ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Development and Evaluation of a Pre-Professional Identity Workshop: A Case Study in Exercise Science
Author: Clanchy, Kelly
Date: 2022-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Workshops,Allied Health Occupations Education,Foreign Countries,Professional Identity,Exercise,Undergraduate Students,Program Development,Program Evaluation,Student Attitudes

Pre-professional identity (PPI) aims to provide an understanding of, and connection to, the skills and knowledge contained in a degree and the intended profession of the student. Investigation into PPI is of importance to higher-education institutions as it provides a means of understanding a student's orientation and motivation behind degree and career selection. Developing learning activities that capitalise on these motivations is proposed to increase student engagement, reduce attrition, and enhance employability. Using the growing, but relatively new profession of Exercise Science as an example, this study describes a workshop based on theoretical models relating to the concept of PPI, adult learning and self-reflective practices that can be integrated into programs to enhance students' understanding of their professional identity. One hundred and seventy-three final year Exercise Science students participated in and evaluated the workshop. The workshop was evaluated using a theoretical framework specifically designed for the evaluation of training activities. The combination of the evaluation and feedback from students were synthesised to develop a model for the application of PPI activities across a three-year undergraduate degree.
Analyzing Computational Thinking Studies in Scratch Programming: A Review of Elementary Education Literature
Author: Stewart, William H.
Date: 2023-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Computation,Thinking Skills,Programming,Literature Reviews,Elementary Education,Elementary School Students,Content Analysis,Teaching Methods,Evaluation Methods

Computational Thinking (CT) has become popular in recent years and has been recognized as an essential skill for everyone in the digital age. CT literature, however, is at an early stage of development, and there is no consensus among researchers/scholars in the field. To date, many have been unable to concretely explain what CT is, or how to teach and assess this broad skill set. This is particularly evident in different educational contexts and settings such as higher education versus elementary education. The purpose of this cumulative literature review is to examine papers that focus on CT in terms of elementary education, elementary-aged learners, and related issues/considerations in order to provide a better understanding of the CT in an elementary context. An inductive qualitative content analysis was conducted on 58 papers set in elementary school settings about CT from 2010-2020. Five main themes emerged from the review: exploiting tangible blocks in a physical coding environment, integrating &quot;Scratch&quot; into various disciplines through programming, &quot;Scratch&quot; gaming for computational thinking, evaluating computational thinking skills through &quot;Scratch&quot; projects, and teaching and learning methods/factors affecting CT in children. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.
How Do Vocational Teachers Learn? Formal and Informal Learning by Vocational Teachers in Kenya
Author: Njenga, Moses
Date: 2023-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Vocational Education Teachers,Professional Continuing Education,Faculty Development,Teacher Competencies,Informal Education,Peer Influence,Cooperative Learning,Experiential Learning,Textbooks,Mentors,Active Learning,Teacher Characteristics,Independent Study,Workshops,Courses,Training,Conferences (Gatherings),Educational Attainment

Context: Participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) supports the development of vocational teacher competencies. However, it is often not clear what learning methods vocational teachers use in their CPD. This study therefore investigated the CPD practices of vocational teachers in Kenya, with a specific focus on the formal and informal learning methods used. Approach: The study used a questionnaire survey to collect data from TVET teachers randomly drawn from six Technical and Vocational Colleges in Kenya's Nairobi Metropolitan Area. Descriptive and inferential analysis of the data was used to determine how frequently different learning methods are used and to identify associations between CPD practices and teacher characteristics. Findings: TVET teachers in Kenya were found to use different learning methods depending on the availability of the learning methods and the learning goals teachers have. Formal academic learning and discussions with colleagues are frequently used while collaborative learning methods and practice-based learning activities are less frequently used. Rarely used are written reflections about practice and its outcomes. Despite viewing Lecturer Industrial Attachment (LIA) as important and therefore wishing to attend LIA, more than a third of the participants indicated that they had never attended LIA. The use of professional literature is restricted to text books with limited use of primary and secondary literature. CPD activities such as mentoring, supervising other teachers, and school visits were found to form a unique category of CPD activities that is more frequently used by teachers with administrative responsibilities. Conclusion: The limited use of active learning methods that involve critical evaluation of practices and their outcomes risks limiting the ability of vocational teachers in Kenya to transform and adopt better practices. It is recommended that vocational teachers in Kenya are encouraged to adopt a broad conception of teacher CPD that embraces collaborative, reflective, and practice-based learning.
The Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a STEM Education Course for Pre-Service Science Teachers
Author: Sungur-Gul, Kibar
Date: 2023-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: STEM Education,Preservice Teachers,Science Teachers,Course Evaluation,Teaching Methods,Curriculum Design

