Observational learning from animated models: effects of studying–practicing alternation and illusion of control on transfer

Animated models explicating how a problem is solved and why a particular method is chosen are expected to be effective learning tools for novices, especially when abstract cognitive processes or concepts are involved. Cognitive load theory was used to investigate how learners could be stimulated to engage in genuine learning activities. It was hypothesized that illusion of control would impede transfer performance compared to a condition without illusion of control. Moreover, we hypothesized that learners who first studied an animated model and then solved the same problem would perform better on transfer than learners who studied the same animated model twice or who first solved the problem and then studied the animated model. In a 2 × 3 factorial experiment (N = 90) with the factors illusion of control (yes vs. no) and instruction method (study–practice, practice–study, study–study) only the first hypothesis was confirmed. Implications for the design of animated models are discussed.     

The Integration of Personal Learning Environments & Open Network Learning Environments

Learning management systems traditionally provide structures to guide online learners to achieve their learning goals. Web 2.0 technology empowers learners to create, share, and organize their personal learning environments in open network environments; and allows learners to engage in social networking and collaborating activities. Advanced networking mechanisms, UGC, flat-structured architectures, RSS, and social tagging, permit online learners to define their own learning structures. This article reports an online course built within multiple Web 2.0 technologies designed to empower learners to construct their own personal learning environments within open network learning environments. Lessons learned, examples, and critical issues are discussed. This paper concludes that effective instructions should prepare “online” learners to become “network” or “open network” learners.     

Enabling meaningful learning through Web-based instruction with occupational therapy students

This paper explores the design of a Web-based tutorial for Activity Analysis offered within an undergraduate course of occupational therapy and how its design features influenced meaningful learning from the students’ perspective. This tutorial, using a case-based format, offers a learner-directed approach to students and the application of Activity Analysis, a clinical practice tool. The design is based on principles of meaningful learning for on-line instruction (Jonassen, Educational Technology, 35, 60–63, 1995) and instructional theories. Analysis of feedback from learners identifies the salient attributes of the tutorial on meaningful learning.     

Towards a personalized task selection model with shared instructional control

Modern education emphasizes the need to flexibly personalize learning tasks to individual learners. This article discusses a personalized task-selection model with shared instructional control based on two current tendencies for the dynamic sequencing of learning tasks: (1) personalization by an instructional agent which makes sequencing decisions on the basis of learner’s expertise, and (2) personalization by the learner who is given control over – final – task selection. The model combines both trends in a model with shared instructional control. From all available learning tasks, an instructional agent selects a subset of tasks based on the learner’s performance scores and invested mental effort (i.e., system-control). Subsequently, this subset is presented to the learner who makes the final decision (i.e., learner control). A computer-assisted instructional program has been developed to put the model into practice and preliminary results are discussed. The model can be used to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of instruction and to make it more appealing by providing the learner an optimal level of control over task selection. This research project is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO, The Hague, project No. 411-02-107-V).     

The Influence of Need for Closure on Learning and Teaching

A primary goal of educational systems is to provide learners with the information, skills, and dispositions needed to be an effective member of a complex and information-rich society. To effectively address this goal, educators and educational psychologists need to understand both the ability and the willingness of learners to grapple effectively with information. A psychological construct that may illuminate heretofore unexplored aspects of learners’ willingness or reluctance to grapple with information is the need for closure (Kruglanski, Psychol Inq 1(3):181–197, 1990; Kruglanski and Webster, Psychol Rev 103:263–283, 1996; Webster and Kruglanski, J Pers Soc Psychol 76(6):1049–1062, 1994). The purpose of this article is to provide educational psychologists with a theoretical overview of need for cognitive closure, highlighting its applicability to instructional settings. We will also discuss what closure needs may look like within the classroom and the conditions under which they may be exhibited. We argue for the relevance of the need for closure construct for improving educators’ understanding of teaching and learning processes.     

