INCORPORATING STIMULATING QUICK-WRITE PROMPTS WITHIN A SECONDARY SCIENCE CLASSROOM: A CASE STUDY IN LESOTHO

The use of intriguing open-ended quick-write prompts within the Basotho science classroom could potentially provide a way for secondary teachers in Lesotho to have a time-efficient alternative to stimulate student thinking and increase critical thinking or application of scientific principles. Writing can be used as a powerful means to improve the achievement of students across many subject areas, including the sciences (Moore, 1993; Rivard, 1994; Rillero, Zambo, Cleland, and Ryan, 1996; Greenstein, 2013). This study focuses on the use of a non-traditional nor extensively studied writing method that could potentially support learning in science. A quasi-experimental research design, with a control and experimental group, was applied. The study was conducted at two schools, with one experimental classroom in one school and a second control group classroom in the second school for a period of 4 weeks. 51 Form B (US Grade 9 equivalent) students participated as the experimental group and 43 Form B students as the control group. In an effort to assess learning achievement, a 1 hour (35 mark) pre-test evaluation was made by and given to students by Basotho teachers at the beginning of this study to have an idea of student���s previous knowledge. Topics covered were Static Electricity, Current Electricity, Electromagnetic Waves, and Chemistry of Water. After the experimental trial period, an almost completely identical post-test evaluation was given to students in the same fashion to observe and compare gains in achievement. Test data was analyzed using an inferential statistics procedure that compared means and gains in knowledge made by the experimental and control groups. Difference between the gains of mean pre-test and post-test scores were statistically significant within each group, but were not statistically significant when the control and experimental groups were compared. Therefore, there was no clear practical effect. Qualitative data from teachers��� journals and students��� written feedback provides insight on the assessments, incorporation of the teaching method, and the development of participating students. Both mid and post-study student feedback shows that students had an overall positive and beneficial experience participating in this activity. Assessments and teacher journals showed areas of strength and weaknesses in student learning and on differences in teaching styles. They also helped support some feedback claims made by students. Areas of further research and improvement of the incorporation of this teaching method in the Basotho secondary science classroom are explored.

The Relationship of Instructor Technical Literacy to the Academic Performance of Students in Career Academies

Career Academy instructors��� technical literacy is vital to the academic success of students. This nonexperimental ex post facto study examined the relationships between the level of technical literacy of instructors in career academies and student academic performance. It was also undertaken to explore the relationship between the pedagogical training of instructors and the academic performance of students. Out of a heterogeneous population of 564 teachers in six targeted schools, 136 teachers (26.0 %) responded to an online survey. The survey was designed to gather demographic and teaching experience data. Each demographic item was linked by researchers to teachers��� technology use in the classroom. Student achievement was measured by student learning gains as assessed by the reading section of the FCAT from the previous to the present school year. Linear and hierarchical regressions were conducted to examine the research questions. To clarify the possibility of teacher gender and teacher race/ethnic group differences by research variable, a series of one-way ANOVAs were conducted. As revealed by the ANOVA results, there were not statistically significant group differences in any of the research variables by teacher gender or teacher race/ethnicity. Greater student learning gains were associated with greater teacher technical expertise integrating computers and technology into the classroom, even after controlling for teacher attitude towards computers. Neither teacher attitude toward technology integration nor years of experience in integrating computers into the curriculum significantly predicted student learning gains in the regression models. Implications for HRD theory, research, and practice suggest that identifying teacher levels of technical literacy may help improve student academic performance by facilitating professional development strategies and new parameters for defining highly qualified instructors with 21st century skills. District professional development programs can benefit by increasing their offerings to include more computer and information communication technology courses. Teacher preparation programs can benefit by including technical literacy as part of their curriculum. State certification requirements could be expanded to include formal surveys to assess teacher use of technology.

