对激发学生学习理论力学兴趣的研究

该文简述了在理论力学教学中，如何联系现代科技，激发学生学习理论力学的兴趣。     

Revisiting approaches to learning in science and engineering: a case study

Several studies have applied the dichotomy of deep and surface approaches to learning in a range of disciplinary contexts. Existing questionnaires have largely assumed the existence of these constructs; however, in a recent study Case and Marshall (2004) described two additional context-specific approaches to learning in engineering. The current study examines approaches to learning in a similar, but not identical educational context. Academically successful students adopted either a conceptual deep approach or a procedural deep approach, whereas their less academically successful peers resorted to a procedural surface approach. This study confirms constructs identified by Case and Marshall (2004); however, a much larger student sample would be necessary to generalise current findings. Issues of diversity in the student population are outlined and measures suggested that might help increase the prevalence of deep approaches to learning.     

Assessing the effectiveness of a hybrid-flipped model of learning on fluid mechanics instruction: overall course performance,homework, and far- and near-transfer of learning

To examine the impact of a hybrid-flipped model utilising active learning techniques, the researchers inverted one section of an undergraduate fluid mechanics course, reduced seat time, and engaged in active learning sessions in the classroom. We compared this model to the traditional section on four performance measures. We employed a propensity score method entailing a two-stage regression analysis that considered eight covariates to address the potential bias of treatment selection. First, we estimated the probability score based on the eight covariates, and second, we used the inverse of the probability score as a regression weight on the performance of learners who did not select into the hybrid course. Results suggest that enrolment in the hybrid-flipped section had a marginally significant negative impact on the total course score and a significant negative impact on homework performance, possibly because of poor video usage by the hybrid-flipped learners. Suggested considerations are also discussed.     

Action learning in ActionAid Nepal: a case study

This article describes an example of how action learning was used as a framework for an organisational intervention to fundamentally change the organisational culture over a period of time. It also identifies our learning over that period of time and what worked well (and not so well) in an International Non-Governmental Organisation in Nepal.     

Facilitating social learning in teacher education: a case study

It is increasingly recognised that social learning by teachers can stimulate professional development. In this study, we search for the social behaviour patterns which can act as a catalyst for professional development, with an explicit focus on student teachers’ learning. Based on the ‘Dimensions of Social Learning (DSL) Framework’, including 4 dimensions and 11 indicators of social learning, the present study explores the social configuration of one network of primary teachers (n?=?12), student teachers (n?=?12) and teacher educators (n?=?2). Two research questions guide this exploration: (1) What patterns of social behaviour in teacher networks are likely to lead to professional learning? (2) What network facilitation guidelines can be discerned to assist teachers and teacher educators wishing to optimise student teachers’ professional development? Data collection consisted of video recordings, reflective notes and semi-structured interviews with network members. The findings paint a picture of how social learning in teacher networks is related to the group’s social configuration. Observation criteria and student facilitation guidelines are suggested to support professional development within teacher networks. For each dimension in the DSL Framework, one point of attention is discerned to optimise students’ learning in teacher networks.     

Professional development for design-based learning in engineering education: a case study

Design-based learning (DBL) is an educational approach in which students gather and apply theoretical knowledge to solve design problems. In this study, we examined how critical DBL dimensions (project characteristics, design elements, the teacher's role, assessment, and social context) are applied by teachers in the redesign of DBL projects. We conducted an intervention for the professional development of the DBL teachers in the Mechanical Engineering and the Electrical Engineering departments. We used the Experiential Learning Cycle as an educational model for the professionalisation programme. The findings show that the programme encouraged teachers to apply the DBL theoretical framework. However, there are some limitations with regard to specific project characteristics. Further research into supporting teachers to develop open-ended and multidisciplinary activities in the projects that support learning is recommended.     

