The knowledgeable parenting style: stance takings and subject positions in media encounters

In today’s media-saturated societies it can be assumed that encounters with therapists and other experts may have implications for adult learning. Taking the point of departure in the idea of public pedagogy, and by using a close-up analysis of interview talk, the pedagogical agency the media may have on parenting is investigated. Drawing upon the discursive notions of styles, stance takings and subject positions, a pattern of regularities emerges called ‘the knowledgeable parenting style’. The knowledgeable parent is fashioned through various, yet typical ways of assuming stances and negotiating positions in media encounters, by displaying recognition, discrimination and insight. The study illustrates how the media’s claim on a pedagogical role is acknowledged, however, what is provided to be valuable competence is not just accepted. While the interviewed adults mainly exclude themselves from that site of public intervention, the knowledge provided and instructions given are depicted as having the potential of facilitating learning for ‘other parents’. Apparently, the ways in which people rhetorically approach and systematically establish stances also reveal subject positions associated with learning. A dynamic space is created where the displayed norms for adequate behaviour, and invitations to act upon that knowledge, are subject to constant tension.     

Teachers Curating Virtual Exhibitions for Learning Visual Arts: A Study of Impact and Effectiveness

Although visual arts teachers have free access to high quality online artwork images offering them immense teaching resources, making meaningful use of them remains a pedagogical challenge. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the transition from face-to-face to online teaching caused an immediate need for teachers to enhance their digital competencies and technological capability for planning and delivering a blended art curriculum. Herein, I propose a ‘teacher-curator pedagogy’ via a study in six primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong to assess its effectiveness. The study took place in the academic year of 2021-22 with 331 student participants. The proposed pedagogy puts visual arts teachers in the role of ‘digital curators’ who create virtual exhibitions for teaching art appreciation and artmaking. This paper addresses the theoretical framework, implementation strategies, and the results of the study highlighting its effectiveness, impact and limitations on teaching when using teacher-curated virtual exhibitions in both physical and virtual learning contexts. It was found that the technological capacity and confidence of the teacher participants was enhanced through the use of online resources and virtual exhibition tools. Making use of the 3D presentation of exhibits in themes and context through digital content curation, the teachers engaged students with deep interaction through the blending of online and face-to-face teaching. However, the proposed pedagogy was limited by the high demand of training and preparation work, hardware and software support, and difficulties in assessing and monitoring learning beyond class.     

At the intersection of technology and pedagogy: considering styles of learning and teaching

Abstract

In considering those forms of teaching and learning that most favor the use of information and communication technologies, this article explores assumptions related to technology use and education; describes technology use in learning contexts that favor teacher-centered and studentcentered approaches; refers to the literature on learning styles; and presents some of the evidence supporting a move towards technology-based, studentcentered learning environments. In analyzing this information, the article concludes with a statement supporting a ‘pedagogy of learning’ as the most favorable context/style for the use of appropriate educational technologies     

Studying cultural diversity using information and communication technologies in teacher education: pedagogy,power and literacy

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between new technologies, pedagogy and cultural diversity. It is clear from the project discussed in this article that studying diversity issues on-line provides scope for developing what has been called cultural literacy following Bourdieu's (1990) notion of ‘different ways of seeing’. However, there are a number of unintended effects of power that emerge in this new cultural field which need examination. These include the importance of understanding the embodied context as much as the virtual, the need to be explicit about literacy practices to challenge the dominant liberal discourse of ‘voice’ in on-line discussion, and the effects of power that emanate from teaching and learning in this field.     

Introducing a fifth pedagogy: experience‐based strategies for facilitating learning in natural environments

Educators have identified four categories of ‘productive pedagogies’ that are considered to lead to authentic student engagement and learning in the classroom. This study was designed to explore and extend these pedagogies in the context of learning in natural environments, in particular, through the programmes of Queensland environmental education centres. In‐depth interview and observation data were collected from students, classroom teachers and centre teachers who had participated in 12 environmental education programmes across Queensland, in order to identify the strategies that are most effective in facilitating learning in the natural environment. A fifth productive pedagogy category, ‘experience‐based learning’, is proposed. Experience‐based learning is particularly important in addressing students’ environmental attitudes and actions. The implications for the delivery of environmental education programmes both within and outside the classroom are discussed.     

When style meets pattern in mentoring talk: implications for student teacher community learning environments in practice teaching

This study investigates how mentor talk unfolds in a community of learners during an entire school year in the context of practice teaching in university teacher education. Specifically, it focuses on how emergent styles and patterns of mentor’s talk shaped power relations in the discourse, promoting different kinds of learning environments. Data collection included 23 video-recorded meetings of the learning community of 11 student teachers and a university mentor and 25 semi-structured interviews with all participants including the mentor. Findings show that styles and patterns of mentor talk are central to how a particular learning environment in a community develops. Implications for pre-service mentors’ roles in the context of student teacher learning in a community are discussed.     

Learning in higher education – how cognitive and learning styles matter

The cognitive and learning styles research domain is a highly complex one which has recently been the focus of rigour–relevance debates (Coffield et al. 2004; Evans and Sadler-Smith 2006; Rayner 2006). There is considerable support for the existence and value of style as a construct (Sternberg 1996) even though further work is needed to evidence greater impact on practice. This paper shares the work and experiences of one international research community – the European Learning Styles Information Network (ELSIN) and its attempts to advance understanding of the theory and application of cognitive and learning styles in higher education and other contexts. In so doing it highlights the principles around the development, collation and integration of research as exemplified by the ELSIN experience and considered by other research domains in higher education. Future directions for cognitive and learning styles research within the context of higher education are outlined along with the role of ELSIN in highlighting and leading on these.     

