Content and Methods of Teaching Literacy: The Effect of One-on-One Tutoring in Preservice Clinical Education in Two Low-Performing, Diverse School Settings on the Effectiveness of Preservice Teachers’ Reading Instruction

This is a study of preservice teachers’ ability to teach reading to struggling, diverse students, after participating in a school-embedded course incorporating a one-on-one tutorial directly supervised by reading experts. Changes in reading performance as well as plans to analyze changes in the preservice teachers will be discussed.

The effects of student -centered and traditional models of teaching on reading skills

A pre-test, post-test, quasi-experimental design was used to examine the effects of student-centered and traditional models of reading instruction on outcomes of literal comprehension and critical thinking skills. The sample for this study consisted of 101 adult students enrolled in a high-level developmental reading course at a large, urban community college in the Southeastern United States. The experimental group consisted of 48 students, and the control group consisted of 53 students. Students in the experimental group were limited in the time spent reading a course text of basic skills, with instructors using supplemental materials such as poems, news articles, and novels. Discussions, the reading-writing connection, and student choice in material selection were also part of the student-centered curriculum. Students in the control group relied heavily on a course text and vocabulary text for reading material, with great focus placed on basic skills. Activities consisted primarily of multiple-choice questioning and quizzes. The instrument used to collect pre-test data was Descriptive Tests of Language Skills in Reading Comprehension; post-test data were taken from the Florida College Basic Skills Exit Test. A MANCOVA was used as the statistical method to determine if either model of instruction led to significantly higher gains in literal comprehension skills or critical thinking skills. A paired samples t-test was also used to compare pre-test and post-test means. The results of the MANCOVA indicated no significant difference between instructional models on scores of literal comprehension and critical thinking. Neither was there any significant difference in scores between subgroups of age (under 25 and 25 and older) and language background (native English speaker and second-language learner). The results of the t-test indicated, however, that students taught under both instructional models made significant gains in on both literal comprehension and critical thinking skills from pre-test to post-test.

Common Ground: Building A Better Seattle Through an Improved Democratization of The City’s Design Review Process

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

A case study of teaching and learning practice in a Chinese adult institution

Résumé: Cette recherche s'est réalisée dans une institution chinoise de formation des adultes. Il existe très peu d'études présentant la pratique de l'enseignement et de l'apprentissage en Chine. Aussi, il semble que cette étude de cas puisse être utile. Elle porte sur le personnel de formation en administration économique dans un centre de formation de Tianjin. Le but premier de cette recherche est de décrire ce qui se fait à cet institut de formation des adultes. Les aspects couverts vont de la sélection du contenu de formation et des modalités d'enseignement jusqu'à la compréhension de l'enseignement et de l'apprentissage. À partir de l'expérience des professeurs de ce centre de Tianjin, cette étude cherche précisément à décrire leurs perceptions et leurs attitudes en regard d'un enseignement centré sur l'apprentissage et développé selon un mode de collaboration. Les fondements théoriques retenus s'inspirent des conceptions andragogiques de Knowles, de celles de Brookfield qui ont trait aux rôles des formateurs et formatrices d'adultes et de Conti qui présente une conception de l'enseignement qui se développe selon un mode de collaboration. Les données sont été retenues à la suite d'interviews et de questionnaires. Ce dernier instrument a été administré à 70 professeurs de formation aux adultes. Les résultats obtenus sont décrits et analysés. Les principaux éléments indiquent que la pratique actuelle de formation des adultes à ce centre de Tianjin ne tient pas compte des principes de l'éducation des adultes présenté selon un mode de collaboration. La formation est centrée sur l'enseignement. Il est à souhaiter que cette recherche contribuera à développer une meilleure compréhension de l'enseignement et de l'apprentissage en Chine tel que perçus par les formateurs et formatrices. Quelques suggestions de recherche complémentaires sont proposées à la fin.||Abstract: The present study grew out of one Chinese adult institute. Relatively few works are available that present a view of what actually happens in Chinese adult teaching and learning practice. Accordingly, it is believed that a case study on Tianjin Institute of Training Economic Management Personnel (TITEMP) which has been working for years in varions forms of adult programs, will be very useful addition to the knowledge of Chinese adult teaching and learning. The primary purpose of the present study is to serve as an introduction to one Chinese adult institute (TITEMP) in terms of characteristics of teaching, including selecting teaching content and teaching pattern, and to expand the understanding of Chinese adult teaching and learning. Based on the experiences of teachers at TITEMP, the study seeks to investigate the issues of teacher's perceptions and attitudes of teaching and learning to obtain implications toward learning-centred and collaborative mode. The theoretical foundations include andragogical conceptions (Knowles), roles of adult teachers (Brookfield), and conceptions of collaborative teaching and learning mode (Conti). The main sources of data are: the interviews and results of the questionnaire. Questionnaire responses from 70 teachers with knowledge of adult teaching and learning are described and interpreted. The general findings of the study are that the existing adult teaching practice at TITEMP does not adequately account for the principles of adult learning in a collaborative mode with adult students. Adult learning is teaching-centred. Some suggestions for further research are offered. It is hoped and believed that this research will contribute to a better understanding of Chinese adult teaching and learning in general, more particularly to the empirical study of the teachers from teaching and learning perspective in a Chinese adult higher learning setting. The research findings will be used as basis for the exploration of Chinese adult teaching.

