Science Degree Courses Research Articles

Enhancing Math education for visually impaired students: alternative text implementation in LATEX, MathJax, MathML and LAMBDA

Abstract This article outlines an innovative procedure to improve the accessibility of Mathematics for secondary school students with visual impairments. Using LATEX, a widely used typesetting system, a transformative approach is developed that converts traditional mathematical content into three accessible formats: PDF, MathJax and LAMBDA. Central to this system is the integration of alternative text, which offers full descriptions of images and mathematical formulae and promotes a richer understanding of its content. The broader implications of this project include the introduction of novel teaching models for educators, enhanced accessibility of Mathematics programmes, and the potential to encourage the enrolment of visually impaired students in science degree courses. Ultimately, this work contributes to the creation of the conditions for the development of an inclusive and barrier-free learning environment in Mathematics education.

Semiótica de história em quadrinhos: o processo criativo como tradução de uma ecologia de saberes na divulgação científica

The use of comics goes beyond the universe of leisure and entertainment, they are used successfully by teachers within the classroom. Currently, there is a growing increase in comics being used as scientific dissemination material (CD).This work aims to investigate, through semiotic analysis, the creative process of Biological Sciences students in the production of comics, configuring an Ecology of Knowledge in CD.In this sense, some examples of comics produced during classes in a subject of a degree course in biological sciences were chosen to be analyzed. Therefore, the analytical framework chosen was Peircean Semiotics. The results demonstrated a mobilization of previous knowledge and others acquired in the process; In addition to sharing this knowledge in favor of maintaining the group, denoting knowledge that is specific to the group in the production of comics, (codes and symbols belonging to the area of Biology combined with the language of comics), the ability to handle digital technologies; cultural knowledge, suggesting an Ecology of Knowledge specific to the group.

Perceptions of students of the degree course in Biological Sciences on the teaching of plant physiology with the aid of alternative teaching resources

A negligência no ensino de Botânica, especialmente na Educação Básica, leva ao desinteresse sobre o tema. Esse desinteresse pode começar pelo próprio professor, por não entender a temática ou pela falta de afinidade. O objetivo foi analisar as percepções de licenciandos sobre o uso de recursos didáticos na disciplina de Fisiologia Vegetal do curso de Ciências Biológicas de uma universidade pública. Os dados foram coletados por meio de um Grupo Focal com os licenciandos e analisados segundo a metodologia da Análise Textual Discursiva. Observou-se que, dentre os recursos pedagógicos avaliados, o “Painel Interativo da Cadeia Transportadora de Elétrons da Respiração Vegetal”, apresentou-se como o mais interessante, pois este se destaca por ser mais dinâmico e interativo, e por favorecer a aprendizagem significativa.

Renewing an undergraduate science curriculum for the 21st century

IntroductionThe rapid pace of technological advancement, globalisation, and complex socio-economic challenges facing 21st-century society necessitates a rethinking of undergraduate science education. Undergraduate science curriculum reform is essential to prepare students for the demands of the modern workforce in an ever-changing world. Accordingly, in Trinity College Dublin (the University of Dublin), the oldest science degree course in Ireland was intensively reviewed and redeveloped between 2014 and 2021. This study aims to collate and disseminate the knowledge acquired by university staff through the experience of undertaking a major science curriculum redevelopment.MethodsNine senior staff members closely involved with the redevelopment were interviewed about why the curriculum reform was necessary, what it had achieved, and how the process could have been improved.ResultsThe reasons behind the curriculum changes are described and placed in the context of contemporary pedagogical research. Reflections from the academic and administrative staff involved in the redevelopment process are presented, emphasising the challenges and opportunities that emerged from that process.DiscussionRecommendations for other universities undertaking similar reforms are included. Aligning undergraduate science curriculum reform with the needs of 21st-century society is vital for ensuring that science graduates are well-prepared to make positive contributions to a sustainable future.