Significant history and historical orientation : Ugandan students narrate their historical pasts

In 2012, Uganda celebrated 50 years of independence. The postcolonial era in the country has been marked by political turmoil and civil wars. Uganda, like many other postcolonial states in Africa, cannot be described as an ethnically or culturally homogenous state. However, history education has globally been seen as a platform for constructing national identities in contemporary societies. At the same time, it is assumed that specific historical experiences of countries influence historical understanding. This study takes its starting point in the theories of historical consciousness and narrativity. A narrative could be viewed as a site where mobilization of ideas of the past to envisage the present and possible futures is made and hence the narrative expresses historical orientation. Through the concept of historical orientation historical consciousness can be explored, i.e. what history is viewed as significant and meaningful. The aim in the study is to explore in what ways students connect to their historical pasts. �� The study explores 219 narratives of 73 Ugandan upper secondary students. Narratives elicited through written responses to three assignments. Designed to capture different approaches to history: either to start from the beginning and narrate history prospectively or to depart from the present narrating retrospectively. The colonial experience of Uganda affected the sampling in the way that students were chosen from two different regions, Central and Northern Uganda. The comparison was a way to handle the concept of ���nation��� as a presupposed category. Narrative analysis has been used as a method to explore what the students regarded as historically significant and what patterns among the narratives that point towards particular historical orientations. �� The empirical results show how different approaches to history, a prospective or a retrospective approach, influence the student narratives. For instance, valued judgments on past developments were more common with the retrospective approach. The results also show differences in evaluating past developments according to regional origin. Students from northern Uganda were generally more inclined to tell a story of decline. Also, it is argued that the student narratives were informed by a meta-narrative of Africa. It was as common to identify oneself as African as it was to identify as Ugandan.

Entrepreneurship: a long way to go

Entrepreneurship education has emerged as one popular research domain in academic fields given its aim at enhancing and developing certain entrepreneurial qualities of undergraduates that change their state of behavior, even their entrepreneurial inclination and finally may result in the formation of new businesses as well as new job opportunities. This study attempts to investigate the Colombian student��s entrepreneurial qualities and the influence of entrepreneurial education during their studies.

Contributos das percep����es de auto-efic��cia e de instrumentalidade para a promo����o da aprendizagem auto-regulada no ensino profissional

Assumindo a teoria sociocognitiva de Bandura como marco te��rico, o presente estudo aborda as percep����es de auto-efic��cia e de instrumentalidade enquanto preditoras da auto-regula����o da aprendizagem e as influ��ncias que as vari��veis sexo, idade, habilita����es escolares e profiss��o do pai e da m��e, ano de escolaridade, curso profissional, quantidade de m��dulos em atraso e quantidade de horas de estudo semanais poder��o ter. A amostra �� constitu��da por 521 formandos de ambos os sexos de uma escola profissional privada. Os instrumentos utilizados foram a Ficha de Dados Pessoais e Escolares, o Question��rio de Auto-Efic��cia da Auto-Regula����o da Aprendizagem e o Question��rio de lnstrumentalidade da Auto-Regula����o da Aprendizagem. Os resultados corroboram a literatura ao verificar-se que as raparigas s��o mais auto-reguladas na sua aprendizagem, estudam mais tempo e t��m menos m��dulos em atraso do que os rapazes. Verificou-se tamb��m a influ��ncia do curso profissional sobre as percep����es de auto-efic��cia e instrumentalidade percebidas. /ABSTRACT: Assuming Bandura���s social-cognitive theory as our framework, the present study refers to the perspectives of self-efficacy and instrumentality as predictors of self��regulated learning and the influence that the variables sex, age, parents school degree and profession, grade and vocational course, the number of modules in which the students weren't successful at and the amount of study hours per week might have on them. The sample is formed by 521 students of both genders from a private vocational school. The instruments used were the FDPE (Sociodemographic data file), QSEsrl (Questionnaire of Self-Efficacy of Self-Regulated Learning) and and Qlsrl (Questionnaire of lnstrumentality of Self-Regulated Learning). The results corroborate previous studies and reveal that female students have higher perceptions of self-efficacy and instrumentality, possess fewer non-successful modules and study more time than the male students. There are significant differences throughout the vocational courses for the perceived self-efficacy and instrumentality.