The purpose of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate a course according to a STEM education approach for pre-service science teachers. The study was conducted in three phases according to an educational design research method: preliminary research, development or prototyping, and assessment (Plomp &amp; Nieveen, 2013). The STEM education pre-knowledge form, STEM lesson plans, the STEM lesson plan evaluation form, STEM self-evaluation, and peer-evaluation forms, and a semi-structured face-to-face interview form were used as qualitative data collection tools. Data were analyzed by methods of content analysis. The results suggest that pre-service science teachers need education in the dimensions of the theoretical structure of STEM education, STEM disciplines and integration, 21st-century skills, sample STEM activities, current science curriculum, STEM learning/teaching methods and techniques, measurement and assessment for STEM education, collaboration with peers, and planning-implementing a lesson according to STEM education. The findings showed that the STEM course design developed through this study was seen to be effective in responding pre-service teachers' needs. In STEM course design, six activities were prepared in the context of designing a 21st-century house and designing a vehicle according to the trans-disciplinary model and hands on minds on method. According to the relevant literature, the findings were discussed and future studies should provide collaboration with pre-service teachers, students, and in-service teachers. Future studies should also focus on developing the knowledge and skills of pre-service teachers about engineering and technology discipline and show how to integrate these disciplines into their real-life problems.
Leveling Entrepreneurial Skills of Vocational Secondary School Students in Indonesia: Impact of Demographic Characteristics
Author: Susantiningrum
Date: 2023-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Entrepreneurship,Vocational Education,Secondary School Students,Skill Development,Job Skills,Leadership Qualities,Communication Skills,Risk,Innovation,Family Influence,Institutional Characteristics,Student Characteristics,Long Range Planning

Context: This article aims to determine the entrepreneurial skills of Vocational Secondary School students after the implementation of a new curriculum that promotes entrepreneurship courses in Indonesia. The authors believe that after taking such courses, students will be able to generate entrepreneurial skills. This study also explores the effect of demographic characteristics on students' entrepreneurship skills level, especially with respect to gender, school, and family. Approach: This study used a quantitative approach, with data collected through a questionnaire with five variables, that is, leadership, reflective communication, risk-taking, creatively innovative, and future orientation. Data were collected from 463 students who had taken entrepreneurship subjects that were chosen randomly. Data were analyzed using linear regression. Findings: 52.22% of our respondents had a moderate score for entrepreneurial skills, this is not in accordance with the expected learning outcomes, there are students who have entrepreneurial skills at a high level. With respect to creative innovation, in particular, a majority (53.15%) had a low score and 4.1% had a very low score. Moreover, family had a significant and positive effect on all dependent variables (leadership scores, reflective communication scores, risk-taking scores, creatively innovative scores, future orientation scores, and overall entrepreneurial skills scores). School demographic characteristics had a significant positive effect on the value of future orientation. These results indicate that private schools tend to strengthen the level of reflective communicative scores. Conclusion: The entrepreneurial skills of most vocational students are middling. This indicates that entrepreneurship subjects at Vocational Secondary schools have not been able to achieve their expected learning outcomes or help students develop entrepreneurial skills at a high level. Thus, further research is needed to determine the causes behind the problem. Schools are expected to be able to establish harmonious relationships by involving families to support the improvement of an informal learning environment that supports the mastery of entrepreneurial skills of vocational students.
Mathematical Skills of Students with Special Educational Needs in the Area of Learning (SEN-L) in Pre-Vocational Programs in Germany
Author: Lutz, Stephanie
Date: 2023-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Skills,Special Needs Students,Prevocational Education,Foreign Countries,Arithmetic,Formative Evaluation,Computer Assisted Testing,Mathematics Tests,Item Response Theory,Problem Solving,Accuracy,Cognitive Processes

