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PubMed2003

Multiple goals, motivation and academic learning.

BACKGROUND: The type of academic goals pursued by students is one of the most important variables in motivational research in educational contexts. Although motivational theory and research have emphasised the somewhat exclusive nature of two types of goal orientation (learning goals versus performance goals), some studies (Meece, 1994; Seifert, 1995, 1996) have shown that the two kinds of goals are relatively complementary and that it is possible for students to have multiple goals simultaneously, which guarantees some flexibility to adapt more efficaciously to various contexts and learning situations. AIM: The principal aim of this study is to determine the academic goals pursued by university students and to analyse the differences in several very significant variables related to motivation and academic learning. SAMPLE: Participants were 609 university students (74% women and 26% men) who filled in several questionnaires about the variables under study. METHOD: We used cluster analysis ('quick cluster analysis' method) to establish the different groups or clusters of individuals as a function of the three types of goals (learning goals, performance goals, and social reinforcement goals). By means of MANOVA, we determined whether the groups or clusters identified were significantly different in the variables that are relevant to motivation and academic learning. Lastly, we performed ANOVA on the variables that revealed significant effects in the previous analysis. RESULTS: Using cluster analysis, three groups of students with different motivational orientations were identified: a group with predominance of performance goals (Group PG: n = 230), a group with predominance of multiple goals (Group MG: n = 238), and a group with predominance of learning goals (Group LG: n = 141). CONCLUSIONS: Groups MG and LG attributed their success more to ability, they had higher perceived ability, they took task characteristics into account when planning which strategies to use in the learning process, they showed higher persistence, and used more deep learning strategies than did the students with predominance of performance goals (Group PG). On the other hand, Groups MG and PG took the evaluation criteria more into account when deciding which strategies to use in order to learn, and they attributed their failures more to luck than did Group LG. Students from Group MG attributed their success more to effort than did the other two groups and they attained higher achievement than Group PG. Group LG tended to attribute their failures more to lack of effort than did the other two groups.

Achievement↗
PubMed2005

Epistemological beliefs and approaches to learning: their change through secondary school and their influence on academic performance.

BACKGROUND: In recent decades, two lines of research, phenomenographic and meta-cognitive, have examined students' approaches and epistemological beliefs about learning. To date there has been very little research describing the change in epistemological beliefs in European secondary students, or analysing interrelationships between epistemological beliefs and approaches in order to explain their influence on academic performance. AIMS: The first aim of this investigation is to analyse the change in epistemological beliefs and learning approaches in secondary students as they progress through their studies. The second aim is to examine the effects of epistemological beliefs on learning approaches, and learning approaches on academic performance. SAMPLE: About 1,600 Spanish students, boys and girls, from several secondary schools took part in the study. They were between 12 and 20 years old and their average age was 14.79 years. METHODS: Measures of epistemological beliefs (EQ: Epistemological Questionnaire), learning approaches (LPQ: Learning Process Questionnaire), and academic performance were obtained. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the dimensionality of the EQ and LPQ questionnaires. In order to achieve our two aims, different statistical techniques were used: MANOVA and ANOVA for our first aim, and structural equation modelling for our second aim. RESULTS: Throughout secondary education epistemological beliefs undergo change, becoming more realistic and complex, and deep-approach scores decline significantly. It was shown that, as predicted, epistemological beliefs influenced academic achievement directly, and also indirectly via students' learning approaches. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings point to two conclusions. First, epistemological beliefs and learning approaches change as pupils advance in their studies. Second, the relationship between epistemological beliefs and academic achievement is mediated by approaches to learning.

Achievement↗
PubMed2005

Genetic enhancement of visual learning by activation of protein kinase C pathways in small groups of rat cortical neurons.

