Crowded Classroom Research Articles

Colonization Rate and Associated Factors of Non-Pathogenic Neisseria Species, and Moraxella catarrhalis Among Healthy School Children in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia.

Although commensal Neisseria species inhabiting mucosal surfaces in the upper respiratory tract (URT) are rarely associated with infections, their presence in the area has been linked to the development of immunity against N. meningitidis and the source of antibiotic resistance determinants in pathogenic species. M. catarrhalis in the oropharynx of children is also a predisposing factor for otitis media. As a result, determining the oropharyngeal carriage rate of these commensal species and associated factors among healthy schoolchildren is substantial. This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia, from January to April 2019. A multi-stage and simple random sampling technique were used to select schools and participants, respectively. A total of 524 oropharyngeal swabs were collected using cotton swabs. Modified Thayer-Martin media was used for primary bacterial isolation, and battery of biochemical tests was performed to identify species. For frequencies, descriptive statistics were computed and the logistic regression model was used to see the relationship between dependent and independent variables. A total of 524 healthy schoolchildren with a mean age of 12.2 ± 2.74 years participated in this study. The overall oropharyngeal carriage rate was 21.8% (114/524). Of these, N. meningitidis, N. lactamica, N. sicca, and M. catarrhalis were identified in 53 (46.5%), 14 (12.3%), 11 (9.6%), and 36 (31.6%) children, respectively. The culture positivity rate was higher at a younger age, which was 8.1%, 11.3%, and 14.9% in ages between 15-18, 11-14, and 7-10, respectively. The oropharyngeal carriage was significantly associated with the number of students per class (>40). There is a higher proportion of carriers of commensal N. lactamica and M. catarrhalis in Gondar town schoolchildren. The oropharyngeal carriage rate was associated with a crowded classroom. The characterization of non-pathogenic Neisseria species and M. catarrhalis in the study area can support the diagnosis of patients suspected of having N. meningitis infections.

Responses in left inferior frontal gyrus are altered for speech-in-noise processing, but not for clear speech in autism.

Autistic individuals often have difficulties with recognizing what another person is saying in noisy conditions such as in a crowded classroom or a restaurant. The underlying neural mechanisms of this speech perception difficulty are unclear. In typically developed individuals, three cerebral cortex regions are particularly related to speech-in-noise perception: the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the right insula, and the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Here, we tested whether responses in these cerebral cortex regions are altered in speech-in-noise perception in autism. Seventeen autistic adults and 17 typically developed controls (matched pairwise on age, sex, and IQ) performed an auditory-only speech recognition task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Speech was presented either with noise (noise condition) or without noise (no noise condition, i.e., clear speech). In the left IFG, blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) responses were higher in the control compared to the autism group for recognizing speech-in-noise compared to clear speech. For this contrast, both groups had similar response magnitudes in the right insula and left IPL. Additionally, we replicated previous findings that BOLD responses in speech-related and auditory brain regions (including bilateral superior temporal sulcus and Heschl's gyrus) for clear speech were similar in both groups and that voice identity recognition was impaired for clear and noisy speech in autism. Our findings show that in autism, the processing of speech is particularly reduced under noisy conditions in the left IFG-a dysfunction that might be important in explaining restricted speech comprehension in noisy environments.

A critical exploration of student teacher’s choice and use of representations in a challenging environment

The teaching and learning of mathematics in economically challenged environments is demanding. Thus, the teachers who teach in these contexts should have a sound pedagogical content knowledge to make a success of their teaching thereof. International community in mathematics education agrees that multiple representations play a pivotal role in making mathematics accessible to learners. However, the challenge might be the feasibility of such a use in African contexts where a student teacher learns to teach mathematics in a crowded classroom of learners (n=80) with significantly varied age differences (ages 9-15). Against this background, therefore the purpose of the study was to explore the choice and use of mathematical representations in a grade 4 class in Lesotho. Data was collected through lesson observations and reflection sessions. Knowledge quartet typology was used as a data analysis approach. The findings of the study indicate that the use of fake money in the lesson improved participation and helped to scaffold learners’ strategies of addition and subtraction. It is therefore recommended that the prospective teachers be equipped with skills to choose and use multiple representations.

