Supervision of master theses based on Scrum: A case study

Education and Information Technologies - The success rate of a master program on Information Systems and Computer Engineering (MEIC) in a Portuguese university is very unsatisfactory, showing that...     

Teachers’, Students’ and Parents’ Attitudes Towards Disruptive Behaviour Problems in High School: a case study

The present study maps the attitudes towards students’ disruptive behaviour as part of the school discipline. Research studies on the subject usually examine the attitudes of one or two groups of relevant subjects, that is, teachers, parents or students. As teachers, students and parents do share a common milieu, the relationship of their attitudes towards student misbehaviour is important in the crystallisation of such discipline. The present study is innovative in that all three groups were examined simultaneously in one school. A standardised questionnaire was designed for all three groups which identified typical disruptive behaviour by adolescent students. The study was conducted in a centre for technological education in Central Israel which caters, especially, for low‐achieving students. Findings reveal large gaps among the three groups. While teachers seem to agree among themselves as to the severity of most of the disruptive behaviour problems at school, students and parents were found to disagree among themselves on the severity of most of the examined issues. Differences among the groups indicate a possible source for the emergence of student disruptive behaviour problems. Findings also suggest that there is a need for increased involvement of both parents and students in discipline‐related issues in the school.     

Examination of the Six Minute Walk Test to Determine Functional Capacity in People with Chronic Heart Failure: A Systematic Review

Purpose: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the six-minute walk test (6MWT) with respect to its ability to predict functional capacity in patients with chronic heart failure. Methods: A systematic review was performed via 8 databases to assess relevant English language full-text articles published from January 1, 1980 to October 31, 2009. Participant characteristics, interventions, reliability, validity, and predictive value for each article with respect to functional capacity as defined by peak VO₂ levels were extracted and compared. Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS) scores were determined for each study. Results: Fourteen studies met the selection criteria. Comparison of the studies investigating reliability shows that the 6MWT has good reproducibility. The 6MWT demonstrates moderate correlation with peak VO₂ levels, and ability to predict VO₂ (functional capacity) dependent on distance walked. Cut-off distances vary from 300 to 490 meters depending on the study; if total distance walked remains equal or less than these values, the 6MWT retains its strong predictive value. Conclusion: The 6MWT has good reliability, moderate validity, and a significant ability to predict functional capacity in patients with CHF who do not walk greater than 490 meters.Key Words: six-minute walk test, chronic heart failure, functional capacity, peak VO₂     

Media Literacy in Support of Critical Thinking

One of the main aims of the Education agenda in the last decade has been to develop critical thinking (C. T.) in children, in order to educate them to be active, involved citizens in democratic society. Different Media Literacy (M.L.) studies explore C.T. towards media texts by cultivating the pupils’ ability to respond critically to both surface and underlying media messages. This paper discusses partial results of a research study designed to examine the support provided by an M.L. program in the development of C.T. of pupils aged 10‐12 years in northern Israel. The resulting data demonstrate that M.L. programmatic intervention and its long‐term cumulative effect were two important factors underlying the significant differences found among the test groups. An interesting variable was also found which explained the superior results of the low achievements pupils (as evaluated by their teachers) compared with the less pronounced gains found among the high achievement pupils. Finally the paper asks theoretical questions about the extent to which a young critical thinker is capable of skeptical reflection towards media texts.     

Collaboration in Visual Culture Learning Communities: Towards a Synergy of Individual and Collective Creative Practice

A visual culture learning community (VCLC) is an adolescent or young adult group engaged in expression and creation outside of formal institutions and without adult supervision. In the framework of an international, comparative research project executed between 2010 and 2014, members of a variety of eight self‐initiated visual culture groups ranging from manga and cosplay through contemporary art forms, fanart video, graffiti and cosplay in five urban areas (Amsterdam, Budapest, Chicago, Helsinki and Hong Kong) were studied through interview, participant observation and analysis of art works. In this article, collaborative group practices and processes in informal learning environments are presented through results of on‐site observations, interviews and analyses of creations. VCLCs are identified as inspiring, collaborative spaces of peer mentoring that enhance both visual skills and self‐esteem. Authors reveal how identity formation is interrelated with networking and knowledge sharing. Adolescents and young adults become participants of global communities of their creative genres through reinterpretation and individualisation of shared visual repertoires. In conclusion, implications for art education from the VCLC model for creative collaboration are suggested.     

Promoting Student-Centered Learning Using iPads in a Grade 1 Classroom: Using the Digital Didactic Framework to Deconstruct Instruction

In this qualitative case study, we provide a series of vignettes illustrating a Grade 1 teacher's experiences integrating iPad technology into her instruction over a school year. We use the digital didactic model to deconstruct these vignettes and draw upon the teacher's reflections to gain further insights about her instructional experiences using iPads. We highlight the effective use of cognitive, affective, and technical scaffolding for encouraging students to take risks, explore multiple solution paths, and become independent learners. We emphasize the criticality of student-centered learning environments for collaboration and knowledge sharing and discuss how iPads can be integrated into the curriculum.     

El lenguaje y las matemáticas en la propuesta curricular para la educación infantil del Department d'Ensenyament de la Generalitat de Catalunya

La propuesta curricular de la Generalitat de Catalunya y el modelo curricular de la LOGSE son dos realizaciones sucesivas, y por ese orden, del mismo planteamiento. Incluimos aquí esta propuesta curricular como la primera de otras posibles que versen sobre el tratamiento que reciben los códigos de representación en la reforma que viene y como un elemento mas del debate científico-profesional al que desde ahora invitamos a nuestros lectores.     

Threshold concept theory as an enabling constraint: a facilitated practitioner action research study

International interest is growing in how threshold concept theory can transform tertiary teaching and learning. A facilitated practitioner action research project investigating the potential of threshold concepts across several disciplines offers a practical contribution and helps to consolidate this international field of research. In this article we show how a focus on threshold concept theory enabled tertiary teachers to work collaboratively to investigate tertiary pedagogical practices. The purpose of the article is to argue that threshold concept theory can serve as a guiding principle of pedagogical design. The article draws on findings from a research study conducted over two years by a team consisting of five practitioner researchers in four disciplines and two educational researchers who facilitated the inquiry. The act of constraining the research to thresholds, both in and across different fields, enabled the team to intensify discipline-specific insights and to explore wider cross-disciplinary links and differences. A threshold-constrained focus entailed making specific discipline, knowledge management, and pedagogic practices explicit to ourselves as individual practitioners and comprehensible enough to enable conversations with colleagues from other disciplines. As a result of the research, we argue that threshold-concept thinking enables three processes: usefully unsettling the meaning of being a disciplinary expert; providing a structured framework for both disciplinary and cross-disciplinary knowledge and learning; and intensifying insight into curricular content and teaching methods. We also provide an account of how the collaborative action research sparked fresh experiments, searches for new data, and reflections on the impact of threshold concepts on individual disciplines and beyond.