A reflexive course for Masters students to understand and plan their own continuing professional development

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is seen as a vital part of a professional engineer���s career, by professional engineering institutions as well as individual engineers. Factors such as ever-changing workforce requirements and rapid technological change have resulted in engineers no longer being able to rely just on the skills they learnt at university or can pick up on the job; they must undergo a structured professional development with clear objectives to develop further professional knowledge, values and skills. This paper presents a course developed for students undertaking a Master of Engineering or Master of Project Management at the University of Queensland. This course was specifically designed to help students plan their continuing professional development, while developing professional skills such as communication, ethical reasoning, critical judgement and the need for sustainable development. The course utilised a work integrated learning pedagogy applied within a formal learning environment, and followed the competency based chartered membership program of Engineers Australia, the peak professional body of engineers in Australia. The course was developed and analysed using an action learning approach. The main research question was ���Can extra teaching and learning activities be developed that will simulate workplace learning?��� The students continually assessed and reflected upon their current competencies, skills and abilities, and planed for the future attainment of specific competencies which they identified as important to their future careers. Various evaluation methods, including surveys before and after the course, were used to evaluate the action learning intervention. It was found that the assessment developed for the course was one of the most important factors, not only in driving student learning, as is widely accepted, but also in changing the students��� understandings and acceptance of the need for continuous professional development. The students also felt that the knowledge, values and skills they developed would be beneficial for their future careers, as they were developed within the context of their own professional development, rather than to just get through the course. �� 2005, American Society for Engineering Education

How to integrate stories and ICT in content-based units of work for English learning

The aim of this article is to show how it is possible to integrate stories and ICT in Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) for English as a foreign language (EFL) learning in bilingual schools. Two Units of Work are presented. One, for the second year of Primary, is based on a Science topic, ���Materials���. The story used is ���The three little pigs��� and the computer program ���JClic���. The other one is based on a Science and Arts topic for the sixth year of Primary, the story used is ���Charlotte���s Web��� and the computer program ���Atenex���.

Discovering the campus together: a mobile and computer-based learning experience

One of the most relevant difficulties faced by first-year undergraduate students is to settle into the educational environment of universities. This paper presents a case study that proposes a computer-assisted collaborative experience designed to help students in their transition from high school to university. This is done by facilitating their first contact with the campus and its services, the university community, methodologies and activities. The experience combines individual and collaborative activities, conducted in and out of the classroom, structured following the Jigsaw Collaborative Learning Flow Pattern. A specific environment including portable technologies with network and computer applications has been developed to support and facilitate the orchestration of a flow of learning activities into a single integrated learning setting. The result is a Computer-Supported Collaborative Blended Learning scenario, which has been evaluated with first-year university students of the degrees of Software and Audiovisual Engineering within the subject Introduction to Information and Communications Technologies. The findings reveal that the scenario improves significantly students��� interest in their studies and their understanding about the campus and services provided. The environment is also an innovative approach to successfully support the heterogeneous activities conducted by both teachers and students during the scenario. This paper introduces the goals and context of the case study, describes how the technology was employed to conduct the learning scenario, the evaluation methods and the main results of the experience.

Learning journalistic opinion genres using CLIL methodology

The Faculty of Business and Communication recently started an internationalization process that, in two year���s time, will allow all undergraduate students (studying Journalism, Audiovisual Communication, Advertising and Public Relations, Business and Marketing) to take 25% of their subjects in English using CLIL methodology. Currently, Journalism is the degree course with the greatest percentage of CLIL subjects, for example Current Affairs Workshop, a subject dedicated to analyzing current news using opinion genres. Moreover, because of the lack of other subjects offered in English, ERASMUS students have to take some journalism subjects in order to complete their international passport, and one of the classes they choose is the Current Affairs Workshop. The aim of this paper is to explore how CLIL methodology can be useful for learning journalistic opinion genres (chat-shows, discussions and debates) in a subject where Catalan Communication students ���with different levels of English- share their knowledge with European students of other social disciplines. Students work in multidisciplinary groups in which they develop real radio and TV programs, adopting all the roles (moderator, technician, producer and participants), analyzing daily newspapers and other sources to create content, based on current affairs. This paper is based on the participant observation of the lecturers of the subject, who have designed different activities related to journalistic genres, where students can develop their skills according to the role they play in every assignment. Examples of successful lessons will be given, in addition to the results of the course: both positive and negative. Although the objective of the course is to examine professional routines related to opinion genres, and students are not directly graded on their level of English, the Catalan students come to appreciate how they finally overcome their fear of working in a foreign language. This is a basic result of their experience.

