Academic literature on the topic 'The environment as a third educator'

This article offers an insight into teaching and learning from various interviews I conducted with educators about their journey with the philosophy of Reggio Emilia. Many early childhood educators in North America are captivated by the philosophical fundamentals of Reggio Emilia. Emerging from Reggio Emilia, Italy after the destruction of WWII, this approach embraces several key principles that guide the educator. These include: the importance of teachers as researchers, documenters, observers and listeners; the environment as the "third educator," and the image of the capable, competent child (Edwards, Gandini & Forman, 1998).

Purpose of the study The first aim of the present article was to investigate the role of school environment as an important factor in the learning process of children attending preschools in Istria (i.e. a part of Croatia where many people speak Italian). The school space is also called “Third educator” by famous pedagogues and it is constituted by labs, corridors, materials shape of the building, colours of the walls, quality of the lightings, type of furnishings and all didactic materials. It is a specific environment where the children live, learn, experience, get in touch with other people. Methodology The method used in our research was both quantitative as qualitative analyses of pedagogical documentation, observation of the environment of preschools and interviews with the educational boards of every school. Results The results showed that the school space is mostly in accordance with the requirements of the current legislation of the Country of Croatia and also confirmed the importance of it as “Third educator”, especially when the educators themselves were able to ameliorate the richness of corners and materials made available for children, encouraging in this way the development of the child's independence, maturation of identity and development of competencies. Implications In conclusion, school environment significantly affects child's learning, both because of the influence of architectural structures as because relational contexts and stimuli offered by the environment and by the educators. It means that the Ministry of Education in any Country should pay attention to the way buildings are constructed, especially regarding the richness of corners and materials at disposal of the children and of the educators.

Sufficient space is integral to high-quality music instruction, but what makes our space “sufficient”? This article provides historical and theoretical background about the role of space in learning and the use of movement as a tool for learning music. When their input is sought, children order space as a high priority within a school and frequently reference aesthetic aspects of the environment. The structure of the educational philosophy of Reggio Emilia (a municipality in northern Italy) is proposed as a model for ways that music educators can envision learning space. By elevating the classroom environment to the level of a “third educator” and inviting input from the child, we may be able to better address challenges of space and build music-learning environments that exceed “sufficiency.”

This study focuses on the use of paired keyboards attached to a single microcomputer as a means to facilitate internet exploration. A classroom teacher with nineteen years experience and an educator worked with an intact third grade class of twenty-nine public school students. Children worked in pairs, with one child considered as the knowledgeable other who, through interaction with a partner, might extend the partner's Zone of Proximal Development. This type of learning environment allowed for selective intervention among groups which facilitated and accelerated internet exploration and made the experience a much more successful and rewarding one. Interviews along with ongoing weekly observations were employed to examine this scaffolding approach while the students were on-line. The use of paired keyboards become, in a Vygotskian sense, a tool in children's learning. Review of the process indicated that this approach enabled students who were unfamiliar with either computers or the internet to be successful in their quest for information and global collaboration. The implication is that meaningful learning takes place when educators are creative in the way that computer hardware/software is used in support of facilitating education through internet exploration.

CONTEMPORARY CONNOTATIONS OF “teacher” don't do justice to Jesus' educating activity. “Worldview” understood as a comprehensive social environment helps us to perceive the scale of Jesus' struggle in his society and also Christian teachers' struggle in their settings. Jesus is Israel's teacher in a deeper way than we hear by the term “teacher.” Perspectives opened up by New Testament scholarship's Third Quest for the historical Jesus show that Jesus aimed to clarify the true meaning of God's covenant with Israel while subverting the dominant worldview. The argument is illustrated by analogy with another worldview challenger, the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci, who developed strategies to counter what he named “hegemony.” I conclude with implications for Christian teachers: teachers should understand themselves to be enacters of Jesus' way with students in Christian school or state school settings.

This article explores some features of an international ‘third way’ movement which, in theory and in practice, impacts on centuries-old traditions of communal life and the belief in autonomous agency – traditions which motivate individual participation in society and underpin liberal conceptions of education.The article uncovers some of the hopes and aspirations of third way discourse by examining the work of one of its leading proponents, Anthony Giddens, and reviewing related social policy implementation in the United States, Britain and especially New Zealand. The following are argued as problematic for education: the nature of ‘community’ that underpins commitment to third way values; the way in which individual subjectivity is shaped in response to that community; and the diminishing of the social space in which such changes might be meaningfully critiqued. With a particular focus on New Zealand's policy environment, the article argues that third way is an intensification of neoliberalism under the rhetoric of social democracy, and concludes with a vision of a different kind of third way – not a singular path to a predefined destination, but a journey that embraces difference and antagonism as an essential feature of social life.

