An individual learning journey: learning as becoming a vocational teacher

In this paper, I address a perceived gap in the lifelong learning literature. There is very little research which addresses how learning should be construed, when individuals transition across a longitudinal span of their working life. This transition which could be viewed as a process of ‘becoming somebody’, often oversimplifies the full complexity of individuals’ learning experiences. Using a sociocultural perspective, the paper explores the lived experiences of individuals in the process of becoming a vocational teacher, in order to help conceptualise the individuals’ learning through their working life. The study draws upon data from a completed research on a group of vocational education trainee teachers learning to teach. This paper argues that learning varies significantly from individual to individual, time to time, context to context and also in different stages of individuals’ lives. This transition could be viewed as an individual learning journey, through understanding the interrelationship between individuals and the contexts, across the individuals’ lives. Drawing from this understanding, the individual’s agency is presented as a way that individuals construct their own lifecourse through the actions and choices they made within the opportunities and constraints of the context. The findings of the study also contribute to the understanding of changes, from the individual learner’s perspective, which could be useful for policy and practice relating to lifelong learning.     

Identity Construction Environments: Developing Personal and Moral Values Through the Design of a Virtual City

We live in a society where concepts of self, community, and "what is right and wrong" are constantly changing. This makes it particularly challenging for young people to construct a sense of self and to identify their most cherished values. Therefore, there is an amounting pressure in schools and society to create learning environments to explore these issues. Two research questions are at the heart of the work presented in this article: What kind of learning environment will afford opportunities for young people to naturally engage in reflection and discussion about issues of identity, in particular personal and moral values? and How can technologies have an impact on character and moral education? I propose identity construction environments (ICEs) as technological tools purposefully designed with the goal of supporting young people in the exploration of these issues.

I first describe the design principles that distinguish these environments from other learning technologies. I also specify the learning experiences they do afford-namely the understanding of identity as a complex construction composed by different elements, including personal and moral values. Then I present the conceptual foundations and implementation of the Zora ICE. Zora is a three dimensional multi-user virtual environment that engages learners in the design of a graphical virtual city and its social organization. I describe a summer workshop conducted with a multicultural group of teenagers using Zora. They designed a virtual city populated with objects and characters representing aspects of themselves and their values. In this participatory microcommunity those values were put to test. Finally I conclude with reflections and future work that points toward a new research agenda in the area of the learning sciences.     

A phenomenological approach to experiences with technology: current state, promise, and future directions for research

In this paper I conceptualize experiences with technology as an object of study for educational technology research and propose phenomenology as a highly suitable method for studying this construct. I begin by reviewing existing research focusing on the construct of experiences with technology and the approaches utilized for its study. To augment this literature, I explain the phenomenological concept of experience and describe its utility for understanding experiences with technology. I propose the theoretical and methodological approach of phenomenology as a framework for developing a research agenda on experiences with technology and for unifying existing lines of research in this area. To illustrate the promise of this approach and to facilitate its application, I describe a research design consistent with the theoretical underpinnings of phenomenology, including methods for collecting and analyzing data as well as ethical and validity considerations specific to this research design. I conclude by identifying several possible research directions utilizing a phenomenological approach in educational technology to incite further research in this area.     

Bringing about change in the classroom: strengths and weaknesses of the self-regulated learning approach—EARLI Presidential Address, 2001

In an attmpt to help both students and teachers to change their traditional roles in the classroom, educational psychologists have engaged in two types of projects. The first project can be condensed to “understanding the dynamics of self-regulated learning”. The second project can be summarized as “understanding the dynamics of powerful learning environments as a way to promote self-regulation in the classroom”. In this essay I attempt to establish the centrality of self-regulation as a theoretical assumption and a fundamental psychological construct. I argue that most current psychological models of self-regulation, and by implication the innovation programs that are based on these models, are not well focused, are incomplete, and harbor many misconceptions. I also argue that educational psychologists need to broaden the way they conceptualize the dynamics of learning contexts and find new ways to study the integrated processes that make up self-regulation in the context of the classroom. My main message is that students bring their own goals to the classroom and that these goals are the key to their adaptation system. These personal goals give meaning and organization, or in other words purpose, to a student’s adaptation processes in the classroom. Some of my comments are critical, but I do not intend to discredit the important work that has been done in this area. Rather, I want to argue that educational psychologists nee to broaden the way they conceptualize the dynamics of learning contexts and find new ways to study the integrated processes that make up self-regulation in teh context of the classroom. Doing so requires not only using a kaleidoscope of teaching methods, but also looking beyond these methods to explore the possibilities of theories that remain marginalized in educational research.     

