Analyzing and selecting tasks for mathematics teaching: a heuristic

In planning units and lessons every day, teachers face the problem of designing a sequence of activities to promote learning. In particular, they are expected to foster the development of learning goals in their students. Based on the idea of learning path of a task, we describe a heuristic procedure to enable teachers to characterize a learning goal in terms of its cognitive requirements and to analyze and select tasks based on this characterization. We then present an example of how a group of future teachers used this heuristic in a preservice teachers training course and discuss its contributions and constraints.

Predictors of attitudes toward inclusion of students with special educational needs in future education professionals

One of the main pillars in the development of inclusive schools is the initial teacher training. Before determining if it is necessary to make changes (and of what type) in training programs or curriculum guides related to the attention to diversity and inclusive education, the attitudes of future education professionals in this area should be analyzed. This includes the identification of the relevant predictors of inclusive attitudes. The research reported in this article pursued this objective, doing so with a quantitative survey methodology based on the use of cross-sectional structured data collection and statistical analyses related to the quality of the attitude questionnaire (factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha), descriptive statistics, correlations, hypothesis tests for difference of means, and regression analysis in order to predict attitudes towards inclusion in education. Firstly, the results show that the participants held very positive attitudes toward the inclusion of students with special educational needs. Particularly, older respondents, those with a longer training and, to a lesser extent, women and those who had been in touch with disabled people stood out within this attitude. Secondly, it is evidenced that self-transcendence values ​and, more weakly, contact, function as robust predictors of attitudes of future practitioners towards the inclusion of students with special needs. Some applications for the initial professionalization of educators are suggested in the discussion.

Are they adicctied to college students social networks?

The development of the Internet and in particular of social networks has supposedly given a new view to the different aspects that surround human behavior. It includes those associated with addictions, but specifically the ones that have to do with technologies. Following a correlational descriptive design we present the results of a study, which involved university students from Social and Legal Sciences as participants, about their addiction to the Internet and in particular to social networks. The sample was conformed of 373 participants from the cities of Granada, Sevilla, Málaga, and Córdoba. To gather the data a questionnaire that was design by Young was translated to Spanish. The main research objective was to determine if university students could be considered social network addicts. The most prominent result was that the participants don’t consider themselves to be addicted to the Internet or to social networks; in particular women reflected a major distance from the social networks. It’s important to know that the results differ from those found in the literature review, which opens the question, are the participants in a phase of denial towards the addiction?

Usages et compétence TIC en formation initiale à l'ENS d'Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire : le cas des formateurs et des futurs enseignants

Les Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication (TIC) sont de plus en plus présentes dans toutes les sphères de la société y compris dans l’éducation. Pour favoriser des usages effectifs de ces technologies par des enseignants dans les salles de classe, il devient pertinent de s’intéresser aux usages qu’en font certains formateurs et futurs enseignants dans le cadre de la formation initiale. Ainsi, dans le contexte de la formation initiale des enseignants en Côte d’Ivoire à l’ENS d’Abidjan, l’objectif général de la présente thèse est de documenter les usages et la compétence TIC. Pour répondre à ces préoccupations, une étude qualitative exploratoire a été réalisée à l’Ecole normale supérieure (ENS) d’Abidjan en Côte d’Ivoire. Les entrevues individuelles semi-dirigées avec des formateurs (n = 9) et des futurs enseignants (n = 15) ont été analysées, en adoptant une approche méthodologique basée essentiellement sur l’analyse du contenu. Les résultats sont présentés sous forme d’articles scientifiques. La thèse tente ainsi de décrire des usages des TIC par des futurs enseignants, de dresser un profil des formateurs usagers des TIC dans le cadre de la formation initiale à l’ENS d’Abidjan. Elle veut aussi examiner les usages des TIC par des futurs enseignants, en formation initiale, pour certaines des composantes de la compétence TIC. Les résultats obtenus permettent de dresser une typologie des usages des TIC par des futurs enseignants dans le cadre de leurs activités d’apprentissage. Pour ce qui est des formateurs, trois profils d’usagers ont été dressés : 1. Les usagers de bas niveau qui font usage des TIC uniquement pour la recherche et la production de documents ; 2. Les usagers de niveau moyen qui, en plus de la recherche et la production de documents, utilisent les outils électroniques de communication dans leurs pratiques professionnelles, et font souvent usage des TIC dans leur classe ; 3. Les usagers de bon niveau qui, en plus de faire usage des outils de communication dans leurs pratiques professionnelles et d’intégrer les TIC dans leurs pratiques en classe, disposent de pages Web à but éducatif. Par ailleurs, l’analyse des discours des futurs enseignants sur les usages des TIC laisse percevoir que la compétence TIC se révèle de façon inégale à travers quatre de ses composantes. En effet, même s’ils n’ont pas une posture critique face aux TIC, ces futurs enseignants ont une conscience de leurs avantages dans le cadre de leur formation. Ainsi, ils utilisent les TIC pour communiquer, rechercher les informations, les interpréter afin de résoudre un problème, se constituer un réseau d’échanges et de formation continue. Même si l’intégration des TIC dans la formation initiale des enseignants en Côte d’Ivoire n’est pas encore effective, des formateurs et des futurs enseignants en font usage dans le cadre de la formation.

