Didactic Lesson Research Articles

Biblical Names in Selected Plays of Wole Soyinka: A lexico-semantic Study

This study interrogates the use of biblical names as charactonyms in selected plays of Wole Soyinka, the first Nobel laureate in Africa, with the aim of unearthing their morphological process and sociolinguistic imports in relation to the Holy Bible. The primary data from which extracts were made to illustrate the discussion were four drama texts: The Strong Breed (1963), The Road (1965), Death and the King’s Horseman (1975), King Baabu (2002)- all tragedies, by the same author. The theoretical frameworks adopted were Yule’s (1985) morphological taxonomy and Said’s (1978) postcolonialism. Ten names inundated with biblical elements were purposively selected across-the-board and analysed using the theoretical frameworks. Findings indicated that Soyinka inundated his works with analogy (60%) by deploying six names (Ifada, Sunma, Samson, Simon Pilkings, Olunde, Joseph) patterned after the Holy Bible to illustrate didactic lesson and messianic scapegoatism theme(s). Furthermore, the study revealed that the playwright deployed clipping (20%) through the names Maariya and Tikim, to indicate popular culture among African youth. Finally, the playwright uses biblical names in his works to blend his Christian and traditional background, and as a means of taking indirect swipe at the issue of African complex dispositions to the colonial encounter and its legacies. The work is a contribution to onomastic scholarship in relation to the Holy Bible and African-contact literary texts.

An online intervention to improve the health and well-being of informal caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease: A pilot study

ObjectiveDescribe an intervention to improve the health and well-being of informal caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and present pilot program findings. MethodsParticipants (N = 31, mean age = 45.7) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: an online synchronous didactic lesson and peer support session series or an asynchronous didactic only session series. Outcome variables included physical health, nutrition intake, and stress. One-way ANOVA was conducted to examine the effects of the intervention. The least significant difference (LSD) post hoc test was used to analyze the difference pattern between means. ResultsParticipants in both conditions reported healthier dietary behavior and lower level of stress from pre-intervention to the post-intervention. These effects were not maintained at one-month follow up. ConclusionAn online educational intervention may improve the health and well-being of informal caregivers of people with AD. Further research is necessary to determine which specific intervention components to include and what strategies may help participants maintain improved health behaviors. InnovationThis program focused on the health and well-being of informal caregivers of individuals with AD rather than on emphasizing how caregivers can perform their caregiving duties better. The intervention was provided in an underserved lower-income, rural area.

Fostering weight status understanding among exercise science and health students by simulating common physical activities with additional body mass.

Overweight and obesity rates continue to rise and appear unlikely to abate. While physical activity (PA) is an important contributor to health and successful weight maintenance, exercise science and health students (ESHS) often endorse negative weight status biases that could undermine PA promotion. This experiential learning activity was intended to help foster weight status understanding among ESHS. Nine ESHS completed the learning activity across two 75-minute class periods. During the initial didactic lesson, the instructor presented on psychophysiological responses to PA among normal and overweight individuals. During the second simulation lesson, the students first responded with their predictions of how the experience of four common physical activities, including shoe tying, brisk walking, running, and climbing and descending stairs, could differ with additional body mass. Next, students twice completed each of the four physical activities while first wearing a weighted vest that simulated 16 lb followed by 32 lb of additional mass. At the beginning, middle, and end of the stair climb and descent, the students provided ratings of affective valence (i.e., pleasure-displeasure). Following the PA simulations, the students wrote about their experiences and how their PA promotion strategies could be modified for overweight clients. The changes in student qualitative responses, particularly following the 32-lb simulations, suggested an increased understanding of the psychophysiological experience of PA while carrying additional mass. Learning activities like this one may be meaningful additions to ESHS curricula aiming to mitigate weight status bias and improve PA promotion among overweight clients.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Exercise science and health students (ESHS) often enter the field with the noble intention to help people become more physically active. However, many ESHS endorse negative weight status biases that could undermine health promotion efforts among overweight individuals. Experiential learning simulations that approximate the experiences of physical activity while overweight may be helpful tools to foster understanding and reduce bias. This article outlines a two-part didactic/simulation learning activity to promote weight status understanding among ESHS.

