Correct-schema-guided synthesis of steadfast programs

It can be argued that for (semi-)automated software development, program schemas are indispensable, since they capture not only structured program design principles, but also domain knowledge, both of which are of crucial importance for hierarchical program synthesis. Most researchers represent schemas purely syntactically (as higher-order expressions). This means that the knowledge captured by a schema is not formalized. We take a semantic approach and show that a schema can be formalized as an open (first-order) logical theory that contains an open logic program. By using a special kind of correctness for open programs, called steadfastness, we can define and reason about the correctness of schemas. We also show how to use correct schemas to synthesize steadfast programs

On correct program schemas

We present our work on the representation and correctness of program schemas, in the context of logic program synthesis. Whereas most researchers represent schemas purely syntactically as higher-order expressions, we shall express a schema as an open rst-order theory that axiomatises a problem domain, called a specication framework, containing an open program that represents the template of the schema. We will show that using our approach we can dene a meaningful notion of correctness for schemas, viz. that correct program schemas can be expressed as parametric specication frameworks containing templates that are steadfast, i.e. programs that are always correct provided their open relations are computed correctly. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1998

Schema-based logic program transformation

Ankara : Department of Computer Engineering and Information Science and Institute of Engineering and Science, Bilkent Univ., 1997.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 1997.Includes bibliographical references leaves 134-140Büyükyıldız, HalimeM.S

Synthesis of positive logic programs for checking a class of definitions with infinite quantification

We describe a method based on unfold/fold transformations that synthesizes positive logicprograms P(r)with the purpose of checking mechanically definitions of the form D(r) =∀X(r(X) ⇔QYR(X, Y))where ris the relation defined by the formula QYR(X, Y), Xis a set of variables to be instantiated at runtime by ground terms, QYis a set of quantifiedvariables on infinite domains (Qis the quantifier) and R(X, Y)a quantifier-free formulain the language of a first-order logic theory. This work constitutes a first step towards theconstruction of a new type of assertion checkers with the ability of handling restrictedforms of infinite quantification

The Long-Term Effect of Reading Recovery on Fourth Grade Reading Achievement

Reading Recovery is a first-grade literacy intervention program with notable short-term benefits, but there are sustainability studies that highlight inconclusive evidence of its enduring success. It was unclear if formerly enrolled Reading Recovery students continue to have long-term literacy skill retention after exiting the literacy intervention. The problem was essential to this rural district because Reading Recovery was costly to implement, and the literacy standardized test scores remained low. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if formerly enrolled Reading Recovery students had sustainable literacy skills. The theoretical framework was the literacy processing theory, which entails how emergent learners develop literacy processing systems. The research question was to determine if there was a significant difference in the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress standardized test scores between the 73 formerly enrolled and 38 nonenrolled students. The independent variable was enrollment in Reading Recovery, and the dependent variable was ISTEP+ standardized literacy scores. The independent sample t-test results showed no statistically significant difference in ISTEP+ standardized literacy scores. The results were the basis for the creation of the 3-day professional development training for educators in grades 2 and 3. The training will promote positive social change since it will support the continued literacy progress of formerly enrolled Reading Recovery students. Students with solid literacy skills will have better future employment opportunities and higher social engagement in American society

Investigating the Effects of Addition with Regrouping Strategy Instruction Among Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities

Many students, specifically those with learning disabilities, struggle to master foundational computation skills such as addition with regrouping. With this in mind, the purpose of this research was to examine the effects of strategy instruction that involved the use of the concrete-representational-abstract teaching sequence on the addition with regrouping computation and word problem-solving skills of students with learning disabilities. This study involved the use of a multiple probe across participants design with two replications. The participants included nine second through sixth graders who had been identified as having a learning disability and were demonstrating mathematics difficulties. There were three females (i.e., one White third grader, one Hispanic fourth grader, and one Hispanic sixth grader) and six males (i.e., two White second graders, two Hispanic third graders, one White third grader, and one Hispanic fifth grader). The participants received 20 lessons (Miller, Kaffar, & Mercer, 2011) that involved the use of strategy instruction and the concrete-representational-abstract teaching sequence to teach addition with regrouping to students with learning disabilities. The instructional method used in these lessons involved the combination of the concrete-representational-abstract sequence and the use of two mathematics strategies (i.e., RENAME and FAST RENAME). The results revealed that students with learning disabilities improved their abilities to solve addition with regrouping computation and word problems after receiving strategy instruction that involved the use of the concrete-representational-abstract teaching sequence. Additionally, most participants were able to maintain and generalize their abilities to solve addition with regrouping computation and word problems two weeks after receiving the intervention

A Case Study of Literature Discussions with Spanish-English Emergent Bilingual Children

This classroom-based case study examines how Spanish-English emergent bilingual children in a second grade one-way immersion classroom draw on prior knowledge and experiences and use comprehension strategies to discuss and comprehend three texts with different levels of cultural relevance. Through an examination of the rich range of cognitive, cultural-experiential, and linguistic resources evident in children\u27s discussion responses, a detailed sketch of key features of high-level discussion emerges. Findings build a case for the intentional use of culturally relevant texts as part of the literacy curriculum. Teacher pedagogy and classroom conditions also emerge as fundamental components for the achievement of high-level book discussions with Spanish-English emergent bilingual children

Cognitive theory a qualitative comparison of the George W. Bush administration and the Barack H.Obama administration