Is video-case an efficient tool to complement the practical learning in real contexts? Effects on satisfaction and performance in Social Work Degree students

Este documento es un art��culo in��dito que ha sido aceptado para su publicaci��n. Como un servicio a sus autores y lectores, Alternativas. Cuadernos de trabajo social proporciona online esta edici��n preliminar. El manuscrito puede sufrir alteraciones tras la edici��n y correcci��n de pruebas, antes de su publicaci��n definitiva. Los posibles cambios no afectar��n en ning��n caso a la informaci��n contenida en esta hoja, ni a lo esencial del contenido del art��culo.

Fostering professional development through integrating work and formal learning

The Undergraduate Site Learning Program (USLP) is an innovative work-based learning program that addresses the call to develop a broader set ofattributes in engineering graduates. Unlike cooperative education programs, site learning can give students full academic credit for their placement without extending the duration of the degree through the use of an innovative learning alignment model. A cenrralpart ofthis program is a unique course entitled Professional Development in which students articulate and reflect upon the lessons they leom while on placement in industry. Students spend the bulk ofa semester on-site often in remote locations, which requires a flexible approach to course operation and fosters independent learning. Thus the USLP challenges both staff and students and produces outcomes that bofh the alumni and industry value.

The Process of Simulation Authoring/Creation by Chemistry Teachers: A Service Learning Experience

Two case studies are presented to describe the process of public school teachers authoring and creating chemistry simulations. They are part of the Virtual Didactic Laboratory for Chemistry, a project developed by the School of the Future of the University of Sao Paulo. the documental analysis of the material produced by two groups of teachers reflects different selection process for both themes and problem-situations when creating simulations. The study demonstrates the potential for chemistry learning with an approach that takes students' everyday lives into account and is based on collaborative work among teachers and researches. Also, from the teachers' perspectives, the possibilities of interaction that a simulation offers for classroom activities are considered.

Triple objective team mentoring: achieving learning objectives with chemical engineering students

A sophisticated style of mentoring has been found to be essential to support engineering student teams undertaking technically demanding, real-world problems as part of a Project-Centred Curriculum (PCC) at The University of Queensland. The term ���triple-objective��� mentoring was coined to define mentoring that addresses not only the student���s technical goal achievement but also their time and team management. This is achieved through a number of formal mentor meetings that are informed by a confidential instrument which requires students to individually reflect on team processes prior to the meeting, and a checklist of technical requirements against which the interim student team progress and achievements are assessed. Triple-objective mentoring requires significant time input and coordination by the academic but has been shown to ensure effective student team work and learning undiminished by team dysfunction. Student feedback shows they value the process and agree that the tools developed to support the process are effective in developing and assessing team work and skills with average scores mostly above 3 on a four point scale.

Ferramenta de estudo para alunos de medicina na especialidade de dermatologia

A vulgariza����o do uso de dispositivos m��veis promoveu a prolifera����o de aplica����es dos mais diversos ��mbitos para estes dispositivos n��o sendo a ��rea cl��nica uma excep����o. Tanto a n��vel profissional, como a n��vel de ensino, as tecnologias m��veis foram j�� h�� muito adoptadas nesta ��rea para as mais diversas finalidades. O trabalho aqui apresentado pretende essencialmente provar a real import��ncia desempenhada pelo mobile learning no contexto da aprendizagem cl��nica. Mais do que implementar um simples recurso educativo, pretendeu-se conceber um sistema integrado que respondesse a todas as necessidades do aluno quer durante o estudo nas suas diversas fases e locais, como tamb��m no pr��prio servi��o hospitalar onde se encontre a desempenhar fun����es como interno da especialidade. Ap��s uma exaustiva an��lise das aplica����es m��veis relevantes da ��rea m��dica, verificou-se a inexist��ncia de uma ferramenta integradora de v��rios m��dulos de aprendizagem com um custo comport��vel para a maioria dos alunos. Desta forma, idealizou-se uma aplica����o capaz de superar esta lacuna que ser�� detalhada ao longo desta tese. Para o desenvolvimento deste trabalho contou-se com a preciosa colabora����o dos poss��veis utilizadores finais desta ferramenta uma vez que a escolha dos m��dulos a integrar foi essencialmente baseada nas suas opini��es. Ainda no ��mbito desta tese, encontra-se a avalia����o do prot��tipo por parte dos alunos. Esta avalia����o pretende validar a efectiva import��ncia de uma ferramenta desta natureza para um aluno de medicina assim como o impacto que o prot��tipo teve na sua opini��o acerca do conceito de mobile learning na aprendizagem cl��nica. Com vista a uma futura implementa����o de um recurso educativo deste ��mbito, foram tamb��m recolhidos os pontos negativos e positivos mais relevantes para o aluno. Em suma, este trabalho valida a import��ncia do papel que as aplica����es de aprendizagem para dispositivos m��veis podem desempenhar para um aluno de medicina tanto nos seus locais de estudo, como no servi��o onde se possa encontrar.

