Using problem-based learning to increase computer self-efficacy in Taiwanese students

In Taiwan, teaching focuses around lecturing, with students having little opportunity to interact with each other. Problem-based learning (PBL) is a means of instruction where students learn the subject by being active participants in the pedagogical process, with the emphasis on problem-solving. In this study, the authors investigated whether PBL would enhance self-efficacy better than common lecturing with children who had little access to technology outside of school. Two sixth-grade computer classes, both with 32 students in each and both located in the mountainous regions of eastern Taiwan, served as participants. A quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group design was used with one class utilizing PBL principles, while the other used traditional lecturing. A pre-/posttest was administered, using the General Self-Efficacy Scale with data analysis employing the Mann–Whitney test and Pearson Goodness-of-Fit. The results indicated that PBL is superior to lecturing, with respect to an increase in computer self-efficacy.     

Tutor training for service learning: impact on self-efficacy beliefs

The aim of my study was: (a) to measure the effectiveness of a supporting tutor-training curriculum and content knowledge gains for preservice teachers engaged in service learning and (b) to determine whether tutor training and field experience improved the preservice teachers’ teaching self-efficacy beliefs. One hundred and thirteen upper-division undergraduate students enrolled in Social Foundations of Multicultural Education courses participated in course-embedded tutor-training and fulfilled a 20-h service-learning requirement by tutoring pupils in local elementary schools. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) on a pretest and posttest measures of content knowledge, tutoring skills, and teaching self-efficacy demonstrated a statistically significant difference with higher mean scores at the post time. These results suggest that a course-specific tutor-training curriculum advances the participants’ knowledge and skill in tutoring. The results also indicate that the combination of tutor training and field application (i.e. tutoring in a classroom) function to increase students’ self-efficacy as future teachers.     

Demonstrating a situated learning approach for in-service teacher education in rural India: The Quality Education Programme in Rajasthan

Recent educational policy in India has repositioned elementary school teachers as active, reflective practitioners, not just ‘deliverers’ of syllabus material. This article examines innovations in teacher support in Rajasthan's government schools through the ‘Quality Education Program.’ Drawing on qualitative research of collaborative learning processes, the paper discusses two support strategies used by the program: professional dialogic interactions and modeling of pedagogic strategies, which paralleled introductory or developmental phases within a ‘collaborative apprenticeship model’ of teacher professional development. In doing so, the paper outlines the potential of situated, collaborative approaches for Indian in-service teacher education and education development reform, more broadly.     

Problem-based learning in distance education: Practitioners' beliefs about an action learning project

Despite the advantages of problem based learning (PBL) and the fact that it has been utilised for some time in conventional higher education settings, it is not widely used in distance education in Hong Kong. Recently, a small group of course co‐ordinators at the Open University of Hong Kong engaged in a series of action learning projects to explore ways in which it could be incorporated into their courses. The purpose of this paper is to report the opinions of these academics about the suitability of PBL for a distance education environment. Generally, they concluded that it is possible, and perhaps desirable, to consider implementing PBL as one learning approach. However, most of the projects focussed on a fairly narrow application of PBL, namely in face‐to‐face tutorials. The limitations of the participants’ interpretations are discussed in the light of the constraints they face, and some recommendations are made for other ways of implementing PBL into distance education.     

Collaborative project-based learning: an integrative science and technological education project

Background: Blending collaborative learning and project-based learning (PBL) based on Wolff (2003) design categories, students interacted in a learning environment where they developed their technology integration practices as well as their technological and collaborative skills.

Purpose: The study aims to understand how seventh grade students perceive a collaborative web-based science project in light of Wolff’s design categories. The goal of the project is to develop their technological and collaborative skills, to educate them about technology integration practices, and to provide an optimum collaborative, PBL experience.

Sample: Seventh grade students aged 12–14 (n = 15) were selected from a rural K–12 school in Turkey through purposeful sampling.

