New lecturers' beliefs about learning, teaching and assessment in higher education:the role of the PGCLTHE programme

This study was carried out with new lecturers on a two year Post Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education programme in a UK university. The aim was to establish their beliefs about how studying on the programme aligned with their teaching and learning philosophy and what, if anything, had changed or constrained those beliefs. Ten lecturers took part in an in-depth semi-structured interview. Content analysis of the transcripts suggested positive reactions to the programme but lecturers’ new insights were sometimes constrained by departments and university bureaucracy, particularly in the area of assessment. The conflicting roles of research and teaching were also a major issue facing these new professionals.

Advanced ICT based Training Methods

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2013

A Didactic Model of Computer Supported Education in Higher Mathematics

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2016

A kutatási és fejlesztési tevékenység lehetőségei és korlátai a kkv szektorban = Opportunities and constrains in the r&d activities of the smes: description of the research design and the analyzed cases

Ezen kutatási tanulmány módszertani összefoglalója a Kutatási és fejlesztési tevékenység lehetőségei és korlátai a KKV szektorban című kutatási műhely tanulmányainak. A kutatók feltáró, kvalitatív kutatás végeztek, azon belül pontosabban kvalitatív mélyinterjúkon alapuló esettanulmányos kutatást. A kutatók 14 kis- és középvállalkozás vezetőjével készítettek mélyinterjút annak érdekében, hogy feltárják a kis- és középvállalkozások adaptációs és növekedési lehetőségeit és korlátait, valamint az innovációs tevékenységének lehetőségeit és korlátait. Jelen tanulmány röviden bemutatja a vizsgált 14 esetet is. / === / This research paper is the methodological summary of the research working papers entitled Opportunities and constraints in the R&D activities of the SMES. The researchers carried out an explorative, qualitative research, to be more exact a case study research based on qualitative interviews. The researchers conducted interviews with CEOs of 14 SMEs in order to explore the opportunities and constraints in the adaptation and growth potential and in the innovation activities of the SMEs. This paper introduces in brief the analysed 14 case study, too.

A comparison of the effects of social constructivist and traditional approaches to teaching on students' attitude and achievement in high school chemistry

Current views of the nature of knowledge and of learning suggest that instructional approaches in science education pay closer attention to how students learn rather than on teaching. This study examined the use of approaches to teaching science based on two contrasting perspectives in learning, social constructivist and traditional, and the effects they have on students' attitudes and achievement. Four categories of attitudes were measured using the Upper Secondary Attitude Questionnaire: Attitude towards school, towards the importance of science, towards science as a career, and towards science as a subject in school. Achievement was measured by average class grades and also with a researcher/teacher constructed 30-item test that involved three sub-scales of items based on knowledge, and applications involving near-transfer and far-transfer of concepts. The sample consisted of 202 students in nine intact classrooms in chemistry at a large high school in Miami, Florida, and involved two teachers. Results were analyzed using a two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with a pretest in attitude as the covariate for attitudes and prior achievement as the covariate for achievement. A comparison of the adjusted mean scores was made between the two groups and between females and males. ^ With constructivist-based teaching, students showed more favorable attitude towards science as a subject, obtained significantly higher scores in class achievement, total achievement and achievement on the knowledge sub-scale of the knowledge and application test. Students in the traditional group showed more favorable attitude towards school. Females showed significantly more positive attitude towards the importance of science and obtained significantly higher scores in class achievement. No significant interaction effects were obtained for method of instruction by gender. ^ This study lends some support to the view that constructivist-based approaches to teaching science is a viable alternative to traditional modes of teaching. It is suggested that in science education, more consideration be given to those aspects of classroom teaching that foster closer coordination between social influences and individual learning. ^

Moving toward change: Institutionalizing reform through implementation of the Learning Assistant model and Open Source Tutorials

Florida International University has undergone a reform in the introductory physics classes by focusing on the laboratory component of these classes. We present results from the secondary implementation of two research-based instructional strategies: the implementation of the Learning Assistant model as developed by the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Open Source Tutorial curriculum developed at the University of Maryland, College Park. We examine the results of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) for introductory students over five years (n=872) and find that the mean raw gain of students in transformed lab sections was 0.243, while the mean raw gain of the traditional labs was 0.159, with a Cohen’s d effect size of 0.59. Average raw gains on the FCI were 0.243 for Hispanic students and 0.213 for women in the transformed labs, indicating that these reforms are not widening the gaps between underrepresented student groups and majority groups. Our results illustrate how research-based instructional strategies can be successfully implemented in a physics department with minimal department engagement and in a sustainable manner.

