A model for using a concept inventory as a tool for students' assessment and faculty professional development

This essay describes how the use of a concept inventory has enhanced professional development and curriculum reform efforts of a faculty teaching community. The Host Pathogen Interactions (HPI) teaching team is composed of research and teaching faculty with expertise in HPI who share the goal of improving the learning experience of students in nine linked undergraduate microbiology courses. To support evidence-based curriculum reform, we administered our HPI Concept Inventory as a pre- and postsurvey to approximately 400 students each year since 2006. The resulting data include student scores as well as their open-ended explanations for distractor choices. The data have enabled us to address curriculum reform goals of 1) reconciling student learning with our expectations, 2) correlating student learning with background variables, 3) understanding student learning across institutions, 4) measuring the effect of teaching techniques on student learning, and 5) demonstrating how our courses collectively form a learning progression. The analysis of the concept inventory data has anchored and deepened the team's discussions of student learning. Reading and discussing students' responses revealed the gap between our understanding and the students' understanding. We provide evidence to support the concept inventory as a tool for assessing student understanding of HPI concepts and faculty development.     

Storytelling as a Strategy for Understanding Concepts of Electricity and Electromagnetism

In our research, we investigated whether students will develop inquiry skills, such as hypothesis exploration and formulation and interpretation, and metacognitive skills, such as comprehension of new knowledge, as a result of a storytelling strategy employed during teaching. We also investigated whether students will utilize the skills and knowledge acquired in the learning process to explain everyday-life phenomena or applications of science. In order to achieve the above objectives, we carried out a bibliographical research, in which we established the certainty that modern thought is integrated in dialogical and narrative forms and that the conceptual approach, which places emphasis on the purely cognitive dimension of the process of knowledge and ignores inspiration or imagination, is ineffective. These conclusions necessitated our turning to other approaches for teaching and learning. We chose storytelling on account of its ability to cultivate the imagination and inspiration and to make science learning attractive to students. To confirm our findings, we conducted research on the effectiveness of storytelling in teaching science in five sixth-grade, primary-school classes. The findings of this research are described in our paper and seem to be encouraging.     

Undigenous: Be Quiet And Know Your Place

In this perspective I endeavor to offer a transpersonal reflection of the work of decolonization from the standpoint of a minority-cisgender-female-White-settler-migrant. This work, the work of decolonization, is not the same for all of us, it depends on our place in the globe and our “baggage” as beings who inherit the past while living in the present but deeply committed to changing our future. Academics are professional braggarts who boast expertise and proficiency; indeed it is the hallmark of a knowledge broker to imply they have something (something VERY important and heretofore undiscovered) to pro-claim (as if knowledge was property). I cannot speak for others (nor would I) but I would like to share my perception and reflection of being an economic migrant and peace educator working toward decolonization in Aotearoa/New Zealand.     

Enforcing copyright law within and between nations

The United States has successfully enforced copyright law between nations through trade pressure. This success has been due primarily to the efforts of the International Intellectual Property Alliance, which unites the book, motion picture, computer software, and music and record industries. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a major element of these efforts. Enforcement within national boundaries requires both adequate legal provisions and training and education.     

Psycho-social characteristics of children and adolescents with siblings on the autistic spectrum

This study investigates the psycho-social characteristics of typically developing children who have siblings with autism and their sibling relationship. Children’s adjustment at school, their self-esteem and social relations, as well as their friends’ attitudes towards their autistic siblings were examined. Participants were 22 siblings of children with autism, aged 8–18?years, 22 mothers and 22 fathers. Parents provided demographic information, and completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Sibling Inventory of Behaviour. Data from siblings of children with autism were based on a semi-structured interview, the Self-Perception Profile for Children and Adolescents and the Siblings Problems Questionnaire. Only few typically developing siblings of children with autism exhibit emotional and behavioural difficulties. The majority of them have a good relationship with their autistic brother or sister, although they mentioned changes in their daily routines. They also seem not to be satisfied in terms of peer acceptance skills and friendships. In addition, the results of the present study provide evidence for positive parental views on their typically developing children’s emotional and behavioural adjustment. These findings are important and need to be taken into account in order to assess functioning of all family members in families with autism spectrum children.     

Stirring the waters: university INSET in Greece

In view of the increasing demand for in‐service training in Greece, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki launched English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher training courses, offered for the first time by a Greek state university. This paper discusses issues regarding the design and running of the courses as well as briefly presenting trainee feedback and its role in the continuous improvement of the courses. The rationale and the principles adopted in the design of the courses were in line with current approaches to teacher training. In addition, the design of the courses was based on a national survey involving a needs analysis of practising EFL teachers in Greece. The feedback received from the trainees was very positive with regard to the design and organization of the courses, the usefulness of the knowledge acquired and the fulfillment of their expectations.

