Didactic Activities Research Articles

Critical Thinking: A Program Review of Doctor of Audiology Students.

Critical thinking is a crucial component of health care, and its importance has been recognized in training medical professionals. This study reports critical thinking skills for entering doctor of audiology (AuD) students and the trajectory of the change in critical thinking skills measured 2 times over a period of 3 years. This longitudinal, descriptive, and exploratory design was implemented for programmatic review. Critical thinking skills were measured using the Health Sciences Reasoning Test (HSRT; Insight Assessment) upon entering the program and compared to measurements during the final month of academic coursework. Descriptive statistics, exploratory analyses of the HSRT scores among cohorts, the relationship of the HSRT to the graduate record examinations (GREs), and changes in the HSRT over time using a repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance were conducted. There were no significant differences in critical thinking skills between any of the cohort years. There was a significant correlation between the GRE verbal scores and OVERALL HSRT. Improvements in critical thinking skills were found between the time the students entered the graduate program and their final academic semester. Greater gains were reported for students who initially scored below the 50th percentile on the OVERALL HSRT. This program review showed improvement in the critical thinking skills of AuD students during their academic training program. Information regarding critical thinking skills may be useful for programs to monitor students' clinical thinking skills and possibly include clinical and didactical activities to promote critical thinking skills.

Teaching-learning of the relevance of sustainability through an educational escape room designed for the field of economics and business

Sustainability is a key concept in business management. However, it is often confused with neighbouring terms, which hinders its correct understanding and, therefore, its correct application as a business model. In addition, there are no official curricula on the subject in the specific field of economics and business, so that current students do not receive the necessary training to be able to manage organisations, including companies, in a sustainable way in the near future. To fill this gap, a gamified didactic activity (an educational escape room) was designed with the main objective of familiarising participants with the concept of sustainability in this field. The results show a high level of satisfaction, as well as the suitability of the activity for training in the subject. The discussion concluded that although this tool, and gamification in general, is very interesting for transmitting new knowledge and consolidating previous knowledge (beyond the usual motivation), it requires a considerable investment of time and effort that the teacher, forced by multiple tasks, does not always have available.

PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF KAIZEN TECHNOLOGY IN THE FORMATION OF RESEARCH COMPETENCE OF FUTURE MANAGERS OF GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

The article presents kaizen technology in the process of forming the research competence of future managers of general secondary education institutions and highlights the stages of its practical implementation: motivational-stimulating, preparatory-organizational, content-research and reflective-conclusive.
 The motivational-stimulating stage involves a number of didactic activities aimed at increasing motivation for research activities and stimulating interest in this type of activity with the help of kaizen questions. The forms (mini-lectures, lecture-briefings, interactive seminars, express workshops, online meetings, kaizen trainings) and training methods (Q&A session, Buzz session, Incident process, Interactive&collaborative whiteboards) that are appropriate to apply at this stage have been determined.
 The preparatory-organizational stage includes: preparation of research tasks for master's students, which focus on the study of various aspects of the management activity of the head of general secondary education institutions (development of projects, cases); preparation of infographics of the process of asking kaizen questions; definition of topics for scientific and practical conferences of the graduation department; implementation of an individual approach by drawing up a schedule of research activities for each master's student; working out with master's students the method of setting goals (building a "tree of goals", visualization of the goal).
 The organization of work with master's students involves the use of forms (lectures, consultations) and teaching methods (methods of projects, cases, visualization of educational information, computer-oriented methods). The content-research stage involves the direct work of master's students on research tasks, projects, cases and constant improvement of this process. At this stage, it is advisable to conduct research workshops for master's students as a mix of theoretical presentations, practical actions and discussions on the proposed topics and selected issues. Forms (scientific-research workshops, independent work, consultations) and teaching methods (method of projects, cases, visualization of educational information, computer-oriented methods, interactive teaching methods, etc.) of this stage have been determined. The reflective-conclusive stage involves summarizing the results of the research work, reflection of the master's students regarding the correspondence of the obtained results to the set goal in research tasks and projects. At this stage, it will be appropriate to hold round tables, seminars in the form of a press conference, at which it is worth emphasizing the kaizen questions of two groups: 1) personal-oriented kaizen questions; 2) perspective-oriented kaizen questions. It was found that the organization of work with master's students at this stage involves the use of forms (round tables, seminars in the form of a press conference) and methods of reflection (Q&A session, Buzz session, the method "Increase in knowledge and achievements", "Steps to success", "I want to praise myself for the fact that...", as well as the method of information visualization, computer-oriented methods).

