Intervening with care – varying outcomes of a training and development programme in elderly care in Sweden

Awareness of the mechanisms underlying training and development (T&D) programmes is crucial in creating sustainable learning conditions in organisations. The organisational and psychosocial aspects of the work environment in Swedish elderly care is the focus of this longitudinal study, and the relation between process and results of a T&D programme is investigated. A mixed-methods design enabled exploration of the content of the quality improvement efforts, followed by an examination of how aspects of the work environment are influenced. The perceived learning climate, workload and resource adequacy are shown to be influenced differently by different contents. Insights into the complexity surrounding T&D programmes are then offered. It is concluded that even if a seemingly sound method of quality improvement is implemented, this is not enough to guarantee success. Also, it is apparent that changes may sometimes be at the expense of employees’ work environment, which may hamper continuous learning.     

A comparative study of digital informal learning: The effects of digital competence and technology expectancy

The objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of digital competence and technology expectancy and how they interact with cultural differences on digital informal learning (DIL) of university students have different cultural backgrounds. Empirical data collected from a survey conducted both in China and Belgium, the total sample consists of 335 Chinese and 197 Belgians. Partial least square with formative assessment was employed to test the proposed model and multi-groups comparison analysis was conducted to examine the moderation effects of cultural difference on influential factors related to students’ DIL behaviors. The results highlighted the essential role of digital competence and technology expectancy in DIL. Cultural difference revealed a strong influence on the motive pattern of DIL behaviors. This study raised some major implications for educational researchers and practitioners alike. Specifically, the paper introduced and stressed the role of digital competence in informal learning context which was rarely considered in prior studies in terms of learning ecology. The study expanded current theoretical understanding of technology adoption in informal learning environments across different cultural contexts. The finding has shown both a homogeneous informal learning behavior and motive variance between different two cultural backgrounds. The study also provided a set of practical implications, including the need for digital competence training in today’s digital era, and the need for a satisfactory user interface design globally.     

Effectiveness of lab-work learning environments in and out of school: A cluster randomized study

The issue of how to increase student motivation and achievement in science subjects is considered to be a major challenge in modern school systems. Lab-work learning environments in which students get direct (“hands-on”) experience with science content that is related to their everyday lives are posited to have positive effects on state/trait motivation and achievement, but there is a lack of sound empirical evidence to support this claim. In the present study, the effectiveness of a lab-work learning unit on the topic of “the chemistry of starch” was examined by applying a cluster randomized field study with three treatment conditions with lab-work elements and a control group. The first group was taught with lab-work elements in School only, the second group (SCOL & school) was taught in a combined condition encompassing both a SCOL (Science Center Outreach Lab) visit and classroom learning, the third group was taught entirely outside the school environment (SCOL only), and the fourth group was a wait-list control group, which was not exposed to a “starch” curriculum at the time of this study. Data from 1854 students were gathered in 67 ninth-grade classes on state motivation during the intervention and on trait motivation and achievement at pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Multilevel regression analyses revealed several differences between the lab-work conditions and the control group: Whereas the hands-on practical approach effectively enhanced state motivation with positive effects on joy, situational interest, situational competence, and reduced boredom in all three treatment conditions (School only, SCOL & school, and SCOL only), there were differences in trait effects: learning at school (School only and SCOL &school) increased achievement (posttest and follow-up), whereas the SCOL visit resulted in a small and spurious increase in trait motivation (reduced cost and increased competence beliefs only on the posttest).     

Lifelong learning: Formal,non-formal and informal learning in the context of the use of problem-solving skills in technology-rich environments

