<Emphasis Type="Italic">Negativity</Emphasis> and the <Emphasis Type="Italic">new</Emphasis> in John Dewey’s theory of learning and democracy

Zusammenfassung Negativit?t und das Neue in John Deweys Theorie vom Lernen und der Demokratie — Für einen erneuten Blick auf Lernkulturen Die Rolle des Neuen in Lernprozessen bezieht sich auf die grundlegende Frage, wie Lernen überhaupt m?glich ist und wo es beginnt. In diesem Beitrag wird zun?chst John Deweys Lernkonzeption als Basis für die Analyse entwickelt. Dann wird die Beziehung zwischen Negativit?t und dem Neuen erarbeitet. Beim übergang vom Alten zum Neuen und vom Gewussten zum Ungewussten entstehen Verwirrungen und Schwierigkeiten, die in diesem Papier als Negativit?t im Lernprozess untersucht werden. Au?erdem vermittelt der Beitrag Einsichten in praktische p?dagogische Probleme, etwa bezüglich der Frage, wie Lehrer und andere Erzieher Lernprozesse f?rdern und wie Lernkulturen als besondere Lernumwelten Lehr-Lern-Prozesse unterstützen k?nnen.

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Negativity and the new in John Dewey’s theory of learning and democracy Toward a renewed look at learning cultures

Summary The role of the New in learning processes relates to basic questions of how learning is possible, and where learning begins. Using John Dewey’s concept of learning as the basis for analysis, this inquiry looks into the relation between Negativity and the New and seeks to uncover the negativity in learning processes associated with the perplexities and difficulties which arise in the transitions from Old to New and Known to Unknown. Furthermore, it offers insight into practical pedagogical issues, such as how teachers and educators can support learning processes and how learning cultures, as particular environments for learning, can assist processes of teaching and learning.

     

From e‐learning space to e‐learning place

In this paper, it is argued that e‐learning environments are currently more like ‘buildings’, ie, learning spaces, rather than ‘schools’, ie, places for learning. The concepts originated from architecture and urban design, where they are used both to distinguish static spaces from inhabited places, and more importantly, as design objectives. The transformation from space to place is supported and enabled by social interactions between the (learning) community members. We argue that this distinction between the concepts explains some of the problems with current e‐learning systems and propose issues to consider when designing new systems. By acknowledging the importance and characteristics of a place, designers and researchers can justify the need and support for social interactions in learning space, consequently enabling social community building in e‐learning environments, and most importantly, supporting the development of a user‐friendly and motivating e‐learning place.     

Emotion recognition and communication for reducing second‐language speaking anxiety in a web‐based one‐to‐one synchronous learning environment

e‐Learning is becoming an increasingly popular educational paradigm because of the rapid growth of the Internet. Recent studies have argued that affective modelling (ie, considering a learner's emotional or motivational state) should also be considered while designing learning activities. Many studies indicated that various learning emotions markedly impact learning outcomes. In the language education field, many studies have investigated anxiety associated with learning a second language, noting that anxiety has an adverse effect on the performance of those speaking English as a second language. Therefore, how to reduce anxiety associated with learning a second language to increase learning performance is an important research issue in the language education field. Accordingly, this study employed a sensor, signal processing, wireless communication, system‐on‐chip and machine‐learning techniques in developing an embedded human emotion recognition system based on human pulse signals for detecting three human emotions—nervousness, peace and joy—to help teachers reduce language‐learning anxiety of individual learners in a web‐based one‐to‐one synchronous learning environment. The accuracy rate of the proposed emotion recognition model evaluated by cross‐validation is as high as 79.7136% when filtering out human pulse signals that have bias. Moreover, this study applied the embedded emotion recognition system to assist instructor's teaching in a synchronous English conversation environment by immediately reporting variations in individual learner emotions to the teacher during learning. In this instructional experiment, the teacher can give appropriate learning assistance or guidance based on the emotion states of individual learners. Experimental results indicate that the proposed embedded human emotion recognition system is helpful in reducing language‐based anxiety, thus promoting instruction effectiveness in English conversation classes.     

