The Relationship Between Instructor Use of Different Types of Humor and Student Interest in Course Material

The goal of this study was to research the frequency of the use of diverse types of humor in the college classroom for a possible association with student interest in course material. This relationship was studied using quantitative methods. Participants answered questions about their interest in course material and the type of humor that their instructor used in the classroom. The study involved 195 undergraduate students ranging in age from 18 to 25. A factor analysis recognized two separate types of humor (relevant/appropriate and non-relevant). The study found that both relevant/appropriate humor and non-relevant humor predicted student interest. The more relevant/appropriate humor used the more student had interest in course materials. As well, the more non-relevant humor used the less students reported interest in course materials. No differences were found between the gender of students in the classroom when examining this question of humor and interest.     

Sources of academic stress: the case of first year Jewish and Arab college students in Israel

This study examined socioculturel and gender group differences in perceptions of major sources of academic stress in first year college students, in addition to the relationship between reported academic stress and college achievement. Data were collected via a self-administered student stress inventory given to a sample of 184 Jewish and 209 Arab college undergraduates studying in a major Israel university. They evaluated the personal stressfulness of each of 53 potential sources of academic stress along a 6-point Likert-type scale covering a wide range of potential academic Stressors (academic curriculum and course requirements, course evaluation procedures, college instruction, social milieu and cultural factors on campus, college administration and bureaucracy, physical conditions and accommodations, economic factors, organismic and interpersonal factors, student expectations, daily hassles and constraints). Arab, lower-status, and female students were hypothesized and found to be more stressed than their respective Jewish, upper-class and male counterparts, respectively. Cultural group background was found to be the most salient background predictor of student stress, followed by social class and gender, with each exerting independent (noninteractive) effects. Although group differences were observed in mean ratings, there proved to be a strong correspondence in the hierarchy of perceived Stressors across sociocultural and gender subgroups. As a whole, students appeared to be most stressed by pressures originating from course overload and academic evaluation procedures and least stressed by a variety of personal, familial, and social factors. Furthermore, student stress and achievement factors were found to be inversely correlated, with little evidence for the contention that stress differentially debilitates the academic performance of students as a function of gender or sociocultural group membership. The findings also lend some evidence to the cross-cultural generalizability of major stressors in academia.     

Teaching methods for inventive problem-solving in junior high school

Fostering pupils’ competencies in inventive thinking and problem-solving has remained a rather unresolved issue in traditional schooling, mainly because many people regard creative thinking as a God-given ability, something an individual either possesses or does not possess, but can only be slightly learned or improved. The current study is aimed at evaluating the impact of teaching pupils problem-solving principles based on the ‘idea focusing’ concept, rather than the ‘idea generating’ approach through random search or brainstorming. Data included pre- and post-course quizzes, interviews and observations of class activities. The finding indicated that the participants significantly improved their achievements in suggesting original solutions to problems in comparison to a control group, and successfully utilized the method they had learned in their final project. Some pupils reported that they used the thinking patterns they had procured during the course in other contexts as well, for example, in school or at home. These results suggest that there is benefit in teaching pupils methods for focused thinking in problem-solving; these methods, however, should be regarded as a kind of heuristics that can help guide the thinking process rather than being used as strict algorithms. The important point is to provide pupils with opportunities to develop their own thinking methods and explain their ideas.     

From ‘doing’ to ‘doing with learning’: reflection on an effort to promote self-regulated learning in technological projects in high school

Project-based learning is undoubtedly one of the best instructional methods for developing students’ broad learning capabilities, beyond teaching specific subject matter. However, experienced engineering teachers often tend to concentrate on merely teaching pupils the technical side of project work. This paper describes a programme aimed at fostering self-regulated learning among high schools pupils working on projects in electronics, control systems and robotics. The programme sought, for example, to promote pupils’ conceptual knowledge regarding the subjects they dealt with in their projects, enabling the learners to gain experience using simulation, laboratory testing and troubleshooting in a system that they were constructing. The change in project work also required pupils to document systematically all stages of system development and reflect on their learning by preparing a printed or web-based ePortfolio on the project. Outcomes of the in-service training course given to teachers countrywide and the first signs of change in project work in schools are reported.     

Educational model for environmental‐cognition development

Environmental education (EE) is an holistic educational approach the main goal of which is to develop the students’ environmental cognition, as compared to the disciplinary approach which develops a compartmentalized cognition. Environmental cognition is defined as a reciprocal relationship, comprising knowledge, understanding, sensitivity, perceptiveness and imagination with regard to the environment as well as responsibility and motivation to make environmental decisions. A conceptual model was constructed for this purpose comprising three stages: sensing the environment and generating questions; analysing and then synthesizing a system presentation of the environment, thereby focusing upon the inter‐relatedness and interdependence of environmental components; and environmental problem‐solving.

The model was implemented for training EE teachers and for EE curriculum development. Both of which may enhance the inclusion of EE within the formal educational system.     

The politics of normalcy: Intersectionality and the construction of difference in Christian-Jewish relations

This article examines the workings of a discourse of normalcy for a group of black Christian fundamentalist students. Focusing on the intersection of religion and race the essay analyzes the representation of Jewish people as dark and other, while constructing Christians who are white and normal. The inversion of racial identities unfolds in contradictory ways, reinscribing a discourse of colorblindness while simultaneously reifying categories of race. Through discourse analysis the article discusses how the political moves in both centrifugal and centripetal directions to construct a "universal" (Eurocentric) Christian identity while suppressing subgroup differences.     

Dialogical aspects of reflective learning in ministerial work

This article examines reflective and reflexive aspects of practice in the area of ministerial work. Through an analysis of the narrative accounts of four Reform and Conservative rabbis in Israel, the author focuses on how congregational rabbis acquire the skill of attentiveness in their daily professional lives. One of the salient themes to emerge in research conducted on models of rabbinic leadership was the theme of ‘careful listening’. Rabbis in non-Orthodox congregations in Israel achieve success through their ability to perceive the needs of individual congregants and learn the local culture of the communities in which they work, and by constantly assessing and reassessing the unmet needs of the broader community. The article concludes with a discussion of how a technical rationality model of learning has dominated modern rabbinical school curricula and suggests that by incorporating reflexive professional development courses, students could be better prepared for the ministry.