L’enseignement en classes de langues au Cameroun : entre autorité épistémique et autorité didactique

In classroom, teachers are expected to help their students acquire the knowledge and build the skills they need for their intellectual development and professional integration. As such, they have statutory authority to take responsability for the education and training of these students. This authority is devolved to him by the educational training school and by the state. Consequently, teachers are responsible for the quality of the teaching they provide ; more precisely, it’s up to them to validate the knowledge they produce, which they are supposed to have and which gives them epistemic authority. The teachers’ academic knowledge can only be useful for his didactic action if he succeeds in having it learned through didactic situations designed for this purpose : it is this skills that gives him didactic authority. The aim of this paper is to study the ways in which language teachers use the two forms of authority (epistemic and didactic), and the consequences of doing so. Drawing on lessons in French and national languages and cultures, this qualitative reflection analyzes how the temporarily loss of one of these authorities can hinder learning activities. This work concludes that these two forms of authority need to be combined and taken into account in teacher training, so as to prepare teachers to mobilize them simultaneously in classroomsituations for the benefit of language learners.

Work styles in the team depending on the education level of the students

Abstract The present study aims to identify the types of students’ roles in work teams for different didactic activities in the academic environment. In the study, a questionnaire was applied that measures teamwork styles, a questionnaire that includes three scales: leader, doer, thinker and carer, each scale with 10 items. This studiy was attended by 195 female students pursuing bachelor’s and master’s studies in the field of educational sciences, between the ages of 18 and 55. The hypothesis underlying this study presupposes the existence of a statistically significant difference between students from the bachelor program and students from the master’s program according to the types of roles within the teams formed by them. The results of the study indicated that teamwork styles such as career thinking and work style are more defined in master’s students than in undergraduate students, and the other work styles are better defined in undergraduate students than in master’s students. In conclusion, the objective of the study was achieved.

Necesitatea dezvoltării abilităților de comunicare și socializare la copiii cu dificultăți de învățare

In order to socialize a child with learning difficulties, he needs to benefit from individual intervention and participate in collective activities. The child with learning difficulties does not need our pity or pity, but our support, support and guidance, giving him the opportunity to live together with other children, as an integral part of the community. The development of communication competence in school is addressed at all levels of education within didactic and extracurricular activities. Teaching staff must apply psycho-pedagogical adaptations and curricular modifications/adaptations of the corresponding contents with the aim of achieving the educational goals, thus indicating a direction of the route optimal for achieving the objectives, and the didactic methods and strategies to be flexible and adapted for each child according to individual potential.

The Capitalization of the Authentic Documents in the Educational Activity of the Primary Cycle

Written, audio or audiovisual documents that were not designed to be used for pedagogical purposes, authentic documents are used by teachers in the teaching activity of different subjects, at different moments/stages of the lesson, aiming at the achievement of the proposed operational objectives, the interaction between pupils, the formulation and expression by them of their own points of view, the teaching staff being the mediator of the discussions. The use of this type of documents gives pupils an authentic picture of the subject in question, contributing to the development of a favorable attitude towards it, positively motivating them to search for similar information, helping them to overcome the limits of the textbook, making them become autonomous in learning. At the same time, the presence of authentic documents makes the lessons more dynamic, encouraging horizontal communication, presupposing on the part of the teaching staff the identification and use of the most effective activities in order to make full use of them. In this article we aim to present to what extent authentic documents are integrated into the didactic activity, which are these, how they are exploited in the primary cycle both by primary cycle teachers/teachers and by physical education teachers and sport, information obtained from the answers formulated by them to the questions in the applied questionnaire.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN TEACHING ROMANIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

In the context of the phenomenon of accentuated mobility in today’s globalised world, mastering linguistic skills is no longer sufficient since our students face situations in which they have to identify, recognize and interpret some concrete attitudes and behaviors adopted by their interlocutors in speech. The present article is centred around the development of cultural competence in foreign students learning Romanian as a foreign language. Our aim is to suggest the methods which would ensure the creative character of the language learning process, motivate our students and better integrate them into Romanian society. The case study presented in the paper describes various didactic activities organised with the help of cultural activists and university professors from Iasi, TVR Iasi, Radio Iasi, and Iasi press.

