El Portfolio europeo de las lenguas y su aplicación en la Comunidad de Madrid.

Resumen tomado de la publicación

Revisión de las tendencias en la evaluación psicopedagógica.

Se plantea el clásico enfoque de análisis de dificultades de aprendizaje por medio de procedimientos y de instrumentos que recogen resultados y realizan clasificaciones. Se comentan las incidencias en el ámbito curricular de los adelantos de la psicología cognitiva y de la formalización de nuevos procedimientos de evaluación y medida en contextos escolares, realizando una revisión de los planteamientos psicopedagógicos, el análisis de competencias y las posibilidades de las nuevas tendencias de evaluación (assessment authentic, portfolios...). Se insta a la especificación de líneas de investigación que determinen otros procedimientos de evaluación de los procesos psicopedagógicos.

Information and communication for AQA applied AS single award.

Esta escrito para ayudar a los profesores y estudiantes en la preparación del curso sobre las tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación (ICT) para las especificaciones AQA AS. Su contenido se estructura en cuatro secciones, la primera trata de las ICT y la sociedad; la segunda sobre las ICT y las organizaciones; la tercera sobre utilización de datos; y la última sobre portfolios.

El uso de textos literarios en la enseñanza de inglés en la Educación Secundaria.

Estudio sobre los beneficios de la lectura y el uso constante de textos literarios para la enseñanza del inglés en el nivel educativo de Secundaria. Los objetivos perseguidos son los siguientes: Aumentar la motivación y la implicación personal del alumno y, en consecuencia, incrementar el esfuerzo y la participación en clase. Incrementar la exposición 'auténtica' al inglés del alumnado. Desarrollar las distintas habilidades lectoras en inglés de abajo-arriba y de arriba-abajo. Favorecer la adquisición del vocabulario y la gramática de forma explícita e implícita. Mejorar en general su capacidad de reflexión lingüística y competencia comunicativa global. Relacionar la práctica de la lectura de textos creativos originales y el desarrollo de las capacidades de comprensión y expresión escrita. Conjugar el aprendizaje de la SL, su cultura y los aspectos sociolingüísticos. Desarrollar la autonomía en los procesos de aprendizaje. Buscar una dinámica de trabajo en clase más interactiva con una mayor variedad de actividades. Diseñar o seleccionar actividades de reflexión lingüística y tareas comunicativas que permitieran explotar todos los aspectos lingüísticos y estructurales de los textos literarios y sus contenidos. Establecer unos criterios para la adecuada selección de textos literarios atendiendo a los intereses y capacidades de la mayoría de las alumnas y alumnos. Los grupos de muestra han sido dos clases naturales de 1õ de Bachillerato, asignadas al azar por la Jefatura de Estudios del Instituto de las cinco existentes. Las variables independientes utilizadas son de dos tipos: los sujetos y sus características concretas y las que forman parte del experimento. Como variables dependientes las ganancias en la lengua meta a consecuencia del tratamiento pedagógico aplicado y el incremento de la motivación, el interés por la SL y su cultura, y la autonomía de los alumnos, valorados por los datos de la observación de clase, el cuestionario final y la entrevista personal. La variable de control, en este caso, es la propia profesora, que intenta en todo momento actuar de forma similar en ambos grupos, tanto en cuanto a la dedicación, preparación y entusiasmo de las clases, como a la exigencia requerida a los alumnos. Se ha intentado neutralizar las variables extrañas más significativas: los horarios de ambos grupos son muy parecidos, las fechas y el horario de las pruebas, los criterios de evaluación, los criterios de corrección de los exámenes, la misma forma de organizar y manejar la clase, el uso de inglés en clase y la misma relación profesora-alumnado. Los instrumentos de