Jorge Mañana-Rodríguez

Taking scholarly books into account: current developments in five European countries

For academic book authors and the institutions assessing their research performance, the relevance of books is undisputed. In spite of this, the absence of comprehensive international databases covering the items and information needed for the assessment of this type of publication has urged several European countries to develop custom-built information systems for the registration of scholarly books, as well as weighting and funding allocation procedures. For the first time, these systems make the assessment of books as a research output feasible. The present paper summarizes the main features of the registration and/or assessment systems developed in five European countries/regions (Spain, Denmark, Flanders, Finland and Norway), focusing on the processes involved in the collection and processing of data on book publications, their weighting, as well as the application in the context of research assessment and funding.

Percepciones y creencias de los docentes de primaria del Principado de Asturias sobre las competencias básicas

Since the Spanish Organic Education Law, enacted in 2006, introduced key competences in the curriculum of compulsory education, few data have been collected about the attitudes and beliefs of teachers in this implementation process. Gordon et al. (2009) recognized the teachers as the key actors in the shift towards competences and noted that the successful implementation of competence-based approach depends on the attitude of teachers. The main objective of this paper was to analyze the perceptions of primary teachers in Asturias on key competences after their full incorporation into the curriculum. A second objective was to compare the perceptions of teachers in terms of three segmentation variables: sex, type of institution and type of teaching (specialty). For this purpose, an ad hoc questionnaire was designed, with a 5-point Likert scale, consisting of a total of 40 items organized into five relevant aspects of the curriculum: activities, methodology, assessment, motivation and interdisciplinary work. 810 subjects completed the questionnaire showing their perceptions of key competences. In general, teachers reflected medium warmth about key competences showing an unclear, unsteady opinion on their inclusion in the curriculum. Regarding the contrasts by segmentation variables, males scored significantly higher than women the competence benefits. Teachers in concerted (non-government) schools are more sensitive both the benefits and the costs to the competence framework. Specialists identified greater benefits than generalists. These results are discussed in terms of the need to support teachers to become more aware of the benefits of working competence and undertake effective strategies for change.

Understanding online interaction in language MOOCs through learning analytics

ABSTRACT Data mining is increasing its popularity in the research of Technology-Enhanced Language Learning and Applied Linguistics in general. It enables a better understanding of progress, performance and possible pitfalls, which would be useful for language learners, teachers and researchers. Until recently it was an unexplored field, but it is expected to grow exponentially in the following years. This article attempts to be a relevant contribution as an instance of empirical research, showing the application of Learning Analytics to the Language MOOC (LMOOC) ‘How to succeed in the English B1 Level Exam.’ The focus or the research was threefold, trying to find out: (1) what types of learning objects students engage with most, (2) what aspects of online interaction relate more strongly to course completion and success, and (3) which are the most prominent student profiles in an LMOOC. Results show that short video-pills are the most powerful learning objects in this type of online courses, the regular submission of automated grading activities is a robust indicator towards course success, and the most prominent student profile in LMOOCs is ‘viewers’, those who access the learning materials but do not submit tasks or engage in online interaction actively, which would explain why the completion rate in LMOOCs is so low. This novel perspective into students’ language learning, which big data has assisted us in, should guide course creators to re-design the LMOOC for the enhancement of the audio-visual content. LMOOC instructors and facilitators should also encourage participants to increase the submission of activities –acknowledging these small achievements through micro-credentialing and badges-, and special attention ought to be paid to the most prominent LMOOC profile, those ‘viewers’ who should be lured into becoming ‘solvers’ or, even better, ‘all-rounders’.