Evolution and implementation of CDIO initiatives at ETSII-UPM

The School of Industrial Engineering at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ETSII-UPM) has been promoting student-centred teaching-learning activities, according to the aims of the Bologna Declaration, well before the official establishment of the European Area of Higher Education. Such student-centred teaching-learning experiences led us to the conviction that project based learning is rewarding, both for students and academics, and should be additionally promoted in our new engineering programmes, adapted to the Grade-Master structure. The level of commitment of our teachers with these activities is noteworthy, as the teaching innovation experiences carried out in the last ten years have led to the foundation of 17 Teaching Innovation Groups at ETSII-UPM, hence leading the ranking of teaching innovation among all UPM centres. Among interesting CDIO activities our students have taken part in especially complex projects, including the Formula Student, linked to the complete development of a competition car, and the Cybertech competition, aimed at the design, construction and operation of robots for different purposes. Additional project-based learning teamwork activities have been linked to toy design, to the development of medical devices, to the implementation of virtual laboratories, to the design of complete industrial installations and factories, among other activities detailed in present study. The implementation of Bologna process will culminate at ETSII-UPM with the beginning of the Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering, in academic year 2014-15. The program has been successfully approved by the Spanish Agency for Accreditation (ANECA), with the inclusion of a set of subjects based upon the CDIO methodology denominated generally “INGENIA”, linked to the Spanish “ingeniar” (to provide ingenious solutions), also related etymologically in Spanish with “ingeniero”, engineer. INGENIA students will live through the complete development process of a complex product or system and there will be different kind of projects covering most of the engineering majors at ETSII-UPM.

A survey of educational data banks /

Cover title.

The design and evaluation of distributed virtual environment to support learning in global operations management

The primary goal of this research is to design and develop an education technology to support learning in global operations management. The research implements a series of studies to determine the right balance among user requirements, learning methods and applied technologies, on a view of student-centred learning. This research is multidisciplinary by nature, involving topics from various disciplines such as global operations management, curriculum and contemporary learning theory, and computer aided learning. Innovative learning models that emphasise on technological implementation are employed and discussed throughout this research.

Technology enhanced learning in Higher Education

Technology-Enhanced Learning in Higher Education is an anthology produced by the international association, Learning in Higher Education (LiHE). LiHE, whose scope includes the activities of colleges, universities and other institutions of higher education, has been one of the leading organisations supporting a shift in the education process from a transmission-based philosophy to a student-centred, learning-based approach. Traditionally education has been envisaged as a process in which the teacher disseminates knowledge and information to the student, and directs them to perform – instructing, cajoling, encouraging them as appropriate – despite different students’ abilities. Yet higher education is currently experiencing rapid transformation, with the introduction of a broad range of technologies which have the potential to enhance student learning. This anthology draws upon the experiences of those practitioners who have been pioneering new applications of technology in higher education, highlighting not only the technologies themselves but also the impact which they have had on student learning. The anthology illustrates how new technologies – which are increasingly well-known and accepted by today’s ‘digital natives’ undertaking higher education – can be adopted and incorporated. One key conclusion is that learning remains a social process even in technology-enhanced learning contexts. So the technology-based proxies we construct need to retain and reflect the agency of the teacher. Technology-Enhanced Learning in Higher Education showcases some of the latest pedagogical technologies and their most creative, state-of-the-art applications to learning in higher education from around the world. Each of the chapters explores technology-enhanced learning in higher education in terms of either policy or practice. They contain detailed descriptions of approaches taken in very different curriculum areas, and demonstrate clearly that technology may and can enhance learning only if it is designed with the learning process of students at its core. So the use of technology in education is more linked to pedagogy than it is to bits and bytes.

