DEVELOPMENT OF AN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION IN THE USA

This article is devoted to the problem of alternative education. In modern society we observe really great changes in many fields: policy, economy, communication, international contacts etc. In such conditions the system of education can’t be the same as it was during the last two or three centuries. In response to the establishment of standardized and compulsory education alternative education grew up. The aim of the study is to investigate the development and to reveal the peculiarities of alternative education in the USA. Theoretical research methods have been used in this study: analysis of scientific sources for the: systematisation and generalisation of available data; defining of the essence of basic concepts; identification of the current state of the problem. The results of investigation give possibility to state that alternative school is an establishment with a curriculum and teaching methods that are unusual, nontraditional. Alternative pedagogical approaches may include different structures, as in the open classroom, different teacher-student relationship, as in the free schools and different curricula and teaching methods, as in the Waldorf and Montessori schools. Synonyms for the alternative in this context include non-traditional, non-conventional, non-standardized. In modern times the legal right to provide educational alternatives has become established in many countries. Among them such country as the United States is worth to be mentioned. In the USA a variety of educational alternatives exist at the elementary, secondary and some other levels in four categories: school choice, independent schools, home-based education or home-schooling, self-education. Some schools are based on the pedagogical approaches different from the mainstream pedagogy, while other schools are for gifted students, children with special needs, vulnerable children etc. Alternative schools appeared in the United States more than three centuries ago. They provide special educational conditions for the personal development of each pupil.

Classroom Learning Environments: Assessing and Investigating the Learning Environment

Educators, students, and parents often speak about the environment or climate of classrooms and schools because they consider it important in its own right and influential for achieving various educational goals. However, it is rare for educators to include the learning environment in their evaluation procedures, whereas they focus almost exclusively on narrow achievement criteria. Although the learning environment is a subtle concept, the literature cited in this article charts remarkable progress since the 1960s in conceptualizing, assessing, researching, and changing it. Progress and internationalization in the field of learning environment over the past several decades has been facilitated considerably by Learning Environments Research: An International Journal, which began in 1998 and remains the only journal devoted exclusively to this topic. Following a section covering important reviews/overviews of the field, this article is divided into four significant topics that dominate the literature on learning environments. First, the field is rich in terms of economical, valid, and widely used instruments for assessing learning environments. Second, learning-environment assessments frequently have been used as criteria of effectiveness in the evaluation of educational programs and instructional methods, with indicators of classroom climate often differentiating revealingly between educational alternatives even when a variety of outcome measures do not. Third, the most common line of past learning-environment research has been relationships between the learning environment and student outcomes, which consistently suggests that creating positive classroom/school climates improves student outcomes. Fourth, educators have found it useful to use feedback based on their students’ perceptions of actual and preferred climate in action research aimed at improving learning environments.

Metodologias interdisciplinares para uma nova educação ambiental

Resumo O artigo aborda a relevância das metodologias interdisciplinares para uma educação ambiental efetiva e maneiras práticas de implementá-la no âmbito não formal. Discute-se, também, a importância de alternativas educativas na educação ambiental, para uma aprendizagem mais próxima às questões atuais — que provoque um olhar mais integrador do sujeito em relação ao seu local de vivência. A pesquisa é qualitativa e de caráter bibliográfico, para melhor compreender o tema e as práticas interdisciplinares realizadas no Centro de Referência e Assistência Social (CRAS) de Muliterno/RS. Os métodos interdisciplinares são essenciais para a educação ambiental, com a finalidade de conscientizar, sensibilizar e formar sujeitos críticos. Concluiu-se que as atividades desenvolvidas contribuíram satisfatoriamente para o ensino-aprendizagem de cada sujeito envolvido. Realizou-se um Diagnóstico Situacional Participativo e cada grupo social integrante relatou suas experiências diárias; assim, foi possível estabelecer soluções práticas que aproximaram os indivíduos de seu ambiente. Palavras-chave: Práticas socioambientais. Ensino interdisciplinar. Educação não formal. Meio ambiente. Abstract The article deals with the relevance of interdisciplinary methodologies for effective environmental education and practical ways of inserting it in the non-formal scope. It also discusses the importance of educational alternatives in environmental education, for a learning process closer to current issues and capable of instigating a more integrative view of the subjects concerning their place of experience. The research is qualitative and bibliographic to understand better the topic and interdisciplinary practices carried out at the Reference and Social Assistance Center (CRAS) in Muliterno / RS. The interdisciplinary methods are essential for the environmental education, for the awareness, sensitization, and critical formation of the subjects. It was concluded that the activities developed contributed satisfactorily to the teaching-learning of each subject involved. A Participatory Situational Diagnosis was carried out, and each social group reported their daily experiences; thus, it was possible to establish practical solutions that brought individuals closer to their environment. Keywords: Socio-environmental practices. Interdisciplinary Teaching. Non-Formal Education. Environment. Resumen El artículo trata la relevancia de las metodologías interdisciplinarias para una educación ambiental efectiva y formas prácticas de implantarla en el ámbito no formal. Discute también sobre la importancia de alternativas educativas en la educación ambiental, para un aprendizaje más cercano a las cuestiones actuales — que genere una visión más integral del sujeto respecto a su entorno. La investigación es cualitativa y de carácter bibliográfico, para mejor comprender el tema y las prácticas interdisciplinarias realizadas en el Centro de Referencia y Asistencia Social (CRAS) de Muliterno/RS. Los métodos multidisciplinarios son esenciales para la educación ambiental, con la finalidad de crear consciencia, sensibilizar y formar sujetos críticos. Se concluye que las actividades desarrolladas contribuyeron satisfactoriamente para la enseñanza-aprendizaje de cada sujeto participante. Se realizó un Diagnóstico Situacional Participativo y cada grupo social participante hizo un relato de sus experiencias diarias; de esa manera, fue posible establecer soluciones prácticas que acercaron a los individuos a su ambiente. Palabras-clave: Prácticas socioambientales. Educación interdisciplinaria. Educación no formal. Medioambiente.

