Teaching programming for secondary school : a pedagogical content knowledge based approach

The general research aim of this thesis is to understand what the PCK of CS for secondary school is, with a special focus on the subject "programming", being programming one of the core subjects of CS. Knowledge of PCK will then be used to assess the Dutch situation, with special focus on Dutch CS textbooks and Dutch teachers. The final aim is to find tailor made solutions for the Dutch CS scenario, where CS risks to disappear from the secondary school curriculum due to several problems. Among the problems evidenced: most Dutch teachers have no solid disciplinary background, being mostly teachers from other disciplines re-trained to teach CS. To support these teachers ad hoc solution, it is necessary to understand the PCK of CS. To do so a preparatory literature study reveals to what extent the PCK of programming has been explored. Because no real effort to portray such knowledge has been done in CS before, an exploratory study has been designed and conducted with expert CS teachers in order to unveil this knowledge. With the knowledge about PCK gathered through this exploratory study, the PCK of textbooks and teachers in the Dutch scenario is evaluated

Participation of mathematics and physics students in multidisciplinary challenge-based education at the end of a bachelor program

Many universities introduced Challenge-Based Education (CBE) as a way to innovate engineering education. Typically, in CBE students develop and use their knowledge in order to solve real-world problems in society, in multi-disciplinary groups and often in collaboration with external stakeholders. For departments of mathematics and physics innovations such as CBE are often not straightforward. In their strive for depth, they struggle for example with the multi-disciplinary nature of CBE. This study focused on the Bachelor Final Project in an innovation lab (IBFP) at a university of technology in the Netherlands. We have investigated the affordances and constraints for mathematics and physics students to participate in such IBFPs, and how these can be understood in terms of successful innovations in engineering education. Students from all departments can participate in IBFP, but mathematics and physics students have been practically absent. We investigated the reasons for this absence by studying university documents and interviewing stakeholders (N=13). We identified themes emerging from this data, which show that organizational issues played a role, but also factors related to educational innovations and the particular nature of mathematics and physics education. The study helps to understand innovation efforts towards CBE, involving mathematics and physics students.</p

Selection of novel geopolymeric mortars for sustainable construction applications using fuzzy topsis approach

Construction is recognized as one of the most polluting and energy consuming industries worldwide, especially in developing countries. Therefore, Research and Development (R&amp;D) of novel manufacturing technologies and green construction materials is becoming extremely compelling. This study aims at evaluating the reuse of various wastes, originated in the Kraft pulp-paper industry, as raw materials in the manufacture of novel geopolymeric (GP) mortars whose properties fundamentally depend on the target application (e.g., insulating panel, partition wall, structural element, furnishing, etc.). Five different wastes were reused as filler: Two typologies of Biomass Fly Ash, calcareous sludge, grits, and dregs. The produced samples were characterized and a multi criteria analysis, able to take into account not only the engineering properties, but also the environmental and economic aspects, has been implemented. The criteria weights were evaluated using the Delphi methodology. The fuzzy Topsis approach has been used to consider the intrinsic uncertainty related to unconventional materials, as the produced GP-mortars. The computational analysis showed that adding the considered industrial wastes as filler is strongly recommended to improve the performance of materials intended for structural applications in construction. The results revealed that the formulations containing 5 wt.% of calcareous sludge, grits, and dregs and the one containing 7.5 wt.% of calcareous sludge, grits, dregs, and Biomass Fly Ash-1 have emerged as the best alternatives. Furthermore, it resulted that the Biomass Fly Ash-2 negatively influences the structural performance and relative rank of the material. Finally, this case study clearly shows that the fuzzy Topsis multi-criteria analysis represents a valuable and easy tool to investigate construction materials (either traditional and unconventional) when an intrinsic uncertainty is related to the measurement of the quantitative and qualitative characteristics

Towards mobile-centered authentic, personalized and collaborative assignments in engineering education

