Membership,participation and knowledge building in virtual communities for informal learning

This paper reports on a study involving the design of a virtual community for informal learning about Thai herbs. The community relied on social networking tools and a database of expert knowledge as well as community coordinators. One group of coordinators (Community A) concentrated efforts in recruitment of members on those individuals most likely to be interested in Thai herbs. The second group of coordinators (Community B) recruited from among friends, family and acquaintances. Analysis and t‐tests of measurement of membership, participation and knowledge building revealed higher rates for Community A. Results pertaining to the design of the virtual community, which showed that members mostly used the database, provide evidence to support the hypothesis that members' access to expert knowledge positively influences participation and knowledge building in a virtual community for informal learning. Results of the comparison of Community A versus Community B provide evidence to support the hypothesis that interest in the subject of the community positively influences membership, participation and knowledge building in a virtual community for informal learning.     

Understanding user behavioral patterns in open knowledge communities

Open knowledge communities (OKCs) have become popular in the era of knowledge economy. This study aimed to explore how users collaboratively create and share knowledge in OKCs. In particular, this research identified the behavior distribution and behavioral patterns of users by conducting frequency distribution and lag sequential analyses. Some major problems, including the lack of certain significant behavioral sequences and the inadequacies of knowledge-sharing mechanisms and culture, were also determined. Moreover, this research discussed related problems and proposed several improvement measures for developing OKCs. Finally, the implications for researchers and practitioners were stated, and the shortcomings of this study were presented.     

Fostering highly engaged knowledge building communities in socioemotional and sociocognitive hybrid learning spaces

With the aim of understanding sociocognitive and socioemotional hybridity in learning spaces, we examined a semester-long learning community where students were given the freedom to advance their epistemological and social agendas across face-to-face and online settings. We collected and analyzed 1,780 online notes written by students throughout the semester and coded them based on their sociocognitive or socioemotional values. We then examined the conversation chains that students engaged in vis-a-vis their developments as a group. In addition to showing how the group developmental stages served as a macro-level context for the socioemotional and sociocognitive spaces, the analysis highlighted how deep, rapid, community knowledge building conversations spontaneously emerged in relation to the timing of socioemotional developments. This study elucidates an important dimension of hybrid spaces, emphasizing the need to design activities to support both sociocognitive and socioemotional spaces in technology-enhanced learning communities.     

How social network position relates to knowledge building in online learning communities

Social Network Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Content Analysis and other research methods were used to research online learning communities at Capital Normal University, Beijing. Analysis of the two online courses resulted in the following conclusions: (1) Social networks of the two online courses form typical core-periphery structures; (2) Social networks of the two online courses contain “structural holes,” where some actors position themselves to become potential opinion-leaders within their social networks; (3) Actors, variously positioned within a core-periphery structure, show quite significant differences in terms of knowledge building; (4) Taking “structural holes” into account, there exist considerable differences in knowledge building between opinion-leaders and non opinion-leaders; (5) Actors in the “core” and “structural hole” positions have very different characteristics in terms of knowledge building. These actors in particular play important roles in online learning communities, impacting on the level of the constructed knowledge.     

Conversational functions for knowledge building communities: a coding scheme for online interactions

The aim of this study was to develop a coding scheme rooted in the Knowledge Building model, named Conversational Functions for Knowledge Building (CF4KB), to analyze students’ interactions in an online undergraduate course. In order to develop the coding scheme, we analyzed students discourse and identified the kinds of “Conversational Functions” students performed. Connecting these identified functions with Knowledge Building Model principles, we developed the coding scheme to analyze knowledge building [In the present article, we used “Knowledge Building” to indicate the theoretical model and “knowledge building” to refer to the activity of the community members.] activity. Applying the resulting coding scheme, two independent judges coded 186 messages posted into Knowledge Forum by 26 students (5 men and 21 women) attending the online course of Educational Psychology at University of Valle d’Aosta to develop the coding scheme. The inter-coder agreements obtained were 77.3 and 78.0%, with Cohen’s K?=?0.68 and 0.66, respectively for Specific and Global Conversational Functions level. The theoretical implications and possible uses in different contexts for future inquiry of this instrument are discussed.     