Pre-school teachers’ knowledge and needs related to noticing gifted children and the enrichment model

The main purpose in the study was to determine the knowledge and needs of pre-school teachers related to gifted children and the enrichment model. The study employs one of the qualitative research methods. The study group of the current research is comprised of 30 pre-school teachers selected by using the snowball sampling method from different regions of Turkey which ensures maximum variation. The data of the study were collected through semi-structure interviews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers either face-to-face or online. The collected data were analysed inductively using the content analysis method in the NVivo 12 program. As a result of the analyses, it was found that the pre-school teachers' knowledge about noticing gifted children and enrichment practices are limited. In this study it is determined that pre-school teachers have sufficient knowledge and skills for noticing gifted children, taking into account the developmental characteristics of gifted children, but they do not take into account other features. It was concluded that the pre-school teachers' shortcomings that should be addressed in relation to noticing are lack of knowledge, the lack of information about different family structures and crowded classrooms. In addition, as a result of qualitative data analysis, it was found that the needs of the teachers are to get acquainted, support and guide children. Teachers also stated that their needs for enrichment practices are knowledge, equipment, less crowded classrooms, and financial support. According to the results of the research, it can be said that preschool teachers need information about identifying, supporting, and enriching gifted children.

Sınıf Öğretmenlerinin Kaynaştırma ve Kaynaştırma Öğrencilerine Matematik Öğretimi Yeterlikleri Üzerine Bir Araştırma

This study was aimed to examine primary teachers’ proficiencies on inclusion and teaching mathematics to inclusive students within the scope of some variables. Survey design was adopted in the research. The study group consists of 324 primary teachers. The data were collected through the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusion Scale and Teaching Mathematics in Inclusive Settings Scale. The Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used. As a result of the current study, it was determined that female teachers have more proficiencies on maths teaching in inclusion in terms of the gender variable. It was determined that primary teachers with a master's degree have more proficiencies in terms of proficiencies on inclusion and mathematics teaching in inclusion. It was determined that primary teachers who has fewer inclusive students in their class has higher proficiencies on inclusion and maths teaching in inclusion. It was determined that more experienced primary teachers have higher proficiencies on inclusion and maths teaching in inclusion. It was determined that the inclusion proficiencies of primary teachers teaching in the second, third and fourth grades and the proficiencies of teaching mathematics in inclusion were higher than those teaching in the first grade. It was determined that proficiencies of primary teachers who teach in less crowded classrooms on inclusion and maths teaching in inclusion.

An Intelligent and Data-driven Mobile Volunteer Event Management Platform using Machine Learning and Data Analytics

In Lewis and Clark High School’s Key Club, meetings are always held in a crowded classroom. The system of event sign-up is inefficient and hinders members from joining events. This has led to students becoming discouraged from joining Key Club and often resulted in a lack of volunteers for important events. The club needed a more efficient way of connecting volunteers with volunteering opportunities. To solve this problem, we developed a VolunteerMatch Mobile application using Dart and Flutter framework for Key Club to use. The next steps will be to add a volunteer event recommendation and matching feature, utilizing the results from the research on machine learning models and algorithms in this paper.

Behaviour detection in crowded classroom scenes via enhancing features robust to scale and perspective variations

Detecting human behaviours in images of crowded classroom scenes is a challenging task, due to the large variations of humans in scale and pose perspective. In this paper, two modules are proposed to tackle these two variations. First, an attention-based RoI (region-of-interest) extractor is designed to handle scale variation. Feature fusion and attention mechanism are used to improve the RoI feature with more local and global information. Second, a transformation-based detection head is introduced to handle perspective variation. The spatial transformation is adopted to extract consistent representation under various perspectives. Moreover, since there is a lack of proper datasets for human behaviour detection in classroom scenes, a new dataset is created, namely CLBD. The experiments on the proposed dataset demonstrate that the modules obtain significant improvements of performance over the state-of-the-art detectors.

