VIDA DOCENTE CONTEMPORÂNEA: ENTRE SABERES, PRÁTICAS, ANGÚSTIAS E SOFRIMENTOS / Contemporary teaching life: between knowledge, practices, anguish and suffering

Nossas jornadas como professores têm nos mostrado que muitos de nossos alunos, por exemplo, não almejam nenhum tipo de relação com o trabalho docente. Em nossa perspectiva, essa triste e alarmante constatação está relacionada a dois fatores principais. O primeiro deles é o atual cenário brasileiro que vê, nos professores, constantes inimigos da sociedade, não valorizando e respeitando seus quefazeres, em virtude de seu trabalho crítico e com vistas à democracia. O outro aspecto é o fato de a classe docente sofrer demasiadamente com um trabalho que há muito deixou de ser relacionado somente aos saberes pedagógicos, uma vez que o mesmo tem incorporado cada vez mais aspectos burocráticos e administrativos, levando diversos professores a um constante esgotamento, não só físico e mental, mas também emocional. Neste trabalho, portanto, através dos pressupostos da Linguística Sistêmico-Funcional (HALLIDAY, 1994; HALLIDAY; MATTHIESSEN, 2014) e do Sistema de Avaliatividade (MARTIN; WHITE, 2005; VIAN JR., 2010), analisamos três excertos de uma conversa informal pré-pandemia entre amigos professores, de modo a tecer reflexões sobre como a educação tem se tornado um mercado (PALMER, 2012), o qual tem sucateado o trabalho docente, trazendo sofrimento e angústias (CÔRTES, 2017). Este texto se configura, ainda, como um manifesto que visa alertar sobre a necessidade de se discutir a respeito dos rumos que a vida docente contemporânea no Brasil tem tido, bem como a urgência de se investigar o papel que as emoções desempenham no ensino e no trabalho docente (ZEMBYLAS, 2003; 2005).

Concluding Thoughts on Life Skills Education for Youth

This chapter summarizes the answer to the motivating question for this book: “Which life skills are important, for whom, and how can they be taught?” Drawing on research reflected in the preceding chapters, I highlight three broad themes. First, that teaching life skills helps marginalized adolescents in particular – but should not put the onus of overcoming marginalization squarely on their shoulders. Second, that consensus seems to be emerging that a cluster of social and emotional skills and cognitive abilities like critical thinking are particularly important for success. Third, that the way in which life skills are taught matters as much as which skills are taught. I also reflect on three big barriers that we need to address if we really want to advance the agenda of life skills. First, governments may not embrace the transformative change we want to see. Second, life skills programs are complex to implement and to measure. Lastly, we cannot ignore the risk of unintended consequences on the path to developing life skills. I suggest that each of these challenges is worth contending with to give youth of today a fighting chance to deal with the expected and as-yet unimagined challenges of tomorrow.

Teachers’ beliefs and practices when teaching life sciences using their second language

African township schools are characterised by cultural and linguistic diversity, hence, teachers have the dual task of ensuring that learners grasp scientific concepts, while also catering for the diversity in the learners’ backgrounds. The study reported on here was aimed at investigating teachers’ beliefs and practices in teaching life sciences using English, a language that is not their own home language. The study was underpinned by a socio-constructivist perspective, emphasising how one’s personal context, including prior experiences, influences the development of beliefs about language use in life sciences classes and the manner in which teaching and learning might occur. The sample comprised 6 teachers who all spoke English as a second language. We collected the data using structured interviews to ascertain the teachers’ beliefs about the teaching of life sciences in English to Grade 11 classes, and classroom observations to identify their classroom practices. The findings indicate that the beliefs that the teachers expressed differed from their actual choices and practices in the lessons observed.

Evaluation of the second grade physics book in the light of associative thinking skills

