Life in the Hive: Supporting Inquiry into Complexity Within the Zone of Proximal Development

Research into students’ understanding of complex systems typically ignores young children because of misinterpretations of young children’s competencies. Furthermore, studies that do recognize young children’s competencies tend to focus on what children can do in isolation. As an alternative, we propose an approach to designing for young children that is grounded in the notion of the Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky 1978) and leverages Activity Theory to design learning environments. In order to highlight the benefits of this approach, we describe our process for using Activity Theory to inform the design of new software and curricula in a way that is productive for young children to learn concepts that we might have previously considered to be “developmentally inappropriate”. As an illuminative example, we then present a discussion of the design of the BeeSign simulation software and accompanying curriculum which specifically designed from an Activity Theory perspective to engage young children in learning about complex systems (Danish 2009a, b). Furthermore, to illustrate the benefits of this approach, we will present findings from a new study where 40 first- and second-grade students participated in the BeeSign curriculum to learn about how honeybees collect nectar from a complex systems perspective. We conclude with some practical suggestions for how such an approach to using Activity Theory for research and design might be adopted by other science educators and designers.     

Comparing the Impacts of Tutorial and Edutainment Software Programs on Students’ Achievements, Misconceptions, and Attitudes towards Biology

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of tutorial and edutainment design of instructional software programs related to the “cell division” topic on student achievements, misconceptions and attitudes. An experimental research design including the cell division achievement test (CAT), the cell division concept test (CCT) and biology attitude scale (BAS) was applied at the beginning and at the end of the research. After the treatment, general achievement in CAT increased in favor of experimental groups. Instructional software programs also had the positive effect to the awareness of students’ understandings to the general functions of mitosis and meiosis. However, the current study revealed that there were still some misconceptions in the experimental groups even after the treatment. It was also noticed that only using edutainment software program significantly changed students’ attitudes towards biology.     

The role of constructivist educational software on students’ learning regarding mechanical interaction

This paper mainly describes the role of the multimedia software package ‘Interactions between Objects’ on students’ learning of mechanical interaction forces and Newton’s laws. We designed and developed this software within social constructivism on the basis of 226 students’ initial conceptions (categorized in six categories), in order to help students construct appropriate knowledge about the subject. Teaching with the software was conducted in 13 primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school classes. In the software’s evaluation research 226 students (aged 11–16) and 13 teachers of the classes participated. Data analysis showed students’ substantial learning gains with respect to their initial alternative conceptions of the six conceptual categories. Particularly, the students’ incorrect answers to the post-test questionnaire have perceptibly decreased (a mean of 65%). In contrast, their correct answers to the questions reached high percentages, from 60% to 90% depending on the question and the students’ age. Also the teachers’ opinions and comments enhanced software’s evaluation. The contribution of the software’s specific characteristics on students’ learning is discussed along with implications for designing constructivist science learning tools.     

Educational software for improving learning aspects of Newton’s Third Law for student teachers

In this paper, we present the design, development, implementation and evaluation of educational software “Newton-3”, aiming at the learning of Newton’s Third Law by student-teachers who are not Physics majors. We describe the theoretical issues of our teaching approach and the various software tasks that we designed in order to promote students’ understanding. Specifically, the software is designed for the teaching of gravitational and electrostatic interactions between two distant bodies at rest. It is a web-based application and runs on a simple web browser with Macromedia Flash plug-in installed. The development of software and its integration into teaching–learning sequence is based on three main characteristics: the range of contexts in which the concept of force interaction applies, in the specification of the concept, and in an appropriate teaching learning environment (IDRF). We trialled the software on two groups of 8 primary school and 8 pre-school student-teachers, for 3 teaching periods, in the School of Education of our University. The research results indicate that the implementation was effective as the majority of the teacher-students improved their own knowledge concerning the existence and representation of gravitational and electrostatic interactions. An interesting result reveals that student-teachers have difficulty in perceiving the equality of magnitudes of action and reaction forces. This problem seems to be overcome after the teaching of the Inverse square law.     