Relat��rio no ��mbito da unidade curricular pr��tica de ensino supervisionada, realizada na Escola Secund��ria/3 Rainha Santa Isabel de Estremoz

O presente relat��rio foi produzido no ��mbito da unidade curricular Pr��tica de Ensino Supervisionada, que faz parte do Mestrado em Ensino do Portugu��s no 3�� Ciclo do Ensino B��sico e Ensino Secund��rio e de Espanhol nos Ensinos B��sico e Secund��rio, sob a orienta����o da Professora Doutora ��ngela Maria Franco Martins Coelho de Paiva Bal��a. Identifica-se, na sua ess��ncia basilar, como um trabalho reflexivo-descritivo sobre a pr��tica aplicada e efetuada no ano letivo 2015/2016, no lecionamento das disciplinas de Portugu��s em duas turmas de 10�� ano, e de Espanhol ��� L��ngua Estrangeira I numa de 7�� ano, na Escola Secund��ria/3 Rainha Santa Isabel, de Estremoz. Al��m do mais, tamb��m constitui o expoente de todo o processo levado a cabo durante os dois anos do Mestrado, o qual permitiu e conduziu �� revis��o, modifica����o, inova����o e progress��o em mat��ria de conceitos, ideias, no����es, a����es e teorias, quer fossem mais antigas ou recentes. Este �� o produto final e contributo para o desenvolvimento e melhoria a n��vel pessoal e profissional. Atrav��s do conhecimento da literatura te��rica e da sua aplica����o na a����o, a reflex��o compromete-nos a cumprir uma pr��tica fundamentada e apoiada em toda a documenta����o mundial, europeia e portuguesa normativa e de refer��ncia para o exerc��cio da profiss��o docente o mais completo e eficaz poss��vel. Mais do que um relat��rio, �� uma avalia����o orientativa da dimens��o transformadora no desempenho docente que, na sua parte mais cogitativa, exp��e estruturalmente: a observa����o e o seu registo; a observa����o em contexto; a planifica����o; a orienta����o; a componente letiva ��� aulas lecionadas (an��lise, aprendizagem e melhorias) e a pesquisa reflexiva na abordagem dos inqu��ritos passados nas turmas de Portugu��s e de Espanhol; e, por fim, a abordagem reflexiva sobre a avalia����o formativa das aprendizagens realizada ��s turmas de 10�� ano, na disciplina de Portugu��s; ABSTRACT: This report was produced in the scope of Supervised Teaching Practice���s curricular unit, which is part of the Master���s Degree in Teaching Portuguese for the 3rd stage of Primary Education and Secondary Education, and Spanish Foreign Language Teaching for Primary and Secondary Education, under the supervision of Dr. ��ngela Maria Franco Martins Coelho de Paiva Bal��a. In its basic essence, this is a reflective and descriptive paper about practices applied and performed for the 2015-2016 school year to teach Portuguese, in two tenth grade classes, and Spanish as a Foreign Language, in one seventh grade class at Rainha Santa Isabel School of Estremoz. Furthermore, it outlines the entire process carried out during the two years of the Master���s Degree, which provided and led to review, change, breakthrough, and advancement regarding concepts, ideas, assumptions, and theories, whether they were pre-existing or more recent. This is the final product and the contribution towards development and improvement in personal and professional terms. Through knowledge of theoretical literature and applying it to practice, the reflection leads us to compile substantiated and supported practice in all worldwide, European, and Portuguese standards and reference documentation for the most effective pursuit of the profession. More than a report, this is an evaluation of transformation in teaching performance that structurally examines the following: observation and its registration; observation in the field; lesson design; guidance and monitoring; a teaching component (analysis, apprenticeships, and improvements) with a reflective element based on the results of the Portuguese and Spanish class surveys; and, finally, a reflexive approach about formative assessment of student learning that took place within the Portuguese course.

