Elephants Dancing in My Head: A Developmental Approach to Children''s Concepts of Specific Pains

The present study produced an empirically derived, developmental continuum of children's understanding of specific pains. Subjects of 5 age groups: preschool (ages 3-4), first grade (ages 6-7), third grade (ages 8-10), sixth grade (ages 11-12) and college freshmen (ages 18-23) were interviewed with open-ended questions. The subjects were questioned extensively about 3 specific types of pain: an injury (skinned knee), a medical intervention (injection), and an illness (headache). Subjects were asked to describe each pain, tell why the pain hurt, and state the value of the pain. Their answers were then categorized and the categories ordered developmentally by experts in pediatric pain who were unaware of the children's ages. Then children's specific answers were given developmental scores. Multivariate analyses revealed that older children had more complex and precise understandings of pain, and this pattern differed by type of pain and by aspect of pain being considered. The subjects were also asked to report the frequency of their own pains and their parents' pain; parental and self-reported pains were closely related.     

Positive justice reasoning in deaf and hearing children before and after exposure to cognitive conflict

The development of positive justice reasoning in profoundly deaf, signing Australian 7- to 12-year-olds and hearing children was compared. Reactions to cognitive conflict were also assessed. The performance of those deaf children whose signed English skills were adequate to give detailed justifications for reward allocation was examined separately. The deaf children were delayed relative to hearing children in number and liquid conservation, but equally mature in justice reasoning. Spontaneous conflicts with signing peers over sharing possessions conceivably could be responsible for the fluently signing deaf children's development of positive justice reasoning on pace with their normally-hearing counterparts. Experimentally-induced conflict resulted in progress for the hearing but not the deaf children. Results are discussed in relation to factors that promote deaf children's tolerance for ambiguity (Brice, 1985) and impede their resolution of cognitive conflict (Liben, 1978).     

人类极限

去年12月一位64岁的德鲁斯老妇摔倒在冰上,由于关节炎而无法站立。她在雪中躺了好几个小时,体温降至70华氏度（约21摄氏度）,心跳一度停止,生命垂危。但在医生的抢救下恢复了过来。现代医学仍在研究人类身体承受的极限,但杜克大学的医师德劳德·皮恩塔多斯称过了某个临界点,医生也无力回天。以下就是关于人类承受极限的一些数值。     

Assessment Focus in Studio: What is Most Prominent in Architecture,Art and Design?

What can be learned about assessment from what educators in the creative practices focus their studio publications on? What should form the focus of assessment in architecture, art and design studios? In this article we draw on 118 journal articles on studio published over the last decade in three disciplines; architecture, art and design to inform the focus of studio assessment. We believe that what is published by educators themselves in these disciplines reveals what matters most to them. In addition, we argue that regardless of the primary emphasis placed in each discipline, assessment in studio should encompass a broad set of indicators. Within the wider literature including in architecture, art and design, a view of assessment is emerging that recognises the process and the person, beyond a view that positions the product or art/design arte‐fact above all else. Therefore, drawing on what educators in architecture, art and design mentioned most in the journal publications analysed, as well as the literature on good assessment, we offer a holistic model to guide and take studio assessment in the creative disciplines further.     

Helpful components involved in the cognitive-experiential model of dream work

The purpose of the study was to examine the helpful components involved in the Hill’s cognitive-experiential dream work model. Participants were 27 volunteer clients from colleges and universities in northern and central parts of Taiwan. Each of the clients received 1–2 sessions of dream interpretations. The cognitive-experiential dream work model was applied to these clients by three therapists. The processes of the dream work were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data, which included a total of 38 sessions for the 27 clients, were analyzed by the Consensus Qualitative Research (CQR) approach to examine the helpful components of the dream work. The results indicated that the general and typical helpful components involved in the process of dream interpretation included four domains: waking-life association, parts of self exploration, gaining insight, and action ideas.     

How should organizational leaders use employee engagement survey data?

This evaluation study explores how a nonprofit health insurance provider responds to the results of its annual employee engagement survey. The study answers two questions: (a) What do organizational leaders do with the data collected? and (b) How do leaders perceive the usefulness of the survey? It provides study results, discussions, and recommendations relevant to human performance technology practitioners, to help maximize the value of an organizational survey by increasing its usefulness as a catalyst for change.     

An Analysis of an Interactive Videodisc System for Teaching Language Skills to Deaf Students

An interactive videodisc system designed to teach language concepts to deaf students was evaluated in a classroom trial. An experimental group of 18 students spent 60 twenty‐minute sessions over a five‐month period learning language concepts by interacting with the system while a control group of 16 students learned the same concepts in their regular classroom setting. Both groups made significant progress from pre‐ to post‐test on two criterion‐referenced testsdeveloped by project staff. Experimental students were enthusiastic about the videodisc, felt that their language skills had improved, and were anxious to continue working with the system.     

Learning mathematics for teaching in the student teaching experience: two contrasting cases

Student teaching (guided teaching by a prospective teacher under the supervision of an experienced “cooperating” teacher) provides an important opportunity for prospective teachers to increase their understanding of mathematics in and for teaching. The interactions between a student teacher and cooperating teacher provide an obvious mechanism for such learning to occur. We report here on data that is part of a larger study of eight student teacher/cooperating teacher pairs, and the core themes that emerged from their conversations. We focus on two pairs for whom the core conversational themes represent disparate approaches to mathematics in and for teaching. One pair, Blake and Mr. B., focused on controlling student behavior and rarely talked about mathematics for teaching. The other pair, Tara and Mr. T., focused on having students actively participating in the lesson and on mathematics from the students’ point of view. These contrasting experiences suggest that student teaching can have a profound effect on prospective teachers’ understanding of mathematics in and for teaching.

Getting ‘What Works’ working: building blocks for the integration of experimental and improvement science

ABSTRACT

As a systemic approach to improving educational practice through research, ‘What Works’ has come under repeated challenge from alternative approaches, most recently that of improvement science. While ‘What Works’ remains a dominant paradigm for centralized knowledge-building efforts, there is need to understand why this alternative has gained support, and what it can contribute. I set out how the core elements of experimental and improvement science can be combined into a strategy to raise educational achievement with the support of evidence from randomized experiments. Central to this combined effort is a focus on identifying and testing mechanisms for improving teaching and learning, as applications of principles from the learning sciences. This article builds on current efforts to strengthen approaches to evidence-based practice and policy in a range of international contexts. It provides a foundation for those who aim to avoid another paradigm war and to accelerate international discussions on the design of systemic education research infrastructure and funding.