Cognitive Apartheid: On the Manner in Which High School Students Understand Evolution without Believing in Evolution

High school science students are often unwilling to learn about evolution due to a perceived conflict with their religious beliefs. Other students are able to understand evolution despite the fact that they do not believe in evolution. According to Cobern (Sci Educ 80:579?C610, 1996), students can wall off that which is believed from that which is not believed in a process he called cognitive apartheid. A mixed-methods study was conducted to determine the extent to which understanding of evolution differed among high school Advanced Placement science students who did and did not believe in evolution. Two students who demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of evolution despite their admonition that they do not believe in evolution were then interviewed. Eight themes emerged from the interview that provide insight into the views of students learning of evolution despite the fact that they do not believe in evolution. Based on these themes, several implications for the teaching of evolution are presented.     

Traditional versus computer-based dissections inenhancing learning in a tertiary setting: a student perspective

This paper describes a study investigating both the use and usefulness of laboratory dissections and computer-based dissections, in a tertiary, first-year human biology course. In addition student attitudes to dissection were investigated. Data were collected from enrolled students using quantitative and qualitative survey instruments. Students were questioned about their usage and perceptions of the usefulness of there sources provided, and their attitudes towards the use of dissections for learning in human biology.

The real dissection was used as a learning resource by 80% of the student cohort while only 15% used the computer-based dissection material. In addition 5% of students reported that they did not use either the realdissection material or the computer-based dissection. Of those students who did use the computer-based dissection, two thirds of them found it useful for learning both structure and function of body systems. Of those students who used the real dissection, 72% found it useful for learning structure but only 62% found that it helped in learning function. Of the entire cohort surveyed, 90% agreed that biology students should dissect ananimal to help learn about anatomy. These outcomes reinforce the need to offer a variety of learning experiences that target different styles of learning.     

Grounding word learning in space

Humans and objects, and thus social interactions about objects, exist within space. Words direct listeners' attention to specific regions of space. Thus, a strong correspondence exists between where one looks, one's bodily orientation, and what one sees. This leads to further correspondence with what one remembers. Here, we present data suggesting that children use associations between space and objects and space and words to link words and objects--space binds labels to their referents. We tested this claim in four experiments, showing that the spatial consistency of where objects are presented affects children's word learning. Next, we demonstrate that a process model that grounds word learning in the known neural dynamics of spatial attention, spatial memory, and associative learning can capture the suite of results reported here. This model also predicts that space is special, a prediction supported in a fifth experiment that shows children do not use color as a cue to bind words and objects. In a final experiment, we ask whether spatial consistency affects word learning in naturalistic word learning contexts. Children of parents who spontaneously keep objects in a consistent spatial location during naming interactions learn words more effectively. Together, the model and data show that space is a powerful tool that can effectively ground word learning in social contexts.     

Too much teaching, not enough learning: what is the solution?

The curriculum is packed with so much content that teachers resort to telling students what they know and students simply commit facts to memory. The packed curriculum leaves little time for students to acquire a deep understanding of the subject or to develop life-long skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication. However, learning is not committing a set of facts to memory, but the ability to use resources to find, evaluate, and apply information. This paper addresses these concerns by discussing "how we learn" and reviewing the literature on what works to improve learning. It is clear that active processing of information, not passive reception of information, leads to learning. That is, students must construct their own understanding of concepts, relationships, and procedures. Teachers can encourage this process by carefully considering the type and organization of information as well as instructional strategies. Specifically, teachers should reduce the total amount of factual information students are expected to memorize, reduce our use of the passive lecture format, and devote much more effort to helping students become active, independent learners and problem solvers. Collaborative learning activities, interactive models, educational games, and establishing a culture of inquiry/scholarship are critical for achieving these goals.     

