“Some explanation here”: a case study of learning opportunities and tensions in an informal science learning environment

Recent scholarship highlights the wealth of varied and interconnected opportunities for learning science that informal environments can provide; yet, participants with different experiences, knowledge, and backgrounds do not all learn in the same ways. Thus, studies are needed that examine how particular participants take up learning opportunities (LOs) in informal contexts. In this ethnographic case study, we focus on the learning experiences of one fifth-grade girl, Nina, who reported that she was not able to learn as much as she had hoped from her participation in an afterschool robotics engineering club. Through analysis of video-recordings, interviews, and field notes, we investigated how instructors and peers shaped LOs for Nina and the environmental tensions that affected how LOs were shaped and how Nina took them up. Comparison of examples in which instructor and peer-afforded LOs were realized and unrealized (i.e., presented in ways that Nina could take them up or not) illuminates multiple tensions. Club members faced tensions related to differing goals and abilities to teach each other, while the instructors faced tensions related to their roles in informal learning environments and their propensity to direct participants to other resources. As a result, many potential LOs for Nina in this rich inquiry learning environment where unrealized because instructors and peers did not shape them in ways that were explicit, elaborated upon, or connected to Nina’s prior knowledge, and because Nina was not necessarily attuned to potential LOs in the informal context. We conclude with implications for instructors in informal learning environments.     

Is expertise a necessary precondition for creativity?: A case of four novice learning group facilitators

Many North American theorists conceptualize expertise as preceding creativity. The rationale is, that in order to be truly creative, one must master a field so remarkable contributions can be made. Therefore, in order to be truly creative one must be an expert in a structured and codified domain. This inquiry attempted to examine the relationship between expert thinking skills and creativity in an ill-defined domain, embedded in the community of practice of group facilitation whose goal was to support learning. Using an instrumental case study approach to explore a unique system embedded in a naturalistic context, the case was comprised of a team of four female novice group facilitators, functioning as teaching assistants for learning task groups of university students. Various sources were drawn upon in order to map this group as a coherent knowing system. Debriefing sessions and interviews were transcribed and coded using a category string method in order to retain a holistic sensibility to the analysis. The codes revealed that the system displayed characteristics of shared expertise and social creativity. The overall pattern of creative response closely followed those of expertise. The codes for expertise generally preceded those instances of creativity, suggesting that creativity does need to rely on expert thinking skills. However, this inquiry suggests expanding the notion of expertise, in that it need not be situated in a single person, but can emerge from a system of shared expertise.     

Historicising teachers’ learning: a case study of productive professional practice

This paper reveals the significant historical traces which informed the learning practices of teachers at one particular school site in a rural and regional educational district in Australia. Drawing upon recent theorising into professional practice, the paper argues that teacher learning practices are intrinsically ‘ecologically’ related to teachers’ practices at specific sites. However, extending beyond this theorising, the research also reveals how teacher learning – in the case presented, in relation to classroom dialogue – is also significantly influenced by earlier learning experiences of the teachers involved. In this way, teachers’ practices are revealed as not only influenced by present-day, site-specific, whole-school teacher learning, but also by particular events encountered by teachers at an earlier phase of their careers. The research argues for a conception of teachers’ learning which is not only site-informed and ecologically arranged, but also deeply temporally embedded.     

Expanding “within context” to “across contexts” learning: a case study of informal and formal activities

Learning happens not only in schools, but also in every context that affords new experiences and opportunities for metacognition. We aim to maximize the different activity-milieux in which learners are engaged in developing their life-long learning dispositions to learn within and across contexts. This paper is a follow up of an earlier published paper in which a framework on interpreting learning as how the self interacts with phenomena and reifications was proposed. Grounded in this learning framework, our research seeks to expand the “within context” learning to “across contexts” learning with evidence from a case study examining a 10-year-old boy's learning process. Through the case study, we will describe the interplay between bowling and schooling and how strategies learned from one context is situated into another drawing upon Ito et al.'s (2010 Ito, M., Baumer, S., Bittanti, M, boyd, d., Cody, R., Herr-Stephenson, B., Horst, … Pascoe, C.J., Perkel, D., Robinson, L., Sims, C., Tripp, L. (2010). Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out: Kids living and learning with new media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press [Google Scholar]) developmental trajectory of “hanging out-messing around-geeking out” perspectives. The findings show that for learning to be meaningful and authentic for the twenty-first century, it is essential for the learner(s) to be in constant dialectical interactions and relationship with oneself, others, and with the social-cultural artifacts that afford the learning. We conclude with practical implications derived from the study.     

