Comprenc el que llegeixo? De la valoració de la pròpia comprensió a l'ús d'estratègies de lectura.

Malgrat que sovint són tractades d'una manera genèrica, les dificultats que troben alguns estudiants a l'hora de comprendre els textos (i que els converteixen en lectors febles) poden situar-se en components diversos dels que intervenen en la comprensió. En aquest article ens ocupem de dos d'aquests components o processos íntimament vinculats: supervisió i control de la lectura. Ambdós són imprescindibles per a la consecució d'una lectura autoregulada i útil als propòsits del lector, especialment quan aquests fan referència a l'aprenentatge

Writing a synthesis versus reading: strategies involved and impact on comprehension

Little evidence is available regarding the differential impact of reading versus reading and writing on multiple source comprehension. The present study aims to: (1) compare the inferential comprehension performance of students in reading vs. reading/synthesis conditions; (2) explore the impact of performing the tasks on paper vs. on screen with Read&Answer (R&A) software; and (3) explore the extent to which rereading, notetaking, and the quality of the written synthesis can explain student's comprehension scores. For the students in the synthesis condition, we also examined the relationship between the quality of the synthesis they produced and the comprehension they achieved. 155 psychology undergraduates were randomly assigned either to the reading (n=78) or to the reading/synthesis condition (n=77). From this sample, 79 participants carried out the task with the Read&Answer software, and 76 solved the task on paper. All the students took a prior knowledge questionnaire, and read three complementary texts about the conception of intelligence. Students in the reading condition answered an inferential comprehension test, whereas students in the synthesis condition were asked to write a synthesis before taking the same test. Results show no differences in comprehension between students in the four conditions (task and media). There was no significant association between rereading and task condition. However, students in the synthesis condition were more likely to take notes. We found that two of the categories for the quality of the synthesis, textual organization and accuracy of content had an impact on inferential comprehension for the participants who wrote it. The quality of the synthesis mediated between student's prior knowledge and inferential comprehension

Assisting Teacher Collaborative Discourse in Professional Development: An Analysis of a Facilitator's Discourse Strategies

This study aims to deepen the knowledge of how to assist the emergence of productive teacher collaborative discourse in professional development (PD) processes. We analysed a facilitator's discourse in a one-year PD process carried out with a group of in service teachers in a secondary school. Data analysis followed a three-step procedure designed to analyse the facilitator's discourse within the joint activity in which it appeared. We identified ten discourse strategies and three combinations of discourse strategies that the facilitator used to promote and scaffold teacher collaborative discourse throughout the PD process

Learning through reading and writing tasks in higher education: what do students use, paper or screen?

The objective of this study was to identify and characterize the reading and writing tasks that university students perform to learn, taking into account the discipline (sciences vs humanities) and the support used (printed vs digital). Four hundred and four students completed an online questionnaire that included 13 tasks which involved reading-writing to learn the contents of the subject. The tasks varied according to their level of complexity, the number and type of sources needed, the level of composition required and the degree to which the information from the sources was processed. Students indicated performing, with higher frequency, tasks that promoted more superficial learning. Humanities students mentioned carrying out tasks that promoted deeper processing. Regarding the format of the materials used, science students reported using the digital format more frequently. However, printed support seemed to be more commonly used when students performed tasks to learn in a relatively superficial way the contents of the subjects. By contrast, students used the digital format to perform complex reading and writing tasksThis work was supported by the Institute of Educational Sciences (Universitat de Barcelona) under Grant REDICE14-1348. / Este trabajo ha recibido financiación del Institut de Ciències de l’Educació de la Universitat de Barcelona a través del programa REDICE14-134

Improving Questioning-Answering Strategies in Learning from Multiple Complementary Texts: an Intervention Study

Studies have shown that inferential questions encourage a more in-depth understanding of texts and that students need to learn appropriate strategies for answering them, particularly when they deal with multiple texts. In this experimental study, the authors aimed to improve 8th grade students' (13- to 14 years old) ability to answer intra- and intertextual inferential questions when they read one or multiple complementary texts. The intervention was implemented by a group of middle-school history teachers. Teachers in both the intervention and control groups (IG and CG, respectively) taught the same teaching unit using the same reading materials. However, teachers in the IG participated in 12 hours of professional development seminars on analysis of their classroom practice and how to improve their questioning strategies. Post-intervention results revealed that students in the IG were significantly better than those in the CG at answering intra- and intertextual inferential questions. This difference was maintained at follow-up (two months after finishing the intervention). Students in the IG also performed better than those in the CG at a learning test. These results confirm the value of teaching students how to answer complex questions, especially when they refer to more than one text. The findings also support the value of the professional development program that enables teachers to reflect on their practice

Colaboración tecnológica con proveedores en la innovación de productos: análisis de la industria manufacturera española

El diseño y desarrollo de nuevos productos se ha convertido en una actividad crucialpara seguir compitiendo en el mercado. Para llevar a cabo esta actividad de innovación, las empresasdeben valorar si disponen de los recursos y capacidades necesarios. En este trabajo se analiza lacolaboración tecnológica con proveedores como medio para llevar a cabo innovaciones en producto,concretando en innovaciones radicales e innovaciones incrementales. A partir de una muestrade empresas representativas de la industria manufacturera española, los resultados indican que lasempresas que colaboran tecnológicamente con sus proveedores tienen mayor propensión hacia lasinnovaciones en producto, en concreto hacia las innovaciones radicales. Por tamaño de empresa,las empresas medianas y las grandes tienen mayor propensión a innovar en producto, pero son lasde mediano tamaño las que tienden más hacia las innovaciones radicales

The Tryptophan System in Cocaine-Induced Depression

Major depression disorder (MDD) is the most prevalent psychiatric comorbid condition in cocaine use disorder (CUD). The comorbid MDD might be primary-MDD (CUD-primary-MDD) or cocaine-induced MDD (CUD-induced-MDD), and their accurate diagnoses and treatment is a challenge for improving prognoses. This study aimed to assess the tryptophan/serotonin (Trp/5-HT) system with the acute tryptophan depletion test (ATD), and the kynurenine pathway in subjects with CUD-primary-MDD, CUD-induced-MDD, MDD and healthy controls. The ATD was performed with a randomized, double-blind, crossover, and placebo-controlled design. Markers of enzymatic activity of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase/tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase, kynurenine aminotransferase (KAT) and kynureninase were also established. Following ATD, we observed a decrease in Trp levels in all groups. Comparison between CUD-induced-MDD and MDD revealed significant differences in 5-HT plasma concentrations (512 + 332 ng/mL vs. 107 + 127 ng/mL, p = 0.039) and the Kyn/5-HT ratio (11 + 15 vs. 112 + 136; p = 0.012), whereas there were no differences between CUD-primary-MDD and MDD. Effect size coefficients show a gradient for all targeted markers (d range 0.72-1.67). Results suggest different pathogenesis for CUD-induced-MDD, with lower participation of the tryptophan system, probably more related to other neurotransmitter pathways and accordingly suggesting the need for a different pharmacological treatment approach

Creación de un paquete de R para gestionar bases de datos de preguntas de test compatibles con Moodle

Aplicación que permite gestionar una base de datos de preguntas de test e importarlas en moodle