recogida de datos fueron los siguientes: Ficha personalizada del alumno con información personal, familiar y académica y registro de asistencia, participación, actitud, resultados de pruebas y exámenes (ambos grupos). Un cuestionario inicial sobre la actitud y motivación con respecto al aprendizaje del inglés, a sus necesidades y a las características del buen profesor (ambos grupos). Un cuestionario final sobre la metodología, los materiales más usados, los exámenes y la profesora (ambos grupos). Exámenes: un examen inicial de diagnóstico y otro final, ambos globales, diseñados con apartados de pruebas de comprensión lectora, comprensión oral, expresión escrita, vocabulario y gramática, conformando una muestra razonable de la competencia lingüística global de los alumnos (ambos grupos). Exámenes sobre los textos literarios leídos de forma extensiva obligatoria. Entrevista guiada en español sobre la experiencia (sólo grupo experimental). Portfolios o colecciones de los textos escritos como tareas creativas finales a partir de los textos literarios (sólo grupo experimental). Observación de la participación y la interacción de los alumnos (ambos grupos) recogida en la ficha. El esquema básico de trabajo en clase estaría articulado en cinco etapas: Introducción (warm-up), lectura del texto orientada a algún propósito, re-lectura del texto para realizar diversas actividades facilitadoras de tipo lingüístico y pre-lingüístico, interacción con el texto y los compañeros, y post-lectura y refuerzo. Al comparar los resultados de los dos grupos en el examen final global, que presenta una alta fiabilidad, éstos mostraban una ventaja a favor del experimental en todas las pruebas, en especial en las de lectura, escritura y vocabulario. La motivación de los alumnos del grupo experimental se incrementó debido a tres factores: los alumnos se sienten atraídos por estos textos, consideran que ofrecen un inglés más 'real' y muchas de las tareas son más atractivas y creadoras que las de los libros de texto. El incremento de la motivación revierte en gran medida en una mayor participación en el proceso de aprendizaje revierte en gran medida en una mayor participación en el proceso de aprendizaje y un mayor esfuerzo. Los datos subjetivos objetivos con los que se contaron no son suficientes para afirmar con rotundidad que la motivación y disponibilidad hacia el trabajo de los alumnos se haya incrementado en todos por igual. Las percepciones de los alumnos del grupo experimental en la entrevista indican que este tratamiento pedagógico les ha hecho trabajar de una de forma más independiente y autónoma. Los alumnos expresan en la entrevista que los textos literarios originales han sido más difíciles que los textos adaptados. De acuerdo con los datos subjetivos de la entrevista, muchos alumnos experimentales han leído los textos literarios con una mayor atención y, por tanto, al principio han dedicado más tiempo, pero conforme se iban familiarizando con su lectura, han leído más rápido y mejor. Los resultados de la prueba final, con relación a la escritura de los alumnos experimentales muestran una mejor organización textual y una mayor riqueza de vocabulario. El incremento del léxico fue el aspecto más llamativo de esta investigación: los resultados mostraron no sólo que hay una diferencia significativa entre ambos grupos, a favor del experimental, sino que además ésta fue muy notable. La mayoría de los alumnos son de la opinión de que si bien los textos presentan aspectos socioculturales propios de la cultura inglesa, también afirman que otra gran mayoría de textos tienen más que ver con temas universales que con los específicamente culturales. Según los datos cualitativos, los alumnos manifestaron que los textos literarios están abiertos a diversas interpretaciones, que a su vez van a fomentar respuestas más personales y creativas. Todos los datos cualitativos que los alumnos experimentales aportaron reflejan una mejora en el nivel de inglés, en especial en relación con el vocabulario..