Relat��rio de pr��tica de ensino supervisionada realizado no agrupamento vertical n.�� 3 de ��vora - Santa Clara e Escola Secund��ria Severim de Faria em educa����o f��sica nos ensinos b��sico e secund��rio

O objectivo deste relat��rio �� efectuar uma reflex��o fundamentada sobre a pr��tica pedag��gica desenvolvida ao longo do ano lectivo 2009/201O. A dimens��o investigativa est�� presente ao longo de todo o relat��rio e encontra-se associada �� reflex��o sobre o trabalho desenvolvido nas institui����es escolares em que estive inserido. No decorrer deste relat��rio s��o destacas as seguintes tem��ticas: modelos de planeamento; ensino das actividades f��sico-desportivas; destrezas do professor; promo����o da sa��de; avalia����o; participa����o na escola; desenvolvimento profissional. Conclus��es: O Modelo de planeamento por etapas �� aquele que mais favorece a aprendizagem dos alunos. No ensino dos jogos desportivos colectivos, o modelo teaching games for understanding assume-se como uma alternativa ��s abordagens tradicionais centradas na t��cnica. Informa����o aumentada dirigida para um foco externo parece dar origem a uma melhor aprendizagem. As aulas de Educa����o F��sica n��o est��o a conseguir dar o contributo necess��rio para a obten����o dos n��veis recomendados de actividade f��sica. ABSTRACT: The purpose of this report is to conduct a reasoned discussion about the pedagogical practice developed during the academic year 2009/201O. The investigative dimension is present throughout the report and is linked to the reflection on the work that was undertaken in schools. Throughout this report the following topics are highlighted: planning models, teaching physical and sporting activities, teacher's skills, health promotion, evaluation, participation in school, and professional development. Conclusions: The model of "planning steps" is one most conducive to student learning. ln collective sports games, the teaching games for understanding model is assumed as an alternative to traditional approaches focused on the critical components of each motor skill. The use of an externa! focus of attention appears to lead to better learning. lt seems that Physical Education classes are failing to provide the levels of physical activity recommended for young people.

Print versus digital texts: understanding the experimental research and challenging the dichotomies

This article presents the results of a systematic critical review of interdisciplinary literature concerned with digital text (or e-text) uses in education and proposes recommendations for how e-texts can be implemented for impactful learning. A variety of e-texts can be found in the repertoire of educational resources accessible to students, and in the constantly changing terrain of educational technologies, they are rapidly evolving, presenting new opportunities and affordances for student learning. We highlight some of the ways in which academic studies have examined e-texts as part of teaching and learning practices, placing a particular emphasis on aspects of learning such as recall, comprehension, retention of information and feedback. We also review diverse practices associated with uses of e-text tools such as note-taking, annotation, bookmarking, hypertexts and highlighting. We argue that evidence-based studies into e-texts are overwhelmingly structured around reinforcing the existing dichotomy pitting print-based (���traditional���) texts against e-texts. In this article, we query this approach and instead propose to focus on factors such as students��� level of awareness of their options in accessing learning materials and whether they are instructed and trained in how to take full advantage of the capabilities of e-texts, both of which have been found to affect learning performance.

O ambiente virtual de aprendizagem e sua incorpora����o na Unicamp

The text describes a study about the adoption of virtual learning environments and its consequences to the learning process of undergraduate students at the State University of Campinas - Unicamp. These environments can be incorporated in various ways into the academic daily life of students and teachers. One efficient way to promote the adoption of these environments, as observed by the Distance Learning support team, is to train teachers and students in their use. Two training alternatives are described in this text to instruct the academic community in the use of TelEduc, a freeware developed and coordinated by the NIED - N��cleo de Inform��tica Aplicada �� Educa����o (Center for Information Technology Applied to Education), and officially adopted by Unicamp. Training courses are offered in two ways - presence or distance learning - to suit each teacher's preferences. This article compares the two modes of training, showing their strong and weak points. The adoption of TelEduc and its direct consequences to the learning process are described in a study carried out with some engineering undergraduates at Unicamp. The authors' questions and the general views of teachers and students regarding the effectiveness of the use of TelEduc as a supporting tool to presence teaching are presented. This investigation revealed the importance of training teachers in the effective use of these environments.

