The Theoretical Links Between Problem-based Learning and Self-directed Learning for Continuing Professional Nursing Education

Professional undergraduate nursing education programmes share the goal of preparing competent graduates who will successfully make the transition to the world of professional nursing practice. Furthermore, society demands continued professional accountability for competence in an era of exponential knowledge proliferation and technological change. One way to meet this demand is for every practicing professional to engage in continuing professional nursing education. If professional nurses are to maximize continuous learning, they need to be able to manage and monitor their own learning. This means that professional nurses engaged in continuous learning should have the ability to be self directed. The use of problem-based learning (PBL) as an instructional methodology in undergraduate nursing curricula has been identified as one way to facilitate the development of nursing students' abilities to become self-directed in learning. The theoretical links between PBL and self-directed learning are discussed.     

Inclusive education and intellectual disability: a sociological engagement with Martha Nussbaum

As a result of exclusionary tactics, social, cultural or economic disadvantage or disability, vast numbers of pupils have poor educational experiences and are either marginalised or demonised due to ‘difficult differences’. In the context of Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach, where she suggests that we ought to be who we want to be, this paper addresses intellectual disability, inclusion and inclusive education. It proposes that care, compassion, creativity and ethics are critical in understanding the education for all children and young people, rather than necessarily pedagogical process. In addition, it suggests that learning should take place within and through relationships and that these relationships are important in developing a healthy sense of self. Therefore politically, rather than following a path of blame whether it is the dysfunctional family, the deficit child or the economically deprived nation, this paper says that we require socially just practices, compassion and care as fundamental to human development, social inclusion and inclusive education. Ultimately, education is failing a large sum of children and young people and therefore needs to be radically reconsidered.     

Gender differences in perceptions of studying for the GCSE

This study explored gender differences in perceptions of studying for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). The sample comprised 644 pupils drawn from eight schools in Outer London, UK. The schools encompassed pupils who could be regarded as high, middle and low achievers drawn from co‐educational and single‐sex schools. Pupils completed a self‐report questionnaire on two occasions, once in Year 10 and once in Year 11. The questionnaire was designed to assess perceptions of studying for the GCSE including statements relating to coursework, examinations, research, study strategies and homework. This research demonstrated few gender differences in perceptions of studying among Year 10 and Year 11 pupils, who had similar attainment levels. In this sample, the boys were conscientious and completed more homework in Year 10. For the future, it appears important to explore further how the attainment of girls might be mediated by anxiety.     

The World of Music

Musical Instruments of the World: An Illustrated Encyclopedia (New York: Bantam Books, 1978—$9.95, paper)

Warren Craig's Sweet and Lowdown: America's Popular Song Writers (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1978—$25.00)

Norm N. Nite's Rock On: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock 'n Roll– The Modern Years, 1964-Present (New York: Crowell, 1978—$14.95)

Jerry Osborne and Bruce Hamilton's Popular and Rock Records 1948-1978 (Phoenix, Arix.: O'Sullivan Woodside & Co., 1978—$7.95, paper)

Kenny Rogers and Len Epand's Making it with Music: Kenny Rogers' Guide to the Music Business (New York: Harper & Row, 1978—$12.95)

Anthony Fawcett's California Rock/California Sound: The Music of Los Angeles and Southern California (Los Angeles: Reed Books, 1978—$19.95/9.95)

Rock Critics' Choice: The Top 200 Albums (New York: Quick Fox, 1978—$4.95, paper)

Alan Kinzler's Bob Dylan: The Illustrated Record (New York: Harmony Books/Crown, 1978—$15.00/8.95)

John Blair's The Illustrated Discography of Surf Music 1959-1965 (J. Bee Productions, P.O. Box 1584, Riverside, Calif. 92502—$4.00, paper)

Alan Lomax's Folk Song Style and Culture (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books (Rutgers), 1978—$6.95, paper)

Nat Hentoff's The Jazz Life (New York: DaCapo, 1978—$5.95, paper)

George Hoefer, Music on My Mind: The Memoirs of an American Pianist (New York: DaCapo, 1978—$6.95, paper)

Valerie Wilmer's As Serious as Your Life: The Story of the New Jazz (London: Allison & Busby, 1977—E6.50 or about $13.00)     

