As the rapidity with which medical knowledge is generated and disseminated becomes amplified, an increasing emphasis has been placed on the need for physicians to develop the skills necessary for life-long learning. One such skill is the ability to evaluate one's own deficiencies. A ubiquitous finding in the study of self-assessment, however, is…

The University of South Alabama's Baugh Biomedical Library recently initiated a chat reference service targeted at distance education students in the biomedical sciences. After one year of service, the library conducted an evaluation of the chat reference to assess the success of this mode of reference service. Both traditional reference and…

General movements (GMs) are part of the spontaneous movement repertoire and are present from early fetal life onwards until the end of the first half a year of life. GMs are complex, occur frequently, and last long enough to be observed properly. They involve the whole body in a variable sequence of arm, leg, neck, and trunk movements. They wax…

The optimal practice of medicine includes integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available clinical evidence from systematic research. This article reviews nine treatment modalities used for children who have cerebral palsy (CP), including hyperbaric oxygen, the Adeli Suit, patterning, electrical stimulation, conductive education,…

The process of identification of children with delays or disorders in motor development includes developmental screening, examination, and reexamination. Throughout this process, various types of measures are used, including discriminative and evaluative measures. Discriminative and evaluative measures of motor development and function that are…

For years, instructional communication researchers have been advising teachers about the best classroom communication methods to achieve the greatest levels of student learning and motivation. However, traditional students (i.e., between the ages of 18 and 23) have consistently been the focus of this research. Given that over 43% of today's…

A neglected part of the history of teaching sociology is the history of teaching high school sociology. The American Sociological Association's centennial in 2005 affords sociologists an opportunity to reflect on the teaching of sociology--anywhere and everywhere that it happens. In the spirit of contributing to the history of teaching sociology…

Observation is an important component of data collection that forms the basis of a great deal of qualitative research and is also a building block for theorizing in sociology. This dimension of social science research is perhaps the most difficult to teach because there are no fixed guidelines to follow that can enable one to become an effective…

Social class remains one of the chief prisms through which reality is interpreted. It is vital for a student to understand how this prism influences their internal representations of themselves and others. In this activity, social class is viewed as a social construction of perceived financial and/or economic status developed through societal…

This essay grows out of a Short Course the author helped to teach called "Back to the Future: An Exploration of Public Communication Pedagogy, Past and Present, With Inventive Applications for the Future" presented at the 2004 annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago. The author presents an activity that focuses on mimesis…

The concepts of social cognition and cognitive structures are important aspects of constructivism and human communication theory. By asking students to listen to different musical selections and fill in a simple rubric, different schemas become apparent. This creates an opportunity to discuss how cognitions relate to communication. Students who…

The cases contained within organizational communication texts are generally two to three pages, often followed by questions. These case studies are certainly useful. They generally describe events in the present, provide some type of organizational context, include first-hand data, include a record of what people say and think, develop a…

The professoriate must produce graduates who demonstrate better critical thinking and teamwork skills. More specifically, college graduates appear to know a good deal, but are "unable to apply this knowledge in any useful or practical way." The challenge is to "train students to find new ways of dealing with issues and solving problems."…

This paper reflects on the process of developing a pedagogy that uses experiential learning and disruption in environmental education practice to challenge students to develop critical thought. We examine our practice with university students in an "Environment and Culture" course, and focus on the processes that can transform disruption…

In the UK there is increasing concern about the lack of skill in algebraic manipulation that is evident in students entering mathematics courses at university level. In this note we discuss how the computer can be used to ameliorate some of the problems. We take as an example the calculations needed in three dimensional vector analysis in polar…