Transition in the Era of a Pandemic: An Exercise in Mindfulness

COVID-19 took over the world in March 2020 and overturned our practices, customs, and perspectives. It reminded us that how we relate to one another defines how we choose to build our community and our society. In our forced isolation and confinement, it became evident that we must remember to let go, slow down, and rely on each other to positively influence our future. In times of drastic change, exercising kindness to yourself and to those around you can help wade through challenges and make the best of them, one day at a time, one step at a time. This reflection explores how the transition to remote learning was lived by an instructor and her students of French at a liberal arts institution in the Midwest. It illustrates that as we live through life\u27s challenges, we find opportunities for personal and communal growth

Awakening Imagination: Glimpses of Ignatian Spirituality in Seventeenth-Century French Hagiographic Theatre

The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) propose an active method of exercising spirituality through meditation, prayer, and imaginative contemplation. Beyond mere spectators, Ignatian disciples are invited to become actors in the scene unfolding in their sensory imaginations, in what Barthes calls the “récit christique” (Barthes 1971, 10). In that sense, the Exercises possess a performative force. The implicit freedom inspired in the exercitant, the person who performs the Exercises, echoes the call to the imagination of the spectator of seventeenth-century French hagiographic drama. Exercises promulgated throughout the four weeks of the spiritual retreat are reflected in the development of the protagonists of some of these hagiographic plays. Our aim is to investigate how the spirit of the Exercises may be present in the conception of the hagiographic corpus. Specifically, we explore these plays for the presence of the suggestion of Ignatian spirituality and practices included in the Spiritual Exercises. Notably, we investigate the prevalence of repetition in Le Véritable Saint Genest (1647) by Jean Rotrou. We also draw attention to the ideas of spiritual and material detachment promulgated in the Exercises and address how they are expressed and lived out by hagiographic protagonists, specifically in Desfontaines’s Le Martyre de Saint Eustache (1643) and L’Illustre Olympie (1645). Finally, we address how a form analogous to imaginative contemplation may have inspired hagiographic spectators to supplement missing visual clues on stage and to become directors of their own internal and personal plays, much like the retreatant in the Exercises, with the ultimate purpose of transformation and a call to action in daily life

Changing Teachers’ Feedback Practices: A Workshop Challenge

Feedback can promote teacher-student relations and student academic involvement, performance and self-regulation. However, some research indicates that teachers do not always employ feedback effectively. There is a need to promote teachers’ appropriate use of feedback in the classroom. We describe a long-term workshop designed to enhance teachers’ knowledge and skills in the use of feedback strategies, and appreciation of the importance of feedback. Twelve teachers participated in the workshop. Observations as well as teacher reports indicate that participation in the sessions and the follow-up classroom application enhanced teacher involvement, knowledge, competencies and positive feelings in the use of feedback strategies. A workshop for teachers that has specific objectives on feedback strategies, is presented along a school year, and involves reflective sessions intertwined with classroom application work, can effectively promote participants’ involvement, knowledge and competencies in the use of feedback, as well as their outlook toward the importance of these strategies

Eu e eles: a construção da identidade em alunos do ensino básico

Partilhando a ideia que a identidade individual é um conceito que expressa caraterísticas singulares que se constroem e desenvolvem na acção de relacionamento com os outros, o domínio da identidade cruza-se com o da aprendizagem. Este estudo faz parte de um projeto investigação, cujo objetivo principal é compreender a relação entre a natureza do feedback do professor, a identidade do aluno e o comprometimento do aluno na escola. A finalidade deste trabalho foi a construção de um questionário. Pretendia-se compreender como os alunos do Ensino Básico vão construindo a sua identidade de aluno, partindo das questões: a) Como me vejo enquanto aluno?; b) Como os meus colegas me veem enquanto aluno?; c) Como os professores me vêem enquanto aluno? Alunos do 6º e 9º ano de escolaridade, entre os 10 e os 19 anos de idade, num total de 44, responderam a um questionário em formato de resposta aberta. Uma análise preliminar indica que os alunos têm imagens positivas e negativas de si mesmos enquanto alunos, verificando-se semelhanças entre as imagens que os alunos referem de si e as que consideram que os colegas e os professores têm deles enquanto alunos. Os alunos de 6º ano descrevem-se com um maior número de imagens, tanto positivas como negativas. Contudo, as imagens destes alunos são semelhantes às descritas pelos alunos de 9º ano. Estes resultados sugerem-nos que as imagens que os alunos vão construindo acerca das suas posições são estáveis

Escala de Perceção dos Alunos sobre o seu Envolvimento Comportamental Escolar:: Construção e Validação

