What is the relationship between social constructivism and Piagetian constructivism? An analysis of the characteristics of the ideas within both theories

For twenty years, social constructivism has been a paradigm in science teaching and not an easy bedfellow for piagetian constructivism, even though both have had the same thing in mind… a study of the learner. For this reason we attempt to find connections and bridges between them so that both may be enriched, to the benefit of science teaching.     

Statistical biases in Information Retrieval metrics for recommender systems

There is an increasing consensus in the Recommender Systems community that the dominant error-based evaluation metrics are insufficient, and mostly inadequate, to properly assess the practical effectiveness of recommendations. Seeking to evaluate recommendation rankings—which largely determine the effective accuracy in matching user needs—rather than predicted rating values, Information Retrieval metrics have started to be applied for the evaluation of recommender systems. In this paper we analyse the main issues and potential divergences in the application of Information Retrieval methodologies to recommender system evaluation, and provide a systematic characterisation of experimental design alternatives for this adaptation. We lay out an experimental configuration framework upon which we identify and analyse specific statistical biases arising in the adaptation of Information Retrieval metrics to recommendation tasks, namely sparsity and popularity biases. These biases considerably distort the empirical measurements, hindering the interpretation and comparison of results across experiments. We develop a formal characterisation and analysis of the biases upon which we analyse their causes and main factors, as well as their impact on evaluation metrics under different experimental configurations, illustrating the theoretical findings with empirical evidence. We propose two experimental design approaches that effectively neutralise such biases to a large extent. We report experiments validating our proposed experimental variants, and comparing them to alternative approaches and metrics that have been defined in the literature with similar or related purposes.     

How do firms’ knowledge bases affect intra-industry heterogeneity? : An analysis of the Spanish pharmaceutical industry

This paper aims to contribute to the analysis of within industry inter-firm variety. The paper develops two themes: (i) the analysis of intra-industry heterogeneity, and (ii) the extent to which higher performance is associated with the capacity of firms to expand their knowledge base. The main contribution of the paper is empirical, based on a data source consisting of information on documents published in international scientific journals by Spanish pharmaceutical firms. The empirical results support the argument that the firm's knowledge base is a main driver of persistent heterogeneity within industries. We find systematic variety in terms of how firms articulate their research activities, and positive correlation between firms’ knowledge diversification and performance.     

Ground Reaction Force Differences in the Countermovement Jump in Girls With Different Levels of Performance

Purpose: The aim of this study was to ascertain the biomechanical differences between better and poorer performers of the vertical jump in a homogeneous group of children. Method: Twenty-four girls were divided into low-scoring (LOW; M _age = 6.3 ± 0.8 years) and high-scoring (HIGH; M _age = 6.6 ± 0.8 years) groups based on their performance on the vertical jump. The force-, velocity-, displacement-, and rate of force development (RFD)-time curves of vertical jumps were analyzed to determine the differences between groups. Results: The analysis of the data showed differences in the pattern of the ensemble mean curves of the HIGH and LOW groups, although the majority of the differences occurred during the eccentric contraction phase of the jump. The differences in the HIGH group with respect to the LOW group were: lower force at the beginning of the movement, higher speed and RFD during the eccentric phase, high force at the beginning of the concentric phase, higher velocity during the concentric phase, and a higher position at takeoff. Conclusion: The results showed that the HIGH group achieved a higher jump height than did the LOW group by increasing the effectiveness of the countermovement and achieving a more advantageous position at takeoff.     

Tres pies al gato: significado,sentido y cultura cotidiana en la educación

Resumen

Se pasa revista en este artículo a los tres ejes que conforman la línea de investigación de los autores en psicología de la educación, a saber, considerar la arquitectura, no sólo cognitiva, sino instrumental y cultural, del significado; la necesidad de unir en la investigación y en el diseño educativo las vertientes de significado y de sentido que caracterizan el funcionamiento psicológico de los individuos, y que solo se articulan sobre la base de sistemas de actividad; por último, la necesidad de contemplar las formas de representación humanas menos formalizadas y desdeñadas hasta hace muy poco por la psicología de la educación: las denominadas bajo el epígrafe de conocimiento informal. En torno a estos tres ejes, se exponen ejemplos de investigación y de intervención que conforman lo que hemos denominado diseño cultural.     

Intelligent information retrieval: diagnosing information need. Part II. Uncertainty expansion in a prototype of a diagnostic IR tool

This article is part II of a three part series. In part I we described the theoretical framework for developing an “intelligent information retrieval” tool, based on three principles from medical diagnosis theory. In part II, the present article, we outline a prototype of an “intelligent” IR tool, whose purpose is to facilitate information access for an undergraduate seeking information for a history term paper. Our objective is to create a tool that will (i) draw-out the undergraduate's query to the information system by taking the student through the task of doing the term paper and (ii) diagnose the student's information need by measuring his or her degree of topic integration. The degree of integration indicates a class of information need. The classes of information need are based on Kuhlthau's six stage information search process (ISP) model (each stage is a separate information need, demanding different information to satisfy it). The measurement instrument is based on (i) principles from Shannon's mathematical theory of communication and (ii) principles of uncertainty expansion and reduction from differential diagnosis theory.     

Does generating examples aid proof production?

Many mathematics education researchers have suggested that asking learners to generate examples of mathematical concepts is an effective way of learning about novel concepts. To date, however, this suggestion has limited empirical support. We asked undergraduate students to study a novel concept by either tackling example generation tasks or reading worked solutions to these tasks. Contrary to suggestions in the literature, we found no advantage for the example generation group on subsequent proof production tasks. From a second study, we found that undergraduate students overwhelmingly adopt a trial and error approach to example generation and suggest that different example generation strategies may result in different learning gains. We conclude by arguing that the teaching strategy of example generation is not yet understood well enough to be a viable pedagogical recommendation.     

A psychosocial approach to shame,embarrassment and melancholia amongst unemployed young men and their fathers

This paper uses a psychosocial approach to explore young unemployed men’s resistance to work they describe as ‘embarrassing’ and ‘feminine’, in the context of the closure of a steelworks in a town in the South Wales valleys. In our psychosocial interview‐based study, with young men as well as their mothers and (where possible) their fathers, we found a community riven with complex feelings about masculinity and femininity, projected on to the young men in such a way as to almost scapegoat them. The experience of the young men was marked by embarrassment and shame. They feel bullied and shamed by their families, peers and others in the community for not being able to find gender‐appropriate work.     

国际学生对在线课堂学习支持的需求

此文研究了英语非母语学生,在美国某所公共大学网络课堂上学习时候所需要的帮助和支持。建立在网络教学文化差异研究的基础上,本研究关注这些学生在网络学习中可能面临的各种挑战(语言、文化、社交)等。研究揭示了这些挑战在这所大学网络课堂上的显现,并且建议了教学改进方法,比如教师应该更多地理解不同文化背景学生的学习方法和技能,从而改进教学设计和实施。