The identification and the evaluation of arguments are fundamental elements of critical thinking. However, the explicit promotion of these elements is virtually absent from university science courses. Much of the reason for this is that in most universities, across nearly all disciplines, instructors are required to see the conceptual content…

Pedagogical practices that are effective in content courses are often effective in CLIL courses too, yet one such practice -- content compression -- is generally neglected. Content compression is the purposeful reduction of the content to be taught; however, the CLIL literature often warns against the reduction and simplification of content for…

Paragonimiasis is an illness that involves both humans and animals. It is caused by parasites from the genus "Paragonimus" (Trematoda: Troglotrematidae). The illness is endemic to tropical and subtropical countries in Asia, Africa, and America, with different species being responsible in different areas. In Colombia, members of the…

The Covid-19 pandemic is the reason why humanity is paying more attention to the importance of regular and rigorous handwashing. Interestingly, in the nineteenth century, regular and rigorous handwashing was a key (and controversial) solution proposed by the Hungarian obstetrician Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis to cut drastically cases of puerperal…

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to determine the factors and conditions that intervene in the implementation of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) in diverse Colombian educational contexts. This study was conducted at five private schools from different cities and towns in the country (Bogotá, Chía, Tenjo,…

At present, the constant pressure that the local government exerts on the implementation of bilingual education in both public and private schools has affected second language teaching in Colombia. As a result, some private schools have started to modify their curriculum by delivering some content subjects in English. This thesis examines the…

Despite some school efforts to offer students the best second language learning, English language lessons are often taught with an overuse of the mother tongue. Hence, an action research project was conducted in order to discover how to adapt some features of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) component: Lesson delivery, for the…

Teaching English at the primary school level is a challenge in countries such as Colombia where children study this language for only one hour a week in most institutions, and in the best of cases for 3 hours a week. Most of the public schools do not have enough and/or adequate English materials at their disposal for students to work with;…

Web-based distance education is an innovative modality of instruction in Colombia. It is characterized by the separation of the teacher and learners, the use of technological tools and the students' autonomy development. This paper reports the findings of a case study that explores students' perceptions about an English reading comprehension…