Improvement of Word Problem Solving and Basic Mathematics Competencies in Students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Mathematical Learning Difficulties

Problem solving represents a salient deficit in students with mathematical learning difficulties (MLD) primarily caused by difficulties with informal and formal mathematical competencies. This study proposes a computerized intervention tool, the integrated dynamic representation (IDR), for enhancing the early learning of basic mathematical competencies and word problem solving skills. The goal was to compare and contrast the effects of IDR on the acquisition of informal and formal mathematical competencies in students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and MLD. Participants were 216 students (6–9 years), who were classified into three groups: ADHD (n = 72), MLD (n = 82), ADHD and MLD (n = 62). They completed the Test of Early Mathematics Ability (Third Edition). The results showed that all three diagnosed groups improved significantly postintervention in all mathematical competencies, with the MLD‐only group benefiting the most at posttest.     

Teachers’ and Their Pupils’ Performance on Plant Nutrition: a Comparative Case

Research in Science Education - The research compares teachers’ and their pupils’ performance on plant nutrition. The misconceptions of 89 primary school children from one state school...     

Virtual Microscopy as a Learning Tool in Brazilian Medical Education

Virtual microscopy (VM) is a widely used teaching method in Medical Education in many developed countries. In Brazil, however, this is not the case for most medical schools, considering Brazilian social inequality and uneven access to technology. Recently, the Covid-19 pandemic has also challenged Universities to seek and make a transition toward more effective methods of full-time online education. Thus, the main goal of this work was to verify student's perception and academic performance, assessed upon VM implementation in a Brazilian Medical School. Ribeirao Preto Medical School students answered a 26-question survey with regards to optical microscopy (OM) and VM. Academic performance was compared between participants that were (year of 2019) or were not (year of 2015) exposed to VM. Taken the results together, subjective impressions such as handling, suitability, learning effectiveness, and pleasure using the tools, have shown a higher score for virtual microscopy (median = 29), when compared to optical microscopy (median = 24) with a P-value < 0.001 by Wilcoxon rank test, upon measurement using an ordinal scale. Regarding academic performance, no statistically significant differences were found between groups (P-value = 0.38, Cohen's d = 0.19). Therefore, VM proved to be adequate to the Brazilian medical education in light of Brazilian social contexts and Covid-19 pandemic.     

A tool-kit to help students from low socioeconomic status background: a school-based self-regulated learning intervention

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Socioeconomic status has been a long-time discussed topic due to its impact on children’s school paths. However, despite extant research...     

Improved Social Communication Abilities and Reduced Autism Severity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Highly Sensitive Mothers

SYNOPSIS

Objective . To explore whether maternal sensitivity is associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) severity in children with and without ASD. Design . The samples consisted of 25 Mexican dyads of children with ASD (aged 3.1-6.9 years) and their mothers (aged 20-47 years) and 24 Mexican dyads of children without ASD (aged 3.4-6.7 years) and their mothers (aged 24-45 years). Maternal sensitivity and ASD severity symptoms were scored from 2-h videos of mother-child daily interactions. Results . A between-group comparison showed a trend toward less severe ASD in children with highly sensitive mothers, specifically in the Nonverbal Communication subdomain. Conclusions . Greater maternal sensitivity is associated with improved social ability in children with ASD.     

Ciencia en Nepantla: the journey of Nepantler@s in science learning and teaching

This paper presents a new approach to science education that takes a path through sociocultural theory and into the ideas of Gloria Anzaldúa. We apply Anzaldúan theory to science education by illustrating it in action through various examples which explore the multidimensionality of teaching science with Latin@ students in various contexts including dual language settings. We present what it is to journey through transformation using examples from educators at various levels of science within the world of teaching science with Latin@ students in the U.S. Our examples illustrate how Latin@ students cross many cultural borders in Spanish, English, Latin@ home culture, school culture, and the world of scientific dialogue and content, and in doing so, go through tensions and transformations between dominant and non-dominant worlds, which should be acknowledged and better understood through Anzaldúan theory. Fundamentally, we present a transformative notion of Latin@ science learning as “living on the bridges” of many dialogic and cultural practices, and having to negotiate these in-between spaces, or “nepantla” (Anzaldu´a and Keating in Interviews, Psychology Press, London, 2000), where Latin@ students must contend with the fragmented and sometimes painful struggle of living in racialized reality amidst the demands of a dominant culture, and where transformation and healing are possible through the path of conocimiento. We advocate for teachers to become science teacher nepantler@s, who guide their students through nepantla, and into a new mestiz@ consciousness of science education.     

