Background: Several studies have focused on the assessment of students' motivation because this construct is very important to understand students' learning and how to enhance it. The Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-A), based on the self-determination theory is a self-report instrument developed to access the reasons why students do their school work. However, there is no Portuguese version of this questionnaire for late elementary students. The primary goal of this research was to analyze the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of SRQ-A in the domain of Mathematics with elementary school children. Methods: Participants were 341 elementary school children ranging from 8 to 11 years old from the third and fourth grades. The Portuguese version of the SRQ-A included 24 items assessing four regulatory styles (external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic) in three behavioral categories (homework, classwork, and answering questions in mathematics lessons). To examine the psychometric properties of the instrument, we conducted an exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), measured gender and grade invariance, and calculated internal consistency indexes and temporal stability. Results: ESEM analyses supported the original multidimensional structure of the measure with four regulatory styles using a reduced version of the instrument with 16 items. Correlations between the four regulatory styles revealed a simplex pattern consistent with the continuum of self-determination theory. Results showed adequate internal consistency for all regulatory styles (α ≥ .73; CR ≥ .76) and temporal stability (4-month test-retest ≥ .43). The questionnaire showed measurement and structural invariance across gender and grade. Finally, some gender differences were observed; on average, boys scored higher than girls in external regulation. No differences were observed between grades. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the Portuguese version of the SRQ-A has good psychometric properties providing adequate support for its use in educational research on motivational styles, including studies concerning gender and grade differences in self-regulation.

Classroom interactions play an important role in the learning and teaching of mathematics, and feedback emanating from these interactions is a powerful tool for enhancing student learning. These exchanges have been widely studied in higher education, but very few investigations have been carried out at the level of elementary students and teachers. This study aimed to contribute to existing knowledge of feedback, and to formulate guidelines to improve teacher feedback in elementary school. The specific objectives were to analyse the focus of feedback (a) by lesson purpose and type of interaction, (b) by type of question and student's answer, and (c) by gender and student achievement. Participants comprised five teachers and their 82 third-grade students attending an elementary school in Portugal. Mathematics lessons were video-recorded and a categorisation system to assess teacher-student interaction was developed, based on a review of the literature and empirical data. The results showed that most of the teacher-student interactions contained feedback, which was usually focused on a specific task, and less frequently on the ways in which tasks were processed. In terms of lesson purpose, teachers' feedback was evaluative, especially when they had initiated the interaction. Feedback became more effective when the initial move was made by the students. The focus of feedback was not related to the type of question asked, but it was associated with the certitude of the students' answers. We also observed an interaction effect between the focus of feedback, gender and achievement, with high-achievement boys receiving advantages. Our results hold important implications for teachers' classroom practices and professional development.

O objetivo desse estudo foi descrever o processo de criação dos conteúdos do Curso de Especialização em Saúde da Família (EspSF) promovido pela UNA-SUS/UFCSPA, modalidade a distância, de acordo com características de cada região onde o curso é ofertado. Parte do curso de EspSF é baseada na aprendizagem a partir de casos clínicos complexos. Alguns casos clínicos do curso foram personalizados de acordo com a região do país (norte, nordeste ou sul) onde o profissional atua, considerando características epidemiológicas e socioculturais de cada região. Com a adaptação de 12 casos complexos às realidades dos estados do Pará e de Sergipe, o curso, que foi inicialmente pensado a partir de características do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, pode ser oferecido aos referidos estados, mantendo a sua característica de fidedignidade às situações, as quais o profissional está exposto no seu cotidiano.

Esta pesquisa busca compreender que critérios são importantes para a percepção do aluno da qualidade da interação e interatividade na Educação a Distância (EAD). O estudo transversal objetivou analisar como ocorreu a interação em fóruns de um curso tutorado, a distância, de especialização de preceptoria em Medicina de Família e Comunidade (MFC), com análises complementares de abordagem quantitativa e qualitativa. Após estimar a qualidade da interação e interatividade do curso na percepção dos alunos, foram selecionados dois grupos e então analisados 16 fóruns utilizando princípios da análise da conversação. O número de mensagens postadas, de intervenções do tutor e de cadeias enunciativas foi associado à qualidade. Os resultados mostram que a autonomia na atuação do tutor, como propor mudanças de tópico, incide na participação e na construção de cadeias enunciativas, que contribuem para a percepção da qualidade da interação e interatividade.