Rowan's Four-Day Journal
Rowan kept a field journal while observing Tess, a three-banded armadillo, in the Children's Museum Animal Clues gallery. A low barrier kept visitors and Tess safely apart. An educator reminded Rowan to record what could be seen or heard. Rowan could not see inside Tess's body, so ideas about what happened in Tess's brain were part of a model, not a direct observation.
On Day 1, a staff member rolled a bright yellow ball across Tess's view. Tess looked toward the ball in 4 of 5 trials. On Day 2, a small bell rang behind a screen. Tess turned her head toward the sound in 3 of 5 trials. Tess could not see the bell. The staff member used the same bell and rang it from the same place each time.
On Day 3, a covered dish held a small piece of apple. Air could pass through several holes in the cover, but Tess could not see the apple. She walked toward the dish in 4 of 5 trials. On Day 4, the same covered dish was empty. Tess walked toward it in 1 of 5 trials. The dish, location, and observation time were kept the same on both days.
Rowan wrote this table in the journal: Yellow ball visible—information available: light from a moving object—response: looked toward ball—4 of 5 trials. Bell behind screen—information available: sound—response: turned toward sound—3 of 5 trials. Covered dish with apple—information available: food odor—response: walked toward dish—4 of 5 trials. Empty covered dish—information available: no apple odor—response: walked toward dish—1 of 5 trials.
The educator said that a useful model can show a path: information in the surroundings is received by a sense organ, the brain processes the information, and the animal responds. The brain may use earlier experiences when it processes information. A model should not claim that Tess responded in every trial when the table shows that some trials had no response.