Humor in mathematics teaching

HUMOR: OUR VIEW FOR MATHEMATICS TEACHING Our assumptions and context. Process humor and be able to produce is clearly a sign of intelligence, revealing, when done well, complex reasoning. Humor has an important social role, assuming as a cognitive experience that as well as creating a sense of well-being, predisposes people to work and can improve the productivity of that work. Mathematics is a discipline in which the reasoning occupies a very prominent place, both as a science as a school area. At the same time, students' interest for mathematics is not always the same and some have initially not very favorable feelings (Toh, 2009; Wanzer, Frymier & Irwin, 2010). Recent curriculum changes to the teaching of mathematics have been, in most countries of the world, showing the need for students to develop skills of critical nature, such as communication, thinking and problem solving along with the acquisition of mathematical knowledge. Also in Portugal, it is claimed the importance of promoting learning that combine the construction of mathematical knowledge with its use, when performing mathematical tasks and communicating mathematical ideas and mathematical reasoning. In the early years of schooling, corresponding to primary education in many countries, the use of texts such as short stories or comics, from which we can develop challenging mathematical tasks, is reported in the literature as having potential to promote learning specified in curricular documents (Wanzer, Frymier., & Irwin, 2010). In particular, some texts focus on mathematical topics in a humorous way and to be understood, students must develop their mathematical competence. The development of mathematical tasks from stories and other humorous presents big challenges to teachers (Flores & Moreno, 2011). Our questions. In this context, we put some questions: Primary teachers use in their classes tasks or situations that present, in a humorous way, mathematical ideas? What resources do they use? Also: How to select, adapt or build texts and tasks which have, in a humorous way, mathematical ideas with didactic potential for education in the early years of schooling? If the resources for this purpose have been produced and if teachers have been sensitized for their use, are they able to integrate them in their classes? Our intentions. This research project seeks to address these questions, focused on: (i ) assessment of teachers’ practices and underlying knowledge, resources available for the use of texts with mathematical ideas presented in a humorous way; (ii) selection, adaptation and construction of mathematical tasks from texts that present, in a humorous way, mathematical ideas with didactic potential in education for the early years of schooling; and ( iii ) integration and use, by primary school teachers, of texts that present , in a humorous way, contexts for the teaching of mathematics. So, the project is organized into three tasks and as a methodological design that combines qualitative elements with quantitative elements, the first one prevailing.

The Way We Mourned

The five short stories in this collection illustrate the insistence of the imagination in a foreign country. The protagonists deal with loss and exile of the human spirit, as well as language. In “View of the Taft Bridge”, a Chinese painter befriends a panda in the National Zoo in America’s capital. In “Early June before the Millennium”, an illicit student and teacher relationship unveils a painful history of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. An adopted teenager finds her life unraveled at the presence of a new tenant who shares her ethnicity in “Girl in the Basement”. And the inertia of a housewife drives her desire to become a house cat, in “Catwoman”, until dream and reality become interchangeable. In “The Way We Mourned”, betrayal and memorial are closely knit in the wake of a close friend’s death. These stories search for connections to bridge “self” and “other”, as well as one’s present with a haunting past.

Wondrous transformations: rereading and rewriting wonder in contemporary anglophone and francophone fairy tales

