Beyond a transmission model of communication

Elbers grapples with two persistent issues in psychology: (a) the role of the adult and the child in development, and (b) depictions of competence as context specific or generalized. Elbers' entrenchment in a transmission model of meaning undermines his portrayal of the child as an active participant in development. Furthermore, his characterization of competence as something in the head of the individual hinders his attempts to contextualize competence. We outline a framework informed by Vygotsky, Bakhtin, and others, which depicts both the formation and the functioning of mental processes (or competence) as fundamentally interactive. Mental functions arise in social interactions in which all participants accommodate each other, thus obviating the question of who is active or passive in the interaction. Furthermore, the social interactive origins of mental functioning impose a social context on all competencies. Such a framework facilitates movement away from the dilemmas which Elbers cogently raises.     

Choosing competency-based,humanistic and self-directed programs: The contribution of personality and reasoning

Fifty-five college women enrolled in competency-based, humanistic or self-directed education programs completed their California Personality Inventory and listed five reasons for selecting their program. CPI results indicated that self-directed students scored lower than other students on the Femininity Scale (p.001). Using Chickering's seven vectors of change as a framework, the study found competency-based students identifying purpose and competence, humanistic students identifying inter-personal relationships and integrity, and self-directed student identifying autonomy and purpose as reasons for enrolling in their nontraditional programs. The study used these results to question the mythology that adherents to different programs are of different personality types and to argue that differences in perceptions of purpose in education distinguish students in the three programs.     

Education of the refugee in the United States

Conclusion This historical survey of the educational goals developed on behalf of the immigrant and refugee in America indicates that there has been a complete cycle. The first systematic educational efforts, as we have shown, were aimed at teaching the immigrant the English language so that he would be useful for his tasks in American industry. Then came the period which extended this educational goal by offering instruction in several aspects of acculturation (officially, assimilation, but a concept which has never been put into effect in the history of America's minorities). The post-war period saw the stress on the academic level on the cultural democracy concept; but this ideal has been more academic than practical, and World War II saw no definite evidences of the popular interest in any Americanization program. The recent waves of refugees, bringing in more or less well-educatedindividuals, saw a revival of educational efforts on their behalf; but they differ from the former endeavors in their emphasis on individual education and on instruction in English. The social aspects of acculturation — featuring, in general, the period between World War I and II — have been entirely ignored 1).     

Talk,read, joke,make friends: Language power for children

The lusty birth cry with which most babies enter the world is the first in a long series of vocal behaviors which ever increase in communicative effectiveness as a child grows through infancy into the preschool years. By the time a child enters elementary grades, he or she can understand and use thousands of words (Honig, 1982b). Pronunciation is almost entirely comprehensible. The child uses the main grammatical rules very well such as adding ing for the progressive tense, or ed for the past tense, or using negation correctly as in I don't like liver (De Villiers & De Villiers, 1979; Elliot, 1981). Children can understand double meanings for words by four years of age. A child might explain to you that A turn is when your car turns around a corner, and it also is when you take turns on the playground. Linguistic humor becomes possible as the child becomes able to play with and make a play on words (Honig, 1988). Alice Sterling Honig teaches at Syracuse University in the Department of Child and Family Studies, College for Human Development, in Syracuse, NY. She is an editorial board member of Day Care & Early Education.     

“It's Easier to Be Yourself When You Are Invisible”: Female College Students Discuss Their Online Classroom Experiences

There has been considerable scholarly interest in issues related to gender in the classroom, especially in terms of finding ways in which classrooms might be configured to be more welcoming--and less chilly--to female students. There is some evidence to suggest that the online learning environment may provide educators with opportunities to achieve a more female-friendly classroom, and this study was designed to gather information about that question. 125 female college students who had completed at least one online, college-level class were invited to discuss their experiences learning online. These data show that female college students respond to the online environment in a variety of ways. A small group of students indicated that they did not enjoy learning online, while others expressed mixed feelings. The majority, however, had positive things to say about their online classroom experiences; and of these, a large number identified anonymity as the most important positive aspect of the online learning environment.     