Developing feedback literacy in initial teacher education: Results from an investigation

This survey, which involved 258 students of the Primary Education Sciences degree course at the University of Molise, intends to examine the effects of feedback literacy activities in supporting student learning. With this purpose, a qualitative analysis of the reflective narratives contained in the e-portfolios produced by the students during the lessons was conducted. The results demonstrate a particular utility of peer feedback activities in increasing forms of self-assessment and autonomous review of the work performed.

Collaborative peer-feedback practices in hybrid learning environments

The article describes a technology-mediated collaborative peer-feedback experience. 125 students took part into the activity during the delivery of a 3-months teaching in "Methodology of Action Research", within a 3-year Degree Course in Psychological, Social and Occupational Sciences. The activity was based on a 4-phases cycle of collaborative output production, structured peer-feedback, collaborative output improvement, individual reflection. The aim of the exploratory case-study here presented is to observe if and how the peer-feedback activity supported the development of collaborative, meta-cognitive and digital skills, other than knowledge acquisition. To answer our research questions, we used a mixed system, able to provide both objective data with respect to the activity carried out and the skills put in place, and subjective data related to the students' personal experience and the perceived impact on their learning. Results show a good appropriation of metacognitive skills and offer numerous hints on the design aspects which have been found to be effective in supporting students' learning.

The Benefits of Using Case Study Focussed, Problem Based Learning Approaches to Unit Design for Biomedical Science Students.

As part of the Biomedical Sciences undergraduate degree course students are required to apply biological principles to the interpretation of clinical case studies and the diagnosis of patients. Case study-based learning, i.e., application of knowledge to patient diagnosis, is new to most students as case studies do not form part of non-applied A level courses in biological sciences. This approach is an example of Problem Based Learning (PBL) which has been shown to support higher levels of student learning, encouraging critical thinking and analysis. PBL approaches have also been shown to increase academic satisfaction and student engagement. In recent years we have observed a downwards trend in student engagement and historically student performance in applied case study-based assessments to be lower than that observed for assessments based on detailing fundamental biological principles. We hypothesised that PBL teaching delivery would support students in preparing for case study-based assessments, helping them to demonstrate their critical evaluation and problem-solving skills, and hence, improve student performance. We also hypothesised that the student learning experience would be enhanced by a PBL teaching delivery approach which would improve overall engagement. We therefore redesigned a second year Biomedical Sciences degree haematology and clinical biochemistry unit: "Blood Science," with a stronger focus on PBL, including case study focussed activities throughout the unit. We subsequently analysed whether this PBL-focussed unit design improved student experience and feedback, student engagement and student confidence for biomedical science undergraduate students. We present here, our teaching strategy and the impact our changes had on student feedback for the 21/22 and 22/23 academic years. Our findings demonstrate that case study-based activities and tutorial PBL exercises, when incorporated into the curriculum design, can improve student experience in the Biomedical Sciences and other biological science undergraduate degree courses.

The use of TikTok in Initial Teacher Training

The continuous evolution of technology and the increasingly massive use of visual content have given way to an era characterized by the use of short videos mainly through social media. Among these applications, TikTok has been chosen primarily by young people thanks to the unique communication strategies it offers. This paper presents the activities that have involved and will involve first-year students enrolled in the single-cycle master’s degree course in Primary Education Sciences of the University of Palermo in the a.y. 2022/2023. This study aims primarily at investigating the perceptions that university students have regarding the use of TikTok to implement learning and to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of this tool in teaching practice. The first results seem to present a great success from the point of view of the involvement of the participants, stimulated and motivated by the activity presented, they considered that the use of TikTok turns out to be an innovative approach for learning, capable of improving understanding and active learning. The contribution also presents an assessment rubric created to analyze the TikTok videos produced by the students during the activities.