Validity and reliability of a rubric to assess didactic lesson planning of preservice teachers

It is presented the results of a study whose purpose was to reliability and validity of building an analytic socioformative process rubric to evaluate didactic planning in Teachers during their training process for Basic Education. The study involved 226 teachers. At first, reliability was determined through the Alpha Coefficient by Cronbach, having as a result .703. Results show that the instrument is reliable. Afterwards, an exploratory factorial analysis (AFE in Spanish), was carried out through the Maximum Authenticity Method with promax rotation and cluster analysis. This analysis showed the existence of a factor that explains 53.046% of the variance and is consistent with didactic planning. There was no need to eliminate any item according to the results of the factorial analysis. From these studies on, it can be conclusive that the target rubric of study has the adequate levels of reliability and construct validity. It is necessary to carry on new studies to confirm the results.

Towards Teaching Contemporary Arabic Linguistics between (Theorizing and Application)

There is no doubt that language formed, through the chronological times of human existence, the basis for research and study in the various fields of the natural and human sciences, as they are not just sounds and signals with which every people communicates as he defined them (Ibn Jinni 922 AH - 392 AH), Or a set of structural functions of speech, as described centuries later (Ferdinand de Saussure 1857-1913) not only, but language transcends geographical and intellectual boundaries to verify and translate the epistemological content of man. We see the superiority of living languages ​​over other languages, and reaching this superiority requires reconsidering the important references of the language and integrating it with the developments of contemporary linguistic thought, and given the importance of the topic, this study came as an attempt to re-theorize comprehensively and purposefully in the educational field of the Arabic language, and it is worthy of us in this. The talk about the dream of realizing a contemporary Arabic linguistic thought befitting the status of the Arabic language, such as what was adopted and worked on by Professor (Abd al-Rahman Hajj Salih). Didactic reality lesson The Arabic linguist and its prospects, so we had to ask, saying, What are the stakes facing the development of the Arabic language? What are the most important theoretical and scientific alternatives relied upon in order to advance it globally? How can institutions and active bodies facilitate and market linguistic thought in the Arabic language to non-native speakers?

A lesson involving nursing management of diabetes care: Incorporating simulation in didactic instruction to prepare students for entry-level practice

BackgroundDiabetes is a global health problem requiring nursing students demonstrate a thorough understanding for NCLEX and entry-level practice, although clinical opportunities are increasingly limited, especially for Associate Degree Programs. MethodA Simulation-based Education was incorporated in a didactic lesson to improve diabetes nursing care. Knowledge, confidence, application and relevance were measured using Wilcoxon signed-rank, Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis analyses. ResultsStudent (n = 46, 85% female) perceived knowledge of glycemic management (post > pre, p < 0.0001), confidence administering insulin (post > pre, p < 0.0001), and clinical relevance improved. Confidence increased among three cohorts per Kruskal Wallis H test (x2 = 7.76, p = 0.021). Increased confidence correlated with relevance (x2 = 30.965, p = 0.009) and prior understanding of therapy (x2 = 26.538, p = 0.033). ConclusionReinforcing didactic content through simulation enhanced student mastery of diabetes nursing care. Additional pedagogical strategies are warranted for NCLEX preparation and entry-level practice.

Group Medical Visits 2.0: The Open Source Wellness Behavioral Pharmacy Model.

