Sustainability on earth WebQuests as problem-solving activities : can physical sciences teachers rely on them?

WebQuests are problem-solving activities that are supposed to be addressed by dealing with information that is available mainly on the internet. WebQuests integrate problem-solving challenges with ICT students‘ motivating power and they may be more useful learning tools than the usual free internet-based Problem-Based Learning settings. However, the educational value of WebQuests depends heavily on the type of task they include. This paper aims at analysing the problem-solving potential of 16 WebQuests, available from schools and universities sites, focusing on Sustainability on Earth. Results indicate that WebQuests differ with regard to the issues addressed in the analysis. Most of them tend to focus on science content and have very low cognitive and creativity demands. The results suggest that science teachers should not rely on the available WebQuests, but rather they should be able to analyse them critically in order to select those that better fit the problem-solving purpose of a WebQuest

Teacher training on Educational Robotics: a systematic review

3noopenThis study systematically reviews the literature concerning structured training experiences with Educational Robotics (ER) by in-service teachers (ISTs) and pre-service teachers (PSTs). The sixteen papers selected highlight the relevance of these courses in order to update professional identity and to support professional development (PD) beginning with undergraduate education. Through these training sessions, both ISTs and PSTs adapted and integrated their knowledge about robotics and the pedagogy behind it, coming to understand the benefits that new technologies can offer. Therefore, they built a positive attitude towards ER and enhanced their self-efficacy. This enables teachers to properly integrate ER in the classroom, using a more conscious and less obsolete methodology. Consequently, they become, together with their students, active co- designers of the educational process. Finally, improvements in teaching methods and contents will significantly impact on the learning process, especially in terms of motivation and inclusion.openGiannandrea, L.; Gratani, F.; Renieri, A.Giannandrea, L.; Gratani, F.; Renieri, A

GENDER ATTRITION RATE DIFFERENCES AMONG ESTATE MANAGEMENT STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITIES WITHIN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

Most sciences and science-related disciplines, popularly known as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and professions are largely oriented towards the male student, staffs and employees. Females are under-represented at every level of activity both in the study and in the employment [1]. The purpose of the study is to examine the gender attrition rate differences among Estate Management students of Universities within South-West, Nigeria being one of the fields within the STEM range of discipline scope since it has a scientific focus. The enrolment and graduation list of the students was used to determine the attrition rate of Estate Management student by gender. This is for a period of five (5) years garnered from three universities in South-West Nigeria namely: Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, University of Lagos, Akoka and Covenant University, Ota. These Universities fall within the group of universities that have produced reasonable number of graduates over time, up to ten sets of graduates over the period 2007 and 2016. However, this study will only consider five sets due to constraints in assessing the needed data. The study applied quantitative data using descriptive statistics such as tables, percentages and mean. The findings are in correspondence with what obtains in literature [2] that female student’s attrition is higher in fields that are maledominated. Since Estate Management is male dominated (as seen from the figures), the attrition rate of females is more in the universities sampled. A useful recommendation for the study was provide

Educating prospective entrepreneurship researchers:The case of a summer school as a learning community

The paper describes the case of the European entrepreneurship summer school (EESS) supported by a consortium of universities from different countries. The paper develops a set of theoretical propositions and practical recommendations for creating a learning community and space around a summer school activity in the context of a larger ecosystem encouraging students to choose a career in the respective area. The core elements building the innovativeness of the concept of this educational initiative are analyzed. First, it is the complementarity of expertise which shapes a teachers’ learning community’. Second, it is the active involvement of students achieved through preselection of motivated participants, coaching, and an individual and group work. Third, it is a creation of a safety feeling among participants to increase the mutual trust and intensive interactions among students. Forth, it is the co-opetition among students collaborating but also competing with the group-project presentations. Fifth, it is the pre-school preparation of students to achieve a minimal level of common knowledge of related concepts and techniques. The limitations of the EESS model are: (1) the international team of teachers, (2) the geographical dispersion which negatively contributes to the students’ pre-school learning community, (3) the volunteering activity of the organizers and teaching staff, which is limited by their main workload, (4) the financial model which does not allow to become sustainable without a support of the participating universities

REAL ESTATE EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: THE NEED FOR NEW PARADIGMS

