A group of nurses experience open learning—further explorations of the impact

The ideological moorings of distance education, both as a discipline and as a mode, rest on cognisance of multiple and varying contexts of learners, which it aims to address through responsive course content creation and delivery strategies. One of the frames through which the context needs to be understood is gender. There is research stating that gender both structures and influences the world of the learner and learner experience; therefore, learning needs to be contextualised to women’s personal, social, mental and emotional milieux. Through a qualitative inquiry, undertaken within the constructivist framework, aimed at uncovering the perspectives of learners and counsellors associated with five programmes of Indira Gandhi National Open University, the present paper attempts to revisit gender in open and distance learning (ODL). It seeks to uncover the impact of gender on learning through the distance mode; the need and availability of support structures in ODL to address the specific needs of women; the reflection and transaction of gender perspectives in content and pedagogy and, through this, to identify issues that may be relevant in the present‐day context. The findings of the study are not a function of gender alone. A matrix of variables appears to impact learner experience and response to ODL – the structuring of the programme and its requirements, the role(s) played by the counsellors, the motivations and the learning milieux created by the learners – all independently and collectively influence the learners’ – male and female – experience of ODL. While gender is not the independent variable each time, this does not mean that there are no gender‐specific issues any more – only that they need to be examined and answered in a particular context.     

上海电视大学与马来西亚宏愿大学学习者网上交互比较研究

开放与远程教育将来自不同国家或地区的学习者联系起来,通过Internet和学习管理系统(Learning Management System,简称LMS)的支持,学习者可以方便地进行网上交互和学习.学习者网上交互是学习者对所学知识的理解和深化的过程,因此交互成为提高学习质量的重要方式.然而,学习者网上交互受到多个因素的影响.本文以上海电视大学(Shanghai TV University,简称SHTVU)和马来西亚宏愿大学(Wawasan Open University,简称WOU)的学习者为研究对象,并对他们的网上交互进行了比较研究.研究发现了两国学习者网上交互行为的差异,并从国家文化差异、LMS的支持作用和教学模式的设计三个方面分析了差异产生的原因.针对这些原因,我们给出一些建议以帮助提高学习者网上学习的质量.     

Vocational lifelong learners?

The notion of lifelong learning has become a mantra within educational policies. However these have been strongly critiqued for reflecting an understanding of learning that privileges the economic benefits of participation in formal education. In UK contexts, the importance attached to widening participation in higher education is one manifestation of these policy discourses, which can be interrogated as a form of governmentality. This paper draws upon a recent small‐scale mixed‐method study of different vocational learners’ transition from Level 3 courses to consider how these policy discourses are being mediated by ‘learners’ who were qualified to enter higher education, but decided instead on alternative life courses. The analysis suggests that policy constructions of participation in higher education sit at a disjuncture with respondents’ longer‐term experiences of institutionalised education processes. In other ways, lifelong learning seemed to be willingly embraced in respondents’ different commitments to learning and self‐development, although higher education institutions were not often seen as a source of this learning. The article aims all the same to allow this interpretation of respondents’ voices to speak back and disrupt policy mantras.     

Supporting learners with special educational needs and disabilities in the foreign languages classroom

Due to misconceptions about the challenges of language learning, foreign languages classrooms have not always been accessible spaces for all learners. This article seeks to address the needs of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in the foreign languages classroom and challenge the notion that this group of students cannot or should not learn languages. Current research tends to focus on specific learning difficulties in language learning, but little research considers the language learning experiences of children with SEND more broadly. Accordingly, this article delineates the advantages of language learning for learners with SEND, drawing on emerging research that shows that second language acquisition is not only possible but positive for many learners with additional needs. It then considers some of the specific challenges that SEND learners may face in the foreign languages classroom before outlining key strategies to facilitate inclusion among this diverse group of learners.