Objectives: The Open Source Wellness (OSW) model was designed to function as a behavioral pharmacy; an affordable, accessible delivery system for a universal experiential prescription: MOVE (physical activity), NOURISH (healthy meals), CONNECT (social support), and BE (stress reduction). This study evaluates the OSW model in a billable group medical visit (GMV) format in a federally qualified health center (FQHC). Intervention: Patients with behaviorally mediated conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression, as well as poor social determinants of health, such as food insecurity, were prescribed participation in the OSW program by their medical team. Groups met for 2 h each week for 16 weeks to complete 30 min of socially engaging physical activity, 5 min of mindfulness meditation, a 10-min interactive, didactic health lesson, a 5-min nutrition lesson, and 60 min of small-group coaching over a plant-based meal. Paraprofessional health coaches worked with participants in small groups to provide support and create accountability to goals. In addition, participants received a $10 voucher to Food Farmacy, which provided free produce. Subjects: The sample consisted of 49 patients from the Hayward Wellness Center, an FQHC in Hayward, California. They were mostly women, 59.6%, and racially and ethnically diverse: 23.1% African American, 5.8% Asian, 26.9% Hispanic/Latino, 11.5% Pacific Islander, and 32.7% Caucasian. Participants averaged 59.1 years of age (SD = 10.6). Outcome measures: Blood pressure and weight were recorded weekly. Demographic and acute care utilization data were drawn from the electronic medical record. Self-report questionnaires assessed diet, exercise, and mood on a monthly basis. Methods and results: Longitudinal data were analyzed with linear mixed models. Participants (n = 49) demonstrated significant increases in daily servings of fruits and vegetables, b = 0.31, p < 0.01, and exercise, b = 11.50, p < 0.01, as well as significant reductions in body mass index, b = -0.10, p = 0.05. Acute care utilization decrease was not statistically significant, b = -0.07, p = 0.14. Depressed patients (n = 11) saw reductions in depression, b = -1.72, p < 0.01, and hypertensive patients (n = 24) saw reductions in systolic blood pressure, b = -4.04, p < 0.01, but not diastolic blood pressure, b = 0.04, p = 0.95. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the OSW behavioral pharmacy model within a GMV context; pathways for adaptation, spread/scale, and incorporation of this work as a component of the broader health ecosystem and national commitment to health equity are discussed.

P56 Changes in Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Behaviors of Low-Income Adult Georgians Participating in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed)

Objective To examine the impact of Food Talk: Better U (FTBU), the University of Georgia SNAP-Ed's new healthy weight management program on healthy eating, food resource management, and physical activity behaviors in a sample of low-income Georgians. Use of Theory or Research Social cognitive theory and expanded health belief model. Target Audience SNAP-Ed eligible Georgian adults with children Program Description FTBU was developed based on a comprehensive formative evaluation. FTBU is a series of four 90-minute lessons taught by paraprofessionals focusing on portion control, goal setting, limiting added sugar, small healthy shifts, and problem-solving strategies. Each lesson includes a sharing session, didactic lesson, physical activity (PA), cooking demonstration and tasting, and goal setting. Evaluation Methods Outcome evaluation of the program used pre- and post-self-administered questionnaire, 24-hour dietary recalls, and self-reported and measured weight. Outcome measures included Medium Term behavior change indicators (MT1, 2, and 3) from the SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework and other validated measures. McNemar tests were used to examine changes in reported healthy behaviors between pre- and post-test. Results A total of 454 low-income Georgians participated in FTBU in FY 2018 (mean age 52.6 ± 17.1 years, 74.4% females, 47.6% Black, 68.3% overweight/obese). Overall, participants reported engaging in more healthy behaviors after the intervention. The percent of participants who reported eating more than one fruit (MT1c) and vegetable (MT1d) per day significantly increased after the intervention. Most food resource management indicators (MT2a, b) showed a significant increase between pre- and post-test. The percent meeting guidelines for engaging in moderate-vigorous PA (MT3b) and PA to make muscles stronger (MT3c) also increased significantly post-intervention. Conclusions The findings suggest FTBU has potential to improve healthy behaviors aimed at healthy weight management practices among SNAP-Ed eligible adults with a high burden of obesity. Further evaluations are needed using a rigorous research design with control groups. Funding SNAP-Ed.

