In this work we wanted to assess the impact of learning-centered methods on various capabilities/abilities of some students and on their perception of the learning environment developed by their professors. The sample consisted of 126... more
In this work we wanted to assess the impact of learning-centered methods on various capabilities/abilities of some students and on their perception of the learning environment developed by their professors. The sample consisted of 126 first-year students from the Catholic University of Valencia. These students belonged to three groups and they were studying the degrees of Primary Education and Early Childhood Education. One professor taught one course in Primary Education and the other one taught another course in Early Childhood Education. A pre-experimental design was used with pretest and posttest measures by means of the SEQ questionnaire; besides, the students assessed the methods used by their professors by means of a quantitative questionnaire. Furthermore, qualitative data were collected from some students from the three groups. Besides, a quasi-experimental design was used to compare the existing results between the groups both in the pre-test and in the post-test. Both professors used an innovative/centered learning methodology. The two methodological formats used by these two professors had similarities and differences, having in common the approach of aligning teaching. Significant improvements were found in the skills of the students and in their assessment of teachers’ skills to develop a good learning environment, both in the whole sample and in each group. Comparisons between groups reflected equivalence between the groups in the pre-test and very slight differences in the post-test. The positive influence of learning-centered methods regarding to the objectives of this research was confirmed, given the aforementioned improvements which took place in the three groups. This work is relevant for the positive results obtained from a more integrative methodological approach than in other analyzed studies.
El presente es un reporte del diseño, estandarización y aplicación de un instrumento de medición de habilidades cognitivas, sociales y tecnológicas en niños de 4°, 5° y 6° de primaria. La evaluación de estas habilidades es de suma... more
El presente es un reporte del diseño, estandarización y aplicación de un instrumento de medición de habilidades cognitivas, sociales y tecnológicas en niños de 4°, 5° y 6° de primaria. La evaluación de estas habilidades es de suma importancia ya que en general no están reflejadas en la evaluación de desempeño académico tradicional, pero son fundamentales para el éxito personal y profesional en el siglo XXI. El estudio tiene un corte cuasi experimental con grupo de control, el tratamiento aplicado es el uso libre de la computadora XO. Los sujetos de investigación están contextualizados en una comunidad rural y en el ambiente urbano marginado de una ciudad del Norte de México. La técnica de recolección de datos es el auto reporte con base en escalas de medición de las habilidades de: investigación científica, tecnológica, razonamiento y pensamiento crítico, pensamiento creativo, aprendizaje independiente y desarrollo humano y crecimiento personal. El presente es un reporte de la elabo...
Students are challenged to develop their own learning skills and strategies for lifelong learning. With this, the study investigated and analyzed the level of learning skills and strategies of the students in relation to the extent of... more
Students are challenged to develop their own learning skills and strategies for lifelong learning. With this, the study investigated and analyzed the level of learning skills and strategies of the students in relation to the extent of implementation of learner-centered teaching in the classroom. This study conducted a survey in a high school institution where 900 students from first year to fourth year levels were considered as respondents. A survey tool was used to evaluate the students' level on their learning skills, collaborative learning, and study skills through learner-centered teaching. It was found out that students rated themselves as Good in their learning skills and strategies. This leads to enriching more the learning skills and strategies of the students and providing them more opportunities to be engaged in meaningful activities from which they develop their own knowledge and skills applicable in their day-today lives.
BEING REVIEWED - This study asks whether it is possible to integrate GIS and ICT into classroom activities to enhance current secondary school geography. To do so, the study discusses the particularities of GIS, its requirements in terms... more
BEING REVIEWED - This study asks whether it is possible to integrate GIS and ICT into classroom activities to enhance current secondary school geography. To do so, the study discusses the particularities of GIS, its requirements in terms of software, hardware and data. It then presents the enhancements a GIS may offer in terms of functionality to the teaching and learning experience.
The study then sheds light on the educational benefits the use of GIS may bring to the contemporary learner, especially when higher-order analysis and research skills are required by an educational activity or project.
The discussion on frameworks closes with a review of select GIS and ICT applications and services assessed appropriate for use in a scholar environment. These items include online WebGIS such as those provided by Diercke and Klett, but also discusses offline GIS packages like Cartes et Données and QGIS.
Parts three and four of the study aim at fulfilling the goal of enhancing school geography through GIS and ICT by featuring tested classroom activities. The latter have been conducted in 5e and 4e ES and are divided in short-term and long-term tasks. Ready-to-use worksheets accompany introductory activity summaries and reviews are provided when needed.
