An efficient methodological approach in the didatic of automation applied to integrated manufacturing

This work presents challenges and solutions for the teaching and learning of automation applied to integrated manufacturing by means of a methodological approach based on techniques, tools and industrial equipment directly applicable in the industry. The approach was implemented in a control and automation engineering course divided into expositive and laboratory classes. Since the success of the approach is mainly from the practical activities, the article focus more on activities developed in laboratory than theorical classes. Copyright © 2007 IFAC.

A multiple intelligences theory-based 3D virtual lab environment for digital systems teaching.

This paper describes a 3D virtual lab environment that was developed using OpenSim software integrated into Moodle. Virtuald software tool was used to provide pedagogical support to the lab by enabling to create online texts and delivering them to the students. The courses taught in this virtual lab are methodologically in conformity to theory of multiple intelligences. Some results are presented.

The Impact of Teaching Presence in Intensive Online Courses on Perceived Learning and Sense of Community: A Mixed Methods Study

This mixed methods concurrent triangulation design study was predicated upon two models that advocated a connection between teaching presence and perceived learning: the Community of Inquiry Model of Online Learning developed by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000); and the Online Interaction Learning Model by Benbunan-Fich, Hiltz, and Harasim (2005). The objective was to learn how teaching presence impacted students’ perceptions of learning and sense of community in intensive online distance education courses developed and taught by instructors at a regional comprehensive university. In the quantitative phase online surveys collected relevant data from participating students (N = 397) and selected instructional faculty (N = 32) during the second week of a three-week Winter Term. Student information included: demographics such as age, gender, employment status, and distance from campus; perceptions of teaching presence; sense of community; perceived learning; course length; and course type. The students claimed having positive relationships between teaching presence, perceived learning, and sense of community. The instructors showed similar positive relationships with no significant differences when the student and instructor data were compared. The qualitative phase consisted of interviews with 12 instructors who had completed the online survey and replied to all of the open-response questions. The two phases were integrated using a matrix generation, and the analysis allowed for conclusions regarding teaching presence, perceived learning, and sense of community. The findings were equivocal with regard to satisfaction with course length and the relative importance of the teaching presence components. A model was provided depicting relationships between and among teaching presence components, perceived learning, and sense of community in intensive online courses.

Teaching and learning english phonetics and phonology in the EHEA through design and creation of audiovisual material at the ULPGC

[ES]In this paper we describe the procedure followed in the design and recording of a set of videos for teaching and learning ‘English phonetics and phonology’, a second-year undergraduate course at Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The student’s L1 is Spanish. Two different types of technological support were used: screencast and Powerpoint® presentations. The traditional whiteboard together with the lecturer’s presence also contributed both to the integrated learning of certain acoustic/articulatory aspects of the course contents and to the use of specific software for speech analysis. This video production owns the advantage of being an interactive and autonomous tool which favours a continuous learning process on the student’s side.

A new way of teaching different subjects in a foreign language in the Building Engineering Degree at the Universidad Politécnica.

The European Union has been promoting linguistic diversity for many years as one of its main educational goals. This is an element that facilitates student mobility and student exchanges between different universities and countries and enriches the education of young undergraduates. In particular, a higher degree of competence in the English language is becoming essential for engineers, architects and researchers in general, as English has become the lingua franca that opens up horizons to internationalisation and the transfer of knowledge in today’s world. Many experts point to the Integrated Approach to Contents and Foreign Languages System as being an option that has certain benefits over the traditional method of teaching a second language that is exclusively based on specific subjects. This system advocates teaching the different subjects in the syllabus in a language other than one’s mother tongue, without prioritising knowledge of the language over the subject. This was the idea that in the 2009/10 academic year gave rise to the Second Language Integration Programme (SLI Programme) at the Escuela Arquitectura Técnica in the Universidad Politécnica Madrid (EUATM-UPM), just at the beginning of the tuition of the new Building Engineering Degree, which had been adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) model. This programme is an interdisciplinary initiative for the set of subjects taught during the semester and is coordinated through the Assistant Director Office for Educational Innovation. The SLI Programme has a dual goal; to familiarise students with the specific English terminology of the subject being taught, and at the same time improve their communication skills in English. A total of thirty lecturers are taking part in the teaching of eleven first year subjects and twelve in the second year, with around 120 students who have voluntarily enrolled in a special group in each semester. During the 2010/2011 academic year the degree of acceptance and the results of the SLI Programme have been monitored. Tools have been designed to aid interdisciplinary coordination and to analyse satisfaction, such as coordination records and surveys. The results currently available refer to the first and second year and are divided into specific aspects of the different subjects involved and into general aspects of the ongoing experience.

