Edited by: Ann X. Huang, Duquesne University, USA
Reviewed by: Ann X. Huang, Duquesne University, USA; Jie Zhang, The College at Brockport State University of New York, USA
*Correspondence: Stefan Billinger, School of Health and Medical Sciences, Örebro University, SE-701 82, Örebro, Sweden. e-mail:
This article was submitted to Frontiers in Educational Psychology, a specialty of Frontiers in Psychology.
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Students’ capabilities to use symbolic information in classroom setting could be expected to influence their possibilities to be active and participating. The development of strategies for teachers to compensate for reduced capability need specific operational definition of symbolic behavior. Fifty-three students, aged 11–13 years old, 29 boys and 24 girls, from three classes in the same Swedish compulsory regular school participated in the current study. After a short training sequence 25 students (47%) were defined as showing symbolic behavior (symbolic), and 28 students (53%) were not (non-symbolic), based on their follow-up test performances. Symbolic and non-symbolic differed significantly on post-test performances (
One central aspect of such complex situation as a regular classroom situation would probably be student's capacities to functionally use symbolic information (e.g., Bruce,
Descriptions of children's decontextualized behavior are used in previous research (Morgan and Goldstein,
Sidman (
Methodology based on derived stimulus relations may add a measure with greater operational precision to observe shifts from non-symbolic behavior to symbolic behavior. Previous research has applied this methodology and shown that it is possible to use skill-building strategies to train the use of symbolic information in students with developmental disabilities (Barnes-Holmes et al.,
The purpose of the current study was to apply the operational model of one aspect of symbolic functioning in regular classroom settings. To do so we employed a basic matching-to-sample procedure commonly used to emerge stimulus equivalence (Sidman,
A total of 53 students, aged 11–13 years old, 29 boys and 24 girls, recruited from three different classes, participated in the study. All three classes were from the same compulsory regular school in Sweden. The target school had approximately 200 students ranging in age from 6 to 13 years old and is regarded as a normal school without any particular differential characteristics and the three classes were also seen as “ordinary” school classes.
Each student was given a paper pad at the beginning of each session in the experiment. The pad had a page for each training and test trial. Every second page in the pad was colored (to facilitate for the test leader to see when all students had made their response in that trial and had turned to the next page). Each page in the pad was numbered with the trial number in small numerals in the bottom right corner. Each page had three printed X crosses (X X X), representing the row of three comparison stimuli presented on the silver screen in front of the class. The children were instructed to circle the cross which represented the comparison stimulus they thought matched the sample stimulus.
Throughout the experiment, nine main visual stimuli were used (see Figure
In all matching-to-sample training and test trials, these visual stimuli were projected on a silver screen, visible to all students in the class at the same time. A projector was used for the visual projection of the stimuli from a PowerPoint file.
The purpose of this experiment was to exam the relation between the training sequence and students showing symbolic behavior. Altogether 42 training trials and 24 test trials were conducted in each class during the three sessions with matching-to-sample procedures. The first session was designed as a pre-test, training, post-test procedure. The second session was designed as a training-post-test procedure repeated across two conditions (training of two stimulus classes; see Figure
A mixed two-way ANOVA was used to evaluate the effects of the short matching-to-sample training on students’ test trial scores. The within-subject factor was training, that is the number of correct scores on the pre-test and the average number of correct scores from the three stimulus classes on post- and follow-up tests of indirectly trained stimulus relations. The between-subject factor was whether or not the student was defined as showing symbolic behavior. Finally, three ANOVAs were performed with the same within and between-subject factors and the same pre-test but only with post- and follow-up tests concerning every stimulus classes.
When a student had performed all 18 of 18 mixed training trials correctly (100%), and at least 8 out of 9 of the follow-up test trials correctly (89%), he/she was considered to show a symbolic behavior. Rather than excluding students who probably saw the indirect stimulus relation but made some careless mistake at the scoring, we chose to use a marginal 8 out of 9. However if a student who had 100% correct training trials (18 of 18), but performed less than 89% in the follow-up test trials (i.e., less than 8 out of 9), he/she was considered as failing to show symbolic behavior. The probability is very small for a student to score 8 out of 9 trials correctly in a row, with three options at every trial, by chance.
