Building Research Capacity of Future Teachers: A Canadian Case Study

Since their first day in school, in-service teachers are expected to act professionally, make good judgments, think critically, and problem-solve effectively. The literature suggests that engaging pre-service teachers in research can help them to develop several key skills. In this paper, we present the outcomes from a year and a half long mixed-methods case study that was conducted in two phases (i.e., a pilot and a follow-up study) with two groups of pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher education programme in a Canadian mid-size university. The purpose of this research was to examine how an in-course research component might have shaped the perceived research capacity of the pre-service teachers and their disposition toward teacher research. The participants reported that the research component had improved their inquiry, reflective, critical thinking, and research-related skills. We conclude by discussing the study outcomes and proposing a set of recommendations for theory and practice

Pedagogy for mobile learning using videoconferencing technology

The objective of this paper is to describe the pedagogical and related organizational approaches implemented for mobile learning utilized between a school board and its partnered institutions: Faculties of Education and research institutes. While the two learning events described here were intended to provide mobile ICT-enabled and collaborative learning opportunities for students, the research component of the project was designed to explore the adoption of video-conferencing technology and other collaborative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) amongst educators. The objective was to evaluate, from the educators’ perspectives, the benefits and obstacles associated with the use of emerging technologies within daily, classroom pedagogy. In order to do so, the authors have chosen two learning events that are very different in terms of their targeted populations, organizational complexity, and pedagogical goals. These learning events were also reflected upon by three in-service teachers from the school board (participants in one of the events), as well as five pre-service teachers, from one of the partner universities, who were observers of the events. A qualitative data analysis process revealed that these two groups have respectively realist and idealist views on ICT integration within schools. The authors concluded that ICT-enabled learning is best adopted through lived experiences and that those may be used to initiate and maintain paradigmatic transition between the various stages of learning on the teacher development continuum (idealist/realist & realistic-idealist), a process by which teachers become inspired users and promoters of innovative tools for mobile ICT learning in the class-room

Reaching across narrative space: Re-interpreting one teacher’s experience with technology

In this paper, the authors investigate one teacher’s utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by drawing context from two of his life-stories: one that he interprets as “ruin” and the other “success.” Methodologically grounded in narrative inquiry, this paper contains excerpts from the teacher’s authentic narratives and their interpretation from the point of information systems research, known as the social process model. The findings emphasize that with the dialogic involvement of educational researchers, it is possible to reach a deeper understanding of the events that influenced the teacher’s experience with technology. Such synergistic alliances amongst educational researchers and teachers are key for detecting and overcoming the linguistic and operational barriers that exist between ICT theorists and practitioners

Shifting from Ideal to Critical Multiculturalism in Canadian Teacher Education Programs: Examining the Challenges

