The Level of Mathematical Competencies of Children Completing Pre-School Education in the Montessori System. A Research Perspective

The presented article discusses the issue of mathematical education in kindergartens that follow the Montessori education method. The basic assumptions of the educational system developed by M. Montessori have been discussed, with a special focus on mathematical education. The article presents the results of empirical research proving that children who complete their pre-school education in the Montessori system demonstrate a high level of mathematical competencies as indicated in the Core Curriculum for Pre-school Education. The best results obtained by the examined children related to such competencies as counting objects, discriminating between correct and faulty counting, determining if two sets are equal in number, using ordinal numerals and spatial orientation tasks, including telling left from right, determining directions and the position of objects. The tasks that proved the most difficult for all the examined children were those related to temporal orientation. The diagnosed high level of mathematical competencies of children completing their pre-school education leads to the optimistic conclusion that mathematical education based on the principles of the Montessori system ensures educational effectiveness.401131267Studia Edukacyjn

Dziecięca matematyka

W rozdziale tym przedstawiono tradycyjne metody kształtowania kompetencji matematycznych dzieci, takie jak metoda samodzielnych doświadczeń, kierowania aktywnością, zadań i ćwiczeń; metody oparte na pokazie, przykładzie, udostępnianiu sztuki, rozmowie, opowiadaniu, zagadce, objaśnieniu, instrukcji, wierszu i piosence, czy też metody żywego słowa. Omówiono także alternatywne strategie, takie jak: metody bazujące na koncepcji pedagogicznej Montessori, Froebla, Steinera, Domana czy Friedrich, de Galgóczy i Schindelhauer, a także Naglaka, Rokity i Rzepy. Pokazano również nowe, oparte na technologiach informacyjno-komunikacyjnych, przestrzenie aktywności matematycznych: środowisko rzeczywistości wirtualnej i cyberparków. Odniesiono się ponadto do uczniów ze specjalnymi potrzebami matematycznymi, którzy wymagają jeszcze innych metod pracy. W tym kontekście wyjaśniono różnice między takimi problemami z matematyką jak akalkulia, dyskalkulia czy specyficzne trudności matematyczne. Wreszcie ukazano to, jak rozpoznać w klasie uczniów uzdolnionych matematycznie, jak z nimi pracować oraz wyróżniono kompetencje zawodowe, które powinien posiadać nauczyciel takich uczniów. Rozdział kończy krótkie podsumowanie zachęcające do refleksji nad procesem nauczania matematyki

Tourism as a Way to Reduce Stress – Opinions of Professionally Active Persons

The intensity of stress in life is treated as the main factor differentiating mental wellbeing. The aim of the paper is to analyse opinions and behaviours concerning the choice of place and form of holiday trips in the context of stress reduction. The research was conducted in 2016 among 100 working adults. The method applied was the one of a diagnostic survey, with an authorial questionnaire. The results show that the desire of health improvement and a reduction of the negative influence of tension both have a significant influence on the choice of holiday destination. Over half of the respondents experience stress several times a week, or even every day. The main reason for nervous tension, pointed out by both men and women, is their work. The respondents confirmed experiencing numerous somatic symptoms of stress. The majority of the interlocutors perceive positive influence of a vacation on their mental condition. Expanding tourism offers towards improvement of the mental dimension of health may constitute an important element in promotion of pro-health lifestyle

Adapting Supported Employment for Emerging Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions

Effective services are needed to assist young people with serious mental health conditions to successfully transition to employment or education, especially among those with intensive adolescent mental health service utilization. To meet these needs, the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment was adapted and its feasibility was tested in a psychiatric treatment program for early-emerging adults. Participants were 17-20 years old (mean age = 18.5 years). Most were African American, under the custody of the state, with a primary mood disorder diagnosis. Adaptations to IPS included adding the following: near age peer mentors, a supported education component, and a career development focus. This open trial feasibility study tracked the model\u27s development, recruitment, and retention and tracked vocational and educational outcomes for 12 months. Model refinement resulted in the development of a separate educational specialist position, greater integration of the peer mentor with the vocational team, and further specification of the role of peer mentor. There was an 80% retention rate in the feasibility evaluation. Of the 35 participants, 49% started a job and/or enrolled in an education program over the 12-month period

