The brain is so we can listen and see the colour of the dress: The ideas four year old children have about the inside of our bodies

The paper explores what kind of ideas four year old children have about their body; that is, the location, structure and function of bones and certain organs. Twenty pre-school children were chosen to take part in the research. They were asked to make two drawings each, one of the bones and one of the organs. The children were interviewed about the functions of the bones and organs. The children were also given a cracker and a glass of water and asked to describe the way the food goes from mouth and onwards. The results show that most of the children draw bones as lines throughout the body. The heart and the brain are the first organs they know and they also know that the food we eat goes from the mouth and into the stomach but their understanding of what happens in and beyond the stomach is very vague

Envisioning new ways of knowing : toward a shared vision of multicultural teacher education through collective self-study

This research explores a cooperative self-study project that 14 university-based teacher educators at the University of Iceland participated in for two years. The study aimed to develop a dialogic space that would mobilize teachers’ diverse experiences and perspectives to build a framework for multicultural teacher education. The teacher educators engaged in self-study to understand in what ways (if any) dialogue could aid their understandings of how their cultural backgrounds influence their work as teacher educators. Specifically, teacher educators sought to understand how this dialogic space could allow them to problematize and rethink teacher education collectively. The data collected included focus group interviews, self-interviews, and audio-recordings of meetings. Artbased analysis methods via the co-construction of sculptures and poems were used to create a dialogic space (Freire, 1970) which helped teacher educators develop a shared agenda for collective transformation. Ultimately, this inquiry heightened participants’ awareness of the complex process of negotiating a shared platform beyond theoretical and disciplinary boundaries, one that could help them align and (re)commit themselves to educate teachers in ways that prioritize equity and justice (Zeichner, 2018; Kitchen et al., 2016).Edite

Challenges, contradictions and continuity in creating a five-year teacher education programme in Iceland

In 2008, new legislation was passed in Iceland on teacher education, requiring a master’s degree as a prerequisite for teaching certification for all school levels from preschools to upper secondary schools. In the same year the Iceland University of Education merged with the University of Iceland. This article maps the revision of the teacher education (TE) programme for compulsory school teaching at the University of Iceland from these extensive changes, 2008 until 2017. During this period, the University also dealt with the consequences of the economical downfall of 2008 and serious decline in attendance in the TE programme. The study is based on an analysis of various documents, including reports, memoranda, minutes, legislative documents, course catalogues, and a survey among graduated students. We discuss the challenges that arose in creating a high-quality TE programme for a too small group of students, contradictions that were encountered when trying to bring together different and often contradicting interests of stakeholders, and the continuity of previous practices and trends.Peer Reviewe

Students (ages 6, 10, and 15 years) in six countries knowledge of animals

This article considers the knowledge students (ages 6, 10, and 15 years) have of animals from a cross-cultural perspective. Students from six countries (Brazil, England, Finland, Iceland, Portugal, and the United States of America) were asked to free-list as many animals as possible and state where they had seen or learned about the animals. The results were analyzed and they indicate that 1) Students are aware of animals. 2) Students are more aware of mammals as examples of animals. 3) There is a globally shared folk biological knowledge of animals. 4) Students learn about animals during socio-cultural interactions. The educational implications are discussed.CIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, UM (FCT R&D 317

