Scaffolding social and emotional learning within ‘shared affective spaces’ to reduce bullying: A sociocultural perspective

A sociocultural perspective (Vygotsky, 1978) framed the qualitative study, to understand how to create 'shared affective spaces' as an enabling factor to scaffold within the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Social and emotional learning is conceptualised as a social concept, focusing on the collective knowledge of the peer group. The longitudinal study was conducted with thirty-one students 9-10 years of age in a composite Year 4/5 classroom. There were 17 students in the Year 5 cohort drawn from sixty students distributed across four similar classes to cope with volume of antisocial behaviour. The teacher/researcher implemented sociocultural strategies such as the weekly class meetings to scaffold students to make connections with their emotions and the impact of bullying behaviour on the perpetrators and victims. Rogoff's (1995) analytical planes frame the discussion of students' participation and the case study of Lindsay, a Year 5 student who was a bully. Lindsay's journey exemplifies the positive outcomes for teacher scaffolding of understandings about making friends and prosocial behaviour to reduce bullying, using holistic classroom practices that made explicit the affective aspects of learning. Future research is required to develop teachers' expertise in understanding the scaffolding process to enlist students' emotions as an enabling factor

Scaffolding social and emotional learning in an elementary classroom community: A sociocultural perspective

This qualitative study examines the social practices of two elementary classrooms to elucidate scaffolding students’ social and emotional learning through values education. The conceptual model is based on Vygotsky's (1978) sociocultural theory and the related notions of zone of proximal development (ZPD) and assisted learning. Rogoff's (1995) community, interpersonal and personal planes frame the data analysis. In the findings the teacher/researcher examines social practices that promoted a student centred approach to developing participative decision making and collaborative skills. This research contributes to understanding the critical role of emotions and relationships, where primacy is given to the affective dimensions of learning. More research is needed to develop teachers' expertise to address student's social and emotional needs though scaffolding within the ZPD

The other side of teacher motivation

Purpose This paper examines motivation of four teachers to develop aspects of their instructional practice in an Australian primary school. Perspectives Framed within a sociocultural perspective that positions motivation as social in nature, the paper explores the complex relationships between the social world and the world of the individual (Walker, 2010). Method One teacher developed a collaborative classroom in 2004 using a range of strategies (such as social circle, class agreements, weekly class meeting) to engage students in decision-making about their learning (MacCallum & Morcom, 2008; Morcom & MacCallum, 2009). This paper is based on the teacher’s implementation of a collaborative classroom in a second primary school in 2007, and her subsequent mentoring of three colleagues (two experienced and one second-year teacher) to introduce more interactive elements into their classroom practice. The classes of two teachers included students who had been taught by the teacher mentor in previous years. The study was principally qualitative and data sources included interviews (with the teachers, students and their parents), reflective journals of the teachers and researcher, and classroom observation. Transcripts of dialogue and interview responses were examined for motivation concepts, such as interest, self-efficacy, self-competence and value (Murphy & Alexander, 2000; Watt & Richardson, 2007), and documented in relation to the contexts in which they emerged and changed over time. Rogoff’s (1995, 2003) three planes (personal, interpersonal and community) were used as an interpretative framework. Rogoff (1995) maintains it is incomplete to consider “the relationship of individual development and social interaction without concern for the cultural activity in which personal and interpersonal actions take place” (p. 141). Thus in this kind of analysis, each plane in turn is fore-grounded with the other planes in the background allowing consideration of the contributions from individuals, their social partners, and historical traditions and materials. Thus teacher interactions with each other, with students, parents and colleagues are important at the interpersonal plane, and school and wider educational issues at the community plane. Results The first teacher was interested, self-efficacious and confident to develop her practice, and her motivation was supported by the changing outcomes she observed in the students in the class. While acknowledging the conflicting messages about her instructional approach from the school system and research findings, school principal, some parents and colleagues, she was able to sustain her motivation to continually develop her practice. The three teachers whom she mentored struggled to change aspects of their practice. They were interested in doing so for the benefit of their students and valued the approach modelled, but had difficulty maintaining self-efficacy as they negotiated the expectations of the principal and parents. The paper explores each teacher’s action in turn. The teachers’ motivation to develop their practice in particular ways cannot be explained fully by considering the individuals or the context alone. Significance By using a sociocultural perspective and examining the motivation of more experienced teachers as they act to change their practice, this study contributes to our understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of teacher motivation

A theoretical study of the structural phases of Group 5B - 6B metals and their transport properties

In order to predict the stable and metastable phases of the bcc metals in the block of the Periodic Table defined by groups 5B to 6B and periods 4 to 6, as well as the structure dependence of their transport properties, we have performed full potential computations of the total energies per unit cell as a function of the c/a ratio at constant experimental volume. In all cases, a metastable body centered tetragonal (bct) phase was predicted from the calculations. The total energy differences between the calculated stable and metastable phases ranged from 0.09 eV/cell (vanadium) to 0.39 eV/cell (tungsten). The trends in resistivity as a function of structure and atomic number are discussed in terms of a model of electron transport in metals. Theoretical calculations of the electrical resistivity and other transport properties show that bct phases derived from group 5B elements are more conductive than the corresponding bcc phases, while bct phases formed from group 6B elements are less conductive than the corresponding bcc phases. Special attention is paid to the phases of tantalum where we show that the frequently observed beta phase is not a simple tetragonal distortion of bcc tantalum

