vol. 17 núm. 31 (2015)

Purpose: this article is an exercise of “fantastical philosophy” in which the writing of an imagined book —Observaciones a los Cuadernos de Gramsci— is conceived.  Topics: from the elusive space of confines and borders —between literature and philosophy, reality and fiction, need and possibility—, a text that facilitates the encounter of two thinkers —Wittgenstein and Gramsci— is rebuilt.  Development: perhaps a nonexistent, but not at all impossible encounter. An encounter that allows to re-define Wittgenstein’s work from the marks that Gramsci’s reading gives to his traditional concern for language, directing therapeutic philosophy towards a theory of praxis. Conclusions: thus, the range of alternatives that Wittgenstein bequeathed is enriched, especially in the field of social theory, which has expanded upon being invested by a frank ethical-political commitment.

Purpose: this article seeks to account for the renewing concerns of language in the Brazilian concrete poetry, delving into the concept of paideuma. Topics: to fulfill this purpose, a review and explanation of the term is included herein, drawing on the proposals made by brothers Augusto and Haroldo de Campos and Decio Pignatari in Olho por olho a olho un (manifiesto). Development: additionally, the poetry of the authors selected and considered by this trio as precursors of new forms, themes, and modes of expression of this Latin American artistic and literary program is explored.  Conclusions: thus, the Brazilian concrete poetry involves a change in the use of literary language as it questions the manner in which contents are expressed through some stylistic procedures, dictated from the influential poetic heritage of writers like Joyce, E. E. Cummings and Ezra Pound

Purpose: this article publishes the results of a piece of research that was conducted with high school students in a municipality of Boyacá, Colombia. This work’s main objective was to promote reading since it is considered essential in the comprehensive training of people.  Description: some shared and repeated ideas about reading in academia have been critically considered. This led the theoretical foundation to give prominence to some approaches that revive the concept of reading as a fully pleasant exercise.  Point of view: likewise, according to the results obtained, such generalized statements that obscure the artistic and enjoyable value of this activity have been discussed. Conclusions: finally, the results suggest that the strategies to strengthen reading are not unfamiliar or complex, but do require specific attitudes such as recognizing the student’s individual tastes and rethinking the undisputed reading of some books considered mandatory

Research in didactics of languages and cultures finds its place as a field of research to the extent that it is recognized in every sense of the words that name it, something that is far from occurring in contemporary scientific thought. In fact, the didactics of languages suffers from a credibility deficit, which can be seen in its difficulty to position in the bosom of disciplines. In addition, the didactics of languages is not assumed as a science, but as a field that takes resources from the human and the language learner, usually in an institutional context. In short, it lives by its relationships with related sciences such as sociolinguistics or psycholinguistics, which nourishes didactics and is enriched by it. The didactics of languages and cultures (ddlc) deals with acquisitions and compares them with the learning of languages in different environments and, although these areas are hermetic, allow various appropriations by the individual of a multilingual and multicultural heritage.

Introduction: this research article examines the perception of students and faculty at the School of Accounting, Economics and Management Sciences (fccea), Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia (ucc) in Neiva, based on teaching-learning strategies applied to pedagogical support. Methodology: this research has a qualitative approach with quantitative support. Results: the teaching-learning strategies used by teachers are identified and, based on results, videoconferencing mediated strategies are proposed. Conclusions: although importance is given to tutorials, students do not attend them and prefer that they are carried out by videoconference.

Introduction: the objective of this paper is to propose a virtual classroom model for foreign language teaching aimed at first semester students at a private university in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Methodology: such classroom is sought to respond to the institution’s teaching philosophy and the methodological communicative proposal inherent in teaching English as a foreign language, which is in turn in accordance with students’ learning styles.  Results: 55 learners of the first English level took the Felder and Silverman test to identify dominant learning styles, thus determining that most of them are visual, active, sensory and sequential learners. Then, the tools available in the moodleplatform and how each of them could meet the needs of learners in a timely manner were identified. Conclusions: finally, a virtual classroom model was proposed using the resources available on the platform, according to students’ learning styles

Purpose: the educational model in Mexico responds to an agenda that do not match social reality, since overcoming poverty and marginalization is not guaranteed with this model. This article analyzes the historical formation of the educational process in Mexico, from the eighties until 2010. Description: this research of explanatory nature aims to understand the evolution of the educational structure in Mexico and verify if its development is consistent with the economic objective included in the national development model. For this reason, data collection is both qualitative and quantitative. Data were obtained from the National Statistical Education Information System and through official publications.  Point of view: the proposals of the unschooling movement are discussed in order to develop a critical perspective to determine whether the educational model now applied responds to the major social interests or whether, by contrast, it requires a reform based on the ideas proposed by authors like Ilich, McLuhan or Freire, according to which individuals and society are responsible for the educational process through non-centralized or technically/economically oriented bodies or networks. Conclusions: an educational model unable to respond to demand, behind the times, and with zero profit regarding new social paradigms is observed; therefore, it is necessary to analyze in depth the objectives to be met

En las ediciones anteriores nos hemos planteado numerosos retos que han guiado el trabajo en la difusión de nuevo conocimiento en las áreas de educación, ciencias del lenguaje y literatura; desafíos como participar en los procesos nacionales de reindexación, dar mayor visibilidad a Rastros Rostros a nivel internacional y continuar con un proceso editorial transparente, riguroso y de calidad, que posibilite el enriquecimiento académico y científico de la institución, la región y el país, son algunos de estos.