The experience of teaching statistics to non-specialist students in Saudi universities

Undoubtedly, statistics has become one of the most important subjects in the modern world, where its applications are ubiquitous. The importance of statistics is not limited to statisticians, but also impacts upon non-statisticians who have to use statistics within their own disciplines. Several studies have indicated that most of the academic departments around the world have realized the importance of statistics to non-specialist students. Therefore, the number of students enrolled in statistics courses has vastly increased, coming from a variety of disciplines. Consequently, research within the scope of statistics education has been able to develop throughout the last few years. One important issue is how statistics is best taught to, and learned by, non-specialist students. This issue is controlled by several factors that affect the learning and teaching of statistics to non-specialist students, such as the use of technology, the role of the English language (especially for those whose first language is not English), the effectiveness of statistics teachers and their approach towards teaching statistics courses, students’ motivation to learn statistics and the relevance of statistics courses to the main subjects of non-specialist students. Several studies, focused on aspects of learning and teaching statistics, have been conducted in different countries around the world, particularly in Western countries. Conversely, the situation in Arab countries, especially in Saudi Arabia, is different; here, there is very little research in this scope, and what there is does not meet the needs of those countries towards the development of learning and teaching statistics to non-specialist students. This research was instituted in order to develop the field of statistics education. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to generate new insights into this subject by investigating how statistics courses are currently taught to non-specialist students in Saudi universities. Hence, this study will contribute towards filling the knowledge gap that exists in Saudi Arabia. This study used multiple data collection approaches, including questionnaire surveys from 1053 non-specialist students who had completed at least one statistics course in different colleges of the universities in Saudi Arabia. These surveys were followed up with qualitative data collected via semi-structured interviews with 16 teachers of statistics from colleges within all six universities where statistics is taught to non-specialist students in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Region. The data from questionnaires included several types, so different techniques were used in analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to identify the demographic characteristics of the participants. The chi-square test was used to determine associations between variables. Based on the main issues that are raised from literature review, the questions (items scales) were grouped and five key groups of questions were obtained which are: 1) Effectiveness of Teachers; 2) English Language; 3) Relevance of Course; 4) Student Engagement; 5) Using Technology. Exploratory data analysis was used to explore these issues in more detail. Furthermore, with the existence of clustering in the data (students within departments within colleges, within universities), multilevel generalized linear models for dichotomous analysis have been used to clarify the effects of clustering at those levels. Factor analysis was conducted confirming the dimension reduction of variables (items scales). The data from teachers’ interviews were analysed on an individual basis. The responses were assigned to one of the eight themes that emerged from within the data: 1) the lack of students’ motivation to learn statistics; 2) students' participation; 3) students’ assessment; 4) the effective use of technology; 5) the level of previous mathematical and statistical skills of non-specialist students; 6) the English language ability of non-specialist students; 7) the need for extra time for teaching and learning statistics; and 8) the role of administrators. All the data from students and teachers indicated that the situation of learning and teaching statistics to non-specialist students in Saudi universities needs to be improved in order to meet the needs of those students. The findings of this study suggested a weakness in the use of statistical software applications in these courses. This study showed that there is lack of application of technology such as statistical software programs in these courses, which would allow non-specialist students to consolidate their knowledge. The results also indicated that English language is considered one of the main challenges in learning and teaching statistics, particularly in institutions where English is not used as the main language. Moreover, the weakness of mathematical skills of students is considered another major challenge. Additionally, the results indicated that there was a need to tailor statistics courses to the needs of non-specialist students based on their main subjects. The findings indicate that statistics teachers need to choose appropriate methods when teaching statistics courses.

Possibilities and problems of teaching the history of the present time through media and information literacy.