Software engineers helping themselves: The web resource collaboration center

Conclusion By implementing knowledge management features in an EPSS-like structure, the WRCC provided a more effective performance solution that was in alignment with the firm’s business objectives, making sure that both the employees’ learning and performance needs and the firm’s needs were addressed (Stone & Villachica, 2003). The activity of building a WRCC helped the software engineers learn about new tools and languages in the software engineering domain, while constructing a knowledge base to support their future learning and professional development in that domain. In addition, their work on the WRCC helped software engineers strengthen their connections to the larger software engineering communities of practice while they developed a local learning community that encouraged sharing, coaching and mentoring. Ultimately, the firm was able to reduce their reliance on conventional training by 70% - their original goal — by allowing the software engineers to create and use an on-the-job learning architecture that was more situated, social, transparent, open, flexible and respectful of their workplace learning and professional development needs.     

Promising Findings on Preschoolers’ Emergent Literacy and School Readiness In Arts-integrated Early Childhood Settings

An approach to early childhood education that integrates visual and performing arts throughout the preschool curriculum—Art as a Way of Learning—was implemented in a program (Promoting and Supporting Early Literacy through the Arts) designed to improve the emergent literacy and school readiness of at-risk young children in community-based preschool settings. A quasi-experimental pre-post treatment-only design was used to explore this program’s potential effects in a real-world setting. Preliminary results revealed improvements in young children’s emergent literacy on a number of targeted and standardized measures after participation in the program. This arts-integrated approach to the teaching of and learning in young children shows considerable promise and warrants a rigorous test of its effects.     

Monet, Malaguzzi, and the Constructive Conversations of Preschoolers in a Reggio-Inspired Classroom

This study was conducted in a Reggio inspired child care classroom of 4-year olds where the fundamental principles of Reggio Emilia preschools are interpreted for a Canadian context. Qualitative case study methodology was employed to investigate how social interaction plays a role in young children’s learning processes. Drawing on social constructivist views of children’s learning and socialization, children’s discussions and interactions within a preschool learning group were examined. Examination of children’s discourse is valuable not only for understanding individual and group learning experiences but also for illuminating children’s agency and their active roles in their own learning. The study focused on the in-depth study of six children’s activities during a ‘Shades of Pink’ project. As the project, ‘Shades of Pink’ unfolded, the children faced cognitive conflict while they were talking about the details of Monet’s painting, but worked toward building common understandings. In this study, children are considered to be meaning makers and active participants in their own learning processes. In addition, the relationships between children became a context in which the co-construction of theories, interpretations and various understandings of reality took place. Small group work became a basis for creating unity, a space in which thoughts took shape as well as a way to compare interpretations; with the result that new thoughts and meanings were produced.     

An Easy and Well-Ordered Way to Learn: Schooling at Home in Louisa May Alcott’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eight Cousins</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Jack and Jill</Emphasis>

Louisa May Alcott’s juvenile fiction is often focused on aspects of children’s lives that were also topics of reform in nineteenth century America. In Jack and Jill and Eight Cousins, Alcott presents an idealized picture of child-centered learning, building on three central principals: (1) Good teachers are sympathetic and understanding of children; (2) Every child needs to be healthy in order to learn; and (3) Children should be allowed to explore their world through self-directed, active learning. The ideal educational environment that she describes has much in common with the theories of John Dewey that would emerge some years later; using Dewey’s writings can give further insight into Alcott’s fiction. In this article, I argue that Alcott sees the world from the perspective of her young characters, and describes it in a way that simultaneously connects to her young readers and gives adults insight into the child’s world.     

Learning Workers: Young New Zealanders and Early Career Development

Young adults’ early career development is an increasingly important field of inquiry. With the complexity of modern transitions from school and the lifelong learning demands of emerging knowledge societies, governments are concerned to improve learning pathways into, and through, tertiary education and work. Young adults are exploring new learning and work possibilities and understanding these create a challenge for governments trying to validate their experiences and enhance their employability. This paper draws on integrated qualitative and statistical cluster analyses of young New Zealanders’ narratives about navigating learning and work. It draws out theoretical and policy implications, suggesting that work life learning in and outside the workplace is a key feature of young adults’ lives, though it is experienced differently by different groups. These experiences need to be taken into account in government policy as the value of providing a range of different learning settings, and of learning as necessarily lifelong, features increasingly in those policies—albeit in a fairly narrowly defined way.     

