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Background: Clinicians need to be supported by universities to use credible and defensible assessment practices during student placements. Web-based delivery of clinical education in student assessment offers professional development regardless of the geographical location of placement sites. Objective: This paper explores the potential for a video-based constructivist Web-based program to support site supervisors in their assessments of student dietitians during clinical placements. Methods: This project was undertaken as design-based research in two stages. Stage 1 describes the research consultation, development of the prototype, and formative feedback. In Stage 2, the program was pilot-tested and evaluated by a purposeful sample of nine clinical supervisors. Data generated as a result of user participation during the pilot test is reported. Users’ experiences with the program were also explored via interviews (six in a focus group and three individually). The interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis conducted from a pedagogical perspective using van Manen’s highlighting approach. Results: This research succeeded in developing a Web-based program, “Feed our Future”, that increased supervisors’ confidence with their competency-based assessments of students on clinical placements. Three pedagogical themes emerged: constructivist design supports transformative Web-based learning; videos make abstract concepts tangible; and accessibility, usability, and pedagogy are interdependent. Conclusions: Web-based programs, such as Feed our Future, offer a viable means for universities to support clinical supervisors in their assessment practices during clinical placements. A design-based research approach offers a practical process for such Web-based tool development, highlighting pedagogical barriers for planning purposes.

A systematic approach was undertaken to locate and analyse empirical research examining the use of technology to support constructivist approaches to learning. In particular, this paper focuses upon Problem, Project and Case Based Learning and consults 56 publications which have employed technology in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics within on campus higher education settings. Four databases were searched along with hand searching and, after applying relevant inclusion and exclusion criteria, 56 publications published during 2007–2021 were included in this review. In addition to systematically documenting the landscape of literature associated with this area of research, this paper offers an analysis of the contributions of the research in understanding the way in which technology affects performance, team-working and graduate skills as part of the learning process.

The Canadian government has succeeded to maintain its political stability by implementing middle-ways approach to face the separatism movement. Parti Quebecois has been the biggest promoter of Quebec sovereign movement. This political party has held referendums to be independent from the central government and managed to gain public attention. This paper aimed to figure out how the series of Quebec sovereign movements affected Canadian domestic politics. It used constructivist approach to explain why the Quebec struggle for independent and how its strategies influence the Canadian domestic structure. The data obtained from library research. This paper examines the effort of Quebec movement consist of (1) creating a political discourse of “self-determinantion”. The social movement transforms into Québécois political party and it visioned to gain territory of the province since the decade of the 1960s; (2) social construction dealing with the issue of French identity as non-Canadian culture. The supports of the idea embedded in the several forms of regulations and propaganda in the public sphere.

Introduction Simulation-based education (SBE) has successfully been implemented in several healthcare professions, more so in the fields of medicine and nursing. Laboratory medicine courses prepare medical scientists for employment in pathology laboratories typically via a staged training regime. Laboratory techniques related to the diagnostic disciplines are introduced to students in a graduated fashion over time for the development of professional skills and technical competencies. For students specialising in diagnostic cytology, there are continual changes to the scope of practice of scientists in industry that require advanced training at undergraduate level to meet expectations of contemporary laboratory testing. Methods The National Health Education and Training in Simulation (NHET-Sim) framework was applied to create and deliver bespoke simulations for laboratory medicine students. This paper outlines the steps taken, including working with actors and industry partners, to create simulations which contextualise the pressures and team interactions during diagnostic procedures. Findings Supported by a range of expertise and personnel, five laboratory medicine simulations were developed and delivered to final year students. Details of the steps taken and range of scenarios are included for sharing and discussion. Discussion SBE can contribute positively to student confidence in communication at interdisciplinary and interprofessional levels in ways that can be essential to successful patient management. Understanding that cytology has now evolved to become part of a multidisciplinary approach to patient-centred care will improve the overall patient outcome and experience to personalised medicine. Conclusion This paper demonstrates how a high-fidelity SBE scenario can test students’ decision-making around technical, clinical and diagnostic competencies in a complex investigation that they would likely experience in industry.