La influencia de factores educativos y familiares sobre el aprendizaje de una segunda lengua, y los efectos sobre la inteligencia y cognición

Actualmente, la investigación científica acerca de la influencia de los factores educativos y familiares en el aprendizaje de una segunda lengua (L2) es limitada. En comparación, los efectos que tiene la L2 en la inteligencia y cognición han sido más estudiados. Por esta razón, el artículo presenta una revisión de la literatura empírica existente que relaciona lo mencionado anteriormente, ampliando así la temática del bilingüismo. Se buscaron artículos en cuatro bases de datos (PSICODOC, ISI Web of knowledge y SCOPUS), usando palabras claves específicas, en el periodo de 1990 hasta el 2012. De 79 artículos encontrados, 34 cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión para la revisión. Asimismo, se tuvieron en cuenta dos libros, de los cuales se revisó un capítulo por cada uno según los mismos criterios. En conjunto, los resultados arrojaron importantes datos teóricos y de investigación que relacionan el éxito en el aprendizaje de una L2 con la inteligencia y cognición, según la influencia de los factores educativos y familiares. En conclusión, se identificaron más factores educativos que familiares; lo cual a concepto de la autora evidencia la limitada investigación que se ha hecho sobre los factores familiares en el bilingüismo actualmente.

O portfólio na formação inicial do professor reflexivo de inglês como língua estrangeira: uma análise sistêmico-funcional

This research deals with the insertion of the portfolio as a resource to the development of the reflective action in training teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Its goal is to characterize linguistic marks that show the reflective process in learning narratives collected in portfolios following the considerations of the ideational metafunction of the Systemic-Functional Grammar (SFG) by Halliday (1994). Within the scope of analysis offered by SFG, the system of transitivity was chosen attempting to observe and study the lexicogrammatical choices made by participants to produce their learning narratives. The corpus was composed of twenty-six learning narratives produced by thirteen participants into two distinct modules, designated here as "First Assessment" and "Final Assessment. The analysis were performed using procedures related to Corpus Linguistics, with the aid of the computer resource WordSmith Tools 5.0 (Scott, 1999). The results seems to indicate that preservice teachers, when asked to reflect on activities written on the classroom, use in their narratives a significant majority of mental processes instead of material processes that are common in narratives from other nature. Meanwhile, the use of a portfolio in teacher training in EFL, can be considered as a trigger reflection tool, which allows future teachers' effective monitoring of all their learning process

As disciplinas pedagógicas na formação e na construção de representações sobre o trabalho docente: visões de alunos de licenciatura em Química e Física

Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar as concepções de licenciandos em Química e em Física sobre a prática profissional e as marcas deixadas pelas disciplinas pedagógicas na sua formação, assim como identificar sinais de mudanças em suas concepções durante a realização do curso de Licenciatura. Para tanto, textos foram produzidos por 54 alunos matriculados em cursos de Licenciatura de duas universidades públicas do estado de São Paulo, nos quais os licenciandos expressaram suas experiências de formação e apontaram elementos que consideram que terão alguma influência em sua atuação profissional. Os textos revelaram que as ideias que os licenciandos carregam são consistentes com muitas das visões e objetivos apresentados em cursos de formação de professores. Nas produções dos estudantes faz-se presente o desejo de compartilhar e promover em seus futuros alunos o interesse pela Química e a Física. Os seus comentários refletiram visões de professores que tiveram no passado, os quais gostariam de imitar, e de outros que não gostariam de ser. Os comentários também tornaram evidente a vontade dos licenciandos em se estabelecerem como professores que se preocupam com seus alunos. Os textos foram analisados segundo a Análise do Discurso de linha francesa, como tem sido divulgada por Eni Orlandi, especialmente a noção de formação discursiva.