This paper describes a recent initiative designed to provide support for teacher candidates from culturally diverse backgrounds as they traverse a one-year teacher education program in Canada. Results and discussion are based on qualitative data from an information survey, student-professor conversations, a review of seminar documents and processes, and observations and reflections made by professors conducting the seminar. Overall, the Language and Cultural Engagement Seminar was successful in providing a supportive environment in which complicated and politically volatile issues, which would otherwise have remained unacknowledged, were discussed openly. The main concerns expressed by participants were the communication concern (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, accent, etc.), concern for power and authority in the classroom, and the socio-cultural acceptance concern. Power and communication concerns diminished when teacher candidates felt a level of cultural acceptance in the classroom; therefore, we propose that socio-cultural acceptance be investigated in future research into the concern construct. Since differential pronunciation had the effect of positioning teacher candidates on the periphery of classroom discourse, we concluded that acceptance of accent diversity (lack thereof) was one barrier between ideal (policy) and experienced (lived) multi-cultures. Cet article décrit une initiative récente désignée à procurer un soutien aux étudiants-maîtres provenant de divers milieux socio-culturels pendant l\u27année de leur formation au Canada. Les résultats et les discussions sont basés sur les données qualitatives obtenues d\u27une surveillance de renseignements, des conversations entre professeurs et étudiants, une revision des documents et processus obtenus pendant un colloque et des observations et réflexions faites par les professeurs conduisant ce colloque. En général le colloque Language and Cultural Engagement Seminar a réussi à offrir un mileu positif dans lequel des problèmes compliqués ou explosifs, qui auraient pu passer inapperçus, avaient été discutés franchement. Les principales inquiétudes citées par les participants sont: l\u27inquiétude sur la communication (grammaire, vocabulaire, prononciation, accent, etc.), l\u27inquiétude concernant l\u27autorité et le pouvoir en classe. et l\u27inquiétude de n\u27être pas acceptés à cause de leurs antécédents socio-culturels. Mais les inquiétudes sur le pouvoir et la communication sont diminuées quand les étudiants-maîtres sentaient qu\u27ils atteignaient un certain niveau d\u27acceptation culturelle en classe. Nous proposons que l\u27acceptation socio-culturelle deviendra un sujet de recherche plus poussé dans l\u27avenir. Comme la prononciation différentielle avait l\u27effet de placer les instituteurs aux périphéries du discours en classe, nous avions conclu que l\u27acceptation des accents divers (ou le manque de) est une barrière entre l\u27idéal (politique) et l\u27expérience (vécue) d\u27un milieu à cultures multiples

Erectile dysfunction as a predictor of two-year prognosis in acute myocardial infarction

  Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a predictor or marker of coronary artery disease in patients at high risk of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of ED in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and after 2 years of follow-up, and to determine the association between ED and the concentrations of the markers of inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress which were measured on the third day after hospital admission. Methods: The study included 80 patients aged 62.25 ± 10.47 years. The primary endpoints of interest were re-hospitalization due to cardiovascular causes and death during the 2 year period after hospital­ization. The Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) was assessed at the point of hospital discharge and 24 months thereafter. Results: 40.1% of patients had some degree of ED. The percentage of patients without ED increased (13.2%), while the percentage of patients with severe ED significantly decreased (14.7%) after 2 years. Patients with ED had significantly higher B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels and decreased levels of nitric-oxide. During the 2 years of follow-up, 9 patients died (6.5% without ED, 68.6% with ED) (c2 = 7.19, p = 0.015). During the same time period, 22 (27.5%) patients were re-hospitalized due to cardiovascular causes, of whom 59.1% had ED at hospital admission (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Low levels of nitric-oxide were the best predictors of ED during AMI and after 2 years. ED predicted the worst outcomes of AMI: death and re-hospitalization. Lifestyle changes and nitric- -oxide donors could assist in the treatment of ED and in the improvement of long-term prognosis for AMI. (Cardiol J 2017; 24, 4: 393–402

A shared cabin in the woods: The presence and presents of writing in residential academic writing retreats

In this paper, we investigated a model of academic development based upon a recurring residential academic writing retreat combining individual writing times, workshops, work-in-progress groups and one-on-one consultations with shared meals and informal gatherings in a natural environment. Using a case study research approach, we analysed data accumulated from seven annual residential writing retreats for education scholars. Participants included 39 academics, administrative staff, senior doctoral students and community partners from multiple institutions. We found evidence that the retreats enhanced participants’ knowledge of writing and publishing processes, advanced their academic careers, built scholarly capacity at their institutions and strengthened writing pedagogy. The data indicated that the presence of writing and writers at the residential academic writing retreats generated presents (i.e., gifts) for the participants. The presence of writing time, writing goals and writing activities in the company of other writers were key to the retreat pedagogy. Participants appreciated gifts of time and physical space and described giving and receiving peer feedback and emotional support as forms of gift exchange within the community. The resulting writing strategies, competencies and identities provided the gift of sustainability. The analysis confirmed that this ongoing, immersive, cross-institutional, cross-rank, institutionally funded model of academic development was effective and responsive to the needs of individual scholars.Dean’s Office, Faculty of Education, Brock University; Research Leadership Grant, University of Windso