Learning to be Waste Wise

The Learning to be Waste Wise Activity Guide is a series of curriculum-linked activity packs written for the Waste Wise Schools Program. Each booklet covers a different topic including a general introduction to waste, the ‘3Rs’ (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle), ‘Worms’ and ‘Compost’. The activities are designed to complement the school’s ongoing waste minimisation projects, and to support learning at every stage of a school’s Waste Wise journey. In turn, Waste Wise projects provide real life context to curriculum outcomes while directly involving students in their own learning. By reinforcing Waste Wise principles through the curriculum in an engaging and practical way, teachers will find it easier to incorporate waste reduction practices in their school. In addition, the involvement of students and the modelling of positive behaviours, reinforces the environmental principles and curriculum outcomes. The activities are designed to be fun; to promote life-long learning; to empower and enable students, teachers and the rest of the school community to take responsibility for their waste minimisation actions; to develop positive environmental values and to promote long-term behaviour change

Aging, working memory capacity and the proactive control of recollection:An event-related potential study

The present study investigated the role of working memory capacity (WMC) in the control of recollection in young and older adults. We used electroencephalographic event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the effects of age and of individual differences in WMC on the ability to prioritize recollection according to current goals. Targets in a recognition exclusion task were words encoded using two alternative decisions. The left parietal ERP old/new effect was used as an electrophysiological index of recollection, and the selectivity of recollection measured in terms of the difference in its magnitude according to whether recognized items were targets or non-targets. Young adults with higher WMC showed greater recollection selectivity than those with lower WMC, while older adults showed nonselective recollection which did not vary with WMC. The data suggest that aging impairs the ability to engage cognitive control effectively to prioritize what will be recollected

Electrophysiological Correlates of Strategic Monitoring in Event-Based and Time-Based Prospective Memory

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to accomplish an action when a particular event occurs (i.e., event-based PM), or at a specific time (i.e., time-based PM) while performing an ongoing activity. Strategic Monitoring is one of the basic cognitive functions supporting PM tasks, and involves two mechanisms: a retrieval mode, which consists of maintaining active the intention in memory; and target checking, engaged for verifying the presence of the PM cue in the environment. The present study is aimed at providing the first evidence of event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with time-based PM, and at examining differences and commonalities in the ERPs related to Strategic Monitoring mechanisms between event- and time-based PM tasks

No Banquet Can Do without Liquor: Alcohol counterfeiting in the People’s Republic of China

The illegal trade in alcohol has been an empirical manifestation of organised crime with a very long history; yet, the nature of the illegal trade in alcohol has received relatively limited academic attention in recent years despite the fact that it has been linked with significant tax evasion as well as serious health problems and even deaths. The current article focuses on a specific type associated with the illegal trade in alcohol, the counterfeiting of alcohol in China. The article pays particular attention to the counterfeiting of baijiu, Chinese liquor in mainland China. The aim of the article is to offer an account of the social organisation of alcohol counterfeiting business in China by illustrating the counterfeiting process, the actors in the business as well as its possible embeddedness in legal practices and industries/trades. The alcohol counterfeiting business is highly reflective to the market demand and consumer needs. Alcohol counterfeiting in China is characterised primarily by independent actors many of whom are subcontracted to provide commodities and services about the counterfeiting process. The business relies on personal networks – family and extended family members, friends and acquaintances. Relationships between actors in the business are very often based on a customer-supplier relationship or a ‘business-to-business market’. The alcohol counterfeiting business in China highlights the symbiotic relationship between illegal and legal businesses

Characterizing individual differences in functional connectivity using dual-regression and seed-based approaches

A central challenge for neuroscience lies in relating inter-individual variability to the functional properties of specific brain regions. Yet, considerable variability exists in the connectivity patterns between different brain areas, potentially producing reliable group differences. Using sex differences as a motivating example, we examined two separate resting-state datasets comprising a total of 188 human participants. Both datasets were decomposed into resting-state networks (RSNs) using a probabilistic spatial independent component analysis (ICA). We estimated voxel-wise functional connectivity with these networks using a dual-regression analysis, which characterizes the participant-level spatiotemporal dynamics of each network while controlling for (via multiple regression) the influence of other networks and sources of variability. We found that males and females exhibit distinct patterns of connectivity with multiple RSNs, including both visual and auditory networks and the right frontal–parietal network. These results replicated across both datasets and were not explained by differences in head motion, data quality, brain volume, cortisol levels, or testosterone levels. Importantly, we also demonstrate that dual-regression functional connectivity is better at detecting inter-individual variability than traditional seed-based functional connectivity approaches. Our findings characterize robust—yet frequently ignored—neural differences between males and females, pointing to the necessity of controlling for sex in neuroscience studies of individual differences. Moreover, our results highlight the importance of employing network-based models to study variability in functional connectivity