Consumption of Energy Drinks among Italian University students: a cross-sectional multicenter study

PurposeThe aim of the study was to evaluate the caffeinated Energy Drinks (EDs) consumption among a large sample of Italian undergraduates and its association with some of the major lifestyle risk factors.MethodsStudents attending twelve public Italian universities were involved between October 2021 and May 2022. Information on socio-demographic characteristics, ED consumption, and on health-related behaviors of participants was collected by the use of a web-based questionnaire.ResultsA total of 2165 students participated in the study and 15.2% of them reported having used caffeinated EDs in the last six months, mainly once a month (41.5%). In comparison with non-users, ED users showed a higher proportion of males (p < 0.001) and a higher father’s educational level (p = 0.003), came mainly from Northern universities (p = 0.004) and life sciences degree courses (p < 0.001). Besides, ED users reported higher BMI values (p = 0.003), more particular dietary regimens (p < 0.001), higher levels of weekly moderate–vigorous physical activity (p < 0.001) and participation in sports (p < 0.001) and in team sports (p = 0.003), and higher proportion of smokers (p < 0.001) and alcohol drinkers (p = 0.005). ED use was negatively related with female gender (OR 0.546; 95% CI 0.374–0.798), the Mediterranean diet (OR 0.587; 95% CI 0.362–0.951) and coming from the center of Italy (OR 0.500; 95% CI 0.275–0.909) and positively associated with tobacco smoke (OR 1.712; 95% CI 1.176–2.492) and participation in a team sport (OR 1.686; 95% CI 1.051–2.707).ConclusionThese findings could encourage figures engaged in education to increase the students’ awareness on this issue in order to prevent the excessive use of EDs and associated unhealthy behaviors, especially in the most interested subgroups.

Sleep quality and the teaching-learning process: a case study with Bahian students

Sleep is a natural physiological condition of the human organism, and performs functions such as: restoring the neurological system, modulating cognition, consolidating memory and learning and contributing psychologically to people’s mental well-being. Therefore, an investigation was developed during supervised curricular internship II, of the Degree course in Biological Sciences, with the objective of identifying the causes that compromise the quality of sleep of high school/technical students and its main consequences for the teaching-learning process. The research was developed in two 1st year classes of a Technical course in Agriculture of a Federal Institute located in the Northern Region of the State of Bahia. For the data production movement, a Form from Google Docs was used, in which 40 students participated. After analysis, it was noticed that the socioeconomic and psychological conditions of the students, the school infrastructure, the use of technologies and the number of activities requested by the teachers are the main causes that interfere in the quality of the students’ sleep. Thus, the investigated adolescents have a low sleep duration, which refers to the need for interventions.

Developing a virtual laboratory module for forensic science degree programmes

Laboratory work is essential in forensic science degree courses. They provide students with an opportunity to put theory into practice, as well as develop relevant professional laboratory skills through a case-based learning framework. Traditional laboratory instruction involves the use of a written laboratory script or manual that details the laboratory procedures and techniques for an experiment. Occasionally, instructors may provide a brief in-person demonstration of a critical aspect of the experimental procedure during the session. Since the coronavirus pandemic, the use of virtual laboratory (vLab) resources, such as video demonstrations, in teaching science practical skills has increased. These resources may be used alone or in combination with in-person laboratory sessions in a flipped learning model. Previous research has shown that vLab resources could enhance students’ knowledge, confidence, and experience inside the laboratory. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and attitudes of forensic science students toward the use of a vLab module. Three videos were created in which procedures for carrying out presumptive tests, screening exhibits, and recording examinations were demonstrated. Seven undergraduate students enrolled at different stages of a forensic science degree programme were introduced to the vLab module and interviewed using a semi-structured interview approach. Through a thematic synthesis of the interview transcripts, we found that the implementation of an inclusive vLab module could enhance students’ knowledge, confidence, and independence in carrying out forensic science laboratory procedures.

