Mahmoud Talkhabi, Zeinab Rahmati, Alireza Moradi,
Volume 8, Issue 1 (10-2020)
Abstract
| This study explores the necessity of conceptual change in teachers' professional development through creating knowledge building environment. In cognitive approaches to education the quality of education is considered to be a result of teachers' pedagogy and teachers' pedagogy is considered as a result of their cognition. Thereby the goal of many professional development programs is to educate teachers whose cognition is consistent with the latest research findings from cognitive and learning sciences. In this study the research synthesis was used to develop basic statements for salient characteristics of conceptual change framework. The analysis of the results showed that pedagogical belief system, teachers' preconceptions and how they align with scientific concepts, implicit theories, coherency of cognition, epistemological beliefs, metaconceptual awareness and experience-based belief system need to be considered in teachers' professional development. Finally, the possibility of creating knowledge building environment has been discussed. |
Amir-Homayun Hallajian, Fateme Dehghani-Arani, Reza Rostami, Mozhdeh Bayat, Yasamin Rahmati,
Volume 9, Issue 4 (volume9, Issue 4 2022)
Abstract
The temporo-parietal junction is a key region in the theory of mind process. Numerous brain imaging studies have demonstrated its involvement in the mentalizing process and its under-activation in autism. This study aimed to investigate the causal relationship between rTPJ activation and implicit mentalizing in autism spectrum disorder. This study is a single-blind Quasi-experimental study with a repetitive measures design. Nine children and adolescents with autism were recruited by convenience sampling method using Gilliam autism rating scale (GARS), Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), and Stanford-Binet (SB). Afterward, they were assigned to three randomly ordered stimulation sessions: cTBS, iTBS, and sham. Immediately after each session indexes related to the subject’s implicit mentalizing were measured by a computer-based task. Repeated-measures ANOVA results demonstrated that the active stimulation sessions improved implicit mentalizing compared to sham sessions. It seems that there is a causal relation between rTPJ activation and implicit mentalizing.