Goodfellow,Robin & Lea,Mary R ed (2013) Literacy in the digital university Routledge (New York & London) isbn 978‐0‐415‐53797‐1 213 pp £24.99 http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415537971/

This book brings together practice and theory from the interface between academic and digital literacy, learning and teaching, and learning technologies. It argues for the importance of digital literacy at the heart of approaches to learning and teaching in the modern university. It is highly recommended for teachers, educational developers, practitioners in learning technology, and policy makers in higher education. Indeed, if this book's content is likely to be relevant to you, I recommend you buy a copy for yourself. Pete Cannell     

‘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.     

Development of a ubiquitous learning platform based on a real‐time help‐seeking mechanism

The popularity of mobile devices has encouraged the advance of ubiquitous learning, in which students are situated in a real‐world learning environment with support from the digital world via the use of mobile, wireless communications, or even sensing technologies. Most of the ubiquitous learning systems are implemented with high‐cost sensing devices for detecting the locations or behaviours of learners; moreover, these systems mainly focus on providing learning guidance or learning materials, while facilities for supporting mutual help among students are usually ignored. In this study, we propose a context‐aware ubiquitous learning platform (CULP) which uses low‐cost cell phones with embedded cameras and Internet service to support ubiquitous learning. CULP is able to provide instant support for learners in the ubiquitous learning activity; that is, learners can receive help from the right people via the hints given by the learning system when they encounter problems during their learning activities. The experimental results of a Personal Computer‐Assembling course show that, with the assistance of the new learning platform, both the learning efficiency and the learning achievement of the students were significantly improved.     

Daniel,John & Uvalić‐Trumbić, Stamenka ed (2013) A guide to quality in online learning. Contact North (Ontario,Canada) No isbn 28 pp Free download http://www.contactnorth.ca/tips‐tools/guide‐quality‐online‐learning

This guide to the quality of online learning is an extremely readable and useful publication which anyone interested in the field should read in order to refresh or enhance their understanding of this complex and evolving learning environment. This is a highly recommended resource for all educators and managers of learning and teaching. If the content of this book is likely to be at all relevant to you, I recommend you download your own copy. Robyn Smyth     

E‐Textbooks and Students’ Learning Experiences

The contribution of the e‐textbooks can be enormous considering their additional supporting features, but adoption has not crystallized yet. This study examines the relevant experiences of college students in terms of how the use of e‐textbooks may enhance their learning. A survey study was conducted to measure the perceptions of each student on how helpful an e‐textbook is for facilitating learning (i.e., E‐book Helpfulness), how well it promotes his/her involvement in learning (i.e., Student Involvement), and how much improvement it makes on learning outcome (i.e., Learning Outcome). Results indicate that e‐textbooks are perceived as enhancers of student learning experiences in two complementing routes: (1) E‐textbook Helpfulness enhances students’ learning outcomes directly and (2) Student Involvement plays an important mediating role between E‐textbook Helpfulness and Learning Outcome if students use e‐textbooks in class. These findings suggest that the successful adoption of e‐textbooks requires schools to provide necessary resources (e.g., computer labs) and instructors to actively engage students in using e‐textbooks.     

Thouësny,Sylvie & Bradley,Linda ed (2011) Second language teaching and learning with technology (Research‐publishing.net,Dublin) isbn 978‐1‐908416‐00‐1 217 pp Free of charge http://research‐publishing.net/publication/978‐1‐908416‐00‐1.pdf

This ten chapter volume intends to approach a number of current issues “from well‐established web‐based learning environments to mobile learning, through current web 2.0 applications such as blogs, which foster intercultural contexts and/or diverse means of computer‐mediated interaction”. In this sense, the valuable book aims to enable readers to gain a deep understanding of the field and to provide research procedures and processes to facilitate the learning of foreign languages through the use of information technology. If you expect the content of this book to be relevant to you, I recommend that you buy a copy for your own use. Jesús García Laborda     

Thouësny,Sylvie & Bradley,Linda ed (2011) Second language teaching and learning with technology (Research‐publishing.net,Dublin) isbn 978‐1‐908416‐00‐1 217 pp Free of charge http://research‐publishing.net/publication/978‐1‐908416‐00‐1.pdf

