Automated summary evaluation with inbuilt rubric method: An alternative to constructed responses and multiple-choice tests assessments

Automated summary evaluation is proposed as an alternative to rubrics and multiple-choice tests in knowledge assessment. Inbuilt rubric is a recent Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) method that implements rubrics in an artificially-generated semantic space. It was compared with classical LSA’s cosine-based methods assessing knowledge in a within-subjects design regarding two validation sources: a comparison with the results of rubric scores and multiple-choice tests, and the sensitivity of predicting the academic level of the test-taker. Results showed a higher reliability for inbuilt rubric (from Pearson correlation coefficient .81 to .49) over the classical LSA method (from .61 to .34), and a higher sensitivity using binary logistic regressions and effect sizes to predict academic level. It is concluded that inbuilt rubric has a qualitatively higher reliability and validity than classical LSA methods in a way that is complementary to models based on semantic networks. Thus, it is concluded that new automated summary evaluation approaches such as the inbuilt rubric method can be practical in terms of reliability and efficiency, and, thus, they can offer an affordable and valuable form of knowledge assessment in different educational levels.     

The new educational pluralism in Latin America

Conclusion Education is, however, already beginning to reflect the whole range of pluralisms that constitute the relatively complex, urbanized and semi-industrialized societies of most of Latin America.Modernity in these societies assumes the form of cultural pluralism with a centrifugal and fragmented social basis, in which deep divisions of class and social strata still exist alongside emerging tensions due to the spread of markets, privatization in civil society, the disintegration of the traditional state, the rapid internationalization of communications and expectations, and the consolidation of liberal-democratic regimes that enable all this diversity to be expressed more freely.The new pluralism of Latin American education has therefore more to do with the modernization of societies and their cultures than with the more restrictive notion of complementarity among well-structured socio-cultural elements that fight to preserve their identity and that attain a form of expression recognized by the state in the field of education. The latter type of pluralism, found in more stable and better structured societies, is replaced in Latin America by a more fluid and ambiguous educational pluralism which, in the final analysis, reflects a process of construction of modernity that began only recently but is now in full swing. Specialist in the sociology of education. Professor-researcher at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), vice-president of the Chilean Higher Council of Education, where he chaired the Presidential Study Commission on Higher Education. Member of the Executive Committee of the Latin American Social Sciences Council. His most recent books are: Educación superior en América latina: cambios y desafíos (1990), Chile: transformaciones culturales y modernidad(1989), and Recursos humanos para la investigación en América latina (1989).     

Characterising lesson planning: a case study with mathematics teachers

ABSTRACT

The quality of students’ learning experience depends on the learning activities that their teachers plan prior to classroom delivery. This article characterises the lesson planning practices of a group of 27 mathematics teachers. The questionnaire and the associated information coding and analysis procedures designed for that purpose may be applicable to lesson planning characterisation involving larger groups of teachers and of other disciplines. Some of the study group’s needs and difficulties are established. One of the observations discussed is that planning procedures and criteria tend to be generic rather than specific to the lesson at issue. Another is that these teachers’ vision of planning does not necessarily ensure a coordinated approach to all curricular dimensions.     

Satisfaction with Higher Education: critical data for student development

Higher education is a mainstay in the development and support of the economic, social and cultural development of the global society. Throughout history, academic institutions have sought to respond to the demands of endlessly changing and evolving environmental conditions. However, in the 21st century, a number of significant factors are changing the higher education landscape and challenging higher education institutions (HEIs) to interpret the vital needs of contemporary society to stimulate and enhance student development. Student development is an all-embracing concept that involves research focusing on students from recruitment to placement. Assuming that meeting student needs and stimulating and enhancing their development are crucial challenges for higher education institutions worldwide, the article focuses on a national study in Portugal designed to measure students’ expectations and satisfaction with their experience. On the basis of a nationwide survey, it examines these in the various types of higher education institutions in Portugal.     

Implementing Key Competences in Basic Education: reflections on curriculum design and development in Spain

The concept of competence is a recent introduction into the curricula of the Spanish education system, and applies to vocational training and university, but also to basic education. In both cases, the meaning and use of the term have differed, sometimes giving rise to confusion. There can be no doubt, however, that this incorporation has been of significant impact. On the one hand, it has generated considerable debate between those who consider the concept to respond to economistic arguments, removed from educational realities, and those who believe it to have a transformation potential that cannot be ignored. On the other, incorporation of the concept is leading to a series of modifications in school practices and in teaching and learning with whose consequences we are not yet acquainted. This article analyses the situation created by the introduction of key competences in Spanish compulsory education and seeks to gauge the potential this offers for improving opportunities for success at school. The authors believe that key competences are a reformulation of educational intentions, whose consequences for schools and teaching practices largely depend on the new interpretation of learning in the light of different approaches and research traditions.