Teacher's experiences in PBL: implications for practice

Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been implemented in the first year of the Industrial Engineering and Management programme at the University of Minho, Portugal, since 2004/2005. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss teachers' experiences in PBL in this programme and to explore its implications for student learning and for teaching practices in higher education. For data collection, the research method used was written narratives to these teachers, at the end of the PBL semester. Findings suggest that teachers express a positive view of PBL as a learning approach. They identify student motivation and engagement, along with a better understanding of the application of concepts in real-life situations, as important outcomes of the project for students. Besides this, teachers also highlight the importance of the development of transversal skills by students throughout the project. Recommendations for future work and implications for practice will also be discussed.     

Research and teaching writing

Reading and Writing - Writing is an essential but complex skill that students must master if they are to take full advantage of educational, occupational, and civic responsibilities. Schools, and...     

Sharing the Stage

Despite the proliferation of research on social media and journalism, only a few studies have analyzed how journalists in Latin America embrace the affordances of social platforms for journalism practice. Based on a survey of 877 Latin American reporters, this article examines the platforms journalists use and how they use them. The broad finding is that, despite the great popularity of Facebook in the region, Twitter is the most important platform for daily newsgathering and journalistic work. Journalists turn to Twitter to find sources and stories, showing an important openness to participatory journalism. Yet, they mistrust information provided from political sources. Our findings show that different regions in Latin America work with social media in different ways, and local journalistic cultures have an impact on these adoptions, especially in the case of Brazil. Further research and implications for the field are discussed.     

The COVID-19 epidemic in Brazil: how statistics education may contribute to unravel the reality behind the charts

Educational Studies in Mathematics - The world is now facing the most severe health, social, and economic event of the last hundred years, which has made the need to acquire statistical thinking to...     

Using a Satisfaction Index to Compare Students’ Satisfaction During and After Higher Education Service Consumption

Tertiary Education and Management - This study explores the factors that influence students’ satisfaction with higher education services and assess how they change after graduation, when...     

Perceived Professional Identity among Experienced Canadian Counsellors: A Qualitative Investigation

This qualitative study addressed how experienced Canadian masters-level counsellors perceived the collective identity of their profession in terms of roles, abilities, reputation, and sense of unity. The study employed a variation of grounded theory methodology guided by two research questions: (a) how do experienced counsellors view the professional identity of counselling?, and (b) how do counsellors describe their professional roles and practices? Nine categories of counsellor perceived identity and nine categories related to roles and practices emerged. Findings are discussed in light of the emerging trend toward the statutory regulation of counselling and psychotherapy in Canada.     

A Relationship Approach to Higher Education Institution Stakeholder Management

Tertiary Education and Management - The functions of teaching and research in higher education institutions (HEIs) are being reassessed, with particular emphasis on the contribution they make to...     

Portuguese Public University Student Satisfaction: A stakeholder theory-based approach

This study reports on the steering of a self-access learning center in a Japanese university by its “middle management” committee over the first years of its operation. Middle management practice was informed by an ethnographic archive of various facets of center use, particularly concerning language policy and curriculum integration, issues about which the archive reveals considerable shifts in stakeholder views over time. It is argued that this evidence-based middle management style has been an effective, but sometimes limited, means in decision-making as it succeeds in placing research at the center of middle management activity, not at its periphery.