Differences In Learning Rates Research Articles

Long-term potentiation in the reciprocal corticohippocampal and corticocortical pathways in the chronically implanted, freely moving rat.

The hippocampus and adjacent cortical structures, including the entorhinal, perirhinal, and parahippocampal cortices, appear to serve as an integrated memory system. This extended hippocampal system is believed to influence memory and consolidation through an extensive set of reciprocal connections with widespread areas of the neocortex. Long-term potentiation (LTP) has been well-examined in the intrinsic connections of the hippocampus and neocortex. However, LTP in the pathways and structures thought to convey information between the hippocampus and neocortex has received little attention. If these pathways and structures are involved in information storage, and if LTP reflects a general synaptic encoding mechanism, then these systems are also likely to support LTP. In this paper we discuss a series of experiments aimed at investigating LTP in the efferents between the hippocampus and neocortex in chronically implanted animals. In the first experiment, the efferents of the perirhinal cortex were stimulated. LTP in the dentate gyrus (DG) reached asymptote more slowly than is typically seen following perforant path stimulation, whereas the frontal area (M1) reached asymptote more quickly than reported following corticocortical stimulation. The DG and M1 LTP was long-lasting, but entorhinal cortex LTP had decayed to baseline levels after a week. In the second experiment, the hippocampal efferents were stimulated. The perirhinal, entorhinal, and frontal cortex showed a similar slow potentiation, with only the perirhinal cortex levels returning to baseline after a week. In the third experiment, the projections from M1 were tested. The perirhinal cortex and hippocampus showed a long-lasting LTP. Although LTP was found in all pathways examined, there were differences in the induction and decay rate, and these properties may correspond to differences in learning rate and longevity of information storage.

Purchasing and the Learning Curve: A Case Study of a Specialty Chemicals Business Unit

SUMMARYThis article presents a case study of the learning curve in a specialty chemicals business unit. Even though the learning curve literature has largely ignored the effects of purchasing, over 80 percent of the total cost reduction in this study was the result of raw material cost savings. The purpose of this article is to highlight the important role played by purchasing in the study of the learning curve. This study was conducted when the author was a business manager in the subject company which allowed for complete access to data, personnel, and company documents. This “insider's position” was a critical factor in uncovering the sources of cost reduction in this business unit. Cost data for 221 products produced by this business unit were evaluated using the learning curve. Cross‐sectional differences in learning rates were analyzed to determine the sources of cost reduction. Cost reduction efforts had the most success when the business unit was able to identify and prioritize the cost reduction opportunities and then apply the proper type and level of resources.

Optimal development of production technology when autonomous and induced learning are present

In this paper, we explore the effect of learning rate difference between external and internal innovation on operations improvement. We consider a certain type of production technology that must grow, either externally or internally, to maturity to be fully effective in existing production systems. For optimal operations, manufacturing firms must determine when and how much external technology in different development stages should be brought into the internal production system. Employing an optimal control model, we derive two nontrivial implications. First, the optimal dynamics to bring external technology inside the production system is sensitive to the difference between autonomous (i.e., external) and induced (i.e., internal) learning rate: the higher the internal learning rate, the more “external technology” the firm should acquire. Second, whether the optimal amount of technology acquired increases over time and/or across technology_age depends on the boundary condition that determines if an acquired technology can fully mature in time: a significant redirection of the optimal dynamics occurs around the boundary in the “ time–technology_age” space, since the technology must mature to be fully effective within a limited time period.

Independent Paths in the Development of Infant Learning and Forgetting

We investigated the possibility that age differences in infants’ long-term retention are artifacts of correlated differences in learning rates or learning opportunities (overlearning). Using path analytic procedures, these possibilities were examined in two experiments in which 15- and 18-month-olds (Experiment 1) and 12- and 15-month-olds (Experiment 2) learned five novel activities to a strict acquisition criterion. Three months later, infants’ retention was tested using four test trials with no further study opportunities. Using a series of causal models to test the relationships between age, learning rate, learning opportunities, and forgetting rate, the results disconfirmed the artifact hypothesis. These analyses indicated that, at least for criterion-learning designs, developmental declines in forgetting rates between 12 and 18 months of age do exist independent of developmental differences in learning. Furthermore, age differences in forgetting rates are not confounded with age differences in “overlearning.” These findings are discussed in terms of the growing body of evidence that attests to the continuity of memory development across childhood.

