Face-to-Face Communication in Aphasia: The Influence of Conversation Partner Familiarity on a Collaborative Communication Task

Aphasia is language impairment due to acquired brain damage. It affects people’s ability to communicate effectively in everyday life. Little is known about the influence of environmental factors on everyday communication for people with aphasia (PWA). It is generally assumed that for PWA speaking to a familiar person (i.e. with shared experiences and knowledge) is easier than speaking to a stranger (Howard, Swinburn, and Porter). This assumption is in line with existing psycholinguistic theories of common ground (Clark, 1996), but there is little empirical data to support this assumption. The current study investigated whether PWA benefit from conversation partner (CP) familiarity during goal-directed communication, and how this effect compared to a group of neurologically healthy controls (NHC). Sixteen PWA with mild to severe aphasia, sixteen matched NHC, plus self-selected familiar CPs participated. Pairs were videotaped while completing a collaborative communication task. Pairs faced identical Playmobile rooms: the view of the other’s room was blocked. Listeners attempted to replicate the 5-item set-up in the instructor’s room. Roles were swapped for each trial. For the unfamiliar condition, participants were paired with another participant’s CP (PWA were matched with another PWA’s CP based on their aphasia profile). The outcomes were canonical measures of communicative efficiency (i.e. accuracy, time to complete, etc.). Results showed different effects in response to the unfamiliar partner for PWA compared to NHC: In the instructor role, PWA showed faster trial times with the unfamiliar partner, but similar accuracy scores in both conditions. NHC, on the other hand, showed similar trial times across CPs, but higher accuracy scores with the unfamiliar partner. In the listener role, PWA showed a pattern more similar to NHC: equal trial times across conditions, and an improvement in accuracy scores with the unfamiliar partner. Results show that conversation partner familiarity significantly affected communication for PWA dyads on a familiar task, but not for NHC. This research highlights the importance of identifying factors that influence communication for PWA and understanding how this effect varies across aphasia profiles. This knowledge will ultimately inform our assessment and intervention of real-world communication.

A Preliminary Study on the Need for Structured Vocal Seminars for Fitness Instructors to Prevent Voice Disorders and Improve Overall Voice Use During Instruction

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine and demonstrate the need for structured vocal training/seminars for fitness professionals to prevent voice disorders and improve overall voice use during instruction. Method Approximately 230 fitness professionals responded to an anonymous online questionnaire consisting of 20 items addressing voice care, voice use, vocal demands, and self-reported vocal difficulties within the fitness instructor role. The survey was distributed via SurveyMonkey, and the answers contributed to the data results (see Appendix ). Results The data display overwhelming agreement among fitness professionals that voice has an important role in and major impact on every class. The majority of respondents consider themselves occupational voice users but affirm they have never had a vocal training, although they feel a vocal training would be beneficial for their work in the fitness industry and they would be interested in attending such a training. A majority of respondents also teach three or more classes per week and qualify as “vocal athletes.” Over half of the respondents perceive themselves to be inadequately hydrated, and the majority also report hoarseness at some point related to their jobs teaching fitness classes. A majority of those surveyed have experienced a feeling of straining the voice/using effort during and/or after instruction of classes and also report being social/talkative individuals outside class instruction—therefore displaying a consistent use of voice in and outside their “work” setting, implying high vocal demand and full vocal schedules with reduced time for vocal rest. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that there is an imperative need to educate and empower fitness professionals to take adequate care of their voices and use their voices in the most healthy, efficient, effective, and dynamic ways possible to create outstanding classes, motivate clients, and protect their instrument (larynx/vocal folds) while doing so.

