Promises and pitfalls of learning objects

Learning objects (LOs), generally understood as digital learning resources shared through the Internet and reused in multiple learning contexts, have aroused worldwide enthusiasm in the field of educational technology during the last years. Although LOs and LO systems offer tremendous possibilities to improve educational practices, there are many theoretical problems and practical shortcomings which are usually neglected. In this article we introduce the promises of cost‐effectiveness, reusability, modifiability and adaptability associated with LOs. Then we critically look at the problems underlying the LO approach, and provide our own alternative interpretation of LOs as useful elements of meaningful learning environments. Because of their flexible nature, LOs and LO systems can be used to support a variety of learning theories and instructional strategies—both sophisticated and reductionist ones (Parrish, 2004 Parrish, P. E. 2004. The trouble with learning objects. Educational Technology, Research & Development, 52(1): 49–67. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]). LOs per se are not necessarily pedagogically functional or non‐functional, but their pedagogical value is determined through their context of use. The implementation of LOs requires a sound pedagogical grounding, and we argue that only by using LOs according to the principles of contemporary learning theories can their promises be fulfilled.     

Schools as learning organisations in Greece: Measurement and first indications

School context—institutional, community, national socio-cultural, economic and political—plays an important role in developing the characteristics of a learning organisation. In the last decade, the discussion on the school as a learning organisation (SLO) has emerged in Greece which is characterised by a centralised and highly bureaucratised educational system. However, there is a gap in studying SLOs nationwide in Greece and more importantly in using a valid and tested instrument related specifically to schools. The aim of this study was to examine the validity of the School as Learning Organisations Survey, based on Integrated Model of the School as Learning Organisation, used in a large scale nationwide SLO study in the Greek context and investigate whether two key antecedents, school size and school geographic location, are related to the level of schools' operating as learning organisations (LOs). A quantitative research was conducted in 418 primary schools throughout Greece. Findings showed that the Schools as Learning Organisations scale in the Greek context consisted of six dimensions and 65 items that loaded on these dimensions. Furthermore, “school size” is related to the transformation of schools into LOs. On the contrary, there seems to be no association between school geographic location and the operation of Greek schools as LOs.     

Design‐focused evaluation

In this paper an approach to the writing of evaluation questions is outlined and developed which focuses attention on the question of the effectiveness of an educational design for bringing about the learning it is intended to facilitate. The approach develops from the idea that all educational designs rely on instructional alignment, implicitly or explicitly, and succeed or fail to the extent to which the implementation of that alignment is effective. The approach to evaluation that is described, design‐focused evaluation, utilises students’ experiences of instructional designs and strategies and focuses questions on students’ awareness of the effectiveness of those strategies for facilitating the intended learning outcomes. Detailed advice is given on the construction of items that fit with the approach described and that maximise the generalisability of the approach to most if not all educational settings and designs.     

Instructional benefits of spoken words: A review of cognitive load factors

Spoken words have always been an important component of traditional instruction. With the development of modern educational technology tools, spoken text more often replaces or supplements written or on-screen textual representations. However, there could be a cognitive load cost involved in this trend, as spoken words can have both benefits and disadvantages based on essential characteristics of our cognitive architecture. This paper analyzes factors that might moderate the effectiveness of using spoken text in instruction by reviewing relevant studies in multimedia learning and considering cognitive load consequences of the transiency of spoken information. However, in contrast to earlier studies that considered spoken words in the context of a specific cognitive load effect, this paper provides a framework for evaluating potential instructional benefits of spoken text by analyzing various instructional situations depending on whether spoken text is used together with pictures and written text, and taking into account relations between presented sources of information.     

An adaption of Gagné’s instructional model to increase the teaching effectiveness in the classroom: the impact in Romanian Universities

Gagné’s instructional events are more focused on the human internal learning process than on the learning context. This study fills this gap because it presents certain instructional events that are focused on the construction of a positive learning context through the teacher–student relationship. Therefore, it’s proposing an adaption of Gagné’s instructional model to the learning context derived from observation of the instructional activities performed in the Romanian educational system. This paper added two new events (Learning organization and Final appreciation) to Gagné’s original nine instructional events. Out of these eleven, it’s considered that three in particular should be regarded as essential events in every teaching activity. These three particular events are categorised and defined in the first part of this study. The effectiveness of this newly proposed theoretical model was tested on a sample of 894 university teaching activities, using a systematic observational grid. The results indicated a significant correlation between the adapted model and students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the teaching activity. It is therefore suggested that this proposed model provides operational guidance for the development of instructional approach. The implications and the limitations of these findings are discussed and possible directions for new research are suggested.     

试论中小学数学教师教育技术的内涵

数学教育技术是指运用各种理论和技术,通过对数学教与学的过程和资源的设计、开发、利用、管理和评价,以实现数学教育教学优化的理论和实践.中小学数学教师教育技术应该包括:数学教育技术的应用意识、数学教学设计、数学教学媒体使用技术、数学教学资源的利用与建设、数学教学实施、数学教师专业成长的技术.     