The evolving technological landscape in the digital era has a crucial influence on lifelong learning and the demand for problem-solving skills. In this paper, we identify associations between formal, non-formal and informal learning with sufficient problem-solving skills in technology-rich environments (TRE). We focus on adults' problem-solving skills in TRE as a novel approach to investigate formal, non-formal and informal learning based on data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies. This programme measured 16–64-year-old adults' proficiency in problem-solving skills in TRE. The total sample size was 61 654 individuals from 13 European countries. Our results clearly indicate that the skill levels of more than 50% of adults aged 16–64 years old seem to be insufficient to cope effectively in TRE. The findings suggest that the learning ecologies of adults are a combination of formal, non-formal and informal learning activities. The overall level of problem-solving skills in TRE was higher among individuals who indicated that they have participated either formal or non-formal learning activities, compared to those who have not. However, interestingly, the association between formal learning and problem-solving skills in TRE was not major. Instead, our results clearly indicate that informal learning seems to be highly associated with sufficient problem-solving skills in TRE. In practice, we outline those formal, non-formal and informal learning activities that adults perform when applying the skills in TRE. By recognising these activities undertaken by sufficient problem solvers, we can promote lifelong learning skills. Our findings can also be used as a starting point for future studies on lifelong learning.     

Toward deep learning for adult students in online courses

Adult students have become the new majority in online distance education. Research in online distance education, however, is still predominantly based on the historical perspective of the traditional student profile. This study examines adult students' learning engagement in online courses and explores the impact of online course design models and the type of online discussion on adult students' self-perceived and observable learning performance. The study findings inform that age itself does not predict adult students' learning satisfaction and performance. Instead, an integrated course model promotes learning satisfaction, while a Content + Support course model reinforces knowledge–constructive online interactions. The study findings also indicate disadvantages of close-ended discussion tasks in supporting students' online learning success.     

A critical examination of informal learning spaces

ABSTRACT

Globally, the future of the higher education sector is under increasing scrutiny, and questions are being asked about the relevance of universities as traditional sites of teaching and learning. In an effort to adapt to the complexities that beset the higher education environment, universities are exploring the utility and benefits offered through informal learning spaces. However, the emergence of informal learning spaces raises important questions regarding student behaviours and ‘learning’, including the dichotomous positioning of the categories ‘formal’ and ‘informal’. This article highlights a tendency in the literature to treat informal learning spaces in a romanticised and overdetermined way. It challenges some of the popular imaginaries of these spaces as free, open and democratising in terms of students’ use, technological affordances, and a largely unchallenged emphasis on forms of community and collaboration as if they are unproblematic. Indeed, a persistently undefined ‘social’ quality attributed to informal learning settings, coupled with a focus on design and technology elements, elides the possibility of negative social practices such as exclusion and marginalisation. Moreover, empirical treatments of these spaces are dominated by quantitative methods that rely on deterministic cause and effect models, including normative understandings of academic success, as a measure of effectiveness. If universities are to proceed in better understanding these learning sites and the meanings and practices students bring to them, new perspectives incorporating more critical, interpretive qualitative approaches that give primacy to understanding the ways in which these spaces might reproduce marginalising or exclusionary social practices are required.     

The effects of workplace learning on organizational socialization in the youth workforce

The purpose of this study was to identify how high school graduate newcomers adjust to working in organizations. This study examines how their formal learning, intended informal learning, and unintended informal learning experiences jointly influence their adjustment processes [e.g., role clarity and personal–organizational (P-O) fit]. It also explores the extent to which the newcomers’ adjustment processes relate to socialization outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to quit) and their mediating effects on the relationship between the types of learning and socialization outcomes. Results show that formal learning and intended informal learning have a strong positive relationship with P-O fit, while unintended informal learning is positively associated only with role clarity. In addition, role clarity indirectly and P-O fit directly affect job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to quit. The implication for management practices and future research is discussed.     

Experienced teachers' informal learning: Learning activities and changes in behavior and cognition

In this study on 32 teachers' learning in an informal learning environment, we analyzed changes in conceptions and behavior regarding students' active and self-regulated learning (ASL), and relations with the teachers' learning activities. Few relations were found between observed changes in behavior and learning activities. Changes in conceptions appeared to correlate with the activities obtaining new ideas, experimenting with new methods, and reflecting on why certain teaching methods seem to be effective and others not. Only one teacher became more ASL-oriented in both behavior and conceptions. The apparent variation in teachers' informal learning should lead to differentiated support for teacher learning in the workplace.     

