Learning through on-line discussion: what are the opportunities for professional development and what are the characteristics of on-line writing?

Abstract

This article explores the growing interest in the use of asynchronous text-based discussion to support the professional development of teachers and other occupational groups. It describes a post-degree course in which teachers, lecturers and librarians at local schools and colleges used on-line forums to share and reflect on their professional knowledge. The particular focus of the article is on the experiences of forum participants and the opportunities which on-line discussion provides for their professional learning. The discussion in the article is developed around an extract from a forum and focuses on the initiating of on-line discussion, what participants might learn by taking part, and the style of contributions. The article suggests that electronic forums have huge potential for developing professional knowledge in that participants have opportunities to articulate ideas, have access to other information and other viewpoints and can seek clarification from colleagues. However, the process of discussion is not straightforward. Participation cannot be easily structured, contributors may prefer different styles of messages and text-based communication may not be appropriate for some kinds of discussion. On-line discussion is then valuable and complex.     

Conceptual Resources for Learning Science: Issues of transience and grain‐size in cognition and cognitive structure

Many studies into learners’ ideas in science have reported that aspects of learners’ thinking can be represented in terms of entities described in such terms as alternative conceptions or conceptual frameworks, which are considered to describe relatively stable aspects of conceptual knowledge that are represented in the learner’s memory and accessed in certain contexts. Other researchers have suggested that learners’ ideas elicited in research are often better understood as labile constructions formed in response to probes and generated from more elementary conceptual resources (e.g. phenomenological primitives or ‘p‐prims’). This ‘knowledge‐in‐pieces perspective’ (largely developed from studies of student thinking about physics topics), and the ‘alternative conceptions perspective’, suggests different pedagogic approaches. The present paper discusses issues raised by this area of work. Firstly, a model of cognition is considered within which the ‘knowledge‐in‐pieces’ and ‘alternative conceptions’ perspectives co‐exist. Secondly, this model is explored in terms of whether such a synthesis could offer fruitful insights by considering some candidate p‐prims from chemistry education. Finally, areas for developing testable predictions are outlined, to show how such a model can be a ‘refutable variant’ of a progressive research programme in learning science.     

Learning from the Confucian heritage: so size doesn’t matter?

Students from Confucian heritage cultures (CHCs), such as China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan, consistently outperform Western students in many academic subjects, under conditions, such as large class teaching, that seem counter-indicated by Western research. These results have been used to justify increases in class size on the grounds that size is irrelevant to effective teaching. Such thinking is simplistic. Children in CHCs are socialized in ways that make them amenable to work in large classes, so that management problems are minimal and teachers can focus on meaningful learning using whole-class methods. An educational system forms a working whole, each component interacting with all other components. Isolating any one component (such as class size) and transplanting it into a different system shows a deep misunderstanding of how educational systems work.     

Learning and the pandemic: What’s next?

PROSPECTS - This article highlights key points with respect to each of the following: 1) School systems around the world were stagnant before Covid-19 and had been for some time; 2) Therefore there...     

Learning disabilities identification: primary intervention, secondary intervention, and then what?

A broad consensus has been achieved regarding the importance of early primary and secondary interventions for children in academic domains for the purposes of improving overall academic competencies and preventing low achievement that often leads to a diagnosis of specific learning disability (SLD) and long-term special education placement. The characteristics of effective prevention programs generally are well established. The degree to which these programs prevent SLD is uncertain, and the subsequent procedures for determining SLD eligibility are very much at issue. Issues are discussed regarding what should be done about SLD identification after primary and secondary intervention efforts are proven inadequate for individual children.     

Making the Mark: Are Grades and Deep Learning Related?

