Pedagogical Guidelines Research Articles

Curriculum Framework and Assessment Approach for Computational Thinking in the Early Years

In light of current developments, there is an increasing effort to integrate computing-oriented activities into the education of children as young as two years old. Although the computing strand is not officially addressed in the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (DfES, 2024), a small number of early years teachers in England implement computing-oriented activities to ensure that young children progress from early years to Key Stage 1. A particular gap in the field is that previous research on computational thinking concepts never or rarely establish curriculum links in a way that teachers can utilise in their practices. This theoretical article therefore proposes a curriculum-based framework for both teaching and assessing computational thinking (CT) in early years education as assessment is not possible without pedagogic guidelines. Offering a sample lesson plan with links to the Early Learning Goals, this framework aims to encourage teachers, including those without specific computing training, to integrate CT concepts more explicitly into their teaching and enables them to monitor and assess their pupils' progress in relevant skills.

School Well-Being in Secondary School Students and its Conditioning Factors: A Systematic Review

Thesis. This systematic review article argues that school well-being is closely linked to various factors, such as academic performance, interpersonal relationships, and self-concept. It posits that promoting school well-being can significantly enhance academic motivation, reduce absenteeism, and foster a more positive learning environment. Concept. School well-being is intricately linked to various factors including academic performance, interpersonal relationships, and self-concept. This study critically evaluates these factors, organising and assessing previous research to inform future studies and pedagogical strategies. Results and conclusion. The review reveals that school well-being is significantly connected to academic performance, quality of interpersonal relationships, and self-concept. Additionally, factors such as anxiety are identified as major contributors to student distress, impacting their overall school well-being and academic outcomes. The findings suggest that promoting school well-being can effectively enhance academic motivation, reduce absenteeism, and foster a more positive learning environment. Promoting school well-being emerges as a key strategy to optimise the educational experience and academic outcomes. The study highlights the importance of tailored pedagogical approaches that address individual differences and foster a supportive and inclusive classroom environment. Integrating socio-emotional learning and continuous monitoring of student well-being are recommended for sustainable educational success. Originality. This article provides a novel synthesis of existing research on school well-being, linking it to academic performance, interpersonal relationships, and self-concept. It offers practical pedagogical guidelines based on a comprehensive literature review, highlighting the importance of socio-emotional learning and continuous monitoring of student well-being to enhance educational outcomes.

Pedagogical Guidelines for School Religious Education in the Context of Rural Education

This work presents pedagogical guidelines for School Religious Education (SRE) in rural contexts. The need to evolve from more traditional teaching practices and to move toward a more pluralistic approach that considers the socio-cultural particularities of students is explored. The aim of this article is to reveal experiences that are considered successful for teaching based on interfaith and intercultural dialogue. The method of the study is qualitative, and the design is Grounded Theory. The participants are teachers from rural schools in the La Araucanía Region in Chile. For data collection, semi-structured interviews were applied to religion teachers. The results fall into four dimensions/categories: an intercultural interfaith approach, active-reflective methodologies, experiential pedagogical relationships, and significant contents. The findings reveal that it is necessary to establish links between SRE and the educational community through active methodologies to promote interfaith dialogue and mutual understanding. This article proposes that SRE teacher training institutions should design study programs based on the religious and cultural diversity present in today’s society.

L’évolution de l’enseignement du français dans le contexte marocain : entre politique linguistique et politiques scolaires

Since gaining independence, Morocco's educational system has undergone a continuous process of modernization, reflecting both the inherent need for constant renewal and the evolving aspirations of a society embracing a globalized future. This dynamic has significantly impacted French language teaching (FLE). This works aims to explore the evolution of FLE instruction in Morocco by examining key reforms implemented over time; reforms which were marked by substantial changes, culminated in the publication of several official reference texts: the 1994 Pedagogical Recommendations, the 2002 Pedagogical Guidelines, and the 2007 Pedagogical Guidelines. Through a brief historical overview, this work sheds light on how FLE instruction has adapted to the Moroccan context, driven by evolving language and educational policies.

