THE IMPORTANCE OF REFLECTION-BASED STRATEGIES IN TRAINING PROFESSIONALS WORKING WITH MDVI CHILDREN

This paper focuses on the professional development regarding communication abilities of the teachers and therapists working with children with multiple disabilities and a visual impairment (MDVI). Since the development of communication abilities is a complex process, it must be approached from a continuous, systemic and structured perspective. MDVI children acquire and develop communication skills based on various factors which depend on their specific features and usually they need a large amount of time to learn how to employ different systems of communication so they can express a need or a desire and have an impact on other people or on the environment. In this context, a team of 3 universities, 4 special schools for the blind and visual impaired, one NGO and one IT company have come together in an Erasmus+ European project called PrECIVIM (Promoting Effective Communication for Individuals with a Vision Impairment and Multiple Disabilities) to address the need of a professional training in communication abilities of the specialists working with MDVI children. As a result, a complex training program has been created, based on common experiences, reflective strategies, and different training components. Method: We have focused on a group of 21 professionals working with MDVI children. They were the beneficiaries of a four-part training programme conducted by three experienced trainers on a time frame of 6 months. The programme was delivered in multiple ways, each of them with great reflective value: training manual (individual study), onsite group training, online group supervision and written individual reflective logs. Results: The individual feedback of each participant has been processed and discussed revealing significant improvement in their intervention approach toward MDVI children, in their selection of communication methods or in their professional relationship with the MDVI child. The results of the training programme are presented in terms of the efficiency of the reflection-based strategies for the professional development of each participant. Conclusion: The training programme applied to this group of professionals has emphasized the need of mentors and partners who offer constructive feedback and who implement reflective strategies in the intervention process regarding communication with MDVI children. In this sense, the reflective logs should be considered a great resource in the intervention and therapeutic process of MDVI children.

The reflective practices of early and late career music educators

The purpose of this collective case study was to explore the self-initiated reflective practices of early and late career inservice music teachers in a variety of educational settings. This research was guided by the following questions: (a) How do music teachers in a variety of settings and career stages describe the reasons they engage in reflective practice? (b) How do early and late career music teachers describe their reflective practices and strategies? (c) What are the foci described in the reflective practices of early and late career music educators? The analysis generated categories of dispositions to improve teaching and student learning, reflective strategies and resources, and focus of reflection. The primary findings from this study suggest that music teacher participants understood the value and need to reflect for their own growth and development as teachers and for student learning. Participants articulated that they used similar processes and strategies in their reflective practices. The teachers in this study gravitated toward reflecting on student-related concerns and instruction and developed networks of reflective support. Expanding time and collaborative resources for reflection, developing guided frameworks for reflection, and supporting implementable reflective strategies to broaden thinking about practice may enhance the reflective initiatives of both early and late career music educators.

Clinical performance of calcitonin and procalcitonin Elecsys® immunoassays in patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma

ObjectivesMedullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is caused by a malignant transformation in the parafollicular C-cells of the thyroid, where calcitonin (CT) is released. Nowadays, CT is the main tumor marker used in the diagnosis and follow-up of MTC patients. Nonetheless, procalcitonin (PCT) has recently been proposed as a useful complementary/alternative biomarker in MTC. Our aims were to investigate the diagnostic performance of CT and PCT and their combination in the differential diagnosis between active and inactive MTC and between MTC and non-MTC thyroid diseases, respectively.MethodsSerum samples were collected from 16 patients with active (i.e. primary tumour before surgery or post-surgical recurrent disease) and 23 with inactive (i.e. complete remission) MTC, 125 patients with non-MTC benign thyroid disease and 62 patients with non-MTC thyroid cancers, respectively. Elecsys® CT and PCT measurements were simultaneously performed on the Cobas e601 platform (Roche Diagnostics, Rotkreutz, Switzerland).ResultsBoth CT and PCT median values in active MTC (94 pmol/L and 1.17 ng/mL, respectively) were significantly higher compared with inactive MTC (0.28 and 0.06) and either benign (0.37 and 0.06) or malignant (0.28 and 0.06) non-MTC. Undetectable PCT was found in five non-MTC patients with false positive CT results.ConclusionsElecsys® PCT assay is a highly sensitive and specific alternative MTC marker. At the very least it appears useful in patients with positive CT results as negative PCT values securely exclude active MTC. The availability of both markers on the same automated platform facilitates reflex or reflective strategies to refine the laboratory diagnosis.

