Unraveling the influence of domain knowledge during simulation-based inquiry learning

This study investigated whether the mere knowledge of the meaning of variables can facilitate inquiry learning processes and outcomes. Fifty-seven college freshmen were randomly allocated to one of three inquiry tasks. The concrete task had familiar variables from which hypotheses about their underlying relations could be inferred. The intermediate task used familiar variables that did not invoke underlying relations, whereas the abstract task contained unfamiliar variables that did not allow for inference of hypotheses about relations. Results showed that concrete participants performed more successfully and efficiently than intermediate participants, who in turn were equally successful and efficient as abstract participants. From these findings it was concluded that students learning by inquiry benefit little from knowledge of the meaning of variables per se. Some additional understanding of the way these variables are interrelated seems required to enhance inquiry learning processes and outcomes.     

Learning environments at higher education institutions: Relationships with academic aspirations and satisfaction

This study investigated university students?? perceptions of their institutions?? learning environments, and related those perceptions to students?? academic aspirations and satisfaction with their universities. A sample of 12,423 juniors at 42 universities in Taiwan was used to confirm the validity and reliability of the instrument: CUEI-S. The study revealed diversity of students?? perceptions among specific aspects of the learning environment. Students responded more positively for student cohesion, library resources and administrative support, but less positively for student-faculty relations, student services, enhancement of their language abilities and emotional development. The majority of students had low academic aspirations but felt satisfied with their universities. The learning environment on campus was shown to play an important role both in students?? academic aspirations and in their general satisfaction, whether the individual student or the university was used as the unit of analysis. The relationship between faculty and students is the aspect that was most strongly associated with students?? academic aspirations. On the other hand, both adequate library resources and university support for student services were the key correlates of students?? general satisfaction at the individual student level. By identifying important relationships among variables, this study suggests initiatives for improving the learning environment at higher education institutions.     

Exploratory learning with a computer simulation for control theory: Learning processes and instructional support

Computer simulations create a context that is well fitted for exploratory or discovery learning. The aim of the present two studies was to gain deeper insight into what constitutes exploratory learning and to assess the effects of a number of instructional support measures. The domain involved was control theory at the university level. In the first study we made an inventory of exploratory learning processes by observing 17 students working with a computer simulation and analyzing students' thinking-aloud protocols. Subjects received a structured assignment with hints as an instructional support measure. In the second study, 91 students received an open-ended assignment with instructional support that consisted of an information sheet and a set of fill-in forms. On both sheets and forms, six cells were presented. A cell was given for each of the following six learning processes: identifying variables and parameters, generating hypotheses, designing an experiment, predicting, interpreting data, and drawing of conclusions. Information sheets were either of a domain specific or of a general nature. The set of fill-in forms were either free or had the cell HYPOTHESIS already filled in. The statements of the students on the fill-in forms were analyzed in a stepwise order. Twenty-two detailed learning processes were identified and classified. Two of the main classes of processes are transformative and regulative. Both studies showed that students were reluctant to apply learning processes that are considered characteristic for exploratory learning. Furthermore, students had problems with the exploratory learning processes, especially with the processes of generating hypotheses, interpreting data, and drawing conclusions. Effects of the instructional support measures were not conclusive. Hints did not result in significant improvements of the study process. Supporting learning processes with information sheets appeared to help students in performing learning processes, but no different effects of domain specific and general information could be found. Students who were provided with hypotheses showed a higher global activity level and higher scores in domain correctness of their learning processes.     

Student Goal Orientation and Interest: Effects on Students' Use of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies

This study examined how goal orientation and interest together affected students' use of learning strategies. Ninety-three Grade 11 students participated in this study. This study was a 2 × 2 between-groups factorial using a post-test-only control group design. There were two independent variables, Goal orientation and Interest. There were three dependent variables: Total Main Ideas, Use of Other Cognitive Strategies, and Metacognition. There were significant main effects for Interest and Goal Orientation on the main-idea selection measure: high-interest students selected more main ideas than low-interest students, and rewarded students outperformed learning goal-oriented students. There was a main effect for Interest on Metacognition: high-interest students reported using more metacognitive strategies than low-interest students. Interpretation of these results is discussed from a theoretical perspective and practical applications are offered as well.     

