Article abstract

Journal of Educational Research and Review

Research Article | Published September 2017 | Volume 5, Issue 5, pp. 79-89

Pictotherapy: Training high school teachers in quake-stricken areas to rethink communication skills

 

 

 

Abolfazl Shirban Sasi

 Email Author

 

Department of Applied Foreign Languages, College of Hospitality and Tourism, TransWorld University, Taiwan.

 

 

……..…....….....…………............……………..........…..……….........................……………………………….....………………...
 Citation: Sasi AS (2017). Pictotherapy: Training high school teachers in quake-stricken areas to rethink communication skills. J. Edu. Res. Rev. 5(5): 79-89.
……..…....….....…………............……………..........…..……….........................……………………………….....………………...

 

 

 

 Abstract 

 

This paper reports an experience to help alleviate negative feelings of the teachers and students after the catastrophic earthquake in Bam City, Kerman province of southeastern Iran. In cooperation with UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office, the author designed a 3-day workshop in the area during which the author and his team introduced and illustrated basics of Pictologics (a language teaching method developed by the author) in order to train the teachers to adapt the techniques in this method when teaching their own subjects. 38 high school teachers selected by the local headquarter of the Ministry of Education of Iran were present in this study as representatives of approximately 500 teachers of the area. In order to assess the effectiveness of the method, a 10-item questionnaire was developed and administered prior and after the workshop to examine the teachers’ feedback towards the imaginative usage of pictures in facilitating teacher-student/student-student communication and interaction. A Wilcoxon test was run for each item of the questionnaire, and also for the overall feedback of the teachers (N = 38; p ≤ .05). The data revealed a significant increase in the teachers’ opinion about the usage of pictures and imagination in the classes that suffered post-traumatic stress. Deliberated in light of Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, the findings of this research may assist education advocates and practitioners, as well as authorities in planning prompt and low-cost remedies in emergencies.

 

Keywords   Communication   imagination   multiple intelligences   pictologics   pictotherapy    pictures 

 



  References

Baggerly JN, Ray DC, Bratton SC (2010). Child-Centered Play Therapy Research: The Evidence Base for Effective Practice. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Gardner H (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Gardner H (1993). Multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Guha-Sapir D, Hoyois P, Below R (2016). Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2015: The numbers and trends. Brussels: CRED. Available on http://www.cred.be/sites/default/files/ADSR_2015.pdf.

Jaycox LH, Cohen JA, Mannarino AP, Walker DW, Langley AK, Gegenheimer KL, Scott M, Schonlau M (2010). Children’s mental health care following Hurricane Katrina: a field-trial of trauma focused therapies. J. Trauma Stress. 23:223.

Jaycox LH, Langley AK, Stein BD, Wong M, Sharma P, Scott M, Schonlau M (2009). Support for students exposed to trauma: a pilot study. School Mental Health. 1:49.

Kot S, Landreth GL, Giordano M (1998). Intensive child-centered play therapy with child witnesses of domestic violence. Int. J. Play Ther. 7:17-36.

Layne CM, Saltzman WR, Poppleton L, Burlingame GM, Pasalic A, Durakovic E, Music M, Campara N, Dapo N, Arslanaqic B, Steinberg AM, Pynoos RS (2008). Effectiveness of a school-based group psychotherapy program for war-exposed adolescents: A randomized controlled trial. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 47:1048.

Lazear D (1992). Teaching for Multiple Intelligences. Fastback 342 Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappan Educational Foundation.

March JS, Amaya-Jackson L, Murray MC, Schulte A (1998). Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for children and adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder after a single-incident stressor. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 37:585.

Messaris P (1994). Visual literacy: Image, mind, and reality. Boulder, CO: Waterview Press.

Pallant JF (2005). SPSS survival manual: a step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS. Sydney: Ligare.

Shen Y (2002). Short-term group play therapy with Chinese earthquake victims: effects on anxiety, depression, and adjustment. Int. J. Play Ther. 11:43-63.

Shirban SA (2004). Pictologics System, Elementary: textbook. Tehran: Peyk-e Zaban Publishers.

Shirban SA (2006). Pictologics System, Intermediate: textbook. Tehran: Peyk-e Zaban Publishers.

Shirban SA (2009). Improving Imagination in EFL/ESL Classes: The Case of PICTOLOGICS. Asian EFL Journal 7th International Conference, Pusan, South Korea, April 10-11.

Shirban SA (2008). Towards a New Usage of Pictures in Teaching Languages, or PICTOLOGICS. The 17th MELTA International Conference, Penang, Malaysia, May 26-27.

Shirban SA, Kalantari J (2003). Let’s Learn English. [Educational TV Program]. Tehran: Educational Channel of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

Shirban SA, Chang TC (2013). Developing a Virtual English Language Institute Using the PLS Method. EdMedia 2013, World Conference on Educational Media & Technology, Victoria, British Colombia, Canada, June, 24-27.

Stein BD, Jaycox LH, Kataoka S, Rhodes HJ, Vestal KD (2003). Prevalence of child and adolescent exposure to community violence. Clin. Child Fam. Psychol. Rev. 6:247.

Tyndall-Lind A, Landreth GL, Giordano MA (2001). Intensive group play therapy with child witnesses of domestic violence. Int. J. Play Ther. 10:53-83.