Using meta-reflection to enhance performance

Much evidence supports the use of reflective practice for personal development, yet it is not commonly used as a learning tool in students. More typically, reflective writing is assessed as a stand-alone piece of work. The objective is then simply a grade. The proposed project would actively promote the use reflections to improve performance by means of using technology to record, store and retrieve them. These individual reflections will populate a database so that ultimately, with permission, each individual's reflections can be accessed by others via the database. Thus these reflections will become a learning tool for students. Using technology facilitates classification and retrieval and reduces the problems associated with human memory

Co-Teaching in Today\u27s Schools

Co-teaching in today\u27s schools varies based on the model that schools choose and the teachers providing the support. This literature review examined the wide variety of co-teaching models and established that co-teaching is most effective when the co-teachers share a similar philosophy and are well prepared through efficient planning. It is also necessary for the classroom size to be small enough for teachers to be able to meet with students individually or in small groups. This research focused on how co-teachers view their arrangement and how it has been implemented in the schools in which they teach. Surveys were anonymously sent to teachers in two elementary school settings: one a small suburban school and the other a city school

A Monument to Culture and Achievement: The Samurai Suit of Armor and Katana at Gettysburg College

Of the many artifacts found in Gettysburg College’s Musselman library, perhaps the most unusual and seemingly out of place may be the centuries-old replica of a samurai suit and katana standing guard over visitors and students from an oversized glass case on the first floor. Though hard to miss, their connection with Gettysburg College is not so obvious. A plaque located below the suit reads, “Samurai Armor and Warrior Katana; Late 19th Century; Gift of Major General Charles A. Willoughby; Class of 1914.” These artifacts represent hundreds of years of the ancient Samurai tradition in Japan, a crucial element of traditional Japanese culture and history that experienced a resurgence even within the twentieth century. They also symbolize relations between the United States and Japan during and after World War II as narrated by Major General Charles A. Willoughby, Chief of Intelligence under Douglas MacArthur. How and why Major General Willoughby acquired such artifacts is unclear; however, a character study set against the backdrop of this period in history allows us to extrapolate potential theories. Documents within the Gettysburg Special Collections & College Archives offer insights into the man Willoughby was and posit deeper questions about the suit and katana’s journey to the college. This essay illuminates the connection between the college and an ancient culture half way around the globe as well as one of the murkiest mysteries at Gettysburg College

The nutritional impact of fortified ready-to-eat cereals on the diets of school age children

Includes bibliographical references

How technology can facilitate students’ reflective practice

Reflective practice, engaging with experience, reflecting-in and reflecting-on action (Schön 1983) develops new understanding and leads to persona-l and professional development (e.g. Moon, 1999). Reflective practitioners are able to self-regulate and monitor their progress. Reflecting on what was learned can help students become more aware of their own thought processes (McCrindle and Christensen 1995), but reflecting on how it was learned, metacognition (Flavell 1978) offers far greater benefits. There exists mounting evidence for the benefits of metacognition in relation to enhanced performance and academic success (e.g. Coutinho 2007; Dunning et al. 2003). However, despite the costly time investment incurred by recording reflections in journals, reflections are more often retrieved from memory than from the written word. Thus the retrieved reflection is subject to the fallibility of human memory (e.g. Baddeley 1999, p.275): distortion, embellishment or forgetting. Furthermore, despite evidence demonstrating that when learners know reflections are to be read, graded or assessed by others, the incentive is to demonstrate knowledge and hide ignorance or doubt (Boud and Walker 1998), students’ reflections in HE are typically assessed. Dewey’s original purpose of reflection was to consider and strive to overcome weaknesses. In fact, Boud (1999) highlights the dichotomies between the nature of reflection and the nature of assessment, and questions the value and integrity of assessing reflective practice at all

Experiencing Creation: Correlations Between Meditative Forest Experiences and Mental Health

Graduate Textual or Investigativ

The Immune System: the ultimate fractionated cyber-physical system

In this little vision paper we analyze the human immune system from a computer science point of view with the aim of understanding the architecture and features that allow robust, effective behavior to emerge from local sensing and actions. We then recall the notion of fractionated cyber-physical systems, and compare and contrast this to the immune system. We conclude with some challenges.Comment: In Proceedings Festschrift for Dave Schmidt, arXiv:1309.455

Legislative Influences on Performance-Based Budgeting Reform - Brief

Using data from several surveys of the states as well as a survey of Georgia state legislators, this report examines the role of legislators in the implementation of performance-based management and budgeting reforms. FRC Brief 12