The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales, including the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale–Revised (Harms et al., 2005) and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Third Edition (Harms et al., 2015) are the most widely used observational assessments in early childhood learning environments. The most recent version of the scale addresses some of the criticisms in the research literature, particularly related to the organization of the Scale and the standard scoring procedures. In the current study, we explore the relationship between the two scales. Specifically, we evaluated the correlations between the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale–Revised and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Third Edition, as well as the differences between the overall scores, individual items, and subscales. Implications for practice and future research are also provided.

Children today are disconnected from the natural environment around them, sometimes finding it annoying, lacking in excitement, and little use to them. Their attention and focus are spent inside watching TV, playing games on computers or a variety of other electronic devices. The purpose of this project was to see if after-school exposure to an Enirovnmental Science Club on the school grounds can impact student attitudes toward our local environment and to increase these third and fourth grade students' knowledge and awareness of their environment.

This study explored student understanding of third places at the University of the Pacific. As colleges and universities seek to develop the whole student, providing students places that develop a sense ofbelongingness will contribute to their social development. Research has also shown that providing this belongingness will improve student learning. The questions this study hopes to answer are how do students use spaces on campus, and how do these spaces affect student satisfaction and involvement with the University. The results provided by students showed connections between student responses and the literature researched for the study. It is the writer's hope the findings of the study will help to guide future decisions regarding space planning and development.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 12, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this two year study was to investigate the implications of a high academic ability learning environment on the achievement scores of third grade gifted students who attended the Florida Brevard County Public School System. Learning environment was defined by the students' academic ability level, whether high academic ability or heterogeneous academic ability, and for this study was the independent variable. Academic achievement, as measured by the 2011 and the 2012 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test&"174; 2.0 (FCAT 2.0) Mathematics and Reading Developmental Scale Scores (DSS), was the dependent variable. Other student data such as gender and socioeconomic status were also collected and used along with classroom structure to examine the extent to which third grade gifted students' reading and mathematics performance could be predicted. Random samples of students were drawn from the third grade gifted student population attending Florida Brevard County Public School System in the 2010-2011 and the 2011-2012 school years. Using an independent samples t-test, analysis of the 2011 FCAT 2.0 Reading and Mathematics found a statistically significant difference in both the students' FCAT 2.0 Mathematics and the students' FCAT 2.0 Reading achievement test scores based on the classroom structure. Specifically, there was enough evidence to support the claim that third grade gifted students who learned in a homogeneous high academic ability learning environment scored significantly higher on reading and mathematics standardize tests than did third grade gifted students who learned in a heterogeneous academic ability learning environment. Approximately 14% of the variance in reading and mathematics scores could be accounted for by classroom structure. However, different results were found with the 2012 FCAT 2.0 Mathematics and Reading scores. The results from the 2011-2012 school year indicated that there was not a significant difference in mean reading and mathematics scores between third grade gifted students who learn in a homogeneous high academic ability learning environment and third grade gifted students who learn in a heterogeneous academic ability learning environment. The recommendations include that subsequent studies incorporate a wider range of grade levels, perhaps even include methods of instructional delivery, types of gifted services provided, and teachers' years of experience. In addition, recommendations are that future studies address the academic performance of high academic ability non-gifted students who learn in homogeneous high academic ability classroom environments verses those who learn in heterogeneous academic ability classroom structures.
Ed.D.
Doctorate
Educational and Human Sciences
Education and Human Performance
Educational Leadership

The specific goal of this study was to determine the use of the physical classroom environment as a teaching and learning tool in an era of the implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI). This qualitative multi-case study focused on the learning principles and epistemological beliefs of primary teachers with reference to the physical classroom environment and the teaching process in regard to meeting the expectations set forth by the CCSSI. The researcher sought participation from a city school district in Northeast Tennessee which included a total of 8 participating teachers consisting of 2 each of grades kindergarten, first, second, and third. The Teacher Beliefs Survey (Woolley, Benjamin, & Woolley, 2004) was administered to determine teachers’ philosophical position regarding constructivist and traditional beliefs. Based upon responses, 8 teachers representing the most constructivist and most traditional teachers in each grade were selected for further participation. Teachers’ practices and perceptions of the role of the physical environment in the teaching and learning process including consideration of the CCSSI were further explored through interview. Each physical classroom environment was evaluated using the Primary Educators Environment Rating Scale (PEERS), a rubric designed to assess the use of the physical classroom environment on a continuum from traditional to constructivist practices (Evanshen & Faulk, under review). Observational field notes and photographs were collected in order to document environmental components of the physical classroom environment of each participant. Data was collected and triangulated through the use of the aforementioned methods. Through the data analysis process, the researcher found all participants to demonstrate support for the role of the physical environment in the teaching and learning process which was determined based on results of the interview in conjunction with findings of the PEERS and supporting photographic evidence. Each teacher’s personal experiences and philosophy of education was found to guide the physical classroom environment design and layout in various ways. While most teachers felt the CCSSI had little or no impact on their physical classroom environment, all shared in varying degrees the use of the physical environment as a tool to support students in developing 21st century skills.