This paper reports on the detailed findings for the need for new paradigms into real estate education in Nigeria. The aim is to critically evaluate the gaps in the programme of study of Departments of Estate Management in Nigerian Universities taking note of employers’ expectations of real estate graduates. To determine the extent to which the needs of the property industry are being met by the current curriculum, secondary data from the review of current literature were relied upon. This was to ascertain how far the hard and soft skills’ requirements of the real estate industry have been met. Inferences were drawn from business experiences globally and used as the strength of support for the research propositions. The study found that there were significant differences in the views of researchers across the globe concerning practical experience, graduates’ levels of commercial awareness, information technology tools, negotiation skills, information gathering and processing, management of people and processes, communication, problem solving and knowledge about market evaluation. The study recommends the immersion of young Nigerian undergraduates of estate management into a different culture and new concepts which cannot be substituted through lectures at the home university. The time to be spent in other university would serve, not only as means to broaden the academic scope of students but also enhances the participant’s personality and adaptability through introduction into a different "school of thought". Furthermore, such early exposure and experience will be of substantial benefit in future responsibilitie

Reviewing the Impact of the National Strategies Design and Technology Framework for Key Stage Three: A small-­‐scale evaluation of the Design and Technology Framework in England

Since the beginning of Design and Technology (D&T) in the English secondary school curriculum, the teaching of design has been identified as less effective than that of making. Research Questions: What are the experiences of pupils between the ages of 12 and 14 of design learning? Purpose of Study: In 2004 as part of the National Strategies, the D&T framework was launched, aiming to support the teaching of design skills. This is a small-­‐scale study, which begins to explore the experiences of pupils and teachers in four schools in the Northwest of England. Research Methods: The study used a mixed methods approach, gathering quantitative and qualitative data in a questionnaire with a convenience sample of school pupils. The questionnaire responses are analysed alongside qualitative interviews with D&T teachers from the schools. Findings: The findings indicate that many pupils had a clear understanding of the role of designing. However, some common assumptions of the nature of design activity centering on the act of sketching or drawing were evident. The majority of pupils were unable to accurately identify the names of many of the design activities introduced as part of the framework. Conclusions: Whilst some progress has been made in the teaching of design, through the use of design activities introduced in the D&T Framework, the support experienced by teachers was limited and were not sustained beyond the initial training. There are implications for initial teacher educators in supporting beginning teachers and balancing the tensions trainees experience whilst on placements in school. Key Words: Design, designing, pedagogy, teacher educatio

Borderlands between history and memory: Latgalia in mnemohistory

This study investigates the relationship between how the past appears in collective memory, or ‘mnemohistory’ (J. Assmann 1997), and how history is recorded by historians as part of the historiographical accumulation of knowledge about the past. It argues that this distinction is important for our understanding of geographical borderlands, especially those which have been subject to numerous geopolitical border changes and where there is a divergence between what is remembered of the past in collective memory and what is recorded of the past in History. This study proposes a novel synthesis of concepts by applying Aleida Assmann’s (2011) distinction between functional memory and storage memory to borderlands in order to investigate the palimpsests-like layering of memory that occur there. Based on Aleida Assmann’s (2008a) concepts of ‘canon’ and ‘archive’, an interdisciplinary mixed methods approach to studying functional and storage memory in borderlands is developed using a combination of critical discourse analysis (CDA) of museums, qualitative survey analysis and an expert interview. This theoretical framework is applied to the case study of Latgalia in eastern Latvia, which has thus far been largely neglected in the literature. The functional memory is studied through an analysis of the historical narratives presented in three museums and the storage memory landscape is examined through an expert survey of professional historians of Latgalia and an interview. The analysis exposes key differences between the functional memory and storage memory: whereas the mnemohistory of Latgalia is largely incorporated within the framework of the Latvian national canon, professional History research represents a more diversified and transnational memory. This study highlights how the mnemohistory of borderlands is subjected to the contradictory dynamics of nationalisation and marginalisation, the ways that the past can be mobilised in both the functional and storage memory realms as part of regional identity movements, and how borderland minorities can construct and maintain narratives about the past which diverge from the national canon. The theoretical framework developed in this study can be applied to further research on mnemohistory in borderlands and border regions.http://www.ester.ee/record=b4502426*es