Direct Learning Experiences Research Articles

Taking Deliberation to the Streets: Reflections on Deliberative Walks


 
 
 The focus of this article, a model that we call the Deliberative Walk, builds on the princi- ples of Citizens’ Juries and Development Walks. Two case studies are used to explore the potential of uniting the two different participatory models, one that is based on discussion and the other that is more observation oriented. Both case studies were implemented in Finland during autumn 2014. Reviewing these case studies is important, because the issue of ‘taking deliberation to the streets’ has rarely been addressed in the academic literature on CJs and other deliberative mini-publics. Based on the case studies, our suggestion is that in place-specific deliberations, a Deliberative Walk is a suitable method when the issue that is being tackled has highly intertwined social and physical dimensions, while in more situation-specific deliberations, a Deliberative Walk adds value when the issue is such that it needs a more complete and direct learning experience.
 
 

The origins of mental contamination

BackgroundThe origins of mental contamination fears are unknown although this might enhance interventions. MethodThirty people with OCD and contamination fears were interviewed about direct, vicarious and informational learning routes to fear, especially mental contamination fears. Results29 reported contact contamination, 17 mental contamination and 6 morphing fears. Mental contamination fears started around 15.5 years (SD=7.8). Contact contamination preceded mental contamination in 9 cases, four described simultaneous onset, and two reported mental contamination first. Thirteen participants with mental contamination (76.5%) recalled a direct learning experience, often immoral acts. Three participants with mental contamination fears reported receiving threatening information. Of the 6 with morphing fears, three described a direct learning experience, three reported an occasion when they received threatening information, and one provided an example of a vicarious learning event. ConclusionContact contamination tends to precede mental contamination and is associated with specific incidents. Mental contamination precedents often involved immoral acts (direct learning) in which the person was the victim or perpetrator. In contrast contact contamination fears showed a more equal distribution of direct, vicarious and informational. This study is limited by a small sample size and retrospective method but provides an initial understanding of the origins of mental contamination.

Student-Centered Classrooms

Music teacher evaluations traditionally examine how teachers develop student music-learning objectives, assess cognitive and performance skills, and direct classroom learning experiences and behavior. A convergence of past and current educational ideas and directives is changing how teachers are evaluated on their use of student-centered instructional approaches in the music classroom. These are classrooms facilitated rather than directed by the teacher in which students regularly communicate, collaborate, self-reflect, problem solve, and peer-evaluate about their learning. The authors trace the influence of three important initiatives that, among others, contributed to the implementation of student-centered learning in music classrooms: Arts PROPEL, Comprehensive Musicianship, and 21st Century Skills. The article also explores relationships between these entities, the National Music Standards, and teacher evaluation and provides an innovative model of teacher evaluation.

PENINGKATAN HASIL BELAJAR IPS DENGAN MODEL PROBLEM SOLVING BERBANTUAN MEDIA GAMBAR

Sebelum PTK ini dilaksanakan, hasil belajar IPS siswa kelas V rendah. Kondisi ini disebabkan karena model pembelajaran masih konvensional, siswa hanya mendengarkan materi tanpa ada pengalaman belajar secara langsung. Model Problem Solving menekankan aktivitas siswa dengan memanfaatkan lingkungan sekitar yang nyata sebagai media pembelajaran yang dikembangkan. Gambar dipilih sebagai media pembelajaran karena sifatnya universal, tidak terikat oleh keterbatasan bahasa. Kondisi awal pretes menunjukkan hanya 50% siswa yang mencapai KKM, dengan nilai rata-rata kelas 73,5. Hasil PTK menunjukan adanya peningkatan keterampilan guru, aktivitas siswa, dan hasil belajar siswa pada mata pelajaran IPS. Siklus I rerata persentase keterampilan guru 80% dengan kategori baik, meningkat 7% pada siklus II sebanyak 87% dengan kategori sangat baik. Persentase aktivitas siswa siklus I sebanyak 78% dalam kategori baik meningkat 13% pada siklus II sebanyak 91% dalam kategori sangat baik. Hasil belajar siswa siklus I mencapai 75% (9 dari 12 siswa mencapai KKM) dalam kategori baik, meningkat 16,7% menjadi 91,7% (11 dari 12 siswa mencapai KKM) dalam kategori sangat baik, sedangkan indikator keberhasilannya adalah 75% siswa mencapai KKM.

