Building services cabinets as teaching material in a degree in architecture     

César Martín-Gómez  Omayra Zapata  Amaia Zuazua  Sonia Villanueva  Paula Olaizola 《European Journal of Engineering Education》2014,39(2):143-156

The aim of this innovative educational project is to encourage students’ interest in one of the most underrated fields of architecture: building services. With this material students interact with real elements and thereby understand the relationship between facilities and the building. A set of three small technical cabinets is planned. They allow for comfortable use and movement inside the building, need minimum maintenance and are easily stored. The result is an alternative concept of a mobile laboratory called a ‘technical cabinet’, made up of three mobile units for fire safety, electricity and the heating/cooling system. The design, content and learning systems of the cabinets confirmed the validity of the initial concept during the first year of use. A protocol has also been developed for each of the technical cabinets so that the teaching experience may be of use in other Schools of Architecture.  相似文献   

Acknowledging Spanish and English resources during mathematical reasoning     

Carlos A. LópezLeiva  Zayoni Torres  Lena L. Khisty 《Cultural Studies of Science Education》2013,8(4):919-934

As English-only efforts continue in the US schooling system, dual-language programs have served as attempts to preserve students’ home language. An after-school, dual-language, Spanish–English, mathematics program, Los Rayos was developed in a predominantly Mexican/Mexican–American neighborhood in Chicago. As participant observers with a sociocultural perspective, we explored the linguistic and personal resources used by participating 4th grade bilingual Latina/o students. We found that students used imaginative, playful, and hybrid linguistic resources to make sense of and solve probability tasks when engaged within a zone of mathematical practice. Results challenge narrow perspectives on bilingual students’ linguistic resources. Language implications are discussed.  相似文献   

Robust and specific personality traits as predictors of adolescents’ final grades and GPA at the end of compulsory schooling     

Helena Smrtnik Vitulić  Maja Zupančič 《European Journal of Psychology of Education - EJPE》2013,28(4):1181-1199

The study investigated the predictive value of robust and specific personality traits in adolescents (M _age?=?14.7 years), in explaining their academic achievement at the end of basic compulsory schooling. Personality data were obtained through self, maternal, and peer reports using the Inventory of Child/Adolescent Individual Differences. Adolescent gender and maternal education predicted 36, 26, 19, and 26 % of the variance in the final grades in Slovene, English, and mathematics and the overall GPA, respectively. Personality ratings by each of the three groups of informants substantially improved the prediction of students’ academic achievements, over and beyond gender and maternal education. The robust trait scores contributed to significant increments in the variance explained, across the academic achievement indicators, ranging from 8 to 17 % (self-report), 15 to 24 % (maternal report), and 20 to 32 % (peer report). Conscientiousness was consistently the most powerful predictor of students’ academic success and extraversion was negatively associated with all achievement indicators. The study provided support for a relatively stronger predictive utility of specific, rather than robust personality traits. Likewise, peer ratings of the students’ personality provided relatively larger increments in variance explained in academic achievements than maternal and self-ratings; in general, the personality trait ratings added more to the prediction of mathematics grades and the GPA relative to the prediction of success in languages. Among specific traits, subjectively perceived student intelligence was the most powerful and consistent predictor of final grades and GPA.  相似文献   

Context of validation of non-formal and informal learning in Spain: a comprehensive view     

María José Chisvert-Tarazona  Alicia Ros-Garrido  Míriam Abiétar-López  Luis Carro 《International Journal of Lifelong Education》2013,32(2):198-213

ABSTRACT

The system of validation and accreditation of professional qualifications in Spain is offered as a certification opportunity, especially for vulnerable groups. The procedure is presented as an evaluative proposal that allows some inequalities associated with training and employment to be addressed. In this article we analyse whether this system really fosters social cohesion, considering the political situation that frames the procedure and the educational approach underlying it. The research methodology combines the documentary analysis and interviews with the application of the Delphi method.

The most relevant results show that the socio-political context is favourable to competences accreditation, while the lack of expectations of the population, as well as of financial resources is hindering its implementation. The educational approach focused on learning outcomes and the evaluative control give the process an instrumental and credentialist value. The government intervention on the accreditation system can turn the procedure into a new instrument of political control of curriculum and education. Learning responsibility is shifted to those that access the procedure, both accrediting and generating new risks of exclusion. In conclusion, the system will offer inclusion opportunities if contextual aspects that humanise the procedure are taken into account.  相似文献   

Teacher educators' perspectives on the implementation of beginning teacher standards for physical education in Ireland: developing and regulating the profession?     

Déirdre Ní Chróinín  Mary O'Sullivan  Roland Tormey 《欧洲师范教育杂志》2013,36(3):261-278

The physical education teacher education community in Ireland has developed Beginning Teacher Standards for Physical Education (BTSfPE) at the post-primary (secondary) level. This study explored teacher educators' perspectives on how the BTSfPE could be implemented and considered the possible impact on the profession within the discourses of power. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with teacher educators in physical education (n = 13). Data were analysed inductively and trustworthiness issues were considered. Participants suggested that the teaching standards could serve as a developmental tool to guide individual teacher education programmes and beginning teachers as well as an assessment function to support quality assurance and to hold programmes accountable. The teacher educators were committed to addressing issues of quality and status in physical education in Ireland. However, an agreed vision of how the teaching standards would be used to develop and regulate the profession is necessary to ensure that the intended benefits emerge.  相似文献   

Facilitating the learning process in design-based learning practices: an investigation of teachers’ actions in supervising students     

S.M. Gómez Puente  M. van Eijck  W. Jochems 《Research in Science & Technological Education》2013,31(3):288-307

Background: In research on design-based learning (DBL), inadequate attention is paid to the role the teacher plays in supervising students in gathering and applying knowledge to design artifacts, systems, and innovative solutions in higher education.

