Managing team learning in a Spanish commercial bank

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze how team management affects team-learning activities. Design/methodology/approach – The authors empirically study 68 teams as they operate in the natural business context of a major Spanish bank. Quantitative research utilizing multiple regression analyses is used to test hypotheses. Findings – The leadership behaviour (consideration, initiation of structure) displayed by the team leader plays a key role in facilitating team learning. Team leader behaviour characterised by consideration and in particular by initiation of structure are both positively related to team-learning activities. Cross-training of team members also contributes to team-learning behaviour. Research limitations/implications – A specific setting may limit the generalizability of findings. Further research may accordingly investigate to what extent these results can be generalized to other settings or other aspects of team learning. Practical implications – The leadership style adopted by the team leader, as well as cross-training of members, affect team-learning activities. These results link leadership theory to collective learning in teams and organizations, and suggest ways leaders can contribute to improved learning. Originality/value – The study provides new insight into how management of teams facilitates team-learning activities. While consideration is somewhat related to team learning, initiation of structure as well as cross-training appear as key variables.

An Online Course on the History of Algorithms.

This paper describes the objectives, content, learning methodology and results of an online course on the History of Algorithms for engineering students at Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM). This course is conducted in a virtual environment based on Moodle, with a student-centred educational model which includes a detailed planning of learning activities. Our experience indicates that this subject is highly motivating for students and the virtual environment facilitates competencies development

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.

Facilitating the creation of interactive multi-device Learning Objects using an online authoring tool

Learning Objects facilitate reuse leading to cost and time savings as well as to the enhancement of the quality of educational resources. However, teachers find it difficult to create or to find high quality Learning Objects, and the ones they find need to be customized. Teachers can overcome this problem using suitable authoring systems that enable them to create high quality Learning Objects with little effort. This paper presents an open source online e-Learning authoring tool called ViSH Editor together with four novel interactive Learning Objects that can be created with it: Flashcards, Virtual Tours, Enriched Videos and Interactive Presentations. All these Learning Objects are created as web applications, which can be accessed via mobile devices. Besides, they can be exported to SCORM including their metadata in IEEE LOM format. All of them are described in the paper including an example of each. This approach for creating Learning Objects was validated through two evaluations: a survey among authors and a formal quality evaluation of 209 Learning Objects created with the tool. The results show that ViSH Editor facilitates educators the creation of high quality Learning Objects.

Objetos de aprendizagem: limitações funcionais no ensino médio e aplicabilidade no ensino de física sob uma perpectiva vigostkiana

Neste trabalho fazemos uma revisão das novas tecnologias da informação e comunicação (TIC), definindo o que são Objetos de Aprendizagem (OA) e como eles têm sido utilizados no ensino de Física. Revisamos ainda o trabalho de Vigotski buscando indicações de sua teoria educacional para investigar a aplicabilidade de atividades didáticas em ensino de Física que lancem mão de OA no ensino médio. Elaboramos um instrumento de pesquisa voltado para professores do ensino médio para avaliar seu efetivo uso nas escolas públicas e privadas brasileiras e as limitações funcionais por eles identificadas ao utilizarem esses recursos computacionais. Com base na literatura, e sob uma ótica vigotskiana, aplicamos algumas atividades com OA pré-selecionados e avaliamos com outro instrumento de pesquisa a opinião dos alunos quanto ao seu uso para o ensino de Física. Nosso trabalho pôde corroborar a boa aceitação por parte dos alunos com relação ao seu uso, já divulgada na literatura e também por parte dos professores, mas mostrou que para além das limitações de uso dos OA, especialmente das simulações computacionais, destacadas na literatura e relacionadas às limitações cognitivas que elas podem trazer quando utilizadas de maneira indiscriminada, existem problemas mais profundos de natureza funcional que têm limitado a disseminação de seu uso efetivo pelo corpo docente.

Investigating and Understanding Student Learning Outcomes in an Online and Face-to-Face Graduate Level Legal Administration Course: An Embedded Mixed Methods Design

Online education is a new teaching and learning medium with few current guidelines for faculty, administrators or students. Its rapid growth over the last decade has challenged academic institutions to keep up with the demand, while also providing a quality education. Our understanding of the factors that determine quality and effective online learning experiences that lead to student learning outcomes is still evolving. There is a lack of consensus on the effectiveness of online versus face-to-face education in the current research. The U.S. Department of Education conducted a meta-analysis in 2009 and concluded that student-learning outcomes in online courses were equal to and, often times, better than face-to-face traditional courses. Subsequent research has found contradictory findings, and further inquiry is necessary. The purpose of this embedded mixed methods design research study is to further our understanding of the factors that create quality and successful educational outcomes in an online course. To achieve this, the first phase of this study measured and compared learning outcomes in an online and in class graduate-level legal administration course. The second phase of the study entailed interviews with those students in both the online and face-to-face sections to understand their perspectives on the factors contributing to learning outcomes. Six themes emerged from the qualitative findings: convenience, higher order thinking, discussions, professor engagement, professor and student interaction, and face-to-face interaction. Findings from this study indicate the factors students perceive as contributing to learning outcomes in an online course are consistent among all students and are supported in the existing literature. Higher order thinking, however, emerged as a stronger theme than indicated in the current research, and the face-to-face nature of the traditional classroom may be more an issue of familiarity than a factor contributing to learning outcomes. As education continues to reach new heights and developments in technology advance, the factors found to contribute to student learning outcomes will be refined and enhanced. These developments will continue to transform the ways in which we deliver and receive knowledge in both traditional and online classrooms. While there is a growing body of research on online education, the field’s evolution has unsettled earlier findings and posed new areas to investigate.