Raciocínio informal e a discussão de questões sociocientíficas: o exemplo das células-tronco humanas

Pós-graduação em Educação para a Ciência - FC

O impacto do estágio nas crenças pedagógicas de professores de inglês em formação

Pós-graduação em Estudos Linguísticos - IBILCE

A comunicação em fóruns de um curso a distância de formação de professores para uso de TDICS: análise da presença de ensino

The importance of the inclusion of digital technology in the classroom has already been pointed out by numerous authors in the educational field and some of them herald that it is through this inclusion that we can achieve transformations in school settings. Based on this assumption, this paper aims to present a distance learning course offered to in service and preservice teachers, focused on the use of technology in foreign language classroom primarily focusing on the role of teacher educators in mediating discussions. For this we sought theoretical support in studies which deal with distance courses (KENSKI, 2008), about virtual environments (ARAÚJO and MARQUESI, 2008), online discussion forums and investigation community and teaching presence (GARRISON, ANDERSON and ARCHER, 2000). Based on the previous theories presented, teacher educator’s messages were analyzed during a distance course offered to teachers in continuing and initial training, identifying marks of teaching presence and pointing to appropriate mediations and/or possible gaps. The results indicate that the teacher must be even more aware of the types of feedback that are provided and of the teaching presence mentioned by Garrison and colleagues (2000, 2001).

Acolhimento no estágio: entre modelos e possibilidades de formação docente

Pós-graduação em Educação - IBRC

The Investigation of the Ways in Which Gender Stereotypes are Perpetuated through Questioning and Assessment Strategies in Inquiry-Based Science Classroom

The purpose of this study was to investigate the questioning strategies of preservice teachers whenteaching science as inquiry. The guiding questions for this research were: In what ways do the questioning strategies of preservice teachers differ for male and female elementary students when teaching science as inquiry and how is Bloom’s Taxonomy evident within the questioning strategies of preservice teachers? Examination of the data indicated that participants asked a total of 4,158 questions to their elementary aged students. Of these questions, 974 (23%) were asked to boys, and 991 (24%) were asked to girls. The remaining questions (53%) were asked to the class as a whole, therefore no gender could be assigned to these questions. In relation to Bloom’s Taxonomy, 74% of the questions were basic knowledge, 15% were secondary comprehension, 2% were application, 4% were analysis, 1% were synthesis, and 3% were evaluation.

Territorio, educacion y multiculturalidad

La ponencia presenta las líneas iniciales que orientan la inquietud investigativa como parte del proceso de formación doctoral que comienza, pensando en la relación de las concepciones de los maestros en formación en particular sobre el territorio y su incidencia en las prácticas pedagógicas, como una posibilidad de reflexionar sobre estas y los efectos que tienen en la construcción de territorios epistémicos, configurados a partir de las diversas formas de relación con el conocimiento que establecen los sujetos que participan en el acto educativo. En este contexto, es fundamental reconocer el papel de la diversidad cultural en las formas de comprensión de la realidad que diseñan rutas cognitivas en las que los sujetos privilegian unos referentes teóricos, prácticos, axiológicos frente a otros

Territorio, educacion y multiculturalidad

La ponencia presenta las líneas iniciales que orientan la inquietud investigativa como parte del proceso de formación doctoral que comienza, pensando en la relación de las concepciones de los maestros en formación en particular sobre el territorio y su incidencia en las prácticas pedagógicas, como una posibilidad de reflexionar sobre estas y los efectos que tienen en la construcción de territorios epistémicos, configurados a partir de las diversas formas de relación con el conocimiento que establecen los sujetos que participan en el acto educativo. En este contexto, es fundamental reconocer el papel de la diversidad cultural en las formas de comprensión de la realidad que diseñan rutas cognitivas en las que los sujetos privilegian unos referentes teóricos, prácticos, axiológicos frente a otros