Comparative analyses of discourse in specialized STEM school classes

ABSTRACT

The authors detail the discourse patterns observed within mathematics and science classes at specialized STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) high schools. Analyses reveal that teachers in mathematics classes tended to engage their students in authoritative discourse while teachers in science classes tended to engage students in dialogic discourse. The authors examined variations in the type of discourse in relationship to the discipline being taught, the educational level of the teacher, and course requirements were also explored.     

The spectrum of school–university partnerships: A typology of organizational learning systems

School–university partnerships are not uni-dimensional projects. Success in these partnerships can be found in loosely-coupled systems such as client–server partnerships and in more tightly-coupled systems such as collaborative development centers. Using a comparative case study approach, we explore two school–university partnership case studies and propose a framework for identifying and evaluating partnerships as learning systems. The structure of the partnership has implications for the focus of organizational learning initiatives that can form the foundation of sustained, systemic internal evaluation.     

Propolis modulates vitronectin, laminin, and heparan sulfate/heparin expression during experimental burn healing

Objective

This study was aimed at assessing the dynamics of vitronectin (VN), laminin (LN), and heparan sulfate/heparin (HS/HP) content changes during experimental burn healing.

Methods

VN, LN, and HS/HP were isolated and purified from normal and injured skin of domestic pigs, on the 3rd, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 21st days following thermal damage. The wounds were treated with apitherapeutic agent (propolis), silver sulfadiazine (SSD), physiological salt solution, and propolis vehicle. VN and LN were quantified using an immunoenzymatic assay and HS/HP was estimated by densitometric analysis.

Results

Propolis treatment stimulated significant increases in VN, LN, and HS/HP contents during the initial phase of study, followed by a reduction in the estimated extracellular matrix molecules. Similar patterns, although less extreme, were observed after treatment with SSD.

Conclusions

The beneficial effects of propolis on experimental wounds make it a potential apitherapeutic agent in topical burn management.     

New realities for Polish primary school informatics education affected by COVID-19

Education and Information Technologies - In the paper, the authors discuss the first research effort to explore the transition from traditional teaching into distance teaching in Polish primary...     

‘Horrible or happy – we’ll have a little grey now’: aesthetic judgements in children’s narration with an interactive whiteboard

This empirical study investigates what activities emerge when six-year olds are instructed to create narratives with an interactive whiteboard (IWB). A detailed analysis is provided of what the participants are oriented towards in the activity, and further what aesthetic judgements are used and their role in the evolving activity. Theoretically, the study builds on a sociocultural perspective on learning and Dewey’s (1934–80. Art as Experience. New York, NY: Perigee Books) philosophy on aesthetic experience. The empirical data consist of video recordings of six technology-mediated story-making activities in a preschool class. The findings show that even when the teacher attempts to scaffold narrative learning, the children direct their attention foremost to the visual arts, which occasionally lead to the participants’ insufficient intersubjectivity. This finding is explained with reference to the inherent design of the IWB. Furthermore, the participants frequently use aesthetic judgements on both actions and the created visual objects. The judgements turn out to constitute directives in terms of leading the activities forward and, importantly, being indicators of the children’s learning.     

The Rroma: Their history and education in Poland and the UK

Rroma, or Gypsies as they are commonly called in almost every part of the world, usually claim the nationality and language of their host country. In Europe, the Rroma, probably because they are a people without an ethnic territory or a national state of their own, frequently qualify for being the most hated of all ethnic groups. Certainly their lack of a territorial base seems to have contributed both to the long-lasting neglect of their rights and to the many acts of persecution and discrimination committed against them. The Rroma's nomadic way of life, which has been part of their identity for over five-hundred years, was forbidden in most Eastern European countries after World War II and has been increasingly penalised in Western Europe by legislative systems designed for and by settled societies. Because of their unique culture and traditions, many Rromani children do not receive any formal education at all while others, as a result of family mobility, eviction from unofficial sites and general lack of interest in imposed education, attend school only sporadically. Consequently, high levels of illiteracy prevail in the adult Rromani population which are rarely reduced when host countries attempt to use education to promote assimilation and settlement but, at the same time, ignore the cultural heritage of the Rroma and their own educational aims of preparing children for the nomadic life. Nevertheless, when host communities take the Rromani lifestyle and values seriously progress can be made.     

