El camino hacia la integración de sistemas de gestión de la información científica : el TCD (Trinity College Dublin) como estudio de caso. CERIF y euroCRIS

Pablo de Castro, Director de GrandIR, describió la visión que el Grupo euroCRIS tiene de la infraestructura integrada de gestión de la información científica, compuesta por un sistema CRIS institucional, un repositorio de publicaciones y un repositorio de datos y software, y presentó el modelo de infraestructura integrada del Trinity College Dublin (TCD) como estudio de caso internacional. El sistema CRIS del TCD (TCD Research Support System o RSS), desde su primera versión en 2002, está basado en el estándar CERIF, un modelo de descripción de la actividad científica que está adquiriendo una progresiva relevancia como base de los sistemas CRIS en Europa, particularmente en el Reino Unido. Se citaron en la presentación los ensayos para incorporar CERIF al modelo de datos del software ePrints de repositorios, habilitándolo así para soportar parte de las tareas de recolección de información que realiza un CRIS, y la progresiva cobertura de CERIF a ámbitos tales como la gestión de datos de investigación.

Teaching how to learn with a wiki in Primary Education: what classroom interaction can tell us

Understanding how wikis are used to support collaborative learning is an important concern for researchers and teachers. Adopting a discourse analytic approach, this paper attempts to understand the teaching processes when a wiki is embedded in a science project in primary education to foster collaborative learning. Through studying interaction between the teacher and students, our findings identify ways in which the teacher prompts collaborative learning but also shed light on the difficulties for the teacher in supporting student collective collaboration. It is argued that technological wiki features supporting collaborative learning can only be realized if teacher talk and pedagogy are aligned with the characteristics of wiki collaborative work: the freedom of students to organize and participate by themselves, creating dialogic space and promoting student participation. We argue that a dialogic approach for examining interaction can be used to help to design a more effective pedagogic approach in the use of wikis in education, to shift into Web 2.0 learning paradigm and to equip learners with the competences they need to participate in knowledge co-construction.

Dimensional structure of the Brief Symptom Inventory with Spanish College students.

The Brief Symptom Inventory is designed to assess symptoms of psychological disorders in adolescents and adults. The dimensional structure of the inventory, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, was examined with a cross-sectional design in a Spanish sample of college students (N = 1,033, aged between 18 and 30 years old). Two hypotheses were tested: the original distribution of the items in nine factors, and the unidimensionality of the inventory. According to the results, a nine-factor structure seemed to be confirmed, although the strong intercorrelations found among the subscales indicated that these were measuring closely related constructs. The importance of cultural influences when assessing psychological symptoms and the need to develop national and sex norms for instruments that assess psychopathology, are also discussed.

Building Partnerships and Fostering Activities to Promote English Outside the Classroom

Becoming proficient in at least one foreign language is a target for educational authorities throughout Europe. The question is how we can improve our students’ command of English without increasing the workload on teachers and without much funding. In El Prat de Llobregat, a city located in the vicinity of Barcelona, we have addressed that issue by creating a group of teachers, educational advisors and city council administrators, who have been acting in a coordinated way to enhance English language exposure beyond the classroom. Our interest in promoting English stems from our location: our municipality is situated next to an international airport where finding a job is bound to be dependent on English fluency. We aim to show that, through a network of members at school and administrative levels, an array of meaningful and empowering initiatives can be implemented in a city where resources are scarce and cultural backgrounds diverse.

Gestión de la actividad no presencial y autoevaluación de competencias = Management of Student Learning Outside the Classroom and the Self-evaluation of Competences

Psychological Assessment is a core subject of Psychology studies, and of the university degree Human development, at the University of Girona and according to the University regulations, had 12 credits. Until the 2005-06 academic years, the student work conducted outside the classroom consisted of undertaking a psychological assessment that was written and handed in at the end of the course. From this the student obtained a qualification and a review if they applied for it In accordance with the European Credits for Higher Education, this subject was reduced to 9 credits, which is the equivalent of a total of 255 hours of in-class work and outside the classroom. In the 2006-07 academic year we created a guide to manage the student’s experiences outside the classroom, with the objective of encouraging the application of problem solving/critical thinking (Bloom, 1975), in line with the recommendations of the Catalonia Agency for University System Quality (2005). The guide includes: learning objectives, evaluation criterions, a description of activities, work week timetable for the whole course, programmed tutorials to review all steps of the psychological assessment process, and the use of a web-based virtual forum for the transfer of knowledge, analysis and constructive critiques of the assessment done by themselves and their colleagues

Debating as a classroom tool for adapting learning outcomes to the European higher education area

The creation of the European Higher Education Area has meant a number of significant changes to the educational structures of the university community. In particular, the new system of European credits has generated the need for innovation in the design of curricula and teaching methods. In this paper, we propose debating as a classroom tool that can help fulfill these objectives by promoting an active student role in learning. To demonstrate the potential of this tool, a classroom experiment was conducted in a bachelor’s degree course in Industrial Economics -Regulation and Competition-, involving a case study in competition policy and incorporating the techniques of a conventional debate -presentation of standpoints, turns, right to reply and summing up-. The experiment yielded gains in student attainment and positive assessments of the subject. In conclusion, the incorporation of debating activities helps students to acquire the skills, be they general or specific, required to graduate successfully in Economics.

