Strength,Weakness, Opportunity,Threat (SWOT) Analysis of the Adaptations to Anatomical Education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland in Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has driven the fastest changes to higher education across the globe, necessitated by social distancing measures preventing face-to-face teaching. This has led to an almost immediate switch to distance learning by higher education institutions. Anatomy faces some unique challenges. Intrinsically, anatomy is a three-dimensional subject that requires a sound understanding of the relationships between structures, often achieved by the study of human cadaveric material, models, and virtual resources. This study sought to identify the approaches taken in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland to deliver anatomical education through online means. Data were collected from 14 different universities in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland and compared adopting a thematic analysis approach. Once themes were generated, they were collectively brought together using a strength, weakness, opportunity, threat (SWOT) analysis. Key themes included the opportunity to develop new online resources and the chance to engage in new academic collaborations. Academics frequently mentioned the challenge that time constrains could place on the quality and effectiveness of these resources; especially as in many cases the aim of these resources was to compensate for a lack of exposure to cadaveric exposure. Comparisons of the actions taken by multiple higher education institutions reveal the ways that academics have tried to balance this demand. Discussions will facilitate decisions being made by higher education institutions regarding adapting the curriculum and assessment methods in anatomy.     

"Who is who": the roles in an intelligent system for foreign language terminology learning

ITELS is an intelligent system for foreign language terminology learning. It is aimed not only at assisting language learning focused on specific terminology but also at enhancing learner's conceptual knowledge in the subject area. The system could be tuned to aid learning in different terminological areas and supports three styles of tutoring: system-initiated, collaborative, and learner-initiated. Three agents take part in the instructional process supported by ITELS: the human teacher, the system, and the learner. Each of them is an active agent characterised by a set of specific roles with respect to the system functioning. In this paper we describe ITELS with emphasis on the roles of these agents.     

The state-of-the-art in digital technology-based assessment

The role of digital technology in assessment has received a great deal of attention in recent years. Naturally, technology offers many practical benefits, such as increased efficiency with regard to the design, implementation and scoring of existing assessments. More importantly, it also has the potential to have profound, transformative effects on the field of assessment by facilitating the integration of formative activities with accountability requirements and broadening the range of abilities and the scope of constructs that can be assessed. This article provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art in digital technology-based assessment, with particular reference to advances in the automated scoring of constructed responses, the assessment of complex 21^st century skills in large-scale assessments and innovations involving high fidelity virtual reality simulations. Key challenges with respect to each are highlighted before the extent to which digital technology is truly transforming assessment is considered.     

Phonics, Expository Writing, and Reading Aloud: Playful Literacy in the Primary Grades

Despite the challenges primary grade teachers face in trying to include play in an already crowded curriculum, play has an important place in reading and writing instruction. Children whose early literacy experiences include pleasurable activities are more motivated to pursue the challenging tasks associated with learning and are more likely to develop a life-long love of reading and writing. In this article, a teacher and a teacher educator make a case for the value of play in early literacy and offer examples of the ways teachers can create more playful phonics, read aloud, and expository writing experiences.     

Meditations on Pleasure: John Ruskin and the Value of Art in the Classroom

Life is multiplex; information is ubiquitous. We do our best to learn, but we struggle not to forget. The demand to “know” is powerful; the experience of living can often feel overwhelming. We desire a better way of looking at the world around us. John Ruskin reminds us that it is a good thing to start small. He asks us to look, to train our eyes to see detail. He teaches us to appreciate the one thing for its own sake; it is by appreciating the one thing that we are enabled to better appreciate the world around us.     

Using Rituals and Traditions to Create Classroom Community for Children, Teachers, and Parents

This article addresses the value of teachers establishing rituals and traditions in early childhood classrooms. Using the lens of a particular preschool classroom, where one of the co-authors taught for many years, the article describes specific traditions that have been established over the years and how these rituals, activities, and events helped to create community among the teachers, parents, and children. The article concludes with questions designed to encourage teachers to reflect on their own memories, values, and interests to create their own rituals and traditions within their classrooms.     

Evolution of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: The Effects of the “Third” on the Interplay Between Cooperation and Competition

Minerva - The paper investigates the evolution of the first manned international space mission – a rendezvous and docking between a US and a Soviet spacecraft in 1975 known as the...