Challenges on the Implementation of Free Education Policy in Tanzania: A Case of Public Primary Schools in Babati Town

The aim of the study was to analyze the challenges facing implementation of free education policy in Tanzania among selected Public Primary Schools in Babati Town. The study used descriptive research design by applying quantitative research approach. Teachers were selected using total population sampling. Since the study involved only 13 schools, it was easy to collect data from all 147 teachers. The data collection instruments were validated by expert judgement from University of Arusha Research Board. Moreover, a pilot study was done and the tool was revised accordingly. The data was coded in SPSS software and descriptive analysis was used to collect data. The first objective was about teaching based challenges faced by teachers under the current policy of free education at public primary schools. The overall finding shows the teaching based challenges have exponentially increased as seen in the shortage of classrooms, availability of large number of students in small classrooms and making it harder for teachers to facilitate crowded classrooms. The second objective was geared to describe management-based challenges faced by heads of schools under the current policy of free education. The overall findings show that head teachers worked in harder environments as compared to when the free education policy was not in operation. It is recommended that the government of Tanzania should increase education funding in order to make free education policy relevant. Also it is further recommended that the government should give clear explanation of what free education is all about in order to make parents be willing to support schools through material and moral support.

TEACHING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT READING THROUGH INDEX CARD MATCH (ICM) FOR THE SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS SMP NEGERI 2 BARAT

<p>The objective this research are to know the application of teaching descriptive text reading through Index Card Match (ICM) and the advantages and disadvantages of teaching descriptive text reading through Index Card Match (ICM) for the seventh grade students SMPN 2 Barat in the academic year 2014/2015.This research is conducted in SMP N 2 Barat by qualitative method. The sample is class VII A which consists of 22 students. The strategies of accumulating data are observation, interview, and documentation. The data analysis is carried out by the use of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification. The result of this research indicates that the activities are divided into three activities. There are pre-activities, whilst-activities and post-activities. Pre-activities are greeting, asking condition, giving motivation and mentioning the materials. Whilst-activities are explaining materials, explaining the instruction of ICM, and giving exercise of ICM. Then, post-activities are asking the difficulties, summarizing materials and closing. From the result of the data observation cheek list, the researcher makes the class interesting and the students always pay attention in teaching reading. The advantages using ICM are that: 1)Index Card Match (ICM) the students are able to read descriptive text faster in limited time, 2) Index card match (ICM) makes teaching learning process exciting, 3)Index card match makes the subject matter presented be more attractive for students, 4)Index Card Match can make students have self confidence, enjoy, have good enthusiasm in the teaching and learning. But disadvantages using ICM thatare the situation becomes crowded classroom, because students interact with classmates and Teachersshouldspend some more time. Finally, the researcher suggests to the teacher to apply ICM method in teaching learning process as an alternative method. For further researcher they can develop this method to get a better result in teaching and learning process.</p>

An Analysis of The Effects of Multimedia Teaching on Student Achievement

Multimedia settings can be defined as digital settings in which elements with visual, audio or visual-audio characteristics that appeal to individuals’ auditory and visual senses are presented in a combined way. Such settings are employed in numerous fields including movies, advertisements, tourism, commerce and education. The aim of the study is to analyse the effects of social studies education based on multimedia setting on students’ academic achievement. The study was designed using the explanatory sequential design which is part of the mixed method. The major finding of the study is that social studies teaching based on the multimedia setting had much more positive effects on student achievement than traditional teaching, but this effects was not statistically significant. The qualitative findings suggested that the reason for it is related to crowded classroom size, high levels of students’ academical readiness and noise in the classrooms. It is possible to conclude that teaching based on multimedia setting has much more positive effects on academic achievement in contrast to traditional teaching and it makes topics to be learned much more understandable and learning environment much more fun.

Bhutanese teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education

ABSTRACT Inclusive education is a relatively new educational concept in Bhutan. Teachers play a critical role in the successful implementation of educational change. Investigating teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion was conducted through an online survey. Respondents included 145 teachers (70 male and 75 female) from eight schools from across eight different districts in Bhutan, representing a return rate of 57%. Data were analysed using Rasch latent trait scaling techniques (Proquest) to determine the face validity of the survey. Case estimates from Rasch were incorporated into further analysis adopting the R statistical environment. Significant differences of attitude were detected based on gender (Pr(Chi) = 0.031); teacher qualifications (Pr(Chi) = 0.005); and experience of teaching children with special education needs (SEN) (Pr(Chi) = 0.018). The slightly positive attitude towards inclusion, measured by a 38-item questionnaire on a six-point scale, showed a mean average score of 3.965. Teachers’ satisfaction of teaching children with SEN was positive (73%). The study also revealed the need for safer playgrounds, accessible toilets, less crowded classrooms, and greater education for teachers and support staff. These findings inform future policies and advancement of inclusive education in Bhutanese schools.

