Search Results (28)

Food waste is a global problem involving the loss of natural resources, human labour and money. This paper presents an educational proposal implemented as an exploratory pilot case study in a rural primary school classroom in Spain, aimed at raising awareness of food waste and promoting pupils’ involvement in its reduction. The Sustainable Development Goals and the European framework of sustainability competences (GreenComp) enabled the work to be aligned with current education legislation and global sustainability challenges. The intervention was assessed through a questionnaire administered before and after the implementation of the proposal to analyse students’ progress, adapted rubrics, and sets of questions used to review the content covered. The comparison between the initial and final questionnaires, analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, showed statistically significant differences (W = 3.0; p = 0.019), suggesting an improvement in students’ knowledge after the implementation of the teaching proposal. The results suggest that working from pupils’ initial misconceptions may support both understanding of key concepts related to food waste (such as the causes of food waste, use of resources in its production and the difference between expiry dates and best-before dates) and the development of sustainability competences, particularly critical thinking, systemic thinking and adaptability in consumption-related situations. Overall, this pilot study suggests that food waste can be meaningfully addressed in primary education not only through school-canteen practices, but also through classroom-based activities grounded in pupils’ prior ideas and supported by hands-on, competence-oriented activities. Full article

The office environment significantly influences employees’ work efficiency and health. With the increasing prevalence of modern, enclosed and monotonous office settings, employees often work under high-intensity conditions for extended periods. This situation leads to physiological and psychological fatigue, which in turn affects work efficiency and overall well-being. This study explores how olfactory stimulation influences physiological and psychological fatigue in office environments. It also examines its effects on cognitive recovery. Through market research and user surveys, three types of scents were selected as experimental materials (floral, fruity, and forest scents). Utilizing multi-channel fatigue identification technology and wearable biosensors, the study monitored in real-time the physiological responses of employees to different olfactory stimuli, such as pupil diameter, heart rate variability (HRV), electromyography (EMG), and electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. Additionally, subjective evaluation questionnaires were used to comprehensively assess the effects of olfactory stimulation on psychological fatigue. The results showed that all three olfactory interventions to some extent alleviated employee fatigue and improved cognitive abilities. Among them, the floral intervention had a better effect on the recovery of physiological fatigue, the fruity intervention had a better effect on the recovery of psychological fatigue and cognitive abilities, and the forest intervention had a slightly inferior recovery effect but could effectively reduce time load. This research aims to provide new ideas for the design of sustainable office working environments. Introducing appropriate olfactory stimuli can effectively alleviate employees’ office fatigue, enhance their work efficiency and overall well-being. Full article

The manuscript of the Mineralogical lessons for the 1824–1825 course being held at the Royal Cabinet of Natural History had been found in the Archivo General de Palacio (AGP; Madrid, Spain) by the priest Donato García, who replaced Christian Herrgen and held the chair of Mineralogy until 1853. The historic document increases the scant record of this type of documentary source from a period still little known in relation to the state of Mineralogy teaching and allows for a closer understanding of this discipline. This article presents a thorough analysis to identify the collaboration between Professor García and his pupil, José Musso y Valiente, as well as the authorship of the manuscript in connection with the notes of this pupil, due to the absence of any indication in the historical document, with the objective of producing a mineralogy work on mineralogy in the Spanish language. To this end, the manuscript has been examined and compared with the Mineralogy notes of José Musso Pérez-Valiente, Donato García’s pupil, which are preserved in the Lorca Municipal Archive (Murcia, Spain). By comparing Musso’s notes with the manuscript from the Archivo General de Palacio, the idea is reinforced that the former were corrected by Donato García, who eventually left a copy in the Royal Library, corresponding to the one preserved in the AGP, constituting the first record of Donato García’s authorship in relation to Mineralogy. Full article