Como integrar as TIC em contexto did��tico das Artes explorando a distribui����o EVTux na ��rea do cinema de anima����o

Com a implementa����o do Plano Tecnol��gico da Educa����o e consequente apetrechamento das Escolas com recursos tecnol��gicos avan��ados, surge agora a necessidade de criar condi����es favor��veis para a efetiva integra����o das TIC no curr��culo, nomeadamente na ��rea das Artes. Decorrente das caracter��sticas singulares desta ��rea curricular, s��o muitas as ferramentas digitais que podemos utilizar em contexto educativo mobilizando-as para experi��ncias de aprendizagem baseadas em projetos que integrem as tecnologias. Este �� o caso do EVTux, uma distribui����o livre de Linux que permite a cria����o efetiva de projetos de cinema de anima����o em contexto educativo com recurso ��s tecnologias, caso que agora se apresenta como exemplo neste artigo e que atualmente faz parte de uma s��ntese do trabalho que se integra no projeto europeu TACCLE2 no qual participamos.

Desenvolvendo aprendizagens integradas

Relat��rio de est��gio de mestrado em Educa����o Pr��-Escolar

Health at work and risk factors related to ergonomics: some results from the Swiss sample of the 4th European working conditions survey

Introduction The European Foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions conducts a survey every 5 years since 1990. The foundation also offers the possibility to non-EU countries to be included in the survey: in 2005, Switzerland took part for the first time in the fourth edition of this survey. The Institute for Work and Health (IST) has been associated to the Swiss project conducted under the leadership of the SECO and the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz. The survey covers different aspects of work like job characteristics and employment conditions, health and safety, work organization, learning and development opportunities, and the balance between working and non-working life (Parent-Thirion, Fernandez Macias, Hurley, & Vermeylen, 2007). More particularly, one question assesses the worker's self-perception of the effects of work on health. We identified (for the Swiss sample) several factors affecting the risk to report health problems caused by work. The Swiss sample includes 1040 respondents. Selection of participants was based on a random multi-stage sampling and was carried out by M.I.S Trend S.A. (Lausanne). Participation rate was 59%. The database was weighted by household size, gender, age, region of domicile, occupational group, and economic sector. Specially trained interviewers carried out the interviews at the respondents home. The survey was carriedout between the 19th of September 2005 and the 30th of November 2005. As detailed in (Graf et al., 2007), 31% of the Swiss respondents identify work as the cause of health problems they experience. Most frequently reported health problems include back pain (18%), stress (17%), muscle pain (13%), and overall fatigue (11%). Ergonomic aspects associated with higher risk of reporting health problems caused by work include frequent awkward postures (odds ratio [OR] 4.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.1 to 5.4), tasks involving lifting heavy loads (OR 2.7, 95% CI 2.0 to 3.6) or lifting people (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.4 to 3.5), standing or walking (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.9), as well as repetitive movements (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.3). These results highlight the need to continue and intensify the prevention of work related health problems in occupations characterized by risk factors related to ergonomics.

Language Learning in Task Management and Task Accomplishment

In this paper we study student interaction in English and Swedish courses at a Finnish university. We focus on language choices made in task-related activities in small group interaction. Our research interests arose from the change in the teaching curriculum, in which content and language courses were integrated at Tampere University of Technology in 2013. Using conversation analysis, we analysed groups of 4-5 students who worked collaboratively on a task via a video conference programme. The results show how language alternation has different functions in 1) situations where students orient to managing the task, e.g., in transitions into task, or where they orient to technical problems, and 2) situations where students accomplish the task. With the results, we aim to show how language alternation can provide interactional opportunities for language learning. The findings will be useful in designing tasks in the future.

Teaching cross-cultural competence and CLIL: a CLIL approach in International Relations University Courses

International relations professionals need cross-cultural competence and English language communication skills to function in the international arena (Graddol 1997). English language communication skills are necessary not only to communicate with foreign colleagues (Bocanegra-Valle 2014) but also to access the vast amount of knowledge transmitted in English over the internet (Ku, Zussman 2010). This work reports the use of CLIL and cross-cultural training in the University of Messina International Relations Advanced Degree Program as a method to raise students��� level of English as quickly as possible while giving them the essential intercultural skills for work in the international field. The researchbased course program combined cross-cultural communication training (Storti, 1997; Lewis, 1999; Gannon, 2004, Harris and Moran, 2007; U.S Peace Corps Training Handbook 2012,) and intercultural competence skill development (Bennett, 1998). Two objectives were proposed: 1) develop cross-cultural communication competence; 2) bring students up to a B2 level as fast as possible. The final exam demonstrated significant growth in the areas of cross-cultural competence as well as an increase in European Common Framework level ranging from .5 to 1.0 depending on the student. Students expressed their belief that what they had learned would be useful for their future career. Combining CLIL with intercultural competence building seems to be effective in meeting two objectives: increasing English language fluency and developing cross-cultural communication competence. More research is recommended to further document this method for increasing English communication proficiency while developing interculturally competent international professionals.