Observing the observer (II): deciding when to decide

In a companion paper [1], we have presented a generic approach for inferring how subjects make optimal decisions under uncertainty. From a Bayesian decision theoretic perspective, uncertain representations correspond to "posterior" beliefs, which result from integrating (sensory) information with subjective "prior" beliefs. Preferences and goals are encoded through a "loss" (or "utility") function, which measures the cost incurred by making any admissible decision for any given (hidden or unknown) state of the world. By assuming that subjects make optimal decisions on the basis of updated (posterior) beliefs and utility (loss) functions, one can evaluate the likelihood of observed behaviour. In this paper, we describe a concrete implementation of this meta-Bayesian approach (i.e. a Bayesian treatment of Bayesian decision theoretic predictions) and demonstrate its utility by applying it to both simulated and empirical reaction time data from an associative learning task. Here, inter-trial variability in reaction times is modelled as reflecting the dynamics of the subjects' internal recognition process, i.e. the updating of representations (posterior densities) of hidden states over trials while subjects learn probabilistic audio-visual associations. We use this paradigm to demonstrate that our meta-Bayesian framework allows for (i) probabilistic inference on the dynamics of the subject's representation of environmental states, and for (ii) model selection to disambiguate between alternative preferences (loss functions) human subjects could employ when dealing with trade-offs, such as between speed and accuracy. Finally, we illustrate how our approach can be used to quantify subjective beliefs and preferences that underlie inter-individual differences in behaviour.     

Learning outcomes and student-perceived value of clay modeling and cat dissection in undergraduate human anatomy and physiology

Alternatives and/or supplements to animal dissection are being explored by educators of human anatomy at different academic levels. Clay modeling is one such alternative that provides a kinesthetic, three-dimensional, constructive, and sensory approach to learning human anatomy. The present study compared two laboratory techniques, clay modeling of human anatomy and dissection of preserved cat specimens, in the instruction of muscles, peripheral nerves, and blood vessels. Specifically, we examined the effect of each technique on student performance on low-order and high-order questions related to each body system as well as the student-perceived value of each technique. Students who modeled anatomic structures in clay scored significantly higher on low-order questions related to peripheral nerves; scores were comparable between groups for high-order questions on peripheral nerves and for questions on muscles and blood vessels. Likert-scale surveys were used to measure student responses to statements about each laboratory technique. A significantly greater percentage of students in the clay modeling group "agreed" or "strongly agreed" with positive statements about their respective technique. These results indicate that clay modeling and cat dissection are equally effective in achieving student learning outcomes for certain systems in undergraduate human anatomy. Furthermore, clay modeling appears to be the preferred technique based on students' subjective perceptions of value to their learning experience.     

The perception of students on the use of animals in higher education at the Federal University of Paraná, Southern Brazil

The use of animals in education and research is a controversial issue that involves ethical considerations. In Brazil, Act 11,794, which was approved in 2008, established the National Council on the Control of Animal Experimentation (CONCEA) and a database of institutions that use animals for research and education (CIUCA). This legislation also set out the regulations for the use of animals. In this study, we have evaluated the ethical issues involved in the use of animals for educational purposes at the Federal University of Paraná, through a qualitative-quantitative analysis that relied on written questionnaires. Our objective was to find out the opinions of students and staff from different academic fields, and at different stages in their professional development, on the use of animals for educational purposes. The study involved 101 students and 20 lecturers (i.e. tenure-track professors and all those who teach the students) in Biology, Pharmacology, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. Approximately half of the students (45.5%) did not know the legislation that regulates the use of animals in education, and most of the lecturers believed that learning goals could not be achieved with alternative methods. Only 38.9% of the lecturers and 31.9% of the students trusted the usefulness of alternative methods. Furthermore, recent graduates were as unaware of the legislation, as were students in the first two years of their university courses. These results suggest that it is necessary to considerably expand the discussion on alternatives to animal use in the academic environment.     

Parent development

Today's parents tend to be overwhelmed with advice from many sources. In his role as family counselor, the pediatrician must understand and consider the emotional development of parents in relation to their child's development; otherwise, his advice and counsel do not "take" and he becomes tired and frustrated and angry. PARENTS PROGRESS THROUGH DEFINITE STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT: Stage 1: Learning the cues-the struggle of the parents to interpret the infant's needs. Stage 2: Learning to accept growth and development-the parent learning to accept some loss of control of the toddler. Stage 3: Learning to separate-the parent learning to allow the child to develop independently. Stage 4: Learning to accept rejection, without deserting-the struggle of the parents not to intrude and yet to be there when needed. Stage 5: Learning to build a new life having been thoroughly discredited by one's teenager-the parent learning to live independently while the teenager struggles to develop his own identity.The pediatrician who is accepting, sensitive and a good listener and who keeps in mind that parents as well as children have capacities for growth and development, will be a potent factor in promoting good parent-child relationships and many times more effective in dealing with the child in health and disease.     