The impact of quality on learning

AbstractThe strategic importance of learning curves has been recognized for a long time both in industry and in academia, but little is known about the huge difference in rates at which different firms learn. Recent theoretical studies and anecdotal evidence from Japanese manufacturing firms suggest that quality‐related activities may be one major factor explaining the difference in learning rates. When the impact of quality on learning is considered, three important questions arise: (1) How well does cumulative output of defective or good units explain learning curve effects? (2) Do defective units explain learning curve effects better than good units? (3) How should cumulative experience be represented in the learning curve model when the quality level may have an impact on learning effects? This paper presents, to our knowledge, the first empirical study addressing these questions. Using time series data from two manufacturing firms, we find that cumulative output of defective or good units is statistically significant in explaining learning curve benefits. However, defective and good units do not explain learning curve effects equally as is implicitly assumed in traditional learning curve models. In particular, defective units are statistically more significant than good units in explaining learning curve effects.

Differential learning rates of chemical versus visual cues of a northern pike by fathead minnows in a natural habitat

We stocked 39 juvenile pike, Esox lucius, into a previously pike free pond which contained a population of approximately 78 000 fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas. Fathead minnows sampled prior to pike stocking did not show a stereotypic fright response to either visual or chemical cues from pike. After stocking pike, we sampled minnows every two days for a period of two weeks. Minnows sampled six days after stocking still did not show a fright response to the sight of a pike, but those sampled eight days after stocking did exhibit a significant fright response, indicating that acquired predator recognition based on vision occurred between six and eight days. Minnows sampled two days after stocking did not show a fright response to chemical cues of a pike. Those sampled four days after did, however, exhibit a significant fright response, indicating that acquired predator recognition based on chemical cues occurred between two and four days. These data indicate that acquired predator recognition occurs very rapidly and that the rate of learning of predator identity differs for chemical versus visual cues.

The Effects of Two Taped-Words Interventions on Sight-Word Reading in Students with Mental Retardation

Multiple-baseline and alternating treatments design elements were combined to evaluate the effects of two taped-words (TW) interventions (rapid-paced and slow-paced) on sight-word reading accuracy levels in elementary students with mental retardation. During rapid TW, one word was presented every second via tape recorder and students were instructed to read aloud along with the tape. During slow TW, words were presented every 5s. Both TW interventions increased word reading accuracy but differences in learning rates between the two TW interventions were inconsistent across participants. Although no firm conclusions can be drawn regarding which pace is more effective, results show that regardless of pace, this efficient, self-managed intervention can be used to increase sight-word reading in students with mental retardation.

Pavlovian conditioning of agonistic behavior in male threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).

The red coloration of male stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) possesses signal value in male-male interactions. Therefore, it was predicted that males would learn to associate a red signal more readily than a green signal with a conspecific rival in a Pavlovian conditioning experiment. Males were presented red and green signal lights where one signal was always paired with presentation of a rival (excitatory conditioned stimulus, CS+) and one signal was never paired with presentation of a rival (nonreinforced stimulus, CS-). Males learned the task rapidly, showing conditioned approach and zigzag responses, but CS+ vs. CS- differentiation persisted, even after a prolonged extinction period. In addition, there were no differences in learning rates between fish trained to the red signal as the CS+ and fish trained to the green signal as the CS+. The results suggest that, although males may rapidly learn about rivals, they are not predisposed to associated red (over green) with the appearance of a rival under the conditions of this experiment. Because males must establish and maintain territories in order to nest and mate, learning about neighboring rivals may be an adaptive mechanism by which males more effectively defend their territories and thereby increase their reproductive fitness.

Learning rate, learning opportunities, and the development of forgetting.

Reported developmental declines in forgetting rates may be artifacts of correlated individual differences in learning rates or in the number of learning opportunities that children receive. This possibility was investigated in 2 experiments by using causal models that implemented possible relationships among age, forgetting rates, learning rates, and learning opportunities. The artifact hypothesis was disconfirmed. Forgetting rates declined markedly between early and late childhood when individual differences in learning rates and learning opportunities were factored out. The results were interpreted in terms of fuzzy-trace theory's proposals about the development of verbatim and gist memory systems

Knowledge Acquired from Learning: New Evidence of Hierarchical Conceptualization

Following successful inductive acquisition of procedural cognition of a discrimination-reversal learning task, 50 female and 50 male undergraduates articulated declarative cognizance of knowledge acquired from learning. Tests of four hypotheses showed that (1) increasingly higher levels of declarative cognizance were associated with faster learning rates, (2) six new cases of cognition-without-cognizance were observed, (3) students presumably using secondary signalization learned faster than those presumably using primary signalization, and (4) no sex differences in learning rates or declarative cognizance were observed. The notion that explicit levels of declarative cognizance may represent implicit hierarchical conceptualization comprised of four systems of knowledge acquisition led to the conclusions that primary signalization may account for inductive senscept formation at Level 1 and for inductive percept formation at Level 2, whereas emergent secondary signalization may account for inductive precept formation at Level 3 and for inductive concept formation at Level 4.