The design of a software to enhance the reading comprehension skills of deaf students: An integration of multiple theoretical perspectives

In this paper we discuss the role of visual resources, namely Greek Sign Language videos, concept maps and pictures, and their allocation in a multimedia educational software designed to enhance reading comprehension in deaf children. First, we summarize research findings from three bodies of literature that informed the design of the software: reading comprehension and deaf children, the role of visual displays in reading comprehension and multimedia learning theories. In the following part, we describe the software “See and See” and explain how relevant theory and research regarding visual displays and multimedia learning has been applied to its design. Finally, we present a pilot evaluation of “See and See” regarding the students’ interaction with the software and its role in reading comprehension.     

Learning to learn through work? The importance of Australian apprenticeship and traineeship policies in young workers’ learning careers

This paper examines young workers’ beginning engagement in learning through work, placing it in the context of Australian policy on entry-level training. Eleven young people were followed through their first year of full-time work and the significant adults involved in their working and learning lives were also interviewed. The study demonstrates that the presence of a contract of training (an apprenticeship or traineeship) is a strong predictor of a young worker’s propensity to regard the workplace as a learning environment. However, unsatisfactory interactions with employment or training providers can create disillusionment with policy interventions that are meant to assist. Moreover, the habit of learning through work is not only a function of policy and training frameworks, but is also affected by individuals’ abilities to learn how to learn. The paper concludes by arguing that, for those young people starting work who are not in a contract of training, additional assistance may be required in order for them to continue the habit of lifelong learning in the new environment of work.     

Young Diplomats?? Socialization to the Networked Professional Cultures of Their Workplace Communities

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine young diplomats’ socialization to the professional expert culture of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland over a six-month on-job training period, as part of their preparation for service in the diplomatic corps. Using social network analysis, we analyzed departments’ internal social structures, prevailing social relations, and the young diplomats’ role and position in the networks of knowledge acquisition, practical know-how, and professional collaboration. Data collected by contextual event sampling and theme interviews and analyzed by qualitative content analysis were used to characterize the young diplomats’ personal social support networks, resources obtained, as well as associated reflections regarding their functioning in and socialization to the departmental workplace community. The results indicated that across the six-month training period, the young diplomats became involved to the workplace communities’ networked expertise and were socialized to its expert culture, even if their achieved networking positions differed. The results revealed differences between levels of collective operational practices in the workplace communities as well as the nature of assignments in which the young diplomats participated and for which they were responsible. It was proposed that these differences mirrored distinction between expansive natures of young diplomats’ workplace communities as learning environments.     

How young people respond to learning spaces outside school: A sociocultural perspective

This article focuses on educational enterprises outside the formal sector, such as museums, botanical gardens and interactive science centres. International research is drawn on to illuminate how design, culture, educational strategies and settings combine to affect the way in which young people respond to experiences on offer, leading to analysis of the impact of such settings in promoting learning, and the likely implications for those who staff such venues. Aikenhead’s concept of the educator as ‘culture broker’ is developed to suggest ways in which learning might be best supported. It envisages a shift from ‘delivery’ strategies targeted at large groups towards approaches which focus on what learners choose to know about using dialogue between children and ‘known and trusted people’. Analysis of observed responses in various settings is undertaken from a sociocultural perspective using the notion of communities of practice. Implications for the roles of education managers and their staff in further research are developed.     

Architectural design and the learning environment: A framework for school design research

This article develops a theoretical framework for studying how instructional space, teaching and learning are related in practice. It is argued that a school’s physical design can contribute to the quality of the learning environment, but several non-architectural factors also determine how well a given facility serves as a setting for teaching and learning. Supporting evidence for this argument is drawn from research on school climate and organisation, as well as from the author’s study of three open-plan high schools. Facilities design, educational practice, school culture, and student learning are found to be interrelated aspects of a school’s total learning environment.     

Neuroscience, Play and Early Childhood Education: Connections, Implications and Assessment

Paralleling the works of Cambourne’s Conditions of Literacy Learning (The Reading Teacher, 54(4), 414–429, 2001), Copple and Bredekamp’s (Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth though age. National Association for the Education of Young Children, Washington, 2009) Developmentally Appropriate Practices and the findings from the field of Neuroscience this article explores the important components of creating an active, stimulating learning environment; one purposely designed to actively engage the minds of young children in order to help strengthen their neurological networks. The article concludes its exploration with the role of “mirror neurons” in the learning environment and how they affect the young child's mood, emotions, and empathy.     