No One Knows You’re a Dog

No One Knows You’re a Dog Ben Austen (bio) 1 On Facebook not too long ago, I saw that my sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Lanier, had died, and for an hour, maybe more, I read on as former classmates reminisced on the site. Mrs. Lanier had worn her hair — back in the 1980s, at least — in an immaculate caramel-tinted perm. A career Chicago Public Schools teacher, she was already in middle age by the time we had her. Birthmarks of dark dashes extended from her cheeks to her neck, like the trail on a treasure map. She had a voice honeyed by the South, and a manner that could be both stern and tender. She brought a welcome equanimity to our crowded classroom — a good thirty-five-plus kids. I mentioned her death to a childhood friend who had also been a student of hers. We were drinking outside, on my porch, on a summer night, bourbon until it ran out and then beers. My friend said he’d sort of blackmailed Mrs. Lanier: he told her he wouldn’t report to the principal that she’d graded very few of the class’s assignments if she didn’t burden him with homework [End Page 300] for the rest of the year. According to him, she took the deal. But I don’t trust my friend’s memory. Or it at least doesn’t eclipse my own. That’s the thing about competing recollections. The friend is now one of the country’s leading economists, and I choose to believe Mrs. Lanier played a part in that. Someone on the same Facebook thread posted our 1984 or ’85 class photo. This was a public school on Chicago’s South Side, in the Hyde Park neighborhood, a couple of blocks from the University of Chicago, where my father was a professor. As a class, we were mostly black, white, and some combination of the two that at the time was called “mixed.” I was one of three Jewish kids. The photo showed me wearing an untucked long-sleeve Polo and an expression as blank as a newly painted wall. On Facebook, a classmate pointed out that the boy standing in the row behind me to my left grew up and murdered his ex-girlfriend and her lover. Someone else mentioned the nut job who taught us in eighth grade. Mr. Leon, a white man with protruding eyes and shoots of hair jutting out above his collar, had burst into the classroom on day one and bellowed, “I’m not a racist, I hate everybody!” I guess in Chicago with its stark racial divides, we offered him the rare frontier to practice his democratic enmity. Mr. Leon claimed to possess the power to speed-read at a superhuman clip. That’s the picture that came back to me as I scrolled through the online discussion — the anger I felt as I watched his index finger swiping down the center of each page, a pantomime of grading our essays. He would have all thirty-five papers scored and stacked faster than you could make a sandwich. While I owed these memories to Facebook, I’d been late to join the site and remained a wary user. I wasn’t especially worried about the way Facebook was letting other companies have their way with my personal data, although I know I should have been. Mrs. Lanier’s death was still a couple of years before political [End Page 301] misinformation and hate speech suffused the platform, but I edged away even then from what I thought of as the fakeness of its news, its superficiality — experiences jotted as if in a diary but for all to see, relationships restored and maintained with so little effort, let alone actual human contact. It mattered, too, that I wasn’t much good at the social aspect of the medium. I lack an exclamation mark personality. I’m not fanciful enough to assume an identity online that is a bolder, brighter version of myself. So what I did on Face-book was hedge. I adopted a personal terms of use agreement that no one else...