Why do learning goals (not) work: a reexamination of the hypothesized effectiveness of learning goals based on students’ behaviour and cognitive processes

Explicitly informing students about learning goals has been argued to foster intentional learning. This study tested three theoretical hypotheses regarding the facilitating effects of learning goals by investigating 72 students’ actual reading behaviour and cognitive processes (i.e., the use of learning goals). Participants studied a text presented on 15 separate computer screens with/without learning goals. In line with the three hypotheses, the analyses focused on three aspects: students’ interpretations of the learning goals, information selection processes and monitoring behaviour. Results indicated variability among students in their perceptions of the learning goals in terms of goal consistency and specificity. Students in the learning goal condition recorded more goal-relevant information in their notes. However, only few students deliberately used learning goals to monitor their goal-directed activities while studying the text. Analysis of students’ reading behaviour and cognitive processes suggests that the absence of significant performance differences between the conditions can be explained by referring to students’ actual use of learning goals.     

Student perceptions of personalised learning: development and validation of a questionnaire with regional secondary students

This project sought to evaluate regional students’ perceptions of their readiness to learn, assessment processes, engagement, extent to which their learning is personalised and to relate these to academic efficacy, academic achievement, and student well-being. It also examined teachers’ perceptions of students’ readiness to learn, the assessment process, engagement, and the extent to which students’ learning is personalised. The sample involved students in years 7–10 from six Victorian secondary schools. An instrument Personalised Learning Environment Questionnaire (PLQ) was developed to measure students’ perceptions of the factors effecting the implementation of Personalised Learning Plans (PLPs). It employed the latest scales to assess a range of PLP indicator variables, with all scales modified for use in an Australian context, and the total number of items kept to a minimum. Only scales more sensitive to PLPs were used to minimise the length of the instrument. There were three outcome variables: academic efficacy, academic achievement, and student well-being. The PLPs were assessed through scales that assess several contributing, distinct dimensions: selfdirected learning readiness, personal achievement, goal orientation, learning environment, personalised teaching and learning initiatives, curriculum entitlement and choice, and perceptions of assessment for learning. The trail PLQ was administered to 220 students, resulting in a 19 scale questionnaire with three or four items per scale. This paper reveals good data to model fit for the majority of items and each scale had good reliability. The paper describes the analytic techniques and results, how the instrument was refined and identifies common and uncommon student perceptions based on a post hoc analysis. The main study consisted of 2,407 students from four schools in the Bendigo Education Plan. They responded to this refined 19 scale version of the PLQ that was developed from the trial PLQ. All scales had satisfactory internal consistency reliability.     

Presenting domain information or self-exploration to foster hypothesis generation in simulation-based inquiry learning

This study investigated the effects of presenting domain information (basic information about the domain) either together with or instead of offering exploratory practice (an exploratory opportunity in a simulation-based representation of the learning domain) prior to inquiry learning for facilitating students' hypothesis generation and subsequent inquiry processes and their knowledge acquisition. Secondary school students (n = 118) completed a simulation-based inquiry task on force and motion. They were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: the D + E condition (n = 29), in which domain information and exploratory practice were available; the D condition (n = 30), in which only domain information was available; the E condition (n = 32), in which only exploratory practice was available; or the C condition (n = 27), with no support at all. Students' knowledge was measured with a pre- and posttest and a test on knowledge of variables. Inquiry processes were inferred from information students entered in a Hypothesis Scratchpad and an Observation tool, and from a final summary that they had to write. Results indicated that providing students with domain information alone helps to foster their knowledge of variables before generating hypotheses and leads to knowledge acquisition. The results also showed that the opportunity to explore before experimenting does not affect students' inquiry behavior or learning performance, even when combined with providing students with domain information.     

Production and evaluation of a Personal Learning Environment for faculty training: analysis of an experience / Producción y evaluación de un Entorno Personal de Aprendizaje para la formación universitaria: análisis de una experiencia

Abstract

The creation of a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) process. The research project Dipro 2.0 had different objectives, one of which was the creation of a learning environment using Web 2.0 architecture. This was done in three stages: the design of a prototype, an analysis by members of the research team and its evaluation by experts and students. The first environment is a PLE and the second environment contains the learning materials distributed in 14 units. Fifty-seven educational technology experts from different Latin American countries participated in the evaluation of both environments; they were selected from the criterion of expert competence and 284 students from different Spanish universities. The instrument used was created ad hoc, and results confirmed that both environments are positively valued; it is recommended for teacher training.     

