Working together within a system: educative mentoring and novice teacher learning

Using a framework of activity theory, I follow one mentor/student teacher pair through a yearlong student teaching experience, investigating their interactions around the practice of educative co-planning. Evidence from multiple data sources collected over the course of one year is analyzed to understand the role co-planning played in the mentor/student teacher relationship, the experience of being a mentor, and in the development of the student teacher’s practices. Findings reveal the mentor and student teacher used the educative practice of co-planning to productively mediate tensions and navigate their relationship.     

Teaching and learning through open source educative processes

This paper introduces some of the core ideas of an Open Source Educational Processes approach. Based in part on the practices of the Open Source communities of the late 20th and early 21st centuries such as the Linux community, along with the idea that human activity should be held as primary in human-Internet interactions, open source educational processes suggest that individuals will require new types of skills and self-efficacies in order to realize the potential of their Internet activities. Education for these skills is at least in part dependent on development of curricula that recognizes the dialectical relationship between individual agency and goal driven, online communities. It is the communities which drive individual motivations to search for new problem solving possibilities, create well-functioning communities that are capable of organizing and differentiating distributed sources of information, and act as inflection points in the flow of information, recognizing that knowledge is not an object but an ongoing activity. These types of communities are currently relatively rare, especially for distributed populations who do share an initial stake in its goals. One of the few places many students might be able to experience these types of communities and build their Internet skills and self-efficacies are in consciously designed communities provided in traditional education contexts. 21st century education should move (quickly) towards embracing the new types of thinking and intelligence made possible by the Internet through open source educative processes influenced curricula.     

Modelling a learning environment: Towards a learning organization

Abstract

The role of the academic developer mirrors that of the current day academic. It is increasingly diverse and complex. Staff employed in academic development units are expected to respond to the needs of individual academics and are also expected to provide leadership in teaching and learning, conduct research into higher education, contribute to policy on a broad range of issues, and undertake community service. In addition they are expected to take responsibility for their own professional development. They are constantlyjuggling priorities of personal, professional and organizational commitments. To maintain competence in the face of multiple demands there must be significant overlap between work and learning. The learning opportunities inherent in working within a large multi‐dimensional organization must be acknowledged and embraced through the concept of a ‘learning organization’. It is important that the organizational culture of the Academic Development Unit (ADU) values learning, encourages reflection and fosters collaborative practice. This paper outlines an organizational model of academic development highlighting the opportunities for intervention at the level of organizational culture, staff development and student learning. It also suggests strategies for organizing and managing an ADU that provides a positive model of an effective working and learning environment.     

Towards a learning progression of energy

This article presents an empirical study on an initial learning progression of energy, a concept of central importance to the understanding of science. Learning progressions have been suggested as one vehicle to support the systematic and successful teaching of core science concepts. Ideally, a learning progression will provide teachers with a framework to assess students' level of understanding of a core concept and to guide students towards a more sophisticated level of understanding. Taking existing research as a point of departure, developing a learning progression involves recurring cycles of empirical validation and theoretical refinement. In this article, we report about our efforts in working towards a learning progression of energy. First, we derived an initial learning progression by utilizing existing curriculum, research on students' understanding, and development of students' understanding of energy. Second, we used these sources of guidance to develop a robust measurement instrument, the Energy Concept Assessment (ECA), based on multiple choice questions. Third, we utilized this instrument to assess the understanding of N = 1,856 students from three different grade levels, Grades 6, 8, and 10. Findings provided evidence that students from Grade 6 mostly obtain an understanding of energy forms and energy sources. Students of Grade 8 additionally demonstrate an understanding of energy transfer and transformation, whereas only students of Grade 10, and then only some of these students, achieve a deeper understanding of energy conservation. We discuss the implications of our findings against the background of existing research on students understanding of energy. Finally, further steps in working towards a learning progression of energy are identified. Zusammenfassung: Der vorliegende Artikel beschreibt den ersten Schritt in der Entwicklung und Validierung einer Learning Progression für das Energiekonzept; einem Konzept, das zentral für die Entwicklung eines tiefergehenden Versta¨?ndnisses der Naturwissenschaften ist. Learning Progressions sollen das das systematische und erfolgreiche Unterrichten zentraler naturwissenschaftlicher Konzepte unterstützen. Idealerweise sollen Learning Progressions Lehrkräften eine Rahmen bieten, den Entwicklungsstand ihrer Schülerinnen und Schüler hinsichtlich des Verständnisses zentraler naturwissenschaftlicher Konzepte einzuschätzen und Unterricht so zu gestalten, dass er die Entwicklung eines elaborierten Verständnisses befördert. Die Entwicklung einer Learning Progression beginnt mit der theoretischen Begründung einer vorläufigen Learning Progression, gefolgt von iterativen Zyklen empirischer Validierung und Überarbeitung. In diesem Artikel berichten wir über unsere Arbeiten zur Entwicklung einer Learning Progression für das Energiekonzept. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeiten wurde zunächst ausgehend von vorliegenden Befunden zum Verständnis und der Entwicklung des Verständnisses von Energie eine vorläufige Learning Progression begründet. Im zweiten Schritt wurde auf Grundlage der Learning Progression ein entsprechendes Instrument auf Basis von Multiple‐Choice‐Aufgaben entwickelt – das Energy Concept Assessment (ECA). Im dritten und letzten Schritt wurde das Instrument eingesetzt, um das Verständnis von Energie bei N = 1856 Schülerinnen und Schülern der Jahrgänge 6, 8 und 10 zu erfassen. Die Ergebnisse unserer Untersuchung legen nahe, dass Schülerinnen und Schüler aus Jahrgang 6 im Wesentlichen über ein Verständnis von Energieformen und –quellen verfügen. Schülerinnen und Schüler aus Jahrgang 8 zeigen darüber hinaus ein Verständnis von Energieumwandlung und –transport. Ein Verständnis von Energieerhaltung ist nur von Schülerinnen und Schüler aus Jahrgang 10 und dann auch nur von einem Teil dieser Schülerinnen und Schüler zu erwarten. Vor dem Hintergrund dieser Ergebnisse und der bisherigen Forschung zum Energieverständnis, diskutiert der Artikel weitere Schritte für die die Entwicklung einer Learning Progression für das Energiekonzept. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 50:162–188, 2013     

