Down Syndrome (Reading passage)

Down Syndrome

Down syndrome (or Down's syndrome) is a chromosomal disorder caused by an error in cell division that results in an extra 21st chromosome. The condition leads to impairments in both cognitive ability and physical growth that range from mild to moderate developmental disabilities. Through a series of screenings and tests, Down syndrome can be detected before and after a baby is born. 

The only factor known to affect the probability of having a baby with Down syndrome is maternal age. That is, less than one in 1,000 pregnancies for mothers less than 30 years of age results in a baby with Down syndrome. For mothers who are 44 years of age, about 1 in 35 pregnancies results in a baby with Down syndrome. Because younger women generally have more children, about 75 - 80% of children with Down syndrome are born to younger women.

What causes Down syndrome?

Down syndrome occurs because of an abnormality characterized by an extra copy of genetic material on all or part of the 21st chromosome. Every cell in the body contains genes that are grouped along chromosomes in the cell's nucleus or center. There are normally 46 chromosomes in each cell, 23 inherited from your mother and 23 from your father. When some or all of a person's cells have an extra full or partial copy of chromosome 21, the result is Down syndrome. 

The most common form of Down syndrome is known as Trisomy 21, a condition where individuals have 47 chromosomes in each cell instead of 46. This is caused by an error in cell division called nondisjunction, which leaves a sperm or egg cell with an extra copy of chromosome 21 before or at conception. Trisomy 21 accounts for 95% of Down syndrome cases, with 88% originating from nondisjunction of the mother's egg cell. 

The remaining 5% of Down syndrome cases are due to conditions called mosaicism and translocation. Mosaic Down syndrome results when some cells in the body are normal while others have Trisomy 21. Robertsonian translocation occurs when part of chromosome 21 breaks off during cell division and attaches to another chromosome (usually chromosome 14). The presence of this extra part of chromosome 21 causes Down some syndrome characteristics. Although a person with a translocation may appear physically normal, he or she has a greater risk of producing a child with an extra 21st chromosome.

What are characteristics of people with Down syndrome?

Individuals with Down syndrome often have distinct physical characteristics, unique health issues, and variability in cognitive development. Physical characteristics include:

§  Eyes that have an upward slant, oblique fissures, epicanthic skin folds on the inner corner, and white spots on the iris

§  Low muscle tone

§  Small stature and short neck

§  Flat nasal bridge

§  Single, deep creases across the center of the palm

§  Protruding tongue

§  Large space between large and second toe

§  A single flexion furrow of the fifth finger

Individuals with Down syndrome usually have cognitive development profiles indicative of mild to moderate mental retardation. However, cognitive development in children with Down syndrome is quite variable. Children with Down syndrome often have a speech delay and require speech therapy to assist with expressive language. In addition, fine motor skills are delayed and tend to lag behind gross motor skills. Children with Down syndrome may not walk until age 4, but some will walk at age 2. Although many with the condition experience developmental delays, it is not uncommon for those with Down syndrome to attend school and become active, working members in the community. 

Individuals with Down syndrome can have abnormalities affecting general health that may affect any organ system or bodily function. They have an increased risk for congenital heart defects, respiratory and hearing problems, Alzheimer's disease, childhood leukemia, epilepsy, and thyroid conditions. However, people with Down syndrome also have a lower risk of hardening of the arteries, diabetic retinopathy, and most kinds of cancer.

EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2

Brochure

Poster

This poster is one of the Group Project for INSTECH. We chose this theme is because voting season is approaching and we want to emphasize to all voters that choose leaders based on the Quran and Hadith.

Please drop any comments below. TQ

Standard English VS Manglish

This video is a project for INSTECH subject. Local Students from all levels are the target for this video. This video is to make a difference between Manglish and Standard English that is often used by Malaysians that have variety of races and languages.

please drop any comments below. TQ

Pedagogical Potentials of Blog !

What is Pedagogy?

       Pedagogy is the art and science of how something is taught and how students learn it. Pedagogy includes how the teaching occurs, the approach to teaching and learning, the way the content is delivered and what the students learn as a result of a process. 