Informal opportunities for young people to engage with science have increased in response to declining uptake in science and a shortage of science graduates. This paper is set in the context of the recent introduction of science at primary level in Ireland and the existence of a great number of science outreach programmes, in particular from universities to support this sector. The recent movement to change science pedagogy in schools towards a focus on inquiry and constructivist methods commands discussion around pedagogical practice in both spaces (education and outreach). Building on the authors research which embraced a qualitative approach to ascertain participant perception of constructivism and understanding of conceptual and pedagogical dilemmas within science education, this paper reports a singularly quantitative insight, carried out in parallel, to facilitate a more formal and standardised comparison within and between populations and to allow generalisation to the larger population. A Constructivist Learning Environment (CLES) survey of both primary teachers (N = 148) and science outreach practitioners (N = 81) in Ireland was conducted, eliciting multiple dimension perceptions, in terms of pedagogical choice and comparative differentiators regarding sex, school size, outreach frequency in the classroom, role of outreach practitioner within their institution, outreach experience of the outreach practitioner. Results challenge beliefs presented in the literature about a deficit of science pedagogy amongst primary level teachers and therefore questions the role of science outreach in this relationship. This study provokes the necessity for a discussion of the third space, arising from the juxtaposition between science outreach and education. This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia peer-reviewed 2019-06-03

University teachers are faced with a problem of ‘knowing’ their learners when teaching on a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). This paper explores and analyses what the University of Edinburgh has come to know about its recent MOOC participants, highlighting one particular course. We draw attention to barriers and enablers from co-existent understandings and expectations of course design, and from an abundance of highly qualified participants. We compare characteristics of participants who report a positive experience with those who do not. Mixed messages about teacher presence may have implications that go beyond MOOCs. We contemplate whether the participant group should be seen as a single massive multivocal entity. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential opportunity for MOOCs to challenge standardization, homogenization and commodification of education. Shifting attention from the achievements of an individual to what can be done with a multitude, MOOCs may open up new educationa...

The present doctoral thesis aimed to explore what it means to be a first-level manages in a Swedish municipal social care administration, seen from the managers’ perspective. The empirical data derives from a participative, constructivist project which intended to contribute to new practice-based knowledge and to the learning and development of the participating managers. The participating managers reflected over their work and their managerial role by the use of a combination of repertory grid interviews, personal diaries and group discussions. Qualitative descriptive phenomenological analyses of the extensive material painted a vivid and nuanced picture of their work situation and professional role. In Paper I the project and the used methods were described in detail. Short extracts of data illustrated the potential of the general approach of combining constructivist techniques in participative and action oriented projects. The first brief results illustrated by “A day in a team manager’s working life” and by three “leadership dilemmas”: The spider in the web; The border patrol; and The open door, presented a picture of the managers’ complex work situation and how they were stimulated to address the problems arising. Paper II showed the many facets of social care management, where six “faces” portrayed the complex managerial role. The results indicated that managers in this and other welfare organizations need to construe and re-construe their managerial role in order to balance the contrasting demands on their role, thereby ac-complishing a personal equilibrium. Paper III further explored the managers' leadership role ideal, grounded in the concept of care. Several aspects of the managers' work situation resulted, on their own or in conjunction, in difficul-ties fulfilling their caring leadership ideal. These difficulties of which the managers spoke were arranged into three distinct patterns: problems, dilemmas and paradoxes. The results gave insight of the nature of these difficulties, the implications which these might have on the managers, their staff and the delivery of service, and the discussed remedies. Taken together the results raises new questions about municipal managers’ abilities and possibilities to handle ideals and requirements which are difficult to consoli-date particularly in times or resource scarcity. Is it possible to be an at the same time caring and efficient manager? How can mangers’ options to handle the complexity of modern welfare organisations be strengthened? Avhandlingen utforskar vad det innebär att vara verksamhetsnära chef i en svensk kommunal omsorgsorganisation. Det forskningsprojekt som utgör avhandlings empiriska bas tillkom för att de medverkande cheferna upplevde att de hade en svår arbetssituation. Resultaten från projektet belyser chefskapets innebörd och förutsättningar, sett ur chefernas perspektiv. Det allra tydligaste budskapet som framstod medan projektet pågick kan sammanfattas med begreppet omsorgsfullhet, vilket innefattar chefernas ansträngningar att uppnå idealet att vara en omsorgsfull chef som sätter människan i centrum. De ville vara chefer som personalen vill arbeta under, och som värnar om sina vårdtagare, sin personal och sina chefskollegor i ledningsgruppen. Det omsorgsfulla chefsidealet utmanades och hotades av oklarheter, komplexitet, motsägelser samt konkurrerande ideal. De svårigheter som var besvärligast att hantera för såväl nytillträdda som erfarna chefer var relaterade till komplexiteten i deras organisation, uppdrag och roll. Komplexiteten krävde att cheferna sammanvägde olika aspekter, lagar, förordningar, föreskrifter och rådande ideal från skilda nivåer och håll, för att kunna tolka och väga olika överordnade och ibland motstridiga beslut mot varandra för att hitta en optimal eller i varje fall acceptabel sammanvägning i varje enskild konkret situation. Resultaten från projektet visar, i likhet med andra undersökningar, att förväntningarna på vad verksamhetsnära chefer i offentliga välfärdsorganisationer skall åstadkomma inom ramen för begränsade resurser ofta är mycket högt ställda. Avhandlingens resultat synliggör i någon mån effekterna av den komplexitet som orsakas av olika värdesystem och ideologier som enligt flera forskare kan samexistera respektive konkurrera i organisationen, även om de inte alltid är synliga för alla på olika nivåer i organisationen. Resultaten väcker också frågor om hur verksamhetsnära chefers möjligheter att hantera denna komplexitet skall kunna stärkas. Hur kan chefer hitta strategier för att kunna förhålla sig till de strukturella faktorer som finns inbyggda i systemet och som är svåra eller omöjliga för dem att omedelbart påverka inom sin yrkesroll? Hur skall de kunna väga samman ibland tillsynes oförenliga krav och förväntningar på ett sätt som är förenligt med deras egna professionella värderingar och ideal? Skulle skapandet av organisationsövergripande forum, där intentioner och effekter av överordnade beslut kan diskuteras och exemplifieras, kunna vara en framkomlig väg? Chefernas egna utvärderingar under och efter projekttiden visade att projektet bidrog positivt till deras personliga utveckling och till utvecklingen av chefsgruppen, i enlighet med deras ursprungliga önskemål. Projektet hade också positiva effekter på gruppklimatet och på förtroendet cheferna emellan.