A guide to establishing hybrid learning courses: Employing information technology to create a new learning experience, and a case study

Hybrid learning, or blended learning, has become an interesting learning delivery method in recent years. Many universities have sought to develop their own hybrid learning courses as another option for students and instructors who prefer to replace some portion of traditional face-to-face meeting time with online instruction. This paper provides some pragmatic guidance for establishing hybrid learning courses in universities. The authors focus on the use of information technology, as well as the development and the design of the course content. The paper also illustrates a case study of hybrid learning courses at NJIT. The research results showed no significant difference between the performance of the students who took a course in hybrid mode versus the performance of those who took the identical course in distance learning mode. Some positive feedback in terms of perceived benefit from the hybrid course instruction and course materials was obtained from the students. The student learning styles were also investigated. The results demonstrated that the majority of students who participated in the hybrid learning course are active/sensing/sequential/visual learners. Most of them preferred visual presentations to verbal explanations. The research results also revealed the difference between learning styles of students with high performance, and those with low performance.     

Measuring learning: discrepancies between conceptions of and approaches to learning

This study is framed under the student approaches to learning tradition. The aim was to identify convergence in quantitative and qualitative responses of individuals when measuring their conceptions of and approaches to learning with a mixed methods design. A sample of 1110 Spanish Master’s level teacher education students completed a scale on approaches to learning (R-SPQ-2F), and a randomly selected subsample of 111 answered an open-ended question on how they learned. Overall, the qualitative and quantitative data did not support each other, as inventory responses showed a clear predominance of a deep, non-surface approach to learning, whereas qualitative answers reflected a tendency towards lower-order conceptions of learning. Inconsistencies in the results suggest future research ought to use a combination of techniques when exploring constructs such as learning should they wish to draw valid conclusions.     

Enhancing curricula and learning environments using critical realist perspectives and approaches: a case study and critique

While critical realist (CR) ontological and epistemological perspectives and research approaches are becoming more widely adopted by higher education researchers, the scope of research is relatively limited, and novice researchers in the area still struggle to create rich, in-depth, and critical accounts of these approaches ‘in action’. This article provides an account of teacher-researchers’ exploration of these perspectives in the context of an important aspect their everyday teaching practice – the design of effective curricula and learning environments. The context is research that focused on the design, evaluation, and enhancement of learning environments intended to facilitate students’ development of design thinking expertise. The article outlines the researchers’ CR paradigm positioning and implications for methodologies used to gather, analyse, and theorise data about the response of design and business students to three iterations of a design thinking learning environment. The research involved action research that integrated survey, case study, and theorising methodologies. Examples of data, analyses, and explanatory theory are provided to give insights into specific research tasks and their outcomes. Possible explanations for the findings and their implications for attempts to enhance the learning environment are considered from a CR perspective along with challenges that deploying these approaches may entail.     

Chronicling innovative learning in primary classrooms: conceptualizing a theatrical pedagogy to successfully engage young children learning science

This article reports on an innovative pedagogical approach devised to re-envigorate primary (elementary) teachers’ practice in the United Kingdom for older children. Learning science in elementary schools for 8–11 year olds (Key Stage 2 in England) has been constrained for several decades while teachers prepared them for national tests. The recent demise of these high stakes assessments (for the 11 year olds) has opened up creative space to enable re-development of the ways that science is taught and learnt. This article describes how an innovative approach to teaching science to more mature primary children can be developed through the application of theatrical techniques. Dramatizing science can offer a more lively, none traditional way to learn, that can appeal to and involve all children in a science classroom. In this study, 17 teachers from 12 Staffordshire schools experimented with these new pedagogical approaches to explore how they might enhance their practice and augment their children’s learning. Reflective journal extracts, field notes, informal discussions, interviews and classroom observations indicated how successfully the thespian techniques were applied. Findings indicate that dramatizing science learning through various means that encourage social interaction, improvisation and reflection on historical narratives appears to not only engage and motivate learners but also aid them in grasping more challenging conceptual and procedural ideas.     