A holistic experience in the integrated learning of specialized English and content in Engineering degrees

This paper aims to outline a theory-based Content and Language Integrated Learning course and to establish the rationale for adopting a holistic approach to the teaching of languages in tertiary education. Our work focuses on the interdependence between Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), and the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in particular regarding the learning of English within the framework of Telecommunications Engineering. The study first analyses the diverse components of the instructional approach and the extent to which this approach interrelates with technologies within the context of what we have defined as a holistic experience, since it also aims to develop a set of generic competences or transferable skills. Second, an example of a course project framed in this holistic approach is described in order to exemplify the specific actions suggested for learner autonomy and CLIL. The approach provides both an adequate framework as well as the conditions needed to carry out a lifelong learning experience within our context, a Spanish School of Engineering. In addition to specialized language and content, the approach integrates the learning of skills and capacities required by the new plans that have been established following the Bologna Declaration in 1999.

Integrated approach to foreign language in the building engineering degree at the Universidad Politécnica Madrid

The European Union has been promoting linguistic diversity for many years as one of its main educational goals. This is an element that facilitates student mobility and student exchanges between different universities and countries and enriches the education of young undergraduates. In particular,a higher degree of competence in the English language is becoming essential for engineers, architects and researchers in general, as English has become the lingua franca that opens up horizons to internationalisation and the transfer of knowledge in today’s world. Many experts point to the Integrated Approach to Contents and Foreign Languages System as being an option that has certain benefits over the traditional method of teaching a second language that is exclusively based on specific subjects. This system advocates teaching the different subjects in the syllabus in a language other than one’s mother tongue, without prioritising knowledge of the language over the subject. This was the idea that in the 2009/10 academic year gave rise to the Second Language Integration Programme (SLI Programme) at the Escuela Arquitectura Tecnica in the Universidad Politecnica Madrid (EUATM-UPM), just at the beginning of the tuition of the new Building Engineering Degree, which had been adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) model. This programme is an interdisciplinary initiative for the set of subjects taught during the semester and is coordinated through the Assistant Director Office for Educational Innovation. The SLI Programme has a dual goal; to familiarise students with the specific English terminology of the subject being taught, and at the same time improve their communication skills in English. A total of thirty lecturers are taking part in the teaching of eleven first year subjects and twelve in the second year, with around 120 students who have voluntarily enrolled in a special group in each semester. During the 2010/2011 academic year the degree of acceptance and the results of the SLI Programme are being monitored. Tools have been designed to aid interdisciplinary coordination and to analyse satisfaction, such as coordination records and surveys. The results currently available refer to the first semester of the year and are divided into specific aspects of the different subjects involved and into general aspects of the ongoing experience.

An experimental study on Aerobic Gymnastic: performance analysis as an effective evaluation for technique and teaching of motor gestures

