Introducing MOOC-like methodologies in a face-to-face undergraduate course: a detailed case study

During the last years online education, in particular Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), has contributed to spread and popularize educational methodologies such as peer-review, automatic assessment, self-paced courses, self-evaluation, etc. Although these techniques can benefit face-to-face courses, most of them are not yet widely used in these courses. In this paper we present our experience integrating MOOC-like techniques in a face-to-face first year undergraduate course. We describe the academic and institutional context of the project, how we designed and adapted the methodologies to our face-to-face course, the software tools that we have used and developed to support and integrate such methodologies and, finally, we discuss some lessons learned from the experience that can be useful to potential users of these methodologies in face-to-face courses.     

Implications of massive open online courses for higher education: mitigating or reifying educational inequities?

The proliferation of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has stirred a fervent debate about global access to higher education. While some commentators praise MOOCs for expanding educational opportunities in a more open and accessible fashion, others criticize this trend as a threat to current models of higher education and a low-quality substitute for traditional learning. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review of both academic and popular media sources, this article will explore the impact of MOOCs on the field of higher education, with a particular emphasis on their promise to enhance educational opportunities worldwide. Specifically, the analysis will focus on the four issues that have – so far – proven to be most significant in shaping the future of MOOC as an equalizing force in higher education: credit, pedagogy, internationalization, and, finally, legal and financial aspects.     

Competences,Learning Theories and MOOCs: Recent Developments in Lifelong Learning

Our societies have come to be known as knowledge societies in which lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important. In this context, competences have become a much discussed topic. Many documents were published by international organisations (UNESCO, World Bank, European Commission) which enumerated 21^st century key competences. The field of learning theories has also experienced advances. Findings from neuroscience have promoted a new understanding of what really happens in the brain when we learn. At the same time, the fact that learning increasingly takes place in virtual communities led George Siemens (2004) to propose connectivism as a learning theory for the digital age. Similarly, Roberto Carneiro (2010) suggested a theory he called generativism which aims at describing collaborative learning with digital technologies and open educational resources. These theories might be better able to describe and explain lifelong learning than classical learning theories. In the field of digital technologies, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have recently received a great deal of attention. While Siemens suggested connectivist MOOCs (cMOOCs) as the ideal platform for connectivist learning, other forms of MOOCs were also developed. These MOOCs have spread at a breath-taking pace in the last few years, although it is far from clear to what extent they are based on principles from learning theories and really support learning. These developments will be presented and discussed with respect to their relevance for lifelong learning as an integral part of man's quest for meaning.     

False Echoes of the Past: Using Visual Art to Teach Critical Thinking about History

In this article, we explain how the Discipline-based Art Education Model (DBAE) represents an instructional tool to disturb teacher candidates and elementary students' commonly held notions of US history, motivate research into historical events, and revise understandings of historical topics so that they begin seeing how the past has shaped the present social environment. We describe a social studies methods course assignment that requires candidates' exploration of common history myths and development of lessons about accurate historical information. Finally, we provide two examples of lessons developed through the assignment to teach revisionist historical accounts using the DBAE.     

Refining success and dropout in massive open online courses based on the intention–behavior gap

In this paper we present an alternative typology for determining success and dropout in massive open online courses (MOOCs). This typology takes the perspectives of MOOC-takers into account and is based on the their intentions and subsequent behaviour. An explorative study using two MOOCs was carried out to test the applicability of the typology. Following the traditional approach based on course completion to identify educational success, success rates were 6.5 and 5.6%. The success rates from the perspectives of the MOOC-taker were 59 and 70%. These findings demonstrate that merely looking at course completion as a measure for success does not suffice in the context of MOOCs. This change in addressing MOOC success and dropout provides an alternative view and demonstrates the importance of MOOC-takers’ perspectives.     

教育改革不能回避历史

教育改革不能回避历史,回避历史的教育改革是很难成功的.历史有助于我们明确自身和教育问题的定位,发挥传统的力量.为此,教育改革者需要与历史研究者合作,彼此借重,相辅相成,坚守正确的历史态度和历史精神,全面深入地认识和准确地理解历史,以把握未来,开创新的历史.     

The Decentralisation Of Education In Kerala State, India: Rhetoric And Reality

The decentralisation of educational administration has been widely advocated as a strategy to promote local participation in education. However, the fact that this advocacy has a long history raises the question why decentralisation has not been achieved in more educational systems. The answers to this question are many and complex. Among them are difficulties with the implementation of reforms. The present study examines some of these difficulties in Kerala State, India. It determines that although Kerala has a strong reputation for political participation, the rhetoric of decentralisation in the educational sector has not matched the reality there. The lessons to be learned in this context have wide implications for the theory and practice of decentralisation in education.     

An issue without a history: a consideration of the impact of sustainable development upon school administration

It is problematic enough trying to extract the lessons from the past to inform the present and the future; it is even more difficult when there is no history upon which to draw. This is the case with respect to a consideration of the impact of sustainable development upon school administration. Whilst there is a history of events contributing to this issue, the recognition of its global importance is little more than three decades old, and its impact upon school administration remains critically unexamined. This article tries to redress this situation by examining some of the possible reasons for this omission, before suggesting that sustainable development comprises a pyramid of dependency of three related areas, environmental sustainability, social sustainability, and economic sustainability. Through an interpretive history of events which have brought this issue centre‐stage in public consciousness, it is discussed how such issues may impact upon school administration, and how they may be addressed. It concludes by suggesting that this area raises significant tensions between a number of societal values which educational leaders also need to address. In so doing, an historical perspective not only throws light on the past and the present, but highlights educational issues for the future.     