The study was conducted in Iraq / University of Al-Qadisiyah, and aims to evaluate the physics book for the second intermediate class in the light of associative thinking skills, and to achieve it, the researchers reviewed the literature and previous studies related to associative thinking skills. Skills, which is the only classification of these skills. Then the researchers built a standard for associative thinking skills, which consists of three skills, and under each skill there are fifteen indicators, Then the researchers presented the criterion to a group of experts and arbitrators in the field of methods of teaching physics, methods of teaching life sciences, measurement, evaluation and educational psychology to verify the validity of the criterion and that its paragraphs match what was prepared for it. The researchers analyzed the content of the physics book for the second intermediate grade scheduled for the academic year (2020-2021) in light of the criterion, as the number of analyzed pages reached (80) pages, and the researchers adopted the idea unit as a unit of analysis, and the researchers By calculating the validity and reliability, as the researchers relied on the Holstey equation to calculate the reliability as a statistical method. In order to achieve the second goal in the model (Afaneh and Nashwan, 2016) for the second grade, the thinking and associative skills are averaged as required, and for the second grade, they reach the evaluation score of (75%). In light of the research results, the researcher came up with a set of effective: 1. Physics books for the intermediate stage include topics that include teaching students the skills of associative thinking and in the required form, taking into account the spoken percentages and methods of inclusion. 2. Work to establish training courses for physics teachers dealing with the latest global developments regarding strategies that develop associative thinking skills and use them to highlight the reciprocal relationship between employing these skills and solving the problems they face. The researchers suggested the following: Conducting studies to analyze the content of science books in the primary stage and physics books for the preparatory stage according to the skills of associative thinking. Keywords (calendar, textbook, associative thinking).

Method for Teaching Life-Saving Combat First-Aid Skills With live–actor Patients Using a Wearable Training Apparatus

ABSTRACT Introduction Training combat personnel in combat first-aid skills has faced many challenges over time, such as the need to combine tactics with medicine and to overcome combat personnel’s lack of medical background knowledge. Therefore, many simulation methods are currently being developed, each of which has its advantages and disadvantages. In this study, a combined simulation method involving live–actor patients using a wearable training apparatus was developed, and the effects of this method were observed. Materials and Methods Focusing on the major causes of preventable deaths among victims killed in action, wearable training apparatuses simulating massive hemorrhage, airway obstruction, and tension pneumothorax were designed and produced. Methods of simulating these three injury types using live–actor patients with these training apparatuses were developed, and medical teachers evaluated the simulation effects. The live–actor patients were incorporated into a tactical scenario to train and test nonmedical and medical students in year 3, respectively. High-fidelity simulator-based training and traditional training without simulation served as the control. A post-training survey using a 7-point Likert scale evaluated the trainees’ feelings toward these training approaches. Results Three types of training apparatuses were developed to simulate three life-threatening injuries, and the simulation effects of the live–actor patients using these apparatuses were highly recognized by medical teachers. Both live–actor patients and high-fidelity simulator-based training improved performance significantly more than traditional training. However, the improvement due to training with live–actor patients was greater than that due to high-fidelity simulator-based training for nonmedical students, whereas there was no difference between these two simulation methods for medical students. A post-training survey revealed that all the trainees were confident in practicing first-aid skills after training, and they all agreed that live–actor patients could combine tactical situations with first aid better than high-fidelity simulators. The nonmedical students strongly agreed that live–actor patients were more helpful in the training of injury evaluation than high-fidelity simulators. Conclusions The method using wearable training apparatus-based live–actor patients was satisfying and effective for teaching life-saving combat first-aid skills, especially for nonmedical students.

Benefits of Life Skill Based Education for Neurodiverse Adults: An Integrative Review and Analysis

An integrative review and analysis was conducted to assess the benefits of teaching Life Skill-Based Education (LSBE) to Neuro Divergent Ddults (ND) (i.e., adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and/or specific learning difficulties (SLD)). A systematic search of Google, Google Scholar, EBSCO host, and Cochrane Library databases were utilized with date ranging from 2000-2020. A total of 659 hits were obtained before duplicates were removed and inclusion/exclusion criteria, as well as conceptual perspective applied. In summation, 16 articles were thoroughly analysed to evaluate the efficacy of LSBE programs on improving the Quality of Life (QoL) of ND adults. Specifically, ones that cater to the Executive Functioning (EF) challenges often seen in this population, whilst using inclusive approaches. The findings did reveal high potential of LSBE programs to benefit ND adults, where general services currently lack. However, issues such a small sample size and lack of sample diversity limit generalizability of program benefits. Recommendations are to tackle global problems around inclusion and education, for ND adults, at its roots. Greater awareness of LSBE program should be emphasized worldwide, as benefits will likely ensue for all kinds of individuals/neurotypes. Overall, implications target change on a micro, meso and macro level.

TEACHING LIFE SCIENCES USING SECOND LANGUAGE: HOW DO TEACHERS COPE?