Assessment literacy and student learning: the case for explicitly developing students ‘assessment literacy’

In this paper, we report on a study to quantify the impact on student learning and on student assessment literacy of a brief assessment literacy intervention. We first define ‘assessment literacy’ then report on the development and validation of an assessment literacy measurement instrument. Using a pseudo-experimental design, we quantified the impact of an assessment literacy-building intervention on students’ assessment literacy levels and on their subsequent performance on an assessment task. The intervention involved students in the experimental condition analysing, discussing and applying an assessment rubric to actual examples of student work that exemplified extremes of standards of performance on the task (e.g. poor, excellent). Results showed that such a procedure could be expected to impact positively on assessment literacy levels and on student performance (on a similar or related task). Regression analyses indicated that the greatest predictor of enhanced student marks (on the assessment task that was the subject of the experiment), was the development of their ability to judge standards of performance on student work created in response to a similar task. The intervention took just 50 minutes indicating a good educational return on the pedagogical investment.     

Student and novice teachers’ stories about collaborative learning implementation

Despite the research evidence on the effectiveness of collaborative learning (CL), the implementation of this teaching strategy has not yet found a profound place in teaching practice. As a consequence, several studies have investigated teachers’ motives regarding and experiences with the use of CL. Most of these studies concern however senior teachers, whereas new generations of teachers are important actors in the process of educational innovation. Hence, it is crucial to explore novice teachers’ stories about CL implementation: what motivates them to implement this teaching strategy, what hinders them and how do they handle the challenges they are confronted with? The answers to these questions may provide useful information for improving the teacher education curriculum regarding CL. In this respect, the present study intends to study pre-service and beginning teachers’ experiences with CL in classroom practice, after a formal training pertaining to CL as part of their teacher education programme. The aim is to identify the main challenges student and novice teachers encounter when they want to implement CL in their teaching practice, and how they position themselves in these challenges. A qualitative case study design with in-depth interviews in the Flemish context (Belgium) was used to gain access to the particular experiences of each teacher, and to the processes of interpretation and meaning-making that go with those experiences. Participants were interviewed individually one week before graduation (n?=?15). After at least half a year of experience in the teaching profession, 10 participants were interviewed for a second time. In the present study, we present the results from a cross-case analysis, using the method of constant comparative analysis to identify similarities or differences, and to capture recurring patterns within the data. The findings reveal several dilemmas that illustrate the conflicting options teachers are facing in relation to their colleagues, their pupils, the curriculum and in the classroom context when they intend to implement CL. In particular, the following dilemmas were identified: two dilemmas related to professional autonomy (student teachers: teacher autonomy vs. pre-service performance assessment; novice teachers: teacher autonomy vs. institutional conformity), further dilemmas related to teachers’ beliefs about pupils’ readiness for CL vs. evidence about pupils’ readiness for CL, investing in innovation vs. curriculum and job pressure, and pedagogical intentions vs. contextual constraints. In most conflicting situations, student and novice teachers position themselves in the challenge by opting for non-implementation.     

Sustainability and distance learning: a diverse European experience?