A Textbook Case of the Nature of Science: Laws and Theories in the Science of Biology

The two concepts law and theory are among the most important elements of the nature of science. They represent both the tools and products of science itself. Unfortunately, the variable meanings and use of these terms in general discourse and in other school disciplines results in much confusion with respect to their proper application in a science context. The project included the design of a six-part model definition for law and theory based on a review of the literature of the philosophy of science with special reference to biology. These model definitions were then compared with those provided in a range of U.S. secondary school biology textbooks. The majority of all current major U.S. secondary school biology texts were reviewed and analyzed with respect to how the concepts of law and theory were defined and applied, in an attempt to determine whether students and teachers using such texts would gain an accurate impression of these terms and the distinction between them. This study focuses on biology instruction since a life science course is completed as a graduation requirement by virtually all U.S. high school students and as such serves as a widely shared educational experience across the nation. The term law is rarely defined in any text but various laws such as those found in genetics are frequently included as examples. The term theory is frequently defined but with a wide range of completeness of the definitions. Only rarely are theories in biology included as examples.     

Whitehead and a new look at teaching elementary science

If Whitehead is right, science teachers who try to increase student interest by making the science they teach more pure and by covering more material are going about their work in just the wrong way. Science, for purposes of precision in measurement, translates the dynamic world of feeling and force, of causal efficacy (for example, the San Francisco earthquake), into a static representation spatialized and given presentational immediacy (for example, the Richter scale). But notice that the Richter scale isn't very interesting (even as abstract art) apart from its connection, via symbolic reference, to the earthquake. Such reference is essential to give both a sense of reality and a feeling of interes to the subject, but it makes the science less pure, and it takes more time to cover the material. An example of teaching pure and impure formal logic is given as a case study.     

Using problem solving teaching styles to prepare candidates for the CXC basic proficiency examinations

Two Grade 10 classes in an urban Jamaican High School were taught over a period of one academic year in two problem solving styles: an Explicit Style derived from Charles, and an Implicit Style derived from Isaacs. At the end of the academic year there was no significant difference in their performance on a problem solving test, or on the Problem Solving Profile of the Caribbean Examinations Council's Basic Proficiency papers. The two classes performed much better than the population who sat the Basic papers on the tasks measuring Recall and Algorithmic Thinking but only moderately better than the population on tasks measuring Problem Solving.The teaching project described in this paper was supported in part by grants from the Research and Publications Fund Committee of the University of the West Indies (Mona), and the Wolmers Trust, Kingston. The author wishes to thank the Registrar and the Pro-Registrar of the Caribbean Examinations Council for permission to use the CXC papers and data in this study. A modified version of this paper was presented at the 63rd Annual Conference of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics held in San Antonio, Texas in 1985.     

Elaborating the elaboration theory

In this article, the author comments on the preceding article, A Critical Review of Elaboration Theory, by Brent Wilson and Peggy Cole     

The decline of the nation-state and the education of national minorities

Many forces are shifting the role of the nation-state and altering our fundamental understanding of how it should function. The author argues that the transplanted European model of the nation-state has become dysfunctional, creating national minorities, serving as an ideological cloak for various forms of oppression and opposing forms of education that would promote diversity of languages and cultures. The decline of territorial sovereignty under the forces of globalization, the move to supranational forms of organization and the emergence of sub-national areas of economic and social development (often city-regions) provide a new range of opportunities for development of minority schooling.