In most European countries entrepreneurship is one of the top priorities on the national agenda, to stimulate individual and organizational innovativeness and (regional) economic growth. As a consequence, embedding entrepreneurship in education to achieve this goal has gained importance and momentum especially at universities of applied sciences. Two questions need answering when trying to embed entrepreneurship in a curriculum. First of all: cán entrepreneurship be taught and second: hów should entrepreneurship be taught. In this paper we focus on an educational programme based on a learner-cantered, constructivist approach, which is offered in a multidisciplinary, inspiring and entrepreneurial setting. It is competency-based and is tailor-made to individual student demand and goes beyond the classic business school approach based on instruction. The programme caters for students from at least 40 different departments of the university. The starting point in this programme is the assumption that entrepreneurship can indeed be taught but that the pedagogical climate and approach is crucial and should contribute towards the development of entrepreneurial competencies and skills. In this paper issues such as the dynamics of learning are dealt with as well as some a discussion on learning paradigms. We elaborate on the programme developed at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, The Hague in The Netherlands. So far, over 250 students have participated in the programme and since September 2007 longitudinal research has taken place to establish the effects of the programme and the pedagogical approach on the development of entrepreneurialism. We then describe the research design and draw preliminary conclusions about the relation between pedagogical climate and entrepreneurial behaviour, competencies and entrepreneurial behaviour and finally the relation between entrepreneurial behaviour and the choice to become an independent entrepreneur. Our findings show that such competencies as self-discipline and vulnerability are positive influencers of entrepreneurial ambition. We also found negative influencers of entrepreneurial ambition in depression and inadequacy, yet interestingly also in sincerity. The role of the business partners involved in the programme is discussed and an account is given of the experiences of a population of students over a period of three years on the basis of a number of issues: what works, what doesn't work and what needs to be improved. Interesting drivers for entrepreneurial behaviour are distilled from our research, on the basis of which recommendations are given on how to best implement these drivers into an educational programme. The paper finalizes with a concluding note in which some of the drawbacks of a learner-centred approach as opposed to an instruction-based approach are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.

