The dynamics of connecting universities,non-governmental organizations and community members by means of academic projects directed at people in need

In this article we discuss an action research experience that took place from 2002 to 2015. We analyze the inception and progress of several project-based learning-centered academic courses that were aimed at developing the project management skills of graduate and undergraduate students. The experience involved approximately 1800 students from two universities and 40 community partners. The students developed real-life projects on behalf of institutions and non-governmental organizations located in the area that help people in need; we refer to these agencies as ‘community partners.’ We analyze the development of the course from a systemic perspective, making use of causal loop diagrams in order to understand the main driving dynamics. We discuss the results achieved by these projects and the benefits brought to the community partners. We also present testimony from the community partners themselves. We conclude by presenting the lessons we learned over the years we have been running this course.     

If I experience formative assessment whilst studying at university,will I put it into practice later as a teacher? Formative and shared assessment in Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

The aim of this article is to analyse whether having experience of formative assessment during their initial teacher education courses (ITE) influences graduates’ subsequent practice as teachers. That is, if the assessment methods that university students are subject to during their learning process are then actually employed by them during their professional practice as schoolteachers. To address this issue, questionnaires were issued and focus groups were held with a sample of ITE graduates. The main results of the study are that: (1) formative and shared assessment (FSA) is not used a great deal during ITE, but is highly valued; (2) some graduates have implemented FSA in their practice as teachers, following their experience on their ITE course; and (3) significant variables are found regarding the implementation of FSA in schools (possible resistance from colleagues and/or pupils’ parents, etc.).     

Application of a lexical-semantic intervention programme for students with Specific Language Impairment / Aplicación de un programa de intervención léxico-semántica en alumnado con Trastorno Específico del Lenguaje

The aim of this research has been to test the efficacy of an intervention programme on lexical-semantic problems in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). The sample consisted of 34 children diagnosed with SLI and 34 children with typical language development, all enrolled in different schools on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). For the selection of the sample, CELF-3, Peabody, ITPA Auditory Association and Visual Association subtests and the K-BIT IQ tests were used. The intervention programme consisted of 72 sessions of 30 minutes each, using noun and action naming activities along with conversation and categorization tasks in order to increase vocabulary and improve lexical semantic competence. Significant results were achieved in aspects related to the acquisition of vocabulary as well as in lexical semantics or related terms. The educational implications are clear insofar as lexical-semantic aspects are key in terms of activating other linguistic components and in improving the academic progress of SLI students.     

Handling math expressions in economics: recoding spreadsheet teaching tool of growth models

In the present paper, we develop a teaching methodology for economic theory. The main contribution of this paper relies on combining the interactive characteristics of spreadsheet programs such as Excel and Unicode plain-text linear format for mathematical expressions. The advantage of Unicode standard rests on its ease for writing and reading mathematical expressions. In this sense, our proposal allows incorporating an easily readable and writable methodology to cope with math expressions when interactive spreadsheets are used and designed in Economics teaching. The resulting nearly plain text can be used with few or no modifications in other numerical computing programs.     

Stretching the academic harness: knowledge construction in the process of academic mobility in Chile

In this article, we analyse the impact of academic mobility on the construction of knowledge for Chilean scholars who have studied abroad. We conducted 41 semi-structured interviews with Chilean-born scholars in the social sciences and humanities, who accepted jobs at national research universities in Chile after receiving their doctorates abroad. Findings show that international academic mobility allowed these participants to question legitimised ways of doing knowledge, where they can stretch the academic harness that increasingly rules their knowledge construction. Our main argument is that knowledge construction process is neither linear nor unidimensional and it occurs as a rhizomatic process in a multidimensional space.     

Attitudes Toward Spanish and Code-Switching in Belize: Stigmatization and Innovation in the Spanish Classroom

Through the analysis of survey and interview data, we investigated the attitudes and perceptions of 32 multilingual teachers of Spanish in Belize, a code-switching (CS) context where Spanish is in intense contact with English and Belizean Kriol. More specifically, we examined teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward Spanish and CS and teachers’ perceptions vis-à-vis students’ attitudes toward Spanish instruction. The study revealed that whereas some teachers held negative views of Northern Belizean Spanish, they did not markedly perceive standard Spanish as “better” than the local variety of Belizean Spanish. The analysis also showed that most teachers had a positive predisposition to the use of CS as a pedagogical tool in their classrooms, a finding that suggests that ultra-normative attitudes toward Spanish varieties are not prevalent among these educators. In view of students’ attitudes, teachers concurred that students had overwhelmingly negative attitudes toward standard Spanish, in line with previous findings. We argue that educational reforms and status-planning efforts are vital to destigmatize Spanish and to promote its maintenance alongside Belizean Kriol and English.     

Perceptions of quantitative methods in higher education: mapping student profiles

A number of studies have concluded that when students have greater confidence about their math skills and are aware of its usefulness, they have a more positive perception of the subject. This article aims to examine whether this pseudo linear trend in the relationship between affective and instrumental dimensions is also true of the university context. Special attention is devoted to the articulation of these dimensions in structuring student perceptions of quantitative methods so as to identify the various forms that this interaction can assume. Our second aim is to understand how the perceptions of these subjects are constructed by students from degree courses in distinct scientific areas. Can we speak of group dynamics whereby socialization within each degree course triggers the sharing of similar perceptions? We concluded that a certain linear trend can also be identified in the university context in the relationship between the affective dimension and usefulness of quantitative methods i.e., that the highest levels in the perception of the usefulness of these subjects corresponded to the highest levels of self confidence and enjoyment of the subjects. However, in addition to this scenario there is another configuration in which negative feelings coexist with the recognition of the usefulness of quantitative methods subjects. Namely, lower levels of self confidence and enjoyment of these subjects can also be associated with high levels of perceived usefulness. We also concluded that there is evidence of what we designated a certain course culture in the perceptions about quantitative methods. Nevertheless, when our observation is extended to the scientific area the heterogeneity of the perceptions becomes evident. Another important finding is the rejection of the thesis, at least in the university context, that defends the lack of self-confidence in quantitative methods among females student.     

Negative school factors and their influence on math and science achievement in TIMSS 2003

The aim of the present study was to conduct an analysis of TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) 2003 database and to determine how negative school factors, such as aggression, are associated to the mathematical and science achievement of students. The analyses were conducted separately for national and international data. National analyses for Slovenia show significant associations between math and science achievement and the experience of aggressive behaviour. Students who experienced aggressive behaviour scored lower in math and science, both in the fourth and in the eighth grade. The results of the regression analysis show that negative factors, such as aggressive behaviour, are good predictors of educational achievement in Slovenia. International analyses for the selected countries (high‐ and low‐achieving countries from the whole TIMSS population) confirm that this type of finding is culturally impartial as well as valid for the level of achievement both in math and in science.