Law and Regulation

THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF LAW by M. Ethan Katsh (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989—$38.00, ISBN 0-19-504590-4)

COPYRIGHT LAW: A PRACTITIONER'S GUIDE and 1989 SUPPLEMENT by Harry G. Henn (Practising Law Institute, 810 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10019—$85.00 for both, ISBN not provided)

USING COPYRIGHTED VIDEOCASSETTES IN CLASSROOMS, LIBRARIES, AND TRAINING CENTERS by Jerome K. Miller (1988,2nd ed.—$19.95, ISBN 0-914143-14-X)

A COPYRIGHT PRIMER FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL MEDIA PRODUCERS by Esther Sinofsky (1988—$29.95, ISBN 0-914143-12-3)

VIDEO COPYRIGHT PERMISSIONS: A GUIDE TO SECURING PERMISSION TO RETAIN, PERFORM, AND TRANSMIT TELEVISION PROGRAMS VIDEOTAPED OFF THE AIR by Jerome K. Miller and others (1989—price not given, ISBN 0-914143-13-1)

PRIVATE RIGHTS, PUBLIC WRONGS: THE COMPUTER AND PERSONAL PRIVACY by Michael Rogers Rubin (Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1988—$32.50, ISBN 0-89391-518-1)

SUBJECTS IN PHOTOGRAPHS, FILM AND TELEVISION edited by Larry Gross, John Stuart Katz, and Jay Ruby (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988—$29.95, ISBN 0- 19-505433-4)

COMPENSATING CREATORS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: COLLECTIVES THAT COLLECT by Stanley M. Besen and Sheila Nataraj Kirby (Rand Corporation, 1700 Main St., PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90406—price not given, paper, ISBN 0-8330-0967-2)     

A framework for designing interactive multimedia to scaffold young children's understanding of historical chronology

Young children's understanding of thehistorical past is often characterised by alack of temporal differentiation and a sense oftotal discontinuity with the present. Researchhas suggested that this situation may be causedin part by their formation of inappropriaterepresentations when solving problems ofchronology. To help children construct moreappropriate external representations forparticular tasks and reason more effectivelywith them about chronological concepts, weinvestigated the role that interactivemultimedia might play in scaffoldingteacher-led activities in the classroom. Inthis paper we report on our conceptual designand pedagogical approach to developingeffective dynamic, interactive representationsand activities at the computer interface, aimedat bridging the conceptual gap between concreteexperience and abstract concepts. Evaluationsof the software built using this frameworkshowed that the program was well received bychildren and teachers alike, and that it wasable to facilitate children's understanding of,and ability to reason about, chronology.     

Tools for Reflection: Video-Based Reflection Within a Preservice Community of Practice

Current reform in science education calls for teachers to understand student thinking within a lesson to effectively address students’ needs (NRC in A framework for K-12 science education: practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 2012; NRC in Guide to implementing the Next Generation Science Standards. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2015). This study investigates how to scaffold preservice teachers with learning to attend to students’ thinking for the purpose of guiding curricular decisions. The study focuses on one team teaching a science unit during their early field experience. We sought to understand how participants’ thoughts and abilities changed through participation in a moderated community of practice using video of their own teaching as a reflective tool. We examined how these changes affected both their classroom practice and their decision-making for future lessons. Evidence shows growth in participants’ ability to identify opportunities to elicit, assess, and use students’ thinking to guide instructional decisions. Implications for use of the approach used in this study to begin developing novice teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge for teaching science are discussed.     

Understanding Individual Differences in University Undergraduates: A Learner Needs Segmentation Approach

The purpose of this study was to use the marketing concept of segmentation in a post-secondary context in order to gain a better understanding of undergraduate students. Most post-secondary institutions segment their learners in traditional ways based on demographic characteristics such as age, year of program, gender, special needs, and grade point average. The establishment of identifiable learner-based segments is a unique, and arguably a critical, first step which can be of benefit to institutions as they develop recruitment strategies and academic programs that best serve the needs of their unique mix of undergraduate learners.Partners in Planning and focuses upon strategic development and transformation in the public and not-for-profit sectors, marketing, and product introduction     

Fostering social development through block play

Playing with blocks can help develop social skills and give children an opportunity to practice positive behavior.Dwight L. Rogers is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.