Gutes Lernen und gute Lehre. Welchen Beitrag leistet die Qualitätssicherung. Beiträge zur 3. AQ Austria Jahrestagung 2015

Die Publikation zur AQ Austria Jahrestagung 2015 widmet sich dem Lernen und Lehren an Hochschulen und den vielfältigen Wandlungsprozessen durch die zunehmende biographische, soziale und kulturelle Diversität der Studierenden sowie elektronischen Medien. Student-centred Learning (SCL) gewinnt verstärkt an Bedeutung. Diese Wandlungsprozesse treffen nicht nur Studierende, Lehrende und die Hochschulen als Institutionen, auch die Qualitätssicherung in Studium und Lehre. Der Beitrag von Prof. Nacken zeigt auf, welche Chancen und Herausforderungen sich durch SCL in verschiedensten Bereichen ergeben. Er geht auf das Projekt „Studierende im Fokus der Exzellenz“, die Entwicklung der Charta für gute Lehre und aktuelle Trends und Probleme bei digitaler Lehre ein. Die studentische Perspektive zeigt Umsetzungsmöglichkeiten und Maßnahmen in Richtung Studierendenzentrierung auf. In den weiteren Beiträgen wird auf Didaktik und Qualitätssicherung, Determinanten studentischen Lernerfolgs, alternative Formen der Lehrevaluation und die Sichtbarmachung von non-formal und informell erworbenen Kompetenzen eingegangen und zwei beschäftigen sich mit Einsatzmöglichkeiten und Veränderungen durch neue Medien. Mit Beiträgen von: Nacken, Heribert; Hanft, Anke; Pichl, Elmar; Treml, Beate; Pellert, Ada; Künzel, Manfred; Haas, Lena; Martens, Thomas; Metzger, Christiane; Haag, Johann; Froschauer-Neuhauser, Elisabeth; Meyer Richli, Christine; Schulz, Ramona; Kämmerer, Frauke; Gornik, Elke A.; Freiberger, Diane; Birke, Barbara; Müller, Claude; Woschnack, Ute; Baumgartner, Alexander; Erlemann, Jennifer; Penßler-Beyer, Anja; Bergsmann, Evelyn; Weißemböck, Josef.

The challenges of integrating the discussion of controversial issues in initial teacher training

In the framework of the Bologna process, and with regard to pre-service teacher education, it is necessary to model student-centred learning experiences in order to promote the required competences for future professional practice and critical participation in society. Despite the potential of discussion in promoting several competences, this methodology does not always integrate the teaching practices. This case study sought to: a) understand the experiences and views of future teachers from a School of Education on the use of discussion in their past education; and b) investigate the impact of an educational experience centred on discussion. Data were collected through narratives, questionnaires, interviews and participant observation. The learning situations experienced through this study contributed to the development of citizens more aware of their role in society and allowed the promotion of skills indispensable for an Elementary Education teacher.

The challenges of integrating the discussion of controversial issues in initial teacher training

In the framework of the Bologna process, and with regard to pre-service teacher education, it is necessary to model student-centred learning experiences in order to promote the required competences for future professional practice and critical participation in society. Despite the potential of discussion in promoting several competences, this methodology does not always integrate the teaching practices. This case study sought to: a) understand the experiences and views of future teachers from a School of Education on the use of discussion in their past education; and b) investigate the impact of an educational experience centred on discussion. Data were collected through narratives, questionnaires, interviews and participant observation. The learning situations experienced through this study contributed to the development of citizens more aware of their role in society and allowed the promotion of skills indispensable for an Elementary Education teacher.

Relatório final de estágio realizado na Escola Básica 2, 3 Gaspar Correia

O presente relatório é referente ao processo de Estágio Pedagógico que realizei no ano letivo 2015/2016. Este momento de formação caracterizou-se pela minha integração, enquanto professora estagiária, no contexto profissional sob a supervisão pedagógica dos professores orientadores de escola e de faculdade. O processo de lecionação das aulas de Educação Física e das sessões de treino do Desporto Escolar, bem com a Investigação sobre o contexto escolar específico e o acompanhamento da Diretora de Turma permitiram-me conhecer as diversas funções relacionadas com a profissão docente e, consequentemente, a aquisição de uma maior competência pedagógica. O percurso de descoberta sistemática que vivenciei, aliado à supervisão constante dos professores orientadores de estágio, permitiram-me a consciencialização de todas as dificuldades reais do processo de ensino-aprendizagem e a superação apropriada de cada uma. Neste relatório pretendo dar a conhecer a experiência por mim vivida ao longo de todo o ano letivo, em cada umas das áreas e subáreas de desenvolvimento a que fui sujeita. Ao longo do ano consegui assimilar com qualidade as competências de planeamento, condução e avaliação através das práticas por mim realizadas, da reflexão constante sobre estas, do estudo autónomo e da partilha de conhecimento que ocorreu sistematicamente entre os elementos do núcleo de estágio. Tais experiências contribuíram para que me tornasse mais competente no desempenho da função docente, processo que deverei manter em constante construção. A maior conclusão que pude retirar reflete-se ao nível do processo de ensino-aprendizagem que deve estar centrado no aluno, procurando desenvolver a motivação que permitirá a cada um alcançar o seu sucesso.

