JOURNAL OF EDUCATION
Year:2008 | Volume:23 | Issue:4 (92)|Papers Count:5

The image- concept approach to learning is based on the views of Benjamin Bloom, Jerome Bruner, and others. Bruce Joyce and others have developed a model called image- word which is considered an information processing model. Both the approach and the model are based on this assumption that learning words/concepts is facilitated if accompanied with as many images related to that word/concept. Using such an approach would not only free teachers from lecturing and the emphasis on rote memorization, but would lead them toward cooperation, guidance, and systematic construction of knowledge by students. Geography is considered to be a difficult subject among Iranian Students as it has been recorded to be the subject with the highest number of failures. Using an image-concept model in a fourth grade geography course while teaching the concept of unevenness proved to be effective as the experimental group scored much higher than the control group. Given this effect, it is hoped that the use of such models is extended to other areas and grades, such as the reading and writing in elementary school.

Although intelligence is a theoretical construct, it refers to a characteristic that has a very special status in the process of learning. Theories of emotional intelligence consider this characteristic to be a collection of social/affective skills and abilities that can be acquired. As such schools are the best place for learning these skills. However, doing so requires courses that serve as models. In the research reported here in, attempts were made to develop such a model through a course in emotional intelligence. In this course the emphasis was on multidimensional learning regarding social/affective skills. Furthermore, considering the current status of emotional intelligence among high school students in Tehran, the aim was to define a way of improving the quality of students learning. The developed course was tried experimentally with the help of 30 high school students in two groups and over a sequence of 18 sessions. Two of these sessions were used to measure the emotional intelligence of the participating students. The findings show that those with higher emotional intelligence have higher academic achievement, but those who went through the designed course scored higher than those who did not!

In this paper, it is argued that Leotar's emphasis on pluralism and the incomparability of linguistic games renders any judgment on claims of truth undoable. If there were no rational point of reference such as evidence based judgment, for organization, selection, and decision making, the world would become a dizzying mixture of a multitude of realities. "Eagerness for knowing the unknown", as Leotar calls it, would. Lead to a wondering rationality if not coupled with "the ability to judge". In this paper, taking a truth-based stance, it is argued that "justice" can only be achieved if the foundations for selecting and deciding are strengthened, and furthermore, identification of ways for strengthening the judgmental, as well as the cognitive, elements is emphasized. As for its educational implications, the role and responsibility of schools in encouraging initiative and insight, instead of coping and assimilating, are discussed.

Survival on the global stage requires continuous meaningful learning, and an evaluation system for making sure that such learning has occurred. It is for the evaluation system to identify the shortcomings at different levels of schooling, especially at the elementary level, in order to pave the way for better teaching and learning. Using the new approaches to evaluation has become inescapable, given the critical consideration of the evaluation system. It has been close to five years since an experimental program of descriptive evaluation has been carried out in some schools and districts in Tehran. To evaluate the usefulness of this program, a sample of 142 male and female second graders from such schools was compared with a similar sample from schools not included in the experiment in terms of the depth of their learning. Not only the two groups' creativity, knowledge, and understanding were tested, but their classroom interactions were also observed. The results show the effectiveness of the experimental evaluation program in which continuous and descriptive evaluations are conducted.

To determine the indices of general security at secondary schools in Tehran, a study of the theoretical bases, along with the available models, was undertaken and a number of indices were identified. Then a sample of teachers at these schools was selected to answer a set of questions in this regard. The collected data were factor' analyzed from which two outstanding factors emerged. One factor was labeled psycho-behavioral while the other was named physio-hygienic. During the second stage, the indices within each factor were ranked and those ranking low were omitted. Finally, operational definitions and ways of calculating the selected indices were explained in a booklet which can be used to assess the general security at any secondary school in Tehran.