“Vain dalliance with misery”: Moral Therapy in William Wordsworth’s “The Ruined Cottage”

The following paper will examine how (male) speakers in William Wordsworth’s “The Baker’s Cart” and “Incipient Madness,” which eventually became reworked into “The Ruined Cottage,” narrate the histories of traumatised women. It will be argued that by distorting the women’s accounts of suffering into a didactic lesson for themselves, the poems’ speakers embody the tension present in the chief psychiatric treatment of the Romantic period, moral therapy, which strove to humanise and give voice to afflicted subjects, at the same time trying to contain and eventually correct their “otherness.”

Development of a Healthy Weight Management SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Curriculum: Food Talk: Better U

To develop a culturally tailored, evidence-based obesity prevention program to address high burden of obesity among SNAP-Ed participants. The theory was social cognitive theory and expanded health belief model. Food Talk: Better U (FTBU) is a series of four 90-minute sessions taught by paraprofessionals focusing on improving healthy weight management practices. Lesson topics include: portion control, setting SMART goals, limiting added sugar intake, making small healthy shifts in everyday food choices, and problem-solving strategies for mitigating common barriers to healthful eating. Each lesson includes a sharing session, didactic lesson, physical activity (PA), cooking demonstration/tasting, and goal setting. Featured recipes focus on healthful versions of traditional Southern dishes. PA includes resistance exercises with emphasis on proper mechanics. Participants receive a take-home workbook for food and PA journaling, goal setting, additional physical activities, and nutrition education/PA extenders to enhance healthful practices at home (e.g., measuring cups, resistance bands). A rigorous needs assessment including literature review and interviews with SNAP-Ed eligible participants and peer nutrition educators was completed prior to FTBU development. Formative evaluation was completed in a pilot county, including class observations, participant focus group, and educator interviews. The development of FTBU is based on systematic, comprehensive needs assessment and rigorous evaluation methods, as aligned with the new direction of SNAP-Ed guidance. FTBU will serve as a foundation for obesity prevention intervention for SNAP-Ed programming in Georgia and will be expanded to eLearning and social marketing nutrition education interventions.

Design and evaluation of a peer network to support adherence to a web-based intervention for adolescents

BackgroundDepression during adolescence is common but can be prevented. Behavioral intervention technologies (BITs) designed to prevent depression in adolescence, especially standalone web-based interventions, have shown mixed outcomes, likely due to poor intervention adherence. BIT research involving adults has shown that the presence of coaches or peers promotes intervention use. Developmentally, adolescence is a time when peer-based social relationships take precedence. This study examines whether peer-networked support may promote adherence to BITs in this age group. ObjectiveAdopting the framework of the Supportive Accountability model, which defines the types of human support and interactions required to maintain engagement and persistence with BITs, this paper presents a feasibility study of a peer-networked online intervention for depression prevention among adolescents. We described the development of the peer network, the evaluation of participant use of the peer networking features, and qualitative user feedback to inform continued BIT development. MethodTwo groups of adolescents (N=13) participated in 10-week programs of the peer networked based online intervention. Adolescents had access to didactic lessons, CBT based mood management tools, and peer networking features. The peer networking features are integrated into the site by making use expectations explicit, allow network members to monitor the activities of others, and to supportively hold each other accountable for meeting use expectations. The study collected qualitative feedback from participants as well as usage of site features and tools. ResultsParticipants logged in an average of 12.8 sessions over an average of 10.4 unique days during the 10-week program. On average, 66% of all use sessions occurred within the first 3weeks of use. The number of “exchange comments”, that is, comments posted that were part of an exchange between two or more participants, was significantly positively correlated with mean time spent on site (r=0.62, p=0.032), use of the Activity Tracker (r=0.70, p=0.012) and Didactic Lesson (r=0.73, p=0.007). Qualitative interviews revealed that adolescents generally liked and were motivated by the peer networking features during the first weeks of the intervention when general site use by group members was high. However, the decrease of site use by group members during the subsequent weeks negatively affected participants' desire to log on or engage with group members. ConclusionsThis pilot study highlights the potential that a BIT designed to harness the connection among a peer network, thereby promoting supportive accountability, may improve adolescent adherence to BITs for depression prevention.

