Out-of-school learning in the botanical garden: Guided or self-determined learning at workstations?

Guided tours are the method of choice for school classes visiting botanical gardens. However, it remains unclear, which influence such teacher-centered approaches have on learning outcome in such informal learning environments. We compare a teacher- to a student-centered learning at workstations program under the topic plants and water. 16 school classes at eighth grade visited the botanical garden of the University of Würzburg, attending either one of both treatments. We used multiple-choice questionnaires measuring knowledge scores and found no significant differences in learning outcome – tested in a pre-post-retention design. We also monitored the students’ intrinsic motivation, which resulted in similar and high scores. Possible causes for our results and consequences for education at botanical gardens are discussed.     

Does learning in clinical context in anatomical sciences improve examination results,learning motivation,or learning orientation?

The preclinical compulsory elective course “Ready for the Operating Room (OR)!?” [in German]: “Fit für den OP (FOP)”] was implemented for students in their second year, who were simultaneously enrolled in the gross anatomy course. The objective of the study was to determine whether the direct practical application of anatomical knowledge within the surgical context of the course led to any improvement in learning motivation, learning orientation, and ultimately examination results in the gross anatomy course, as compared with a control group. Within the scope of five teaching sessions, the students learned surgical hand disinfection, suturing techniques, and the identification of commonly used surgical instruments. In addition, the students attended five surgical demonstrations performed by surgical colleagues on cadavers. Successful learning of these basic skills was then assessed based on an Objectively Structured Practical Examination. Learning motivation and learning orientation in both subgroups was determined using the SELLMO‐ST motivation test and the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory test. While a significant increase in work avoidance was identified in the control group, this was not the case for FOP participants. Similarly, an increase in the “deep approach” to learning, as well as a decrease in the “surface approach,” was able to be documented among the FOP participants following completion of the course. The results suggest that students enrolled in the gross anatomy course, who were simultaneously provided with the opportunity to learn in clinical context, were more likely to be successful at maintaining learning motivation and learning orientation required for the learning process, than students who attended the gross anatomy course alone. Anat Sci Educ. 7: 3–11. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Safe or unsafe? The paradox of action learning

Business Driven Action Learning (BDAL), as a learning philosophy that attempts to create real value for business is often used by executive education providers in their management development programmes. As the action learning facilitator, I found that the learning that took place during such a management development programme resulted in participants experiencing stress, anxiety and high levels of frustration, which threatened the learning process. The resulting paradox in the learning environment is that the same anxiety that is necessary to ensure that learning took place has the propensity, if too high to hamper learning. Utilising the findings from this research, this account of practice makes recommendations for the action learning facilitator to consider while guiding action learning sets (groups). The facilitator can alleviate many of the fears by emphasising that anxiety is necessary in the learning process. The facilitator can mediate the learning relationship between the individual participant and the learning environment as depicted in the model at the end of the article.     

Discovery learning: zombie,phoenix, or elephant?

Discovery learning continues to be a topic of heated debate. It has been called a zombie, and this special issue raises the question whether it may be a phoenix arising from the ashes to which the topic was burnt. However, in this commentary I propose it is more like an elephant—a huge topic approached by many people who address different aspects. What is needed in the discussion about discovery learning and related approaches, I argue, is sublation: the kind of lifting up from the one-dimensional discussion between two extremes (minimal guidance vs. direct instruction) that puts an end to the everlasting tug of war by integrating justified concerns from both opposite positions. I evaluate how the different contributions to the special issue help to sublate the discussion about discovery learning. In particular, the case study presented by Trninic illustrates how strong guidance and repetition may be needed for the discovery of something that cannot be told. I further suggest scaffolding, inferentialism, and design research as potential theoretical and methodological ways forward.     

Modeling attention in associative learning: Two processes or one?

Certain studies of associative learning show that attention is more substantial to cues that have a history of being predictive of an outcome than to cues that are irrelevant. At the same time, other studies show that attention is more substantial to cues whose outcomes are uncertain than to cues whose outcomes are predictable. This has led to the suggestion of there being two kinds of attention in associative learning: one based upon a mechanism that allocates attention to a cue on the basis of its predictiveness, the other based upon a mechanism that allocates attention to a cue on the basis of its prediction error (e.g., Le Pelley, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 57B, 193-243, 2004). As an alternative, it has been demonstrated that the effects of both predictiveness and uncertainty can be accounted for with only one kind of attention: one that emphasizes the role of prediction (Esber & Haselgrove, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 278, 2553-2561, 2011). Here, we consider the alternative: whether the effects of predictiveness and uncertainty can be reconciled with a model of learning that emphasizes the role of prediction error (Pearce, Kaye, & Hall, 1982). Simulations of this model reveal that, in many cases, it too is able to account for the influence of predictiveness and uncertainty in associative learning.     