Although learning and memory theories hypothesize that memories are encoded by specific circuits, it has proven difficult to localize learning within a cortical area. Neural network theories predict that activation of a small fraction of the neurons in a circuit can activate that circuit. Consequently, altering the physiology of a small group of neurons might potentiate a specific circuit and enhance learning, thereby localizing learning to that circuit. In this study, we activated protein kinase C (PKC) pathways in small groups of neurons in rat postrhinal (POR) cortex. We microinjected helper virus-free herpes simplex virus vectors that expressed a constitutively active PKC into POR cortex. This PKC was expressed predominantly in glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons in POR cortex. This intervention increased phosphorylation of five PKC substrates that play critical roles in neurotransmitter release (GAP-43 and dynamin) or glutamatergic neurotransmission (specific subunits of AMPA or NMDA receptors and myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate). Additionally, activation of PKC pathways in cultured cortical neurons supported activation-dependent increases in release of glutamate and GABA. This intervention enhanced the learning rate and accuracy of visual object discriminations. In individual rats, the numbers of transfected neurons positively correlated with this learning. During learning, neuronal activity was increased in neurons proximal to the transfected neurons. These results demonstrate that potentiating small groups of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons in POR cortex enhances visual object learning. More generally, these results suggest that learning can be mediated by specific cortical circuits.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Conditional discrimination learning: a critique and amplification.

Carter and Werner recently reviewed the literature on conditional discrimination learning by pigeons, which consists of studies of matching-to-sample and oddity-from-sample. They also discussed three models of such learning: the "multiple-rule" model (learning of stimulus-specific relations), the "configuration" model, and the "single-rule" model (concept learning). Although their treatment of the multiple-rule model, which seems most applicable to the pigeon data, is generally excellent, their discussion of the other two models is incomplete and sometimes inaccurate. Potential problems of terminology are discussed in the present paper, as are additional lines of research that deserve consideration by those interested in further work in this area. The issue of response versus stimulus selection (configuration versus compound-cue learning) is discussed in connection with the configuration model. Particular attention is given to Carter and Werner's criticism of the application, in studies with other species, of the learning set procedure in testing for single-rule learning. Some of the important related issues are: the bias for improvement on new problems in a series, the adequacy of a multiple-rule model to explain learning set formation, and evidence in favor of the single-rule model, at least in primates. Consideration of these additional contributions to the study of conditional discrimination learning emphasizes the usefulness of this task in the comparative study of cognitive processes.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Control of fingertip temperature increases via biofeedback in learning-disabled and normal children.

Although considerable research has been done with biofeedback in adults, little is known of its effect in children of different ages or those with learning disabilities. This study assessed the effects of thermal biofeedback in 60 children (40 boys, 20 girls) aged 7 to 9 yr. (Mage 8-6) half of whom were learning-disabled and half, normal children matched for age, sex, grade, race, socioeconomic status, and IQ. Training consisted on one 15-min. period daily for five days with three trials per period. Children (16 learning-disabled, 16 normals) received consistent reinforcement for digital temperature increases while 28 children (14 learning-disabled, 14 normals) received mixed reinforcement after Day 1, on which all children were consistently reinforced to yield a performance baseline. Feedback was provided by a variable intensity light and toy electric train. Learning was demonstrated only for the consistently reinforced group, which performed almost twice as well as those receiving mixed reinforcement. Learning-disabled children learned thermal control even better than normals, explained in terms of biofeedback reinforcing an internal steady state conducive to learning. Younger children did better than older children, and girls did somewhat better than boys. Post-training improvement in figure-ground discrimination and intersensory-integration was linked with performance and learning, respectively.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Ocular anomalies: a comparison of learning disabled and nonlearning disabled elementary school children.

