Posters
Delve Deeper in Learning!
Poster/Exhibit Session Sanna Ruhalahti
Facilitating deep learning requires a teaching and learning process that involves curriculum restructuring and a wide range of open and technology-driven collaborative learning opportunities.. Even though recent developments have improved competence based education and the alignment of intended learning outcomes and pedagogical practices, there is still a need to create more effective environments and learning processes to achieve deep learning. Presented DDD pedagogical model (Dialogical, Deep and Digital learning activity) is based on recent research in the field of professional teacher education, and facilitates changes in the digital learning culture. The model emphasise through deep learning orientation: self-paced, authentic, dialogical and collaborative knowledge construction in diverse digital environments. In the future, this model can also be used in design principles used to revise teaching practices, instead of applying a specific, fixed pedagogical model. The role of design principles is seen as a more flexible way to shape teaching and learning in diverse situations and environments. Although the study was conducted mainly in a Finnish professional teacher education context, the model is applicable to other education levels. The digitalisation of work and learning challenges us to facilitate a change in the learning culture towards deeper learning processes.
Learning Is My Journey: Cultivating Scaffolding Activities
Poster/Exhibit Session Anne Maria Korhonen
For sometimes there has been an ongoing discussion about personal learning environments, which means students have their own ownership of their learning in environments they prefer to take as a part of their learning processes. Learning assignments and artefacts should no longer been restored in learning management systems of educational institutions. The claim of the personal learning environments is rising from the idea lifelong learning as well as from informal learning as a meaningful part of a learning process. For teacher it has rosen a question of scaffolding. In the school of professional teacher education student teachers used their personal learning environment collaboratively during an online course. A learning design was based on a pedagogical model that was compared with a scaffolding model of online learning processes while a teacher is a facilitator. The results indicates that a pedagogical model may include all scaffolding activities. However, an online scaffolding has to be designed with a special attention with all stages of pedagogical model. This study also suggests that one of the most important environment for a scaffolding is to do it directly in student’s personal learning environment.
New Approach for the Work with the Deaf/Hard of Hearing in Brazil in a Nonprofit Organization
Poster/Exhibit Session Maria Cecilia De Moura, Ana Cristina Camano Passos, Maria Helena Verissimo, Rosangela Mota Zanetti
There is, then, the need for an action that might enable the development of language and social skills of these individuals. The Adhara Institute (a nonprofit organization) aims to provide a place of inclusion, information and coexistence to allow these individuals to develop social and language skills in an environment in which the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) is the primary means of communication in a meaningful Meaning Learning Theory perspective. This work shows how this work is developed, allowing the development of these individuals in an environment full of social significance and challenges to be overcome by the users through planned activities seeking meaningful learning. The forms of work and results will be shown. This is a work that can be followed by other groups that are worried about this population.
Strategies Used with Children with Deafblindness and Multiple Sensory Impairment
Poster/Exhibit Session Maria Cecilia De Moura, Leslie Piccolotto Ferreira, Denise Cintra Villas Boas
Children with deafblindness and multiple sensory disabilities need support for understanding the world and to have access to information. It is critical to provide conditions for them to explore the environment, enrich their perceptions and relationship. The objective of this work was to analyze the perception of the teacher on the attention and communication strategies, developed by her, in the classroom, with children with congenital deafblindness and multiple sensory impairment. It was done an individual interview that was transcribed and analyzed after the teacher witness the audiovisual material recorded for six months. The teacher reported satisfaction in her work when she realized the development of the students and the attention given by her to the individual characteristics. She highlighted the importance of the participation of the family and the use of audiovisual records in contribution to her work. She realized she had lost some opportunities for communication and have not provided the time necessary for student’s answers. It is concluded that a significant communication partner is important to identify, encourage and respond to attention and communicative behaviors of the child. Both the professor as the speech/language therapist must know how each child communicates and to be alert to non-verbal behaviors.
Hero with a Thousand Faces: Greek Primary Teachers’ Discursive Constructions of the Principal
Poster/Exhibit Session Efthalia Konstantinidou, Marina Malliou
Drawing on discursive social psychology, the aim of the research project presented was to study Greek primary teachers’ ways of understanding the “principalship” as identity. As the institutional status of the school principal places her on the top of school hierarchy in terms of responsibilities as well as privileges, studying the teachers’ point of view towards the principal as participants of everyday school life may reveal the commonsensical ways actions associated with the particular official position are described and evaluated, and identities assigned. To this end semi-structured interviews were conducted and fully transcribed. The analysis focused on the variability of the constructions of the principal’s identity within the argumentative context of the interview as participants accounted for the principal’s actions. This type of analysis allows connecting the micro-context of argumentation with the macro-context of school structure as the discursive constructions of the principalship as identity also can be interpreted as constructions of the school’s institutional order by everyday participants. Some practical implications of this approach may be designing ways of intervening in the principal-teachers relations by taking into account teachers’ evaluations of the principal’s actions, and designing principal selection and assessment criteria.
