Learning in the Age of Networked Intelligence

The article presents ten theoretically substantiated ‘theses’ on future education and learning, highlighting emerging trends that will shape educational systems. The focus is on the impact of innovation economy and knowledge society on learning. Specifically, the article elaborates the changing dynamics of production models since the first industrial revolution, arguing that in the last few years we have been in the midst of a globalisation process that is qualitatively different from the earlier ones. This new model has consequences, for example, for skill demands and their regional distribution. More fundamentally, this ‘third globalisation’ makes innovation the key source of economic value, pushing educational systems from adaptive towards creative learning models. In implementing such creative pedagogies, traditional models of innovation become inadequate. The article therefore describes recent developments in innovation research and outlines a new theoretical view on innovation which connects innovation with social change and learning. This ‘downstream’ innovation model highlights the active and creative role of user communities in making innovations real. As the economic and social importance of ‘downstream’ innovation is becoming increasingly visible, educational institutions and learning activity will change. Policymakers will have to answer the question: Why will we need education in the future?     

对基于问题学习的初步探讨

建构主义者提出许多改革教学的设想,其中基于问题学习（PBL）是促进知识建构的一条崭新的思路。作为一种新兴的教育与学习手段,PBL在未来必定能够得到大力的发展。“科教兴国”战略的实施,“素质教育”“创新教育”的大力推行,为基于问题学习的兴起创造了良好的社会环境。就PBL的基本模式、学习过程、主要特点及其存在的问题进行简要分析和探讨,希望能起到抛砖引玉的作用。     

香港高校招生考试制度及其改革启示

香港作为中西文化的交汇处,其高等教育体系的建立与发展与其特殊的经济和社会背景密不可分。同时,香港地区高校招生考试制度也有着自身的特点。本文就香港高校实行的会考制、各高校入学选拔方式、招生考试机构以及考试制度改革等方面进行介绍,从中归纳其特色,以资借鉴。     

Criteria for Empowering Innovation in Higher Education

ABSTRACT

Although academic staff have a key role to play in innovation at higher education institutions (hEIs), current innovation adoption among academic staff is disappointing. Most curricula at hEIs are stalled in the traditional pedagogical model of knowledge transmission for teaching and learning with little exploration of technologies for innovative/inventive outputs. This article explores the essential issues of innovation/invention in higher education and provides criteria for empowering innovation. Starting from reflections and perspectives on innovation at South African hEIs and the theories on innovative problem solving, the article provides arguments on multiple issues of innovation/invention that culminate in crucial criteria for innovation. The real dilemma for innovation is caused by external and macro-level factors that require the analysis of existing business models. The management of HEIs have to take into account the underlying barriers, such as knowledge of patenting and academic valorisation, when they create policies that encourage academic staff to explore innovative endeavours.     

Mentoring in Action on a Primary PGCE Course

Abstract

School‐based mentors are taking increased responsibility for the initial training of student teachers as a result of government policy to lengthen the proportion of time students spend in school during their training. The role of the mentor is critical in the development of a partnership model of initial teacher education (ITE), involving close collaboration between higher education institutions (HEIs) and schools. This article draws on our research into the practice of mentoring on the one‐year Primary Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at the Chichester Institute. Through observations of mentoring sessions at school we analyse the process of mentoring in action. Drawing on mentor observations and interviews with mentors, students and college (link) tutors we examine the diverse nature of mentoring and identify some of the common qualities of good mentoring practice.     

Mutualising the university: achieving community impact through an ecosystem

Public dissatisfaction with academic research, coupled with the rising costs of higher education (HE) and reduced government funding, are forcing academics to convince society of the benefits of their research. This article argues that pressures on higher education institutions (HEIs) in a market model create a need to be responsive to students and employers, and to demonstrate institutional impact. However, the assessment of this impact tends to be based on quantifiable data, statistics, etc. of the kind which work well for natural sciences, but pose challenges for social sciences. Thus, areas of impact are often overlooked which may be more immediate in their effect, and deliver benefits which go beyond those claimed for the current impact model. They derive from activities that involve formal learning in the curriculum, pre-labour market entry and executive education; informal extra-curricular activities; organisational benefit generated by individual students’ activities and by the co-creation of knowledge in jointly tailored programmes; a range of enterprise activities supporting student innovation and creativity; and public engagement, creating a space for debate and the exchange of views. Recognising this broad nature of impact across a range of contexts, the authors of this article suggest two mechanisms which might be helpful in thinking about identifying wider impact. The first, mutuality, involves co-operation between HEIs and their communities in a series of relationships, reaching beyond the transactional. The second, the development of an HEI-centred ecosystem – an intentional collaborative community –, provides a vehicle which harnesses synergy to enhance impact on a set of stakeholders across a variety of dimensions. The authors describe the characteristics of an ecosystem developed for an HEI in the United Kingdom (UK).     

