Undergraduates’ Perceptions of Ideal Learning Environments

Four hundred and fifty three undergraduate students were surveyed at one CCCU institution regarding perceptions of what “exists” and what they “value” related to university pedagogy, learning activities, assessments, and learning relationships. Researchers ranked students’ values and examined gaps in students’ perceptions of what students say exists at the university as compared to what they value. The highest ranked values primarily related to learning relationships, including “demonstrates Christian ethics in interactions with others” and “integrates Christian worldview in the teaching of course content.” The factor that most explained satisfaction with teaching practices was the “Methods Factor” and the single item that most explained student satisfaction with teaching practices was, “provides interesting lessons.

JUSTICE, SPIRITUALITY, AND EDUCATION: WORKING DEFINITIONS FROM SECULAR, JUDEO-CHRISTIAN, AND BIBLICALLY-BASED PERSPECTIVES

The issue of justice and social justice has been and still is a controversial topic in society today. A struggle exists both to define and to enact it. The same can be said of the concepts of spirituality and education. The concepts of justice, spirituality, and education intersect in community responsibility, the topic of this journal. A brief examination of the secular, Judeo- Christian, and Biblical definitions of the terms justice, spirituality, and education lends insight, not only into how communities compare and contrast one another in their working definitions of these terms, but also serves to identify commonalities and points of agreement between diverse perspectives which can serve as a platform for further dialogue. Furthermore, this paper hopes to bring about a deeper understanding of God and His desire for humankind, bringing into sharper focus how we ought to conduct ourselves as a community of grace, in a fallen world, as we equip the next generation

SPIRITUAL WARFARE IN THE PRE-K – 12 CLASSROOM : A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

The purpose of this study focuses on spiritual warfare as it relates to Christian educators in the PreK-12 classroom. Elements of spiritual warfare discussed in the literature review include: a three-fold model of spiritual warfare—worldly temptations, the human propensity towards sin, and Satanic influence (Arnold, 2011); a four-fold model of evil—the World Systems Model, the Flesh Model, the Ground-Level Deliverance Model, and the Strategic-Level Deliverance Model (Beilby & Eddy, 2012); and the history of spiritual warfare training. The questions examined in this paper are, “As a teacher, have you ever encountered spiritual warfare? What happened and how did you or others confront evil in this context?” This study is a subset of a larger study of 1,509 teachers in 38 countries on the “Spiritual Lives of Teachers” (Hetzel & Costillo, 2013). The subset examined includes 702 private PreK-12 teachers from 29 countries who responded to the spiritual warfare questions. Of the 702 participants, 598 or 85% indicated that they experienced spiritual warfare as a teacher. Narrative data indicates respondents experienced spiritual warfare through relational discord and lack of unity, demonic oppression, student misbehavior, and emotional disequilibrium. Spiritual warfare was described as daily and palpable in the classroom. When answering the question, “how did you or others confront evil in this context?” 49% of respondents exercised prayer and 11% Scripture as the primary defense against spiritual warfare. The results of this study indicate a critical need for teacher training as it relates to spiritual preparedness for the teaching profession

Malaria treatment in the retail sector: Knowledge and practices of drug sellers in rural Tanzania

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Throughout Africa, the private retail sector has been recognised as an important source of antimalarial treatment, complementing formal health services. However, the quality of advice and treatment at private outlets is a widespread concern, especially with the introduction of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). As a result, ACTs are often deployed exclusively through public health facilities, potentially leading to poorer access among parts of the population. This research aimed at assessing the performance of the retail sector in rural Tanzania. Such information is urgently required to improve and broaden delivery channels for life-saving drugs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>During a comprehensive shop census in the districts of Kilombero and Ulanga, Tanzania, we interviewed 489 shopkeepers about their knowledge of malaria and malaria treatment. A complementary mystery shoppers study was conducted in 118 retail outlets in order to assess the vendors' drug selling practices. Both studies included drug stores as well as general shops.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Shopkeepers in drug stores were able to name more malaria symptoms and were more knowledgeable about malaria treatment than their peers in general shops. In drug stores, 52% mentioned the correct child-dosage of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) compared to only 3% in general shops. In drug stores, mystery shoppers were more likely to receive an appropriate treatment (OR = 9.6), but at an approximately seven times higher price. Overall, adults were more often sold an antimalarial than children (OR = 11.3). On the other hand, general shopkeepers were often ready to refer especially children to a higher level if they felt unable to manage the case.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The quality of malaria case-management in the retail sector is not satisfactory. Drug stores should be supported and empowered to provide correct malaria-treatment with drugs they are allowed to dispense. At the same time, the role of general shops as first contact points for malaria patients needs to be re-considered. Interventions to improve availability of ACTs in the retail sector are urgently required within the given legal framework.</p