This thesis compares contemporary anglophone and francophone rewritings of traditional fairy tales for adults. Examining material dating from the 1990s to the present, including novels, novellas, short stories, comics, televisual and filmic adaptations, this thesis argues that while the revisions studied share similar themes and have comparable aims, the methods for inducing wonder (where wonder is defined as the effect produced by the text rather than simply its magical contents) are diametrically opposed, and it is this opposition that characterises the difference between the two types of rewriting. While they all engage with the hybridity of the fairy-tale genre, the anglophone works studied tend to question traditional narratives by keeping the fantasy setting, while francophone works debunk the tales not only in relation to questions of content, but also aesthetics. Through theoretical, historical, and cultural contextualisation, along with close readings of the texts, this thesis aims to demonstrate the existence of this francophone/anglophone divide and to explain how and why the authors in each tradition tend to adopt such different views while rewriting similar material. This division is the guiding thread of the thesis and also functions as a springboard to explore other concepts such as genre hybridity, reader-response, and feminism. The thesis is divided into two parts; the first three chapters work as an in-depth literature review: after examining, in chapters one and two, the historical and contemporary cultural field in which these works were created, chapter three examines theories of fantasy and genre hybridity. The second part of the thesis consists of textual studies and comparisons between francophone and anglophone material and is built on three different approaches. The first (chapter four) looks at selected texts in relation to questions of form, studying the process of world building and world creation enacted when authors combine and rewrite several fairy tales in a single narrative world. The second (chapter five) is a thematic approach which investigates the interactions between femininity, the monstrous, and the wondrous in contemporary tales of animal brides. Finally, chapter six compares rewritings of the tale of ‘Bluebeard’ with a comparison hinged on the representation of the forbidden room and its contents: Bluebeard’s cabinet of wonder is one that he holds sacred, one where he sublimates his wives’ corpses, and it is the catalyst of wonder, terror, and awe. The three contextual chapters and the three text-based studies work towards tracing the tangible existence of the division postulated between francophone and anglophone texts, but also the similarities that exist between the two cultural fields and their roles in the renewal of the fairy-tale genre.

L'impact de la création littéraire, en contexte d'aide, sur la symptomatologie psychophysiologique d'adolescents atteints d'une maladie chronique : étude interdisciplinaire et exploratoire

Thèse réalisée dans le cadre d'un Ph.D.interdisciplinaire en Psychologie, en création littéraire et en orthopédagogie. L'impact de la création littéraire a été étudié chez des adolescents atteints d'une maladie chronique au CHU Sainte-Justine de Montréal. Cette recherche est exploratoire car la création littéraire n'a jamais été étudiée dans cette perspective. Elle a été réalisée sous la direction de Catherine Mavrikakis, professeure et écrivain à la Faculté des arts et sciences au Département des littératures francophones de l'Université de Montréal et de Jean-François Saucier, psychiatre et anthropologue à la Faculté de médecine au Département de psychiatrie de l'Université de Montréal et chercheur au CHU Sainte-Justine. Interdisciplinary Study.

Influence du vieillissement et de la scolarité sur la compréhension du discours : apport de l’imagerie optique

La compréhension du discours, et son évolution au cours du vieillissement, constitue un sujet d’une grande importance par sa complexité et sa place dans la préservation de la qualité de vie des aînés. Les objectifs de cette thèse étaient d’évaluer l’influence du vieillissement et du niveau de scolarité sur les capacités de compréhension du discours et sur l’activité cérébrale s’y rattachant. Pour ce faire, trois groupes (jeunes adultes ayant un niveau universitaire de scolarité, personnes âgées ayant un niveau universitaire de scolarité et personnes âgées ayant un niveau secondaire de scolarité) ont réalisé une tâche où ils devaient lire de courtes histoires, puis estimer la véracité d’une affirmation concernant cette histoire. Les capacités de compréhension correspondant aux traitements de trois niveaux du modèle de construction-intégration de Kintsch (la microstructure, la macrostructure et le modèle de situation) ont été évaluées. L’imagerie optique (NIRS) a permis d’estimer les variations d’oxyhémoglobine (HbO) et de déoxyhémoglobine (HbR) tout au long de la tâche. Les résultats ont démontré que les personnes âgées étaient aussi aptes que les plus jeunes pour rappeler la macrostructure (essentiel du texte), mais qu’ils avaient plus de difficulté à rappeler la microstructure (détails) et le modèle de situation (inférence et intégration) suite à la lecture de courts textes. Lors de la lecture, les participants plus âgés ont également montré une plus grande activité cérébrale dans le cortex préfrontal dorsolatéral gauche, ce qui pourrait être un mécanisme de compensation tel que décrit dans le modèle CRUNCH. Aucune différence significative n’a été observée lors de la comparaison des participants âgés ayant un niveau universitaire de scolarité et ceux ayant un niveau secondaire, tant au niveau des capacités de compréhension que de l’activité cérébrale s’y rattachant. Les deux groupes ont cependant des habitudes de vie stimulant la cognition, entre autres, de bonnes habitudes de lecture. Ainsi, ces habitudes semblent avoir une plus grande influence que l’éducation sur les performances en compréhension et sur l’activité cérébrale sous-jacente. Il se pourrait donc que l’éducation influence la cognition en promouvant des habitudes favorisant les activités cognitives, et que ce soit ces habitudes qui aient en bout ligne un réel impact sur le vieillissement cognitif.