All students participated of their own free will, and could leave the study at anytime. The students’ parents were informed of the study by letter and had to give their written approval of their child's participation in the study. Initially 70 students participated in this study but eventually only 53 students followed all procedures and completed the study. Fifty-three of the initially 70 students scored all training trials correct at the end of training sequences, and they were on that ground included in the complete study. The present study was conducted consistent with the ethical rules and considerations within the national Swedish act “Ethical Review of Research Involving Humans (2003:460).” All three sessions in the study was conducted in the student's regular school class and regular classroom. The main structure of the procedure was the same in all three sessions. The students sat in their regular seats taking notes, and the experimenter stood in front of the class showing pictures. The procedure in the present study took about 10–20 min to administrate. Both the experimenter and the teacher were present in the classroom during the procedure encouraging the students not to whisper to each other, but to work independently.
The students were trained and tested in the formation of three 3-member equivalence classes (A1–B1–C1, A2–B2–C2, A3–B3–C3; see Figure
All trials started such that the sample stimulus [for example the word DOG (A1)] was visible in the upper center part of the screen. After that, three comparison stimuli were visible in a row, in the lower part of the screen [for example a circle (C1), a triangle, and a rectangle]. The student's task was to choose one of the three comparison stimuli to match the sample stimulus. After every matching-to-sample training trial, the students were presented with information about which comparison stimulus was the right one in the trial. An arrow from the sample stimulus to the correct comparison stimulus appeared (see Figure
In the present study 53 students of the initially 70 students, scored all training trials correct at the end of training sequences. Of those 53 students, 28 (53%, 15 boys, 13 girls) did not show symbolic behavior in the post-test trials (non-symbolic), while 25 (47%, 14 boys, 11 girls) showed symbolic behavior in post-test trials (symbolic). These 53 students were sub grouped in to a non-symbolic student group and a symbolic student group.
A mixed two-way ANOVA was performed with Training (pre-test, post-test, follow-up test) as the within-subject factor and Symbolic Behavior as the between-subject factor. The dependent variable was the number of correct scores on the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up test. Data analyses showed there was a significant impact of Training [
There was also a significant impact on Symbolic Behavior [
Finally, there was also a Training × Symbolic behavior interaction effect. Data analyses showed that the non-symbolic students first improved their scores on the post-test when compared to the pre-test, but then significantly lower their scores in the follow-up when compared to the post-test. The performance of symbolic students not only improved in the post-test when compared to the pre-test, but also significantly improved on the follow-up when compared to the post-test. For means and SD see Table
Test conditions | Non-symbolic | Symbolic | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SD | SD | |||||
Pre-test | 28 | 0.96 | 0.92 | 25 | 0.92 | 1.12 |
Total post-test | 28 | 2.20 |
0.74 | 25 | 2.67 |
0.40 |
Total follow-up | 28 | 1.56 |
64 | 25 | 2.89 |
0.16 |
Pre-test | 28 | 0.96 | 0.92 | 25 | 0.92 | 1.12 |
Stimulus class 1 post | 28 | 2.07 |
1.18 | 25 | 2.48 |
0.92 |
Stimulus class 1 follow | 28 | 1.75 |
1.21 | 25 | 2.96 |
0.20 |
Pre-test | 28 | 0.96 | 0.92 | 25 | 0.92 | 1.12 |
Stimulus class 2 post | 28 | 2.21 |
1.13 | 25 | 2.92 |
0.40 |
Stimulus class 2 follow | 28 | 1.68 |
1.02 | 25 | 2.84 |
0.37 |
Pre-test | 28 | 0.96 | 0.92 | 25 | 0.92 | 1.12 |
Stimulus class 3 post | 28 | 2.32 |
0.98 | 25 | 2.60 |
0.71 |
Stimulus class 3 follow | 28 | 1.21 |
1.23 | 25 | 2.88 |
0.73 |
Subsequently similarly analyses (mixed two-way ANOVA, 5% level) were performed where post-test and follow-up results for each stimulus class were compared with the pre-test. The analyses yielded the same significant indications in regard to Training, Symbolic Behavior, or interaction effects as already been reported for the average scores, with the exception of Stimulus class 3 where there was no difference between post-test and follow-up in the symbolic students. For means and SD see Table
Low scores on pre-test and high scores on post-test indicate that the students have learned to respond to (to “see”) derived (indirect) stimulus relations within the stimulus class. The students’ pre-test scores indicate that they had no previous experience of the stimulus relations before the short training sequence. Then, just a few minutes later at the post-test trials they response as they can see them. That response, acting on derived (indirectly learned) stimulus relations in the present study, was defined as symbolic behavior. High scores on both post-test and follow-up test indicated that was not just something accidental. The symbolic students learn to see the derived stimulus relation, and score on follow-up test as if they learn to see the indirect stimulus relations even better, whereas the scores from the non-symbolic students seem to indicate less ability to see the indirect stimulus relation. The scores indicated that the same score pattern repeat across all three stimulus classes. It also indicated that some students seem to have an ability to quickly “see” the indirect stimulus relations and show symbolic behavior. The overall results indicate that the procedure used in the current study have a potential to differentiate between directly learned student behaviors and indirectly symbolic students’ behaviors in classroom settings.
