Evaluating the performance of calculus classes using operational research tools

This paper compares the efficiency of calculus classes. Two kinds of classes are evaluated: the traditional ones and others that use computational methods in teaching. This experiment was performed at Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Brazil, from 1998 to 2000. The emphasis of this paper is on the quantitative evaluation using two operational research tools: multicriteria decision aid methods (mainly using the MACBETH approach) and data envelopment analysis. The evaluating variables are the level at which students enter the university and the performance of the students after studying calculus.     

Information literacy in continuing professional development of medical practitioners: a Croatian example

OBJECTIVES: This paper reports on the training of medical practitioners in information literacy. The course is carried out by an academic medical library in collaboration with its parent institution and the local physicians' licensing body. SETTING: The University of Zagreb Medical School (UZMS) developed an extensive continuing education programme for residents and practitioners, in partnership with the Croatian Chamber of Physicians. Within this programme, the Central Medical Library (CML) offers a hands-on course on searching and appraisal of medical information. DESCRIPTION: Continuing professional development (CPD) helps physicians update and develop the skills and knowledge they require in their everyday practice. The ability to locate, critically evaluate, and use medical information is an important component of CPD. The CML has developed a course entitled "Finding and Appraisal of Medical Information" which has been reviewed and accepted by its parent institution and the physicians' chamber. The course has been introduced in 2005 on a half-year base. OUTCOME: The course provides participants with the information on the most important medical information resources and with the basic skills needed for their effective usage. An evaluation questionnaire is used to assess the effectiveness of the course.     

Teachers’ experiences of using eye gaze-controlled computers for pupils with severe motor impairments and without speech

The purpose of this study is to explore teachers’ experiences of using eye gaze-controlled computers with pupils with severe disabilities. Technology to control a computer with eye gaze is a fast growing field and has promising implications for people with severe disabilities. This is a new assistive technology and a new learning situation for teachers. Using a reflective lifeworld approach, 11 teachers were interviewed twice. The essence of the phenomenon of teaching pupils who use an eye gaze-controlled computer is to understand what the pupil does with the computer and relate this to what the pupil wants to express through the computer. The pupils have emotions, wishes and knowledge that are trapped in their own bodies. The eye gaze computer creates opportunities to get a glimpse of these thoughts to others, and creates hope concerning the pupil’s future possibilities. The teacher’s responsibility to try to understand what is inside the pupil’s trapped body is a motivating factor to integrate the computer in everyday classroom activities. The results give directions for teaching and for implementation of eye gaze computers in the school system, and also suggest improvements that could be made to computers.     

Professional identity among student teachers of physical education: the role of physicality

In this study, we investigate the role of physicality in the professional identities of physical education (PE) student teachers. Twenty PE student teachers participated in semi-structured interviews during their final teaching practice. Data were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis and typologies. The results showed substantial diversity in the student teachers’ conceptions of physicality and the ways these conceptions were embedded in their developing professional identities. The results also brought to light criticism directed at traditional notions of the body and physicality in PE and PE teacher education (PETE). We suggest that conceptions of the body and physicality represent a central element of PE teachers’ professional identity. The results also indicate a relationship between conceptions of physicality and pedagogies implemented in the future. Time and place for student teachers to discuss body-related matters should be provided in PETE.     

Disciplinary differences and other variations in assessment cultures in higher education: exploring variability and inconsistencies in one university in England

This article argues that differing disciplinary assessment cultures are likely to be an important factor in explaining differences in student marks and grades both within and between higher education institutions. Using institution-wide data on undergraduate student marks over the last five years in one UK higher education institution we demonstrate variability in the distribution of marks in terms of the ‘distance travelled’. This issue was further explored via interviews with senior teaching-active staff. We suggest that the distribution of marks is likely to reflect different disciplinary assessment cultures as well as complexity in the process of marking and assessment. These findings signify that it will be highly challenging, if not impossible, to establish nationally comparable learning gain measures using student mark data because of the underlying inconsistencies in the process of awarding marks. In the current higher education context, with the ongoing implementation of the Teaching Excellence Framework, it remains important to debate and further investigate these issues with all stakeholders, including students.     

Developing social competence and other generic skills in teacher education: applying the model of integrative pedagogy

The purpose of the study was to examine how social competence and other generic skills can be developed in teacher education using a pedagogical model called Integrative Pedagogy. This model is based on the idea of integrating the four basic components of expertise: Theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge, self-regulative knowledge, and sociocultural knowledge. The subjects of the study were 95 student-teachers. The data were collected with questionnaires. In addition to social skills, the student-teachers reported learning of domain-specific skills, generic academic skills, skills for acting creatively in different situations and development of independence. We conclude that the model of Integrative Pedagogy is feasible in teacher education.     

The Differential Effects of Direct Address on Parasocial Experience and Identification: Empirical Evidence for Conceptual Difference

Whereas parasocial experience is conceptualized as imagined interaction identification is defined as the merging of one’s identity with a character’s. Thus, having a character face the camera and directly address viewers should increase the sense of parasocial experience but not affect the intensity of identification. An experiment compared the levels of parasocial experience and identification among viewers of clips from the show House of Cards that included or omitted direct address tested this prediction. Results provide support for the previously theorized conceptualdistinction between parasocial experience and identification.     

Individual Development Plans in the Swedish Comprehensive School: Supporting High Quality Learning and Equity,or Rote Learning and Social Reproduction?

In Swedish compulsory school, individual development plans (IDPs) are mandatory for all students up to 6th grade. The purpose is to summarize and facilitate pupils’ learning and tune instruction to national standards. In this study, 233 IDPs drawn up for 5th grade pupils were analyzed with focus on qualities that have been found to impact students’ learning and learner identities. The results show that the IDPs rarely display the qualities that would make them effective as tools for enhancing students’ learning, and that there is a gender difference in the quality of the documents, as well as differences regarding the pupils’ academic background.     

The Radio and the Portuguese 1974 Revolution. The Military,the Radio Personnel and a Successful Cooperation

The importance of the media in the Portuguese 1974 Revolution is recognized by the military, politicians, and journalists. In this context, the major role of the radio broadcast in the course of events is undisputable. In the dawn of April 25, a popular Portuguese song was the start signal for the military coup and other counter signals followed, sounds that became symbols of the Revolution. Radio was the medium chosen by the Armed Forces Movement (MFA or Movimento das Forças Armadas in the original) to communicate with the parties involved in the coup and it was also used to inform the population of the goals and progress of the military operations. The following manoeuvres eventually transformed Radio Clube Português, one of the radio stations, in the commanding post of all the operations and the Portuguese people became aware of the MFA goals and victories by the bulletins that were broadcasted by the military on the radio. In a country with high illiteracy, radio played a crucial role in terms of information, which confirms its unquestionable centrality in the course of the April Revolution (also known as the Carnations Revolution). This study aims to explain how this process was achieved and it is based on the recollection of documents, archives, and other information. The recovery of testimonies and reconstruction of events allow us to explore the way military interacted with radio personnel and how radio logics prevailed and helped the military to successfully achieve their goals.