Generative AI in Higher Education: Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Practice and Reflection on ChatGPT for Module Assessment

The rapid evolvement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the launch of ChatGPT and other Generative AI tools have concerned Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), which now need to develop comprehensive pedagogical guidelines and frameworks in this emerging AI era. These advancements have sparked discussions and research on their implications on assessment design and student assessment, with multiple opposing perspectives emerging. Whilst ChatGPT is perceived as an important opportunity for enhancing student learning, it is considered as a significant threat to academic integrity and student skills development. These differing perspectives create the need for teaching staff to reflect on their pedagogical practices on ChatGPT and Generative AI and propose potential paths forward for HEIs. Although research on Generative AI and assessment design is rapidly growing, the perspective of Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) as teaching staff uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between faculty and students, is under-represented. To this end, in this practice paper, GTAs reflect on their dual identities as student and tutor to evaluate differing positions to the role of ChatGPT to support or hinder assessment. By being involved in a ChatGPT project for student assessment for MSc students in Engineering degrees, the authors present their reflections on the impact that ChatGPT and Generative AI technologies may have on HEIs, with a focus on assessment design, as well as on potential paths forward for the sector. This practice paper contributes to the ongoing discussions and research on the development of pedagogical guidelines and frameworks in the Generative AI era.

Impartiality, human rights advocacy, and teaching about politically sensitive issues: Squaring the circle

This article first describes and then proposes a practical solution to the professional dilemma between the duty of impartiality and the duty of human rights advocacy that many teachers experience when teaching and talking about politically sensitive issues with students. The article begins by presenting an analysis of the source and signification of the tension between impartiality and human rights advocacy based on evidence from research on teachers’ perspectives, the conceptual literature on teaching and learning about controversial issues, and the legal and ethical framework of education. Then, drawing on scholarship on respect for students’ right to freedom of religion, the article advances and defends set of basic pedagogical guidelines for teaching and talking about politically sensitive issues that permit teachers to maintain a professional stance of impartiality without abrogating their responsibility to act as human rights advocates. Key to squaring the circle between impartiality and human rights advocacy, the article argues, is for teachers to strive to remain descriptive in their treatment of politically sensitive issues and insist on high standards of reasoning and evidence while at the same time respecting students’ right to an opinion, no matter how mistaken that opinion may seem.

Instructional Strategies and the Application of Competency-based and Standards-based Approaches in EFL Classrooms in Morocco

This article is a reflection on the teaching practices of English as a foreign language classroom at the secondary school in Morocco. Our observation is that the practices of the majority of teachers do not adhere to the principles of the competency and Standards based approaches that are recommended by the ministerial pedagogical guidelines. These principles are based on the heritage of socio-constructivism and cognitivism. In this perspective, this contribution, which is part of the general context of research in foreign language didactics and that of socio-constructivism and competency-based training in particular, and which attaches great importance to the "field", proposes to observe the practices of teachers of English as a foreign language in the qualifying secondary cycle and to report on the extent to which the new pedagogical orientations are present in classrooms at the present time, The aim is to assess the distance that remains to be covered in order to put into practice a teaching and learning that is truly in line with the spirit of the competency-based approach and standards based approach and, therefore, with the new theories of learning sciences.

Hack it with EDUCHIC! Educational hackathons and interdisciplinary challenges—Definitions, principles, and pedagogical guidelines

AbstractWhereas hackathons are widespread within and outside academia and have been argued to be a valid pedagogical method for teaching interdisciplinarity, no detailed frameworks or methods are available for conceptualizing and organizing educational hackathons, i.e., hackathons dedicated to best achieving pedagogic objectives. This paper is dedicated to introducing EDUCational Hackathons for learning how to solve Interdisciplinary Challenges (EDUCHIC) through: (1) defining the fundamental principles for framing an activity as an EDUCHIC, integrating principles from pedagogical methods, hackathon organization, and interdisciplinarity processes; (2) describing general properties that EDUCHIC possess as a consequence of the interaction of the fundamental principles; (3) developing operational guidelines for streamlining the practical organization of EDUCHIC, including an exhaustive end‐to‐end process covering all the steps for organizing EDUCHIC and practical frames for carrying the key decisions to be made in this process; and (4) a demonstration of these guidelines through illustrating their application for organizing a concrete EDUCHIC.