Janina Doroszewska’s contribution to the development of therapeutic pedagogy

This article concerns the profile of prof. Janina Doroszewska and presents the course ofher education, professional activity before starting work at the State Institute of SpecialEducation (PIPS), the history of her cooperation with Maria Grzegorzewska, the importanceof her organisational as well as scientific and didactic activity for the developmentof special education, with particular emphasis on therapeutic pedagogy, and her role inprotecting the legacy of Grzegorzewska.

Metaphorical Visual Imagery from the Perspective of Children

This paper will present the results of a study of an educational project on visual metaphors in children’s initiated discourse. The purpose of the study was to identify children’s metaphorical skills in recognizing similarities and noticing differences between the target domain and the source domain of visual metaphor in Iwona Chmielewska’s artistic picture book Two People, dedicated to the issue of community. In the designed didactic intervention activities, the research material came from participant observation, focus interviews and analysis of children’s creations (graphic visualizations). The research was carried out with a group of third-graders in selected elementary schools, in a metropolitan environment. The results of the research show children’s preferences for translating one area of metaphor by another, as well as strategies for constructing children’s knowledge about life in the community. In addition, they point to the need to expand the educational environment in Polish educational culture.

Training and learning ultrasound: survey on a sample of Italian students, impact and role inside the core curriculum of degree courses in medicine and surgery.

Ultrasound is essential in the clinical practice of many medical specialties due to non-invasiveness, rapidity of examination, low costs and simplicity. Many specialized companies and universities pointed out its potential as a teaching tool for medical students. The aim of our study is to evaluate the impact of an ultrasound course on a sample of students attending the fourth, fifth and sixth year of the degree course in Medicine, highlighting changing in satisfaction and preparation. Another target is to verify the capability of a course on ultrasound to positively impact on participants knowledge and competences. Students attending 6 training courses of Medicine held between 2017 and 2019 were recruited. Five trainings held during an Italian society of ultrasound in medicine and biology (SIUMB) congress, in a session dedicated to students, and one during an elective didactic activity (ADE) held in Chieti University. A questionnaire was given to the students before and after the course, in order to assess the impact of the course on the motivation and knowledge. Moreover, a test was also administered at the end of the theoretical part, with questions relating to the notions learned. There was an 81% of correct response to the learning questionnaire by calculating the mean of 5 SIUMB courses performed. The students are strongly motivated to continue learning ultrasound already from the beginning of the course, and this result remains unchanged in the questionnaire administered at the end. The interest of students towards this method is high, and they would ultrasound courses within the Medicine degree, even before participating in the training. It was evident how students positively assessed the course in relation to the acquisition of skills and knowledge, albeit with a tendency to acquire more knowledge rather than skills. Our data support the usefulness of including ultrasound into the curriculum of medical students and on its use as a teaching tool. Students are highly motivated and perceive a significant improvement in both skills and knowledge following the proposed courses. Hands-on part is necessary in the training course on ultrasonography.

Development of 3D models with augmented reality for steel and reinforced concrete structure subjects

In the academic sphere of undergraduate Civil Engineering courses, students find it difficult to abstract three-dimensional visualisations from two-dimensional images presented in project documentation. The aim of this article is therefore to present an alternative to assist in the teaching and learning process of steel and reinforced concrete structural design content. Three-dimensional models of steel connections and reinforced concrete structural elements were developed with functionality for the application of Augmented Reality (AR). The models were developed in Revit software and exported to the Sketchfab platform, where it is possible to use the AR feature via an application. Additional information, such as texts, can be added to the models, which expands the possibilities for developing didactic activities. Both tools used proved to be very suitable for the purpose of developing digital objects for teaching engineering.

Understanding the Significance of Cultural Heritage in Society from Preschool: An Educational Practice with Student Teachers

To understand the significance that cultural heritage has today and, above all, the role of citizens in decision-making for its valorisation, transmission, and management, it is necessary to approach it from a very early age, specifically through childhood education. Hence, this action research study is proposed for 56 infant teachers in initial training at the University of A Coruña (Galicia, Spain). This is a descriptive case study that aims to investigate the perceptions of early childhood education teachers in initial training about cultural heritage (definition: economic, cultural, and educational uses; agents involved in its transmission, management, etc.). In addition, the paper analyses the changes and continuities that occur in student teachers’ perceptions after carrying out a didactic proposal through relevant social problems linked to the Ribeira Sacra cultural landscape. This action research study has allowed students to give more importance to intangible cultural heritage and to gain a better understanding of controversial issues related to cultural heritage, such as the balance between economic and cultural use, as well as citizens’ roles in a decision-making process related to cultural heritage. Despite engaging in didactic activities, a substantial portion of students still retain a conservative outlook on heritage education.

