Hands-On History: An innovative course in history of science to improve undergraduate education

This Interactive Qualifying Project researched and tested the effects of hands-on learning in multidisciplinary courses and the implications of a more interactive classroom on the future of education. Based on research in educational psychology, interactive learning activities were designed and tested in a course at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The research was used to design a course in history and science and sample materials are included

“Hands-on” History: A Comparison of History of Science Courses

This paper compares ten different history of science syllabi from varying universities and colleges to evaluate the courses\u27 inclusion of the relationship between science and society and its application of class features to encourage active learning

Development of the writing skill in children through dialogue journals

El objetivo de este proyecto de aula era mejorar la escritura de los alumnos en la lengua extranjera a través de la aplicación del método de escritura de un diario de conversación. Los participantes de esta implementación fueron cuarenta estudiantes de cuarto grado de una institución pública localizada en Pereira Risaralda, la edad de los estudiantes oscilaba entre los ocho y diez años de edad. Los diarios se utilizaron una vez a la semana en los últimos quince minutos de la clase con el objetivo de comprobar el progreso en la escritura de los participantes a través de la interacción entre estudiante- profesor y estudiante- estudiante

The ecology of a child\u27s day : a study of the effects of various care environments on the complexity of a preschooler\u27s play.

Observations were conducted at various care environments and preschools to determine whether environmental variables, such as setting and time of day, affect the complexity of a young child\u27s play. Twenty-four preschoolers were observed for an hour during the morning and afternoon on three separate occasions. Three males and three females, from each of the following programs, participated in the study: (1) half-day morning preschool; (2) half-day afternoon preschool; (3) full-day day care; and (4) full-day family day care. Children attending half-day programs were observed at their homes as well as at school, whereas the other children were observed in only one setting during both mornings and afternoons. Scores based on the number of instances of complex play divided by the number of instances of complex and simple play were used as a measure of complexity in the analyses. Findings indicate that setting does affect the complexity of a child\u27s play. Those children attending a half-day afternoon preschool program were found to have significantly higher complexity scores than their peers in other settings. No significant differences existed between the other groups. In addition, no differences were found in the complexity scores of males and females. In looking at the effect of the time of day, no significant differences were found between morning and afternoon complexity scores. The complexity levels of children changing settings, as compared to those attending a full-day program, were found not to differ significantly. In addition, the home play of children attending afternoon preschool was found to be significantly more complex than the home play of children attending morning preschool. Disregarding the effect of time of day, the relationship between play complexity and activities was investigated. Across programs, children were found to spend most of their time involved in the following activities: table games, art, fantasy, and blocks. The activities associated with the greatest percentage of complex play were as follows: art, sand/water play, blocks, table games, and fantasy

Supporting orchestration of blended CSCL scenarios in distributed learning environments

El diseño y gestión en tiempo real de escenarios de aprendizaje colaborativo soportado por ordenador (en inglés, CSCL) es una tarea compleja y difícilmente realizable por profesores no expertos, que en los últimos años ha dado en denominarse "orquestación". La presente tesis doctoral profundiza en este concepto de orquestación, y de hecho la primera contribución de la tesis es un marco conceptual para caracterizar la orquestación, destinada a su uso por científicos en el campo del CSCL, validado mediante dos paneles de científicos del CSCL. La tesis también propone los "patrones atómicos" como herramientas conceptuales para que profesores no expertos realicen dicha orquestación, y que se han validado mediante cuatro talleres con profesores de educación primaria y superior. Finalmente, se propone GLUE!-PS, una infraestructura tecnológica para el despliegue y gestión en tiempo real de escenarios CSCL, validada a través de talleres y experiencias auténticas con profesorado universitario.Departamento de Teoría de la Señal y Comunicaciones e Ingeniería Telemática2012-11-2

Honouring young children: research, curriculum and practice in early childhood education

