The fictional con man as a teaching tool

The con man has long been a powerful figure in American history and fiction. This study examines that figure in three popular novels: Jim Thompson's The Grifters (1963), Stephen Robinett's Unfinished Business (1990), and Lawrence Sanders's Sullivan's Sting (1990). These novels trace the con man from the street hustler to the swindler, using worldwide modern technology. The authors' insights into the character, motivation, jargon, and methods of the con man will illuminate him for students, who will be exposed at the same time to the syntactical and narrative skills of fiction writers.     

The effective use of film as a teaching tool

David L. Giveans, is an early childhood educator and noted authority on fathering issues. In addition to writing and lecturing on education and parenting issues, he publishesNurturing Today—For Self and Family Growth.     

Body painting as a tool in clinical anatomy teaching

The teaching of human anatomy has had to respond to significant changes in medical curricula, and it behooves anatomists to devise alternative strategies to effectively facilitate learning of the discipline by medical students in an integrated, applied, relevant, and contextual framework. In many medical schools, the lack of cadaver dissection as the primary method of learning is driving changes to more varied and novel learning and teaching methodologies. The present article describes the introduction and evaluation of a range of body painting exercises in a medical curriculum. Body painting was introduced into integrated clinical skills teaching sessions which included clinically important aspects of respiratory system, musculoskeletal system, and topics in regional anatomy including head and neck. Nontoxic body paints, easels, a mixture of brush sizes, and anatomical images were supplied. Students were allowed between 20 and 40 min to complete body painting tasks, in which they were encouraged to alternate between painting and acting as a model. Students were encouraged to use life‐like rendering and coloration where appropriate. Evaluation of these sessions was performed at the end of the semester as part of a larger evaluation process. The kinesthetic nature and active participation together with the powerful visual images of underlying anatomy appear to contribute to the value of body painting as a teaching exercise. In addition, it may have the added bonus of helping break down apprehension regarding peer–peer examination. Some practical advice on introducing this method of teaching in medical curricula based on the outcomes of the evaluation is given. On the basis of our experience and student feedback, we strongly advocate the use of body painting as an adjunct to surface anatomy and clinical skills teaching classes. Anat Sci Ed 2008. © 2008 American Association of Anatomists.     

Gender theory as a tool for analyzing science teaching

This study examines to what extent experienced teachers are aware of gender issues in the science classroom. It also explores how an introduction to gender theory might alter this awareness. Teachers wrote their reflections about a real classroom situation. They were then asked to analyse the same situation after having read texts that discussed gender theory concepts. The fourteen teachers' understanding about gender and society were challenged. Some teachers were able to analyse the case differently by applying gender theory, others discussed the case on a more general level, while one teacher showed signs of resistance regarding gender theory.     

从百年语文教学目标的演变看语文课程工具性

语文教学目标由语文课程性质决定,同时,语文教学目标也反映出语文课程性质。新"课标"明确指出:"语文是最重要的工具",语文课程的工具性由来已久,从百年语文教学目标的演变中可略见一斑。     

Repetition of lesson presentation as a tool for improving teaching efficiency

Studies in industry link routine in work to efficiency level. Routine may contribute to boredom and decline in efficiency for some workers; others cope well with repetitive tasks and improve output. This study was conducted to determine whether repetition of a lesson by the same teacher to a second class within a week increases or decreases efficacy. Seventy-nine teachers completed a questionnaire after presenting a lesson once, and again later that week after giving it to a parallel class. The findings show that the repeated lesson was better than the first by 6–9% with respect to three of the five dimensions of successful teaching. The contribution of reflective insights to the improvement of repeated lessons and the implications for planning school programs are discussed.     

Using The Mary Tyler Moore Show as a feminist teaching tool

This paper explores the use of The Mary Tyler Moore Show as a teaching tool used with a group of final‐year undergraduate students who gathered together last academic year (2007–8) to explore Women in Leadership, as part of a Communications course. The research focus was: How can the use of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (a 1970–7 American situation‐comedy) serve as teaching tool concerning an understanding of Second Wave feminism and women in the emerging role for women in the workplace? The particular connection with televisual texts suggests that the use of popular culture can connect today's college students with the often distant issues of Second Wave feminism.     

The design,use and evaluation of hypermedia flashcards as a teaching tool

TechTrends - We find h-cards to be a popular and versatile addition to a wide variety of introductory and advanced courses. The use of client-side JavaScript means that you can use hcards...     

Use of the one-minute preceptor as a teaching tool in the gross anatomy laboratory

The one-minute preceptor (OMP) is a time-efficient technique used for teaching in busy clinical settings. It consists of five microskills: (1) get a commitment from the student, (2) probe for supporting evidence, (3) reinforce what was done right, (4) correct errors and fill in omissions, and (5) teach a general rule. It can also be used to address structure-identification questions in gross anatomy laboratory small-group settings. The OMP is an active learner-centered teaching approach that prepares students for a style of learning that they need to master in clinical settings, provides novice anatomy teachers with an efficient and effective teaching strategy, and moves anatomy learning beyond mere name tagging to active knowledge construction.     

