Acquiring Explicit Grammatical Knowledge Using the Spanish Verbs <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ser</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Estar</Emphasis> as Examples

The role of explicit and implicit acquisition of grammatical rules in second language learning was examined by assessing high school students performance after several years of study on the correct use of the Spanish verbs ser and estar. These two verbs are essentially equivalent in use to the English verb “to be,” but there is a complex set of statements that specifies when each is to be used. A 100-item two-choice test in which students from several different high schools receiving instruction in the explicit principles of these two Spanish verbs or receiving immersion training in which no instruction in their grammatical principles was given were examined for the following five factors: (a) general achievement level, (b) comparison of grade level achievement, (c) time allotted to complete the 100-item test, (d) grammatical instruction prior to taking the 100-item test, and (e) comparison of instructional methodology. The results indicated that students receiving explicit instruction in the rules of ser and estar beyond the first year of study achieved slightly higher scores, but that the level of achievement was considered to be poor. Differences between groups for the remaining factors were not significant. It was concluded that successful application of explicitly learned grammatical rules, such as the rules for ser and estar, may not be achievable in the time frame of a two-year high school foreign language course. Considerations regarding implicit and explicit acquisition of grammatical rules in second language learning were presented.     

Learning from people, things, and signs

Starting from the observation that small children can count more objects than numbers—a phenomenon that I am calling the “lifeworld dependency of cognition”—and an analysis of finger calculation, the paper shows how learning can be explained as the development of cognitive systems. Parts of those systems are not only an individual’s different forms of knowledge and cognitive abilities, but also other people, things, and signs. The paper argues that cognitive systems are first of all semiotic systems since they are dependent on signs and representations as mediators. The two main questions discussed here are how the external world constrains and promotes the development of cognitive abilities, and how we can move from cognitive abilities that are necessarily connected with concrete situations to abstract knowledge.

对中学生的人格建构与学校适应的相关分析

以乔治·凯利(George Kelley)的个人建构理论为基础,采用他发明的角色建构库测验,辅以学生学习适应性测验、压力应对测验并收集学生学习成绩,考察中学生人格建构复杂性与学校适应的关系,研究对象为从初一到高三的512名中学生。结果发现：(1) 中学生人格建构复杂性与学习成绩、学习适应性和压力应对存在显著相关。人格建构复杂性高的学生,学业成绩较好,适应学校生活的能力比较强;人格建构复杂性低的学生易采取“幻想”、“逃避”等消极压力应对方式。(2) 多元分析证明,在同时考虑到年级、性别、学习适应性和人格建构复杂性等因素时,人格建构复杂性对学习成绩的贡献大约为2.8%。(3) 中学生人格建构复杂性通过三种途径对学习成绩产生影响：其一,人格建构复杂性直接影响中学生的学习成绩;其二,以学习适应性为中介间接影响学习成绩;其三,以消极压力应对、学习适应性为中介变量,间接影响学习成绩     

知识差异和知识冲突对团队创新的影响

通过情景模拟实验比较了高低知识差异和有无知识冲突两个变量四个水平下的团队创新度。结果表明,知识差异和知识冲突存在着交互作用;当知识差异较小时,知识冲突对于团队创新度具有积极作用;当知识差异较大时,知识冲突所起的是一种震荡作用;当团队不存在知识冲突时,较高的知识差异对团队创新度具有积极作用;存在知识冲突时,高知识差异团队和低知识差异团队的创新度没有显著差异     

The developmental change of young pupils’ metacognitive ability in mathematics in relation to their cognitive abilities

Metacognition is a multidimensional construct with two main dimensions: knowledge about cognition and regulation of cognition. The present study aimed to model the development of young pupils’ metacognitive abilities in mathematics in relation to processing efficiency, working memory and mathematical performance. We developed instruments measuring pupils’ metacognitive ability, mathematical ability, working memory capacity, and processing efficiency, and administered them to 126 pupils (8–11 years old) three times, with breaks of 3–4 months between them. Dynamic modeling indicated that growth in each of the abilities is affected by the state of the others, especially the state of processing efficiency. Growth modeling was used to specify the nature of change in the main aspects of mind and the possible interrelations in the patterns of change in these aspects. The initial mathematical self-image was found to depend on the corresponding processing efficiency and its advancement to rely on the development of mathematical performance and the previous working memory ability.     