Comparative learning in partnerships: control,competition or collaboration?

This paper examines the quality and development of relations between organisations and the ways in which these are informed by incidental learning experiences in two projects. The paper conceptualizes instances of inter‐organisational learning (IOL) applying theories such as principal‐agent, prisoners' dilemma and women's place in community development. The main results are (a) that IOL can be used to maintain and modify relations of control and dominance in partnership hierarchies; (b) that IOL serves as a spin‐off of horizontal relationships and can be increased or reduced in the competition between partners for resources and identity; and (c) that IOL at the community level, when delivering outsiders' intervention, can be promoted by involving local authorities and operating within the existing household hierarchy. The paper shows that the influential role of individuals, beyond organisational boundaries, becomes critical through social networks and the establishment of trust‐based relations and resistance to learning as consequences of personal conflict. However, structural constraints in the aid system, such as asymmetric access to resources, expertise, knowledge, status and networks, ultimately determine the quality of funding management schemes and the emergence of an environment that stimulates mutual individual learning, which in turn may lead to organisational learning and inter‐organisational learning.     

Action learning in East Africa: new encounters or impossible challenges?

Action learning is extending its reach internationally and is increasingly used in distinct cultural settings. This paper explores action learning in an African context and examines how action learning as a cultural product is biased towards Western values and practices. We draw attention to the political, cultural and social encounters of internationalizing action learning which are often glossed over in current debates. The paper illuminates the historical development of pedagogical practices in Africa to elucidate how the social, political, cultural and economic processes have influenced and informed learning in African societies. Second, we review action learning and question its relevance and transferability in non-Western contexts. Finally, we will reflect on the potential of action learning in Africa, and its implications for future research and practice.     

Adult learning and action learning — A real workplace learning approach

Abstract

The Rural Extension Centre (REC) has developed an approach to accredited training that is based on adult learning principles and is driven by an action learning approach. One of the central features of this approach is the use of real workplace based learning projects to allow participants to immediately apply the theory of the subject being studied in a practical and useful way.

The emphasis is on learning in these projects, however, they are directly based in the workplace with immediate benefits for the individual, their organisation and their clients.

Action learning is applied in the courses offered by the REC at three levels. The levels are micro-, macro- and mega- that is; on a daily basis in the residential sessions, on a weekly basis as developing learning projects and on a subject basis over the three to four months that the subject takes. The learning project is a key vehicle for learning between the residential sessions.

During residential sessions time is taken to ensure that the theory is delivered in a practical and useful way, to the extent that in some subjects there is real case study activity which allows the application of theory as the week goes on.     

Education or Service? Remarks on teaching and learning in the entrepreneurial university

German universities come under fire: in contemporary political discourse they are considered to be antiquated, inefficient and unfit for international competition. Accordingly, the German government implemented an extensive program of reforms. Following the so‐called ‘Sorbonne Declaration’, the universities shall become part of an European higher education system with comparable and compatible structures. With the focus on the field of academic teaching and learning, this essay discusses the way of defining these activities in a new, entrepreneurial way, and the implications of this process within the university. The reflections lead to the thesis that the actual reforms ask for new forms of critique, because the neoliberal offer of marketable ways to teach and to learn makes the enduring asymmetry of power relations within the educational field invisible, endangers the democratic character of the university and trivializes education.     

Teachers’ learning in a learning study

The point of departure in this study is the question: do teachers who develop theoretical knowledge of the variation theory change the way(s) they offer their pupils the object of learning due to the theoretical framework. The aim of the study is to describe this development, i.e. to find if and how teachers developed theoretical knowledge when planning instruction, and in what way(s) this has an impact on the pupils’ learning outcome when using contrasts in the instruction. The theoretical framework is strongly content related, and by analysing the learning object’s critical aspects the teachers are guided to focus on the content in this particular way. The question “what does it take to develop knowledge about the object of learning?” has to be answered by the teachers before choice of teaching method is made. The research method used is Learning Study, a fusion between lesson study and design experiment. The teachers (6) have carried out nine research lessons in three Learning Study cycles (containing three lessons each). The pupils belong to three different classes and are between 9 and 11 years old. The result shows how the teachers gradually use the variation theory when planning instruction and how the learning outcomes shown by the pupils improve. The developed theoretical insight seems to affect the teachers’ ways of seeing the object of learning, such as subtle changes of how to organize the critical features of the learning object, are discerned. In every learning study cycle contrasts are used in one lesson, and in the analysis of the effect of the contrasts, the two remaining lessons are used as control groups. The results show the impact of contrasts in the pupils’ learning outcomes. The need to complement a lesson study with a theoretical perspective on learning is that the teachers are then given the opportunity to make use of the theory when planning instruction individually, not only in a lesson study. There again, the Learning Study model seems to be a powerful model with which to develop teachers’ understanding of the theoretical framework.     