In-service Initial Teacher Education in the Learning and Skills Sector in England: Integrating Course and Workplace Learning

The aim of the paper is to advance understanding of in-service learning and skills sector trainee teachers’ learning and propose ways of improving their learning. A conceptual framework is developed by extending Billett’s (International Journal of Educational Research 47:232–240, 2008) conceptualisation of workplace learning, as a relationally interdependent process between the opportunities workplaces afford for activities and interactions and how individuals engage with these, to a third base of participation, the affordances of the initial teacher education course. Hager and Hodkinson’s (British Educational Research Journal 35:619–638, 2009) metaphor of ‘learning as becoming’ is used to conceptualise the ways trainees reconstruct learning in a continuous transactional process of boundary crossing between course and workplace. The findings of six longitudinal case studies of trainees’ development, and evidence from other studies, illustrate the complex interrelationships between LSS workplace affordances, course affordances and trainee characteristics and the ways in which trainees reconstruct learning in each setting. The experience of teaching and interacting with learners, interactions with colleagues, and access to workplace resources and training are important workplace affordances for learning. However, some trainees have limited access to these affordances. Teaching observations, course activities and experiences as a learner are significant course affordances. Trainees’ beliefs, prior experiences and dispositions vary and significantly influence their engagement with course and workplace affordances. It is proposed that better integration of course and workplace learning through guided participation in an intentional workplace curriculum and attention to the ways trainees choose to engage with this, together with the use of practical theorising has the potential to improve trainee learning.     

Context effect in some tasks of comparison of pictures in primary school. Two empirical illustrations

Many works have shown that a child, having to solve a problem, deals with the task according to the significations he gives to the problem-space he is facing and to the social space in which the task is inscribed. This article presents two experimentations dealing more particularly with the social space of solution of a classical task of comparison of identical pictures for which the experimenter asks for a judgement. They show how the introduction of slight contextual changes facilitates the variety of answers produced by 4–5 year-olds and 5–6 year-olds children, and consequently the production of answers centered on the relation of identity between the pictures.     

Coping with mismatched courses: students’ behaviour and performance in courses mismatched to their learning styles

Although learning styles are considered as an important factor in education, students often have to learn in courses that do not support their learning styles. A challenge for technology facilitated learning is therefore to assist and help students to cope with courses that do not match their learning styles by training and developing their less preferred skills. In this paper, the interactions between students’ learning styles, their behaviour, and their performance in an online course that is mismatched regarding their learning styles were analysed. The results show which learners need more help in mastering mismatched courses, help in getting a better understanding about how students with good performance record and poor performance record learn with respect to their learning styles, and provide information about how to identify learners who might have difficulties in learning based on their behaviour.     

Universalizing Nine-Year Compulsory Education For Poverty Reduction in Rural China

Lack of access to basic education leads to diminished individual and national capabilities, therewith furthering cycles of poverty. An equitable education system meeting basic learning needs represents not only a human right, but also a means for reducing poverty, promoting productivity, and sustaining development. The Government of China – the most populous developing nation, the majority of whose citizens live in rural areas – has been committed to universalizing nine-year compulsory education among school-aged children and eliminating illiteracy among youths and adults aged 15–45. This study examines lessons learned from China’s efforts in these areas. It also reports on current challenges and trends in a new national initiative for achieving high-quality universal basic education by the year 2007.     

An attempt to elucidate notions of lifelong learning:<Emphasis Type="Italic">analects</Emphasis>- based analysis of confucius’ ideas about learning

This study attempts to examine Confucius’ ideas about learning and seeks also to elucidate notions of lifelong learning. The examination will be focused on Confucius’ ideas concerning learning as revealed in the Analects. Confucius’ notion of learning offers an alternative perspective to overcome the idea of competition-directed lifelong learning. According to Confucius, learners should be oriented to learn for the sake of the “self” not “others.” Confucius’ notion of “self-realizing” learning holds that the self, being a part of interdependent relationships with others in society, attempts to utilize reflective learning to realize a unity of self and the society. However, if learners are oriented to learn ‘for the sake of others, ’ their learning efforts are rooted in selfishness-based competition, which threatens the interdependent nature of the human world. Confucius’ perspective of learning makes it clear that learning should be directed toward attaining a unity of self and the world. This unity is possible when a learner makes the effort of will to sincerely learn for the sake of the self and learns to attain an insightful understanding about interdependent life.     

