–learning environment more positively than law students. Significant differences in students’ perceptions were found between disciplines on the four scales of Alignment, Staff Enthusiasm and Support, Constructive Feedback and Support from Other Students. Comparisons between the disciplines helped in recognising special features of each discipline from novice students’ points of view. The questionnaire was found to provide valuable information about the quality of teaching and learning.     

Do siblings influence one another? Unpacking processes that occur during sibling conflict

This study examined the extent to which 205 sibling dyads influenced each other during conflict. Data were collected between 2013 to 2015. The sample included 5.9% Black, 15.1% South Asian, 15.1% East Asian, and 63.8% White children. Older siblings were between 7–13 years old (Female = 109) and younger siblings were 5–9 years old (Female = 99). Siblings' conflict resolution was analyzed using dynamic structural equation modeling. Modeling fluctuations in moment-to-moment data (20-s intervals) allowed for a close approximation of causal influence. Older and younger siblings were found to influence one another. Younger sisters were more constructive than younger brothers, especially in sister–sister dyads. Sibling age gap predicted inertia in older siblings. Socialization processes within sibling relationships are discussed.     

A paradox of age in early childhood education: A review of the literature and survey of Australian educators working with three-year-old children

Educational Research for Policy and Practice - A paradox concerning age exists in early childhood education (ECE) across many countries today, evident in the literature, curriculum, policy,...     

Feature-positive discriminations during a spatial-search task with humans

During feature-positive operant discriminations, a conditional cue, X, signals whether responses made during a second stimulus, A, are reinforced. Few studies have examined how landmarks, which can be trained to control the spatial distribution of responses during search tasks, might operate under conditional control. We trained college students to search for a target hidden on a computer monitor. Participants learned that responses to a hidden target location signaled by a landmark (e.g., A) would be reinforced only if the landmark was preceded by a colored background display (e.g., X). In Experiment 1, participants received feature-positive training (+←YB/ XA→+/A?/B?) with the hidden target to the right of A and to left of B. Responding during nonreinforced transfer test trials (XB?/YA?) indicated conditional control by the colored background, and spatial accuracy indicated a greater weighting of spatial information provided by the landmark than by the conditional cue. In Experiments 2a and 2b, the location of the target relative to landmark A was conditional on the colored background (+←YA/ XA→+/ ZB→+/ +←C /A?/B?). At test, conditional control and a greater weighting for the landmark’s spatial information were again found, but we also report evidence for spatial interference by the conditional stimulus. Overall, we found that hierarchical accounts best explain the observed differences in response magnitude, whereas spatial accuracy was best explained via spatial learning models that emphasize the reliability, stability, and proximity of landmarks to a target.     

Mothers’ and fathers’ parenting styles and associations with toddlers’ externalizing,internalizing, and adaptive behaviors

The two primary objectives of the present study were to (a) investigate mothers’ and fathers’ reports of their own as well as their partner's parenting styles, and (b) assess how mothers’ and fathers’ parenting styles uniquely and jointly predicted toddlers’ externalizing, internalizing, and adaptive behaviors. Fifty-nine mothers and fathers independently completed the Parenting Styles and Dimension Questionnaire (PDSQ; Robinson, Mandleco, Olsen, & Hart, 2001) and the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children-2 (BASC-2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004). Parents’ self-reports of their parenting styles were positively correlated with each other for all three parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive). Comparisons between parents’ reports of their partner's styles with that of the partner's self-reports were positively and moderately correlated for all three parenting styles. Findings revealed mothers’ and fathers’ self-reported parenting styles explained 44% of the variance in youngsters’ externalizing behaviors. In particular, permissive parenting by mothers and authoritarian parenting by fathers uniquely and significantly predicted toddlers’ externalizing behaviors, while authoritative paternal parenting was predictive of adaptive behaviors.     

The specific relationship between disgust and interest: Relevance during biology class dissections and gender differences

This investigation examined trajectories of interest and disgust related to a biology dissection class. Three hundred and two secondary students completed ratings of disgust sensitivity and individual interest in the topic of the heart approximately one week before a dissection class. States of disgust and interest were recorded before, during, and after the dissection, and again four weeks later. Overall, girls expressed higher disgust sensitivity than boys, but showed similar levels of individual interest in the heart topic. Individual interest was negatively related to feelings of disgust prior to and during the dissection while feelings of disgust at the beginning of the class negatively predicted students’ interest during the dissection. These findings extend knowledge of the interactive influences of students’ affective experiences during a specific curriculum task and provide a complementary perspective to research findings on emotions relating to achievement outcomes.     

浅谈微型化学实验

本文简要介绍了微型化学实验的概念,微型化学实验在我国的研究进展以及它的实际意义.