Key points

• Learners with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) should not routinely be removed from the foreign languages classroom, but instead should be provided with opportunities to thrive within it. This article discusses the unique importance of foreign language learning for learners with SEND.
• Research evidence suggests that learning new languages is, on the whole, possible—and perhaps hugely beneficial—for children with developmental differences and learning difficulties, but will depend on the circumstances and profile of the individual child.
• The article explores some specific challenges that students with different additional needs might encounter in their foreign languages education, based on the four areas of need outlined in the SEND Code of Practice: communication and interaction; cognition and learning; social, emotional and mental health difficulties; and sensory or physical needs.
• To conclude, the article presents a range of key strategies that foreign languages teachers might implement in the classroom to support learners with different special educational needs and disabilities.

     

Revisiting lifelong learning for quality improvement in ODL institutions in Africa

Abstract

Among the challenges in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) generally and specifically within the African sub-region, is the difficulty to harness resources to regularly mobilize senior and mature academics as complacent learners to embrace continuous professional development, as a way of improving the quality of their academic performance. In order to change their conservative academic practises in many of the transformed African Tertiary Institutions (ATIs), this paper argues, that irrespective of the status and the long years of service of such academic staff members, it becomes pertinent for them to consciously engage in lifelong learning process. This is important because majority of such lecturers of ODL Institutions came from the contact (F2F) institutions with little or no experience of ODL best practices.     

Successful futures for all? Additional learning needs in Wales in the light of curriculum reform

Wales is undergoing a major programme of educational reform, including the development of a new curriculum and transformation of the system for supporting learners with additional learning needs (ALN). This article reports on a research project investigating how these two elements are being brought together, drawing on interviews with policy leads and school‐based practitioners. Findings indicate that the new curriculum is perceived as broader, more focused on the quality of teaching and more relevant to all learners. Tensions were apparent, however, in the core belief systems of interviewees. For those with a school‐based and/or curriculum‐focused role, what is in the best interests of specific learners is a core belief that subsumes the idea of inclusivity and necessitates the continuation of arrangements for ALN in their current form. It is argued that clearer articulation of teachers as agents of change is required if educational transformation is to be achieved.     

“微课”背景下的“微学习”目标研究

大数据时代已经到来,随着"微课"的不断发展以及教育技术的飞速进步,学习者的学习方式正在慢慢发生改变,"微学习"正成为新型的学习方式。虽然与传统学习方式不同,但为提高学习效率,"微学习"的目标应和传统学习目标基本一致,应以知识积累和思维认知能力的共同提高为最终目标。该文将引入传统理论如布鲁姆的教育目标分类学、米特斯特拉斯和米勒的知识观以及鲍姆加特纳的思维理论等进行阐述,阐明"微学习"首先应该完成基于思维思考过程的个人知识管理和个人知识构建,达成一种思与知双位提升,最终上升至智慧的层面。     

远程开放教育中的教学质量

质量保证在远程开放教学中起着至关重要的作用。电子技术的普及使得更多的学生能够参与到学习中。远程教学已经由教师为中心转变成以学生为中心,此外借助最新的技术,教学质量也得到了很大的提升,远程教学可以通过印刷品、音频、视频或者数字媒介提供各种课程,而且互联网、卫星、微波设备以及光学纤维都可以保证教学内容的有效传输。如今教学质量已成为全球关注的问题,因此,本篇论文研究影响远程开放教育教学质量的不同因素,以求在不断变化的全球局势中满足学生需求。在如今这样的竞争环境中,除了教学活动和学习项目,学习项目的实施以及学习资源中心（学习中心）的建立也对确保教学质量和学生满意度有着十分重要的作用。在以知识为主导的社会中,远程开放教育院校利用不同的教学方法,对整个教育起着至关重要的促进作用。远程开放教育院校在教与学的过程中特别针对不断变化的全球情况,采取了多样的方法。通过在教学进度和课程选择上提供适当的灵活性,教学设计更容易被学生所接受。学生可以了解整个课程的设置从而在保证终身学习的同时,更能准备好迎接具有竞争力的就业市场的挑战。     

Exploring the mediating role of graduate attributes in relation to academic self-directedness in open distance learning

