Use of Print Media in Teacher Training 1

Abstract

Primary Education is seen as a critical element for general improvement of the economic and social future of Honduras and the most significant action currently underway is the work being done through the Primary Education Efficiency Project which is financed by a major grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Project has as its major objective the improvement of the quality of educational services at the primary level through the development of new textbooks for grades one through six and extensive in‐service teacher training which is described here. This article presents the three essential elements of a specific training implemented; the contents, the media to be used and the methodology for its delivery. The medium chosen for the training was a printed document in a newspaper format which was given the name Accion Educativa. The general reaction from the teachers to this form of presentation was highly positive and the success of the use of the print medium led to the conclusion that the project should continue using similar publications, and should study the possibility of establishing Accion Educativa as a monthly periodical for primary school teachers.

     

Community College Faculty Motivation for Basic Research,Teaching Research,and Professional Development

Community college faculty members often find themselves divided between what they want to do and what they can do. Knowing what motivates faculty to engage in professional development and scholarly productive activities provides critical information for administrators. The present study explored the motivational characteristics of community college faculty and the contextual factors that support or thwart their engagement and productivity. It focused on three key professional activities: (a) basic or applied research, (b) classroom action/teaching research, and (c) faculty professional development. Findings indicate that community college faculty are motivated for all three activities primarily by intrinsic and value-related factors rather than by extrinsic or contextual factors. Further, faculty members present somewhat different motivational profiles for the three work activities. Their motivations also demonstrate responsiveness to workplace characteristics as faculty perceive and interpret them.

These findings provide implications to help college administrators make policy decisions to support the work of faculty and align with institutional mission and goals.     

A Class-Wide Intervention for Improving Homework Performance

Homework completion has an important impact on the overall academic functioning of students. Consultation requests often center on identifying efficient interventions so that teachers may facilitate the homework process and enhance students' academic achievement. This investigation employed a randomized interdependent group contingency and randomized reinforcers to improve homework completion and accuracy of spelling performance in 21 elementary school students. An ABAB reversal design across all students was employed. Results showed this intervention to have a positive impact on both spelling homework completion and accuracy rates. Limitations, future research, and contributions are addressed.     

带冠涡轮盘电火花加工专用CAD/CAM软件开发

In this paper,a special-purpose CAD/CAM software package,BliskCad/Cam,based on a commercial CAD/CAM software Unigraphics is developed to reduce difficulties in CNC-EDM of the shrouded turbine blisks.The software package con- sists of five modules such as electrode design,path searching,and machining simulation module.Functions of BliskCad/Cam include parametrical reconstruction of 3-D model of the blisk,intelligent design of complex shaped electrode,automatic gener- ation of NC codes,search of interference-free tool path for multi-axis NC-EDM and machining simulation,etc.Experimental verification is conducted by using BliskCad/Cam and the results show that it satisfies the requirements,and can realize pre- cision machining and reduce accessorial time remarkably.     

Community College Faculty Competencies

Much has been written about the characteristics of effective college teachers. However, skill sets have not yet been defined with any level of specificity. Also, instructors at community colleges have unique working conditions and challenges that influence how they teach. This paper illustrates the use of three studies conducted to build and validate a framework for defining the competencies of effective community college faculty. The project's culmination was a set of skills used to redesign one university's master's in education (MAEd) program in two-year college teaching. Although participants in all three studies identified subject matter expertise as an important competency, they emphasized several other skill sets as being important for meaningful student learning. Those skills are related to the use of authentic activities and multiple instructional delivery models, multiple ways of assessing student learning, and skills that are necessary outside the classroom in their teaching roles. Participants also emphasized interpersonal and affective components of effective teaching.     

Playful Postmodernism: Building with Diversity in the Postmodern Classroom

The authors surveyed program directors at all bachelor of social work and master of social work programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education using an online tool that assessed whether and how their respective social work programs are covering content related to HIV/AIDS. Of the 650 program directors, 153 (24%) participated in the survey. Programs reported coverage of HIV/AIDS content in various foundation content areas, including human behavior in the social environment, populations at risk, and social work practice. The authors also surveyed use of various pedagogical methods, and respondents reported the most use of guest speakers, lectures, and readings in delivering HIV/AIDS content. More than 70% of bachelor and master of social work programs reported having at least 1 field placement specific to HIV/AIDS. In addition, the authors evaluated social work textbooks for specific content on social work with HIV/AIDS, and recommendations are made for inclusion of more HIV/AIDS specific content.     

Cross Cultural Differences in Online Learning Motivation

Globalization and technology are two of the many drivers that impact today’s education, locally and internationally. The purpose of the research study was to identify how online learners in Korea and the US perceived online learning motivation differently and what learner characteristics and cultural orientation affected the online learners’ learning motivation. Major findings revealed that there was a significant difference in learning motivation between the US and Korean online learners. The study also discusses how cultural orientation and learner characteristics affected the learning motivation of online learners for each country.

Différences interculturelles de la motivation de formation en ligne. La globalisation et la technologie représentent deux conducteurs qui ont l’impact sur l’éducation d’aujourd’hui localement et internationalement. Le but de cette étude de recherche était d’identifier comment les étudiants en Corée et aux Etats‐Unis perçoivent la motivation de formation en ligne différemment et comment les caractéristiques des étudiants et leur orientation culturelle affectent leur motivation de formation en ligne. Les conclusions principales révèlent qu’il y a une différence significante concernant la motivation de formation entre les étudiants en ligne des Etats‐Unis et de Corée. L’étude explique également comment l’orientation culturelle et les caractéristiques des étudiants affectent la motivation de formation des étudiants en ligne pour chaque pays.

Unterschiede zwischen verschiedenen Kulturen bei Online‐Lernmotivation. Globalisierung und Technik sind zwei der vielen Antriebe, die die heutige Bildung am Ort und international betreffen. Der Zweck der Forschungsstudie war, herauszufinden, wie Online‐Anfänger in Korea und den USA Online‐Lernmotivation unterschiedlich wahrnehmen, und wie die Anfängermerkmale und die kulturelle Orientierung die Lernmotivation der Online‐Anfänger beeinflussten. Die hauptsächlichen Befunde ergaben, dass es einen signifikanten Unterschied bei der Lernmotivation zwischen den US‐amerikanischen und koreanischen Online‐Anfängern gab. Die Studie erörtert auch, wie kulturelle Orientierung und Persönlichkeitsmerkmale die Lernmotivation von Online‐Lernern in jedem Land beeinflussen.     

Modeling referential actions in 6- to 18-month-old infants: a precursor to symbolic understanding

Social precursors to symbolic understanding of pictures were examined with 100 infants ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months. Adults demonstrated 1 of 2 stances toward pictures and objects (contemplative or manipulative), and then gave items to infants for exploration. For pictures, older infants (12, 15, and 18 months) emulated the adult's actions following both types of demonstration trials. For objects, infants did not emulate actions following either stance at any age. The findings suggest that infants enlist their imitative learning skills in the context of learning the conventions of action on pictorial symbols. The data are interpreted as pointing to the importance of social learning in developing an understanding of the referential function of pictorial symbols.