Developing communities of practice within and outside higher education institutions

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are largely built on the assumption that learning is an individual process best encouraged by explicit teaching that is, on the whole, separated from social engagement with those outside the university community. This perspective has been theoretically challenged by those who argue for a social constructivist learning theory and a more collaborative approach to learning. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) afford lecturers and students an opportunity for extending the boundaries of a learning experience, not merely beyond the lone individual, but beyond the limits of discipline boundaries within a specific university community and beyond the institution into the local community. This paper illustrates how a collaborative effort between lecturers and students from the Computer Science and Education Departments at Rhodes University, teachers from the local community, the provincial Department of Education and a non-governmental organisation developed into an unfolding virtual and physical community of practice which enabled ICT take-up in a number of schools in the Grahamstown District, South Africa. This discussion of what has become known as the e-Yethu project provides an example of how ICTs, underpinned by the insights of social constructivism, the notion of 'community of practice' and in particular Hoadley and Kilner's C4P Framework for Communities of Practice, can serve to help HEIs understand ways in which ICTs can provide opportunities for developing collaborative learning within HEIs, and between the HEI and the local community.     

深化高等教育改革增强创新能力促进创新型人才培养

高等学校在建设创新型国家中占有重要地位.但我国高校尚不能满足建设创新型国家的要求,与创新型国家的高校相比,存在比较明显的差距.我国高等教育应深化改革,加强科研创新能力建设,使创新型人才脱颖而出.为此,要进行教育理念的改革,探索有利于创新型人才培养的教育模式,加强科技创新能力建设,坚持产学研结合,加强创新文化建设,扩大高校对外开放,增加科技创新投资.     

Higher education institutions and entrepreneurship in underserved communities

This study examines the experiences of business development centers in higher education institutions (HEIs) to promote entrepreneurship in underserved communities. It draws experiences and perspectives from multiple stakeholders to examine the contribution of HEIs toward equitable economic development and social renewal. Based on extensive qualitative data analyses, this study highlights the role of HEIs as anchor institutions and intermediary enablers of economic development in bridging traditionally split efforts between different university missions. The findings contribute to research and practice on entrepreneurship education and universities’ engagement in fostering inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems and equitable growth through entrepreneurship.

     

为建设创新型国家培养人才:高校教学改革初探

高校在建设创新型国家中担负着培养高素质专门人才和创新人才的根本任务.面对这种新形势与新挑战,高校教学与科研相结合要有新视点,科研应全程性地融合于高校教学过程;改革高校教学方法要有新思路,着力培养大学生的实践能力与创新能力;提升高校学科带头人水平,塑造教学名师.特别提出要加强高校教学与农业科研相结合,为建设社会主义新农村服务;还对我国“高等学校教学名师奖“问题提出一些对策建议.     

职业教育的“社会伙伴关系”及发展的最新趋势

职业教育与企业的关系一度被着重强调。其实,以企业为主导的社会伙伴关系面对种种的限制。近年来对职业教育来说,其“社会伙伴关系”有了更广义的诠释,“工学结合”也因此有了新理解,而要获取真实的市场信息,发展社会伙伴关系只是其中一个途径,进行有关“教育与工作”的实征研究等,亦是获取市场信息的重要途径。     

我国高等教育自学考试高校助学模式的SWOT分析

把SWOT分析法用于自学考试高校助学模式的研究,能使我们更科学清楚地认识该助学模式的优势与劣势,机遇和威胁。我们应把高等学校社会助学事业纳入高校的总体发展规划,正确处理好助学规模与教学质量的关系,使该模式的发展日臻完善。     

The role of social capital in sustaining partnership

Partnership is a dominant theme in education policy and practice in England and in other western countries but remains relatively under-researched, especially with respect to what sustains a partnership. This article draws on a study of partnership working in the field of post-16 learning that revealed the role of dimensions of social capital in supporting and sustaining the case study partnership. The research adopted a grounded approach and used multiple methods of data gathering including observations of partnership meetings, semi-structured interviews and documentary research. The findings reported here focus on aspects of partnership working and facets of social capital that support and sustain partnership, including multiple layers of collaboration, networks and networking, high levels of trust and shared norms and values amongst key participants. The analysis suggests that the contested concept of social capital provides a useful theoretical frame for understanding the basis of sustainability in education partnerships.     

