An Examination of College Students' Problem‐Solving Self‐Efficacy,Academic Self‐Efficacy,Motivation, Test Performance,and Expected Grade in Introductory‐Level Economics Courses

This study investigated whether self‐efficacy influenced students’ educational outcomes in introductory‐level economics courses. First, this study investigated the correlations between problem‐solving self‐efficacy, academic self‐efficacy, and motivation. Second, this study investigated whether problem‐solving and academic self‐efficacy served as predictors of students’ motivation, test performance, and expected grade. Correlational analyses suggest that problem‐solving and academic self‐efficacy are correlated with student motivation. Results show that problem‐solving self‐efficacy was a predictor of student motivation and test performance. Academic self‐efficacy and problem‐solving self‐efficacy were also predictors of their expected grade. Implications and future directions for economics education are also discussed.     

Changing resistant audience attitudes using social judgment theory’s “anchor” point perspectives

Courses: Public Speaking, Business and Professional Communication, Persuasion, or any other skill-based oral communication course.

Objectives: Students will practice the development and demonstration of persuasive arguments in this single-class social judgment theory activity to improve their ability to change resistant audience attitudes.     

Assessing collaborative computing: development of the Collaborative-Computing Observation Instrument (C-COI)

This paper describes the development, validation, and uses of the Collaborative Computing Observation Instrument (C-COI), a web-based analysis instrument that classifies individual and/or collaborative behaviors of students during computing problem-solving (e.g. coding, programming). The C-COI analyzes data gathered through video and audio screen recording software that captures students’ computer screens as they program, and their conversations with their peers or adults. The instrument allows researchers to organize and quantify these data to track behavioral patterns that could be further analyzed for deeper understanding of persistence and/or collaborative interactions. The article provides a rationale for the C-COI including the development of a theoretical framework for measuring collaborative interactions in computer-mediated environments. This theoretical framework relied on the computer-supported collaborative learning literature related to adaptive help seeking, the joint problem-solving space in which collaborative computing occurs, and conversations related to outcomes and products of computational activities. Instrument development and validation also included ongoing advisory board feedback from experts in computer science, collaborative learning, and K-12 computing as well as classroom observations to test out the constructs in the C-COI. These processes resulted in an instrument with rigorous validation procedures and a high inter-rater reliability.     

Identification,collection and consumption of weeds and wild vegetables in Mexican communities: institutionalized local ancestral indigenous knowledge as ecological literacy,place and identity

Cultural Studies of Science Education - This paper sets forth the idea that a critical aspect of the socialization process of Mexican communities is to maintain and carry-out traditional knowledge...     

Using Online Studio Groups to Improve Writing Competency: A Pilot Study in a Quality Improvement Methods Course

Communication skills are a significant contributor to an individual's success in the workplace. Unfortunately, students often have trouble expressing their ideas in written form and the poor quality of students’ written work often impedes the learning process. This pilot study investigates the use of online writing studios within a quality improvement methods course and the impact of this intervention on students’ writing competency and perceptions about the writing process. The impact of this approach on student performance is evaluated within and across semesters using comparative statistical analyses. Results show that students who participated in online writing studios performed better (i.e., at least one rubric level higher) on their final written assignments for the course compared to students who did not, and that this approach is associated with improved students’ perceptions about the writing process. This research suggests that the use of online writing studios within a content‐specific course can incrementally improve students’ writing competency over the course of one semester, and can positively affect the learning of written communication skills and change students’ perceptions about various aspects of the writing process.     

Thoracoabdominal breathing motion pattern and coordination of professional ballet dancers

Ballet training includes exercises of high and moderate intensities, which require breathing control for a good performance. This study describes the thoracoabdominal motion of professional dancers and compares the breathing patterns between professional dancers and non-dancers. Participants of this study were four male and four female (30.33 ± 4.64 years) professional dancers and four male and four female (22.75 ± 1.49 years) non-dancers. The participants executed two breathing manoeuvres while sitting motionless: quiet breathing (QB) and vital capacity (VC). The 3D coordinates of 32 retro-reflective markers positioned on the trunk were used to calculate the volume of the superior thorax, inferior thorax and abdomen. Principal component analysis was applied in the volume variation of each trunk compartment to search for dominant independent variables in a breathing motion pattern. The correlation coefficient was calculated to verify the coordination between the compartments during the breathing manoeuvres. A predominance of the superior thorax or abdomen movement was found in both groups. The professional ballet dancers have an efficient breathing pattern and maintain the same breathing pattern in QB and VC manoeuvres. On the other hand, the non-dancers group showed relevant changes of the breathing pattern to respond to a greater breathing effort, like in VC.     

Evolution of the Brazilian Publishing Market

The Brazilian economy grows day by day, but when and how the country will reach its potential as a reader market, is still is a challenge for companies established in the country and for those which wish to plant its flags there. Looking at its recent past and the current transformations, it is possible to imagine that this time for success is pretty closer.     

La psicomotricidad en la escuela

RESUMEN

La psicomotricidad juega un papel muy importante en el desarrollo neuropsicológico del niño. En España los planteamientos de la Educación Psicomotriz han estado orientados hacia la reeducación y la terapia. En consecuencia, se hace necesario integrar la Educación Psicomotriz dentro del contexto escolar, desde los primeros años.     

Building career capital through further study in Australia and Singapore

In modern society, individuals are having to assume increasing responsibility for their own career trajectories. One of the key ways in which individuals can engage in such ‘career self-management’ is by taking up learning opportunities through further study. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to explore, using the conceptual framework of career capital, ways in which samples of adults in Australia and Singapore perceive that they are self-managing and leveraging their careers through continuing education, and the nature of the career capital they are accumulating. It draws on data from two different research projects undertaken in Australia and Singapore. These projects involved individuals who had undertaken studies in two different educational sectors: the academic and the vocational. Australian respondents (n=190) had studied in both the vocational education and training (VET) and the higher education (HE) sectors; Singaporean respondents (n=101) had graduated from both the formal tertiary education (PET) and the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) sectors. Data were gathered through online surveys and in-depth interviews. Based on the reports from these samples, the study found that the building of career capital was being played out relatively consistently despite educational, political and cultural differences, but that different emphases were placed on the types of career capital, with ‘knowing-how’ the most important.     

A teaching accompaniment and development model: possibilities and challenges for teaching and learning centers

ABSTRACT

We propose a ‘1-to-1’ accompaniment and teaching development model emerging from the analysis and reflection of professional experience at a Teaching and Learning Center in a Chilean university. We highlight the relevance of the bond between professor and adviser and the establishment of a horizontal relationship, where both work collaboratively on the achievement of common objectives. This means breaking away from the classic view of the counseling process, where aspects of discipline and context are not necessarily considered. Despite size scalability issues, this model is flexible in its applicability and is adaptable to different university contexts. The implementation of this model is still under development, particularly in its evaluation phase.