Problem Based Learning in Constructed Textile Design

Staff observing undergraduate students enrolled on the BSc Hons Textile Design and Design Management programme in The School of Materials, The University of Manchester, identified difficulties with knowledge retention in the area of constructed textile design. Consequently an experimental pilot was carried out in seamless knitwear design using a Problem Based Learning approach, to determine whether or not this method of learning was more effective for design students. This article investigates the effects of the trial on the student volunteers and documents the shift of focus from teacher to student centred learning. It also outlines plans for future curriculum developments in other areas of constructed textile design.     

Children learning about war: Children living with peace

Timmy, age four, walked slowly into the child care center, giving no outward indications of concern. Cautiously, he turned to his teacher asking, “Is that war over?” When his teacher shook her head in response, he shrugged his shoulders simply and replied, “Then I'm not riding any tricycle today. I don't want it to get a SCUD bomb on it.” With this in mind, he walked to the block area and began building.     

Muscular adaptations in low- versus high-load resistance training: A meta-analysis

There has been much debate as to optimal loading strategies for maximising the adaptive response to resistance exercise. The purpose of this paper therefore was to conduct a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials to compare the effects of low-load (≤60% 1 repetition maximum [RM]) versus high-load (≥65% 1 RM) training in enhancing post-exercise muscular adaptations. The strength analysis comprised 251 subjects and 32 effect sizes (ESs), nested within 20 treatment groups and 9 studies. The hypertrophy analysis comprised 191 subjects and 34 ESs, nested with 17 treatment groups and 8 studies. There was a trend for strength outcomes to be greater with high loads compared to low loads (difference = 1.07 ± 0.60; CI: ?0.18, 2.32; p = 0.09). The mean ES for low loads was 1.23 ± 0.43 (CI: 0.32, 2.13). The mean ES for high loads was 2.30 ± 0.43 (CI: 1.41, 3.19). There was a trend for hypertrophy outcomes to be greater with high loads compared to low loads (difference = 0.43 ± 0.24; CI: ?0.05, 0.92; p = 0.076). The mean ES for low loads was 0.39 ± 0.17 (CI: 0.05, 0.73). The mean ES for high loads was 0.82 ± 0.17 (CI: 0.49, 1.16). In conclusion, training with loads ≤50% 1 RM was found to promote substantial increases in muscle strength and hypertrophy in untrained individuals, but a trend was noted for superiority of heavy loading with respect to these outcome measures with null findings likely attributed to a relatively small number of studies on the topic.     

Teachers’ Emotional and Behavioral Support and Preschoolers’ Self-Regulation: Relations With Social and Emotional Skills During Play

Research Findings: Drawing from a Dutch sample of 113 Dutch children (M age = 37 months, SD = 3.5) from 37 early care and education classrooms (19 child care centers and 18 preschools), this study examined whether the relation between classroom emotional and behavioral support and children’s observed social integration and positive mood in a play situation depends on children’s observed behavioral self-regulation. Multilevel analyses revealed a positive association between emotional and behavioral support and children’s social integration for children low on behavioral self-regulation, but there was no such association for children high on behavioral self-regulation. Contrary to our expectations, children low on behavioral self-regulation showed more integration in the case of relatively highly supportive classrooms but not less integration in classrooms that were low in support. For children’s positive mood, a positive association with emotional and behavioral support was found, and no association was found with behavioral self-regulation. Practice or Policy: This study’s findings highlight the importance of emotionally and behaviorally supportive classroom experiences for young children’s social and emotional skills. Moreover, results hint that experts should perhaps not see children low in behavioral self-regulation as always at risk for poorer social outcomes.     

The Knowledgebase at the Center of the Universe

ABSTRACT

Since its advent more than 15 years ago, the knowledgebase has quietly deposed the catalog as the center of the library management and discovery universe. Knowledgebases provide libraries with an inventory of their e-resources holdings and describe the materials that a library has purchased at a more granular level than the traditional bibliographic record. Knowledgebases power key tools such as link resolvers and unified search platforms, support management needs across the e-resources lifecycle, and more recently have evolved to intersect with areas such as linked open data, community contribution models, and next-generation library management platforms. They have truly become the hub from which our most vital services operate. This report will provide an overview of “The Knowledgebase at the Center of the Universe,” an American Library Association Technology Report assessing the state of knowledgebase technology. Topics covered will include an overview of the current product landscape, an exploration of new directions, and case studies from libraries and vendors using knowledgebases in innovative ways.     

中国甘肃省农村地区为低收入家庭服务的民办学校

在甘肃省农村地区,研究小组发现586所民办学校,这些民办学校目前拥有59,958名在读学生。出于研究比较的原因,研究小组同时调研了309所农村地区的公办学校。研究结果表明尽管公办学校与民办学校的生师比相等,但是与公办学校相比,民办学校的女童入学率更高。尽管公办学校与民办学校收取相同的学费,但是民办学校教师的工资远远低于公办教师。仅有少量的民办学校得到当地政府的资助。研究结果表明建立民办学校的主要原因是因为公办学校距离太远。公办学校与民办学校在教学活动中没有显著性差异。本文阐述了这些研究结果对于中国和国际发展机构在制定教育发展政策方面的启示。     

Integrating the Arts and STEM for Gifted Learners

This study investigates the process of identifying high-quality lessons for gifted learners that integrate the arts with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. These STEAM lessons have the potential to develop deep thinking, as well as develop creativity and visual–spatial skills that are necessary in the STEM disciplines. Lessons were solicited from teachers through their involvement in national organizations, and 61 lessons were analyzed and reviewed by experts in the arts and STEM fields, as well as master teachers. High-quality lessons provided deep content knowledge in both STEM and arts fields, connections across content areas, specific criteria for assessment, and collaborations between teachers and between students. The findings from this study will be used to further define the evaluation process for STEAM lessons designed for gifted learners and to develop professional development opportunities for teachers of the gifted.     

Color research and its application to the design of instructional materials

This paper is divided into three major sections: Color as Seen—Physiological; Color as Seen—Psychological; and Color and Learning. The first section deals with color adaptations and the effects of color on acuity and relates these to the design of instructional materials. The second section covers color meanings and preferences, as well as color harmony and the relationships of these factors to the design of instructional materials. The third section provides an overview of research on color and learning. It includes the effects of color on attention, search tasks, other objective and non-objective measures of learning, and the use of color for cathode ray tube (CRT) displays. Although the measurable effects of color may be slight, colored materials are preferred and they are used almost universally. Therefore, designers of instructional materials need to use color wisely by paying attention to the physiological and psychological effects of color and the effect of color on learning.