Using Information Processing Theory to Teach Social Stratification to Pre-Service Teachers

Information in context has meaning for the student, easily understood, easily retrieved, and successfully moves to long term memory. If information is not in context, rote memorization occurs with the less meaningful information, and information is not easily retrieved or successfully stored in long term memory. The purpose of this study was to determine if using a teaching simulation to teach social stratification can improve the students’ knowledge of culture and knowledge of effective instructional practices using 21 incoming freshman students. This study used a mixed methods approach with journal entries and inventories. The results indicated the pre-service teachers felt the simulation allowed them to apply the classroom content within a direct learning experience.

A Motivation Scaffold to Improve the Learning Engagement of Students

Teachers who work with young adolescents know that motivating and maintaining their interest in classroom-based learning is a major challenge. This study seeks to address this issue and is an examination of the use of a motivational scaffold to assist a cohort of Year Nine students to take greater responsibility for their learning through direct and authentic learning experiences outside the classroom.

The Role of Verbal Threat Information in the Development of Childhood Fear. “Beware the Jabberwock!”

Rachman’s (Behaviour Research and Therapy 15:372–387, 1977; Clinical Psychology Review 11:155–173, 1991) three pathways theory proposed that childhood fears not only arise as a consequence of direct learning experiences, but can also be elicited by means of threat information transmission. This review looks at the scientific evidence for this idea, which has accumulated during the past three decades. We review research on the influences of media exposure on children’s fears, retrospective parent and child reports on the role of threat information in fear acquisition, and experimental studies that explored the causal effects of threat information on childhood fears. We also discuss possible mechanisms by which threat information exerts its influence and the processes relevant to understand the role of this type of learning experience in the origins of fear. Finally, implications for the prevention and intervention of childhood fears are briefly explored, and potential leads for future research will be highlighted.

Students' Verification Strategies for Combinatorial Problems

We focus on a major difficulty in solving combinatorial problems, namely, on the verification of a solution. Our study aimed at identifying undergraduate students' tendencies to verify their solutions, and the verification strategies that they employ when solving these problems. In addition, an attempt was made to evaluate the level of efficiency of the students' various verification strategies in terms of their contribution to reaching a correct solution. 14 undergraduate students, who had taken at least 1 course in combinatorics, participated in the study. None of the students had prior direct learning experience with combinatorial verification strategies. Data were collected through interviews with individual or pairs of participants as they solved, 1 by 1, 10 combinatorial problems. 5 types of verification strategies were identified, 2 of which were more frequent and more helpful than others. Students' verifications proved most efficient in terms of reaching a correct solution when they were informed that their solution was incorrect. Implications for teaching and learning combinatorics are discussed.

Sources of Social Self-Efficacy Expectations: Their Measurement and Relation to Career Development

The present study resulted in the development of a measure for the four sources of self-efficacy expectations postulated by Bandura's (1977, 1997) theory in the domain of social behaviors. The four sources subscales were internally consistent and related as postulated to relevant criterion measures and theoretical constructs. Examination of the degree to which the four sources of social self-efficacy were empirically (as opposed to theoretically) distinct provided conclusions similar to those of previous research on the sources of mathematics self-efficacy expectations, most importantly the clustering of Past Performance, Emotional Arousal, and Social Persuasion (all direct learning experiences) distinct from Vicarious Learning, an indirect learning experience.

Note on the Development of Mapping Abilities

This paper summarizes the debate between Blaut and Downs (and his collaborator, Liben) concerning the development of mapping abilities of young children.Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development has been one of the most influential theories in the field of cognitive mapping research. Two essential elements of Piaget's theory regarding the developmental sequence of spatial abilities with age are nativism and constructivism. A forum in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers journal in 1997 on the mapping abilities of young children helped to distinguish the intrinsic duality of Piaget's developmental theory and its influence on the debate between Blaut and Downs/Liben.Both Blaut and Downs/Liben studied young children's ontogenetic development of mapping abilities, but they examined different aspects of Piaget's theory. On the basis of nativism, Blaut recognized that children can perform various mapping tasks regardless of age, and he insisted that children naturally possess mapping abilities, whereas Piaget implied that they could not. In contrast, on the basis of constructivism, Downs and his colleagues emphasized that children's mapping abilities are the effect of both direct and indirect learning experience, and they pointed out some deficiencies in Blaut's testing method.In spite of their contrasting standpoints, both researchers were influenced by Piaget's theories, but emphasized different aspects of the complex process of cognitive mapping development.

