Harnessing emotions to deliberative argumentation in classroom discussions on historical issues in multi-cultural contexts

AbstractThis theoretical paper is about the role of emotions in historical reasoning in the context of classroom discussions. Peer deliberations around texts have become important practices in history education according to progressive pedagogies. However, in the context of issues involving emotions, such approaches may result in an obstacle for historical clairvoyance. The expression of strong emotions may bias the use of sources, compromise historical reasoning, and impede argumentative dialogue. Coping with emotions in the history classrooms is a new challenge in history education. In this paper, we suggest that rather than attempting to foster positive emotion only or to avoid emotions all together, we should look at ways of engaging with emotion in history teaching. We present examples of peer deliberations on charged historical topics according to three pedagogical approaches that address emotions in different ways. The protocols we present open numerous questions: (a) whether facilitating engagement with own and the other's emotions may lead to better processing of information and better deliberation of a historical question; (b) whether promoting national pride boosts reliance on collective narratives; and (c) whether adopting a critical teaching approach eliminates emotions and biases. Based on these examples and findings in social psychology, we bring forward working hypotheses according to which we suggest that instead of dodging emotional issues, teachers should harness emotions – not only positive but also negative ones, to critical and productive engagement in classroom activities.  

Argumentation et rationalité dans l’étude de textes talmudiques : les interactions dyadiques dans les Yeshivas

Cette étude offre une analyse systématique des pratiques discursives de deux Juifs ultraorthodoxes qui étudient des textes talmudiques dans une Yeshiva – un centre d’étude traditionnel – dans un contexte dyadique appelé la chavruta. Des analyses du texte talmudique ont déjà mis en lumière le caractère hautement dialectique et la rationalité dialogique qui caractérisent les discussions entre Sages du Talmud. Nous explorons ici la nature de l’argumentation mise en œuvre par deux étudiants expérimentés qui étudient un thème talmudique au cours de sessions successives, et cherchons à identifier le régime de rationalité qui se dégage de leur démarche. Nous y identifions plusieurs formes d’argumentation collaborative, et montrons que, bien que la rationalité dialogique et pratique propre aux discussions du texte talmudique lui-même fasse défaut dans le cadre de la chavruta, leur quête de vérités par le biais de discussions critiques autour des textes qui invitent à les découvrir révèle une rationalité ancrée dans des croyances religieuses, et dans une éthique existentielle.The present study offers a systematic analysis of talk practices of ultraorthodox Jews learning Talmudic texts in Yeshivas – traditional Houses of Study, in a dyadic setting called Chavruta. We investigate about the nature of these talk practices and about the kind of rationality which deploys in Chavruta learning. Analyses of the Talmudic text already stressed its highly dialectical character and the dialogic rationality that characterizes the discussions among Sages of the Talmud. We observe here two experienced students learning a Talmudic theme in a Chavruta setting in consecutive sessions. We identify various forms of collaborative argumentation in their learning, and show that although the dialogic and practical rationality that appears in the Talmudic text are missing in the Chavruta setting, the quest for truth of the learners around the Talmudic text reveals a rationality anchored in religious beliefs and in existential ethics

Advancing group epistemic practices in the resolution of interdisciplinary societal dilemmas

The present paper inquires whether a meticulous program designed to resolve Interdisciplinary Societal Dilemmas through dialogic argumentation advances epistemic practices. To delineate how epistemic practices are manifested in classroom discussions, we adopted the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), which explores the interactions and agencies of human and non-human actors. ANT analyses uncover the power these actors exert on each other and help recognize the networks that these actors create or dissolve. They also delineate how epistemic practices emerge and are shaped in these networks. We identified four epistemic practices in the discussions: (1) taking a reasoned position, (2) integrating knowledge from different disciplines, (3) weighing pros and cons before taking a complex position, and (4) role-playing in a democratic game. We show that the type of discourse developed in the program was mostly dialogic argumentation. In addition, we demonstrate how teachers often inhibit these advancements. Indeed, in the case of integrating knowledge from different disciplines, teachers’ role is central, but the emerged actors’ network is often non-dialogic. Moreover, we show how non-human actors shape the interactions in networks as well as the formation of knowledge and agency. We conclude that: (a) the design of activities for resolving interdisciplinary societal dilemmas provides many opportunities for advancing epistemic practices, (b) these practices are mostly advanced through dialogic argumentation, but (c) more efforts should be invested in affording interdisciplinary argumentation

Roles of a case library as a collaborative tool for fostering argumentation

We tried to create an environment conducive to learning argumentation skills by combining collaborative use of case libraries with teacher facilitation of an appropriate kind. We present here the way we designed the environment, including the case library we created and the role of the teacher. The role of the case library in facilitating both collaboration and construction and evaluation of arguments i analyzed through examples. While preliminary, our analysis suggests (i) several principles for designing a case library as an invitation to interpretation a d (ii) that integration of such a tool into the classroom provides a viable way of supporting creation of better arguments, learning o

The sixth Painleve transcendent and uniformization of algebraic curves

We exhibit a remarkable connection between sixth equation of Painleve list and infinite families of explicitly uniformizable algebraic curves. Fuchsian equations, congruences for group transformations, differential calculus of functions and differentials on corresponding Riemann surfaces, Abelian integrals, analytic connections (generalizations of Chazy's equations), and other attributes of uniformization can be obtained for these curves. As byproducts of the theory, we establish relations between Picard-Hitchin's curves, hyperelliptic curves, punctured tori, Heun's equations, and the famous differential equation which Apery used to prove the irrationality of Riemann's zeta(3).Comment: Final version. Numerous improvements; English, 49 pages, 1 table, no figures, LaTe

