Rolling: A new technique for the practical teaching in computer science university degree

In this paper we describe a new methodology for practical teaching in the Computer Science University Degree. The methodology is based on the Rolling technique. This technique consists in assign, in a rotary process, tasks, activities and responsibilities to students along an established calendar with the aim of developing a software product. Practical teaching is supported by a student-teacher contract that describes the goal, rules, plan with stages and activities, responsibilities and even the assessment method. Students are organized in groups and teams, emulating a company organization. They develop all the activities of the software engineering process in order to obtain a commercial product (the goal). In this process, students take different responsibilities over the software verification and validation, activities and tasks, and over groups and teams leadership. Along the teaching process, comprehensive information about the working team, time invested, deliverables in each stage, and work/students assessment is gathered. The methodology has been tested for 4 years at the University of Córdoba and the results, described in this paper, have shown an improvement in the students learning as well as in the acquisition of attitudes and skills mandatory for their professional development.     

Dynamics of Acculturation, Enculturation, and Ethnic Identity: Influence of Psychocultural Constructs on Conscientiousness and Expectations of Higher Education Among Latinos

This study investigated the influence of psychocultural variables (e.g., acculturation, enculturation, ethnic identity) and personality characteristics in relation to educational expectations among 345 Latino middle school students in the U.S. Results from a path model indicate that 24.4?% of the variance of educational expectations was accounted for by all predictor variables included in the model. Age, acculturation, and conscientiousness had statistically significant direct effects on educational expectations. Findings also show that elements of ethnic identity and conscientiousness mediated the association from acculturation and enculturation to educational expectations. Implications of the findings for counselors are addressed.     

Purposeful play during learning centre time: from curriculum to practice

This article explores the correspondence between the vision of play articulated in Singapore’s national kindergarten curriculum framework and the play-related pedagogies enacted by teachers on the ground, particularly during Learning Centre Time (LCT). Influenced by neo-liberal ways of thinking, the curriculum states that purposeful play is a medium to achieve intended learning outcomes. The study is part of a longitudinal project where 108 Kindergarten 1 classrooms were videotaped during a full ‘typical day’ (3–4 h). While learning centres were set up in all classrooms, only 36 LCT episodes were identified. Certain learning centre types (literacy, arts) were more common than others (numeracy, science), and time spent by teachers in the different centres varied widely. Children were allowed limited freedom of choice while playing in learning centres, and some were even required to complete assignments. While teachers tended to adopt facilitative roles, quality of instructional support provided to children was low. We conclude that pedagogical practices during LCT in the observed classrooms do not adequately reflect the curriculum’s vision of purposeful play. This theory/practice gap might be due to curriculum expectations, teacher-related factors (beliefs, lack of preparation) and parental pressures. Implications, limitations and lines for future research are discussed.     

Social Support,Psychological Well-being,and Health Among the Elderly

This article is based on the influence that participation in the Third Age University Program has on the health and well-being of the elderly and with the mediation of social support. The data were obtained from a longitudinal study of 147 elderly students of the Third Age University of Seville (Spain). The hypothesis was that the elders who belong to the program would have, as a consequence of their participation in it, better health, well-being, and social support. The results revealed the influence that social support exercises on well-being and, as a result, upon health.     

Beyond decoding deficit: inhibitory effect of positional syllable frequency in dyslexic Spanish children

This study explores whether activation and inhibition word processes contribute to the characteristic speed deficits found in transparent orthographies (Wimmer, Appl Psycholinguist 14:1–33, 1993). A second and fourth grade sample of normal school readers and dyslexic school readers participated in a lexical decision task. Words were manipulated according to two factors: word frequency (high vs. low) and syllable frequency (high vs. low). It has been repeatedly found that words with high-frequency syllables require extra time for deactivating the lexical syllabic neighbors: the so-called inhibitory effect of positional frequency syllable (Carreiras et al., J Mem Lang 32:766–780, 1993). We hypothesized that dyslexic readers would show a stronger inhibitory effect than normal readers because they are slower decoders and they may also be slower at the activation and inhibition of word representations that are competing (i.e., syllabic candidates). Results indicated an interaction between word and syllable frequency (i.e., a strong inhibitory effect was found in the low-frequency word condition). According to our hypothesis, the inhibitory effect size was almost three times bigger in dyslexics than in the normal readers. This difference shows an alteration, not a developmental lag. Interestingly, the inhibitory effect size did not interact with school grade. Thus, reading experience did not impact the lexical processes involved on the inhibitory effect. Our outcomes showed how activation and/or inhibition of lexical processes can contribute to the lack of speed beyond decoding deficit.     

