Bodily experience and mathematical conceptions: from classical views to a phenomenological reconceptualization

Mathematical concepts and conceptions have been theorized as abstractions from—and therefore transcending—bodily and embodied experience. In this contribution, we re-theorize mathematical conceptions by building on recent philosophical work in dialectical phenomenology. Accordingly, a conception exists only in, through, and as of the experiences that the individual realizes it. To exemplify our reconceptualization of mathematical conceptions, we draw on an episode from a study in a second-grade classroom where the students learned about three-dimensional geometrical objects.

How PETE comes to matter in the performance of social justice education

ABSTRACT

Background: For over four decades, there have been calls for physical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE) to address social inequality and foster social justice. Yet, as numerous studies demonstrate, attempts to educate for social justice in PETE are infrequent and rarely comprehensive. This raises the question why it appears to be possible in some situations but not others, and for some students and not others.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the multiple socio-political networks or assemblages in which PETE is embedded and explore how these shape the possibilities for students to engage with the concept of social justice and sociocultural issues (SCI) when learning to teach PE. Two research questions guided this study: How does an orientation for social justice education (SJE) within education policy affect the standards for enacting PETE programs? How is SJE encouraged within PETE programs?

Methodology: Drawing from a broader study of over 70 key personnel in more than 40 PETE programs, we examined how faculty in PETE understand their professional world, identify their subjective meanings of their experiences, and address SCI andSJE within PETE. Data sources included an initial survey, a semi-structured interview, and program artifacts. We analyze the ways that SJE/SCI was represented in three national settings (England, the United States, and New Zealand) and identified common themes.

Results: Examination of each national setting reveals ways that SJE and SCI were enabled and constrained across the national, programmatic, and individual level in each of the countries. The coherence of explicit National policy and curricula, PETE program philosophies, and the presence of multiple individual interests in social justice served to reify a sociocultural agenda. Conversely, possibilities were nullified by narrow or general National Standards, programs that failed to acknowledge sociocultural interests, and the absence of a critical mass of actors with a socio-critical orientation. These differences in assemblage culminated in variations in curriculum time that served to restrict or enable the breadth, frequency, and consistency of the messages surrounding SCI in PETE.

Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of acknowledging socio-political networks where PETE operates. The agency of PETEs to enact pedagogies that foreground sociocultural interests is contingent on congruity of the networks. The authors caution that although the ‘perfect storm’ of conditions has a profound influence of the possibility of transformational learning of SCI in PETE, this arrangement is always temporary, fluid, and subject to changes in any of the three network levels. Additionally, the success of PETE in enabling graduating PE teachers to recognize the inequities that may be reinforced through the ‘hidden curriculum’ and to problematize the subject area is contingent on the expectations of the schools in which they teach.     

Mass communication and journalism faculty’s perceptions of the effectiveness of email communication with college students: a nationwide study

Nearly 700 US journalism and mass communication faculty (all teaching personnel) reported their perceptions of student email use via a web‐based survey. This nationwide study focused on the content of email sent by faculty to students, email’s effectiveness, and email’s effect on student learning. Comparisons were made based on faculty gender, rank, age, and ethnicity. Findings suggest that despite statistical differences, when gender, rank, age, or ethnicity are considered, faculty are not in the habit of sending course materials like syllabi, project instructions, and lecture notes to students personally via email. Moreover, faculty tend to find favor with email communication and its effectiveness as a tool of teaching. The results of this survey coupled with previous research by the authors and other scholars suggest faculty ought to embrace the technology and develop positive ways to incorporate email, as well as other technology, into the educational process.     

Transferring schema or transforming cultures?

Wassell and LaVan (this issue) make strong arguments about the value of coteaching as a model for learning to teach. This response paper draws upon recent sociocultural conceptualizations of human nature and development as a process of contribution and shared contribution to extend Wassell and LaVan’s findings about teacher learning and to further illuminate evidence of the transformative potential of coteaching. It is argued that the beginning teachers in Wassell and LaVan’s study appropriated the cultural practices, and ontological and epistemological stances of coteaching and used these perspectives and practices to transform the cultures of their in-service classrooms as well as the roles and epistemic perspectives of their students.

Cloning the Professor,an Alternative to Ineffective Teaching in a Large Course

Pedagogical strategies have been experimentally applied in large-enrollment biology courses in an attempt to amplify what teachers do best in effecting deep learning, thus more closely approximating a one-on-one interaction with students. Carefully orchestrated in-class formative assessments were conducted to provide frequent, high-quality feedback that allows students to accurately diagnose the current state of their understanding of fundamental biological concepts and make specific plans to remedy any deficiencies. Teachers can also assume responsibility to guide out-of-class study among classmates by promoting Elaborative Questioning, an inquiry exchange that permits misconceptions to be identified and corrected and that promotes long-lasting metacognitive and analytical thinking skills. Data are presented that demonstrate the positive impact of these innovations on student performance and affect.     

How Middle Schoolers Draw Engineers and Scientists

The perceptions young students have of engineers and scientists are often populated with misconceptions and stereotypes. Although the perceptions that young people have of engineers and of scientists have been investigated separately, they have not been systematically compared. The research reported in this paper explores the question “How are student perceptions of engineers and scientists similar and how are they different?” Approximately 1,600 middle school students from urban and suburban schools in the southeastern United States were asked to draw either an engineer or a scientist at work. Drawings included space for the students to explain what their person was doing in the picture. A checklist to code the drawings was developed and used by two raters. This paper discusses similarities and differences in middle school perceptions of scientists and engineers. Results reveal that the students involved in this study frequently perceive scientists as working indoors conducting experiments. A large fraction of the students have no perception of engineering. Others frequently perceive engineers as working outdoors in manual labor. The findings have implications for the development and implementation of engineering outreach efforts.     

University and College Counselors as Athletic Team Consultants: Using a Structural Family Therapy Model

Increasingly, university and college counselors are sought out by their institution's sports coaches for assistance in achieving team goals. Traditional sport psychology models that have the individual athlete as their primary focus are insufficient frameworks for team‐level consultations. The authors believe that systemic approaches may provide an effective alternative. In this article, the authors offer and illustrate S. Minuchin's (1974) Structural Family Therapy as a heuristic model for conceptualizing and intervening with athletic teams.     

A new microelectronics curriculum created by Synopsys, Inc.

Rapid changes in integrated circuits （IC） technology and constantly shrinking process geometries demand a new curriculum that meets the contemporary requirements for IC design. This is especially important for 90nm and below technologies and the use of state-of-the-art EDA design tools and advanced IC design techniques. The creation of new curriculum is laborious and requires a combination of effort from many specialists from different countries to obtain the best quality. This paper describes the experience in developing a new microelectronics curriculum, based on using Synopsys EDA tools, that is successfully deployed in leading technical universities around the world.     

Learning about the Labeled: Teaching a Course on Sexual Offenders while Accounting for Students who may be Abuse Survivors

Teaching a course on sexual offenders presents instructors with a variety of challenges, including teaching students who may be sexual assault victims. Faculty must work to overcome preconceived, often erroneous, student beliefs about sex offenders, which have been influenced by the media’s reporting on the subject. This paper is the result of teaching undergraduate and graduate class on sexual offending for thirteen semesters. This article serves as an instructional tool to create a balanced class structure that prepares the instructor on how to remain unbiased and objective in the face of emotional, political, and religious opposition from the students. Specific subject topics, course material, assignments, and in-class activities are examined as a learning platform to disseminate information on sex offending and the sex offender registry.