Molekularne osnove šizofrenije

Šizofrenija je složeni neuropsihijatrijski poremećaj koji pogađa oko 1% populacije. Karakterizira ju prisutnost raznovrsnih i ozbiljnih simptoma koji se najčešće pojavljuju u ranoj odrasloj dobi, te narušavaju kvalitetu života pacijenata i njihovih obitelji. Unatoč dugotrajnom istraživanju neurobiološke osnove šizofrenije, jedinstvena patofiziologija bolesti i dalje nije definirana. S obzirom na slabo poznavanje temeljnih molekularnih mehanizama poremećaja, liječenje trenutno dostupnim antipsihoticima nije u potpunosti uspješno. Pronalazak novih pristupa i terapeutskih meta predstavlja krajnji cilj, no ujedno i značajan izazov znanstvenicima. Dosadašnja istraživanja i prikupljeni rezultati ukazuju na činjenicu da je šizofrenija nasljedna bolest, te da se javlja kao rezultat djelovanja više gena kandidata, od kojih svaki ima mali pojedinačni učinak koji pridonosi podložnosti bolesti. Postoji opća suglasnost da različiti biološki, okolišni i psihosocijalni utjecaji, koji se nakupljaju tijekom života, mogu štetno djelovati na genetski podložnije pojedince te dovesti do razvoja psihičkog poremećaja. Istraživanja na životinjskim modelima ukazala su da značajnu ulogu u određivanju ishoda međudjelovanja gena i okoliša ima spol te precizan odabir pravog trenutka za izlaganje različitim utjecajima. Posljednjih godina pridaje se poseban značaj istraživanju epigenetike koja posreduje u složenom međudjelovanju okoliša i gena koje dovodi do pojave šizofrenije. Također, razvoj visokoprotočnih metoda analize poput genomike i proteomike, koje se koriste za globalnu karakterizaciju i kvantifikaciju bioloških molekula, predstavlja određenu revoluciju u molekularnoj neuropatologiji šizofrenije. Kako ove metode pružaju mogućnost razumijevanja uloge molekularnih puteva i međudjelovanja gena, a ne samo pojedinačnih gena kandidata, smatraju se obećavajućim alatom koji bi mogao omogućiti razumijevanje biokemijskih sustava uključenih u patofiziologiju šizofrenije. U ovom radu prikazana su dosadašnja saznanja o šizofreniji, te opisane buduće smjernice u istraživanjima molekularne genetike šizofrenije. Detaljno su proučena brojna istraživanja i prikupljeni podaci kako bi se pružio uvid u najznačajnija otkrića koja bi mogla konačno razjasniti patofiziologiju bolesti, te pridonijeti pronalasku novih terapija za liječenje šizofrenije. Kao vrlo uspješna metoda pokazalo se korištenje integriranih pristupa u kojima se povezuje ono najbolje iz različitih studija, a vjeruje se da tehnologija matičnih stanica predstavlja jedan od perspektivnijih budućih terapeutskih pristupa ovoj teškoj bolesti.SUMMARY Schizophrenia is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder that affects about 1% of the world population. It is characterized by the presence of various and serious symptoms, that mostly appear in early adulthood and lead to deterioration of the life quality of patients and their families. Despite many efforts to understand the neurobiological basis of schizophrenia, the unique pathophysiology of the disorder is still not defined. Given the poor insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms of the disorder, the treatment, using currently available antipsychotics, is not completely successful. Finding new approaches and therapeutic targets is the ultimate aim, which is a significant challenge for scientists. Clinical studies and the collected data indicate that schizophrenia is a largely hereditary disease which depends on multiple candidate genes, each of which contributes with a small individual effect to the susceptibility of the disease. There is a general agreement that different biological, environmental and psychosocial impacts, which accumulate throughout life, may adversely affect genetically susceptible individuals and lead to the development of a mental disorder. Animal model research has shown that gender and choice of the right moment for exposure to different influences have a significant role in determining the outcome of gene and environment interaction. In recent years, special importance has been given to the epigenetic research that has the linking role and mediates the complex interaction between the environmental factors and genes leading to schizophrenia. Also, the development of high-throughput methods such as genomics and proteomics, used for global characterization and quantification of biological molecules, represent a revolution in the research of the molecular neuropathology of schizophrenia. Taking into account the fact that these methods provide an opportunity to understand not only the individual candidate genes but also the role of molecular pathways and the interaction of genes, they are considered to be a promising tool in enabling us to understand the biochemical systems involved in pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In this work the present data related to molecular genetics of schizophrenia have been collected, as well as future guidance in this field of research. Numerous studies and data have been explored in order to provide insight into the most important findings that could serve to finally understand the pathophysiology of the disease, hopefully leading to the development of the new therapies for schizophrenia. The integrated approach, which combine the best of numerous different studies, is considered to be very promising, as well as stem cell technology, that is considered to be one of the most prospective research approaches for the development of the future new therapeutic approaches

Á sömu leið : útikennsla á tveimur skólastigum

Ráðstefnurit NetluÍ greininni er sagt frá útikennsluverkefnum sem unnin voru í leikskólanum Rauðhóli og grunnskólanum Norðlingaskóla í Reykjavík í tengslum við starfendarannsóknina Á sömu leið. Megintilgangur þeirrar rannsóknar er að stuðla að samstarfi kennara í leik- og grunnskólum, auka tengsl skólastiganna og skapa samfellu í námi ungra barna. Ákveðið var að nota sameiginlegt útisvæði skólanna, Björnslund, til að mynda þessa samfellu milli náms barnanna í leikskólanum og grunnskólanum með sérstakri áherslu á útikennslu. Verkefnið fólst aðallega í að læra um náttúruna í Björnslundi. Meginmarkmið útikennsluverkefnanna var að leita leiða til að vekja at-hygli og áhuga barnanna á náttúrunni. Fimm kennarar tóku þátt í að þróa starfshætti með þessi markmið í huga. Útikennsluverkefnin höfðuðu vel til barnanna og þau komu með hugmyndir að áframhaldandi verkefnum og útfærslum. Í verkefnunum tókst að mynda góða samfellu milli skólastiganna að mati kennarana og þeir sáu margar leiðir til að þróa þau frekar.The paper outlines outdoor educational tasks that were used in the preschool Rauðhóll and the elementary school Norðlingaskóli in Reykjavík in connection with the action research Sharing paths. The main purpose of that research is to advance teachers collaboration in preschool and elementary school, increase interrelation between the school levels and form a continuum in young children’s learning. It was decided to use a shared outdoor area, Björnslundur, to build this continuum in children’s learning with specific emphasis on outdoor education. The project dealt with learning about nature in Björnslundur. The aim was to develop approaches to awaken children’s attention and interest in nature. Five teachers participated in developing teaching approaches with these objectives in mind. The outdoor educational tasks appealed to the children and they came up with ideas of further projects and implementation. According to the teachers the tasks built a good continuum between the school levels and they saw many ways to develop them further