Analysis and development of students' skill in selfregulated learning

The research reported here deals with students' skill in selfregulated learning. After analyzing the essential components of selfregulated learning, theoretical notions are presented on how skill in selfregulated learning could be developed in students. Next, two empirical studies are reported. In the first study, relationships between the components of selfregulated learning are investigated, as well as relationships between those components and variables such as educational experience, study results and age of students. The second study represents an attempt to help students to develop their skill in selfregulated learning. A Study Advisory Packet was developed intended to broaden their conceptions of learning, education and cooperation and to enlarge their metacognitive knowledge of studying. By means of an evaluative study the usefulness of this packet in the reality of studying at the Open university was researched. The results of the two studies indicate that (1) students' learning conceptions and orientations are closely linked to the study activities they employ, (2) students' learning styles are related to their educational experience and to their study results, but only in a small degree to their age, and (3) the Study Advisory Packet raised students' awareness of different ways of studying and contained practically useful suggestions for studying.A paper presented at the Second Conference of the European Association of Research on Learning and Instruction, Tübingen (FRG), September 19–22, 1987. Original title: Adult student learning in higher distance education. In: P. J. Janssen & L. Svensson (EARLI-Symposium Chair), Student Learning in Its Natural Context.     

An empirical basis for linking social and emotional learning to academic performance

There is general agreement about the benefits of school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions in relation to children and young people’s social-emotional competence, mental health, and academic achievement. However, we know little about the theorized mechanisms through which SEL leads to improved academic outcomes. The current study is the first to present an integrative model (derived from the SEL logic model) using a 3-wave (annual assessment, T1, T2, T3) longitudinal sample of 1626 (51% boys, n = 832) 9–12-year-old students (M = 9.17, SD = .31 at baseline) attending 45 elementary schools in England, drawn from a major randomized trial of a universal SEL intervention (the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies curriculum; PATHS). Using structural equation modeling that accounted for within-time covariance, data clustering, gender and prior academic attainment, we examined the temporal relations between social-emotional competence (T1), school connectedness (T2), mental health difficulties (T2), and academic attainment (T3). It was hypothesized that social-emotional competence would directly and indirectly influence academic attainment through school connectedness and mental health difficulties. Our analyses also examined whether these hypothesized relations varied as a function of intervention exposure (PATHS versus usual provision). The theorized model was partially supported. Social-emotional competence at T1 exerted a significant influence on school connectedness and mental health difficulties at T2. However, the latter was the only significant predictor and mediator of academic attainment at T3 after controlling for gender and prior academic performance. Students with greater social-emotional competence at T1 were reported to experience fewer mental health difficulties at T2, and this in turn predicted higher academic attainment at T3. Intervention exposure did not markedly influence the magnitude or statistical significance of these identified pathways. Collectively, these findings indicate some possible revisions to our current understanding regarding the role of social-emotional competence in promoting academic attainment, as its contribution appears to lay primarily in buffering the adverse effects of mental health difficulties.     

Exploring the uses of mobile phones to support informal learning

This paper explores how a group of undergraduate students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) use their mobile phones to perform informal learning activities related to the content of their courses outside the classroom. The paper also addresses the usefulness of informal learning activities to support students’ learning. The study adopts an exploratory case study design and uses multiple methods of data collection including questionnaires, interviews and diary entries. Main findings suggest that students performed informal learning activities mostly from home, interacting mainly with classmates. It also shows that students were in control of their informal learning activities without teachers’ input. However, it was found that students used only a limited number of applications but these were considered useful to their learning. The paper contributes to a discussion of the implications of training and instructor support to help students to take more advantage of mobile phone applications to support informal learning. Recommendations for further research are discussed.     

