Europa Universalis IV and Deep Learning: Historical Accuracy, Counterfactuals and Historical Themes

This article examines issues encountered with Europa Universalis IV (EUIV) in terms of teaching history in adult learning. The article identifies the educational limitations of the game, as well as the types of history that can be learnt from it. The data collected from participant responses is examined in terms of an ongoing concern regarding the balancing of historical accuracy and gameplay in EUIV. In this discussion about balance, participants raise common concerns about the historical abstraction, historical misinformation and counterfactual elements within EUIV. Nonetheless, the article argues that despite these ahistorical elements, EUIV can still potentially portray many of history’s larger trends and influences. Given the portrayal of these trends in-game, the article examines the pedagogical utility of the game in terms of narrative engagements with history and the promotion of deeper forms of learning.

Iosif “Syllogistikos”

Iosif Volotskii’s practical and rhetorical mastery of logic was a major factor in its pedagogical and polemical effectiveness. This logic pervades his Prosvetitel’ (Book against the Novgorod Heretics) in the structure of each discourse, grouping of the discourses, ordering of subjects and themes within and among the discourses, hypothetical heretical objections and Orthodox refutations, sequencing of proof texts, application of syllogistic literary devices, explicit epistemological principles, emphasis on and variety of proofs, enthymematic presentation of both the major heretical doctrines and the Orthodox correctives, and overall syllogistic interconnectedness. The numerous formal refutations in Discourse 11 partially explains its division into four chapters, while the greater unity of discourse structure of the theological Discourses 1–11, in contrast to the more prosecutorial Discourses 12–16, speaks in favor of the chronological primacy of the brief redaction. The positive theology and ethics are presented as a coherent whole, as is the binary opposition of legitimate ruler, pastor or pious layman vs. the tyrant, “wolf,” or lay heretic. The reliability of Prosvetitel’ as a source for dissidence remains questionable, but its pedagogical utility for Orthodox Muscovites is indisputable.

SMART TECHNOLOGY TO TRAIN FUTURE MATHEMATICS TEACHERS

The concept of smart technologies in education is analyzed and the need to establish the pedagogical utility of the technologies used is considered. Examples of the use of smart technologies in university training of future mathematics teachers are given. The strategy of conducting a smart class is described.

Keywords in Written Academic Legal Texts: A Corpus-Derived List

This study presents the Written Academic Legal Vocabulary (WALV), a discipline-specific genre-focused list of keywords in a corpus of academic legal texts. To generate this list, a purpose-customized corpus of full-length academic texts is created and analyzed with the help of corpus-based analytical tools. Items on the list are chosen based on criteria such as frequency of occurrence, range and keyness. The keywords recur more frequently in a specialized corpus than in a general reference corpus, a finding that attests to the pedagogical utility of these expressions as possible focus of explicit instruction. The final list consists of 298 headwords and 219 families (lemmas). Findings also indicate that the list includes words belonging to different grammatical types, the most common of which are nouns. The list also incorporates a large number of abbreviations, shortenings and acronyms.

Reliability and Perceived Pedagogical Utility of a Weighted Music Performance Assessment Rubric

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and perceived pedagogical utility of a multidimensional weighted performance assessment rubric used in Kansas state high school large-group festivals. Data were adjudicator rubrics ( N = 2,016) and adjudicator and director questionnaires ( N = 515). Rubric internal consistency was moderately high (.88). Dimension reliability ranged from moderately low ( W = .47) to moderate ( W = .77). Total score reliability was moderately high ( W = .80) and rating reliability was moderate ( W = .72). Findings suggested that reliability on the whole was within the range of previously researched music performance assessment tools. Questionnaire results suggested that the rubric provided a better instrument for justifying ratings and more detailed descriptions of what constituted acceptable performances than previously researched nonrubric forms; hence, adjudicators and directors perceived the rubric as possessing improved pedagogical utility.

Neo-Piagetian Theory and Research: enhancing pedagogical practice for educators of adults

Educators are continuously challenged to increase their pedagogical effectiveness when teaching adult learners. Neo-Piagetian theory and research, based on Piaget's classic work, provides promising concepts and tools to help educators enhance their pedagogical knowledge and competence when teaching adults. Consequently, through research findings and examples we explore the pedagogical utility of neo-Piagetian theory. Specifically, we examine: (1) the influence of cognitive development into adulthood on teaching, (2) the roles of functional and optimal levels of learner cognition, and (3) the pedagogical implications of employing neo-Piagetian concepts and research to support the teaching and learning endeavours of adult learners.