Dilated canine hearts: A specimen for teaching cardiac anatomy

Dilated canine hearts were used to teach undergraduate students internal and external cardiac anatomy. The specimens were dilated using hydrostatic pressure and then fixed using 5% formalin. These specimens provided the students with an alternative to prepackaged embalmed hearts and anatomical models for studying the external and internal cardiac anatomy. In addition, the dilated hearts are more similar to the organ they encounter within the thoracic cavity of their dissected animal. This gives the students a better chance of developing a three‐dimensional understanding of the heart. Anat Sci Ed 1:207–211, 2008. © 2008 American Association of Anatomists.     

La participation des parents a l'ecole primaire trente ans apres: un objectif encore a atteindre

This study examines the perceptions which teachers, head teachers and parents have of the participation of parents in the running of primary schools. While participation has been widely advocated (in North America, Europe and Africa), it appears that there are still tensions between the school and the family. The study shows that parents who are members of school councils state that they favour participation while teachers express some doubts on the positive aspects. Headteachers are more convinced, however. A number of variables help to differentiate the results, such as environment (rural, semi-urban or urban), and the sub-group to which the respondents belong (parents who are members or non-members of school councils, and teachers of different grades). The discussion considers the need for dialogue and consideration of each person's position in the interest of creating conditions favourable to children's development.     

Meaning and Money

This paper examines how the inclusion of everyday mathematics into classroom instruction can make mathematics more meaningful to students. The concept of mathematical meaningfulness is reviewed and then compared to the experiences of children learning about money at home and at school. The empirical study used interviews and observations to determine what activities Hawaiian children from preschool through second grade did with money at home, while shopping and during classroom lessons. The interview data are used to show what kinds of knowledge children derived from these experiences at different ages. This everyday knowledge is compared to what children were expected to learn about money in school. The data support the conclusion that certain kinds of differences between everyday and school mathematics can make the inclusion of everyday mathematical topics in classrooms problematic. The paper concludes with a discussion of how everyday mathematics can be more profitably included in the curriculum, with examples from several mathematics programs.     

An investigation into high-achiever and low-achiever knowledge organisation and knowledge processing in concept mapping: A case study

This study used concept map content analysis and interviews to gain insights into the knowledge organisation and knowledge processing of pre-service teachers. Forty-eight preservice teachers of elementary science from a teachers’ training college in Sarawak, Malaysia, participated in this study. Correlations between achievement and five concept map characteristics showed that there were significant positive correlations (p<.01) between achievement and: the number of appropriate links; the average number of appropriate concepts per cluster; and, the hierarchy score of subjects’ concept maps, and significant negative correlations (p<.01) between achievement and: the number of inappropriate links; and, the average number of inappropriate concepts per cluster. Interviews with high-achievers and lowachievers revealed that there were differences in the way they processed knowledge during concept mapping. The high-achievers were more thorough than were the low-achievers in cognitive processing of knowledge, taking time to make sense of concepts, sort and group concepts, form relevant links between concepts, and organise concepts hierarchically. Active cognitive processing of knowledge seems to be related to more complex, well-integrated cognitive structures for the material learned.     

Community Child Care Inclusion: the development of two children

The development of two children with severe disabilities who were fully included in a community child care centre that implemented a developmentally appropriate play‐based curriculum is chronicled in this paper. The children's development was monitored over the course of a 9‐month school year using the traditional measure of a standardised assessment instrument, as well as monthly observations of the children in various play activities. The data are presented in a case study format and provide evidence that the children in this study made progress in all areas of development. The findings are important in that they show the children with severe disabilities progressed without intensive intervention, indicating that a play‐based curriculum utilising developmentally appropriate practice may provide an effective structure for the instruction of young children with disabilities.