The last decade has seen a significant rise in the use of mobiles devices, such as smartphones, tablets, or laptops in all areas of society. Professionally, engineers collaborate with partners all over the world and this is made possible by mobile technology. In tertiary education, students learn in different settings, in and out of campus, in the train or at a café. Researchers have identified new possibilities for teaching and learning, afforded by the use of mobile technologies (and termed 'mobile learning'; ML). They claim that ML may (1) facilitate learning, formally or informally, in a place, at a time, and in a way preferred by students, (2) help students to become engaged in tasks that resemble authentic tasks in the workplace, and (3) facilitate student cooperation and collaboration. In this paper we present the first results of an ongoing project which aims to design and evaluate - for different engineering disciplines - prototypical ML assignments. We report on the results of a survey carried out at a Dutch University on the current use of and attitudes towards ML from both the instructors' and the students' perspectives. The results show that in various faculties at the university ML initiatives have been introduced in education and that there is a basis to create further opportunities for active student learning. We also present an outlook on the next stage of the project: the design of prototypical student activities from the respective engineering disciplines of the project partners: Mathematics, Physics and Built-Environment.</p

La Camera dello Scirocco di Villa Naselli di Gela a Palermo

L'articolo tratta il complesso della Camera (o Stanza) dello Scirocco di Villa Naselli Ambleri a Palermo, una delle poche superstiti e meglio conservate dell'agro palermitano. Tipologicamente, una Stanza dello Scirocco è una struttura sotterranea artificiale, costruita in prossimità di una sorgente d'acqua per riprodurre le piacevoli condizioni di frescura che si possono avvertire in una caverna naturale. I manoscritti e i documenti d'archivio riportano che, in questi luoghi, i nobili amavano trascorrere del tempo in compagnia di parenti ed amici per sfuggire alla calura estiva, banchettando e rinfrescandosi nell'acqua fresca. Dopo aver inquadrato la borgata della Grazia (oggi Villagrazia), dove il complesso ricade, il contributo descrive l'evoluzione storico-costruttiva della Camera, soffermandosi su materiali e tecniche costruttive impiegate nonché i criteri di raffrescamento passivo che, attivati principalmente da una torre del vento di epoca medievale, permettono alla Camera di Ambleri di attivare una costante circolazione d'aria (un unicum nel panorama del tipo) e mantenere, quindi, un micro-clima particolarmente piacevole

Time-frequency analysis of power signal : application to substation monitoring and management system

This paper presents a power disturbance detection and classification method based on Time-Frequency analysis. We will discuss how the choice the kernels affect the characteristic of the distribution function. Here we consider a non-stationary testing harmonic composed of a fundamental frequency of 50Hz and its second and third harmonic frequency components. The 50Hz signal is on for the entire record extending from 0 to 1second, while the 100Hz signal is from 100ms to 350 ms and 200Hz signal is from 200ms to 550ms. As for comparison, we will use the same testing signal for different type of kernels. This technique has been applied in a substation monitoring and management system which monitors the power quality at the substation as well as the street lighting panel

Teaching programming for secondary school : a pedagogical content knowledge based approach

The general research aim of this thesis is to understand what the PCK of CS for secondary school is, with a special focus on the subject "programming", being programming one of the core subjects of CS. Knowledge of PCK will then be used to assess the Dutch situation, with special focus on Dutch CS textbooks and Dutch teachers. The final aim is to find tailor made solutions for the Dutch CS scenario, where CS risks to disappear from the secondary school curriculum due to several problems. Among the problems evidenced: most Dutch teachers have no solid disciplinary background, being mostly teachers from other disciplines re-trained to teach CS. To support these teachers ad hoc solution, it is necessary to understand the PCK of CS. To do so a preparatory literature study reveals to what extent the PCK of programming has been explored. Because no real effort to portray such knowledge has been done in CS before, an exploratory study has been designed and conducted with expert CS teachers in order to unveil this knowledge. With the knowledge about PCK gathered through this exploratory study, the PCK of textbooks and teachers in the Dutch scenario is evaluated