Student Engagement in Higher Education
Poster/Exhibit Session Jessica L. W. Miranda
Over the past several decades, there has been growing interest in student engagement and its influence on student persistence, retention, and overall success in higher education. The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is one of the most widely used measures of student engagement in North America. In 2013, the NSSE underwent a major revision; however, the psychometric properties of the instrument have not been thoroughly investigated and validated for the instruments intended uses and score interpretations. The researcher sought to address this research gap through an in-depth psychometric analysis, utilizing item response theory and confirmatory factor analysis, of one university’s 2015 NSSE data. Pre-existing secondary data were obtained for 1,592 freshman and senior students. The study investigates the psychometric soundness of the revised NSSE’s items and construct structure. This study contributes to the field by addressing the dearth of research exploring whether the uses and interpretations of the revised NSSE scores are psychometrically sound. Research has shown that changes to the content of a measurement instrument can have significant influences on the psychometric properties of the instrument, and therefore when an instrument undergoes major revisions, its psychometric properties must be reexamined.
Systematic Process for Examining a Teacher Education Program’s Alignment of Course and Field Work with High-Leverage, Evidence-Based Practices
Poster/Exhibit Session Jenny Wells, Jessica L. W. Miranda
The U. S. federally funded Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) Center Innovation Configuration systematic process and tools were developed to facilitate examination of the implementation of high-leverage, evidence-based instructional practices. This process enables university programs to make well-informed decisions about program design and to determine how well their teacher candidates are actually prepared to effectively teach. This investigation sought to determine the extent to which these practices were being taught, observed, and applied within a teacher preparation program. Faculty utilized the Innovation Configuration process and tools to examine the program’s six-course sequence for alignment with current research and to ensure students were engaging in meaningful course and field assignments. Through this systematic process, gaps and duplications were discovered and the importance of faculty engagement in program design and evaluation were highlighted. The process leads to increased collaboration of faculty resulting in greater coverage of the high-leverage, evidence-based practices within course Teacher preparation programs must align their curriculum with current research and scaffold course and field-based assignments to ensure that teacher candidates have opportunities to practice and receive feedback on implementation of high-leverage, evidence-based practices.
Terribly Troublesome Academic Thesis Statement: The Interplay of Non-Native English Speaker Learner Identities and Composition Pedagogy
Poster/Exhibit Session Nicholas Barkawitz, Ninet Aghasatourian
The development of a thesis statement in academic discourse is imperative yet problematic for non-native speakers of English as different speech communities assign different priority to this element of the essay. For an aggregate of L2 and Generation 1.5 students, this study has sought to examine their ability to implement devices that can cohere to a single statement of purpose. The literature on the subject offers a mixed review of L2 students’ discursive issues as they pertain to American collegiate composition courses, whether it is a result of language issues, background knowledge, or lack of recognition of the importance of a thesis statement. Through the use of contrasting rhetorical analysis techniques on American university students’ compositions and via class questionnaires, our methodological intent has been to determine the discursive gaps pertaining to the construction and development of thesis statements in college essays for pedagogical practice. Learner identity, language backgrounds and cultural perceptions of the student sample have also revealed new frameworks to analyze these elements. The goal is to provide compelling implications for classroom practice to emphasize thesis development in order to maintain structural coherence and cohesion, a focus not common to all of our students.
