RESUMEN
There is growing interest in teaching computer science and programming skills in schools. Here we investigated the efficacy of peer tutoring, which is known to be a useful educational resource in other domains but never before has been examined in such a core aspect of applied logical thinking in children. We compared (a) how children (N = 42, age range = 7 years 1 month to 8 years 4 months) learn computer programming from an adult versus learning from a peer and (b) the effect of teaching a peer versus simply revising what has been learned. Our results indicate that children taught by a peer showed comparable overall performance-a combination of accuracy and response times-to their classmates taught by an adult. However, there was a speed-accuracy trade-off, and peer-taught children showed more exploratory behavior, with shorter response times at the expense of lower accuracy. In contrast, no tutor effects (i.e., resulting from teaching a peer) were found. Thus, our results provide empirical evidence in support of peer tutoring as a way to help teach computer programming to children. This could contribute to the promotion of a widespread understanding of how computers operate and how to shape them, which is essential to our values of democracy, plurality, and freedom.
Asunto(s)
Conducta Exploratoria , Grupo Paritario , Adulto , Niño , Computadores , Humanos , Lactante , Estudiantes , EnseñanzaRESUMEN
P-type ion pumps are membrane transporters that have been classified into five subfamilies termed P1-P5. The ion transported by the P5-ATPases is not known. Five genes, ATP13A (ATPase type 13A) 1-ATP13A5, that belong to the P5-ATPase group have been identified in humans. Mutations of the human gene ATP13A2 underlie a form of PD (Parkinson's disease). Previous studies have suggested a relation between polyamines and P5B-ATPases. We have recently shown that the cytotoxicity induced by the polyamine analogue paraquat (1,1'-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium), which is an environmental agent related to PD development, was increased in ATP13A2-expressing CHO (Chinese-hamster ovary) cells. In the present study we showed that ATP13A2-expressing CHO cells exhibit a 2-fold higher accumulation of spermidine. Increasing concentrations of spermidine reduced the viability of CHO cells stably expressing ATP13A2. The higher levels of spermidine attained by the ATP13A2-expressing CHO cells were correlated with an increase in the ATP-dependent spermidine uptake in an isolated subcellular fraction containing lysosomes and late endosomes. The results of the present study support the idea that the human P5B-ATPase ATP13A2 is involved in polyamine uptake.