Empowering STEAM Learning Implementation through Investigating Indonesian Teacher Experts’ Views with a Delphi Method

STEAM education has been increasingly adopted by teachers globally in educational settings spanning from elementary school to high school level. However, the challenge is in ensuring that STEAM education adaptation remains relevant to students. In this study, we examined Indonesian teacher experts’ points of view on the pedagogical guidelines for assisting teachers in developing STEAM lessons that are relevant for their students in the Indonesian context. This study employed the Delphi method and involved the participation of eighty teacher experts during a series of three rounds of evaluation processes by analyzing the consensus levels and agreement between rounds. Data were obtained through an online form and subsequently analyzed by descriptive qualitative methods to investigate the quality of several design principles and acquire teacher experts’ recommendations. The findings revealed the consensus between the three rounds on the quality of the design principles. Moreover, the results of this study highlight main dimensions involving technology usage, assessment, contextual problems, integrated STEAM learning, and classroom implementation, which might contribute to advancing knowledge in the field of STEAM education. Therefore, the findings provide recommendations for future research and explorations by focusing on the main dimensions that should be prioritized.

An analysis of English writing errors of Kurdish EFL post-graduate students

This study aims to recognize, categorize, and assess the errors in English writing done by Kurdish post-graduate learners enrolled at Language Center (LC) of the University of Zakho, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This is conducted via applying the error analysis technique, which is considered a vital part of EFL research. By using a quantitative and qualitative method, the researchers limited their literature review and data analysis to the writing errors by several scholars from various angles, excluding types of writing errors (i.e., interlingual and intralingual errors are the two main classifications of errors.) according to Brown (2000). Thirty-two (32) postgraduate students from different disciplines took part in this study. The major data collection tool was the students' answer sheets from the elementary and pre-intermediate academic English curriculum at different English language levels (cutting edge). The current study seeks to address the type of writing errors and how frequently such writing errors occur in Kurdish EFL students’ writing. The researchers implemented process of coding for finding out writing errors, and tabulated their frequencies and percentages on bar charts. According to the findings of this study, the participants made fourteen different types of writing errors: grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, literal translation, misuse of verbs, articles, unnecessary prepositions, misuse of pronouns, subject-verb agreement, misuse of prepositions, apostrophes, misuse of conjunctions and sing of wordiness. The findings of this study also revealed that the most common errors committed by the Kurdish learners were in grammar, punctuation, using of wordiness, spelling, and capitalization. Such results are important for EFL teachers because they encourage them to pay careful attention to their students' writing errors and utilize them as pedagogical guidelines while designing activities.

A Organização do Currículo na Educação Infantil com Base na BNCC

The National Common Curricular Base for Early Childhood Education (BNCC) is an essential document that guides the educational process in Brazil, providing guidelines for curriculum organization in the initial stage of education. In this article, we discuss the signifi cance of the BNCC in structuring the curriculum in Early Childhood Education, highlighting its methodology of implementation and the expected outcomes for the holistic development of children. To achieve this, we employed a methodology of documentary studies, analysis of educational legislation, and a review of related research literature. Through data collection and synthesis, we aimed to emphasize the principles and objectives of the BNCC, its pedagogical guidelines, and its contribution to curriculum structuring in this educational stage. As a result, we identifi ed that the BNCC aims to promote the holistic development of children, encompassing cognitive, socio-emotional, physical, and cultural aspects. By proposing a curriculum based on these guidelines, we seek to ensure that all children have meaningful and age-appropriate learning opportunities according to their developmental stage. The curriculum becomes more fl exible and contextualized, recognizing the importance of considering each school’s particularities and valuing cultural and regional diversity. Furthermore, the BNCC guarantees rights and equity, as it establishes learning rights for all children in early childhood education, regardless of their origin, social status, or specifi c needs. Organizing the curriculum based on these rights aims to promote educational equity and combat inequalities. The BNCC also highlights the signifi cance of play as a pedagogical principle, recognizing it as a form of expression, learning, and child development. By organizing the curriculum based on this principle, the role of play in the educational process is valued, providing playful and creative moments for children.

