Can more become less? Effects of an intensive assessment environment on students’ learning performance

Online interactive systems offer the beguiling prospect of an improved environment for learning at minimum extra cost. We have developed online interactive tutorials that adapt the learning environment to the current learning status of each individual student. These Adaptive Tutorials (ATs) modify the tasks given to each student according to their previous responses. Feedback, assessment and remediation are also adapted. Over a three-year period we progressively blended ATs into notoriously challenging courses in introductory Engineering Mechanics. We assessed the impact of this initiative by reviewing three lines of data: (i) the built-in diagnostics of the system, (ii) changes in student grades from year-to-year and (iii) supplementary surveys. Generally, students liked the new blended system and grades improved. Detailed analysis revealed nuances in the measures of student learning, such as differences between high-performing and low-performing students. With these insights we are able to further adapt the system to meet the learning needs of our students.     

A Bookstore for Bailey: A Novel Approach to Teaching a Small‐Business Management Course

This article presents the development of an online, student‐centered, introductory small‐business management course that uses an educational business novel, hypertext graphic‐design features, an interactive workbook, and a student‐authored final chapter. Student learning was assessed through the use of a pre‐ and posttest survey. Student reflection was incorporated to make students consider the impact of learning. Results showed that student learning and understanding increased in two separate courses.     

Implications of educational theory for the design of instructional multimedia

Interactive multimedia provides a useful vehicle to reconsider the place of educational theories in the design of interactive learning environments. This paper serves to address a number of such theories, especially those centred on student learning, and in particular, attempts to draw out the implications they present for designing effective instructional multimedia. It is argued that we need to develop coherency rather than divergency, in our theoretical perspectives so that we might optimise the development of new technologies in teaching and learning. This rationale is then used to advance one such perspective, based on the role of dynamic modelling tools.     

Web 3.0时代中小学在线课程实施策略

相较于Web 1.0以教师为中心的单向知识传授和Web 2.0的师生双向互动交流,Web 3.0时代在线课程的最大特色是在多感官智能交互环境下师生平等合作解决问题。在线课程是实现Web 3.0教育理念的重要手段之一,而其成功的核心是学生学习的积极主动性。教师实施在线课程需要具备无缝整合多种技术的能力,但更重要的是教育理念的更新,需要进行学习空间、学习方式和学习内容的体系化变革。这种要求无论是对物理空间的学校教育还是网络虚拟空间的学生学习具有同样的适用性,并且相互推动形成开放式、混合式的未来教育。     

The impact of attendance on first-year study success in problem-based learning

The literature on first-year study success has identified a host of factors that may affect a student’s chances of succeeding, ranging from personal circumstances to educational environment. One of the factors that often emerges in this context is (non-)attendance of classes, lectures and tutorials. Intuitively, one would expect this to be all the more important in programmes that employ a student-centred and interactive approach to learning, such as problem-based learning. Interestingly, there is little dedicated research that looks into the importance of (non-)attendance in such a learning environment. This article addresses this gap in the literature by looking at the effect of (non-)attendance on the study success of three cohorts of Maastricht University’s Bachelor in European Studies (annual intake of 325–350 students). Controlling for a range of factors, we find that attendance matters for several measures of study success and also for the committed and participating student.     

Interactive learning system “VisMis” for scientific visualization course

Now visualization courses have been taught at universities around the world. Keeping students motivated and actively engaged in this course can be a challenging task. In this paper we introduce our developed interactive learning system called VisMis (Visualization and Multi-modal Interaction System) for postgraduate scientific visualization course at Beijing Normal University. We develop it following the Great Didactic from Comenius and the theory of constructivism on constructing the visual and interactive learning environment to support and challenge the student’s learning. We give a report on our proprietary system including its educational objective, volume visualization module, multi-modal interaction module, and CUDA implementation etc. By the evaluation, we conclude that VisMis is an innovative platform for volume visualization with novel transfer function design and multi-modal interaction. It has more advantage in easiness, speed, layer control, interaction, etc.     

Students embracing change towards more powerful learning environments in vocational education

Students’ educational engagement is both an important predictor of study success and a key preventive factor for dropout. Vocational tracks in secondary education show high dropout rates. There is strong evidence that the solution to educational disengagement lies in student‐centred, powerful learning environments (PLEs). This study investigates characteristics of PLEs from the perspective of students in vocational secondary education. Students’ perspectives on a learning environment are crucial for their satisfaction and learning engagement. Therefore, we investigated whether the perceived learning environment meets the requirements of PLEs, and to what extent it meets students’ preferences. Additionally, it was investigated whether students who perceive their learning environment as more powerful, are also more engaged for school. Survey data of 532 students showed that student perceptions of their current learning environment were largely discrepant from the characteristics of PLEs. Students strongly asked for more challenging learning pathways, in combination with adaptive learning support. Students who perceived the characteristics of PLEs as being present, reported higher satisfaction and stronger engagement than students who perceived their education to be a less powerful environment. There is a need to redesign curricula in vocational education in such a way that these more intensely implement characteristics of PLEs.     

