The scholarship of teaching and learning: challenges for Malaysian academics

This paper explores the adoption of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) by 10 Malaysian university academics. SoTL was part of a pioneering sector-wide initiative for improving teaching and learning. The qualitative study showed that there had been no true learning phase for SoTL because academics had high expectations of rapid success in their new research area, including journal publication. Most of their peers did not understand or value SoTL and so SoTL researchers established minority self-sustaining groups across disciplines and universities. SoTL brought new ways of thinking about teaching that were transformational for the teacher but not necessarily welcomed by the students. Students resisted radical change, and teachers were drawn back to educational practices they no longer valued. SoTL was experienced in a hierarchical educational culture where questioning of self and others was difficult and this hindered teacher development. We conclude with recommendations about realistic expectations and the importance of social learning for those considering SoTL for academic development.     

Unravelling Facebook: a pedagogical tool during the Syrian crisis

This paper aims to analyse the role of Facebook in academia during the Syrian crisis. Data were collected by means of an online survey from 726 students at Damascus University (Males = 446, Females = 280). Results indicated that Facebook facilitated communication and resource sharing in times of war and crisis where safe commuting posed a challenge for students. It served as an alternate trustworthy medium within the failure of the official web sites at Damascus University. The study suggests that Facebook is an effective pedagogical tool for countries going through crisis and war situations, and a promising educational tool that warrants further attention in underdeveloped and Arab countries in general.     

贝雷帽逸事

贝雷帽,是英文＂Beret＂的音译,亦称画家帽。这是一种平顶的圆形无帽檐儿软帽,款式无男女之分,戴的时候软顶经常偏向一边。贝雷帽是很多军队和警察部队的制服,在有些国家甚至是精锐部队的标志之一。关于贝雷帽,可是有很多有趣的逸事呢,你想知道吗？     

Isolation of cells for selective treatment and analysis using a magnetic microfluidic chip

This study describes the development and testing of a magnetic microfluidic chip (MMC) for trapping and isolating cells tagged with superparamagnetic beads (SPBs) in a microfluidic environment for selective treatment and analysis. The trapping and isolation are done in two separate steps; first, the trapping of the tagged cells in a main channel is achieved by soft ferromagnetic disks and second, the transportation of the cells into side chambers for isolation is executed by tapered conductive paths made of Gold (Au). Numerical simulations were performed to analyze the magnetic flux and force distributions of the disks and conducting paths, for trapping and transporting SPBs. The MMC was fabricated using standard microfabrication processes. Experiments were performed with E. coli (K12 strand) tagged with 2.8 μm SPBs. The results showed that E. coli can be separated from a sample solution by trapping them at the disk sites, and then isolated into chambers by transporting them along the tapered conducting paths. Once the E. coli was trapped inside the side chambers, two selective treatments were performed. In one chamber, a solution with minimal nutrition content was added and, in another chamber, a solution with essential nutrition was added. The results showed that the growth of bacteria cultured in the second chamber containing nutrient was significantly higher, demonstrating that the E. coli was not affected by the magnetically driven transportation and the feasibility of performing different treatments on selectively isolated cells on a single microfluidic platform.     

Impact of carbohydrate mouth rinsing on time to exhaustion during Ramadan: A randomized controlled trial in Jordanian men