Educating the digital generation: the role of virtual communities

Introduction. Modern educational space, as well as socialisation, exists in the framework of two interrelated components: the real (material) and virtual (digital) world. Adolescent self-realisation takes place in this mixed, or hybrid, space employing its means. One of them is virtual communities, i.e. communities existing on the platforms of digital resources, using digital devices, information and communication technologies. According to forecasts related to the near future, interaction in communities through ones digital counterparts and artificial intelligence will become a prerequisite for successful performance. However, teachers, having no experience of growing up in the conditions of the unfolding digital world, cannot always objectively assess the role of its factors and apply them as means of education. Aim. The present research aimed to investigate the influence of virtual communities on adolescent self-realization, to determine the conditions that guarantee positive influence and, thus, to validate and justify the pedagogical guidelines that will foster constructive interaction in virtual communities. Methodology and research methods. The study was based on the cultural-historical theory by L. S. Vygotsky. According to it, virtual communities are considered as a way of self-realization for adolescents in the context of digital society culture. Through virtual communities an adolescent undergoes socialization in a mixed environment in the course of his/her own activities and interaction with representatives of certain cultures. The constructive approach sets a course to identify the principles of teaching staff support for the subsequent teenagers’ successful usage of this tool. Data collection was carried out in the form of an online survey using the Yandex Forms Internet service in 2022. 2996 school students of the Chelyabinsk region aged from 13 to 17 years took part in the survey. The authors employed the methods of mathematical data processing: Somers’ D-test, Kramer’s V-test, CHAID (Chi Squared Automatic Interaction Detection) analysis. Results. The majority of teenagers (87 %) are involved in various types of virtual communities (educational, cognitive, and entertaining). The participation in virtual communities has a direct relation to involvement in different types of activities and respective satisfaction with self-realization. It generally implies being involved in several types of virtual communities, spending moderate amount of time in virtual communities, participating in virtual learning societies. Virtual communities have undeniable educational potential. The realization of this potential ensures constructive interaction and self-realization of adolescents, and requires pedagogical support. Scientific novelty. It is proved that virtual communities influence adolescent self-realization. The article determines the conditions of the constructive virtual community influence on adolescent self-realization. The research also substantiates the pedagogical principles, which guarantee the educational potential fulfillment (polysubjectivity, productive online-offline interaction, and proactivity). Moreover, the article established that the strategy of digital educational transformation should set a course to the transition from ensuring accessibility and security in a virtual environment to managing virtual communities for the purpose of the self-development and self-realization. Practical significance. The research outcomes may be applied for the development of educational programmes and the implementation of educational activity in the realities of a digital world.

Pedagogical guidelines for teaching the historical memory of the Colombian armed conflict

This research aims to define pedagogical guidelines to apply to the teaching of the historical memory of the Colombian armed conflict. It is framed by the need to unify the knowledge related to the pedagogy of memory, through the experiences of individuals involved in processes of reconstruction and teaching of historical memory in Colombia. For this, a phenomenological study with a qualitative approach is carried out, using the specialized semi-structured interview technique. The results indicate five pillars for the development of the pedagogy of memory in the context of the Colombian armed conflict: (1) life stories, (2) commitment to human and democratic values, (3) temporality of memory, (4) categories of violence and (5) non-formal education.