Assessing gains in learning has received increased attention as one dimension of institutional accountability both in the USA (Arum and Roksa, Academically adrift: Limited learning on college campuses, 2011) and abroad (OECD, http://www.oecd.org/document/22/0,3746,en_2649_39263238_40624662_1_1_1_1,00.html, 2013, http://www.oecd.org/edu/skills-beyond-school/AHELOFSReportVolume2.pdf, 2012). Current approaches to assessing college learning are dominated by objective tests as well as student self-reported questionnaires, such as the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). This study examined how the three NSSE deep approaches to learning scales contribute to the narrative on academic rigor at a large, public research institution. Using Confirmatory Factor Analyses and Structural Equation Modeling, results showed that the three deep approaches to learning constructs were internally valid, but deep learning was not related to GPA. Findings raised questions regarding good measurement of student learning and student reward for rigorous performance.     

Formative Assessment and English Learning Strategies——An experiment on teaching vocational college English

The study mainly focuses on the influence of formative assessment upon learning strategies. So as to testify the effectiveness of formative assessment application in the promotion of students’ learning strategy in vocational college, the author has conducted a 20-week study on 76 freshmen in Sichuan College of Architectural Technology. The result shows that the application of formative assessment is mostly effective in the students’ adoption of affective strategy.     

Peer‐tutoring: what’s in it for the tutor?

Drawing on role theory and socio‐constructivist ideas about learning, this study explores how peer‐tutoring can support tutors’ learning. The sample comprised ten 16–17‐year‐old biology tutors, working with twenty‐one 14–15‐year‐old students from a science class over eight weeks. Data were collected through an online wiki, tutor interviews, paired tutor discussions and video recordings. Tutors’ perceptions of their role motivated them to learn the material, and their learning was supported by discussion and explanation, revisiting fundamentals, making links between conceptual areas, testing and clarifying their understanding, and reorganising and building ideas, rehearsing them, and working through them repeatedly, to secure their understanding. When tutors employed long answer questions, there was evidence of reflection on their learning and links made between conceptual areas. When preparing to tutor, tutors could focus on key points and engage with basic ideas from alternative perspectives. Mental rehearsal of peer‐tutoring episodes helped them appreciate weaknesses in their own subject knowledge.     

Learning‐to‐learn and learning‐to‐teach: the impact of disciplinary subject study on student‐teachers’ professional identity

A coherent view of student‐teachers’ preparation and the learning experiences to which they are exposed are key to sustaining the relevance of university‐based teacher‐education programmes. Arguably, such coherence is lacking and the research base to an understanding of the student‐teacher experience is still a relatively limited one. This paper takes the view that student‐teachers’ epistemological growth is a key component of their professional development, their sense of identity as intending teachers, and their successful entry into a teaching career. In adopting a phenomenographic approach it explores a chain of evidence which demonstrates that immersion in the processes of learning and knowing, within a specific disciplinary context, had a significant impact on students’ emerging professional identities and on their values as teachers which extends beyond the subject matter itself. Arguably, the findings of this case‐study hold important implications for a teacher‐education programme and for effective pedagogic practice.     

Bourdieu and interprofessional education: what’s the relevance?

Interprofessional education (IPE) is perceived to be one strategy to reduce professional compartmentalisation and improve collaborative practices. The unequal power relations existing between the various professions who need to collaborate for IPE remains largely unexamined and it is only in recent years that sociological theories have been employed within the interprofessional field. This paper uses selected findings from an exploratory case study into IPE conducted at the University of Malta and then examines these findings from a Bourdieusian perspective. The first part of this paper introduces the breath of theoretical perspectives employed for IPE and then goes on to provide an overview of Bourdieu’s theories of social practices. The second part outlines the context of this case study and presents selected findings. The third section discusses how these findings were examined using Bourdieu’s concepts helping us demystify the various ways in which health care professions worked and interacted, and how this all made sense within a wider societal context. It also highlights the relevance of taking into account Bourdieu’s concepts during the development of IPE.     

Reading and writing: what is the relationship with anxiety and depression?