Obstacles to prompt and effective malaria treatment lead to low community-coverage in two rural districts of Tanzania

BACKGROUND\ud \ud Malaria is still a leading child killer in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, access to prompt and effective malaria treatment, a mainstay of any malaria control strategy, is sub-optimal in many settings. Little is known about obstacles to treatment and community-effectiveness of case-management strategies. This research quantified treatment seeking behaviour and access to treatment in a highly endemic rural Tanzanian community. The aim was to provide a better understanding of obstacles to treatment access in order to develop practical and cost-effective interventions.\ud \ud METHODS\ud \ud We conducted community-based treatment-seeking surveys including 226 recent fever episodes in 2004 and 2005. The local Demographic Surveillance System provided additional household information. A census of drug retailers and health facilities provided data on availability and location of treatment sources.\ud \ud RESULTS\ud \ud After intensive health education, the biomedical concept of malaria has largely been adopted by the community. 87.5% (78.2-93.8) of the fever cases in children and 80.7% (68.1-90.0) in adults were treated with one of the recommended antimalarials (at the time SP, amodiaquine or quinine). However, only 22.5% (13.9-33.2) of the children and 10.5% (4.0-21.5) of the adults received prompt and appropriate antimalarial treatment. Health facility attendance increased the odds of receiving an antimalarial (OR = 7.7) but did not have an influence on correct dosage. The exemption system for under-fives in public health facilities was not functioning and drug expenditures for children were as high in health facilities as with private retailers.\ud \ud CONCLUSION\ud \ud A clear preference for modern medicine was reflected in the frequent use of antimalarials. Yet, quality of case-management was far from satisfactory as was the functioning of the exemption mechanism for the main risk group. Private drug retailers played a central role by complementing existing formal health services in delivering antimalarial treatment. Health system factors like these need to be tackled urgently in order to translate the high efficacy of newly introduced artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) into equitable community-effectiveness and health-impact

Decreased availability of antimalarials in the private sector following the policy change from chloroquine to sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine in the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania

BACKGROUND: Malaria control strategies emphasize the need for prompt and effective treatment of malaria episodes. To increase treatment efficacy, Tanzania changed its first-line treatment from chloroquine to sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) in 2001. The effect of this policy change on the availability of antimalarials was studied in rural south-eastern Tanzania. METHODS: In 2001 and 2004, the study area was searched for commercial outlets selling drugs and their stocks were recorded. Household information was obtained from the local Demographic Surveillance System. RESULTS: From 2001 to 2004, the number of general shops stocking drugs increased by 15% and the number of drug stores nearly doubled. However, the proportion of general shops stocking antimalarials dropped markedly, resulting in an almost 50% decrease of antimalarial selling outlets. This led to more households being located farther from a treatment source. In 2004, five out of 25 studied villages with a total population of 13,506 (18%) had neither a health facility, nor a shop as source of malaria treatment. CONCLUSION: While the change to SP resulted in a higher treatment efficacy, it also led to a decreased antimalarial availability in the study area. Although there was no apparent impact on overall antimalarial use, the decline in access may have disproportionately affected the poorest and most remote groups. In view of the imminent policy change to artemisinin-based combination therapy these issues need to be addressed urgently if the benefits of this new class of antimalarials are to be extended to the whole population

Steps to writing success. Level 1, Writing sentences : 28 step-by-step writing project lesson plans

A comprehensive and step-by-step way to present lessons about the four writing domains-expressive, narrative, informative, and persuasive-to primary students. This book features easy-to-use rubrics, reproducibles, and writing templates to provide the structure young writers need for success.https://digitalcommons.biola.edu/faculty-books/1171/thumbnail.jp

Developing writing fluency : hundreds of motivational prompts

https://digitalcommons.biola.edu/faculty-books/1172/thumbnail.jp

The literacy gaps : bridge-building strategies for English language learners and standard English learners

This comprehensive, research-based guide helps teachers bridge multiple gaps and promote learning for English language learners (ELLs) and standard English learners (SELs). The authors provide strategies, examples, and tools to address: The gap between students and texts: covering word recognition, background knowledge, comprehension, and academic language development The gap between students and teachers: including sociocultural differences between teachers and students and teacher perceptions and expectations The gap between students and their peers: discussing language proficiency differences, grouping strategies, and grade-level and schoolwide programshttps://digitalcommons.biola.edu/faculty-books/1170/thumbnail.jp