The learning space: a study of the suggested principles and practices in designing the classroom environment

This study investigated learning space design and its suggested effect upon the learning process. The study also evaluated and compared existing classrooms in the southern New Jersey area by looking for the presence or absence of certain elements of design. Data were collected by reviewing previous research on the topic of classroom design and student achievement, and in field testing at eight educational facilities in southern New Jersey. Research has shown that the design of learning spaces has a direct influence upon students\u27 attitudes towards learning and positive outcomes are attributed to these designs. Field testing, using a sound level meter and a lux meter, measured frequencies and light levels and evaluated the percentages of loss or gain, confirming some findings regarding students\u27 abilities to properly hear and comprehend spoken material and to properly see visual images and text displayed at the front of the room. Other testing and research revealed that certain other elements in classroom design should be incorporated into the overall design and construction of educational facilities

Neuroeducation: Learning, Arts, and the Brain

Excerpts presentations and discussions from a May 2009 conference on the intersection of cognitive neuroscience, the arts, and learning -- the effects of early arts education on other aspects of cognition and implications for policy and practice

A Biosymtic (Biosymbiotic Robotic) Approach to Human Development and Evolution. The Echo of the Universe.

In the present work we demonstrate that the current Child-Computer Interaction paradigm is not potentiating human development to its fullest – it is associated with several physical and mental health problems and appears not to be maximizing children’s cognitive performance and cognitive development. In order to potentiate children’s physical and mental health (including cognitive performance and cognitive development) we have developed a new approach to human development and evolution. This approach proposes a particular synergy between the developing human body, computing machines and natural environments. It emphasizes that children should be encouraged to interact with challenging physical environments offering multiple possibilities for sensory stimulation and increasing physical and mental stress to the organism. We created and tested a new set of computing devices in order to operationalize our approach – Biosymtic (Biosymbiotic Robotic) devices: “Albert” and “Cratus”. In two initial studies we were able to observe that the main goal of our approach is being achieved. We observed that, interaction with the Biosymtic device “Albert”, in a natural environment, managed to trigger a different neurophysiological response (increases in sustained attention levels) and tended to optimize episodic memory performance in children, compared to interaction with a sedentary screen-based computing device, in an artificially controlled environment (indoors) - thus a promising solution to promote cognitive performance/development; and that interaction with the Biosymtic device “Cratus”, in a natural environment, instilled vigorous physical activity levels in children - thus a promising solution to promote physical and mental health

Image and Evidence: The Study of Attention through the Combined Lenses of Neuroscience and Art

: Levy, EK 2012, ‘An artistic exploration of inattention blindness’, in Frontiers Hum Neurosci, vol. 5, ISSN=1662-5161.Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.This study proposed that new insights about attention, including its phenomenon and pathology, would be provided by combining perspectives of the neurobiological discourse about attention with analyses of artworks that exploit the constraints of the attentional system. To advance the central argument that art offers a training ground for the attentional system, a wide range of contemporary art was analysed in light of specific tasks invoked. The kinds of cognitive tasks these works initiate with respect to the attentional system have been particularly critical to this research. Attention was explored within the context of transdisciplinary art practices, varied circumstances of viewing, new neuroscientific findings, and new approaches towards learning. Research for this dissertation required practical investigations in a gallery setting, and this original work was contextualised and correlated with pertinent neuroscientific approaches. It was also concluded that art can enhance public awareness of attention disorders and assist the public in discriminating between medical and social factors through questioning how norms of behaviour are defined and measured. This territory was examined through the comparative analysis of several diagnostic tests for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), through the adaptation of a methodology from economics involving patent citation in order to show market incentives, and through examples of data visualisation. The construction of an installation and collaborative animation allowed participants to experience first-hand the constraints on the attentional system, provoking awareness of our own “normal” physiological limitations. The embodied knowledge of images, emotion, and social context that are deeply embedded in art practices appeared to be capable of supplementing neuroscience’s understanding of attention and its disorders

The Visegrad Group countries and the Western Balkans states : pre-accesion experiences and proposals for Macedonia