Design and methods: The current study applied proactive action research since it focused on utilizing a new way to enhance students’ technological and collaborative skills and to demonstrate technology integration into science coursework. Data were collected qualitatively through interviews, observation forms, forum archives, and website evaluation rubrics.

Results: The results found virtual spaces such as online tutorials, forums, and collaborative and communicative tools to be beneficial for collaborative PBL. The study supported Wolff’s design features for a collaborative PBL environment, applying features appropriate for a rural K–12 school setting and creating a digitally-enriched environment. As the forum could not be used as effectively as expected because of school limitations, more flexible spaces independent of time and space were needed.

Conclusions: This study’s interdisciplinary, collaborative PBL was efficient in enhancing students’ advanced technological and collaborative skills, as well as exposing them to practices for integrating technology into science. The study applied design features for a collaborative PBL environment with certain revisions.     

Diversity project: mapping of diversity teaching and learning in nurse education curriculum

Diversity and inclusivity in higher education and health care have gained prominence in recent years and this means that institutions’ educational programmes need to incorporate teaching and learning that is responsive to diversity. This paper reports findings from a diversity teaching and learning mapping project. The aim of the mapping project was to map out when and how the various themes on diversity in all course curricula are addressed in a university’s School of Nursing. The project adopted the following methodologies: documentary reviews of curriculum documents, handbooks and timetables, followed by qualitative interviews with module leaders and teachers. The documentary reviews provided a map of where diversity teaching and learning tended to occur and the interviews yielded six major themes central to diversity: definition, importance, confidence, challenges, resources and future implications.

The results suggest that mapping does provide an important way of comparing courses and highlighting aspects which need attention. The results provide directions for curriculum development teams to ensure that diversity issues are transparently addressed in all courses in the School of Nursing. Furthermore, the insights derived from the findings steered the project team to develop Web CT resources on some of the diversity themes such as an introduction to diversity and inclusivity, spirituality, ethnicity and diversity. Plans are in place to develop further diversity teaching and learning resources in the light of findings which will be used in staff development programmes.     

The impact of aid on education policy in India

In the early 1990s, large numbers of children in India remained out of school. International commitments to achieve education for all (EFA) globally meant that India was an important case for donors. India was pressed to accept aid for primary education, and agreed with some reluctance. Although subsequent donor involvement was substantial and influenced aspects of both policy implementation and management, it is shown that Indian education policy priorities remained self-determined. The Government of India – though falling short of securing universal education for its children – succeeded in using external resources and expertise in ways which suited its own purposes, whilst minimising external impact on policy development. The politics and economics of this process are discussed.     

Influence of problem-based learning games on effective computer programming learning in higher education

Educational technology research and development - Gaming is a part of today’s society, especially for younger generations. Therefore, game-based approaches are unsurprisingly used for...     

基于项目的学习在中学计算机基础教学的应用

近年来,随着教育改革的深入发展,计算机应用基础课程作用日益凸显,教学方法的改革势在必行。本文旨在讨论基于项目的教学方法,项目化教学是教学和学习模式的体现,通过联合开展工作,教学的教师和学生实施一个完整的项目,将学生融入有意义的任务完成的过程中,让学生主动学习自主建构知识,以取得理解和解决实际问题的知识和技能的任务。     

Explaining self-efficacy development in an authentic higher education learning context of role-play simulations

Role-play simulations have become commonly used active learning methods to teach about complex, dynamic political processes. However, an understanding of why there is variation in student learning during such simulations is lacking. This study focuses on the development of student self-efficacy in negotiating over the period of one simulation. We investigate to what extent self-efficacy development can be explained by the individual characteristics of students. This study further contributes to the field by including perceived student cohesiveness as a social aspect of the simulation. Data from 84 participants were collected during a four-day Model United Nations (MUN) simulation. Self-efficacy in negotiating was measured using 12 measurement times, and the data analysed using multilevel growth modelling. Results show a statistically significant linear increase in self-efficacy in negotiating over the period of the simulation. Compared to the time factor, individual characteristics explain variation in self-efficacy development to a larger extent, of which perceived student cohesiveness contributes the most.     

