Positive and negative contrast effects obtained following shifts in liquid sucrose reward in thirsty rats

In a repeated shifts experiment four independent groups of thirsty rats received the following treatments: LSLS, LLLS, SSLS, and SSSS, with each letter denoting the magnitude (large or small) of sucrose reward received in each of the four phases of the experiment. While no negative contrast effect (NCE) was obtained in Phase 2, a very reliable positive contrast effect (PCE) was found in Phase 3. Moreover, a significant NCE was obtained in Phase 4. The results were explained in terms of the relative rather than absolute effects of reinforcement.     

Teacher Factors and Special Class Referral Decisions

Using questionnaire data an examination was made of the personal and professional characteristics of 127 regular class (Grade 2‐5) teachers, all of whom had a child in their class whom they believed to be mildly retarded and not coping academically as well as socially in school. Of this group, 53 had referred the child to school psychological services while the remainder had not done so at the time of the study. A set of 28 variables derived from the questionnaire data was subjected to multiple regression analysis in order to examine the predictability of teachers’ referral decisions. Nine significant predictors were identified which together accounted for 35 percent of the variation in referral decisions. Inter‐group contrasts on these measures revealed that referring teachers were more likely to have made previous referrals, had better access to psychologists, were more confident of their ability to identify children who would qualify for special class admission, believed their school policy to b e more encouraging of referrals, were more likely to have made use of special programs, and received more frequent visits from psychologists. Results are discussed in terms of identifying “unserved mildly retarded” children in regular classes.     

Understanding "prior intentions" enables two-year-olds to imitatively learn a complex task

This study investigated children's understanding of others' intentions in a social learning context. Specifically, it investigated whether knowing an adult's prior intention before the adult gives a demonstration influences what children learn from the demonstration. In the five main experimental conditions, ninety-six 2-year-old children watched as an experimenter (E) pulled out a pin and opened the door of a box. Children in two No Prior Intention conditions saw this demonstration alone or paired with an irrelevant action. Children in three Prior Intention conditions knew what E was trying to do before the demonstration: they first saw E either attempt unsuccessfully to open the door, or visit and open several other containers, or they first saw that the door opened. Children opened the box themselves more often in each of these three conditions than in the two No Prior Intention conditions, even though children in all five conditions saw the exact same demonstration of how to open the box.     

Stepping stones to others' minds: maternal talk relates to child mental state language and emotion understanding at 15, 24, and 33 months

This continuation of a previous study (Taumoepeau & Ruffman, 2006) examined the longitudinal relation between maternal mental state talk to 15- and 24-month-olds and their later mental state language and emotion understanding (N= 74). The previous study found that maternal talk about the child's desires to 15-month-old children uniquely predicted children's mental state language and emotion task performance at 24 months. In the present study, at 24 months of age, mothers' reference to others' thoughts and knowledge was the most consistent predictor of children's later mental state language at 33 months. Vygotsky's zone of proximal development provides a framework within which maternal talk, first, about the child's desires and then about others' thoughts and knowledge scaffolds children's social understanding.     

Inquiry into Children's Mathematical Thinking as a Means to Teacher Change

In the context of U.S. and world wide educational reforms that require teachers to understand and respond to student thinking about mathematics in new ways, ongoing learning from practice is a necessity. In this paper we report on this process for one teacher in one especially productive year of learning. This case study documents how Ms. Statz's engagement with children's thinking changed dramatically in a period of only a few months; observations and interviews several years later confirm she sustained this change. Our analysis focuses on the mathematical discussions she had with her students, and suggests this talk with children about their thinking in instruction served both as an index of change, and, in combination with other factors, as a mechanism for change. We identified four phases in Ms. Statz's growth toward practical inquiry, distinguished by her use of interactive talk with children. Motivating the evolution of phases were two sorts of mechanisms: scaffolded examination of her students' thinking; and asking and answering questions about individual students' thinking. Processes for generating and testing knowledge about children's thinking ultimately became integrated into Ms. Statz's instructional practices as she created opportunities for herself, and then students, to hear and respond to children's thinking.     

Contexts for Remedial Reading: Practice Reading and Pause,Prompt and Praise tutoring

Abstract Fourteen residential childcare workers were trained to implement both a Practice Reading and the Pause, Prompt and Praise remedial reading procedures in school and cottage settings with 18 low‐progress readers of primary school age. Pause, Prompt and Praise procedures were introduced in each setting only if readers made insufficient progress with Practice Reading alone. Childcare workers displayed major change in their tutoring behaviour between baseline (untrained tutoring) conditions and trained tutoring conditions (Practice Reading or Pause, Prompt and Praise). Readers who received a six week programme of individual reading assistance made significant gains on standardised tests of reading accuracy and comprehension and made accelerated progress through graded book levels, while children in the comparison group did not. Results are discussed in terms of the interactive social contexts provided by the two procedures and of the opportunities for reciprocal gains in skill between readers and tutors with the Pause, Prompt and Praise procedures.     

Performance Management for Teachers: Headteachers' perspectives

For the first time, the performance of teachers in England and Wales is being directly linked to their pay. This article traces the introduction and implementation of one strand of the UK government's performance-related pay strategy, Performance Management, from the perspective of 12 primary and secondary headteachers of schools located in three different regions of England. The empirical data gathered by the Teachers' Incentive Pay Project team, based at the University of Exeter, suggested while heads may not be against performance-related pay in principle, its practical application is seen as fraught with difficulties. The lack of guidance and clarification regarding funding arrangements, the absence of nationally agreed criteria for judging whether post-Threshold teachers should progress up the upper pay scale, and the potential divisiveness, if it is not effectively implemented, of the scheme in a culture that depends on co-operation and collaboration, meant that heads were anticipating the implementation of the link between pay and performance with some trepidation.