Individual differences in graduate students' help-seeking process in using a computer coach in problem-based learning

There is a scarcity of research regarding help seeking in the context of computer learning environments providing on-demand help, a context in which help-seeking skills appear critical for learning [Aleven, V., Stahl, E., Schworm, S., Fisher, F., & Wallace, R. (2003). Help seeking and help design in interactive learning environments. Review of Educational Research, 73 (3), 277–320]. Whereas a cognitive model of help seeking has been suggested and tested in this context [Mercier, J., & Frederiksen, C. H. The structure of the help-seeking process in using a computer coach in problem-based learning. Computers and Education, submitted for publication], individual differences remained to be studied from this perspective. Participants were 18 graduate students, who solved a challenging statistics problem in pairs, with the help of a computer coach providing on-demand help. Log linear analyses found individual differences in help seeking with respect to (a) its relative importance in problem solving, (b) the relative importance of its component processes, (c) the modulation of help seeking over a series of sub-tasks, and (d) the relationship between help seeking and the quality of the solutions that the student elaborated. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

Investigation of guided school tours,student learning,and science reform recommendations at a museum of natural history

A study of docent‐led guided school tours at a museum of natural history was investigated. Researchers engaged in naturalistic inquiry to describe how natural history content was conveyed to students and what students gained from this model of touring. They also investigated how the content and pedagogy within the guided tour complemented recommendations from formal science standards documents and informal learning literature. About 30 visiting school groups in Grades 2–8 were observed. Teachers (n = 30) and select students (n = 85) were interviewed. Researchers found that tours were organized in a didactic way that conflicted with science education reform documents and research related to learning within informal contexts. Students' responses to interview questions indicated high satisfaction with the tours but low levels of science learning. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 200–218, 2003     

Relationships among informal learning environments,teaching procedures and scientific reasoning ability

Informal learning experiences have risen to the forefront of science education as being beneficial to students' learning. However, it is not clear in what ways such experiences may be beneficial to students; nor how informal learning experiences may interface with classroom science instruction. This study aims to acquire a better understanding of these issues by investigating one aspect of science learning, scientific reasoning ability, with respect to the students' informal learning experiences and classroom science instruction. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to investigate possible differences in students' scientific reasoning abilities relative to their informal learning environments (impoverished, enriched), classroom teaching experiences (non-inquiry, inquiry) and the interaction of these variables. The results of two-way ANOVAs indicated that informal learning environments and classroom science teaching procedures showed significant main effects on students' scientific reasoning abilities. Students with enriched informal learning environments had significantly higher scientific reasoning abilities compared to those with impoverished informal learning environments. Likewise, students in inquirybased science classrooms showed higher scientific reasoning abilities compared to those in non-inquiry science classrooms. There were no significant interaction effects. These results indicate the need for increased emphases on both informal learning opportunities and inquiry-based instruction in science.     

Evaluating learning

Summary It is essential that any system of assessment or evaluation arise from what we are trying to do, what we value, what we think to be important. In informal education, we value growth and development, we value interest and involvement, and this must be reflected in the records we keep. We know that young children are at the beginning of the educational process, they are finding out about school, what's in education for them personally; they are learning about learning, building up learning styles and strategies. It is a critical period where learning power can be built or shifted, where learning can be exciting and personal, or dull and irrelevant. On no account can we allow irrelevant evaluation tools to get in the way of learning.The notions put forward here are that assessment and forward planning are interdependent. Continuous assessment is an essential feature of informal education and it is the basis of day-to-day planning. Additionally, there needs to be a profile, or cumulative record, of all aspects of children's growth throughout their school life.Examples of children's work kept in a folder over a long period of time provide the fullest example of the variety and range of a child's work and his growing ability to represent it, in writing and through the use of creative materials. They provide a basis for reporting to parents that gives them real information about their own child's learning.It is important that informal class teachers should develop some framework against which to measure children's work. The Piagetian tests provide measures of children's growth in mathematical, logical and moral spheres. There are instruments developed for measuring developing complexity in written and spoken language. Reading can be assessed and a diagnosis made using a simple inventory and the miscue analysis. These approaches have real relevance to informal education and once teachers become familiar with them, they can be used without fuss, without creating artificial conditions, without designating failures, in the everyday interaction of teacher and child.A teacher who finds a child failing, having particular difficulties, should have available skilled help for expert diagnosis. The school health service and the psychological service offer this kind of help. Particularly, a child who shows no sign of beginning to learn to read should not go beyond 7 years without careful screening to ascertain any real physipal or psychological problem. His late start may be due to immaturity or lack of experience or low intelligence. It may be due to poor teaching, or changing schools. A skilled psychologist and a medical examination will eliminate or confirm the likelihood of any other problem.One of the most damaging misconceptions about informal education is that it is woolly and vague. We can counteract this accusation only if we can show a high degree:of professionalism, and evidence or real knowledge about what and how children are learning, and demonstrate our competence in assessing this learning as a basis for future planning. Moira McKenzie is warden of the Ebury Center for Language in Primary Education in London. Wendla Kernig is headmistress of a London primary school. This article is taken from their forthcoming bookThe Challenge of Informal Education,to be published this fall by Agathon Press.     