The significance of writing skills in ell environment

Language is a medium of communication and people use a language to convey their views, opinions, thoughts, ideas, reactions, emotions and passions. People carry out their communication in order to fulfill their everyday needs. Language plays a vital role in sharing people's ideas and feelings with others. Human beings are different from animals because of their oral and written communication skills. So, language has become an important tool of communication for human beings to convey their messages to others. Therefore, there is a need for the human beings to learn the language skills. In learning English also, the learners have to acquire all the four basic skills of it. Moreover, the English language learners (ELLs) have to concentrate more on these four skills, viz., listening, speaking, reading and writing. Writing is considered the most difficult skill among these for the learners because of the complexity of the English language. In English language learning (ELL) environment, the learners find it difficult to produce well when they are given certain tasks in writing. There are several reasons why students have lack of written communication skills and some among them are the use of old-fashioned methods by the teachers, lack of proper motivation, large crowded classrooms, lack of facilities and learners’ attitude towards learning. The teachers of English have to study the problems of their ELLs and try to change their methods of teaching so that the learners can improve their writing skills. Moreover, the teachers have to focus on the innovative techniques of teaching writing so that the learners will follow them in order to develop their writing skills in English. Hence, the teachers should involve the ELLs in pair work or group work to develop their writing skills by embracing the latest techniques. This paper sheds a light on the significance of writing skills in ELL environment. First of all, this paper explains the importance of language skills, especially, the skills involved in learning English. Then, it mainly focuses on writing skills which are the most difficult skills for the ELLs to acquire. Later, it also emphasizes both the classification and the role of writing. Furthermore, this paper stresses on the influence of the internet on writing skills. This paper also unfolds the facts of accessing the ELL's writing skills. This paper also elaborates the role of teachers in developing the learners’ writing skills in ELL environment. Finally, some useful suggestions are given to both teachers and learners to make the writing skills a grand success in the ELL environment.

Diagnosing the barriers for integrating Educational Technology in Physics courses in Lebanese secondary schools

This paper investigates the barriers affecting the success implementation of ICT in the Lebanese secondary physics classes. It is realistic based study adopted the descriptive quantitative method to collect data by attitude test survey from 94 Lebanese secondary schools from different Lebanese districts.
 The results indicated that the ICT implementation in physics courses was not attained. Physics teachers must improve their ICT skills. Moreover, the low technology periods per week and revealing curriculum content, inflexibility of the curriculum to ICT implementation, insufficient existence of computer labs, lack financial support, insufficient training, inadequate technical support, unavailability of internet connectivity and the crowded class rooms were main barriers that prevent the implementation of ICT.

Validation of an Instrument Designed to Measure the Academic Writing and Reading Abilities of Students in the Field of Education

Hindrance of Maintaining Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) at Saudi Colleges in Tohama Dr. Mona M. Hamad Abstract People Learn languages for communicative purpose. Educators always look for best methods and approaches for teaching languages that help to achieve their goal. Limitation of traditional approaches caused the born of Communicative Language Teaching. “CLT” is regarded one of the most effective approach to L2, David Nunan said: “CLT is an attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom.”Yalden (1983) discussed six Communicative Language Teaching "CLT "designs, however, it is not approved as an effective practiced formal instruction in education This study aimed at finding the hindrance of maintaining communicative language approaches in teaching English language at Saudi colleges in the Tohama. 17 lectures were observed for instructors who teach in English department, and computer science department at Muhayil College, and 100 questionnaire papers were distributed to the students from 7th& 8th level of English department in the same college, 83 papers were returned and analyzed using the descriptive, analytical research method, SPSS is used to find out these hindrances by examining the following hypotheses. The findings are: A. Lectures observation showed 75% of English department sections and 62% of computer science department sections consist of more than 50 students, most instructors are using the direct methods and teacher – centered. B. The questionnaire results are, 1. Sections consist of more than 50 students 2. The communicative language teaching “CLT” is not formally practiced 3.Technology is not used in large classroom, 4. Students’ fear making mistakes in crowded classroom. The recommendations of this study are: 1. Keep students’ number in all colleges sections below 50 to help applying CLT. 2. Arrange annual workshops for professional development practices. for university instructors in Tohama. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jehd.v5n3a15

Scenes from a Crowded Classroom: Teaching Theatrical Blocking in English Language Arts

Scenes from a Crowded Classroom: Teaching Theatrical Blocking in English Language Arts

Advancing safe drug use through interprofessional learning (IPL): A pilot study

Interprofessional collaborative patient-centered care (IPCPC) improves healthcare quality and cost. Drug-related morbidity drives healthcare costs, thus requiring IPCPC approaches. The lack of educational preparedness for would-be IPCPC practitioners underlies the failure of historic IPCPC attempts, hence today's emphasis on pre-licensure interprofessional education (IPE). A pilot IPE class was conducted on rational drug use (RDU) through rational drug prescribing. Twenty fourth-year nursing students and 88 second-year medical students participated (8-10 medical per 2-3 nursing students) in small group activity in a lecture hall. A case study on rational drug choice and prescription writing processes from medical and nursing perspectives was used. Eighty of 108 (74%) students completed the post-activity questionnaire and were satisfied with the class, with a mean weighted score (mws) of 0.8. The learning outcomes (mws = 1.0) contributed more (P < 0.05) to students satisfaction than the organization/delivery (mws = 0.6). A majority (84-94%) agreed the class objectives were achieved and favored more classes. Interaction with other healthcare professionals and the crowded classroom were, respectively, the most- and least-liked aspects of the class. The study revealed students' appetite for IPE, highlights the challenges in developing IPE curricula, and could serve as impetus for schools developing IPE for RDU curricula.