Pedagogical Potentials of Blog:

Among other approaches to intercultural learning, blog technology has been increasingly used to foster cross-cultural communication and awareness (e.g., Carney, 2007; Ducate & Lomicka, 2008; Elola & Oskoz, 2008; Lee, 2009). Research findings have revealed that blogs afford students the opportunity to gain cultural knowledge from different perspectives (Elola & Oskoz, 2008; Pinkman, 2005). For example, using task-based activities, Lee (2009) in her recent study of Spanish-American telecollaboration demonstrated how group blogs empowered students by raising cultural awareness through ethnographic interviews. Despite the favorable results, Carney argues that blogs open a new online discussion forum rather than a deeper cultural exchange due to the post-comment structure of blogs that results in brief exchanges and lack of continuity. Thus, teachers need to find ways, such as using guided questions, to stimulate students’ high order thinking to build upon further discussions.

Writing, as one of the key components of language learning is undoubtedly essential in tertiary education. However, studies have shown that students consider writing as an extremely difficult area in learning English. Students lack writing skills and they are demotivated to write in English. Thus, discovering new ways of teaching and learning would be beneficial to all involved in teaching and learning. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) in teaching and learning have offered many ways of improving the learner’s writing skills such as using online forum and blogs.

With this blog, students will be able to sharpen their writing skills and thinking as the basis of a blog is writing. Whatever knowledge or input presented is shaped in writing. Writing skills can be enhanced if students are always writing either by typing or writing by hand. In addition, skills in critical and creative thinking can also be enhanced by the writing on the blog, because what is written in the blog is its own ideas and not taken from any other sources because all blogs are not the same and do not have the same content. At the era of ICT, students are more likely to be facing the computer from school books for content and interest because more students nowadays tend to have something interesting, simple and interactive. Great teacher should also have a blog because this is one of the measures of effective teaching and learning and this blog can be accessed by students at any time, whether at home or anywhere. So the process of teaching and learning does not just happen during school hours and not necessarily only happen in school. In ICT era, the process of teaching and learning takes place 24 hours with the presence of Educational Blog.

Blogs make the revising stage easier where the learners can add what they would like to express and also can change any points that they think are not appropriate. It is easy to edit and revise using blogs because the learners can make use of the edit post and delete post features since typed feedback can be amended any time before being forwarded to the writer. Blogs can be used as a tool for observation: student-based observation and teacher-based observation. In the latter, blogs provide teachers with total access to every individual learner blog where students’ progress can be monitored. Based on the students’ interaction and comments, the teacher can guide them to be focused and observe students’ negotiation. In the student-based observation, blogs enable the learners to observe their own progress. Learners are benefitted as they can refer to the previous comments and re-read all the drafts which are stored in their blogs. This retrieval feature allows students to enhance their autonomy in making corrections and reflecting on their writing. This motivates students to reflect on the process of learning in which they are actively participated in a recurring learning cycle.

*****thank you for reading*****

 

Three learning theories and how it can be applied in teaching.

3 THEORIES

1. BEHAVIORISM (Skinner)

 Emphasize overt or observable behaviors.

2. COGNITIVISM (Piaget)

Acknowledge the importance of reinforcements (behaviouristic concepts)

3. CONSTRUCTIVISM (Dewey)

 Learners construct their own reality (knowledge) and intepret it based upon their perceptions of experiences

HOW TO APPLY THESE THEORIES INTO TEACHING?

1. BEHAVIORST

- Learning is enhanced as a result of reinforcement.

-Teacher should give a punishment and reward to students for their involvement in the classroom. In addition, teacher always need to repeat the important thing for reinforcement.

2. COGNITIVIST

- Learning as involving acquisition or reorganization of the cognitive structures through which human process and store information.

-Teacher provides practices that can enhance and sharpen students' memory and the practice should has a lot of questions that need students to think.

3. CONSTRUCTIVIST

- Learning should be situated in realistic settings (authentic).

-Teacher needs to constantly come out with new practices and new ideas that can generate students to think outside the box to solve particular problems. Teacher should let the students to discover their own knowledge.