Language plays a pivotal role in science teaching and learning as it serves as both the medium through which the teachers and learners think and also communicate in the classrooms. Science and Life sciences in particular comprises of a unique scientific language register with a lot of technical words and terms borrowed from other languages other than English. Previous researchers acknowledged the difficulty teachers face when teaching science in a language different from their own and that of the learners. Consequently, the current study explored the various ways in which English-second-language Life Sciences teachers taught Life Sciences in order to mitigate language difficulties for themselves and those of their learners. The study was guided by the research question: how does English as a second language influence teacher practices when teaching Life Sciences to grade 12 learners? Using a qualitative research design, six Life Sciences teachers with various levels of teaching experience, two novices, two relatively experienced and two very experienced teachers, were purposefully selected from six different schools. The assumption was that teachers at various levels of experience may have different experiences of teaching the subject in a second language. Each teacher was observed once whilst teaching the same topic to grade 11 Life Sciences learners to establish their teaching practices. Incidences of learner engagement with the content, teacher-learner and learner-learner interactions were captured and scored using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol rubric. Lesson observations were suitable for data collection as they allowed the researcher to examine even non-elicited behaviour as it happened. The findings indicated that language difficulties were prevalent and affected both teachers and learners in engaging with the concepts at hand. For instance, most of the teachers whether experienced or not, struggled to explain and elaborate vital Life Sciences concepts in a comprehensible manner due to lack of proficiency in the language of instruction. The teachers mostly utilised code-switching as it enabled them to explain and elaborate scientific terms and processes in both English and their home languages. Because learners were allowed to express themselves in their home languages, the level of interaction also increased. In addition, teachers used transliteration and demonstrations as teaching strategies that also reduced the challenges of using English as a medium of instruction. The study informs both pre-service and in-service teacher development programmes.

Eschatology and Revelation

A systematic study of Christian ‘revelation’ commonly involves a distinction between ‘natural’ and ‘supernatural’ revelation, which derive respectively from the created world through which God acts and speaks, and from God’s personal word and action culminating in the teaching, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This chapter attempts to show that this binomial stands in need of a third category, in order to fully understand Christian revelation. The category in question is eschatology, without which revelation would be incomplete and ultimately incoherent. In the first part of the chapter an attempt is made to justify the distinction between ‘natural’ and ‘supernatural’ revelation on anthropological grounds. The second part goes on to explain the richness of the notion of revelation in terms of five different models which refer to the complex process by which revelation impinges on humans as the latter attempt to assimilate and identify with God’s word and grace: the propositional, the historical, inner experience, dialectic presence, and new awareness. All five models point directly or indirectly to the needed eschatological complement of revelation. Finally, the third section presents different aspects of Christian eschatology in which God is revealed to humanity definitively, ‘face to face’: the Parousia, or final coming of Jesus Christ at the end of time; the resurrection of the dead with the new heavens and the new earth; general judgement as God’s final word; all of which take place in the power of the Holy Spirit; then, heavenly glory as the eternal vision of God, or its possible loss; lastly, the significance of the end-time signs.

French as the Teaching Language of Life and Earth Sciences in Moroccan School: what’s the Teachers’ Opinion?

The strategic vision for the recent reform in Morocco included the diversification of teaching languages by teaching scientific subjects in French. This starts in pilot’s class teaching scientific subjects in the French language. In this context, the language for teaching Life and Earth Sciences (LES) was changed from Arabic to French. This linguistic change in teaching LES aims to make the learner able to communicate in French in addition to Arabic, and to put an end to the linguistic problem that currently exists when entering universities, that teach these subjects in the French language. In this survey we interested to teachers’ opinions in order to get acquainted with their opinions in teaching Life and Earth Sciences in French for the middle school, and collecting suggestions and solutions to overcome the problem observed in classrooms. We used a questionnaire as an investigative tool for data collection distributed to life and earth sciences’ teachers of middle school. The findings of this research shows that teaching this subject in French forms an obstacle to academic achievement, and classroom interaction, whether in the rural or urban areas. This is due to reasons related to the poor language level of students, the absence of teacher continuous training in teaching the subject in French, and the weakness of the means adopted to make this change in the language of instruction. Among the solutions that have been proposed and used to overcome this educational phenomenon is the preparation of a support plan that includes a program consisting of activities targeting the communicative aspect for learners in French, as well as other activities aimed at providing the learner with skills such as analysis, description, observation and conclusion, while translating scientific words from French into Arabic.