The use of Constructivists’ Approach in Teacher Preparation; A case of Primary Teachers Colleges of South Eastern Uganda

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the implementation of constructivists’ principles in teacher preparation in colleges and to establish whether the constructivist approaches were being used to teach students. Methodology: This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of tutors and students in light of constructivists informed teaching. It involved 3 PTCs and 15 participants who were purposively sampled. The methodology for this study was qualitative with a phenomenological research design where data was gathered using in-depth multiple interviews and observation. The data collection and analysis followed Moustakas (1994) procedure. Findings: Data analysis and results revealed that tutor‘s continue to rely on traditional approaches in both instruction and supervision of school practice. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: This research study adds to the body of knowledge about ways in which constructivists’ informed teaching supports teaching effectiveness and promotes students’ learning amplifying the need for reflective practice in instruction. The study recommends establishing and setting up Reflective Practice Laboratories in PTCs for tutors and students induction on several constructivists’ practices that include reflection, clinical supervision, use and integration of ICT and other interventions in a proper and professional setting.

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ICT and Reflective Practice integration; A Constructivists Approach in Teacher Preparation at Primary Teachers Colleges in South Eastern Uganda

American Journal of Education and Practice ◽

10.47672/ajep.704 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 37-52

Author(s):

Emmanuel Gusango ◽

John Maani ◽

John Ssetumba

Keyword(s):

Teacher Preparation ◽

Reflective Practice ◽

Clinical Supervision ◽

Phenomenological Study ◽

Primary Teachers ◽

The Body ◽

Unique Contribution ◽

Design Data ◽

Teachers Colleges ◽

Integration Of Ict

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the ICT and reflective practice integration in teacher preparation at Primary Teachers Colleges and to establish whether these practices were among the constructivist approaches being used to teach students. Methodology: This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of tutors and students in light of constructivists’ teaching. It involved 3 PTCs and 15 participants who were purposively sampled. This study used a qualitative research design. Data was gathered using in-depth multiple interviews and analyzed following Moustakas (1994) procedure. Findings: Data analysis and results revealed that tutor‘s continue to rely on traditional approaches in both instruction and supervision of school practice. The colleges are in a nascent stage in the integration of ICT and reflective practice in education being accustomed to traditional instructional practices and lack of motivation and knowledge among tutors to adopt ICT in teaching. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: This research study adds to the body of knowledge suggesting ways in which constructivists’ teaching supports teaching effectiveness and promotes students’ learning amplifying the need for ICT and reflective practice integration in instruction. The study recommends establishing and setting up Reflective Practice Laboratories in Primary Teachers Colleges for tutors and students induction on several constructivists’ practices that include systematic reflection, clinical supervision, use and integration of ICT and other interventions in a proper and professional setting

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‘Somebody stuck me in a bag of sand’: Lived experiences of the altered and uncomfortable body after stroke

Clinical Rehabilitation ◽

10.1177/02692155211000740 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 026921552110007

Author(s):

Hannah Stott ◽

Mary Cramp ◽

Stuart McClean ◽

Ailie Turton

Keyword(s):

Support Groups ◽

Phenomenological Study ◽

Community Support ◽

Phenomenological Approach ◽

The Body ◽

Stroke Survivors ◽

Post Stroke ◽

Personal Perceptions ◽

Psychological Sense ◽

Qualitative Phenomenological

Objective: This study explored stroke survivors’ experiences of altered body perception, whether these perceptions cause discomfort, and the need for clinical interventions to improve comfort. Design: A qualitative phenomenological study. Setting: Participants’ homes. Participants: A purposive sample of 16 stroke survivors were recruited from community support groups. Participants (median: age 59; time post stroke >2 years), were at least six-months post-stroke, experiencing motor or sensory impairments and able to communicate verbally. Interventions: Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were analysed using an interpretive phenomenological approach and presented thematically. Results: Four themes or experiences were identified: Participants described (1) a body that did not exist; (2) a body hindered by strange sensations and distorted perceptions; (3) an uncontrollable body; and (4) a body isolated from social and clinical support. Discomfort was apparent in a physical and psychological sense and body experiences were difficult to comprehend and communicate to healthcare staff. Participants wished for interventions to improve their comfort but were doubtful that such treatments existed. Conclusion: Indications are that altered body perceptions cause multifaceted physical and psychosocial discomfort for stroke survivors. Discussions with patients about their personal perceptions and experiences of the body may facilitate better understanding and management to improve comfort after stroke.

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Enhancing the professional dignity of midwives: A phenomenological study

Nursing Ethics ◽

10.1177/0969733017739781 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 1062-1074 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christelle Froneman ◽

Neltjie C van Wyk ◽

Ramadimetja S Mogale

Keyword(s):

Research Design ◽

Phenomenological Study ◽

Tertiary Hospital ◽

Ethical Considerations ◽

Optimal Care ◽

Team Members ◽

University Of Pretoria ◽

Phenomenological Research Design ◽

The University ◽

Depth Interviews

Background: When midwives are not treated with respect and their professional competencies are not recognised, their professional dignity is violated. Objective: This study explored and described how the professional dignity of midwives in the selected hospital can be enhanced based on their experiences. Research design: A descriptive phenomenological research design was used with in-depth interviews conducted with 15 purposely selected midwives. Ethical considerations: The Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee of the University of Pretoria approved the study. The research was conducted in an academic tertiary hospital with voluntary participants. Findings: To dignify midwives it is essential to enhance the following: ‘to acknowledge the capabilities of midwives’, ‘to appreciate interventions of midwives’, ‘to perceive midwives as equal health team members’, ‘to invest in midwives’, ‘to enhance collegiality’, ‘to be cared for by management’ and ‘to create conducive environments’. Conclusion: The professional dignity of midwives is determined by their own perspectives of the contribution that they make to the optimal care of patients, the respect that they get from others and the support that hospital management gives them. With support and care, midwives’ professional dignity is enhanced. Midwives will strive to render excellent services as well as increasing their commitment.

