Preliminary design of an Initial Test of Integrated Skills within TRADILEX: an ongoing project on the validity of audiovisual translation tools in teaching English

This article shows the preliminary design process for a tailor-made Initial Test of Integrated Skills (ITIS) specially adapted to the needs of TRADILEX, a project (2020-2023) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities to study the scope and validity of using audiovisual translation (AVT) tools to develop communicative competence in a foreign language. We also design a complete virtual AVT-based teaching platform that will help to promote faster and better EFL learning. In this paper we present one of the project’s initial stages, i.e. the ITIS design and the methodological framework for the design process from draft stage to final product. The draft pilot ITIS was tested by specialists, who produced a series of reports and anticipated several potential problems that occurred when the test was carried out. We pay special attention to the changes and improvements made to the draft ITIS as well as its three-stage process and remedial measures. The validity of the ITIS is currently being tested with a pilot group. The ITIS will be complemented with a Final Test of Integrated Skills (FITIS), which is currently underway.

Using concept maps to structure a small-scale literature review: an approach to research-based learning in pre-service teacher education

Research-based learning (RBL) is a useful tool for combining theory and practice in teacher education. However, pre-service teachers struggle with the idea of teacher as researcher. One popular (meta)methodology considered in educational research (and that is well suited to school research) is design-based research (DBR). Incorporating this approach into RBL as a method for developing teaching innovation in schools could be one way to include RBL in teacher education and place pre-service teachers in the position of teacher as researcher. This study explores the potential of using digital concept maps to support the conceptualization phase (during the literature review) of an RBL process based on DBR in a pre-service teacher-education course prior to the design of a teaching innovation strategy for schools. Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained from a questionnaire administered to pre-service teachers and from the semantic evaluation of the concept maps of these teachers. Our results show an overall consensus among pre-service teachers that concept maps are useful for structuring small-scale literature reviews. Pre-service teachers also believe there is a strong possibility that they will use concept maps when they become teachers. We use our findings to make recommendations for university lecturers to use digital concept maps to design RBL activities based on literature reviews and with emphasis on teacher education.

Estrategias basadas en análisis de redes sociales para optimizar el clima de aprendizaje en la universidad

The aim of this study was to detect leaders among a group of university students based on their centrality scores and, from these scores, to distribute roles to help enhance learning climate. We understood that learning climate improved when the construction of networked knowledge was stimulated from the perspective of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning. We conducted the educational experiment in a virtual environment. An online discussion forum was set up in a loo- sely structured format, and the students’ centrality scores were calculated from the social network they generated in the forum. Our findings show that student connectivity increased significantly and that several leadership styles were detected. Based on these leadership styles we designed strategies for optimizing learning climate in a self-regulated and stable way. Based on the type of centrality, we detected leaders in terms of their popularity, sociability, closeness to others, control of information flowing through the network, and influence. The novelty of this study resides in the incipient production of educational technology based on Social Network Analysis and, specifically, on the design of centrality-based strategies for optimizing climate in the university classroom.

Percepción del alumnado sobre su competencia comunicativa en la formación inicial docente: una experiencia interdisciplinar

Communicative competence is one of the key competences in initial teacher training, and the development of this competence is made more significant by coordinated planning across several subjects. Since communication is fundamental to the teaching and learning process, care must be taken to enhance its written, oral and non-verbal aspects. In this study we analyze university students’ self-perception of their communicative competence after they have completed an interdisciplinary project that integrated various communication skills through active and coordinated teaching-learning methodologies in academic-professional collaboration, theoretical sessions and workshops with experts. To do so, we implemented a longitudinal training program with 53 students from the Degree in Primary Education in which the students created a written story in the first year before transforming the story into oral and scenic formats in later courses. Based on the rubrics of the generic competences of the University of , we designed an mixed questionnaire. After the questionnaire had been validated by experts, the data were collected. Our results show a generally positive and critically constructive assessment. They also indicate an increase in student motivation, since the workshops help students better understand the contents of the subjects, thus underlining their practical nature. Interdisciplinary collaborative work that implements comprehensive and inclusive learning experiences should therefore be encouraged in initial teacher training programs.

Digital Learning Across Boundaries: Immersive technologies supporting changemaking in an international context

The Digital Learning Across Boundaries: Developing Changemakers (DLAB) project uses immersive technologies in education to explore three challenges across three years: physical, personal and environmental. This paper focuses on the first of these, bringing together the themes of digital making and changemaking to cross physical boundaries by raising awareness about physical inactivity in 11 and 12 year old school pupils. Immersive technologies such as augmented and virtual reality enabled the development of empathy and intercultural understanding among participants, fostered an understanding of changemaking, and created environments for sharing prototype exergames. Research data is analysed to seek evidence of the development of changemaker attributes and impact within a sample group of 60 English school pupils.