Nám og kennsla á yngsta stigi grunnskóla : einstaklingsmiðun og nýting á námsumhverfi

Í greininni er sagt frá rannsókn á námsumhverfi á yngsta stigi grunnskóla með hliðsjón af námi og kennslu í anda stefnumörkunar um einstaklingsmiðað nám. Fjallað er um námsumh verfi í skólastofum á yngsta stigi og hvernig það er frábrugðið námsumhverfi á eldri stigum grunnskólans. Reynt er að greina hvernig kennsluhættir tengjast skipulagi ytra umhverfis í skólastofunni, uppröðun borða,tækjum og búnaði. Rannsóknin er hluti af stærra verkefni sem kallast Starfshættir í grunnskólum. Þar var aflað gagna í 20 grunnskólum með vettvangsathugunum, spurningalistum og viðtölum. Í þessum hluta var einungis unnið úr vettvangsathugunum. Niðurstöður leiddu í ljós að umhverfi ískólastofum 1.– 4. bekkjar ígrunnskólunum 20 var með öðrum hætti en í eldri árgöngum, stofurnar voru líflegri, borðum var frekar raðað þannig að börnin sátu í hópum og horfðu hvert á annað og algengara var að sjá kennara vinna saman og deila með sér ábyrgð. Einnig kom í ljós að minna var um beina kennslu á yngsta stigi en á eldri stigum og meira um umræður í bekknum sem heild. Ekki virtist vera mikill munur á umhverfi milli ára á yngsta stigi. Enn virðist vera nokkuð í það að markmið um einstaklingsmiðað nám náist þó að greina megi vísbendingar um að þróun í þá átt sé lengra komin á yngsta stigi en öðrum aldursstigum

Heimur barnanna, heimur dýranna

Ráðstefnurit NetluÍ þessari grein er greint frá niðurstöðum rannsóknar á því hversu kunnug börn og unglingar eru dýrum. Rannsóknin var framkvæmd í tveimur grunnsskólum á höfuð-borgarsvæðinu og einum á landsbyggðinni. Nemendur voru beðnir um að nefna dýr sem komu fyrst upp í hugann og spurðir hvort þeir þekktu algeng dýr. Einnig áttu þeir að segja hvaðan þekking þeirra væri komin. Niðurstöður sýndu m.a. að þekking nemenda virðist brotakennd og hugtakanotkun á reiki. Spendýr eru hin eiginlegu dýr í augum flestra nemenda. Vitneskja þeirra virðist helst fengin úr bók-um, heimsóknum í dýragarða, heiman frá, úr náttúrunni sjálfri eða sjónvarpi. Fáir nemendur muna eftir því að hafa lært um dýr í skólanum eða af netinu. Niðurstöður sýna að rík ástæða sé fyrir því að hafa áhyggjur af þverrandi tengslum barna og unglinga við náttúruna. Hlutur skóla í að auka vitund nemenda um hið náttúrulega umhverfi þarf að verða meiri.The paper explores results from a study on children’s and teenagers’ knowledge about animals. The study was undertaken in two compulsory schools in Reykjavík and one in a rural village. The pupils were asked about their knowledge of animals and where their knowledge came from. The results from the three schools show that the pupils’ knowledge is fragmentary and their use of concepts is often vague. They view mammals as animals but are unsure what insects are. Their knowledge seemed mostly to come from books, visits to zoos and farms, homes, TV or nature. Very few pupils remembered learning about animals in school and even fewer named the Internet as the source of knowledge. The results suggest that there is reason for concern about children’s knowledge about animals and how they relate to nature. The role of school education in this context needs to be improved

Children’s ideas about the human body – A Nordic case study

This paper explores the findings of a study of the ideas young school children in the Nordic countries have about the human body e.g. structure and location of bones and organs (heart, lungs, stomach and brain etc.) before being taught about it formally at school. The aims of the study were to investigate children’s ideas about the human body and to see if their ideas differ between Nordic countries and if so, in what way. Twenty 6 year old children in each country were chosen (7–8 year olds in Finland) and asked to draw the bones and the organs in the body and to explain their drawings. Mixed methods were used in this study to get a broader view of the double aim of the study. Special scales were used to get a quantitative view of children’s ideas as put forward in their drawings and the study also had some elements of a case study as it was meant to focus on children’s ideas about a special issue, that is, the human body. The results show many similarities between the children’s ideas presented in the drawings and also interesting differences. The results also suggest that the culture aspects in each country such as cooking habits, typical foods, pictures in books and language expressions influence children’s ideas about bones and organs in the human body