String formatting considered harmful for novice programmers     

Michael C. Hughes  Ma. Mercedes T. Rodrigo 《Computer Science Education》2013,23(3):201-228

In Java, System.out.printf and String.format consume a specialised kind of string commonly known as a format string. In our study of first-year students at the Ateneo de Manila University, we discovered that format strings present a substantial challenge for novice programmers. Focusing on their first laboratory we found that 8% of all the compilation errors and 100% of the exceptional, run-time behaviour they encountered were due to the improper construction of format strings. Format strings are a language unto themselves embedded within Java, and they are difficult for novice programmers to master when learning to program. In this article, we present exemplars of students' problematic interactions with the Java compiler and run-time environment when dealing with format strings, discuss these interactions, and recommend possible instructional interventions based on our observations.  相似文献   

Multi-level Discourse Analysis in a Physics Teaching Methods Course from the Psychological Perspective of Activity Theory     

Rodrigo Drumond Vieira  Gregory J. Kelly 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(16):2694-2718

In this paper, we present and apply a multi-level method for discourse analysis in science classrooms. This method is based on the structure of human activity (activity, actions, and operations) and it was applied to study a pre-service physics teacher methods course. We argue that such an approach, based on a cultural psychological perspective, affords opportunities for analysts to perform a theoretically based detailed analysis of discourse events. Along with the presentation of analysis, we show and discuss how the articulation of different levels offers interpretative criteria for analyzing instructional conversations. We synthesize the results into a model for a teacher's practice and discuss the implications and possibilities of this approach for the field of discourse analysis in science classrooms. Finally, we reflect on how the development of teachers' understanding of their activity structures can contribute to forms of progressive discourse of science education.  相似文献   

Homophobia and university law enforcement students     

J. Michael Olivero  Rodrigo Murataya 《Journal of Criminal Justice Education》2013,24(2):271-281

There is little research on homophobia among university-level law enforcement students, nor strategies for teaching gay issues. This paper analyzes gay issues as provided in textbooks for law enforcement students, and homophobia among law enforcement students. A content analysis of textbooks reveals little treatment of gay issues or working with the gay community and the lack of attention is disparate with that granted other minorities. Measures of homophobia comparing law enforcement students with other students indicate that law enforcement students hold higher levels of homophobia.  相似文献   

Effects of plyometric training on maximal-intensity exercise and endurance in male and female soccer players     

Rodrigo Ramírez-Campillo  Marcelo Vergara-Pedreros  Carlos Henríquez-Olguín  Cristian Martínez-Salazar  Cristian Alvarez  Fábio Yuzo Nakamura 《Journal of sports sciences》2016,34(8):687-693

In a randomised controlled trial design, effects of 6 weeks of plyometric training on maximal-intensity exercise and endurance performance were compared in male and female soccer players. Young (age 21.1 ± 2.7 years) players with similar training load and competitive background were assigned to training (women, n = 19; men, n = 21) and control (women, n = 19; men, n = 21) groups. Players were evaluated for lower- and upper-body maximal-intensity exercise, 30 m sprint, change of direction speed and endurance performance before and after 6 weeks of training. After intervention, the control groups did not change, whereas both training groups improved jumps (effect size (ES) = 0.35–1.76), throwing (ES = 0.62–0.78), sprint (ES = 0.86–1.44), change of direction speed (ES = 0.46–0.85) and endurance performance (ES = 0.42–0.62). There were no differences in performance improvements between the plyometric training groups. Both plyometric groups improved more in all performance tests than the controls. The results suggest that adaptations to plyometric training do not differ between men and women.  相似文献   

Negotiating contradictions: educación among Dominican transnational mothers in New York City     

Aldo Anzures Tapia  Rodrigo Mayorga  Gabrielle Oliveira  Lesley Bartlett  Chelsea Kallery  Cynthia N. Carvajal 《Ethnography and Education》2017,12(3):347-366

This paper examines how a transnational orientation shapes Dominican mothers’ contradictory attitudes towards education in New York City. Through this ethnographic study, which draws on 36 interviews, community walkabouts, and participant observations in community-led adult education classes, we show how Dominican mothers struggle with conflicting values; on the one hand, they embrace the idea of schooling for individual advancement, integration in the US, and critical thinking, while on the other hand, they regret the diminution of a collective, family orientation and respect for parents. Overall, this study shows that contradictions are not a sign of confusion or denial, but rather a struggle to transform cultural practices that satisfy multiple worlds. A deeper understanding of these contradictions could help educators and educational institutions consider how these transnational tensions motivate parent engagement and their hopes for their children’s education.  相似文献   

The Development,Implementation, and Evaluation of a Problem Solving Heuristic     

Mercedes?LorenzoEmail author 《International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education》2005,3(1):33-58

