A comparison of special education teacher and psychologist scoring of the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test

Ten learning disabilities resource room teachers were provided with inservice training in the administration of the Bender visual Motor Gestalt Test (BVMGT) and the Koppitz (1964) scoring system. Following this training the teachers administered the BVMGT to students in grades 1–6 and scored each protocol using the Koppitz scoring system. Two certified school psychologists then independently scored a random selection of teacher-administered and scored BVMGT protocols. Results of these ratings were used to analyze the interrater consistencies for the groups of raters. The reported correlations between teachers and school psychologists compared favorably to correlations between school psychologists as well as to interrater reliabilities reported in the literature. The results of this investigation indicate that the Koppitz scoring system may be reliably used by special education teachers who are provided appropriate inservice training.     

Cultural dimensions of learning

How, what, when and where we learn is frequently discussed, as are content versus process, or right brain versus left brain learning. What is usually missing is the cultural dimension. This is not an easy concept to define, but various aspects can be identified. The World Decade for Cultural Development emphasizes the need for a counterbalance to a quantitative, economic approach. In the last century poets also warned against brutalizing materialism, and Sorokin and others have described culture more recently in terms of cohesive basic values expressed through aesthetics and institutions. Bloom's taxonomy incorporates the category of affective learning, which internalizes values. If cultural learning goes beyond knowledge acquisition, perhaps the surest way of understanding the cultural dimension of learning is to examine the aesthetic experience. This can use myths, metaphors and symbols, and to teach and learn by using these can help to unlock the human potential for vision and creativity.

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Zusammenfassung Wie, was, wann und wo wir lernen wird häufig diskutiert, ebenso Inhalt gegen Methode oder Lernen mit linker Hirnhälfte gegenüber Lernen mit rechter Hirnhälfte. Im allgemeinen fehlt jedoch die kulturelle Dimension. Dies ist kein leicht zu definierender Begriff, aber es lassen sich verschiedene Aspekte feststellen. Die Weltdekade für kulturelle Entwicklung betont die Notwendigkeit eines Gegengewichts zu einer quantitativen wirtschaftlichen Annäherung. Im letzten Jahrhundert haben auch Dichter vor einem verrohendem Materialismus gewarnt, und in jüngerer Zeit haben Sorokin und andere Kultur als zusammenhängende, durch Ästhetik und Institutionen zum Ausdruck kommende, Grundwerte beschrieben. Blooms Taxonomie beinhaltet die Kategorie affektiven Lernens, das Wertvorstellungen innerlich aufnehmen läß. Wenn kulturelles Lernen über den Erwerb von Wissen hinausgeht, ist vielleicht der sicherste Weg zum Verständnis der kulturellen Lerndimension eine Untersuchung der ästhetischen Erfahrung. Dazu können Mythen, Methaphern und Symbole verwendet werden, und mit diesen zu lehren und zu lernen kann dazu beitragen, das menschliche Potential an Vorstellungsvermögen und Kreativität'zu erschließen.

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Résumé On discute fréquemment de la manière dont on apprend, de ce que l'on apprend, quand et où, de la même façon qu'on discute du contenu et du processus, ou bien de l'apprentissage de l'hémisphère droit et de l'hémisphère gauche. La dimension culturelle fait souvent défaut dans cette discussion. Ce concept n'est pas aisé à définir, mais on peut en identifier plusieurs aspects. La Décennie mondiale du développement culturel souligne qu'il est nécessaire d'apporter un contrepoids à l'approche économique et quantitative. Au siècle dernier, les poètes aussi ont mis en garde contre le matérialisme brutal, et, plus récemment, Sorokin a décrit avec d'autres la culture en termes de valeurs fondamentales cohérentes exprimées par l'esthétique et les institutions. La taxonomie de Bloom inclut la catégorie de l'apprentissage affectif, qui assimile les valeurs. Si l'apprentissage culturel transcende la simple acquisition de connaissances, le moyen le plus sûr de comprendre la dimension culturelle de l'apprentissage est peut-être d'examiner l'expérience esthétique. Celle-ci peut faire appel aux mythes, aux métaphores et aux symboles, et il se peut que l'enseignement et l'apprentissage fondés sur ces derniers contribuent à libérer le potentiel humain de vision et de créativité.

     

Wheel running in the rat induced by a fixed-time presentation of water

Four female water-deprived albino rats were given free access to a running wheel and food in baseline sessions with water present for the first 375 sec of each daily 100-min session. In experimental sessions, water was presented intermittently according to a fixed-time (FT) 2-min schedule, which delivered water on a periodic basis independently of the rat’s behavior, resulting in 50 7.5sec presentations of the water tube. Food consumption did not vary as a function of the experimental condition, whereas running increased for all Ss during the schedule conditions. Increases in running appeared to be the result of increases in both initiations of running and run-burst lengths.     

Reading improvement with tinted lenses: a report of two cases

There have been numerous anecdotal reports of an improvement in reading in dyslexic children fitted with tinted spectacle lenses. Few of these cases have been subjected to any sort of scientific scrutiny. We report the findings in two dyslexic brothers each of whom showed a marked improvement in reading facility when reading print material either through a semi-transparent tinted plastic sheet (overlay) or through tinted spectacle lenses. Other observed effects of the tinted overlays and/or tinted lenses were improved visual acuity, improved figure/ground perception and reduction in apparent distortions and fragmentation of print. Such improvements were noted in either one or both of the boys. A speculative explanation for this effect is that the lenses act by altering the transmission of impulses along the primary visual pathway.     

Three‐dimensional printing of X‐ray computed tomography datasets with multiple materials using open‐source data processing

Advances in three‐dimensional (3D) printing allow for digital files to be turned into a “printed” physical product. For example, complex anatomical models derived from clinical or pre‐clinical X‐ray computed tomography (CT) data of patients or research specimens can be constructed using various printable materials. Although 3D printing has the potential to advance learning, many academic programs have been slow to adopt its use in the classroom despite increased availability of the equipment and digital databases already established for educational use. Herein, a protocol is reported for the production of enlarged bone core and accurate representation of human sinus passages in a 3D printed format using entirely consumer‐grade printers and a combination of free‐software platforms. The comparative resolutions of three surface rendering programs were also determined using the sinuses, a human body, and a human wrist data files to compare the abilities of different software available for surface map generation of biomedical data. Data shows that 3D Slicer provided highest compatibility and surface resolution for anatomical 3D printing. Generated surface maps were then 3D printed via fused deposition modeling (FDM printing). In conclusion, a methodological approach that explains the production of anatomical models using entirely consumer‐grade, fused deposition modeling machines, and a combination of free software platforms is presented in this report. The methods outlined will facilitate the incorporation of 3D printed anatomical models in the classroom. Anat Sci Educ 10: 383–391. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Drawing in Perspective: Scottish Art and Design Teachers Discuss Drawing

What are the main purposes of drawing in the secondary art and design curriculum? What are Scottish art teachers' views on the role and function of drawing? How is drawing taught in Scottish schools? These three broad questions formed the basis of the research reported in this article. The small‐scale study, carried out between June 2002 and June 2004 will, the authors hope, be of interest to art educators seeking to explore the teaching of drawing as a key component of art and design education. In this article, we report on the background to the study, the place of drawing in Scottish art education, the methodology used, discuss some of the respondents' comments and conclude with some reflections and thoughts for future study.