This study compared descriptive data, obtained via retinal reflex photography, concerning ocular anomalies of 439 learning disabled elementary school children, 1657 kindergarten and Grade 1 nonlearning disabled children, and 724 nonlearning disabled children in Grades 2 to 6. Ocular factors included refractive and nonametropic errors as well as severity of the problem. The learning disabled sample had a significantly higher incidence of refractive error than the normal samples in Kindergarten and Grade 1 but lower incidence than the normal sample in Grades 2 to 6. The learning disabled group had a significantly higher incidence of myopia in one or both eyes than did the kindergarten and first grade normal group. No such difference for myopia existed between the learning disabled and the normal sample in Grades 2 to 6. Incidence of hyperopia in both eyes was significantly lower in the learning disabled than in the kindergarten-first grade sample; however, hyperopia in one eye only was greater for the learning disabled than for the older normals. Significant differences between the younger and older normals existed for all types of refractive error except hyperopia in only one eye. Severity of the problem differed significantly between the learning disabled and the kindergarten-first grade sample in the classes of severe and minimal, not at all when comparing learning disabled and older normals, and in all classes when comparing younger and older normals. The learning disabled also had a significantly higher incidence of nonametropic anomalies than did the normal group. Implications relating refractive error and near environment were discussed.

Child↗
PubMed2002

Do landmarks help or hinder women in route learning?

Previous research on route learning has demonstrated that men learn routes faster and with fewer errors than women, whereas women are able to recall more landmarks along the route. The present study was aimed at investigating whether landmarks help or hinder women when they learn a route. 47 female and 37 male undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, in which they learned a route on a map with landmarks (the Landmark condition) or with no landmarks (the No-Landmark condition). Men outperformed women in the Landmark condition, learning the route in less time, with fewer errors, and in fewer trials than women did. In contrast, in the No-Landmark condition, no significant differences were found between men and women on the route-learning measures. Men learned the route faster and more accurately when landmarks were present than when they were not, but the performance of women was not affected by the presence or absence of landmarks. These results suggest that men and women may employ landmarks differently when learning a route. Men may use the positions of landmarks to make distance and direction judgments, whereas women may label the landmarks and memorize these labels, which interferes with learning the route.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Motivation and learning styles in young children with Down syndrome.

There are both psychological and biological reasons to expect that certain areas of learning will present young children with Down syndrome with significant problems. Knowledge of the neurological underpinnings of these specific difficulties can often allow compensatory teaching strategies to be put in place, however, and some of these have proved highly effective. The impact of the psychological environment on the progress of development in children with Down syndrome is less well understood. Experience of how others respond to their attempts at understanding the physical and social world and the balance of successes and failures they experience in their early learning are both likely to influence the approach to learning adopted when faced with mastering new skills. Findings from inter-linking studies of cognitive and socio-cognitive development which have explored learning behaviours at different ages and at different developmental stages illustrate how a learning style can sometimes evolve over time in which less than efficient use is made of current levels of cognitive ability. Social ploys are sometimes used to avoid engagement in learning, with the net effect that opportunities to learn new skills are not fully exploited and old skills are sometimes inadequately consolidated. Findings of a misuse of social skills in cognitive contexts do not necessarily provide support for the widely-held view that social understanding is an area of strength in children with Down syndrome and less vulnerable to disruption than cognitive development. Data from a recent study of face-processing abilities suggest that there may in fact be a specific weakness in a fundamental skill normally underpinning the development of social understanding: the ability to recognise differences in emotional expressions. The children with Down syndrome in this study had few problems in correctly identifying individual faces but evidenced difficulties in reliably interpreting the emotional expressions portrayed in these faces. These findings are consistent with the emerging picture of neurological disruption in Down syndrome and with what is known of the neurology underlying this key component in social cognition. As most learning takes place in a social context, the findings have implications for adult-child and child-child learning partnerships and would seem to merit further investigation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Sharing learning through narrative communication.

This paper examines key aspects of the learning experiences of ten speech and language therapy (SLT) students on clinical placements, as revealed by an analysis of 102 narrative accounts. We argue that when students on placements tell stories of their learning experiences the process of recounting them can help them to reflect on and consolidate what they have learned and to have this learning validated by peer, clinician or tutor audiences. Thus, sharing learning through narrative communication is itself further learning from the original experience. We show how students evaluate their learning experiences, how their growing confidence is mediated by clinicians and how such narratives are shared in normal student interaction. Tutors might use the insights from narrative learning to raise students' awareness of their own learning, and thus to improve it.