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Zusammenfassung Viele Kräfte verändern die Rolle des Nationenstaates und ändern damit auch unser grundsätzliches Verständnis zu dessen Funktion. Der Autor argumentiert, daß das übertragene europäische Modell des Nationenstaates außer Funktion gesetzt und damit nationale Minderheiten geschaffen wurden. Somit besteht ein ideologischer Deckmantel für verschiedene Arten von Unterdrückung und Widerstand gegen Erziehungsarten, die eine Vielfalt der Sprachen und Kulturen fördern würden. Der Verfall territorialer Unabhängigkeit unter den Kräften der Globalisierung, die Bewegung hin zu einer supranationalen Form der Organisation und die Schaffung regionaler Gebiete wirtschaftlicher und sozialer Entwicklung (oft Stadtbezirke) bieten neue Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten hinsichtlich der Schulbildung für Minderheiten.

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Resumen Son muchas las fuerzas que están cambiando el papel que desempeña el estado-nación y que alteran nuestro concepto básico de cómo este debería funcionar. El autor argumenta que el modelo europeo trasplantado del estado-nación se ha vuelto disfunctional, creando minorías nacionales y sirviendo de manto ideológico para encubrir diferentes formas de opresión y de oposición a una educación que intenta promover la diversidad de lenguas y culturas. El ocaso de la soberanía territorial bajo las fuerzas de globalización, el cambio hacia formas de organización supranacionales y el surgimiento de sectores subnacionales de desarrollo económico y social (frecuentemente en regiones urbanas) proveen un nuevo tipo de oportunidades para el desarrollo de una educación escolar de minorías.

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Résumé De nombreuses pressions modifient le rôle de l'Etat-nation et transforment notre conception fondamentale de son fonctionnement. L'auteur expose que le modèle européen d'Etat-nation qui a éé transposé dans d'autres régions est maintenant atteint de dysfonctionnement, car il crée des minorités nationales, sert de prétexte idéologique à différentes formes d'oppression et fait obstacle à des modèles d'éducation qui encourageraient la diversité des langues et des cultures. Le déclin de la souveraineté territoriale sous la pression de la mondialisation, l'évolution vers des formes d'organisation supranationales et l'apparition de concentrations régionales du développement éconnomique et social (souvent en tant que régions urbanisées) constituent de nouveaux stimulants pour l'élaboration d'une scolarité adaptée aux minorités.

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Community attitudes and the urban university

This study looks at the relationships between a number of personal and social characteristics of a random sample of 254 urban citizens from the Twin Cities and their satisfaction with a University. Most of the urban citizens had considerable university related experiences, and they believed that faculty and students are sincere and hardworking. Most were satisfied with different facets of University life, endorsed the broad principle of campus freedom of expression, but were generally opposed to the goals of students when they used more active methods of dissent. Citizens' satisfaction with the University was heavily related to their perception of campus life as it related to the ideological criteria of Work Ethic and Americanism.     

Three-dimensional art and sculpture

I am making it BIG (Evan). A secret slide with gold in there (Sydni). Look even a little car could fit in it (Joshua). This is a circle! Round, a tiger jumps through this hoop (Emily). Excitement runs high when children experiment with three-dimensional art projects using paper, boxes and styrofoam.Liz Seelhoff Byrum teaches four- and five-year-olds at a private school in New York City.     

Visual processing during mathematical problem solving

This study investigated, in the context of mathematical problem solving by secondary school students, the nature of the visual schemata which Johnson (1987) hypothesises mediate between logical propositional structures and rich specific visual images. Four groups of grade 10 students were studied, representing all combinations of high and low operational ability in mathematics (equivalent to Johnson's logical propositional structures) and high and low vividness of visual imagery (corresponding to Johnson's rich images). The results suggested first, that success at problem solving was related to logical operational ability, but not to vividness of visual imagery. Second, a variety of visually based strategies were used during problem solving which differed in their level of generality and abstraction, and use of these strategies appeared related to either logical operational ability or vividness of visual imagery, depending on their level of abstraction. The results supported Presmeg's (1992b) continuum of abstraction of image schemata.Throughout the paper, the first High or Low denotes logical operational ability, and the second, vividness of visual imagery.     

