Using Progressive Pedagogies to Enhance Learner Autonomy

In this presentation I firstly review different approaches and methods that have been used to teaching English. Based on these approaches and methods, our understanding of how students learn their second language has been greatly enhanced. However, students in the 21st Century have more demands and needs than previously and we now have to use more progressive pedagogies to teach them. Some features of a progressive pedagogical approach are: learners are active participants; teachers are facilitators and guides; there is shared decision-making by the group; learning is seen as part of real-life experiences; and learning is conceptualized as a spiral where knowledge is constructed through experience and social interaction (Peters, 2012). This type of pedagogical approach is student-centred and lends itself to the promotion of learner autonomy. By way of an example I will talk about a university level English for Science course I have been involved in developing and teaching over the past five years. Keywords: Progressive pedagogies, learner autonomy, project learning

A picture is worth a thousand words: The perplexing problem of indexing images

Indexing images has always been problematic due to their richness of content and innate subjectivity. Three traditional approaches to indexing images are described and analyzed. An introduction of the contemporary use of social tagging is presented along with its limitations. Traditional practices can continue to be used as a stand-alone solution, however deficiencies limit retrieval. A collaborative technique is supported by current research and a model created by the authors for its inception is explored. CONTENTdm® is used as an example to illustrate tools that can help facilitate this process. Another potential solution discussed is the expansion of algorithms used in computer extraction to include the input and influence of human indexer intelligence. Further research is recommended in each area to discern the most effective method

The Library and the Campus Visit: Communicating Value to Prospective Students and Parents

Successful undergraduate admission and recruitment efforts are vital to every university. A strong student body improves the quality of academic programs and the prestige of the institution. Since most colleges depend heavily on tuition revenue, good recruitment ensures that the university has enough funding for services and staff. How does the academic library contribute tostudent enrollment? Is the library a factor in a student’s college choice? This paper will suggest best practices for library involvement in recruitment and enrollment and how these efforts not only help the university but further the goals of the library and demonstrate its value in higher education

Polyvagal Theory Improves Dental Desensitization Programs for Children With Intellectual Disability

Children with intellectual disabilities (ID) often avoid or escape dental procedures. Dental professionals typically resort to restraints, sedation or general anesthesia, which are dangerous, alter results and may increase future problem behaviors. Desensitization programs can increase patient compliance. The Polyvagal theory, proposed by Stephen Porges, focuses on the prevention of biological setting events such as stress responses. The purpose of our research is to determine if a Polyvagal intervention would improve cooperation with dental procedures for individuals with a diagnosis of ID. The participants for this study were two children with a diagnosis of ID and Autism Spectrum Disorder and their Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) instructor. Pilot data indicated high escape behavior for both participants. Procedure: A desensitization program was modified with a task analysis with forward chain presentation to facilitate child compliance. The instructor was trained in therapeutic presence and assessed with a therapeutic inventory. Through direct observation, the researcher rated the instructor using a Likert-like scale. All observations yielded high rates of therapeutic performance in adherence with Polyvagal theory. Current data illustrates an increasing trend in patient compliance for both subjects, indicating the effective value of integrating Polyvagal therapy techniques into dental desensitization programs. Future data collection and research is needed to assess skill maintenance over time and generalization of dental toleration across settings

Managing self-access language learning: principles and practice

This paper is based on a research project looking at the management of self-access language learning (SALL) from the perspective of the managers of self-access centres. It looks at the factors which influence the practice of seven managers of self-access language learning in tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. The discussion centres around five themes: how managers interpret key concepts within the field of learner autonomy and self-access learning, the managers' beliefs about self-access language learning and the factors which influenced them, the purpose of a self-access centre, and the factors which influence the implementation of self-access learning. Our conclusion is that managing self-access language learning is a complex process and unique to each context but there are underlying principles for effective management of SALL. We identify five of these principles. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.postprin

Temperature Tolerance In Crustaceans: Critical Temperatures And The Heart

At certain upper and lower threshold temperatures (critical temperatures (Tc) crustaceans switch to anaerobic metabolism despite sufficient oxygen availability in the environment. I tested the hypothesis that failure of the heart at critical temperatures leads to insufficient oxygen delivery and subsequent anaerobiosis in peripheral tissues. I exposed rock crabs, Cancer irroratus, as whole animals, and their buffer-perfused semi-isolated hearts to a progressive temperature increase, while monitoring heart rate and lactate accumulation. The whole animals heart rate increased with temperature following a Q10 of 2.8. An abrupt decline in heart rate occurred at 25°C and lactate accumulation occurred between 25°C and 30°C. The semi-isolated hearts followed a Q10 of only 1.2 during temperature increase. A second set of semi-isolated hearts were perfused and paced at a heart rate comparable to the whole animals at each temperature. The lactate concentration in the paced semi-isolated hearts did not significantly increase. AMPK activity and HSP70 levels were measured to investigate cellular changes occurring at Tc. Preliminary data suggests they are not good indicating parameters of Tc for isolated hearts. I conclude that the whole animal’s Tc is 5°C lower than that of the heart muscle. Therefore, the onset of anaerobiosis in the peripheral tissues is not due to failure of the heart muscle. The processes within the whole animal that lead to anaerobiosis are set by other organ systems

Large-amplitude, short-wave peristalsis and its implications for transport

Valveless, tubular pumps are widespread in the animal kingdom, but the mechanism by which these pumps generate fluid flow is often in dispute. Where the pumping mechanism of many organs was once described as peristalsis, other mechanisms, such as dynamic suction pumping, have been suggested as possible alternative mechanisms. Peristalsis is often evaluated using criteria established in a technical definition for mechanical pumps, but this definition is based on a small-amplitude, long-wave approximation which biological pumps often violate. In this study, we use a direct numerical simulation of large-amplitude, short-wave peristalsis to investigate the relationships between fluid flow, compression frequency, compression wave speed, and tube occlusion. We also explore how the flows produced differ from the criteria outlined in the technical definition of peristalsis. We find that many of the technical criteria are violated by our model: Fluid flow speeds produced by peristalsis are greater than the speeds of the compression wave; fluid flow is pulsatile; and flow speed have a nonlinear relationship with compression frequency when compression wave speed is held constant. We suggest that the technical definition is inappropriate for evaluating peristalsis as a pumping mechanism for biological pumps because they too frequently violate the assumptions inherent in these criteria. Instead, we recommend that a simpler, more inclusive definition be used for assessing peristalsis as a pumping mechanism based on the presence of non-stationary compression sites that propagate unidirectionally along a tube without the need for a structurally fixed flow direction