Syftet med den här studien är att bidra med kunskap om hur förskollärare kan utnyttja den fysiska miljön för att gynna barns lärande i kemi. Studiens resultat bygger på data insamlat av kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med nio förskollärare i två olika kommuner. Studien utgår från det teoretiska perspektivet Reggio Emilia med fokus på miljön som tredje pedagog och pedagogisk dokumentation. Resultatet visar att miljön har en betydelsefull del i arbetet med kemi i förskolan. Hur förskollärare väljer att utforma den fysiska miljön i förskolan kan ha en betydande roll för barnens lärande. Miljön kan ses som en tredje pedagog, där tillgängligt material kan skapa en nyfikenhet för barnen att utforska kemi i vardagen. Att använda sig av material och kemiska begrepp vid olika aktiviteter var något som samtliga förskollärare ansåg vara viktigt. Det framkom även att den pedagogiska dokumentationen i miljön ansågs vara betydelsefull för barnens möjlighet att reflektera och utmanas vidare i sitt lärande. Sammantaget kan förskollärarens roll i arbetet med kemi i förskolan ses som den viktigaste komponenten för att barnens lärande i kemi ska gynnas.
The purpose of this study is to increase knowledge about how the preschool teacher uses the physical environment to benefit children's learning in chemistry. The results of the study are based on data collected from qualitative semi-structured interviews with nine preschool teachers in two different municipalities. The study is based on the theoretical perspective Reggio Emilia with focus on the environment as a third educator and pedagogical documentation. The results show that the environment has a significant part in the work with chemistry in preschool. How preschool teachers choose to design the physical environment in preschool can play a significant role in children's learning. The environment can be seen as a third educator, where available material can create a curiosity for children to explore chemistry in everyday life. Using chemical concepts in various activities and materials was something that all preschool teachers considered important. It also emerged that the pedagogical documentation in the environment was considered important for the children's ability to reflect and be further challenged in their learning. Overall, the role of the preschool teacher’s work with chemistry can be seen as the most important component to benefit children's learning in chemistry.

Title: Stop moving stuff around all the time! - A scientific essay about the challenges in the preschool indoor environment  My scientific essay is based on a series of events in which I believe that both I and my colleague was unprofessional and did not have the children’s best interest at heart. The events took place in my professional career as an unskilled educator. The quandary was about the clashes that occurred between me and my colleague, when I was hired as a new but experienced educator to her department. A department with, in my opinion, a poor educational indoor environment. I came up with new ideas on how it could be further developed, but did not discuss it with my colleague or children before I changed it. This meant that we ended up in conflict with each other, both because of my hasty actions, but also because of her ambiguous leadership. The purpose of this scientific essay has been to reflect on the importance of how we as educator communicate with each other and what the consequences are when we do not. I examined how the distribution of power between us educators may appear and the importance of having a good educational indoor environment in the preschool facility. The issues I have analyzed are: What characterizes a good educational environment? How to work towards cooperation and collaboration in a new team of educator? How does the division of power between the teachers affect the educational operation in preschools? I have used the method of reflection to examine my dilemma. I chose to use the Reggio Emilia pedagogy to reflect on the children's part in creating the preschool environment, in which they spend their days. I’ve also reflected on the perspective of knowledge of Aristotle’s work The Nicomachean Ethics, where I focused primarily on the three forms of knowledge; episteme, techne and phronesis. Last but not least, I reflect on power relations, based on some of Foucault's thoughts about power. It has been discovered in my individual reflections as well as in discussions with my fellow students and work colleagues that this is a common dilemma and that conflicts often arise when strong wills meet and are to be welded into a collaborating team.
Min vetenskapliga essä utgår från en serie händelser där jag anser att både jag och min kollega handlade oprofessionellt och inte hade barnens bästa för ögonen. Händelserna utspelade sig inom min yrkesverksamma tid som outbildad barnskötare. Dilemmat handlade om de krockar som uppstod mellan mig och min kollega, när jag kom som ny men erfaren pedagog till hennes avdelning. En avdelning med, enligt mig, undermålig pedagogisk inomhusmiljö. Jag kom med nya idéer om hur den skulle ändras, men diskuterade inte det med min kollega eller barnen innan jag ändrade i den. Detta gjorde att vi hamnade i konflikt med varandra, både på grund av mitt förhastade handlande men även på grund av hennes otydliga ledarskap. Syftet med den vetenskapliga essän har varit att reflektera över vikten av att vi pedagoger kommunicerar med varandra och vilka konsekvenserna blir när vi inte gör det. Jag undersökte hur maktfördelningen mellan oss pedagoger kan te sig och vikten av att ha en god pedagogisk inomhusmiljö på förskolan. De frågeställningar jag utgått från är: Vad kännetecknar en bra pedagogisk miljö? Hur får man till bra samarbeten och samarbetsformer i ett nytt arbetslag? Hur påverkar maktfördelningen mellan pedagogerna det pedagogiska arbetet i förskolan? Jag har använt metoden reflektion för att kunna undersöka mitt dilemma. Jag valde att använda mig av Reggio Emilia pedagogiken, för att reflektera över barnens del i den miljön de vistas i varje dag. Jag har reflekterat kring kunskapsperspektivet med utgångspunkt i Aristoteles bok Den Nikomachiska etiken, där jag fokuserat på de tre kunskapsformerna; episteme, techne och fronesis. Sist men inte minst har jag reflekterat utifrån ett maktperspektiv med utgångspunkt i några av Foucaults tankar om makt. Det har framkommit i mina individuella reflektioner samt i diskussioner med mina kurskamrater och arbetskollegor att detta är ett vanligt dilemma och att det ofta förekommer konflikter när starka viljor möts och ska sammansvetsas till ett fungerande arbetslag.