Career alternatives: Providing a cafeteria of choices through career alternative dollars

Part of the crisis in higher education is due to the age and tenure distribution of the faculty and their escalating future salary costs. Universities must find ways to gain financial and academic flexibility. This will require a program ofcareer alternatives which provides inducements to leave the university for faculty who are not due to retire until the years 2000 to 2010. The money saved can be used to the mutual benefit of the individual and the university. The university's share of the savings may be used to hire new junior faculty and to reduce the total cost of the salary budget. The faculty member's share may be redeemed at a career alternatives cafeteria. This paper outlines the offering that such a cafeteria may provide and the mechanisms that may be used to establish one.     

Language in education: Minorities and multilingualism in India

The question of education in India cannot be properly discussed without referring to its socio-linguistic context. This paper provides background information on the linguistic profile of India. The term minorities in the Indian context is defined, and the protection offered to linguistic minorities in the Indian Constitution is examined. A discussion of language policy in Indian education follows in which the recommendations of the different education commissions are analysed. The important issues covered include: the number of languages that are taught, the medium of instruction, and the educational policies regarding speakers of minority languages. The article also discusses different language movements and their impact on Indian education.

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Zusammenfassung Die Frage der Bildung in Indien kann ohne einen Bezug zum sozial-linguistischen Kontext nicht hinreichend diskutiert werden. Dieser Artikel liefert Hintergrundinformationen zum linguistischen Profil Indiens. Der Begriff Minderheiten wird im Zusammenhang mit Indien definiert und der den Sprachminderheiten in der indischen Verfassung zugestandene Schutz untersucht. Anschließend wird die Sprachpolitik im indischen Bildungssystem angesprochen und die Empfehlungen unterschiedlicher Bildungskommissionen werden analysiert. Die wesentlichen abgehandelten Themen beinhalten folgende Bereiche: die Anzahl der unterrichteten Sprachen, die Unterrichtssprache und die Bildungspolitik hinsichtlich der Sprachminderheiten. Der Artikel befaßt sich außerdem mit unterschiedlichen Sprachbewegungen und ihrem Einfluß auf die indische Bildung.

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Resumen La cuestión de educación en la India no podrá discutirse adecuadamente sin hacer referencia a su contexto sociolingüístico. Este trabajo provee informaciones de fondo sobre el perfil lingüistico de la India. Define el término de minorias en el contexto indio y examina la protección que la Constitución de la India ofrece a las minorías lingüísticas. A ello se agrega una discusión de la política lingüística en la educación india, en la que se analizan las recomendaciones de las diferentes comisiones de educación. Fntre otras cosas, los puntos tratados son: el número de lenguas que se enseñan, el medio de instrucción, y las políticas de educación referentes a las personas que hablan lenguuas minoritarias. El artículo también trata los diferentes movimientos lingüísticos y sus impactos en la educación en la India.

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Résumé On ne peut vraiment débattre la question de l'éducation en Inde sans la replacer dans son contexts socio-linguistique. Cet article fournit une information de base sur le profil linguistique de l'Inde. Il y définit le terme de minorités dans le contexte de ce pays et étudie la protection que la Constitution indienne assure aux minorités linguistiques. Il s'ensuit un exposé de la politique linguistique dans l'enseignement de ce pays, incluant une analyse des recommandations des différentes commissions pédagogiques. Les points essentiels traités portent sur le nombre de langues enseignées, la langue d'enseignement et les politiques pédagogiques touchant les locuteurs de langues minoritaires. L'article analyse enfin les différents mouvements linguistiques et leur influence sur l'éducation en Inde.

