THE RAT PROJECT
as a means of authentic learning
During a unit on learning and conditioning, students will read about and discuss 67 terms in their text/through lecture. More importantly, they will apply these terms in a project with a LIVE rat!
HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO-CHALLENGE: The school board is concerned that students are not performing high-level, intellectual tasks in the classroom. Habits of reading, writing, talking, and thinking are becoming increasingly important to 21st century life. The board asked that students demonstrate deep conceptual thinking in their classes, especially when it comes to project-based learning.
OBJECTIVE: Students will document authentic learning while training their rat. In addition to meeting minimum requirements during training, students will keep a journal and produce a video as part of their assessment. Students should show two distinct levels of learning in their journal and video. Students should reflect on their own learning (metacognition) and the conditioning of their rat. Students should analyze and apply the concepts that they read as part of their journal entries. The video must reveal the progress and success of the rat – from beginning to end. And the video should include student explanations of relevant terms.
This challenge develops student capacity for constructing learning, working collaboratively, and grappling with the essential question: What strategies most effectively help animals, humans learn and/or change an organism’s behavior?
PRODUCTS: Students will complete the project with a journal, well-trained rat, and video that evidences student/rat learning.
REQUIREMENTS IN REVIEWDaily Journal / Date, rat’s weight, successes/struggles; at least two major concept explained/applied. Student’s metacognition is explained alongside rat’s conditioning.
Modify Behavior; show learning / Train rat to complete basic tricks, complex tricks, shaping, chaining, Skinner Box and/or maze
Video / Target words/vocabulary used to explain the rat’s training. Visual footage of rat’s progress and conditioning from beginning to end.
GRADING/EXPECTATIONS
Classical, Operant Conditioning Training Log
Make daily entries for what your rat accomplished or what (s)he might have done that was unusual, and what your strategies will be for the next training session. Each person in your team must keep their own hand-written copy of any observations made. Exceptional journals include target language (DEFINITION AND APPLICATION) as well as student and rat growth. Rat care (food intake/weight) and attendance are part of this grade. If you are absent, students must make-up the time missed with their rat.
Behavior Modification, Learning
Classical Conditioning: Clicker – associate sound with food to influence rat’s involuntary emotion, reflex toward humans
Operant Conditioning: Use consequences to change rat’s voluntary behaviors – including various “tricks” “Skinner box” “obstacle course” and/or “maze”
See tricks paper for more details
Video
Students will create a video that describes 7-9 concepts with great depth. In addition to explaining the concept in the students’ own words, students should apply the rat’s training. The more target vocabulary, the more substantive the discussion/presentation.
General objectives (SWBAT):
Collaborate with peers
Practice ethical and scientific research
Define and apply learning concepts to journal and hands-on challenges with rat
Authentically demonstrate learning concepts through rat performances
Use technology to produce a visual representation of student and rat learning
PMHS Name______
AP PSYCH
RAT TRICKS
Basic tricks
a) Clicker response: “salivates” since this is hard to measure, rat eats food after click
b) PVC tunnel walk: all the way through tunnel with or without food/object at end
c) Stand – no food
d) Small jump
e) Rope Climb
f) ¼ inch dowel rod (practice thicker dowel first)
g) Twist or spin with food (must not be walking in a circle, but back feet in same area)
h) Come when name is called (at least two feet away)
i) Touch bar once in SKINNER BOX when teacher watches
j) Pushes ball with nose/hand – creates some movement
k) At least two hurdles in a row
Complex tricks
a) Double/Triple twist or spin with no food
b) Walk on hind legs at least 3-5 steps without food
c) Basketball: Puts ball in bowl
d) Runs wheel on demand of click
e) Marble across ramp
f) Long jump – at least 10 inches
g) Weave through five sticks
h) Pushes SKINNER BOX bar five times in a row for one treat
**Next page: CHOOSE TWO - Skinner Box, Maze or Obstacle Course
CHAINING: Combine 4 tricks together - including one complex trick – the only prompting permitted is the clicker or sound
3 complex tricks + 1 basic = 100%
2 complex tricks + 2 basic = 90%
1 complex trick + 3 basic = 85%
4 basic tricks = 75%
LIST THE TRICKS YOU PLAN TO CHAIN TOGETHER in a “course”
1.
