Facteurs environnementaux et intérêt situationnel : quels rôles sur le changement conceptuel en sciences?

L’intérêt des élèves pour les sciences continue de décliner (Potvin & Hasni, 2014). Parmi les deux types d’intérêts, à savoir l’intérêt individuel et l’intérêt situationnel (IS), ce dernier présente l’avantage de pouvoir être déclenché et maintenu grâce à des activités et matériels stimulants. Par ailleurs, l’IS se révèle un facteur motivationnel important dans la promotion du changement conceptuel. Le but principal de cette étude était d’évaluer un modèle dans lequel les facteurs environnementaux (travail d’équipe, présence d’expert et choix) influençaient l’IS et qui à son tour, prédisait le changement conceptuel en thermodynamique. Quarante-deux élèves de la 7e année ont participé à l’étude. D’une part, les résultats de l’approche bayésienne de l’analyse factorielle confirmatoire du Situational Interest Survey (Linnenbrink-Garcia et al., 2010) indiquaient l’existence de l’IS déclenché et de l’IS maintenu différencié en composantes sentiment et valeur. D’autre part, l’approche bayésienne de l’analyse de parcours montrait un effet de la présence d’un expert sur la composante valeur de l’IS maintenu. Cependant, aucune des trois composantes de l’IS ne prédisait le changement conceptuel. Sur le plan scientifique, cette étude est la première à notre connaissance à mener une recherche cumulative sur le changement conceptuel grâce aux statistiques bayésiennes. Sur le plan social, cette recherche s’avère pertinente, car elle dote les enseignants d’une stratégie pour influencer l’IS en sciences et leur informe de sa limite à promouvoir le changement conceptuel

Quality assurance and assessment frameworks of biosystems engineering studies

Regulatory instruments at the national level to ensure high quality are crucial to achieve and maintain a regional hub of higher education in Malta. While The Malta Qualifications Council and the National Commission for Higher Education are established and operational, the legal framework to set up a quality assurance agency and a quality assurance and licensing framework is in place, but the legislations is still awaiting approval. The University of Malta has set up internal quality assurance structures, The Programme Validation Committee monitors, reviews and recommends programmes for approval by Senate, The formation of the INSTITUTE OF EARTH SYSTEMS will facilitate the means through which a Bio Systems Engineering course could be offered, Furthermore the recent establishment of a Maltese Chamber of Agrologists could in theory eventually take up the role to grant professional accreditation,peer-reviewe

Une initiative pédagogique intégrant les technologies d’information et de la communication (TIC) visant à rendre les sciences et l’informatique plus attrayantes pour les adolescentes

Cet article porte sur la problématique du manque d’intérêt et de confiance des filles dans les domaines scientifiques et technologiques à l’école comme sur le marché du travail. Dans leur tentative de contribuer à la résolution de ce problème, les auteures ont conçu des activités susceptibles d’intéresser les filles et de développer leur confiance en ces domaines. Les activités conçues s’inscrivent dans une perspective à la fois féministe et socioconstructiviste et utilisent les TIC. Les sujets retenus, pour des classes de sciences 9ième année du Nouveau Brunswick, bien que d’intérêt commun, ont été choisis de façon à aller chercher davantage les filles. De plus, ces activités ont été conçues de manière à ce qu’elles soient réalisées en équipes afin de favoriser la collaboration, la discussion, le dialogue, les échanges que sont les stratégies privilégiées par les filles dans leurs apprentissages. En recourant aux TIC, les auteures ont voulu permettre aux filles d’avoir des opportunités de s’exercer, d’apprivoiser les ordinateurs et de développer leur confiance en informatique.This article takes a look at the problem of girls’ lack of interest and confidence for the scientific and technological fields at school and in the labour force. In their attempt to contribute to resolving this problem, the authors designed activities that could interest girls and develop their confidence in these fields. The activities are designed both from a feminist and socioconstructivist perspective, and use ICT. The topics for 9th grade New Brunswick science classes, although of common interest, were chosen to stimulate more interest among the girls. The activities were designed as group projects in order to promote collaboration, discussion, dialogue and exchange, strategies girls enjoy using when then are learning. By using ICT, the authors wanted to give girls opportunities to practise and get used to using computers, and to develop self-confidence in the field of computer technology.Este artículo aborda el problema de la falta de interés y de confianza de las muchachas en las áreas científicas y tecnológicas tanto en la escuela como en el mercado de trabajo. En su intento de contribuir a la solución de este problema, las autoras han concebido actividades susceptibles de interesar a las muchachas y desarrollar su confianza en esos campos. Las actividades concebidas se inscriben en una perspectiva a la vez femenina y socio-constructivista y utilizan las TIC. Los sujetos retenidos, para las clases de ciencias de 9 grado en Nuevo-Brunswick, aunque de interés común, se han escogido para que atraigan sobre todo a las muchachas. Además, estas actividades han sido concebidas para que se realicen en equipo con el fin de favorecer la colaboración, la discusión, el dialogo y los intercambios, que constituyen las estrategias privilegiadas por las muchachas en sus aprendizajes. Al recurrir a las TIC, las autoras han querido dar a las muchachas la oportunidad de ejercerse, de dominar las computadores y de desarrollar su confianza en informática