Educational psychology at the university of Wisconsin

A 44 item questionnaire and free response instrument was given to 280 students selected from two different kinds of introductory educational psychology courses: (a) A “module”; approach involving selection of 3 five‐week modules from a list of such courses; and (b) A specially prepared composite learning and development course covering 1 semester. Analysis of the results lead to the following conclusions: (1) “In theory”; students preferred the module approach; (2) “In practice”; students preferred the composite 1 semester course; (3) The outstanding variable contributing to students’ assessment of relevancy, and teaching procedures, was the instructor. The implication of these findings for innovations in teaching students is discussed.     

Intelligent analysis of the quality of education through teaching practices on virtual campuses

ICTs have been increasingly involved in teaching–learning processes due to the potential offered by the tools as well as to the set of demands derived from the political and health situations of the social environment. In this sense, the introduction of virtual campuses as complex systems that centralize the entire technological component that complements traditional teaching processes has meant a change of paradigm with repercussions at the teaching and pedagogical level. In this context, the purpose of this study aims to analyze students’ perception of the use of virtual campus and how to enhance the quality of the educational process using intelligent systems. For this purpose, 318 students that use virtual campus have been surveyed. The results show that there are three variables that predominantly influence the quality of teaching–learning processes using virtual campuses: frequent contact with teachers through the platform, the digital competence of the student, and the adaptation of training content to the students’ prior knowledge. This information can be useful, as it allows them to establish guidelines to guide the practices of their teaching teams in technological environments, guaranteeing the suitability of the teaching–learning process and improving the evaluation processes and the assessment of their own educational work.

     

Design principles for support in developing students’ transformative inquiry skills in Web-based learning environments

The aim of this explorative study was to find the factors limiting sixth-grade learners’ outcomes in acquiring skills related to the transformative inquiry learning processes as well as to analyse the interrelations between inquiry skills in order to develop an optimal support system for designing Web-based inquiry learning environments. A Web-based learning environment ‘Young Scientist’ was developed and applied to the domain of integrated science. The skill of identifying the correct research questions appeared to be a prerequisite for formulating research questions. When students understand how to identify the research questions correctly, there is no need for supporting formulation of research questions or hypotheses. We have found that at the stages of analysing data and inferring, students have to be provided with the tools to activate their prior knowledge, assignments help to organize their work into manageable sections, and reflective support or adaptive feedback to relate the results achieved with the process of inquiry. Our findings demonstrate that the effectiveness of inquiry learning can be strongly influenced by regulative support; however, a particular level of initial inquiry knowledge in theoretical context is also needed in order to develop inquiry skills in a situational context.     

Assessing the psychosocial environment of science classes in Catholic secondary schools

Much Catholic school and church rhetoric suggests that Catholic schools possess distinctive learning environments. Research into this aspect of Catholic schooling has been hampered by the lack of an appropriate assessment instrument. By drawing on contemporary church literature, the perceptions of personnel involved in Catholic education and existing classroom environment questionnaires, a new instrument was developed to assess student perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment in Catholic schools. The use of this instrument in 64 classrooms in Catholic and Government schools indicated significant differences on some scales. The distinctive nature of Catholic schooling did not extend to all classroom environment dimensions deemed important to Catholic education. Specializations: Catholic education, learning environments. Specializations: conceptual change in students, science teacher professional development, scientific reasoning, learning environments. Specializations: learning environments, science education, educational evaluation, curriculum.     

A study of teaching presence and student sense of learning community in fully online and web-enhanced college courses

This paper focuses on two components of a model for online teaching and learning—“teaching presence” and “community”. It is suggested that previous research points to the critical role that community plays in academic success and persistence in higher education. Through a review of recent literature it is proposed that teaching presence–viewed as the core roles of the online instructor–is a promising mechanism for developing learning community in online environments. This investigation presents a multi-institutional study of 1067 students across 32 different colleges that further substantiates this claim. An instrument to assess instructor teaching presence (“The Teaching Presence Scale”) is presented and validated. Factor and regression analysis indicate a significant link between students' sense of learning community and effective instructional design and “directed facilitation” on the part of course instructors, and highlights interesting differences between online and classroom environments. Alternative hypotheses regarding student demographics associated with variables such as age (the “net generation” effect) and gender are also examined. Despite recent assertions that younger students are or soon will be too sophisticated to “feel at home” in largely text-based asynchronous learning environments, no significant effects were found by demographic differences examined. Recommendations for online course design, pedagogy, and future research are included.     