In essence, ‘learning can be defined as changes in knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes, brought about by experience and reflection upon that experience’ (Brown, Bull & Pendelbury, 1996, p21). This research highlights how feedback from learners, peers and tutors, augments the experience and reflection, a form of internal feedback, accelerates the learning (Schmidt et al, 1990). The authors draw on their experience as lecturers and course designers for the module “Curriculum Assessment” which is offered to both, traditional full-time undergraduates and part-time professional educators. This paper builds on research described at the 2009 ECER conference, which focused on the introduction of an assessment portfolio that was designed with the aim of promoting a constructivist approach to the development of professional competence among trainee teachers. This new paper focuses on the next stage of the research and highlights how using multiple ‘voices’ from the research process one can encourage a sense of professional development from both pre & post-experience learners.

In most European countries entrepreneurship is one of the top priorities on the national agenda, to stimulate individual and organizational innovativeness and (regional) economic growth. As a consequence, embedding entrepreneurship in education to achieve this goal has gained importance and momentum especially at universities of applied sciences. Two questions need answering when trying to embed entrepreneurship in a curriculum. First of all: cán entrepreneurship be taught and second: hów should entrepreneurship be taught. In this paper we focus on an educational programme based on a learner-cantered, constructivist approach, which is offered in a multidisciplinary, inspiring and entrepreneurial setting. It is competency-based and is tailor-made to individual student demand and goes beyond the classic business school approach based on instruction. The programme caters for students from at least 40 different departments of the university. The starting point in this programme is the assumption that entrepreneurship can indeed be taught but that the pedagogical climate and approach is crucial and should contribute towards the development of entrepreneurial competencies and skills. In this paper issues such as the dynamics of learning are dealt with as well as some a discussion on learning paradigms. We elaborate on the programme developed at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, The Hague in The Netherlands. So far, over 250 students have participated in the programme and since September 2007 longitudinal research has taken place to establish the effects of the programme and the pedagogical approach on the development of entrepreneurialism. We then describe the research design and draw preliminary conclusions about the relation between pedagogical climate and entrepreneurial behaviour, competencies and entrepreneurial behaviour and finally the relation between entrepreneurial behaviour and the choice to become an independent entrepreneur. Our findings show that such competencies as self-discipline and vulnerability are positive influencers of entrepreneurial ambition. We also found negative influencers of entrepreneurial ambition in depression and inadequacy, yet interestingly also in sincerity. The role of the business partners involved in the programme is discussed and an account is given of the experiences of a population of students over a period of three years on the basis of a number of issues: what works, what doesn't work and what needs to be improved. Interesting drivers for entrepreneurial behaviour are distilled from our research, on the basis of which recommendations are given on how to best implement these drivers into an educational programme. The paper finalizes with a concluding note in which some of the drawbacks of a learner-centred approach as opposed to an instruction-based approach are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.

Este trabalho tece considerações sobre como podemos ajudar crianças pequenas a se relacionarem com o passado por meios que reflitam uma genuína investigação histórica. Define os processos chaves do pensamento histórico em qualquer nível, tais como: a discussão de causas e efeitos das mudanças ao longo do tempo; a realização de inferências a partir de fontes históricas para construir justificativas sobre o passado, utilizando-se vocabulário especializado e compreendendo porque as justificativas históricas podem diferir, mas serem igualmente válidas. Considera formas nas quais as teorias construtivistas de aprendizagem de Piaget, Vigotsky, Bruner, e pesquisas baseadas nos trabalhos destes autores, podem ser aplicadas à História, desde a mais tenra infância, e em formas crescentes de complexidade. Discute a importância de aprender História como uma dimensão dos anos iniciais da educação, de maneira que possua múltiplas perspectivas e seja significativa para as crianças; que permita que as crianças formulem hipóteses, avaliem, sustentem idéias com argumentos, ouçam os outros e reconheçam que, às vezes, não há respostas certas. Sugere contextos familiares nos quais as crianças possam iniciar a discussão de causas e efeitos de mudanças ao longo do tempo, fazer inferências sobre uma variedade de fontes históricas, bem como construir e comparar interpretações sobre o passado, compreendendo o motivo pelo qual elas podem variar. Discute que o aprendizado sobre o passado é parte integrante do desenvolvimento social, emocional e cognitivo. O trabalho é concluído com trechos de diálogos que ilustram a progressão do raciocínio das crianças sobre o passado. This paper considers how we can help young children to engage with the past, in ways which reflect genuine historical enquiry. It defines the key process of historical thinking, at any lever as: discussing the causes and effects of changes over time; making inferences from historical sources in order to construct accounts of the past using specialized vocabulary, and understanding why-historical accounts may differ but be equally valid. The paper then considers ways in which the constructivist learning theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner, and subsequent research based on their work, can be applied to history, from children's earliest years, and in increasingly complex ways. It argues the importance of learning history as a dimension of early years education in ways which are meaningful to children and multi perspectival; which allow them to hypothesise, evaluate, support ideas with arguments, listen to others and recognize that sometimes there is no right answer. It then suggests many familiar contexts in which young children can begin to discuss the causes and effects of changes over time, make inferences about a variety of historical sources and construct, compare interpretations of the past and understand why they may vary. It is argued that learning about the past is an integral part of social, emotional, as well as cognitive development. The paper concludes with extracts from dialogue which illustrate progression in children's reasoning about the past.