O fio de Ariadne : a formação contínua do PNEP e desenvolvimento da competência da leitura no 1.º CEB

Afirmando-se como uma necessidade premente, a qualidade da formação contínua de professores tem evoluído nos últimos anos. Esta urgência surge a partir das exigências que cada vez mais se sentem, quer a nível nacional, quer internacional, de um ensino e aprendizagem que acompanhe as mudanças sociais, tecnológicas e multiculturais. O Programa Nacional de Ensino do Português (PNEP), que surgiu pela necessidade de aumentar os níveis de literacia dos alunos portugueses, foi o objeto de estudo desta investigação. Nesta perspetiva, pretendeu-se identificar de que forma a formação de professores se articula com as dinâmicas da formação centrada nas escolas, no âmbito do PNEP, no desenvolvimento de competências de leitura dos alunos do 1.º CEB. Embora a aprendizagem do português padrão passe pelo ensino e aprendizagem de vários domínios, focalizou-se o estudo na relação entre a atitude reflexiva do professor e o desenvolvimento das capacidades leitoras dos alunos, através do ensino explícito de estratégias de compreensão de textos. O estudo empírico sustentou-se em autores como Alarcão (2002), Colomer & Camps (2008), García (1992), Lomas (2003), Pawlas, & Oliva, (2007), Sim-Sim (2007), entre outros. No estudo optou-se por uma metodologia mista, qualitativa e quantitativa. O caso em estudo, sobre o PNEP e a sua influência na formação docente, concretizou-se em contexto escolar e circunscreveu-se ao cenário profissional da investigadora. Durante o ano letivo 2009/10 sete professoras/formandas, sob a supervisão da investigadora/formadora, desenvolveram a sua prática pedagógica, num Agrupamento de Escolas na área de Gondomar. Assim, foram analisadas as reflexões contidas nos portefólios formativos das docentes. Em extensão, foi aplicado um inquérito por questionário, a cento e vinte e um professores dos Núcleos Regionais do Porto e Minho. Segundo os resultados obtidos, concluiu-se que a frequência do PNEP contribuiu para formar professores reflexivos que, ao mudarem práticas, potenciaram o desenvolvimento da competência de leitura dos alunos do 1.º CEB, o que se refletiu na melhoria dos resultados escolares, em todas as áreas do saber.

O portefólio como instrumento de reflexão na disciplina de desenho A do Ensino Secundário

A temática apresentada é resultante da prática de ensino supervisionada no Ensino Secundário em Artes Visuais e tem como finalidade aprofundar questões que envolvem a autorregulação das aprendizagens para o desenvolvimento do pensamento reflexivo dos alunos. A importância do paradigma reflexivo está cada vez mais presente nas práticas educativas dos nossos tempos, remetendo para um novo conceito de ensino e de avaliação no processo de ensino-aprendizagem, de acordo com um ensino cada vez mais centrado no aluno. Seguindo a intemporalidade do pensamento freireano são desenvolvidas práticas de avaliação tendo por base a integração do portefólio como instrumento de aprendizagem progressiva para a prática reflexiva dos alunos na disciplina de Desenho A. Este projeto de investigação participativa pretende analisar informações qualitativas e quantitativas de forma a reconhecer o contributo e o benefício da dimensão reflexiva ao longo do processo de ensino-aprendizagem no desenvolvimento pessoal e cognitivo do aluno.

