Progressive drawing: A novel “lid–opener” and “monotony–breaker”

An innovative strategy called “progressive drawing” was used at the beginning (lid‐opener) and later (monotony‐breaker) during gross anatomy lectures. Diagrams were drawn on the classroom blackboard with anatomic structures added one by one. Students identified and labeled the diagrams and predicted the next structures to be drawn. Students felt that the strategy helped to activate prior knowledge, created interest in the current lecture, and made lecture sessions more interactive. The strategy has appeal for visual, auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic learners. Anat Sci Educ, 2010. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

“Neuromyths”: A Critical Consideration

The term “neuromyth” is becoming part of discourse in the field of mind, brain, and education. In this article, I review some problematic aspects of the practice, critique specific examples, and propose an alternative way of communicating with the public about findings in psychology and neuroscience.     

Education's “4th R”: Responsibility

The need for students to learn responsibility is considered. A current absence of such skills is described, followed by a straightforward approach for correcting the situation at the college level. The urgency for remediation in this area is discussed, emphasizing the importance of responsibility throughout life.     

The “Encounter” as an “Event of Truth” in Education: An Anthropological‐Pedagogical Approach

In this essay, Vasileios Pantazis examines how two philosophers having different orientations acknowledge and study the phenomenon of the “encounter” (Begegnung) and its fundamental importance to human life and education. On the one hand, Otto Friedrich Bollnow drew on existential philosophy and philosophical anthropology in his analysis of the encounter, while Alain Badiou, on the other hand, used psychoanalysis, mathematics, and Plato in exploring the concept. The approach Pantazis takes in this essay aims at fusing the concept of the encounter as developed by Bollnow with a philosophical view, specifically Badiou's understanding of the encounter in the context of his concept “event of truth.” Through the “fusion of horizons,” as Hans‐Georg Gadamer put it, between these two views, Pantazis seeks to enrich the concept of the encounter and to draw out a renewed meaning for philosophical and educational theory.     

The Necessity of Being “Un-Disciplined” and “Out of Control”: Design Action and Systems Thinking

This paper introduces; design, integrated with systems thinking, as a necessary if not sufficient means for meeting the challenge of how to create or recreate organizations and institutions which better serve the needs and desires of clients, customers, and stakeholders in a rapidly changing world. As a way of moving conceptual thinking into concrete action, design is dramatically different from the scientific or artistic traditions, which primarily describe or explain the natural or phenomenal world. Three key points that will be explained are: (1) The limits of problem-solving strategies when applied to complex organizational change leave design the strategy of choice; (2) The designer's role is animated by other expression rather than self expression; and (3) From within this role, designers engage in the task of creating the un-natural world by being un-disciplined using systems thinking and by being out-of-control as part of the creative process of design.     

“Helping” Versus “Being a Helper”: Invoking the Self to Increase Helping in Young Children

Can a subtle linguistic cue that invokes the self motivate children to help? In two experiments, 3‐ to 6‐year‐old children (N = 149) were exposed to the idea of “being a helper” (noun condition) or “helping” (verb condition). Noun wording fosters the perception that a behavior reflects an identity—the kind of person one is. Both when children interacted with an adult who referenced “being a helper” or “helping” ( 2 ) and with a new adult ( 3 ), children in the noun condition helped significantly more across four tasks than children in the verb condition or a baseline control condition. The results demonstrate that children are motivated to pursue a positive identity. Moreover, this motivation can be leveraged to encourage prosocial behavior.