Promoting a Culture of Thinking in the Young Child

Conscious of the interplay between nature and nurture in determining a child’s individuality and success in life, the author embarked a group of teachers in an action research project towards nurturing a culture of thinking in young children. Considering the positive effects of routines in early learning experiences, the research consisted in implementing thinking routines to engage young children’s minds in thinking activities. The study took place in two Reggio-inspired schools where participating teachers documented children’s work as part of their teaching. The documentation was a key element to make children’s thinking visible as they installed the culture and language of thinking in their classrooms. The study found that thinking routines build up positive attitudes about thinking and learning. By re-visiting their documented work children developed metacognitive and critical thinking skills which make them more alert to situations that call for thinking.     

Interactive Dynamic Assessment with Children Learning EFL in Kindergarten

This paper reports on a study of interactive dynamic assessment undertaken by children learning English listening and speaking as a Foreign Language in a kindergarten. It investigates how an interactive dynamic assessment could be designed to assess young English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners, what information such an interactive dynamic assessment may generate about the language program and the participating children, and how such information may promote children’s EFL learning. Instead of being context-independent and solely form-focused, this interactive dynamic assessment is contextualised within an English intervention program and incorporated with a pre-formulated set of supportive mediations for the participating children. The study shows this interactive dynamic assessment differs from traditional non-dynamic assessments in that it includes the assessor’s mediation and thereby generates the information about the participating children’s needs for and potential responses to mediation. It also demonstrates the potential of an interactive dynamic assessment in promoting children’s EFL learning and supporting teaching EFL.     

Positive Approaches to Learning in the Context of Preschool Classroom Activities

Positive approaches to learning are considered essential for young children’s school readiness and early school success. Researchers have reported that positive learning approaches, such as attentiveness and goal orientation, are associated with higher levels of early school achievement in math and reading. The present study extends this research by examining children’s learning approaches in the context of classroom activities from a range of curricular areas. Ninety-two children from pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms took part in the study. Four approaches to learning were rated during children’s participation in seven classroom learning activities. Results showed that positive learning approaches were a significant contributor to children’s performance, but they were not equally effective in all activities. The effectiveness of a learning approach depends, in part, on the characteristics of the activity in which the child is engaged. We discuss the implications of these results for understanding the study of learning approaches, and for classroom practices designed to promote their development.     

Metacognition in chemical education: question posing in the case-based computerized learning environment

Posing questions about an article might improve one’s knowledge—a cognitive function, or monitor one’s thought processes—a metacognitive function. This study focuses on guided question posing while using a metacognitive strategy by 12th grade honors chemistry students. We investigated the ways by which the metacognitive strategy affected students’ skills to pose complex questions and to analyze them according to a specially designed taxonomy. Our learning unit, Case-based computerized laboratories, emphasizes learning through chemical case studies, accompanied by tasks, that call for posing questions to which the answer cannot be found in the text. Teachers equipped their students with a metacognitive strategy for assessing the quality of their own questions and characterizing them according to a three-component taxonomy: content, thinking level, and chemistry understanding levels. The participants were 793 experimental and 138 comparison chemistry students. Research instruments included interviews and case-based-questionnaires. Interviews with students revealed that using the metacognitive strategy the students had been taught, they were capable of analyzing the questions they generated with the taxonomy. The questionnaires showed that students significantly improved their question posing skill, as well as the complexity level of the questions they posed. A significant difference was found in favor of the experimental group students. Stimulating students to generate complex questions with a metacognitive strategy in mind enabled them to be aware of their own cognitive process and to self-regulate it with respect to the learning task.     

Using a Planetarium Software Program to Promote Conceptual Change with Young Children

This study explored young children’s understandings of targeted lunar concepts, including when the moon can be observed, observable lunar phase shapes, predictable lunar patterns, and the cause of lunar phases. Twenty-one children (ages 7–9 years) from a multi-aged, self-contained classroom participated in this study. The instructional intervention included lunar data gathering, recording, and sharing, which integrated Starry Night planetarium software and an inquiry-based instruction on moon phases. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews, student drawings, and a card sorting activity before and after instruction. Students’ lunar calendars and written responses, participant observer field notes, and videotaped class sessions also provided data throughout the study. Data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis. Nonparametric statistical analyses were also performed to support the qualitative findings. Results reflected a positive change in children’s conceptual understanding of all targeted concepts including the cause of moon phases, which is remarkable considering the complexity and abstractness of this spatial task. Results provided evidence that computer simulations may reduce the burden on children’s cognitive capacity and facilitate their learning of complex scientific concepts that would not be possible to learn on their own.