Technology and the initial participation of teachers in education: a laboratory experience on Distance Learning in the Primary Education Sciences degree course

Abstract The social, cultural and economic changes of this century have inevitably also affected the world of education and training, which, therefore, have renewed paths, objectives and goals. Internalised knowledge must be re-used creatively in a new context. ‘Knowing’ becomes ‘knowing how’ and then ‘knowing how to be’. Learning is lifelong and is understood as the right/duty of the citizen, who in the globalised world, needs to acquire increasingly specialised skills to face the continuous challenges that modern society offers. In this perspective, technology should not be exclusively understood in its most technical dimension; it is a precious opportunity for training and learning-teaching. In other words, this work intends to highlight the multi-dimensionality that distinguishes it and allows every teacher, who knows how to use it consciously, to variegate and personalise their educational proposal. The laboratory, which is intended as a new didactic space, becomes a privileged place for the educational relationship between teachers and learners, who, supported by technology, creatively reach the objectives set out.

Play in an inclusive key. A case study

It was investigated, through an empirical case study, the value of educational play and its inclusive value, by using the focus group as an educational research tool. A sample of students attending the Early Childhood Education laboratory of the three-year degree course in Education and Training Sciences of the University of Catania, participated in the study.

Bingo Celular: O lúdico no processo de ensino e aprendizagem

The teaching of Cell Biology constitutes an innovative educational path in the acquisition of knowledge about the importance of animal and plant cells. Thus, this work aimed to report the application of a didactic game to stimulate the teaching and learning process of higher education students on the basic principles of functions, transport of biological membranes and morphological structures of cellular cytoplasmic organelles. To support this research, the application of the ludic game entitled Bingo Celular was used as didactic material. This research was carried out at the Institute of Education, Agriculture and Environment (IEAA) of the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM) in the city of Humaitá-AM in the Degree Course in Sciences: Biology and Chemistry and involved students of the 1st period in the discipline of Cell Biology. At first, there were a total of 29 students of the course in question. Bibliographic research and action research were used, focusing on the dialectical method of investigation, Historical and Dialectical Materialism. The data collection techniques used were: 1) Theoretical class; 2) Application of playfulness. The results show that when it comes to the subjects involved in the research, it was evident that the students' difficulty in relating the concepts of the organelles present in the cytoplasm comes from a growing phase of basic education and permeates higher education. In this logic, cellular bingo appears to reinforce the discussion on the aforementioned subject, and, in addition, we sought to avoid the configuration of the theoretical regency as being something simplistic and limiting.

Cultural Parent and Learning in the Knowledge Society: A Survey with Students of the Degree in Primary Education

This article describes a research study involving 132 students on a Primary Education Sciences degree course at Roma Tre University. A complexity paradigm was employed for the research, which used group activities to design a questionnaire that was subsequently analysed to provide 8 different perspectives. The underlying theoretical perspective involved investigation of the applicability of the transactional analysis concept of Cultural Parent (and the associated concepts of Frame of Reference, Script and Ego States) as a way of understanding how changes are needed in educational processes to reflect how family, school and societal cultures have changed, with particular reference to Generation App and the increasing impact of technology on virtual spaces, and the need to reflect cultural diversity.

Teaching digital skills to future teachers: a distance workshop experience

Abstract In the school year 2020–2021, the Covid-19 pandemic imposed distance learning (in Italian, the DAD acronym is used). Therefore, the Degree Course in Primary Education Sciences of the University of Perugia has proposed an innovative programme for the training of future teachers by developing a distance learning laboratory focusing coding and computational thinking applied to teaching in kindergarten and primary school. During the educational technologies laboratory, held by Prof. Floriana Falcinelli, the students experimented coding both without computer (unplugged) and using the Scratch software. The programmed animations and video games were in direct connection with the Lifelong Kindergarten of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, where Scratch was created. The highly innovative aspects concerned both the proposed contents and the dimension of interaction and collaboration as entirely developed in online environments.

