scholarly journals Challenges in the Design and Implementation of an English Placement Test for a Colombian Public University

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 191-208
Author(s):  
Alexander Ramirez
Keyword(s):  
Language Testing ◽  
Public University ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Academic Expectations ◽  
Research Project ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Placement Exams ◽  
First Time

This reflection paper disseminates the design and implementation of an English placement test for first semester students from different majors. This design was carried out within the framework of a research project in a Colombian public university. The article seeks to scrutinize the stages leading to a test, so that language teachers who embark for the first time on the task of designing placement exams have a model and can anticipate the various vicissitudes of academic and administrative nature that may arise. The conclusions derived from the process of construction and implementation of the test highlight the lack of training and literacy in the area of ​​language testing, as well as the existing tensions between academic expectations and the administration within a university institution.

scholarly journals Debates about Educational Issues: A Pedagogical Strategy to Explore Argumentative Skills in the EFL Classroom

HOW ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (27) ◽  
pp. 49-67
Author(s):  
Ángela Vanesa Duarte Infante ◽  
Sandra Milena Fonseca Velandia ◽  
Bertha Ramos Holguín
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Public University ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Pedagogical Intervention ◽  
Pedagogical Strategy ◽  
Educational Issues ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
The Impact

This article describes a pedagogical proposal, based on debates, to determine the type of arguments that pre-service English language teachers constructed at a public university in Tunja, Colombia. We implemented a series of debate workshops about educational issues. Thirteen modern languages pre-service teachers in their sixth semester participated in the debates. In each debate, we collected data through recordings, focus groups, and field notes to understand the impact of the pedagogical intervention. Findings suggest that the arguments pre-service teachers built were based on examples. In this sense, the arguments built were based on their personal experiences and their partners’ opinions. We argue for the need to implement more research proposals that will contribute to the understanding and awareness of what argumentation implies.

scholarly journals A Q Methodology Study of Supervisee Roles Within a Counseling Practicum Course

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Eric R. Baltrinic ◽  
Ryan M. Cook ◽  
Heather J. Fye
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Supervision ◽  
Q Methodology ◽  
Counseling Students ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Practicum Students ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Counseling Practicum ◽  
First Time ◽  
Q Sort

Counseling students often experience clinical supervision for the first time during their participation in practicum courses. Counseling practicum supervisees new to supervision rely on their supervisors to provide direction and structure in supervision experiences to help them grow professionally and personally. Yet little is known about how students view their roles as new supervisees. Supervisors can benefit from structuring and delivering their courses informed by new supervisees’ perspectives on their roles. Accordingly, the authors conducted a Q methodology study with a purposeful sample of seven counseling practicum students, a doctoral co-instructor, and a counseling practicum instructor engaged in a first-semester counseling practicum course. Principal components analysis with varimax rotation of Q-sort data revealed three factors depicting supervisee roles (i.e., Dutiful, Discerning, and Expressive Learners). Implications for applying findings to improve supervision instruction and student learning are discussed, including limitations and future research suggestions.

scholarly journals Transforming the Learning Environment of Undergraduate Physics Laboratories to Enhance Physics Inquiry Processes

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory P. Thomas ◽  
Al Meldrum ◽  
John Beamish
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Early Years ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Physics Laboratory ◽  
Physics Classes ◽  
Mixed Method Design ◽  
Physics Laboratories ◽  
First Time ◽  
Academic Year

Concerns persist regarding the lack of promotion of students’ scientific inquiry processes in undergraduate physics laboratories. The consensus in the literature is that, especially in the early years of undergraduate physics programs, students’ laboratory work is characterized by recipe type, step-by-step instructions for activities where the aim is often confirmation of an already well-established physics principle or concept. In response to evidence reflecting these concerns at their university, the authors successfully secured funding for this study. A mixed-method design was employed. In the 2011/2012 academic year baseline data were collected. A quantitative survey, the Undergraduate Physics Laboratory Learning Environment Scale (UPLLES) was developed, validated, and used to explore students’ perceptions of their physics laboratory environments. Analysis of data from the UPLLES and from interviews confirmed the concerns evident in the literature and in a previous evaluation of laboratories undertaken in 2002. To address these concerns the activities that students were to perform in the laboratory section of the course/s were re/designed to engage students in more inquiry oriented thinking and activity. In Fall 2012, the newly developed laboratory activities and tutorials, were implemented for the first time in PHYS124; a first year course. These changes were accompanied by structured training of teaching assistants and changes to the structure of the evaluation of students’ laboratory performance. At the end of that term the UPLLES was administered (n = 266) and interviews with students conducted (n = 16) to explore their perceptions of their laboratory environments. Statistically significant differences (p<.001) between the students in the PHYS 124 classes of 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 across all dimensions were found. Effect sizes of 0.82 to 1.3, between the views of students in the first semester physics classes of 2011/2012 and 2012/2013, were also calculated suggesting positive changes in the laboratory inquiry orientation. In their interviews, students confirmed and detailed these positive changes while still noting areas for future improvement.