In the past 50 years, the original McMaster PBL model has been implemented, experimented, revised, and modified, and is still evolving. Yet, the development of PBL is not a series of success stories, but rather a journey of experiments, failures and lessons learned. In this paper, we analyzed the meta-analyses and systematic reviews on PBL from 1992 to present as they provide a focused lens on the PBL research in the past 5 decades. We identified three major waves in the PBL research development, analyzed their impact on PBL research and practice, and offered suggestions of research gaps and future directions for the field. The first wave of PBL research (polarization: 1990-mid 2000) focused on answering the question "Does PBL work?" and the outcomes. The results were conflicting. The researchers took polarizing positions and debated over the merits of PBL throughout this wave. However, the contradictory results and the debates in fact pushed the researchers to look harder for new directions to solve the puzzle. These efforts resulted in the second wave (from outcomes to process: mid 2000-mid 2010) that focused on the question "How does PBL work?" The second wave of PBL research targeted at investigating the effects of implementation constituents, such as assessment formats or single versus curriculum wide implementations. The third wave (specialization: mid 2010 and onward) of PBL research focused on "How does PBL work in different specific contexts?" These research widened our perspectives by expanding our understanding of how PBL manifests itself in different contexts. Given the diversification of PBL and more hybrid PBL models, we suggest "Why does PBL with particular implementation characteristics for specific outcomes work or not work in the condition where it is implemented?" to be the question to answer in the next wave of PBL research.

In the past 50 years, the original McMaster PBL model has been implemented, experimented, revised, and modified, and is still evolving. Yet, the development of PBL is not a series of success stories, but rather a journey of experiments, failures and lessons learned. In this paper, we analyzed the meta-analyses and systematic reviews on PBL from 1992 to present as they provide a focused lens on the PBL research in the past 5 decades. We identified three major waves in the PBL research development, analyzed their impact on PBL research and practice, and offered suggestions of research gaps and future directions for the field. The first wave of PBL research (polarization: 1990-mid 2000) focused on answering the question "Does PBL work?" and the outcomes. The results were conflicting. The researchers took polarizing positions and debated over the merits of PBL throughout this wave. However, the contradictory results and the debates in fact pushed the researchers to look harder for new directions to solve the puzzle. These efforts resulted in the second wave (from outcomes to process: mid 2000-mid 2010) that focused on the question "How does PBL work?" The second wave of PBL research targeted at investigating the effects of implementation constituents, such as assessment formats or single versus curriculum wide implementations. The third wave (specialization: mid 2010 and onward) of PBL research focused on "How does PBL work in different specific contexts?" These research widened our perspectives by expanding our understanding of how PBL manifests itself in different contexts. Given the diversification of PBL and more hybrid PBL models, we suggest "Why does PBL with particular implementation characteristics for specific outcomes work or not work in the condition where it is implemented?" to be the question to answer in the next wave of PBL research.