Dziecięca matematyka

W rozdziale tym przedstawiono tradycyjne metody kształtowania kompetencji matematycznych dzieci, takie jak metoda samodzielnych doświadczeń, kierowania aktywnością, zadań i ćwiczeń; metody oparte na pokazie, przykładzie, udostępnianiu sztuki, rozmowie, opowiadaniu, zagadce, objaśnieniu, instrukcji, wierszu i piosence, czy też metody żywego słowa. Omówiono także alternatywne strategie, takie jak: metody bazujące na koncepcji pedagogicznej Montessori, Froebla, Steinera, Domana czy Friedrich, de Galgóczy i Schindelhauer, a także Naglaka, Rokity i Rzepy. Pokazano również nowe, oparte na technologiach informacyjno-komunikacyjnych, przestrzenie aktywności matematycznych: środowisko rzeczywistości wirtualnej i cyberparków. Odniesiono się ponadto do uczniów ze specjalnymi potrzebami matematycznymi, którzy wymagają jeszcze innych metod pracy. W tym kontekście wyjaśniono różnice między takimi problemami z matematyką jak akalkulia, dyskalkulia czy specyficzne trudności matematyczne. Wreszcie ukazano to, jak rozpoznać w klasie uczniów uzdolnionych matematycznie, jak z nimi pracować oraz wyróżniono kompetencje zawodowe, które powinien posiadać nauczyciel takich uczniów. Rozdział kończy krótkie podsumowanie zachęcające do refleksji nad procesem nauczania matematyki

Oral Rabies Vaccine Strain SPBN GASGAS: Genetic Stability after Serial In Vitro and In Vivo Passaging

Oral vaccination of wildlife has shown to be a very effective management tool in rabies control. Evaluation of the genetic stability of vaccine viruses before distributing vaccine baits in the environment is essential because all available oral rabies vaccines, including the genetically engineered rabies virus vaccine strain SPBN GASGAS (Rabitec), are based on replication-competent viruses. To evaluate the genetic stability of this vaccine strain, five serial passages of the Master Seed Virus (MSV) in the production cell line BHK21 Cl13 were performed. Furthermore, to test possible reversion to virulence, a back-passage study in suckling mouse brain (SMB) was performed. Subsequently, the pooled 5th SMB passage was inoculated intracerebrally (i.c.) in adult and suckling mice. The full genome sequences of the isolated 5th passage, in vivo and in vitro, were compared at both the consensus and the quasispecies level with the MSV. Additionally, the full genome sequence of the 6th SMB passage from the individual animals was determined and compared. Full-length integration of the double glycoprotein and modified base substitutions at amino acid position 194 and 333 of the glycoprotein could be verified in all 5th and 6th passage samples. Overall, 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in the 5th pooled SMB passage, 4 with frequency between 10 and 20%, and 7 with between 2.5 and 10%. SNPs that resulted in amino acid exchange were found in genes: N (one SNP), G (four SNPs), and L (three SNPs). However, none of these SNPs were associated with reversion to virulence since all adult mice inoculated i.c. with this material survived. In the individual samples of the 6th SMB passage 24 additional SNPs (>2.5%) were found, of which only 1 SNP (L-gene, position 6969) had a prevalence of >50% in 3 of 17 samples. The obtained results confirmed the stable expression of genetic modifications and the genetic stability of the consensus strain after serial in vivo and in vitro passaging

Perspectives of Young Emerging Adults With Serious Mental Health Conditions on Vocational Peer Mentors

For early emerging adults with serious mental health conditions, vocational services with peer mentors are a promising adaptation of adult system evidence-based practices. Peer mentors were added to the Individual Placement and Support model of supported employment for 17- to 20-year-olds receiving residential and psychiatric care. To explore the feasibility of vocational peer mentors, open-ended satisfaction surveys and the Working Alliance Inventory were administered to mentees at 12 months. Thematic analysis of surveys reveals the importance of peer mentor authenticity, flexibility, and being a graduate of the mental health program where vocational services were based. Valued relational processes include the act of talking in the community, feeling understood, and forming a bond with peer mentors. Mentees with positive peer mentoring experiences reported stronger working alliances. This study sheds light onto near-age mentoring relational processes for this population, which can inform future research of mentoring processes and intervention design

Deposition of a SiOx Film Showing Enhanced Surface Passivation

A new process for deposition of silicon oxide films with excellent passivation properties was developed using an atmospheric pressure plasma reactor. This process consists of fast deposition at room temperature of a SiCxOyHz film followed by a rapid thermal anneal in air (similar treatment to a contact firing step) to convert it to a dense inorganic SiOx material. The material formed using this process shows improved passivation compared to low pressure PECVD films. The firing process and more particularly the firing temperature appears to play a critical role in passivation performance, and an optimum temperature was identified. Capacitance-Voltage measurements on a MOS structure show that the oxide layer has a very low Dit value with fixed negative charges, which has not been reported before for thick silicon oxide. This uniqueness is attributed to measured over-stoichiometry in oxygen in the dense film owing to the presence of bulk silanols. These films were successfully incorporated in PERC solar cells with cells showing efficiencies up to 19.7%