TRANSPORTABILITY OF EQUIVALENCE-BASED PROGRAMMED INSTRUCTION: EFFICACY AND EFFICIENCY IN A COLLEGE CLASSROOM

College students in a psychology research-methods course learned concepts related to inferential statistics and hypothesis decision making. One group received equivalence-based instruction on conditional discriminations that were expected to promote the emergence of many untaught, academically useful abilities (i.e., stimulus equivalence group). A negative control group received no instruction, and a positive (complete instruction) control group received instruction on all possible relations (those taught to, and emerging untaught in, the stimulus equivalence group). On posttests, the stimulus equivalence group performed as well as the positive control group (and both outperformed the negative control group), but those in the equivalence-based instruction condition achieved this outcome with significantly less training, thereby demonstrating the efficiency of equivalence-based instruction. Social validity measures indicated that participants found the instruction to be beneficial and as enjoyable as traditional teaching methods

COLLEGE-LEVEL INSTRUCTION: DERIVED RELATIONS AND PROGRAMMED INSTRUCTION

Recent research has demonstrated the effectiveness of programmed instruction that integrates derived relations to teach college-level academic material. This method has been demonstrated to be effective and economical in the teaching of complex mathematics and biology concepts. Although this approach may have potential applications with other domains of college learning, more studies are needed to evaluate important technological variables. Studies that employ programmed instruction are discussed in relation to future directions for research

Verbal behavior development theory and relational frame theory: reflecting upon similarities and differences

Relational frame theory and verbal behavior development theory are two behavior-analytic perspectives on human language and cognition. Despite sharing reliance on Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior, relational frame theory and verbal behavior development theory have largely been developed independently, with initial applications in clinical psychology and education/development, respectively. The overarching goal of the current paper is to provide an overview of both theories and explore points of contact that have been highlighted by conceptual developments in both fields. Verbal behavior development theory research has identified how behavioral developmental cusps make it possible for children to learn language incidentally. Recent developments in relational frame theory have outlined the dynamic variables involved across the levels and dimensions of arbitrarily applicable relational responding, and we argue for the concept of mutually entailed orienting as an act of human cooperation that drives arbitrarily applicable relational responding. Together these theories address early language development and children's incidental learning of names. We present broad similarities between the two approaches in the types of functional analyses they generate and discuss areas for future research

Subwavelength coherent imaging of periodic samples using a 13.5 nm tabletop high-harmonic light source

Coherent diffractive imaging is unique, being the only route for achieving high spatial resolution in the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray regions, limited only by the wavelength of the light. Recently, advances in coherent short-wavelength light sources, coupled with progress in algorithm development, have significantly enhanced the power of X-ray imaging. However, so far, high-fidelity diffraction imaging of periodic objects has been a challenge because the scattered light is concentrated in isolated peaks. Here, we use tabletop 13.5 nm high-harmonic beams to make two significant advances. First, we demonstrate high-quality imaging of an extended, nearly periodic sample for the first time. Second, we achieve subwavelength spatial resolution (12.6 nm) imaging at short wavelengths, also for the first time. The key to both advances is a novel technique called 'modulus enforced probe', which enables robust and quantitative reconstructions of periodic objects. This work is important for imaging next-generation nano-engineered devices