When researchers select a methodology or method, they have to be careful not to merely apply watered down versions of them to their research by simply making overgeneralized or ill informed claims to be using them without being transparent of their applications. In the past few decades, grounded theory has been increasingly popular in educational research. Although it first emerged in research in the health field, there has been a growing number of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) research studies that have adopted grounded theory as their appropriate method. However, researchers using grounded theory have not always been clear on which variation they are using. When selecting grounded theory, the researcher needs to be particularly aware that as grounded theory has become more known to researchers and used in many different ways to address research inquiries, it has developed in diverse directions with different variations. In this paper, an attempt will be made to clarify the variations of grounded theory by first reviewing an EFL case study on leadership that sets out to apply grounded theory and then to demonstrate which variation should be selected. In the process of selecting the appropriate version, the following questions are investigated: What are the fundamentals of grounded theory and its variations? And what constitutes an ontological, epistemological, and methodological framework for grounded theory study? These questions are addressed through an overview of some essential characteristics of grounded theory. In doing so, this article outlines grounded theory as a research perspective and method, and how it has evolved since its introduction in 1967. Several variations of grounded theory are also discussed. The study finally shows the rationale for why the constructivist version has been selected., ここ数十年の間、グラウンデッドセオリーは、日本の教育分野において、適切な研究方法の一つとして頻繁に使われるようになりました。もともとは、保健医療の分野で生まれたのですが、現在では、EFL（外国語としての英語）の分野で使用されるようになりました。グラウンデッドセオリーは最近多くの学者に知られるようになり、その過程において様々な種類のグラウンデッドセオリーが登場してきました。この論文ではまず、作者の事例研究に焦点を当て、なぜグラウンデッドセオリーが最適な研究方法なのかを議論して行きます。その後、存在論的、認識論的、方法論的視点から、グラウンデッドセオリーがどのような特徴を持つものなのかを検証していきます。さらに、1967年にグラウンデッドセオリーが生まれて以降、どのように進化を成し遂げてきたかを検証していきます。論文の終わりには、なぜ構成主義のグラウンデッドセオリーが作者の研究にもっとも最適なのか、その理由を検証していきます。

This paper discusses the factors that became the reason for Venezuela in rejecting humanitarian assistance from the international community for the humanitarian tragedy occurring in the country. This study employed a constructivist approach in looking at the relationship between sense of identity and sense of vulnerability in analyzing the Venezuelan response to the entry of international humanitarian aid from United Nations (UN) agencies into the country. The results revealed that the rejection of international community assistance by the Venezuelan government aimed to protect the country from intervening interests of international actors.

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the introduction, implementation, evolution, hybridization, and initial research into the constructivist instructional models deployed within a secondary (high) school in Australia. A concomitant aim is to relate some of the consequences of whole school pedagogical change, which have included the implementation of project- and problem-based learning, the flipped classroom, and a derivative hybridized form, referred to here as “flipped PBL.” Moreover, after a decade of using constructivist approaches, we initiated educational research to better understand some of the effects of these changes and to explore the reasons behind the successful implementation of the models. While still in its infancy, the nature of this research and some of the preliminary findings are detailed here.

According to the constructivist approach, that considers learning an active process of construction in which the student occupies a central position, this paper is an attempt to critically reflect on the approaches of teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) carrying out real practices in internet and using different multimedia tools. Taking into account that the acquisition of a foreign language implies training in real contexts and social interaction, this study analyses the use of new pedagogical tendencies such as the Web 2.0. (Wikis, Blogs, Blackboard, etc.) and internet (online dictionaries, YouTube, Google search, etc.) as effective resources to carry out communicative and task-based activities for teaching ESP. This study, based on the impressions and experiences of developing constructive real tasks related to a professional subject using new technologies, reviews not only current language teaching paradigms related to social participation, but also how the technical integration of the different linguistic skills promotes communicative learning in real contexts. The findings from this exploratory study provide a better understanding on the efficiency of technology in teaching English for Specific Purposes.

The growth of areas such as automation and robotics demands autonomous systems endowed with sophisticated perception systems like machine vision. However, undergraduate level education is not providing good results in this sense, because students do not participate in the creation of their own knowledge; they are only passive observers. On the other hand, FPGA technology has great potential in areas such as machine vision where many hypotheses are evaluated concurrently, high computation rates are required, and the current systems are far from equaling human performance. Our research notes that by using FPGA and constructivist learning as the methodology, assessment of learning in electronic sciences is not a separate process after learning has occurred, but rather learning and assessment are coterminous. Thus, this paper presents a constructivist tool focused on a machine vision course that allows students to implement and evaluate algorithms of this area on an FPGA. Selectioan and peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Ferhan Odabasi