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Towards a process theory of learning: Feeling the beauty of the world

Alfred North Whitehead's theory of learning is best understood in the overall context of his process philosophy. The rhythmic cycles of growth forming the basis of human learning (romance, precision, and generalisation) are organically connected to the characteristics of life typifying all entities in the universe (self-enjoyment, creative activity, and aim).The kind of balanced education which best enhances growth and connectedness is one in which art and aesthetic appreciation in the broadest sense are dominant. By experiencing the beauty of the sunset, for example, children and adults have access to feelings that flow through them from the world and connect them to distant events taking place in space and time. These bodily feelings at the base of all experience provide concrete ways in which human beings can appreciate the intrinsic value of the world around them.By way of contrast, the methods of 17th century science replace our concrete experience of the sunset with abstract categories that are used to measure the phenomena in question and deny the importance of that experience in understanding the world. Schools' and universities' emphasis upon this methodology produces an imbalanced education with minds in a groove.A renewal of balance in education helps us to understand the false dichotomy between child-centered and and curriculum-centered education. Education for Whitehead must pay attention to both. Moreover, he understands that the academic freedom enjoyed by bands of imaginative scholars in universities is not an article of commerce to be sold to the highest corporate bidder but something to be valued for its intrinsic worth.     

Print and reading: What do preschoolers know?

John Downing, an eminent reading researcher at Canada's University of Victoria, says that many children come to school in a state of cognitive confusion about the functions of reading and the terms we use when we start to teach them to read formally. Adults take for granted that young children know what they mean when they talk about a word, a letter, a sound, and other print-related terms. In his studies done in England and in Canada, Downing (1970; 1973–74) has found that many children, especially those who have not been read to regularly, simply don't understand the conventions of print and really don't understand what reading is all about.Joan T. Feeley is Professor of Reading and Language Arts at William Paterson College in Wayne, New Jersey.     

Better communication = better relationships: Tips for caregivers

We all live in a social environment with others. Indeed, ... we desire and seek out relationships with others, and we have personal needs that can be satisfied only through interacting with other humans (Johnson, 1986). It is not possible to think of living without relating to other people, nor is it possible to develop satisfying relationships without some sort of communication. Communication skills are the tools, the means, the mechanism through which we develop our relationships. Just as a carpenter would not expect to produce a fine piece of furniture with a blunt saw, neither should we assume that we can develop productive relationships with other people, such as children and their parents, colleagues or professional associates, using inadequate or ineffective communication skills. Johnson (1986) suggested that interpersonal skills are learned just as any other skills are learned. However, simply having learned communication skills is not enough! We need to continually practice these skills and occasionally be reminded of their value for interacting with and developing relationships with others. This, therefore, is a small reminder that all of us, caregivers and parents alike, can do with sharpening up our style of communicating with others and learn to create better and more satisfying human relationships!Jillian Rodd is a psychologist who lectures at the School of Early Childhood Studies, University of Melbourne, Australia. She acts as a consultant in parent education and in-services child care staff and for preschool teachers.     

Influence of problem familiarity on learning in a problem-based course

The results of an experimental study investigating the influence of problem familiarity on learning in a problem-based psychology course are presented. Participants worked with either a familiar or an unfamiliar version of the same problem. The following measurements were taken (1) a measure of problem quality as perceived by students, (2) number of explanations of the problem put forward by the students while discussing it, (3) quality of learning issues derived from the discussion, (4) amount of time spent on self-study, and (5) the amount of knowledge acquired as indicated by a test. The results demonstrate that participants in the familiar problem condition perceived the problem to be of higher quality than the participants in the unfamiliar problem condition. No significant differences in learning were found. The findings do suggest, however, that problems may be improved by making them more relevant to the everyday experience of students.     