在审美体验中观照自我

中学语文教学是对学生进行审美教育的重要阵地.笔者有感于当前语文教学中普遍存在的弊端,即以教师的审美代替学生的审美,学生处于被动接受的地位,故草就此文呼吁以学生为主体的审美教育观,让学生自己发现美、体验美,以达到观照自我,提高自我的目的.     

理工科高校人文教育课程的构建

长期以来,我国理工科大学生人文教育的状况不尽人意。许多高校尤其是理工科高校的人文教育课程在总体上受到轻视,由此制约了大学生人文素质的培养,制约了大学生综合素质的提高。本文分析了大部分理工科高校的人文教育课程设置的现状,分析对比了国外人文教育课程设置特点,尝试性的对建立适合我国理工科高校的人文教育课程体系提出了一些建议。     

奥林匹克人文知识教育内涵研究

奥林匹克教育包括奥林匹克历史知识教育和奥林匹克人文知识教育，本文主要从奥林匹克主义、宗旨、理想、精神等方面，探讨了奥林匹克人文知识教育的内涵．     

析住宅建筑规范条款的人性化进步

比较新旧住宅建筑规范在日照间距、采光、通风、绿地和无障碍等条款的变化，展示《新规范》条款适应新时期住宅产业的发展需求，体现其人性化进步。     

Pediatricians' knowledge, attitudes and experience regarding child maltreatment in Kuwait

OBJECTIVES: This cross-sectional survey was conducted to evaluate the awareness and actual professional experience of pediatricians in Kuwait regarding child maltreatment, a topic rarely explored in this part of the world. METHODS: Data were obtained from all pediatricians in public hospitals with pediatric emergency services using a structured detailed self-completed questionnaire. RESULTS: The experience of child neglect was more common than that of child abuse in the clinical practice of surveyed pediatricians. Fifty percent of 117 pediatricians (69% of all eligible) reported having encountered at least 1 case of abuse and up to 3 cases of neglect in the past year. Women and younger doctors more commonly recognized hypothetical situations as maltreatment, and believed child abuse and neglect as being common or very common in Kuwait. Other demographic or professional variables did not affect recognition of maltreatment. Participants would most likely alert social workers about suspected maltreatment cases. More than 80% did not know whether there is a legal obligation to report or which legal authorities should receive reports of suspected cases. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: National ethical guidelines regarding reporting suspected cases of maltreatment must be established. Laws protecting maltreated children and reporting physicians must be immediately enacted. Additional training is required to help pediatricians, especially expatriates from other cultures, to diagnose with certainty cases of child maltreatment in their practice in Kuwait.     

论虚拟学习社区中的知识建构

本文着眼于建构主义的知识观,从个人知识建构和社会知识建构这两个维度,阐明知识建构过程及其特点,并详述了虚拟学习社区对知识建构的支持功能,提出虚拟学习社区的知识建构的评价标准。本文认为,从知识的“浅层建构”走向“深层建构”,应采用协作知识建构,把概念性的知识和丰富的问题情境联系起来。正是在虚拟学习社区这种丰富的情境中,不同的知识得到频繁的使用和反复的建构,学习者的知识的质量逐渐从底层向高层螺旋上升,学习者逐步成为专家型的学习者。     

Modes of knowledge and patterns of power

The paper attempts to identify the extent to which modes of knowledge can be associated with different patterns of and assumptions about power.It discusses the meanings and scope of power itself, i.e. both within and beyond epistemic communities, as against ‘social robustness’ implying more democratic or inclusive forms of evaluation.It analyses the extent to which knowledge has shifted from an internalist perspective relying on the prestige of epistemic communities towards socially relevant assumptions resting within social contexts. It discusses the factors affecting types of power patterns, such as: the nature of sponsors’ objectives and the uses to which they might put knowledge; epistemic characteristics; the nature of the resource required, and the stage of finalisation reached. It sketches the range of models of sponsorship to which knowledge is subjected – from that of the free standing and autonomous individual through different patterns of sponsorship to the directly managed.It attempts to link these classifications to a range of empirical examples, including the power of knowledge in government and in crossing the boundaries between universities and industry.In discussing the reciprocal relationships between power and knowledge, it accepts that power affects the identification, use and transmission of knowledge. It is concerned, however, to question overdetermined perspectives of the relationships between knowledge and power whose mutual impacts may be strong but not easily predicted or defined.     