Cloning,stem cells,and the current national debate: incorporating ethics into a large introductory biology course

Discussing the ethical issues involved in topics such as cloning and stem cell research in a large introductory biology course is often difficult. Teachers may be wary of presenting material biased by personal beliefs, and students often feel inhibited speaking about moral issues in a large group. Yet, to ignore what is happening "out there" beyond the textbooks and lab work is to do a disservice to students. This essay describes a semester-long project in which upperclass students presented some of the most complex and controversial ideas imaginable to introductory students by staging a mock debate and acting as members of the then newly appointed President's Council on Bioethics. Because the upperclass students were presenting the ideas of real people who play an important role in shaping national policy, no student's personal beliefs were put on the line, and many ideas were articulated. The introductory audience could accept or reject what they were hearing and learn information important for making up their own minds on these issues. This project is presented as an example of how current events can be used to put basic cell biology into context and of how exciting it can be when students teach students.     

“因材施教”与“循序渐进”——微生物学教学中的“以人为本”教育观浅析

通过分析提出"因材施教"和"循序渐进"是"以人为本"教育观在高校人才培养过程中的具体贯彻和体现;结合微生物学教学实践,从"教"与"学"两个方面阐述了:课堂教学要以学生为中心因材施教,实施基于学生需求和认知能力的教学内容和方法;学生学习要循序渐进,发挥教师主导作用,建立实验与课堂协调促进机制,实现阶段性提高等具体措施,从而进一步阐明了全面落实"以人为本"教育观于微生物学教学的重要性和现实意义。     

How to Learn Effectively in Medical School: Test Yourself,Learn Actively,and Repeat in Intervals

Students in medical school often feel overwhelmed by the excessive amount of factual knowledge they are obliged to learn. Although a large body of research on effective learning methods is published, scientifically based learning strategies are not a standard part of the curriculum in medical school. Students are largely unaware of how to learn successfully and improve memory. This review outlines three fundamental methods that benefit learning: the testing effect, active recall, and spaced repetition. The review summarizes practical learning strategies to learn effectively and optimize long-term retention of factual knowledge.     

Human clay models versus cat dissection: how the similarity between the classroom and the exam affects student performance

This study examined the effect of different anatomic representations on student learning in a human anatomy class studying the muscular system. Specifically, we examined the efficacy of using dissected cats (with and without handouts) compared with clay sculpting of human structures. Ten undergraduate laboratory sections were assigned to three treatment groups: cat dissection only, cat dissection with handouts, and human clay sculpting with handouts. Exams included higher-order questions that presented novel anatomic images and scenarios that the students did not practice in class. The higher-order anatomy exam questions varied the degree to which students in the different treatments had to transform the anatomic representation studied during laboratory activities to match the representation used in the exam questions. In this respect, exam questions manipulated the similarity between the surface features of the anatomic representations used in the classroom versus the exam. When identifying anatomic structures presented in a photograph or diagram, student performance improved significantly when transformation demands decreased, i.e., students in the human clay sculpting treatment group performed best on human anatomy questions and students in the cat dissection treatment group performed better on cat anatomy questions (independent of the use of handouts). There were similar, but nonsignificant, trends when students were asked functional anatomy questions presented in human and cat contexts. On survey questions designed to measure student attitudes about dissection versus nonanimal alternatives, students typically preferred the method used in their treatment group, suggesting that student preference is too fluid to factor into curricular decisions. When designing curricula, instructors must choose anatomic representations that support their course goals. Human representations are most effective when teaching the human muscular system.     

Modulation of aversive value coding in the vertebrate and invertebrate brain

Avoiding potentially dangerous situations is key for the survival of any organism. Throughout life, animals learn to avoid environments, stimuli or actions that can lead to bodily harm. While the neural bases for appetitive learning, evaluation and value-based decision-making have received much attention, recent studies have revealed more complex computations for aversive signals during learning and decision-making than previously thought. Furthermore, previous experience, internal state and systems level appetitive-aversive interactions seem crucial for learning specific aversive value signals and making appropriate choices. The emergence of novel methodologies (computation analysis coupled with large-scale neuronal recordings, neuronal manipulations at unprecedented resolution offered by genetics, viral strategies and connectomics) has helped to provide novel circuit-based models for aversive (and appetitive) valuation. In this review, we focus on recent vertebrate and invertebrate studies yielding strong evidence that aversive value information can be computed by a multitude of interacting brain regions, and that past experience can modulate future aversive learning and therefore influence value-based decisions.     