Promoting teacher learning: a framework for evaluating the educative features of mathematics curriculum materials

Educative curricula, curriculum materials that intentionally foster teacher professional development, can serve as a site for teacher learning through their use in daily instructional practices. The present article introduces a framework, Teacher Learning Opportunities in Mathematics Curriculum Materials (TLO-Math), for designing and evaluating mathematics curriculum materials’ educative features according to seven theoretically based variables: (1) mathematics content knowledge for teaching, (2) teacher knowledge of student thinking in mathematics, (3) teacher knowledge of disciplinary discourse in mathematics, (4) teacher knowledge of assessment in mathematics, (5) teacher knowledge of differentiated instruction in mathematics, (6) teacher knowledge of technology use in mathematics, and (7) teacher knowledge of mathematical community. Each variable is illustrated with a definition, guiding questions, discipline-specific literature, and examples from two sets of elementary mathematics curriculum materials. The development of the TLO-Math framework is a critical first step for further study of the use of mathematics curriculum materials as sites for teacher learning.     

Towards a useful classification of learning objects

The learning object remains an ill-defined concept, despite numerous and extensive discussion in the literature. This paper attempts to address this problem by providing a classification that potentially brings together various perspectives of what a learning object may be. Six unique types of learning objects are proposed and discussed: presentation, practice, simulation, conceptual models, information and contextual representation objects. The common characteristics of each are synthesized in a proposal that a learning object is best described as a representation designed to afford uses in different educational contexts. The classification of learning objects proposed could be useful as a framework for designers of digital resources and for those engaged in use of these resources in educational contexts. Examples of learning objects are available for preview at http://www.learnactivity.com/lo/     

Towards a lifelong learning target for 2015

This paper begins by reviewing the progress which has been made over the past decade in the aim to reach targets such as Education for All and other Millennium Development Goals, especially as far as adult education and gender equality are concerned. While there have been achievements in some countries, universal primary education is not even likely to be reached by 2015. Giving a few examples of recent studies, this paper considers the measurement of lifelong learning and its effects on a country’s economy and its people’s health and well-being. While it is of course much easier to collect data about formal education than about non-formal and informal learning, the author stresses that the latter need to be included more in new strategies alongside formal education. The paper concludes by highlighting ten essential components for a lifelong learning target fit for purpose in a climate-changing society.     

Towards a contemporary and comprehensive theory of learning

The modern concept of competence comprises not only relevant knowledge and skills, but also a range of personal qualities and the ability to perform adequately and flexibly in well-known and unknown situations. To be up-to-date, the concept of learning must be understood in the same broad sense, and therefore traditional learning theories must be revised. The theory presented is based on two fundamental assumptions. Firstly, that all learning includes two essentially different types of process, namely an external interaction process between the learner and his or her social, cultural and material environment, and an internal psychological process of acquisition and elaboration in which new impulses are connected with the results of prior learning. Secondly, that all learning includes three dimensions, namely, the cognitive dimension of knowledge and skills, the emotional dimension of feelings and motivation, and the social dimension of communication and co-operation—all of which are embedded in a societally situated context. In addition, the approach specifies four levels of learning and deals with what happens when intended learning does not occur. Inside this framework existing learning theories deal with different aspects. Thus the new theory has been constructed as a sort of umbrella, offering an overview and a structure of the landscape of learning which can be applied in both analysing and planning learning processes, both inside and outside of the educational system. The development of the theory is described in detail in my book, The Three Dimensions of Learning, which has been a bestseller in the Scandinavian countries since 1999, and which has now been published in English (Illeris 2002).     

