A competency-based, field-centered systems approach to elementary school teacher education was designed to bring about specified, measurable outcomes, to have evidence of its effectiveness continually available, and to be adaptive in the light of that evidence. The model was separated into two interdependent parts, the instructional model and the…

The proceedings of a conference which reviewed the content of undergraduate animal science curricula, content of courses in the animal sciences, and methods and materials used in undergraduate teaching in the animal sciences are presented in this bulletin. These individual papers are included: Trends in Animal Agriculture and the Future of…

In this National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) publication, the advantages of having living things in the classroom are discussed. Also given is a brief description of the facilities and environments required for various common mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and plants. (CP)

While responses permitting no change in location are learned very slowly, responses that allow unambiguous flight from a dangerous location are learned very rapidly. Two experiments examine the possible reinforcing properties of the flight response in avoidance acquisition. (Author/RK)

Sociobiology, although in its formative stage, is the most promising paradigm for bridging the gap between biology and the social sciences. (Author/AM)

Students of ethology are often confused about the validity of arguments based on comparisons of animal and human behavior. The problem can be dealt with purely theoretically or through observational or experimental studies of human behavior. Some results of using these two methods are described and discussed. (Author/MA)

The author examines the evolutionary and neural roots of a triune intelligence comprised of a primal mind, an emotional mind, and a rational mind. A simple brain model and some definitions of unfamiliar behavioral terms are included. (Author/MA)

Rhesus monkeys were reared in total isolation, in partial isolation, or under normal conditions with access to mothers and peers. Each group was compared on the rate of acquisition of a simple operant response. (GO)

Whether a stimulus compound is separable or integral has predictable consequences for several human information processing tasks. The purpose of these experiments was to explore the implications of this distinction for research in animal learning and the development of learning theory. (Author/RK)

Rats performed an intermittently reinforced operant response and received periodic presentations of a visual conditioned stimulus (CS) located either very near or far from the operant manipulandum. Findings suggest there are deficiencies in the general accounts of conditioned suppression that stress the motivational or emotional effects of…

The negative-contrast effect occurs when animals that are shifted from large to small reward temporarily drop below small reward control groups. The basic question asked here in three experiments was whether animals tested under a specific drive level will behave as though they expect a reward magnitude previously received, depending on the reward…

Assesses the validity of physiological versus learning interpretations of illness-preexposure effects. (Author/RK)

A one-hour presentation given to veterinary medical students at Texas A&M University during their first week of professional school is summarized. It helps the students place some of their subjects and disciplines in perspective, emphasizing the overall morphologic organizational scheme of the higher vertebrate body. (LBH)

Data suggesting that different brain circuits may underlie different forms of learning and memory are reviewed. Several current theories of learning and memory with respect to hippocampal and other brain circuit involvement are considered. (PCB)