This study presents the construction and validation of a scale evaluating student perceptions regarding theirbehavioral engagement in school. The questionnaire was administered to 1089 students attending the 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th grades (median age = 13 years) in Continental Portugal, from which two samples were randomly selected. One of the samples was submitted to exploratory factor analysis; the second sample was submitted to confirmatory factor analysis. Two dimensions emerged: involvement in academic work and class participation. The first scale presented acceptable internal consistency, and is useful and appropriate to evaluate students’ perceptions regarding their behavioral engagement in school. The second dimension requires further research and development.Este estudo descreve a construção e validação de uma escala que avalia a perceção dos alunos sobre o seu envolvimento comportamental escolar. Os questionários foram aplicados a 1089 alunos do 6 º, 7 º, 9 º e 10º anos de escolaridade (idade mediana = 13) em Portugal Continental, a partir dos quais foram extraídas duas subamostras aleatórias. Uma subamostra foi submetida a análise fatorial exploratória e a segunda, a uma análise fatorial confrmatória. Emergiram duas dimensões: envolvimento no trabalho acadêmico e participação na aula. A primeira escala revelou uma consistência interna aceitável, revelando-se útil e adequada para avaliar as percepções dos alunos sobre o seu envolvimento comportamental escolar. A segunda dimensão necessita de maior desenvolvimento em futuras investigações. Palavras-chave: estudantes, características dos estudantes, rendimento escolar, modelação de equações estruturai

Tissue-specific splicing factor gene expression signatures

The alternative splicing code that controls and coordinates the transcriptome in complex multicellular organisms remains poorly understood. It has long been argued that regulation of alternative splicing relies on combinatorial interactions between multiple proteins, and that tissue-specific splicing decisions most likely result from differences in the concentration and/or activity of these proteins. However, large-scale data to systematically address this issue have just recently started to become available. Here we show that splicing factor gene expression signatures can be identified that reflect cell type and tissue-specific patterns of alternative splicing. We used a computational approach to analyze microarray-based gene expression profiles of splicing factors from mouse, chimpanzee and human tissues. Our results show that brain and testis, the two tissues with highest levels of alternative splicing events, have the largest number of splicing factor genes that are most highly differentially expressed. We further identified SR protein kinases and small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle (snRNP) proteins among the splicing factor genes that are most highly differentially expressed in a particular tissue. These results indicate the power of generating signature-based predictions as an initial computational approach into a global view of tissue-specific alternative splicing regulation

Feedback na prática letiva: Uma oficina de formação de professores

El uso del feedback en el aula puede promover la calidad de las relaciones profesor-alumno, la participación académica y el rendimiento del alumnado, aunque los docentes no siempre lo usan de la mejor manera. En este artículo se describe el desarrollo y la evaluación de un curso diseñado para mejorar los conocimientos y capacidades de los docentes en el uso de estrategias de feedback , así como la valoración de las mismas. Doce profesores participaron en el curso. Historias y reflexiones del profesorado revelan que la participación en el curso potenció una mayor sensibilización y un uso más apropiado de las estrategias de feedback . Un curso de larga duración, que integre objetivos específicos relacionados con las estrategias de feedback y sesiones reflexivas intercaladas con el trabajo de aplicación en el aula, puede promover la participación, los conocimientos y las competencias de los participantes en el uso de dichas estrategias. También puede dar lugar a una mayor participación y aprendizaje por parte del alumnado del docente implicado

Escala de perceção dos alunos sobre a sua identificação escolar: Construção e validação

O presente estudo descreve o processo de construção e validação de uma escala que avalia a perceção dos alunos sobre a sua identificação escolar. Os questionários foram aplicados a uma amostra de 1089 alunos do 6 º, 7 º, 9 º e 10º anos de escolaridade (mediana da idade =13 anos) em Portugal continental, a partir da qual foram extraídas duas sub-amostras aleatórias, sem valores missing. Uma sub-amostra foi submetida a análise fatorial exploratória, sendo a segunda sub-amostra sujeita a uma análise fatorial confirmatória. Embora a literatura aponte para duas dimensões, estes procedimentos conduziram a uma estrutura tridimensional: (a) Valorização pessoal/intrínseca, α = .74; (b) Valorização no sentido prático/utilitarista, α = .74; e (c) Sentimentos de pertença e bem-estar, α = .78. As escalas revelam-se úteis e adequadas para avaliar as perceções dos alunos sobre a sua identificação escolar

An Integrated Measure of Student Perceptions of Feedback, Engagement and School Identification

AbstractTeacher feedback influences student learning, identity construction and trajectories. This study tests the measurement properties of a questionnaire designed to assess (a) student perceptions about teacher feedback; (b) student identification with school, and; (c) student engagement. 1089 students in grades 6 through 10 (mean age 13.4) participated in the study. Factor analyses yield dimensions of School Identification, Effective Feedback, Person-Centered Feedback, Engagement, and Social Acceptance. Internal consistency for principal dimensions varied between .77 and .89. The instrument is suitable for assessing student school identification, behavioral engagement, and perceptions of teacher feedback