Modelling European winter wind storm losses in current and future climate

Severe wind storms are one of the major natural hazards in the extratropics and inflict substantial economic damages and even casualties. Insured storm-related losses depend on (i) the frequency, nature and dynamics of storms, (ii) the vulnerability of the values at risk, (iii) the geographical distribution of these values, and (iv) the particular conditions of the risk transfer. It is thus of great importance to assess the impact of climate change on future storm losses. To this end, the current study employs—to our knowledge for the first time—a coupled approach, using output from high-resolution regional climate model scenarios for the European sector to drive an operational insurance loss model. An ensemble of coupled climate-damage scenarios is used to provide an estimate of the inherent uncertainties. Output of two state-of-the-art global climate models (HadAM3, ECHAM5) is used for present (1961–1990) and future climates (2071–2100, SRES A2 scenario). These serve as boundary data for two nested regional climate models with a sophisticated gust parametrizations (CLM, CHRM). For validation and calibration purposes, an additional simulation is undertaken with the CHRM driven by the ERA40 reanalysis. The operational insurance model (Swiss Re) uses a European-wide damage function, an average vulnerability curve for all risk types, and contains the actual value distribution of a complete European market portfolio. The coupling between climate and damage models is based on daily maxima of 10 m gust winds, and the strategy adopted consists of three main steps: (i) development and application of a pragmatic selection criterion to retrieve significant storm events, (ii) generation of a probabilistic event set using a Monte-Carlo approach in the hazard module of the insurance model, and (iii) calibration of the simulated annual expected losses with a historic loss data base. The climate models considered agree regarding an increase in the intensity of extreme storms in a band across central Europe (stretching from southern UK and northern France to Denmark, northern Germany into eastern Europe). This effect increases with event strength, and rare storms show the largest climate change sensitivity, but are also beset with the largest uncertainties. Wind gusts decrease over northern Scandinavia and Southern Europe. Highest intra-ensemble variability is simulated for Ireland, the UK, the Mediterranean, and parts of Eastern Europe. The resulting changes on European-wide losses over the 110-year period are positive for all layers and all model runs considered and amount to 44% (annual expected loss), 23% (10 years loss), 50% (30 years loss), and 104% (100 years loss). There is a disproportionate increase in losses for rare high-impact events. The changes result from increases in both severity and frequency of wind gusts. Considerable geographical variability of the expected losses exists, with Denmark and Germany experiencing the largest loss increases (116% and 114%, respectively). All countries considered except for Ireland (−22%) experience some loss increases. Some ramifications of these results for the socio-economic sector are discussed, and future avenues for research are highlighted. The technique introduced in this study and its application to realistic market portfolios offer exciting prospects for future research on the impact of climate change that is relevant for policy makers, scientists and economists.

Methodology for assessing the appropriateness of Continuing Professional Development for pharmacy professionals’ revalidation

From April 2010, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) will be responsible for the statutory regulation of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Great Britain (GB).[1] All statutorily regulated health professionals will need to periodically demonstrate their fitness-to-practise through a process of revalidation.[2] One option being considered in GB is that continuing professional development (CPD) records will form a part of the evidence submitted for revalidation, similar to the system in New Zealand.[3] At present, pharmacy professionals must make a minimum of nine CPD entries per annum from 1 March 2009 using the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) CPD framework. Our aim was to explore the applicability of new revalidation standards within the current CPD framework. We also wanted to review the content of CPD portfolios to assess strengths and qualities and identify any information gaps for the purpose of revalidation.

Innovative implementation of iLearn e-Portfolio for Personal Development Planning

iLearn is a Web 2.0 tool developed in Blackboard to help students with Personal Development Planning (PDP). This paper describes a case study on how the innovative use of mobile digital technology in iLearn e-Portfolio for developing reflective portfolios for PDP benefits the students. The e-Portfolio tool benefits students as it enables them to create and share portfolios, record achievements and reflections that support future job applications and promotion. Students find it beneficial because they can make use of iLearn e-Portfolio to keep academic records and achievements, activities and interests, work experience, reflective practice, employer information and some other useful resources, and also to tailor their CV and covering letters including evidence to support their CV, transferable skills and selling points. Useful information for preparing for an interview, reflecting after an event and any thoughts and evaluation can be kept in iLearn e-Portfolio. Keeping assessment and feedback records in iLearn e-Portfolio enables students to know their progress, to identify any gaps they need to fill to develop their study practices and areas for development. The key points from the feedback on the assignments and assessments are beneficial for future improvement. The reflections on the assignments and how students make use of the advice are particularly useful to improve their overall performance. In terms of pedagogical benefits, the “Individual Learner Profile” records and reviews evidence in verbal communication, basic and higher academic skills, time management, numeracy skill and IT skills, students become increasingly aware of their own strengths and any weaker areas that may require development. The e-Portfolio also provides opportunity for students to reflect on the experience and skills they have gained whilst participating in activities outside their studies. As the iLearn e-Portfolio is a reflective practice tool, it is consistent with the principle of Schon's reflective practitioner to reframe problems and to explore the consequences of actions. From the students’ feedback, for those who engage regularly in iLearn, they are better able to set agendas for their Personal Tutorial meetings and provide their Personal Tutor with a unique record of their achievements, skills and attributes which help them writing effective references for them. They make the most of their student experience in general. They also enhance their transferable skills and employability overall. The iLearn e-Portfolio prepares for the workplace and life beyond University including continuing professional development. Students are aware of their transferable skills, evidence of the skills and skill level, including award or accreditation, and their personal reflection on their transferable skills. It is beneficial for students to be aware of their transferable skills, to produce evidence of the skills and skills level such as award and accreditation, and to record their personal reflection on their transferable skills. Finally, the innovative use of mobile digital technology in iLearn e-Portfolio for developing reflective portfolios for PDP will improve their employability.