教师变量对小学生数学学习观影响的多层线性分析

32名小学数学教师与这些教师所教班级的1691名学生参与了本研究.两个测量工具评价了教师的数学学科知识与学科教学知识,对教师的55节数学课进行了录像;并按照学习任务的认知水平与课堂对话的特点进行了编码,采用问卷法测查了学生对数学学习的看法与态度.多水平分析表明:教师的学科教学知识、课堂学习任务的认知水平、课堂师生对话的权威来源与教师运用学生想法的程度对学生数学学习观具有显著预测作用;教师的学科知识对学生数学学习观的预测未达到显著性水平.     

8 OOO名河北青少年预防艾滋病基本知识掌握情况调查与分析

对8000名河北青少年进行问卷调查,表明大部分青少年对艾滋病的传播途径、预防等知识有所了解,也有一定数量的青少年对艾滋病基本知识的了解不够全面和准确.今后的艾滋病预防宣传教育需要在广度、深度上加强,注重知识性、影响性和实效性,在宣传教育上注重社会、学校、家庭教育的结合.     

Apes know that hidden objects can affect the orientation of other objects

Four bonobos, seven gorillas, and six orangutans were presented with two small rectangular boards on a platform. One of the boards had a piece of food under it so that it acquired an inclined orientation whereas the other remained flat on the platform. Subjects preferentially selected the inclined board. In another experiment, subjects were initially presented with two inclined boards and a transformation took place in which one of the boards fell flat to the platform while the other remained inclined. Subjects also preferred the board that remained inclined. Two additional experiments highlighted some of the possible limitations of their reasoning in this task. Presented with two inclined boards, one of which was visibly supported by a piece of wood, they failed to systematically select the unsupported one whose only reason for being inclined was the presence of the reward. Another experiment presented two rewards in each trial (instead of the customary one) in one of the following two combinations: large banana vs. small carrot or small banana vs. large carrot. Prior to the test, E presented both rewards to the subject and then hid each of them under one of the boards so that both boards were differentially inclined due to the different sizes of the rewards involved. Although subjects selected the board that showed a greater inclination (thus securing the larger reward), they disregarded the type of food that was involved. This often meant that they chose the large carrot over the small banana even though they reversed such a choice when the rewards were not occluded by the boards. Providing subjects with a 'reminder' of the type of reward hidden under the boards did not alter the original results. There was no evidence of learning throughout the various experiments and control tests ruled out the possibility of inadvertent cuing by the experimenter, poor performance due to a lack of motivation, or good performance due to a predisposition to select objects with sloped surfaces. It is concluded that subjects made some inferences about the reason for the inclined orientation of the boards, and not simply associated an inclined orientation with the presence of the reward.     

Relation between self‐knowledge reference and self‐monitoring of emotional state1

Abstract: We used a task facilitation paradigm to examine whether self‐knowledge reference and self‐monitoring have a functional relationship. Eighteen participants performed a series of tasks: self‐knowledge reference, evaluation, self‐monitoring, and semantic. Responses on the self‐knowledge reference task were faster when the previous task was self‐monitoring rather than semantic. However, responses on the self‐monitoring task were similar regardless of whether it was preceded by the self‐knowledge reference task or the evaluation task. Our results suggest that self‐monitoring induces self‐knowledge reference.     

Phonological awareness and the use of phonological similarity in letter-sound learning

The effects of the phonological similarity between a letter sound and the sound in a spoken word, and phonological awareness on letter-sound learning were examined. Two groups of 41 kindergartners were taught four letter sounds. First, both groups had to learn the associations between four symbols and four familiar words. Next, both groups were taught the letter sounds that were paired to these same symbols. Each letter sound corresponded to the first sound of the word that was previously associated with that symbol in the phonological similarity group, whereas such a relation was absent in the other group. In addition, measures of vocabulary, letter knowledge, and phonological awareness were administered. Phonological similarity facilitated letter-sound learning. Individual differences in phonological awareness had a strong effect on letter-sound learning even after current letter knowledge was controlled. Unexpectedly, the effects of phonological awareness and the ability to use phonological similarity on letter-sound learning were found to be independent.