Enhancing Creativity in Children by Imparting Chess Training

Creativity is the ability to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, andto generate solutions. The present study, funded by Indian Government, analysed the effect of one year chess training programon the creativity of school-going children of both genders. A pre-test post-test with control group design was used. Thesample comprised 64 children: 32 children each in experimental (Mean age=11.86, SD=1.44) and control (Mean age=12.03,SD=1.14) groups. Children in the experimental group underwent weekly chess training with Winning Moves Chess Curriculum.Creativity was assessed by Indian adaption of Wallach-Kogan Creativity Test. Pre–intervention equivalence of the two groupswas established. Independent t test analysis revealed that the experimental group had statistically significant gains in totalcreativity and Instances and Alternate Uses subtests compared to the control group. The authors conclude that systematic chessintervention increases creativity in children. The educational implications are significant

Games in Enhancing Productive Skills for EFL Students

This article explores the use of games as an effective pedagogical strategy for improving EFL students' speaking and writing skills. Conducted through a literature review, the study examines various games used in language classrooms and their impact on language learning outcomes. The importance of language as a communication tool and the need to enhance students' English-speaking and writing skills are emphasized. Teachers' role in leveraging innovative game-based learning strategies is highlighted, focusing on games like Zepeto, board games, spinning wheel games, and guessing games. These games offer engaging, real-time language practice, promoting fluency, confidence, and motivation. The research method used by this study was literature reviews. Findings indicate the efficacy of these games in enhancing speaking and writing skills for the EFL students. The study underscores the value of game-based learning in making language education more enjoyable and effective. Concluding, the study advocates for the integration of game-based strategies in language classrooms to boost students' interest, engagement, and proficiency in English

Professional Development in Sculpture

This dissertation discusses the process involved sculptors becoming professionals and the aspects that characterise a professional sculptor when compared to art students

Free play and pedagogical play: a multiple-case study of teachers’ views of play in Chinese early learning centers

ObjectiveGrounded in theories of globalization, this qualitative case study aimed to explore the understanding of play among Chinese teachers in private, for-profit Western style early learning centers.MethodsThe study encompassed 16 Chinese teachers working in four Western-style early learning centers. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Following separate thematic analyses of each case, a cross-case analysis was conducted to compare and contrast the emerging themes, elucidating both commonalities and distinctions across the four cases.ResultsThe findings from all four cases revealed a categorization of play into two main types: “play in class’” and “play out of class.” “Play out of class” was characterized as unstructured, enjoyable, and creative, emphasizing child autonomy and spontaneous learning. In contrast, “play in class” pertained to play-based curricula that were thoughtfully designed to align with specific teaching goals and learning objectives. It was seen as a structured method for fostering learning, highlighting the developmental appropriateness of such approaches.Conclusion:These findings underscore the educators’ recognition of the significance of play; however, it also illustrates that their perceptions have been shaped by the prevailing emphasis on children’s achievements in Chinese society

Evaluating the Effects of Immersive Embodied Interaction on Cognition in Virtual Reality

Virtual reality is on its advent of becoming mainstream household technology, as technologies such as head-mounted displays, trackers, and interaction devices are becoming affordable and easily available. Virtual reality (VR) has immense potential in enhancing the fields of education and training, and its power can be used to spark interest and enthusiasm among learners. It is, therefore, imperative to evaluate the risks and benefits that immersive virtual reality poses to the field of education. Research suggests that learning is an embodied process. Learning depends on grounded aspects of the body including action, perception, and interactions with the environment. This research aims to study if immersive embodiment through the means of virtual reality facilitates embodied cognition. A pedagogical VR solution which takes advantage of embodied cognition can lead to enhanced learning benefits. Towards achieving this goal, this research presents a linear continuum for immersive embodied interaction within virtual reality. This research evaluates the effects of three levels of immersive embodied interactions on cognitive thinking, presence, usability, and satisfaction among users in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Results from the presented experiments show that immersive virtual reality is greatly effective in knowledge acquisition and retention, and highly enhances user satisfaction, interest and enthusiasm. Users experience high levels of presence and are profoundly engaged in the learning activities within the immersive virtual environments. The studies presented in this research evaluate pedagogical VR software to train and motivate students in STEM education, and provide an empirical analysis comparing desktop VR (DVR), immersive VR (IVR), and immersive embodied VR (IEVR) conditions for learning. This research also proposes a fully immersive embodied interaction metaphor (IEIVR) for learning of computational concepts as a future direction, and presents the challenges faced in implementing the IEIVR metaphor due to extended periods of immersion. Results from the conducted studies help in formulating guidelines for virtual reality and education researchers working in STEM education and training, and for educators and curriculum developers seeking to improve student engagement in the STEM fields