Mouth rinsing using a carbohydrate (CHO) solution has been suggested to improve physical performance in fasting participants. This study examined the effects of CHO mouth rinsing during Ramadan fasting on running time to exhaustion and on peak treadmill speed (V_peak). In a counterbalanced crossover design, 18 sub-elite male runners (Age: 21?±?2 years, Weight: 68.1?±?5.7?kg, VO_2max: 55.4?±?4.8?ml/kg/min) who observed Ramadan completed a familiarization trial and three experimental trials. The three trials included rinsing and expectorating a 25?mL bolus of either a 7.5% sucrose solution (CHO), a flavour and taste matched placebo solution (PLA) for 10?s, or no rinse (CON). The treatments were performed prior to an incremental treadmill test to exhaustion. Three-day dietary and exercise records were obtained on two occasions and analysed. Anthropometric characteristics were obtained and recorded for all participants. A main effect for mouth rinse on peak velocity (V_peak) (CHO: 17.6?±?1.5?km/h; PLA: 17.1?±?1.4?km/h; CON: 16.7?±?1.2?km/h; P?η_p²?=?0.49) and time to exhaustion (CHO: 1282.0?±?121.3?s; PLA: 1258.1?±?113.4?s; CON: 1228.7?±?98.5?s; P?=?.002, η_p²?=?0.41) was detected, with CHO significantly higher than PLA (P?P?P?>?.05). Energy availability from dietary analysis, body weight, and fat-free mass did not change during the last two weeks of Ramadan (P?>?.05). This study concludes that carbohydrate mouth rinsing improves running time to exhaustion and peak treadmill speed under Ramadan fasting conditions.     

Between tradition and modernization: understanding the problem of female Bedouin dropouts

This study discusses the problem of Bedouin girls dropping out from the public school system in the Negev region of Israel. Data show that this phenomenon results from a conflict between the modern Israeli institutes’ perception of modernity (which promote coeducation) and the Bedouin traditions that remain the cultural ethos of the girls’ fathers. Israeli institutions’ perception of modernity (enlightenment theory) aims to modernize the Bedouins according to Israel’s modern principles, thus revoking traditional Bedouin values (sex separation). This paper promotes a postmodern theory that calls for embedding feminine traditional values of local communities as a necessary process in the development of modernity.     

Maternal Socialization and Kindergarten Children’s Behaviors from Jordanian Mothers’ and Teachers’ Perspectives

This study investigated whether Jordanian mothers’ self-reported parenting practices were associated with their kindergarten children’s prosocial or anti-social behavior based on three parental patterns: nurturance, respect, and power assertion. The participants were 95 mothers with children in the kindergarten level in Jordan. Additionally, 13 teachers of these 95 kindergarten children were also participants. This Parenting Styles Inventory Scale, and the Prosocial and Anti-Social Behavior Rating Scale, developed by Lin (Influences of parenting and teaching styles on young children’s prosocial and anti-social development in Taiwan. Unpublished dissertation, Arizona State University, USA, 1995), were used as instruments. Results indicated that nurturance was the most frequent and preferred parenting pattern of participants. Mothers who are warm and nurturing were more strongly associated with prosocial behavior in their children. An unexpected finding was that mothers with more children were more assertive and strict towards them.     

Content-driven Faculty Development in Community College Early Childhood Education Programs

Community colleges are key providers of early childhood teacher and paraprofessional education, and their programs include content knowledge that helps future educators work effectively with young children with and without disabilities in inclusive environments. In this article, we describe the Advancing Community College Efforts in Paraprofessional Training (ACCEPT) Project, a multi-year collaboration to infuse special education content into four North Carolina early childhood workforce education associate degree programs. The goals of the project included creating a climate that fostered and encouraged ongoing community college and university faculty collaboration around the planning, delivery, and assessment of special education content infused within multiple early childhood program courses. Project objectives are presented within the framework employed by Murray (1995, 1998, 1999, 2000) that includes climate, structure, connections with rewards, faculty ownership, colleague support, and perceived value by administrators. Implications for practice include the importance of content, project standards, and faculty ownership.     

Reflections on infusing evidenced-based inclusion practices in early childhood community college programs through a collaborative professional development model

ABSTRACT

Inclusion means that students with disabilities have access to high-quality and effective instruction, as well as specialized services as needed, within least restrictive environments. We believe there are no limits on who can or should participate in and benefit from inclusion and we were interested in perceptions resulting from professional development designed to support including young children with disabilities in classrooms with their natural neighbors and peers. We present reflections from application of a community of practice model in which university-based faculty worked closely and collaboratively with community college instructors to infuse ideas, concepts, and content from the field of special education into associate degree early childhood education coursework.