Swirling Students: Articulation Between A Major Community College District and a State-Supported Research University

As the country experiences a recession and institutions of higher education increase tuition to compensate for diminishing state support, the transferability of credits among and between institutions is essential to students seeking to earn a baccalaureate degree. Students, parents, and taxpayers cannot afford to pay twice for the same courses or for additional courses. In this environment, articulation becomes a very important issue, particularly when research has shown that a significant number of students enroll in more than one institution on their path to a degree. The focus of this article is the swirling students between the Maricopa Community Colleges and Arizona State University. Swirling students, also a national phenomenon, encounter a number of challenges that institutions need to address. The history of articulation agreements in Arizona was explored to provide insight into the transfer model available to students enrolled at the Maricopa Community Colleges and Arizona State University. The data revealed that the extent of student swirl is greater than initially anticipated and transcends beyond lower division coursework into the senior year. After considering the findings and conclusions based on the data, this article concludes that transparent institutional intentionality is imperative to effective articulation agreements that accommodate student swirl.     

Individual Differences in Categorical Perception Are Related to Sublexical/Phonological Processing in Reading

This article examines the relationship between individual differences in speech perception and sublexical/phonological processing in reading. We used an auditory phoneme identification task in which a?/ba/-/pa/?syllable continuum measured sensitivity to classify participants into three performance groups: poor, medium, and good categorizers. A lexical decision task manipulated syllable and word frequency. We found that the two tasks were associated. Poor categorizers did not present the typical syllable frequency effect; however, the other groups were sensitive to phonological information to differing degrees and showed the inhibitory syllable frequency effect only for low-frequency words. These results suggest that auditory phoneme identification efficiency may be related to the sublexical processes involved in reading words.     

Knowledge,Belief, and Science Education

This article intends to show that the defense of “understanding” as one of the major goals of science education can be grounded on an anti-reductionist perspective on testimony as a source of knowledge. To do so, we critically revisit the discussion between Harvey Siegel and Alvin Goldman about the goals of science education, especially where it involves arguments based on the epistemology of testimony. Subsequently, we come back to a discussion between Charbel N. El-Hani and Eduardo Mortimer, on the one hand, and Michael Hoffmann, on the other, striving to strengthen the claim that rather than students’ belief change, understanding should have epistemic priority as a goal of science education. Based on these two lines of discussion, we conclude that the reliance on testimony as a source of knowledge is necessary to the development of a more large and comprehensive scientific understanding by science students.     

Book clubs: an ethnographic study of an innovative reading practice in Spain

The most innovative reading practices currently rely on the paradigm of dialogic reading. Book clubs, literary gatherings and study circles are emerging in different social spaces to promote reading and literary discussion amongst adults, and libraries, bookshops, cultural centres, etc. are increasingly developing strategies in this direction. Despite the vast development of reading clubs throughout Spain, empirical research on this phenomenon is still at the embryonic stage. This paper queries the ability of this practice to encourage the pleasure of reading, as well as civic and literary education. The results, obtained from an ethnographic study of nine book club meetings and six key informant interviews, show that the discussions contribute to: (1) developing a taste for reading, literature and reading habits; (2) fostering debate about values and learning about personal experiences related to the stories covered in the various readings; and (3) learning academic skills that go beyond the scope of an informal literary analysis. The main conclusion of our study is that book club meetings generate a very favourable context for literary analysis, as they foster reading innovation and the cultivation of literature, as well as promoting values education and adult learning from a dialogic perspective.     

New Approaches to University in Spain: Academic Change,Creative Dimensions and Ethical Commitment in the Establishment of the European Higher Education Area

This paper discusses the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), its creation, its guidelines, and its inherently innovative potential. It looks closely at the theoretical proposals, the innovative regulations and institutional practices in the process of academic change that relate to teaching, research and management. It also describes the emergence of creative processes in quality assurance and methodological renewal. These bring new professional challenges and educational opportunities to the fore; challenges which raise ethical issues for those involved in these approaches to universities in Spain and the European Union.