How Have Concepts of Informal Learning Developed Over Time?

Although the current interest in informal learning seems recent, performance improvement professionals have long had an interest in informal learning‐the ways that people learn outside of formal structures. The earliest forms of learning for work were informal, including de facto and formal apprenticeship programs and the “school of life.” Contemporary interest began in the 1960s and 1970s with the rise of self‐directed learning. In the 1970s and 1980s, focus shifted to adult learning theory and human performance technology, both of which explore the roles of interventions other than classroom learning. The early 1990s brought two practical applications—electronic performance support systems and edutainment—followed by a third in the late 1990s—knowledge management. Discussions of informal learning arose in the 2000s. Each movement offers practical lessons for designing informal learning today.     

Trends in spending on training: An analysis of the 1982 through 2008 Training Annual Industry Reports

This article explores long‐term trends in spending using data compiled from the Training magazine Annual Industry Survey from 1982 through 2008. It builds on literature that proposes spending on training is an investment that yields benefits—and that offers methods for demonstrating it. After adjusting for inflation, aggregate spending on training rose 1.5% between 1986 and 2008. Inflation‐adjusted spending on training staff fell 14%, although inflation‐adjusted spending on outside products and services increased 237%. Spending on training fell in all but two job categories. Findings support the belief that spending on training is falling but suggest that this is a sustained and systemic drop rather than a temporary response to an economic crisis. Also, expenditures on internal training resources have fallen, while spending on external resources has risen. A key limitation of this study is that it relies solely on data from the Training Annual Industry Survey.     

Learning by doing? Prospective elementary teachers' developing understandings of scientific inquiry and science teaching and learning

This study examined prospective elementary teachers' learning about scientific inquiry in the context of an innovative life science course. Research questions included: (1) What do prospective elementary teachers learn about scientific inquiry within the context of the course? and (2) In what ways do their experiences engaging in science investigations and teaching inquiry‐oriented science influence prospective elementary teachers' understanding of science and science learning and teaching? Eleven prospective elementary teachers participated in this qualitative, multi‐participant case study. Constant comparative analysis strategies attempted to build abstractions and explanations across participants around the constructs of the study. Findings suggest that engaging in scientific inquiry supported the development more appropriate understandings of science and scientific inquiry, and that prospective teachers became more accepting of approaches to teaching science that encourage children's questions about science phenomena. Implications include careful consideration of learning experiences crafted for prospective elementary teachers to support the development of robust subject matter knowledge.     

Patterns of reported child abuse and neglect

Confirmed reports of abuse and neglect logged in a large state registry file from 1977 to 1984 are analyzed. Boys tend to sustain more frequent and more serious injuries. Victims of male perpetrators tend to sustain more serious injuries. A modest same-sex perpetrator/victim pattern is revealed for physical abuse; males are more likely to physically abuse boys while females are more likely to physically abuse girls. Among younger victims (aged 12 and younger) boys outnumber girls in all reporting categories except sexual abuse. Among adolescent victims, female victims greatly outnumber male victims in all reporting categories. Similarities between adolescent physical abuse and spouse abuse are noted; males are are the predominant perpetrators and females the predominant victims. As expected, victim age emerged as a strong predictor of severity of physical abuse injury. Several other factors including social isolation, mental health problems, lower income, and unemployment of the father are identified as modest predictors of severity.     

Influence of Guided Cycles of Planning,Teaching, and Reflection on Prospective Elementary Teachers' Science Content Representations

This study examined changes in the science content representations of two prospective elementary teachers during their first year in an experimental teacher preparation program. Qualitative case study design guided data collection, organization, and analysis. Multiple forms of data, including audiotaped interviews, written documents, and videotaped teaching episodes, were collected across two complete cycles of planning, teaching, and reflection. Data on prospective teachers' content representations were analyzed for their accuracy, sequencing, and connectedness, as well as their attention to the needs of learners. Improvements in content representations were noted within each component of the cycles and across semesters. These changes appear to be closely related to prospective teachers' developing understanding of learners. Findings suggest that opportunities to engage in cycles of instruction guided by structured considerations for content representation contributed to the noted improvements. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 318–339, 2000.     

Discussion Paper—Working Towards Inclusion: "I am another other"

It is argued that the most basic discrimination is between same and different. It is one of the earliest concepts that humans learn. It is socially transmitted from carer to infant - me and not-me. Variations between people present a mixed blessing. Whether people get on peaceably or war with one another is highly related to the differences they perceive between them. Dominant and powerful humans often choose to include or exclude weaker individuals on the basis of similarities or differences. Thus, two of the the main sources of divisions in our society, racism and sexism, can be said to be caused by the emotional impact human discriminations have upon ordinary life. This paper reasons that, to address discrimination and move towards more fully promoting the inclusion agenda, we have to provide regular meaningful dialogues between pupils and teachers, and we have to individually examine and adjust our own less-social perceptions, values and actions. All of us need to experience and hear each other's points of view, and the differences between us have to be acknowledged and explored, rather than ignored and denied.     

种族灭绝的岁月:纳粹德国和犹太人,1939-1945

这是弗里德兰德尔的第二部有关第二次世界大战历史的著作.弗里德兰德尔先生现年75岁.在他的这部著作中,他糅舍当时杂志和书信等相关资料,描写纳粹的残暴行径.弗里德兰德尔指出,"通常有关二战的历史都是根据德国的档案文件来描述的".弗里德兰德尔出生于布拉格.1939年逃往法国,1948年移居以色列.他现在在洛杉矶的加利福尼亚大学讲授历史.