School lockdown? Comparative analyses of responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries

The purpose of this article is to analyse how education and schooling took part in handling the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in eight European countries (Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Poland and Sweden). The focus is on primary education and on decisions to close schools, or not. Our research was informed by assemblage theory in order to analyse how different components interacted in developing societal responses to mitigate the pandemic. The research was designed as a comparative case study of practical reasoning in diverse contexts. Data sources were the mass media and statements from governments and authorities. Our analyses showed that decisions to close schools, or not, were based on two alternative discourses on schooling. Closing primary schools was a preventive measure underlined by discourses of schools as places for infection. Keeping primary schools open was underlined by a discourse in which schools were conceived of as a place for social supportive measures and caring. Furthermore, the closing alternative was often combined with attempts to replace school practices by distance learning or computerized instruction. Legal constitutions and lawmaking were of significant importance in selecting discourses and the relative impact of different components, mostly political or medical, in responding to the pandemic.

Effects of Computerized Instruction on Mastery and Generalized Use of Commas Strategies by Students With LD

The effects of an interactive multimedia (IM) software program for teaching comma strategies to students with learning disabilities (LD) were determined with regard to the students’ sentence-editing and sentence-construction skills. Students with LD at the middle-school and high-school levels were randomly selected in their intact cohorts for the experimental and control groups. Results showed that the experimental students completed the software program and readily learned information about and mastered the comma strategies. Additionally, experimental students at both school levels significantly outperformed the control students with regard to the percentage of correct commas inserted in an editing task. Moreover, they inserted significantly fewer incorrect commas. They also outperformed the control students with regard to the construction of complete sentences containing correct comma usage when prompted to write certain kinds of sentences while writing about a topic. Furthermore, both cohorts of experimental students with LD significantly outperformed their corresponding age groups of students who participated in validating the editing task. Therefore, this study indicates that students with LD can learn and generalize complex writing skills through the use of an IM program at a high level of quality.

Learning is enhanced by tailoring instruction to individual genetic differences

It is widely argued that personalized instruction based on individual differences in learning styles or genetic predispositions could improve learning outcomes. However, this proposition has resisted clear demonstration in human studies, where it is difficult to control experience and quantify outcomes. Here, we take advantage of the tractable nature of vocal learning in songbirds (Lonchura striata domestica) to test the idea that matching instruction to individual genetic predispositions can enhance learning. We use both cross-fostering and computerized instruction with synthetic songs to demonstrate that matching the tutor song to individual predispositions can improve learning across genetic backgrounds. Moreover, we find that optimizing instruction in this fashion can equalize learning differences across individuals that might otherwise be construed as genetically determined. Our results demonstrate potent, synergistic interactions between experience and genetics in shaping song, and indicate the likely importance of such interactions for other complex learned behaviors.

Changes in Teachers’ Classroom Instruction as a Result of Training in Computer Technology

<p><em>This article presents a study that was carried out two years after teachers completed a training course in computerized instruction, entitled “Intel Education for the Future”. The purpose of the study was to measure the degree to which the teachers internalized the skills taught in the training course, thereby</em><em>,</em><em> assisting them in integrating the use of the computer in the classroom. For this purpose, certain parameters were chosen: the teacher’s method of working in the classroom, the effect of computer instruction on the students and the difficulties encountered upon integrating the computer in the classroom. The research tools were questionnaires and interviews. The main conclusion of the research was that the teachers successfully internalized the skills needed for the use of technology. Teachers are now using the computer to search for information suitable for worksheets and tests and for e-mailing their colleagues. Most of the teachers noted that the most useful tool for their work is the </em><em>o</em><em>ffice program. The teachers pointed out that the use of computers raises the students’ motivation and improves their understanding of the material. They did not report any special difficulties in integrating the computer into their teaching methods. </em></p>

E-Collaboration between People and Technological Boundary Objects

Computerized instruction has become more common over the years. Students can now learn from computerized images of people in virtual environments. A new learning partnership can develop with a Technological Boundary Object (TBO) that simultaneously belongs to mutually exclusive categories. The TBOs may have human-like appearance and behavior that naturally elicit a social response. As learning environments become more human-like, should TBOs maintain a boundary-like state or aim for perfect human mimicry? The challenges to high fidelity seem to outweigh the benefits. Three common categories in TBOs: animate and inanimate, real and virtual, and self and other, are exemplified through empirical studies. The findings draw attention to the different learning partnerships that can be developed with TBOs and their future potential.