From Clinical Practice to Academic Student Instruction: Understanding the Clinical Instructor’s Perspective Using a Mixed-Methods Approach

Background Clinical instructors (CIs) are important to the provision of real-world experiential learning because they teach, mentor, and support students in clinical practice settings in higher education programs. CIs experience tensions that influence their retention and impact the sustainability of consistent, quality education for students. Purpose The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of being a CI and how to better support them. Methods CIs in a nursing faculty at a Western Canadian university were approached to participate. Data collection included a survey ( n = 17) with questions asking about the importance of and their ability to prepare, teach, and mentor nursing students in practice. Individual interviews ( n = 6) and a focus group ( n = 3) were conducted that asked CIs about their experiences and challenges. Analysis included descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Results Participants indicated feeling unprepared entering the instructor role. Key findings were the need to improve CI orientation so that it is more practical and meaningful, to increase peer support from other instructors, and to assist CIs’ transition into becoming educators. Conclusions Understanding CIs’ assessment of their needs can help institutions better support and retain them, promoting consistency and quality in practicum instruction.

21st Century Skills: Student Perception of Online Instructor Role

Aim/Purpose: This research inquires how students perceive the role of Technology Education and Cultural diversity (TEC) instructors in improving their 21st century skills. In addition, this study examines the students’ preferred learning style: face to face, synchronous and asynchronous. Background: 21st century skills include, among others, collaboration, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills, higher order thinking, and multicultural communication. These skills are core elements for modern life and are the focus of this study as teacher critical career and life skills. This article presents the uniqueness of the TEC model, which provides a strategy to develop gradually various 21st century skills for teacher training in a multicultural technologically rich environment. Methodology: This study examined (a) the level of ICT skills students acquire from the courses; (b) students’ perceptions of the instructor role in developing 21st century skills; and (c) students’ preferred learning style. A questionnaire was delivered to 99 students, who participated in courses based on the TEC model. Students from eight different Teacher Education Colleges and different cultural backgrounds – Arabs, Jews, religious, and secular – participated in this study. Contribution: This study could shed light on the instructor’s role as a facilitator in developing students’ 21st century skills in a multicultural society. This study may provide a model and ideas for policy makers in teacher training programs to employ 21st century skills along with continuous development and adaptation to suit the rapid changing reality. A larger study needed to examine additional aspects of the 21st century skills in the teacher training programs in general and in multicultural societies in particular. Findings: The findings show that students complete the course with a high level of ICT skills, and that their preferred learning communication style was face-to-face (F2F) (45.45%) and blended method (43.43%), over the fully online (11.11%). Regarding online learning, students mostly preferred the mixed method of synchronous and asynchronous (59%), followed by asynchronous (29%), and synchronous (12%). As to student preference of the instructor role of enhancement, the results were prioritized as follow: Higher order thinking (M=3.99), online group collaboration (M=3.87), multicultural communication awareness (M=3.82), pedagogical use of digital tools (M=3.73). Recommendations for Practitioners: Teacher education lecturers ought to: (1) design the online courses in a way that integrates F2F meetings and both synchronous and asynchronous methods; and (2) employ the wide range of skills in TEC courses that comply with 21st century principles; hence, the importance of widening such courses in teacher education colleges. Recommendation for Researchers: It is recommended to perform a similar study using a pre-post method, as well as taking into consideration cultural uniqueness (such as language differences) and group comparison, where we can identify the effective components of the course design that would lead to a higher level of 21st century skills competencies among teachers. Impact on Society: 21st century skills are life skills, hence developing these skills in an appropriate educational setting reflects better utilization among all the members of society. Future Research: More research should be done to widen the knowledge and address the importance of the instructor role as a course designer and facilitator in order to turn 21st century learning into a more meaningful and relevant one.

Facilitating Collaboration

This article explores the potential synergy between computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and collaboration engineering (CE). Both areas pursue the goal of understanding how to manage interactions in collaborative groups to achieve shared understanding, reduce process losses, and improve performance. By analyzing the research in the two areas, the authors identify several topics where exchange of research findings would be of mutual benefit. For example, research on CE can inform collaboration script research on reducing learners' cognitive load, providing sufficient guidance on the use of tools, and specifying the instructor role during the collaborative learning process. Similarly, collaboration script research can provide useful insights to CE on the appropriation and internalization of effective support strategies. CE research could also learn from script research on training group participants into specific roles. Further challenges include designing scripts that balance restrictiveness and flexibility and refining the theoretical foundation of the two research areas.

