The relationship between epistemological beliefs and the propensity for lifelong learning

The characteristics of lifelong learners have been extensively discussed in the literature and generally encapsulate two broad dimensions; skills and abilities related to learning, and beliefs about learning and knowledge. This study examined the factors that may predict such characteristics and thus an individual's propensity to engage in lifelong learning in a sample of university students. Together, openness to experience, change readiness, approaches to learning, self-efficacy and epistemological beliefs significantly predicted lifelong learning characteristics. In particular, the unique contribution of epistemological beliefs to the profile of a lifelong learner was supported. Results indicate that these beliefs may be a key predictor of lifelong learning.     

The related effects of item characteristics in measures of epistemological beliefs

Personal epistemology is concerned with people’s beliefs or assumptions about the nature of knowledge and knowing. Whilst contributions in this field can be traced back to the 1970s, fundamental questions about the ontology and epistemology of the construct still remain. The current study explored the effects of three characteristics of questions aimed at eliciting epistemological assumptions on our interpretations of an individual’s assumptions, namely the level of directness with which questions targeted assumptions, the domainspecificity of the question, and whether the questions were open or closed-ended. A paper-and-pencil measure was designed to manipulate these variables, and the interpretations made about the assumptions of 35 postgraduate Psychology students were compared. The results suggested that the characteristics do exert an influence and caution is raised regarding the validity of methodologies that are used in the study of personal epistemology.     

Teachers’ beliefs, instructional behaviors, and students’ engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures

This study investigated the relations between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and students’ self-reported engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures. Participants were the biology, geography, and German teachers of 46 classes (Grades 5-8) and their students. Teachers’ instructional behaviors and students’ engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures were assessed by means of student ratings. Teachers’ beliefs about using texts with instructional pictures in their teaching were assessed by a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that the more teachers believed that students should be taught clear strategies on how to learn from texts with instructional pictures the more engagement was reported by their students. A multilevel mediation model showed that the association between teachers’ beliefs and students’ self-reported engagement was mediated by teachers’ perceived instructional behavior.     

High school students’ scientific epistemological beliefs,motivation in learning science,and their relationships: A comparative study within the Chinese culture

This study explored the differences in high school students’ scientific epistemological beliefs (SEBs), motivation in learning science (MLS), and the different relationships between them in Taiwan and China. 310 Taiwanese and 302 Chinese high school students’ SEBs and MLS were assessed quantitatively. Taiwanese students generally were more prone to believe that scientific reality is invented, the development of scientific knowledge is culture-dependent, and scientific knowledge is always changing and its status is tentative than the Chinese students were. Yet, the Taiwanese students perceived higher test anxiety in science than the Chinese students did. Moreover, Chinese students who have a stronger belief that science knowledge is changing and tentative are more likely to perceive themselves as having higher test anxiety in science. The results suggest that the role of culture might have an impact on students’ SEBs and their MLS.     

Teacher Beliefs: The Impact of the Design of Constructivist Learning Environments on Instructor Epistemologies

Promoting student epistemological development is seen as a goal of higher education. Further, the epistemological beliefs of instructors have been shown to affect their teaching beliefs and behaviors. Some argue that only when instructors are epistemologically advanced will they be able to engage in pedagogical activities that encourage student epistemological development. This study examines the impact of the design of constructivist learning environments on university instructors’ epistemological belief systems. Constructivist learning environments are technology-based environments that present learners with authentic problems, that are supported by cases similar to the problem being posed, and learning-support strategies such as modeling, coaching, and scaffolding. Instructors’ epistemologies might be impacted by engaging in constructivist learning environment design because the process requires instructors to think about their discipline in non-traditional ways. Results of this qualitative inquiry suggests that instructors who are in a zone of ‘readiness’ for intellectual growth could experience epistemological growth from this experience.     

Initial epistemological beliefs transformation in one teacher education classroom: Case study of four preservice teachers

Education literature suggests that preservice teachers hold similar initial beliefs, viewing the teacher as the authority figure passing knowledge to the students. In consistency with constructivist practice, these beliefs should be challenged to enable the preservice teachers to develop alternative ideas, seeing the students capable of constructing knowledge with the help of the teacher. These beliefs are found difficult to change in the course environment. Drawing on surveys and teaching observations from four preservice teachers in an introduction methods course, the study showed that the four participants had different epistemological beliefs, some beliefs being more resistant to change than others.     