This ten‐chapter volume aims to approach a number of current issues “from well‐established web‐based learning environments to mobile learning, through current web 2.0 applications such as blogs, which foster intercultural contexts and/or diverse means of computer‐mediated interaction”. In this sense, this valuable book aims to enable readers to gain a deep understanding of the field and to provide research procedures and processes to facilitate the learning of foreign languages through the use of information technology. If the content of this book is likely to be important to you, I recommend you buy a copy. Jesús García Laborda     

Exploring ‘learning lives’: community,identity, literacy and meaning

This article explores the term ‘learning lives’ by reporting on three research projects conducted by members of the Oslo‐based research group TransActions. By stressing the term ‘learning lives’ within a range of social ‘educational’ contexts, the article aims to look at learning within and across different learning sites exploring the positioning and repositioning of learner identity across these different ‘locations’. We emphasise how the individual learner relates to other people and objects, drawing on deeper trajectories or narratives of the self as it exists within and outside the immediate learning contexts. We pay attention to processes occurring between people which we find significant for the individual's identity, literacy and learning. By doing so we hope to make explicit the mobilisation of resources within and across specific contexts, in the ‘learning lives’ of Norwegian youngsters.     

Designing Knowledge‐In‐Use Assessments to Promote Deeper Learning

Contemporary views on learning highlight that deep learning occurs not simply by accumulating knowledge, but by using and applying knowledge as one engages in disciplinary activity. Increasingly, those concerned with education policy and practice are shifting priorities toward supporting deeper learning by emphasizing the importance of students’ ability to apply knowledge in subject areas. Designers of student assessments are following suit and are taking on the challenge of creating a new generation of assessments. We present a principled approach for designing classroom‐based assessments that not only assess deeper learning, but also provide teachers with critical information about how students are progressing toward achieving ambitious new learning goals. Our approach follows the evidentiary reasoning of evidence‐centered design and builds on research about the important role of knowledge‐in‐use to support student learning. We illustrate our approach in the context of creating tasks that assess students' science proficiency as reflected in the Next Generation Science Standards that are gaining prominence in the United States.     

Improvements in anatomy knowledge when utilizing a novel cyclical “Observe‐Reflect‐Draw‐Edit‐Repeat” learning process

Innovative educational strategies can provide variety and enhance student learning while addressing complex logistical and financial issues facing modern anatomy education. Observe‐Reflect‐Draw‐Edit‐Repeat (ORDER), a novel cyclical artistic process, has been designed based on cognitivist and constructivist learning theories, and on processes of critical observation, reflection and drawing in anatomy learning. ORDER was initially investigated in the context of a compulsory first year surface anatomy practical (ORDER‐SAP) at a United Kingdom medical school in which a cross‐over trial with pre‐post anatomy knowledge testing was utilized and student perceptions were identified. Despite positive perceptions of ORDER‐SAP, medical student (n = 154) pre‐post knowledge test scores were significantly greater (P < 0.001) with standard anatomy learning methods (3.26, SD = ±2.25) than with ORDER‐SAP (2.17, ±2.30). Based on these findings, ORDER was modified and evaluated in the context of an optional self‐directed gross anatomy online interactive tutorial (ORDER‐IT) for participating first year medical students (n = 55). Student performance was significantly greater (P < 0.001) with ORDER‐IT (2.71 ± 2.17) when compared to a control tutorial (1.31 ± 2.03). Performances of students with visual and artistic preferences when using ORDER were not significantly different (P > 0.05) to those students without these characteristics. These findings will be of value to anatomy instructors seeking to engage students from diverse learning backgrounds in a research‐led, innovative, time and cost‐effective learning method, in the context of contrasting learning environments. Anat Sci Educ 10: 7–22. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.     

e‐Learning in universities: Supporting help‐seeking processes by instructional prompts

University students are more responsible than school students for their own learning. The role of self‐regulated learning increases in virtual e‐learning course environments. Academic help‐seeking is an important strategy of self‐regulated learning, but many students fail to use this strategy appropriately. A lack of information and a perceived threat of help‐seeking may cause this effect. Among others, giving prompts is an instructional means to support students to adequately apply academic help‐seeking . A study is presented in which the effect of giving prompts on the quantity and quality of academic help‐seeking was experimentally investigated in a blended university learning course of educational science. Compared with students who received no prompts, students with prompts about the relevance of active help‐seeking had better learning outcomes, participated more actively in online learning activities, more explicitly referred to learning contents in the forums and took more initiative in starting discussions. The perceived threat of help‐seeking could not be reduced, however.     

