Science Supports Education: The Behavioral Research Base for Psychology's Top 20 Principles for Enhancing Teaching and Learning

Psychological science has much to contribute to preK‐12 education because substantial psychological research exists on the processes of learning, teaching, motivation, classroom management, social interaction, communication, and assessment. This article details the psychological science that led to the identification, by the American Psychological Association's Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education, of the “Top 20 Principles from Psychology for PreK‐12 Teaching and Learning.” Also noted are the major implications for educational practice that follow from the principles.     

Data archiving for animal cognition research: Report of an NIMH workshop

In July 2001, the National Institute of Mental Health sponsored a workshop titled “Data Archiving for Animal Cognition Research.” Participants included scientists as well as experts in archiving, publishing, policy, and law. As is described in this report, the workshop resulted in a set of conclusions and recommendations concerning (A) the impact of data archiving on research, (B) how to incorporate data archiving into research practice, (C) contents of data archives, (D) technical and archival standards, and (E) organizational, financing, and policy issues. The animal cognition research community is encouraged to begin now to establish archives, deposit data and related materials, and make use of archived materials in new scientific projects.     

The influence of stimulus attributes on duration matching-to-sample in pigeons

A duration matching-to-sample procedure was used to examine the influence of signal properties on temporal estimation and working memory. The results indicated that pigeons responded to durations of a light as if they were longer than equal durations of the absence of the same light, but delay performances did not differ between the two sample types. Similarly, pigeons responded to durations of a bright white light as if they were longer than equal durations of a dim red light, but again, delay performances did not differ between the two sample types. These results are discussed in terms of theoretical issues pertinent to timing, attention, and working memory.     

Global gender discourses in education: evidence from post-genocide Rwanda

This paper investigates global gender policy discourses within the education realm in post-genocide Rwanda. Drawing on interview data from students in seven secondary schools and Unterhalter’s gender framework (Unterhalter, Elaine. 2007. Gender, Schooling and Global Social Justice. New York, NY: Routledge), I analyse the extent global discourses are integrated into national education documents and how students understand global discourses around ‘gender equality’. I find that in national education policies and texts, discourses around gender equality are framed as a means to development, as a human right, and in relation to the past conflict rather than for the transformation of patriarchal structures. Similarly, students draw on themes from global policy discourse around development and rights but at the same time ‘re-gender’ this for a local context, propagating a public/private divide and cultural and biological stereotypes. Consequently, gendered hierarchies and biases persist in student attitudes. Findings carry important implications for the limitations of global gender policy discourses and the challenges of changing gender norms in a post-conflict context.     

Analyzing hierarchical relationships among modes of cognitive reasoning and integrated science process skills

The purpose of this research was to search for a learning hierarchy among skills comprising formal operations and the integrated science processes. Ordering theoretic and probabilistic latent structure methods were used to analyze data on five process skills and six logical thinking skills collected from 700 science students. Both linear and branching hierarchical relationships were identified within and across the two sets of skills. Most of them fit the logical hierarchies which have guided curriculum development and classroom practices in the past. But a few run counter to our present logic and understanding of these skills.     

The prevalence and seriousness of incestuous abuse: Stepfathers vs. biological fathers

Analysis of interviews obtained from a random sample of 930 adult women in San Francisco revealed that 17% or one out of approximately every six women who had a stepfather as a principal figure in her childhood years, was sexually abused by him. The comparable figures for biological fathers were 2% or one out of approximately 40 women. In addition, when a distinction was made between Very Serious Sexual Abuse (including experiences ranging from forced penile-vaginal penetration to non-forceful attempted fellatio, cunnilingus, and anal intercourse) and other less serious forms, 47% of the cases of sexual abuse by stepfathers were at the Very Serious level of violation compared with 26% by biological fathers. Possible explanations for these startling discrepancies are discussed, and some of the implications for remarriage are considered.     

Learning Multi‐unit Number Concepts and Understanding Decimal Place Value

Research indicates that many errors in secondary school mathematics can be attributed to lack of understanding of decimal place value. Recently it has been suggested that this arises from an underlying weakness in integer place value concepts and perception of multidigit numbers in unitary terms rather than base ten, multi‐unit structures. Development of place value and multidigit number concepts was examined in individual interviews with 262 primary school pupils, aged between 7 and 12 years, using subjects’ concrete representations of written numerals and associated verbal explanations. Almost all the children had some understanding of integer place value; most older children had multi‐unit concepts of three‐ or four‐digit numbers; but two‐digit numbers, especially values of 20 or less, were frequently perceived in terms of units by all age groups. This was particularly common for the value ten where 55% of subjects displayed unitary concepts. Implications for understanding and teaching decimal place value are discussed.