Context: Students with special educational needs in the area of learning (SEN-L) attend vocational trainings to be provided with qualifications for the labor market. Competences in arithmetic operations and comparing quantities such as weights and lengths are indispensable for obtaining a vocational qualification. Therefore, the study investigates whether students with SEN-L in Germany convert job-relevant quantities and master arithmetic operations accurately and with a certain speed before beginning vocational training. Methods: 152 students with SEN-L in pre-vocational training programs in southern Germany were examined using curriculum-related computer tests for formative assessment. Three skill-based tests were constructed as progress monitoring tests comparing weights and lengths and arithmetic operations including a speed component. Results: All newly developed tests meet the requirements of the Rasch model. Students' performance on the lengths test and the weights test correlates with a significant linear relationship (r = 0.64). Only weak correlations (r &gt; 0.29 &lt; 0.45) are found between the performance in the arithmetic operations and the weights and lengths tests. For items in the weights and lengths tests, participants show on average significantly higher probability of solving than in the arithmetic operations test. Furthermore, students with SEN-L show slow processing speed (median processing speed weights test 6.37 seconds, lengths test 6.26 seconds, arithmetic operations test 33.97 seconds on average per item). The students solve more items of the weights and lengths tests correctly than of the operation test (median for weights 25 items, for lengths 24 items, for arithmetic operations 7 items). Conclusion: The majority of the students with SEN-L were not able to solve the expected number of items correctly and show that the participants' accuracy in dealing with arithmetic operations and quantity comparison is low. It can be assumed that this might lead to difficulties in mastering mathematical items in the context of vocational training. This is the case, in particular, where a certain speed is required (fluency). Math instruction in pre-vocational programs needs a stronger focus on building up and expanding arithmetic operations and quantities and has to be complemented by monitoring the learning process of students with SEN-L.
The Implementation of Dual Vocational Education and Training in Spain: Analysis of Company Tutors in the Tourism Sector
Author: Marrero-Rodríguez, Josefa-Rosa
Date: 2023-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Dual Enrollment,Vocational Education,Foreign Countries,Tutors,Tourism,Training,Training Methods

Context: Vocational education and training (VET) has become a key issue in today's highly dynamic business, technological and economic environment, with a complex diversity of systems within the European Union. This paper aims to study the implementation of dual VET in Spain, focusing on the working conditions of company tutors in the tourism sector of Andalusia and the Canary Islands. Approach: Dual VET has been implemented in different ways, both between the different autonomous regions and professional areas since it was launched in 2012. In order to analyse these differences, interviews with teachers, head teachers, students and company tutors were carried out, between 2020 and 2021, in centres that had implemented dual vocational education training and centres that had not. The educational programme in dual VET implies a closer collaboration between schools and companies, as both are active training areas; the training objectives are shared between the school and the company. In this study, the company tutor is studied in his or her facet as trainer and assessor; but special emphasis is placed on the characteristics of the tourism sector, given its relevance in understanding the educational processes involved. Three dimensions underpin the analysis: the characteristics of the company tutor, the training and assessment processes implemented and the link that both maintain with the dynamics of tourism companies. Findings: In general terms, the initial assumptions put forward are confirmed. Firstly, the educational centre leads the process, taking the initiative yet without having the conditions of governance and negotiation typical of the Germanic countries from which these vocational education training systems originate. Secondly, the main characteristics of the company tutor are heterogeneity and informality. Thirdly, the contents and methodology are conditioned by the characteristics of the tourism sector. And finally, assessment also follows informal and changing procedures, generating tensions between the educational centre and company. Conclusions: These results give rise to some theoretical reflections. If the education system is an institution based on the principle of equality, it is worth asking to what extent dual VET can alter this principle, as the company adapts some of the contents and learning outcomes to its specific needs. In addition, an important differentiating factor that marks the learning dynamics has been detected: the size of the company. The difference in size may also influence the future prospects of trainees joining the workforce after completion of VET studies.
Semantic Analyses of Open-Ended Responses from Professional Development Workshop Promoting Computational Thinking in Rural Schools
Author: Gillenwaters, Amber
Date: 2023-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Semantics,Faculty Development,Computation,Thinking Skills,Rural Education,Rural Schools,Feedback (Response),Formative Evaluation,Self Efficacy,Teaching Methods,Lesson Plans,Elementary School Teachers,Middle School Teachers,Integrated Curriculum,Writing Instruction,Mathematics Education,Science Education,Social Studies,Barriers,Thematic Approach

