Students’ Conceptions of Ionisation Energy: A Cross‐cultural Study

Previous studies have indicated that A‐level students in the UK and Singapore have difficulty learning the topic of ionisation energy. A two‐tier multiple‐choice instrument developed in Singapore in an earlier study, the Ionisation Energy Diagnostic Instrument, was administered to A‐level students in the UK, advanced placement high school students in the USA, and first‐year university students in China, New Zealand, and Spain to determine whether the students from different countries and educational systems had similar conceptions and difficulties as the students in Singapore with the concepts assessed in the instrument. The results showed that, in general, the students in all six samples had similar alternative conceptions, which were grouped under the categories of octet rule framework, stable fully‐filled and half‐filled subshell conceptions, and conservation of force thinking. The students also resorted to relation‐based thinking when answering items involving the trend of ionisation energies across Period 3. Implications for teaching and further research are discussed.     

Actitudes de los maestros hacia la integración escolar de niños con necesidades especiales

Resumen

Se hace un estudio de las variables que afectan a las actitudes de los maestros hacia la integración escolar de niños con necesidades especiales en dieciséis centros educativos normales de la provincia de Guipúzcoa.

No se encuentran relaciones entre las actitudes de los maestros y el sexo, la lengua materna, tipo de centro, nivel de apoyo administrativo o técnico, tiempo de contacto con los niños (tiempo de integración). Sí que se observan relaciones significativas entre las variables actitudes y las variables número de alumnos por aula, actividades extraescolares, información, diagnóstico, nivel educativo, edad de los maestros.

En general, no obstante, las actitudes tienden a ser positivas.

Se analizan y discuten los resultados y se recoge la importancia de una consideración multidimensional del estudio de las actitudes de los maestros hacia la integración escolar de niños con necesidades especiales.     

Razonamiento silogístico e interpretación de premisas: un estudio evolutivo

Resumen

Los errores en el razonamiento silogístico han sido explicados bien en términos de interpretaciones y combinaciones erróneas de los significados de las premisas, bien a causa de sesgos de respuestas producidos por los rasgos lingüísticos superficiales de las premisas. En el presente estudio se postula la actuación de ambos tipos de factores. En el experimento se presenta, a sujetos de cuatro niveles de edad diferentes, una tarea de razonamiento silogístico seguida de otra tarea de verificación de premisas mediante diagramas de Euler. Los resultados muestran, con algunos matices, una mejora en la actuación de los sujetos con la misma edad en ambas tareas. Asimismo confirman las hipótesis planteadas tanto en la prueba de razonamiento como en la de interpretación. Estos resultados suponen una crítica a los modelos secuenciales lineales que ignoran la interacción entre las fases de codificación e interferencia. También apoyan la existencia de un proceso general de simplificación de la tarea que, junto con la tendencia a conclusiones “espontáneas” debidas a una codificación lingüística superficial, explicaría los errores de los sujetos.     

String formatting considered harmful for novice programmers

In Java, System.out.printf and String.format consume a specialised kind of string commonly known as a format string. In our study of first-year students at the Ateneo de Manila University, we discovered that format strings present a substantial challenge for novice programmers. Focusing on their first laboratory we found that 8% of all the compilation errors and 100% of the exceptional, run-time behaviour they encountered were due to the improper construction of format strings. Format strings are a language unto themselves embedded within Java, and they are difficult for novice programmers to master when learning to program. In this article, we present exemplars of students' problematic interactions with the Java compiler and run-time environment when dealing with format strings, discuss these interactions, and recommend possible instructional interventions based on our observations.     

Mapping citation patterns of book chapters in the Book Citation Index

In this paper we provide the reader with a visual representation of relationships among the impact of book chapters indexed in the Book Citation Index using information gain values and published by different academic publishers in specific disciplines. The impact of book chapters can be characterized statistically by citations histograms. For instance, we can compute the probability of occurrence of book chapters with a number of citations in different intervals for each academic publisher. We predict the similarity between two citation histograms based on the amount of relative information between such characterizations. We observe that the citation patterns of book chapters follow a Lotkaian distribution. This paper describes the structure of the Book Citation Index using ‘heliocentric clockwise maps’ which allow the reader not only to determine the grade of similarity of a given academic publisher indexed in the Book Citation Index with a specific discipline according to their citation distribution, but also to easily observe the general structure of a discipline, identifying the publishers with higher impact and output.     