Desenvolvimento de um sistema de captura de baixo custo destinado a determinação da cinemática humana

The motion capture is a main tool for quantitative motion analyses. Since the XIX century, several motion caption systems have been developed for biomechanics study, animations, games and movies. The biomechanics and kinesiology involves and depends on knowledge from distinct fields, the engineering and health sciences. A precise human motion analysis requires knowledge from both fields. It is necessary then the use of didactics tools and methods for research and teaching for learning aid. The devices for analysis and motion capture currently that are found on the market and on educational institutes presents difficulties for didactical practice, which are the difficulty of transportation, high cost and limited freedom for the user towards the data acquisition. Therefore, the motion analysis is qualitatively performed or is quantitatively performed in highly complex laboratories. Based is these problems, this work presents the development of a motion capture system for didactic use hence a cheap, light, portable and easily used device with a free software. This design includes the selection of the device, the software development for that and tests. The developed system uses the device Kinect, from Microsoft, for its low cost, low weight, portability and easy use, and delivery tree-dimensional data with only one peripheral device. The proposed programs use the hardware to make motion captures, store them, reproduce them, process the motion data and graphically presents the data.

Repercussão da integração de conteúdos das disciplinas nos trabalhos finais de graduação de CAU-UFRN (2003 a 2010)

The changes in the teaching of Architecture in Brazilian Universities, from the 1990s onwards, with the upgrading of the Architecture project as an object of research and scientific knowledge and more specifically, the adoption by the Architecture and Urbanism Course (CAU) from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) of the principle of content integration of the disciplines, aroused the interest in research on issues related to the Design process and the teaching of design in this context. After 20 years of its implementation and recognized as being a major step forward in teaching the teaching/learning process, the integration is the central focus of this research, which will seek to identify changes in the teaching design and its refutation in projects developed by students at the end of their course. In general, it is understood that the need to integrate knowledge from diverse areas of Architect’s professional activity, who seeks through an exercise of summary, identify solutions to the issues involved in a project. On the assumption that the integration of content of disciplines fosters the teaching/learning of Architecture project, which can be evident in the Final Course Assignment (FCA), it becomes necessary to understand, in the light of theories of education, such as the principles of curriculum organization, such as interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity and transversality are related to the term integration, is more understood and disseminated among the professors of the Architecture courses. The object of this study is consequently the relationship between the integration of subject content and Architecture projects developed by students from CAU-UFRN, in the context of Final Graduation projects (FCAs) completed in the period of duration of the Teaching Project A5-from 2003. The study has the main objective of investigating to what extent the integration of disciplinary content affects the development of the Final Assignment of UFRN, from the analysis of drawings and texts of the projects of the learners and the testimonies of teachers and undergraduate students. From a methodological point of view, the research “Architecture, Project and Knowledge Production: Academic Production – FCAs, Thesis and dissertations in PA/Brazil” carried out by the PROJETAR/UFRN team has been adopted as the basis for the construction of the analytical instruments. In order to identify aspects of their experience by various actors which were not recorded in FCA, electronic forms were applied between teachers and students, through the internet. The integration of subject content based Teaching Project of CAU-UFRN institutionalises the interdisciplinarity, organizing the curriculum by thematic semesters, in which the disciplines work the same focus and at the same site. The integrated work which derives from there tries to articulate the content of each discipline of the period and represents a general practice and has been evaluated by teachers and students, and considered as a facilitator of the teaching/learning process. The analysis of the data collected from the textual content and graphic of the sample of FCAs of CAU-UFRN suggests that the content of the various areas of knowledge are assimilated by the student and used as a resource for the design and development of Architecture projects. In other words, there is in the end product of the students record of the integration of content, whether in speech or in drawing, reaffirming the importance of the convergence of various knowledge in the Architectonic project. However, the integration of content from the point of view of their articulation and operationalization, which involves teachers and students in the same period, has as a condition sine qua non for the success of this educational principle, the provision of these to work as part of a team, for the dialogic practice, which creates areas of intersection not only between disciplines, but between the knowledge of each of the participants.