Reconsidering the role of recorded audio as a rich, flexible and engaging learning space

Audio needs to be recognised as an integral medium capable of extending education’s formal and informal, virtual and physical learning spaces. This paper reconsiders the value of educational podcasting through a review of literature and a module case study. It argues that a pedagogical understanding is needed and challenges technology-centred or teacher-centred understandings of podcasting. It considers the diverse methods being used that enhance and redefine podcasting as a medium for student-centred active learning. The case study shows how audio created a rich learning space by meaningfully connecting tutors, students and those beyond the existing formal study space. The approaches used can be categorised as new types of learning activity, extended connected activity, relocated activity, and recorded ‘captured’ activity which promote learner replay and re-engagement. The paper concludes that the educational use of the recorded voice needs to be reconsidered and reconceptualised so that audio is valued as a manageable, immediate, flexible, potent and engaging medium.

The influence of emotions, attitudes and perceptions on learning with technology

Welcome to this very international issue of Research in Learning Technology in which we present research that has been undertaken in UK, Chile, Finland, Germany, Portugal and USA. The articles on the use of technology span a range of effective teaching practices, showcase strategies for successful learning and propose ideas for future mechanisms to better engage students in their educational experiences. For me, one question running through this issue is: how is technology helping us to deliver more student-centred education?

Gender Might Be Factor for Student Admission in Two Brazilian Medical Schools

This is a secondary data-based study conducted to investigate whether gender is related to acceptance. Two Brazilian Medical Schools, Universities A and B, were studied. Their entrance exams (EE) were analysed and the number of candidates who took the EE was compared to the number of students admitted to the MS according to gender, in the period between 1995 and 2009. The same data from MS in the United States in 2011 was also evaluated. There was an increase in the percentage of female applicants but it did not correspond to the percentage of admitted students of the same gender. There was a trend of selecting men. At A, 39.3% of the applicants and 47% of the admitted students were men (OR = 1.37; CI95% = 1.24 – 1.51). In B, men represented 39.3% of the applicants and 65.4% of the admitted students (OR = 2.93; CI 95% = 2.76 – 3.11). This was not seen in US MS. The analysis of the EE suggests that the greater selection of men could be a product of EE format.

Student-teachers' perspectives on positive and negative social processes in schools

In recent years, the Standards for Qualified Teacher Status in England have placed new emphasis on student-teachers' ability to become integrated into the 'corporate life of the school' and to work with other professionals. Little research, however, has been carried out into how student-teachers perceive the social processes and interactions that are central to such integration during their initial teacher education school placements. This study aims to shed light on these perceptions. The data, gathered from 23 student-teachers through interviews and reflective writing, illustrate the extent to which the participants perceived such social processes as supporting or obstructing their development as teachers. Signals of inclusion, the degree of match or mismatch in students' and school colleagues' role expectations, and the social awareness of both school and student-teacher emerged as crucial factors in this respect. The student-teachers' accounts show their social interactions with school staff to be meaningful in developing their 'teacher self' and to be profoundly emotionally charged. The implications for mentor and student-teacher role preparation are discussed in this article.

Inequality in education in Costa Rica: The gap between students in public and private schools. An analysis of the results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

Includes bibliography.

The institutes of English grammar : methodically arranged; with examples for parsing, questions for examination, false syntax for correction, exercises for writing, observations for the advanced student, and a key to the oral exercises : to which are added, four appendixes : designed for the use of schools, academies, and private learners /

Twelve pages of advertisements for author's works tipped in, preceding text.

The institutes of English grammar, methodically arranged : with examples for parsing, questions for examination, false syntax for correction, exercises for writing, observations for the advanced student, and a key to the oral exercises : to which are added, four appendixes : designed for the use of schools, academies, and private learners /

On spine: Brown's grammar.