Academic Achievement and Demographics of International Undergraduates

2016 ◽  
pp. 233-259
Author(s):  
Dulce Amor L. Dorado ◽  
Barry Fass-Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Community College ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Public University ◽  
Grade Point Averages ◽  
First Year ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Academic Standing ◽  
First Time

Are international undergraduates whose native language is not English less prepared to succeed academically at an American four-year institution after transferring from an American community college than ones who are first-time freshmen (NFRS) or exchange visitors (EAPR)? This question's answer was no at an American West Coast public university where five cohorts of international transfer undergraduates (TRAN) earned mean first-year grade point averages (GPA) between B- and B. Less than 12% of these students earned GPAs below C, and less than 15% were in bad academic standing (probation, subject to disqualification, or dismissed). In comparison, five parallel cohorts of NFRS and EAPR earned mean first-year GPAs averaging between B and B+ to A-. Less than 10% earned GPAs below C or were in bad academic standing. Thus, a minority of this university's international undergraduates struggled academically regardless of whether they were TRAN, NFRS, or EAPR.

The assessment competence of university foreign language teachers: A Ukrainian perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Kvasova ◽  
Tamara Kavytska
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Bologna Process ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Testing ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Assessment Instruments ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers ◽  
Common Framework ◽  
Language Testing And Assessment ◽  
The Bologna Process

AbstractThis article considers the assessment challenges and prospects faced by foreign language teachers in Ukrainian universities in the context of the country's joining the Bologna Process. A major problem relates to adapting higher education to a common framework designed to facilitate comprehension and comparison of the content and outcomes of degree programmes and devising methods of quality assurance in foreign language teaching. The implementation of reforms in the area includes the improvement of assessment standards, the creation of new assessment instruments, and ensuring that teachers' professional repertoire includes skills in accurately measuring students' performance. Given the increased role of assessment in Ukrainian language education and the challenges this new demand poses to teachers, we investigated university foreign language teachers' readiness to carry out complex and multifaceted functions related to formative and summative assessment. Specifically, we replicated the European Survey of Language Testing and Assessment Needs and carried out a survey of our own design to identify specific strengths and weaknesses in the assessments performed by university foreign language teachers. The surveys yielded results that are broadly comparable with the European data, but with minor variations that mostly have to do with newly introduced forms of assessment. Our study shows that Ukrainian university foreign language teachers are quite test-wise and prepared to do a good job in language testing and assessment. The insights drawn from the data can contribute to developing syllabi for pre- and in-service teacher training in the area.

Failaka Archaeological Research Project. Preliminary results after the first season of excavation at the Kharaib el-Desht site in 2013/ Appendix 1: Kharaib el-Desht 2013: pottery. Preliminary report/ Appendix 2: Survey of Kharaib el-Desht Bay on Failaka Island: preliminary report

2016 ◽  
Vol XXIV (1) ◽  
pp. 560-589
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Pieńkowska ◽  
Marta Mierzejewska ◽  
Magdalena Nowakowska
Keyword(s):  
Preliminary Report ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Islamic Period ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Failaka Island ◽  
First Time

The site of Kharaib el-Desht on Failaka Island, Kuwait, was explored by an archaeological Kuwaiti–Polish team for the first time in 2013. The project included a survey and underwater archaeological research. Preliminary results indicate a dating of the site to the late Islamic period. Pottery collected from the survey of the site and from the excavations has been studied in a sepearate appendix to this report. As for the underwater and waterfront archaeology project, the main objective was to locate and describe seashore archaeological sites, provide documentary evidence and manage proper preservation of the discoveries in order to further educational opportunities.

scholarly journals Monograph – <i>The COVID-19 pandemic in Spain</i>

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Andrés Arístegui ◽  
Francisco Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
The European Union ◽  
First Semester ◽  
National Geographic ◽  
The World ◽  
Thematic Mapping ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time ◽  
Official Data

