The effects of informational complexity and working memory on problem-solving efficiency     

Bobby Hoffman  Matthew T. McCrudden  Gregory Schraw  Kendall Hartley 《Asia Pacific Education Review》2008,9(4):464-474

This study investigated the influence of informational complexity and working memory capacity on problem-solving efficiency. We examined two predictions of thesituational efficiency hypothesis, which states that the efficiency of problem solving varies as a function of situational constraints. One prediction is that informational complexity affects problem-solving efficiency. A second prediction is that working memory capacity affects problem-solving efficiency. Students completed a working memory task and solved abstract and concrete syllogisms. Participants solved abstract syllogisms more accurately than concrete syllogisms and spent more time solving abstract syllogisms. Thus participants demonstrated greater problem-solving efficiency when solving concrete syllogisms. Results indicate that there is a trade-off between problem-solving accuracy and problem-solving time when information differs with respect to informational complexity, a phenomenon we refer to as theefficiency paradox. Working memory capacity did not affect accuracy or efficiency. The results support the conclusion that problem-solving efficiency is situational and a function of the complexity of information. Educational implications and directions for future research are suggested.  相似文献   

Pupillary and Attentional Responses to Infant Facial Expressions in Mothers Across Socioeconomic Variations     

Santeri Yrttiaho  Belinda Bruwer  Heather J. Zar  Kirsten A Donald  Susan Malcolm-Smith  Lee Ginton  Nadia Hoffman  Eileen Vuong  Dana Niehaus  Jukka M. Leppänen  Dan J. Stein 《Child development》2021,92(3):e236-e251

Maternal responses to infant facial expressions were examined in two socioeconomically diverse samples of South African mothers (Study I, N = 111; and Study II, N = 214; age: 17–44 years) using pupil and gaze tracking. Study I showed increased pupil response to infant distress expressions in groups recruited from private as compared to public maternity clinics, possibly reflecting underlying differences in socioeconomic status (SES) across the groups. Study II, sampling uniformly low-SES neighborhoods, found increased pupil dilation and faster orientation to expressions of infant distress, but only in the highest income group. These results are consistent with maternal physiological and attentional sensitivity to infant distress cues but challenge the universality of this sensitivity across socioeconomic diversity.  相似文献   

Superintendents' Perceptions of 1:1 Initiative Implementation and Sustainability     

Bobby Virgil Cole  Nicholas J. Sauers 《Journal of Research on Technology in Education》2018,50(3):200-213

One of the fastest growing, most discussed, and most expensive technology initiatives over the last decade has been one-to-one (1:1) computing initiatives. The purpose of this study was to examine key factors that influenced implementing and sustaining 1:1 computing initiatives from the perspective of school superintendents. Nine superintendents of established 1:1 programs were interviewed, and findings identified five themes for successful implementation and sustainability of 1:1 initiatives. (Keywords: 1:1 schools, school technology leadership, 1:1 implementation)  相似文献   

Effects of group rearing on the control exerted by an imprinting stimulus     

Stephen J. Gaioni  Peter DePaulo  Howard S. Hoffman 《Learning & behavior》1980,8(4):673-678

Prior research suggests that group rearing may attenuate a young bird’s tendency to approach and follow an imprinting stimulus. The present work examined the effect of group rearing on a different measure of attachment, suppression by the imprinting stimulus of distress calling induced by abrupt reductions in group size. In Experiment 1, ducklings were reared in groups of 12 or 3 over Days 1–6 posthatch, and each group received a total of 3.5 h of exposure to an imprinting stimulus. Subsequent tests revealed that, when the groups of ducklings were separated into smaller subgroups: (1) the fewer the ducklings in a subgroup, the more distress calls emitted; (2) a given number of birds separated from a larger group emitted more distress calls than an equal number from a smaller group; and (3) regardless of the subgroup size, fewer distress calls occurred when the imprinting stimulus was present than when it was absent. A second experiment revealed that when a group of 12 birds was first confronted with an imprinting stimulus on Day 6 posthatch, they reacted with an increase in distress calling and corner huddling (an aversive reaction). After several hours of exposure to the stimulus, however, its presence exerted a powerful suppressive effect on distress calling. It is concluded that the social bonds between the members of a brood do not preclude the formation of a social attachment to an imprinting stimulus subsequently encountered.  相似文献   

Acquisition of behavioral control by the auditory features of an imprinting object     

Leonard A. Eiserer  Howard S. Hoffman 《Learning & behavior》1974,2(4):275-277

Presentations of a visible moving object immediately suppressed ongoing distress vocalization in newly hatched ducklings, but presentations of only the auditory features of the object initially had no effect. However, as the ducklings received more and more exposure to the visible moving object, the object’s auditory features gradually acquired the ability to suppress distress calls themselves. These auditory features failed to develop suppressive properties in ducklings which received prolonged exposure to those features but never saw the object in motion. The gradual acquisition of behavioral control by the auditory features of a moving object is taken to represent the essence of the imprinting process.  相似文献   

Educational Reform in Russia and the USA: where are the troops?     