2.
3.
4.
If hands are used -5 for each wave/trick
If food is used -10 for each trick (highest grade = 60% if food is used whole time)
SKINNER BOX:
Rat pushes bar 60 times in one minute for one pellet = 100%
Rat pushes bar 99 times for one pellet (within 5 minutes) = 90%
Rat pushes bar on variable ratio schedule with an average of 5 for at least 3 pellets = 85%
Rat pushes bar consistently thirty times in a row to get one pellet = 80%
Rat pushes bar consistently fifteen times in a row to get one pellet = 70%
MAZE: Latent learning maze Rec: 2.57 seconds! or Speed reinforcement maze
*Can use noise or rat’s name with no points deducted
No food/hands AT ALL: Beat “WORLD RECORD” 55/50 WOW!
No food/hands AT ALL; Fast time (under 6 seconds) 50/50 100%
No food/hands AT ALL; Time between 7-15 seconds 48/50 96%
Uses finger to “trace”; no taps; Time under 15 seconds 45/50 90%
Uses finger to “trace”; no taps; Time btwn 16-25 seconds 43/50 86%
Uses finger to “trace”; no taps; Time under 30 seconds 40/50 80%
Uses food to trace; no taps; Time under 30 seconds 38/50 76%
Uses food to trace; one tap; time under 30 seconds 35/50 70%
Uses food; more than one tap; under 30 seconds 33/50 66%
Uses food; more than one tap; under 1 minute 30/50 60%
Uses food; more than one tap; over 1 minute; does not finish 25/50 50%
RAT JOURNAL
Student should define and apply terms for full credit
A – Exemplary / B – Good / C – Average / D – Needs improvement / F - Incomplete45 terms or more
45 (A-)
50 (A+) / 37-44 words
40 (B-)
44 (B+) / 35-39 words
35 (C-)
39 (C+) / Less than 35 words
34 (D+)
30 (D-) / Less than 29 words
Associative Learning
Classical Conditioning
Neutral Stimulus
Unconditioned stimulus
Unconditioned response
Conditioned stimulus
Conditioned response
Acquisition / Latent Learning
Delayed Conditioning / Cognitive Map/Tolman
Trace Conditioning / Social/Observational Learning
Simultaneous conditioning / Modeling
Backward conditioning / Albert Bandura/Bobo Doll
Taste aversion/John Garcia
Cognitive process/Robert Rescorla
Little Albert
Generalization
Discrimination
Extinction / Premack principle
Spontaneous Recovery
Law of Effect/Thorndike / Chaining
Shaping
Operant chamber/Skinner Box/BF Skinner / Fixed Ratio
Operant Conditioning / Variable Ratio
Continuous Reinforcement / Fixed interval
Partial (intermittent) Reinforcement / Variable interval
Positive Reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement / Avoidance; escape
Positive Punishment / Positive punisher
Negative Punishment/Omission training / Negative punisher
Primary reinforcer
Secondary reinforcer
Students should also document rat’s weight, food pellets given, food pellets eaten the previous day, etc.
Materials/Supplies
Cages/H2O· Each rat provided their own cage, water bottle
· 10 Gallon Tanks or glass aquariums with screen covers work well
· The ideal cage is one made of wire (typical cage for a hamster) – sometimes students can find wire top for glass aquarium. This pictured below (wire allows for more ventilation).
· Small-medium leak-proof water bottles (always look for circle seal inside).
· Some rats get into the habit of biting water bottles and there are guards sold – these also help water bottles hang in glass cage: Called “Basic Hold Guard”
Rat’s Health/Growth: Scale, Food
· Digital scale used to weigh rats
· Often need a wire container or enclosed container to hold rat while (s)he is being weighed.
· Rats should never lose more than 5-10% of body weight as it is a sign of sickness.
· Students should keep track of weight on a daily basis (measured in grams) and they should keep track of how many food pellets are given and eaten on a daily basis. If snack food/reinforcement is not having an influence on rat’s behavior, students may want to give fewer pellets on a nightly basis. Pellets should not be used as rewards, so rats can learn to discriminate reinforcers.
· Food: Any grain pellets work well. Blocked food preferred, so rats get all the nutrients they need. When rats given sunflower-seeds, etc., they pick out the food they like.
