Service Learning and Teacher Education: Mapping the Territory

Since the mid-1980\u27s there has been a renewed interest in progressive approaches to the education of intending teachers1. In the context of this progressive teacher education activity, several distinct, but related, ideas converge and become the theoretical base for teacher education practices involving (community) service learning.2 Among these ideas are renewed interest in authentic field experiences, multicultural education, child advocacy, democratic education, social justice, school reform efforts, autobiography and teacher thinking, and an emphasis on community service in K-12 education. In addition, teacher educators increasingly recognize the gap between the backgrounds of those who intend to teach and those whom these new teachers will teach. In other words, teacher educators are concerned that preservice teachers in their programs are predominately white, middle class, women while many teaching positions are in either urban or rural areas working with minority children or children living in poverty. Most teacher educators who write about their work with service learning cite some combination of these ideas and concerns as reasons for their work

Influence of mollusk species on marine DELTA R determinations

Radiocarbon ages were measured on replicate samples of burnt grain and 5 mollusk species collected from a single sealed layer at an archaeological site (Hornish Point) on the west coast of South Uist, Scotland. The aim was to examine the impact of using different mollusk species on ΔR determinations that are calculated using the paired terrestrial/marine sample approach. The mollusk species examined inhabit a range of environments and utilize a variety of food sources within the intertidal zone. Several authors have suggested that these factors may be responsible for observed variations in the 14C activity of mollusk shells that were contemporaneous in a single location. This study found no significant variation in the <sup>14</sup>C ages of the mollusk species, and consequently, no significant variation in calculated values of ΔR. The implication is that in an area where there are no carboniferous rocks or significant local inputs of freshwater to the surface ocean, any of a range of marine mollusk species can be used in combination with short-lived terrestrial material from the same secure archaeological context to accurately determine a ΔR value for a particular geographic location and period in time

Toward a Theory of Thematic Curricula: Constructing New Learning Environments for Teachers & Learners

A theory of thematic curriculum emerged during the development of a unit on pets, entitled Pets & Me. The unit was designed through a school/university partnership for children pre-school to grade 5. Analysis of data collected during the unit\u27s development and field tests supports a dynamic view of curriculum that challenges policy makers to rethink policies that begin from a view of curriculum as a static list of facts to be learned or topics to be mastered. Reflection on the project led to the differentiation of three distinct constructs: (1) facts and information, (2) topics, and (3) themes. Each of these three constructs plays a different role in children\u27s learning. Facts focus on basic information and narrowly defined ideas understood as discrete items. Topics provide a context for facts and information, and present a way of organizing discrete bits of information into classes of experience recognizable by scholars within traditional disciplines. Themes defined as broad existential questions, transcend disciplines, allowing learners to integrate the information and the topic within the full range of human experience. All three are important elements of thematic curriculum

Ethics Conflicts in Rural Communities: Recognizing and Disclosing Medical Errors

This chapter explores the ethical responsibility of health care providers to administer safe clinical care. It further explores the challenges that such providers can experience in recognizing, reporting, and disclosing medical errors. Medical errors can cause serious harm (to the patient, provider and institution or clinic) and can prove to be expensive, stressful, time-consuming, and personally devastating. While rural health care providers frequently underscore their desire to provide safe care, they also report that it is very difficult to develop and implement strategies that reduce the risk of making errors. Studies show that there is limited agreement among health care providers when defining, reporting, disclosing, or resolving error. Providers who wish to actively pursue strategies that heighten safety may become inhibited by this lack of agreement. This chapter presents findings from empirical ethics studies involving rural participants from 14 states. These studies shed light on the ethics issues surrounding medical errors that occur in physicians’ offices and hospitals. The two case examples that this chapter presents reflect both the experiences of rural health care providers, and the complexities that can accompany the search for ethically-attuned processes for error disclosure and resolution

Ethics-A Bridge for Communities and Scientists: A Curriculum for Community Outreach and Education

The Ethics - A Bridge for Communities and Scientists (E-ABCs) project was conducted in the community of Libby, Montana where it examined the ethical, legal, and social implications of asbestos contamination. The project was designed to explore how an awareness of ethics can support and enrich community dialogue and inform decision-making. During the six year funding cycle for this project, a number of efforts were undertaken in order to provide resources for Libby residents who have diverse and changing needs and interests. The lessons learned from these efforts are reflected throughout the website and are summarized in the manual entitled, Ethics - A Bridge for Communities and Scientists: A Curriculum for Community Outreach and Education

Trading Places: What the Research Participant Can Tell the Investigator About Informed Consent

The issues discussed in this article emerged from a study that explored the decision-making processes used by research participants when deciding to participate in human subjects’ research. We discuss the current research and regulatory environment and its influences on participant decision-making. The results of this study create a framework for understanding the challenges of the current informed consent process and offers insights into what may be needed to create an environment that allows research participants to make more enlightened decisions