Transformed telepresence and its association with learning in computer-supported collaborative learning: a case study in English learning and its evaluation

Telepresence has been playing an important role in a mediated learning environment. However, the current design of telepresence seems to be dominated by the emulation of physical human presence. With reference to social constructivism learning and the recognition of individuals as intelligent entities, this study explored the transformation of telepresence and its association with learning. A sample practice was performed and evaluated to understand students’ response toward the transformed telepresence. The results revealed that students recognized the presence of their peers in the transformed telepresence, and this enhanced their interest in the related activity conducted in the mediated learning environment. More importantly, students reported various cognitive processes of learning and new thoughts regarding the subject content. The findings of this study suggest that transformed telepresence creates a specific medium for human expression with particular properties and powers. This medium offers a new aspect of collaboration among participants for enhancing language learning.     

Conceptions of learning and approaches to learning in Portuguese students

The article describes a study that attempted to characterise Portuguese students’ conceptions of learning and approaches to learning. A sample of university students answered open questions on the meaning, process and context of learning. Results, derived from content analysis, replicate most conceptions of learning described by phenomenographical research (i.e. distinction between learning as memorisation and learning as comprehension). Moreover, new variants of known conceptions of learning emerged (e.g. learning occurs through: exploratory practice; learning to learn; motivation) and an apparently new conception (i.e. learning as understanding and application). The same sample answered a questionnaire which attempted to measure motivation and learning strategies. Through factorial analysis of results it was possible to confirm the presence of three well-known approaches to learning: surface, deep and achieving.     

Enhancing students' learning through differentiated approaches to teaching and learning: a Maltese perspective

Within the context of Malta, differentiated teaching pervades the National Minimum Curriculum (NMC) published in 1999 , in 11 of 15 principles that the NMC supports. The study seeks to explore how well prepared and equipped the teachers are with the necessary skills to fulfil a differentiated teaching approach. The aim of this research study was to explore the current pedagogical procedures teachers are adopting in order to ensure curriculum access to all students, and to what extent these actually reflect differentiated instructional strategies.
Data was collected through questionnaires. All teachers in the school were asked to participate and the response rate was high. The results are therefore representative of this particular school but cannot be generalised to the whole teaching population.
It was found that many teachers were taking an individualised role to teaching, and in the future the school will need to adopt policy decisions and a School Development Plan (SDP) which feature differentiation. Such an approach will be needed in order to encourage the teachers to utilise strategies that reflect a differentiated approach to teaching within a whole school context. In-service training will be required to enable teachers to be made aware of the varying ways of responding to the needs of all students through differentiated teaching approaches in order to provide paths to learning so that the classroom becomes a 'good fit' for varied learners.     

Online learning: Learner characteristics and their approaches to managing learning

Using cluster analysis this study investigated the characteristics of learning strategies learners use in online courses with one-on-one mentoring. Three distinct approaches were identified: “Mastery oriented”, “Task focused” and “Minimalist in effort”. Despite the widespread concern that students will have difficulty managing their time in online courses with high level of student freedom, this study found that the vast majority of learners were very effective in their learning strategies. The findings speak well for the potential of distance education environments to provide high quality self-paced learning, accommodating different learning strategies, which is difficult to do in group-paced courses. We further explored how these approaches relate to and interact with, participants’ background and their levels of satisfaction and self reported learning.     

