Abstract 

Stochastics - Virtual Simulation using Mobile Technology.
Aristides Tirkas and Rita Panaoura

The present study suggests the use of modern mobile technology, as part of ICT, in order to improve the understanding of the concepts of Probability and Statistics at the ages of the early high school years and to develop the respective programming and modeling skills. In particular, android apps and spreadsheets were used for generating multiple representations on the one hand and the virtual simulation of a chance experiment on the other. The specific didactic framework was expected to lead students to construct their own mathematical models. The sample was consisted of 355 students divided into experimental and control group. Students were divided into three levels of performance based on their written assessments in mathematics in order to examine the accountability of the intervention in respect to their initial mathematical performance. Results indicated that there were statistically significant differences on students’ performance, between the experimental and the control group and those differences were higher in the case of the students with medium and high performance in mathematics. Unanswered questions, which need to be examined further, were raised about the low-level students. There was not any gender effect on performance due to teaching intervention in eight out of the nine tasks. The discussion concentrates on the learning outcomes derived by the specific intervention program and the role of the use of new technological tools in order to fulfill the relevant goals which are posed at different educational levels.

Extra-Curricular Activities and their Influence on Academic Performance in Primary Education.

Mª Ángeles Pascual Sevillano, Eduardo Fernández de Oliva and Carolina Pascual Moscoso

There have been various approaches to studying academic performance at school but few studies have analysed the influence of extra-curricular activities on student outcomes. This study is based on a quantitative non-experimental survey of a convenience sample of students in the final years of Primary Education, focusing on performance in Mathematics, Spanish Language, English, Physical Education and Art Education. The survey consisted of 79 students in fifth and sixth grade at two school centers. The out-of-school activities in which the students participated were classified in four groups (English, sports, creative and reinforcement) linked to the school subjects already mentioned. Academic performance in these subjects was measured in relation to the extra-curricular activities that the students do. The results show that taking English classes influences performance in that subject, with significant improvement in student grades. There is also a positive trend towards improvement in marks for Art Education and Physical Education among those students who actively participate in activities related to these two subjects.

Professional Authority and Teacher Agency.

Kathryn A. Caprino, Sally B. Crane, Angela M. Kohnen and Jane S. Townsend

Prospective teachers develop agency whilst negotiating input from competing and often conflicting authorities on pedagogy and subject-area curricula. In this article, the authors analyzed Julia’s—a student teacher and graduate from their university’s master's level, teacher-certification program in secondary English—experience with this negotiation. To explore Julia’s experience, the authors collected and analyzed a year’s worth of multimodal data: transcribed semi-structured interviews, field notes, lesson plans, post-lesson reflections, a video-recorded writing lesson, and a first-year-teaching survey—from which themes of agency and authority emerged. Exploring Julia’s negotiation of competing discourses in her development of agency and authority exposed the difficulty and complexity of this process. Julia’s transition from student to teacher challenged her to forego a desire to please outside authorities, such as school mandates and standardized assessments, and assume the authority of an expert, one with the agency to construct and organize effective instruction for her students. Julia grappled with a number of challenges in this process.

The Challenges of Nestors and Nestor Education.
Fernand Vandamme

On the basis of a series of gnosts (a concise expression concerning a scientific point of view), some challenges Nestors (people aged above 70years) are confronted with are described. Next the possibility is investigated to develop an education strategy for Nestors and the challenges, needs and targets that have to be taken into account to be relevant for these Nestors and society.