Reporting on the Bully Curriculum

This essay presents an argument in support of the broad adoption of a critical inquiry and anti-bullying discourse in online and face-to-face classroom spaces worldwide. The author argues in support of moving beyond simple discourse and awareness towards active, intentional, and reflective strategies that all individuals are capable of executing in and outside of the traditional classroom space. The essay explores the reasons underlying this need through a review of historical examples, longstanding challenges, and recent trends and experiences in online programs as well as traditional face-to-face classroom environments.

THE USE OF SELF-REFLECTIVE STRATEGIES IN TEACHING READING FOR STUDENTS OF VOCATIONAL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL AT SMKN 1 LAMONGAN

This study aims to describe the use of self-reflective strategies in teaching reading at a vocational senior high school. Self-reflective strategies used in enhancing the students of vocational senior high school to reflect their comprehension on the given reading materials. This activity was considered effective in order to practice and drill the students’ critical thinking. The strategies should be implemented repeatedly to make the students more skillfully creating their comprehension on the given reading materials by integrating the keywords extracted from the given reading materials. This study was implemented in experimental design at two classes of Institutional Finance Accounting department (Akuntansi Keuangan Lembaga/AKL) class Xth. The experimental class was class Xth AKL1 that it consisted of 35 students. The control class was class Xth AKL2 consisted of 34 students. Class Xth AKL1 was chosen as the experimental class based on the class’ mean of the pretest that it was 2 points lower than class Xth AKL2. The () of the pretest score from class Xth AKL1 was 76. The of the post-test score from the experimental class was 86. The N-Gain score after having treatment from class Xth AKL1 was 70.7 in percentage. It can be assumed that this strategy was adequately effective to apply to the students on the reading subject reflecting their reading comprehension and therefore, the students could adjust the strategies to achieve their profound reading comprehension.

“Through the Looking Glass”: The Emotional Journey of the Volunteer Ethnographer when Researching Sensitive Topics with Vulnerable Populations

This paper extends further research on being both a volunteer and ethnographic researcher and intends to offer some insights on the emotional challenges of adopting this dual role when conducting research on sensitive topics and with vulnerable populations. The discussion presented here draws upon an ethnographic participant observation study of a food redistribution organization (Re-food) held in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. The paper builds awareness on the emotional challenges in the field and discusses potential self-reflective strategies for researchers to cope with the extraordinary demands posed on them by specific circumstances and subjects. The volunteer ethnographer, when developing their work, is subject to a wide range of emotional challenges that are related to the functions that they had to develop in the research context itself due to their dual role, as well as to the vulnerability of participants and the sensitivity of the topic addressed.

Utilization of Reflective Strategies by Mentors in the Student Teacher Mentoring Program (STMP) in a Selected Province in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, teacher training is a joint endeavor between teachers' colleges and host schools, with the latter relying on mentors in training student teachers during teaching practice (TP). This chapter explores how mentors' reflective strategies enhance students' training. It explores how mentors adopt reflective strategies to guide student teachers. Five mentors were interviewed individually while 20 were interviewed in two focus groups. Their views concentrated on key aspects of teaching, namely scheming, lesson planning, delivery, and evaluation. Findings revealed that student teachers lacked clear aims, had poor lesson introductions, superficial lesson evaluation, and unsatisfactory lesson delivery. The study highlighted that mentors reflected on these aspects and assisted the student teachers to do the same. The study recommends that teachers' colleges should prepare student teachers adequately in scheming, planning, and lesson delivery before TP. More time should be devoted to professional studies by teachers' colleges before student teachers are deployed on TP.

Exploring Data to Learn about the Nature of Science

Biology is often taught as disconnected facts, even though the subject itself provides a holistic approach to the study of life, particularly through the overarching frame of evolution. The Framework for K–12 Science Education and Next Generation Science Standards promote a coherent approach to science that uses a developmental approach to learning. This is consistent with the use of data, reflective strategies, and a research inquiry approach that encourages students to confront their own thinking and reasoning, and thus encourages the engagement of argumentation in the classroom. This article presents narratives and classroom scenarios that might provide insights into learning strategies, with implications for a more cohesive approach to learning both biology concepts and the practices of science.