Part four describes and analyses a long-term project, built upon a real world dataset provided by the mapping community of Kibera, a slum in Kenya. Students worked on the dataset setting individual research goals based on the data provided by the mappers (e.g.: school distribution, safety hazards and medical facilities). Research results were rendered as maps and assembled in posters featuring comments established by the students. This part also features generic GIS tutorials, suitable for many learning opportunities making use of GIS analysis functions.
Research outcomes of this study are teaching materials including datasets and worksheets, ready-to-use in 5e and 4e ES. Additionally, the final part concludes on the fact that given the right working environment GIS and ICT is able to enhance school geography in a meaningful way. Part 5 closes hinting at the ways in which GIS and ICT might further enhance Luxembourg’s secondary geography."""
I share my experience and insights as I continuously seek to grow in my teaching practice. I reconstruct, abstract and examine my experience using mixed research approach (Creswell, 2014, 2008). Geoffrey E. Mills’ 3Es (that of... more
I share my experience and insights as I continuously seek to grow in my teaching practice. I reconstruct, abstract and examine my experience using mixed research approach (Creswell, 2014, 2008). Geoffrey E. Mills’ 3Es (that of experiencing, enquiring, and examining) guided my data collection activities. My teaching approach has been effective in a learner-centered school, with good school evaluation records over 24 years to confirm my claim. But I had to go beyond the comfort offered by said empirical evaluations, through my own assessment and critical reflections to continuously grow. I refer to literatures offering practical guides on how to grow more learner-centered. In my self-assessment, I realized that my weakness or room for improvement is in the balance of power or sharing the responsibility in learning with my students. Practicing democracy in the classroom would bring my practice to a higher level.
Students are challenged to develop their own learning skills and strategies for life-long learning. With this, the study investigated and analyzed the level of learning skills and strategies of the students in relation to the extent of... more
Students are challenged to develop their own learning skills and strategies for life-long learning. With this, the study investigated and analyzed the level of learning skills and strategies of the students in relation to the extent of implementation of learner-centered teaching in the classroom. This study conducted a survey in a high school institution where 900 students from first year to fourth year levels were considered as respondents. A survey tool was used to evaluate the students’ level on their learning skills, collaborative learning, and study skills through learner-centered teaching. It was found out that students rated themselves as Good in their learning skills and strategies. This leads to enriching more the learning skills and strategies of the students and providing them more opportunities to be engaged in meaningful activities from which they develop their own knowledge and skills applicable in their day-to-day lives.
Multi-level classes pose a formidable challenge to EFL teachers. Many researchers suggest group work as a solution but, in its traditional form, it may not lead to effective learning because some important decisions and arrangements are... more
Multi-level classes pose a formidable challenge to EFL teachers. Many researchers suggest group work as a solution but, in its traditional form, it may not lead to effective learning because some important decisions and arrangements are under the teacher's control. Taking essay writing and translation as examples, this study aims to propose some general and other course-specific measures whereby group work can be made more learner-centered. It constitutes a five-point departure from from traditional group work: the decision to do group work has to be based on the students' attitudes towards it and they have to form their own pairs and groups, choose a group leader by themselves, use L1 for asking for and offering assistance, and interact across groups. Further research is needed to verify the findings of this study and to explore ways of using learner-centered group work in teaching other EFL skills.
The aim of this work was to assess the impact of innovative teaching methodology, learning centered, on learning strategies and academic achievement of three groups of students in Chemistry. They were 1st year students of Engineering at... more
The aim of this work was to assess the impact of innovative teaching methodology, learning centered, on learning strategies and academic achievement of three groups of students in Chemistry. They were 1st year students of Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. A pre-experimental design with pretest and posttest measures, taken by the questionnaire CEVEAPEU, was used. The sample consisted of 74 students in three groups, whose teachers agreed on the methodology they used. The teaching methods included expository methodology, questions, problem solving, development of a monograph, laboratory practices, team work, etc. They used a system of assessment that returned formative feedback to students. Significant improvements in learning strategies in the posttest were found, both overall test scores and scores of the scales and subscales (metacognitive strategies, search strategies and selection of information, and processing strategies and use of information), and better grades in that subject than in the others of the course. The positive results encouraged researchers to continue in this direction
The aim of this work was to assess the impact of learning-centered methods, implemented by four professors into the learning styles of some students on the Educational Processes and Contexts, a course of the Master’s Degree in Secondary... more
The aim of this work was to assess the impact of learning-centered methods, implemented by four professors into the learning styles of some students on the Educational Processes and Contexts, a course of the Master’s Degree in Secondary Education Teaching at the University of Valencia (Spain). Another aim was to analyze the students’ assessment employed methods. The sample included 117 subjects from this Master’s Degree in 2014-15, divided into four groups from four different specialties. A quasiexperimental design was used along with pre-test/post-test measures with the ILS (Inventory of Learning Styles) questionnaire (Vermunt, 1994). Students also assessed the methods used by their professors with a quantitative questionnaire. The professors followed learning-centered methods with different methodological formats with the four groups. Significant improvements were found in many of the variables measured by the questionnaire (deep learning, self-regulation, personal interested-based learning direction, using knowledge, cooperation, etc.) in the four student groups, and the pre-test/post-test differences were bigger in groups 1 and 4 than in groups 2 and 3. The inter-group comparisons reflected significant differences in the pre-test among all four groups, which did not appear in the post-test so all the groups were equal after applying the learning-centered methods. The students positively assessed the used methods. The results confirmed the positive influence of learning-centered methods on students’ learning styles and provided some ideas to improve teaching-learning processes with university students.
