EFFECTIVENESS OF GUIDED DISCOVERY BASED THERMOCHEMISTRY MODULE TO TRAIN CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS BASED ON GENDER DIFFERENCES

Critical thinking skills are important competencies that need to be developed in chemistry learning. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the guided discovery-based thermochemistry module in developing critical thinking skills based on gender differences. The subject of this research was 76 females and 20 males of class XI Mathematics and Nature Science from three high schools in Ponorogo, Indonesia. This study used one school for each category, namely high, medium, and low. The research method used a quasi-experimental design with one group pretest-posttest. The data analysis technique used T-test with SPSS 21 software. The result showed that the average increase in student scores or normality gain score (n-gain) was 0.5050 to 0.6362, which means students' critical thinking skills improved after the implementation of guided discovery-based thermochemistry modules. T-test result in high category schools obtained T count > T table (2.142> 2.032), which showed that there are significant differences between the critical thinking skills of female and male students. Meanwhile, T count and T table in medium category school were 1.353 and 2.034, respectively. T count and T table in low category school respectively 1.106 and 2.068. Analysis of T-test results in medium and low school categories can be written -T table < T count < T table, is means there is no significant differences between the critical thinking skills of female and male students. Thus, guided discovery-based thermochemistry modules are effectively applied to high, medium and low school categories

Perceptions of English foreign language university students towards the online freshman composition course

The purpose of this research is to explore the perceptions of English Foreign Language University students towards online freshman composition courses at the university. The study aims to explore students' perspectives on the course and evaluate the reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity of the construct among Omani EFL university students. Data were collected from 276 Omani EFL university students who were enrolled in freshman composition courses using a quantitative survey methodology. &nbsp;Participants rated their experiences using a five-point scale. The study used both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) conducted with Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) 26 to achieve its research objectives. The results of this research provide substantial support for the validity and reliability of the multidimensional construct representing students' perceptions. Additionally, the results of the study demonstrate that the measurement is consistent across various academic levels&nbsp;indicating programme invariance. A five-factor model that accurately represents students' opinions on online freshman composition courses has been developed in this study. The outcomes contribute to the theoretical understanding of evaluating students' perceptions of the course and hold practical implications for enhancing the teaching and design of similar courses

Prospective mathematics teachers’ development of noticing in an online teacher education program

In this study we aimed to characterize the development of prospective mathematics teachers’ noticing in an online teacher education program. Prospective teachers wrote narratives about their own teaching during their traineeship period at schools, and shared them with their colleagues and with the university tutor in an online forum. A narrative is a description of a teaching–learning situation that incorporates reasons about what has happened during the teaching, and justifications of plausible future teaching actions. We analyzed changes in the prospective teachers’ narratives by scrutinizing how prospective teachers identify Mathematically Significant Pedagogical Opportunities to Build on Student Thinking (MOSTs) and in which ways they take advantage of them. Additionally, we analyzed whether these changes could be related to the feedback provided in the online forum. The findings indicate changes in how prospective teachers notice their practice, evidenced by the manner in which the MOSTs are taken advantage of, and by the reasons given for their actions. These findings suggest that sharing narratives in online forums and receiving feedback from their colleagues and from the university tutor help prospective teachers to enhance the skill of noticing, leading to changes in their practice. This research provides new knowledge about how online contexts in teacher education programs promote opportunities for collaborative learning, noticing development, and changes in teachers’ practices.This research was supported by the project EDU2017-87411-R from the Ministerio of Economia, Industria y Competitividad (Spain), by the project PROMETEO2017-135 from Conselleria de Educación, Investigación, Cultura y Deporte de la Generalitat Valenciana (Spain) and by the grant UCPI-IN6-007-2017 of the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED) de Costa Rica