ATTITUDE TOWARDS ONESELF AND OTHERS IN NON-CLINICAL POPULATION, DEPRESSED AND PARANOID EXAMINEES

Background: The theoretical concept of existential/life positions describes person’s basic beliefs about oneself and others. Most of authors on TA postulated that every person has one of four possible basic life positions: I’m OK, you’re OK; I’m not OK, you’re OK; I’m OK, you’re not OK and I’m not OK, you’re not OK. The aim of this study was the authentication of Existential positions as theoretical concepts in Transaction Analysis, and it’s potential to discriminate clinical from non-clinical examinees, and paranoid from depressive examinees within the clinical population. Subjects and methods: The research conducted was co-relational. The sample belongs to the convenience sample type, and comprised 200 examinees, 100 from the non-clinical and 100 from the clinical population of adults. Results: The results of the research confirm a statistically significant difference between the non-clinical and clinical part of the sample in the examined theoretical concept. The “I am not OK” existential position is more expressed in the clinical part of the sample. The differences between the examinees with depressive and paranoid disorders indicate that the examinees with the depressive disorder are more likely to express the “I am not OK, you are OK” and “I am not OK, you are not OK” Existential position. Conclusion: In general, we can infer that the assumptions which the research was aimed at testing received partial validation. Examinees from the clinical part of the sample have a statistically significantly higher score at the position “I am not OK”. Examinees with depressive characteristics have a more pronounced “I am not OK, you are not OK” position

Regional differences among female patients with heart failure from the Cardiac Insufficiency BIsoprolol Study in ELDerly (CIBIS-ELD)

Background: The aim of our study was to examine regional differences in the demographics, etiology, risk factors, comorbidities and treatment of female patients with heart failure (HF) in the Cardiac Insufficiency BI soprolol Study in ELDerly (CIBIS-ELD) clinical trial.Methods and results: One hundred and fifty-nine female patients from Germany and 169 from Southeastern (SE) Europe (Serbia, Slovenia and Montenegro) were included in this subanalysis of the CIBIS-ELD trial. Women comprised 54% of the study population in Germany and 29% in SE Europe. German patients were significantly older. The leading cause of HF was arterial hypertension in German patients, 71.7% of whom had a preserved ejection fraction. The leading etiology in SE Europe was the coronary artery disease; 67.6% of these patients had a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (34.64 ± 7.75%). No significant differences were found in the prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors between the two regions (hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, smoking and family history of myocardial infarction). Depression, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and malignancies were the comorbidities that were noted more frequently in the German patients, while the patients from SE Europe had a lower glomerular filtration rate. Compared with the German HF patients, the females in SE Europe received significantly more angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, loop diuretics and less frequently angiotensin receptor blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists.Conclusions: Significant regional differences were noted in the etiology, comorbidities and treatment of female patients with HF despite similar risk factors. Such differences should be considered in the design and implementation of future clinical trials, especially as women remain underrepresented in large trial populations.

Using Grounded Theory to Extend Existing PCK Framework at the Secondary Level

This paper addresses two critical issues in mathematics education, the need: (a) to understand the nature of educator’s subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge; and (b) to find ways to measure them. It stems from a mixed-methods study designed to inspect the secondary mathematics teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) related to the area of a trapezoid, a common topic in intermediate/secondary school classes. Based on the provided exemplars of student work, in-service teachers were invited to propose possible ways for addressing perceived difficulties of students and provide extensions. Using a Grounded Theory approach, we identified themes in our data and incorporated them with existing conceptualizations of knowledge for teaching secondary level mathematics, and developed rubrics that allow discriminating different levels of teachers’ PCK. In this paper, we describe the process of developing the rubrics, and propose ways to: (a) extend the existing frameworks for PCK in/for teaching mathematics at the secondary level; and (b) measure multiple facets of PCK in order to design technology-based professional development for mathematics teachers