«¡Pásame la brújula!» Un ejemplo de metodología histórico-cultural en la enseñanza de las matemáticas

La enseñanza de las matemáticas ha estado tradicionalmente condicionada por una visión universalista de las capacidades mentales, que ha tenido poco en cuenta que el lenguaje matemático no es una abstracción aprioristica y acontextual, sino que pasa por la utilización de «metáforas» instrumentales utilizadas por los propios matemáticos a lo largo de la historia y escamoteada al niño en la escuela. En este artículo se expone un diseño didáctico en que se hace una apuesta fuerte por una enseñanza de la geometría que recoja los instrumentos culturales (las «metáforas» materiales) presentes en nuestro entorno y los utilice en sus diseños como mediadores entre la realidad y los conceptos.     

Service learning as a tool to enhance future teachers’ media competence / Aprendizaje-Servicio como estrategia favorecedora del desarrollo de la competencia mediática en futuros docentes

Abstract

This paper presents a study of service learning (SL) as a methodology to facilitate the development of media competence in future teachers. The SL methodology fulfils a training and service need for two different populations: in our case, a preschool/primary school and students from the Bachelor’s in Education degrees at the Universidad de Jaén. The study involved 193 university students who carried out 63 projects involving new technologies. The goal of these projects was to produce materials to be used on smartboards, advertising materials, picture-reading materials or multimedia resources, among others. These materials were designed and created in the university classes as a part of the practical sessions of a course and were then given away to be used at a preschool/primary school. At the end of the project, the university students filled out a questionnaire that required them to compare SL to traditional activities in terms of how well each type of practice helps them to achieve the 20 competences of the course. The results show that students recognize the value of the SL methodology more than traditional practice, which suggests the relevance of this methodology for university students.     

Words for Artworks: The Aesthetics of Meaning Making

In this article we introduce a research strategy that involves the making of visual maps by individuals in response to their interactions with artworks. The maps record the meaning‐making processes involved in the encounters and provide us with permanent records of otherwise ephemeral experiences. The case study presented here provides data for comparisons between three visits each to two artworks exhibited at the Calouste Gulbenkian Modern Art Centre in Lisbon. We conclude that our meaning‐making strategy is important for its own heuristic research value in both formal and non‐formal educational contexts, as well as providing an instrument for the training of teachers and museum educators.     

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.     

Response–food delay gradients for lever pressing and schedule-induced licking in rats

Eight food-deprived Wistar rats developed stable patterns of lever pressing and licking when exposed to a fixed-time 30-s schedule of food pellet presentation. The rats were trained to lever press by presenting the lever 10 s before the programmed food delivery, with the food pellet being delivered immediately upon a lever press. The operant contingency was then removed and the lever was inserted through the entire interfood interval, being withdrawn with food delivery and reinserted 2 s later. On successive phases of the study, a protective contingency postponed food delivery if responses (lever presses or licks) occurred within the last 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, or 25 s of the interfood interval. Lever pressing was reduced at much shorter response–food delays than those that reduced licking. These results demonstrate that reinforcement contributes to the maintenance of different response patterns on periodic schedules, and that different responses are differentially sensitive to delays.     

Level of deprivation does not affect degree of discounting in pigeons

Two experiments tested the effects of food deprivation on discounting in pigeons. An adjusting-amount procedure was used to estimate the subjective value of food at delays ranging from 1 to 24 s. Experiment 1 compared pigeons’ discounting of delayed food reinforcers at 75 %–80 % and 90 %–95 % of free-feeding weight. Experiment 2 compared discounting under 1- and 23-h food deprivation. In both experiments at both deprivation levels, discounting was well described by the hyperboloid discounting function. No systematic effect of level of deprivation on degree of discounting was observed in either experiment. This finding is consistent with the view that pigeons’ choices are controlled by the relative, rather than the absolute, value of reinforcers.     

International trends in health science librarianship: Part 4 – Four Southern European countries

This is the fourth in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in four Southern European countries in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors are from Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Future issues will track trends in Latin America and Central Europe. JM     

Validating chemical and structural changes in painting materials by principal component analysis of spectroscopic data using internal mineral standards

This work shows the capability of principal component analysis (PCA) to detect molecular, chemical and mineralogical changes in historic painting materials subjected to a thermal ageing test (< 250 °C). To simulate the heat-induced alterations an ageing accelerated process was performed on two sets of samples containing two mineral phases (hydroxyapatite and quartz) and two organic compounds (collagen and albumin). The chosen minerals behaved as internal standards during the tests since they are stable and chemically inert at the tested temperatures. Raman microscopy (RM) was applied to characterise one set of samples made of bone, containing ca. 70% hydroxyapatite and 30% collagen. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy was used to study the other set of samples made of four different quartz/albumin mixtures with quartz contents of 30%, 50%, 70% and 90% (w/w). The aim was to identify the ideal proportion of internal standard to be validated by ATR-FTIR and PCA, determined to be 70%. PCA analyses detected changes in the molecular structures of the organic components while the internal mineral standard remained stable. Moreover, the internal standard IR/Raman bands were constant during the tests and confirmed that the results of PCA analyses were independent of instrumental and technical factors, as well as sample collecting and handling. This demonstrates the potential benefits of our approach to study historical painting materials, which have suffered any type of heat-induced alteration.     

Porosity and surface hardness as indicators of the state of conservation of Mudéjar plasterwork in the Real Alcázar in Seville

Plasterwork, a very typical element of Islamic art, comprises highly artistic decorative elements on wall, arches, and vaults. Due to their gypsum composition, such elements are easily weathered, primarily because of low mechanical strength and slight solubility in water. This work has studied the traditional Islamic plasterwork in the halls and patios of the Mudéjar Palace (13–16th centuries) in the Real Alcázar of Seville. This palace complex was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987. The analysis of its porosity and shore C surface hardness has allowed determination of the mathematical correlation between them. Consequently, future evaluations can merely measure the hardness (a non-destructive test) to estimate the plasterwork's porosity (which reveals its mechanical strength and its degree of weathering). These elements must be maintained in order to prevent the spread of pathologies. In addition to requiring an in-depth knowledge of its materials, application techniques, and properties, to do so also demands simple techniques for regular assessments and criteria to prioritize interventions if they become necessary.