Generalization of Social Skills Learned via Video-Modeling in Children with ASD

Impairments in reciprocal pretend play are well documented in children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The effectiveness of many different behavioral teaching techniques has been examined in order to teach play skills to children with autism. Central to our purpose is the application of video-modeling to the training of new skills in children with ASD. Research has provided ample support for the notion that new skills may be acquired by observation of video-modeled behavior. Our study will examine the cooperative social behavior of children with ASD and the probability of generalization of social skills learned from video modeling. Further, we hope to discern whether video-modeling alone is sufficient or whether video-modeling must be paired with other techniques, such as prompting, to be effective in training social response in children. This project aims to reveal the level of effectiveness of video-modeling in training new social interaction skills to children with ASD. This information will be of significant benefit to therapists, parents, and caregivers as they strive to identify the most effective treatments for their children

Applying Memory Science to the Classroom: Effects of Reading Questions and Answer Keys on Test Scores

Instructors and students are constantly searching for effective ways to increase reading comprehension. Cognitive science would suggest that both additional assessment as described by the testing effect and timely feedback would increase comprehension. Our study investigated the effect of assigning reading questions on the quiz scores of undergraduate students. We also examined the effect of giving students an answer key versus verbal feedback on final quiz scores. Prior to the intervention, students completed a reading and then were given a pre-test group activity and post-test during class. Researchers selected certain class sections to complete ungraded questions prior to class as well as selecting sections to receive answer keys during the group activity. We found that students who completed reading questions had significantly higher initial quiz scores than those who did not complete reading questions. Results also showed that students who had an answer key during their class activity scored significantly higher on their final quiz than those who reviewed the answers with an instructor. This research provides insight into maximizing student tests scores and improving reading comprehension. This technique can be applied to fields outside of an educational setting to increase initial understanding of material

High-slope Terrain Locomotion for Torque-Controlled Quadruped Robots

International audienceResearch into legged robotics is primarily motivated by the prospects of building machines that are able to navigate in challenging and complex environments that are predominantly non-flat. In this context, control of contact forces is fundamental to ensure stable contacts and equilibrium of the robot. In this paper we propose a planning/control framework for quasi-static walking of quadrupedal robots, implemented for a demanding application in which regulation of ground reaction forces is crucial. Experimental results demonstrate that our 75-kg quadruped robot is able to walk inside two high-slope (50 degrees) V-shaped walls; an achievement that to the authors' best knowledge has never been presented before. The robot distributes its weight among the stance legs so as to optimize user-defined criteria. We compute joint torques that result in no foot slippage, fulfillment of the unilateral constraints of the contact forces and minimization of the actuators effort. The presented study is an experimental validation of the effectiveness and robustness of QP-based force distributions methods for quasi-static locomotion on challenging terrain