PREACTIVATION OF INHIBITORY CONTROL MECHANISMS HINDERS INTUITIVE REASONING

Many students encounter difficulties in science and mathematics. Earlier research suggested that although intuitions are often needed to gain new ideas and concepts and to solve problems in science and mathematics, some of students’ difficulties could stem from the interference of intuitive reasoning. The literature suggests that overcoming intuitive interference is associated with the activation of inhibitory control mechanisms. The goal of the current study was to find out whether indeed the reasoning processes associated with overcoming intuitive interference are different from the ones related to answering correctly in line with the intuition. To do so, we focused on the comparison-of-perimeters of geometrical shapes task that triggers intuitive responses and applied the prime–probe paradigm. High school students were presented with pairs of congruent and incongruent trials of different combinations. The findings showed that previous trial congruity affects response times of the probe. When congruent trials followed incongruent prime, an increase in response time was observed as compared with congruent trials that followed congruent ones, and vice versa. In addition, when congruent trials followed incongruent-equal prime, not only did response time increase but accuracy significantly dropped as well. The current study supports the suggestion that inhibitory control mechanisms play a key role in overcoming intuitive interference, even in adolescence, and points to the importance of enhancing students’ inhibitory control mechanisms.     

Validity Evidence of an Electronic Portfolio for Preservice Teachers

This study applied Messick's unified, multifaceted concept of construct validity to an electronic portfolio system used in a teacher education program. The subjects included 128 preservice teachers who recently completed their final portfolio reviews and student teaching experiences. Four of Messick's six facets of validity were investigated for the portfolio in this study, along with a discussion of the remaining facets examined in two previous studies. The evidence provided support for the substantive and generalizability aspects of validity, and limited support for the content, structural, external, and consequential aspects of validity. It was suggested that the electronic portfolio may be used as one requirement for certification purposes, but may not be valid for the purpose of assessing teacher competencies .     

Research and scholarship: Perceptions of senior academic administrators

This paper reports selected findings from the first stage of a study on the research role within academic work in Australian universities. These findings come from the interview component of the study and discuss the perceptions that senior academic administrators hold on research and scholarship. The analysis of the interviews indicates that research covers a wide and varied range of activities across the disciplines found in a university and therefore needs to be defined broadly. However, research has three major attributes: new knowledge, enquiry and publication of results and views. Scholarship was perceived to be part of the research process, providing the context for good research by adding the element of breadth to the depth of research. In addition, scholarship describes the manner of pursuing a serious, sustained line of enquiry as well as the dissemination process.     

Effects of Dialect on American and British Children's Spelling

Two experiments were carried out to compare the spelling of children who speak General American English and children who speak Southern British English. The first dialect is rhotic (/r/may occur after a vowel in a syllable), and the second is nonrhotic (/r/may not occur in this context). Young children's spelling errors reflected the characteristics of their dialect. For example, American children with spelling ages of about 6–7½ often misspelled hurt as "hrt" whereas British children of similar spelling levels were more likely to misspell it as "hut." Such errors were uncommon by spelling ages of greater than 7½. Even at these spelling ages, however, the British children made overgeneralization errors that reflected their dialect. For example, they sometimes spelled bath as "barth" based on the fact that bath contains the same vowel sound as card in their dialect. The results show that phonology plays an important role in children's spelling development.     

Intuitive rules: A way to explain and predict students' reasoning

Through our work in mathematics and science education we have observed that students react similarly to a wide variety of conceptually unrelated situations. Our work suggests that many responses which the literature describes as alternative conceptions could be interpreted as evolving from common, intuitive rules. This paper describes and discusses one such rule, manifested when two systems are equal with respect to a certain quantity A but differ in another quantity B. We found that in such situations, students often argue that Same amount of A implies same amount of B. Our claim is that such responses are specific instances of the intuitive rule Same A—same B. This approach explains common sources for students'; conceptions and has strong predictive power.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Look out! ‘Looked after’! Look here! Supporting ‘looked after’ and adopted children in the primary classroom

The focus of this article is on children who are ‘looked after’ or adopted. Specifically it explores some of the possible effects of early life traumas and insecure attachments on brain development and subsequent learning in primary school. The article draws on a range of research which helps to outline possible difficulties which these children may encounter, and behaviours which they may display. The article is not intended in any way to label these children within a deficit model, but to help those involved in their education to gain greater insight into the possible causes of their differences. The article examines how brain development may be influenced by early life trauma, how children who have been ‘looked after’ or adopted often have difficulties with forming and sustaining relationships with peers and adults and how issues related to self-esteem and learning behaviours and skills can be supported in the classroom. Furthermore, it identifies the importance of considering the special needs’ framework for these children and how a range of multi-professional support may be essential.