The Tragic Aspect of Teaching: Hope in Face of Uncertainty

Educators throughout the ages have offered metaphors and analogies for teaching and teachers. Prominent among them are: gardener, midwife, facilitator, guide, sacrament. Each of these metaphors shed light, from a different angle, on the act of teaching. This article proposes the metaphor of tragedy as a way of shedding new light, from a totally different perspective, on what it means to engage in academic teaching of religion. It explores three areas in particular in light of the metaphor: the quest for certainty, the confessional classroom, and learning without teaching. Tragedy holds the possibility of opening up awareness of the uniqueness of teaching the conversation when placed in critical dialogue with these three areas.     

A Delphi study on collaborative learning in distance education: The faculty perspective

This paper focuses on the factors that influence collaborative learning in distance education. Distance education has been around for many years and the use of collaborative learning techniques in distance education is becoming increasingly popular. Several studies have demonstrated the superiority of collaborative learning over traditional modes of learning and it has been identified as a potential solution to some of the weaknesses of traditional distance education courses. There are a rapidly growing number of technologies in use today and educators and practitioners face an increasingly difficult challenge to successfully implement collaborative learning in distance education; precipitated not only from technical advances but also from wider social and organisational concerns. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the factors that influence collaborative learning in distance education, by eliciting the opinions of an expert panel using a Delphi survey. The aim was to produce an integrated list of the most important implementation factors and to investigate the role that technology is perceived to contribute. The findings identified 17 of the most important factors; these factors cover a range of themes including course rationale and design, instructor characteristics, training, group dynamics, the development of a learning community and technology. The potential of technology, however, does not seem to be fully realised and newer technologies such as multi‐user environments would seem to be of limited use in practice according to the expert panel.     

The mathematical discourse of 13-year-old partnered problem solving and its relation to the mathematics that emerges

This paper, written within a discursive perspective, explores the co-shaping of public and private discourse, and some of the circumstances under which one occasions the other, in the evolution of mathematical thinking by pairs of 13-year-olds. The discourse of six pairs of students, engaged in interpreting and graphing problem situations involving rational functions, was analyzed by means of recently developed methodological tools. The nature of the mathematics that emerged for each pair was found to be related to several factors that included the characteristics of the interpersonal object-level utterances both before and after the solution path had been generated, the degree of activity of the personal channels of the interlocutors, and the extent to which the thoughts of participants were made explicit in the public discourse. The analysis of the discursive interactions provided evidence that adolescents within novel problem situations can experience some difficulty in making their emergent thinking available to their partners in such a way that the interaction be highly mathematically productive for both of them. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

From myth to history and back again

References to the past have taken one or another of two general forms, which we call mythic and historical, or a mix of the two. We tend to think of mythic accounts of the past as belonging to oral cultures and historical forms to be one of the “consequences of literacy.” Mythic accounts have tended to refer to an original beginning whose events are seen to determine, rather directly, current conditions. The intervening events, represented in a causal sequence, and secured by rational inquiry, are generally seen as a product of the development of historical thinking. But the difference between the two is not so clear. Increasingly it is recognized that our imaginations play a constructive role in the kind of meaning we compose from past events. This leaves us with some discomfort, or at least challenges, in considering the kind of thinking we are encouraging in our pupils as we teach them history.     

Undergraduate Performance of Advanced Level and Associate Degree Students: A Comparative Analysis

In the English-speaking Caribbean, the Advanced level qualification is the traditional and preferred route to accessing an education at the University of the West Indies (UWI). However, applicants with nontraditional qualifications—such as the associate degree qualification, teacher certificate, diploma, and mature student status (meaning one who is out of school for five years and over, is over the age of 25 years, has demonstrated academic potential, and has gained academically relevant knowledge and workplace experience)—are also considered for admission into the UWI degree programs. The objective of this study was to establish whether students with the traditional qualification, that is, two Advanced (A) level subjects, are better able to cope with the requirements of undergraduate study than those with an associate degree, which is one of the nontraditional qualifications. The study compared the performance of two groups of students in the University of the West Indies Faculty of Social Sciences three-year bachelor's degree program (University of the West Indies, 1996 University of the West Indies ( 1996 ). [UWI University of the West Indies: Faculty of Social Sciences Entrance List: 1996/97]. Unpublished raw data . [Google Scholar], 1997 University of the West Indies . ( 1997 ). [UWI University of the West Indies: Faculty of Social Sciences Entrance List: 1997/98] Unpublished raw data.  [Google Scholar], 1998 University of the West Indies . ( 1998 ). [UWI University of the West Indies: Faculty of Social Sciences Entrance List: 1998/99] Unpublished raw data.  [Google Scholar]). One group held the Barbados Community College (BCC) associate degree with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 and the other group consisted of persons entering with two Advanced level subjects from colleges/secondary schools in Barbados. The study compared the performances of 1999, 2000, and 2001 UWI graduates to ascertain whether entry qualifications were related to the type of degree attained. The findings suggested that there is no significant relationship between qualifications at the time of entry and performance.     

Effects of various concentrations of carbohydrate mouth rinse on cycling performance in a fed state

The objective of this study was to identify the effects of mouth rinsing with a 6% and 16% carbohydrate solution (CHO) on time trial performance when compared to a 0% control (PLA) when in a fed state. Twelve recreationally active males underwent three trials by which they had to complete a set workload (600?±?65?W) in a fed state. Throughout each trial, participants rinsed their mouths with a 25?ml bolus of a 0% PLA, 6% or 16% CHO (maltodextrin) for every 12.5% of work completed. Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and heart rate were recorded every 12.5% of total work. Performance times and power output improved significantly when using the 6% and 16% CHO versus the PLA trial (6% versus PLA, p?=?.002 and 16% versus PLA, p?=?.001). When comparing the performance times of the 6% to 16% CHO, no significance was observed (p?=?.244). There was no significant difference between heart rate levels or RPE values across the three trials. In conclusion, mouth rinsing with a 6% or 16% CHO solution has a positive effect on a cycling time trial performance undertaken in a fed state.