Entornos virtuales: predicción de la satisfacción en contexto universitario

El presente estudio persigue un doble objetivo: evaluar el grado de satisfacción de los estudiantes con la formación recibida en un entorno virtual y, analizar su capacidad predictiva sobre la satisfacción. Se ha utilizado la versión española del cuestionario Distance Education Learning Environments Survey (Sp-DELES). Los resultados ponen de manifiesto el significativo nivel de satisfacción de los estudiantes con la experiencia y revelan las variables más importantes a la hora de explicar la varianza en satisfacción.

Aprender conociendo a las personas usuarias de los servicios

Se presentan tres experiencias de innovación docente realizadas en la asignatura de Iniciación a las Habilidades Profesionales, primer curso del Grado en Trabajo Social, Universidad de Alicante. Objetivos: 1) Implicar en la docencia a las personas usuarias de los servicios, considerándolos expertos por su experiencia personal con Trabajadores Sociales y con la sociedad en general. 2) Proporcionar un contexto de aprendizaje que permita conocer, comprender y aprender a comunicarse profesionalmente con personas usuarias de servicios. Metodología: Aprendizaje significativo basado en la interacción con personas usuarias de los servicios con tres modalidades: a) Diseño conjunto de actividades de enseñanza-aprendizaje entre una entidad social y el profesorado de la asignatura Iniciación a las Habilidades Profesionales del Grado en Trabajo Social de la Universidad de Alicante; b) Diseño con enfoque multidisciplinar (profesorado de Trabajo Social con el profesorado de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y Deporte) y la entidad social; c) Diseño internacional con participación de las universidades Queen’s University, Belfast (Northern Ireland) (coordinadora del proyecto) junto con las universidades de Ljubljana (Slovenia) y Alicante. Los resultados proporcionan evidencias sobre la pertinencia de la colaboración docente de personas expertas por su experiencia y de la utilización de una metodología docente basada en el aprendizaje significativo para la adquisición de competencias.

Dirección estratégica de la asignatura Dirección Estratégica de las Tecnologías de la Información

¿Se pueden utilizar las habilidades, las técnicas y los principios de la dirección estratégica en el diseño y ejecución de la programación docente de una asignatura? Esta es la pregunta que nos planteamos al diseñar la asignatura Dirección Estratégica de las Tecnologías de la Información perteneciente al Máster Universitario en Ingeniería Informática de la Universidad de Alicante. Estas técnicas las aplicaremos a aspectos clave de la innovación educativa: contrato pedagógico, objetivos, evaluación, trabajo en equipo y comunicación oral. Algunas de las propuestas innovadoras, que tienen el doble objetivo de ser un instrumento de la asignatura pero al mismo tiempo recoger aspectos de dirección y de mejora continua, son el SLA (“Service Level Agreement”) de aprendizaje, las actas de aprendizaje, el análisis de tendencias en las TI y el espacio para la creatividad. Tras dos cursos académicos de ajuste de la propuesta docente, en el curso 2014-2015 hemos analizado el nivel de satisfacción de los estudiantes con la misma y la autoevaluación crítica de los profesores que la han impartido. Los resultados han sido muy satisfactorios, con comentarios del estilo “ha sido una experiencia de aprendizaje efectivo”. Los estudiantes agradecen que los profesores prediquemos con el ejemplo. Nos hace más humanos y más creíbles.

O marca-passo das emoções no ritmo de crianças portuguesas com necessidades educativas especiais (estudo de caso)

Estudo de caso (metodologia qualitativa) realizado em 2013sobre inteligência emocional em alunos portugueses, frequentando 1.º ciclo educação básica, com idades de 6-7 anos de 2 escolas urbanas:2 crianças (M=microcefalia, A=autismo atípico); 2 crianças (N= criança normal, H= perturbação de hiperatividade com défice de atenção). Os objetivos pretenderam: Demonstrar a importância das emoções na aprendizagem; identificar e lidar com as emoções em situações; propor estratégias para cada criança, aquando dos resultados obtidos com aplicação do teste projetivo e utilização material didático. Metodologia: atividades com ―Uma caixa cheia de emoções‟; prova projetiva ―Era uma vez…‖ Teresa Fagulha; ficha de anamnese aos pais; análise documental aos processos; observação participante; notas de campo e triangulação. Os resultados permitiram estabelecer estratégias para diminuir os fatores de distratibilidade, facilitar a atenção com material visualmente atrativo e manuseável e fornecer instruções acompanhadas de observação. Houve dificuldades nos sujeitos em identificar a ‘ira’ e ‘raiva‘.