Enrollments in blended learning programs are growing, creating a challenge to find educators who understand blended learning pedagogy. The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the challenges and pedagogical transformations of elementary educators who recently adopted blended learning. The concerns-based adoption model provided a conceptual framework to examine teacher concerns and level of implementation of innovative change. A multiple case study design was used to capture the experiences and perceptions of the participants' transition to a blended learning environment. Two teachers in one school in a California school district that transitioned to a blended learning approach were cases studied. The participants were a 4th and a 6th grade teacher who had taught the same grade level at their current school at least 1 year prior to its transition to a blended learning approach. The data collection process included interviews, classroom observations, and document reviews. The participants were interviewed on their understanding of blended learning and their changes in pedagogy. Classroom observations and documents were analyzed using pattern-matching to provide corroborating evidence. The teachers perceived an increase in student-teacher interactions and indicated a need for more guidance developing their blended learning program and support curating resources during the transition to blended learning. A self-paced online professional development program was designed to provide the training needed to support the teachers in their transition. The project study could lead to positive social change by identifying teacher support needed to transition from a traditional teaching environment to a blended learning environment.

This paper focuses mainly on educational programs in the fields of mechatronics and electrical engineering. Building, programming and testing electrical circuits with programmable logic controllers (PLC) is an integral part of practical final exams in this sector.

This article presents the didactic concept and the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) e-learning solution for the course “Environment, computer science and society” in the environmental informatics degree course at the HTW Berlin, which was realised on the basis of the traditional third-level learning platform Moodle.

This paper evaluates associations across the dimensions included in students’ surveys and virtual activities for applying educational models within e-learning graduate programs. Firstly, we focus on the outcomes derived from teachers’ and students’ participation in virtual classroom forums and, secondly, on the determinants of students’ satisfaction in the graduate program. Data analyses show that teachers’ and students’ participation in forums as dynamic educational activities are positively correlated with students’ general satisfaction. To study the determinants of students’ satisfaction, we perform a regression analysis that considers as explanatory variables educational planning, teaching qualifications and development of learning, as well as of a number of controls related to the virtual learning environment and participation in the academic program. According to the obtained results, teaching skills and learning environments are associated with higher students’ satisfaction in a virtual learning environment. This type of analysis is of great interest in a social environment characterized by increasing communication via electronic networking. We find that dynamic educational activities and dimensions taken on board on students’ surveys are related to students’ satisfaction in e-learning graduate programs.

