Teacher Perception of a Brief Mindfulness-Based Curriculum and its Impact on the Development of Social Skills and Self-Regulation on a Preschool Classroom

Recent studies on mindfulness and its impact on children have found promising results, especially with social-emotional skill development. A majority of the research on mindfulness applied in educational setting tends to focus on elementary and high school students, and there is limited, but growing research that examines the impact of mindfulness among early childhood students. This current study explored the impact of a brief mindfulness-based curriculum on an intact preschool classroom. Specifically, this study examined if preschool teachers perceive mindfulness practices in the classroom to impact their students’ self-regulation skills and social skills and how likely they were to continue using mindful practices in their classroom. The results found no statistical difference in the preschool students’ self-regulation and social skills before and after the brief mindfulness intervention, however, the preschool teacher did find the mindfulness practices used in the brief mindfulness curriculum to improve certain areas of her preschoolers’ social skills and self-regulation. The preschool teacher’s responses to items on an intervention acceptability measure indicated that the brief mindfulness-based curriculum used in this intervention was beneficial, appropriate, and effective in enhancing preschool students’ self-regulation and social skills

Knowing One\u27s Place in the Post-Millennial, South African Novels of van Niekerk, Wicomb, and Matlwa

The literature of post-apartheid South Africa suggests that the atrocities of the past still linger and continue to shape the mentality of the nation. Grace and hope often mix with resentment, bitterness, and vexation in the pages of contemporary South African novels. Marlene van Niekerk\u27s The Way of the Women (2004), Zoë Wicomb\u27s Playing in the Light (2006), and Kopano Matlwa\u27s Spilt Milk (2010), each reflects on intersections of race, space, and gender as they occur in specific locations. These novels all unfold in South Africa, and involve highly particularized settings that conjure up specific moments from the country\u27s history; nevertheless, thematically these works resonate. Though written in distinct narrative styles, each novel addresses the convergence of race and geography that continues to impact present day South Africa. These narratives shift back and forth between the present and the past, and the multilayered texts each act as a palimpsest, as the replaying and revision of past events place different conceptions of the same stories on top of one another. Furthermore, I build on Rita Barnard\u27s phrase, knowing one\u27s place, to discuss these representations of apartheid, a system that made it virtually impossible to define one\u27s place in society with any sense of confidence. The authors criticize the Afrikaner myth of superiority and the instability of the National Party\u27s resulting policy, yet suggest that all South Africans, regardless of race, must accept personal responsibility for their past actions before true progress can be made. As a result, South Africa\u27s diverse population, a people supposedly defined by renewed sense of racial equality, remains unstable today

Knowing One\u27s Place in the Post-Millennial, South African Novels of van Niekerk, Wicomb, and Matlwa

The literature of post-apartheid South Africa suggests that the atrocities of the past still linger and continue to shape the mentality of the nation. Grace and hope often mix with resentment, bitterness, and vexation in the pages of contemporary South African novels. Marlene van Niekerk\u27s The Way of the Women (2004), Zoë Wicomb\u27s Playing in the Light (2006), and Kopano Matlwa\u27s Spilt Milk (2010), each reflects on intersections of race, space, and gender as they occur in specific locations. These novels all unfold in South Africa, and involve highly particularized settings that conjure up specific moments from the country\u27s history; nevertheless, thematically these works resonate. Though written in distinct narrative styles, each novel addresses the convergence of race and geography that continues to impact present day South Africa. These narratives shift back and forth between the present and the past, and the multilayered texts each act as a palimpsest, as the replaying and revision of past events place different conceptions of the same stories on top of one another. Furthermore, I build on Rita Barnard\u27s phrase, knowing one\u27s place, to discuss these representations of apartheid, a system that made it virtually impossible to define one\u27s place in society with any sense of confidence. The authors criticize the Afrikaner myth of superiority and the instability of the National Party\u27s resulting policy, yet suggest that all South Africans, regardless of race, must accept personal responsibility for their past actions before true progress can be made. As a result, South Africa\u27s diverse population, a people supposedly defined by renewed sense of racial equality, remains unstable today

Exploring Predicted Vs. Actual First to-Second Year Retention Rates: A Study of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Colleges