O contributo dos portais digitais em contexto educativo no 1º ciclo do ensino básico

Relatório de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Castelo Branco do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Educação Pré-escolar e Ensino do 1º ciclo do Ensino Básico.

ISSP Position Stand: To Sample or to Specialize? Seven Postulates About Youth Sport Activities that Lead to Continued Participation and Elite Performance

A comprehensive approach to sport expertise should consider the entire situation that is comprised of the person, the task, the environment, and the complex interplay of these components (Hackfort, 1986). Accordingly, the Developmental Model of Sport Participation (Côté, Baker, & Abernethy, 2007; Côté & Fraser-Thomas, 2007) provides a comprehensive framework for sport expertise that outlines different pathways of involvement in sport. In pathways one and two, early sampling serves as the foundation for both elite and recreational sport participation. Early sampling is based on two main elements of childhood sport participation: 1) involvement in various sports and 2) participation in deliberate play. In contrast, pathway three shows the course to elite performance through early specialization in one sport. Early specialization implies a focused involvement on one sport and a large number of deliberate practice activities with the goal of improving sport skills and performance during childhood. This paper proposes seven postulates regarding the role that sampling and deliberate play, as opposed to specialization and deliberate practice, can have during childhood in promoting continued participation and elite performance in sport.

Experiências de aprendizagem cooperativa numa turma de ensino profissional da Região Autónoma da Madeira

Relatório da Prática de Ensino Supervisionada, Mestrado em Ensino da Economia e Contabilidade, Universidade de Lisboa, 2016

Aprendizagem cooperativa em crianças em idade pré-escolar

O presente relatório decorreu durante a Prática de Ensino Supervisionada do Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e é um reflexo das experiências no Jardim-de-Infância da Praceta, na cidade de Portalegre. O trabalho intitulado de “A Aprendizagem Cooperativa na Educação Pré-Escolar” teve comos principais objetivos: identificar e promover competências em crianças em idade pré-escolar; desenvolver competências sociais que permitam a cooperação entre crianças em idade pré-escolar (dos 3 aos 6 anos). Para tal, foram utilizados vários instrumentos de recolha de dados, e foram várias as atividades que promovemos com as crianças de modo a podermos refletir sobre esta metodologia que se baseia na cooperação e entreajuda. Metodologicamente foi usada a investigação-ação, o que permitiu uma reflexão em todos os momentos e que se constituiu como um apoio às nossas práticas enquanto estudantes de Mestrado e enquanto futuros profissionais de educação. Utilizámos um dilema social, não moral e uma entrevista semiestruturada, a fim de compreender melhor o mundo social e as competências sociais das crianças. Os resultados enfatizam que as crianças ainda se encontram entre o nível 0 – impulsivo e o nível 1 – unilateral, ou seja, que pensam na sua satisfação pessoal e tentam apaziguar o outro, respetivamente. Utilizámos ainda uma escala de avaliação do desenvolvimento da criança, de Alberto Sousa, a fim de avaliar as competências das crianças no que diz respeito à cooperação e ao relacionamento. Neste tópico os resultados que obtivemos demonstraram que a maioria das crianças se encontram num nível 3, no que diz respeito ao Relacionamento, e que na Cooperação as crianças obtêm valores mais baixos, isto é um reflexo da idade das crianças e da sua maturidade, pois a criança pré-escolar demonstra egocentrismo.

Is discrepancy between actual and preferred work activities a factor in work-related stress for mental health occupational therapists and social workers

In the Western developed nations, the changing pattern of mental health care provision has necessitated mental health staff adopting new approaches to service delivery across a diverse and expanding range of service settings. The impact of changed service delivery on Australian mental health professionals is an area that has not been well studied. The aim of the study was to identify the current clinical work activities performed by occupational therapists and social workers and whether there was a discrepancy between the actual and preferred work activities. The study also aimed to identify whether any discrepancy between their actual and preferred clinical work activities was associated with higher levels of stress. A cross-sectional survey of 304 (response rate 76.6%) occupational therapists and social workers in Australian mental health services was conducted. A work activities scale developed specifically for this study and the Mental Health Professionals Stress Scale were used to measure actual and preferred work activities and stress respectively. Both groups experienced a discrepancy between their actual and preferred work activities, with the occupational therapists and the social workers mostly wanting to undertake a diverse range of activities to a significantly greater extent than they currently were. As predicted, stress was associated with the discrepancy between the kind of work that the participants wanted to do and the kind of work that their job actually entailed. Health workers require assistance to adapt to their new work roles and to achieve a balance between generic and discipline-specific competencies. This has implications for education and professional training.