Understanding learning behaviour of Malaysian adult learners: a cross-cultural sensitive framework

The link between learning and the knowledge-economy is so crucial that the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development has reconceptualised the term knowledge-economy to call it “learning economy”. Ultimately, one of the main challenges of learning and development in the 21st century is to evaluate the significant learning attributes of the adult learners. Literature on Students’ Approaches to Learning (SAL), were used to conceptualise the study. However, researchers have reported the weakness of the SAL for cross-cultural studies. This study acknowledges the importance of cultural issues in the study of learning approaches. The adapted version of SPQ, i.e. R-SPQ-2FM (Revised-Study Process Questionnaire-2 Factors Malaysia) which considers both etic (universal) and emic (culturally specific) characteristics was administered on 532 Malay and 326 Chinese Malaysian adult learners. Results show that there are significant cross-cultural insights between Malay and Chinese adult learners, particularly in the Understanding and Memorising Approach, Career/Achieve Motives constructs, the effects of “work experience” and “time spent on study” have on approaches to learning. Findings above would strengthen “evidence-informed” policy making for Malaysian authorities or regional policy makers in the Asia Pacific.     

Concept mapping as a follow-up strategy to learning from texts: what characterizes good and poor mappers?

Concept maps consist of nodes that represent concepts and links that represent relationships between concepts. Various studies have shown that concept mapping fosters meaningful learning. However, little is known about the specific cognitive processes that are responsible for such mapping effects. In a thinking-aloud study, we analyzed the relations between cognitive processes during concept mapping as well as the characteristics of the concept maps that the learners produced and learning outcomes (38 university students). To test whether differences in learning outcome are due to differences in general abilities, verbal and spatial abilities were also assessed. In a cluster-analysis two types of ineffective learners were identified: ‘non-labeling mappers’ and ‘non-planning mappers’. Effective learners, in contrast, showed much effort in planning their mapping process and constructing a coherent concept map. These strategies were more evident in students with prior concept-mapping experience (‘advanced beginners’) than in those who had not used this learning strategy before (‘successful beginners’). Based on the present findings, suggestions for a direct training approach (i.e., strategy training with worked-out examples) and an indirect training approach (i.e., supporting the learners with strategy prompts) were developed.     

Online learning: Learner characteristics and their approaches to managing learning

Using cluster analysis this study investigated the characteristics of learning strategies learners use in online courses with one-on-one mentoring. Three distinct approaches were identified: “Mastery oriented”, “Task focused” and “Minimalist in effort”. Despite the widespread concern that students will have difficulty managing their time in online courses with high level of student freedom, this study found that the vast majority of learners were very effective in their learning strategies. The findings speak well for the potential of distance education environments to provide high quality self-paced learning, accommodating different learning strategies, which is difficult to do in group-paced courses. We further explored how these approaches relate to and interact with, participants’ background and their levels of satisfaction and self reported learning.     

Supporting Communication in a Collaborative Discovery Learning Environment: the Effect of Instruction

We present a study on the effect of instruction on collaboration in a collaborative discovery learning environment. The instruction we used, called RIDE, is built upon four principles identified in the literature on collaborative processes: Respect, Intelligent collaboration, Deciding together, and Encouraging. In an experimental study, a group of learners (ages 15–17) receiving this instruction was compared to a control group. The learners worked in dyads on separate computers in a shared discovery learning environment in the physics domain of collisions, communicating through a chat channel. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the logged actions in the learning environment and the chat protocols showed that the RIDE instruction can lead to more constructive communication, and improved discovery learning activities, as expected, although no direct effect on discovery learning results was found. This study shows the benefits of providing instruction on effective communication and the learning process in a collaborative discovery learning situation.     

CAMELOT: collaborative and multimedia environment for learners on teams

In the business-systems-design learning environment, there may be more than one solution to any given problem. For instance, the data model will be different depending on each learner’s perspective. Accordingly, group learning systems are very effective in this domain. We have developed a collaborative and multimedia environment for learners on teams (CAMELOT) using the ‘nominal group technique’ for group problem solving. In this paper, the basic framework of the collaborative learning system and the effectiveness of collaborative learning in designing the data model are described. By using CAMELOT, each learner learns how to analyse through case studies and how to collaborate with his or her group in problem solving. Learners come to a deeper understanding from using CAMELOT than from studying independently because they can reach better solutions through discussion, tips from other learners and examination of one another’s individual works.     