Universities,the Information Technology Challenge,and Open and Distance Learning in Central and Eastern Europe

The educational needs of eastern and central Europe can be met by distance education methods. The need to reform and to expand open and distance education possibilities led in 1990 to the founding in Budapest of EDEN, the European Distance Education Network. After 1990, the proponents of open and distance education were able to expand the scope of their activities as the result of expanding possibilities provided by the rapidly developing information and communication technologies. The pedagogical possibilities offered by these technologies are described with an emphasis on their democratizing tendencies, their ultimate inexpensiveness in terms of the total costs of different types of higher education, and their commercial possibilities. The setting up of the Distance Education Centre of the Technical University of Budapest is presented as a case study. Governments and institutions must find the best ways to use the information and communication technologies to integrate traditional higher education with open and distance learning techniques so as to offer the best possibilities at regional, national, and institutional levels.     

Sex education in Spain: the relevance of teachers’ training and attitudes / Educación sexual en España: importancia de la formación y las actitudes del profesorado

Abstract

This research has two main aims: a) the study of Spanish teachers’ training and attitudes towards sex education, as well as the delivery of this subject in classrooms, while also exploring the existence of differences according to personal and professional characteristics; and b) to examine the association between teachers’ training and attitudes, and the extent to which these variables predict the delivery of sex education. A total of 3,695 Infant, Primary, Secondary and High school teachers (66.1% women, 33.9% men) throughout the country completed a voluntary online questionnaire that inquired about their training and attitudes towards sex education, their delivery or non-delivery of this subject in classrooms, and other personal and professional characteristics. Analyses indicate that participants show positive attitudes towards sex education, but that 43.3% are not trained in this issue, and 48.6% do not teach it at school. Some significant differences by sex, educational stage and type of school have been found. In addition, trained teachers show more positive attitudes to sex education. Finally, having more positive attitudes and, to a lesser extent, having prior training, positively predicts the delivery of sex education. These results highlight the importance of reviewing and improving teachers’ training on sexuality and sex education, with particular emphasis on attitudinal contents.     

Building typologies identification to support risk mitigation at the urban scale – Case study of the old city centre of Seixal,Portugal

The old urban centres are marks of an historical and architectural heritage that should be protected and safeguarded. For such, it is fundamental to have a complete understanding of the genesis, regarding both building and the urban mesh. This fact is essential to the support of qualified, conscientious and sustainable rehabilitation interventions on the old building stock. The research carried out addresses the issue of the old urban centres from the perspective of the analysis and inventory of buildings features. The cataloguing process of the building typologies is presented in this work as a synthesis of the principal construction forms, with the old city centre of Seixal being used as a case study. The identification of building typologies has supported a seismic and fire vulnerability assessment of the old building stock. The assessment methodologies developed and used are based on the detailed survey and building inspection, therefore the building typology cataloguing is essential in the analysis at such a large scale. Then we discussed the strategy for the conservation actions incorporated in a broader risk management policy.     

The family caregiver after the institutionalization of the dependent elderly relative

The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between the institutionalization of a dependent elderly relative and the family caregiver’s mental health, quality of life and caregiving satisfaction. We present data from 140 family caregivers caring for elderly family members, of whom 77 continued to live with family members and 63 had been institutionalized. We evaluated the factors influencing the decision to institutionalize the dependent relative, the effect of institutionalization on the caregiver’s psychological well-being and quality of life and the impact of strategies to find the meaning and cope with the relative’s placement on the caregiver’s emotional health and quality of life. Care does not end after institutionalization, but the stressors the caregiver faces change. Our results suggest that finding meaning increases satisfaction and reduces feelings of overload. They show that after institutionalization, stressors affecting caregivers are partly relieved, and that finding meaning increases the caregiver’s satisfaction, while decreasing the degree of overload. Our data, further, indicates that a good relationship and cooperation between the staff of the institution and the family are important to improve the caregivers’ emotional health and quality of life, and consequently, the quality of life of the dependent elderly relative.