Bedding
Paper bedding is preferred to wood shavings. Some argue that wood shavings have “pine” which can have a negative effect on the levels of oxygen in the cage environment.
Shredded paper works and is much cheaper; however, this type of paper must be cleaned once every day – the paper does not deodorize the urine smell. Carefresh bedding (or similar products) stay fresh for 5-6 days and can be changed on a weekly basis.
Primary, Secondary Reinforcers
Students can bring in primary reinforcers (food) for rat. Rather than feed rat a regular diet through training, treats like dried cereals, yogurt drops, cheese, or pure sugar pellets can be used as rewards. Students can also train rats to associate this food with a secondary reinforcer – like a clicker, which can be purchased at any pet store.
Rat learns to stand on small skateboard using sugar pellets and clicker.
Skinner Box, Maze
There are various businesses where one can purchase a scientific operant chamber. We used Lafayette Instrument and purchased a “Student Operant Lab Package.” This was just over $2,000; it is possible to construct one as we did the maze.
To build your own, inexpensive Skinner Box, follow directions found in Activities Handbook for the Teaching of Psychology, Volume 4 – Kenneth D. Keith describes how to make a home-built skinner box from pages 172-175.
For scientific, steel apparatus:
http://www.lafayetteneuroscience.com/product_list.asp?subcatid=76
Sugar Pellets
The Skinner Box requires has a pellet dispenser, which requires small pellets – 45mg pellets work well. We ordered pure sugar, dustless precision pellets from:
http://www.bio-serv.com/newcatalog/pellets/rpprice.html
Pellets cost around $84.50 for a box of 50,000 (smallest volume).
Purchasing Rats
Rats are sold as “feeders” in almost all small pet stores. There are some larger chain pet-stores who now sell “fancy rats” which are typically not like feeder rats – who can have weak immune systems due to inbreeding. We have used domesticated “feeder rats” and “fancy rats” from pet stores. We currently buy from a home-breeder. This can be more expensive, but the rats are usually friendlier and healthier due to the early socialization they receive from being hand-reared. Also, we can pick special colors/types including American & Russian Blue & Dumbo & Rex, etc. Anyone can find a home-breeder in their area by searching on the internet for “local rattery” or “local ratteries” and/or “rattery and home breeder.”
Enriched Environments
Mark Rosenzweig et. al found that rats raised in enriched environments had a thicker cerebral cortex: their brains functioned differently than rats raised in isolation.
Students are encouraged to bring in their own cages, wheels, pvc pipes, etc. to create enrichment and play within the cage. Even an empty tissue box could represent some stimulation.
Why a “RAT PROJECT” in AP PSYCHOLOGY?
*****************
Many colleges, universities, and high schools across the country find that training rats is great a way for students to apply the psychological principles of learning. While in lecture, students study the intricacies of behaviorist learning theories; in lab they are able to directly apply this information. They may experiment with timing, types of reinforcers, and techniques.
The rats are not the only ones learing during this program. The students learn that the techniques employed with the rats are also valid with people. Students learn how to motivate others and themselves. They learn the importance of patience, consistency, and reinforcement of desired behaviors.
How Can Parents, Families Help?
We need some assistance in welcoming the little critters to our class. We need any empty tanks/aquariums, screen lids/covers, water bottles and/or hangers. It has also been a tradition of sorts that students contribute $10.00 to $15.00. These donations help defray the cost of rats, food, bedding, and other supplies.
While students will not be required to take the rat home, he/she does have the opportunity to do so with parent/guardian permission. Students may also keep rats at the end of the project, if parents/guardians want to support a new family pet.
Are rats better than hamsters and gerbils?
Rats are clean, intelligent, affectionate animals which bond to their human companions in much the same way that dogs do, and with the right care should provide a comparable level of companionship. In terms of socialization and trainability, rats outrank their hamster and gerbil counterparts.
The rats used in this project are bred in captivity. They are NOT wild rats. They are the same species as the wild brown rat, Rattus norvegicus, but have been selectively bred for looks and temperament for at least the last century and are now quite different in temperament from their ancestors. These domesticated rats become attached to their owners, make playful, sensitive pets, and can be taught to come by name and learn a variety of tricks.