The teaching practicum as a locus of multi-leveled,school-based transformation

The teaching practicum is often considered as a compulsory activity for enculturating new members into the teacher community by providing opportunities to experience teaching in action. However, the practicum is rarely conceptualized in terms of its transformative potential. In this study, we report the results of a two-year ethnography study of a teaching practicum in Brazil based on the {coteaching | cogenerative dialoguing} model. Our study shows that the practicum does not have to be a mere induction experience, but that it also may be the transformative locus for (a) the practicum participants (new teachers, school teachers, teacher educator, and students) and (b) school and university/school relationships, and (c) of the practicum activity itself. The results show the potential of the practicum to transform individual and collective agency. Implications are discussed for reorganizing the teaching practicum.     

Further Testing of a New Model of Intercultural Communication Competence

Recently, a new model of intercultural communication was proposed and later empirically tested (Arasaratnam, 2004 Arasaratnam , L. A. ( 2004 ). Intercultural communication competence: Development and empirical validation of a new model . Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association , New Orleans , LA . [Google Scholar]; Arasaratnam & Doerfel, 2005 Arasaratnam , L. A. & Doerfel , M. L. ( 2005 ). Intercultural communication competence: Identifying key components from multicultural perspectives . International Journal of Intercultural Relations , 29 , 137 – 163 . [CSA] [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The present study was designed to further test the model and address the limitations of the previous test. Survey data were collected from participants (N = 400) and analyzed using regression analyses. The results mostly supported the previous model. These results plus some new findings in the relationship between empathy and intercultural communication competence are discussed.     

Study Abroad Partnerships: Librarians,Business Faculty,and In-Country Facilitator Develop an Innovative Experiential Learning Program

This article profiles the development and implementation of an undergraduate study abroad program developed by librarians and a finance professor at the University of Maryland (UMD). The authors collaboratively developed and taught, in 2012, 2013, and 2014, an innovative short-term course to Nicaragua, BMGT 448N: Doing Business in Nicaragua: Microfinance in Action, in which UMD students provided hands-on consulting to Nicaraguan entrepreneurs, an international microlending organization, and small business start-ups affiliated with a Nicaraguan University. In keeping with the UMD's mission of internationalization this course provided students with a service-learning and a study abroad experience.     

Scientific Processes in PISA Tests Observed for Science Teachers

A research study, mainly based on the notion of ‘scientific literacy’ from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 assessment framework, was carried out obtaining data from the administration of an open written questionnaire with items covering three central scientific processes—describing, explaining and predicting scientific phenomena; understanding scientific investigation; and interpreting scientific evidence and conclusions—to 30 experienced in‐service secondary school science teachers. The purpose was to analyse their views regarding the competences on the mentioned scientific processes assessed by Science PISA tests: which of the competences assessed were the most frequently identified by teachers, which of the competences they considered presenting difficulties for their students, and, finally, which activities they used in their classes to promote similar competences. Our results indicated that teachers had different perceptions of one or other scientific processes considered relevant for scientific literacy in the PISA framework. Their awareness of the expected students’ difficulties did not necessarily match the competences intended to be assessed by either PISA or what they thought to be assessed. Moreover, their views differed depending not only on the type of scientific process but also on the underlying subject. Concern about the students’ need of reading fluently with understanding and of paying special attention during the test time was also observed.     

Taking a stance through visual texts: novice teachers as educational agents

Drawing on qualitative methodologies that integrate verbal and non-verbal texts, this study investigated novice teachers’ attributions of their experiences of internship, as conveyed through a visual text. Novices were invited to design a visual text that represented their experience during internship, as part of a national call entitled ‘Novices in Poster.’ The posters submitted yielded the publication of 127 published posters, which constituted the data for our study. The visual data were analyzed using a multilayered approach to the analysis of visual texts, drawing on Lemke’s analysis of visual and verbal data as complementary channels for obtaining an integrative interpretation of the expressed experience. Findings indicate that novices expose critical stances in relation to activism, collegiality, and leverage, making public their unique potential to improve the educational system. The visual texts underscored novices’ strong social–professional stances towards teaching, positioning them as delegates and agents striving for professional justice.     

The treatment of culture in the foreign language curriculum: an analysis of national curriculum documents

Teaching culture in the foreign language classroom has been widely debated ever since its importance was recognized. Current research suggests that centralized ‘top down’ curricular policies can become potential constraints to teaching culture and points to the need for adapting curricula for culture-integrated language learning. This study analysed official curriculum documents published in 14 different countries to identify how the sociocultural component to Teaching English as a Foreign Language is reflected in the document. To date, there is scarce research on the place of culture in English as a Foreign Language curricula; hence, the present study aims at filling in a gap in this area. The study points to the following findings: curricula state the importance of culture in language learning and promote an integrative view of teaching language and culture; cultural objectives focus on appreciating cultural diversity, raising cultural awareness and reinforcing students’ positive cultural identity; teachers are portrayed as facilitators (rather than transmitters) of cultural knowledge yet, learners are described as acquiring (rather than discovering) cultural knowledge; curriculum documents focus on cultural knowledge and attitudes towards foreign cultures, rather than on the skills needed for successful interaction. These findings are elaborated and discussed, with potential implications for practice.     

Reduction of the non-uniform illumination using nonlocal variational models for document image analysis

In this paper, we investigate two new reflectance and illumination decomposition models based on a nonlocal partial differential equation (PDE) applied to text images. Taking into consideration the higher regularity level of the illumination compared to the reflectance, we propose a nonlocal PDE which deals with repetitive structures and textures that characterize the text image much better compared to the classical local PDEs. The aim of this approach is to use the repetitive features of the reflectance to efficiently extract it from the non-uniform illumination. This idea is motivated by extending the range of application of the nonlocal operators to such a problem. Numerical experiments on both grayscale and color text images show the performance and strength of the proposed nonlocal PDE.     

Using cloud computing services in e-learning process: Benefits and challenges

During the recent years, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play a significant role in the field of education and e-learning has become a very popular trend of the education technology. However, with the huge growth of the number of users, data and educational resources generated, e-learning systems have become more and more expansive in terms of hardware and software resources, and many educational institutions cannot afford such ICT investments. Due to its tremendous advantages, cloud computing technology rises swiftly as a natural platform to provide support to e-learning systems. This paper focuses on the research on the application of cloud computing in e-learning. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the current state and the impact of the use of cloud computing for e-learning. Thus, at first the paper introduces concepts of e-learning and cloud computing infrastructure with their key characteristics. The paper analyzes also challenges facing e-learning systems deployment. In follow the paper considers cloud-based e-learning solutions by focusing on the raisons of the convenience of cloud computing for e-learning. Therefore cloud computing benefits are introduced as a solution for these challenges. Finally, the paper presents some solutions of cloud computing in e-learning and describes the most common architecture adopted. Issues in implementing cloud-based e-learning systems and some potential ways to overcome them are also discussed.     

Trends of progression of student level of reasoning and generalization in numerical and figural reasoning approaches in pattern generalization

This study explored progression of students’ level of reasoning and generalization in numerical and figural reasoning approaches across grades and in different pattern generalization types. An instrument that included four figural patterns was administered to a sample of 1232 students from grades 4 to 11 from five private schools. The findings suggest that there was progressive development in the level of reasoning and generalization in each reasoning approach across clusters of grades. The level of reasoning and generalization in figural approach was higher than that for numerical approach in each grade. In addition, the level of reasoning and generalization for each approach and in each grade was not limited to one level but to several levels. The type of generalization influenced the progression of students’ level of reasoning and generalization in each approach.