Evaluarea și intervenția psihologică pentru valorificarea potențialului comunicării la elevii din treapta liceală

The article analyzes information on the methods of assessment and intervention for capitalizing on the potential of communication in high school students, where communication skills are formed mainly through didactic and extra-didactic activity, teaching-learning knowledge, training skills and abilities, of communication within the school group, etc. The directions and methods of assessment and psychological intervention for the prevention of communication difficulties in high school students are pointed out. In carrying out the psychological intervention of high school students, the emphasis is placed on the need for interactive learning and collaboration in the instructional-educational process, but also on directing and stimulating the cognitive capabilities of those trained to achieve communication, relationship and social inclusion performances.

Carrying out the methodological approach of the scientific research in the Physical Education and Sport Science field

Background and Study Aim. The scientific research activity at the level of academic studies aims to acquire fundamental basic and deontological knowledge. The purpose of the study was to determine the progress of the scientific research approach in the field of Physical Education and Sport Science. Material and Methods. This scientific approach was carried out in the ”Research methodology” discipline, in the bachelor’s degree for the Physical Education and Sport (PES) specialization, Sport and Motor Performance (SMP) and in the master’s degree - Sport Performance (SP). The research participants were 104 students of the Physical Education and Sport department of the University of Pitești: 82 in bachelor’s degree (48 at PES, 34 at SMP) and 22 in master’s degree (PS). The didactic activity was conducted offline and online; the monitoring was performed by means of the university e-learning platform. The research results were centralized using digital technologies. The continuous evaluation of the performance criteria was made in accordance with the requirements of the subject matter program and the instructions on the credit system and class book filling. The requirements of the activity in seminar were 3 reports, respecting the path of the work assignments. Report no. 1 – method of bibliographic study (Google academic); Report no. 2 –sociological survey (survey method, questionnaire, Google forms) and Report no. 3 –experimental research (personal contributions, scientific argumentation). Results. The results of knowledge evaluation in bachelor’s degree reveal 3.3% better level at PES; the other indicators have a better level of success in SMP (p>0.05); the master’s degree highlights 15.25% better activity in the seminar, involvement of 82.3% in the elective and mandatory activity and 87.75% success in the final evaluation. Regarding the weight of sports disciplines in achievement of the scientific approach: 65% improved the title of the assignments (an evolution of the titles) and 35% kept the same title, but with different content. At the master’s degree, everyone respected the requirements of the discipline. Conclusions. The scientific research approach was carried out by methodologically going through the stages of addressing the work assignments within the bibliographic study, sociological survey analysis and scientific argumentation. The theoretical knowledge was applied in accordance with the current specialized literature, the analysis of the opinions of the specialists and the use of the personal experience in the applied and development scientific research.

The Good of Rules: A pilot study on prosocial behavior

In everyday life, individuals interact with relatives, friends, and colleagues, share ideas and passions, and cooperate with others to pursue common goals. Within each social domain, individuals recognize themselves as group members with rights and duties to observe. Encouraging mutually beneficial cooperation and promoting fairness perceptions are crucial for sustainable economic and societal development. This paper presents a pilot experiment named Good of Rules, an educational program for 11-year-old children from South Italy. The program introduces participants to institutions, legality, and social cohesion. Among other didactic activities, it includes two field trips to symbolic places and a role-playing game. The results suggest that the program attendance positively affects cooperation in a one-shot N-player Prisoner's Dilemma and altruism in a Dictator Game. Our findings contribute to the nature-nurture debate, showing that learning the benefits associated with prosocial behavior can be effective in pursuing the common good.

