Dos analogías en la enseñanza del concepto de modelo científico: Análisis de las observaciones de clase

Enseñar sobre la naturaleza de los modelos científicos, como parte de la naturaleza de las ciencias, es un objetivo prioritario reconocido en la enseñanza. El propósito de este trabajo es verificar la eficacia de una propuesta didáctica basada en el uso de analogías para comprender el concepto de modelo científico. Se presenta el diseño de investigación llevado adelante con alumnos futuros maestros que incluye el empleo de dos analogías: la caja negra y los mapas. Ambas analogías fueron enriquecidas con respecto a lo que se encuentra desarrollado en la bibliografía. En este trabajo se muestran los aprendizajes de los alumnos, en términos cualitativos, analizados a partir de observaciones de clase y de un informe de autoevaluación. Se comprobó que esta propuesta constituyó un avance en la comprensión del concepto de modelo y modelado en ciencias así como también de la naturaleza de las analogías como recurso pedagógico

Adherence issues related to sublingual immunotherapy as perceived by allergists

Objectives: Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is a viable alternative to subcutaneous immunotherapy to treat allergic rhinitis and asthma, and is widely used in clinical practice in many European countries. The clinical efficacy of SLIT has been established in a number of clinical trials and meta-analyses. However, because SLIT is self-administered by patients without medical supervision, the degree of patient adherence with treatment is still a concern. The objective of this study was to evaluate the perception by allergists of issues related to SLIT adherence. Methods: We performed a questionnaire-based survey of 296 Italian allergists, based on the adherence issues known from previous studies. The perception of importance of each item was assessed by a VAS scale ranging from 0 to 10. Results: Patient perception of clinical efficacy was considered the most important factor (ranked 1 by 54% of allergists), followed by the possibility of reimbursement (ranked 1 by 34%), and by the absence of side effects (ranked 1 by 21%). Patient education, regular follow-up, and ease of use of SLIT were ranked first by less than 20% of allergists. Conclusion: These findings indicate that clinical efficacy, cost, and side effects are perceived as the major issues influencing patient adherence to SLIT, and that further improvement of adherence is likely to be achieved by improving the patient information provided by prescribers. © 2010 Scurati et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd

MOOC, pedagogia e progettazione di ambienti di apprendimento

I Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC) sono divenuti un fenomeno tanto interessante quanto di moda nella riflessione sulla formazione attraverso le tecnologie: visti talvolta come una risposta democratica alla crescente esclusione economica dalla formazione superiore, talvolta come strumenti orientati al business che portano anche nel mondo della formazione la sfida della disintermediazione, probabilmente il fenomeno è così ampio da coprire tutto lo spettro che questi due estremi. In questa breve analisi si propone una riflessione sui modelli, le pratiche, le logiche e le criticità che la progettazione di un MOOC fa emergere, analizzando gli aspetti pedagogici, gli strumenti che creano lo spazio sociale di apprendimento, i modelli per l’analisi dei dati del corso e gli strumenti di valutazione dell’apprendimento, concludendo con una riflessione sulla pertinenza di alcuni concetti chiave della didattica universitaria al mondo dei MOOC.ITALIAN