A way of integrating technological tools into teacher training

This paper presents an experience of didactic innovation and its impact on the learning of teacher training students who took a course on School Organization. With the innovation described here we attempted to use technological tools with our students as a positive stimulus during the teaching and learning processes which would enable them to learn more effectively. Students considered this experience as positive and they got better marks than students in the previous academic year

Direct healthcare costs of diabetes mellitus patients in Spain

Objectives. To estimate the healthcare resources spent by diabetic patients in Spain during the year 2002. Methods. The present work is a cost-of-illness study. Direct healthcare costs were estimated using rates of DM, based on primary and secondary sources of information. A range of prevalence from 5% to 6% of the adult population was determined. The total cost was composed of six items: insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents; other drugs; disposable and consumable goods (glucose test strips, needles and syringes); hospitalization; primary care visits; visits to specialists. Results. The estimated direct cost of DM during the year 2002 ranges from (euros)2.4 billion to (euros)2.67 billion. Hospital costs had the highest weight ((euros)933 million) in the total, followed by non-insulin, non-hypoglycemic-agent drugs ((euros)777-932 million). Much lower are the costs of insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents ((euros)311 million), primary care visits ((euros)181-272 million), specialized visits ((euros)127-145 million) and disposable elements ((euros)70-81 million). The per-diabetic, per-year cost ranges between (euros)1,290 to 1,476. Discussion. Despite our rather conservative approach to the issue, our findings demonstrate the high direct healthcare costs of diabetic patients. Likewise, they illustrate the magnitude of the costs of treatment of DM-related complications

The association between executive functions and early numeracy in 4-year-old preschoolers

This study aims to reveal how executive functions are related to early numeracy skills. Several articles have been published in this respect. The present one focuses on just two executive functions, inhibition and switching, and two early numeracy skills, counting and numerical relational skills. The study wants to determine how the accuracy and reaction time in inhibition and switching tasks correlate with the counting and numerical relational skills in four-year-old preschoolers, and if there is any general latent condition under which these relations are modified. The participants of this study are 4-year-old preschoolers (N=189) from preschools in the Helsinki Area (N=21), Finland. They have done two different tests that have been used to gather the data. A digital version of the Flanker tasks (modified from Fan, et al. (2002)) has measured inhibition and switching accuracy and reaction time. The Early Numeracy Test (Aunio, Hautamäki, Heiskari, & Van Luit, 2006) has measured the preschoolers’ performance in counting and relational skills. The data has been quantitatively analysed with SPSS and R. A correlation analysis has been performed to understand how the variables are related (calculation of Spearman’s rank correlation). A latent profile analysis has been run using the mclust package, to see if there could be extracted any latent variable that could drive the correlation in different directions. The main results reveal that accuracy in inhibition and switching tasks have a weak to moderate positive correlation with the successful use of counting and relational skills in 4-year-old preschoolers. Reaction time seems to be a variable whose implications change depending on the participants’ EN-performance, as visible in the latent profile analysis. However, there have not been yielded any robust conclusions about the existence of latent variables

DIRECT HEALTHCARE COSTS OF DIABETES MELLITUS PATIENTS IN SPAIN

Objectives. To estimate the healthcare resources spent by diabetic patients in Spain during the year 2002. Methods. The present work is a cost-of-illness study. Direct healthcare costs were estimated using rates of DM, based on primary and secondary sources of information. A range of prevalence from 5% to 6% of the adult population was determined. The total cost was composed of six items: insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents; other drugs; disposable and consumable goods (glucose test strips, needles and syringes); hospitalization; primary care visits; visits to specialists. Results. The estimated direct cost of DM during the year 2002 ranges from € 2.4 billion to € 2.67 billion. Hospital costs had the highest weight (€ 933 million) in the total, followed by non-insulin, non-hypoglycemic-agent drugs (€ 777-932 million). Much lower are the costs of insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents (€ 311 million), primary care visits (€ 181-272 million), specialized visits (€ 127-145 million) and disposable elements (€ 70-81 million). The per-diabetic, per-year cost ranges between € 1,290 to € 1,476. Discussion. Despite our rather conservative approach to the issue, our findings demonstrate the high direct healthcare costs of diabetic patients. Likewise, they illustrate the magnitude of the costs of treatment of DM-related complications.

Errors in algebraic statements translation during the creation of an algebraic domino

We present a research study which main objective is to inquire into secondary school students´ ability to translate and relate algebraic statements which are presented in the symbolic and verbal representation systems. Data collection was performed with 26 14-15 years old students to whom we proposed the creation of an algebraic domino, designed for this research, and its subsequent use in a tournament. Here we present an analysis of the errors made in such translations. Among the obtained results, we note that the students found easier to translate statements from the symbolic to the verbal representation and that most errors in translating from verbal to symbolic expressions where derived from the particular characteristics of algebraic language. Other types of errors are also identified. KEYWORDS: Algebraic language, domino, errors, translation between representation systems, verbal representation

La ciudad como agente educador: condiciones para su desarrollo

En un contexto caracterizado por un gran dinamismo en todas las esferas de la existencia, donde el ser humano tiene que abordar constantemente situaciones nuevas y difíciles de prever, la educación durante toda la vida se convierte en el capital más seguro para vivir y participar activamente en el entorno social. Ello supone el reconocimiento de diversos ámbitos y agentes que contribuyen a su desarrollo y potenciación. Desde esta perspectiva, en este artículo, se aborda el papel de la ciudad como agente educador, para seguidamente analizar las condiciones para su desarrollo

Los torques castreños del noroeste de la Península Ibérica

Sin resume

Los conocimientos previos de los estudiantes de tercer curso de Magisterio acerca de la Organización Escolar : implicaciones para la docencia universitaria

Este artículo presenta una investigación centrada en el estudio de las concepciones de los estudiantes de Magisterio acerca de la materia de tercer curso, Organización del Centro Escolar. Se ha tratado de adecuar el programa y el método didáctico, en función de los conocimientos que manifiestan antes de comenzar el curso. La muestra la han compuesto setenta estudiantes, a los cuales se les aplicó un cuestionario de dieciocho preguntas. Tras la presentación de resultados se procede a su interpretación y delineación de ciertas conclusiones relacionadas con el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de esta materia