Aprendizagem significativa: uma proposta de ensino e aprendizagem da geometria euclidiana espacial no ensino médio

This dissertation is a research based on the Meaningful Learning Theory, with students from the second year of High School, in the city named Capinzal do Norte, state of Maranhão. The pedagogic approach of this research focuses on what to do and how to do so students can better grasp knowledge inherent to the Euclidean Special Geometry in a more meaningful and changing way, also that information may be kept longer in their brain, so it can last longer in the present and future. The methodological strategy adopted was the research-action, followed by the constant observance of a researcher on the matter with the purpose to ensure consistent results, which come from the use of a variety of data collector instruments, such as: Concept Maps, manipulatives, educational softwares and application of evaluative tests, besides the observations made throughout the process of investigation and the diagnosis itself. It is all due to the fact that we rely on the premise that knowledge is assimilated in particular and idiosyncratic ways, which means each and every student learns in different ways and in different periods of time. That is why it is so important to develop diversified methodologies to the same subject. This research adds to the other ones related to the theoretical frameworks of the Meaningful Learning Theory, of Concept Maps, of the use of technology on the educational process and of manipulatives, which purpose is to connect their common dots. This pedagogical intervention also focuses on the construction of the educational orientations with applicability directly on class, directed specially by the Mathematics teacher of the basic education, who might use them during your teaching practice. Such guidelines established here as an educational product aim to follow the Theory's assumptions that serves as basis to this research, thus becoming an educational element with a relevant significance. The results, with which we are faced, proved overwhelming to the proposed objectives in terms of learning, which were evident in the construction of Conceptual Maps, as well as in the use of Concrete Materials, in addition to serving as a motivational element to participating students of research. The results obtained are indeed reliable in terms of learning, considered the expected goals, and made us certain that the way we have approached the subject is consistent with a holistic education and that at the same time values the tiniest details, which are fundamental to all the learning-teaching process.

Integração de alunos imigrantes e refugiados no Instituto Federal de Brasília - IFB

Dissertação apresentada para obtenção a grau de mestre na área de Educação Social e Intervenção Comunitária

The design studio as liminal space

The context of this research focuses on the efficacy of design studio as a form of teaching and learning. The established model of project-based teaching makes simple parallels between studio and professional practice. However, through comparison of the discourses it is clear that they are of different character. The protocols of the tutorial tradition can act to position the tutor as a defender of the knowledge community rather than a discourse guide for the student. The question arises as to what constitutes the core knowledge that would enable better self-directed study. Rather than focus on key knowledge, there has been an attempt in other fields to agree and share ‘threshold concepts’ within disciplinary knowledge. Meyer and Land describe threshold concepts as representing “a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting or viewing something without which the learner cannot progress [1]. The tutor’s role should be to assist in transforming student’s understanding through the mastery of the ‘troublesome knowledge’ that threshold concepts may embody. Teaching and learning environments under such approaches have been described as ‘liminal’: holding the learner in an ‘in-between’ state new understanding may be difficult and involve identity shifts. Research on the consequence of pressures on facilities and studio space concur, and indicate that studio spaces can be much better used in assisting the path of learning [2]. Through an overview map of threshold concepts, the opportunities for blended learning in supporting student learning in the liminal space of the design studio become much clearer [3] Design studio needs to be recontextualised within the discourse of higher education scholarship, based on a clarified curriculum built from an understanding of what constitutes its threshold concepts. The studio needs to be reconsidered as a space quite unlike that of the practitioner, a liminal space. 1. Meyer, J.H.F. and R. Land, Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge. Overcoming Barriers to Student Learning: Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge., 2006: p. 19. 2. Cai, H. and S. Khan, The Common First Year Studio in a Hot-desking Age: An Explorative Study on the Studio Environment and Learning. Journal for Education in the Built Environment 2010. 5(2): p. 39-64. 3. Pektas, S.T., The Blended Design Studio: An Appraisal of New Delivery Modes in Design Education. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012. 51(0): p. 692-697.