Aerobic Gymnastic is the ability to perform complex movements produced by the traditional aerobic exercises, in a continuous manner, with high intensity, perfectly integrated with soundtracks. This sport is performed in an aerobic/anaerobic lactacid condition and expects the execution of complex movements produced by the traditional aerobic exercises integrated with difficulty elements performed with a high technical level. An inaccuracy about this sport is related to the name itself “aerobic” because Aerobic Gymnastic does not use just the aerobic work during the competition, due to the fact that the exercises last among 1’30” and 1’45” at high rhythm. Agonistic Aerobics exploit the basic movements of amateur Aerobics and its coordination schemes, even though the agonistic Aerobics is so much intense than the amateur Aerobics to need a completely different mix of energetic mechanisms. Due to the complexity and the speed with which you perform the technical elements of Aerobic Gymnastic, the introduction of video analysis is essential for a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of athletes’ performance during the training. The performance analysis can allow the accurate analysis and explanation of the evolution and dynamics of a historical phenomenon and motor sports. The notational analysis is used by technicians to have an objective analysis of performance. Tactics, technique and individual movements can be analyzed to help coaches and athletes to re-evaluate their performance and gain advantage during the competition. The purpose of the following experimental work will be a starting point for analyzing the performance of the athletes in an objective way, not only during competitions, but especially during the phases of training. It is, therefore, advisable to introduce the video analysis and notational analysis for more quantitative and qualitative examination of technical movements. The goal is to lead to an improvement of the technique of the athlete and the teaching of the coach.

Teaching-learning process of historical heritage: a Journey as a beginning, path and end

The implantation of new university degrees within the European Higher Education Area implies the need of innovative methodologies in teaching and learning to improve the skills and competencies of students and to answer the growing needs that society continuously demands to heritage management experts. The present work shows an application of the teaching methodology proposed during the international workshop entitled “I International Planning Preservation Workshop. Learning from Al Andalus”, which included the participation of the University of Alicante and Granada, Università Politecnico di Milano and Hunter College City University of New York; where we tried to dissolve traditional boundaries derived of interuniversity cooperation programs. The main objective of the workshop was to discuss and debate the role of urban Historical Centers within the Global Heritage by the integrated work through multidisciplinary teams and the creation of a permanent international working group between these universities to both teach and research. The methodology of this workshop was very participatory and considered the idea of a new learning process generated by "a journey experience." A trip from global to local (from the big city to the small village) but also a trip from the local (historical) part of a big city to the global dimension of contemporary historical villages identified by the students through a system of exhibition panels in affinity groups, specific projects proposed by lecturers and teachers or the generation of publications in various areas (texts, photographs, videos, etc.). So, the participation of the students in this multidisciplinary meeting has enhanced their capacity for self-criticism in several disciplines and has promoted their ability to perform learning and research strategies in an autonomous way. As a result, it has been established a permanent international work structure for the development of projects of the Historical City. This relationship has generated the publication of several books whose contents have reflected the conclusions developed in the workshop and several teaching proposals shared between those institutions. All these aspects have generated a new way of understanding the teaching process through a journey, in order to study the representative role of university in the historical heritage and to make students (from planning, heritage management, architecture, geography, sociology, history or engineering areas) be compromised on searching strategies for sustainable development in the Contemporary City.

Evaluation of the Implementation of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) Methodology in the Didactics of the English Language in Preschool Education Course Taught in the Preschool Education Teacher Undergraduate Program at the University of Alicante

Although it is known that the Spanish current Educative System promotes using the Communicate Approach to teach foreign languages in schools, other recently designed approaches are also used to help students improve their skills when communicating in a foreign language. One of these approaches is Content and Language Integrated Learning, also known as CLIL, which is used to teach content courses using the English language as the language of instruction. This approach improves the students’ skills in English as the same time as they learn content from other areas. The goal of this thesis is to present a research project carried out at the University of Alicante during the academic year 2011-2012. With this research we obtained results that provide quantitative and qualitative data which explains how the use of the CLIL methodology affects the English level of students in the “Didactics of the English Language in Preschool Education” course in Preschool Education Teacher Undergraduate Program as students acquire the contents of the course.

'I never imagined I'd have to teach these children': Providing authentic learning experiences for secondary pre-service teachers in teaching students with special needs

This article describes a collaborative and cross-curricula initiative undertaken in the School of Education at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. The project involved developing an integrated approach to providing professional year pre-service secondary teacher education students with experiences that would assist them to develop their knowledge and skills to teach students with special needs in their classrooms. These experiences were undertaken in the authentic teaching and learning context of a post-school literacy program for young adults with intellectual disabilities. In preliminary interviews pre-service teachers revealed that they lacked experience, knowledge and understanding related to teaching students with special needs, and felt that their teacher education program lacked focus in this field. This project was developed in response to these expressed needs. Through participating in the project, pre-service teachers' knowledge and understanding about working with students with diverse learning needs were developed as they undertook real and purposeful tasks in an authentic context.