Introduction: the purpose of this article is to explain the importance of achieving meaningful learning of physics in student athletes. The distinctive features of developmental teaching are discussed, emphasizing meaningful learning as one of its pillars.  Methodology: this research employed different theoretical and empirical methods. Among the former, the historical-logical method, analysis and synthesis, and document analysis were used. The systemic-structural method was used to develop a system of methodological recommendations.  Results: finally, the results are shown and the implementation of the strategy is highlighted in order to ensure that the contents of physics are meaningful to student athletes and thus improve their academic performance.  Conclusions: it is essential that the contents and laws of physics are related to specific sports situations and, thus, it is demonstrated how the correct application to these regularities contributes to athletic success

Introduction: Explicit instruction in reading strategies has been recommended to improve reading comprehension in both L1 and L2 formal educational settings for over 20 years. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a proposal for teaching reading strategies explicitly to efl students, in terms of strategy recognition and performance in reading comprehension tasks.  Methodology: The research is conducted to solve language learning problems and follows a mixed-method approach since both qualitative and quantitative data was collected and analyzed through questionnaires, reading tests and tasks. Besides, purposive sampling was used to select participants, and both qualitative and quantitative data was collected through questionnaires, reading tests and tasks.  Results: After the sixteen-week training, the participants reported wider reading strategy repertoires and higher scores in the reading comprehension Exit Test.  Conclusions: Explicit instruction in reading strategies is effective to improve reading comprehension. Further research is suggested to test the effectivity of the model with other students and to find out if learners in this study continue using the reported strategies consistently and autonomously.

Introduction: this research article is the result of a project developed as a young researcher at the Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia and belongs to the research group ELEX of the School of Languages. The purpose was to design, implement, and analyze ten workshops with the intention of strengthening the communicative competence of learners of Spanish as a foreign language (ele) through descriptive texts. Subsequently, based on the analysis of information, a primer was designed. Methodology: an Action Research methodology was chosen. The approach was mixed as it included both qualitative and quantitative methods. For the application and analysis of the results and the subsequent publication of the primer, four eleforeign learners attending the Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia (uptc) participated in the study.  Results: descriptive texts served as a strategy and tool for strengthening the communicative competence of eleand consolidating the skills of interpretation, reasoning, proposition and analysis, and learning of new vocabulary.  Conclusion: Through this research, it was found that elestudents express their ideals, beliefs, and stories objectively and subjectively. Furthermore, the pedagogical proposal focused on playful activities, exercises, and workshops where they were able to read, analyze, criticize, and understand different types of descriptive texts in an effective and pleasant way. Based on the implementation of workshops and their analysis, the primer was designed to strengthen the communicative competence of foreign students.

Purpose: this article analyzes the relationship between three scientific attitudes (curiosity, teamwork and explanation of phenomena) and the triadic brain proposed by Waldemar de Gregori in Construcción familiar-escolar de los tres cerebros [Family school construction of the three brains]. Description: a characterization of scientific attitudes in 30 second graders in the science classroom at the Colegio Cundinamarca iedis proposed and performed to contribute to the implementation of strategies that strengthen the scientific attitude of students and thus contribute to learning Natural Sciences. Point of view: such research, with a qualitative, descriptive and interpretive approach, highlights the importance of renewing traditional methodological strategies since the strengthening of attitudes from the classroom enables the development of scientific thought processes. Conclusions: therefore, spaces for interpretation and transformation of reality from the earliest ages of children will be created

Introduction: this article presents the results of a research project entitled “El mundo de la lectura: estrategias para la comprensión” [The world of reading: comprehension strategies] attached to the Language Pedagogy line of the Master’s in Linguistics at the Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia (uptc), whose topic revolves around difficulties in reading comprehension of fourth and fifth graders and some improvement alternatives. It was conducted at the Institución Educativa Juan José Neira in Machetá, Cundinamarca, Colombia. Methodology: this study used the methodology of Participatory Action Research and was conducted in three phases: 1) diagnosis, 2) design, and 3) implementation of the proposal and assessment, each with the participation of teachers. Results: an educational intervention proposal aimed at improving reading comprehension of students by creating teaching units was designed. Conclusions: a significant improvement rate was evident in comprehension strategies used by the students, which could be established through a comprehension test applied during assessment. Moreover, the collaborative work of teachers and the construction of a guide presenting general strategies that can be ap

Introduction: this article is part of the research line “Educational Practices” of the research group Colombian Culture and Fiction (cuynaco). Its aim is to determine how social and emotional conflicts are expressed as reasons for wanting to speak Spanish as a second language in the discourse of a Wayuu native student. Methodology: the analysis adopts two perspectives: discourse semiotics proposed by Courtes and Greimas and passionate semiotics by Fontanille. Results: the study sets out how the different political practices and the State intervention, in relation to the social conflicts of indigenous ethnic groups, encourage a Wayuu student to appropriate the dominant language in Colombia (Spanish). Conclusions: in this manner, the need for college education is encouraged to defend the rights of this community.

Purpose: this reflection article is part of a research project, which aims to assess and propose a working classroom tool that strengthens the research process in order to ensure motivation and appropriation of research topics for the establishment of research incubators in 2014. Description: research is based on the activation of previous knowledge and experiences in the classroom that create a cognitive structure, which facilitates a meaningful learning process in order to address a subject matter and further it. Point of view: teaching practice in the classroom was subject to assessment. This allows to evaluate the formative research process, by employing various monitoring and support strategies, in order to offer a wide response from the knowledge of specific issues that serve as a source to initiate an assertive research process. Thus, researchers are helped to objectively define a topic and a methodology that motivates them, strengthens communication among members, and promotes reflection on the subject matter. Conclusions: from study groups, a strategy that supplements the benefits that science and technology offer in the search for information emerges.