Educational Psychology in the 21st Century

Educational psychology has much to offer education in the 21st century, but it must take account of the great changes in the conditions of education that will undoubtedly occur-greater diversity of school populations and the enormous problems faced by the Third World. Educational psychologists must open up new contacts with colleagues in other countries. In the United States, it is unlikely that the goals that were set forth in 1990 by the National Governors' Association will be met to any satisfactory degree, but educational psychology can help define these goals and assess how well they are met. A major problem for educational psychology to solve in the 21st century is how the schools can deal successfully with individual differences in learning rates.

Transfer of Simulated Instrument Training to Instrument and Contact Flight

Identification of the specific contribution of training system variables (e.g., simulator system components, training mixes, curriculum utilization strategies) will ultimately lead to more efficient training for all tasks. An interest in the acquisition of piloting skills has led a number of researchers to question the relative transfer of simulated instrument training to instrument and contact flight. In this study, we examined the transfer of simulated instrument training from Device 2F101, the operational flight trainer for the T-2C aircraft, to actual instrument and contact flight for level speed change and standard-rate turn maneuvers. Trainees were randomly assigned to one of three training levels (two, four, or eight simulator flights) and to one of two aircraft flight conditions following training (contact or basic instruments) in a counterbalanced sequence. Altitude, air speed, and heading errors in deviations from controlled flight were recorded as measures of training effectiveness. The most notable finding indicates significant and equal transfer of instrument training to contact and instrument flight for the maneuvers selected. Other findings indicate differential learning rates for the two maneuvers but also indicate equal final performance on each maneuver for both types of flight. Finally, training mix (for aircraft or simulator training trial) was found to have no effect on student performance after eight trials.

Sex Differences in the Functional Asymmetry for Facial Affect Perception

Twenty-six right-hand-dominant women and 26 right-hand-dominant men were required to identify the facial affective expression of Ekman and Friesen's (1978) angry, happy, and neutral stimuli using a forced-choice reaction-time paradigm with only angry or happy alternatives signified by the respective response manipulanda. Stimuli were presented within the left or right visual fields to provide additional data on sex differences in the lateralized processing of facial affective stimuli. The results supported the hypothesis of greater laterality among men with equivalent response times for women and men to stimuli within the right but not the left visual fields. Men were significantly faster in processing affective facial information within the left visual field. The results also indicated that differential rates of learning occur in affective tachistoscope tasks for happy and angry stimuli. Thus, opposite conclusions may be derived from procedural differences among studies in the number of identification trials employed.

Firm Strategies for Costly Engineering Learning

The models developed in this paper seek to open up the ‘black-box’ of learning. I suggest that we need to think of learning-by-doing as a process of knowledge creation on the shop-floor by specialized teams of engineers. Learning is to be viewed, therefore, as a conscious decision and not a mere by-product of production. The models in this paper provide the basis for understanding international and inter-firm differences in rates of learning. For example, cheaper engineering resources, longer time horizons, faster output growth rates and superior transferability of knowledge from engineers to production workers are shown to be some possible factors responsible for faster learning in Japanese firms compared to U.S. firms.

Sex and grade differences and learning rate in an intensive summer reading clinic

In a long-term study of student progress in the Loyola University of the South Summer Reading Clinic, patterns of variance for sex and grade level were examined. Three assessment tools were used: the Nelson Reading Test (Vocabulary and Paragraph Comprehension) for grades four through eight, the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test (Vocabulary and Comprehension) for grades one through three, and the Spache Diagnostic Reading Scales (Instructional [oral] and Independent [silent] subtests) for all students. Subjects were 684 public and private school students in grades one through eight referred to the Clinic over an eight-year period. All were referred for possible reading disabilities. Because reading disabled males outnumber reading disabled females in the general population, the Clinic's data were examined to elucidate the comparative success rates of boys and girls in an intensive reading clinic setting. Grade differences also were examined to find significant differences in rate of learning among different grades. Females outscored males significantly on all measures. Both a difference in performance among grades and a difference in rate of learning among grades were shown.

Effects of Training Method and Word Order on Adults’ Acquisition of Miniature Linguistic Systems

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of training method, English vs. non-English syntax, and number of training items on the learning of two-word miniature linguistic systems. Language matrices were constructed consisting of nonsense syllables representing modifier and object referents. Adult subjects were exposed to nonoverlap (diagonal) or overlap (edgewise or stepwise) training conditions. In spite of the different number of items trained, there were no significant differences in the initial rate of learning among the three conditions. Overlap training, however, provided more extensive generalization to untrained items than did non-overlap training. The addition of overlapping training items was sufficient for subjects originally in the nonoverlap training condition to demonstrate recombinative generalization. Although both modifier-object and object-modifier word order rules were employed, the use of English word order did not facilitate learning nor generalization. Equating the number of training items in the two overlap training conditions served to attenuate differences in maintenance and generalization effects. An analysis of errors revealed that object words were produced correctly more often than modifiers, regardless of syntax and training condition. It is suggested that careful selection of training items and frequent monitoring of generalization can enhance the efficiency of intervention programs focusing on lexical and syntactic development.