In exploratory teaching, the pupils learn from their work on tasks that aim to introduce new concepts, procedures, representations and mathematical ideas. Lesson study, with its focus on teachers’ collaborative and reflective work around issues of pupil learning, is a powerful formative process that may be used in preservice teacher education, sustaining an exploratory teaching approach. In this article, we present a lesson study experience in preservice teacher education, addressing the case of a preservice teacher who is preparing to teach in grades 1–6. Our aim is to identify what key aspects of knowledge of teaching practice does the preservice teacher use when preparing and leading an exploratory lesson during her participation in a lesson study. Our methodology is qualitative, with data collected from the lesson study sessions and the collection of documents produced during the lesson study work, and the data are analysed using a model that presents the key aspects of knowledge of teaching practice. The results show that the structure and the activities carried out in the lesson study, such as designing the lesson, selecting the task and anticipating questions to be posed to pupils, promoted the use of the preservice teacher’s didactic knowledge regarding the phases of an exploratory lesson. Full article

Kara Walker’s art, known for its stark depictions of race, history, and power dynamics, offers an invaluable entry point for discussing race in higher education. Integrating Walker’s work into the humanities classroom allows for critical engagement with historical and contemporary issues of race, ethnicity, and systemic oppression. Through her use of silhouettes and narratives that expose the brutal legacies of slavery, racism, and colonialism, Walker’s art challenges students to confront uncomfortable truths and foster deeper conversations about intersectionality. Discussing Walker’s art can lead to explorations of how race intersects with class, gender, sexuality, and disability, revealing the layered and compounded experiences of marginalized groups. Through the flipped classroom approach, students were introduced to Kara Walker’s work outside of class through assigned readings and materials. During class time, discussions were facilitated by students themselves, enhancing peer-to-peer learning. The session was led by a pupil responsible for elaborating on Walker’s work and guiding the discussion. In-class time was dedicated to small-group discussions where students critically engaged with the themes in Walker’s art. These groups provided space for more intimate, reflective conversations. After small-group discussions, insights were shared in a larger panel discussion format. This allowed students to synthesize ideas, compare perspectives, and engage with a wider range of interpretations of Walker’s art. By engaging with Walker’s work, students develop a more nuanced understanding of oppression and social justice, making her art a powerful tool for transformative education. Full article

In this contribution, through literary content analysis, I examine the novel The Boy From Block 66: A WW2 Jewish Holocaust Survival True Story (2023). I am convinced that it should be included in literature classes dealing with modern historical issues, especially pertaining to the Shoah. For two excerpts from this novel, I present several questions and tasks, the aim of which is to guide pupils to an adequate understanding of the events of the Shoah. I am convinced that this narrative is the one in which the events that relate to the Shoah are presented authentically and in an attractive way for young readers, and whose presentation leads to a certain de-abstracting of these ideas. Full article

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are rapidly transforming the field of traditional artistic creation, influencing painting processes and human creativity. This study explores human–AI cooperation in real-time artistic drawing by using the AIGC tool KREA.AI. Participants wear eye trackers and perform drawing tasks by adjusting the AI parameters. The research aims to investigate the impact of cross-screen and non-cross-screen conditions, as well as different viewing strategies, on cognitive load and the degree of creative stimulation during user–AI collaborative drawing. Adopting a mixed design, it examines the influence of different cooperation modes and visual search methods on creative efficacy and visual perception through eye-tracking data and creativity performance scales. The cross-screen type and task type have a significant impact on total interval duration, number of fixation points, average fixation duration, and average pupil diameter in occlusion decision-making and occlusion hand drawing. There are significant differences in the variables of average gaze duration and average pupil diameter among different task types and cross-screen types. In non-cross-screen situations, occlusion and non-occlusion have a significant impact on average gaze duration and pupil diameter. Tasks in non-cross-screen environments are more sensitive to visual processing. The involvement of AI in hand drawing in non-cross-screen collaborative drawing by designers has a significant impact on their visual perception. These results help us to gain a deeper understanding of user behaviour and cognitive load under different visual tasks and cross-screen conditions. The analysis of the creative efficiency scale data reveals significant differences in designers’ ability to supplement and improve AI ideas across different modes. This indicates that the extent of AI participation in the designer’s hand-drawn creative process significantly impacts the designer’s behaviour when negotiating design ideas with the AI. Full article

