Teaching methodologies in civil engineering: a multidisciplinary approach

Nowadays universities are rethinking their teaching methodologies not only in order to adapt to the use of new technologies, such as the ICT (information and communication technologies) or the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) but also in order to advance the international students towards a multidisciplinary approach. Thus, this article is the result of a multidisciplinary approach gathering scholars from Portugal and Romania, presenting a set of several teaching methodologies used on the domains of civil engineering. It is based on the experience of the University of Beira Interior (UBI) in Portugal and the Faculty of Constructions, Cadastre and Architecture of the University of Oradea (UO) in Romania. Among other descriptions, the conclusions show that there are several different and common aspects in between the Portuguese and the Romanian experiences. Regarding the common aspects there is the need of finding new teaching methodologies in order to consider the different backgrounds of the international students coming from several countries and continents, having diverse high educational systems. Thus, the international students are encouraged to work together and to actively participate in the development, presentation and discussion of their scientific findings.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How Does the Newly Added DAC Evaluation Criterion “Coherence” Contribute to Achieving the SDG Target 4.c for Teachers?

The OECD DAC’s Network on Development Evaluation (EvalNet) adapted definitions for the five DAC evaluation criteria and added one new criterion – coherence – in 2018 to advance the 2030 Agenda. Quality education (SDG4) provides various synergy effects to all other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Besides SDG4’s contribution to the other SDGs, it is necessary to understand the positive and negative interactions between SDG4 and other goals and targets for more effective project formulation and implementation. This research aims to understand how to practice the concept of coherence for achieving target 4.c (teacher professional development) by teachers via scoring the key interactions based on the ICSU framework and conducting a meta-evaluation of the JICA ex-post evaluations of INSET projects. To achieve target 4.c, it was found that at least 27 targets have positive interactions; however, they are seldom checked in an ex-post evaluation. To ensure that key interactions for producing the project outcomes are assessed in evaluation, mapping out tradeoffs and synergies across a matrix is important policy analytical work that can provide a broad view of the challenges of the 2030 Agenda

Parenting Styles, Effortful Control, and Academic Outcomes among Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Effect of Activation Control

The present study examined the associations between parenting styles and adolescents’ academic performance, with a specific focus on examining the mediating role of activation control among Chinese adolescents. A framework of Chinese parenting style, which consists of three dimensions, rejection, emotional warmth, and over-protection, was utilized to predict activation control and academic outcomes. Structural models were fitted with the data collected from a Chinese sample of adolescents aged 15 to 17 years. Parenting styles were found to be associated with children’s activation control skills and academic outcomes. Activation control skills were found to be beneficial for promoting educational attainment expectation and reducing school work difficulties. The present study also indicates that in some cases activation control mediates the association between parental over-protection and experiencing school work difficulties. The findings of the present study reinforce previous research by demonstrating the importance of Chinese-specific parenting approaches and by identifying the importance of activation control in the Chinese cultural context

Awareness of Turkish Pre-Service Teachers about the Risks of Electromagnetic Radiation in Daily Life Cases

This study aimed to investigate Turkish pre-service teachers' awareness about electromagnetic radiation risks, which stem from diagnostic imaging at the hospitals and cell phone use in daily life. The study was based on survey research. A total of 138 education faculty students from the fields of Science Teaching [ST], Classroom Teaching [CT], and English Language Teaching [ELT] participated in the study. Data were collected with the help of a questionnaire involving five cases. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were utilized in data analysis. The results showed that most of the participants agreed on the hazardousness of the cases. However, their risk awareness varied from case to case. Most ST and CT students were determined to possess acceptable responses in addition to partially acceptable responses. On the other hand, ELT students were determined to favor unacceptable responses. Besides, the participants held several misconceptions. To conclude, the participants' awareness levels were found to be significantly related to their educational field for all cases except the first case. Addressing such popular subjects in the elective courses for all undergraduate students during university education is expected to provide beneficial results