Education↗
PubMed2005

Perceptions of the human-animal bond in veterinary education of veterinarians in Washington State: structured versus experiential learning.

RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY: The purpose of this research was to describe Washington private practitioners' beliefs about how the Human-Animal Bond (HAB) should be addressed in DVM curricula and continuing education. METHODOLOGY: 1,602 Washington veterinarians in private practice were asked to participate in an online survey that addressed the importance of HAB and of DVM/post-DVM HAB education. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The response rate was 25.9% (415/1,602). Eighty-one percent (334/412) of respondents indicated that the HAB was important to their decisions to become veterinarians. The HAB was more important to the most recent graduates than to earliest graduates and to females than to males. Forty-four percent (184/415) of respondents considered mentoring to be the best way to learn about the HAB while in veterinary school. Of the 40% (165/415) of respondents who indicated that their veterinary schools offered structured learning on the HAB, 89% (145/163) said they had participated in it. Seven percent (29/415) indicated that entry-level veterinarians were very prepared to identify and facilitate the HAB, while 54% (224/415) said that they were somewhat prepared. Only 32% (131/415) had participated in any HAB structured learning since having started practicing, and the earliest graduates were twice as likely to have participated as the most recent graduates. More than half (55%, 223/407) disagreed or strongly disagreed that post-DVM, the best way to learn about the HAB is through structured learning. However, 83% (342/414) agreed that continuing-education credits should be given for HAB classes. Eighty-six percent (358/414) supported additional HAB research. Ninety-seven percent (402/414) agreed that the best way to learn about the HAB is through experience. These results suggest that veterinarians do not value HAB structured learning as much as experiential learning and that they are not very confident in recent graduates' abilities regarding the HAB. We propose HAB structured learning in the first three years of DVM education, complemented by the incorporation of the HAB into clinical rotations and post-DVM continuing education.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Social learning strategies.

In most studies of social learning in animals, no attempt has been made to examine the nature of the strategy adopted by animals when they copy others. Researchers have expended considerable effort in exploring the psychological processes that underlie social learning and amassed extensive data banks recording purported social learning in the field, but the contexts under which animals copy others remain unexplored. Yet, theoretical models used to investigate the adaptive advantages of social learning lead to the conclusion that social learning cannot be indiscriminate and that individuals should adopt strategies that dictate the circumstances under which they copy others and from whom they learn. In this article, I discuss a number of possible strategies that are predicted by theoretical analyses, including copy when uncertain, copy the majority, and copy if better, and consider the empirical evidence in support of each, drawing from both the animal and human social learning literature. Reliance on social learning strategies may be organized hierarchically, their being employed by animals when unlearned and asocially learned strategies prove ineffective but before animals take recourse in innovation.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

Striatal activity in concept learning.

Striatal learning systems have been implicated in learning relationships between visual stimuli and outcomes. In the present study, the activity of the striatum during visual concept learning in humans was examined by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants performed three concept-learning tasks and a baseline task. The participants were trained to criterion before fMRI scanning on two tasks, verbal and implicit. In the verbal task, classification could be performed on the basis of a simple verbal rule, but in the implicit task, there was no simple verbal rule. The novel-implicit learning task, in which an implicit structure was used, was not encountered by the participants before scanning. Across all three concept-learning tasks, there was significant activation in the striatum, in comparison with the baseline task. The striatum was recruited similarly in classification when the participants had different levels of expertise (novel-implicit vs. verbal and implicit) and were able to verbalize their learning to different degrees (verbal vs. implicit and novel-implicit). There was left lateral occipital activation when learning was implicit (implicit and novel-implicit), but not when learning was easily verbalized (verbal).

Adult↗
PubMed2001

A key to successful aging: learning-style patterns of older adults.