On the determinants of employment-related organised education and informal learning

This paper analyses the distribution of employment-related organised education and informal learning in the Canadian workforce. The paper draws on a large-scale survey, the Changing Nature of Work and Lifelong Learning (WALL), which was based on structured and standardised telephone interviews with a representative sample of 5783 Canadian members of the employed labour force. In exploring the determinants facilitating employment-related informal learning, three analytical categories of factors derived from previous research on learning participation were used: individual-level factors, job characteristics and workplace environment. The analyses focus on differences in individuals, jobs and workplace characteristics among adult workers who acquired or improved their job-related skills through different training pathways. In addition, analyses were performed to compare the extent to which these factors differ in their influence on learning decisions among workers who combine both organised education and informal learning and those who receive only informal learning. The results indicate that important predictors of participation in employment-related organised education and informal learning are age, educational attainment, learning skills, occupational class, education-job relation, degree of autonomy, degree of labour intensity, principal area of production and organisation size.     

A mobile informal learning solution for workplace learners

This paper reports on the development of the “MobLearn@Work” App, which emerged from a study of informal learning among five employees at different companies in China. The purpose of the study was to develop a strategy for the design of mobile learning support tools that would enhance informal learning in the workplace. The App was developed by creating a platform to support informal learning through the integration of two sets of issues that emerged in the study: (a) affordances of contemporary Web 2.0 tools identified from the literature and by exploration of the participants’ mobile technology uses, and (b) informal learning activities of the participants that emerged in the context of their work. Consideration of these issues led to the conclusion that an effective App for informal learning should include functionalities such as really simple syndication, podcasting, Web-searching and microblogging, all of which were integrated into the “MobLearn@Work” App. The implementation of the App in these five cases over a six-month period yielded a further set of design recommendations, which are discussed in the paper.     

Professional development across the teaching career: Teachers’ uptake of formal and informal learning opportunities

This study examined teachers’ uptake of formal and informal learning opportunities across the career cycle. Analyses were based on data from 1939 German secondary teachers in 198 schools. Results showed that formal learning opportunities (in-service training) were used most frequently by mid-career teachers, whereas informal learning opportunities showed distinct patterns across the teaching career. Specifically, use of professional literature increased with teacher age, but teacher collaboration decreased. Teachers’ work engagement and professional responsibilities were hypothesised to predict changes over the career. However, although these variables partly predicted uptake of learning opportunities, they did not fully explain the age-related differences observed.     

The influence of extramural access to mainstream culture social media on ethnic minority students’ motivation for language learning

The educational potentials of social media both in the formal and informal learning contexts have been widely acknowledged. However, how social media use in the informal contexts might influence students’ learning in the formal contexts is still underexplored. Path analysis of 141 survey responses from secondary school ethnic minority students in Hong Kong revealed that voluntary access to Chinese social media in daily life influenced these students’ ideal L2 self and motivated efforts in learning Chinese both directly and indirectly via bicultural integration identity and bicultural competence. The findings confirmed that social media practices in the informal contexts may influence students’ motivated efforts in learning in the formal contexts. The study suggests promoting ethnic minorities’ extramural use of mainstream culture social media to influence their acculturation into the dominant culture and motivation in learning the dominant culture’s language. It further highlights the importance of equipping ethnic minority students with the necessary socio-cultural and communication skills to facilitate positive intercultural engagement on these sites so as to safeguard the positive influences of informal social media use on students’ motivation for learning.