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Feeling stuck: exploring experiences of junior doctors

Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/ipm.2020.126 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Lauren Alexander ◽

Eimear Counihan ◽

Deirdre McNally ◽

Leonard Douglas

Keyword(s):

Reflective Practice ◽

Clinical Supervision ◽

Psychiatric Hospitals ◽

Junior Doctors ◽

Further Training ◽

Paper Version ◽

Item Questionnaire ◽

Open Coding ◽

System Factors ◽

Clinical Interactions

Objectives: Staff working in mental health services provide care for individuals with a variety of difficulties, which can pose treatment challenges. Perceived lack of progress in patients can engender uncomfortable feelings within the clinician, such as frustration, ‘heartsink’ and ‘feeling stuck’. The aim of this study was to explore the phenomenon of ‘feeling stuck’ amongst NCHDs in psychiatry. Methods: A total of 30 participants were recruited from three psychiatric hospitals to complete a 15-item questionnaire. The survey was designed to pursue a thematic analysis. Participants were asked to complete the survey anonymously, either online or paper version. The analysis was carried out by two researchers using open coding, with themes finalised through collective discourse. Results: Three themes were elicited from the data. The central theme – ‘causes of feeling stuck’ – consisted of three subthemes (patient, doctor and system factors). Participants were adept at describing patient and system factors, but reflected on doctor factors, such as countertransference, less often and in less detail. Other themes, explored in less detail by respondents, were ‘the experience of feeling stuck’ and ‘responses to feeling stuck’, with participants tending to seek solutions to, rather than an understanding of, these feelings. Conclusions: Trainee psychiatrists can clearly identify the situations where they are ‘stuck’ with clinical interactions. In spite of clinical supervision and reflective practice groups, they desire further training in managing these scenarios. NCHDs would benefit from further training, using these ‘stuck’ interactions as material, to further develop their understanding of the underlying factors in both themselves and their patients.

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EXPRESS: “Run to the hills”: Specific contributions of anticipated energy expenditure during active spatial learning

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1177/17470218221076533 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 174702182210765

Author(s):

Simon Lhuillier ◽

Pascale Piolino ◽

Serge Nicolas ◽

Valérie Gyselinck

Keyword(s):

Energy Expenditure ◽

Spatial Learning ◽

Walking Speed ◽

Predictive Coding ◽

Space Perception ◽

The Body ◽

Spatial Representations ◽

Immersive Virtual Reality ◽

Locomotion Cost ◽

Constructivist Approaches

Grounded views of cognition consider that space perception is shaped by the body and its potential for action. These views are substantiated by observations such as the distance-on-hill effect, described as the overestimation of visually perceived uphill distances. An interpretation of this phenomenon is that slanted distances are overestimated because of the integration of energy expenditure cues. The visual perceptual processes involved are however usually tackled through explicit estimation tasks in passive situations. The goal of this study was to consider instead more ecological active spatial processing. Using immersive virtual reality and an omnidirectional treadmill, we investigated the effect of anticipated implicit physical locomotion cost by comparing spatial learning for uphill and downhill routes, while maintaining actual physical cost and walking speed constant. In the first experiment, participants learnt city layouts by exploring uphill or downhill routes. They were then tested using a landmark positioning task on a map. In the second experiment, the same protocol was used with participants who wore loaded ankle weights. Results from the first experiment showed that walking uphill routes led to a global underestimation of distances compared to downhill routes. This inverted distance-of-hill effect was not observed in the second experiment, where an additional effort was applied. These results suggest that the underestimation of distances observed in experiment one emerged from recalibration processes whose function was to solve the transgression of proprioceptive predictions linked with uphill energy expenditure. Results are discussed in relation to constructivist approaches on spatial representations and predictive coding theories.

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Music in the Body

Journal of Music Theory ◽

10.1215/00222909-9124738 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 65 (1) ◽

pp. 81-106

Author(s):

Alison Stevens

Keyword(s):

Eighteenth Century ◽

Movement Patterns ◽

Art Music ◽

The Body ◽

Unique Contribution ◽

Musical Styles

Abstract Dance in general and the contredanse in particular have long been recognized as important to eighteenth-century European music. But music theorists have tended to understate the contredanse's unique contribution, when they haven't overlooked it entirely: dances are more often treated as musical styles or topics than as movement patterns, and the minuet, with more explicit connections to art music, has received more attention than the contredanse. This article analyzes the choreography as well as the music of eighteenth-century contredanses to show how this dance supported the development of hypermetrical hearing. The contredanse had surpassed the minuet in popularity by the second half of the eighteenth century, probably in part because of its participatory rather than performative nature. More important, it was the first dance in which alignment of choreography and music consistently extended to multiple hypermetric levels. In addressing the importance of contredanse choreography to eighteenth-century hypermeter, this article makes a broader appeal for incorporation of dance and the body into the study of meter.

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