Accreditation Process of Pharmacy and Biochemistry before CONEAU (National Comission for University Evaluation and Accreditarion)
?Student Performance Reports submitted for 2005/2006 Teachers Evaluation
?Comments of CONEAU in the Chemical Engineering Accreditation Process
?CONEAU standards for Biochemistry and Pharmacy Accreditation Process
?Survey of students who attended the subject in heterogeneous groups (up to 2004)
Here is an excerpt from CONEAU Report, Expte. Nª 804-481/03 Res. 117/05 given in Buenos Aires, dated March 28, 2005 on the Accreditation Process of Chemical Engineering at the College of Exact , Chemical and Natural Sciences of the National University of Misiones (p. 30):
"… The curriculum has an annual course called Basic English, where minimum contents of this language are taught. It is worth noting that the methodology adopted by the teachers of the subject is highly positive as well as the teaching strategies and teaching materials selected for the classes… "
Available online at: Chemical Engineering Accreditation – 2003 (our translation).
The general and specific objectives shown in the Syllabus of the Subject (the last approved by Res. CD 219/06), are in agreement with standards established within the core curriculum content for the careers, Resolutions 1232/2001 Chemical Engineering, Res 565/2004 Biochemistry, and Res. 566/2004 Pharmacy.
Those established for the latter courses read:
“...Synthesis: It comprises the basic knowledge necessary for students to develop the reading strategies for the comprehension of technical-scientific texts of their speciality. The Methodology for the Classes presupposes the active participation of students where what they can do with the language allows them a gradually higher level of competence in reading comprehension.
Basic Contest:
Reading Comprehension Strategies to achieve understanding of the text Teaching of an adequate use of the bilingual dictionary...” (our translation) www.fceqyn.unam.edu.ar
The teaching material for this Intermediate Level course was adapted from that used in the Elementary Level courses. The Theory Guide was complemented with a Reading Comprehension Booklet based on the TOEFL exam. In the same year we submitted a new syllabus for approval with the content of the subject for both levels. This was again updated in 2006.
As regards the theoretical approach to reading, we believe that it is a complex activity with “a
combination of factors such as: grapheme recognition, phonological representations, syntactic structure, background knowledge, processing strategies, text structure understanding, vocabulary and context of the reading act” (Hudson, 2007). We also take into account different conceptions applied to reading Second or Foreign Languages: linguistic, sociolinguistic and psycholinguistics ones.
According to Grable and Stoller (2004), the reading models that have been investigated are: the Psycholinguistic Guessing Model, the Compensatory Interactive Model, the Recognition of Word Model and the Hoover and Gough Model. (1990).
According to Rosenblatt (1978) in Dubois (1987), the reading process comes from literary theory. She argues that the text contains the meaning "power", but that it is "updated" through the reader in the transaction process involving the reading act. The potential significance of the text and the meaning built by the reader are never identical but approximate (Bernhardt, 1991).There is a transaction between the reader and the text through which both are transformed.
Materials and Methods
This research work falls within the parameters of evaluation of a product. It aims to collect descriptions and judgements of results and relate them to the objectives and context, and process information in order to interpret their benefit and merit. Nunan (1992) believes that any study that contains questions, data, and interpretations of them is considered a form of research. Both institutions and teachers are responsible for educational outcomes and must be evaluated.
We used the following data collection instruments:
?Course Survey (taken at the end of the term)
?Students' Performance Charts of their academic activity submitted for the
Graph 3
Graph 4
The following table shows the academic performance of the students who attended the subject in the period 2003-2006.
Tabla Nª 1 – Students´ Academic Performance, Years 2003 – 2006
Do not comply with
regulations 2003 204 169 87 8 32 41 2004 208 175 120 13 15 27 2005 258 189 149 1 8 31 2006 135 155* 121 3 19 12
Year
Students enrolled at Students’
Dptmnt
Students enrolled in
different groups
Nº of Students Promoted
Regular Free Sts. for
Final Exam Never
attended
* some students did not comply with regulations due to Curriculum changes
From the answers of the Students to the Survey, it has been shown that most of the students have a satisfactory opinion in relation to the implementation of two levels of classes.
Results and Discussion
This study is considered an evaluation of the product (Nunan, 1992) because language in the course is used for teaching and learning academic content in a meaningful context, in small groups, lending priority to linguistic needs for specific content areas to develop thinking skills and learning strategies. In this process, we are constantly trying new materials, new theories and approaches and new methodologies in order to get better performance of students 'at the chalkface' and on tests so that students are more motivated and get involved in tasks. The other side of all these attempts is connected to our own reflective practice as professionals.
Since our intention was to evaluate the work carried out by the teaching staff of the subject in the period 2003-2006, we can conclude that the innovations implemented have had a positive impact on the teaching and learning processes.
Graphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 show the opinion of students about some aspects of the subject in this period. Though the information is presented in percentages, the number of students giving opinion can be seen in Table 1.
Graph 1
Graph 2