Developing Reading,Spelling and Phonemic Awareness Skills in Primary School Children

Phonemic awareness is beginning to become rather a buzz term in discussions about methods of teaching reading and there is widespread agreement that children need to develop this awareness in order to read effectively. It is not yet clear exactly how they should be taught this awareness and Rhona Johnston and Joyce Watson here describe their research into this issue.     

Sexual excitation function of hamster vaginal secretion

Sexually naive male hamsters were paired with ovariectomized females or with castrated males. On half of the trial days, the stimulus animals were scented with vaginal secretion from estrous females, and on half of the trials they were left unscented. Added vaginal secretion resulted in an increased frequency of mounting and decreased latency to mount, and an increase in the amount of time the males remained near the stimulus animals. These results demonstrate that the vaginal secretion has attractant and sexual excitant effects on naive males and thus is a source of sex pheromones. Presence of the secretion also resulted in a decrease in some measures of agonistic behavior, suggesting anti-aggressive functions as well.

     

Accelerating the development of reading,spelling and phonemic awareness skills in initial readers

In Experiment 1, it was found that 5-year-oldnew school entrants taught by a syntheticphonics method had better reading, spelling andphonemic awareness than two groups taughtanalytic phonics. The synthetic phonicschildren were the only ones that could read byanalogy, and they also showed better reading ofirregular words and nonwords. For one analyticphonics group the programme was supplemented byphonological awareness training; this led togains in phonemic awareness but not reading orspelling compared with the other analyticphonics group. The synthetic phonics programmewas taught to the analytic phonics groups aftertheir initial programmes had been completed andpost-tested. The group that had hadphonological awareness training did not performbetter than the other two groups when tested 15months later; this was also the case when thesame comparison was made for the the subset ofchildren that had started school with weakphonological awareness skill. Speed of letterlearning was controlled for in Experiment 2; itwas found that the synthetic phonics groupstill read and spelt better than the analyticphonics group. It was concluded that syntheticphonics was more effective than analyticphonics, and that with the former approach itwas not necessary to carry out supplementarytraining in phonological awareness.     

Take away body parts! An investigation into the use of 3D‐printed anatomical models in undergraduate anatomy education

Understanding the three‐dimensional (3D) nature of the human form is imperative for effective medical practice and the emergence of 3D printing creates numerous opportunities to enhance aspects of medical and healthcare training. A recently deceased, un‐embalmed donor was scanned through high‐resolution computed tomography. The scan data underwent segmentation and post‐processing and a range of 3D‐printed anatomical models were produced. A four‐stage mixed‐methods study was conducted to evaluate the educational value of the models in a medical program. (1) A quantitative pre/post‐test to assess change in learner knowledge following 3D‐printed model usage in a small group tutorial; (2) student focus group (3) a qualitative student questionnaire regarding personal student model usage (4) teaching faculty evaluation. The use of 3D‐printed models in small‐group anatomy teaching session resulted in a significant increase in knowledge (P = 0.0001) when compared to didactic 2D‐image based teaching methods. Student focus groups yielded six key themes regarding the use of 3D‐printed anatomical models: model properties, teaching integration, resource integration, assessment, clinical imaging, and pathology and anatomical variation. Questionnaires detailed how students used the models in the home environment and integrated them with anatomical learning resources such as textbooks and anatomy lectures. In conclusion, 3D‐printed anatomical models can be successfully produced from the CT data set of a recently deceased donor. These models can be used in anatomy education as a teaching tool in their own right, as well as a method for augmenting the curriculum and complementing established learning modalities, such as dissection‐based teaching. Anat Sci Educ 11: 44–53. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

A Review of Keller Principles with Reference to Mathematics Courses in Australasia

This paper considers some treatments and adaptations of Keller's first principles and advocates a mastery requirement for all university courses which are prerequisites for further study. A summary of Keller or PSI Mathematics courses in universities in Australia and New Zealand is given.
With reference to the general aim (of mathematical education at universities) of 'problem-solving', there are limitations to the application of a mastery principle which requires an explicit statement of objectives. However, the principle of mastery does offer guidelines for the university teacher, which may be used with conventional timetabled, lecture-paced teaching methods. A two-tier structure of assessment is described which incorporates levels of mastery (tier I) and of problem-solving (tier II).     

Listening: The key to early childhood music

Developmentally appropriate music education is often unintentionally neglected in many preschool, kindergarten, and primary grade programs. Some early childhood teachers may fail to take advantage of opportunities to support children's musical development because they are insecure with their own musical abilities. Other teachers devote relatively little time to music activities because they are unable to locate good quality, age appropriate music tapes, books, and records. This neglect is particularly acute in kindergarten and primary grades, where the current emphasis on basic skills instruction forced on classroom teachers relegates the music curriculum to about thirty minutes of instruction a week from a specialist music teacher. This short dose of music study, removed from the context of classroom and group activities, is not enough to give children an understanding and appreciation of music in their lives. Early childhood teachers themselves must take a more active role in teaching music if children are to develop knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes about music.Kathryn Woodson Barr is a Graduate Assistant at the Barbara K. Lipman Early Childhood School and Research Institute. Memphis State University. John M. Johnston is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Memphis State University.