Although Republicans and Democrats frequently disagree ideologically, the leaders of both parties share one commonality in particular--they inevitably make flawed judgments. To adequately understand the extent to which psychological filters act as a fundamental factor in decision making, this thesis shall analyze current political events and observe how partisans within both administrations deal with information incompatible with their own values and beliefs. Specifically referencing the war in Iraq, weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), civil unrest, national security, the national economic climate, and the housing market, this study examines the way leaders deal differently with conflicting information. Although all subjects in the latter shall be discussed, the primary focus is directed towards weapons of mass destruction during the Bush administration and the economic climate during the Obama administration. During their presidencies, both administrations faced different circumstances and congruently possessed different ideologies in respect of how to resolve current problems. Therefore, both President Obama and Bush shall equally be observed in order to adequately compare the extent to which each succumbs to cognitive biases when faced with dissonant information. In addition, groupthink theory, schema theory, and self-justification shall be discussed as complimentary forces which impair political members\u27 decisions. Overall, qualitatively assessing both Republican and Democratic parties in one comprehensive examination breaks the bounds of usual political science studies because both partisans are linked more by their similarities than differences

Cylinders and spheres : toddlers engage in problem solving

Every day more six million infants and toddlers (children under 3 years of age) enter some kind of out-of-home care, with 22% of this group attending center-based programs. Studies on the quality of care in centers indicate that 40% of these children are in poor quality settings while 51 % are in mediocre to medium quality settings. Two factors contributing to these low ratings are lack of age-appropriate materials and lack of learning opportunities. To address these data Piaget\u27s theory of constructivism guided the design of a study to provide evidence of construction of knowledge that occurred when toddlers were provided with interesting objects and were allowed to play freely with those objects. The study took place in one classroom of a child care center located in a small rural town in the Midwest. Eight children 18 through 24 months old participated in the study. Materials selected for the study (clear cylinders and plastic spheres) were available to the children for two hours each day during activity time. Children were allowed to play freely with the materials. Adults in the classroom provided support but did not direct the activity. Two video cameras and descriptive field notes captured children\u27s actions with the materials. Data were analyzed to identify actions and sequences of actions that indicated construction of knowledge or problem solving. Findings from this study indicated that children progressively organized their actions as they explored the objects, identified problems, and worked to solve those problems. When given time and allowed to play freely with the materials, children were tenacious in their problem solving, often working on one problem over several days. The data revealed five components to the problem-solving process: exploration, contradiction, repetition, experimentation, solution. The types of problems children pursued were related to Piaget\u27s categories of reality: space, time and causality. Based on the findings, implications are provided for teachers (both pre-service and in-service) and teacher educators

Designing, implementing, and evaluating an automated writing evaluation tool for improving EFL graduate students’ abstract writing: a case in Taiwan

Writing English research article (RA) abstracts is a difficult but mandatory task for Taiwanese engineering graduate students (Feng, 2013). Understanding the current situation and needs of Taiwanese engineering graduate students, this dissertation aimed to develop and evaluate an automated writing evaluation (AWE) tool to assist their research article (RA) abstract writing in English by following a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach as the methodological framework. DBR was chosen because it strives to solve real-world problems through multiple iterations of development and building on results from each iteration to advance the project. Six design iterations were undertaken to develop and to evaluate the AWE tool in this dissertation, including (1) corpus compilation of engineering RAs, (2) genre analysis of engineering abstracts, (3) machine learning of move classification in abstracts, (4) analysis of lexical bundles used to express moves, (5) analysis of the choice of verb categories associated with moves, and finally, (6) AWE tool development based on previous findings, classroom implementation, and evaluation of the AWE tool following Chapelle’s (2001) computer-assisted language learning (CALL) framework. To begin with, I collected a corpus of 480 engineering RAs (Corpus-480) to extract appropriate linguistic properties as pedagogical materials to be implemented in the AWE tool. A sub-corpus (Corpus-72) was compiled with 72 RAs randomly chosen from Corpus-480 for manual and automated analyses. Next, to seek the best descriptive framework for the structure of engineering RA abstracts, two move schemata were compared: (1) IMRD (Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Discussion) and (2) CARS (Create-A-Research-Space, Swales, 1990). Abstracts in Corpus-72 were annotated and these two schemas were evaluated according to three quantitative metrics devised specifically for this comparison. Applying a statistical natural language processing (StatNLP) approach, a Support Vector Machine (SVM) was trained for automated move classification in abstracts. Formulaic language in engineering RA sections was used as linguistic features to automatically classify moves in abstracts. Additionally, four-word lexical bundles and verb categories were identified from Corpus-480 and Corpus-72, respectively. Four-word lexical bundles associated with moves in abstracts were extracted automatically. Additionally, verb categories (i.e., tense, aspect, and voice) in moves of abstracts were identified using CyWrite::Analyzer, a hybrid (statistical and rule-based) NLP software. Finally, the AWE tool was developed, based on the findings from the previous iterations, and implemented in an English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) classroom setting. Through analyzing students’ drafts before and after using the tool, and responses to a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview, the AWE tool was evaluated based on Chapelle’s (2001) CALL evaluation framework. The findings showed that students attempted to improve their abstracts by adding, deleting, or changing the sequences of their sentences, lexical bundles, and verb categories in their abstracts. Their attitudes toward the effectiveness and appropriateness of the tool were quite positive. Overall, the AWE tool drew students’ attention to the use of lexical bundles and verb categories to achieve the communicative purposes of each move in their abstracts. In conclusion, this dissertation started from Taiwanese engineering students’ needs to improve their English abstract writing, and attempted to develop and evaluate an AWE tool for assisting them. Following DBR, the findings from this dissertation are discussed to improve the next generation of the AWE tools. Having these iterations in place, future studies can focus on developing pedagogical materials from genre-based analysis in different disciplines to fulfill learners’ needs