Problem analysis: Examining the selection and evaluation of data during problem‐solving consultation

The purpose of this study was to analyze how school psychologists engaged in problem analysis during problem‐solving consultation. Five aspects of the problem analysis process were examined: 1) the types of questions participants asked during problem identification, 2) the types of data participants requested, 3) the frequency of requests for each type of data, 4) the use of multiple methods and sources of data across multiple domains, and 5) the criteria used to interpret the data. Four school psychologists were recruited to each complete three fictional consultation cases within a computer‐simulated environment. A qualitative case study method was used. The results of this study revealed how school psychologists used theory, a multidimensional assessment framework, and self‐referent data to analyze a problem. Implications for future research are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Short-term memory for haptic cues in monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

Short-term memory (STM) for haptic information was examined in a delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) task. Three rhesus monkeys were tested in DMTS with all possible combinations of different-size spheres and cubes as the sample and comparison stimuli. The results showed that the decrease in percentage correct as a function of the retention intervals was relatively independent of the size and shape of the sample and comparison stimuli. In general, at each retention interval, percentage correct was higher when the (1) comparison stimuli differed in both size and shape than when the comparison stimuli differed in only size or shape, (2) size differences between the comparison stimuli increased, and (3) samples were spheres rather than cubes. This pattern of results suggests that dimensions of the haptic stimuli influenced discrimination but had little effect on the animals’ STM. In Experiment 2, the same three monkeys responded to the sample and comparison stimuli with the same hand or responded to the sample with one hand and the comparison stimuli with the opposite hand. The decrease in percentage correct across retention intervals was comparable for all possible hand combinations. These results suggest that the loss of information from STM is comparable when the sample and comparison stimuli are both felt with the same hand or with opposite hands.     

Teacher awareness of student alternate conceptions about rotational motion and gravity

Twenty high school physics teachers were interviewed to determine their awareness of student alternate conceptions in the areas of force and gravity. The teachers were also asked to indicate preferred teaching strategies dealing with alternate conceptions. Teacher predictions of student responses were compared to alternate conceptions held by 315 grade-nine students and published findings from other research studies. Edmonton students were found to possess nearly every alternate conception identified in previous research, in similar proportions. A few previously undocumented alternate conceptions were also identified. At times, students were observed to arrive at the currently acceptable conclusion by using alternate conceptions. The high school physics teachers, as a group, identified nearly all the alternate conceptions used by the students. However, individual teachers were generally aware of only a few alternate conceptions, with fully one third of them possessing alternate conceptions themselves in one or more of the tasks. The teachers were also unable to predict with any accuracy the different types of student responses or the proportion of students choosing each alternative. The teaching strategies outlined by the teachers would be considered only partially effective according to current research findings.