The Home Environment of Brazilian Toddlers with Hearing Impairment
Poster/Exhibit Session Miriam Da Silva Ferreira, Cilmara Levy, Ulrika Löfkvist
This study is part of a research project which investigated the audio and language environment of Brazilian Portuguese-speaking (BP) homes using the Language ENvironment Analysis system (LENA). Results from the first part of this project deemed LENA sensitive to BP. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze the language environment of 11 families of children with normal hearing (NH) and hearing impairment (HI) living in São Paulo Metro area. A total of 14 children were selected, 7 children with NH and the other 7 with HI. Children age ranged between 11 and 43-month-old. Participants were matched in number, age, gender, hearing condition, and SES. Their language and audio environment were recorded with the Digital Language Processor (DLP), which was inserted in the pocket of a specially designed vest. For this study, the whole 12-hour recording of the 7 children with NH was taken into consideration. A Spearman correlation was calculated for investigating the correlation among the LENA variables. Results indicated a strong correlation between child age and the number of CT, CV, and AE-meaningful language. It suggested that children were increasingly more exposed to AE-meaningful language, engaged in joint-conversation, and made more vocalization in relation to their age. The same analysis was conducted with the whole cohort (n=14). Results suggested a strong correlation between AE-meaningful language and CT, CV, and AW. Consequently, the impact of the delay in language development would diminish whilst stimulating a child’s communicative, cognitive, and social development.
The Employability Skills of Store Service Staff for Graduated Students of Technical University
Poster/Exhibit Session Su Chang Chen, Hsi-Chi Hsiao, Jen-Chia Chang, Dyi-Cheng Chen, Chun Mei Chou
The purpose of this study is to find the employability skills of store service staff for graduated students of technical university. The focused interview method is adopted. Four industrial experts and four academic experts are invited. The results show that there are three groups of employability skills. That is, competences of specific skills group, general competences group, and behavior/attitude trait group. There are 11 competences in specific skills group, 14 competences in general competences group and 12 competences in behavior/attitude trait group. The first five important competences in specific skills group are broad general stores service knowledge, specific knowledge of empirical/ practical methods in stores service field, specific theoretical knowledge in stores service field, and applying rules and regulations in the stores, documenting ideas and information. The first five important competences in general competences group are problem-solving ability, analytical competencies, ability to work in a team, reflective thinking, assessing one’s own work, and learning abilities. The first five important competences in behavior/attitude trait group are oral communication skills, loyalty and integrity, power of concentration, initiative, and getting personally involved. The findings can give the department to plan a curriculum for their students to learn the employability in the technical university.
Constructing Alternative Paths to Comprehend Learning Difficulties
Poster/Exhibit Session Andressa Martins do Carmo de Oliveira
Many children face difficulties in learning in their early years in elementary school. Although there is much research on several theoretical aspects of learning disability, the emphasis is commonly associated exclusively with the cognitive-intellectual process. This superficial vision limits the possibility of a complex understanding of the problem. Advancing further in relation to the traditional view of learning difficulties in school, this paper reports on research carried out during my master´s degree, in a public elementary school in Brazil. The aim of the study was to comprehend how new subjective configurations emerge in school, mostly taking into consideration the quality of human relationships built in the classroom and the achievements in learning in this process. Among the cases studied, one is chosen for in-depth discussion in this presentation: a girl, seven years old, who was not socially integrated within the classroom, which made her feel isolated as well as demotivated concerning the school activities in the classroom. The theoretical and epistemological position on which the research was based was the Theory of Subjectivity, from a cultural-historical standpoint, as well as its epistemological and methodological proposition, Qualitative Epistemology and the constructive-interpretative method. The methodological tools used were conversational dynamics and diverse interactive sessions with groups of students, sometimes including the teacher. The contribution of this work relates to the possibility of advancing further in the comprehension of the subjective processes involved in the learning development, which makes it possible to articulate educational processes, subjective development and the school teaching-learning process.
Developing a Teaching Framework of Integrating Off-campus Internship and Capstone Courses for Technological University Students
Poster/Exhibit Session Hsi Chi Hsiao, Jen-Chia Chang, Su Chang Chen
The purpose of this study is to develop a teaching framework of integrating off-campus internship and capstone courses for cultivating technological university students’ problem solving skills through real industrial problems. In order to meet this purpose, three steps are proposed. The first step is to probe how to integrate off-campus internship and capstone courses. Then, the core competences profile for students to study through these two courses is established (e.g., problem identification, teamwork skills). In the second step, the competences profile is used to develop the teaching materials, evaluation indicators, mentors guidance, and teaching plan. The teaching strategy is proposed as project-based learning (PjBL). During students in the off-campus internship, this strategy will cultivate students’ skills in finding real industrial problems. In the last step, when students go back to school they will convert the enterprise problems into their capstone projects. The technological university professors and industrial collaborative teachers will collaboratively use PjBL teaching strategy to help students solve the practical problem of the enterprise. Finally, the formative and summative evaluations are used to measure student’s achievements in solving real problems identified in the enterprise. Through the integrating off-campus internship and capstone courses, students will learn real industrial problem solving skills.
