This study investigated variation in students' behavioral engagement across mathematics classes in China and the United States. Student behavioral engagement was examined along with two aspects of the classroom (group size and teacher instructions given about classroom behavior). Video observational data were collected and coded over 1051 time…

Because people forget much of what they learn, students could benefit from learning strategies that provide long-lasting knowledge. Yet surprisingly little is known about how long-term retention is most efficiently achieved. Here we examine how retention is affected by two variables: the duration of a study session and the temporal distribution…

A theory of attending and reinforcement in conditional discriminations (Nevin, Davison, & Shahan, 2005) is extended to working memory in delayed matching to sample by adding terms for disruption of attending during the retention interval. Like its predecessor, the theory assumes that reinforcers and disruptors affect the independent probabilities…

When observers are presented with 2 targets in rapid succession, identification of the 1st is highly accurate, whereas identification of the 2nd is impaired at brief intertarget intervals (i.e., 200-500 ms). This 2nd-target deficit is known as the attentional blink (AB). According to bottleneck models, the AB arises because attending to the 1st…

Developmental regression is a complex phenomenon which occurs in 20-49% of the autistic population. Aim of the study was to assess possible differences in the development of regressed and non-regressed autistic preschoolers. We longitudinally studied 40 autistic children (18 regressed, 22 non-regressed) aged 2-6 years. The following developmental…

Three phoneme monitoring experiments examined the manner in which additional processing time influences spoken word recognition. Experiment 1a introduced a version of the phoneme monitoring paradigm in which a silent interval is inserted prior to the word-final target phoneme. Phoneme monitoring reaction time decreased as the silent interval…

The reconsolidation hypothesis states that a consolidated memory could again become unstable and susceptible to facilitation or impairment for a discrete period of time after a reminder presentation. The phenomenon has been demonstrated in very diverse species and types of memory, including the human procedural memory of a motor skill task but not…

To evaluate a theory-based educational program to prevent Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses (TBI), a randomized controlled trial of an educational program was delivered to ferry passengers traveling to an endemic area in southeastern Massachusetts. Rates of TBI and precautionary and tick check behaviors were measured over three summers…

In this paper, the author investigates the algebraic curve defined by the relation y[superscript 3] - 3y + 2x = 0. Treating this relation as a reduced cubic in the variable y, he uses a procedure first discovered by the mathematician Scipione del Ferro (Nahin, 1998, pp. 8-10) to obtain an expression for y in terms of x, namely y = (-x + [square…

We designed a series of analyses to develop a measurement system capable of simultaneously recording the free-play patterns of 20 children in a preschool classroom. Study 1 determined the intermittency with which the location and engagement of each child could be momentarily observed before the accuracy of the measurement was compromised. Results…

Although behavior analysis relies primarily on visual inspection for interpreting data, previous research shows that the method of display can influence the judgments. In the current study, 26 Board-Certified Behavior Analysts reviewed two data sets displayed on each of three methods--equal-interval graphs, tables, and Standard Celeration…

By balancing the spacing effect against the effects of recency and frequency, this paper explains how practice may be scheduled to maximize learning and retention. In an experiment, an optimized condition using an algorithm determined with this method was compared with other conditions. The optimized condition showed significant benefits with…

Research on second language (L2) phonetic learning indicates that, even in adults, segmental acquisition remains possible through L2 experience. However, the findings of previous cross-sectional studies of vowel and consonant learning have proved difficult to interpret. In this longitudinal investigation of 44 recent arrivals in Canada,…

Using assessment results for 5th and 8th grade English language learner students in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, the report finds that the English language domains of reading and writing (as measured by a proficiency assessment) are significant predictors of performance on reading, writing, and mathematics assessments and that the…