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.     

Nutzenorientierte Grundlagenforschung im Bildungsbereich

In diesem Beitrag werden zentrale Themen einer internationalen Diskussion aufgegriffen, die sich in den letzten Jahren ausgehend vom Befund der mangelnden Anwendung von Forschungsergebnissen im Bildungsbereich entsponnen hat. Drei Typen von L?sungsvorschl?gen für dieses Problem werden unterschieden: (1) Positionen, die vor allem methodische Strenge empfehlen, wie etwa der Bericht „Scientific Inquiry in Education“ des US-amerikanischen National Research Council, (2) Ans?tze wie die Design-Forschung oder der Integrative Forschungsansatz, die praxisrelevantere Erkenntnisse durch ver?nderte Forschungsstrategien anstreben, und (3) ingenieurwissenschaftlich beeinflusste Vorschl?ge für Mechanismen, wie Forschungsergebnisse in die breite Anwendung gebracht werden k?nnen. Abschlie?end werden Konsequenzen und offene Diskussionspunkte für die Forschung im Bildungsbereich benannt.     

Drinking at Work: The Portrayal of Alcohol in Workplace-Related TV Dramas

This study analyzed the portrayal of alcohol in the most popular workplace-related TV dramas. Based on social cognitive theory, we coded the extent and context of all alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverage appearances as well as character-beverage interaction. Motivations to drink, topic, portrayed outcomes related to alcohol, and the characteristics of models associated with alcohol were also analyzed. More than 90% of the episodes contained depictions or references to alcohol. Although less alcohol was portrayed at the workplace compared to other locations, still nearly one third of all consumed beverages at work were alcoholic. Regardless of the location, character–beverage interaction was more likely for alcoholic than nonalcoholic beverages. The main motivation to drink alcohol was social ease, and only a few outcomes of alcohol consumption were presented. Overall, findings suggest that television dramas convey the image that alcohol at the workplace is ubiquitous, socially accepted, and without many serious consequences. Implications for mass communication and society are discussed.     

‘Invest in your children's education the way you invest in your goats’: systemic educational intervention in a traditional bedouin community – from theory into practice

Effective plans for educational change in a heterogeneous and culturally diverse society are still debatable. This study describes the author's experience, success and pitfalls, in applying a systemic and holistic intervention plan to the education system of a large Bedouin village in northern Israel. The village was included in the Ministry of Education project because of its pupils' low achievement level and high dropout rate. The villagers differed from the intervention group–in ethnic origin, culture, religion (Moslems) and worldview. The Project's intervention model established a dynamic continuous dialogue between the academic world, local teachers, parents and formal community leaders, by delegating responsibilities, creating a specific curricula constructed for a the Bedouin population to be couched in intelligible language and concepts. The article highlights the village's micro/macro-politics, and the ethical issues the Project team encountered regarding the conflict between the modern, democratic, western society aims for progress and equality versus the traditional forces striving to preserve the traditions of a community in the throes of an acute culture conflict.     

Explanation-Construction in Fourth-Grade Classrooms in Germany and the USA: A cross-national comparative video study

To help explain the differences in students' performance on internationally administered science assessments, cross-national, video-based observational studies have been advocated, but none have yet been conducted at the elementary level for science. The USA and Germany are two countries with large formal education systems whose students underperform those from peers on internationally administered standardized science assessments. However, evidence from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Exam assessment suggests fourth-grade students (9–10 year-olds) in the USA perform higher than those in Germany, despite more instructional time devoted to elementary science in Germany. The purpose of this study is to comparatively analyze fourth-grade classroom science in both countries to learn more about how teachers and students engage in scientific inquiry, particularly explanation-construction. Videorecordings of US and German science instruction (n _1?=?42, n _2?=?42) were sampled from existing datasets and analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Despite German science lessons being, on average, twice as long as those in the USA, study findings highlight many similarities between elementary science in terms of scientific practices and features of scientific inquiry. However, they also illustrate crucial differences around the scientific practice of explanation-construction. While students in German classrooms were afforded more substantial opportunities to formulate evidence-based explanations, US classrooms were more strongly characterized by opportunities for students to actively compare and evaluate evidence-based explanations. These factors may begin to help account for observed differences in student achievement and merit further study grounded in international collaboration.