界定三维教学目标之探讨

教学目标反映的是教学活动结束后学习者内部心理结构变化的不同水平的学习结果。准确阐释教学目标是实施目标为本的教学设计和保证教学过程有效性的基本前提。参照当代教育目标新分类的研究,可以将三维教学目标界定为:学习者的情意(想要学)、认知(学得懂)和动作(能表现)三者经自我调控统整后得到的学习结果。达成三维目标需要与实施教学策略和落实教学评价相协调一致。     

教学设计视域：大学教学模式的局限与走向

本文以教学模式的基本构成要素作为考察思维框架,在教学设计视域的观照下,认为当前大学教学模式主要存在十大局限:即客观主义倾向的教学理念、低阶能力的培养目标、重知轻行的价值取向、“权威-依存”的师生关系、方法滞后的信息技术应用、单一化的教学组织形式和方法、程式化的教学设计、机械接受为主的学习方式、标准化的培养方式,以及背离学习者发展的教学评价。针对上述局限,作者进而论述了目前国内外大学教学模式改革的十大走向:即建构主义的教学理念、高阶能力的培养目标、知行合一的价值取向、双主体和互动对话的师生关系、建构主义的技术应用观、多样化的教学组织形式和方法、弹性、灵活、递归的教学设计、创新性的学习方式、个性化的培养方式,以及促进学习者发展的教学评价。     

An investigation on the correlation of learner styles and learning objects characteristics in a proposed Learning Objects Management Model (LOMM)

The issues of accessibility, management, storage and organization of Learning Objects (LOs) in education systems are a high priority of the Thai Government. Incorporating personalized learning or learning styles in a learning object management system to improve the accessibility of LOs has been addressed continuously in the Thai education system. A proposed Learning Object Management Model (LOMM) is discussed in this paper which aims to adapt and optimize the learning process based on characteristics of the individual learners. This study aims to find the correlation between learning styles and LOs characteristics in the LOMM. Decision Tree and Apriori algorithms were used to generate a predictive model for the classification of learners. Development of the predictive model was based on survey results from 1,586 high school students in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand. The diverse LOs characteristics were analyzed in order to find the correlation with learning styles of the learners. The classification model consists of 24 sub-models used to predict a learner’s class based on 8 groups of LOs characteristics. The best accuracy obtained in the study was 80.23%. Finally, for the next phase this approach has been designed to support the proposed LOMM and it is expected that it could be readily applied to other e-learning systems and digital repositories.     

Effects of an instructional gaming characteristic on learning effectiveness,efficiency, and engagement: using a storyline for teaching basic statistical skills

The study explored instructional benefits of a storyline gaming characteristic (GC) on learning effectiveness, efficiency, and engagement with the use of an online instructional simulation for graduate students in an introductory statistics course. A storyline is a game-design element that connects scenes with the educational content. In order to examine the interactions between the storyline GC and human performance, a storyline was embedded in a simulation. The goal of the simulation was to engage students in problem-solving and data analysis in the context of basic statistics by using real-world examples. The authors developed two different versions of the simulation: (1) Simulation+No GC, and (2) Simulation+Storyline GC. Both versions shared the same instructional content but differed in the presence or absence of a storyline GC. The results indicated that adding a storyline to a simulation did not result in significant improvements in learning effectiveness, efficiency, or engagement. However, both instructional methods (simulation and simulation with a storyline) showed significant learning gains from pre- to post-test. The findings of this study offer future directions for embedding a storyline GC into learning content.     

Some Effects of Promotion and Non-Promotion upon the Social and Personal Adjustment of Children

Past research on cognition has demonstrated that cognitive learning strategies used to complement instruction can have beneficial effects on memory and subsequent achievement. The utilization of microcomputer technology to deliver instructional content to students provides an optimum environment to examine the instructional effectiveness of embedded instructional strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an imagery cue and an attention directing strategy within a context of a microcomputer learning environment that provided both self-paced and externally paced instruction. Achievement was measured on five different tests designed to measure different educational objectives. One hundred eighty freshman students were randomly assigned to one of nine treatment groups. The results of the study indicate that embedding an imagery cue and an attention directing strategy in an instructional sequence increases student achievement. A combination of the two embedded strategies was also effective in improving students’ achievement; however, the combining of the two strategies did not have a cumulative effect. It was also determined that the effectiveness of the embedded strategies was dependent on whether the instruction was self-paced or externally paced.     

远程开放教学结构及网络教学模式探讨

教学结构是指在一定的教育思想、教学理论和学习理论指导下的在一定环境中展开的教学活动进程的稳定结构形式，是教学系统四个组成要素相互联系、相互作用的具体体现。基于网络的协作学习系统具有广泛的应用前景，有助于构建远程开放教育理想的教学结构和与之对应教学模式。     

课程效能及结构分析

课程发展或改变的目的,是通过教育过程中有计划的内容、活动、安排的改变,使教学和学习的有效性最大化。课程效能的结构由教师经验、学生经验、师生相互经验和教育结果四个变量动态构成。课程改革的根本追求就是最大程度地实现或提升课程效能。     

Professional education as a structural barrier to lifelong learning in the NHS

The concept of the learning society is analysed in relation to the healthcare sector and various occupations within it. It is maintained that although traditional boundaries have been blurred or eroded in the workplace in recent years, there remains strong opposition to this erosion on the part of many healthcare professions. This professional demarcation is particularly illustrated by the educational arrangements for various healthcare occupations, where it has prevented recognition of any overlap in the initial education and training of these groups. The resulting educational boundaries are argued to be incompatible with the concept of a learning society, as well as holding negative consequences for the provision of health care. Suggestions are made for a new approach to health care education.     

