What makes a word difficult? Insights into the mental representation of technical terms

Learning from texts requires reflection on how far one has mastered the material. Learners use such metacognitive processes to decide whether to engage in deeper learning activities or not. This article examines how the lexical surface of specialist concepts influences their mental representation. Lexical encodings that are the concise wordings of a concept (e.g., tension headache or migraine for specific types of headache) provide immediate access to the underlying content. To understand learning contents appropriately, learners have to work on such lexical covers to gain insight into the underlying semantic meaning. It was assumed that a technical term??s origin (either German or classical Latin/Greek) is used systematically as a hint for further elaboration. 41 college students rated the difficulty, familiarity, competence, accessibility, and their knowledge of 17 German-language (GL) terms and their classical language (CL) synonyms. The influence of word frequency was controlled. As expected, results showed that GL terms were perceived to be less difficult than CL terms. Consequently, comprehension of these terms was rated more highly. Analyses of how lexical encoding influenced accuracy of participants?? comprehension judgments showed that participants?? comprehension ratings were less accurate for GL terms. Theoretical and practical implications for learning from written information are discussed.     

Inclusive Education for Students with Hearing Impairment in the Regular Secondary Schools in the North-West Region of Cameroon: Initiatives and Challenges

Although some initiatives are implemented in the education of students with hearing impairments in the regular school, challenges are still encountered in their education. This article which is part of the results from an ongoing qualitative study in the North-West region of Cameroon addresses the different initiatives and challenges involved with including students with hearing impairment in regular schools. Interviews, participant observations as well as field notes were the main instruments used in collecting data from the six teachers and six students with hearing impairments who participated in the research. Academic support, classroom placement and the way of working of the sign language interpreters were considered the major initiatives and challenges in the education of the students with hearing impairment in regular schools. It is apparent that adequate adjustments have not been made within the schools to meet the needs of the students with hearing impairments. This hence questions their actual inclusion in the regular school.     

Direct and indirect effects of textual and individual factors on source-content integration when reading about a socio-scientific issue

Reading and Writing - The purpose of this study was to test a hypothesized model that specified direct and indirect effects of textual and individual factors on readers’ ability to integrate...     

Virtual Reality: a Tool for Preservice Science Teachers to Put Theory into Practice

Journal of Science Education and Technology - The purpose of the present study was to investigate, compare, and characterize interactive VR-based preservice science teacher clinical teaching...     

‘Living Values: an educational program’—from initiative to uptake

This article is concerned with the connection between religions and education. It explores the case of one particular values education programme, ‘Living Values: an educational program’, and its link with the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BKWSU) to show how the programme originated and developed, which individuals and institutions were involved in these processes, how such a programme finds application in British schools and what form such application takes. The article traces a ‘chain of transmission’ from inception to classroom and looks at the reception which a values-based programme finds among teachers, pupils and parents. The article is based on ethnographic and documentary data gathered in a one-year research project (September 2001 to October 2002) in the Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit (WRERU) at the University of Warwick.     

Visual Narrativity in the Picture Book: Heinrich Hoffmann’s Der Struwwelpeter

This article intervenes in the debate about the pedagogical import of Heinrich Hoffmann’s Der Struwwelpeter. Should this book be regarded as a typical example of black pedagogy or as a form of subversive children’s literature? I argue in favour of the latter point of view, on the basis of a close reading of the interaction between words and pictures in this classic children’s book. Meanwhile, this article aims to further our theoretical insights into the narrative potential of images. Every picture tells a story, but how, exactly? I attempt to give an answer to this question through a detailed case study of Der Struwwelpeter.     

Akute infektiöse Diarrhoe

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The Promotion to Full Professor – Through Competition or by Individual Competence?

This paper analyses the outcome of a reform of the academic career structure in Norway. From 1993 on, associate professors can apply for promotion to full professorships on the basis of individual research competence irrespective of vacant professorships. This has now become a more important way of attaining a full professorship than through competition with other applicants. Only 30% of new professors are appointed the traditional way. The reform has led to a substantial increase in the number of full professors in the university sector, from 37% of the tenured academic staff in 1991 to 47% in 2001.     

Lamaze Childbirth among the Amish People

This paper is an account of the author's observation of three Amish births in 1972, one in a home and two in a hospital. This 30-year-old story illustrates normal birth among a group dedicated to "low-tech" living. Although some aspects of Amish life and birth may have changed in the past 30 years, the basic philosophy of life and birth has not. This philosophy serves as a living reminder to us that generations of women from many cultures have given birth in a similar manner.