Undergraduate teaching of ideal and real fluid flows: the value of real-world experimental projects

This paper describes the pedagogical impact of real-world experimental projects undertaken as part of an advanced undergraduate fluid mechanics subject at an Australian university. The projects have been organized to complement traditional lectures and introduce students to the challenges of professional design, physical modelling, data collection and analysis. An overview of two projects is presented: wind tunnel testing of buildings and wave loading on piles. Both studies are undertaken as group work within the undergraduate subject. The pedagogy of the projects is discussed in terms of the classical educational psychology literature concerning project-based learning, collaborative and guided learning and reflection. In terms of learning outcomes, the primary aim is to enable students to deliver a professional report as the final product, where physical model data are compared to ideal-fluid flow calculations and real-fluid flow analyses. Thus the students are exposed to a professional design approach involving a high level of expertise in fluid mechanics, with sufficient academic guidance to achieve carefully defined learning goals, while retaining sufficient flexibility for students to construct their own learning goals. The overall pedagogy is a blend of problem-based and project-based learning, which reflects academic research and professional practice. The assessment is a mix of peer-assessed oral presentations and written reports that aims to maximize student reflection and development. Student feedback indicated a strong motivation for courses that include a well-designed project component.     

Using interpretative meta-ethnography to explore the relationship between innovative approaches to learning and their influence on faculty understanding of teaching

Faculty experiences of innovative approaches to learning and the changes to their knowledge emerging from such experiences constitute an important area of inquiry that has to date largely been ignored or has been approached with research methods ill-suited to examining such experiences. This paper adopts interpretative meta-ethnography as its research framework to investigate the changes to faculty knowledge that occur when they adopt problem-based learning (PBL). The paper presents themes that emerged through the analysis and argues for future inquiry.

Promoting self-regulated learning to improve achievement: A case study in higher education

Abstract

The aim of this article is to report on a study conducted to assess the effect of an intervention programme to improve SRL and the achievement of a group of poorly performing undergraduate students at the Tshwane University of Technology. SRL was used as theoretical framework. The case study reports on 20 Engineering students who attended learning skills intervention sessions and wrote a college version of the learning and study strategies inventory (LASSI) pre-test and post-test. The intervention consisted of 12 workshop sessions presented over a period of three months. The LASSI pre-test showed that the group scored below the 50th percentile on four scales (anxiety, attitude, selecting main ideas and test-taking strategies). Observed improvements in the post-test scores of the LASSI scales for seven out of ten scales were statistically significant. The students’ academic achievements also improved. The findings are important for improving student success and throughput in South African higher education.     

个别化学习在开放教育中的创新途径

个别化学习作为开放教育的崭新学习模式，在入学、教学、媒体与管理等几个方面都适应了学员个体性的学习需求。它是激发学员创新能力、自主学习能力的重要手段，也是构建学习化社会，实施素质教育的有效途径。     

Turning to case studies as a mechanism for learning in action learning

Case studies are a useful means of capturing and sharing experiential knowledge by allowing researchers to explore the social, organisational and political contexts of a specific case. Although accounts of action learning are often reported using a case study approach, it is not common to see individual case studies being used as a learning practice within action learning sets. Drawing on a network action learning (NAL) project, this paper explores how the process of coaching, articulating, authoring, sharing and editing case studies provided a vehicle for learning and research within a NAL set. The intended contribution of this paper to the theory of action learning is to extend the range of learning practices to include the case study within the NAL set. It discusses how case studies act as boundary objects, which are artefacts that can be used to cross boundaries between groups in order to facilitate learning that might not otherwise occur.     

大学生在线学习投入对学习绩效的影响研究——以西部某新建师范院校为例

以群体动力学理论为基础,以西部某新建师范院校在校本科生为研究对象,构建了在线学习投入对学习绩效的解释结构模型。研究表明:群体动力学理论的基本假设对开展在线学习行为研究具有一定的适用性和拓展性;大学生参加在线学习的内部动机越强,其情感投入、学习绩效越高;情感投入度越高,其行为投入、认知投入度越高;增强线上交互有助于强化情感投入;增强情感投入有助于强化内部动机对认知投入的影响和线上交互对行为投入的影响;增强认知投入和行为投入,有助于强化情感投入对学习绩效的影响。因此,高校应进一步规范课程引入、强化选课指导、优化学习空间,以增强大学生在线学习的内部动机,提升线上交互质量。