The paper shows how problem solving competences can be developed by solving contextualized problems using an Advanced Computing Environment (ACE). An ACE is a computer system which enables its user to perform numeric and symbolic computations, graphical representations in two and three dimensions, insert embedded components and create interactive worksheet, all in the same user-friendly environment. An ACE allows students to approach a problematic situation in the way that most suits their thinking, to use different types of representations according to the chosen strategy and to display the whole reasoning together with verbal explanation in the same page: in other words, they can fulfill all the processes that problem solving involves. This paper analyzes a problem solving activity with an ACE proposed by the XXX of the ZZZ, and clarifies, also through examples, how the use of the ACE makes it possible to solve real and relevant problems, facilitates the comprehension of the situation and of the Mathematics laying behind and enhance critical thinking.

The ongoing development of the high school ecology curricular unit presented in this proposal is a response to the new tide of educational reforms in the United States. This curricular unit represents an attempt to frame K-12 science curriculum around three dimensions: crosscutting concepts, disciplinary core ideas and scientific practices recently released in the report on a Framework for New K-12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012). Integration of three dimensions into the development of agriculture-related curricular unit reflects complexity and logic inherent in science education facilitating deeper conceptual understanding. The development of this curricular unit takes place under the initiative of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project and explores the efficacy of the agriculture-related unit on students’ integrated vision of the human impact on natural systems. Research project seeks to recognize the characteristics that identify research-based curriculum (Clements, 2007). The interdisciplinary nature of this project has the potential to investigate how close adherence to features identifying research-based curriculum can support the development of coherent curricular unit mediating students’ integrated vision of environmental issues. Mediation results of this nature have larger implications on future efficacy studies of curriculum intervention.

This paper shows a model of teacher training developed by the XXX of the ZZZ, aimed at introducing teachers to the use of innovative methodologies for learning Mathematics and for developing disciplinary and cross-cutting competences. The learning methodologies proposed are mainly based on Problem Posing and Problem Solving, the use of an Advanced Computing Environment, of a Virtual Learning Environment and of an Automated Assessment System. The training model, designed in blended modality, mainly relies on the creation of an online community of practice, where teachers, supported by tutors, collaborate in the creation of interactive learning materials for their classes. They acquire competences not only in the use of learning technologies, but also on sharing and collaborating in virtual environments; they learn how to develop self-tailored didactic methodologies. The key strengths of this model are highlighted and the results, achieved after the experimentation in several projects, are discussed, showing the effectiveness of the model.

While inter-university and interdisciplinary research projects are very common in Higher Education (HE), inter-university and interdisciplinary teaching programmes are still very rare. This paper reflects on the first year of the Innovative Food Systems Teaching and Learning (IFSTAL) programme. IFSTAL is a three-year project funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) with the aim of bringing together postgraduate students from very different programmes to learn about food and farming beyond their own disciplines. IFSTAL creates learning environments and activities that encourage students to think systemically about the transdisciplinary challenges facing the food system. IFSTAL combines both face to face events and an inter-university virtual learning environment (VLE) that was created from scratch for this project. At the end of its first year, a survey was carried out to evaluate the programme and inform the structure for year two (Y2). Survey data revealed students preferred interacting at face to face events over the shared VLE. The programme for Y2 was re-designed to incorporate more flipped classroom features with an andragogy-based approach.

The Zanzibar Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) and the World Bank (the Bank) approached the EdTech Hub (the Hub) in April 2020 to explore the feasibility of implementing a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The Hub was requested to focus primarily on the deployment of a VLE in lower secondary education, and this report consequently focuses primarily on this group. The report is structured in four sections: An introduction to provide the background and guiding principles for the engagement with a short overview of the methodology applied. An analysis of the Zanzibar education system with a particular focus on elements relevant to deploying a VLE. This includes the status of ICT infrastructure, and a summary of the stakeholders who will play a role in using or implementing a VLE. A third section that discusses types of VLEs and content organisation, and their applicability to the Zanzibar ecosystem. A conclusion with recommendations for Zanzibar, including short- and long-term steps. In this collaboration with Zanzibar’s MoEVT, the Hub team sought to understand the purpose of the proposed VLE. Based on discussions and user scenarios, we identified two main education challenges a VLE may help to resolve. In the short term, students cannot go to school during the COVID-19 crisis, but need access to educational content. There is content, but no flexible and versatile platform to disseminate content to all students. In the long term, a mechanism to provide students with access to quality, curriculum-aligned content in school, or remotely, is required.

In April 2020, the MoEVT and the World Bank approached the EdTech Hub to explore the feasibility of implementing a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The parties agreed on three deliverables to support this work. 1. A practical and actionable report analysing key factors to be considered in deploying an e-learning platform in Zanzibar. 2. A report documenting the process of sourcing appropriate digital content, aligning this content with the curriculum and populating the e-learning system accordingly. 3. An implementation plan to guide the deployment of an e-learning system in Zanzibar. This presentation deck is the third deliverable.