The objective of this study is to add to the extant literature on graduate attributes by examining the mediating role of global/moral citizenship and lifelong learning attributes in the relation between students' scholarship attributes and their academic self-directedness in a higher-education open distance learning (ODL) environment. The Graduate Skills and Attributes Scale and Adult Learner Self-directedness Scale were administered to a stratified proportional random sample of N?=?1102 undergraduate ODL students in the economic and management sciences field. Data analyses consisted of an analysis of correlations and two simple mediational models. The results revealed significant direct and indirect effects between the variables. The academic self-directedness of the participants was positively influenced by their scholarship, global/moral citizenship and lifelong learning attributes. The influence of scholarship attributes on academic self-directedness is significantly mediated through global/moral citizenship and lifelong learning attributes. These findings contribute new knowledge that informs the design of teaching and learning activities aimed at enhancing the academic self-directedness of students pursuing educational studies in an ODL environment.     

计算机应用基础课程实施情境学习分析

远程开放教育非计算机专业计算机应用基础课程应从成人学习的心理特征、学习者的学习动机、学习者的学习取向等方面营造情境学习环境,比如在教学过程中提供及时的作业指导、批改,对实验结果进行及时总结,并利用远程教育平台建立适时的回馈与沟通互动的情境有助于学生学习好这门课程。     

Investigating the impact of prior knowledge and interest on aquarium visitor learning

Most free‐choice science learning institutions, in particular science centers, zoos, aquariums, and natural history museums, define themselves as educational institutions. However, to what extent, and for which visitors, do these free‐choice learning settings accomplish their educational mission? Answering this question has proven challenging, in large part because of the inherent variability of visitors to such settings. We hypothesize that the challenges of measuring free‐choice science learning might be diminished if it were possible to pool populations during analysis in ways that reduced this variability. Specifically, we propose grouping learners according to their entering understanding and attitudes, using qualitative categories such as minimal, moderate, and extensive. In this article, we use data collected at the National Aquarium in Baltimore to determine whether grouping makes it possible to discern more readily the nature of changes in aquarium visitors' conservation knowledge and attitudes. Although analysis revealed that there were significant changes in both conservation knowledge and attitudes, entry to exit, for all 100 visitors studied, a more detailed analysis revealed that gains were not evenly distributed across all visitors. The results support the hypothesis that the grouping of learners into minimal, moderate, and extensive conservation knowledge and attitude categories enabled a more fine‐grained and accurate understanding of changes in aquarium visitor's conservation learning. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 163–176, 2003     

浅谈学习策略在远程教育中的应用策略

在远程教育中,大多数学习者都面临着工作压力或是家庭负担,而且与教师之间长期分离,基本上都是自主学习。因此,能否掌握并运用较好的学习策略,决定了他们的学习效率与效果。本文从论证学习策略的重要性入手,针对远程学习者的学习特征,给出一些基本的学习策略,希望对远程学习者有所帮助。     

Lifelong learning-attitudes to practice in the rural context: a study using Bourdieu's perspective of habitus

This article compares and contrasts the views of educational policy makers and consumers within Lincolnshire, an English rural county, using Bourdieu's notion of ‘habitus’ as a vehicle for analysis. The article focuses on the relative importance of education as cultural capital in determining the motivational factors affecting participation in lifelong learning. The article considers lifelong learning in the context of ‘continuing education’. If lifelong learning is characterized into three discrete yet connected phases: the first, ‘full-time education’ from the age of 5 until leaving full-time education at age 16, 18 or 21; the second, the ‘transitional phase’ between school and work at age 16–21; the third, ‘continuing education’ beyond the age of 21; it is the policies and attitudes to this third phase described in this paper. Education for adults rather than simply the education of adults. Interviews with small groups of learners and an experienced manager of lifelong learning policies in Lincolnshire are used to illuminate clear differences between the continuing education providers' expectations of lifelong learning and those of the learners. The conclusions reaffirm the importance of community and cultural tradition in education and highlight the importance of family learning within the rural context.     

