Abstract

This work is part of a larger project in which we seek to analize how Spanish speakers produce and understand causal and counter-causal relations. Our general hypothesis is that causality is a basic conceptual / semantic relation that is processed “by default” and more easily than other relations, such as counter-causality. On this occasion, our specific objectives were: 1) to evaluate the extent to which formal education influences this process, 2) what is the effect of the absence / presence of specific connectives, especially in relation to the level of formal education of the subject. We carry out a psycholinguistic experiment designed to elicit causal and counter-causal continuations of short texts with and without connective. We evaluated two groups of subjects with different levels of formal education. The results show that: a) in the absence of connective, the tendency to establish causality is strong and consistent, b) with connective, error levels are higher for counter-causal relations and the time required to process them is significantly higher. This pattern holds for the two groups of subjects analyzed, so do not depend on schooling but, instead, seems to be a more basic linguistic process shared by all speakers.

Abstract

The need for reflection on the incorporation of a media education curriculum has brought about a concern about that has arisen in the new contexts of the information society. The international discussions on this issue demonstrate the obvious need for this kind of curriculum. In this paper, a framework is presented in the context of the discussion about introducing a media education curriculum for formal education in Latin America and the Iberian peninsula, taking into account the socio-cultural diversities involved in this specific context.

Abstract

Collaborative learning has a strong presence in technology-supported education and, as a result, practices being developed in the form of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) are more and more common. Planning seems to be one of the critical issues when elaborating CSCL proposals, which necessarily take into account technological resources, methodology and group configuration as a means to boost exchange and learning in the community. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relevance of the CSCL planning phase and weigh up the significance of its key design components as well as examining group agreement typology and its usefulness in team building and performance. To do so, research was carried out using a non-experimental quantitative methodology consisting of a questionnaire answered by 106 undergraduate students from 5 different CSCL-based subjects. Results prove the usefulness of the planning components and the drafting of group agreements and their influence on group building and interaction. In order to ensure the quality of learning, it is essential to plan CSCL initiatives properly and understand that organizational, pedagogical and technological decisions should converge around a single goal which is to sustain the cognitive and social aspects that configure individual and group learning.