Rozszerzenie Unii Europejskiej jest uwarunkowane różnymi czynnikami. Nie bez znaczenia jest wpływ sytuacji międzynarodowej, politycznej i gospodarczej. Akcesji państw Grupy Wyszehradzkiej do Unii sprzyjała sytuacja międzynarodowa. Szybka decyzja o "otwarciu bram" UE umożliwiła sprawne przeprowadzenie procesu negocjacyjnego w wyniku którego nowe państwa dołączyła do Unii w 2004 i 2007 roku. Odbywało się to w okresie rozwoju gospodarczego i generalnej prosperity Europy. Okresu tego nie wykorzystały państwa bałkańskie, dotknięte konfliktami o charakterze etnicznym, nierzadko także ambicjonalnym. Jedynie Chorwacja w 2013 r. zdołała, jak dotąd, dołączyć do organizacji. Pozostałe państwa zostały w tyle. Ich opóźnienie jest spowodowane nie zawsze niespełnianiem kryteriów członkostwa ale wynika też z problemów o charakterze politycznym ze swoimi sąsiadami. Spór grecko-macedoński o nazwę państwa dowodzi tego najdobitniej. Obecnie sytuacja nie sprzyja rozszerzeniu Unii. Zarówno pod względem gospodarczym (przedłużający się kryzys w strefie euro) jak i politycznym (przejawy postaw eurosceptycznych w kilku państwach unijnych) sytuacja jest nieporównywalna z tą sprzed kilkunastu lat. Społeczeństwa krajów unijnych wydają się też zmęczone rozszerzeniami pierwszego dziesięciolecia obecnego wieku. W przypadku Macedonii, biorąc pod uwagę jej położenie geopolityczne, trudno wskazać jakąkolwiek alternatywę dla przystąpienia do tejże organizacji. Brak jednak odpowiedzi na pytanie kiedy do tego dojdzie. Tak jak w przypadku Europy Środkowej, co jej wyraźnie widoczne 10 lat po rozszerzeniu, tak w przypadku Bałkanów rozszerzenie powinno przynieść sukces.The enlargement of the European Union is subject to various factors that affect this process. Not without significance is the impact of the international, political and economic situation. The international situation favoured the accession of the Visegrad Group. A prompt decision to „open the gates” of the EU enabled a smooth introduction of the negotiation process in result of which new countries joined the EU in 2004 and 2007. It was taking place in the period of economic growth and general prosperity of Europe. This period has not been made use of by the Balkan countries affected by ethnic conflicts often dictated by ambition. Only Croatia in 2013 succeeded, so far, in joining the organization. Other countries have been left behind. The delay is due not always to non-compliance with the criteria for membership but also results from political problems with the neighbours. Greek- Macedonian dispute about the name of the country shows that problem most emphatically. Today, the situation does not favour the enlargement of the UE. Both economically (the prolonged crisis in the euro zone) and politically (eurosceptic attitudes in several EU countries) the situation is incomparable with that of several years ago. Moreover, the societies of the EU countries seem to be tired with the enlargements of the first decade of this century

Philosophy of cognitive technology

The educational and methodical manual on the philosophy and methodology of science supplements the lecture material with topical issues of the philosophy of digital technologies. The section "Philosophy of Natural Science and Technology" outlines the features of the classical philosophy of technology. In the section "Philosophy, science, man at the beginning of the III millennium" the prospects for the impact of the fourth industrial revolution on the applied use of digital technologies and technological features of the functioning of digital ecosystems are analyzed development of digital technologies and the role of philosophy in the analysis of the ethical aspects of the technological modernization of modern society

Teachers\u27 implicit theories of expression in visual arts education: A study of Western Australian teachers

This study examines the differences in the beliefs of primary (elementary) class teachers about the role of expression in visual arts education. The focus is on the relationship between primary teachers implicit theories, and expression in their visual arts lessons. Expression here, refers to the manifestation of an individual students interests or views through visual images. Students\u27 expression of their personal responses through visual images, is a central intended outcome of the visual arts curriculum in Western Australia (Curriculum Council, 1998)

Assessing Western Australian Year 11 students’ engagement with responding in Visual Arts

Responding to visual arts is an important outcome of both the Western Australian and the Australian (F-10) Curriculum in Visual Arts (ACARA, 2014; Curriculum Council, 2008; School Standards and Curriculum Authority, 2014a). Responding is important because it facilitates students’ development of visual literacy, or the ability to decode and recode meaning through visual media (Flood, 2004; Flood & Bamford, 2007; Avgerinou & Petterson, 2011). This mixed methods research study investigated Western Australian students’ engagement in responding within Year 11 Stage 2 Visual Arts. A diagnostic instrument was created to quantitatively assess the engagement of 137 Year 11 Visual Arts students. Additionally, 10 students and 11 Visual Arts teachers participated in semi-structured interviews to explain and extend the quantitative findings. Five Heads of The Arts and eight Principals also participated in interviews to position the students’ engagement with Visual Arts responding within a broader school context. The findings of this research emphasise the importance of diagnostically assessing students’ engagement, particularly within senior school (Years 11 and 12) Visual Arts courses that emphasise responding in student assessment. Additionally, early childhood intervention is important for students to learn the foundational skills and knowledge required to be successful in senior school Visual Arts. In addition, professional learning is essential to support Visual Arts teachers to respond to the increasing complexity of visual culture and critical theory in the curriculum. Professional learning is also important to shift school culture from the perception of Visual Arts responding as part of academic rigour and assessment, to a perception of responding as necessary to students’ development as active citizens in a visually saturated twenty-first century life-world