ACHIEVEMENT OF ONLINE SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES: A FOCUS ON KNOWLEDGE, PEDAGOGY, AND PREPARATION OF ONLINE GENERAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

Diverse learners attending online K-12 schools deserve high quality and accessible educational programs. This research explores factors that influence the academic achievement of students with Specific Learning Disabilities attending online schools. The first chapter of this dissertation deeply analyzes existing research of factors that contribute to students’ educational progress. Students, teachers and families’ technological knowledge and skills, curriculum design, teacher preparation, and teacher collaboration were amongst some, not all, of the factors explored. A study of the literature indicated online teachers needed training and development related to meeting the needs of students with Specific Learning Disabilities. Therefore, a needs assessment was conducted, as described in chapter two, that studied the perceptions of online general and special education middle school teachers across nine public charter schools seeking to understand their pre-service training, in-service training and ongoing professional development related to teaching students with Specific Learning Disabilities in online schools. Teachers indicated a lack of preparation during pre-service training, in-service training, new teacher training, and ongoing professional development. When asked about their beliefs regarding teacher collaboration, 97% of study participants agreed collaboration amongst general and special educators informs instructional practices, yet a small percentage of teachers indicated such collaboration is a part of their current teaching methods. Chapter three explores intervention literature targeting teacher training. There is scarce literature that explicitly targets online teachers’ pedagogy with a focus on educational outcomes of students with Specific Learning Disabilities. Considering all learning environments, research indicates teacher collaboration as a beneficial pedagogical practice enhancing teachers’ knowledge, practices, and student learning. The final chapter of this dissertation proposes an intervention encompassing professional development and implementation support aiming to enhance collaboration amongst online general and special education teachers and distally improve student outcomes

Action Research: Alternative Assessments in Middle School Science Classrooms

The purpose of this study is to see how alternative testing can alter students’ test anxiety levels. A survey will be given to the students before a written assessment, measuring the students’ text anxiety level before a standard test. Then the students will be given multiple options for an assessment of their understanding of the content, rather than a written test. A second survey will be given to the students to measure the students’ anxiety levels before turning in their alternate assessment. The two surveys will be compared to see if providing alternate ways to measure understanding rather than a traditional paper/pencil test will lower students’ anxiety levels about assessments

Solving the course scheduling problem by constraint programming and simulated annealing

Thesis (Master)--Izmir Institute of Technology, Computer Engineering, Izmir, 2008Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 87-62)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishix, 80 leavesIn this study it has been tackled the NP-complete problem of academic class scheduling (or timetabling). The aim of this thesis is finding a feasible solution for Computer Engineering Department of İzmir Institute of Technology. Hence, a solution method for course timetabling is presented in this thesis, consisting of two phases: a constraint programming phase to provide an initial solution and a simulated annealing phase with different neighbourhood searching algorithms. When the experimental data are obtained it is noticed that according to problem structure, whether the problem is tightened or loosen constrained, the performance of a hybrid approach can change. These different behaviours of the approach are demonstrated by two different timetabling problem instances. In addition to all these, the neighbourhood searching algorithms used in the simulated annealing technique are tested in different combinations and their performances are presented

Economic Competence and Financial Literacy of Young Adults: Status and Challenges

The authors take a detailed look at the economic competence and financial literacy of young adults, especially of those who start an apprenticeship or who take up their studies at an university. Economic competence and financial literacy are of special interest within this group, because these young people are - mostly for the first time in their lives - responsible for autonomously managing their own financial affairs and deal with economic challenges

Economic Competence and Financial Literacy of Young Adults

The authors take a detailed look at the economic competence and financial literacy of young adults, especially of those who start an apprenticeship or who take up their studies at a university. Economic competence and financial literacy are of special interest within this group, because these young people are – mostly for the fi rst time in their lives – responsible for autonomously managing their own fi nancial affairs and deal with economic challenges