In this work we wanted to assess the effects of the use of learning-centered methods on various capabilities/abilities of some students and on their perception of the learning environment developed by their professors. The sample... more
In this work we wanted to assess the effects of the use of learning-centered methods on various capabilities/abilities of some students and on their perception of the learning environment developed by their professors. The sample consisted of 231 third-year students from the University of Valencia. They belonged to three groups and they were studying the subject of Physiotherapy Cardiocirculatory in the degree of Physiotherapy. In order to verify the objective and the hypotheses set out in the research we used a quasi-experimental sequential cohort design with non-equivalent control group, by using a posttest in the control group and also a pretest and a posttest in the experimental group. The data for these measurements were obtained using the questionnaire SEQ (Student Engagement Questionnaire); moreover, the students assessed the methods used by their teachers by means of a quantitative questionnaire. Both professors used an innovative/centered learning methodology in the experimental group. Significant improvements were found in the skills of the students and in their assessment of teachers’ skills to develop a good learning environment both between pretest and posttest in the experimental group and between the posttest of the control group and the post-test of the experimental group. The positive influence of learning-centered methods regarding to the objectives of this research was confirmed, given the aforementioned improvements which took place in the three groups. This work is relevant due to the positive results obtained by means of a more integrative methodological approach than in other studies we had analyzed.
Art and design education hold a unique role in preparing the kinds of innovative, balanced, synthetic creators and thinkers needed in the 21st century. This paper sheds shed light on how learner-centered art classrooms, that incorporate... more
Art and design education hold a unique role in preparing the kinds of innovative, balanced, synthetic creators and thinkers needed in the 21st century. This paper sheds shed light on how learner-centered art classrooms, that incorporate design thinking as a balanced process, can better develop the overall
learning capacity of students. In a mash-up between mixed model research involving the impact of learner-centered pedagogies on visual art students’ balanced intelligence and reviews of literature surrounding the promotion of depth and complexity of knowledge, new conceptual frameworks and
assessments are offered. Towards a vision of fostering deep, connected, and independent thinkers, the author—as designer, artist, and art educator--explores design thinking as an aesthetic, inquiry based process that integrates complex intelligence theories.
We wanted to assess the impact of learning-centered methodology on learning strategies, learning approaches and academic performance of a students’ group of Chemistry. They were students of first year engineering from the Polytechnic... more
We wanted to assess the impact of learning-centered methodology on learning strategies, learning approaches and academic performance of a students’ group of Chemistry. They were students of first year engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia. We used a pre-experimental design with pretest and posttest measures by means of the CEVEAPEU and CPE questionnaires. The sample consisted of 20 students. The teaching methods included expositive methodology, questions, problem solving, development of a monograph, presentations, laboratory practices, team work, tutoring in the classroom and an evaluation system that made use of training procedures that returned feedback to students (two diagnostic tests, assessment of solved problems, self-assessment using the e-learning platform of the university, oral assessment in class, written tests, etc..). Significant improvements in learning strategies scores in the posttest and increasing in deep approach were found
An paga-eksamen san usad na sinurat na paga-adal kay an konstruktibo na paga-analisa sani sa pamaagi san pagkuha san kabuuan san paga-adal, pagklasipika, pagtisting kag pagkumpara sani sa iba pa na paga-adal (Balendres, M.A. 2021). Ini... more
An paga-eksamen san usad na sinurat na paga-adal kay an konstruktibo na paga-analisa sani sa pamaagi san pagkuha san kabuuan san paga-adal, pagklasipika, pagtisting kag pagkumpara sani sa iba pa na paga-adal (Balendres, M.A. 2021). Ini naga aram kun nano kay ginhimo an mga paga-adal, ano na mga klase san paga-adal, paga-aram sa mga kakusugan kag kaluyahan, kag kun nano an mga importante na kaaraman na maikukumpara sa iba na paga-adal. Ini na paga-eksamen magakita partikular sa konsepto, prinsipyo kag epekto san usad na Learnercentered na mga gina-himo sa sistema san edukasyon. An mga para-tukdo an pinaka-importante sa mga pigura sa sistema san edukasyon tungod ini sa inda gina-hatag na impluwensya sa kalalabasan san katuyuan san edukasyon. Sabi san World Bank EdStats (2017), may ugwa san 84.23 ka-milyon na mga para-tukdo sa kalibutan sa iba-iba na lebel: sa elementarya, pre-primary (9.36 ka-milyon), elementarya (30.27 ka-milyon),