Relationships among professionals' knowledge, experience, and expectations regarding cochlear implants

THE PRESENT STUDY examined the relationships between teachers' and communication clinicians' self-reported knowledge on cochlear implants and their expectations of CIs. The authors also explored these professionals' views regarding the child's communication mode, educational setting, and social options following cochlear implantation. The participants were 47 teachers of deaf students and 35 communication clinicians. The results showed that there were no significant differences between the two groups in self-reported knowledge on CI. Both groups knew very little about mapping, costs, or insurance, and reported good knowledge about candidacy. Expectations from CIs were moderate to high, and were significantly related to respondents' knowledge and specific experience with CIs. Most professionals in both groups supported spoken-language communication, individual inclusion, and social exposure to children with normal hearing as well as to children with hearing impairments.     

Schools and communities: An experience in rural India

When India became independent, primary education in the state of Rajasthan was made the responsibility of the Panchayats (Village Councils), and a number of village schools were opened. However they only drew around 40 per cent of the 6–11 age group, and the curricula, text books, and even the teachers themselves, recruited from the cities, were out of touch with the needs of the rural communities. A study conducted in 1974 showed that, to improve the situation, it would be necessary to make the school more relevant to village life, to involve the parents in planning, and to run it at times when the children could be spared from domestic or farm work; to select the teachers from village residents; and to adapt the curricula and teaching methods to the environment. An appropriate programme was worked out and introduced in three villages in 1975. It provided for morning classes for the regular pupils and evening school for children who worked during the day. The emphasis in the curricula was to be on agriculture and animal husbandry, and teaching methods were to be closely in keeping with the life of the village. Suitable local people were found and trained as teachers. The author describes the implementation of this programme in detail. It proved a success and has now been extended to ten villages with a total attendance at the schools of more than five hundred children.

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Zusammenfassung Als Indien unabhängig wurde, übertrug man im Staat Rajasthan die Grundschulbildung der Verantwortung den Panchayats (Dorf-Räten) und eine Reihe von Dorfschulen wurde eröffnet. Aber diese erfaßten nur etwa 40% der Altersgruppe von 6–11 Jahren, und die Lehrpläne, die Textbücher, ja sogar die aus den Städten rekrutierten Lehrer selbst hatten keinerlei Berührung mit den Bedürfnissen der ländlichen Gemeinwesen. Aus einer 1974 durchgeführten Untersuchung ergab sich, daß es zur Verbesserung der Lage notwendig sein würde, der Schule mehr Bedeutung für das dörfliche Leben zu verleihen; die Eltern in die Planung einzubeziehen; zu den Zeiten Schule zu halten, da die Kinder bei der häuslichen und bäuerlichen Arbeit entbehrt werden konnten; die Lehrer unter den Dorfbewohnern auszuwählen, sowie Lehrpläne und Unterrichtsmethoden der Umwelt anzupassen. Nach Ausarbeitung eines geeigneten Programms wurde dieses 1975 in drei Dörfern eingeführt. Den regulären Schülern bot es Vormittagsunterricht und den tagsüber arbeitenden Kindern eine Abendschule. In den Curricula sollte das Hauptgewicht auf Landwirtschaft und Viehzucht liegen, und die Unterrichtsmethoden sollten genau auf das Leben des Dorfes abgestimmt werden. Geeignete Einheimische wurden gefunden und zu Lehrern ausgebildet. Der Verfasser beschreibt im einzelnen die Einführung dieses Programms. Es erwies sich als wirksam und wurde nun auf zehn Dörfer übertragen, so daß jetzt ingesamt mehr als fünfhundert Kinder die Schulen besuchen.

