An interdisciplinary collaboration between computer engineering and mathematics/bilingual education to develop a curriculum for underrepresented middle school students     

Sylvia Celedón-Pattichis  Carlos Alfonso LópezLeiva  Marios S. Pattichis  Daniel Llamocca 《Cultural Studies of Science Education》2013,8(4):873-887

There is a strong need in the United States to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups who pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Drawing from sociocultural theory, we present approaches to establishing collaborations between computer engineering and mathematics/bilingual education faculty to address this need. We describe our work through the Advancing Out-of-School Learning in Mathematics and Engineering project by illustrating how an integrated curriculum that is based on mathematics with applications in image and video processing can be designed and how it can be implemented with middle school students from underrepresented groups.  相似文献   

Refereeing Process in Mathematics and Physics: Meaningful Changes and Models for Improvement     

Inna K. Shingareva  Carlos Lizárraga-Celaya 《Publishing Research Quarterly》2013,29(3):271-284

Contemporary scientific publishing in mathematics and physics (as in other exact sciences) is a complex and rapidly changing process. The most important element of this process, namely, the refereeing process is considered. In particular, meaningful changes towards refereeing process in mathematics and physics are identified and predicted. Considering a transition that takes place from the traditional refereeing system to other models and introducing the four basic parameters of the refereeing process, namely, the review stage, the openness for editors, referees and authors, journals and e-journals, feedback and e-feedback, several different models are proposed and described for improving the traditional refereeing system (e.g., 2-stage open and semi-open pre-review models, 1-stage open and blind pre-review models, and 0-stage open post-review models).  相似文献   

Effects of a Problem-based Structure of Physics Contents on Conceptual Learning and the Ability to Solve Problems     

Carlos Becerra-Labra  Albert Gras-Martí  Joaquín Martínez Torregrosa 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(8):1235-1253

A model of teaching/learning is proposed based on a ‘problem-based structure’ of the contents of the course, in combination with a training in paper and pencil problem solving that emphasizes discussion and quantitative analysis, rather than formulae plug-in. The aim is to reverse the high failure and attrition rate among engineering undergraduates taking physics. A number of tests and questionnaires were administered to a group of students following a traditional lecture-based instruction, as well as to another group that was following an instruction scheme based on the proposed approach and the teaching materials developed ad hoc. The results show that students following the new method can develop scientific reasoning habits in problem-solving skills, and show gains in conceptual learning, attitudes and interests, and that the effects of this approach on learning are noticeable several months after the course is over.  相似文献   

Factors Influencing Schoolchildren's Responses to a Questionnaire in Wildlife Conservation Education     

Jean-Marie Ballouard  Stephen J. Mullin  Rastko Ajtic  José Carlos Brito  El Hassan ElMouden  Mehmet Erdogan 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(3):469-483

Questionnaires are important tools for assessing attitudes regarding conservation issues. However, they are not easily comparable and their reliability has been insufficiently assessed. We examined factors influencing responses to open- and closed-ended questions about animal conservation to more than 600 schoolchildren (9 years old on average). We analysed the level of understanding, controllable (e.g. sample size) and less controllable factors (e.g. affectivity). Most children responded appropriately to the questions, but subtle changes in the phrasing influenced the answers. Affectivity towards endearing species and spontaneity also influenced the responses whereas small sample sizes (～50 children) provided relatively stable patterns. Overall, we suggest that standardization of questionnaires administered over large spatial and time scales is needed to accurately assess children's attitudes towards conservation issues.  相似文献   

Coco Solo: From the party for the sun to the marble mason     

Osvaldo Lopez 《International journal of qualitative studies in education》2013,26(2):133-148

These stories are part of a collection in progress to be entitled It Happened in the Neighborhood. They deal with events that occurred in Coco Solo, a small marginalized neighborhood of Havana. The characters are real; the events are mostly real. Many situations that appear surreal certainly happened. Popular imagination, tales transmitted from one generation toanother, or the author's imagination are also present, but the stories are always based on what happened in the neighborhood.  相似文献   

A survey of video game players in a public,urban research university     

M.O. Thirunarayanan  Manuel Vilchez  Liala Abreu  Cyntianna Ledesma  Sandra Lopez 《Educational Media International》2013,50(4):311-327

