Meeting the needs of teachers and students within the CESAR training system

Computers seem to be an unquestionably useful tool to support the learning process, although positive students' and teachers' attitude towards the system is required to guarantee a successful introduction of new technologies in traditional classrooms. Training or exercises provide the students with the challenge of using their knowledge to solve concrete problems, so that they incite students to participate actively. Training can be adapted to different learning styles in order to strengthen student involvement. Moreover, tools to adapt the didactic material to several educational methods must be provided, in such a way that teachers consider the system a helpful tool rather than a substitute. Taking into account the foregoing, this paper describes a training system to create and use exercises in a hypermedia learning environment for hearing-impaired children called CESAR.     

On our way to the European higher education space A proposal for a teaching guide for the management control course in the business management and administration degree

In order to adapt curricula to the new European system of credits, ECTS （European Credit Transfer System）, it is necessary to previously elaborate a teaching guide. The teaching guide clarifies the subject syllabus making it easier for learners to understand, sets objectives related to the competencies and skills to be acquired, plans activities that should be developed according to new objectives and analyzes the learner workload that involved in these activities. This paper proposes a teaching guide written by the lecturers of management control, a fifth year subject in the Business Management and Administration Degree. For its elaboration, we followed the guidelines in the White Book sponsored by the Spanish National Agency for the Evaluation of Quality and Accreditation, as well as the guidelines for specific curricula used in the institution, together with the lecturers＇ experience and knowledge in this field.     

Justification and Persuasion about Cloning: Arguments in Hwang’s Paper and Journalistic Reported Versions

We examine the argumentative structure of Hwang et al.’s (2004) paper about human somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT, or ‘therapeutic cloning’), contrasted with four Journalistic Reported Versions (JRV) of it, and with students’ summaries of one JRV. As the evaluation of evidence is one of the critical features of argumentation (Jiménez-Aleixandre 2008), the analysis focuses on the use of evidence, drawing from instruments to analyze written argumentation (Kelly et al. 2008) and from studies about the structure of empirical research reports (Swales 2001). The objectives are: 1) To examine the use of evidence and the argumentative structure of Hwang et al.’s Science, 303: 1669–1674 (2004) original paper in terms of the criteria: a) pertinence of the evidence presented to the claims; b) sufficiency of the evidence for the purpose of supporting the claims; and c) coordination of the evidence across epistemic levels. 2) To explore how the structure of Hwang’s paper translates into the JRV and into university students’ perceptions about the evidence supporting the claims. The argumentative structure of Hwang’s paper is such that its apparently ostensible main claim about NT constitutes a justification for a second claim about its therapeutic applications, for which no evidence is offered. However, this second claim receives prominent treatment in the JRV and in the students’ summaries. Implications for promoting critical reading in the classroom are discussed.     

Supporting Teaching and Learning Using Authentic Scientific Texts: A Rejoinder to Danielle J. Ford

In her commentary Danielle J. Ford mainly focused on three issues that highlight the promises and challenges for the use of Adapted Primary Literature (APL) in science curricula: the possible contribution of APL to authentic experiences in secondary schools, implementation issues of APL including the support required for the teachers, and the possibilities to extend the use of APL to younger and older students. In this rejoinder, we first offer some general comments on Ford’s commentary. Then we offer more specific comments on two areas of her response, authenticity and the support for teachers.     

Teaching methodologies at university and their relationship with the development of transversal competences / Metodologías de enseñanza en la universidad y su relación con el desarrollo de competencias transversales

This paper aims to understand the use of different methodologies and their relationship with the development of transversal competencies within higher education. A total of 1,137 final-year undergraduate students from the University of Murcia participated in this study, and the data collection instrument used is the CECTGRA questionnaire designed ad hoc. Among the most noteworthy results is the prevalence of lectures compared with other more active methodologies and the perception that the development of transversal competencies could be improved. A positive correlation is obtained between the use of active methodologies and the successful development of different types of competencies. This work invites reflection on the methodologies used by university teachers to develop transversal competencies and the reconsideration of their educational practice.     

Accelerated Schools for Quality Education: A Hong Kong Perspective

This article addresses the application of the Accelerated Schools Project (ASP) model in Hong Kong, as well as specific aspects of implementation in two schools. One lesson from the localized project, the Accelerated Schools for Quality Education (ASPQE), is that change is slow. This suggests that time should be given for both cultural change and building communities of inquiry, especially in cases where the staff may not be initially receptive of school reform models such as the Accelerated Schools Project. A second important lesson is that the commitment of the principal and a core group is critical for change.     

PIAAC results on opportunities for informal learning in the workplace in Spain / Resultados PIAAC sobre las oportunidades para el aprendizaje informal en el puesto de trabajo en España

This article uses data from the PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competences) Background Questionnaire to describe conditions related to informal learning (IL) in the workplace and opportunities to learn informally in organizations in Spain. PIAAC data indicate that in Spain, informal learning processes in organizations are a common, everyday practice. However, some differences have been found in the intensity of this learning by gender, the position that the employee occupies and the business sector in which the organization is framed. This study opens some future avenues to develop further knowledge about IL mechanisms and practices in the workplace, as a strategy to help towards the development of people and organizations.     

Influence of eye movements,auditory perception,and phonemic awareness in the reading process

The authors' aim was to analyze the relationship of eye movements, auditory perception, and phonemic awareness with the reading process. The instruments used were the King-Devick Test (saccade eye movements), the PAF test (auditory perception), the PFC (phonemic awareness), the PROLEC-R (lexical process), the Canals reading speed test, and the ACL-1 (reading comprehension). The sample was composed of 52 first-year primary school pupils. After the correlational analysis, results indicate that all of these factors correlate in reading (lexical process, speed, and word comprehension). Moreover, the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test reveals that children with saccade eye movements and auditory perception problems obtain lower reading levels. In addition, children with lexical problems obtain a lower level of phonemic awareness. Given the importance of these variables, the authors conclude with a proposal of neuropsychological activities to improve reading skills.     

Learning design and learning analytics in mobile and ubiquitous learning: A systematic review

Mobile and Ubiquitous Learning (m/u-learning) are finding an increasing adoption in education. They are often distinguished by hybrid learning environments that encompass elements of formal and informal learning, in activities that happen in distributed settings (indoors and outdoors), across physical and virtual spaces. Despite their purported benefits, these environments imply additional complexity in the design, monitoring and evaluation of learning activities. The research literature on learning design (LD) and learning analytics (LA) has started to deal with these issues. This paper presents a systematic literature review of LD and LA, in m/u-learning. Apart from providing an overview of the current research in the field, this review elicits elements of common ground between both communities, as shown by the similar learning contexts and complementary research contributions, and based on the research gaps, proposes to: address m/u-learning beyond higher education settings, reinforce the connection between physical and virtual learning spaces, and more systematically align LD and LA processes.