Historicity of the Qur’anic Dhu al-Qarnayn and the Myths of Alexander

Several verses of SËrah al-Kahf (the Qur’an 18:85-98) contains a didactic lesson of history which unlike the moralistic lesson of Plato on the rise, growth and fall of mythical Atlantis, is an abridged record on events in the unnamed Eurasian empire threatened by terror of the raiding hordes of ferocious nomads from the Northeast in the Iron Age. It is neither history of Alexander the Macedon’s conquest of Greece, Phoenicia, Egypt, Persia and India reported by Arrian, Quintus Curtius, Diodorus Siculus, Polybius, Appian, Plutarch and Justin nor the Alexandrine Romance composed by the anonymous Syrian Christian writer (or writers) in the early Middle Ages of the Mediterranean. Didactica of this Qur’anic SËrah is not based on the Persian Iskander-name, either. Like the life of the historical Prophet Isa (Jesus,a.s.), the historicity of Qur’anic monotheistic ruler DhË al-Qarnayn deeply divides the Muslim, Jewish, Christian and agnostic readers of the ancient history. Their opinions are intellectual mirrors of continuous struggle between monotheism, henotheism and secularism, contextualized into historical drama of divided nations and empires.

Horst Prinzbach (1931-2012)

Horst Prinzbach (1931-2012)

Letramento e ensino de línguas adicionais: uma proposta de prática pedagógica

This paper aims to suggest that literacy should be one of the objectives of second language teaching. The proposal is based on New Literacies Studies (Barton 1994; Gee 1990, 2004; Street 1984, 1985) theoretical framework. According to this perspective, literacy, or literacy practices (Street, 1984), is defined as collective practices which are socially and culturally organized (Cole & Scribner, 1981), and which have writing technology as their foundation. First, I define the concept of language use and present the concept of literacy as essential to the development of second language learners’ communicative competence and sociolinguistic proficiency. Relying on previous study (Bonolini, 2006), first I suggest steps for the preparation of didactic material that focus on language use. Next, I present a didactic lesson where the main aim is literacy in the second language. This article concludes that having literacy as a pedagogical objective promotes the language education of more than just language students, but of citizens in general. In the classroom, the study of the target language through activities that focus different social practices encourage students to participate in real contexts of language use (in his/her own society or in a foreign one) in a more autonomous and confident way.

Of Dead Kings, Dukes and Constables: The Historical Context of the Danse Macabre in Late Medieval Paris

As discussed in an earlier article published in vol. 157 (2004) of this journal, the starting point of most studies on the medieval Danse macabre is the extensive mural scheme executed in the parish cemetery of Les Saints Innocents in Paris in 1424–25. Little attention has hitherto been given to the political circumstances surrounding this scheme's creation during the Anglo-Burgundian occupation of the French capital. The dual presentation of the king as both a victim of death amidst the ranks of the living and as a worm-eaten corpse at the end of the scheme is especially intriguing in view of the deaths in quick succession of Henry V of England and Charles VI of France in 1422. It is these topical references that explain the quick rise to fame of what at first sight might be just another medieval didactic lesson about mortality and sin. The allusions to contemporary figures incorporated into the mural's text and imagery or (in the case of the duke) the avoidance of any such allusions are examined. A case is presented for the deployment of 'cryptoportraits' in the imagery and a novel suggestion made as to the identity of the previously unidentified patron.

Cambio conceptual y metodológico en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la evolución de los seres vivos. Un ejemplo concreto

In this work we developed and assessed the efficiency of a didactic lesson based on the science teaching learning paradigm as a conceptual, methodological and attitudinal change. For this purpose we chose the topic of the evolution of living beings through natural selection.

Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis: Educational implications

We examined the educational implications of newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF) as performed by combining the measurement of immunoreactive trypsin with analysis for the most common CF mutation, ΔF508. Four out of 77 (5%) of maternity staff from 11 hospitals in rural New South Wales, Australia had learned about the salient features of the screening protocol from a pamphlet distributed from a central laboratory. In comparison, a didactic lesson resulted in a significantly greater (p<0.00006) number of maternity staff learning about the salient features of the screening protocol. Most maternity staff expanded their explanation to parents of newborn babies because of the didactic lesson.

Il Planctus Mariae nella tradizione drammatica del Medio Evo by Sandro Sticca

Reviews173 Sandro Sticca. // Planctus Mariae nella tradizione drammatica del Medio Evo. Sulmona: Teatro Club, 1984. Pp. xx + 283. $15.00 (distributed in the U.S.A. by Solaris Press) . Sandro Sticca's examination of the Virgin's Lament (Planctus Mariae) raises a number of issues that will interest students of the medieval drama. The most immediate of them is the complicated relation of the early Passion play to liturgical and extra-liturgical forms, which postdate the dramatic texts yet have generally been taken to represent a point of origin for the Passion drama. But there are other issues in the book that also bear significantly on our understanding of the early drama and its several contexts—the sources of affective piety in the Early and High Middle Ages, East-West influences, the relation of learned and vernacular literatures . In eight carefully argued and well documented chapters, Sticca reviews the history of these questions, traces the development of the planctus, and studies the major doctrinal and literary sources. The argument of the book is that in the West from the eleventh century onwards there is a shift away from an austere and hieratic approach to the Passion. The martyred Christ and lamenting Virgin are the twin focal points of a new spiritual emphasis. Although the figure of the crucified Christ is progressively humanized in art and literature, it is the Virgin in particular who represents the affective element of spirituality, and consequently an understanding of her lament at the Crucifixion will yield insight into the broader domain of spirituality in the drama. The book thus studies several closely related historical facets, reading the literary documents not merely as textual sources but as traces of an inner experience that subsequently informs the Passion drama. The early chapters sketch the backgrounds of the lament in theology, liturgy, and devotions and identify the principal themes that evolve from the Church Fathers and early poets. The Virgin is an important figure in the Patristic age because she affirms the doctrine of the Incarnation. John's Gospel places her at the Crucifixion, but an equally important text is Simeon's prophecy (Luke 2.35) : "et tuam ipsius animam pertransibit gladius." These sources and the later Apocrypha give rise to the various roles ascribed to the Virgin by Patristic and medieval interpreters. Although the Latin Fathers tend to depict Mary as resolute before the Cross, Origen gives voice to her doubts. From the eighth century in the East, she is a co-redeemer of mankind not just by virtue of giving birth to Christ but also by her participation at the Crucifixion. Albertus Magnus amplifies the doctrine so that Mary is a co-sufferer with Christ. Early on, she represents a reparation for Eve, and, later, she acts as mediatrix between man and God. The essential dialectic in these roles, as Sticca demonstrates, is between gaudium and dolor, between seeing salvation or unbearable death at the Cross, and the theological question is whether Mary's human sorrow obliterates the joy that must attend man's redemption . Sticca clearly and economically traces the stages of these complex theological elaborations, and he gives particular attention to their impact within Western monastic culture, which lends the environment for the liturgical drama. Most discussions of the planctus and its dramatic significance remain 174Comparative Drama within the basic polarity of joy and sorrow, and they define the Virgin's expressive range by its contrast to the theological meaning of the divine sacrifice. Sticca's analysis offers, however, a historically conditioned language and a set of contextual discriminations for identifying the elements and nuances of spirituality and emotion. His discussion of the planctus and the later De compassione, for instance, isolates the decisive thematic differences between capturing inner experience in an aesthetic form and communicating the didactic lesson of commiseration. His commentary on a poem such as the Stabat Mater distinguishes the steps by which the supplicant observer comes to participate in the Virgin's sorrow, and he describes the literary techniques and effects of the Passion effictio in meditative and lyric pieces. In short, Sticca seeks to recover the categories and language for talking about dramatic emotion in a historical context. The...