The learner-centered methods seem more appropriate to promote student learning and self-regulation skills. We wanted to assess the impact of learning-centered methodology on learning strategies and learning approaches of three students’... more
The learner-centered methods seem more appropriate to promote student learning and self-regulation skills. We wanted to assess the impact of learning-centered methodology on learning strategies and learning approaches of three students’ groups. They were first year students from the degrees of Pedagogy and Social Education at the University of Valencia, in the subject of Educational Theory. The sample consisted of 133 studentsA pre-experimental design was used with pretest and posttest measures by means of the CEVEAPEU and CPE questionnaires; besides, the students assessed the methods used by their professors by means of a quantitative questionnaire. Furthermore, qualitative data were collected from the studentes to provide a more integrated perspective: a focus group was carried out with some students to analyze the methods, and some students from the three groups also assessed them by means of an opened questionnaire. The professors from the three groups agreed the methodology, learner-centered. The teaching methods included expository methodology, questions, classroom discussion, classroom practices, cooperative work, development of a research work and presentation in the classroom, and an evaluation system that made use of training procedures that returned feedback to students (two portfolios, assessment of oral presentations, rubrics, co-evaluation, self-assessment and written tests.). Significant improvements in learning strategies and in deep approach scores were found in the posttest. The students positively assessed the methods used compared with more traditional methods. This work is relevant for the positive results due to a more integrative methodological approach than in other studies analyzed.
To date, more than 30 books and scores of articles and chapters have been written on the Net Generation. They describe their distinguishing characteristics from previous generations and their implications for education, the workplace, and... more
To date, more than 30 books and scores of articles and chapters have been written on the Net Generation. They describe their distinguishing characteristics from previous generations and their implications for education, the workplace, and the political, social, and economic arenas. The problem is that is no consensus on those characteristics, the birth dates for defining this population, the names for this generation, and whether it is even possible to identify a clear-cut profile. For the 18-years-old to 20-something group of current undergraduate and graduate students in this cohort, general guidelines for teaching strategies have been proffered by a few educational researchers. The purposes of the article are to furnish a clarification of the issues creating confusion for faculty and administrators and to suggest specific directions for future teaching in this digital culture. It will synthesize the research evidence from 10 major national and international surveys of this genera...
The learner-centered methods seem more appropriate to promote student learning and self-regulation skills. We wanted to assess the impact of learning-centered methodology on learning strategies and learning approaches of three students’... more
The learner-centered methods seem more appropriate to promote student learning and self-regulation skills. We wanted to assess the impact of learning-centered methodology on learning strategies and learning approaches of three students’ groups. They were first year students from the degrees of Pedagogy and Social Education at the University of Valencia, in the subject of Educational Theory. The sample consisted of 133 studentsA pre-experimental design was used with pretest and posttest measures by means of the CEVEAPEU and CPE questionnaires; besides, the students assessed the methods used by their professors by means of a quantitative questionnaire. Furthermore, qualitative data were collected from the studentes to provide a more integrated perspective: a focus group was carried out with some students to analyze the methods, and some students from the three groups also assessed them by means of an opened questionnaire. The professors from the three groups agreed the methodology, le...