The Decentralisation Of Education In Kerala State,India: Rhetoric And Reality

The decentralisation of educational administration has been widely advocated as a strategy to promote local participation in education. However, the fact that this advocacy has a long history raises the question why decentralisation has not been achieved in more educational systems. The answers to this question are many and complex. Among them are difficulties with the implementation of reforms. The present study examines some of these difficulties in Kerala State, India. It determines that although Kerala has a strong reputation for political participation, the rhetoric of decentralisation in the educational sector has not matched the reality there. The lessons to be learned in this context have wide implications for the theory and practice of decentralisation in education.     

Parent-Child Collaborative Explanations: Methods of Identification and Analysis

Educational researchers are increasingly using design as a means of advancing their understanding. Historically design in educational research has served as a way to implement theories for testing. The emerging design research paradigm treats design as a strategy for developing and refining theories. In this article, I discuss the lessons that can be learned from design. Starting from a model that characterizes designs in terms of problem analyses, design solutions, and design processes, I describe 3 types of theories that can be developed through design research: domain theories, design frameworks, and design methodologies. I present examples from a design research program investigating software supports for reflective inquiry. I argue for design research as form of educational research because (a) design offers opportunities to learn unique lessons, (b) design research yields practical lessons that can be directly applied, and (c) design research engages researchers in the direct improvement of educational practice.     

Making history relevant to students by connecting past,present and future: a framework for research

History teaching usually focuses on understanding the past as an aim in itself. Research shows that many students don’t see the point of this and perceive history as not very useful. Yet history plays a major role in the orientation on present and future. If students fail to see this, the question arises whether this is due to a lack of explicit attention in history classes on the application of knowledge about the past to the present and the future. This article explores two questions: (1) If history is to be more relevant to students, what kind of objectives should play a central role in history teaching? (2) What kinds of teaching strategies align with these objectives in history teaching? The first question is answered by means of historical and educational theory. The second is answered by exploring a number of teaching strategies that have been described in the literature, as well as a small-scale experiment conducted by the authors. This article aims at providing a basis for developing meaningful history curricula as well as for research into educational strategies which can be deployed to teach students how to make connections between past, present and future.     

On historical thinking and the history educational challenge

Abstract

The notion of historical thinking has in recent years become popular in research on history education, particularly so in North America, the UK and Australia. The aim of this paper is to discuss the cognitive competencies related to historical thinking, as expressed by some influential Canadian researchers, as an history educational notion from two aspects: what is historical thinking and what does it mean in an educational context, and what are the consequences of historical thinking for history education? Our discussion will focus on possible implications of this approach to history education regarding what should be taught in history classrooms and why. By focusing on the notion of historicity, we want to argue that while a focus on a more disciplinary approach to history education is welcome, we think that more attention should be given to what could qualify as a disciplinary approach. We further argue historical thinking and the history educational challenge should be understood as wider and more complex than what history education informed by historical thinking entails.     

说士

本文拟就士这个群体或阶层历史地考察它在中国社会上的传统地位，在历史发展进程中起到的作用，给予适当的评价，作为史鉴。此次发表的只是全文的导言部分。     

Stemming the Tide of Rising School Exclusions: Problems and Possibilities

This paper argues that the New Labour government' school effectiveness/target-setting strategy for reducing school exclusions is a flawed one. It deflects blame on to individual schools for problems which have as their source more deep-seated changes both in educational policy and in the wider society. A more positive way forward is to learn lessons from the recent research literature addressing the causes of the increase in school exclusions.     

新课标下的高中历史课程教学设计探究

针对高中历史课程教学存在的主要问题,文章从依据学生的需要设置多元的教学目标、营造和谐的历史课堂教学氛围、充分重视备课环节、提高学生课堂参与度等方面,对高中历史课程教学设计的有效策略进行探讨,以期能够弥补传统历史教学的不足,让学生能够更好地掌握历史知识,提高历史学科核心素养。     

Historical Thinking -- and Its Alleged Unnaturalness

Abstract

No articulation of `historical thinking' has been as influential as Sam Wineburg's position, according to which historical thinking is, fundamentally, the recognition of the ways in which the past is different than the present. Wineburg argues, further, that achieving that state is `unnatural.' This paper critiques both of these claims, arguing instead that we should replace a generic conception of historical thinking with one that is much more rooted in the specific practice of the discipline. It is surely necessary for students to learn this practice, but it is not unnatural. Instead, learning to think historically is learning to speak the language of the discipline that we call ‘history.’     

慕课(MOOCs)与高等职业教育发展关系的探索

慕课(MOOCs)是现代信息技术在教育领域应用的新生事物。它不仅仅只是一种新型的优质教育资源生产、传播、消费的平台,更将是重塑新时代教育理念、体系、方法的一股变革力量。MOOCs理念、技术、方法的深入开发和广泛应用,为高等职业教育办学模式优化、质量提升、规模扩大、成本降低以及国际影响力增强提供了物质基础和技术条件。     

Massive Open Online Change? Exploring the Discursive Construction of the ‘MOOC’ in Newspapers

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been a prominent topic of recent educational discussion and debate. MOOCs are, in essence, university‐affiliated courses offered to large groups of online learners for little or no cost and are seen by many as a bellwether for change and reform across higher education systems. This study uses content and discourse analysis methods to examine how understandings of MOOC‐related ‘change’ were presented in US, UK and Australian newspapers. Drawing on detailed analysis of 457 newspaper articles published between 2011 and 2013, the findings point to a predominant portrayal of MOOCs in relation to the massification, marketization and monetization of higher education, rather than engaging in debate of either ‘technological’ or ‘educational’ issues such as online learning and pedagogy, instructional design or student experience. The article then considers the reasons underpinning this restricted framing of what many commentators have touted as a radical educational form—not least the apparently close association between MOOCs and the economics of higher education.