Summer Camp Professionals’ Positive Psychology Certification Program

This Capstone provides the rationale and preliminary curriculum for a Summer Camp Professionals’ Positive Psychology Certification Program. One hundred and fifty years before the advent of positive psychology, summer camps were designed to teach children the art of flourishing (Paris, 2008). During that time, camps have organically developed techniques to foster positive emotion, engagement, positive relationships, meaning and accomplishment –fundamental building blocks of Martin Seligman’s (2011) PERMA model of wellbeing. As effective as camps are at promoting flourishing, however, they can become even more so by incorporating new insights and techniques from the field of positive psychology. The Camp Certification Program includes five core positive psychology concepts. Each contains a concept overview, discussion of benefits, implementation strategies, and measurement recommendations. The certification course has two goals. First, to enhance the experience for children who attend summer programs by teaching skills and habits that foster flourishing and achievement. Second, to provide a new way to view and value camp’s experiential education to help reposition it as an integral part of children’s development. By integrating positive psychology into modern camping, I hope to build demand for the camp experience and make it available to more children

An investigation of the development of students’ and teachers’ perceptions towards technology: A framework for reconstructing technology education in Malawi

The study investigated students’ and teachers’ perceptions towards technology and technology education with the ultimate aim of developing their beliefs and practices suitable for teaching and learning broad-based technology education and to inform future policy framework for restructuring the curriculum. Research leading to the development of technology as a school curriculum shows emphasis on the importance of students developing technological literacy essential for living in a technologically mediated society but little is known about developments related to teaching and learning technology in Malawi schools. Malawi’s Vision 2020, the Science and Technology Policy for Malawi and the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy 2006 – 2011 stipulated the need for schooling in Malawi to help students attain technological literacy as it was seen as instrumental for economic growth and development. Attempts were undertaken to include science and technology and also craft, design and technology as learning areas, but among a myriad of factors, teachers lacked theoretical, philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings of the subjects. The existing curriculum also has little scope for developing student technological knowledge and capabilities which would enable them to understand, create, control and manipulate technology. The need now is to establish technology education as a more comprehensive curriculum area than that promulgated in the technical curriculum. This study therefore provided teachers with an opportunity to broaden their understanding of the nature of technology and technology education critical for their meaningful conceptualisation of teaching and learning technology. The focus of the study was to explore influences of, expand the teachers’ and students’ ideas about technology and technology education and also to enhance teaching practices. In order to capture a more holistic understanding of such influences, an interpretive research methodology was adopted and the teachers were involved in in-depth, one-on-one and semi-structured interviews, group discussions and classroom observations before and after professional development workshops. This helped to collectively construct the social reality surrounding the teachers’ existing beliefs and teaching practices and how to change those practices and beliefs. The study was situated in a socio-cultural theoretical framework by encouraging collaborative interactions among teachers in their school groups. The study began by examining students’ and teachers’ existing beliefs and practices and these were seen as impacting on how and what teachers learn. A teacher professional development programme incorporating those beliefs and practices and also focusing on social-cultural frameworks of learning was organised to help teachers reconceptualise their understanding about the nature of technology and technology education. The professional development programme also incorporated a discussion of PATT modelling as a tool for teacher learning of students’ conceptualisation of technology and reflections of their own learning in the workshops. Key characteristics of the professional development model, therefore, included: ∙ An understanding and incorporating the teachers’ beliefs and practices into the professional development programme for teachers to change such beliefs and adopt broader views of technology. ∙ Encouraging collaborative learning in their schools for teachers to share knowledge, their own experiences and that of others, and planning presentations of their interpretations of selected scholarly readings. ∙ Teachers learning about technology from the perspectives of students using PATT data that was seen as an effective professional development tool. ∙ On-going reflections and support to enhance teachers’ capacities to reflect on their own experiences for purposeful change. The professional development helped teachers develop a broader understanding of the nature of technology and technology education using a model that focussed on teachers developing their own concepts through readings of scholarly papers, learning from other teachers’ experiences and through discussion of student concepts and attitudes to technology. Findings of the research revealed an effective professional development model focussed on social cultural frameworks of learning that resulted in teachers’ positive perceptions of technology and technology education. They had also shown innovations to implement technology as a consequence of their enhanced technological pedagogical knowledge. Three key findings arose from the study, and these are: ∙ The teachers’ contexts and the stance on the goals of the technical education curriculum influence understanding of the nature of technology and technology education. ∙ Enhanced technological pedagogical knowledge promotes teachers’ innovations to develop and implement technological activities. ∙ A professional development underpinned by social cultural frameworks of learning is an effective model when it incorporates teachers’ beliefs and experiences. The findings of the study have implications for pre-service and in-service teacher education and development, policy change in relation to curriculum reviews and reforms in Malawi and other developing countries. There are also implications for further research that focus on developing knowledge and understanding among teachers on how to improve teaching and learning that enhances student technological literacy but which considers the context being targeted by the curriculum. Enabling policy for implementing technology education in Malawi exists but a successful realisation of the policy goals is entirely dependent on teachers’ shared understanding about the nature of technology and technology education. This study provided teachers with a rare opportunity for further professional growth and development leading to improved teaching practices and knowledge about technology and technology education. Therefore, more research of this nature would be required to help develop capacity for reconstructing technology education in Malawi and other developing nations which may also plan to shift from colonial industrial arts-based curriculum to a broad-based technology education