A sample of 61 volunteer older adults, age 64 to 88, living independently in a suburban, residential senior citizen setting, participated in this dual-pronged investigation. It was the first study of its kind to analyze the current and previous learning styles of a sample of older adults. Current learning-style preferences were assessed through the Productivity Environmental Preference Survey (PEPS) and recalled learning-style preferences identified through the Previous Learning Experiences Questionnaire. Each older adult participant was administered the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire to assess their cognitive functioning. Two directional research hypotheses were tested. Single-sample t tests confirmed that these older adults scored significantly different on learning-style elements as measured by the PEPS from the original normed group. Single-sample t tests also revealed that older adult men were significantly different from older adult women on certain learning-style preferences. Research conducted with the Dunn and Dunn Learning-Style Model during the past 30 years has yielded valuable insights into how learning-style preferences evolve over time. This model's research continuum, until recently, extended from early childhood through the midlife years of between 40 and 50. This investigation currently has expanded the learning-style continuum to incorporate octogenarians. The element of perception has provided additional information that is important and useful for educators when preparing instructional sessions that include diverse older adult participants.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparing learning of cooking in home and clinic for people with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare learning of a functional living skill in two contexts for individuals with long-term schizophrenia. METHOD: Forty-four people with schizophrenia were matched on cognitive level. One of each pair was randomly designated to either a clinic or home cooking group, with the other assigned to the remaining group. Cooking skill was assessed using the Kitchen Task Assessment-Modified (KTA-M) both before and after the intervention. Learning for each group was analyzed using t tests. A multiple regression analysis to control for baseline differences was used to compare the learning of the two groups. RESULTS: Participants in both groups scored significantly higher on the KTA-M after cooking lessons (t = 5.57, df = 21, p < .0001--clinic; t = 7.81. df = 21, p < .0002--home) reflecting learning of cooking skill; there was no statistically significant difference in scores on the KTA-M between the two groups based on where the learning took place (beta = -1.8, df = 42, p < 0.23). Qualitative differences between the learning environments provide suggestions for teaching functional living skills to this population. CONCLUSIONS: Learning new skills in the home was not better than learning in the clinic for people with schizophrenia in this study. Further research on the effect of context on learning for people with cognitive dysfunction and schizophrenia is recommended.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1999

New tools for learning.

In the last twenty-five years more has been learned about the human brain than in the past history of mankind. Through the use of new technologies such as PET and CAT scans and functional MRI's, it is now possible to see and learn much about the human brain while it is in the process of thinking. The research of neuroscientists, such as Marian Diamond, has demonstrated that the brain changes physiologically as a result of learning and experience--for better or worse--and that plasticity can continue throughout the lifespan. It appears that there are particular kinds of environments that are most conducive to the development of good mental equipment. They are positive, nurturing, stimulating, and encourage action and interaction. Many of the most effective schools and training programs have created such high-challenge low-threat environments. It is also very clear that intelligence is not a static structure, but an open, dynamic system that can continue to develop throughout life. This understanding is being utilized not only in school systems but in the workplace, where training programs show that even at the adult level people are able to develop their intelligence more fully. Corporations such as Motorola have implemented programs in which they are training their employees, managers, and executives to think, problem-solve and create more effectively using strategies developed by such educational innovators as Reuven Feurstein, J.P. Guilford, and Edward de Bono. A most recent development is in the new kinds of technology that make it possible for people to take responsibility for their own learning as they access and process information through the internet, communicate with experts anywhere in the world, and use software that facilitate higher order thinking and problem-solving. Computers are in no way replacing teachers, but rather these new tools allow them to spend more time being facilitators, mentors, and guides. As a result, teachers and students are able more often to collaborate on creating new knowledge as well as mastering the basics. As technology becomes more ubiquitous, there is growing recognition of the importance of the arts in humanizing the curriculum. "More high-tech, more need for high-touch" is becoming the by-word of many schools. They recognize that the arts are not only culturally important and civilizing influences, but they can facilitate the learning of almost any subject. I believe that these four concepts--the plasticity of the brain, the modifiability of intelligence, the use of technology as a powerful new tool for learning, and the renaissance of the arts in education--have major implications specifically for educational systems and generally for the future of our world. In this time of rapid change, leading-edge educational systems are equipping people with the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn continually. They are giving students meaningful opportunities to apply what they have learned in order to turn information into knowledge. And--of critical importance if any of this is to lead to a healthy future--they are helping students to learn to use knowledge responsibly, ethically, and with integrity. Furthermore, they are involving students in experiences that develop compassion and altruism in the process of their education. Our complex world urgently needs more people who have developed their fullest potential in mind, body, and spirit.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Undergraduate medical education: comparison of problem-based learning and conventional teaching.

