You know what they say... the rat is always right. Sniffy can certainly teach that important lesson taught in every Learning Theories class. I have had a number of students train Sniffy successfully. Of course, no simulation is perfect but neither is reality. In my undergrad learning class, I was graded on what my rat learned and guess what...my first rat died of a respiratory infection so I had to rush something less complex and less well-learned through to meet the deadline. In general, what I am teaching in learning is a set of principles that can be demonstrated by a simulation and not the vagaries of every day life. Sure, in life, things happen. But it isn't a philosophy class. I want them to learn the principles that have been discovered through prior research. Many of those learning principles can't even be demonstrated with a single rat because of its memory of previous trials (like discrimination gradients). With Sniffy, you can save the simulation at various points to see what learning would be like under different contingencies and training regimens.
By the way, there is no reason that an online course couldn't use a real animal, assuming the students weren't allergic or had other distracting reactions to the animal like disgust. You could just require them to purchase an animal or use a pet they have to learn a behavior. Unless you think learning principles are only generalizable to lab rats. Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR 72761 [email protected] ________________________________________ From: William Scott [[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 8:17 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: RE: [tips] Sniffy.... I have to add that I have done quite a bit of successful shaping with various species but found Sniffy to be untrainable. Never used it in class. I agree with Tim. The model used for the programming is different from the model used by many to successfully train actual rather than virtual animals. Another reason why online courses will always be lacking in important experiences for students. Bill Scott --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=1288 or send a blank email to leave-1288-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
