Interpretation,teaching and rationality

That processes of interpretation are unavoidable in any educational experience has not received serious attention in teaching and teacher education. One of the authors devised an exercise for her graduate class to help them understand practical aspects of hermeneutic theory in connection with rationality, truth and the nature of teaching and learning. The three co‐authors, each from a different cultural background, monitored and described their experiences of this exercise in order to explore the role of interpretation in teaching and learning. The students' interpretive activity was found to link subject matter to their past experience, reconstructing both. This process is described in detail and it is suggested that curricular spaces for interpretation be deliberately incorporated into teaching and learning situations.

Le fait que des processus d'interprétation sont inévitables dans des expériences éducationnelles n'a pas reçu d'attention sérieuse en enseignement ou en enseignement pédagogique. Un des auteurs a conçu un exercice pour aider sa classe graduée à comprendre les aspects pratiques de la théorie ‘hermeneutique’ par rapport à la rationalité, la vérité et la nature de l'enseignement et de l'apprentissage. Les trois co‐auteurs, provenant chacun d'une culture différente, analysent et décrivent leurs expériences de cet exercice a fin d'explorer le rôle de l'interprétation dans l'enseignement et l'apprentissage. L'activité interprétative des étudiants a démontré une tendance à lier les thèmes à leur expérience antérieure, reconstruisant tous les deux. Ce processus est décrit en détail et il est suggéré que des espaces curriculaires pour l'interprétation soient incorporés aux situations d'enseignement et d'apprentissage.

Los procesos de interpretación son inevitables en cualquier experiencia educativa que no ha recibido la debida atención, en la educación de la enseñanza y la educación pedagógica. Una de los autores ideó un ejercicio para que a su clase de graduados les ayude a entender aspectos prácticos de la teoría "hermeneutic" en conexión con la racionalidad, la verdad y la naturaleza de la enseñanza y el aprender. Las tres co‐autores, cada una de un diverso fondo cultural, analizan y describen sus experiencias de este ejercicio para explorar el papel de la interpretación en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje. La actividad interpretativa de los estudiantes demostró un enlace del tema con sus experiencias previas, reconstruyendo ambos. Este proceso se describe detalladamente y se sugiere que los espacios curriculares para la interpretación estén incorporados deliberadamente en situaciones de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje.

Dass in jeder erzieherischen Erfahrung Interpretationsvorgange unumgänglich sind, auch im Bereich des Lehrens und der Lehrerbildung,, erhielt noch keine ernste Beachtung. Eine der Autorinnen entwickelte eine Aufgabe fur ihre “graduate students” um ihnen praktische Aspekte der Hermeneutic verstandlich zu machen, besonders in bezug auf Rationalitat, Wahrheit , und die Art des Lernens und Lehrens. Ihre Co‐autorinnen, jede aus einem anderen Herkunftsland, beobachten und beschreiben ihre Erlebnisse mit dieser Aufgabe, um,die Rolle der Interpretation im Lehren und Lernen zu erforschen. Es war zu ersehen, dass die Interpretationstatigkeit dieser Studentinnen eine Verbindung herstellte zwischen Lehrinhalt und vergangenen Erfahrungen, und zugleich auch beide Bereiche rekonstruierte. Dieser Prozess ist im Detail dargestellt, und es wird vorgeschlagen, curiculare Freiraume fur Interpretationsprozesse zu schaffen und diese ganz bewusst in Lehr‐und Lernsituationen zu integrieren.     

HSCL LibQUAL+ 2004: from numbers and graphs to practical application

The University of Florida Health Science Center Libraries created a task force representing various departments to review data from its 2004 LibQUAL+ survey. This review compared results from the 2002 and 2004 LibQUAL+ surveys, and the data from the Association of Academic Health Science Libraries 2004 cohort. The task force analyzed the key components of the LibQUAL+ survey: Affect of Service, Information Control, Library as Place, and user comments. At the conclusion of this review, the task force made recommendations and suggestions along departmental lines to meet the patrons' needs and expectations. In addition to following the task force recommendations, the Libraries independently implemented several new services and hired additional personnel after the completion of the 2004 survey. Combined, these changes should improve overall library service and increase customer satisfaction. Looking towards the 2006 LibQUAL+ survey, the task force will be convened in advance and will guide the entire process.     