Hugh D. Hudson Jr  Alan J. Hoffman 《Educational studies》1993,19(3):255-265

To determine the level of support that differing concepts of educational reform had among the actual practitioners of public education in the former Soviet Union and the USA, a sample of teachers was surveyed to measure the value they placed on divergent educational goal statements as well as their respective philosophical orientations. This study found that US teachers were most committed to educational goals related to basic skills development and critical thinking and least supportive of goals related to creativity and enculturation; Russian teachers on the other hand were most supportive of interpersonal understanding and human relations, moral and ethical well‐being, and critical thinking, and least supportive of the goal related to citizenship and civic responsibility. With regard to educational philosophical orientation, US teachers were divided between maintaining order and stability, developing individual interests and abilities, and improving society. Russian teachers were more united in their belief that the purpose of education is to develop individual interests and abilities, with a significant minority selecting the ‘transforming society’ orientation.  相似文献   

MicroObservatory Net: A Network of Automated Remote Telescopes Dedicated to Educational Use     

Philip M. Sadler  Roy R. Gould  P. Steven Leiker  Paul R. A. Antonucci  Robert Kimberk  Freeman S. Deutsch  Beth Hoffman  Mary Dussault  Adam Contos  Kenneth Brecher  Linda French 《Journal of Science Education and Technology》2001,10(1):39-55

Many students have a deep interest in astronomy, but a limited opportunity to use telescopes to explore the heavens. The MicroObservatory Network of automated telescopes is designed to provide access to classroom teachers who wish their students to conduct projects over the World Wide Web. The intuitive interface makes it easy for even 10-year-olds to take pictures. Telescopes can be remotely pointed and focused: filters, field of view, and exposure times can be changed easily. Images are archived at the website, along with sample challenges and a user bulletin board, all of which encourage collaboration among schools. Wide geographic separation of instruments provides access to distant night skies during local daytime. Since first light in 1995, we have learned much about remote troubleshooting, designing for unattended use, and for acquiring the kinds of images that students desire. This network can be scaled up from its present capability of 240,000 images each year to provide telescope access for all US students with an interest in astronomy. Our WWW address is http://mo-www.harvard.edu/MicroObservatory/  相似文献   

The Career Potential of Migrant Scholars: A Multiple Case Study of Long‐Term Academic Mobility in Finnish Universities     

David M. Hoffman 《Higher Education in Europe》2007,32(4):317-331

This multiple case study features interviews with forty‐two migrant scholars, from twenty‐seven countries, in five Finnish universities. In Finland, an aging, culturally homogeneous population is experiencing a rapidly transforming labour force and uncertainties about migration dynamics. This analysis illuminates a surprising degree of stratification, in a society normally associated with the absence of stratification. The framework presented in this study draws on higher education theory to highlight tensions between societal expectations of equity, in an age of global academic capitalism. The implications for stakeholders center on assessing higher education's capacity for explaining change within higher education, as well as society.  相似文献   

The rhythmic structure of mother-infant interaction in term and preterm infants   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

B M Lester  J Hoffman  T B Brazelton 《Child development》1985,56(1):15-27

The purpose of this study was to quantify social interaction rhythms in 3- and 5-month-old term and preterm infants and their mothers. Infant-mother dyads were videotaped in a 3-min face-to-face paradigm. For each second of the interaction, separate scores were assigned to infant and mother indicating levels of affective involvement, creating 2 180-sec time series. Spectral and cross-spectral techniques were used to quantify periodicities in each member of the dyad and to estimate the synchrony or coherence of interactional rhythms between each infant and mother. Results showed the existence of periodicities in the behavior of each infant and mother at 3 and 5 months, with most subjects showing spectral peaks between .022 and .10 Hz. Increases from 3 to 5 months in behavioral periodicities were found for infants and mothers as well as for the coherence between infant-mother dyads. Term dyads showed higher coherence than preterm dyads at both 3 and 5 months. Term infants more often led the interaction at both ages. These results were taken as evidence that behavioral periodicities, which may be biologically based, underlie early mother-infant interaction and provide a temporal structure for the organization of cognitive and affective experience. Differences in synchrony between term and preterm infants may explain later reported differences in language between these groups.  相似文献   

Unwanted and illegal sexual experiences in childhood and adolescence     

Nancy D. KelloggThomas J. Hoffman 《Child abuse & neglect》1995,19(12)

Three hundred forty-two anonymous surveys regarding unwanted sexual experiences (USE) were filled out in three clinic sites: a pediatric sexual abuse clinic, family practice clinic, and family planning clinic. In the latter two clinics, 40% of females and 16% of males had at least one unwanted sexual experience prior to turning 18 years old. Only 91% of the sexual abuse clinic patients indicated their experience was unwanted. In addition, 27% of the subjects had wanted sexual experiences that were illegal and underreported: These experiences involved a partner at least 4 years older or younger. While feelings of victimization were most common, self-blame and naivete about the abuse were also frequently reported, especially in those who had an USE with a peer. Ambivalence, self-blame, and peer pressure were associated with a lower tendency to disclose one's USE. Although unwanted and illegal sexual experiences were less common in Hispanic females, feelings of self-blame and ambivalence regarding their USE were more frequent in comparison with White females. These findings have important investigative and therapeutic implications for professionals who encounter victims of sexual abuse.  相似文献