Sharpening a tool for teaching: the zone of proximal development

Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) provides an important understanding of learning, but its implications for teachers are often unclear or limited and could be further explored. We use conceptual analysis to sharpen the ZPD as a teaching tool, illustrated with examples from teaching critical thinking in zoology. Our conclusions are the following: teachers should assign tasks that students cannot do on their own, but which they can do with assistance; they should provide just enough assistance so that students learn to complete the tasks independently and, finally, teachers can increase learning gains by providing learning environments that enable students to do harder tasks than would otherwise be possible and by assigning the hardest tasks students can do with assistance. This analysis provides a sharp and useful tool for supporting learning across all curriculum areas.     

LEGO Mindstorms在农业信息与自动化技术课程教学中的应用研究

为了培养农业与生物系统工程类学生的创新能力,引导学生进行自主、探究式学习,在精细农业等农业信息和自动化技术类课程教学中应用LEGO Mindstorms组件作为教具,研制智能化可编程农机作业模拟系统。多组学生在Robolab编程环境下,使用此系统构建小型智能农业机械模型。结果表明,学生对这个实验项目的效果很满意。因为它不仅为学生提供了解决问题的技巧,提高了他们编程和机械设计等相关技能,同时有益于学生间形成团队协作的良好氛围。介绍了LEGO Mindstorms在相关农业信息课程教学中的探索应用以及实验结果。     

概念图作为教学评价工具的发展

概念图在 2 0多年的发展中 ,作为教学评价和测量学习者学习水平的功能越来越引起人们的瞩目。由于它作为评价工具有许多优点 ,在一定程度上弥补了传统考试的一些不足 ,而且有了量化的评分体系 ,这方面成为概念图研究的一个热点。     

The teaching portfolio: A tool for department chairpersons to create a climate of teaching excellence

Any attempt to alter the culture of higher education needs to start at the departmental level. Teaching portfolios provide a promising means to empower the department that wants to value teaching and learning. Portfolios provide faculty and chairs with the means to recognize good teaching while still promoting the values of the discipline. On the one hand, the appeal of teaching portfolios rests with the ability of faculty and their departments to recognize both disciplinary and local idiosyncrasies. On the other hand, portfolios provide prominence to what is common across disciplines — teaching and learning.John P. Murray is Associate Dean of Curriculum and Instruction at Genesee Community College in Batavia, New York. Dr. Murray holds a BA from SUNY Potsdam, a MA from Arizona State University, and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University. His current research interests include how administrators can improve teaching and the roles of department chairpersons.     

以拓展的语言工具论指导高职英语课程教学

语言工具论是传统的语言观,学术界对它普遍持批判的态度。然而,语言工具论实际上只是对语言工具职能的表述,并不是对语言的定义,不应受到压倒性指责。同时,语言工具论的表述确实存在缺陷,致使／~-4~1对其理解的片面和肤浅,造成对英语教学的负面影响。因此,有必要对语言工具论进行拓展,使它的表述更为完善,从而让人们对语言形成恰当的认知以便指导语言教学。高职英语教学侧重的是让学生掌握语言作为交际工具的职能,在开展高职英语课程教学时可以用拓展的语言工具论作为指导,对高职英语课程进行适当的设置．选择合适的英语课文材料．实现预设的教学目的。     

从一个Jigsaw活动看任务型教学

本文在介绍Jigsaw的有关信息的基础上，结合作者自己编写的Jigsaw来看它在任务型教学中的应用及与任务型教学的关系。     

Using a 3D food printer as a teaching tool: Focus groups with dietitians,teachers, and nutrition students

Three‐dimensional (3D) food printing is a new technology that can be used to produce personalized and customized food products. However, very little research has been completed on how 3D food printers could be used as educational tools. As such, the objective of this study was to evaluate how teachers (n = 6), dietitians (n = 6), and nutrition students (n = 11) envision the use of 3D food printers when disseminating information about food and nutrition. Focus groups were conducted with teachers, dietitians, and nutrition students. Initially, the participants were introduced to the concept of 3D food printing and then they were asked how they could use a 3D food printer in their teachings. The participants did not feel that a 3D food printer would enhance their teaching and instead felt it could confuse or frighten people. Also, all of the participants were worried about learning how to 3D print foods. The participants did state that people would be interested in watching a 3D food printer. Furthermore, the teachers and nutrition students indicated they thought a demonstration of a 3D food printer would lead to more interest in food and nutrition. Additionally, they thought a 3D food printer could be used to create visually appealing foods. Overall, until 3D food printers are found in residential and commercial kitchens, the participants did not think it would enhance their teachings; however, they did indicate that 3D food printing demonstrations could lead to students being interested in the food and nutrition fields.