Virtual communities in Blended Learning: cases study at @rcaComum

Community of Inquiry (CoI) es de los enfoques constructivistas colaborativos más desarrollados entre los estudios científicos sobre e-learning en comunidades virtuales. El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar la existencia de la presencia social, cognitiva y docente y examinar la existencia de elementos cognitivos sobre un modelo b-learning. Se sigue una metodología cualitativa basada en estudio de casos, realizada con 97 educadoras, matriculadas en cuatro cursos de formación semipresencial ofrecidos por @rcaComum sobre programación con ScratchJr. Se analizó el contenido de los foros según el modelo CoI, obteniendo 1.206 mensajes, categorizados y codificados en 1.895 unidades temáticas. Los resultados están liderados por la presencia docente, con el rol proactivo de la moderadora hacia la enseñanza. La presencia social está basada en la comunicación abierta, mientras que la presencia cognitiva está marcada por mensajes de confusión y reconocimiento de problemas. Se concluye que los factores sociales y cognitivos que intervienen en la formación híbrida cuestionan el valor del modelo CoI. Se discuten las implicaciones del enfoque de instrucción CoI en el modelo de aprendizaje mixto y se incluyen recomendaciones para futuras investigaciones.In virtual communities, Community of Inquiry (CoI) is one of the most developed, collaborative and constructivist approaches amongst scientific studies on e-learning. The objective of this research is to analyse the existence of social, cognitive and teaching presence and examine the cognitive presence in a b-learning model. It follows a qualitative methodology based on studies, conducted with 97 educators, enrolled on four, part time training courses offered by @rcaComum about programming with ScratchJr. The content of these forums was analysed according to the CoI. model, obtaining 1,206 messages, categorized and coded in 1,895 themed units. The results are led by the teaching presence, with the moderator using a proactive role towards teaching. Social presence is based on open communication, while cognitive presence is marked by messages of confusion and the recognition of problems. It is concluded that the social and cognitive factors that intervene in hybrid training, question the value of the CoI model. The implications of the CoI instruction approach in a mixed learning model are discussed and recommendations for future research are included.Este trabajo está financiado por el Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte para contratos predoctorales FPU (Ref. FPU13/04744) presentando resultados parciales de la tesis doctoral de Pilar Ibáñez-Cubillas. También está financiado por FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - referência SFRH/BPD/109205/2015) y el apoyo del Instituto de Educação e Centro de Competência.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Comunidades virtuales en blended learning: estudio de casos en @rcaComun

In virtual communities, Community of Inquiry (CoI) is one of the most developed, collaborative and constructivist approaches amongst scientific studies on e-learning. The objective of this research is to analyse the existence of social, cognitive and teaching presence and examine the cognitive presence in a b-learning model. It follows a qualitative methodology based on studies, conducted with 97 educators, enrolled on four, part time training courses offered by @rcaComum about programming with ScratchJr. The content of these forums was analysed according to the CoI. model, obtaining 1,206 messages, categorized and coded in 1,895 themed units. The results are led by the teaching presence, with the moderator using a proactive role towards teaching. Social presence is based on open communication, while cognitive presence is marked by messages of confusion and the recognition of problems. It is concluded that the social and cognitive factors that intervene in hybrid training, question the value of the CoI model. The implications of the CoI instruction approach in a mixed learning model are discussed and recommendations for future research are included.Community of Inquiry (CoI) es de los enfoques constructivistas colaborativos más desarrollados entre los estudios científicos sobre e-learning en comunidades virtuales. El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar la existencia de la presencia social, cognitiva y docente y examinar la existencia de elementos cognitivos sobre un modelo b-learning. Se sigue una metodología cualitativa basada en estudio de casos, realizada con 97 educadoras, matriculadas en cuatro cursos de formación semipresencial ofrecidos por @rcacomun sobre programación con ScratchJr. Se analizó el contenido de los foros según el modelo CoI, obteniendo 1.206 mensajes, categorizados y codificados en 1.895 unidades temáticas. Los resultados están liderados por la presencia docente, con el rol proactivo de la moderadora hacia la enseñanza. La presencia social está basada en la comunicación abierta, mientras que la presencia cognitiva está marcada por mensajes de confusión y reconocimiento de problemas. Se concluye que los factores sociales y cognitivos que intervienen en la formación híbrida cuestionan el valor del modelo CoI. Se discuten las implicaciones del enfoque de instrucción CoI en el modelo de aprendizaje mixto y se incluyen recomendaciones para futuras investigaciones

What if online students take on the responsibility: Students’ cognitive presence and peer facilitation techniques

The purpose of this study was to investigate: (a) the characteristics of online students’ cognitive presence in a peer-facilitated discussion environment, and (b) the peer facilitation techniques that enhance cognitive presence development. In this study, we examined 738 discussion messages. Analytic methods included both qualitative and quantitative content analysis. The findings revealed that although cognitive presence was detected in most discussion messages, they aggregated at a lower level. The involvement of peer facilitators was found to correlate with students’ higher-level cognitive presence. In addition, we found that types of initiating questions asked by peer facilitators positively affected the level of cognitive presence. We also explored the facilitation techniques used by peer facilitators that aim to promote students’ cognitive presence.