In this paper, an application of open-ended textual feedback is presented as a tool to evaluate the perceptions and needs of teachers tasked with implementing computational thinking in the K-12 curriculum. Semantic analysis tools, including sentiment analysis and thematic analysis, facilitated the identification of common themes in openended textual feedback. Results show that semantic analysis techniques can be useful in evaluating formative assessment data or open-ended feedback to discover response patterns, which may aid in determining actionable insights related to adult learner perceptions, interests, and self-efficacy. Formative assessment data were collected from a unique professional development workshop to promote computational thinking and curriculum integration in core subjects, including writing, math, science, and social studies, with the goal of discovering the barriers that rural teachers face in developing and implementing lesson plans for grades 3-8 teachers in a rural midwestern state in the USA to promote computational thinking and curriculum integration in core subjects, including writing, math, science, and social studies, with the goal of discovering the barriers that rural teachers face in developing and implementing lesson plans.
A Brief History of K-12 Computer Science Education in Ireland
Author: Faherty, Roisin
Date: 2023-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Educational History,Computer Science Education,Elementary Secondary Education,Curriculum Development,Technology Uses in Education,Information Technology,Educational Certificates

This paper unites the history of Computer Science (CS) Education in Ireland by plotting Ireland's roadmap leading to the implementation of formal Computer Science Education in schools. It first outlines the educational system in Ireland. The history roadmap starts in the 1970s with the first notions of introducing computing in post-primary school, and then continues up to the roll-out the CS curriculum in Ireland at the Senior Cycle level in 2018. The story is chiefly available in disparate publications and reports, so piecing together the entire story is often difficult. This paper collates the available literature, together with the authors' local knowledge of the process, into one paper that may be of interest locally and of value to other jurisdictions beginning their planning of national curricula. The paper describes the development and the current situation of the formal curricula in CS at second level. The current landscape of Computing Education at primary level, which at the time of writing is in the planning stages in Ireland, is described. Additionally, an investigation into the introduction of Computing Education in schools in the international jurisdictions that directly influenced the Irish roll-out takes place, to summarize any lessons learned that might provide insights for Ireland going forward.
Assessment of Strategies for Preparing Graduates for the Disruptive Workplace: Evidence from Nigeria and South Africa
Author: Pitan, Oluyomi Susan
Date: 2023-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Comparative Education,Experiential Learning,Career Guidance,Transfer of Training,Higher Education,Labor Market,College Graduates,Career Readiness,Employment Potential,Universities,Institutional Characteristics,Education Work Relationship,Gender Differences,Job Skills

This study examined the extent to which experiential learning and career guidance activities, as strategies for equipping students with transferable skills, are used by Higher Education (HE) in two African countries, Nigeria and South Africa to prepare students for the volatile labour market. The contributions of the two strategies to students' preparedness for work, after controlling for the possible effects of gender and type of university, were also determined. Perceptions of students (n=865) from six universities in the two countries, on their level of exposure to the two strategies, were analysed. Hierarchical regression was used to control for the influence of gender and type of university, while findings from the two countries were compared using Mann-Whitney U tests. Students from both countries agreed that the two strategies jointly and individually have significant positive influences on their preparedness for work. However, the students alleged that their universities are not exposing them adequately to these strategies. Students from Nigeria believed they are exposed adequately only to experiential learning, while those from South Africa demonstrated inadequate exposure to both strategies. The effects of gender and type of university on students' responses were significant only among South African students. This study has highlighted the extent to which sampled universities adopt the two strategies in preparing their students for work and has offered suggestions on how to address the identified inadequacies in students' exposure to the strategies. Also, results of the differences in students' perceptions have established the role of dominant contextual differences in employability development, which should be acknowledged when making quantitative comparisons in Higher Education between countries.
From We Ask to iASK: A Self-Reflection Strategy Enabling Students to Connect Assessment and Employability
Author: Spagnoli, Dino
Date: 2023-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,College Freshmen,Student Attitudes,Employment Potential,Reflection,Self Concept,Job Skills,Knowledge Level,Skill Development,Communication Skills,Critical Thinking,Citizenship,Self Evaluation (Individuals),Global Approach,Teamwork,Resilience (Psychology),Self Management,Problem Solving,Information Literacy

Most students acknowledge shared responsibility, with the university, for their employability development. Many academics use assessments as the main driver for motivating students to learn. At the intersection between employability, assessment and learning, the emergent research question is -- what are the mechanisms by which course-based employability is fostered? Prior research reveals that although academics identified course-based assessment as the key employability mechanism, neither students nor employers registered this conceptualisation, and thus purpose of assessment. The aim of this research was to stimulate and communicate the direct connection between assessment and employability to students and interpret their response. Over 100 first-year students, across a metropolitan and regional Australian university, participated. Students were directed to use a simple reflective tool, dubbed iASK by the researchers, that probed employability elements of identity, Attributes, Skills, and Knowledge. The research revealed the resulting student view that regular course-based assessment can develop their employability skills in communication and independence, but not in critical thinking and global citizenship.