L'Université d'Aristote de Théssalonique a inicié pour la première fois en Grèce, des stages sur l'enseignement de l'anglais en tant que langue étrangère, de manière à répondre à la demande croissante des enseignants pratiquants pour une formation plus poussée. L'article suivant explique la composition et le fonctionnement des differents séminaires, présente brievement les impressions des stagiaires en établissant l'importance de leurs commentaires pour la continuelle amélioration du stage. Les principes adoptés lors de la création de celui‐ci sont basés sur les approches courantes de formation des enseignants d'anglais. De plus, ce stage prend en compte une enquête nationale établissant les differents besoins des enseignants pratiquants en Grèce. Les commentaires des stagiaires sur l'organisation du cours et l'utilité des informations acquises furent très positifs. Le stage a répondu à leurs differentes attentes.

Wegen der immer größeren Nachfrage nach in‐service training1 In‐service training, sind Trainingskurse die sich an Lehrer richten, die den Beruf schon praktizieren. Wann immer das Wort «Prakizent» im Text benutzt wird, sind diese Lehrer gemeint. View all notes in Griechenland, hat die Aristoteles Universität von Thessaloniki EFL (Englisch als Fremdsprache)Trainingskurse für praktizirende Lehrer angeboten, die es zum ersten mal bei einer griechischen Staatsuniversität gibt. Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit Themen, welche die Struktur und den Ablauf dieser Kurse betreffen, sowie auch wie die Rückinfomation der Praktizenten dazu beigetragen hat diese Kurse ständig zu verbessern. Außerdem wurden die neuen didaktischen Methoden berücksichtigt. Darüber hinaus basiert die Struktur dieser Kurse einer nationallen Umfrage in Griechenland, welche die Lehrbedürfnisse der Prakizenten enthaltet.Um die Struktur dieser Kurse nun noch mehr zu verbessern werden wie die Ruckinformation und die Erfahrung der Praktizenten die schon an ihn teilgenommen haben in Hinsicht nehmen.

En vista de la creciente demanda en Grecia de in service‐training2 In‐service training, son cursos para estudiantes que ya son maestros de ingles. La palabra cursillista se refiere a estos estudiantes. View all notes , la universidad Aristoteles de Salonika comenzo a ofrecer cursos de metodologia para maestros de ingles como lengua extranjera. Esta es la primera vez que una universidad del estado ofrece cursos de este tipo. En este articulo se tratan de discutir los afectos relacionados con el plan y la estructura de estos cursos y, del mismo modo, el papel desempeado por las surgerencias de los cursillistas como ayuda para diseñar los cursos. La filosofia y el pensamiento fueron adoptados de acuerdo con los nuevos metodos didacticas. De hecho, el diseño del curso fue basado en un estudio nacional a cerca de las necesidades de los cursillistas que ya son o seran maestros de ingles como lengua extranjera. Para mejorar estos cursos mas, tendrèmos en cuenta las sugerencias y la experencia de los cursillistas que ya han participado en estos cursos y hacer cambios.     

Parenting styles of mothers with deaf or hard-of-hearing children and hearing siblings

The present study aims to determine whether rearing a deaf or hard-of-hearing (d/hh) child would differentiate the parenting and disciplinary preference of parents between the d/hh and the hearing child. The parenting styles of 30 hearing mothers from Cyprus were assessed using the Greek version of the Parenting Styles & Dimensions Questionnaire. Additionally, mothers rated sibling interactions using the sibling inventory of behavior. The results indicated that the dominant parenting style for both the hearing and the d/hh children among the participating mothers was the authoritative type and the least prevalent parental types were the permissive and the strict. Moreover, mothers' perceptions of sibling relationship were found to be a significant factor in predicting mothers' reported parenting styles in this sample. The contribution of the present findings to our knowledge of the parenting characteristics and practices of families who have a d/hh child along with their possible implications for child and family services are discussed.     

Tracking the serial advantage in the naming rate of multiple over isolated stimulus displays

Reading and Writing - The serial advantage, defined as the gain in naming rate in the serial over the discrete task of the same content, was examined between grades and types of content in English...     

E-mentoring: The adoption process and innovation challenge

The innovative nature of e-mentoring along with its ongoing adoption process provided the reasons for conducting an innovation–adoption study on e-mentoring. A sample of 234 mentors that have been employed by Ergani Center, a well respected Greek mentoring organization, were asked to identify with the use of an online questionnaire the factors that influence the adoption of e-mentoring. Gender, age, personal innovativeness, relative advantage computer self-efficacy, problems and pressures from mentees emerged as predictors of the innovation process.