Enhancing postgraduate learning and development: a participatory action learning and action research approach through conferences

As supervisors who advocate the transformational potential of research both to generate theory and practical and emancipatory outcomes, we practice participatory action learning and action research (PALAR). This paper offers an illustrative case of how supervision practices based on action learning can foster emancipatory and lifelong learning within a university context that is becoming ever more focused on throughput of students, rather than on the quality of their learning. Conference attendance offers an excellent opportunity for postgraduate students to develop as researchers and lifelong learners, yet anxiety often prevents them from making the most of the learning experience. We explain how we encouraged the development of capabilities in students through a PALAR support programme that assisted postgraduate students prepare for a conference to make overall participation, presenting a paper and subsequent publication a true learning experience. We generated and analysed data from the written reflections of 11 postgraduate students who participated in the programme. The findings suggest that action learning, specifically PALAR, can be used to enable a rich learning experience for postgraduate students attending conferences through fostering relationships, building trust, a supportive environment, collaboration, communication and competence among them. Postgraduate students who experienced our PALAR support programme developed not only skills, knowledge, confidence and deeper appreciation of learning opportunities through conferences, but also understanding of the principles of PALAR that apply not just to the conference context but across all aspects of learning and research and life at large.     

Supporting the development of early years students’ professional identities through an action research programme

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the aims, rationale and aspects of a new Action Research (AR) module developed for level 6, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) students. The aims of the module are three-fold: First, to support learners in developing the research and academic skills needed to investigate their own practices, generate knowledge and engage in critical reflection. Second, to assist students to be active agents in questioning and designing changes to improve their practice. Third, to support them in disseminating their work in the public sphere and thus take an active part in discussions about their field of practice. Drawing on the processes of ongoing reflection and collaborative enquiry, our vision is to emancipate our students; support them in repositioning themselves as powerful agents with significant insights and the power to make a difference to their practice. However, facilitating emancipatory AR can pose several challenges, on individual, institutional and political levels. The aim of this paper is to reaffirm the rationale for AR as an epistemological, methodological and political tool that can support the professional identities of our learners; also, to address some of the anticipated complexities and tensions of employing emancipatory AR in an academic environment.     

Changing educational practice in the early years through practitioner-led action research: an Adult-Child Interaction Project

This article reports the development of the first two years of a three-year project that examines the effectiveness of adult–child interactions in the early years, and tracks the development of teachers’ thinking and practice as they engage in practitioner-led action research. The Adult-Child Interaction Project involves practitioners who work with children from six months to six years in one local authority in England as they aim to develop their practice. On the basis of action research cycle, the methods include systematic video observation and stimulated recall; individual, paired and collaborative reflective dialogue; project logs and critical engagement with research. A distinctive feature is continuous engagement with an early years expert as a co-researcher and reflective partner in the processes of change and development. This article focuses on the impact and effectiveness of the project methodology, specifically the strategies that support critical reflection, dialogue and change processes.     

Catalysing student autonomy through action research in a problem centred learning environment

This autobiographical article describes action research, utilising a hermeneutic dialectic methodology, on the efficacy of problem-based learning. In the emergent research design, the research focus for the teacher evolved as: “Can I, as an instructor, teach science in such a way that: the use of science in real life is emphasised; an interdisciplinary approach is utilised; assessment is an integral part of instruction; and learning is student-driven, not teacher directed?” To answer this research question, the article focuses on the emergence of students' critical thinking skills, the relevance of science concepts taught, the interdisciplinary nature of the problems addressed, the use of alternative methods of assessment, and the changing roles of the teacher and the students. One significant finding reported in the article is the development of student autonomy, as the problem-based learning format allowed students freedom to pursure diverse research agendas and to accept increasing responsibility for their own learning.     

Improving learning environments through whole-school collaborative action research

Learning Environments Research - The focus of professional learning on activities has changed to internal growth or change among teachers. Our 3-year whole-school collaborative action research was...     