Problem-solving is one of the main goals in science teaching and is something many students find difficult. This research reports on the development, implementation and evaluation of a problem-solving heuristic. This heuristic intends to help students to understand the steps involved in problem solving (metacognitive tool), and to provide them with an organized approach to tackling problems in a systematic way. This approach guides students by means of logical reasoning to make a qualitative representation of the solution of a problem before undertaking calculations, using a backwards strategy, which thus comprises a cognitive tool. The findings of the study suggest that students found the heuristic useful in setting up and solving quantitative chemical problems, and helped them to understand the phases of the problem solving process. Possible applications of the heuristic in the classroom include its use in formative assessment, to identify and to overcome student alternative conceptions, problem-solving in a cooperative environment, and to reduce the gender gap in science.  相似文献   

Gender differential in self-assessment: a fact neglected in higher education peer and self-assessment techniques     

Soledad Torres-Guijarro  Mercedes Bengoechea 《高等教育研究与发展》2017,36(5):1072-1084

This paper analyses student cross-assessment with a gender perspective in three different courses along several academic years in an engineering school in Spain. The aim of this study is to contribute to a wider understanding of the hidden effect of gender in higher education by testing if gender has any effect on the way students assess others and themselves. Previous research has demonstrated sex differences in self-image and self-confidence, which are both closely related to self-esteem and same- and other-sex esteem. It follows that gender effects might be expected in investigations on peer and self-assessment (PSA), as both techniques are closely linked to self-image and self-confidence. But a critical review of the literature on PSA with a gender perspective reveals that findings on this field are inconclusive, thus more research is needed. The analysis of the results of our study reveals that women judge themselves too harshly. As the literature on PSA does not show great concern for gender issues, some tentative suggestions are proposed to support PSA with gender-awareness sessions.  相似文献   

ICT in the classroom: Primary education student teachers’ perceptions of the interactive whiteboard during the teaching practicum     

Daniela D. Olivares  Rodrigo R. Castillo 《Education and Information Technologies》2018,23(6):2309-2321

A literature review on perceptions of the interactive whiteboard during the teaching practicum shows that there has been insufficient analysis of student teachers’ perceptions of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). However, these perceptions are highly useful to create a full picture of the effectiveness – and indeed the drawbacks – of using ICT in the classroom. In this study, we examine and analyse evidence from teaching practica to assess the success of ICT – specifically the interactive whiteboard – as a teaching tool, using a qualitative method. The accounts are first-hand, scientific reflections made by student teachers from La Serena, Chile, during their teaching practicum in primary schools; for this reason they are extremely useful in analysing this teaching tool’s effectiveness in the classroom. Among the main results for students’ perceptions of incorporating technology as part of their training, we found a set of variables for good practice when using the interactive whiteboard, including: incorporating technology as an engaging didactic resource; making the most of technology for improving learning; determining when best to use the whiteboard; and identifying any limiting factors together with students’ suggestions for improvement.  相似文献   

The Dialectic Relationship between Research and Practice in Mathematics Teacher Education     

Mercedes García  Victoria Sánchez  Isabel Escudero  Salvador Llinares 《Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education》2006,9(2):109-128

This paper addresses issues linking research in student teacher learning with reflection on practice in mathematics teacher education. From a situated perspective on learning and practice, we explore our own practice as teacher educators while researching student teacher learning in our classrooms. We describe a study on student teacher learning, considering student teacher learning as a “process of becoming”, and how the results of this research have affected our development as mathematics teacher educators and members of a community of inquiry. Our work shows how in the mathematics teacher education context the relationship between theory and practice becomes an element of both teacher educator and researcher development.  相似文献   

Willingness toward organ and body donation among anatomy professors and students in Mexico          下载免费PDF全文

Alejandro Quiroga‐Garza  Cynthia Guadalupe Reyes‐Hernández  Pablo Patricio Zarate‐Garza  Claudia Nallely Esparza‐Hernández  Jorge Gutierrez‐de la O  David de la Fuente‐Villarreal  Rodrigo Enrique Elizondo‐Omaña  Santos Guzman‐Lopez 《Anatomical sciences education》2017,10(6):589-597

Most anatomists agree that cadaver dissection serves as a superior teaching tool in human anatomy education. However, attitudes toward body donation vary widely between different individuals. A questionnaire was developed to determine the attitudes toward body and organ donation among those who learn the most from cadavers: medical students, medical student teaching assistants, medical students involved in research, and anatomy professors. A cross‐sectional, prospective study was designed in which the questionnaire was distributed among first‐year human anatomy students before undertaking cadaver dissection at the beginning of the semester, and then again after a commemoration service at the end of the course. The questionnaire items included demographic data, as well as questions designed to characterize participants' attitudes regarding body/organ donation from strangers, family members, and whether participants would consider such practices with their own bodies. Out of a total of 517 students enrolled in the Human Anatomy course in the Medical School at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico during January to June 2016, 95% responded to the first (491) and second (490) surveys. Participants' opinions on their own organ donation was similar before and after exposure to cadaver dissection, with between 87% and 81% in favor of such practices, and only 3% against it, in both surveys. Participants' willingness to donate their own bodies, as well as those of family members, increased, while reluctance regarding such practices decreased by half (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.05). Professors had the highest rates of positive opinions regarding their own body donation (74.9%), with 18.8% undecided. Low opposition toward organ and body donation remains prevalent among both anatomists and physicians in training in Mexico. Anat Sci Educ 10: 589–597. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.  相似文献