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Résumé Lorsque l'Inde est devenue indépendante, l'enseignement primaire, dans l'état de Rajasthan, a été placé sous la responsabilité des Panchayats (Conseils de village), et un grand nombre d'écoles ont été ouvertes dans les villages. Toutefois, elles ne furent fréquentées que par 40% environ des enfants appartenant au groupe d'âge de 6 à 11 ans, car les curricula, les manuels scolaires et même les enseignants qui étaient recrutés dans les villes, ne tenaient pas compte des besoins des communautés rurales. Une enquête menée en 1974 a montré que pour améliorer la situation il faudrait que l'école ait davantage de rapports avec la vie du village, qu'elle fasse participer les parents à la planification et que les classes fonctionnent quand les parents peuvent se passer de l'aide des enfants pour les travaux domestiques ou ceux de la ferme. L'enquête a révélé également qu'il fallait choisir les enseignants parmi les habitants du village; enfin que les curricula et les méthodes d'enseignement soient adaptés à l'environnement. Un programme approprié a alors été élaboré et appliqué expérimentalement dans trois villages en 1975. Ce programme assurait des classes matinales pour les élèves réguliers et des classes vespérales pour les enfants travaillant dans la journée. L'accent des curricula était mis sur l'agriculture et l'élevage, et les méthodes d'enseignement étaient en harmonie avec la vie du village. Des gens du cru, répondant à certains critères, étaient formés pour devenir des enseignants. L'auteur décrit en détail la mise en application de ce programme qui s'est révélé un succès. Il est maintenant étendu à dix villages et plus de cinq cents enfants fréquentent l'école.

     

Teachers as readers: building communities of readers

Given the narrow scope of primary teachers' knowledge and use of children's literature identified in Phase I of Teachers as Readers (2006–2007), the core goal of the Phase II project was to improve teachers' knowledge and experience of such literature in order to help them increase children's motivation and enthusiasm for reading, especially those less successful in literacy. The year‐long Phase II project, Teachers as Readers: Building Communities of Readers, which was undertaken in five Local Authorities (LAs) in England, also sought to build new relationships with parents and families and to explore the concept of a “Reading Teacher (RT): a teacher who reads and a reader who teaches” (Commeyras and colleagues). The research design was multilayered; involving data collection at individual, school and LA levels, and using a range of quantitative and qualitative data research methods and tools. This paper provides an overview of the Phase II research. It suggests that teachers need support if they are to develop children's reading for pleasure, and enhance their involvement as socially engaged and self‐motivated readers.     

More than relations between self,others and nature: outdoor education and aesthetic experience

Self, others and nature (environment) have been suggested over numerous decades and in various places as a way of understanding experience in outdoor education. These three elements and the relations between them appear to cover it all. But is this really the final word on understanding experience? In this paper I explore two emphases within experience expressed by Peirce that offer differing ways of understanding experience: in one emphasis self, others and nature are submerged and not discerned; in the other they appear as the three familiar and related elements. The first emphasis is phenomenological and focused on a simple whole; the other is pragmatic and concerned with a total whole (elements in a totality). The key distinction here is that between something simple (one-fold) and something total (manifold). For Heidegger the difference between these is the ontological difference, where the two differing emphases are be-ing (verb) and beings (noun); or, expressed in another way, phenomenological thinking and calculative thinking. For Dewey these two emphases are revealed as aesthetic and reflective experience, both connected via inquiry. Awareness of this difference and connection suggests that issues involving self, others and nature as elements emerge from and return to the aesthetic ways of being (or occupations) that we build through our programme design and conduct. Relations between self, others and nature are submerged within these ways of being, highlighting how our programme design and conduct does not merely concern activities (including reflective activities), but involves building ways of being.     

The importance of computer experience,learning processes,and communication patterns in multicultural networking

This paper reports on a case study which was undertaken to study issues fundamental to a computer-assisted, multicultural education. During the study, a group of Asian American middle-school students corresponded with culturally dissimilar students using telecommunications. The data reported reflect the Asian American students' experience. Results concerning three themes of the research are discussed: computer knowledge, learning processes, and communication patterns. Findings indicate that students of different ethnic backgrounds may have different attitudes about and knowledge of computers, cross-cultural communication patterns, and learning processes when working with computers. These differences should be taken into account when planning a computer-assisted, multicultural curriculum. The authors wish to thank Andy Xiong for his invaluable assistance on this project. We would also like to thank the three teachers for their contributions to the research. This research was supported by a grant from the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, College of Education, University of Minnesota.