Experiential learning and values education at a school youth camp: Maintaining Jewish culture and heritage

In our post-modern, globalised world, there is a risk of unique cultural heritages being lost. This loss contributes to the detriment of civilization, because individuals need to be rooted in their own specific identity in order to actively participate in community life. This article discusses a longitudinal case study of the efforts being made by Australian Jewish schools to maintain Jewish heritage through annual experiential religious education camps, coordinated in a programme called Counterpoint. The researchers’ aim was to analyse how a school youth camp can serve as a site for socialisation and education into a cultural and religious heritage through experiential learning and informal education. During research trips which took place over several years, interviews enabling insights into the process of experiential education were conducted with a total of three different Directors of Informal Jewish Education, two Jewish Studies heads, five participating teachers, seven youth leaders, as well as seven student focus groups. In their analysis of the semi-structured interviews, the authors of this article employed a grounded theory approach using a constant comparative method, which enabled a more nuanced understanding of the main phenomenon investigated. Over the years, they were able to observe two philosophical approaches, one of which focused more on socialisation, with immersion into experience, while the other focused on education, with immersion into Jewish knowledge. Their findings reveal that some educators aim to “transmit” knowledge through “evocation”, with the students involved in active learning; while others focus more on students’ “acquisition” of knowledge through transmission. Experiential learning activities were found to be more meaningful and powerful if they combined both approaches, leading to growth.     

The Conceptual Framework for the Development of a Mathematics Performance Assessment Instrument

How can you align instruction, learning, and assessment in an educationally sound way? How can you define and measure competence in mathematics? What areas of competence do you need to specify and how? How can one evaluate the validity and consequences of using a particular assessment instrument or technique?     

Mothering in Families With and Without a Child with Disability

This paper describes some features of a study which compares and contrasts mothers’ perceptions of their family life in three different family environments, those without a child with disability and those families who live with a child with an intellectual or physical disability. All families have children in the middle childhood period allowing the mothers to reflect on earlier experiences and changes in their family life. Mothers’ psychological characteristics are explored in terms of the coping resources they utilise when meeting stressful life situations in their family and how their personal resilience and vulnerability is related to these individual coping resources.     

Edward B. Aveling: the people's Darwin

By the late-19th century, evolutionary theory, known by most people as Darwinism, had earned a reputation as an atheistic theory that challenged religious orthodoxy. From recent historical work we now know a great deal about how those with religious convictions received Darwinian ideas, and the role that professional scientists played in styling and communicating 'Darwinism' to the wider public and between themselves. However, relatively little is known about how Darwinian ideas were received and used by avowedly irreligious groups, and how these groups set about communicating their own version of Darwinism to a public hungry for cheap and accessible science. The activities of the Secularist Edward Bibbins Aveling, a prolific popularizer of Darwinian ideas in the late-19th century, offer a unique insight into this relatively uncharted territory. His work helped to develop the polemic of popular irreligious groups and imbue Darwinism with overtly atheistic connotations; it also engendered unprecedented support for atheism from the general public, and challenged the monopoly that some professional scientists enjoyed over imparting serious scientific knowledge to them.     

THE LINDA CRANE MEMORIAL LECTURE: Striving for Excellence: Thursday February 18, 2010: APTA's CSM San Diego,CA

Historically, invited lecturers have often challenged us to define excel lence in physical therapy practice, or in our academic programs. While some have addressed different char acteristics of excellence, our profession has not really come together to address 2 very important questions: what does “quality” mean in physical therapist education? And how do we measure it? Using 3 elements of Friendship, Leadership, and Mentoring, and Defining Excellence and juxtaposing these with Linda Crane and her life, a vision of excellence in physical therapy educational programs was explored in this invited lecture. The text of that lecture ensues.Open in a separate windowGood afternoon everyone. I would first like to thank Dr. Frese, and the Awards Committee of the Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Section for selecting me for this great honor. I would also like to thank Drs. Meryl Cohen and Carol Davis (both previous Linda Crane Lecturers) for nominating me, making me the third person from the University of Miami, on the 10th anniversary of this Lecture.I would also like to assure the cardiopulmonary physical therapists in the audience that while I teach neuroanatomy, I am really an acute care person at heart. I learned a lot from two very notable cardiopulmonary people—(1) The first person was while at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City as a new graduate in 1970. We could work overtime on weekends doing chest physical therapy, but we all had to be trained first by the superb pulmonary physical therapist, Micah Rie; and (2) later at Hartford Hospital (in CT) in 1977, where I first met Linda Crane. Thus, I feel I have probably learned from two of the very best.I also have something to share with this audience. We are all familiar with the bumper stickers that say “I Love NY,” or something similar, with the red heart in the middle. The University of Miami is often called simply “the U.” Well, one of my students came to class with this t-shirt (see Figure ​Figure1).1). Linda would have loved it!Open in a separate windowFigure 1“I Heart U(M).”When trying to decide what to speak about today, I tossed around many ideas. But I realized that I knew Linda most as a teacher. I found this poem that really captured so much of Linda as a teacher:

Teaching is a Lifelong Journey – Donna Bulgur¹To teach is to touch the lives of manyand to help us learn life''s lessons.But to teach well is to make a differencein all the lives you touch.