Il coding nei percorsi di tirocinio degli studenti di Scienze dell’educazione e della formazione. Uno studio di caso

The rapid changes that characterize the world of work ask school and university to critically rethink the way to facilitate creative skills. The coding and the development of computational thinking are declined in this context as facilitators of these skills in everyday life and in working contexts. The contribution presents a case study that describes peer tutoring laboratory activities focused on learning coding skills that involved students, enrolled in the Degree Course in Education and Training Sciences of the University of Siena, as a form of alternative curricular internship during the lockdown period. The study shows how students approached this form of internship, how they designed peer tutoring sessions and the gains in terms of learning and professional development.

Dalla pratica alla teoria

Starting from the academic year 2020-2021, the University of Turin, Department of Philosophy and Educational Sciences, as part of the degree course in Educational Sciences, has set up for the first time the History of Children’s Literature workshops connected to the relevant course taught by Professor Ilaria Mattioni and has entrusted them to a librarian. The aim of my paper is to tell what the advantages of this collaboration are and how, thanks to the guidance of a librarian, the future educators were able to acquire not only theoretical but above all practical skills on the subject of reading out loud. It explains how a small “toolbox” was built, lesson by lesson, which the students will be able to take with them into their future work experiences.

Teaching histology and anatomy online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aim of this study is to analyze differences in participation, and in the results obtained in the anatomy and histology exams, over two academic years of the Sport Sciences degree course. During the first semester of the academic year 2019/2020 both the lectures and the exam took place face‐to‐face, while during the academic year 2020/2021 everything was done online. Statistical analysis revealed that the online modality was especially advantageous for the anatomy exam. Students' opinions were also assessed through a short questionnaire. The results showed that teachers involved themselves in both groups. Students needed to interact socially with teachers and colleagues and to ask them questions. Even if the differences were not significant, the difference was greater for face‐to‐face students in most comparisons. Finally, the most common methods of peer communication were by social media.

Sports Training's Effects on Muscle and Tendon Characteristics at Different Stages of DevelopmentReflective Method to Developing Research Abilities in Sports Professional Training

Sport and physical exercise are vital components of preventive measures against illnesses, promoting well-being and a high quality of life within communities. To achieve these goals, educational actions through sports practice must be implemented, considering the unique characteristics and needs of the participants. Understanding the true nature of the sports educational process requires in-depth investigation, leading to interventions that incorporate knowledge and techniques from the sports sciences. As a result, nurturing research competencies among sports professionals within their educational paths becomes crucial. This study reflects on recent methodological approaches in educational-sports research and their potential in the academic settings of Sports and Exercise Sciences degree courses. One approach that stands out is Mixed Methods Research, which combines qualitative and quantitative methods to gain a comprehensive understanding of complex phenomena in sports education. By utilizing both types of data, researchers can explore the nuances of participants' experiences and gather statistical evidence to support their findings. This integrative approach allows for a more holistic analysis, strengthening the credibility and reliability of the research outcomes. Moreover, the inclusion of critical-reflexive components in educational-sports research adds depth and context to the findings. By encouraging researchers to critically examine their assumptions, biases, and optionality, this approach acknowledges the influence of personal perspectives on the research process and outcomes. It fosters a more self-aware and accountable approach to research, promoting transparency and authenticity in reporting results. The academic contexts of Sports and Exercise Sciences degree courses offer fertile ground for fostering research competencies among aspiring sports professionals. Incorporating research-oriented modules, seminars, and workshops into the curriculum can provide students with essential tools and skills for conducting rigorous and insightful research. By engaging students in hands-on research projects, they can apply theoretical knowledge to real-world situations, developing their analytical and problem-solving abilities. Integrating research competencies into the educational paths of sports professionals is vital to advancing the field of sports education. The adoption of Mixed Methods Research and critical-reflexive components enhances the quality and depth of educational-sports research. By nurturing research skills in academic settings and fostering collaboration with established researchers, we can cultivate a new generation of sports professionals who are equipped to contribute meaningfully to the well-being and development of individuals and communities through sports and physical exercise.