Development of Mechanical Department Off-campus Internship Courses for Technological University: Mechanical Department Off-campus Internship Courses
Poster/Exhibit Session Dyi-Cheng Chen, Hsi-Chi Hsiao, Su Chang Chen, Jen-Chia Chang
The purpose of this study is to explore the principles and modes of planning and developing off-campus internship courses. The construction of curriculum planning based on cultivation of practical problems in machinery industry. The purpose of this study is to integrate the curricula planning of cultivating practical ability in machinery industry and the development of mechanical department off-campus practice courses. This study uses group focus interviews. Four scholars and industry experts were invited to hold an expert symposium respectively. Modify and confirm the indicators of training ability of off-campus internship course through the discussion and related suggestions as the basis for curriculum content planning. Among them, in the "use of creativity in practical technology" structure, ergonomics is considered the most important design capability. In the "program management" structure, production systems and program control capabilities are seen as important. In the "effective communication" structure, sharing of information is seen as an important capability. In the "teamwork" structure, creating a culture of teamwork and the strategy of team and corporate is seen as the most important.
The Use of Digital Narratives in the Education of Geography Teachers: Producing Meanings and Knowledge through Multiple Languages in Cyberspace
Poster/Exhibit Session Tania Canto
The use of narratives in the field of education constitutes a methodological approach of great importance. Narrating and telling stories enable individuals to make sense of their everyday practices and lived experiences. Thus, in addition to serve as historical sources, narratives have been used as a process of self-formation. Considering their potential as a formative resource and the proliferation of new languages with the development of digital technologies, we have used the concept of digital narratives to engage students of a geography teaching course in new literacies practices. In an attempt to understand how these new practices contribute to the education of teachers, this proposal aims to discuss the meanings and knowledge that they may build on teaching from the appropriation of new technologies. It is worth mentioning that the digital narratives make possible the meaning of the lived experiences through the mobilization of different languages gathered in the digital environment and, often, also in a single device. Smartphones, for example, carry video and photo camera, sound recorder, word processors and other applications that allow you to edit and create imagens, animations, maps, etc. When connected to the Internet, these devices also allow the sharing of narrated experiences and their collaborative production. By breaking with the materiality of paper and entering in cyberspace, digital narratives also travel in time and space, making proliferating different interpretations and new shared experiences. With this, the process of meaning of everyday practices and the construction of knowledge take place collectively.
Narrating Teachers’ Intercultural Capital in Greece
Poster/Exhibit Session Spuridoula Giaki, Eugenia Arvanitis
Intercultural capital is a dynamic concept which draws from Bourdieu’s theory on sociocultural capital and constitutes an important asset in our globalized world. Intercultural capital includes experiences relationships and rationalities between (different) cultures as well as skills and competencies towards a successful interaction with cultural others. It can function as a marker of differences, cultural particularities and sociocultural distinction, and it is (re)produced in a wide range of contexts where it is likely to retain, or indeed enhance, its exchange value (field-transcendence). The concept of intercultural capital can serve as an asset for teachers, especially those who deal with different cultural backgrounds, in order to develop a practical intercultural awareness for the global interconnected world we inhabit, and thus pave the way for significant (inter)personal and social benefits. The concept of intercultural capital can serve as a framework for analyzing the relationship between educational background, cultural patterns, attitudes and lifestyle. An enhanced intercultural capital may lead to choices with greater benefit for personal and professional development of the teacher, thus, leading to the prevention of social exclusion and ethnocentric thinking. Recent data suggests that Greek teachers are unprepared to manage the new multicultural classroom. The purpose of this paper is to examine the life experiences of selected Greek teachers compared with the development of intercultural capital that may lead to a change of attitudes and behaviors relating to the acceptance of diversity within the classroom and in society in general.
Developing Critical Thinking Skills: Thinking Like A Scientist or Historian
Poster/Exhibit Session Charalambos Cleanthous, Nancy Marchand Martella, Ronald Martella, Amedee Martella
In an era in which scientific thinking is under attack and opinion can override facts and reasoned thinking, it has become even more crucial for students develop critical thinking skills. Students often have difficulty comprehending disciplinary-specific or content-area material about complex topics, as is often found in scientific texts. A method, that can be employed by teachers, for increasing students’ critical evaluation and comprehension of such material is presented. The method includes two content enhancements to help guide students in thinking critically--like a scientist or historian. The goal of the methodology is to help students learn to how to evaluate evidence about issues in everyday life. Teachers are taught three steps in implementing the critical thinking methodology to help differentiate fact from fiction.
