A Communal Struggle: Team-Teaching at the University of Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2022, September 15)

INTRODUCTION Team-teaching, also known as collaborative-teaching, co-teaching and pair-lecturing has been practiced for ages (Buckley 2000). It is generally described as a positive pedagogical practice ... [more ▼]

INTRODUCTION Team-teaching, also known as collaborative-teaching, co-teaching and pair-lecturing has been practiced for ages (Buckley 2000). It is generally described as a positive pedagogical practice that can both enhance learning among students and the experience of teaching among instructors (Plank 2011, 2014). While it is acknowledged that team-teaching is not simple and requires great coordination among instructors, it is presented in gleaming terms for both instructors and students alike. More recent work highlights an increased necessity for collaborative-teaching due to the growing complexity in higher education combined with dwindling resources (Minett-Smith and Davis 2020), or as a deliberate cost-saving measure (Liebel et al. 2017). Yet, little quantitative evidence can be found in the literature showing the positive efficacy of this methodology, relative to Student Evaluation Teaching (SET) measures (for exception see: Carpenter et al. 2007). Thus, this study aims to answer: 1) how prevalent is team-teaching; 2) what are the most common team compositions (number of instructors, gender, instructor status and seniority); 3) are there any significant differences in SET scores relative to differences in composition; and 4) what can we learn from the open-text feedback to help us understand, or contextualize, any quantitative differences found between solo- versus team-taught courses? DATA & METHODS To address our research questions and investigate the contours of team teaching in the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE) at the University of Luxembourg, we use SET data (course feedback), as an indirect measure of quality of education (Marsh 2007). We use descriptive statistics and regression analysis to examine the quantitative feedback for a total of 2908 courses collected over eight semesters (Winter semester 2015-Summer semester 2019). We compliment these results with content analysis of open-text comments that help us understand and contextualize the quantitative findings. PRELIMINARY RESULTS While course feedback data does not directly measure the quality of learning experienced by students (i.e., whether students learn better in team-taught courses vs. solo instructor courses), it does however shed light on the general sentiment experienced and reported by participating students. Preliminary analyses indicate that approximately 30% of courses are team-taught (60% with two-person teams and 40% with teams of 3 and 4+ instructors). Furthermore, we found that, on average, team-taught courses receive significantly lower ratings from students than solo instructor courses. In the remainder of this article, we analyse this basic finding and discuss the implications for team teaching. [less ▲]

An (Un)Necessary Evil - Users’ (Un)Certainty about Smartphone App Permissions and Implications for Privacy Engineering

in 2022 7th IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy Workshops (EuroSPW) (2022)

App permission requests are a control mechanism meant to help users oversee and safeguard access to data and resources on their smartphones. To decide whether to accept or deny such requests and make this ... [more ▼]

App permission requests are a control mechanism meant to help users oversee and safeguard access to data and resources on their smartphones. To decide whether to accept or deny such requests and make this consent valid, users need to understand the underlying reasons and judge the relevance of disclosing data in line with their own use of an app. This study investigates people’s certainty about app permission requests via an online survey with 400 representative participants of the UK population. The results demonstrate that users are uncertain about the necessity of granting app permissions for about half of the tested permission requests. This implies substantial privacy risks, which are discussed in the paper, resulting in a call for user-protecting interventions by privacy engineers. [less ▲]

Luxembourg’s Fundamental School Teacher Training Programme: A Decade of Admissions at the BScE (Integral Version)

in Luxembourg Centre for Educational Testing (LUCET); Service de Coordination de la Recherche et de l’Innovation pédagogiques et technologiques (SCRIPT) (Eds.) Luxembourg National Education Report 2021 (2021)

The primary goal of this report is to introduce the research strand associated with the pre-service fundamental school teacher training programme at the University of Luxembourg. Below we provide a brief ... [more ▼]

The primary goal of this report is to introduce the research strand associated with the pre-service fundamental school teacher training programme at the University of Luxembourg. Below we provide a brief history of the Bachelor en Sciences de l’Éducation (BScE) programme; outline the evolution of the admission process over the last 10 years; briefly profile pre-service candidates relative to admissions into the programme; and finally provide a closer look at those admitted into the BScE programme over the past decade. In section 1, the substantive results focus on all candidates over this time period, and then only the admitted candidates in section 2. [less ▲]

What's in a Cyber Threat Intelligence sharing platform?: A mixed-methods user experience investigation of MISP

in Annual Computer Security Applications Conference (ACSAC ’21) (2021, December)

The ever-increasing scale and complexity of cyber attacks and cyber-criminal activities necessitate secure and effective sharing of cyber threat intelligence (CTI) among a diverse set of stakeholders and ... [more ▼]