Gene Discovery in the Threatened Elkhorn Coral: 454 Sequencing of the Acropora palmata Transcriptome

BACKGROUND: Cnidarians, including corals and anemones, offer unique insights into metazoan evolution because they harbor genetic similarities with vertebrates beyond that found in model invertebrates and retain genes known only from non-metazoans. Cataloging genes expressed in Acropora palmata, a foundation-species of reefs in the Caribbean and western Atlantic, will advance our understanding of the genetic basis of ecologically important traits in corals and comes at a time when sequencing efforts in other cnidarians allow for multi-species comparisons. RESULTS: A cDNA library from a sample enriched for symbiont free larval tissue was sequenced on the 454 GS-FLX platform. Over 960,000 reads were obtained and assembled into 42,630 contigs. Annotation data was acquired for 57% of the assembled sequences. Analysis of the assembled sequences indicated that 83-100% of all A. palmata transcripts were tagged, and provided a rough estimate of the total number genes expressed in our samples (~18,000-20,000). The coral annotation data contained many of the same molecular components as in the Bilateria, particularly in pathways associated with oxidative stress and DNA damage repair, and provided evidence that homologs of p53, a key player in DNA repair pathways, has experienced selection along the branch separating Cnidaria and Bilateria. Transcriptome wide screens of paralog groups and transition/transversion ratios highlighted genes including: green fluorescent proteins, carbonic anhydrase, and oxidative stress proteins; and functional groups involved in protein and nucleic acid metabolism, and the formation of structural molecules. These results provide a starting point for study of adaptive evolution in corals. CONCLUSIONS: Currently available transcriptome data now make comparative studies of the mechanisms underlying coral's evolutionary success possible. Here we identified candidate genes that enable corals to maintain genomic integrity despite considerable exposure to genotoxic stress over long life spans, and showed conservation of important physiological pathways between corals and bilaterians

The effect of team affective tone on team performance : the roles of team identification and team cooperation

Affective tones abound in work teams. Drawing on the affect infusion model and social identity theory, this study proposes that team affective tone is related to team performance indirectly through team identification and team cooperation. Data from 141 hybrid-virtual teams drawn from high-tech companies in Taiwan generally supported our model. Specifically, positive affective tone is positively associated – while negative affective tone is negatively associated – with both team identification and team cooperation, team identification is positively associated with team cooperation, and team cooperation is positively associated with team performance. Managerial implications and limitations are discussed

Altered Activation of Innate Immunity Associates with White Matter Volume and Diffusion in First-Episode Psychosis

First-episode psychosis (FEP) is associated with inflammatory and brain structural changes, but few studies have investigated whether systemic inflammation associates with brain structural changes in FEP. Thirty-seven FEP patients (median 27 days on antipsychotic medication), and 19 matched controls were recruited. Serum levels of 38 chemokines and cytokines, and cardiovascular risk markers were measured at baseline and 2 months later. We collected T1-and diffusion-weighted MRIs with a 3 T scanner from the patients at baseline. We analyzed the association of psychosis-related inflammatory markers with gray and white matter (WM) volume using voxel-based morphometry and WM diffusion using tract-based spatial statistics with whole-brain and region-of-interest (ROI) analyses. FEP patients had higher CCL22 and lower TGFa, CXCL1, CCL7, IFN-alpha 2 and ApoA-I than controls. CCL22 decreased significantly between baseline and 2 months in patients but was still higher than in controls. The association between inflammatory markers and FEP remained significant after adjusting for age, sex, smoking and BMI. We did not observe a correlation of inflammatory markers with any symptoms or duration of antipsychotic treatment. Baseline CCL22 levels correlated negatively with WM volume and positively with mean diffusivity and radial diffusivity bilaterally in the frontal lobes in ROI analyses. Decreased serum lan association between circulating chemokine levels and WM in FEP patients. Interestingly, CCL22 has been previously implicated in autoimmune diseases associated with WM pathology. The results suggest that an altered activation of innate immunity may contribute to WM damage in psychotic disorders.evel of ApoA-I was associated with smaller volume of the medial temporal WM. In whole-brain analyses, CCL22 correlated positively with mean diffusivity and radial diffusivity, and CXCL1 associated negatively with fractional anisotropy and positively with mean diffusivity and radial diffusivity in several brain regions. This is the first report to demonstratePeer reviewe

Quelques réflexions à la suite des interactions

La littérature scientifique portant sur l’étude des relations entre interactions sociales et apprentissage est toujours plus riche et plus systématique. Les contributions publiées dans la partie Thema de ce numéro représentent des jalons importants dans cette entreprise. Elles montrent les effets généralement positifs des interactions (celles-ci se déroulent en général dans un cadre dyadique). Pour ceux qui adoptent une perspective vygotskienne du développement, les résultats de ces études ne sauraient étonner. De façon générale, l’enfant apprend mieux à résoudre des problèmes lorsqu’il interagit, du fait qu’il intériorise des processus sociaux. De plus, en interagissant pour résoudre des classes de problèmes, il apprend également à résoudre de nouveaux types de problèmes généralisant les procédures de résolution appris précédemment dans l’interaction. (DIPF/Orig.