Early childhood educators tend to be people who like to agree with their colleagues. Often we avoid conflict situations and keep the peace by being silent, rather than raising our voices in dissent. But rapid changes to the field, coupled with the explosion of knowledge in the 90s, have opened up new dilemmas and new challenges for teachers. If we are to meet these challenges in a way that honours young children, then we need to talk about our differences and diverse views in a spirit of trust and professional collegiality. The Second Edith Cowan Memorial Conference on Early Childhood provides a forum for the debate of research and topical issues, and it has been the impetus for this book. Some of the contributors are academics or research graduates in Early Childhood Studies in the Faculty of Education, Edith Cowan University, and their work reflects issues that are important throughout the world. Several contributors are early childhood teachers undertaking research degrees in our Faculty, and they bring special insights to their writing

Communicative functions of young children\u27s visual art

How can young children use visual art to communicate? This study used Halliday\u27s communicative functions of language (Halliday, 1973), to frame the answer to this question; Halliday\u27s categories of communicative functions are: instrumental, regulatory, interactional, personal, heuristic, imaginative, and representational/informative. Five children, between the ages of three and five, were observed and interviewed as they voluntarily created visual art over a six-week period. In that time period, each of the seven functions of language was demonstrated collectively by the participants. The research was conducted by an educator employed in the early childhood setting. Qualitatively, this study confirmed that young children are capable of utilizing art in a variety of ways to communicate

An investigation of cooperative consciousness-raising as an innovative teaching practice, and of reactions to its introduction into a high school

The language pedagogy literature stresses the importance of the quality of second/foreign language teaching/learning in learners\u27 acquisition, development of communicative competence, or both. The change literature equally emphasizes the importance of the quality of innovation in change audience’s resolution to reconceptualize current practices and espouse the new practice being advocated. Both literatures underline the need to use multiple research strategies in order to depict the product and process of learning and/or shifting experiences. To contribute to the educational literature in these areas, the present research incorporated two different but interrelated studies. Study One utilized both between- and within-method approaches (Denzin, 1978) to investigate the (in)effectiveness of cooperative consciousness-raising, an innovative teaching practice, to affect English as a foreign language learners’ pragmatic competence in the target language as compared to a traditional method of English instruction. This (in)effectiveness was measured by means of researcher-designed two-part English Achievement Test and five-point-Likert type Student and Teacher Attitude Questionnaire instruments. Results of t test analysis of quantitative data obtained from the responses of 28 out of the initial 40 students in the cooperative consciousness-raising group and 27 out of the 40 initial students in the traditional group indicated that the former scored significantly better than the latter in the three American English requestive behavior abilities being assessed. Qualitative data obtained support the quantitative findings. Results of t test analysis obtained from the ratings of 14 Student Questionnaire items by 18 available students in the experimental group and of 15 questionnaire items by their English teacher showed that students* attitudes toward the cooperative consciousness-raising teaching practice, compared to the traditional method of instruction, were significantly more positive. Similarly, statistical analysis results obtained from teacher ratings of 7 Teacher Questionnaire items indicated that the English teacher’s attitude toward the new practice was more positive than toward her traditional teaching method. Qualitative data obtained from rating justifications indicated that these informants’ more favorable attitudes toward the innovative teaching practice were connected to four interrelated categories including cognitive, affective, social, and general. An investigation of school personnel’s reactions to the introduction of the cooperative consciousness-raising teaching practice in Study Two revealed that their resolution to embrace it was not solely informed by its technical effectiveness. The four interconnected major themes that emerged from both outsider and insider perspectives of data analyses and interpretations indicated the critical role played by a complex interplay among their social and personal reality systems in decision making, shifting change process, or both. It was concluded that the cooperative consciousness-raising teaching practice is more technically-sound than the traditional method of instruction. The innovation technical rationale is essential to arouse change audience’s concerns about their teaching practices and help them engage in the innovation adoption. Equally critical is its social soundness in order to better assist individual targets o f change in their personal growth