Perspectivas y experiencias del profesorado de la UNAM durante la pandemia: continuidades y cambios en las interacciones, herramientas, evaluación y necesidades de formación docente

El objetivo de la investigación fue identificar las continuidades y cambios que docentes de bachillerato y licenciatura de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México registraron en las interacciones, herramientas digitales, estrategias de evaluación e intereses de formación en la encuesta que la Coordinación de Universidad Abierta, Innovación Educativa y Educación a Distancia levantó de abril a agosto de 2021 y contrastar algunos de estos resultados con una encuesta realizada en junio de 2020. El método de investigación fue un estudio tipo encuesta de diseño transversal con objetivos exploratorios y descriptivos. Se contó con una muestra estadísticamente representativa: n=854 docentes de bachillerato y n=1,386 docentes de licenciatura. Los resultados son generalizables al profesorado de los subsistemas de educación media superior y a nivel superior por área de conocimiento. Los resultados sugieren que hay un incremento de docentes que emplea con mucha frecuencia la interacción de clase grupal y tareas individuales; también se identificó un incremento de docentes que usan con mucha frecuencia las herramientas digitales y las estrategias de evaluación respecto del segundo cuestionario. En general, el orden de opciones que los docentes dijeron emplear con mucha frecuencia se mantuvo entre el segundo y tercer cuestionario; esto incluye las temáticas de formación. Las principales conclusiones refieren a que se registran continuidades en la interacción, uso de herramientas digitales, estrategias de evaluación y temáticas de formación en los dos levantamientos y en menor medida hubo cambios. Se plantea la necesidad de pensar estas continuidades y diferencias desde un enfoque de interacciones didácticas

A model for enhancing creativity, collaboration and pre-professional identities in technology-supported cross-organizational communities of practice

This research proposes that technology-supported cross-organizational (university-industry) Communities of Practice (CoPs), which are integrated into the Design Studies curriculum in Higher Education, can foster robust university-industry collaborations. These can help bridge the reported gap between the actual versus the expected soft skills and personae of young graduates transitioning to the creative industries today. CoPs are groups of people who share a common interest in an area of ‘endeavor’ and connect to co-create competence in that area through their practice. This paper makes two overarching research contributions. First, it informs about the design, enactment, and evaluation of a student CoP in an undergraduate Design course which was expanded to include members from the industry as clients, alumni mentors, and expert evaluators. Drawing from rich empirical data, the paper explains the designed and emergent learning phenomena of CoP participation and its effects on the students’ creative and socio-epistemic outcomes, as well as their pre-professional identities. Second, it presents a governance model with three sets of actionable guidelines, namely the Set (technology), the Social (collaborative), and the Epistemic (learning) components. The entire body of work validates the critical interlocking of these components to form a robust social learning model that appropriates the complex practices of cross-organizational CoPs in Higher Education Design studies

Examining Relationships Between Student Perceptions of Community of Inquiry as a Predictor of Cognitive and Behavioral Engagement Mediated by Self-Efficacy

Online learning was growing in demand prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, due to the pandemic, more are seeing the need to increase the understanding of design strategies that improve student experiences. This study hypothesized a relationship between the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, representing the design strategies for learning effectiveness in online courses, and cognitive and behavioral engagement with student self-efficacy as a mediating variable between the constructs of CoI and cognitive engagement. Participants for this study were undergraduate students enrolled in an online course from universities all over the United States. The study used a hypothesized model and path analysis. While the model was a poor fit for the data, results of this study indicate a significant positive relationship between cognitive presence and cognitive engagement, cognitive presence and self-efficacy, teacher presence and behavioral engagement, and social presence and behavioral engagement. Results of this study suggest design strategies specifically related to the constructs in Community of Inquiry will have a positive impact on cognitive and behavioral engagement. However, it was found that self-efficacy did not play a mediating role between CoI and cognitive engagement