Yasushi Michita

An investigation into the structure and acquisition of orthographic knowledge: Evidence from cross-script Kanji-Hiragana priming

Numerous studies have demonstrated that orthographic knowledge is coded in an abstract format in English (e.g., the perceptually dissimilar wordsREAD/read map onto a common abstract orthographic representation). However, it is unclear at present whether this mapping occurs at the letter or word level. Two experiments investigated this issue in a language (i.e., Japanese) in which words can be written in perceptually unrelated scripts (Kanji and Hiragana) and, crucially, in which there are no letter correspondences between scripts. Using the long-term priming paradigm, robust priming was obtained when study-test words were depicted in Hiragana-Kanji, and vice versa. Furthermore, little priming was obtained following a study-test modality shift. The modality-specific nature of this priming suggests that corresponding words in the two scripts share common orthographic representations. A model is outlined that describes how abstract orthographic knowledge is acquired.

Do Students from Different Cultures Think Differently about Critical and Other Thinking Skills

In this chapter, we explore what students from different cultural backgrounds think “good” thinking skills are, including the skills they perceive as being necessary in their studies. We report on findings from focus group interviews we conducted with undergraduate university students from Kyoto and Okinawa in Japan, and from Auckland in New Zealand. What the students said during the interviews shows important similarities in views about what “good thinkers” possess, including many qualities associated with critical thinking such as consideration of different or alternative perspectives. However, when we specifically asked about the meaning of “critical thinking,” many of the students from Okinawa indicated uncertainty in their responses, and the students from Auckland and Okinawa also referred to thinking approaches that are not commonly associated with critical thinking such as intuition and positive thinking. The findings from our investigation suggest that students need more explicit instruction to promote critical thinking skills development, and that they should be provided clearer, more transparent explanations of the thinking skills they are expected to demonstrate in their courses of study.