Project “We Propose!” Territorial citizenship and curricular innovation in portuguese geographical education

This paper considers the strengths of the project methodology for the construction of a more innovative, active and problematizing geographical education among Portuguese secondary students, through the critical reflection on the applicability of the Project “We Propose! / Nós Propomos!”, in the last five years. The methodological approach is based on a review of the national and international literature, a simplified content analysis of the last three curricular reforms in Portugal since the beginning of this century, and recourse to the explanation and interpretation of descriptive memories of the project. The scholarly significance of this study resides in the demonstration of how students are placed in contact with real-life geographers from the municipalities and local associations beyond the institutional and economic fabric of their surroundings and learn to value geographic knowledge and how geography can help in solving land use problems.

Washback Effects of Diagnostic Assessment in Greek as an SL: Primary School Teachers’ Perceptions in Cyprus

Washback of diagnostic tools targeted to young migrant learners has been an under-researched area in the language assessment field. This paper explores teachers’ perceptions on the Greek Diagnostic Language Assessment (GDLA) tool recently introduced into the SL preparatory classes of the Cyprus primary education. The tool’s implementation coincides with the launch of a new SL curriculum. The objective is fourfold: (1) to examine GDLA’s washback effects on teaching/assessment, (2) to investigate washback’s variability with respect to several contextual variables, (3) to collect feedback on the perceived credibility of the tool, and (4) to reflect on the use of the GDLA tool as a lever of instructional reform in support of curricular innovation. The study employs a mixed-methods approach and draws on (a) quantitative data (questionnaire, 234 informants) and (b) qualitative data (interviews, 6 participants). The results indicate a positive and quite strong washback on teaching and assessment. However, they bring to the surface several misconceptions on the purpose and the implementation of diagnostic assessment, pointing to gaps in the teachers’ assessment literacy. They also bring into play school administration constraints. Finally, they imply that a diagnostic assessment aligned to a context-sensitive curriculum may bind the test to positive washback.

Discarded Identities/Inspiring Just Sustainability with Reuse Persona Dolls

The author identifies as a mixed-race Chicana teacher/educator, bridging ecology, culture, and learning situated within an early learning center on a university campus. This inquiry integrates Gloria Anzaldúa’s autohistoria teoría/autobiographical theory and documents (1) the social construction of a gender-fluid persona doll named “Logan” during a focus group with REMIDA Reggio-inspired educators, (2) a (dis)rupture that took place after engaging the persona doll to introduce the term “transgender” during a preschool circle time, and (3) lessons learned to move early childhood education for social sustainability forward. During this disrupture in our learning community, the question of whether or not to discard Logan’s (gender non-binary) identity emerged. Logan’s story is one of curricular innovation in the examination of topics and concepts of ecological sustainability, equity-based pedagogy, and creative reuse through the construction and use of persona dolls. The dolls themselves are created from reuse materials, and they adopt personas and social backgrounds reflecting awareness of ecological and social injustice while co-developing ideas of actions for equity with the input of children.

Assessing the Transition of Training in Health Systems Science From Undergraduate to Graduate Medical Education

ABSTRACT Background The American Medical Association Accelerating Change in Medical Education (AMA-ACE) consortium proposes that medical schools include a new 3-pillar model incorporating health systems science (HSS) and basic and clinical sciences. One of the goals of AMA-ACE was to support HSS curricular innovation to improve residency preparation. Objective This study evaluates the effectiveness of HSS curricula by using a large dataset to link medical school graduates to internship Milestones through collaboration with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Methods ACGME subcompetencies related to the schools' HSS curricula were identified for internal medicine, emergency medicine, family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), pediatrics, and surgery. Analysis compared Milestone ratings of ACE school graduates to non-ACE graduates at 6 and 12 months using generalized estimating equation models. Results At 6 months both groups demonstrated similar HSS-related levels of Milestone performance on the selected ACGME competencies. At 1 year, ACE graduates in OB/GYN scored minimally higher on 2 systems-based practice (SBP) subcompetencies compared to non-ACE school graduates: SBP01 (1.96 vs 1.82, 95% CI 0.03-0.24) and SBP02 (1.87 vs 1.79, 95% CI 0.01-0.16). In internal medicine, ACE graduates scored minimally higher on 3 HSS-related subcompetencies: SBP01 (2.19 vs 2.05, 95% CI 0.04-0.26), PBLI01 (2.13 vs 2.01; 95% CI 0.01-0.24), and PBLI04 (2.05 vs 1.93; 95% CI 0.03-0.21). For the other specialties examined, there were no significant differences between groups. Conclusions Graduates from schools with training in HSS had similar Milestone ratings for most subcompetencies and very small differences in Milestone ratings for only 5 subcompetencies across 6 specialties at 1 year, compared to graduates from non-ACE schools. These differences are likely not educationally meaningful.

Responding to Wobbly Classrooms through Scaffolded, Peer-Led, Small-Group Presentations of Personal Learning Goals: The Beyond the Book Tool

Teaching topics that implicate student identities, traumas, and/or activism is challenging because students often come with very personal attachments to curricular and extracurricular topics, such as in courses on sexualities, race, gender, and/or social movements. These classes may be described as “wobbly,” responding to outside events and occasionally tipping over. Wobbly classes present an opportunity, however, to meet students where they are while achieving broader course and learning objectives. This teaching note presents a curricular innovation, Beyond the Book (BtB). BtB directs students to articulate a personal learning goal and groups students into collaborative teams to peer teach peer-reviewed scholarship on common themes in scaffolded sessions. This framework allows students to develop their personal learning goals in the context of shared course materials, fosters collaboration and trust, develops their research and presentation skills, and exposes learners to a broad range of research relevant to them.

THE BASIC COMPETENCES CAN BE DEVELOPED THROUGH THE DUAL MODALITY IN A HIGH VULNERABILITY PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL LICENSE

In the context of Professional Technical Education, Dual Modality has been a commitment of the Chilean Ministry of Education to improve Professional Technical training in High School. The change has involved a curricular innovation around the development of basic competences where, in addition to the teacher and the traditional classroom, other agents and other scenarios that share the work of teaching concur. In this context, the research consigned, according to its objectives and methodological formulation, describes the characteristics of the Dual Professional Technical training of the Administration specialty of the Monseñor Guillermo Carlos Hartl Educational Complex of the Pitrufquén commune , in Chile . It is intended to investigate the effectiveness of the integrated curriculum through the assessment of achievement of the basic competencies of students who are in the 4th Middle Year of said specialty (with Dual mode), in direct relation to the required graduate and professional profile and in contrast, with that of students of the specialty of "Electricity", without the Dual Modality.

Improving Experiential Learning in Sport Management Through Work-Integrated Learning

Experiential learning has played an integral role in curricular innovation since the inception of North American sport management education. However, internationally, work-integrated learning, and specifically cooperative education, have proven to be robust methods for preparing students for the workforce with little to no mention of these terms as applied to sport management curricula in the United States. This educational research review positions involving both of these structured pedagogies that combine classroom instruction with highly contextualized, authentic work experiences of at least two semesters to improve experiential learning and calls for more research to be done to demonstrate its efficacy. Recommendations are made to spur faculty to consider ways these pedagogies can be applied to their sport management curricula. In addition, this review addresses keys to successfully implement them on campus.