Pedagogia da roda gin��stica (alem��) : an��lise da proposta metodol��gica desenvolvida no clube Bayer Leverkusen na Alemanha

Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Faculdade de Educa����o F��sica

O que pensam os professores sobre a fun����o da aula expositiva para a aprendizagem significativa

Professores s��o convidados a introduzir uma aula expositiva numa sequ��ncia did��tica planejada. Os professores tiveram bastante dificuldade para localizar a atividade dentro do que concebiam sobre ensino e aprendizagem significativa. Diante da tarefa proposta, procuraram sistematizar os conte��dos anteriormente desenvolvidos na sala de aula, atribuindo novo sentido �� estrat��gia, sem abandonar a import��ncia de ouvir o aluno e de articular adequadamente os conceitos. A aula expositiva de cada um foi ressignificada, aparecendo com posi����o definida na sequ��ncia pedag��gica e com conte��do significativo em rela����o ao n��vel de conhecimento do aprendiz. A conclus��o fundamental foi que, mesmo sem ser expl��cito, era poss��vel haver di��logo entre os saberes do professor e dos alunos, o que parece ter ocorrido tamb��m com os professores enquanto aprendizes no programa de forma����o.

Avalia����o do Processo de Ensino e Aprendizagem em Matem��tica: contribui����es da teoria hist��rico-cultural

This article presents the results of a study that investigated the meaning of evaluation in mathematics from the historical cultural perspective, focusing on activity theory. In order to develop the investigation, a collaborative group was formed from the Oficina Pedagogica de Matematica de Ribeirao Preto - Sao Paulo (Math Pedagogic Workshop of Ribeirao Preto - OPM/RP), constituted of pre-school teachers and early elementary school teachers, who were participants in this research. The main role of the collaborative group was to offer guided development to the teachers about the teaching of mathematics from the historical-cultural perspective, aiming at collecting data on the process of appropriation of mathematical knowledge by the teachers. The syntheses about the teachers' learning process have contributed to systematize the guiding elements of evaluation in mathematics from the historical-cultural perspective.

Closing the gap in curriculum development leadership

���Closing the gap in curriculum development leadership��� is a Carrick-funded University of Queensland project which is designed to address two related gaps in current knowledge and in existing professional development programs for academic staff. The first gap is in our knowledge of curriculum and pedagogical issues as they arise in relation to multi-year sequences of study, such as majors in generalist degrees, or core programs in more structured degrees. While there is considerable knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy at the course or individual unit of study level (e.g. Philosophy I), there is very little properly conceptualised, empirically informed knowledge about student learning (and teaching) over, say, a three-year major sequence in a traditional Arts or Sciences subject. The Carrick-funded project aims to (begin to) fill this gap through bottom-up curriculum development projects across the range of UQ���s offerings. The second gap is in our professional development programs and, indeed, in our recognition and support for the people who are in charge of such multi-year sequences of study. The major convener or program coordinator is not as well supported, in Australian and overseas professional development programs, as the lecturer in charge of a single course (or unit of study). Nor is her work likely to be taken account of in workload calculations or for the purposes of promotion and career advancement more generally. The Carrick-funded project aims to fill this gap by developing, in consultation with crucial stakeholders, amendments to existing university policies and practices. The attached documents provide a useful introduction to the project. For more information, please contact Fred D���Agostino at f.dagostino@uq.edu.au.

Maintenance of cooperative and helping behaviors in reconstituted groups

The authors conducted a 1-year investigation of whether children, who had been trained in the previous school gear to cooperate, were able to use the skills they had been taught in reconstituted groups without additional training. Sixty-four 4th graders, who had participated in training in cooperative group behaviors in the previous gear, were assigned to the trained condition; 84 4th graders, who had not received any training, were assigned to the untrained condition. The children worked in mixed-ability (high, medium, low) gender-balanced groups (2 boys, 2 girls). Results indicate that the children in the trained groups were consistently more cooperative and helpful than their peers in the untrained groups, although they had not received refresher training in cooperative group behaviors.