Inside Out or Outside In? On Criteria for Selecting Teachers of Religion,and the Case of the Druze

Abstract

This essay explores the issue of dress of teachers of Druze heritage. The Druze, among whom the rules of religious dress are rather specific, do not teach religion in schools, since the Druze religion is secret. The teacher acts as a gatekeeper and model. At the same time, Druze young people are becoming increasingly secular and may relate better to teachers who appear to be part of the modern world. This discussion examines the role of dress in teacher modeling, and the part Druze teachers may have to play in sustaining a small religion in rapidly changing times.     

Peer Teachers With Autism Teaching 3D Modeling

ABSTRACT

Few autism programmes address the needs of adolescents and young adults, and those that do are unlikely to include individuals with autism in the design and evaluation of the programme. This study involved nine youth with autism (ages 16–25) in the development and evaluation of a peer teaching programme where they taught three-dimensional modelling to other students with autism spectrum disorder. The methodology was participant-oriented research where the students with autism were co-designers and programme evaluators in the research. This approach highlighted their unique strengths and abilities and shifted the power such that they were leaders and not simply the recipients of knowledge from instructors. Four themes emerged through the qualitative analysis of the students’ perceptions of the peer teaching programme: 1) the meaning of peer teaching, 2) motivations for peer teaching, 3) challenges and 4) coping with the challenges of the role.     

Using the Multiple Intelligences to Enhance Instruction for Young Children and Young Children with Disabilities

The theory of the multiple intelligences are discussed in relation to working with young children and young children with disabilities. A rationale for the use of the multiple intelligences is discussed as well as practical suggestions on how they can be incorporated into early childhood programs.     

Effect of conceptual change approach accompanied with concept mapping on understanding of solution concepts

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of conceptual change texts accompanied with concept mapping instruction, compared to traditional instruction (TI), on 8th grade students understanding of solution concepts and their attitudes toward science as a school subject. Solution Concept Test was developed as a result of examination of related literature and interviews with teachers regarding their observations of students difficulties. The test was administered to a total of 64 eighth grade students from two classes of a general science course, taught by the same teacher. The experimental group received the conceptual change texts accompanied with concept mapping in a lecture by the teacher. This instruction explicitly dealt with students misconceptions. It was designed to suggest conditions in which misconceptions could be replaced by scientific conceptions and new conceptions could be integrated with existing conceptions. The control group received TI in which the teacher provided instruction through lecture and discussion methods. The results showed that conceptual change text accompanied with concept mapping instruction caused a significantly better acquisition of scientific conceptions related to solution concept and produced significantly higher positive attitudes toward science as a school subject than the TI. In addition, logical thinking ability and prior learning were strong predictors for the concept learning related to solution.     

How do the spellings of children with dyslexia compare with those of nondyslexic children?

Children with dyslexia are believed to have very poor phonological skills for which they compensate, to some extent, through relatively well-developed knowledge of letter patterns. We tested this view in Study 1 by comparing 25 dyslexic children and 25 younger normal children, chosen so that both groups performed, on average, at a second-grade spelling level. Phonological skill was assessed using phoneme counting and nonword spelling tasks. Knowledge of legal and illegal letter patterns was tested using a spelling choice task. The dyslexic children and the younger nondyslexic children performed similarly on all the tasks, and they had difficulty, for the most part, with the same linguistic structures. Supporting the idea that older dyslexics spellings are quite similar to those of typical beginners, we found in Study 2 that experienced teachers could not differentiate between the two groups based on their spellings.     

Resources for Science Learning: Tools,Tasks, and Environment

This article addresses the question of how science learning can be improved. It recognizes that, while learners themselves are responsible for their own learning, the quality of this learning is greatly influenced when appropriate resources are available to learners. These resources are provided through a partnership between teachers and learners. Three different types of resource are discussed. Tools, in the form of computer tools and conceptual tools, make tasks easier and allow learners to undertake tasks they would not otherwise be able to do. Tasks can facilitate effective learning by creating effective spaces for learners to work in, embodying key aspects of the disciplines of science, providing effective and authentic opportunities for learners to learn, and facilitating a dialogue between learners ideas and their experiences of the natural world. Environment – the ecology in which learning happens – provides three sources of information through the human, social, and conceptual worlds. When key aspects of these worlds are manifested in the environment, they scaffold the learning of science content, the nature of science, and the learning process itself, all of which are required for the deep understanding of science that constitutes improved science learning.     

Reforming teacher education: a model program for preparing teachers of deaf children.

Recent literature is replete with the concerns of general educators that students majoring in elementary and pre-primary education do not acquire sufficient content and liberal arts matter as a part of their knowledge base. Educators in undergraduate teacher preparation programs in deafness have expressed the same concerns. This article describes how the Program in Education of Deaf Children at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro added courses in a second major and in liberal arts to expand the knowledge base of prospective teachers of deaf and hard of hearing children.     

Reduction in State Anxiety Scores of Freshmen through a Course in Career Decision

A total of 112 Taiwanese junior college freshmen, assigned to an experimental group (N=59) and a control group (N=62), responded to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. After they had participated in a career education course the experimental group scores on state anxiety decreased. An analysis of variance of the state anxiety scores yielded two main significant effects (group and trait anxiety) and a two-way interaction was found with trait anxiety and group. There was clear support for the importance of the career education course. The results and implications for continuing research are discussed.     

Contents Volume 7 2001

Volume Contents

Contents Volume 7 2001