1.1 Macroeconomic summary Economic recovery has consistently outperformed the technical staff’s expectations following a steep decline in activity in the second quarter of 2020. At the same time, total and core inflation rates have fallen and remain at low levels, suggesting that a significant element of the reactivation of Colombia’s economy has been related to recovery in potential GDP. This would support the technical staff’s diagnosis of weak aggregate demand and ample excess capacity. The most recently available data on 2020 growth suggests a contraction in economic activity of 6.8%, lower than estimates from January’s Monetary Policy Report (-7.2%). High-frequency indicators suggest that economic performance was significantly more dynamic than expected in January, despite mobility restrictions and quarantine measures. This has also come amid declines in total and core inflation, the latter of which was below January projections if controlling for certain relative price changes. This suggests that the unexpected strength of recent growth contains elements of demand, and that excess capacity, while significant, could be lower than previously estimated. Nevertheless, uncertainty over the measurement of excess capacity continues to be unusually high and marked both by variations in the way different economic sectors and spending components have been affected by the pandemic, and by uneven price behavior. The size of excess capacity, and in particular the evolution of the pandemic in forthcoming quarters, constitute substantial risks to the macroeconomic forecast presented in this report. Despite the unexpected strength of the recovery, the technical staff continues to project ample excess capacity that is expected to remain on the forecast horizon, alongside core inflation that will likely remain below the target. Domestic demand remains below 2019 levels amid unusually significant uncertainty over the size of excess capacity in the economy. High national unemployment (14.6% for February 2021) reflects a loose labor market, while observed total and core inflation continue to be below 2%. Inflationary pressures from the exchange rate are expected to continue to be low, with relatively little pass-through on inflation. This would be compatible with a negative output gap. Excess productive capacity and the expectation of core inflation below the 3% target on the forecast horizon provide a basis for an expansive monetary policy posture. The technical staff’s assessment of certain shocks and their expected effects on the economy, as well as the presence of several sources of uncertainty and related assumptions about their potential macroeconomic impacts, remain a feature of this report. The coronavirus pandemic, in particular, continues to affect the public health environment, and the reopening of Colombia’s economy remains incomplete. The technical staff’s assessment is that the COVID-19 shock has affected both aggregate demand and supply, but that the impact on demand has been deeper and more persistent. Given this persistence, the central forecast accounts for a gradual tightening of the output gap in the absence of new waves of contagion, and as vaccination campaigns progress. The central forecast continues to include an expected increase of total and core inflation rates in the second quarter of 2021, alongside the lapse of the temporary price relief measures put in place in 2020. Additional COVID-19 outbreaks (of uncertain duration and intensity) represent a significant risk factor that could affect these projections. Additionally, the forecast continues to include an upward trend in sovereign risk premiums, reflected by higher levels of public debt that in the wake of the pandemic are likely to persist on the forecast horizon, even in the context of a fiscal adjustment. At the same time, the projection accounts for the shortterm effects on private domestic demand from a fiscal adjustment along the lines of the one currently being proposed by the national government. This would be compatible with a gradual recovery of private domestic demand in 2022. The size and characteristics of the fiscal adjustment that is ultimately implemented, as well as the corresponding market response, represent another source of forecast uncertainty. Newly available information offers evidence of the potential for significant changes to the macroeconomic scenario, though without altering the general diagnosis described above. The most recent data on inflation, growth, fiscal policy, and international financial conditions suggests a more dynamic economy than previously expected. However, a third wave of the pandemic has delayed the re-opening of Colombia’s economy and brought with it a deceleration in economic activity. Detailed descriptions of these considerations and subsequent changes to the macroeconomic forecast are presented below. The expected annual decline in GDP (-0.3%) in the first quarter of 2021 appears to have been less pronounced than projected in January (-4.8%). Partial closures in January to address a second wave of COVID-19 appear to have had a less significant negative impact on the economy than previously estimated. This is reflected in figures related to mobility, energy demand, industry and retail sales, foreign trade, commercial transactions from selected banks, and the national statistics agency’s (DANE) economic tracking indicator (ISE). Output is now expected to have declined annually in the first quarter by 0.3%. Private consumption likely continued to recover, registering levels somewhat above those from the previous year, while public consumption likely increased significantly. While a recovery in investment in both housing and in other buildings and structures is expected, overall investment levels in this case likely continued to be low, and gross fixed capital formation is expected to continue to show significant annual declines. Imports likely recovered to again outpace exports, though both are expected to register significant annual declines. Economic activity that outpaced projections, an increase in oil prices and other export products, and an expected increase in public spending this year account for the upward revision