Retention of students is a critical area of much needed attention on nearly every college campus. It is important to students who want to succeed in college and beyond, to institutions that desire high efficiency and prestige, and increasingly to state and federal leaders. Retention of students in college affects a broad range of stakeholders, from the self-esteem and financial stability of students to the fiscal health, well-being and leadership of our country. Using Astin\u27s model of inputs-environment-outputs (1993) as a guide, this study seeks to understand institutional environmental factors that may impact the retention of students from their first-to-second year. Specifically, this study explores environmental factors present on three Evangelical Lutheran Colleges of America (ELCA) institutions with stronger than predicted first-to-second year retention rates. In a case study design, data were collected on three ELCA college campuses through interviews with faculty and administrators and focus groups with students. Analysis of website and recruitment materials and researcher observations also provide descriptions of the campus environment. Key findings include the importance of student-institution fit and the presence of a clear sense of community in which students are strongly engaged and connected in and out of the classroom. This study also confirms the complexity of student retention and the need for strong institutional focus on student success. Additionally, clear and on-going support from institutional leaders is important. Finally, continuous improvement and assessment of institutional initiatives aimed at student success are meaningful to achieving stronger than predicted retention rates

The Status of Phonics Instruction: Learning From the Teachers

Increasingly alarmed by instructional mandates more founded on journalistic rhetoric and popular opinion than on research findings or practitioner expertise, researchers gathered survey data from teachers to better understand the status of K–2 phonics instruction. Data demonstrate that the overwhelming majority of these K–2 teachers teach phonics, rely on a published curriculum, and teach phonics in systematic and explicit ways. These findings contradict media assertions that reading classrooms are largely devoid of phonics instruction and that teachers fail to include phonics as an important element of their reading instruction. Implications include calls for researchers to explore what teachers can share that helps us better understand what happens in the name of classroom phonics instruction and for decision makers to assume an informed stance before mandating instructional practices based on a narrow understanding of the needs of young readers and the teachers who support them

Contactless microwave sensors and their application in biological single use

In bioprocess technology, highly-sensitive robust sensors are required for operation in single use bioreactors (SUB) without direct contact to the fluid under analysis. Measuring the change of dielectric properties (permittivity and conductivity) at microwave frequencies allows the investigation of biological and chemical matter and processes, e.g., cell growth, cell metabolism and the concentration of large aqueous based molecules. This contribution describes a high frequency sensor that combines detection in macro- or microfluidic networks with quick and precise analysis. These kinds of sensors can be installed directly to the outer surface of the culture device (Figure 1) or can be clamped onto tubing (Figure 2). A clamped on sensor consists of a fluidic channel placed between a micro-strip line waveguide combined with resonant properties. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

How do albino fish hear?

Pigmentation disorders such as albinism are occasionally associated with hearing impairments in mammals. Therefore, we wanted to investigate whether such a phenomenon also exists in non-mammalian vertebrates. We measured the hearing abilities of normally pigmented and albinotic specimens of two catfish species, the European wels Silurus glanis (Siluridae) and the South American bronze catfish Corydoras aeneus (Callichthyidae). The non-invasive auditory evoked potential (AEP) recording technique was utilized to determine hearing thresholds at 10 frequencies from 0.05 to 5 kHz. Neither auditory sensitivity nor shape of AEP waveforms differed between normally pigmented and albinotic specimens at any frequency tested in both species. Silurus glanis and C. aeneus showed the best hearing between 0.3 and 1 kHz; the lowest thresholds were 78.4 dB at 0.5 kHz in S. glanis (pigmented), 75 dB at 1 kHz in S. glanis (albinotic), 77.6 dB at 0.5 kHz in C. aeneus (pigmented) and 76.9 dB at 1 kHz in C. aeneus (albinotic). This study indicates no association between albinism and hearing ability. Perhaps because of the lack of melanin in the fish inner ear, hearing in fishes is less likely to be affected by albinism than in mammals

Stimmungen des Todes und ihre Bestimmung. Theorie und Praxis im Dialog

Stimmungen des Todes scheinen einer Bestimmung zu widerstreben. Dennoch eignet ihnen eine Bestimmtheit, die über den Tod oft mehr preiszugeben vermag als das diskursive Wissen. Lassen sich Stimmungen des Todes bestimmen? Die Rede über Stimmungen ist meist abstrakt und allgemein, gekennzeichnet von diffuser Metaphorik. Doch sind Stimmungen etwas sehr Präzises. Oft genügt eine unmerkbare Nuance einer Geste, eines Tonfalls, in der Beleuchtung eines Raumes, um eine Stimmung umschlagen zu lassen. So lassen sich praktische Kompetenzen ausbilden, mit Stimmungen umzugehen, sie zu evozieren – auch, wenn es um ein so sensibles und schwer fassbares Phänomen wie den Tod geht. Der Band lässt in Interviews alltägliche Arbeit mit Todesstimmungen auf philosophische Theorie, künstlerischen Umgang auf abstrakte Durchdringung treffen