Development of the discourse competence through literary texts

AbstractThe aim of the article is to present a study of the literary text from a discursive perspective focusing on the development of the discourse competence in the English language. It is a new approach in the EFL methodology which highlights the relation between the holistic understanding of the comunication, social phenomena and the study of language structures in their use. The European educational policies favour the literary text as a key factor in boosting the students' communicative skills.Thus, the paper presents a theoretical framework of the researches in the field and shares our vision on the discourse competence which places the discourse component on the central position in the process of developing the communicative competence. The text interpretation through a discursive approach constitutes an effective tool for examining the language correlation with the intent and sociocultural context. In this regard, in the second part of the article, we offer some concrete didactic activities related to the necessary conditions (such as the context and communicative situations) and discourse-oriented practices (activities simulating real needs outside the classroom) used for an optimal development of students' discourse competence.

The diabetes education material on diabetes for website: Results of a validation process

ObjectiveTo validate an educational material on diabetes through an expert consensus for its implementation into a web site. Material and methodsAn observational study was carried out in a group of health professionals, for which an educational material was developed for patients with diabetes. Topics included nutrition, physical exercise, control indicators, complications, pharmacological treatment, among others. The language, text and figures were focused on easy comprehension, additionally, a section of didactic activities to be answered by the patient with diabetes at the end of each module was included. To evaluate the educational material by health professionals, an instrument was designed and validated. Once all the educational material was available, each of the modules was sent by e-mail to at least three clinical experts in the assigned topic, as well as the instrument for the evaluation of the module. ResultsThirty-seven experts were included in the study, 76% rated the educational modules evaluated as highly adequate, while only 24% rated them as adequate. The instrument used obtained a good level of internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.92. In the dimensions of the instrument, the lowest Cronbach's alpha score was that of “call-to-action”, with a value of 0.71. ConclusionThe diabetes educational material was rated as highly appropriate by the clinical experts. The developed instrument has an adequate content validity, as well as a good level of internal consistency.

Comparison of the response of two scintillator detectors used in an environmental and occupational radiometric survey during the operation of the Argonauta reactor

The Argonauta research reactor at the Institute of Nuclear Engineering - IEN operates, under normal conditions, at powers ranging from 1.7 to 340 W, developing activities of a scientific-technological nature in the areas of neutron radiography, radionuclide production and conduction from experimental practices to graduate courses at CNEN research institutions and other Brazilian institutes of science and technology. During some security operations, the presence of investigators, students and/or operators inside and around the main hall of the Argonauta is required. Therefore, it is important to assess normal occupational exposure conditions when the reactor is in critical condition. This makes it possible to verify in greater detail the equivalent doses of ambient gamma radiation contained by the combustion of the fuel element inside the reactor room and in the surrounding areas, according to the Radiation Protection Plan (RPP) of this installation. In this work, a didactic activity was carried out to familiarize the students of the first period of the Master's Course in Nuclear Engineering, at the Military Institute of Engineering, with the procedures involved in the radiometric survey of the free, controlled and subsequent locations of this nuclear installation. This practice aims to identify the doses to which Occupationally Exposed Workers (OEW) and the general public are admitted, verifying compliance with regulatory requirements regarding the monitoring of environmental and local activities, as well as a comparison between the radiation monitors used.

IMPLEMENTATION OF AXIOLOGICAL NORMS THROUGH STORIES IN PRESCHOOL

The strategic goal of axiological education is the development of human personality through and for authentic values such as altruism, respect, tolerance, truth, cooperation, uprightness etc. This goal is achieved throughout the whole educational levels, either through specific or related disciplines.Axiological education must begin from preschool level (with age ranges from 3 to 6 years). At this age level, the implementation of values is efficiently done through stories which kindergarten teachers include periodically in their didactic activities. In Romania, the curriculum for preschool contains directions of action expressed through experiential domains and disciplines of study, but does not contain compulsory content. As such, kindergarten teachers can choose, according to the theme of study, the content that suits the best and include it in their activities with the preschoolers.Our research focuses on the axiological norms the kindergarten teachers consider relevant for contouring children’s personality profile. The specificity of this implementation is the use of stories, selected in accordance to children’s interests, age peculiarities, and moral values promoted. The study collected the opinions of 100 preschool teachers regarding the most often focussed on moral and behavioural values implemented through stories in the didactic activities. The research methods were the investigation based on questionnaire, the conversation and the systematic observation. The data collected were interpreted using the SPSS analysis. The results of the research could be used to increase teachers’ awareness on the necessity of imprinting a nucleus of values on preschoolers which will guide them in thought and action.