Innovative use of e-portfolio for personal development

iLearn is a quasi-Web 2.0 tool developed in Blackboard to help users with Personal Development Planning (PDP). This paper describes a case study on how the innovative use of mobile digital technology in iLearn e-Portfolio for developing reflective portfolios for PDP benefits the users, who are training to be professionals in construction management and surveying, The e-Portfolio tool benefits users as it enables them to create and share portfolios, record achievements and reflections that support future job applications and promotion. Users find it beneficial because they can make use of iLearn e-Portfolio to keep academic records and achievements, activities and interests, work experience, reflective practice, employer information and some other useful resources, and also to tailor their CV and covering letters including evidence to support their CV, transferable skills and selling points. Useful information for preparing for an interview, reflecting after an event and any thoughts and evaluation can be kept in iLearn e-Portfolio. Keeping assessment and feedback records in iLearn e-Portfolio enables learners to know their progress, to identify any gaps they need to fill to develop their study practices and areas for development. The key points from the feedback on the assignments and assessments are beneficial for future improvement. The reflections on the tasks and how they make use of the advice are particularly useful to improve their overall performance. In terms of pedagogical benefits, the “Individual Learner Profile” records and reviews evidence in verbal communication, basic and higher academic skills, time management, numeracy skill and IT skills, learners become increasingly aware of their own strengths and any weaker areas that may require development. The e-Portfolio also provides opportunity for them to reflect on the experience and skills they have gained whilst participating in activities outside their studies. As the iLearn e-Portfolio is a reflective practice tool, it is consistent with the principle of Schon's reflective practitioner to reframe problems and to explore the consequences of actions. From the users’ feedback, for those who engage regularly in iLearn, they are better able to set agendas for their supervision meetings and provide their supervisor with a unique record of their achievements, skills and attributes which help them writing effective references for them. They make the most of their learning experience in general. They also enhance their transferable skills and employability overall. The iLearn e-Portfolio prepares them for the workplace including continuing professional development. Users are aware of their transferable skills, evidence of the skills and skill level, including award or accreditation, and their personal reflection on their transferable skills. It is beneficial for them to be aware of their transferable skills, to produce evidence of the skills and skills level such as award and accreditation, and to record their personal reflection on their transferable skills. Finally, the innovative use of mobile digital technology in iLearn e-Portfolio for developing reflective portfolios for PDP will improve their employability.