The present study had two hypotheses: (a) Some students were expected to show symbolic behavior and some students were not, based on their scores on the post-test trials, and (b) there would be no significant differences between post-test and follow-up scores, for neither group, thereby indicating a consistency in non-symbolic or symbolic behavior.
As hypothesized, some students in the study showed their capability to relatively easily use symbolic information and show symbolic behavior, after only short training in regular classroom settings. This result indicate that an operational definition of symbolic behavior based on stimulus equivalence methodology, as suggested by Wilkinson and McIlvane (
The theoretical assumption behind the hypothesis is that if a group of students score all correct responses on the test trails after the training session, they have previously learned to more easily and automatically respond to indirect (symbolic) relation from directly trained or experienced relations (Hayes et al.,
Surprisingly, results from our study did not support the second hypotheses. Results indicated that the difference between the students who showed symbolic behavior and those who did not, were more evident in the follow-up data a few days after training. The children with no symbolic behavior deteriorated their performance, while children with symbolic behavior enhanced their performance. This indicates that the short training sequence seemed to have made a profound and long lasting impact on the students. Difference in how they would respond and behave in situations was not directly associated to the short training sequence. The group of students, who failed to score correctly on follow-up test trials but did not differ (from the group of students who showed symbolic behavior) on pre-test or training trials, were defined in the current study as failing to show symbolic behavior. Within a more functional theoretical framework, it means these students failed because they had not learned to automatically respond to the symbolic relation under these premises. Their symbolic behavior has not been reinforced enough to the point where the perception of the symbolic relation automatically would guide their response (Luciano et al.,
The basic idea in the present study was to test whether students would response to stimulus relations they did not had any previous direct systematic reinforcing experience of. But, could there be any unaware systematic direct reinforcement during the training trails that makes the test trials directly trained stimulus relations rather than derived symbolic relations? The nine main stimuli that were used altogether as comparison stimuli in the nine test trials (post-tests and follow-up tests), had been used differently in the training trials.
The stimulus DOG (A1) had neither appeared as a “correct” nor “incorrect” comparison stimulus in any trial during the training. The stimulus RABBIT (A2) had appeared as “correct” in 6 trials, but never as “incorrect.” The stimulus CAT (A3) had appeared as “correct” in 6 trials, and as “incorrect” in 6 trials. The stimulus “blue-patch” (B1) had appeared as “correct” in 9 trials, but never as “incorrect.” The stimuli “red patch” (B2) and “green-patch” (B3), had both only appeared as “incorrect” in 9 trials. The stimulus “rectangle” (C1) had appeared as “correct” in 9 trials but never as “incorrect.” The stimulus “rhombus” (C2), had appeared as “correct” in 3 trials but never as “incorrect,” and the stimulus “trapezoid” (C3) had appeared as “correct” in 3 trials, and as “incorrect” in 3 trials. So, if the student strictly responded according to which comparison stimulus that had been associated with most positive reinforcement during the training, the student would get 1 test trial correct out of 9 altogether. So neither extraneous rules nor extraneous direct reinforcement could easily be seen as alterative explanation to why a majority of the students scored all test trails correct.
The present results indicated that the short training sequence was sufficient to give “the symbolic students” experiences that guide their behavior even more easily days after the training, whiles the opposite seemed true for “the non-symbolic students.” The short training sequence seemed to have made a profound and long lasting impact on the students. But from the results of our current study, we cannot confirm yet whether or not the observed symbolic behavior is analog to meaningful student behavior manifesting from the use of symbolic information in classroom settings. To be able to predict more precisely when students may succeed or fail to be active and participate in classroom settings after short teacher instructions, further studies are needed.
Our main conclusion is that the procedure used in the current study has a potential to differentiate between directly learned student behaviors and indirectly symbolic students’ behaviors in classroom settings. Although further work is required to gain better understanding on how to present information in classroom more effectively so that all students have the equal chance to respond to symbolic information, our findings indicated an opening for more empirical research on symbolic behavior in natural settings such as in regular classrooms. That might help us further find out on a functional level which student might be at risk in different instructional situations.
The research plan has followed the ethical standards of the
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.