Using mindfulness to teach perception

Using the philosophy of mindfulness is an innovative way to teach about perception. By participating in a mindfulness awareness practice, engaging in an activity with all your senses and being in the moment without judgment, students learn about the concepts of perception and mindfulness; analyze their personal perception process before and after the activity; and reflect individually and in group discussion on how mindfulness can change the perception process.

Courses: Any course where perception and the perception process are taught including: Introduction to Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Intercultural Communication, and Health Communication.

Objectives: Students will (a) learn about the concepts of perception and mindfulness, (b) apply their knowledge by participating in a hands-on mindfulness awareness practice, (c) analyze their personal perception process before and after the activity, and (d) reflect individually and in group discussion on how mindfulness can change the perception process.     

Children's literacy interest and its relation to parents’ literacy‐promoting practices

This study examined how children's literacy interests related to parent literacy‐promoting practices across time. Using a sample of 909 preschool‐age children and the newly developed Child Activities Preference Checklist, literacy interest appeared to be a complex construct, not easily captured by a single measure. In a subsample of 230 children with longitudinal data, parent literacy practices and child literacy interests related concurrently and across time. Parent literacy practices were more stable than child literacy interests, with children's literacy interest continuing to develop over the preschool year. Parent practices of exposing children to literacy and teaching them literacy concepts appeared to be distinct constructs. Exposure to literacy was especially important in the growth of literacy interests and the hypothesis that exposure has a negative effect on children with little initial interest was not fully supported.     

Developing self-awareness using mindfulness meditation with preservice teachers: reflections on practice

ABSTRACT

Mindfulness offers a pathway for preservice teachers to develop self-awareness, which is an essential part of personal and professional growth. However, supporting teacher self-awareness is rarely given much attention in teacher education programs. The authors studied the use of mindfulness meditation in an early childhood college course with early childhood preservice teachers. This article reports the main findings that emerged from the students’ journals regarding the mindfulness meditation. Reflecting on the findings, this article suggests that educators need to provide meaningful learning experiences and activities, which could help their students develop the personal qualities necessary to teach with high self-confidence.     

The Brink of Change: Gender in Technology-Rich Collaborative Learning Environments

This study was designed to contribute to a small but growing body of knowledge on the influence of gender in technology-rich collaborative learning environments. The study examined middle school students attitudes towards using computers and working in groups during scientific inquiry. Students attitudes towards technology and group work were analyzed using questionnaires. To add depth to the findings from the survey research, the role of gender was also investigated through the analysis of student conversations in the context of two activities: exploring science information on a hypertext text and conducting hands-on investigations. The data suggest that not only are girls and boys are similar with regard to attitudes about computers and group work, but that during collaborative learning activities, girls may actually participate more actively and persistently regardless of the nature of the task.     

Use of sexuality-focused entertainment media in sex education

The literature on the impact of entertainment media on sex education is typically pathology-focused, unclear regarding the effects of such usage, and void of dialogue between those who actually work in the areas of sexuality education and entertainment. To address this gap, this paper is the product of joint authorship between media figures from varied sexually-focused programming fields and academics who teach and conduct research in the areas of sexuality and relational health. The authors focus on the role that various forms of entertainment media play in educating members of the public and college classrooms in the areas of sex and sexuality. Additionally, examples of the inclusion of entertainment media in educational contexts are discussed.     

Effects of Diagnostic Label and Disease Information on Emotions,Beliefs, and Willingness to Help Older Parents with Osteoarthritis

We studied the impact of the diagnostic label of osteoarthritis and educational information on family members' attributions, perceptions, and willingness to help older parents with pain. Undergraduate students (N = 636) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions where they read vignettes about an older mother with chronic pain, which varied on illness label and educational information. Results indicated that both the osteoarthritis label and osteoarthritis information led to more positive perceptions compared with no label/healthy aging information. Results highlight the importance of diagnosis and education in promoting favorable attributions and increasing willingness to help older adults with osteoarthritis.     

Breaking the Cycle: Future Faculty Begin Teaching with Learner-Centered Strategies after Professional Development

The availability of reliable evidence for teaching practices after professional development is limited across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, making the identification of professional development “best practices” and effective models for change difficult. We aimed to determine the extent to which postdoctoral fellows (i.e., future biology faculty) believed in and implemented evidence-based pedagogies after completion of a 2-yr professional development program, Faculty Institutes for Reforming Science Teaching (FIRST IV). Postdocs (PDs) attended a 2-yr training program during which they completed self-report assessments of their beliefs about teaching and gains in pedagogical knowledge and experience, and they provided copies of class assessments and video recordings of their teaching. The PDs reported greater use of learner-centered compared with teacher-centered strategies. These data were consistent with the results of expert reviews of teaching videos. The majority of PDs (86%) received video ratings that documented active engagement of students and implementation of learner-centered classrooms. Despite practice of higher-level cognition in class sessions, the items used by the PDs on their assessments of learning focused on lower-level cognitive skills. We attributed the high success of the FIRST IV program to our focus on inexperienced teachers, an iterative process of teaching practice and reflection, and development of and teaching a full course.     

Priming and Fake News: The Effects of Elite Discourse on Evaluations of News Media

Fake news has become a prominent topic of public discussion, particularly among elites. Recent research has explored the prevalence of fake news during the 2016 election cycle and possible effects on electoral outcomes. This scholarship has not yet considered how elite discourse surrounding fake news may influence individual perceptions of real news. Through an experiment, this study explores the effects of elite discourse about fake news on the public’s evaluation of news media. Results show that exposure to elite discourse about fake news leads to lower levels of trust in media and less accurate identification of real news. Therefore, frequent discussion of fake news may affect whether individuals trust news media and the standards with which they evaluate it. This discourse may also prompt the dissemination of false information, particularly when fake news is discussed by elites without context and caution.