Le système éducatif encourage une histoire positiviste, ordonnée, unilatérale et universelle; par l´incorporation de le découpage chronologique de l´histoire en quatre étapes. Mais, est-ce qu´il serait posible que les élèves puissent étudier leur propre présent? Mon commuication poursuit d´exposer, comme Saab affirmait, le présent est “le point de départ et d´arrivée de l´enseignement de l´histoire détermine les allers et les retours au passé”. La façon d´approcher l´enseignement de l´histoire est confortable. Il n´y a pas de questions, il n´y a pas de discussions. Cette vision de l´histoire interprétée par l´homme blancoccidental-hétérosexuel s´inscrit dans le projet de la modernité du Siècle des Lumières. Par conséquent, cette histoire obvie que nous vivons dans una société postmoderne de la suspicion, de la pensée débile. En ce qui concerne la problématique autour de la pollution audiovisuelle et la façon dont les enseignants et les élèves sont quotidiennement confrontés à ce problème. Par conséquent, il est nécessaire de réfléchir à la question de l´enseignement de l´histoire quadripartite. Actuellement, les médias et les nouvelles technologies sont en train de changer la vie de l´humanité. Il est indispensable que l´élève connaisse son histoire presente et les scénarioshistoriques dans l´avenir. Je pense en la nécessité d´adopter une didactique de l’histoire presente et par conséquent, nous devons utiliser la maîtrise des médias et de l´information. Il faut une formation des enseignants que pose, comme Gadamer a dit: “le passé y le présent se trouvent par une négociation permanente”. Una formation des enseignants qui permette de comprendre et penser l´histoire future / les histoires futures. À mon avis, si les élèves comprennent la complexité de leur monde et leurs multiples visions, les élèves seront plus tolérantes et empathiques.

Reading Between the Lines of Teaching and Learning

Some students lack reading skills due to biological or environmental factors. Accordingly, in my role as an educator, I would like to know if Dialogic Reading Strategies can help Spanish speaking caregivers to facilitate an interactive reading routine at home with their child.

On the Democratization of AI: Bridging the Gap with AutoML

Riding the wave of recent groundbreaking achievements, artificial intelligence (AI) is currently the buzzword on everybody’s lips and, allowing algorithms to learn from historical data, Machine Learning (ML) emerged as its pinnacle. The multitude of algorithms, each with unique strengths and weaknesses, highlights the absence of a universal solution and poses a challenging optimization problem. In response, automated machine learning (AutoML) navigates vast search spaces within minimal time constraints. By lowering entry barriers, AutoML emerged as promising the democratization of AI, yet facing some challenges. In data-centric AI, the discipline of systematically engineering data used to build an AI system, the challenge of configuring data pipelines is rather simple. We devise a methodology for building effective data pre-processing pipelines in supervised learning as well as a data-centric AutoML solution for unsupervised learning. In human-centric AI, many current AutoML tools were not built around the user but rather around algorithmic ideas, raising ethical and social bias concerns. We contribute by deploying AutoML tools aiming at complementing, instead of replacing, human intelligence. In particular, we provide solutions for single-objective and multi-objective optimization and showcase the challenges and potential of novel interfaces featuring large language models. Finally, there are application areas that rely on numerical simulators, often related to earth observations, they tend to be particularly high-impact and address important challenges such as climate change and crop life cycles. We commit to coupling these physical simulators with (Auto)ML solutions towards a physics-aware AI. Specifically, in precision farming, we design a smart irrigation platform that: allows real-time monitoring of soil moisture, predicts future moisture values, and estimates water demand to schedule the irrigation.

O ensino de piano em grupo para uma nova literacia musical. Impactos de um projeto de investigação-ação numa escola pública

Tese de Doutoramento em Estudos da Criança (Especialidade em Educação Musical)

Gestão democrática dos Sistemas Municipais de Educação : uma análise a partir do Conselho Municipal de Educação de Canindé de São Francisco/SE (2008 – 2010)

O objeto de estudo da Dissertação é o quotidiano e a dinâmica do Conselho Municipal de Educação de Canindé de São Francisco – CONMECSF, com a finalidade de desvendar como acontecem os processos sociais presentes na prática, configurando suas ações junto às administrações municipais e à sociedade organizada. A compreensão do objeto demandou algumas interlocuções teóricas com vários autores clássicos e contemporâneos, no sentido de esclarecer a natureza das mediações desenvolvidas nessa instância do sistema educacional, sem perder de vista suas relações com a categoria da totalidade. A pesquisa desenvolvida caracteriza-se como qualitativa pela sua própria especificidade, inspirando-se no estudo de caso e em seus procedimentos metodológicos. Por intermédio desta, são analisadas as produções e as práticas do Conselho Municipal de Educação de Canindé de São Francisco, via documentos e representações sociais de educadores locais quanto às políticas públicas educacionais nesse município, no período compreendido entre 2008 a 2010, de modo a configurar a gestão do sistema municipal de educação. Os achados da investigação apontam para a validade da forma de atuação do CMECSF, na perspectiva de um acompanhamento a ser aperfeiçoado da execução e efetividade das políticas públicas.