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature on studies comparing all aspects of problem-based learning with the conventional mode of teaching. DATA SOURCES: Medline literature search (1980 through 1999) and the references cited in retrieved articles. DATA SELECTION: Studies and meta-analyses that compared the newer problem-based learning curriculum and the conventional lecture-based mode of teaching undergraduate medical students. Areas of comparison included the academic process; programme evaluation; academic achievement; graduates' performance, specialty choices, and practice characteristics; and the attitude of students and teachers towards the programmes. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were extracted independently by multiple authors. DATA SYNTHESIS: Students of the problem-based learning curriculum found learning to be "more stimulating and more humane" and "engaging, difficult, and useful", whereas students of the conventional curriculum found learning to be "non-relevant, passive, and boring". Students who used the problem-based learning method showed better interpersonal skills and psychosocial knowledge, as well as a better attitude towards patients. Students using the conventional model, however, performed better in basic science examinations. Teachers tended to enjoy teaching the newer curriculum. Although the two curricula encourage different ways of learning, there is no convincing evidence of improved learning using the problem-based learning curriculum. CONCLUSION: A combination of both the conventional and newer curricula may provide the most effective training for undergraduate medical students.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2000

Facilitatory effect of ritanserin is mediated by dopamine D(1) receptors on olfactory learning in young rats.

The olfactory bulb is critically involved in early olfactory learning. In this study, we examined the effect of intrabulbar infusion of ritanserin, a 5-hydroxytryptamine(2) (5-HT(2)) receptor antagonist on a one-trial aversive olfactory learning in young rats. Ritanserin, a 5-HT(2) receptor antagonist, was continuously infused into the olfactory bulb of postnatal day-11 (PND 11) rat pups during a 30-min training session of pairing citral odor and foot shock. On the following day, the time spent in the part of the apparatus where the odor was present was measured as an index of odor aversion. Consistent with a previous study on olfactory preference learning, 1 nM ritanserin, but not 10 nM, blocked the olfactory aversive learning. We further examined the ability of 10 nM ritanserin to induce olfactory learning in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus foot shock. Pups that received intrabulbar infusion of 10 nM ritanserin in the presence of citral odor developed an aversion to the odor without foot shock. Since ritanserin has been shown to have an affinity for dopamine receptors, we examined the effect of dopamine antagonists on the ritanserin-induced aversive olfactory learning. Co-infusion of the dopamine D(1) receptor antagonist (+/-)-SKF-83566 with ritanserin dose-dependently prevented induced learning. In contrast, the D(2) receptor antagonist spiperone was without effect. These results extend the previous finding on the role of bulbar 5-HT(2) receptors in early olfactory learning and suggest that high concentration of ritanserin facilitates aversive olfactory learning through D(1) receptors in the olfactory bulb.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Problem-based learning. A critical review of its educational objectives and the rationale for its use.

Over the past 30 years there has been an increasing interest in curriculum innovation in medical schools in North America, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Australia. Since the introduction of problem-based learning at McMaster University in Canada in 1969, several medical schools throughout the world have adopted problem-based learning as the educational and philosophical basis of their curricula. Several studies have shown that problem-based learning is an important educational strategy for integrating the curriculum, motivating the students and helping them to identify their learning issues and set their own learning goals. However, there is a great deal of concern regarding what problem-based learning means and the advantages of problem-based learning over traditional curriculum have not been clearly addressed. In this review, a broad range of the definitions of problem-based learning have been addressed and the rationale for problem-based learning and its educational objectives are discussed.

Australia↗