Violence against staff by mentally retarded inpatients.

Conclusions One important aspect ofmeeting the mental health needs of persons with mental retardation and their families is to ensure the ongoing preparation of skilled personnel. The professionals who will serve this population require more than the hit-and-miss training characteristic ofmany mental retardation and mental health educational systems. A curriculum for residents needs to be built on direct and intense clinical learning experiences. A multitude ofspecialized techniques must be mastered, including diagnostic procedures for nonverbal individuals, unique psychotherapeutic strategies, and effective counseling of parents, siblings, and other caregivems. In the final analysis, experience gained from work with persons with mental retardation and mental illness will produce far more knowledgeabie and compassionate practitioners for whatever population they decide to serve in the future.

Strengthening the Role of Cooperating Teachers

tudent teaching continues to be a key, culminating experience in preservice teacher education. It is an opportunity for future teachers to join theory with practice and an opportunity for them to practice under watchful eye of expert classroom teachers. Student teachers judge experience pivotal, and their cooperating teachers extremely influential (Karmos and Jacko 1977; Manning 1977). Yet cooperating teachers traditionally learn little about how to be teacher educators, about how to work with adults rather than with children, or about what preservice programs expect of them, other than provision of opportunities for student teachers to practice. Colleges are too often more attentive to logistics of student teaching placements than to explication of form, content, and goals of experience. As a result, although student teaching may well be pivotal, it is not consistently beneficial. Research suggests that student teaching does not always lead future teachers to develop positive attitudes toward schools and students, or high quality pedagogical skills. Instead, future teachers may develop negative attitudes during student teaching, becoming more concerned about keeping order than encouraging learning. Too many get scant feedback on their instructional skills (Copas 1984; Feiman-Nemser and Buchman 1983; Zeichner 1981). Both attitude and skill of cooperating teacher are presumed to have a significant influence on outcome of experience. If student teaching remains a vital part of teacher education programs, and if the value of direct learning experience in schools seems to depend on quality of

Morphology: A Study of the Relation between Meaning and Form

This is a textbook right in the thick of current interest in morphology. It proposes principles to predict properties previously considered arbitrary and brings together the psychological and the diachronic to explain the recurrent properties of morphological systems in terms of the processes that create them. For the student, the clear discussion of morphology and morphophonemics and the rich variety of data brought in on the way to the theoretical conclusion is material for a direct learning experience.

地理的経験領域の拡大

Learning how to study the landscape is essential in functional geographic education because the landscape is the basic source of all geographic knowledge. Field trips or traveling to observe the geographic features of the local environment provide opportunities for direct learning experiences through which pupils are taught from the first to understand that geography deals with real life and that the knowledge acquired from it has a genuine significance. A Japanese proverb also says, “Seeing is believing.”It is essential for the curriculum builder to know where pupils and their family have ever been, that is, the places of their traveling.Urban dwellers travel in more places than rural dwellers in every age group.More prefectures are visited by adults than by pupils. There are onlya few prefectures that more than 50 per cent of the first grade pupils of lower secondary schools have traved in. It is in the eight prefectures, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Ibaraki, Chiba, Saitama, Gunma, Shizuoka and Fukushima except their home prefecture Tochigi that most adult inhabitants of Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture have traveled. The prefectures of West Japan are scarcely visited by them.The number of prefectures visited by an adult is influenced by some factors -the traveler's sex, occupation, and school career. School career seems to be most important among the Japanese people.In the course of this study of ours we have made a new discovery which was not made in our former stduy in Izu District, Shizuoka Prefecture in 1952. It is the fact that a “fault” lies between the 20-29 age group and the 30-39 age group in the number of their visited prefectures (Fig. 6). Recently many youngers continually make a trip in different places after they complete the lower secondary school courses.