Abstract. The Department of Thematic Mapping and National Atlas at the National Geographic Institute of Spain (IGN) has published a monograph on the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The time studied is limited to the first half of 2020 which is the period for which official data are now available. However, for the first time, provisional –non definitive– data have been used. This publication begins with an overview of the impact of this crisis on the world in general and on the European Union in particular. It then focuses on the effects that the pandemic has had on demography and on the National Health Service in Spain. It ends with the consequences that the pandemic has had on the Spanish economy, society and environment. This work has been carried out together with an ad-hoc scientific network. It is the first publication of the Department that has been written both in Spanish and in English with the aim of providing the rest of the world with a geographic-cartographic vision on what has happened in Spain within the frame of the European Union during the first semester of 2020.

scholarly journals Investigating the Interplay between Age Range and Vocabulary Learning among EFL Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 238
Author(s):  
Hamed Barjesteh ◽  
Lida Farsi
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Post Test ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Age Range

The present study aimed to examine the relationship between age range and vocabulary learning among pre-intermediate Iranian EFL learners. To this aim, 50 pre-intermediate Iranian EFL learners, male (N= 20) and female (N=30), were selected from a private language institute based on their performance on the Oxford Placement Test (OPT). They were divided into two groups: teenager and adult learners. Before intervention, a pretest of vocabulary was conducted to determine students’ vocabulary knowledge.  Then, vocabularies were presentenced in dialog, word power and reading texts using a monolingual dictionary in five sessions interval for the both groups. After the intervention, a post-test of vocabulary was administered to examine the possible improvement. The data obtained from the administration of the pre-test and the post-test were analyzed using SPSS software. The results revealed that there was no significant relationship between the performance of teenager and adult groups in their vocabulary learning; and there was no significant difference between the performance of teenager and adult groups in their vocabulary learning. This research potentially has some implications that may help English language teachers, students, EFL learners and educational syllabus designers.

scholarly journals La Formación Superior en Artes Mediatiazada por Dispositivos Hipermediales Dinámicos

Palíndromo ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Buján ◽  
Patricia Silvana San Martín
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Public University ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Semiotic Perspective ◽  
Set Up

RESUMENEl presente artículo aborda aspectos de la formación superior en artes utilizando Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC) desde una perspectiva semiótica. Se toma como base el marco teórico y metodológico de los Dispositivos Hipermediales Dinámicos (DHD) en el entendimiento que la complejidad de los fenómenos en cuestión demanda de una visión compleja e interdisciplinaria que permita dar cuenta de las múltiples dimensiones que los componen. Luego de conceptualizar la noción de DHD y sus bases semióticas, se presenta un caso efectuado en el ámbito de una universidad pública de Argentina donde se concretizó, en el marco de un proyecto de investigación, una experiencia de formación superior en artes a partir de la configuración de un DHD contextualizado, en atención a la especificidad disciplinar. Finalmente, se concluye que el enfoque adoptado resulta consistente para la conceptualización de problemáticas de mediatización educativa en el actual contexto físico-virtual.Palabras clave: Formación Superior en Artes, perspectiva semiótica, Dispositivo Hipermedial Dinámico. RESUMOO presente artigo aborda aspectos da formação superior em artes utilizando Tecnologias da Informação e da Comunicação (TIC) desde uma perspectiva semiótica. Baseia-se no referencial teórico-metodológico dos Dispositivos Hipermediais Dinâmicos (DHD) no entendimento de que a complexidade dos fenômenos em questão demanda de uma visão complexa e interdisciplinar para dar conta das múltiplas dimensões que os compõem. Após conceitualizar a noção de DHD e suas bases semióticas, apresenta-se um caso desenvolvido no âmbito de uma universidade pública da Argentina onde se realizou, no contexto de um projeto de pesquisa, uma experiência de formação superior em artes a partir da configuração de um DHD contextualizado em atenção à especificidade disciplinar. Finalmente, conclui-se que a abordagem adoptada resulta consistente para a conceitualização de problemáticas de mediatização educativa no âmbito do atual contexto físico-virtual.Palavras chave: Formação Superior em Artes, perspectiva semiótica, Dispositivo Hipermedial Dinâmico.   ABSTRACTThis article discusses aspects of higher education in arts using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) from a semiotic perspective. The aspects are based on the theoretical and methodological framework of Dynamic Hypermedia Devices (DHD) on the understanding that the complexity of the phenomena in question demands a complex and interdisciplinary vision able to account for the multiple dimensions that compose them. After conceptualizing the notion of DHD and its semiotic bases, it presents a case that was developed in a public university in Argentina where it was set up, in the sphere of a research project, an experience of higher education in arts through the configuration of a contextualized DHD, in response to the disciplinary specificity. Finally, we conclude that the approach is consistent for conceptualizing mediation education issues in the current physical and virtual context.Key words: Higher Education in Arts, semiotic perspective, Dynamic Hypermedial Device.

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