Understanding and measuring emotions in technology-rich learning environments

Technology-rich learning environments (TREs) play an increasingly important role for 21st century education, and the emotions learners experience in these environments are pivotal for their cognitive and affective learning gains. The contributors to this special issue address the importance of understanding and measuring emotions in TREs as a mechanism for fostering learning. In particular, the special issue situates this research with a systemic review and meta-analysis of the literature on emotions in TREs. Following this review empirical research is presented on measuring emotions in the context of learning with TREs in multiple domains, including medicine, history, and mathematics. These researchers use concurrent measures to capture students’ cognitive, metacognitive and affective processes before, during, and after solving problems, documenting the complex role of such processes as individuals and groups learn with technology. The special issue concludes with two commentaries that point the way to next steps in this field of research.     

Teachers as co-designers of technology-rich learning activities for early literacy

Although kindergarten teachers often struggle with implementing technology, they are rarely involved in co-designing technology-rich learning activities. This study involved teachers in the co-design of technology-rich learning activities and sought to explore implementation and pupil learning outcomes. A case-study method was used to investigate: the co-design experiences of seven teachers; implementation in three kindergarten classes; and pupil learning outcomes. Interviews were used to study teacher perceptions about pedagogy, technology, early literacy, co-designer role, practicality and co-ownership. Process notes were made during design team meetings. Observations were made of implementation, and pupil learning was pre- and post-tested in non-equivalent control quasi-experimental design (N = 111). Findings indicate that teacher perceptions about pedagogy affect their co-design involvement. The extent of integration of on- and off-computer activities was similar between teachers. Significant pupil learning gains were found, thus indicating that the co-designed activities had positive effects on pupil learning outcomes.     

The effect of feedback on academic achievement in technology-rich learning environments (TREs): A meta-analytic review

This study aimed to investigate the effect of feedback on students' academic achievement in a technology-rich environment through a systematic and quantitative synthesis of the studies conducted over several decades. We focused on three issues: (a) the effectiveness of feedback in enhancing learning performance; (b) possible factors (feedback characteristics and study features) associated with different studies that could have resulted in the inconsistent findings across the studies; and (c) how different types of feedback differed in their effect in enhancing academic achievement. Based on 182 effect sizes extracted from 61 studies, we found that, compared with no feedback condition, feedback had at least a medium effect (g = 0.44, 95%CI [0.324, 0.555]) in enhancing academic achievement, and the effect of explanation feedback was the strongest compared to other types of feedback. The study further revealed that the feedback in blended learning was more effective than that in online learning. Possible explanations and implications of these findings, as well as limitations and future research directions were discussed.     

Examining problem-solving skills in technology-rich environments as related to numeracy and literacy

ABSTRACT

This study sought to a better understanding of the construct of problem solving in technology-rich environments and the effect of literacy and numeracy on problem solving. Data used in this study were drawn from Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies US data which includes 5010 completed cases and a total of 1326 variables. The assessment of literacy, numeracy and problem-solving competencies were administrated using computer-based approaches. The result of the study showed that adults with higher numeracy and literacy competencies were more likely to have higher level of problem-solving skills. The results of the analyses also revealed that solution latency (i.e. time) were an important factor influencing problem-solving skills. This study indicates that basic mathematical skills are essential for solving problems that require interpersonal communication, computer and software knowledge, planning, and organising. The findings from this study provide several implications for researchers, educators, teachers and policymakers.     

Evaluation of the level of problem solving skills of Turkish higher education graduates in technology-rich environments

Educational technology research and development - This study aims to evaluate the level of Turkish higher education graduates’ problem-solving skills (PSSs) in technology-rich environments...     

Adding a design perspective to study learning environments in higher professional education

How to design learning environments leading to learning-, thinking, collaboration- and regulation skills which can be applied to transferable, knowledge oriented learning outcomes is still controversial. We studied the designs of learning environments in innovative higher professional education more closely. To characterize learning environments we identify designable elements and position them on a scale ranging from specified, to emergent elements. Next, the main problems with the designs are identified. We introduce adaptive elements as a potential solution. We observed participants adapting such elements to suit their own needs or the needs of others. The designable and adaptive elements fulfill a dual function: they should offer contextual clues that would be available in professional practice and scaffold learners in need of support.     

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.     

Playthings as learning tools

Play can occur at any time or in any place; it bears directly on the development of such fundamentals as the learning of language and mathematical ideas and the development of thinking skills and social roles. The following three activities focus on how playthings and play activities contribute to children's intellectual development. We want to state at the outset, however, that play also contributes to children's physical, social, and emotional development. We recognize that play is important to all these areas. But here we consider the contribution of play to one area of development, that is, intellectual growth, or what children can learn.     

The metacognitive control components of self-regulated learning

The paper describes the role of metacognitive control activity in self-regulated learning. Metacognitive components are seen as necessary but insufficient for self-regulated learning, and given special status in maintaining system efficiency. Students who can protect their intentions to learn in school from competing goals or interests, as well as distracting stimuli, are likely to accomplish school tasks adequately even if their grades fall short of perfect. Task accomplishment is important to continued motivation for schoolwork, and is also a gauge by which teachers evaluate students. A theory of the psychological processes that define volition provides a useful framework for interpreting data from various classroom investigations. Directions for future experimental research are discussed.     