The formal beauty of “objects” is the main focus of modern rural landscapes, ignoring human interaction with the environment and the emotional reflection in this behavioral process. It is unable to satisfy the emotional needs of younger people who aspire to a high-quality life in the rural environment. The research idea of this paper is ‘first assessment—then design—then validation’. First, A 5-point Likert scale was used to investigate differences in contemporary young people’s emotional perceptions of the four rural natural landscapes in terms of instinct, behavior, and reflection. Then, using architectural design methods, a visual attraction element (viewing platform) was added by selecting samples that varied in all three dimensions (visual richness, behavioral attraction, and depth of thought). After that, a desktop eye tracker was used to record the eyeball characteristics of participants viewing the current images of natural landscapes and images of modified natural landscapes (pupil diameter, fixation duration, gaze point, etc.), and these data were combined with the subjective psychological perception scale score to determine whether or not the subjects’ positive emotions are evoked by the modified natural environment. The findings indicate that placing visually attractive elements between people and the natural world can cause subjects to feel good, think deeply, and feel more a part of the surroundings. Furthermore, we confirmed that subjects’ emotions can be evoked by 2D natural environment pictures and that the length of time subjects gaze at a picture is unaffected by the size of any individual element. Full article

The authors present changes in the content and teaching methods of religious education (RE) in the third decade of the 21st century, as proposed by the current curricular reform of compulsory education in Slovakia. First, they analyse the reform documents in terms of social competence development as one of the RE content requirements. Second, they seek a teaching methodology that applies a balanced approach to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) while protecting RE pupils and their building of healthy human relationships from the potential threat of digital addiction. The authors based their teaching ideas on the findings from their research. To explore the relationship between addictive Internet behaviour and social intelligence, they used a questionnaire including the Internet Addiction Test and the TSIS Scale. The Mann–Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis. Data on 386 adolescent respondents revealed a statistically significant difference between males and females in social awareness, with males performing significantly better. A weak positive relationship (ρ = 0.240) was identified between social awareness and addictive Internet behaviour. In the discussion, the authors suggest teaching methods for developing social competence via RE without resisting the opportunities provided by ICT, while also avoiding an increase in the risk of online social media addiction. They suggest that even denominational RE should prioritize cultivating healthy relationships not only with God but also relationships with other people, the outside world, and oneself. Full article

The meaning of care in residential child care is under-developed. It can often be represented through its absence, seen as offering at best basic physical tending but lacking emotional connection or warmth. At worst, residential care settings said to be institutionally abusive can be characterised as being antithetical to what we might imagine care should be. Residential schools and especially those run by religious orders attract particular opprobrium in this regard. In this article, I adopt a broadly autoethnographic approach to reflect on how boys (now men in their late 40s and early 50s) brought up in the 1980s in a Scottish residential school recall being cared for. The article uses Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition and its three pillars of love, rights and solidarity to group themes from how former pupils speak about their experiences of care. These accounts challenge the received narrative of such settings failing to offer care. The discussion reflects some ideas around care and about how we understand public care historically. Full article

This study explores the experiences, practices and perceptions of primary school principals currently leading autism classes in Ireland. Autism classes in mainstream primary schools are becoming increasingly common in the Irish education system. The prevalence of autism classes highlights the importance of their role in enabling autistic children to attend mainstream schools. It reflects the increasing number of autistic pupils who require these specialised placements. Primary schools serve all children. It is essential that autistic children are supported in the best way possible so they can reach their full potential. The principal has a pivotal role in all aspects of his or her school, including leading the autism classes. Given the centrality of their role, it is imperative that the principal is supported by the best practices and theory available. This study sought to give the principals time to reflect on their inclusive leadership and decipher what it meant for them in their lived experience and context. Theories of leadership through a socio-cultural lens frame the overall study. A qualitative research design was adopted using semi-structured interviews with 15 primary school principals. Analysis of the data was conducted using a reflective thematic analysis approach. Findings of the research reveal that there are particular leadership styles that align with an inclusive leadership approach. These styles are distributed leadership, transformational leadership and instructional leadership. A positive disposition towards inclusion is an important factor in the principal’s perceptions of their leadership. The idea of inclusionary leadership is borne out of the study. This term indicates that leaders striving for inclusion in their schools do not view it as a destination to be reached but rather a long-term journey they travel. This research is a pathway for further study in the field. It has implications for pupils, principals, school communities and policy makers regarding the value of the work of inclusionary leaders. All participants referred to in this paper have been given two letter pseudonyms to protect their identity. Full article