espanolEste trabajo presenta una propuesta didactica constructivista, basada en la realizacion de laboratorios experimentales para la unidad de fisica de fluidos, que fue disenada por estudiantes de pedagogia en fisica de la Universidad de Concepcion, Chile. La metodologia consta de tres etapas: i) teorico- conceptual; ii) experimental y obtencion de resultados y iii) analisis de la informacion y resultados. La propuesta fue implementada, ejecutada y probada en cursos de nivel secundario de un colegio local. Segun el factor de Hake, los resultados muestran que los estudiantes obtuvieron una alta ganancia conceptual de aprendizajes observada en el incremento de las calificaciones. Mas aun, se observo un cambio en la dinamica de trabajo de los estudiantes, lo que fue verificado por el incremento de la afinidad y la transferencia de aprendizajes en el grupo. La formulacion de propuestas didacticas constructivista bajo la metodologia experimental muestra ser relevante en el proceso de ensenanza-aprendizaje para la formacion universitaria de futuros docentes de ciencias. EnglishThis paper presents a constructivist didactic proposal, based on the performance of experimental laboratories of fluid physics unit, designed by students of bachelor of education in natural and physical sciences at the University of Concepcion, Chile. The methodology consists of three steps: i) theoretical and conceptual; ii) experimental and data gathering; and iii) data analysis and results. The proposal was implemented, executed and tested in high school courses at a local college. Hake factor indicates that students had high conceptual learning gain, observed in the increase in average scores. Furthermore, a change was observed in the workflow of students, verified by the increased affinity in the group, as well as by the appearance of a learning transfer network. The formulation of didactic constructivist proposals under experimental methodology proves to be relevant in the teaching-learning process of future science teachers.

En este trabajo se presenta un análisis de la problemática alrededor de la enseñanza del tema del enlace químico en el nivel de media secundaria de las Instituciones Educativas (I.E.) públicas. Actualmente reconocemos que existe dificultad en la enseñanza de aquellos temas que son difíciles de ser validados experimentalmente y en los que las representaciones gráficas son usualmente aproximaciones que no se acercan a lo que pasa en la realidad. Hoy se cuenta con la posibilidad del acceso a las TICs mediante computadores personales en la gran mayoría de las I.E., con ellos se pueden hacer modelaciones más precisas de sistemas atómicos y moleculares, convirtiéndola en una herramienta fundamental en la enseñanza de este siglo. El presente trabajo, en el marco de las teorías del aprendizaje significativo y como un modelo constructivista, propone una unidad didáctica para la enseñanza del concepto de enlace químico utilizando software de modelación y otros recursos tecnológicos. Abstract: In this paper an analysis of the problem around of teaching chemical bonding at the high school level is presented. Currently we recognize that there difficulty in teaching those topics that are difficult to be validated experimentally and in which the graphical representations are usually approximations that do not come close to what happens in reality. Today we have the possibility of access to ICTs by personal computers in most of the Educational Institutions (E.I.), with them can be made more accurate modeling of atomic and molecular systems, converting it into an essential tool in the teaching of this century. This work, in the context of theories of significant learning and as a constructivist model, propose a didactic unit for teaching chemical bonding concept of using modeling software and other technological resources.

In recent years, the discourse regarding the developing and utilization of information related digital technologies has flowed between a notion of autonomous technology and social constructivist perspectives. In higher education, digitized information technologies do not develop in isolation and similarly, the social structures in our classrooms do not develop free from technological influence – there are clear interactions occurring between them but also challenges in how they unfold and operate together. In addition to technological issues for teachers and academic developers who support their professional development, there are problems that arise during the change process from a traditional delivery mechanism, such as the lecture, to an alternative pedagogy such as a problem-based educational model. This paper addresses the need for an analysis of interactions taking place in the blending of online and face-to-face problem-based learning tutorials in the higher education classroom. A desk-based systematic literature review was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the intersection of social learning and technological relationships of the academic staff who are engaged in professional development in higher education. The main findings of the literature review and experience of designing the blended PBL reveal that an intensive and comprehensive blended PBL staff development program can be effective in transforming teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning with technology. This can emerge from extensive reflection on practice and exposure to appropriate socio-technological models. Further findings show that the benefits of interaction in the blended PBL tutorial are achieved through online and f2f small-group work based on a clear communicative approach and collaborative learning as methods that enhance the learner’s autonomy, self-esteem and intrinsic motivation to learn. JEL codes: I23; D83; Q55