Observing the observer (I): meta-bayesian models of learning and decision-making

In this paper, we present a generic approach that can be used to infer how subjects make optimal decisions under uncertainty. This approach induces a distinction between a subject's perceptual model, which underlies the representation of a hidden "state of affairs" and a response model, which predicts the ensuing behavioural (or neurophysiological) responses to those inputs. We start with the premise that subjects continuously update a probabilistic representation of the causes of their sensory inputs to optimise their behaviour. In addition, subjects have preferences or goals that guide decisions about actions given the above uncertain representation of these hidden causes or state of affairs. From a Bayesian decision theoretic perspective, uncertain representations are so-called "posterior" beliefs, which are influenced by subjective "prior" beliefs. Preferences and goals are encoded through a "loss" (or "utility") function, which measures the cost incurred by making any admissible decision for any given (hidden) state of affair. By assuming that subjects make optimal decisions on the basis of updated (posterior) beliefs and utility (loss) functions, one can evaluate the likelihood of observed behaviour. Critically, this enables one to "observe the observer", i.e. identify (context- or subject-dependent) prior beliefs and utility-functions using psychophysical or neurophysiological measures. In this paper, we describe the main theoretical components of this meta-Bayesian approach (i.e. a Bayesian treatment of Bayesian decision theoretic predictions). In a companion paper ('Observing the observer (II): deciding when to decide'), we describe a concrete implementation of it and demonstrate its utility by applying it to simulated and real reaction time data from an associative learning task.     

Superstition and belief as inevitable by-products of an adaptive learning strategy

The existence of superstition and religious beliefs in most, if not all, human societies is puzzling for behavioral ecology. These phenomena bring about various fitness costs ranging from burial objects to celibacy, and these costs are not outweighed by any obvious benefits. In an attempt to resolve this problem, we present a verbal model describing how humans and other organisms learn from the observation of coincidence (associative learning). As in statistical analysis, learning organisms need rules to distinguish between real patterns and randomness. These rules, which we argue are equivalent to setting the level of α for rejection of the null hypothesis in statistics, are governed by risk management as well as by comparison to previous experiences. Risk management means that the cost of a possible type I error (superstition) has to be traded off against the cost of a possible type II error (ignorance). This trade-off implies that the occurrence of superstitious beliefs is an inevitable consequence of an organism’s ability to learn from observation of coincidence. Comparison with previous experiences (as in Bayesian statistics) improves the chances of making the right decision. While this Bayesian approach is found in most learning organisms, humans have evolved a unique ability to judge from experiences whether a candidate subject has the power to mechanistically cause the observed effect. Such “strong” causal thinking evolved because it allowed humans to understand and manipulate their environment. Strong causal thinking, however, involves the generation of hypotheses about underlying mechanisms (i.e., beliefs). Assuming that natural selection has favored individuals that learn quicker and more successfully than others owing to (1) active search to detect patterns and (2) the desire to explain these patterns mechanistically, we suggest that superstition has evolved as a by-product of the first, and that belief has evolved as a by-product of the second.     

Veterinary Students’ Beliefs About Animal Sentience: What Role Does Gender Play?