Preparing Students for Lifelong Learning: A Review of Instructional Features and Teaching Methodologies

Lifelong learning is intentional learning that people engage in throughout their lives for personal and professional fulfillment and to improve the quality of their lives. In today's climate of continual change and innovation, lifelong learning is a critical educational goal. In order to prepare people for lifelong learning, educational opportunities must develop their capacity for self‐direction, metacognitive awareness, and disposition toward lifelong learning. Several instructional features facilitate the development of metacognitive and self‐directed learning skills, and the disposition to lifelong learning: (1) student autonomy, responsibility, and intentionality; (2) intrinsically motivating learning activities; (3) enculturation; (4) discourse and collaboration among learners; and (5) reflection. This article describes and presents examples of how three teaching methodologies—problem‐based learning, intentional learning environments, and cognitive apprenticeship—employ these instructional features.     

Some Critical Reflections On Open Distance Learning,With Particular Reference To Work-Integrated Learning

Abstract

The notion of ‘openness’ in terms like open distance learning (ODL) is sometimes rather carelessly used, for example in the work-integrated learning (WIL) of distance learners (such as the teaching practice of UNISA's education students, where schools and UNISA form a partnership). We indicate that there is very little ‘openness’ in this type of learning, and that ODL and WIL are in fact two irreconcilable concepts. Yet, when WIL is considered in relation to distance education (DE) there is no problem, because DE is a clear and generally understood concept, indicating a particular mode of education provision, within which WIL can be neatly and meaningfully accommodated. We conclude, also on the basis of empirical evidence, that WIL and DE (and not ODL) constitute the proven, established and ideal conceptual frameworks for the design and implementation of inter alia teaching practice (as WIL) in distance teacher training. In closing, we briefly reflect on the implications of our conclusion for institutional identity.     

‘Learning Careers’ or ‘Assessment Careers’? The Impact of Assessment Systems on Learning

Two increasingly important strands in current educational thinking are reflected in growing interest amongst researchers, policy‐makers and qualification designers in formative assessment strategies that motivate learners and enhance their educational attainment. In addition, a body of research suggests that learners develop ‘learning careers’ from primary education, through the National Curriculum into post‐compulsory education and beyond. This article engages with this work in order to highlight some key factors in ‘learning careers’, particularly in relation to the impact of formative assessment practices. It aims to relate findings from research on formative assessment in primary and further education, carried out by the authors, to studies which use Bourdieu's notions of ‘habitus’, ‘field’, ‘cultural capital’ and ‘social capital’ to explore learning careers and learning identities in different sectors of education. The article evaluates whether the concept of ‘assessment careers’ illuminates a specific strand within young people's ‘learning careers’. In particular, it asks whether the concept might offer more precise insights about how practices produced by different assessment systems, particularly those purporting to promote formative assessment, affect learners' identities and dispositions for learning.     

Computer‐supported Co‐operative Learning

This article discusses the impact of computer‐supported co‐operative work tools in the building of educational environments and the facilities such tools bring to educational methodologies. It also demonstrates the relationship between this new technique and the learner‐centred approach in education, a participative style of education in which the learner is actively involved in the learning process. At the same time, the article stresses the importance of collaborative learning. The influence of the new information technologies of intelligent multi‐agent systems is discussed in the context of computer‐supported co‐operative and active learning.     

A Canadian Perspective on the Uncertain Future of Distance Education

Distance education as a field of educational endeavor is at a crucial juncture in its historical development. The notion of learning at a distance has gained wide acceptance across the developed world. Instructors, physically and temporally separated from learners using newly emerging information and communication technologies, are widespread. Most postsecondary institutions have employed, or plan to develop, forms of “distance‐like” educational activities for both campus‐based and remote students. Yet, as acceptance has increased for such learning activities, many distance educators feel that they are no longer recognized as leaders in the emerging field of technology‐enhanced, hybrid, flexible learning environments. This article asks a series of questions which will help to illuminate the challenges facing distance educators at the beginning of the 21st century.