Quand Argo argotise. Sur Svevo

Le meilleur compagnon de l'homme, voilà comment le chien apparaît en littérature. En tant qu'êtres pleinement conscients, ils savent parler le langage des humains. Toutefois, afin d'obtenir une fiabilité totale sur ce que son chien, Argo, lui communique au sujet de l'espèce animale en général, le narrateur de Svevo apprend avec succès le langage des chiens. Svevo était fasciné par le darwinisme. Dans sa propre lecture quelque peu originale des vues du naturaliste sur l'évolution humaine, Svevo développe l'hypothèse selon laquelle la survie de l'homme, être menu et vulnérable qui décide contre toute raison de marcher debout et d'ainsi s'exposer, n'a été possible que comme esclave d'un animal plus puissant, capable de le protéger, le mammouth. Or, c'est exactement cela que lui révèle le témoignage direct d'Argo sur le monde animal. Argo, l'animal, n'est pas moins égoïste et hypocrite que l'être humain primitif évoluant à l'ombre du mammouth. Et en dépit de toute sa perfection évolutive, l'être humain lui-même n'a pas changé, comme Svevo se plaît à illustrer abondamment au travers de ses personnages, Zénon en tête.A man's best friend, that is how dogs appear in literature. As such, they are conscious beings and they can speak. But in order to have a more trustworthy source of information on what his dog, Argo, can tell him on the animal species in general, Svevo's narrator learns the dog's own language. Svevo was indeed fascinated by darwinism. In his own unusual reading of the naturalist's view on human evolution, Svevo hypothesizes the existence of man – a small and highly vulnerable being that decides against all odds to walk upright – as a slave to a much more powerful animal who can protect him, the mammouth. And Argo's direct testimony from the animal world reveals just that. Argo, the animal, is just as selfish and hypocrite as the primitive human being carrying on in the shadow of the mammouth. And for all his evolutionist perfection, the human being itself has not changed, as Svevo abundantly illustrates through his literary characters, Zeno in the first place

The curious case of cases:An inquiry into the effects of video upon teachers in training

How can the use of video contribute to the training of teachers? No day is the same in education. Every moment and every child call for a responsible approach from the teacher in each specific situation. To put it briefly, a complex profession that requires situated knowledge. This knowledge develops through the teacher’s mental activity, which is connected to the interactions between their body and the physical environment in which they act. Situated knowledge includes educational purposes and action patterns (design patterns). These purposes determine the design patterns used in learning situations. Little attention is paid to the situated aspect of professional knowledge, as shown by empirical research in second-degree teacher training. However, literature search shows that video cases are used in order to achieve both lower and higher learning objectives. This research demonstrates that the use of video cases contributes to a stronger development of situated knowledge in second-year teachers in training, reflected in the form of educational purposes, the pattern language ‘teaching’ and the design pattern ‘dealing with disorder’. Furthermore, four cases demonstrate that fourth-year teachers in training have acquired the situated knowledge that can be expected of them. According to these four studies, assignments based on video cases that focus on acquiring educational purposes and design patterns can contribute to the situated knowledge of teachers in training. At the end of their training, teachers in training are able to reflect on their actions, insights and identity, which contributes to their situated knowledge. Teacher trainers can optimize the acquisition of situated knowledge by using instruments discussed in this dissertation

Video Cases in Teacher Education: A review study on intended and achieved learning objectives by video cases

This literature review focuses on the use of video cases in the education of preservice teachers as a means of achieving higher order learning objectives that are necessary for gaining situated knowledge. An overview of both intended and achieved learning objectives in relevant studies involving the use of video cases is provided, which shows that video cases are indeed being used with the intention of achieving learning objectives. However, the number of achieved lower learning objectives is slightly higher than the number of achieved higher learning objectives. Further research is needed to explore how video cases can be fit into the curriculum to achieve the highest possible yields in terms of learning objectives, particularly since the difference between intended and achieved learning objectives gives rise to the assumption that educators are still searching for ways to achieve higher order learning objectives

Visualising the Development of a Teacher-In-Training into a Beginning Expert

Teachers use situated knowledge to deal with the complex and diffuse educational contexts they operate in. To be able to take deliberated action, based on the situated knowledge, reflection is necessary during the teacher training. Video cases with common, real world situations are suitable for reflection because of their holistic and diffuse character. Reflection concerns learning experiences with increasing complexity: single-loop (reflecting on a current action), double-loop (reflecting to gain new insights) and triple-loop (reflecting in order to adjust individual identity) learning. The knowledge gained from loop learning is of a situated nature. The current article operationalizes situated knowledge as educational purposes and design patterns; educational purposes determine which course of action (design pattern), is the best option. Using this distinction, we investigate whether the reflection done by fourth-year teachers in training corresponds to what can be expected of a starting expert, namely, reflection on all three levels. The results indicate that three out of four teachers in training can be characterized as starting experts, based on their responses to a video case. They experience learning on all three loop levels, and these experiences contribute to a variety of educational purposes and design patterns. It is the teacher trainers’ challenge to have their students reflects using video cases, so they can use loop-learning to build their situated knowledge. This knowledge will allow them to adequately respond to the complex and diffuse situations in their educational practice

Developmental delay in Rett syndrome: data from the natural history study

Background: Early development appears normal in Rett syndrome (OMIM #312750) and may be more apparent than real. A major purpose of the Rett Syndrome (RTT) Natural History Study (NHS) was to examine achievement of developmental skills or abilities in classic and atypical RTT and assess phenotype-genotype relations in classic RTT. Methods: Developmental skills in four realms, gross and fine motor, and receptive and expressive communication from initial enrollment and longitudinal assessments for up to 7 years, were assessed from 542 females meeting criteria for classic RTT and 96 females with atypical RTT divided into two groups: 50 with better and 46 with poorer functional scores. Data were analyzed for age at acquisition and loss of developmental features and for phenotype-genotype effects. Acquired, lost, and retained skills were compared between classic RTT and atypical RTT with better or poorer functional scores using Fisher's Exact test. To examine if the mean total score from the Motor Behavioral Assessment during follow-up differed for acquiring a skill, we used a generalized estimating equation assuming compound symmetry correlation structure within a subject. A general linear model was used to examine whether the mean age of acquisition or loss of a developmental skill differed by mutation type. P values <0.05 were considered significant and were two-sided without adjustment for multiple testing. Statistical analyses utilized SAS 9.3 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). Results: Early developmental skills or abilities were often acquired albeit later than normal. More complex motor and communication acquisitions were delayed or absent. Clinical severity was less in those achieving the respective skill. Individuals with R133C, R294X, and R306C point mutations and 3′ truncations tended to have better developmental outcomes. Conclusions: Early developmental skills were acquired by many, but clear differences from normal emerged, particularly in skills expected after age 6 months. When comparing clinical severity, greater acquisition of specific skills was associated with specific mutations, confirming the impression that these mutations confer milder developmental abnormalities. These data may serve for planning and interpretation of early intervention studies in RTT. Trial registration This NHS study, clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00296764), represents the largest group of RTT participants assessed repeatedly by direct examination