An interactive learning environment (ILE) to study statistics: Effects of prior knowledge on the use of embedded support devices

The present contribution focuses on an interactive learning environment for the delivery of distance education learning materials. The use of such an interactive learning environment is foreseen in a distance education context in which students explore and study (part) of the learning materials by means of a personal computer. Research with interactive learning environments is transposed to the development of a course delivery environment, called ILCE, that also supports the development of a course model and learning materials. A learning environment as used in the present study allows students to access the course materials in a more flexible way. The printed self-study materials often do not correspond with the specific needs of a student, are only weakly related to his or her prior knowledge, or do not take account of differences in learning style. Although the printed course materials include text-embedded support devices (e.g., examples, exercises, illustrations), it is questioned whether the available devices provide enough support for each individual student. Therefore, it is argued that an interactive learning environment — in which a student is actively engaged in selecting learning materials (basic content and embedded support devices) — may provide a valuable tool in order to meet the individual needs of the student. Prototypes of an interactive learning environment were tested in two experimental settings. It appeared that all students were actively engaged in selecting the required support devices. However, the results showed that students with a high prior knowledge state manifested a higher amount of interactive use of support devices than their peers with a low prior knowledge state. The latter was especially found for support devices that either reinforce the acquisition process or provide a tool to test one’s mastery level.     

The Management of Integrated Educational Environment Resources: the factors to be considered

Today, as educational organisations have become large and complex systems, education managers play a greater role in developing the most efficient educational environment. This article analyses the strategic background for educational management in relation to creating a constructive educational environment aimed at supporting a sustainable learning process. It also attempts to describe the diversity of resources that the educational environment comprises. We propose a model for managing the educational environment resources (MMEER) to guide the resources allocation within this multi-level system. The article stresses the need to create an encouraging and motivating environment to use the material and non-material resources as well as the intellectual capital of an educational institution most efficiently, student motivation being an indispensable prerequisite for enhancing quality and increasing the performance of an educational organisation.     

Teaching about Human Relationships Education for primary school student‐teachers using an interactive CD‐ROM

Human Relationships Education is a very important part of primary school student‐teacher education. All primary school children need sound guidance and enhanced knowledge about puberty, growing up successfully, and feeling competent and confident in themselves. An interactive multimedia CD‐ROM was designed and developed for some Australian university student‐teachers in the final fourth year of their Bachelor of Education (Primary School), and addresses the Human Relationships Education curriculum. This paper analyses some of the pedagogies used in this pastoral care learning as examples of a Constructivist approach to designing multimedia interactivities based on Anderson and Krathwohl's learning framework. Such an approach may be useful for other educational designers to improve student‐teacher involvement in their pastoral care learning, to provide pedagogical variation and to use interactive multimedia, thus enhancing learning outcomes for student‐teachers and, in turn, their primary school students.     

基于学生任务建模的开放性问题解决环境的设计与评价

开放性问题解决环境是一种全新的互动学习环境，其设计、分析与评价是一个综合了方法论、技术、系统性等多方面因素的复杂过程。通过对国外有关文献的分析研究，介绍了与教育环境设计与评价有关的问题，概括了基于学生任务建模概念的设计与评价框架结构，并探讨了设计与评价的支持工具的可用性问题以及该框架结构在开放性问题解决教育环境的评价过程中所产生的积极作用。     

An interactive diagnosis approach for supporting clinical nursing courses

Clinical resources in nursing schools are always insufficient for satisfying the practice requirements of each student at the same time during a formal course session. Although several studies have applied information and communication technology to develop computer-based learning tools for addressing this problem, most of these developments lack appropriate interactive and diagnostic services to assist students in bridging theory–practice gaps and realizing individual flaws in their nursing skills. Therefore, this study aims to develop an interactive clinical learning and diagnosis system that provides a web-based interactive learning environment and personalized diagnostic service for nursing education. An experiment was conducted in a foundations of nursing course at a nursing college in Taiwan. The experimental results show that the proposed approach is helpful to students in improving their learning motivation, performance, and attitude. Moreover, it was also found that most students showed positive perceptions toward the usage of the proposed system.     

Assessing the impact of learning environments: How to use student ratings of classroom or school characteristics in multilevel modeling

In educational research, characteristics of the learning environment (e.g., social climate, instructional quality, goal orientation) are often assessed via student reports, and their associations with outcome variables such as school achievement or student motivation then tested. However, studying the effects of the learning environment presents a series of methodological challenges. This article discusses three crucial elements in research that uses student reports to gauge the impact of the learning environment on student outcomes. First, from a conceptual point of view, it is argued that ratings aggregated at the relevant level (e.g., class or school level), and not individual student ratings, are of primary interest in these studies. Second, the reliability of aggregated student ratings must be routinely assessed before these perceptions are related to outcome variables. Third, researchers conducting multilevel analyses need to make very clear which centering option was chosen for the predictor variables. This article shows that conclusions about the impact of learning environments can be substantially affected by the choice of a specific centering option for the individual student ratings.     

