Technology User Groups and Early Childhood Education: A Preliminary Study

This article presents a preliminary examination of the potential of Technology User Groups as a professional development venue for early childhood education professionals in developing operational and functional competence in using hardware and software components of a Technology toolkit. Technology user groups are composed of varying numbers of participants having an interest in technology, and are led by one or more skilled facilitators who meet with participants across time to help them acquire and demonstrate new technology skill sets. A series of these groups were conducted with seven early education professionals serving young preschool children who were at risk or who had disabilities. The impact of these technology user groups was examined using self-reports subsequent to individual participation. Specific data were collected regarding the types of technologies that had been used, and the types of classroom instructional products that had been created and implemented in classrooms using the technologies. A discussion of the value of technology user groups is presented.     

自杀

Life was such a misery, he thought... a pain, a suffering, an agony. He wished he would die... somehow.... miraculously. He wondered if he should jump from a window and fall with a massive thud onto the concrete below, his blood spattering over the grey-white, leaving behind a momentary work of     

A cognitive model for the evaluation of units of instruction

Instructional Science - This paper describes an approach to the problem of how particular pre-existing systems of cognitive structures in individuals could be brought to bear on the design and...     

热爱英语2

本文作者曾在中国执教数年,遇到许多中国学生向他提问。他总结了其中较具代表性的问题一一予以了解答,希望对广大读者朋友有所帮助。     

Education and the Religious Thinker

This paper is concerned with the process of religious thinking as a linguistic form of investigating the world of values, which stands in contrast to theology and religious studies. It hinges around Wittgenstein’s comment, “I am not a religious man but I cannot help but see every question from a religious point of view.” It argues that scientific modes of thought are now so dominant that values education of all types are distorted as science itself was once distorted in an age when theological language held sway. The result today is the worrying growth of what is usually termed fundamentalism or literalism. The paper introduces the thinking on this issue from the curriculum theories of the Danish thinker Søren Kierkegaard, which have been ignored for nearly two centuries, before examining the work of a modern scholar, Christopher Arthur. Finally Whitehead’s insights arising from his later works are brought into play to conclude the argument.     

Toward a cognitive schemata theory of self-instruction

An initial outline of a cognitive schemata theory of self-instruction is presented. Three levels of schemata are described briefly. Attention then is devoted to the cognitive organization and operation of these schemata in relation to procedural and declarative knowledge stores, and in relation to everchanging situational information. The primary objective is to provide an initial basis for conceptualizing the cognitive competence required for self-instruction.Requests for reprints should be directed to Jack Martin, Associate Professor, at the above address. Work on this paper was begun while the author was an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University.     

A taxomony of Engineering Design tasks and its applicability to university Engineering Education

Engineering Design is rightfully regarded as a key element within all university Engineering courses and most laboratory assignments and project work seek to optimise the student's acquisition of knowledge and understanding of this process. Within this paper Engineering Design has been classified into a new 'hierarchy of task level' each one defined by an increased degree of design freedom that an Engineer has to consider. It is argued that this classification accurately reflects the varying complexity of tasks found within real world industrial environment. The optimal matching of these task levels to university course assignments is discussed and limitations identified. The need for further design experience within a wider industrial context is shown to be essential if the nature of design freedom is to be fully appreciated by the next generation of professional Engineers.     

Selecting the Qualified: A Standards-Based Teacher Education Admission Process

A standards-based admission process for qualifying caring and competent candidates for teacher preparation is presented. The major elements of the admission process include prerequisite standards that address the knowledge, dispositions, and skills candidates should possess upon entrance to the teacher education program; multiple assessments that evaluate the prerequisite standards; and an admission interview process that involves collaboration of arts and sciences faculty, education faculty, undergraduate students, and professionals from the field. A unique aspect of the admission process is its strong focus on dispositional standards. Emphasis is placed on qualifying future teachers into teacher education programs based upon demonstrated evidence of their meeting defensible and education community supported admission standards.