Learning Environments in Design Studio Culture

The paper reports on a study of design studio culture from a student perspective. Learning in design studio culture has been theorised variously as a signature pedagogy emulating professional practice models, as a community of practice and as a form of problem-based learning, all largely based on the study of teaching events in studio. The focus of this research has extended beyond formally recognized activities to encompass the student’s experience of their social and community networks, working places and study set-ups, to examine how these have contributed to studio culture and how there have been supported by studio teaching. Semi-structured interviews with final year undergraduate students of architecture formed the basis of the study using an interpretivist approach informed by Actor-network theory, with studio culture featured as the focal actor, enrolling students and engaging with other actors, together constituting an actor-network of studio culture. The other actors included social community patterns and activities; the numerous working spaces (including but not limited to the studio space itself); the equipment, tools of trade and material pre-requisites for working; the portfolio enrolling the other actors to produce work for it; and the various formal and informal events associated with the course itself. Studio culture is a highly charged social arena: The question is how, and in particular, which aspects of it support learning? Theoretical models of situated learning and communities of practice models have informed the analysis, with Bourdieu’s theory of practice, and his interrelated concepts of habitus, field and capital providing a means of relating individually acquired habits and modes of working to social contexts. Bourdieu’s model of habitus involves the externalisation through the social realm of habits and knowledge previously internalised. It is therefore a useful model for considering whole individual learning activities; shared repertoires and practices located in the social realm. The social milieu of the studio provides a scene for the exercise and display of ‘practicing’ and the accumulation of a form of ‘practicing-capital’. This capital is a property of the social milieu rather than the space, so working or practicing in the company of others (in space and through social media) becomes a more valued aspect of studio than space or facilities alone. This practicing-capital involves the acquisition of a habitus of studio culture, with the transformation of physical practices or habits into social dispositions, acquiring social capital (driving the social milieu) and cultural capital (practicing-knowledge) in the process. The research drew on students’ experiences, and their practicing ‘getting a feel for the game’ by exploring the limits or boundaries of the field of studio culture. The research demonstrated that a notional studio community was in effect a social context for supporting learning; a range of settings to explore and test out newly internalised knowledge, demonstrate or display ideas, modes of thinking and practicing. The study presents a nuanced interpretation of how students relate to a studio culture that involves a notional community, and a developing habitus within a field of practicing that extends beyond teaching scenarios.

Acceptance of relapse fears in breast cancer patients: effects of an act-based abridged intervention

Objective: Relapse fear is a common psychological scar in cancer survivors. The aim of this study is to assess the effects of an abridged version of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in breast cancer patients.Method: An open trial was developed with 12 non-metastatic breast cancer patients assigned to 2 conditions, ACT and waiting list. Interventions were applied in just one session and focused on the acceptance of relapse fears through a ‘defusion’ exercise. Interference and intensity of fear measured through subjective scales were collected after each intervention and again 3 months later. Distress, hypochondria and ‘anxious preocupation’ were also evaluated through standardized questionnaires.Results: The analysis revealed that ‘defusion’ contributed to decrease the interference of the fear of recurrence, and these changes were maintained three months after intervention in most subjects. 87% of participants showed clinically significant decreases in interference at follow-up sessions whereas no patient in the waiting list showed such changes. Statistical analysis revealed that the changes in interference were significant when comparing pre, post and follow-up treatment, and also when comparing ACT and waiting list groups. Changes in intensity of fear, distress, anxious preoccupation and hypochondria were also observed.Conclusions: Exposure through ‘defusion’ techniques might be considered a useful option for treatment of persistent fears in cancer patients. This study provides evidence for therapies focusing on psychological acceptance in cancer patients through short, simple and feasible therapeutic methods.

Cooperative or collaborative learning: Is there a difference in university students’ perceptions?

The hypothesis that the same educational objective, raised as cooperative or collaborative learning in university teaching does not affect students’ perceptions of the learning model, leads this study. It analyses the reflections of two students groups of engineering that shared the same educational goals implemented through two different methodological active learning strategies: Simulation as cooperative learning strategy and Problem-based Learning as a collaborative one. The different number of participants per group (eighty-five and sixty-five, respectively) as well as the use of two active learning strategies, either collaborative or cooperative, did not show differences in the results from a qualitative perspective.

Taller de Escritura Creativa para el desarrollo de la Competencia Literaria en Brasil

Este artículo describe una propuesta de innovación docente basada en la corriente educativa de la Educación para el Desarrollo, así como la mejora de Competencia Comunicativa en L2 y de las Competencias Literarias e Interculturales por medio de un taller diseñado para tal fin. El propósito de este artículo es doble: por un lado mostrar las posibilidades que ofrece el Taller de Escritura e Ilustración Creativa para el desarrollo de las Competencias Literaria, Intercultural y Comunicativa en L2. Se muestra cómo el taller cumple con las directrices marcadas por la Educación para el Desarrollo que se describe en el marco teórico. El segundo objetivo es narrar cómo se han organizado, coordinado e implementado el Taller de Escritura e Ilustración Creativa en la Universidade Federal do Amazonas en Manaos (Brasil), basándose en la metodología del aprendizaje basado en tareas, y cómo se ha conseguido (i) promover la creación de puentes para la consolidación de las relaciones bilaterales entre universidades; (ii) motivar la colaboración científica con los centros brasileños que cuentan con un departamento de español, y (iii) emplear y crear herramientas que permitan incluir la Educación para el Desarrollo.