Browsing by Author "Santana, Macarena"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Let's Spend Time Together: Text Messaging Parents to Help Math-Anxious Students
    (2021) Santana, Macarena; Nussbaum, Miguel; Claro, Susana; Piza, Sebastian; Imbarack, Patricia; Loeb, Susanna
    Even when parents have the time required to support their children's education, they can increase their children's anxiety about school when they try to help, especially if they are not confident in their own abilities. This study measures the effects of having parents complete nonacademic schoolwork with their teenage children. Half of the 422 participating parents were randomly assigned to receive weekly assignments for nonacademic activities to complete with their children, whereas the other half received information about upcoming mathematics tests. Mathematics-anxious students benefitexd from working on the nonacademic assignments, performing significantly better on their mathematics tests and decreasing their mathematics anxiety after treatment. These findings highlight the importance of involving parents in ways that feel nonthreatening to their children.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Teachers’ strategies and challenges in teaching 21st century skills: little common understanding
    (2023) Varas, Diego; Santana, Macarena; Nussbaum Voehl, Miguel; Claro Larrain, Susana; Imbarack Dagach Patricia
    Faced with a world of accelerating change and rapidly-evolving technology, education systems must provide students with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century. However, many countries have failed to incorporate the teaching of these skills within their schools. Our study therefore looks to portray teachers' understanding, strategies and obstacles in teaching these skills across Latin American classrooms. To do so, we analyzed the responses to an online survey from 1391 active teachers across 20 countries in the region. This revealed varying understandings of 21st century skills, with little common understanding. Most teachers failed to mention the skills included in the most popular framework (the 4 Cs); those who did reported using the same strategies, regardless of the skill being taught. These strategies included project-based learning, oracy activities, literacy strategies, and teamwork. We conclude that there is little or no common understanding around these skills, nor the best strategies for developing them. Our study helps understand the potential causes preventing the teaching of these skills in the classroom, a problem that extends beyond Latin America.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The role of technology in reading literacy: Is Sweden going back or moving forward by returning to paper-based reading?
    (2024) Diaz, Brayan; Nussbaum, Miguel; Greiff, Samuel; Santana, Macarena
    The announcement of a progressive decrease in digitalization and the reintroduction of paper-based reading and traditional pedagogical methods in Swedish schools has initiated a worldwide debate on the uses of technology for reading in schools. This debate led us to examine the role and effects of technology on reading skills. We initiated the present research by analyzing the integration of technology practices mediated by technology in the context of reading and then expanded into a broader discussion encompassing the pedagogical implications. By reviewing the current literature, three venues of technology usage were identified: assessment, teaching reading using technology, and general uses of technology. Through the assessment lens, there is limited support for reverting to paper-based reading assessments. Four meta-analyses indicated that reading comprehension scores tend to be slightly higher in paper-based formats than on digital devices when the same text is used, but for all students, the same difference is observed. The effectiveness of using technology to teach reading comprehension is relative to the pedagogical approach employed and the specific design of the technology. The evidence indicates that well-designed digital books outperform paper-based reading. Additionally, student-centered practices using technology are associated with higher reading performance rather than reinforcing reading practices. Policy initiatives should proactively support schools and teachers in establishing student-centered technology integration practices. Finally, the extensive data available from the PISA test were widely employed to explore the impact of ICT usage on students' overall performance, yielding contradictory results explained by differences in culture, context, and teacher training.