Higher Education (HE) is experiencing disruption from technologies, demographics, the globalising world and longer life expectancy. Historically Higher Education has had a legacy of being seen as the requirement for an educated ‘elite’, there has been a policy ambition set in various countries (including the UK) for it to become the expectation for much wider segments of the population as a whole. As students become ‘everyone’ and learning becomes ‘all the time’ Distance Teaching and Research Institutions have a tremendous opportunity but there are also many disruptions and barriers to overcome. Higher Education institutions have an important role within Education for Sustainable Development and sustainable lifestyles; one of the important goals and targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development goals for 2030. Higher Education can contribute to sustainability in many ways – social, technical and environmental; globally and locally. In particular distance-learning universities due to the flexibility in the learning process, use of technologies, and inter-disciplinary approach to teaching and learning, constitute key factors in education for sustainable development. But what will this contribution look like? In this paper, the responses from senior leaders in four major European distance-learning universities are presented, compared and discussed. The tentative conclusions draw out some strategic imperatives for sustainable higher education in the twenty first century.     

International doctoral students’ experience of supervision: a case study in a Chinese university

Internationalisation in higher education is now a worldwide phenomenon but there is little attention paid to internationalisation at doctoral level, although this phenomenon has grown exponentially in recent years. This study focuses on a university in China to examine how international doctoral students and their supervisors perceive supervision and the relations between supervisor and student. It describes and analyses the experiences of supervisors and students, and the concepts they used to articulate and reflect on them. Semi-formal interviews were conducted with six doctoral students and their supervisors. Analysis shows that, apart from formal supervision, informal enculturation through social and academic networks, the tongmen, plays an important role in supervision and in socialising the doctoral researchers into the community of practice. The study adds to the field a new case from a specific epistemological and intellectual tradition and challenges existing theories concerning methods and concepts of supervision.     

Undergraduates’ learning experience and learning process: quantitative evidence from the East

This article examines the construct validity of the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) in Hong Kong and investigates the similarities and differences in the process of learning among students in different disciplinary studies. It is based on a survey of 1,563 undergraduate students in two disciplines, humanities and sciences, and of principally Chinese ethnicity. Findings from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support the scale structure of the four subscales of a modified version of the CEQ (good teaching, clear goals and standards, appropriate work, and appropriate assessment) in a non-Western context and could provide a basis for cross cultural research and international benchmarking. While there was variation across subgroups, there was a genuine pattern of relationships between the perceptions of learning environment and learning strategies shown by structural modeling. This information could be used to inform the design of discipline-specific programs in the new curriculum.     

Learners’ socio-cultural backgrounds and science teaching and learning: a case study of township schools in South Africa

Cultural Studies of Science Education - In an effort to pursue and achieve quality and equity in science education, the South African National Curriculum Statement stipulates that learners should...     

Chronicling engagement: students’ experience of online learning over time

Although there is ample research into student engagement in online learning, much of this investigates the student experience through surveys administered at a fixed point in time, usually at the exit point of a single unit of study or course. The study described in this paper, by contrast, aimed to understand online student engagement over a whole semester, guided by two overarching questions: What factors impact students’ engagement over a semester? What factors account for fluctuation in engagement levels over time? This paper presents results from weekly feedback on online education students’ engagement over the length of one semester at a regional Australian university. It also chronicles in more depth the experiences of one student across the same semester. The findings offer longitudinal accounts of student engagement, demonstrating that levels of engagement fluctuate and are influenced by a variety of factors.     

Self‐determined blended learning: a case study of blended learning design

Higher education has been actively encouraged to find more effective and flexible delivery models to provide all students with access to quality learning experiences yet also meet institutional imperatives for efficiency and accountability. Blended learning, commonly defined as an integration of traditional face‐to‐face and online approaches to instruction (Garrison & Kanuka, 2004 Garrison, D.R. and Kanuka, H. 2004. Blended learning: Uncovering its transformative potential in higher education. Internet and Higher Education, 7(2): 95–105.  [Google Scholar]; Graham, 2006 Graham, C.R. 2006. “Blended learning systems: Definition, current trends and future directions”. In Handbook of blended learning: Global perspectives, local designs, Edited by: Bonk, C.J. and Graham, C.R. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.  [Google Scholar]; Macdonald, 2008 Macdonald, J. 2008. Blended learning and online tutoring , (2nd ed.), Hampshire, UK: Gower.  [Google Scholar]), is now proposed as one solution that addresses both student learning and higher education organisational needs. Successful blended learning, however, is more than a simple integration of information and communication technologies with face‐to‐face approaches. This paper proposes, describes and evaluates a pedagogical approach to blended learning focused on learners and learning. First, we interrogate the literature related to blended learning to show how various constructions of blended learning may be driven by teacher‐centric or learner‐centric conceptions. Next, planning a learner‐centric blended learning design for a core unit in a first year higher education course is described. The design is then evaluated using a mixed methodology in which the students’ voices illuminate their experiences of blended learning unit design with regards to engagement, learning and self‐determination.     