Observation effects on learning in horses

Sixteen horses, divided into 2 groups of 8, were used to study observational learning in horses. One group served as controls while the other group served as the treated group (observers). Observers were allowed to watch a correctly performed discrimination task for 5 days prior to testing their learning response using the same task. Discrimination testing was conducted on all horses daily for 14 days, with criterion set at 7 out of 8 responses correct with the last 5 consecutively correct. The maximum number of trials performed without reaching criterion was limited to 20 per day. Mean trials to criteria (MT) by group were: control, 11.25; observer, 10.70. Mean error (ME) scores were: control, 2.37; observer, 2.02. Average initial discrimination error scores were 11.13 for control and 10.38 for observers ( P < 0.10). Asymptote was reached by Day 8 for both control and observer groups. Analysis of variance with repeated measures showed an extreme-day effect indicative of learning ( P < 0.01), with non-significant differences in learning rate between experimental groups. Whether the initial ability of the horses to perform a discrimination learning task was enhanced by observation of other horses' performance of that task was not obvious from these data.

Individualisering van Leesonderwijs aan Volwassenen. Een Verkenning van Mogelijkheden.

The first part of this article deals with the possibilities of individuali-zation in general and of the teaching of foreign languages in particular. Of the four areas of individualization (objectives of learning, rate of learning, method or style of learning and content of learning) the second is the most commonly used. The theory of Mastery Learning (Bloom 1971), which distinguishes between basic tasks and additional tasks, is an elaboration of Carroll's theory (1963) of differences in rate and learning. Since learning foreign languages consist of the acquisition of communicative skills and problem-solving strategies, more is needed than a classification of learning-content in basic tasks and additional tasks (Welsing 1978, Papen 1980). The differences in learning outcomes are not only caused by differences in learning rate, but above all by differences in learning strategies and methods. Therefore, we must know about individual learning strategies and methods, before we can improve them and thus also the result of the learning. This implies an investigation of the interaction between the individual learner and his/her teaching environment. Applied to the reading process: reading is a function of individual characteristics and task characteristics. To comprehend the interplay of these two kinds of characteristics of the reading of foreign languages, we have to investigate them in specific situations and for specific groups, as for example the group of adult language learners. (Hunt, 1972,1979). In reading a foreign language, three strategies are very important: 1) to elmininate irrelevant alternatives by using one's own knowledge, 2) to use as efficiently as possible the visual information of a text, 3) to take calculated risks. Related to the strategies I + 2 are individual styles of information-processing or cognitive styles.One aspect of the cognitive style of information-processing which is assumed to be important for reading a foreign language, is field-dependency/field-independency. Related to strategy 3 is the sense of personal control of learning which deals with the dimension of locus of control. Task-characteristics of reading are the degrees of structure, feedback and challenge in both text and teaching environment and the evaluation of the reading task. To improve the teaching of reading by adapting to individual differences we must investigate the interactions between the above-mentioned task characteristics and individual reading styles that are based on cognitive styles. We are planning a research project for German language learners (13 to 15 years old) and Spanish language learners (adults) in order to find out about these interactions. Meanwhile, the only recommendations for the teaching of reading are 1) much more atttention to the reading process, 2) more exercises to optimalize the three reading strategies (Westhoff, 1981, Neuner, 1981), 3) adaptation of the choice of texts to the interests and present knowledge of the language learner and A) not only evaluation of the product of reading but also of the process.

Process assessment: An examination of reinforcer effectiveness and predictive validity

This research describes an assessment procedure based on measures of actual learning. First-grade children (N = 120) learned five sight vocabulary words under feedback only, and were then assigned to one of five conditions where they learned five additional words either under feedback, praise, candy, praise and candy, or reproof. In a sixth condition (reciprocal to the first treatment), students learned the first five works under praise and the second five under feedback only. Although results indicated no differences in learning rate under different reinforcement conditions, learning measures under feedback accounted for approximately 39% of the variance in achievement (r = .62), with combined reinforcement learning measures slightly improving prediction (r = .68). The order of treatments had no effect on learning rate. Implications for this process approach to assessment are discussed. Directions for future research are suggested.

Strategies of absolute pitch possessors in the learning of an unfamiliar scale

Possessors of absolute pitch and control subjects were trained and later tested to identify pitches labeled with arbitrary note names. Although the absolute pitch subjects learned better than the controls, there was no difference in learning rate. Results are discussed in terms of sensory memory and category availability.