Integrated Experiential Education: Definitions and a Conceptual Model

Universities are currently embracing community engagement strategies to increase opportunities for student learning in community settings such as community organizations. Experiential learning is often touted as the pedagogy underlying such experiences. We undertook a research project exploring the challenges and benefits for students and faculty who are offering integrated experiential curriculum in universities within North American Recreation and Leisure studies programs. We also address the ways in which interviewees defined experiential, and in particular, integrated experiential education. In the paper, we propose a model, defining the breadth of integrated experiential education approaches across continua of place, curriculum, philosophy, instructor role, and content. The model provides a tool for both understanding common aspects of integrated experiential approaches and identifying where specific experiential activities lie across these continua. De nos jours, les universités ont recours aux stratégies d’engagement communautaire afin de donner aux étudiants de plus grandes possibilités d’apprentissage dans les milieux communautaires tels que les organismes communautaires. L’apprentissage par l’expérience est souvent présenté comme étant la pédagogie sous-jacente à de telles expériences. Nous avons entrepris un projet de recherche visant à explorer les défis et les avantages pour les étudiants et les professeurs qui offrent des programmes d’études intégrés basés sur l’expérience dans les universités nord-américaines au sein de programmes d’Études en loisirs et en récréologie. Nous nous sommes également intéressés aux manières dont les personnes interviewées définissent les termes « basé sur l’expérience », en particulier l’enseignement intégré basé sur l’expérience. Dans cet article, nous proposons un modèle qui définit l’étendue des approches de l’enseignement intégré basé sur l’expérience indépendamment des lieux, des programmes d’études, des philosophies, des rôles des instructeurs et des contenus. Le modèle présente un outil pour comprendre les aspects communs des approches de l’enseignement intégré basé sur l’expérience et par ailleurs, il identifie où se situent les activités spécifiquement basées sur l’expérience d’un bout à l’autre du continuum.

PENGARUH PERAN PENYULUH DAN KEARIFAN LOKAL TERHADAP ADOPSI INOVASI PADI SAWAH DI KECAMATAN MONTASIK KABUPATEN ACEH BESAR

The purpose of this research was to determine (1) the influence of extension worker, (2) the influence of local wisdom, also (3) to determine whether there was the influences of social and economic factors in innovation adoption of rice farming and (4) whether there was the activity synergies of extension worker and local wisdom towards innovation adoption of rice farming in Montasik sub-district. The basic method used in this research was the analytical descriptive with the quantitative approach which was suported by its qualitative side. The chosen location of the research was done on purpose that was the sub-district of Montasik (WKPP Piyeung I and WKPP Bukit Baro I) the regency of Aceh Besar. The sampling of respondents method was the simple random sampling with the number of respondents was 120 farmers from 1057 population. The techniques of data analysis used in this research were: 1) the technique of scoring (Likert scale), 2) the validity test used was the Pearson correlation, 3) the reliability test used with Cronbach Alpha method, 4) the normality test was the PP plot model, 5) the test of hypotheses, for the first, the second and the third hypothesis was using the multiple linear regression and the correlation, for the fourth hypothesis was using the qualitative approach. From the analysis results of multiple linear regression test which was using the Backward (model 5) in the first, the second and the third hypothesis indicated that all of the seven variables tested, three of them were instructor role variables, motivation and attitude had the positive and significant impact on innovation adoption of rice farming. With the sig value from the instructor role variables was 0.000 < 0.10, the sig value of the motivation was 0.097 < 0.10, and the sig value of the attitude was 0.004 < 0.10. For the fourth hypothesis showed the synergies between the counseling activities with the indigenous local wisdom approach towards the innovation adoption of rice farming where the extension worker and the community leaders could work together as well in the organizing of the rice planting schedule and in the process of environmental preservation in the Montasik sub-district.