Структура готовности преподавателя вуза к реализации воспитательной деятельности

The article discusses the readiness of university academic staff to implement educational activities, its essence, and development. Educational activities are an important part of pedagogical training. Faculty members are to be proficient in the forms and methods of educational work with students. In this article, the structure of readiness for educational activities was described as an interaction of its structural elements. The methodology included activity-based and competence-based approaches, as well as literary review and the author’s own practical experience in educational work at university. The pedagogical guidelines were identified as follows: the goal of educational activities at university, the pedagogical tasks to achieve the goal, and the professional skills of faculty members to solve pedagogical problems. The professional skills were grouped by the method and form of their implementation as organizational, developmental, gnostic, perceptual, and reflective skills. The readiness for educational activities in higher education is the readiness to apply this set of skills during the academic process and to develop them. Its structure is an integrity of practice-oriented, motivational, axiological, and reflective components. These components allow faculty members to adjust the academic process to the current education standards. The readiness to implement educational activities depends on what the university administration and the department have to offer the faculty staff in order to ensure the positive dynamics of the educational process. The research made it possible to construct a tool that could catalyze the development of organizational, developmental, gnostic, perceptual, and reflective skills in faculty members on a scientific basis.

Mathematical Biology in High School Mathematics Education

Mathematical biology has made great progress in recent years, particularly in epidemiology during or even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Mathematical modeling has played a key role in this progress. In this paper, we examine whether the teaching and learning of mathematics in Moroccan high school takes into consideration specialty disciplines such as biology. To do this, we are looking for the applications of biology in the Moroccan mathematical programs in the second year of the baccalaureate option life and earth sciences. First, we analyze the pedagogical guidelines concerning mathematical applications in specialty disciplines. In addition, we analyze the textbooks concerning the second year of baccalaureate option life and earth sciences. The results show that mathematical applications in experimental sciences, especially in biology, for the mathematics program of the second year of the baccalaureate are still very limited in the Moroccan curriculum, whether in learning activities or exercises.
 
 Received: 21 September 2023 / Accepted: 20 October 2023 / Published: 5 November 2023

Using corpora in teaching vocabulary to advanced EFL learners in a higher education context

Abstract This study focuses on the development of lexical competence of tertiary level EFL learners who have reached C1 level according to CEFR during their course of study, but who still have difficulty in recognizing and producing academic words in terms of their correct and appropriate use in various contexts. Following a data-driven learning (DDL) approach within an action research paradigm, this study aims to discover whether corpus investigation makes a difference in students’ vocabulary knowledge and how they react to corpus data in learning vocabulary. To this end, the study was carried out in a listening/speaking course of two C1 level classes in an EFL classroom at an English preparatory school in Higher Education. In one of the classes, conventional lesson materials, and in the other, corpus-based lesson materials were used to teach the selected vocabulary items. The effect of corpus-based lesson materials on vocabulary learning was examined in relation to conventional materials. The data obtained from pre and post-tests showed that although there was a significant increase in students’ scores from pre-test to post-test, corpus use made statistically no significant difference in their scores as compared to the conventional method that had been adopted during the regular course of study based on the contextual guesswork involved in the coursebook. Students’ reactions throughout the implementation of corpus-based materials and the feedback sessions held with the students, shed light on the results and suggested some pedagogical guidelines for using corpora in teaching L2 vocabulary.

Latin America and the Caribbean Code Against Cancer 1st edition: Building capacity on cancer prevention to primary healthcare professionals

IntroductionEvery year 1.5 million new cancer cases are diagnosed in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Of these, about 40 % could be prevented. Health illiteracy has been identified as a main barrier for cancer prevention. Primary healthcare professionals (HCP) are key in cancer prevention as they are the first entry point of the population into the healthcare system. The LAC Code Against Cancer 1st edition aims to improve health literacy and awareness of cancer prevention in the LAC population, through building capacity of primary HCP. MethodsThe definition and development of the learning objectives, curriculum, structure, and evaluation of an online learning program for primary HCP was led by a dedicated group of experts from the LAC Code Against Cancer project. A pedagogical guideline and a template to ensure harmonization across topics were produced to guide the program development. Two rounds of internal revisions and an editorial process were performed. ResultsAn online competency-based microlearning program for primary HCP was produced, taking the LAC Code Against Cancer as a basis. The competences addressed in the curriculum are core knowledge, communication skills, decision-making and applying knowledge to real-world situations. A comprehensive evaluation to assess acquisition of these competences, based on the Miller’s Pyramid, was designed with three data collection points: a) immediately before, to assess baseline knowledge and skills; b) immediately after, to determine acquired competences; and c) at 3–6 months follow-up, to assess performance in daily practice. The e-learning will be freely available in the Virtual Campus for Public Health of the Pan American Health Organization in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. ConclusionPrimary HCP, perceived as trustworthy sources of information, are key actors to increase the population’s awareness and literacy on cancer prevention. Building capacity of these professionals has the potential to increase dissemination and impact of the LAC Code Against Cancer by prompting communication with the public and offering personalized actionable preventive messages through counselling.