Diversity study circles in teacher education practice: An experiential learning project

This paper addresses the dilemma of trying to prepare primarily white preservice teachers for educational arenas in which they will interface with students of colour and many who are socially disadvantaged. This paper describes how diversity study circles can be integrated as integral to education that is multicultural in the development of preservice teachers’ critical self-reflection as a bridge to developing a critical lens for classroom practice and a democratic society.     

外语教学中基于课堂与计算机的项目学习框架

依据国外学者设计的项目学习步骤或框架,本文设计了基于课堂与计算的外语教学环境下的项目学习框架,项目学习主要贯穿于课堂学习环境、计算机网络学习环境和课外面对面的辅导,历经项目主题确定、项目计划实施和项目成果汇报三阶段。     

Mindfulness,coping self-efficacy and foreign language anxiety: a mediation analysis

This study sought to explore the relationship between mindfulness, coping self-efficacy (CSE) and foreign language anxiety (FLA) among a sample of 295 Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Further, the capacity of CSE in mediating the relationship between mindfulness and FLA was tested. The participants were administered self-reported questionnaires. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was utilised. The results of SEM analysis showed that higher levels of mindfulness were associated with lower levels of FLA and greater CSE. In addition, it was found that CSE could partially mediate the relationship between mindfulness and FLA. Implications are discussed.     

Role of recognition of prior learning for emerging economies: learning from a four sector pilot project in India

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) has increasingly been recognised as a useful way to certify experience and competencies gained in the workplace informally. Particularly pertinent is RPL in the context of international migration or in economies, where system reforms seek to overcome challenges related to access to formal training and qualifications. India has the goal to skill 300 million of its growing workforce and provide them access at various levels to certification and further learning opportunities. As a part of the overall system reforms, the Government of India, jointly with the ILO, pilot tested RPL in four sectors in collaboration with the industry and built the foundation for wider replication for another 26 growth sectors by undertaking a tracer study and evaluation. This paper can empirically establish that RPL has had a positive effect on income opportunities, occupational safety, social status and openness to further learning. The paper further discusses the challenges encountered during the implementation of the RPL projects before concluding with recommendations, highlighting the aspects required for quality RPL in an emerging economy. It closes by emphasising the importance of conducting tracer studies to determine impact and the need to provide complementary training during the RPL process.     

The impact of higher education on lifelong learning

The UK’s National Adult Learning Survey has emphasised that graduates are more likely than other groups of people to engage in further learning and to be motivated by the intrinsic nature of the subject matter. However, beyond this we know relatively little about the learning of graduates as a specific group. In particular, we know very little about how experiences of higher education affect attitudes towards learning in the years after graduation. To start to redress this gap, this paper draws on in‐depth interviews with 90 graduates from six different UK higher education institutions, five years after they completed their first degree. It argues that, in the case of many of these young adults, the influence of higher education on further learning was exerted at three levels in relation to: the process of learning; the construction of learner identities; and understandings of the relationship between learning and the wider world.     

Job characteristics and teacher well-being: the mediation of teacher self-monitoring and teacher self-efficacy

Teacher well-being is a critical factor affecting job performance and thus, significant for enhancing quality teaching. Based on the job demands-resources model, this study examines the mediating effects of teachers’ self-monitoring and self-efficacy on the relationships between the emotional job demands of teaching and trust in colleagues and teacher well-being. A questionnaire was administered to 1115 primary school teachers in Hong Kong. The results highlight the maladaptive role of self-monitoring as a personal demand and the adaptive role of self-efficacy as a personal resource: self-monitoring is positively related to anxiety and depression; self-efficacy is positively related to enthusiasm and contentment and negatively related to anxiety and depression. The results not only support the beneficial role of trust in colleagues, which is positively associated with teacher self-efficacy and well-being, but also reveal the rewarding side of emotional job demands in enhancing teacher self-efficacy. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.