Primary Children and Computer-Based Artwork: Their Learning Environment and Strategies

This article summarises a research project with a group of twenty Singapore primary students who were introduced to computer graphics in an eight-week programme. Their actions and artwork were closely monitored by participant observers to see how they interacted with the computers and with each other as they learned how to use the tools and exercise judgement and control. Three aspects of behaviour which seemed to be particularly significant were: watching and internalising, providing a running commentary and pointing. The children's artwork showed that they could use the computer as a tool to create artwork and engage in high-level symbol-weaving.     

Reviews

Foster , John , L. (Editor ). (1977). Reluctant to Read? Edinburgh Reading Tests - Stages 1 and 4 - Godfrey Thomson Unit. Dubin , F. and Olshtain , E. (1977). Facilitating Language Learning. Skitt , Frank . (1978). Themes for Language Learning.     

Houston Teaching Academy: Partnership in developing teachers

The need for excellent teachers to teach at-risk inner-city children is well documented. Too often new teachers who have received their field experience in the suburbs are hired to teach in multicultural inner-city schools with little preparation to serve this population of children and families. Changing the history of failure for this population of teachers and their students to an experience of success was the primary goal of the partnership between the Houston Independent School District and the University of Houston's College of Education.The structure of the Houston Teaching Academy (HTA) includes four collaborative decision-making councils. Representatives from the school and college serve on each of the councils. Shared weekly seminars for supervising teachers, student teachers, and college supervisors are led by school teachers or college supervisors. Methods courses are taught at the HTA, and the students serve as tutors in the classrooms. Several graduate college courses requested by teachers are offered at the HTA.Concurrent with the development of the HTA, a formative and summative evaluation has monitored the progress of the HTA toward its goals. The HTA graduates have been followed into their first years of teaching. Interviews with their principals indicate that 77% are effectively teaching in inner-city and multicultural settings.     

Fees,flows and imaginaries: exploring the destination choices arising from intra-national student mobility

ABSTRACT

Are intra-national student flows driven by the same forces as international student mobility? This paper addresses this question by analysing cross-border student mobility in the UK. The paper identifies four principles that one might expect to drive the destination choices of students from Scotland enrolling in English universities. Following a statistical analysis of student destination choices, it is argued that cross-border moves from Scotland to England are stimulated by some of the same global forces as international student mobility (such as a desire to accumulate cultural capital), but in terms of destination choice the imaginaries held by Scottish students of ‘good’ places to study in England to accumulate cultural capital are constructed differently from the imaginaries of international students.     

Emotion Regulation Strategies and Parenting Practices among Parents of Children With Clinic-Referred Conduct Problems

Objective. This study examined the cognitive-affective strategies used by parents of young children with conduct problems to regulate emotions. Key questions concerned the extent to which these emotion regulation strategies are associated with positive and negative parenting practices and predict quality of parenting through interplay with parental depression. Design. Participants were families of toddlers (n = 84) referred to a tertiary-level health service for the treatment of disruptive behavior problems. Parenting practices were indexed through observational coding of parent–child interactions and self-report data on multiple dimensions of positive and negative parenting. Parents self-reported their use of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression—the two emotion regulation strategies that are most robustly associated with psychosocial functioning in adults. Results. Associations between emotion regulation strategy and quality of parenting were moderated by parental depressive symptom severity, with distinct effects seen for positive and negative parenting practices. In terms of positive parenting, more frequent use of cognitive reappraisal was associated with increased use of labeled praise among parents with lower levels of depressive symptoms, whereas parents who had higher levels of depressive symptoms engaged in less such praise regardless of how frequently they used reappraisal. In terms of negative parenting, frequent use of cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression were associated with reduced levels of negative parenting, but only among parents with high levels of depression. Conclusions. These findings add to growing support for the integration of emotion regulation strategies into family process models of early-onset conduct problems and related clinical interventions.     

A semester-long student-directed research project involving enzyme immunoassay: appropriate for immunology, endocrinology, or neuroscience courses

The following project aimed at promoting integrated and long-lasting learning is described for an Immunology course, but it may be adapted to other disciplines. Students were asked to develop and carry out a research project to examine the relationship between immune function and stress. The experiments were required to include the assessment of salivary cortisol and salivary IgA (sIgA) with enzyme immunoassays. All other aspects of the experiments were developed by student groups with appropriate guidance from the instructor. Data are presented for one group project that assessed the effect of music on cortisol and sIgA. Overall levels of sIgA and cortisol were consistent with reported values. Students found a significant decrease in cortisol over time. Additionally, there was a trend that supported the overall student hypothesis regarding the effect of stress and immune function. Compared with the same Immunology course that included an instructor-designed experiment using enzyme immunoassays for cortisol and sIgA, several assessments (e.g., final grades and comments on student evaluations) show that overall learning seemed to be much better in the course with the student-directed research project.     

Wendell Berry on Education: A Cultural Inheritance of Care

Although recognized for his wisdom on issues of agriculture, ecology, economics, and theology, writer Wendell Berry has been largely ignored for his thinking on education. Yet the same good sense and clear thinking that he applies to other areas of thought can be seen also in his writings on education. This article reviews what scholars have observed about Berry’s ideas on education, and then contextualizes his thinking through a comparison with two giants of educational theory: John Dewey and Paulo Freire. Berry’s local focus and his emphasis on community and the ecosphere create a vision for education that could lead to a healthier, more peaceable world.     

Undergraduate Medical Students' Usage and Perceptions of Anatomical Case-Based Learning: Comparison of Facilitated Small Group Discussions and eLearning Resources

While case-based discussions can empower students to apply knowledge to contextual clinical situations, scheduling these activities is a challenge in crowded curricula. Case-based eLearning activities, derived from existing cases discussed within anatomy small group tutorials, were created incorporating principles such as interactivity, reinforcement, and feedback. Over half of the students accessed one or more of these online cases, with 18% accessing all eight online cases provided. Access increased as the semester progressed, particularly just before summative examinations, implying students used these primarily as revision aides. Students rated both formats highly, but favored the online format with regard to enjoyment (P = 0.048), learning (P = 0.101), and feedback (P = 0.086). However, more students discussed these cases in small group tutorials within the anatomy dissecting room than completed them online (122 vs. 67) and themes emerging from free text comments included a desire to have more time dedicated to these cases during small group tutorials, and an appreciation for the opportunity for discussion with staff and learning through doing. Additionally, native English speakers rated the anatomy room discussions significantly higher in all aspects than non-native English speakers, suggesting that non-native speakers may be hesitant or reluctant to fully participate in front of peers. While online case-based learning activities are a useful adjunct to anatomy teaching, particularly for revision, assumptions that “digital natives” have an innate preference for digital resources require critical evaluation, as students still place a high value on opportunities for discussion with staff during their studies.