Examining collocations in EFL Textbooks and Providing Teaching Guidelines

The aim of this study is to analyze the four most common collocation types found in seventh- through ninth-grade English textbooks (verb-noun, adjective-noun, verb-preposition, and adjective-preposition), with a primary focus on the reading texts. The research aimed to develop pedagogical guidelines relevant to the communicative paradigm and eclecticism, as a result. This study used a descriptive-analytical research design, specifically a content analysis method, to identify the accented collocations throughout a set of junior high school English textbooks. It was discovered that only 9% collocations out of the vocabulary found in the textbooks is present in the three books, while only 1% is found in Band II of the Revised English Curriculum of the Ministry of Education (2013), which includes all possible collocations for intermediate level learners (from the seventh to the ninth grades). Implications for the classroom were drawn from the research.

‘The way of beauty’ in Catholic schools: keys of understanding and pedagogical orientations

This article offers keys of understanding and pedagogical orientations to promote the encounter with beauty in Catholic schools. First, the article presents ‘Via Pulchritudinis [The way of beauty]: paths of evangelisation and dialogue,’ published by the Pontifical Council for Culture (2006) [http://www.cultura.va/content/cultura/en/pub/documenti/ViaPulchritudinis.html]. Through three lines of argument concerning nature, art, and Christ as the model and prototype of Christian beauty, Via Pulchritudinis proposes that beauty is a crucial dimension of evangelisation. Building on contemporary educational research, the article introduces different meanings of beauty that converge with Via Pulchritudinis and explore their pedagogical implications. Second, the article describes a school example that includes six figures, showing how Catholic schools can incorporate beauty within everyday tasks. Finally, the article offers pedagogical guidelines to motivate Catholic schools to follow the way of beauty: to develop dialogues around the understanding and experience of beauty, consider the school environment as an expression of holistic beauty, integrate the aesthetic dimension into the whole curriculum, and cultivate a beautiful liturgy.

The City Has Abandoned Geometry: The Countryside Has Not! Reflections on Geometry and Its Teaching from the Perspective of Countryside Education

Background: On the one hand, the history of mathematics teaching in Brazil is marked by the gradual abandonment of Geometry teaching; on the other hand, the countryside has always assumed it as an essential ally in the political and identity affirmation of its populations. Objectives: This paper discusses how Geometry and its teaching can emerge, in the paradigm of Countryside Education, as a possibility of political-epistemic disobedience to a Mathematics Education referenced in the knowledge, procedures, attitudes, and values of urban, industrial, and market forms of life. Design: The research uses qualitative methodology with a focus on Countryside Education. Setting and participants: The investigation was developed in the context of an Undergraduate Teaching Degree in Countryside Education, based on records of students' activities. Data collection and analysis: The text mobilizes formative experiences of a degree in Countryside Education with emphasis on Mathematics to reflect on how Geometry can be articulated to rural peoples' territories and territorialities, aiming to contribute to pedagogical guidelines for teaching K-12 Mathematics. Results: The paper contributes to evaluating epistemological and educational positions regarding Geometry and geometric knowledge commonly established by school cultures, not necessarily limited to schooling in rural regions. Conclusions: Geometry in school cultures can be used to understand the social reality in which subjects, communities and collectives are inserted, mapping inequality relations, and proposing ways to overcome them.