to the 2021 growth forecast (from 4.6% with a range between 2% and 6% in January, to 6.0% with a range between 3% and 7% in April). As a result, the output gap is expected to be smaller and to tighten more rapidly than projected in the previous report, though it is still expected to remain in negative territory on the forecast horizon. Wide forecast intervals reflect the fact that the future evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant source of uncertainty on these projections. The delay in the recovery of economic activity as a result of the resurgence of COVID-19 in the first quarter appears to have been less significant than projected in the January report. The central forecast scenario expects this improved performance to continue in 2021 alongside increased consumer and business confidence. Low real interest rates and an active credit supply would also support this dynamic, and the overall conditions would be expected to spur a recovery in consumption and investment. Increased growth in public spending and public works based on the national government’s spending plan (Plan Financiero del Gobierno) are other factors to consider. Additionally, an expected recovery in global demand and higher projected prices for oil and coffee would further contribute to improved external revenues and would favor investment, in particular in the oil sector. Given the above, the technical staff’s 2021 growth forecast has been revised upward from 4.6% in January (range from 2% to 6%) to 6.0% in April (range from 3% to 7%). These projections account for the potential for the third wave of COVID-19 to have a larger and more persistent effect on the economy than the previous wave, while also supposing that there will not be any additional significant waves of the pandemic and that mobility restrictions will be relaxed as a result. Economic growth in 2022 is expected to be 3%, with a range between 1% and 5%. This figure would be lower than projected in the January report (3.6% with a range between 2% and 6%), due to a higher base of comparison given the upward revision to expected GDP in 2021. This forecast also takes into account the likely effects on private demand of a fiscal adjustment of the size currently being proposed by the national government, and which would come into effect in 2022. Excess in productive capacity is now expected to be lower than estimated in January but continues to be significant and affected by high levels of uncertainty, as reflected in the wide forecast intervals. The possibility of new waves of the virus (of uncertain intensity and duration) represents a significant downward risk to projected GDP growth, and is signaled by the lower limits of the ranges provided in this report. Inflation (1.51%) and inflation excluding food and regulated items (0.94%) declined in March compared to December, continuing below the 3% target. The decline in inflation in this period was below projections, explained in large part by unanticipated increases in the costs of certain foods (3.92%) and regulated items (1.52%). An increase in international food and shipping prices, increased foreign demand for beef, and specific upward pressures on perishable food supplies appear to explain a lower-than-expected deceleration in the consumer price index (CPI) for foods. An unexpected increase in regulated items prices came amid unanticipated increases in international fuel prices, on some utilities rates, and for regulated education prices. The decline in annual inflation excluding food and regulated items between December and March was in line with projections from January, though this included downward pressure from a significant reduction in telecommunications rates due to the imminent entry of a new operator. When controlling for the effects of this relative price change, inflation excluding food and regulated items exceeds levels forecast in the previous report. Within this indicator of core inflation, the CPI for goods (1.05%) accelerated due to a reversion of the effects of the VAT-free day in November, which was largely accounted for in February, and possibly by the transmission of a recent depreciation of the peso on domestic prices for certain items (electric and household appliances). For their part, services prices decelerated and showed the lowest rate of annual growth (0.89%) among the large consumer baskets in the CPI. Within the services basket, the annual change in rental prices continued to decline, while those services that continue to experience the most significant restrictions on returning to normal operations (tourism, cinemas, nightlife, etc.) continued to register significant price declines. As previously mentioned, telephone rates also fell significantly due to increased competition in the market. Total inflation is expected to continue to be affected by ample excesses in productive capacity for the remainder of 2021 and 2022, though less so than projected in January. As a result, convergence to the inflation target is now expected to be somewhat faster than estimated in the previous report, assuming the absence of significant additional outbreaks of COVID-19. The technical staff’s year-end inflation projections for 2021 and 2022 have increased, suggesting figures around 3% due largely to variation in food and regulated items prices. The projection for inflation excluding food and regulated items also increased, but remains below 3%. Price relief measures on indirect taxes implemented in 2020 are expected to lapse in the second quarter of 2021, generating a one-off effect on prices and temporarily affecting inflation excluding food and regulated items. However, indexation to low levels of past inflation, weak demand, and ample excess productive capacity are expected to keep core inflation below the target, near 2.3% at the end of 2021 (previously 2.1%). The reversion in 2021 of the effects of some price relief measures on utility rates from 2020 should lead to an increase in the CPI for regulated items in the second half of this year. Annual price changes are now expected to be higher than estimated in the January report due to an increased expected path for fuel prices and unanticipated increases in regulated