Giving credit where credit is due: Evaluating experiential learning in the liberal arts

Portfolio assessment has become a standard mechanism for the evaluation of prior learning for experienced students. The assessment of such learning in terms of the traditional liberal arts disciplines raises basic questions about the relationship of liberal learning to lived experience and about liberal learning outcomes. An informal survey of portfolio narratives receiving faculty approval for credit at various post-secondary institutions indicates a wide range of declarative, analytical, and interpretive assertions recognized as learning in these disciplines.I wish to thank the following institutions: Sinclair Community College, Clark University, the University of Alabama, and Indiana University who were kind enough to share materials on record while preserving the confidentiality through the removal of names, dates, etc.     

Student‐teachers' perspectives on positive and negative social processes in school

In recent years, the Standards for Qualified Teacher Status in England have placed new emphasis on student‐teachers' ability to become integrated into the ‘corporate life of the school’ and to work with other professionals. Little research, however, has been carried out into how student‐teachers perceive the social processes and interactions that are central to such integration during their initial teacher education school placements. This study aims to shed light on these perceptions. The data, gathered from 23 student‐teachers through interviews and reflective writing, illustrate the extent to which the participants perceived such social processes as supporting or obstructing their development as teachers. Signals of inclusion, the degree of match or mismatch in students' and school colleagues' role expectations, and the social awareness of both school and student‐teacher emerged as crucial factors in this respect. The student‐teachers' accounts show their social interactions with school staff to be meaningful in developing their ‘teacher self’ and to be profoundly emotionally charged. The implications for mentor and student‐teacher role preparation are discussed in this article.     

创造非存在物初探

本文假定有些对象(例如福尔摩斯)是不存在的.关于这些对象,人们是应该采取实在论的立场,还是反实在论的立场呢?根据实在论,一个包含非存在对象的可能世界的域与该可能世界上的存在对象具有什么性质、做出什么行为无关;根据非实在论,一个包含非存在对象的可能世界的域依赖于该可能世界上的存在对象具有什么性质、做出什么行为.这里的分歧在于,非存在对象出现在(一个世界的)量化/指称域中是否依赖于(在该世界中)存在对象具有哪些性质,特别地,比如是否依赖于能够讲述故事的情感生物的行为?在<走向非存在>(牛津大学出版社,2005)一书中,我给出了一种内涵语言的语义学,以实在论的方式来处理非存在对象.本文旨在提供一种非实在论的语义学,以非实在论的方式来处理非存在对象.实在论解释是定域的,与此不同,非实在论解释是变域的.在非实在论语义下,关于非存在对象的非实在论直觉可被尊重,这主要体现在对非存在对象和存在对象之间的"依存"关系的分析.关于非存在对象,本文和<走向非存在>分别以非实在论和实在论的方式来处理,这使进一步的比较和选择工作成为可能.