The ever-increasing scale and complexity of cyber attacks and cyber-criminal activities necessitate secure and effective sharing of cyber threat intelligence (CTI) among a diverse set of stakeholders and communities. CTI sharing platforms are becoming indispensable tools for cooperative and collaborative cybersecurity. Nevertheless, despite the growing research in this area, the emphasis is often placed on the technical aspects, incentives, or implications associated with CTI sharing, as opposed to investigating challenges encountered by users of such platforms. To date, user experience (UX) aspects remain largely unexplored. This paper offers a unique contribution towards understanding the constraining and enabling factors of security information sharing within one of the leading platforms. MISP is an open source CTI sharing platform used by more than 6,000 organizations worldwide. As a technically-advanced CTI sharing platform it aims to cater for a diverse set of security information workers with distinct needs and objectives. In this respect, MISP has to pay an equal amount of attention to the UX in order to maximize and optimize the quantity and quality of threat information that is contributed and consumed. Using mixed methods we shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of MISP from an end-users’ perspective and discuss the role UX could play in effective CTI sharing. We conclude with an outline of future work and open challenges worth further exploring in this nascent, yet highly important socio-technical context. [less ▲]

Increasing the diversity of the teacher workforce: Socio-political challenges to reducing inequalities in access to teacher education programs.

in Frontiers in Education (2021), 6

Cross-border migration leads to a diversification of societies, which is reflected in the education system, where classrooms are composed of students with heterogeneous cultural, linguistic, socio ... [more ▼]

Cross-border migration leads to a diversification of societies, which is reflected in the education system, where classrooms are composed of students with heterogeneous cultural, linguistic, socio-economic characteristics. However, this diversity is only to a limited extent reflected in the teacher population, even though teachers from different backgrounds can bring specific intercultural competencies, have more positive attitudes toward multicultural heterogeneity and act as role models. To facilitate the diversification of the teaching profession, it is imperative that the cohorts of students entering teacher education programs represent the diversity of societies, however studies have shown students with migration background or from families with lower socio-economic status are underrepresented in such programs. This study considered the demographic constellation of applicants for admission into the teacher education program in Luxembourg (2015-2019) and investigated to what extent the admission process (dis)advantages certain groups. Results revealed that although applications come from diverse backgrounds, proficiency in the country´s native languages poses a disadvantage for students with migration background. In addition, applicants coming from more privileged families stand a better chance of being admitted. Results are interpreted within the framework of social mobility and social reproduction. Implications for the admission to the teachers education program are discussed. [less ▲]

"I am definitely manipulated, even when I am aware of it. It’s ridiculous!" - Dark Patterns from the End-User Perspective

in Proceedings of ACM DIS Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (2021)

Online services pervasively employ manipulative designs (i.e., dark patterns) to influence users to purchase goods and subscriptions, spend more time on-site, or mindlessly accept the harvesting of their ... [more ▼]

Online services pervasively employ manipulative designs (i.e., dark patterns) to influence users to purchase goods and subscriptions, spend more time on-site, or mindlessly accept the harvesting of their personal data. To protect users from the lure of such designs, we asked: are users aware of the presence of dark patterns? If so, are they able to resist them? By surveying 406 individuals, we found that they are generally aware of the influence that manipulative designs can exert on their online behaviour. However, being aware does not equip users with the ability to oppose such influence. We further find that respondents, especially younger ones, often recognise the "darkness" of certain designs, but remain unsure of the actual harm they may suffer. Finally, we discuss a set of interventions (e.g., bright patterns, design frictions, training games, applications to expedite legal enforcement) in the light of our findings. [less ▲]

Forging and Paving a Future: Immigrant Status and Academic Achievement in Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2019, August 21)

In the United States, much has been written about the upward or downward social mobility of the so-called, “New Second Generation”. In Europe, this topic has only recently begun to take shape; mostly in ... [more ▼]

In the United States, much has been written about the upward or downward social mobility of the so-called, “New Second Generation”. In Europe, this topic has only recently begun to take shape; mostly in regard to the Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK. In the context of Luxembourg, however, there is very little literature on this topic even though nearly 50% of its population is now of immigrant status. Though small in geography and population, Luxembourg is a founding member of the E.U. and quite literally in the heart of continental Europe. It hosts a diverse set of immigrant groups, continuously attracting economic and some political immigrants, most notably from Italy, the former Yugoslavia and Portugal. Each of these groups arriving at a specific sociohistorical moment: Italians at the height of the steel industry, former Yugoslavians fleeing war, and Portuguese to meet construction and service industry needs. Consequently, Luxembourg is truly a multilingual and multicultural country that makes for a fascinating microcosm to test and explore existing theories of immigrant integration. Its context presents a unique opportunity to study and extrapolate from to anticipate the needs of immigrants elsewhere. Using 2016 data from Luxembourg’s school monitoring programme (ÉpStan), we investigate existing and emerging differences in academic achievement among 1st, 2nd, and later generation immigrant groups in Luxembourg. We analyse math and language proficiencies (German and French) among a cohort of secondary school students (9th grade, N=6286). Preliminary results indicate clear generational differences. These are interpreted in relation to immigrant group characteristics and acculturation in Luxembourg. Implications for the new second generation in the European context will be discussed. [less ▲]

