No abstract

In this quantitative study, we investigate the relationship between the conceptions of first-year Engineering Education students about the role of mathematics in their studies and career, as well as the links of their conceptions with their approaches to study. The data analysis revealed that the students view mathematics as being about techniques, models and real-life applications and they conceptualise mathematics as being relevant to their future career and studies, though with a lack of knowledge of the specificities of this role. Nevertheless, the surface approach was correlated with a feeling of certainty with respect to the specific role of mathematics in their future studies and career, whilst the deep approach was found to be linked with a broad importance of mathematics. The implications of these complex findings are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to highlight the effectiveness of the use of rubric as a modern technique for teaching and assessing educational work. More specifically, our purpose is to explore the benefits of the implementation of the rubric for the project assessment in comparison with other traditional assessment techniques as far as the development of skills and the improvement of the educational work is concerned. The analytical rubric that was created and employed in the study included the following criteria (each with pre-determined quality levels): content completeness, structure and organisation, creativity, development of skills and cognitive concepts. This processing tool automatically quantifies the gradient of the criteria and automatically completes the final descriptive evaluation. It has a modern pedagogical scientific approach and flexibility, which gives impetus to creative projects in school. Six teachers of a Greek high school in Athens participated in the study. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview. The nature of the study was qualitative. The results revealed that the rubric can replace any other traditional technique. The tool allowed the students to evaluate their efforts, thus allowing them to realise the usefulness of the rubric as a self-assessment tool. Moreover, by using the rubric the students and the teachers had the chance to communicate constructively. The teachers and the students assessed the rubric in a positive way as the students were led to self-assessment processes through reflection and feedback and the development of cognitive and metacognitive skills. Keywords: Authentic assessment project, rubric, assessment criteria, reflection, 21st-century skills.

In this mixed methods study, we draw upon a systemic perspective to investigate the way that effective mathematics teaching is constructed in the ASPETE (School of Pedagogical and Technological Education) learning system. We focused on the perspectives of the first-year students (through questionnaires), of the lecturer who taught the course (through interviews), as well as of the research team (through observations). We considered both the pragmatic level (what they actually experienced) and the desired level (what they would prefer to experience). The results of the conducted analyses support the proposed research approach, revealing convergences and divergences in the mapped perspectives, which identify the mathematics teaching effectiveness of the subsystem of the mathematics class in ASPETE as an emergent, systemic phenomenon. The pedagogical implications are discussed, with respect to the planifications of teaching and learning mathematics in the ASPETE learning system.

The purpose of this study is to highlight the effectiveness of the implementation of the rubric for the project assessment in comparison with other traditional assessment techniques. The development of skills and the improvement of educational work are concerned. This processing tool automatically quantifies the gradient of the criteria and automatically completes the final descriptive evaluation. It has a modern pedagogical scientific approach and flexibility, which gives impetus to creative projects in school. Six teachers of a Greek high school in Athens participated in the study. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview. The results revealed that the rubric can replace any other traditional technique. The tool allowed the students and the teachers to communicate constructively. Teachers assessed the rubric in a positive way as the students were led to self-assessment processes through reflection and feedback and the development of cognitive and metacognitive skills. Keywords: Authentic assessment, project, rubric, assessment criteria, reflection, 21st-century skills.