Purpose: In this study, we examine whether teacher actions we previously identified in the DBL literature as important in facilitating learning processes and student supervision are present in current DBL engineering practices.

Sample: The sample (N=16) consisted of teachers and supervisors in two engineering study programs at a university of technology: mechanical and electrical engineering. We selected randomly teachers from freshman and second-year bachelor DBL projects responsible for student supervision and assessment.

Design and method: Interviews with teachers, and interviews and observations of supervisors were used to examine how supervision and facilitation actions are applied according to the DBL framework.

Results: Major findings indicate that formulating questions is the most common practice seen in facilitating learning in open-ended engineering design environments. Furthermore, other DBL actions we expected to see based upon the literature were seldom observed in the coaching practices within these two programs.

Conclusions: Professionalization of teachers in supervising students need to include methods to scaffold learning by supporting students in reflecting and in providing formative feedback.  相似文献   

Attitudes towards science and views of nature of science among elementary school students in terms of gender,cultural background and grade level variables     

R. B. Toma  I. M. Greca  M. L. Orozco Gómez 《Research in Science & Technological Education》2013,31(4):492-515

Background: There is a growing interest in investigating attitudes towards science and views of Nature of Science among elementary grade students in terms of gender, cultural backgrounds, and grade level variables.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes toward science and views of Nature of Science among Spanish students, Spanish students of gypsy ethnicity and second-generation Spanish students with east-European heritage, and to determine if their attitudes are related to their views of Nature of Science.

Sample: Data for this study was gathered from seven elementary schools in Spain, forming a convenience sample of 149 students enrolled from 2nd to 5th grade.

Design and Methods: The Nature of Science Instrument (NOSI) and an adaptation of the Test of Science Related Attitudes scale (TOSRA) were used. Follow-up structured interviews were performed with 15 participants.

Results: Regarding gender, boys had better attitudes toward Science than girls but more naïve views of the empirical Nature of Science. In relation to cultural background, second generation Spanish students with east-European heritage reported significantly better attitudes toward Science than Spanish students and Spanish students of gypsy ethnicity. No differences in Nature of Science views were found. Concerning grade level, third graders had more positive attitudes toward Science than fifth and sixth graders and more informed views of the tentative Nature of Science. Finally, no relation between Nature of Science views and attitudes towards Science were identified.

Conclusion: This study stress the need to address the steady decline in positive attitude toward Science and to improve students’ views of Nature of Science from early elementary grades, and to use gender and culturally inclusive science teaching strategies.  相似文献   

A taxonomy of computer media in distance education     

Fabio Chacón 《Open Learning》2013,28(1):12-27

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Primary school teachers’ experiences of external providers in Ireland: learning lessons from physical education     

Déirdre Ní Chróinín  Niamh O’Brien 《Irish Educational Studies》2013,32(3):327-341

There is an increasing trend towards the use of external providers in primary schools. The added value of external providers in enhancing aspects of children’s learning is supported in the physical education literature. Less is known, however, about the experiences of classroom teachers working with these external providers. To address this gap and guided by the question ‘What are primary school teachers experiences of external providers?’ we conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with primary school classroom teachers who had used external physical education providers (n?=?10). A thematic analysis of the data involved systematic coding from which themes were constructed. Findings alert to the limited partnership between classroom teachers and external providers currently. Teachers’ perceptions of external providers as having greater expertise resulted in classroom teachers engaging minimally in communicating with external providers and taking little part in lessons taught by the external provider. Overall findings indicate communication and involvement in pedagogical decision making as areas to address in reconceptualising the relationship between classroom teachers and external providers.  相似文献   

Knowledge of general practitioners on dementia and mild cognitive impairment: a cross-sectional,questionnaire study from Hungary     

Nóra Imre  Réka Balogh  Edina Papp  Ildikó Kovács  Szilvia Heim  Kázmér Karádi 《Educational gerontology》2013,39(8):495-505

General practitioners (GPs) play a pivotal role in dementia recognition, yet research suggests that dementia often remains undetected in primary care. Lack of knowledge might be a major contributing factor to low recognition rates. Our objective was to address a gap in the scientific literature by exploring GPs’ knowledge on dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) for the first time in Hungary by conducting a cross-sectional, questionnaire study among practicing GPs. Recruitment of the participants (n = 402) took place at mandatory postgraduate training courses and at national GP-conferences; the applied questionnaire was self-administered and contained both open-ended and fixed-response questions.

Results showed that GPs highlighted vascular and metabolic factors (38.3% of the answer items) and unhealthy lifestyle (29.1% of the answer items) as dementia risk factors. They perceived vascular dementia as the most common dementia form, followed by Alzheimer’s disease. Almost half of the respondents (44.9%) were not familiar with MCI. Most GPs identified memory problems (98.4%) and personality change (83.2%) as the leading symptoms of dementia.

In summary, GPs demonstrated adequate knowledge on areas more relevant to their practices and scope of duties (risk and preventive factors, main types and symptoms of dementia); however, uncertainties were uncovered regarding epidemiology, MCI, and pharmacological therapy. As only one-fifth (19.4%) of the GPs could participate recently in dementia-focused trainings, continued education might be beneficial to improve dementia detection rates in primary care.  相似文献