On the bus and online: instantiating an interactive learning environment through design-based research

The World Health Organization converted an award-winning experiential learning course that takes place on a bus traveling down the “cold chain” for time- and temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products in Turkey to an online interactive learning environment through design-based research. Similarities and differences in the objectives of the two courses as well as the overlap in the learning activities, tools, and technologies deployed in courses are delineated. Many learning activities from the real bus course were successfully moved to the online course, but a few learning activities from the bus course could not be replicated in the online environment. However, several new and arguably more effective learning activities were implemented online that could not be accomplished on the bus. Design principles for developing online experiential learning environments were derived from the design-based research.     

Connecting initial teacher education and continuing professional learning through action research and action learning

This paper reflects our commitments as teacher educators to develop the skills, knowledge and interests amongst ‘nearly qualified teachers’ to establish action learning as an integral part of their professional practice. We outline the development of an undergraduate unit that is endeavouring to achieve this at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. Key principles and characteristics of action research and action learning are used as a framework for critical reflection on the unit. Attempting to provide learning experiences that adhere to these principles within the context of initial teacher education courses is identified as a challenging process. Planned developments in which we seek to enhance the extent to which teacher education can be seen to embrace and promote action research and action learning are discussed.     

交往学习论

交往学习是指学习者以他人为对象并以与他人的对话和互动为主要形式的学习类型。交往学习是有别于知识学习和操作学习的一种独立类型的学习。其机制在于双方的对话和互动对交往主体建构、理解和生成意义的影响。交往学习具有促进个体的自我意识和社会性素质的形成以及丰富人的发展的效应。     

Enhancing student learning of research methods through the use of undergraduate teaching assistants

By using a quasi-experimental design, in this study, we test the effect of undergraduate teaching assistants on student learning. Data were collected from 170 students enrolled in four sections of a quantitative research methods course, two sections without undergraduate teaching assistants and two sections with undergraduate teaching assistants, over two semesters. Results indicate that having undergraduate teaching assistants in the classroom can result in higher student performance. Students in the sections with undergraduate teaching assistants earned higher grades, were more likely to pass the course with a C or higher and performed better on half of the student learning outcomes than students in the sections without an undergraduate teaching assistant. Based on the overwhelmingly positive results on student learning, we would recommend the active use of undergraduate teaching assistants in the classroom, but especially for courses that students find challenging.     

Enhancing action learning with student feedback

Action learning is based on three educational principles—reflection, community, and action—that interrelate and reinforce each other to support ongoing learning about experiences in the workplace. This study explains how an action learning program established for a small group of science teachers in a secondary high school lasted for two years. In this study feedback in the form of student interviews about teaching and learning were introduced to the teacher discussions to enhance the process of action learning. The student feedback gave the teachers an alternative perspective on their experiences and were a catalyst for reflection that helped the teachers to sustain their learning over a period of two years.     

Enhancing transfer of learning through post-course reflection

This article investigates how a structured post-course follow-up reflection activity affects the depth of reflection and facilitates the transfer of learning. The research is reflective, based on the findings from the Action Learning Management Practicum, a 3^rd year paper at Massey University, New Zealand. The initial reflections at the end of the course generally went no deeper than students “noticing”, or “making sense” of the experiences. With the benefit of distance and time away from the course, the students' reflection was deep and insightful. The findings suggest that the post-course reflection activity enables participants to “make meaning” from their experiences with the benefit of time and distance from the initial post-course reflection, thus enhancing the transfer of learning. The article argues for an extension and adaptation to Kolb's “Experiential Learning Cycle” model in relation to the time of reflection based on the empirical evidence provided.     

Enhancing transfer of learning through post-course reflection

Abstract

This article investigates how a structured post-course follow-up reflection activity affects the depth of reflection and facilitates the transfer of learning. The research is reflective, based on the findings from the Action Learning Management Practicum, a 3^rd year paper at Massey University, New Zealand. The initial reflections at the end of the course generally went no deeper than students “noticing”, or “making sense” of the experiences. With the benefit of distance and time away from the course, the students' reflection was deep and insightful. The findings suggest that the post-course reflection activity enables participants to “make meaning” from their experiences with the benefit of time and distance from the initial post-course reflection, thus enhancing the transfer of learning. The article argues for an extension and adaptation to Kolb's “Experiential Learning Cycle” model in relation to the time of reflection based on the empirical evidence provided.     