Training early childhood teachers for sustainability: towards a ‘learning experience of a different kind’

In this study, we discuss findings from a small-scale project evaluating an in-service teacher training programme focused on ‘perspective transformation’ in early childhood education and education for sustainability (EfS). A bespoke professional development programme was developed for Turkish early childhood teachers, based on a variety of Mezirowian-inspired adult education activities. Data were gathered using a mixed method research design, from 24 early childhood educators, through learning diaries, a Learning Activities Survey and follow-up interviews. Initial findings illustrate the range of transformations possible in the teachers’ perspectives during and after the training workshops. Influential factors in facilitating perspective transformation are shown to be the content, structure and sequencing of the training, and peer support. We conclude that transformative learning techniques offer a viable framework for engaging practicing early childhood teachers with EfS and also discuss implications for teacher preparation in both areas.     

Mathematics teachers’ learning: a conceptual framework and synthesis of research

How do practicing mathematics teachers continue to develop the knowledge and habits of mind that enable them to teach well and to improve their teaching over time? The question of how (and what) teachers learn lies at the crux of any effort to provide high-quality mathematics teaching for all students. This article reviews 106 articles written between 1985 and 2008 related to the professional learning of practicing teachers of mathematics. We offer a synthesis of this research, guided by Clarke and Hollingsworth’s (Teach Teach Educ 18(8):947–967, 2002) dynamic model of teacher growth. Their model emphasizes the recursive nature of teachers’ learning and suggests that growth in one aspect of teachers’ knowledge and practice may promote subsequent growth in other areas. We report the results in six major areas of teacher learning, identify several crosscutting themes in the literature, and make recommendations for future research aimed at understanding teachers’ professional learning.     

Exclusionary narratives as barriers to the recognition of qualifications,skills and experience—a case of skilled migrants in Australia

The paper reports on research conducted in Australia with (i) skilled migrants, (ii) public-sector recruiters, and (iii) skilled migrant placement officers (SMPOs), who assisted migrants into employment. Their stories were collected as part of a project, intent on improving recognition processes in higher education and employment by piloting a professional development program. The reported experiences underpin exclusionary narratives that prevent skills recognition and employment commensurate with qualifications and experience. The unsatisfactory nature of formal and informal recognition processes and their relationship to ‘subterranean’ forms of racism is explored.     

Re-defining ‘learning about religion’ and ‘learning from religion’: a study of policy change

The study of how policy processes shape religious education as a curriculum subject, rather than within faith schooling, is relatively unexplored. This paper applies a policy analysis perspective to an important distinction in non-confessional English religious education, which has also been adopted internationally: ‘learning about religion’ and ‘learning from religion’. The changing nature of the distinction in English policy documents from 1994 is examined in the light of three main voices of influence on educational policy: neo-conservatives, neo-liberals and progressives. These changes are also analysed through three policy contexts: influence, text production and practice. Revisions to policy wording are interpreted in the light of this theory, showing the growing significance of neo-liberalism, and the nature of compromise, amendment and ambiguity. The implications for an understanding of the inter-relationship between policy, pedagogy and practice are then considered.     

‘Info‐tainment’ and informal sources for learning science

The many sources from which members of the public can gain some science knowledge are but one manifestation of the current boom in the provision of entertainment and leisure activities with an information content. While there has been a large increase in the study of science learning from such informal sources, there has been little cross‐referencing between groups concerned with the presentation of science, those with social history, with art, and so on. Greater sharing of ideas, data and methodologies may be mutually beneficial.