Öğretmenlerin Performans Görevlerini Hazırlarken ve Uygularken Karşılaştığı Sorunlar

AbstractThe aim of study is to determi nate the difficulties of teachers in preparation and implementation of performance task. This study was carried out with 25 teachers (5 science and technology, 5 primary, 5 mathematic, 5 so- cial science and 5 Turkish teachers] who working at elementary schools in Artvin. Sample of study is selected randomly. Case study research method was used in the study. Data gathered with interview, observation and documentary data collection tolls. Obtained data were analyzed with content analyses method. At the end of the study, it is ascertained that teachers do not determine appropriate topics for students' level and appropriate criteria for topics and have i nsufficient knowledge about how prepared rubrics. Besides, it is seen that teachers encounter some difficulties such as crowded classroom, insufficient ti me for assessment, insufficient learning environment and technological opportunity and they do not do objective assessment.Key WordsPrimary Teaching Curriculum, Measurement and Assessment, Alternative Assessment, Performance Assessment, Performance Task, Teachers' Difficulties.Curriculum composed of four dimensions such as aim, content, organization of learning activities and evaluation (Demirel, 2008). While determining aims and contents of curriculum, it is benefited from educational philosophy and also as composing organization of learning activities of curriculum it is made use of educational psychology (Cepni & Cil, 2010). In Turkey, while behaviorist approach was considered in the past, now cognitive approach is adopted in curriculums (Cepni & Cil, 2010). It is seen that this preference is effective to changing of teaching methods and techniques in organizations of learning activities and measurement and assessment approaches in evaluations component of curriculums.Measurement and assessment have important role that determine to development of students' cognitive, affective and psychometric skills, resolve to learning deficiencies of unsuccessful students and motivate to successful students (Semerci, 2007). Measurement and assessment is used different purpose in different phases of instructional activities. These assessment types are diagnostic assessment (Pluss, 2002; Wright, 2001), formative assessment (Bryant & Timmins, 2002; Metin & Biricci, 2009; Metin & Ozmen, 2010a) and summative assessment (Birgin, 2003; Pluss, 2002; Wright, 2001). Summative assessment have commonly used in education systems.Summative assessment is sufficient that students are classified into successful or unsuccessful or de- termining whether students learn some knowledge and skills in units or not (Calik, 2007). Validity of summative assessment which only assessed to stu- dents' outputs is reviewed together new curriculum and chancing of learning approach is effected to changed measurement and assessment approach (Fourie & Van Niekerk, 2001).New curriculum have been defended that opportu- nity of multi-type assessment is presented by stu- dents in order to demonstrating their knowledge, skills and attitude (Milli Egitim Bakanligi [MEB], 2005). It is impossible that this situation is carried out by summative assessment. So, it is adopted to alternative assessment instead of summative assess- ment in the new curriculum. One of the differences of alternative assessment from summative assess- ment is the assessment of student performance. This mentions the importance of performance as- sessment.Performance assessment tries to establish what students can do as district from what he/his knows (Mehrens, 1992). It focuses on doing something, not merely knowing, and on process as well as product (Linn & Gronlund, 2000). Performance assessments are defined as concrete and authentic tasks that require students to do something with their knowledge and skills, such as give a demonstration or presentation, or write a report (Nitko, 2004; Shavelson, 1994). …