Habitudes de lecture et compétences de lecture bilingue

Report (2018)

La problématique soulevée dans cet article concerne les liens entre d’une part, la fréquence de lecture chez les adolescents en fonction des types de textes lus, et de la langue dans laquelle ils lisent ... [more ▼]

La problématique soulevée dans cet article concerne les liens entre d’une part, la fréquence de lecture chez les adolescents en fonction des types de textes lus, et de la langue dans laquelle ils lisent et, dautre part, leur niveau de compétence de lecture en allemand et en français. En outre, il s’agit d’étudier ces liens en fonction des contextes socio-économique et migratoire, de la langue maternelle, et du sexe des adolescents. À cet effet, les données recueillies dans le cadre des Épreuves Standardisées (ÉpStan) de novembre 2016 permettent d’analyser les compétences de lecture en allemand et en français ainsi que les habitudes de lecture extrascolaire de 5177 élèves du grade 9, fréquentant l’Enseignement Secondaire (ES), l’Enseignement Secondaire Technique (EST) ou la branche Préparatoire de l’Enseignement Secondaire Technique (EST-PRE). Les analyses montrent clairement que, indépendamment du sexe, du type d’enseignement et des caractéristiques socioculturelles des adolescents, principalement la tendance à lire des textes narratifs est positivement corrélée aux compétences en lecture. [less ▲]

Faut-il lire, et que faut-il lire, pour mieux savoir lire? La compréhension de textes parmi les adolescents: tentative d'explication des différences interindividuelles

Scientific Conference (2018, January 11)

En matière d’éducation en général, et plus précisément dans le contexte de l’acquisition de compétences et de connaissances scolaires, on ne cesse de souligner que dans beaucoup de pays il existe des ... [more ▼]

En matière d’éducation en général, et plus précisément dans le contexte de l’acquisition de compétences et de connaissances scolaires, on ne cesse de souligner que dans beaucoup de pays il existe des écarts importants entre des élèves en fonction de leur arrière-fond socio-économique, de leur langue maternelle, ou de leur statut de migration. Souvent, cependant, il importe de clarifier quelles pourraient être des caractéristiques qui interagissent avec les variables pré-mentionnées. Cela aiderait à saisir le pourquoi des ces différences et à élucider quelles mesures de soutien pourraient être adoptées. En supposant que la fréquence de lecture puisse avoir un impact important sur le niveau de lecture, nous nous intéressons, dans la présente étude, aux différences en matière de lecture et ce en fonction des différentes caractéristiques socio-culturelles et des habitudes de lecture des élèves. À cet effet, nous aurons recours aux données issues des Épreuves Standardisées de l’année 2016/2017. Tous les élèves du grade 9 de l’enseignement secondaire du Luxembourg y ont participé à des tests de lecture de textes en français et en allemand. En outre, ces mêmes élèves ont été questionnés sur leur arrière-fond socio-culturel, ainsi que sur leurs habitudes de lecture. Plus précisément, il leur était demandé d’indiquer à quelle fréquence ils lisaient différents types de textes en dehors de l’école. Les résultats montrent que les textes en format numérique sont ceux qui sont le plus attrayants pour les adolescents. Cette préférence générale pour des textes numériques se retrouve parmi tous les groupes socio-culturels sans exception. Des analyses de régression mettent en évidence que ce sont surtout le fait et la fréquence de lire des textes narratifs qui ont un impact sur les compétences de lecture, et ce même si on prend en compte les variables d’arrière-fond socio-culturel des élèves. La discussion des résultats mettra d’un côté l’accent sur l’importance de la lecture ainsi que sur les possibilités de stimuler la motivation de lecture auprès des jeunes, mais aussi sur la popularité croissante de textes en format numérique et les conséquences correspondantes. [less ▲]

Do graphical cues effectively inform users? A Socio-Technical Security Study in Accessing Wifi Networks

in Proc. of the International Conference on Human Aspects of Information Security, Privacy, and Trust (2015, July 21)

We study whether the padlock and the signal strength bars, two visual cues shown in network managers, convey their intended messages. Since users often choose insecure networks when they should not ... [more ▼]

We study whether the padlock and the signal strength bars, two visual cues shown in network managers, convey their intended messages. Since users often choose insecure networks when they should not, finding the answer is not obvious; in our study we clarify whether the problem lies in uninformative and ambiguous cues or in the user who, despite understanding the cues, chooses otherwise. This paper describes experiments and comments the results that bring evidence to our study [less ▲]