This book presents theoretical and empirical work pertaining to personal epistemology in the classroom and consider its broader educational implications.

This book contains a collection of articles provided by the participants of the SFB-workshop on C*-algebras, March 8 - March 12, 1999 which was held at the Sonderforschungsbereich "Geometrische Strukturen in der reinen Mathematik" of the University of Münster, Germany. The aim of the workshop was to bring together leading experts in the theory of C* -algebras with promising young researchers in the field, and to provide a stimulating atmosphere for discussions and interactions between the participants. There were 19 one-hour lectures on various topics like - classification of nuclear C* -algebras, - general K-theory for C* -algebras, - exact C* -algebras and exact groups, - C*-algebras associated to (infinite) matrices and C*-correspondences, - noncommutative prob ability theory, - deformation quantization, - group C* -algebras and the Baum-Connes conjecture, giving a broad overview of the latest developments in the field, and serving as a basis for discussions. We, the organizers of the workshop, were greatly pleased with the excellence of the lectures and so were led to the idea of publishing the proceedings of the conference. There are basically two kinds of contributions. On one side there are several articles giving surveys and overviews on new developments and im portant results of the theory, on the other side one finds original articles with interesting new results.

La finalidad de este libro es difundir el interés del diagnóstico pedagógico en la etapa de educación infantil. El diagnóstico es fundamental para conocer los fenómenos educativos con rigor, y constituye un paso previo necesario para intervenir adecuadamente sobre ellos. Los contextos educativos se han transformado como consecuencia de cambios sociales, económicos y tecnológicos, y en este escenario resulta cada vez más necesario su presencia activa y colaborativa en los contextos escolares y extraescolares. Se trata de realizar un diagnóstico no limitado en exclusiva a la detección de problemas organizativos, curriculares o técnicos de la educación, sino a la prevención, la individualización y la mejora de la calidad del proceso educativo. El libro se divide en dos partes. Los cuatro primeros capítulos son de carácter más general y sirven como punto de partida y reflexión sobre la definición y delimitación del diagnóstico pedagógico. Por este motivo, se desarrollará: una breve revisión histórica que permita comprender qué elementos han favorecido su configuración y desarrollo; una delimitación conceptual que clarifique conceptos afines y/o disciplinas afines al diagnóstico; una descripción de los contenidos y funciones; y por último, una presentación de las técnicas y los procedimientos de recogida de información en el proceso. Los siguientes capítulos están dedicados a las especificidades propias del diagnóstico en la etapa de educación infantil, así como a la descripción de las técnicas de observación sistemática que pueden aplicarse tanto en la evaluación como en el diagnóstico en esta etapa.

This book focuses on essential aspects of the theoretical foundations that support blended learning (BL) as a teaching training modality in tertiary education. Analyzing the changes in the world of education that lead to new ways of thinking and learning, it redefines the concept of blended learning at a time of constant growth in many universities around the world. This involves a shared reflection on the role of technology in the current university teacher education programs, as well as on the role that pedagogy plays in increasingly technology-driven contexts. Furthermore, the book presents pedagogical approaches to guide university professors in the design and implementation of blended learning courses. To this end, it describes some of the major models and approaches to BL instructional design, and examines issues related to the quality of BL training and the indicators to measure it, in order to identify those models that contribute to a better understanding of the dimensions that increase its effectiveness.

This Child-Friendly Schools (CFS) Manual was developed during three-and-a-half years of continuous work, involving the United Nations Children's Fund education staff and specialists from partner agencies working on quality education. It benefits from fieldwork in 155 countries and territories, evaluations carried out by the Regional Offices and desk reviews conducted by headquarters in New York. The manual is a part of a total resource package that includes an e-learning package for capacity-building in the use of CFS models and a collection of field case studies to illustrate the state of the art in child-friendly schools in a variety of settings.

This updated edition covers a range of new topics, including stress and the immune system, post-traumatic stress and crisis intervention, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD), Crisis Management Briefings in response to mass disasters and terrorism, Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), spirituality and religion as stress management tools, dietary factors and stress, and updated information on psychopharmacologic intervention in the human stress response. It is a comprehensive and accessible guide for students, practitioners, and researchers in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, medicine, nursing, social work, and public health.