Cultivating Human Capabilities in Venturesome Learning Environments

The notion of competencies has been a familiar feature of educational reform policies for decades. In this essay, Pádraig Hogan begins by highlighting the contrasting notion of capabilities, pioneered by the research of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. An educational variant of the notion of capabilities then becomes the basis for exploring venturesome environments of learning: environments that are hospitable to the cultivation of such capabilities among students and their teachers. In this exploration Hogan emphasizes disclosing the kinds of relations that constitute such environments. In particular, he identifies four kinds of relations and investigates the interplay among them. In the second part of the essay, Hogan reviews an ongoing research project in Ireland that has been promoting such environments in postprimary education: Teaching and Learning for the 21st Century. Although the project avoids proffering universal claims about “what works,” its rationale and conduct nevertheless call policymakers' attention to what has worked and to the reasons why.     

Assessing college student perceptions of instructor customer service via the Quality of Instructor Service to Students (QISS) Questionnaire

This study presents the results of a three‐step project designed to: (1) identify what students perceive to be quality service as offered by instructors, (2) relate the dimensions identified to an appropriate survey instrument (the QISS) and pilot‐test the instrument, and (3) survey a stratified representative sample of the undergraduate population with the instrument. A stratified sample of students (N=457) were surveyed using the QISS questionnaire in the spring semester of 2004. The QISS is a modified SERVQUAL questionnaire. Results indicate that students consistently identify Reliability and Responsiveness as the most important dimensions of instructor service to students. Female students consistently report that their experiences with instructors do not meet their expectations. The same holds true for males but to a lesser degree. Information provided from this kind of assessment provides a means of identifying areas where student satisfaction is already strong and areas where it can be improved.     

Cognitive requirements for learning with open-ended learning environments

Open-ended learning environments (OELEs) use the capabilities of technology to provide students with opportunities to engage in authentic problem solving; generate, test, and revise hypotheses; explore and manipulate concepts; and reflect on what they know. By design, such environments require sophisticated levels of cognitive functioning. The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze assumptions underlying learner-centered, technology-based environments in light of how well learners appear to meet the cognitive demands for engaging them. Implications for design include the following considerations: (a) direct learner attention to key variables and visual cues; (b) prompt and guide connections to prior knowledge; and (c) provide explicit scaffolding of metacognition and teaching-learning strategies.     

Prospects for European research and development in training & education*

This paper outlines the prospects for research and development in the education and training fields offered by the European Communities. The position of the EC is explained in relation to the existing and forthcoming Framework Programmes of research and development. The 1987–91 Framework Programme has committed most of its funding to existing programmes. Only one, DELTA directly concerns R&D in the education and training technologies. This commenced in 1989 with only 20 million ECU and ends in Spring 1991. In the new Framework Programme, DELTA is expected to continue with funding of between 40 and 60 million ECU though this remains undecided at present. The earliest date for a new DELTA call for proposals in Spring 1991, meaning that work on the new four year programme will not commence until late autumn 1991 at the earliest. There will therefore be a considerable gap between the two. An outline of the likely structure and contents of a new DELTA programme is given, characterised by better liaison with other programmes and a more rational approach to the development of the advanced learning technologies. Other, non‐Framework Programmes concerned with aspects of education and training such as COMETT, LINGUA, EUROTECNET and TEMPUS are placed in context with this. The paper concludes with general advice and explanation of EC procedures for application, evaluation and approval of proposals for Framework R&D Proposals.     

Using a New Learning Environment Questionnaire for Reflection in Teacher Action Research

This article reports the development, validation and use of an instrument designed to provide teachers with feedback information, based on students’ perceptions, about their classroom environments. The instrument was developed to provide teachers with feedback that they could use to reflect on their teaching practices and, in turn, guide the implementation of strategies to improve their learning environments. To determine the validity and reliability of the new instrument, data from 2043 grade 11 and 12 students from 147 classes in 9 schools were analysed. The Rasch model was used to convert data collected using a frequency response scale into interval data that are suitable for parametric analyses. During an action research process, reflective journals, written feedback, discussions at a forum and interviews with eight teachers helped to illuminate the processes used by teachers during action research. This article reports the views of these teachers in general and examines more closely how one of the teachers used student responses to the learning environment questionnaire as a tool for reflection and as a guide in transforming her classroom environment. This case study helped us to gauge the extent to which action research based on students’ perceptions of the learning environment was useful in guiding teachers’ improvements of their classroom learning environments.