中国高校合并前后科研生产率动态变化的Malmquist指数分析

This paper describes the dynamic changes in research productivity of Chinese higher education institutions (HEIs) before and after merger with Malmquist index, and decomposes the total factor productivity change index into catching-up effect, scale effect and frontier-shift effect. The main finding is that technological improvement and innovation are important factors to improve scientific research productivity of Chinese HEIs. __________ Translated from Qinghua Daxue Jiaoyu Yanjiu 清华大学教育研究 (Tsinghua Journal of Education), 2007, 28 (1): 62–70     

Conceptions of,and approaches to,teaching online: a study of lecturers teaching postgraduate distance courses

This paper presents the outcomes of a study into online teaching. It builds upon previous research and conceptual frameworks produced by Kember and Kwan (Instr Sci 28(5):469–490, 2000) and Roberts (Instr Sci 31(1–2):127–150, 2003). It advances research on conceptions of, and approaches to, teaching by examining teaching in a novel context: distance-taught courses at the postgraduate level. Lecturers were interviewed from a Faculty of Health Sciences in a research-intensive Australian University. Relationships between conceptions and approaches found in previous research were confirmed in this study. However, it was found that the conceptions of online teaching proposed by Roberts (Instr Sci 31(1–2):127–150, 2003) did not adequately distinguish between the conceptions held by the lecturers interviewed in this study. Three modified conceptions of online teaching are proposed: ‘for individual access to learning materials and information; and for individual assessment’; ‘for learning related communication (asynchronous and/or synchronous)’; and ‘as a medium for networked learning’. Some of the dimensions developed by Roberts to describe approaches to online teaching were not applicable in this study setting and needed further modification. Two broad approaches emerged: ‘informative/individual learning focused’ and ‘communicative/networked learning focused’. Contextual influences on teaching reported by Kember and Kwan (Instr Sci 28(5):469–490, 2000)—that is, institutional influence, nature of students and subject and curriculum—were revealed in this study to have different levels of influence over approaches to online teaching: the first two being the more relevant ones.     

科研成果与大学教师教学效果的关系研究

As an empirical study based on undergraduate ratings of 2364 teachers lecturing in different courses during four semesters in Beijing Normal University, this paper studies the relationship between teaching effectiveness and research productivity. The results show that both of them are positively correlated, that is to say, teaching effectiveness benefits from research productivity. Translated from Xinli Fazhan Yu Jiaoyu 心理发展与教育 (Psychological Development and Education), 2006, (2): 85–88     

民办大学英语学习者成败归因调查与分析

本研究以燕京理工学院2011级学生英语学习成败归因问卷调查的数据及其在2011年英语入学考试中的成绩为基础,探索民办大学英语学习者成败归因的特点与趋势。研究发现高分组和低分组的被试的归因趋势不存在显著性差异,主要归因于兴趣(内部、稳定、可控)、努力和方法(内部、不稳定、可控)这三种因素。     

A Quality Math Curriculum in Support of Effective Teaching For Elementary Schools

This paper presents a curriculum, textbook and test result analysis for the new (to California) elementary school “Key Standard” mathematics curriculum, transplanted in 1998 from it's foreign roots in Asia and Europe, locations with far different cultural and economic backgrounds. Based on topic analysis methods developed by Michigan State University, this curriculum is a “quality” curriculum, since it is closely aligned with the curriculum of the six leading TIMSS math countries. Five-year test results are presented for two cohorts totaling over 13,000 students, all from four “early adoption” urban districts where 68% of the students were economically disadvantaged. Included are two cohorts of English learning immigrants totaling over 4,400 students. Performance was found to be statistically superior to similar (control) districts which continued with the old 1991 curriculum and textbooks (0.003 < p < 0.015). The focus of this paper is on the transition from far-below to above average learning performance of these students over the 1998–2002 period.