The Anne Frank Haven: A case of an alternative educational program in an integrative Kibbutz setting

The essential features of the programme of the Anne Frank Haven are the complete integration of children from low SES and different cultural backgrounds with Kibbutz children; a holistic approach to education; and the involvement of the whole community in an open residential school. After 33 years, it is argued that the experiment has proved successful in absorbing city-born youth in the Kibbutz, enabling at-risk populations to reach significant academic achievements, and ensuring their continued participation in the dominant culture. The basic integration model consists of layers of concentric circles, in dynamic interaction. The innermost circle is the class, the learning community. The Kibbutz community and the foster parents form a supportive, enveloping circle, which enables students to become part of the outer community and to intervene in it. A kind of meta-environment, the inter-Kibbutz partnership and the Israeli educational system, influence the program through decision making and guidance. Some of the principles of the Haven — integration, community involvement, a year's induction for all new students, and open residential settings — could be useful for cultures and societies outside the Kibbutz. The real secret of success of an alternative educational program is the dedicated, motivated and highly trained staff.

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Zusammenfassung Die Hauptpunkte des Programms des Anne-Frank-Internats sind die vollständige Integration von Kindern aus sozial schwachen Familien und unterschiedlichem kulturellen Hintergrund in die Gruppe von Kibbutz-Kindern, ein holistischer Ansatz zur Erziehung und die Beteiligung der gesamten Gemeinde an einer offenen Heimschule. Das Experiment wird von den Autoren 33 Jahre nach Beginn als erfolgreich angesehen, sowohl bei der Integration der Stadtjugend in den Kibbutz und den eröffneten Möglichkeiten für Risikogruppen, bedeutende akademische Leistungen zu vollbringen, als auch bei deren gesicherter kontinuierlicher Beteiligung an einer dominanten Kultur. Das Grundintegrationsmodell besteht aus Schichten konzentrischer Kreise in dynamischer Interaktion. Der innerste Kreis ist die Klasse, die Lerngemeinschaft. Die Kibbutz-Gesellschaft und die Pflegeeltern bilden einen unterstützenden und beschützenden Kreis, der es den Schülern ermöglicht, Teil der äußeren Gemeinde zu werden und sich dort zu engagieren. Eine Art Meta-Umgebung, die Partnerschaft zwischen den Kibbutzim und das israelische Schulsystem beeinflussen das Programm, indem Entscheidungen getroffen und Richtlinien gegeben werden. Einige der Prinzipien des Internats wie Integration, Beteiligung der Gemeinden, einjährige Einführungszeit für alle neuen Schüler und offene Wohnbedingungen, könnten für Kulturen und Gesellschaften außerhalb des Kibbutz ebenfalls von Interesse sein. Das wahre Geheimnis des Erfolgs eines alternativen Schulprogramms ist jedoch engagiertes, motiviertes und hochqualifiziertes Personal.

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Résumé L'insertion complète des enfants de bas statut socio-économique et de milieux culturels différents aux enfants des kibboutz, une approche holistique de l'enseignement et la participation de l'ensemble de la communauté à une école résidentielle ouverte constituent les caractéristiques essentielles du programme Anne Frank Haven. On est d'avis, 33 ans plus tard, que cette expérience a réussi à intégrer les jeunes citadins dans les kibboutz, à donner un niveau de scolarité satisfaisant aux populations à risque et à assurer leur participation continue à la culture dominante. Le modèle d'intégration de base est constitué de couches de cercles concentriques en interaction dynamique. Le cercle le plus au centre représente la classe, la communauté qui apprend. La collectivité du kibboutz et les parents nourriciers forment un cercle de soutien enveloppant qui permet aux élèves de prendre part à la vie de la communauté extérieure et d'intervenir au sein de celle-ci. Une sorte de méta-environnement, l'association entre les kibboutz et le système éducatif israélien exercent une influence sur le programme par leurs décisions et les conseils qu'ils prodiguent. Quelques-uns des principes du programme Haven, tels que l'intégration, la participation de la communauté, une année d'initiation pour tous les nouveaux élèves et les structures d'internat ouvert, pourraient servir aux cultures et sociétés à l'extérieur des kibboutz. Le véritable secret du succès d'un programme éducatif non conventionnel repose sur un personnel dévoué, motivé et parfaitement formé.