O processo criativo e a personalidade criadora : um estudo da poética de Anaïs Nin no poema em prosa A Casa do Incesto

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Letras, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Literatura, 2016.

The Case for Teaching Culture through Neglected Authors: Carmen de Burgos and the Generation of '98

Teóricos del campo de la lingüística aplicada sostienen que para estudiantes de segunda lengua, la adquisición de la competencia cultural mejora por el uso de obras literarias. Aquí se propone que al integrar en la clase autores olvidados o marginados se ponen de relieve las ambigüedades, diferencias y contrastes presentes en la cultura predominante. Se ilustra cómo, en dos cuentos cortos de Carmen de Burgos, se plantea el problema de la mujer con todo lo complejo del tema, asunto casi pasado por alto por los autores incluidos en la Generación del '98.Applied linguistics theorists maintain that the acquisition of cultural competence by second-Ianguage students is enhanced through the use of literary works. The proposition of the present article is that by incorporating neglected or marginal authors i n the classroom, the ambiguities, differences and contrasts present in the predominant culture are highlighted. Through the study of two short stories by Carmen de Burgos, the woman question, a subject largely ignored by the Generation of 1898 writers, is set out in all of its complexity.

La literatura de la neo-violencia en Colombia : manifestaciones thanáticas en el siglo XXI

La rédaction de ce mémoire a été possible grâce à la bourse d’études supérieures du Canada (BESC M), Joseph-Armand-Bombardier du Centre de Recherche en Sciences Humaines (CRSH) du gouvernement du Canada, 2015.

La literatura de la neo-violencia en Colombia : manifestaciones thanáticas en el siglo XXI

La rédaction de ce mémoire a été possible grâce à la bourse d’études supérieures du Canada (BESC M), Joseph-Armand-Bombardier du Centre de Recherche en Sciences Humaines (CRSH) du gouvernement du Canada, 2015.

Roepa-roepa Tjerita Pendek

Contains short stories (1) Oetang, Moesti Bajar, (2) Satoe Penoeloeng Boeat Rome, (3) Go Hauw Tjoe, (4) Siauw Hoen, (5) Tjoe Siauw Peng, (6) Tji In Sian, (7) Satoe Perdjandjian, (8) Doea Orang jang Berhati Djoedjoer

Short-term clinical outcomes among patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation in Switzerland: the Swiss TAVI registry

Aims: To evaluate short-term clinical outcomes following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) using CE-mark approved devices in Switzerland. Methods and results: The Swiss TAVI registry is a national, prospective, multicentre, monitored cohort study evaluating clinical outcomes in consecutive patients undergoing TAVI at cardiovascular centres in Switzerland. From February 2011 to March 2013, a total of 697 patients underwent TAVI for native aortic valve stenosis (98.1%), degenerative aortic bioprosthesis (1.6%) or severe aortic regurgitation (0.3%). Patients were elderly (82.4±6 years), 52% were females, and the majority highly symptomatic (73.1% NYHA III/IV). Patients with severe aortic stenosis (mean gradient 44.8±17 mmHg, aortic valve area 0.7±0.3 cm2) were either deemed inoperable or at high risk for conventional surgery (STS 8.2%±7). The transfemoral access was the most frequently used (79.1%), followed by transapical (18.1%), direct aortic (1.7%) and subclavian access (1.1%). At 30 days, rates of all-cause mortality, cerebrovascular events and myocardial infarction were 4.8%, 3.3% and 0.4%, respectively. The most frequently observed adverse events were access-related complications (11.8%), permanent pacemaker implantation (20.5%) and bleeding complications (16.6%). The Swiss TAVI registry is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01368250). Conclusions: The Swiss TAVI registry is a national cohort study evaluating consecutive TAVI procedures in Switzerland. This first outcome report provides favourable short-term clinical outcomes in unselected TAVI patients.