Concept maps and Vee diagrams: two metacognitive tools to facilitate meaningful learning

This paper describes two metacognitive tools, concept mapping and Vee diagramming, and reports on research utilizing these tools from grades one through university instruction. The psychological and epistemological foundations underlying these tools is presented briefly. The issues of the dominantly rote-mode nature of much school learning and the resistance of studients (and teachers) to move to meaningful learning strategies fostered by concept mapping and Vee diagramming are discussed. The data available to date from a variety of qualitative and quantitative research studies strongly support the value of these metacognitive tools both for cognitive and affective gains.     

The impact of new learning environments in an engineering design course

In this study, we investigated the effects of students’ participation in a collaborative, project-based engineering design course on their domain knowledge, interests, and strategic processing. Participants were 70 college seniors working in teams on a design project of their choosing. Their declarative, procedural, and principled knowledge, along with their domain interest and their interest in select roles within that domain were tested at the outset of the semester and at its conclusions. Findings indicated that this course contributed to a rise in students’ declarative knowledge, but not their procedural or principled knowledge of engineering design. Further, there was no significant change in students’ personal interest in the domain over the semester, and their role interests were not associated with their demonstrated knowledge in the field at posttest. Implications for the perceived effectiveness of learning environments consisting of peer collaboration and relevant problems on students’ academic development are considered.     

The process of understanding the task: how is agency distributed between students, teachers and representations in technology-rich learning environments?

In this article, we explore how students’ agency relates to both highly structured and open-ended learning environments. This is done by analysing how students’ understanding of tasks evolves through their activities in relation to the representations inscribed in two technology-rich learning environments. Based on the sociocultural approach to thinking, reasoning and learning we argue that it is necessary to include activities, artefacts and aspects of the knowledge domain in order to understand how and what the students’ learn. We conclude by arguing that the process of understanding a task is often complex and ongoing through the activity.     

Authentic learning and multimedia in history education

The momentum gathering behind authentic learning/critical skills raises fundamental issues concerning teaching and learning. This article discusses some of the more general arguments surrounding authentic learning with particular reference to an in‐depth evaluation of its impact on schools in one part of Great Britain. It then moves on to describe how this approach to teaching and learning influenced the design of a multimedia CD‐ROM examining attitudes and policies towards poverty in the nineteenth century Glasgow. The article concludes by arguing that authentic learning and multimedia together create a powerful medium for learning by mirroring the methodology and sources used by historians.     

Role of technology in the design of learning environments

Learning Environments Research - The design of learning environments is being increasingly investigated, largely as a result of higher-education providers being challenged by both societal and...     

Designing databases as tools for higher-level learning: Insights from instructional systems design

This article reports on a naturalistic study of online and CD-ROM databases to identify design characteristics that are important to high school students' use of these information resources for higher-level learning as well as for information access and retrieval. Primary data collection techniques were interactive observations of 92 students and informal interviews with 54 students, 4 teachers, and the school library media specialist. The article presents an inventory of specific problems students experienced while using 7 CD-ROM and 18 online databases and discusses implications for database design based on the study results. By showing how the lens of instructional systems design can be applied to the study of a specific information technology, this article provides a new perspective on database design and suggests how electronic information resources can be designed to promote higher-level learning through enhancing students' opportunities to process, evaluate, and apply the information they retrieve from these resources.The paper on which this article was based received the 1993 AECT Special Research Award for qualitative research.     

The Decorated School: cross-disciplinary research in the history of art as integral to the design of educational environments

This article reports on the opening up of a new, rich seam of interdisciplinary research that brings together historians of education with historians of art and architecture to examine the meaning and incidence of “The Decorated School”. It examines the origins of the idea of art as educator in the nineteenth century and discusses how ideas about the education of taste accompanied the establishment of mass education in industrialised nations during the early part of the twentieth century. Some examples of Decorated Schools in Britain and Europe are discussed with reference to the nature of the international and interdisciplinary interpretation made possible by the research network. Finally, some of the challenges of interdisciplinary research in this area are presented, as well as rich opportunities for further exploration. The article concludes that in order to come closer to a realisation of how pupils might have experienced The Decorated School in the past, we need to incorporate histories of children’s play-worlds in our project.     

Preservice teachers' perceptions about using mobile phones and laptops in education as mobile learning tools

The purpose of this research was to investigate preservice teachers' perceptions about using m‐phones and laptops in education as mobile learning tools. A total of 1087 preservice teachers participated in the study. The results indicated that preservice teachers perceived laptops potentially stronger than m‐phones as m‐learning tools. In terms of limitations the situation was balanced for laptops and m‐phones. Generally, the attitudes towards using laptops in education were not exceedingly positive but significantly more positive than m‐phones. It was also found that such variables as program/department, grade, gender and possessing a laptop are neutral in causing a practically significant difference in preservice teachers' views. The results imply an urgent need to grow awareness among participating student teachers towards the concept of m‐learning, especially m‐learning through m‐phones.