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A summary of educational theories (Merriam and Caffarella 1991: 138)

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Aspect/School Behaviourist Cognitivist Humanist Social and situational Theorists Thorndike, Pavlov, Watson, Guthrie, Hull, Tolman, Skinner Koffka, Kohler, Lewin , Piaget, Ausubel,   Bruner , Gagne Maslow,   Rogers Bandura,   Lave and Wenger , Salomon View of the learning process Change in behaviour Internal mental process (including insight, information processing, memory, perception A personal act to fulfill potential . Interaction /observation in social contexts. Movement from the periphery to the centre of a community of practice Locus of learning Stimuli in external environment Internal cognitive structuring Affective and cognitive needs Learning is in relationship between people and environment. Purpose in education Produce behavioural change in desired direction Develop capacity and skills to learn better Become self-a
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The Dimensions of Personal Identity

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In this paper I tackle the question of personal identity as to “what attributes define a person and make them who they are”.   The paper aims at informing cultural competency trainees and learning providers and therefore I shall not go into detailed discussions about what defines personhood , evidence of personhood, or about what persistence of personality is (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, n.d.) Lack of Consensus Researchers and theoreticians in the fields of philosophy, psychology and social sciences, do not have a consensus regarding what factors define personal identity. While West & Zimmerman, for example, focused in their research on the effects of gender , Maddox studied ethnicity .   Cheryan & Monin’s work, on the other hand, focused on nationality and Proshansky introduced and studied ‘ place identity ’. Professor Vivian Vignoles, of the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex, on the other hand proposes that identity has personal and social attri
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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A brief remark about the education of middle school boys in the Middle East We need to pay special attention to the way we deal with middle school boys as they are need a lot of care if we are to succeed in preparing them for a successful future.  In the Middle Eastern cultures boys are granted high status based on their gender.  Teenage boys especially, would be in a delicate state of ‘imbalance’ as they try to feel their way in society and learn how to face the challenges of social status, success and self-esteem.  There are compartments of boys’ brains that are not fully-grown by that age.  They are not yet ready for making wise decisions regarding outcomes of their behavior and risk taking.  Moreover, some hormones become more abundant in their bodies interfering with their decision making and hindering their insight.  Hence, the prevailing cultural approach of giving them higher status than their sisters, and in some cultures even higher than their mothers, does not help.  Whi
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Classroom management

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During my tenure as regional director one of the school leaders complained to me about an "unruly" lower-primary classroom whose students did not respond positively to any reward, or other consequences system, which they and the class teacher had tried. After meeting with the teacher, during a lesson observation that we scheduled in order to look further into the matter, the Director made sure to draw my attention to specific student misbehaviour using head and eye gestures, repeatedly. About fifteen minutes into the lesson, I suggested that we have seen what was enough for us to be able to make a conclusion. The leader agreed and added that what I have seen must have confirmed to me how difficult the group was as ''even our presence made no difference to them!''. I politely disagreed. My point of view is that he was looking most of the time in the wrong direction: at the students - observing how they behaved, rather than at the teacher observing what s
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Ayah Bdeir is a young Lebanese who founded and is the CEO of littlebit electronics, a company which produces little colourful modules that can connect to each other in a multitude of ways. Littlebits now partnered with Pearson and developed an invention based curriculum for Grades 3 to 8. While Lebanon struggles against sectarian affiliation that make the eradication of corruption impossible, Ayah and people like her find more room for growth abroad. Look for Ayah Bdeir on line and if you are a teacher or interested in opening opportunities of creativity for yuor children, then check her work. Here are a couple of links to start with https://www.facebook.com/littleBitselectronics/?fref=nf https://littlebits.com/pearson-littlebits-invention-curriculum
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Tackling the educational state of affairs

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An Educational Outlook The predicament of the current educational systems There is a lot of waste of learners’ talent and negative pressure current on them that current educational systems cause . Current educational systems are geared to prepare graduates who can fit into a workforce that serves the prevailing industries as they are now. There is a problem however,  the technological revolution is disrupting the status quo of most industries triggering major changes in their modus operandi and human resources needs; it is also causing many industries to disappear and new ones to sprout . Moreover,  while governments are struggling to create jobs, companies are struggling to fill vacancies . Economic growth is hence being constrained and the threat is serious to many economies, to the stability of many societies, and to the wellbeing of individuals. The world does not need graduates! Educational systems, curricula and learning environments need therefore to develop in
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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What makes a good school

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Characteristics essential for a good school Importance of good schooling ‘What makes a good school’ is a subject of particular significance due to the important impact of education on the future of every child and on the development of societies.  This issue is of special importance to educational authorities, educational leaders and parents because educational authorities and educational leaders are responsible for developing and implementing policies that should lead to effective schooling, and parents have to make correct decisions when selecting schools for their children and support their children's education.  In our view, a good school is one that
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A brief note about current schooling

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Frequently our long term interests clash with our immediate comfort. Some research shows that the ability of a person to delay comfort in order to get a better deal later is an indicator of future success. It is normal to dislike the current strict system of schooling; I for example hated having to move from one class to another upon hearing the sound of a bell. I consoled myself however by comparing this suffering to having to take a bitter pill of pain killer, or having to  undergo a surgical operation in order to recover from some ailment.  I am for introducing changes to the current outdated world educational system, for example, by reducing the contents of the required curriculum to a bare minimum that only includes literacy (in more than one language), numeracy skills, and coding (information technology); while leaving ALL the rest to be approached through exploration that depends on a child's interests. Currently ministries of education in many parts of the world im
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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