Synthesis of heterosulfamates. Search for structure-taste relationships

Thirty one new sodium heterosulfamates, RNHSO3Na, where the R portion contains mainly thiazole, benzothiazole, thiadiazole and pyridine ring structures, have been synthesized and their taste portfolios have been assessed. A database of 132 heterosulfamates ( both open-chain and cyclic) has been formed by combining these new compounds with an existing set of 101 heterosulfamates which were previously synthesized and for which taste data are available. Simple descriptors have been obtained using (i) measurements with Corey-Pauling-Koltun (CPK) space- filling models giving x, y and z dimensions and a volume VCPK, (ii) calculated first order molecular connectivities ((1)chi(v)) and (iii) the calculated Spartan program parameters to obtain HOMO, LUMO energies, the solvation energy E-solv and V-SPART AN. The techniques of linear (LDA) and quadratic (QDA) discriminant analysis and Tree analysis have then been employed to develop structure-taste relationships (SARs) that classify the sweet (S) and non-sweet (N) compounds into separate categories. In the LDA analysis 70% of the compounds were correctly classified ( this compares with 65% when the smaller data set of 101 compounds was used) and in the QDA analysis 68% were correctly classified ( compared to 80% previously). TheTree analysis correctly classified 81% ( compared to 86% previously). An alternative Tree analysis derived using the Cerius2 program and a set of physicochemical descriptors correctly classified only 54% of the compounds.

The value premium and time-varying volatility

Numerous studies have documented the failure of the static and conditional capital asset pricing models to explain the difference in returns between value and growth stocks. This paper examines the post-1963 value premium by employing a model that captures the time-varying total risk of the value-minus-growth portfolios. Our results show that the time-series of value premia is strongly and positively correlated with its volatility. This conclusion is robust to the criterion used to sort stocks into value and growth portfolios and to the country under review (the US and the UK). Our paper is consistent with evidence on the possible role of idiosyncratic risk in explaining equity returns, and also with a separate strand of literature concerning the relative lack of reversibility of value firms' investment decisions.

Depreciation, income distribution and the UK REIT

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider prospects for UK REITs, which were introduced on 1 January 2007. It specifically focuses on the potential influence of depreciation and expenditure on income and distributions. Design/methodology/approach – First, the ways in which depreciation can affect vehicle earnings and value are discussed. This is then set in the context of the specific rules and features of REITs. An analysis using property income and expenditure data from the Investment Property Databank (IPD) then assesses what gross and net income for a UK REIT might have been like for the period 1984-2003. Findings – A UK REIT must distribute at least 90 per cent of net income from its property rental business. Expenditure therefore plays a significant part in determining what funds remain for distribution. Over 1984-2003, expenditure has absorbed 20 per cent of gross income and been a source of earnings volatility, which would have been exacerbated by gearing. Practical implications – Expenditure must take place to help UK REITs maintain and renew their real estate portfolios. In view of this, investors should moderate expectations of a high and stable income return, although it may well still be so relative to alternative investments. Originality/value – Previous literature on depreciation has not quantified amounts spent on portfolios to keep depreciation at those rates. Nor, to our knowledge, has its ideas been placed in the indirect investor context.

Spatial concentration in institutional investment in the UK: some comparisons between the retail and office sectors

Geographic diversity is a fundamental tenet in portfolio management. Yet there is evidence from the US that institutional investors prefer to concentrate their real estate investments in favoured and specific areas as primary locations for the properties that occupy their portfolios. The little work done in the UK draws similar conclusions, but has so far focused only on the office sector; no work has examined this issue for the retail sector. This paper therefore examines the extent of real estate investment concentration in institutional Retail portfolios in the UK at two points in time; 1998 and 2003, and presents some comparisons with equivalent concentrations in the office sector. The findings indicate that retail investment correlates more closely with the UK urban hierarchy than that for offices when measured against employment, and is focused on urban areas with high populations and large population densities which have larger numbers of retail units in which to invest.

Non-normal real estate return distributions by property type in the UK

Investment risk models with infinite variance provide a better description of distributions of individual property returns in the IPD UK database over the period 1981 to 2003 than normally distributed risk models. This finding mirrors results in the US and Australia using identical methodology. Real estate investment risk is heteroskedastic, but the characteristic exponent of the investment risk function is constant across time – yet it may vary by property type. Asset diversification is far less effective at reducing the impact of non‐systematic investment risk on real estate portfolios than in the case of assets with normally distributed investment risk. The results, therefore, indicate that multi‐risk factor portfolio allocation models based on measures of investment codependence from finite‐variance statistics are ineffective in the real estate context