Inherent details in self-regulated learning

Self-regulated learning (SRL) has become a pivotal construct in contemporary accounts of effective academic learning. I examine several areas of theory and empirical research, which are not prominently cited in educational psychology's research into SRL, that reveal new details of what SRL is and how students develop productive SRL. I interpret findings from these investigations to suggest that nondeliberative, knowledge-based elements are inherent in the processes of SRL, and in learning more generally. Several topics for future research are sketched based on an assumption that learning effectively by oneself will remain a goal of education and can be an especially revealing context in which to research SRL.     

More than science: family learning in a Mexican science museum

Latin American audiences living in their countries of origin are poorly understood as museum learners due to the scarcity of research in this field. Through a case study approach, I investigate and report on the ways of learning of 20 Mexican family groups. In particular, I examine the influence of the Mexican sociocultural context on the participant family members’ learning outcomes from a Mexican science museum. Conducted in Universum Museo de las Ciencias, a science museum located in Mexico City, this research study is based on the premise that understanding the role of the sociocultural elements of learning is essential to understanding the nature of learning in museums. The cognitive and social outcomes of the participants are discussed in the light of the sociocultural elements that define Mexicans as museum learners.     

A Case Study of Elementary Science Teaching as Mediated Action: Transformations of Context,Meaning, and Action

The research described in this article is a case study of a fifth grade teacher's (Melissa) efforts to construct a teaching and learning environment within her science teaching. Qualitative research methods were used to examine and analyze Melissa's science teaching practice. Drawing from socio-cultural theories, I argue that her teaching and learning environment was constructed as a form of mediated action through which she articulated and transformed the context, meaning, and action of her science teaching. In particular, she forged links between a number of factors, such as historically recognizable forms of pedagogy, perceptions of her students' socio-economic positions, knowledge of appropriate science teaching, and her experiences in a preservice teacher education program. Through her pedagogical work, the teaching and learning environment was articulated into a complex network of meanings, physical spaces, and concrete actions in which each element transformed the other. I suggest that mediated action is a form of transformation that constitutes context, meaning, and action into a dynamic and constantly-shifting teaching and learning environment. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Design Domain: Created Space,Creative Space

In this article, I describe and explore Design Domain, a large‐cohort course for which I am academic coordinator and which is enacted across six design programmes at the Glasgow School of Art (GSA). I unpack Design Domain’s context and intentionality as a ‘created space’, where student learners are exposed to different ways of thinking, making and doing, with an emphasis on working within discipline but pushing boundaries beyond the discipline. Next, I evaluate Design Domain as a ‘creative space’, unpacking its lineaments and evaluating its positives and challenges. Then, I set out initial reflections on the taxonomy of disciplinarities, arguing that these can be usefully reappraised when applied to a pedagogical framework like Design Domain, which blends predominantly individual learning with particular and specific points of collective commonality of purpose and action. Finally, I describe how I will go onto develop my understanding via an action research informed evaluation of a recent Design Domain project in Communication Design, where students of graphic design, photography and illustration worked together. I frame the type of critical questions I might ask of staff and student respondents in an action research informed evaluation study, and I offer a preliminary conclusion: that it is more appropriate to focus on ways of thinking than prescribing ways of doing, and that this might bring practice and process into a more adaptive theoretical framework.     