An ecological analysis of the dynamics of localities: a 14+ low opportunity progression equilibrium in action

This article uses a multi-level ecological model to explore the dynamics of localities in England and their effects on the 14+ participation, progression and transition (14+ PPT) of young people at a time when nationally and internationally there is a recognition that transitions from education to employment are both more complex and take longer. Drawing on major research programmes, national enquiries and local studies, the article further develops the concept of a ‘local learning ecologies’ (LLEs) that represent localities in the physical, economic and social senses and that function as part of a multi-level ecological framework or system. The article exemplifies this concept by using qualitative research from one local study to provide insights into an LLE that shows characteristics of a ‘low opportunity progression equilibrium’. The authors conclude by reflecting on international examples of skills ecosystems and suggest that expansive forms of local partnership and ecological governance can be used to begin to move LLEs towards ‘high opportunity progression ecosystems’. However, they argue that because of the power of macro factors and the need to support equity and sustainability, these new forms of local networking will have to be nurtured by sympathetic national action.     

Environmental literacy components and their promotion by institutions of higher education: an Israeli case study

The recognition of the key role and moral responsibility of higher education institutions (HEIs) in cultivating the environmental literacy (EL) of their students is growing globally. The current research examined the contribution of HEIs to their students’ EL by focusing on an Israeli college as a case-study. A survey was conducted among a representative sample of 1147 students from all departments in four phases of their academic studies. A moderate level of EL was found. The college’s green agenda attracted more pre-environmentally literate students, but its contribution to the development of students’ EL throughout the learning years was minor. Variation in pro-environmental behavior was better explained by students’ environmental values and attitudes than by their environmental knowledge. It seems that a combination of knowledge, values, and attitudes is needed in order to instill EL among students in HEIs. Commitment to environmental education must be translated into effective contents (what) and ways of teaching and learning (how) EL, which should be adapted to the varied populations of HEIs’ students in the various faculties and departments. Some recommendations are detailed.     

A ‘quiet revolution’? The impact of Training Schools on initial teacher training partnerships

This paper discusses the impact on initial teacher training of a new policy initiative in England: the introduction of Training Schools. First, the Training School project is set in context by exploring the evolution of a partnership approach to initial teacher training in England. Ways in which Training Schools represent a break with established practice are considered together with their implications for the dominant mode of partnership led by higher education institutions (HEIs). The capacity of Training Schools to achieve their own policy objectives is examined, especially their efficacy as a strategy for managing innovation and the dissemination of innovation. The paper ends by focusing on a particular Training School project which has adopted an unusual approach to its work and enquires whether this alternative approach could offer a more profitable way forward. During the course of the paper, five different models of partnership are considered: collaborative, complementary, HEI‐led, school‐led and partnership within a partnership.     

Adult Education/Lifelong Learning Policies in Greece in the Early 2010s

This article argues that adult education/lifelong learning policies in Greece, as these are expressed by law 3879/2010 "Development of Lifelong Learning and Other Provisions," have the characteristics of the "statist" model of lifelong learning in Europe, namely strong governmental control and centralization. However, there are also characteristics of the "social partnership" model: regulations through a legal framework and stronger involvement of social partners and local government. Finally, under the influences of European education policy, a special emphasis in Greek policies is placed on the issues of accreditation/quality assurance and the formation of a qualifications framework. These issues are dominant in the market-driven systems of lifelong learning, are consistent with the model of "voluntary partnership," and stress the individualization of the responsibility for learning.     

高教自考社会助学中的创新型人才培养

国家创新的关键在于人才,人才成长的关键在于教育。文章指出,在新经济形势下,高等教育自学考试社会助学中同样能培养出创新型人才,在此基础上,提出高等教育自学考试社会助学如何培养现代社会创新型人才的途径。     

Building Student Ownership and Responsibility: Examining Student Outcomes from a Research-Practice Partnership

Abstract

This article is situated at the intersection of two trends in education research: a growing emphasis on the importance of co-cognitive traits and the emergence of research-practice partnerships to more effectively scale effective practices. Our partnership focused on building student ownership and responsibility for their learning, which means creating school-wide practices that foster a culture of learning and engagement among students. We find no evidence of an overall relationship between the student ownership and responsibility innovation and student outcomes that is robust to model specification. However, when results are separated by school, two schools each saw increased student grades and fewer absences that persisted across both years of implementation. We also use qualitative data about the quality of implementation to understand how school-level engagement in the improvement partnership may be related to observed outcomes.     

我国基础教育教师“三位一体”培训模式研究

协同技术、P2P技术与在线学习社区的日益融合,为知识经济时代教师培训模式的创新提供了新的研究领域。文章从"混合学习"视角,提出了我国基础教育教师"三位一体"培训模式,分析了"三位一体"教师培训模式在实际运用中的具体对策,从而为基础教育教师培训提供了一种崭新的培训模式,为政府部门、培训机构提供培训决策的理论支持和方法指导。