Consensus or dissensus? Stakeholders’ views on the role of play in learning

Across cultures and eras, children have engaged in play as part of the process of growing and maturing into adulthood. Play has been recognized as an effective form of pedagogy to promote learning in the early years. However, beliefs about what play is and how it should be practiced vary across Hong Kong and in other countries. Because Chinese culture places a heavy emphasis on academic achievement, a play-based curriculum has not been widely implemented in the region. Through classroom observations and interviews with key stakeholders in early childhood education, namely parents, teachers, and principals, this study reveals the complexity of views on this matter and uncovers the root cause of the difficulties in supporting play in the Hong Kong kindergartens. These findings may help promote the play-based curriculum in Hong Kong and other countries where play is in crisis.     

Giving or receiving feedback: which is more beneficial to students’ learning?

Assessment is a key component of the education process and strategies involving peer-feedback are considered beneficial to student learning. This study aims to analyse the benefits giving and receiving feedback have for students’ development of cognitive and metacognitive, affective and professional competences. One-hundred and eighty-eight students enrolled in teacher education answered a survey. Results indicate that, after providing feedback, the students perceived a better learning experience and an increased sense of commitment to their own learning and their colleagues’ progress. A key finding from this study was the role of students in their own learning. As most participants recognised, providing feedback helped them improve their learning, which is a clear indicator that students want to adopt an active role in their own learning and consider their involvement critical in the design of teaching and learning experiences. To achieve the greatest advantages, feedback must be accompanied by tutoring and mentoring to ensure positive connections with the task, address doubts and clarify the comments received.     

Capacity building for school improvement or creating capacity for learning? A changing landscape

In fewer than 10 years since the year 2000, systems around the world have been affected by global changes and new understandings that challenge what it means to improve schools and build capacity for improvement. This article examines seven issues in the last decade and their implications for ‘building capacity for improvement’. It concludes that there may be a need for new language and methodologies to capture the fast changing landscape.     

Cognitive and socio-motivational aspects in learning with animations: there is more to it than ‘do they aid learning or not’

Animations have become a ubiquitous component of computer-based instruction. Despite their widespread use, however, the evidence concerning their effects on learning is rather ambiguous, suggesting that one needs to have a closer look at the conditions under which animations will aid learning. Accordingly, three sets of moderating variables were identified: (1) the degree of processing support that is used to enhance learning with animation, (2) the context in which the animation is being used (e.g., laboratory setting versus classroom), and (3) the domain that is illustrated by the animation. On the one hand, the studies reported in the current special issue investigate manipulations of these variables. On the other hand, the studies vary among each other with respect to these factors, thereby reflecting the enlarged range of current animation research.     

Student-initiated Facebook sites: nurturing personal learning environments or a place for the disenfranchised?

ABSTRACT

Facebook is social media that is ubiquitously used in higher education contexts by both staff and students. It provides a platform for student networking and expression. The authors illuminate how pre-service teachers in an Australian university, undertaking undergraduate units, use Facebook as a student-initiated social media community. Although an increasing number of research studies have investigated student use of social media in higher education, this is an under-theorised area. In particular, little has been written about the student-initiated use of Facebook as a commentary on the activities running simultaneously to formal online learning programmes in universities. Data drawn from 15 semi-structured interviews support an investigation into student Facebook use. Findings highlight that student-driven Facebook sites have a range of purposes and offer ever-present access to a relational community online, although this can sometimes be problematic. When emotional support is not forthcoming from academics or there is disenfranchisement in formal learning spaces, membership in student-initiated learning communities can afford immediacy, informality, influence and shared emotional connections.     

Natural language learning

适用对象大、中学英语教师如果语法和词汇是难以消化的英语大餐,而natural language则是易消化、又易于掌握的语言小甜饼。其实natural language也就是高频词重新组合而成的日常短语。它是语法和词汇之间的衔接部分,也是英语教学中应该引起关注的部分。     

To design or to integrate? Instructional design versus technology integration in developing learning interventions

Instructional Design Knowledge (IDK) can inform technology integration decisions and Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK) can help instructional design processes. As a means to understand how teachers may draw from their TPACK and IDK as they design instructions and develop technology-enhanced learning activities, we examined the final projects of two groups of teachers enrolled in graduate-level instructional design and technology courses. By using both content and social network analysis methods, we identified the IDK and TPACK components exemplified in teachers’ projects. While the content analysis revealed differences between the two groups, some findings were common across the courses such as teachers minimally connecting technology to their content areas, exhibiting limited knowledge on learning needs, and having difficulties in engaging in design thinking processes. Furthermore, the social network analysis identified various communities of the knowledge components, highlighting when teachers tended to use their IDK and TPACK as they planned technology-enhanced learning activities and were engaged in instructional design respectively.