School in the (im)possibility of future: Utopia and its territorialities

Abstract

Utopia makes itself heard as Raphael voices a critique of who we are and configures that no-where which, paradoxically, we want to reach. We look to Deleuze and Guattari when we say that that critique can be envisioned as resistance to the present. In the passage from no-where to now-here, we revisit the territories of utopia as critique of our times, as a way to approach the question of who we are and who we want to be. In our view, education still rests on the image of a future that unfolds in the encounter with others. Education and its need/potential to enable tomorrows, to invent promises that look to places of desire, spaces that take shape as heterotopias. The notion of utopia is strained at root because defined as a no-where. At school, it is bound to the potential to create new possibilities and alternatives for life in the here and now. In this article, we will grapple with the work we do in university classrooms and in educational institutions in the slums on the outskirts of the city of Buenos Aires as a gateway from which to envision and to problematize the world. From there, we will approach the voices where other possibilities are conquered and other spaces created on the basis of the unpredictable, voices rooted in education and the need for it that produce and produce themselves in the tensions of that (im)possibility. In sum, wording the world as creation of worlds.     

Does the detection of misunderstanding lead to its revision?

When dealing with complex conceptual systems, low-prior- knowledge learners develop fragmentary and incorrect understanding. To learn complex topics deeply, these learners have to (a) monitor understanding to detect flaws and (b) generate explanations to revise and repair the flaws. In this research we explored if the detection of a flaw in understanding does lead to the generation of a revising explanation or, alternatively, if there is some independence between the two processes. In two studies participants with low prior domain knowledge learned about plate tectonics from a multimedia presentation. In Study 1 participants in two conditions received support for detection and their performance was compared to that of participants in two control conditions, one receiving no support and another one receiving support for both detection and revision. Performance on retention, transfer, and distortions revealed that the conditions with support for detection were not different from that with no support. The condition with support for both detection and revision was significantly better than all others. In Study 2 participants thought aloud while studying from the presentation. Self-generated detections were not correlated with revising explanations or with performance on retention or transfer measures. Overall, the results indicate that the detection of flaws in understanding does not necessarily lead to the generation of explanations to repair the flaws, meaning that this latter process is very difficult to execute and calls for instructional support.     

Effects of a memory training program in older people with severe memory loss

ABSTRACT

Strategies based memory training programs are widely used to enhance the cognitive abilities of the elderly. Participants in these training programs are usually people whose mental abilities remain intact. Occasionally, people with cognitive impairment also participate. The aim of this study was to test if memory training designed specifically for healthy people is effective in people with severe memory impairment. We carried out a 10-year retrospective case-control study with Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT) and memory complaint measures obtained pre-post training. The case group consisted of 73 people with memory impairment (IM group). The control group (n = 72) was made of individuals with preserved memory and sociodemographic characteristics similar to the case group (PM group). Both groups improved their performance on everyday memory tasks (measured using the RBMT). The IM group improved more than the PM group in everyday memory tasks, especially in prospective memory tasks. Both groups also reduced their level of subjective complaints as a result of training. In conclusion, our results are encouraging with respect to the efficacy of comprehensive memory training programs for older people with severe memory impairment.     

Family-school partnership in the Spanish education system

Abstract

The benefits of positive, active relationships between families, schools, and the community (not only in the academic outcomes of the children, but also in the family’s and school’s wellbeing) have, up to now, had plenty of supportive evidence. Nevertheless, experience shows that there are many difficulties involved in making participation a reality. Education regulation acknowledges the importance of family participation at school, but neither implementation methods nor the concept of participation are clearly defined. Spanish initial teacher education curriculum programmes include, only in a marginal form, competences and skills that would prepare teachers to become involved in a collaborative relationship with families and the community. This article addresses the training of professionals in education from the perspective of the competences, skills, and knowledge demanded to engage in collaborative work with families and the community. It was conducted through a comparative analysis of the curriculum programmes of Spanish Universities, with a special focus on curriculum content and competences, and on the formal organisation of the initial training of pre-service teachers.