Enhancing the undergraduate student experience via fund-raising partnerships: an action research project

This project was developed from practitioner action research and considers the impact of integrating fund-raising activities into the formal curriculum with a target group of undergraduate students. The main aim of this project was to evaluate the impact of developing fund-raising activities as an integral aspect at both module and programme levels, grounded within practitioner action research. A core component of this aim was to develop value-added structures into established modules to support the student experience and student identity. Furthermore, the project sought to broaden, develop and strengthen links with the local wider community, recognising the value such interactions can bring. Finally, the project set out to develop integration opportunities between the students and organisations in order to develop the students’ awareness of workforce options as future professionals. This study is based within one post-1992 higher education institution and consisted of three inter-related but distinct phases. The project involved 60 students during Phase 1, building to some 200 students by Phase 3. The findings suggest that fund-raising activities built into the formal curriculum can be a useful medium for promoting student identity whilst providing a ‘value-added’ component to existing programmes of study.     

An ecological footprint for an early learning centre: identifying opportunities for early childhood sustainability education through interdisciplinary research

In this study, engineers and educators worked together to adapt and apply the ecological footprint (EF) methodology to an early learning centre in Brisbane, Australia. Results were analysed to determine how environmental impact can be reduced at the study site and more generally across early childhood settings. It was found that food, transport and energy consumption had the largest impact on the centre’s overall footprint. In transport and energy, early childhood centres can reduce their impact through infrastructure and cultural change, in association with changed curriculum strategies. Building design, the type of energy purchased and appliance usage can all be modified to reduce the energy footprint. The transport footprint can be reduced through more families using active and public transport, which can be encouraged by providing information, support and facilities and appropriate siting of new centres. Introducing the concept of ecological footprint in early childhood education may be an effective way to educate children, staff and parents on the links between the food they eat, land usage and environmental impact. This study responds directly to the call in this journal for research focused on early childhood education and for more to be made of interdisciplinary research opportunities.     

Enhancing scientific discovery learning through metacognitive support

Using a virtual physics lab, we analyzed the impact of metacognitive support on simulation-based scientific discovery learning (SDL). The dependent variables for learning outcome were the immediate conceptual knowledge gain and the retained conceptual knowledge three weeks later. Additional dependent variables were the actual use of a domain-specific cognitive strategy, motivation, emotions, and cognitive load. To contrast the effects of metacognitive support with possible effects of goal specificity, the experimental study followed a 2 × 2 design with a sample of N = 129 ninth grade students and with metacognitive support (yes vs. no) and learning goals (specific vs. nonspecific) as factors. The results showed positive effects of metacognitive support on learning outcome, on actual cognitive strategy use, and on learning emotions. No interaction effect of metacognitive support and goal specificity on learning outcome was observed.     

Enhancing automatic control learning through Arduino-based projects

Systems dynamics and automatic control is classified as one of the toughest courses in the college of engineering at Qassim University according to the statistical analysis of the final grades. This motivated us to think about a new approach to teach this course by extending the design term project to include experimental part beside the theoretical analysis. This approach has become feasible due to the publicity of the low-cost microcontrollers such as the Arduino in the recent years. In this paper, we present our experience in conducting Arduino-based projects and how we used them to support the teaching of all the automatic control subjects in the course such as the mathematical modelling, the stability analysis, the controller design and the implementation of the PID controller. It was found that the new approach improves the attention and the overall performance of the students in the course which was reflected in the students’ marks in the quizzes and exams. Moreover, it motivated the students to be creative by utilising the control theory to design new systems that can be useful for their local community.     

Making departmental changes through action research,based on adult learning principles

Action research was used as a means of introducing adult learning principles into the teaching of an optometry department. The department took as an overall development theme the move from teacher-directed to leamer-directed activities. Pilot studies were used as a mechanism for trialling particular innovations. Lessons learnt from the pilot studies are shared with the remainder of the department for incorporation into other subjects, thus evolving a mechanism for departmental change. The paper shows how change occurred by reporting briefly two pilot studies as examples. The first used group project teams to prepare class presentations for specified topics. Some novel presentation methods were used by the student teams. Peer assessment was introduced into this subject in the second cycle of the pilot study as a result of feedback from the first cycle. The second pilot study introduced active learning methods in place of lectures.