This paper critically reviews the main principles of the learner-centered teaching approach. In doing this, we focus on statistics as educational content for students in the social sciences. This content was selected because, generally,... more
This paper critically reviews the main principles of the learner-centered teaching approach. In doing this, we focus on statistics as educational content for students in the social sciences. This content was selected because, generally, the structure of the content would suggest that employing active learning in the teaching of statistics would be very difficult. In this paper, we review different theoretical and empirical contributions to learner-centered teaching of statistics in the social sciences presenting some examples from the field of Sociology. Finally, a brief theoretical framework and some research questions are proposed for undertaking further research in this area. Resumen Este ensayo revisa críticamente los principios centrales del enfoque de enseñanza centrada en quien aprende. Para esto, nos centramos en la estadística como contenido educacional para estudiantes de educación superior en el área de ciencias sociales. Este contenido fue escogido porque en general se trata de un contenido altamente estructurado, lo que nos hace suponer que emplear aprendizaje activo es más difícil. En este artículo revisamos diferentes contribuciones teóricas y empíricas al enfoque de enseñanza centrada en quien aprende aplicado a la enseñanza de la estadística en las ciencias sociales presentando algunos ejemplos del campo de la sociología. Finalmente, entregamos una propuesta de un breve marco teórico y algunas preguntas de investigación parar futuras investigaciones en esta área. Palabras clave Educación superior, aprendizaje activo, actitudes del estudiante, métodos de enseñanza, constructivismo, enseñanza centrada en quien aprende.
Another blog post for Tony Gurr's ALL THINGS LEARNING site, reflecting on the importance of questions in learning, and how a questioning attitude, as evidenced in children, could help to transform often difficult academic environments... more
Another blog post for Tony Gurr's ALL THINGS LEARNING site, reflecting on the importance of questions in learning, and how a questioning attitude, as evidenced in children, could help to transform often difficult academic environments higher up the educational ladder.
En este trabajo se pretendía analizar los efectos del uso de métodos centrados en el aprendizaje sobre diversas capacidades/habilidades del estudiante y sobre su percepción del entorno de aprendizaje diseñado por el profesor. La muestra... more
En este trabajo se pretendía analizar los efectos del uso de métodos centrados en el aprendizaje sobre diversas capacidades/habilidades del estudiante y sobre su percepción del entorno de aprendizaje diseñado por el profesor. La muestra estuvo constituida por 231 estudiantes de tercer curso del Grado en Fisioterapia de la Universidad de Valencia, integrantes de tres grupos de clase que cursaban la asignatura de Fisioterapia Cardiocirculatoria. Para verificar el objetivo y las hipótesis propuestas se utilizó un diseño cuasiexperimental de cohortes con grupo de control no equivalente, con postest en el grupo de control y con pretest y postest en el grupo experimental, haciendo uso del cuestionario SEQ; además los alumnos valoraron los métodos utilizados por sus profesores con un cuestionario cuantitativo elaborado por el equipo investigador. El profesorado que impartía la docencia en el grupo experimental utilizó una metodología innovadora/centrada en el aprendizaje. Se encontraron me...
La evaluación de los aprendizajes en los cursos de matemática de carreras de ingeniería aparece como un tema controversial y sobre el cual se plantea la necesidad de debatir y repensar. Este trabajo describe los cambios realizados en el... more
La evaluación de los aprendizajes en los cursos de matemática de carreras de ingeniería aparece como un tema controversial y sobre el cual se plantea la necesidad de debatir y repensar. Este trabajo describe los cambios realizados en el plan de evaluación de las asignaturas Cálculo Vectorial y Ecuaciones Diferenciales de la carrera Bioingeniería de la Facultad de Ingeniería en la Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. La Investigación.Acción (I-A) se convirtió en la protagonista del proceso investigativo a través del cual los docentes reflexionaron sobre su propia práctica con el objetivo de comprender las dificultades que la atraviesan y generar acciones para mejorarla. Los resultados de la I-A han generado cambios, tanto en la práctica docente como en el comportamiento de los estudiantes, así como también han impactado positivamente en el rendimiento académico.
"Learner-centered" was a watchword in the literature on teaching and education even before the American Psychological Association published its _Learner-Centered Psychological Principles: Guidelines for School Redesign and Reform_ in... more
"Learner-centered" was a watchword in the literature on teaching and education even before the American Psychological Association published its _Learner-Centered Psychological Principles: Guidelines for School Redesign and Reform_ in 1993. McCombs and Whisler (1997) define learner-centered education as "the perspective that couples a focus on individual learners (their heredity, experiences, perspectives, backgrounds, talents, interests, capacities, and needs) with a focus on learning (the best available knowledge about learning and how it occurs and about teaching practices that are most effective in promoting the highest levels of motivation, learning, and achievement for all learners)" (p. 9). At some institutions, such as Northern Kentucky University, learner-centered teaching has been identified as a core value. It is clear that the APA's learner-centered psychological principles have implications for how professors should teach. As Crookston (1972) and others (Appleby, 2001; Hendey, 1999) have observed, academic advising is a type of teaching, and so these principles also have implications for how academic advising is conducted.