Understanding the coexistence between nature and humans is a basic concept required in modern society. In this study, we verify the effectiveness of folktales as teaching material in science education by incorporating folktales into the fifth-grade elementary school science unit, “Functions of Running Water and Changes in the Land”. We investigate the effects of folktales that express ancestors’ perspectives on nature on pupils’ ideas about the coexistence between nature and humans. Additionally, we explore the possibility of using folktales in science education. In November 2017, an experimental group (74 participants) explored the coexistence between nature and humans through folktales, while a control group (60 participants) explored this coexistence through discussion activities. These experiments were conducted in fifth-grade classrooms at elementary schools in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan. Our results indicate that for some pupils in the experimental group, exposure to their ancestors’ views of nature helped them develop and refine their ideas about their connection to and relationship with the river. Folktales vividly depict the nature of the past in the places where the pupils live, offering a glimpse into their ancestors’ different views on nature that differ from present-day views. It is considered that, by coming into contact with the folktale, pupils were able to enter a situation that transcended time, allowing them to think about and empathize with the people who lived with the river. It is suggested that this connection is related to the results described above. Full article

For traditional imaging systems, high imaging quality and system miniaturization are often contradictory. In order to meet the requirements of high imaging quality and system miniaturization, this paper proposes a method to correct the aberration of coherent imaging optical systems. The method is based on the idea of phase recovery and the imaging principle of a coherent imaging system to recover the aberrations at the exit pupil of the system. According to the recovered aberrations, conjugate filters are constructed to correct the image quality in the frequency domain. The imaging quality of the system is improved without changing the original optical path, and the simplicity of the system is guaranteed. To solve the pupil frequency domain aberration more accurately, this paper adopts the dual competition and parallel recombination strategy based on the genetic algorithm and introduces the disaster model. The improved genetic algorithm can effectively restrain the appearance of the “precocity” phenomenon. Finally, the paraxial imaging optical path is simulated and verified by experiments. The results show that, after aberration correction, the image sharpness is improved and the edge information is richer, which verifies the feasibility of the coherent imaging system image quality enhancement method proposed in this paper. Full article

Combining eye tracking and virtual reality (VR) is a promising approach to tackle various applied research questions. As this approach is relatively new, routines are not established yet and the first steps can be full of potential pitfalls. The present paper gives a practice example to lower the boundaries for getting started. More specifically, I focus on an affordable add-on technology, the Pupil Labs eye tracking add-on for the HTC Vive. As add-on technology with all relevant source code available on GitHub, a high degree of freedom in preprocessing, visualizing, and analyzing eye tracking data in VR can be achieved. At the same time, some extra preparatory steps for the setup of hardware and software are necessary. Therefore, specifics of eye tracking in VR from unboxing, software integration, and procedures to analyzing the data and maintaining the hardware will be addressed. The Pupil Labs eye tracking add-on for the HTC Vive represents a highly transparent approach to existing alternatives. Characteristics of eye tracking in VR in contrast to other headmounded and remote eye trackers applied in the physical world will be discussed. In conclusion, the paper contributes to the idea of open science in two ways: First, by making the necessary routines transparent and therefore reproducible. Second, by stressing the benefits of using open source software. Full article

This study examines interindividual differences between gifted and non-gifted children in the school environment. Three distinct measurement tools were used to enable a multimodal approach of gifted and non-gifted children with abstract graphic creativity, feelings about school and engagement in the school environment being considered. The results obtained from 328 children (including 45 gifted children) revealed that the gifted children obtained scores significantly higher than non-gifted children in terms of self-determination, feelings about school, and creativity. In addition, a gap appears among gifted children between their significantly higher scores for motivation and intellectual skills versus standard scores for their socio-affective development. Such results are consistent with the idea of asynchronous development, which is characteristic of gifted children (cognitive and conative vs. socio-affective sphere), offering perspectives for more adapted support for these pupils in elementary school. Full article