一个天真而危险的教育口号:不让每个学生落下

不让每个学生落下,这一口号蕴含了以现行教育对每个孩子进行改造的合理性与普遍性。它要求学校与教师使每个孩子都能得到和其他孩子相近或相当的教育结果,这是一种对标准化教学与评价的吁求。为了这一口号,学校教育变异为对数字结果的敏感与对自身的保护,学生们则成为实现这一目标所必需被操纵、强制与压迫的工具。"不让每个学生落下"并不等同于尊重与关心不同学生之不同需要。实际上,这一口号旨在消除不同学生之不同需要,迫使他们将赚取分数、学习文化课作为惟一真实的教育需要。为了孩子们更为丰富的生活和个性发展,"落下者"的意义需要重新被思寻。     

Sustaining Knowledge Building as a Principle-Based Innovation at an Elementary School

This study explores Knowledge Building as a principle-based innovation at an elementary school and makes a case for a principle- versus procedure-based approach to educational innovation, supported by new knowledge media. Thirty-nine Knowledge Building initiatives, each focused on a curriculum theme and facilitated by nine teachers over eight years, were analyzed using measures of student discourse in a Knowledge Building environment–Knowledge Forum. Results were analyzed from the perspective of student, teacher, and principal engagement to identify conditions for Knowledge Building as a school-wide innovation. Analyses of student discourse showed interactive and complementary contributions to a community knowledge space, conceptual content of growing scope and depth, and collective responsibility for knowledge advancement. Analyses of teacher and principal engagement showed supportive conditions such as shared vision and trust in student competencies to the point of enabling transfer of agency for knowledge advancement to students; ever-deepening understanding of Knowledge Building principles; knowledge emergent through collective responsibility; a coherent systems perspective; teacher professional Knowledge Building communities; and leadership supportive of innovation at all levels. More substantial advances for students were related to years of teachers' experience in this progressive knowledge-advancing enterprise.     

Investigating the classroom learning environment of resilient and non-resilient students from inner-city elementary schools

The serious educational, community, and family problems facing students in urban cities present a formidable challenge to educators. One factor that has been found to be positively associated with student achievement in inner-city schools is the quality of the classroom learning environment. The study reported in this chapter addresses the problems of students in these schools by drawing upon two distinct and emerging theoretical frameworks: educationally resilient students and classroom learning environments. The results of the study indicated that resilient students had higher motivation and more positive perceptions of their learning environments.     

Enhancing Student Performance Using Tablet Computers

Tablet PCs have the potential to change the dynamics of classroom interaction through wireless communication coupled with pen-based computing technology that is suited for analyzing and solving engineering problems. This study focuses on how tablet PCs and wireless technology can be used during classroom instruction to create an Interactive Learning Network (ILN) that is designed to enhance the instructor's ability to solicit active participation from all students during lectures, to conduct immediate and meaningful assessment of student learning, and to provide needed real-time feedback and assistance to maximize student learning. This interactive classroom environment is created using wireless tablet PCs and a software application, NetSupport School. Results from two separate controlled studies of the implementation of this model of teaching and learning in a sophomore-level Introductory Circuit Analysis course show a statistically significant positive impact on student performance. Additionally, results of student surveys show overwhelmingly positive student perception of the effects of this classroom environment on their learning experience. These results indicate that the interactive classroom environment developed using wireless tablet PCs has the potential to be a more effective teaching pedagogy in problem-solving intensive courses compared with traditional instructor-centered teaching environments.     

Knowledge constructing through hypermedia authoring

According to prominent learning theorists, learning is much more than gathering information in a well-designed, teacher-centered environment; learning is promoted when students pursue individual interests, when they build on prior knowledge, and when they engage in hands-on and authentic activity. Although a great deal of literature exists describing ideals such as these, research examining the implementation of these ideals in classrooms is scarce, and using technology for more than information giving is even scarcer. The purpose of this study was to examine a graduate course at a large, Midwestern university to discern how educational theory translates into classroom practice. In the course, students learned about educational theory by designing and creating a hypermedia chapter for a World Wide Web-based book. Qualitative data were collected across a 16-week semester and revealed both student and teacher perspectives regarding the course, including the strengths and limitations of a student-as-multimedia-author approach. The findings indicated that most all students were highly satisfied with the course, that some transferred learning, and that students developed skills and knowledge with instructional design, educational theory, and technology.     

Empowering learners with personalised learning approaches? Agency,equity and transparency in the context of learning analytics

Abstract

The emergence of personalised data technologies such as learning analytics is framed as a solution to manage the needs of higher education student populations that are growing ever more diverse and larger in size. However, the current approach to learning analytics presents tensions between increasing student agency in making learning-related decisions and ‘datafying’ students in the process of collecting, analysing and interpreting data. This article presents a study that explores staff and student experience of agency, equity and transparency in existing data practices and expectations towards learning analytics in a UK university. The results show a number of intertwined factors that have contributed to the tensions between enhancing a learner’s control of their studies and, at the same time, diminishing their autonomy as an active agent in the process of learning analytics. This article argues that learner empowerment should not be automatically assumed to have taken place as part of the adoption of learning analytics. Instead, the interwoven power relationships in a complex educational system and the interactions between humans and machines need to be taken into consideration when presenting learning analytics as an equitable process to enhance student agency and educational equity.