‘A struggle well worth having’: the uses of theatre‐in‐education (TIE) for learning

In this article Chris Cooper conveys something of his passionate belief in the importance of attending to the preconditions of learning. He stresses the crucial role of the imagination in this, bringing, as he puts it, ‘creativity to the process of learning’. His account of a drama project based on The Tempest provides important insights into the working of these processes. Many readers, as an added bonus, will be interested in the observer role of the learning support assistant.     

Campus‐based student experiences of learning technologies in a first‐year science course

This study reports on an investigation into the campus‐based experience of university students studying mammalian physiology that was significantly supported with learning technologies. The design of the course enabled the students to interrogate the key ideas that they came across in their lectures and laboratories through online activities which prepared the students for practical classes. Close‐ended questionnaires were used to uncover qualitative variation in the population sample, particularly the differences in the concepts of learning technologies and approaches to learning technologies. Qualitative variation in concepts of, and approaches to, learning technologies was found to be significantly associated with variation in academic achievement. The outcomes have important implications for the approaches to teaching of campus‐based experiences of learning supported by learning technologies when we seek to support all students to realise their learning outcomes in technology‐mediated processes     

Countering Learner ‘Instrumentalism’ through Creative Mediation

One of the most significant features of the educational reforms introduced since 1989 has been the emphasis on raising achievement levels. One of the dangers of this emphasis is that teachers and learners become instrumental in their approach to teaching and learning. Research on the creative mediation of policy shows that primary teachers appropriate reforms and adapt them to ensure a high level of learner involvement in learning. This pilot study of three Year 5 and 6 classes focuses on the creative teaching strategies used to maintain learner involvement in the wake of all the reforms of the 1990s. In particular, the study uses learner perspectives as a major part of the data set. The tentative conclusions are that the clarification of learning objectives with the learners and the reconstruction of appropriate creative learning contexts has had an effect in countering learner instrumentalism. These approaches were effective in developing learners' awareness of the learning process and enabled them to articulate perspectives concerning those processes. However, the study did not find much evidence of teachers incorporating these learner perspectives into their curriculum and pedagogic programmes.     

Web 2.0 and competence‐oriented design of learning—Potentials and implications for higher education

This paper discusses the potential of learning technologies to foster competence development of students. It aims to improve understanding of pedagogical conditions that have to be met to establish a competence orientation in e‐learning. We review the literature to summarise recent changes in e‐learning, identify attributes of web 2.0 technologies, revisit the concept of competence and specify implications for the competence‐oriented design of learning environments. By referring to Kolb's learning cycle, we illustrate this view with a case study on the use of Google Apps as collaborative learning environment and recommend how competence‐oriented e‐learning activities can be created. Our findings reinforce the position that web 2.0 tools enable a shift from a distributive to a more collaborative mode in e‐learning. In particular, the ease of use and intuition of web 2.0 technologies allow creating learning environments, which realise activity‐rich pedagogical models and facilitate competence development of students. The paper concludes that, despite the demand of firms for versatile graduates and the obvious potential of learning technologies to foster competence development of students, universities need to establish institutional strategies to make this pedagogical change happen.     

‘This baby…it isn't alive.’ Towards a community of learners for vocational orientation

The aim of this study is to contribute to the innovation of pre‐vocational education, in particular, students' orientation at possible future occupations. From our theoretical understanding, vocational orientation that makes sense to students requires them to be part of a ‘community of learners for vocational orientation’. In such a community, students are stimulated to learn deliberately while participating in vocational practices. In this article we distinguish four parameters to define a community of learners for vocational orientation. We then present the results of a collective instrumental case study into teaching‐learning processes in four classes in two pre‐vocational secondary schools. Data were collected through classroom observations, a series of interviews with teachers and students. The interviews focused on eight ‘critical incidents’ recorded during classroom observations. The results show that the parameters ‘shared learning’ and ‘meaningful learning’ are more manifest in the teaching‐learning process than ‘reflective learning’ and ‘a focus on transferable learning outcomes’. The article concludes with a discussion of the limits of working in simulated work situations in school for realizing effective pre‐vocational education.