“WHEN YOU COME HERE, IT IS STILL LIKE IT IS THEIR SPACE”: EXPLORING THE EXPERIENCES OF STUDENTS OF MIDDLE EASTERN HERITAGES IN POST-9/11 U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION By

Any journey or project of this magnitude requires the support and guidance of many people. My participants are at the front of my mind as I finesse the final pages of this dissertation and bring this journey to a close. Not only did my participants provide rich and dynamic data for me to present here, many became my friends and colleagues, and they all opened up spaces I might never have entered if not for them. Their words, their thoughts, their experiences brought depth and meaning to my own thinking, illuminated my own core beliefs, and created room for new theorizing. I am forever indebted to them for their generosity and kindness. I often joke with colleagues and friends about how my doctoral program was very expensive therapy for me. I came into my program asleep to the world and having forgotten who I was at the core of my being. Through my coursework, patient faculty and administrators, the colleagues I have met at conferences, and the friends I have made along the way, I have found my voice. My thinking skills are more finely tuned and I have words to articulate my thoughts. Because of this, I feel a freedom I have not felt in a very long time. This has been an amazing journey that I wish I could take again with open eyes the second time around. I would not trade this experience for anything. So, it has been a sort of therapy, one from which I awaken renewed

Does one-to-one access to laptops improve learning : Lessons from New Brunswick\u2019s individual laptop school initiative

A two-year study on the use of laptop computers by New Brunswick (Canada) grade 7-8 francophone students aimed to better understand the impact of laptops on learning. Two problem-based learning (PBL) interdisciplinary scenarios (math, science, language arts) were implemented in eight experimental classes to measure students\u2019 learning process, particularly in terms of their ability to scientifically investigate complex problems, to reason mathematically, and to communicate. Based on our findings, we argue that laptops in themselves may not automatically lead to better results on standardized tests, but rather create opportunities for more open-ended, constructive, collaborative, reflective, and cognitively rich learning tasks.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Intimate partner violence-related hospitalizations in Appalachia and the non-Appalachian United States

The highly rural region of Appalachia faces considerable socioeconomic disadvantage and health disparities that are recognized risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV). The objective of this study was to estimate the rate of IPV-related hospitalizations in Appalachia and the non-Appalachian United States for 2007–2011 and compare hospitalizations in each region by clinical and sociodemographic factors. Data on IPV-related hospitalizations were extracted from the State Inpatient Databases, which are part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Hospitalization day, year, in-hospital mortality, length of stay, average and total hospital charges, sex, age, payer, urban-rural location, income, diagnoses and procedures were compared between Appalachian and non-Appalachian counties. Poisson regression models were constructed to test differences in the rate of IPV-related hospitalizations between both regions. From 2007–2011, there were 7,385 hospitalizations related to IPV, with one-third (2,645) occurring in Appalachia. After adjusting for age and rurality, Appalachian counties had a 22% higher hospitalization rate than non-Appalachian counties (ARR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.14–1.31). Appalachian residents may be at increased risk for IPV and associated conditions. Exploring disparities in healthcare utilization and costs associated with IPV in Appalachia is critical for the development of programs to effectively target the needs of this population