education prices. The projection for the CPI for foods has increased compared to the previous report, taking into account certain factors that were not anticipated in January (a less favorable agricultural cycle, increased pressure from international prices, and transport costs). Given the above, year-end annual inflation for 2021 and 2022 is now expected to be 3% and 2.8%, respectively, which would be above projections from January (2.3% and 2,7%). For its part, expected inflation based on analyst surveys suggests year-end inflation in 2021 and 2022 of 2.8% and 3.1%, respectively. There remains significant uncertainty surrounding the inflation forecasts included in this report due to several factors: 1) the evolution of the pandemic; 2) the difficulty in evaluating the size and persistence of excess productive capacity; 3) the timing and manner in which price relief measures will lapse; and 4) the future behavior of food prices. Projected 2021 growth in foreign demand (4.4% to 5.2%) and the supposed average oil price (USD 53 to USD 61 per Brent benchmark barrel) were both revised upward. An increase in long-term international interest rates has been reflected in a depreciation of the peso and could result in relatively tighter external financial conditions for emerging market economies, including Colombia. Average growth among Colombia’s trade partners was greater than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. This, together with a sizable fiscal stimulus approved in the United States and the onset of a massive global vaccination campaign, largely explains the projected increase in foreign demand growth in 2021. The resilience of the goods market in the face of global crisis and an expected normalization in international trade are additional factors. These considerations and the expected continuation of a gradual reduction of mobility restrictions abroad suggest that Colombia’s trade partners could grow on average by 5.2% in 2021 and around 3.4% in 2022. The improved prospects for global economic growth have led to an increase in current and expected oil prices. Production interruptions due to a heavy winter, reduced inventories, and increased supply restrictions instituted by producing countries have also contributed to the increase. Meanwhile, market forecasts and recent Federal Reserve pronouncements suggest that the benchmark interest rate in the U.S. will remain stable for the next two years. Nevertheless, a significant increase in public spending in the country has fostered expectations for greater growth and inflation, as well as increased uncertainty over the moment in which a normalization of monetary policy might begin. This has been reflected in an increase in long-term interest rates. In this context, emerging market economies in the region, including Colombia, have registered increases in sovereign risk premiums and long-term domestic interest rates, and a depreciation of local currencies against the dollar. Recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in several of these economies; limits on vaccine supply and the slow pace of immunization campaigns in some countries; a significant increase in public debt; and tensions between the United States and China, among other factors, all add to a high level of uncertainty surrounding interest rate spreads, external financing conditions, and the future performance of risk premiums. The impact that this environment could have on the exchange rate and on domestic financing conditions represent risks to the macroeconomic and monetary policy forecasts. Domestic financial conditions continue to favor recovery in economic activity. The transmission of reductions to the policy interest rate on credit rates has been significant. The banking portfolio continues to recover amid circumstances that have affected both the supply and demand for loans, and in which some credit risks have materialized. Preferential and ordinary commercial interest rates have fallen to a similar degree as the benchmark interest rate. As is generally the case, this transmission has come at a slower pace for consumer credit rates, and has been further delayed in the case of mortgage rates. Commercial credit levels stabilized above pre-pandemic levels in March, following an increase resulting from significant liquidity requirements for businesses in the second quarter of 2020. The consumer credit portfolio continued to recover and has now surpassed February 2020 levels, though overall growth in the portfolio remains low. At the same time, portfolio projections and default indicators have increased, and credit establishment earnings have come down. Despite this, credit disbursements continue to recover and solvency indicators remain well above regulatory minimums. 1.2 Monetary policy decision In its meetings in March and April the BDBR left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.75%.

Plans are underway to create an acousto-optic laboratory on the campus of the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. For this purpose, existing space in the basement of the Main Laboratory will be renovated. Demanding measurement techniques, such as interferometry, require a sufficiently quiet vibration environment (i.e., low vibration levels). As such, characterization of existing vibration conditions is necessary to determine vibration isolation requirements so that highly sensitive measurement activities are feasible. To this end, existing vibro-acoustic conditions were briefly surveyed in Room 47, a part of the future laboratory. The survey measured ambient noise and ambient vertical floor vibrations. The ambient vibration environment was characterized according to generic velocity criteria (VC), which are one-third octave band vibration limits. At the time of the survey, the ambient vibration environment fell under a VC-A designation, where the tolerance limit is 2000 μin/s across all one-third octave bands. Under this condition, highly sensitive measurement activities are feasible on a vibration-isolated working surface. The conclusion of this report provides isolation efficiency requirements that satisfy VC-E limits (125 μin/s), which are necessary for interferometric measurements.