Case Method in the Teaching of Food Safety

One of the fundamental aims of education is the integration of theory and practice. The case method is a teaching strategy in which students must apply their knowledge to solve real‐life situations. They have to analyze the case described and propose the best possible solution. Although the case may be written, the use of new information and communication technologies can develop the case plan in ways that would achieve greater realism and widen the possibilities for discussion. This paper describes our experience in implementing the case method to teach food safety in the Chair of Hygiene. At first this methodology was used to improve the teaching of good practices in food preparation, later practical work was implemented where small groups of students designed and carried out the microbiological analysis of suspected food. This practical work was presented online as a multimedia activity; students were given face‐to‐face and on‐line tutoring. Evaluation was based both on students’ performance and on a survey they had to answer. More than 92% of students regarded the methodology used for the understanding of the unit as sound. Professors collaboration on providing guidance and multimedia presentation were also positively assessed. The bringing together of face‐to‐face and virtual tasks and small‐group discussion of cases under professors guidance contributed to making good use of the positive aspects of this methodology in order to improve the understanding of problems which do not always have a single answer.     

Implicit indexing of natural language text by reorganizing bytecodes

Word-based byte-oriented compression has succeeded on large natural language text databases, by providing competitive compression ratios, fast random access, and direct sequential searching. We show that by just rearranging the target symbols of the compressed text into a tree-shaped structure, and using negligible additional space, we obtain a new implicitly indexed representation of the compressed text, where search times are drastically improved. The occurrences of a word can be listed directly, without any text scanning, and in general any inverted-index-like capability, such as efficient phrase searches, can be emulated without storing any inverted list information. We experimentally show that our proposal performs not only much more efficiently than sequential searches over compressed text, but also than explicit inverted indexes and other types of indexes, when using little extra space. Our representation is especially successful when searching for single words and short phrases.     

Becoming a teacher: student teachers’ experiences and perceptions about teaching practice

In an attempt to build a more comprehensive and holistic understanding of the complexity, dynamics and idiosyncrasies involved in becoming a teacher, this study focussed on the experiences of 295 student teachers. Their feelings, cognitions and perceptions regarding teaching practice were analysed using the short version of the Inventory of Experiences and Perceptions of the Teaching Practice. Results emphasise some of the difficulties experienced during this period (e.g., stress, sense of weariness and ‘vulnerability’), as well the positive perceptions of these student teachers regarding their growing knowledge and skilfulness, as well as their sense of efficacy, flexibility and spontaneity in their performance and interactions. Their perception of their accomplishments in achieving reasonable levels of acceptance and recognition within the school community and their positive evaluation of the guidance and support provided by their supervisors are also emphasised. Differences were found – in terms of gender and graduate course background – in the way these student teachers experienced some aspects of teaching practice.     

Efficacy of a Self-Monitoring Tool for Improving the Quality of the Language Environment in the Preschool Classroom

Research Findings: This study evaluated the impact of a self-monitoring intervention on preschool teachers’ use of language and on children’s language growth. Nineteen classrooms from Santiago de Chile participated (10 intervention, 9 control). Twice a week, intervention teachers filled out a checklist to monitor the language stimulation they offered children. Research personnel used the checklists to elaborate a monthly summary of the language opportunities offered to each child in that month and discussed this information with teachers. Results revealed a significant advantage for intervention teachers in frequency of book readings and word discussions but not on children’s language growth. Dosage analyses showed that children identified by the self-monitoring device as receiving more language-learning opportunities improved significantly more from beginning to end of the school year in receptive vocabulary. Practice or Policy: Contextual barriers such as large numbers of children and unawareness of the impact of some language interactions can prevent teachers from engaging in important practices. Reminding teachers of the importance of those practices and helping them monitor their frequency may be a low-cost way of improving language opportunities for children in contexts where more intensive professional development is not possible.     

Home Language and Literacy Environments and Early Literacy Trajectories of Low-Socioeconomic Status Chilean Children

This study used Latent Class Analysis to identify groups of children exposed to similar Home Language and Literacy Environments (HLLE) and explored whether belonging to a given HLLE group was related to children’s language and early literacy growth from prekindergarten to kindergarten. Participants were 1,425 Chilean mothers and their children (M_age = 52.52 months at baseline) from low-socioeconomic status households. Four HLLE groups were identified, which were associated with different trajectories of language and early literacy development. Children from groups whose mothers either read and talk about past events with them or teach them letters in addition to reading and talking about past events, showed higher relative vocabulary and letter knowledge. Implications for research and interventions are discussed.     

Teachers' Causal Attributions for Behaviour Problems in Relation to Perceptions of Control

The general aim of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers' perceptions of control and their causal attributions for behaviour problems. Elementary teachers ( n = 305) were asked to rate each of 12 factors as the possible cause of the behaviour problem described in a vignette and they also completed the Spheres of Control Scale. Teachers seemed to agree that family and pupil-related factors might cause behaviour problems, while they rejected school and organic factors. Overall, teachers seemed to have a high perception of control in three distinct spheres of life, i.e. personal efficacy, interpersonal relationships and sociopolitical behaviour. Nevertheless, only perceived control in the area of interpersonal relationships was found to be significantly correlated with 4 causal attributions. Results are discussed in the framework of in-service training for regular education teachers.     

Mathematical Problem Solving with Technology: the Techno-Mathematical Fluency of a Student-with-GeoGebra

This study offers a view on students’ technology-based problem solving activity through the lens of a theoretical model which accounts for the relationship between mathematical and technological knowledge in successful problem solving. This study takes a qualitative approach building on the work of a 13-year-old girl as an exemplary case of the nature of young students’ spontaneous mathematical problem solving with technology. The empirical data comprise digital records of her approaches to two problems from a web-based mathematical competition where she resorted to GeoGebra and an interview where she explains and describes her usual problem solving activity with this tool. Based on a proposed model for describing the processes of mathematical problem solving with technologies (MPST), the main results show that this student’s solving and expressing the solution are held from the early and continuing interplay between mathematical skills and the perception of the affordances of the tool. The analytical model offers a clear picture of the type of actions that lead to the solution of each problem, revealing the student’s ability to deal with mathematics and technology in problem solving. By acknowledging this as a case of a human-with-media in solving mathematical problems, the students’ efficient way of merging technological and mathematical knowledge is portrayed in terms of her techno-mathematical fluency.     

The pathways to higher education: lexical availability in adult candidate students and in young first-year students

In the past few years there has been an increase in the number of adult students in higher education courses, many of whom have returned to school after a break. Most of these students do not intend to continue their studies from the point where they stopped; rather, they want to prepare for specific tests in order to have direct access to higher education courses, which in Portugal is a legal option for students over the age of 23. In response to this new cohort, higher education institutions need to find out what kind of students these are, determining their characteristics, capabilities and major problems, if they are to provide them with successful learning opportunities alongside younger students. This article presents a comparative study of lexical competence, focusing on lexical availability, contrasting those adult applicants to higher education who are attending a course preparatory to higher education with first-year students who have just entered higher education. The results show significant differences between the two groups, the adult group in general showing poorer results. Their withdrawal from schooling is clearly reflected in their vocabulary activation with regard to transversal themes. The most salient contrasts are related to the number of words mentioned and the frequency of words in the group, as well as the greater or lesser proximity to the topic of the terms mentioned.