Learning can be considered a function of synthesis in which both cognitive functioning and the domain of affectivity convey. The aim of the present study was to investigate how specific literacy skills, i.e., reading and writing, relate to two main dimensions of negative affectivity, i.e., anxiety and depression. Study 1 was conducted on third grade children (72), while Study 2 focused on first grade children (43). Two groups of participants selected because they had been deemed ‘at risk’ for the development of anxiety or depression and a control group were compared in reading and writing tasks, which included both word and non-word lists. The assessment included also the evaluation of Verbal, Nonverbal and Composite IQs. Results indicated that children ‘at risk’ for depression made more spelling errors in dictation of words in comparison to the control group. No differences emerged in reading tasks or with reference to the group of children ‘at risk’ for anxiety.

The Interplay of the Classroom Learning Environment and Inquiry‐based Activities

This quasi‐experimental study investigates how the classroom learning environment changed after inquiry‐based activities were introduced and student questioning was encouraged. Three science teachers and three classes of fifth graders (n=92) participated in this study. The analysis of covariance reveals that although the experimental group students perceived that their teacher’s support was significantly lower than that for the comparison group did (p< 0.05), they were significantly more involved in learning (p< 0.05) than their counterparts. Classroom observations of student questioning and inquiry activities revealed that those students with high quality levels in asking or responding to questions outperformed their counterparts in the inquiry ability of designing experimental procedures.     

Learning from the past? History and development education

This paper discusses changes in approaches to development education that stress that development is something that happens in every society and not just in ‘developing countries’. In particular it focusses on one development relationship, that between Britain and Ireland, as a microcosm of global problems of colonialism, dependency, nationalism and misunderstanding. It ends by suggesting a historical approach to teaching about development relationships between countries.     

Commentary — Motor Learning: Theory and Practice

The reconceptualization of sex role classification to include psychological androgyny is presented. An explanation of this concept is followed by a summary of related research and a critique of instruments which purport to assess sex role orientation. The implications of the results of sex role research for athletics as well as future directions in such research are discussed. The discussion centers on the difficulties encountered in the implementation of the theoretical construct of androgyny to the athletic setting.     

Total Quality Management,the Learning Organisation and Post‐compulsory Education

Abstract

The turbulence confronting educational Institutions In the United Kingdom has led to the suggestion that any attempt to respond using established management principles and processes is likely to be dysfunctional. Total quality management (TQM) has been advanced as a strategy that will enable educational institutions adapt to the greater market orientation and transform them into learning organisations. The paper identifies the key principles of TQM, critically reviewing the literature that examines their application in education and focusing on the post‐compulsory sector. Secondly, selected linkages between the key principles and other approaches to the study of organisational behaviour, including aspects of open systems theory, leadership, teamworking, training and staff development, and organisational culture, are examined. The concept of the learning organisation is outlined and its relationship with TQM examined. The paper concludes that TQM treats organisational change issues in educational institutions and the concept of the learning organisation as unproblematic, Ignoring Issues of power, authority, resistance to change and double‐loop learning.     

Learning motivation and performance excellence in adolescents with high intellectual potential: what really matters?

In the development of performance excellence, the relative roles played by intellectual ability and motivation remain speculative. This study investigates the role played by general intelligence, school environment, self‐efficacy, and aspects of personal identity in the formation of learning motivation in German students attending the Gymnasium schools. Using self‐reports of academic achievement and scores on a shortened version of the Berlin intelligence structure test for adolescence to differentiate students as achievers or underachievers, ninth‐grade students were administered a battery of self‐report instruments, designed to measure learning motivation, school environment, self‐efficacy, and personal identity. After the posited factor structure was confirmed, factor scores were computed and then used as data in hierarchical regression analyses using learning motivation as the criterion variable. The results showed that the greatest predictors of learning motivation were variables related to personal identity‐style, rather than general intelligence, supporting the hypothesis that learning motivation is a moderator variable of intellectual achievement for students with intellectual giftedness, rather than an inherent component of giftedness.