Evaluation of virtual microscopy in medical histology teaching

Histology stands as a major discipline in the life science curricula, and the practice of teaching it is based on theoretical didactic strategies along with practical training. Traditionally, students achieve practical competence in this subject by learning optical microscopy. Today, students can use newer information and communication technologies in the study of digital microscopic images. A virtual microscopy program was recently introduced at Ghent University. Since little empirical evidence is available concerning the impact of virtual microscopy (VM) versus optical microscopy (OM) on the acquisition of histology knowledge, this study was set up in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. A pretest‐post test and cross‐over design was adopted. In the first phase, the experiment yielded two groups in a total population of 199 students, Group 1 performing the practical sessions with OM versus Group 2 performing the same sessions with VM. In the second phase, the research subjects switched conditions. The prior knowledge level of all research subjects was assessed with a pretest. Knowledge acquisition was measured with a post test after each phase (T1 and T2). Analysis of covariance was carried out to study the differential gain in knowledge at T1 and T2, considering the possible differences in prior knowledge at the start of the study. The results pointed to non‐significant differences at T1 and at T2. This supports the assumption that the acquisition of the histology knowledge is independent of the microscopy representation mode (VM versus OM) of the learning material. The conclusion that VM is equivalent to OM offers new directions in view of ongoing innovations in medical education technology. Anat Sci Educ 6: 307–315. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Teachers’ professional knowledge construction in Assessment for Learning

This article attempts to unpack the complexity of teachers’ professional knowledge construction in Assessment for Learning (hereafter, AfL). It presents a qualitative study of a school‐based AfL Project which took place in a secondary school in Hong Kong. Thirty lessons video‐recorded in the AfL Project and nine teacher interviews conducted after the Project were analyzed. The findings enrich our understanding of professional knowledge construction in four aspects: (1) personal nature of teachers’ practical knowledge construction in contrived situations; (2) confined integration of AfL into pedagogical content knowledge in terms of ‘skill progression that accompanies experience’; (3) more sophisticated integration of AfL into pedagogical content knowledge as ‘practicalizing theoretical knowledge’; and (4) reflection, conscious deliberation, and ‘theorizing practical knowledge’ associated with more sophisticated professional knowledge integration. Implications for enhancing teachers’ professional learning are discussed.     

Introduction: Traditional Media and the Internet: The Search for Viable Business Models

This research critically examines the debate and issues surrounding theory and practice concerning regulation and advertising self-regulation with the aim of understanding more fully the implications for the future of coregulation, as well as for coregulating broadcast advertising. Regulatory reform in the United Kingdom, including the creation of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as a unified regulator for the communications industry, has led to contracting out the regulation of broadcast advertising to an industry coregulator. As a result of a critical examination of theory and practice, important theoretical and managerial implications are made regarding effective interfacing with public and consumer bodies as well as approaches to issues of media convergence. Such analyses and implications are important for understanding better the potential for effectiveness and viability of coregulation as well as for evaluating the likelihood of returning to statutory regulation.     

Spanish dyslexic spelling abilities: the case of consonant clusters

This paper investigates Spanish dyslexic spelling abilities: specifically, the influence of syllabic linguistic structure (simple vs consonant cluster) on children's spelling performance. Consonant clusters are phonologically complex structures, so it was anticipated that there would be lower spelling performance for these syllabic structures than in simple ones, because of the poor phonological processing of dyslexic children. The participants were 31 dyslexic children, 31 chronological age‐matched children and 31 reading level‐matched children. A dictation task with words and pseudowords (with and without consonant clusters) was used. Word lexical frequency was controlled. The results show that the spelling of consonant clusters presents difficulties for dyslexic spelling performance despite this structure being orthographically consistent. Dyslexic children present a higher performance difference in items with consonant clusters than in simple items, compared with typically developing children. The work raises questions about the items used for the identification of dyslexic children's difficulties.     

Practicalising theoretical knowledge in student teachers' professional learning in initial teacher education

This paper reports the findings collected from a four year longitudinal study aiming to investigate the professional learning of student-teachers in Bachelor of Education programmes. Four case studies which suggest a typology of ways of practicalising theoretical knowledge with one extreme as the testing out of teaching approaches mainly to find out their practicality in the school context to the other extreme whereby the student-teacher sought to work out a schema or personal theory were identified. Influences from the campus-based and the field-based components of the teacher education programme are drawn. The paper ends with implications for initial teacher education.     

Consecuencias cognitivas de la educación formal e informal

RESUMEN

Muchos trabajos han evidenciado la hipótesis de que las diferencias entre el aprendizaje formal (encarnado por la escuela) y el aprendizaje informal de la vida práctica dan lugar a diferentes sistemas de aprendizaje funcional. En el aprendizaje escolar el lenguaje tiene un papel crucial, pero muchas veces el esquema verbal aprendido no se conecta con sus referentes empíricos. Es un aprendizaje fuera de contexto que cubre una amplia gama de contenidos y cuya tendencia es generalizar las reglas y las operaciones. Las herramientas intelectuales son diferentes de las utilizadas en el aprendizaje de la vida diaria, que suele estar mediatizado por los instrumentos y tiene un carácter observacional. Sería necesario un estudio para ver en qué forma estos dos sistemas de aprendizaje interactúan en el aula. Parece que la base del conocimiento de la escuela está en conflicto con la cultura tradicional del adulto. En este sentido, se señala la necesidad de cambios básicos en la organización social de la educación.