ABSTRACT

Across a 15-year period, annual cohorts of first-year veterinary science students (n = 1,380; 77% female) at a British university completed the Belief in Animal Sentience (BiAS) questionnaire, in which they reported their beliefs about the sentience (capacity to feel) of ten species: dogs, cats, lions, pigs, sheep, rats, rabbits, chickens, bees, and spiders. On the basis of previous findings regarding people’s beliefs about animals’ capacities for mind, it was hypothesized that female students would ascribe more human-like sentience to animals than would male students. It was also hypothesized that the proportion of female students in each of the cohorts studied would have an influence on the beliefs of the year group as a whole: cohorts comprising a larger percentage of women would have higher animal sentience beliefs in both males and females. The data were analyzed using two-level regression models to concurrently investigate the effects of individual respondents’ gender and the percentage of female students in their cohort. Compared with their male counterparts, female veterinary students across all the cohorts studied attributed significantly higher (more human-like) sentience to each of the ten animals listed in the BiAS questionnaire, but the percentage of female students in each year group was not associated with students’ sentience beliefs. It was also found that childhood experience of having owned pet cats or dogs was related to students’ beliefs about the sentience of these species, although this association did not contribute to the differences found between male and female respondents. Given the increasing number of women entering the veterinary profession, and previous findings that beliefs about animals’ capacities for sentience may be associated with the veterinary care they are given, we conclude that gender differences in sentience beliefs could have a significant impact on the future of veterinary practice and patient welfare.     

Rethinking motor learning and savings in adaptation paradigms: model-free memory for successful actions combines with internal models

Although motor learning is likely to involve multiple processes, phenomena observed in error-based motor learning paradigms tend to be conceptualized in terms of only a single process: adaptation, which occurs through updating an internal model. Here we argue that fundamental phenomena like movement direction biases, savings (faster relearning), and interference do not relate to adaptation but instead are attributable to two additional learning processes that can be characterized as model-free: use-dependent plasticity and operant reinforcement. Although usually "hidden" behind adaptation, we demonstrate, with modified visuomotor rotation paradigms, that these distinct model-based and model-free processes combine to learn an error-based motor task. (1) Adaptation of an internal model channels movements toward successful error reduction in visual space. (2) Repetition of the newly adapted movement induces directional biases toward the?repeated movement. (3) Operant reinforcement through association of the adapted movement with successful error reduction is responsible for savings.     

In Others' Shoes: Do Individual Differences in Empathy and Theory of Mind Shape Social Preferences?

Abundant evidence across the behavioral and social sciences suggests that there are substantial individual differences in pro-social behavior. However, little is known about the psychological mechanisms that underlie social preferences. This paper investigates whether empathy and Theory of Mind shape individual differences in pro-social behavior as conventionally observed in neutrally framed social science experiments. Our results show that individual differences in the capacity for empathy do not shape social preferences. The results qualify the role of Theory of Mind in strategic interaction. We do not only show that fair individuals exhibit more accurate beliefs about the behavior of others but that Theory of Mind can be effectively used to pursue both self-interest and pro-social goals depending on the principle objectives of a person.     

The Power of Contexts: Teaching and Learning in Recently Desegregated Schools

The following critical ethnography interrogates what it means for urban students to learn in multicultural ways, given the oppressive historical and present contexts of their newly desegregated urban district. By retelling events that occurred in the district and the classroom, I present a picture of urban students who are willing to learn and engage in classroom activities when the activities do not threaten their emotional safety. Although their actions are understandable, the students' conscious decisions to disengage from school stifles learning opportunities that would allow them to empathize and connect with other students as a move toward individual and group empowerment. Using critical race theory, I problematize the possibilities for successful multicultural classrooms in urban districts with complex legacies of injustice and racial hostility.     

Can embryonic skipper frogs (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis</Emphasis>) learn to recognise kairomones in the absence of a nervous system?

In this study, we used larval Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis to determine the predator recognition mechanism. We conducted a series of experiments to determine if larval E. cyanophlyctis have the innate ability to recognise predatory odour (kairomones) as a threat or if they learn to do so during ontogeny. In the case of learning, we wanted to determine the developmental window during which learning is accomplished. Further, we tested the antipredator response of predator-naïve as well as predator-experienced tadpoles to chemical cues of different origins in order to assess if they exhibit differential responses. Our results clearly indicate that predator-naïve tadpoles of E. cyanophlyctis do not reduce their activity against predatory cues of dragonfly nymphs, suggesting that they lack the innate ability to recognise kairomones. However, they could learn to do so when trained to perceive kairomones simultaneously along with alarm cues. Surprisingly, larval E. cyanophlyctis could learn to recognise kairomones through association during embryonic stages even before the development of a nervous system. Although larval E. cyanophlyctis lack the innate ability to recognise kairomones, they were able to recognise conspecific alarm cues on the first encounter, indicating that they have the innate ability to recognise alarm cues as a potential threat.