A Qualitative Study on 6th Grade Science and Technology Curriculum

The rapid development in technology, the effect of globalization and economical competition between countries make educational innovations necessary. In order to harmonize new generation with scientific and technological challenges, the science and technology curriculum plays crucial role. The aim of the study is to analyze new 6th grade science and technology curriculum so as to determine its main characteristics and the main differences between formal curriculum and experienced curriculum is based on analysis of formal curriculum, interviews with science and technology teachers and one observation. In this study, the researcher addresses Posner’s (1995) curriculum analysis questions through using the documents provided, and interviews with four science and technology teachers who teach in four different cities. Additionally, one observation is conducted in a class to observe the implementation of the new curriculum in real learning environment and observe the infrastructure of school. Findings show that participant teachers are satisfied with characteristics of constructivist approach in new science and technology curriculum, whereas it is stated that they have difficulty in the implementation phase. The participants mention not only inadequate lab equipment, but also difficulty in schedule of laboratories. It is also believed that participants elicit sufficient theoretical information during their pre-service education; however, they criticize the inadequate practice sessions. It is also believed that crowded classrooms are obstacles to implement a new curriculum.

Oh Yes, I Remember it Well: Why the Inherent Unreliability of Human Memory Makes Neuroimaging Technology a Poor Measure of Truth-Telling in the Courtroom

We all know that human memory is unreliable. But we consider less often is how difficult it is evaluate our own memories for accuracy. The song referenced in the title of this article concerns a conversation about two lovers describing their first meeting - in all good faith both remember it quite differently. Yet the quest to know the thoughts of others as well as identify when we are being deliberately deceived has encouraged the application of newly developed technologies to the task of reading minds. From witch dunking to phrenology to polygraphs, science’s promise to access thought has been met with first great enthusiasm and then even greater disappointment. Today, companies like NoLie MRI are advertising the latest version of this promise in the form of software which, it claims, can use brain imaging technology to “by-pass” conscious thought and identify deliberate deception. This article takes a new approach to considering the prospect of mind reading technology in that it reviews the claims made by those selling access to thoughts in light of the current cognitive understanding about human memory which requires us to retire the heuristic of the brain as a camera. It then links the current understanding of memory with the strong criticisms made by the Innocence Project and others seeking to overturn wrongful convictions about the misuse and over-reliance on eye-witness testimony which also is based on a misunderstanding of the inherent unreliability of memory. It argues that both information from neuroimaging and direct eye-witness testimony must meet rigorous standards for admitting forensic scientific evidence before being offered to juries to assist in fact-finding. Although much has been written about neuroimaging as a method of truth detection, this article takes a new approach by identifying the information which comes from neuroimaging as “memory” and then by analyzing it in the context of contemporary cognitive science. It also addresses the tenacity of the claim that there is such a thing as direct access to past events whether through eye-witness testimony or neuroimaging. Any law student who has taken Evidence has read about, or better experienced, an experiment in which a man bursts into a crowded classroom, runs through shouting and then leaves. When questioned directly after the event there is strong disagreement among the witnesses as to what the man was saying, what he was wearing and whether or not he had a gun. Based on the work of psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, now on the faculty of the University of California at Irvine Law School, this experience, more than any dry article about cognitive science, demonstrates the inherent unreliability of human memory and the conviction of eye-witnesses about what they have seen. Lawyers involved in the Innocence Project which is seeking to challenge wrongful convictions based on eye-witness testimony by examining conflicting DNA evidence have further brought these findings to public attention. Yet despite what has become common knowledge about the malleability of human memory, the idea that it’s possible to access the brain directly to find out whether a witness is telling the truth is being put forward by companies which seek to profit from research that suggests that new imaging technology can detect when a human is telling a lie. These companies are advertising this technology as a tool for law enforcement and promoting its use in U.S. trials as a way of helping juries to assess the credibility of witnesses. This article explores these claims that neuroimaging scans can be used to detect lies, which far exceed those made by responsible scientists, and also puts them in the context of a series of U.S. Supreme Court cases which have dramatically changed how scientific (forensic) evidence can be presented to the jury in criminal trials. In this article I argue that promises of lie detection are not only based on false premises, but they are harmful to the integrity of the legal system because they seek to substitute a technology, which is not just undeveloped and inadequately tested but inherently flawed, for the judgment of the fact-finder, judge or jury, in a criminal trial. I conclude that even if there was neuroimaging technology which could provide direct access to human thought, the result would share the inaccuracies and subjectivity that we already know is an inherent feature of human memory. Moreover, because this technology promises to do something that jurors know they cannot - determine when a person is lying - there is a substantial risk that it will prejudice defendants because jurors will substitute the results of the technology for their own collective judgment.