Coordination of aproximations in secondary school students’ understanding of limit concept

The aim of this research is to characterize the coordination of the processes of approximation related to the understanding of the limit of a function. We analyze the answers of 64 post-secondary school students to 7 problems considering the dynamic and metric conception of limit of a function. Results indicate that the metric understanding of the limit in terms of inequality supports that the student is capable of coordinating the approximations in the domain and in the range when lateral approximations coincide. However, the student is not capable of this coordination when lateral approximations do not coincide. This indicates that the metric understanding of the limit begins with the previous construction of the dynamic conception in case of coincidence of the lateral approximations in the range.

Goal Orientation Profiles and Self-Concept of Secondary School Students

The objective of this study is to identify possible combinations of multiple goals that lead to different goal orientation profiles and to determine whether there are significant group differences in self-concept dimensions. The Achievement Goals Tendencies Questionnaire (AGTQ) and the Self-Description Questionnaire-II (SDQ-II) were administered to a sample of 2,022 students of Compulsory Secondary education, ranging in age from 12 to 16 years (M = 13.81, SD = 1.35). Cluster analysis identified four profiles of motivational goals: a group of students with a generalized high motivation profile, a group of students with generalized low motivation profile, a group of students with a predominance of learning goals and achievement goals, and a last group of students with a predominance of achievement goals and social reinforcement goals. Results reveal statistically significant differences among the profiles obtained regarding self-concept dimensions.

Psychometric properties of the School Anxiety Inventory-Short Version in Spanish secondary education students

Background: The School Anxiety Inventory (SAI) can be applied in different fields of psychology. However, due to the inventory’s administration time, it may not be useful in certain situations. To address this concern, the present study developed a short version of the SAI (the SAI-SV). Method: This study examined the reliability and validity evidence drawn from the scores of the School Anxiety Inventory-Short Version (SAI-SV) using a sample of 2,367 (47.91% boys) Spanish secondary school students, ranging from 12 to 18 years of age. To analyze the dimensional structure of the SAI-SV, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were calculated for SAISV scores. Results: A correlated three-factor structure related to school situations (Anxiety about Aggression, Anxiety about Social Evaluation, and Anxiety about Academic Failure) and a three-factor structure related to the response systems of anxiety (Physiological Anxiety, Cognitive Anxiety, and Behavioral Anxiety) were identified and supported. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability were determined to be appropriate. Conclusions: The reliability and validity evidence based on the internal structure of SAI-SV scores was satisfactory.

Mathematics Game e-Library for Elementary School, study case: Mexico

One of the most relevant subjects for the intellectual formation of elementary school students is Mathematics where its importance goes back to ancient civilizations and which its importance is underestimated nowadays. This phenomenon occurs in Mexico, where 63.1% of the total population of elementary school students between the third and sixth grade have insufficient/elemental level of mathematics knowledge. This has resulted in the need to use a new mechanism to complement student’s classroom learning. With the rapid growth of wireless and mobile technologies, the mobile learning has been gradually considered as a novel and effective form of learning due to it inherits all the advantages of e-learning as well as breaks the limitations of learning time and space occurring in the traditional classroom teaching. This project proposes the use of a Mathematics Game e-Library integrated by a set of games for mobile devices and a distribution/management tool. The games are developed for running on mobile devices and for cover the six competencies related with the mathematics learning approach established in Mexico. The distribution/management tool allows students to reach contents according to their needs; this is achieved through a core engine that infers, from an initial profile, the games that cover the user’s knowledge gaps.

Profiles of emotional intelligence and learning strategies in a sample of Chilean students

In the last few years, one of the lines of research of great interest in the field of emotional intelligence (EI) has been the analysis of the role of emotions in the educational context and, in particular, their influence on learning strategies. The aims of this study are to identify the existence of different EI profiles and to determine possible statistically significant differences in learning strategies between the obtained profiles. The study involved 1253 Chilean school students from 14 to 18 years (M = 15.10, SD = 1.30), who completed the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24) and the Inventory of Learning and Study Strategies—High School version (LASSI-HS). Cluster analysis identified four EI profiles: a group of adolescents with a high EI profile, a group with predominance of low emotional attention and high repair skills, a group with high scores on attention and low scores on clarity and repair, and a final group of adolescents with low EI. Also, students in groups with high overall scores in EI and low attention and high repair emotional obtained higher scores on the different learning strategies; however, the effect size analysis showed that these differences had no empirical relevance.

Estimation of the Proportion of Underachieving Students in Compulsory Secondary Education in Spain: An Application of the Rasch Model

There are very few studies in Spain that treat underachievement rigorously, and those that do are typically related to gifted students. The present study examined the proportion of underachieving students using the Rasch measurement model. A sample of 643 first-year high school students (mean age = 12.09; SD = 0.47) from 8 schools in the province of Alicante (Spain) completed the Battery of Differential and General Skills (Badyg), and these students' General Points Average (GPAs) were recovered by teachers. Dichotomous and Partial credit Rasch models were performed. After adjusting the measurement instruments, the individual underachievement index provided a total sample of 181 underachieving students, or 28.14% of the total sample across the ability levels. This study confirms that the Rasch measurement model can accurately estimate the construct validity of both the intelligence test and the academic grades for the calculation of underachieving students. Furthermore, the present study constitutes a pioneer framework for the estimation of the prevalence of underachievement in Spain.