To teach is to be a parent, nurse, friend, and confidant;

to be a supporter, a leader, and a motivator.But to teach well is to be all of these things,yet not lose sight of who you are.You share a part of yourselfwith all whose livesyou have touched.

To teach is to be tender,loving, strong, and giving,to all who rely upon you;to encourage and praise.But to teach wellis to believe in whatand whom you teach.

A teacher comes to masterthese many jobs throughout the years.But those who teach wellrecognize that therewill always be moreto learn in life''s journey,and they never hesitateto strive to learn it.

“Friend, Supporter, Leader, Motivator; Believe in what and whom you teach; Always more to learn.” Linda was all of these things. She was one of those inspiring teachers who always strived for excellence. I was Linda''s Chair for 11 years. We''ve all heard of Linda''s good qualities, especially in this forum. Somehow, however, this quote seemed perfect:

“Most great men and women are not perfectly rounded in their personalities, but are instead people whose one driving enthusiasm is so great it makes their faults seem insignificant.” (Charles A. Cerami)

As her Chair, I can tell you that Linda had a few faults. She was stubborn, impatient, demanding, and a perfectionist; but she was also dedicated, extremely loyal, caring, and fun-loving. She was a good friend. She was my friend. I felt that if Linda were here today, there are a few things she would expect me to say. I am going to focus on excellence; specifically, leadership and excellence in physical therapy education.I have chosen 3 main themes: (1) educators love to use stories, so I have a little story about friendship and my history with Linda to share with you; (2) the importance of leadership (and mentoring) in our profession; and (3) excellence in physical therapist professional programs –where we are now, and where we need to be. For me, all 3 are intertwined and inseparable, as you will soon see.In short, my goal is to enlighten and entertain, as well as to challenge you.     

Collaborative teaching in a linguistically and culturally diverse higher education setting: a case study of a postgraduate accounting program

The Language for Professional Communication in Accounting project has changed teaching practice in a linguistically and culturally diverse postgraduate accounting program at Macquarie University in Australia. This paper reflects on the project’s interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to diversity in the classroom by tracing its growth and development and describing the way in which it is supporting the integration of professional communication skills and discipline‐specific content within the Master of Accounting program. In particular, the paper demonstrates that discipline specialists working in a continuous and collaborative relationship with English language specialists, to integrate and assess communication skills and enrich the curriculum, leads to better outcomes for students and staff. The paper contributes to a growing literature on approaches that integrate particular graduate attributes into programs with diverse student populations, rather than bolt‐on interventions by language specialists that have limited outcomes.     

Education Quality in the Middle East

International Review of Education - Some of the most dramatic growth in the provision of primary and secondary education over the last decade has occurred across countries of the Middle East and...     

The development of knowledge for teaching physical education in secondary schools over the course of a PGCE year

There has been a considerable amount of work on what knowledge student teachers need to develop to become effective teachers. The purpose of this study was to look at the development of knowledge of student physical education teachers in England. Six secondary student physical education teachers completed a journal on a monthly basis throughout their one‐year course. The student teachers and their mentors were interviewed in school towards the end of their course in June. Responses were analysed inductively. Results showed that knowledge important to develop, knowledge developed and knowledge which still needs to be developed at the end of the course was all related to content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge which they could apply in the immediate practical teaching situation. The results are discussed in relation to the development of student physical education teachers knowledge for teaching.     

Preschool teachers' and students' attitudes towards playful preschool activities: a cross-cultural comparison between Germany and the Netherlands

This study compares the attitudes of preschool teachers and students between the Netherlands and Germany towards typical play activities in preschool. The data were responses to short video clips of preschool children's play and elicited the respondents’ attitudes through questionnaires. The data were analysed by classifying the written responses into four categories. The frequencies of the categories were tested with MANOVA with regard to expert–novice position and country. Differences between professionals and novices were found, and for professionals only, the four categories were interrelated, showing a stronger holistic view of early childhood activities. Differences were also found between the countries, and two of the categories seemed especially sensitive to cultural differences. We discuss how reflection on activities can add to a higher degree of professionalism, as well as a more profound understanding of ways to improve preschool teacher training.