The Effect of Classifying Vocabulary into EFL Student’s Reading Comprehension

This study examined the effect of classifying vocabulary into parts of speech using Google Drive sheets in order to improve reading comprehension. Participants were 20 EFL stu- dents at a public university in Ecuador whose proficiency level in English was A1 and who were having problems understanding short passages in English. For this action research study, we used quantitative data gathered from pre- and post-surveys, quizzes, and pre- and post-tests. Results from the pre- and post-tests showed that the students improved their word recognition skills by 17% , which enhanced their reading comprehension by 14%. This was corroborated by the p-value =0.000, which shows that the results were due to classifying parts of speech. Additionally, Cohen’s d = 1.02 in the vocabulary section indicates a large impact on learning. However, there was a small effect size (Cohen’s d= 0.39) in reading comprehension. Six quizzes were administered and three of them were compared. These demonstrated a steady improvement in students’ meaning recall and word usage. The results of the survey indicate that the students changed their perspective of learn- ing vocabulary positively after the intervention. The implications of this study can be extended to other EFL teachers in higher education institutions who would like to improve their students’ read- ing comprehension. Future research should evaluate other parts of speech. We also recommend replicating this study with students who have a higher proficiency level in English.

Móviles y pantallas en edades tempranas: convivencia digital, derechos de la infancia y responsabilidad adulta

In the hypermedia society the indiscriminate use of multiple screens is observed from an increasingly early age. For this reason, digital coexistence, respect for children’s rights, and a sense of responsibility from the media and from families who educate children are required. This study reviews the literature in this field and identifies two approaches to the use of mobile devices in childhood. One approach highlights the uses of such devices as well as the opportunities they provide for children’s education and personal enrichment, whereas the other highlights their abu- sive uses and the problems caused by using them. This theoretical study reviews and reflects on the ideas of numerous authors who – in this digital age when society in general and children in parti- cular are using technology – are committed to empowering children to become critical receptors. Bearing in mind that childhood and the media cohabit the same space and that different children are engaged in different levels of media activity, we propose a range of levels that are based on activity, creation and social criticism. This proposal is achievable if we take into account education in, with and for the media. The CRC also recommends that families and schools should encourage suitable media and screen use by children.

Aprendizaje conectado como práctica sistémica para procesos de desarrollo profesional docente: un estudio de caso basado en la combinación de estrategias didácticas complejas

This article presents the experience of designing, implementing and evaluating a teacher professional development action focused on improving the teacher’s assessment skills, carried out -in this first edition - with 24 secondary school teachers from seven European countries. The course has been carried out in an in-campus-base mode. The objective is to propose a teacher training model that clearly responds to the basic principles of Networked Learning and that expands on the objectives of the project that covers it. Along these lines, the course designed, and the results obtai- ned by the participants will be analysed. The course is an integral part of a European educational research project whose purpose is the design, production and piloting of resources, methodologies and tools for the assessment of entrepreneurship competence in secondary education. The results of its implementation have been positive and the conclusions that emerge from the data highlight the importance of the strategies carried out to achieve the commitment of the participants and a coherent training model.

Propuesta metodológica para la implementación de herramientas de gamificación en la formación de Maestros de Primaria

Numerous studies have confirmed that gamification develops favorable scenarios for student learning by encouraging student involvement and promoting a more active role. Starting from this premise, in this article we describe an experience we developed with first-grade teacher- training students to find a learning environment that will encourage student involvement in the construction of learning in a challenging and stimulating way. Other aims of this experience are to enable students to face awkward situations responsibly, work on their social and communica- tion skills, and employ critical, creative and contextualized thinking. To evaluate the success of this experience, after its implementation we analyzed the results by comparing responses from parti- cipating students with those from a group from the same Degree and university who employed a different methodology. To gather information, we administered an internationally validated survey – the Student Engagement Questionnaire – and corroborated its validity and reliability with the participants of our study. Our main results are that this methodological experience based on gami- fication promoted a motivating teaching-learning environment, encouraged significant interaction between teachers and students, promoted self-managed learning, interpersonal and communicative skills, and developed student adaptability, while also creating a playful and dynamic atmosphere. We therefore conclude that proper planning and gamification development help to create environ- ments that enrich learning at the university level, improve the management of knowledge and trai- ning content, and develop important transversal skills for the training of future Elementary School teachers.

Relationship between grammatical and pragmatic competence in EFL of Spanish learners through a computer adaptive test

The work at hand is part of a wider study by Martín-Marchante (2015), the objective of which was to study the way pragmatics assessment is approached in the Oxford Online Placement Test (OOPT) which is, currently, one of the most profusely administered computer adaptive tests (CAT). This paper aims, now, to find out the degree of difficulty of the pragmatic items in the OOPT and how much importance is given to pragmatic competence in this test. Furthermore, we analyze the relationship between grammatical and pragmatic competence in EFL of a group of Spanish un- dergraduate students, who took this test. To this end, a descriptive analysis and a multiple linear regression analysis was carried out. The results showed that the quality of the pragmatic items in the OOPT could be improved. Also, we have found that the pragmatic items were somehow related to the student’s final score but not so much as other items of the test, such as those related to gram- mar and reading comprehension. Additionally, the results indicated that there was no correlation between the grammatical and the pragmatic competence of this group of students.