Competition and students’ perceptions in a game-based language learning environment

Although educational games have become quite popular in recent research, only a limited number of studies have focused on the effectiveness of these games. While numerous claims have been made about the effectiveness of games, the studies that examine educational effectiveness often contain flaws resulting in unclear conclusions. One possible solution for these shortcomings is to focus on separate game elements rather than on games as a whole. A second solution is to take into account students’ perceptions of instruction as they are likely to affect students’ interpretations and learning outcomes. This study investigated whether the addition of the gaming element ‘competition’ to a computer-based language learning environment is related to students’ motivation, perceptions and learning outcomes. Additionally, this study probed into the effect of instruction, i.e., the instruction of a gaming or learning environment, on students’ perceptions of the environment, their motivation and learning outcomes. 83 students participated in this study, all working in a game-based learning environment for learning business English conversation skills. The results demonstrate that competition is not significantly related to students’ learning gains and only partly related to students’ motivation. Moreover, the majority of students perceived the environment as a learning environment, even when they were instructed to be playing in a gaming environment. To conclude this paper, the practical and theoretical implications for the fields of instructional design and educational games research are discussed.     

Altering instructional delivery options to improve intervention outcomes: Does increased instructional intensity also increase instructional effectiveness?

With limited educational resources and numerous other variables that complicate effective teaching, educators need to think prudently about how to allocate resources. In essence, teachers must allocate resources in ways that will best maximize student learning. However, minimal research has systematically evaluated whether increased instructional intensity and resources meaningfully increase instructional effectiveness. As a preliminary attempt to address this research question, this study systematically evaluated the differential effectiveness of three intervention options that integrated the same instructional components but required varying levels of resources (i.e., teacher time for instructional delivery). To better isolate the research question, this study specifically evaluated interventions designed to improve students' reading fluency. Overall findings suggested that increased instructional intensity does not necessarily equate with increased instructional effectiveness. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Perceptions of low ability students on group project work and cooperative learning

The benefits of cooperative learning strategies, such as group project work, have been advocated in a wide range of educational contexts. There is however, scant information on the outcome of such programs on students of low academic ability. In this study, interviews were conducted with four groups of low-ability students, with the aim of investigating their perceptions on the effectiveness of group project work in promoting their social and cognitive skills. Our findings show that although the students recognized that the program improved their competence in interacting with others, there are problematic organizational and instructional issues that have to be ironed out before students can profit fully from cooperative learning programs.     

厘清课程目标，筹划教学设计：谈评价于课程改革之应用

近年来国际间的课程改革浪潮,使得评价不单单仅是诊断和监控学生经由课程教学的学习成果,而产生了有别于传统的功能;评价本身能够左右社会观感,作为教师评鉴的依据,亦能以一种特殊形式彰显教学企图。就教育现实而言,应试教育与素质教育间的拉锯,唯有让评价回归到课程目标,也让教学回归到课程目标,方能妥适连结评价与教学,并正向引导教学和评价的进行。因此,揭示清楚可行、贴近教学需求的课程目标,俨然成为建构课程纲要时最重要的一环。本文提出“藉由评价来反映课程目标,再回馈至教学设计”的课程改革具体策略,并以2001年认知目标修订版认知历程向度中的“理解”为例,辅以台湾中学学生基本学力测验所公布试题,逐一说明评价如何帮助教师厘清课程纲要中课程目标的构想与机制。     

Description of a Web-Driven,Problem-Based Learning Environment and Study of the Efficacy of Implementation in Educational Leader Preparation

Abstract

A Web-driven problem-based learning environment and instructional system was conceived and developed to study the marriage of the problem-based learning instructional method and Web technologies for instructional delivery of educational administration content material. The project described herein was undertaken to examine the efficacy of implementing this new mode of instruction in graduate courses in educational leadership. The ultimate goal of this line of research is to enhance the development of applications of Web technologies to support problem-based learning and improve the efficiency and efficacy of this instructional form in practice across higher education settings. This article describes the prototype software, the rationale and theoretical framework supporting its development, the process and results of research conducted during production and beta-testing, and the educational significance of the project.     

学习对象内容本体描述框架研究

可重用性是学习对象不同于其他教学资源构件的重要特性,是其价值得以实现的重要条件,也是其成为学术界研究热点的重要原因之一;而本体由于其概念化、共享的本质特征,可以用于描述和表达学习对象,实现学习对象的共享与重用.本文采用文献分析方法,指出了只通过本体描述来丰富学习对象元数据的不足之处,提出以语义网的本体概念本身作为研究切入点,通过建立学习对象本体描述框架,对学习对象内容及结构进行本体描述,以实现学习对象中各成分的重用.