The study of anatomy and physiology by students majoring in non-biological pedagogical education in the context of distance learning

The paper discusses the experience of organizing distance learning in 2019/2020-2020/2021 in the course Anatomy and Physiology for students majoring in non-biological pedagogical education. The features and difficulties of studying this course for these students are highlighted. The paper discusses necessary steps to improve the effectiveness of teaching the course. Among them there are minimization of natural visualization, the use of educational alternatives, the expansion of topics of physiological and functional tests, the rejection of the practice of memorizing terminology in Latin, teaching the technique of performing anatomical drawing, strengthening the practice-oriented component of the course content, systematic terminological work, inclusion of elements of age physiology in the content of the course. The paper describes the changes in the format of studying the course in 2020/2021 after distance learning experience in 2019/2020. The author presents and analyzes the results of a survey of students as a source of feedback on the effectiveness of the tools, methods and forms of teaching and control of knowledge in the course in the context of distance learning. The prospects for further research are highlighted, including the use of various educational platforms, development of a methodology for terminological work using distance technologies, strengthening of the bioethical component of the course content, creation of static and dynamic educational infographics and case pools on discipline topics.

Who Studied at the Beit Midrash?: Funding Palestinian Amoraic Education

The house of study of Amoraic Palestine has resisted study because of its informality. By situating it alongside Hellenistic, Roman and Christian education, this article argues that examining their funding provides a means of understanding the structural tendencies of these study circles. Communal support appears mostly aspirational, providing clues as to intention and conflicts regarding inclusion. Similarly, narratives concerning individual gifts urge their moral good rather than their reliability, thus pointing inevitably to fees as the underlying means of support for the beit midrash. The necessity of fees in turn demands consideration of how those of more marginal means, including scribes, could afford this tuition. Finally, that teaching younger children provided one avenue of such support reveals a complex interdependency of those who had easier access to this education and those who had less access, as well as the barely glimpsed suggestion of other educational alternatives.

Public-Oriented Alternatives to Dominating Control of Schooling Exemplified by Raden Adjeng Kartini and Ki Hadjar’s Taman Siswa Schools in Indonesia

School curriculum in most countries is dominated by the interests of the corporate states that govern the world. Educational alternatives have emerged in many countries that represent a public that is disenfranchised with them. In Indonesia, the work of Raden Adjeng Kartini and Ki Hadjar Dewantara provides poignant illustrations of educators who developed writings and practices that offer alternatives to the corporate states or imperialist and colonial precursors to them. These two prominent Indonesian curriculum theorists/educators, Raden Adjeng Kartini (1879–1904) and Ki Hadjar Dewantara (1889–1959), their lives, their works regarding the education of indigenous Indonesians, and their influences upon Indonesian education illustrate such alternatives. Raden Adjeng Kartini’s contribution in education revolves around four main concerns, namely the conditions and the rights of girls and women in Indonesian society, specifically in Java; the influences of tradition and customs; modernity and educating Indonesians; and the mechanism of colonialization. Her letters between 1898 and 1904 are unique sources to better understand her curriculum craft on the importance of education for all. Ki Hadjar’s contributions in education are similar to those of Raden Adjeng Kartini. Ki Hadjar’s contribution can be studied through the work of Taman Siswa school. The important characteristics of Taman Siswa include its conceptual and physical establishment as perguruan or paguron, sense of family as an institutional and educational principle and approach, and the Among System.

Educational Alternatives for the Maintenance of Educational Competencies in Surgical Training Programs Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Along with the socio-economic burden the COVID-19 pandemic carried, the strain it brought upon our health care system is unparalleled. In an attempt to conserve much needed personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as to free up available hospital beds to accommodate the significant influx of COVID-19 patients, many elective surgical cases were essentially put on hold. Furthermore, to taper the spread of this highly contagious virus and to protect the medical staff, surgical clinics were limited to urgent care that could not be managed through virtual platforms. Surgical trainees, such as residents and fellows, who solemnly rely on clinical and surgical exposure to hone their operative and clinical skills, were evidently left deprived. As the pandemic rapidly progressed, medical staff in the emergency departments and what is now known as the COVID wards and COVID ICUs quickly became overwhelmed and overworked. This new reality required surgical trainees to rapidly redeploy to help meet the rising hospital needs. With no clear end to this pandemic, surgical trainees worry they will not reach the appropriate milestones and acquire the amount of surgical experience required to become competent surgeons. As a result, a rapid solution should be found and applied to remedy this newly created gap in surgical education. The measures we recommend include access to regular webinars from world-renowned experts, increased implementation of surgical simulation, selective redeployment of residents to favor level-appropriate learning opportunities and lastly, the active participation of trainees in telemedicine with an increase in surgical exposure as soon as the restrictions are lifted.