A survey was conducted in a public, research university located in a large and diverse metropolitan area in the southeastern part of the USA. The purpose of the survey was to determine both the positive and negative personal, educational, social, and work related consequences of playing video games. Nearly two‐thirds of the 203 participants in this study were of Hispanic heritage. A majority of the sample of participants was derived using a school intercept, as opposed to mall intercept, strategy. The remaining participants were obtained using snowball, and convenience sampling techniques. Statistically significant differences between males and females were found in the areas of communication, decision making in daily lives, leadership skills, collaborating, functioning in a team, and giving directions to others. These differences were favorable to males.  相似文献   

Public universities and the neoliberal common sense: seven iconoclastic theses     

Carlos Alberto Torres 《International Studies in Sociology of Education》2013,23(3):177-197

Neoliberalism has utterly failed as a viable model of economic development, yet the politics of culture associated with neoliberalism is still in force, becoming the new common sense shaping the role of government and education. This ‘common sense’ has become an ideology playing a major role in constructing hegemony as moral and intellectual leadership in contemporary societies. Neoliberal globalisation, predicated on the dominance of the market over the state and on deregulatory models of governance, has deeply affected the university in the context of ‘academic capitalism’. The resulting reforms, rationalised as advancing international competitiveness, have affected public universities in four primary areas: efficiency and accountability, accreditation and universalisation, international competitiveness and privatisation. There is also growing resistance to globalisation as top-down-imposed reforms reflected in the public debates about schooling reform, curriculum and instruction, teacher training and school governance. Many question whether neoliberal reforms attempt to limit the effectiveness of universities as sites of contestation of the national and global order and thus undermine the broader goals of education. Neoliberal reforms have limited access and opportunity along class and racial lines, including limiting access to higher education through the imposition of higher tuition and reduced government support to institutions and individuals.  相似文献   

Policy-making and education reform in the development of Latin American social democracy: the role of the left in Brazil and Chile     

Diego Santori  Nelly P. Stromquist  Carlos Alberto Torres 《British Journal of Sociology of Education》2013,34(4):603-614

  相似文献   

Grade level, study time, and grade retention and their effects on motivation, self-regulated learning strategies, and mathematics achievement: a structural equation model     

Pedro Rosário  José Carlos Núñez  António Valle  Julio González-Pienda  Abílio Lourenço 《European Journal of Psychology of Education - EJPE》2013,28(4):1311-1331

The present study complements previous research findings with new data to improve our understanding of the relationship between motivational variables and academic performance in math mediated by self-regulated learning (SRL). A structural equation model with predictor (i.e., grade retention, grade level, and study time), process (i.e., perceived usefulness of SRL strategies, self-efficacy for the use of SRL strategies, and reported use of SRL), and product variables (i.e., academic achievement in mathematics) is proposed. The model was analyzed in two samples of data (calibration and validation samples). The first sample served to fit and respecify the model, and the second one was used to analyze the consistency of the findings of the first sample. A sample of 756 middle school Portuguese students participated in the current study. The results indicate that SRL is positively and significantly related to academic achievement and that the latter is, in turn, powerfully determined by perceived usefulness and self-efficacy, although students’ reported use of SRL strategies decreases from 7th to 9th grades. Self-efficacy and perceived usefulness of SRL strategies were also found to decrease as grade retention increased. These results are discussed with regard to the relevance of self-efficacy and perceived usefulness of SRL strategies in increasing academic achievement.  相似文献   

The Engagement of Older People in Civil Society Organizations     

Andrea Principi  Carlos Chiatti  Giovanni Lamura  Frerich Frerichs 《Educational gerontology》2013,39(2):83-106

This article reviews recent international literature on the opportunities and restrictions experienced by older people to act as volunteers in civil society organizations. Our aim was to develop a conceptual framework applicable to the European ageing society. This aim was pursued through a computerized database search focused on studies analyzing the individual, organizational, and/or societal levels. Findings show that senior volunteers are characterized by “younger” age, good health, and a high level of both educational and socioeconomical status. Volunteers are involved mainly in religious organizations as well as in social and personal care, while main barriers are represented especially by ageist practices. The review shows that the debate on this topic has been barely developed in Europe, both from an individual and societal point of view. Therefore, European countries might take advantage from experiences made in other contexts, but the identification of how this can occur requires further and more specific cross-national research.  相似文献