The eTwinning Experience: Beyond the Classroom

The purpose of this paper is to give a presentation of the programme eTwinning, the use of CLIL methodology in eTwinning projects, give a glimpse of a successful project carried out by secondary students and present the future ahead regarding Higher Education. eTwinning offers the suitable environment to use the English language in a “real” context; it can be integrated in any subject due to its cross-curricular nature. In short, it prepares the student for the real world: international research, to get to know other cultures, to communicate and to learn content. I will start by giving a general view of what eTwinning is about. The second part will deal will eTwinning and CLIL. How CLIL methodology fits perfectly in the carrying out of eTwinning projects. In the third part, and drawn from personal experience, a project will be shown: “Addressing the Energy Crunch; Every Little Action Helps” as a good example of how to integrate content-learning in a collaborative project between different schools in Europe. The last part will deal with the future of eTwinning and Higher Education, within the new programme just approved by the European Parliament: Erasmus+ (2014-20).

Aprendizaje y servicio: estudio del grado de satisfacción de estudiantes universitarios

El aprendizaje y servicio es una metodología pedagógica que fomenta el aprendizaje de los estudiantes mediante su participación activa en experiencias asociadas al servicio comunitario. Esta metodología permite al estudiante involucrarse directamente con aquellos a quienes ofrece un servicio, adaptándose a sus necesidades y a una realidad que a menudo es muy diferente de la que vive en el aula. En esto radica uno de sus mayores impactos. Además, este tipo de prácticas contribuye a despertar en los alumnos su interés por la acción colectiva, su formación ciudadana, etc. La investigación que se presenta ha consistido en un estudio diagnóstico- comprensivo con 39 estudiantes, donde a partir del modelo de satisfacción con el que se ha trabajado se han analizado cuatro dimensiones clave (conocimiento e intención atribuida, valoración de la utilidad atribuida, valoración del proceso y proyección social). Estas dimensiones nos han conducido a reflexionar sobre elementos claves del aprendizaje y servicio (aprendizajes ciudadanos, aprendizajes personales, aprendizajes curriculares, procesos de reflexión, etc.). La muestra del estudio ha estado formada por 39 estudiantes y la principal técnica de análisis de la información recogida ha sido el análisis de contenido, mediante la triangulación de técnicas (cuestionario, entrevista y grupos de discusión) e informantes (estudiantes, profesores, coordinadores y miembros de entidades). El análisis de la información muestra un alto grado de satisfacción de los alumnos participantes. La dimensión que ha influido más en este resultado ha sido la valoración de la utilidad atribuida; en concreto, la percepción que tienen los alumnos sobre la adquisición de unos aprendizajes conceptuales, personales y ciudadanos. Atendiendo a lo anterior, cabe señalar que la relación generada entre profesores, entidades y estudiantes, así como la posibilidad de vincular la teoría con la práctica han condicionado los resultados. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Service learning projects promote student learning through active participation in community service. Thus, the service learning method enables students to engage directly with the people to whom they offer their services and requires them to adapt to other peoples' needs and to a reality that is often very different from the classroom. This is one of the major ways in which service learning has an impact. In addition, service learning helps to awaken students' interest in collective action, citizenship, etc. A comprehensive diagnostic study of 39 students was conducted to analyse four key dimensions (attributed knowledge and intentionality, evaluation of usefulness, evaluation of the process and social impact) on the basis of the chosen satisfaction model. The four dimensions led to reflection on key elements of learning and community service (learning about citizenship, learning about oneself, learning of a curriculum, processes of reflection, etc.). The main data analysis technique was content analysis, involving the triangulation of various techniques (questionnaires, interviews and discussion groups) and informants (students, teachers, coordinators and members of other organisations). Data analysis showed a high degree of satisfaction among the participating students. The dimension that most influenced the results was assessment of the attributed value, more specifically the students' perception of their acquisition of conceptual, personal and citizenship knowledge. It should be cautioned that the results were swayed by the relationship generated among teachers, students and institutions and the possibility of linking theory with practice.

Repensando la formación inicial del profesorado para abordar el tratamiento a la diversidad cultural y lingüística en el aula = Rethinking initial teacher education for linguistic and cvltural diversity in the classroom

In recent decades, European educational systems are facing many challenges related to the treatment of cultural and linguistic diversity. The need to address this diversity requires new approaches to education; this in turn requires changes in the way we prepare teachers for the new reality they face in their classrooms. In this article we highlight some of the major problems that initial teacher training has to address in order to enable teachers to deal effectively, respectfully, and fairly with students whose linguistic and cultural background is different from their own. We also present several models for teacher education from Europe and North America based on clearly identified teacher competences for linguistic and cultural diversity

Del papel a la pantalla y del aula a la nube: ideas para dinamizar la expresión escrita en secundaria = From paper to the screen and from the classroom to the cloud: ideas to energise written expression at secondary level

The spread of sociocultural focuses and critical literacy studies, which offer an holistic perspective on communicative skills, has reached our country at a time when the commonest environment for writing is the internet, and information technologies have transformed writing with new channels, genres, forms of preparation and languages. Thanks to these changes, educational programmes now include new concepts of literacy related to knowledge and the use of digital environments. This paper explores the impact of introducing these new communicative environments to teaching written expression at secondary level and puts forward some ideas to link learning how to write to present communicative contexts and established practices. Without forgetting the achievements of recent decades, we need to bring about a series of changes to bring new learned writing practices to class and leave behind others we had championed as necessary when the goal was to move beyond exclusively linguistic or grammatical approaches