Strengthening Cooperation and Enhancing Activation in Problem-Based Learning through Concrete External Representations

In this pilot study, an effort was made to strengthen cooperation and enhance activation in medical problem-based learning. We compared traditional problem-based learning sessions with learning sessions of smaller groups that used a concrete external representation tool. Our experience shows that the use of icons for representing problems and solutions has important advantages for collaborative learning and the way problems are positioned and connected to prior knowledge. Other advantages of this approach seem to be an increase of individual participation and a decreasing need for tutor supervision. The results of this pilot study encourage the investigation of this promising educational method on a larger scale.In dieser Pilotstudie wurde untersucht, wie im medizinischen Problem-Based Learning die Kooperation zwischen Studierenden gestärkt und ihre Aktivität erhöht werden kann. Wir verglichen traditionelle Seminare mit Sitzungen kleinerer Gruppen, die Gegenstände für konkrete externe Repräsentationen benutzten. Wir fanden heraus, dass die bildliche Darstellung von Problemen und Lösungen die Zusammenarbeit stärkt, da Probleme besser erkundet und mit Vorwissen verknüpft werden. Des Weiteren beteiligten sich die Studierenden deutlich häufiger und hatten weniger Bedarf an Unterstützung durch Tutoren. Die Ergebnisse dieser Pilotstudie regen zur weiteren Erkundung dieser vielversprechenden Ausbildungsmethode an

Art Education as a Tool of Feminist Resistance in Iran ( 1979-2022 )

Art Education as a Tool of Feminist Resistance in Iran is a thesis that explores the use of art education as a form of resistance against patriarchy and gender inequality in Iran. Iran\u27s historical and cultural background is examined in this study, along with the effects of the Islamic Revolution and the place of women in society. I interviewed Iranian female artists, art educators, and activists using an ethnographic research methodology to learn about their perspectives on using art education as a form of resistance. This research explores the various ways that art education can be a tool of resistance, including encouraging critical thinking, the development of alternative narratives, and promoting a sense of community and solidarity. It also makes the case that art education can give women a voice and a platform to question gender norms and expectations in a culture that frequently tries to silence them. The thesis highlights the challenges Iranian female artists and educators face in their efforts to use art education as a tool of resistance. These challenges include censorship, lack of funding and resources, and threats. Despite these challenges, the study emphasizes the resilience and determination of Iranian women in their pursuit of gender equality and social justice. It also highlights the critical role that art education can play in promoting gender equality and challenging patriarchal structures and offers insights and recommendations for future research and policy interventions to support and empower Iranian women

Cyberathletes’ Lived Experience of Video Game Tournaments

Increased interest in video games has led to the emergence of competitive video game leagues and organizations known as e-Sport (Hutchins, 2008; Wagner, 2006). Much of the research on video games has focused on negative aspects of gamers’ behavior, such as aggression (Ferguson, 2007) and addiction (Kuss & Griffiths, 2012). The majority of studies have examined video game performance from a third-person perspective using video analysis (Reeves, Brown, & Laurier, 2009) or behavioral observation when examining high-level video game play (Jansz & Martens, 2005). Prior to the present study, there had been very little attention devoted to gamers’ experience of playing video games in the competitive tournament setting and presence of an evaluative audience. Research in sport psychology has demonstrated the challenges associated with performance in front of spectators (Beilock & Gray, 2007; Schmidt & Wrisberg, 2008). Thus, it might be assumed that the added presence of others at video game tournaments would create a competitive experience that is similar to that of athletes in traditional sports. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the lived experience of cyberathletes (gamers) during video game tournaments. Existential phenomenological interviews were conducted with twelve co-participants who had recently competed in a video game tournament. Qualitative analysis revealed a thematic structure consisting of three distinct contexts – video game world, tournament world, playing world – and four figural or major themes – real life event, comrades and competitors, respect and maturity, and from cutthroat to good time – that captured the essential elements of the these cyberathletes’ tournament experience. A fifth major theme – committed investment – was not immediate to the tournament experience, but contained elements that were related to the tournament setting. It was concluded that for the video gamers in this study, meeting and interacting other serious gamers was the most significant aspect of the tournament experience. In addition, the results revealed a number of fundamental challenges for video game tournament competitors that are similar to those confronted by athletes in most traditional sports (e.g., pre-event anxiety, distractions, and the need for competitors to maintain focus and composure under pressure)