Memories of childhood sexual abuse: a survey of young adults

Objective: To explore the prevalence of, characteristics of, and factors associated with forgetting of childhood sexual abuse memories in a large non-clinical sample (N = 1712).Method: Using an anonymous survey, we asked respondents about (a) the nature and severity of their childhood abuse; (b) the continuity of their abuse memories; and (c) their experiences with others suggesting to them that they might have been abused.Results: A substantial minority of victims in our sample reported having temporarily forgotten their childhood sexual abuse. Forgetting was largely unassociated with victim or abuse characteristics. Compared to individuals who always remembered their abuse, however, individuals who temporarily forgot were more likely to report that someone had suggested to them that they might have experienced abuse. Those who received such suggestions were particularly likely to suspect that they may have experienced childhood sexual abuse that they do not yet remember.Conclusion: Forgetting may be less common than implied by earlier estimates from clinical samples, yet it is not uncommon. Also, a sizable minority of the population is wondering whether they have experienced unremembered abuse, and these suspicions are linked to having encountered suggestions from others. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the phenomenon sometimes labeled repression.Spanish abstract was not available at time of publication.     

Mentoring in context: A comparison of two U.S. programs for beginning teachers

In reporting on one aspect of a national center's research on teacher education, this chapter examines two U.S. programs in which experienced teachers are expected to play major roles in the induction and socialization of beginning teachers. By exploring connections between what experienced teachers in the two projects do and the organizational and intellectual contexts within which they work, this analysis demonstrates that the contextual conditions of mentoring can lead to striking differences in the definition and enactment of mentoring roles. The final section then relates this comparative study to broader claims about the power of mentoring to improve teaching.     

Black Feminist Activism: Theory as Generating Collective Resistance

Black feminist scholars have theorized ways in which power permeates our everyday lived experiences. The authors of this article, a university faculty member and a grassroots community activist, share their collective Black feminist activist efforts to find spaces of resistance and empowerment within oppressive conditions in the city of New Orleans.     

Creating Classrooms of and for Activism at the Intersections of Class,Race, Ethnicity,Gender, and Disability

In this article the authors describe pedagogy which rests on commitments to solidarity, activism, and intersectional understandings of personhood and social (in)justices. The authors seek to create accessible classrooms where our many selves and critical consciousness can be in (dis)comforting conversation with one another. Then, they hope to bring activism to the streets.     

Impact of physical activity domains on subsequent physical activity in youth: a 5-year longitudinal study

This study evaluates how domains of physical activity (PA) in youth predict later PA and assesses factors influencing changes in sports participation. Young people from the Children’s Sport Participation and Physical Activity study (n = 873; baseline age 10–18 years; 30.4% male) completed self-report surveys in 2009 and 2014. In a multiple linear regression analysis, participation frequency in club sport (β = 0.18) and extracurricular sport (β = 0.13) significantly predicted PA 5 years later, adjusted for age, sex and urban/rural classification (P < 0.01). Overall, rates of regular (at least once per week) youth sports participation were high (males 79.3–85.5%; females 74.8–83.2%). Uptake and dropout of specific sports varied widely. Despite high levels of migration into and out of Gaelic games, they remained popular at follow-up. Weight training was the only sport that increased in both sexes (P < 0.05). Fitness, friends and enjoyment were top motivations for taking up a new sport. Other commitments, a lack of interest and time were important factors leading to sports dropout. PA promotion strategies should include youth sport, take into consideration what sports are attractive to young people and address reasons for uptake and dropout.