Relationships between macro and micro socio-cultural contexts: implications for the study of interactions in the mathematics classroom

In this paper I attempt to clarify how the relationship between macro and micro social contexts has been addressed in the Vygotskian and Neo-Piagetian approaches to learning. For each approach I look at how key scholars (Cole, 1977; Perret-Clermont, Perret and Bell, 1991) come to view context as central to their theories of cognitive development. In order to illustrate my review of the dominant strands of empirical research I refer to studies that focus on the uses, learning and understanding of mathematics. I start the paper with the socio-cultural Vygotskian approach. This is closely associated with my own research into the relationship between culture and learning. Not surprisingly, I find biases in this body of research in terms of the macro and micro features of contexts which were analysed. In an attempt to gain insights into alternative ways of conceptualising these relationships I explore work which has adopted a socio-psychological approach. In the final part of the paper I discuss how these insights can be used to broaden our basis for studying interactions in the mathematics classroom and conclude by relating my ideas to new developments in socio-cultural theory.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Learning English as an L2 in the Global Context: Changing English,Changing Motivation

As the English language has become a global lingua franca today, it is not surprising that changes in attitudes and perceptions towards learning English in the international context have taken place at the same time. In this paper, I critically examine the notion of ‘integrative motivation’ in the literature of second language (L2) learning with respect to the changing role of the English language in the global context. In particular, this paper attempts to re-conceptualise the notion of integrative motivation by considering the results of recent empirical research on L2 motivation. It is argued that the predominant motivation of learning English among most L2 learners is no longer concerned with ‘integration’ in the target native English-speaking culture, but with the construction of a ‘bi-cultural’ or ‘world citizen’ identity, as well as identification with the international community. The paper ends by suggesting new ways of understanding the concept of motivation in L2 learning in today’s global context.     

The assignment that triggered change: assessment and the relational learning model for generic capabilities

In a context where changes in conceptions or experiences associated with learning generic skills is a desirable learning outcome, how can assessment instruments be designed to bring about the desired changes? In this paper we show how understanding the variation in students' experience of learning a specific generic capability represents the first step in designing assessment instruments for bringing about desirable learning outcomes. Our research has revealed that from a student's perspective two major elements produce changes in conception or experience. From a teacher's perspective, these changes should lead the student into desirable learning outcomes. The two elements identified by students are assignments designed to encourage reflection and the characteristics of the teaching staff. On the basis of students' perceptions, therefore, we are further challenged to carefully construct assessment to bring about change.     

Situating Motivation

This article describes a situative approach to studying motivation to learn in social contexts. We begin by contrasting this perspective to more prevalent psychological approaches to the study of motivation, describing epistemological and methodological differences that have constrained conversation between theoretical groups. We elaborate on issues of the unit of analysis, the conceptualization of contexts, and the role of identity as a central construct. Finally, we argue that the design of learning environments and interventions to change learning environments are informed by attention to the relationships among meanings, identities, and motives in context. We illustrate our argument with examples of design-based research and design-based implementation research focused on motivation to learn in children and adults.     

Preparing Instructional Designers for Game-Based Learning: Part 2

As noted in part I of this article (published in TechTrends 54(3)), advances in technology continue to outpace research on the design and effectiveness of instructional (digital video) games. In general, instructional designers know little about game development, commercial video game developers know little about training, education and instructional design, and relatively little is understood about how to apply what we know about teaching and learning to optimize game-based learning. In Part I, a panel of recognized and emerging experts in the design of instructional (digital video) games set the context for this three part series and one of four panelists discussed what he believes instructional designers should know about instructional game design (Hirumi, Appleman, Rieber, Van Eck, 2010). In Part II, two faculty members who teach courses on instructional game design presents their perspectives on preparing instructional designers for game-based learning. Part III will present a fourth perspective along with conclusion that compares the four views.     

Narratives of Student Engagement in an Alternative Learning Context

The concept of student engagement is critical in the discussion of school reform. This issue is particularly important in dropout prevention programs such as the alternative high school, although little empirical work guides intervention efforts. In this qualitative research, ethnographic observations were combined with interviews with 24 students and 12 teachers to examine how the offerings of the learning environment interact with the processes of engagement through the perspective of students in a high-functioning alternative high school. Youth narratives provide an account of the development of engagement in the context of supportive relationships and a caring school community. Findings suggest that affective engagement precedes school identification and behavioral commitments to learning. Their narratives aid in understanding how students construct stories of transition in the schooling process, and help to contextualize current theories that describe engagement in learning for youth placed at risk.     