Fast-tracking middle schooling reform: A model for the integrated curriculum

To participate effectively in the post-industrial information societies and knowledge/service economies of the 21st century, individuals must be better-informed, have greater thinking and problem-solving abilities, be self-motivated; have a capacity for cooperative interaction; possess varied and specialised skills; and be more resourceful and adaptable than ever before. This paper reports on one outcome from a national project funded by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment Training and Youth Affairs, which investigated what practices, processes, strategies and structures best promote lifelong learning and the development of lifelong learners in the middle years of schooling. The investigation linked lifelong learning with middle schooling because there were indications that middle schooling reform practices also lead to the development of lifelong learning attributes, which is regarded as a desirable outcome of schooling in Australia. While this larger project provides depth around these questions, this paper specifically reports on the development of a three-phase model that can guide the sequence in which schools undertaking middle schooling reform attend to particular core component changes. The model is developed from the extensive analysis of 25 innovative schools around the nation, and provides a unique insight into the desirable sequences and time spent achieving reforms, along with typical pitfalls that lead to a regression in the reform process. Importantly, the model confirms that schooling reform takes much more time than planners typically expect or allocate, and there are predictable and identifiable inhibitors to achieving it.

Mapping teaching, learning and assessment in the MPharm in UK schools of pharmacy

Aim To undertake a national study of teaching, learning and assessment in UK schools of pharmacy. Design Triangulation of course documentation, 24 semi-structured interviews undertaken with 29 representatives from the schools and a survey of all final year students (n=1,847) in the 15 schools within the UK during 2003–04. Subjects and setting All established UK pharmacy schools and final year MPharm students. Outcome measures Data were combined and analysed under the topics of curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment, multi-professional teaching and learning, placement education and research projects. Results Professional accreditation was the main driver for curriculum design but links to preregistration training were poor. Curricula were consistent but offered little student choice. On average half the curriculum was science-based. Staff supported the science content but students less so. Courses were didactic but schools were experimenting with new methods of learning. Examinations were the principal form of assessment but the contribution of practice to the final degree ranged considerably (21–63%). Most students considered the assessment load to be about right but with too much emphasis upon knowledge. Assessment of professional competence was focused upon dispensing and pharmacy law. All schools undertook placement teaching in hospitals but there was little in community/primary care. There was little inter-professional education. Resources and logistics were the major limiters. Conclusions There is a need for an integrated review of the accreditation process for the MPharm and preregistration training and redefinition of professional competence at an undergraduate level.

e-Learning, e-Practising and e-Tutoring: an Integrated Approach

In this paper is described a didactic methodology combining current e-learning methods and the support of Intelligent Agents technologies. The aim is to favor the synthesis among theoretical approach and based practical approach using the so-called Intelligent Agent, software that exploits the Artificial Intelligence and that operates as tutor, facilitating the consumers in the training operations. The paper illustrates how such new Intelligent Agent algorithm (IA) is used in the training of employees working in the transportation sector, thanks to the experience gained with the PARMENIDE project - Promoting Advanced Resources and Methodologies for New Teaching and Learning Solutions in Digital Education.

E-blogspot in the teaching of strategic management

E-learning and e-learning applications/tools are available to all educators thanks to the evolution of technology and the internet. Although a great variety of technologies are available it is not always obvious how these can be integrated in traditional teaching to support and enhance the learning experience. The majority of the existing literature proposes the use of blogging as an activity that students should do in order to increase their active participation in learning. This article presents the use of blogspots in the teaching of Strategic Management as a tool used to create greater linkages between theory and practice, discussing the evolution of its utilisation in my modules, the current state of use and a series of reflections on experience gained from its use so far. Overall, I have found that there is limited literature on how blogging could link to teaching activities and its utilisation should be viewed as learning by doing which is evaluated and improved by critical reflection of the user.