Sedimentological and biostratigraphical analyses of short sediment cores from Hagelseewli (2339 m a.s.l.) in the Swiss Alps

Several short sediment cores of between 35 and 40 cm from Hagelseewli, a small, remote lake in the Swiss Alps at an elevation of 2339 m a.s.l. were correlated according to their organic matter content. The sediments are characterized by organic silts and show in their uppermost part a surprisingly high amount of organic matter (30-35%). Synchronous changes, occurring in pollen from snow-bed vegetation, the alga Pediastrum, chironomids, and grain-size composition, point to a climatic change interpreted as cooler or shorter summers that led to prolonged ice-cover on the lake. According to palynological results the sediments date back to at least the early 15th century A.D., with the cooling phase encompassing the period between late 16th and the mid-19th century thus coinciding with the Little Ice Age. Low concentrations of both chironomid head capsules and cladoceran remains in combination with results from fossil pigment analyses point to longer periods of bottom-water anoxia as a result of long-lasting ice-cover that prevented mixing of the water column. According to our results aquatic biota in Hagelseewli are mainly indirectly influenced by climate change. The duration of ice-cover on the lake controls the mixing of the water column as well as light-availability for phytoplankton blooms.

The power of educational podcasting : using short-format podcasts to reinforce tertiary student learning experiences in science

In 2007 I introduced short-format educational podcast resources that reinforced conceptual teaching and learning in an interdisciplinary tertiary science study area (biochemistry). This study aims to determine student attitudes to the perceived usefulness and benefit of short-format educational podcasts, and presents the findings (qualitative and quantitative) from surveys obtained from three offerings of the science teaching unit (2007, 2008 and 2009). Podcasts were recorded (MP3 audio files) separately from the instructive lecture sessions, and subsequent to the weekly lecture, short-format podcasts summarising the key learning objectives were integrated within the resources presented through the students learning management system (Blackboard). The vast majority (>88%) of students utilised the podcast resources, indicating a high level of acceptance and uptake for this portable educational technology. The respondents reported that podcasts focused their attention to core learning concepts and supported their understanding and learning of the lecture material. Furthermore, the data showed that respondents agreed strongly that podcasts assisted with study and revision for examinations and, somewhat surprisingly, there was a perception that podcasts positively impacted on examination performance. Overall, student users perceived that podcasting is as an effective and valuable educational tool that offers convenience and flexibility for their learning and understanding of a tertiary science study area, such as biochemistry.

‘The struggle for welcome’ : valuing difference through refugee stories in the English Curriculum

This paper is concerned with how refugee stories can be used as the means of exploring values and developing intercultural understanding in the English classroom. To illustrate this possibility, André Dao’s (2005) Vuot Bien – The Search for Freedom: Huong Thi Nguen’s Story, about the impact of war and oppression on people’s lives, together with the experience of seeking freedom and acceptance in Australia as a Vietnamese refugee, is selected as the text for a Year 9 English class. In examining the features of this short story, we also consider how recent efforts to foster intercultural understanding in the new national curriculum in Australia might be advanced in the English classroom. We argue that this text and others in the genre of refugee narratives written by young people, provide vicarious opportunities to analyse how valuing freedom and having the courage to seek it can be brought to light when an individual survives one life and begins the challenges of creating a new life among strangers. Examining the values dimensions of such texts also allows young people to unpack and critique the ways in which cultural experiences, including their own, shape and form identities and how engaging with the experiences of others can be the vehicle for valuing difference. We hope our discussion might encourage teachers in other countries undergoing cultural shifts in response to the movements of people will be encouraged to consider this ‘double entendre’ in which the refugee experience is shaped not only by ‘the journey’ and also by ‘the arrival’ and the degree to which newcomers, refugee or asylum seekers, are made welcome by the receiving community.

The Great Gatsby and Ned Kelly: Telling national iconic stories through a transnational lens

This chapter will examine how transnational film making allows national and iconic stories to shift outside their imposed national boundaries, freeing them from “nation building” constraints and predetermined ideological motivations. Each interpretation creates one more dimension to the story’s complexity and hybridity assuring its continuance and relevance into the future. Each new film version, and in the case of iconic stories, each new transnational film version, breathes new energy and life into the stories and also stops monolithic ownership of them. What is also of interest in this chapter is the judgement cast upon each of the retelling and adaptations of these iconic stories. Every adaptation is weighed up and judged against a mythic ideal, and as such, each always falls short of imagined expectations. But in a paradoxical fashion, it is this failure to capture that provides the impetus for the story’s future retellings.