The Design of Hypermedia Tools for Learning: Fostering Conceptual Change and Transfer of Complex Scientific Knowledge

A central premise of this article is that hypermedia tools may be developed for case and problem-centered learning in order to achieve significant learning outcomes such as deep conceptual understanding, conceptual change, and knowledge transfer. An approach for developing hypermedia case and problem-centered knowledge resources is proposed-the knowledge mediator framework (KMF)-which consists of design elements and learning activities that have specific sociocognitive theoretical and research rationales. A proof-of-concept study is then discussed; it involved high school students using a hypermedia system based on the main features of the KMF to learn neo-Darwinian evolutionary biology. Students using the experimental hypermedia system were found to change their evolutionary biology problem-solving models, and to continue to use expert-like models even 1 year after using the system. The use of the KMF to develop hypermedia learning materials in other domains and for constructive student projects is also considered. Overall, it is hoped that the framework and research outlined in this article may contribute to design and pedagogical principles for hypermedia learning tools that help students construct rich and useful understandings of challenging knowledge.     

Reformulating the depression model of learned hopelessness for academic outcomes

This review explores developments in the construct of learned hopelessness, which originated in the clinical literature dealing with depression. In that context, the model developed by Abramson, Metalsky, and Alloy [Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G. I., & Alloy, L. B. (1989). Hopelessness depression: A theory-based subtype of depression. Psychological Review, 96, 358–372] has been particularly influential. The purpose of this review is to reformulate this model in the context of academic outcomes and to consider its relevance to learning and achievement. As a means of specifying the variables and paths in the reformulated model of academic learned hopeless, correlates from relevant motivational theories and research, including value-expectancy, self-efficacy, and learning strategies, will be considered.     

How photography as field notes helps in understanding the building the education revolution

This paper is the outcome of research conducted between June 2010 and January 2011 as part of understanding the building the education revolution (BER) a major policy initiative of the Australian Federal Government which commenced when Julia Gillard, now PM, was the Federal Minister of Education. The BER policy initiative was part of an economic stimulus package delivered in response to the global economic crisis. It saw funding distributed through State governments to schools to develop new learning spaces and facilities. In the Victorian context the timing of the BER came after years of research and development in learning space design and policy under the Victorian Schools Plan and the Building Schools for the Future policies. It outlines both the scope of the research projects undertaken by Deakin University’s Centre for Research in Educational Futures and Innovation with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victoria and the approach to using visual methodologies within these projects. The notion of the research as educational tourist is introduced in a discussion of using photographs as ethnographic field notes. As is often the case in such projects, timelines for research and delivery of research products is not always ideal for first wave rigorous analysis intended in the initial research proposals. In light of this the research team had generated, through researcher and participant photography, more data than could be reasonably dealt with. This paper explains the process and usefulness of photography as field notes to expedite research conversations and analysis in the writing of the case studies and construction of the portal. The construct of researchers as educational tourists is also theorised as a way of understanding how images mediate the ethnographically-informed research experience.     

Wittrock's Influence on Mathematics Education: Some Personal Comments

Merlin C. Wittrock was a friend and colleague who influenced me and many other contemporary mathematics educators on how students learn. In this article I summarize my interactions with Merl beginning in 1965, and how over the following half-century he influenced my thinking on student learning for understanding and, in turn, on how to design instruction based on generative principles. I situate our initial discussions in terms of behaviorism, mathematical abilities, and mathematical problem solving. Based on Merl's ideas since first expressed in “A Generative Model of Mathematics Learning” in 1974, today it is clear that instruction should involve the stimulation of a student's store of relevant background experiences in relation to information to be learned, so they can construct meaning from it. Only by doing so can the use of such organized structures of previously acquired knowledge and experiences facilitate the understanding of new information.     

Teaching to enhance research

In this paper, I present a conceptual argument for ‘teaching-led research’ in which university lecturers construct courses that directly and positively influence their research, while at the same time, safeguard and enhance the student experience. A research-pedagogy for higher education considers the link between teaching and research, but rather than the more usual conception of research-led teaching, in which teaching is enhanced by research, it becomes teaching-led research in which research is enhanced by teaching. I argue that this idea is foundational to the modern research university, but also difficult to realize unless teaching and learning are designed for these ends. A potential model is teaching undergraduates as researchers with students learning by doing research and I present a case study from a science degree programme. I conclude by anticipating the likely cultural and political barriers to teaching-led research and suggest how tensions can be managed.