Depth of processing and the quality of learning outcomes

Problems associated with earlier research on the relationship between depth of processing and quality of learning outcomes are first discussed. Then I present an interview study with 60 second year tertiary students which supports the hypothesis that depth of processing is related to the quality of learning outcomes.     

The effects of isolation and handling on reactivity to footshock and tactile dorsal stimulation

The effects of isolation and handling on the reactivity of rats to two tactile stimuli were assessed in two experiments. In the first experiment, reactivity to more intense footshock was increased in rats raised in isolation but was not affected by handling by an experimenter. In the second experiment, increased reactivity to airpuff stimuli presented to the dorsal surface of isolation-reared rats was reduced by handling. The data suggest that the effects of handling on shock-motivated behaviors are not due to altered reactivity to shock and that the effect of housing or handling must be considered in behavioral tests in which reactivity to tactile stimulation might play a role as dependent or independent variables.     

Perceived efficacy of teachers in Macao and their alacrity to engage with inclusive education

ABSTRACT

This paper reports findings of a mixed methods study examining private school teachers’ perceptions of efficacy in dealing with the challenges presented by inclusive education in Macao. This is highly pertinent after the Government invited consultation to propose changes to amendments of the Decree Law of 1996 concerning the education of students with Special Education Needs (SEN) which will likely see private schools being required to accept these students in the future. Within the context of teacher preparedness for inclusive education, the study found that a number of teachers felt that they were not at all prepared to teach students with SEN. Whilst some teachers suggested that they lacked skills and knowledge in teaching in inclusive classrooms, some felt overwhelmed with the challenges. The teachers proposed that they would need to know how to provide instructional adaptations and modifications to support students with SEN. Implications for continuous development of teacher training and education are discussed within the context of improving teacher efficacy and how private school teachers could better respond to the challenges of inclusive education in Macao.     

Optimal Design for Two-Level Random Assignment and Regression Discontinuity Studies

An important concern when planning research studies is to obtain maximum precision of an estimate of a treatment effect given a budget constraint. When research designs have a multilevel or hierarchical structure changes in sample size at different levels of the design will impact precision differently. Furthermore, there will typically be differential costs of enrolling additional units at different levels of the hierarchy. The optimal design problem in multilevel research studies involves determining the optimal sample size at each level of the design given specified design parameters and a specified marginal cost of recruitment at each level. The current work extends existing results by considering optimal design for (a) unbalanced random assignment designs and (b) regression discontinuity designs.     

The perception of smiling and its experiential correlates in three-month-old infants

We studied individual differences in 3-month-olds' perceptions of smiling and the experiential correlates of those differences. In the laboratory, infants saw a graduated series of smiles that grew in intensity of expression. As a group, 3-month-olds preferred increasingly intense expressions of smiling, but individually they showed different growth rates of preference across the smiling series. Further, infants' preferences related to their home experiences: Infants who showed greater sensitivity to smiling had mothers who more frequently encouraged attention to themselves when they were smiling and their infants were looking at them. Infant discrimination within and between categories of facial expression and the relative strengths of association between different kinds of naturally occurring experiences and infant perceptual sensitivity are discussed.     

Are there constraints on learned responses to odors from rewarded and nonrewarded rats?

This study determined if test rats could utilize biological odors, generated from donor rats receiving reward (R) and frustrative nonreward (N) treatments, to predict reward and nonreward goal events equally well. In Phase 1, two groups of test rats were exposed to R and N odors that signaled, respectively, either R and N goal events (“same” condition) or N and R goal events (“opposite” condition). Rats demonstrated significant discriminative use of these odors under both conditions. Subjects in the “opposite” condition, however, were slightly slower to learn the discrimination. Reversal learning was readily accomplished in Phase 2, regardless of the same-opposite factor. Thus, little evidence for a constraint on learning was found, and an interpretation in terms of interfering response tendencies and their habituation seemed favored.     

Exploring the relationship between early childhood and elementary grade-level overlap and early childhood teacher output

This study explores the relationship between grade-level overlap between elementary education (ELED) and early childhood education (ECED) licenses and ECED teacher output. Analysis of Title 2 data indicates that ECED/ELED overlap is extensive, as evidenced by the number of states with grade-level overlaps of 5 (n = 2), 4 (n = 24), 3 (n = 10), and 2 years (n = 7). In the 47 states with both types of credentials, ELED licensees may teach preschool in two states, kindergarten in 30, first grade in 41, second grade in 42, and third grade in 43. The percentage of ECED (relative to ELED) teacher licensure program completers is low in states where elementary licenses begin in preschool (5%), kindergarten (14%), and Grade 1 (23%), but higher in states where elementary licenses begin in Grades 2 (45%), 3 (44%), and 4 (70%).