“Prof! Here is something! Will it be the “peace ring”? Will it be the grave of a monk? “. Primary school students in the public school of Belmonte de Miranda (in the council of Balmonte ) get excited with the first discoveries in the archaeological excavation of the monastery from his town. The long-awaited jewel they speak of is the “abbot’s ring.” It […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Science in the village: children who helped discover a medieval monastery
Homework: How to make the most of search engines
Doing research on the Internet is a very formative activity. For example, a study has shown that young people who develop real online research strategies also have better grades at university. But these skills are not acquired automatically by spending more time surfing the web. On the contrary, students need explicit advice and instructions to be able to do more effective research. Young people tend […] … learn more→
Playing about with data
Not everything we do in our research has to have a definite end point. Sometimes it’s good to set aside all those anxieties about ‘getting through and getting done’. We might even like to take some time to simply play about with our data. Experiment. See what happens. Perhaps there are new insights to be […] … learn more→
GIF jumps from social networks to the classroom
GIFs ( Graphics Interchange Format , for its acronym in English) have resurfaced as a preferred format in communications and are present daily on social networks. We live in a very visual time. Images, photographs and videos facilitate the understanding of information and dialogue not only verbal, but also visual and audiovisual. Increasingly simple programs and applications now […] … learn more→
Residential school literature can teach the colonial present and imagine better futures
There is a growing body of literature — novels, memoirs, poetry, graphic novels, picture books — through which Indigenous writers are giving voice and agency to the experiences and histories of Indian residential schooling in Canada. The ethical teaching of residential school narratives can be thought of as a relational process that requires consultation and accountability. Rather than view residential school literature as […] … learn more→
Why emojis and #hashtags should be part of language learning
Learning a language after one’s early childhood home language is often referred to as second language learning (despite the fact people may in fact be learning their third or fourth languages). In Canada, an officially bilingual country, both English and French are widely taught in superdiverse urban centres. Increasingly, a popular avenue for adult language learners is […] … learn more→
What connects Shaka Zulu, decolonisation and mathematical models
Is it possible to decolonise mathematical sciences? Some researchers argue that it’s not. They cite numerous reasons why. Two include the fact that decolonisation is extremely difficult for the “pure sciences” such as mathematics. And that the concept of decolonising is “poorly defined and contentious, in this domain”. But our research shows that it is possible to achieve […] … learn more→
Branch campuses are unlikely to blossom
Coventry University is making bold moves into international higher education, signing two agreements since Christmas to open new branch campuses. One, on a purpose-built campus in Casablanca, Morocco, will provide teacher training and courses in business and science and technology in partnership with Morocco’s Superior Institution of Science and Technology (SIST). The other, in Wrocław, Poland, will […] … learn more→
What harm can it do? The emotional cost of asking for something in academia
In academia, people tell you all the time to just go ahead and ask for what you need. ‘What harm can it do?’, they ask. Or, being a woman, they say, “Think what a man would do and do that”, as though it’s literally that easy. Of course, it should be that easy, but we […] … learn more→
Debate: Secularism at school, historical dead ends
In a letter addressed to the President of the Republic on February 4, 2020, the president of the Les Républicains party, Christian Jacob, renews his request , made in November 2019, for “an act II of secularism with reference to the initiative taken by Jacques Chirac in 2003 when he installed the commission chaired by Bernard Stasi ”. […] … learn more→