The Conditional and Interaction Effects of Epistemological Beliefs on the Self-Regulated Learning of College Students: Motivational Strategies

This study examines the conditional and interaction effects of each of four dimensions of the epistemological beliefs of college students regarding the ability to learn, the speed of learning, the structure of knowledge, and the stability of knowledge on six measures of the motivational components of self-regulated learning strategies (intrinsic goal orientations, extrinisic goal orientation, task value, self-efficacy, control of learning and test anxiety). Students with more sophisticated beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning were more likely than their peers to use educationally productive motivational strategies in their learning. Beliefs about one’s ability to learn and the structure of knowledge had the most significant and substantial effects on students’ use of self-regulated motivational strategies. Although a student’s belief about the stability of knowledge by itself had a statistically significant effect on only one motivational strategy, this belief did have four statistically significant interaction effects with beliefs about ability to learn and the structure of knowledge. Implications of these findings for theory, research, policy and practice are examined.     

The change in epistemological beliefs and beliefs about teaching and learning: a study among pre-service teachers

This study investigated the change in Singaporean pre-service teachers' epistemological beliefs and beliefs about learning and teaching over the course of a teacher preparation program. An online survey was administered during the first week of a nine-month program and the same survey was administered after the 413 participants had completed all their course work and teaching practice. Participants exhibited significant changes in epistemological beliefs and beliefs about learning and teaching – participants indicated more relativistic epistemological outlooks and less constructivism in beliefs about teaching. At the end of the teacher preparation program, they seemed to less value effort in learning and believed more in innate ability.     

非英语专业新生的英语学习信念与英语课堂焦虑的相关研究

大部分非英语专业新生在英语课堂里有较高的焦虑度,而部分英语学习信念与英语课堂焦虑有显著的负相关关系,也就是说英语学习信念可能是导致焦虑的原因之一。外语学习信念和外语课堂焦虑是二语学习过程中两个重要的个体差异变量,研究两者之间的关系是二语研究的重要课题。     

The overuse of self-report in the study of beliefs in education: epistemological considerations

The last few decades abound in studies concerned with what teachers, students, parents, and other participants in the educational process believe about a wide variety of issues. Most of these studies follow methodological procedures based on reports that people make about their own beliefs. We argue that this strategy is seriously flawed under certain conditions that often obtain and, therefore, we should revise what we know so far about people’s beliefs. We also suggest a more suitable alternative procedure.     

Three worlds of instructional design: State of the art and future directions

Three worlds of ID are distinguished. The Worldof Knowledge stresses the analysis of learningoutcomes in knowledge structures and theselection of instructional strategies forparticular outcomes; the World of Learningfocuses on particular learning processes andthe synthesis of strategies that support thoseprocesses; the World of Work focuses onreal-life task performance and strategies thatsupport learners while they work on authenticproblems. Contributions to this Special Issueare discussed within the three-world framework.Implications for future research are discussed,stressing the promise of mental models as atheoretical construct that may help to buildbridges between the three worlds.     

Epistemic beliefs in action: Spontaneous reflections about knowledge and knowing during online information searching and their influence on learning

In the present study it was investigated whether high school students are spontaneously able to reflect epistemologically during online searching for information about a controversial topic. In addition, we examined whether activating epistemic beliefs is related to individual characteristics, such as prior knowledge of the topic and argumentative reasoning skill; also whether learning from the Web is influenced by epistemic beliefs in action and the ability to detect fallacies in arguments. The participants (N = 64) were students of Grade 13, who were asked to think aloud during navigation. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed. Findings reveal that most participants spontaneously activated beliefs about all four dimensions identified in the literature, that is, about the simplicity/complexity, certainty/uncertainty, justification, and source of knowledge, at different levels of sophistication. Most epistemic reflections were about the source of knowledge. Two patterns of contextualized epistemic beliefs emerged and significantly influenced learning from the Web, which was also affected by participants' ability to identify argumentative fallacies.     

Team teaching implementation in engineering education: teacher perceptions and experiences

ABSTRACT

In 2014, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences implemented a fundamental change in its curriculum from small single topic 3–5 credits courses into 15 credits multidisciplinary courses implemented by teacher teams. This paper focuses on how teachers of Information Technology programs experienced the reform. Research data include teacher feedback and opinions that were collected during training sessions and interviews. Team teaching is a substantial change for teachers that raises concerns about time management, getting enough compensation for the work and possible loss of teacher autonomy. However, teacher teams that managed to overcome these challenges saw a variety of benefits in the new approach. Not only was team teaching seen as a means for providing students with the skills they need, but it also was discovered as a way to enhance the teacher’s own professional development.     

