Contact Tracing: A Forgotten Tool?

Contact tracing is done to interrupt the spread or transmission of the causative agent to others who are in close contact with the index case and are vulnerable by not being immune. Public health experts have relied on contact tracing to reduce the spread of infections throughout history. Now the same method is being used for COVID 19. The healthcare systems in developing countries are ill-equipped to respond to pandemics of this kind. Our healthcare facility effectively employed the traditional contact tracing tool that formed the basis of a strong support system for all those employees who contracted Corona virus infection.

Developing Creative Thinking: A Cognitive Approach to the Teaching of English Literature

The study was conducted to investigate whether the application of cognitive teaching tools, strategies, and techniques through cognitive teaching model help develop creative thinking and other higher-order thinking skills of the students of literature at Master‟s level. The study comprised two phases: phase I was survey, while phase II was experimental. In phase I (survey) three questionnaires were prepared: one for the students, second for the teachers, and third for the chairpersons of English departments. The questionnaires were used to collect data about the existing literature teaching methods in Pakistani universities and colleges. The data collected were tabulated and analyzed on mean score and calculated to find out the central tendency of responses. In phase II of study (experimental), experiment was carried out for two months. The sample was 138 students of M.A. English at International Islamic University, Islamabad studying Romantic Poetry and Fiction II (Modern Fiction). 68 students of Romantic poetry were randomly divided into two groups: 34 in controlled group and 34 in experimental group. Similarly 68 students of Fiction II were randomly divided into two groups: 34 in controlled group and 34 in experimental group. Relevant pre-tests were conducted on all the four groups before the start of the experiment and post-tests at the end of the treatment period that was two months. The data collected through achievement tests were scored and analyzed by applying z test. Phase I of the study concluded that the existing literature teaching methods are traditional and do not develop students‟ creative thinking and other higher-order thinking skills. Phase II concluded that the application of cognitive teaching strategies and techniques through cognitive teaching model could help develop creative thinking and other higher-order thinking skills of the students of literature.