Personal construct psychology as a constructivist approach to learning

This paper proposes that Kelly's Personal Construct Psychology deserves examination as a constructivist basis for science teaching and learning. It argues that because of the explicit nature of the psychology, the clear definition of learning and meaning and the integration of affective, psychomotor and cognitive dimensions of learning, the psychology has much to offer science education.     

孔子的创新学习思想

孔子很重视学习者作为人的因素,从学习者自身和外部条件谈及如何学习。在学习中很注重增强创新意识,引导发散思维。这些创新学习思想对今天的学习有指导意义。     

Impact of narrative and badging on learning and engagement in a psychology learning game

The literature reflects a shortage of empirical research on educational game design. This paper presents the results from a randomized controlled study on the impact of narrative and digital badging on learning and engagement in an educational game that teaches basic brain structure and function to undergraduate psychology students. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions, and correspondingly played a base version of the game, the base version plus fantasy-based narrative, the base version plus digital badges or the base version and both fantasy-based narrative and digital badges. Eighty students completed a subject matter pretest, played the game in its entirety and then completed a posttest. Quantitative analyses revealed that the manipulations did not significantly impact learning or engagement. While the manipulations were ineffective in this study, future research should examine how professional writing affects narrative impact and how difficulty level can be better assessed in digital badging in order to see if the results remain consistent.     

Working Towards Equal Opportunities — a learning experience

This article describes the development of an equal opportunity policy and its implementation in a residential college for women. After an initial period of controversy involving increased tension and conflict, co‐operative structures evolved which enabled an equal opportunities policy to be put into practice.     

Making sense of learning for work. Towards a framework of transitional learning

In this article a framework is presented to understand the changing character of individual learning processes and of educational practices related to work and employment. Based on two research projects - a research on women's biographical learning in relation to work and a European research on the socio-economic integration of young adults - a perspective of transitional learning is developed. It is argued that nowadays individual learning processes can be understood as processes of transitional learning aimed at creating meaningful connections between individual life and society via work and adult education. This interpretation, together with the changing educational landscape, calls for a reconsideration of the interventionist role of the adult educator. In order to stimulate and support these learning processes, guidance, training and counselling are becoming reflexive activities in need of interpretive professionals.     

Towards a science of motivated learning in technology-supported environments

This commentary reviews seven papers that study motivation with new media, contained in this special issue of Educational Technology Research & Development edited by Ruth Small. For each paper, this commentary summarizes exemplary contributions, offers an assessment of what is exciting, and suggests directions for future research. Some exciting contributions include using new media in an attempt to promote motivation such as game-making, collaborative wiki construction, and interaction with onscreen agents. Some important challenges for future research on motivation with new media are to develop testable theories and to collect evidence based on rigorous methodologies including evidence concerning the relation between motivation and learning outcomes     

Killing the Buddha: Towards a heretical philosophy of learning

This article explores how different philosophical models and pictures of learning can become dogmatic and disguise other conceptions of learning. With reference to a passage from St. Paul, I give a sense of the dogmatic teleology that underpins philosophical assumptions about learning. The Pauline assumption is exemplified through a variety of models of learning as conceptualised by Israel Scheffler. In order to show how the Paulinian dogmatism can give rise to radically different pictures of learning, the article turns to St. Augustine’s and Robert Brandom’s examples of language learning, and to general strands in scholarship on moral education. Dewey’s view of childhood immaturity and the problem of adult maturity are used as first attempt at a counter picture to the idea that learning must have an end. The article takes Dewey’s idea further by suggesting how the Zen-Buddhist idea of killing the Buddha and Wittgenstein’s method of destroying pictures work on the dogmatic focus on uses of ‘learning’ that assume ends. In conclusion, the article suggests three possible uses of ‘learning’—learning from wonder, intransitive learning and passionate learning—that do not assume that learning has or must have a teleological end.     

Towards a contextualized model of team learning processes and outcomes

Existing review studies on team learning present integrated models, suggesting general applicability to any team. However, such models neglect the influence of the team type and its developmental stages. These context-specific characteristics may create variety in team learning processes and outcomes among teams. In this theoretical contribution, we revisit the most recent generic team learning model developed by Decuyper, Dochy, and Van den Bossche (2010). Taking this model as a starting point, we present a context-specific model for ad hoc multidisciplinary emergency management teams. The developed model can fuel future research on team learning in teams with comparable characteristics. It supports the development of tools to evaluate them and offers the rationale for training programs aiming to increase the quality of their interventions.