Understanding complex ecologies: an investigation of student experiences in adventure learning programs

The GoNorth! Adventure Learning (AL) Series delivered educational programs about global climate change and sustainability from 2006 to 2010 via a hybrid-learning environment that included a curriculum designed with activities that worked in conjunction with the travels of Team GoNorth! as they dog sledded throughout the circumpolar Arctic. This study addresses a gap in the AL literature by identifying factors that lead to high levels of student engagement and reveals strategies for instructional designers and educators on how to design emotionally engaging online learning environments. A mixed methods study was conducted to explore patterns of learner engagement in relation to two AL programs: GoNorth! Fennoscandia 2008 and GoNorth! Nunavut 2009. Survey data were drawn from a total of 101 students in 2008 and 2009.     

Teacher self-efficacy,instructional quality,and student motivational beliefs: An analysis using multilevel structural equation modeling

Teacher self-efficacy (TSE) is one of the most salient motivational characteristics that is assumed to affect teachers’ instructional quality and student motivational beliefs. However, discussions of these associations have primarily been often primarily conceptual and/or based on empirical research that has suffered from methodological shortcomings. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the relationships between TSE, instructional quality (i.e., classroom management, cognitive activation, and supportive climate) and student motivational beliefs (i.e., self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation) by using responses from both teachers and students and implementing a sophisticated doubly latent multilevel structural equation modeling approach. A total of 94 high school teachers and their 2087 students participated in the study. The results demonstrated that, at the class level, TSE was positively related to the three dimensions of instructional quality but not to student motivational beliefs. As expected, instructional quality was positively related to student motivational beliefs.     

OECD Work on Technology and Education: innovative learning environments as an integrating framework

This article presents in summary a selection of the work conducted by OECD in the field of technology and education, which has been an on-going focus of OECD work since the 1980s. Recently, much of this has been under the heading of ‘New Millennium Learners’, but it has also included the widening of student achievement surveys towards digital literacy; reviews of e-learning in higher education, surveys on Open Education Resources (OER); technology as a source of innovation; and analyses of the digital resources market and educational technology patents. The article proposes the more holistic focus on ‘learning environments’ through which to analyse the very diverse ways in which technology can be integrated into education and as a design framework. This is drawn from a report of the OECD Innovative Learning Environments (ILE) project to be published in 2013, itself based on 40 case studies from different countries and regions. It suggests that contemporary learning environments should be: i) Innovating the ‘pedagogical core’; ii) Engaging the ‘Design/Redesign Leadership Circle’; iii) Widening connections and capacity through partnerships; and iv) Promoting 21st century effectiveness (based on the principles derived from the 2010 ILE learning research review). The article then applies this framework to show how technology shapes learning environments in many different ways. The article questions over-reliance on individuals navigating successfully to access non-formal learning opportunities and rejects the argument that learning institutions should simply adapt more adequately to available technologies. Instead, technology should be fully exploited in well-designed learning environments.     

当代西方建构主义教学理论评析

当代西方建构主义教学理论在认识论、学习观、教学观等方面都有自己独到的见解 ,有明显的积极意义。但作为发展中的教学理论 ,它仍有其片面性和不完善之处。如忽视了间接经验、真理的绝对性和外部技能训练的必要性等 ,对建构主义教学理论本体和理论实践中的一些问题还不能很好地给予回答     

Epistemic beliefs and beliefs about teaching practices for moral learning in the early years of school: relationships and complexities

While investment in young children is recognised as important for the development of moral values for a cohesive society, little is known about early years teaching practices that promote learning of moral values. This paper reports on observations and interviews with 11 Australian teachers, focusing on their epistemic beliefs and beliefs about teaching practices for moral education with children aged 5–8 years. The analysis revealed three main patterns of thinking about moral education: following others, reflecting on points of view, and informing reflection for action. These patterns suggest a relationship between epistemic beliefs and beliefs about teaching practices for moral learning which have implications for teacher professional development concerning experiences in moral education.     

Revisiting “power in the classroom”: exploring online learning and motivation to study course content

Online learning is growing in popularity among students (Allen &; Seaman, 2015 Allen, I. E., &; Seaman, J. (2015). Grade level: Tracking online education in the United States. Newburyport, MA: Sloan Consortium. [Google Scholar]. Grade level: Tracking online education in the United States. Newburyport, MA: Sloan Consortium), and online course opportunities seem to be increasing. Thus, it is important to examine classroom management behaviors such as power and its impact on motivation to study and student learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to partially replicate Richmond’s (1990) work in the online learning context. Based on the findings, practical implications are presented for online instructors.