Online Faculty Development in the Canary Islands: A Study of E‐mentoring

This article reports on a six‐week online capacity learning and telementoring program at the Universities of the Canary Islands. Firstly, the authors give their view of online training and mentorship perspectives. They structure the argument introducing concepts about the mentor method. Simultaneously, the empirical project is illustrated with a case study: the University Teaching Professional Development (UTPD), a University training program for the development of curriculum and teaching capacities with reference to change within university teaching programs. Finally, the authors discuss the results, which lead to improvement, focusing on the difficulties of learning and practice of capacities within an online training course.     

Channel One Revisited: Prospective Teachers and the Role of American Higher Education

This study examined perceptions of college of education students and their experiences with Channel One, a privately-owned news service used in public education. Given that about one-third of middle and high schoolers in the US view the broadcast every school day, the authors surveyed 172 freshmen to discern their views and attitudes toward Channel One programming and commercials and the role colleges and universities might play in relation to this media service. While most studies on Channel One have been conducted from a K-12 point of view, the goal of this study was to reconsider the topic from the perspective of prospective teachers and post-secondary education. A. J. Angulo  is Assistant Professor of Social Foundations, Winthrop University. He received an Ed.D. and Ed.M. from Harvard University. His research interests include history of education, technology and education, and student rights. Susan K. Green  is Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, Winthrop University. She received a Ph.D. in social psychology from Loyola University, Chicago and a Ph.D. in educational psychology and research from the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Her interests include classroom assessment, motivational and instructional strategies to promote learning, and multicultural issues in education.     

On functional observers for linear systems with unknown inputs and HOSM differentiators

The problem of constructing functional observers for linear systems with unknown inputs is considered. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a proper observer (without differentiations) are revisited. A simple and explicit form of a functional observer is presented. It is shown that when such observer is not proper, it is still possible to use the High-Order Sliding Mode differentiator to implement it. Nevertheless, in such case, additional conditions on the system and the unknown input are required.     

Supporting computer-mediated learning: A case study in online staff development and classroom learning environment assessment

The rapid growth of online learning has led to the development of staff inservice evaluation models that are geared towards improving degree programs. Based on best practices in student online assessment, the Online Faculty Development and Classroom Learning Environment Assessment course was designed to serve the dual purpose of staff development and classroom learning environment assessment. Results of analyses showed that the course maximised the potential of online staff development for encouraging staff to reflect on Curriculum and Teaching Capacities (CTC). Implications are discussed in terms of emphasising the process of online CTC learning and incorporating perspectives to capture a comprehensive view of staff teaching attitudes and their association with student perceptions of the classroom learning environment.     

Civic education and visions of war and peace in the Spanish transition to democracy

Abstract

This article explores visions of war and peace in the education system during the Spanish transition to democracy. During those years, the Spanish state was faced with the challenge of leaving its authoritarian political past behind and forging a democratic civic culture. As the concepts of war and peace are inextricably linked to those of state and citizenship, they are a useful tool with which to examine changes in civic education. A wide variety of educational sources has been explored, with particular attention to the emotional nature of the depiction of both war and peace. This study reveals two opposing styles. The official discourse demonstrated a factual treatment of war and a tendency to concentrate on international bodies and their actions, when it came to fomenting peace. The treatment of peace in the circles of teachers’ local initiatives was different. First, peace was defined not only as the absence of war but also in terms of social equality and solidarity. Second, there was a conscious effort to get the students involved in opposing war, reinforced by emotionally charged messages regarding its horrors.     

Online Faculty Development and Assessment System (OFDAS): A Study of Academic Learning

The rapid growth of online learning has led to the development of faculty inservice evaluation models that are geared towards the demands of quality improvement of degree programs. Based on the best practices of student online assessment, the Online Faculty Development and Assessment System (OFDAS) created at the Canary Islands was designed to serve the dual purpose of faculty development and classroom learning environment assessment. Results of analyses showed that OFDAS maximized the potential of online faculty development to encourage staff to reflect on Curriculum and Teaching Capacities (CTC). Implications were discussed in terms of emphasizing the process of online CTC learning and incorporating perspectives to capture a comprehensive view of faculty teaching attitudes and their association with student classroom learning perceptions.     

El profesor como práctico reflexivo en una cultura de colaboración

The aim was the reconstruction of a school curriculum in reflective teaching situations within a co‐operative culture. Two working assumptions were considered: (a) teacher development was based on teacher thinking and (b) school organisation followed a co‐operative culture paradigm. The process features were: (a) university team consisted of external advisers; (b) school curriculum and classroom instruction were reviewed by school teachers; (c) case study as a research approach; (d) ethnographic techniques to collect data; (e) data analysis by a computer program; (f) teachers’ reflective cycle to reconstruct practice; and (g) teachers’ portfolios: narrative vignettes, etc. Findings showed: (a) a collaborative process school‐university; (b) teachers’ thinking and attitudinal change; (c) mobilisation of teachers’ talents and values to work together: (i) teacher dyads to reflect on teaching; (ii) advisers’ writing narrative vignettes; (Hi) collegial coaching; and (iv) curriculum materials designed by teachers. Two conclusions can be accepted: (a) teachers’ pedagogical practical knowledge showed diversity of their implicit theories to design action; and (b) teachers’ grounded theory confirmed that the educational action was based on a co‐operative and reflective culture.     

Mediated images of success: Hegemonic media representations and social justice

This activity highlights the concept of cultural hegemony, illustrating it by a reflection on the images of success and successful people portrayed in the media. The purpose of the exercise is to introduce students to this concept, and for them to examine how hegemonic views of others and the self affect the way they conceptualize success and perceive who a successful person is. Students will understand the role of the media in reproducing hegemonic representations of reality in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, and so on, and how these representations limit their world view and are detrimental for those who do not abide by the dominant stereotypical images. The exercise also intends to expose students to complex narratives of what success may mean beyond accumulation of wealth, competition, nationality, whiteness, and patriarchal values, and for them to reflect upon intersectionality, by challenging and critiquing dominant portrayals of human achievement.

Courses: Introduction to Media Studies, Introduction to Media and Culture, or any introductory communication course discussing media representation.

Objectives: Students will (1) identify the role of cultural hegemony in the mediated construction of success; (2) understand and critically evaluate how hegemonic media representations of gender, class, race, ethnicity, physical ability, national origin, and so on limit people’s world views about human achievement; and (3) self-reflect on their own representations of success and reframe “success” moving beyond hegemonic representations attached to patriarchy, heteronormativity, whiteness, physical ability, competition, and capitalist accumulation.