Social worlds and religious education in Poland: towards the elimination of disharmony

ABSTRACT

The goal of this article is to present the coherence between the human social world and religious education in Poland. The motive for taking up this subject is the cultural context relating to the problem of attitudes towards refugees. Reconstruction of the worlds of life demands to be expanded to include the religious education context in order to adapt the education practice to the requirements and expectations of the social environment. This has been achieved based on secondary analysis of the source texts (pedagogical, sociological and theological) and existing research results, which refer directly to the practice of lifelong religious education and concern applications in the area of shaping social competences and the developmental effort of Polish thinking and understanding. These include: (1) Dissemination of the pedagogical category of decentration; (2) Resignation in the practice of religious education from universalistic apriority and realistic ontology, and the implementation of hermeneutics of understanding to religious education and a new model – supra-confessional, pluralistic model open to the knowledge of other religions and beliefs systems; and (3) Develop competences for an internal dialogue. For the practice of lifelong learning, this means abandoning the alienated learning culture and carrying out this process within the community.     

Career development of English female head-teachers: influences,decisions and perceptions

This paper presents findings from a study examining the career development experiences of female head-teachers in the south of England. Adapting a three-stage career model, the study examined different stages of the women’s lives and careers in order to understand what encouraged and influenced them to become educational leaders and how their experiences shaped their perceptions of headship. The study used semi-structured life story interviews to generate rich accounts of women’s lives from childhood. Findings suggest that parents exerted significant influence on the participants’ values and ambitions, while teachers influenced their career choices. Their perceptions of headship developed and changed over time, transforming from feelings of shock at the reality and the complexity of headship to control and confidence that increased over first, second and third headships.     

Dual-task effect on postural control in high-level competitive dancers

Abstract

We investigated balance in 33 competitive dancers (17 females, 16 males) and 22 controls (17 females, 5 males) (age 16–27 years) on a force plate in two conditions: single task (quiet stance) and dual task (with a concurrent mental task). Balance was evaluated using centre-of-pressure shift (sway) variability, mean speed, frequency, and sample entropy. The effect of the dual task in the medio-lateral plane was comparable in both groups, decreasing sway variability (P < 0.05) and increasing mean speed (P < 0.001), frequency, and sample entropy (P < 0.001), showing that the participants effectively increased the level of automaticity. In the antero-posterior plane, the dual task also increased sway frequency and sample entropy (P < 0.01) in dancers without affecting their standing performance. In contrast, postural control in non-dancers was vulnerable to reduced cognitive investment, which adversely interfered with baseline performance. There were very high correlations between sway sample entropy and frequency in each group, plane, and task (r = 0.92–0.98, P < 0.001), indicating that both parameters may measure the same characteristic of postural control and that higher sway frequency may play an important role in protecting stability in dual tasking. The postural control of dancers and non-dancers appears to be similar, although dancing seems to facilitate the increased level of automatic control in the antero-posterior plane.     

Reaching the non-traditional stopout population: a segmentation approach

An estimated 21% of 25–34-year-olds in the United States, about eight million individuals, have attended college and quit before completing a degree. These non-traditional students may or may not return to college. Those who return to college are referred to as stopouts, whereas those who do not return are referred to as stayouts. In the face of declining pools of traditional students, colleges and universities have attempted to induce these students to return to higher education. Regrettably, little is known about the intentions and attitudes of these young adults after they have left higher education. This paper uses segmentation and targeting to identify those students who intend to return to college and those who do not. Using demographic and psychographic variables, five unique segments are identified. The study recommends strategies for reaching those segments which are most likely to return to higher education.