Classroom environments that foster a disposition for critical thinking

In this article, we examine the disposition for critical thinking (CT) from three perspectives and analyse the underlying constructs of the disposition for CT, such as one’s ability, sensitivity and inclination to engage in critical, mindful thought. Environmental factors that enhance or inhibit the development of a generalisable disposition for critical thought are discussed. Finally, we present a set of empirically-verified classroom practices that can help to foster a disposition for CT.     

Two components of responding in Pavlovian lick suppression

The present research examined the temporal distribution of responding in a lick suppression paradigm. In Experiment 1, rats were trained with either a 30- or a 120-s conditioned stimulus (CS), which was followed either by a footshock (unconditioned stimulus [US]) or nothing. Licking during the CS was suppressed only in the former condition. Suppression was more pronounced early in the CS. In Experiment 2, rats were exposed to two 30-s or two 120-s CSs, with delivery of the shock being contingent on CS1 for half of the animals and on CS2 for the other half. For both the paired and the unpaired conditions, suppression at the beginning of CS1 was observed for all the groups. By discounting the possibility of generalization between CS1 and CS2, it appears that this initial suppression was not a conditioned response to the CS, but an unconditioned one due to mere exposure to the shock US.     

Potentiation and overshadowing between landmarks and environmental geometric cues

Rats were required in three experiments to find one of two submerged platforms that were situated in the same pair of diagonally opposite corners of a rectangular grey swimming pool. The experimental groups were trained with landmarks, comprising A4 cards attached to the walls, located in the corners containing the platforms. For the control groups, the landmarks were situated in the corners containing the platforms for half of the trials, and in the other corners for the remaining trials. Learning about the positions of the platforms with reference to the shape of the pool was overshadowed in the experimental groups when the landmarks were white, and enhanced when the landmarks were black. A fourth experiment assessed whether geometric cues influenced the control acquired by the landmarks. As in the previous experiments, the presence of the geometric cues overshadowed learning about the landmarks when they were white, but enhanced learning when the landmarks were black.     

Some determinants of second-order conditioning

In a Pavlovian conditioning situation, an initially neutral stimulus may be made excitatory by nonreinforced presentations in compound with an established conditioned excitor [i.e., second-order conditioning (SOC)]. The established excitor may be either a punctate cue or the training context. In four conditioned suppression experiments using rats, we investigated whether SOC phenomena parallel other cue interaction effects. In Experiment 1, we found that the response potential of a target stimulus was directly related to the intertrial interval when SOC was mediated by a punctate cue, and inversely related to the intertrial interval when SOC was mediated by the training context. Experiment 2 demonstrated that punctate- and context-mediated SOC are oppositely affected by posttraining context extinction, and Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrated that context- and punctate-mediated SOC are differentially affected by conditioned stimulus (Experiment 3) and unconditioned stimulus (Experiment 4) preexposure treatments. These findings parallel phenomena in conditioned inhibition and cue competition situations.     

Public school size and Hispanic student achievement in Texas: a 5-year analysis

In this study, the researchers examined 5 years of Texas statewide data concerning elementary school size and Hispanic student performance on three state-mandated assessments in reading, mathematics, and writing. For each year of data analyzed here, student data from more than 1,200 elementary schools. After collapsing elementary schools into three sizes (i.e., very small <400 students; small 400–799 students; and large 800–1,199 students), multivariate statistical procedures revealed the presence of statistically significant differences in Hispanic student performance in reading, mathematics, and writing across all 5 years of data analyzed. In almost every analysis, Hispanic students in large elementary schools outperformed Hispanic students in very small elementary schools in reading, mathematics, and in writing. As such, our findings are in disagreement with other studies. Implications are discussed.     

Facing multiculturalism’s challenges in Korean education and society

Multicultural policy in South Korea faces variants of challenges endemic to multiculturalism. These challenges are “dilemmas of difference,” “variable terms of inclusion,” and “legitimacy.” In Korea, these challenges arise in a setting in which ethnic diversity is of relatively recent origin, an ideology of ethnic homogeneity is prevalent, and official multicultural policy is limited in its reach to those who are designated as “multicultural families,” that is families in which one spouse is Korean and the other an immigrant, usually the wife, and their offspring. The exclusion of migrant workers and their families from Korea’s multicultural framework poses a core contradiction in Korean multicultural policies. This contradiction must be resolved if multiculturalism in education and other spheres is to promote equality and provide a foundation for national integration on terms that are equitable to the diverse constituents of Korean society. Inevitably, this will require a redefinition of what it means to “be Korean.” Even if multicultural policies fall short in their immediate effects on those toward whom they are directed, multiculturalism represents a significant shift in the discourse of Korean identity and will be terrain on which the status of diverse groups in Korea will be contested.     

Computers in Artificial Intelligence Education

Both the origin and development of artificial intelligence (AI) are connected with the origin and development of computers. Computers play a very important role in engineering education. AI influences such disciplines like CAD, CASE, CAE, and others. The specific experience concerning AI education at a technical university has been gathered in this paper. There is stressed need of good balance between theoretical background and individual training with computers as well as importance of personal experience in solving practical AI.