Reviews

The authors' experiences of observing teaching and learning in schools have led them to become concerned at the dominant paradigm of a ‘pedagogy of poverty' at the expense of a ‘pedagogy of plenty’. Bernstein's theory of power and control of education knowledge is overtly practised in classrooms globally. This is evidenced in the narrowing of the curriculum in response to the ‘No Child Left Behind’ initiative in the USA and the centrally imposed National Strategies and Standards agenda in the UK. Bernstein's theory is still a means of clarifying the relationships between social class, family income and the education process. It introduced the concept of ‘restricted and elaborated codes’, which has been labelled by its critics as a deficit model for the working-class population. The authors contest that expectations for this new meritocracy have failed to materialise and the expectations for equity have been reduced by the prevailing metric. This ‘pedagogy of poverty’ is now practised in the current ‘one size fits all’ model of teaching and learning operating within narrow accountability based on a ‘testocracy’. This case study demonstrates one teacher using guided group work as a potential strategy for a ‘pedagogy of plenty’.     

二语习得中认知方式研究及其对英语教学的启示

在英语学习的过程中,学习者的认知方式的不同会影响到英语学习的效果。文章基于认知心理学的相关理论探讨了认知方式和英语学习的关系并从中得出一些与英语教学的相关启示,以及其在英语学习中的作用。基于此教师可以针对不同认知方式的学习者采用适当的教学策略及方法做到因材施教,以此使教学达到最优化。     

Enhancing primary school children collaborative learning experiences in maths via a 3D virtual environment

Over the last years there has been a growing use of 3D virtual environments for educational purposes. Many studies advocate the integration of these environments in the daily teaching practice of various subjects. This requires innovative design in order create the appropriate affective/ pedagogical conditions as well as the development and use of well-structured activities in order to achieve effective collaborative learning. This paper presents an exploratory study in which collaborative learning strategies and cognitive apprenticeship models act as the pedagogical framework to facilitate learning and collaboration. The context is the teaching of mathematics in primary education via a 3D virtual environment. Specifically, we focus on evaluating students’ engagement (behavioral, affective and cognitive) in the collaborative learning process as they learn fractional concepts in a meaningful way. The findings show that a 3D virtual environment can support collaborative learning in primary school through its ability to enhance students’ engagement (behavioral, affective and cognitive) in the collaborative learning process.     

What can Learning Styles Research Learn from Cognitive Psychology?

People differ from each other in the manner in which they process information from the world. These individual differences are called learning styles’. The purpose of this paper is to explore how research in this field can benefit from certain findings in cognitive psychology. Following a review of some difficulties which afflict research on learning styles (e.g. inadequate construct validation of measures), attention is drawn to two relevant findings in cognitive research: the influence of prior knowledge on learning and the potential value to learners of ‘metacognitive’ awareness. Some implications of these findings for learning styles research are then discussed.     

Developing effective teacher beliefs about learners: the role of sensitizing teachers to individual learning differences

Effective teacher beliefs about students are an integral part of effective teaching. Teachers with interventionist beliefs about students (‘I can intervene to help a learner with difficulties’) show more effective practice than teachers with pathognomonic beliefs (‘I blame the learner for his difficulties’). A professional development (PD) course sensitized teachers (N = 234) to individual learning differences (ILDs), using five learning/cognitive styles tools. Teachers’ responses to a pre‐/post‐test question concerning their beliefs about ‘weak students’ were analyzed and correlated with their ILD scores. Before the PD, teachers with strong ILD preferences matched to traditional learning contexts were significantly more ‘at risk’ (i.e., had fewer interventionist beliefs) than the other teachers; the former teachers were significantly overrepresented in the sample. After the PD, teachers’ interventionist beliefs significantly increased, regardless of their ILD preferences. Neither the length of the PD (28 hrs. vs. 56 hrs.) nor the amount of teaching experience affected the teachers’ interventionist beliefs about students. A mediated, constructivist and collaborative PD, which sensitizes teachers to individual learning differences, can increase effective teacher beliefs about students. We conclude that developing more effective teacher beliefs about learners should become a component of teacher professional development.     

Communal constructivist theory: information and communications technology pedagogy and internationalisation of the curriculum

Abstract

This article explores communal constructivism as a unifying theory that encapsulates the ways in which information and communications technology (ICT) enables learners to collaboratively create knowledge. The authors review the research outcomes from several international ICT projects in the light of communal constructivist learning theory, which provides a rationale and explanations for some of their findings exploring the effectiveness of new pedagogical practices emerging in ICT-rich innovative learning environments. They argue that the term ‘communal constructivism’ conveys a meaning that captures specific elements of the additional value that various forms of ICT bring to learning environments, specifically the different forms of virtual and real community building, as well as the different ways in which knowledge is constructed, shared and reconstructed, published and republished by both teachers and learners alike. The aim of the article is to start the debate about communal constructivism as a unifying theory for aspects of ICT pedagogy, and to identify some of the characteristics of ICTrich learning environments where the authors suggest communal constructivist pedagogy is in operation.     

Towards educational inclusion in a contested society: from critical analysis to creative action

This paper is written by democratic educators who stand for the idea that is it worth developing, through classrooms and schools, a socially just (egalitarian), anti‐discriminatory society where interdependent relationships are valued. This paper significantly develops some of the ideas explored in the authors’ earlier contribution concerned with progress in Northern Ireland towards educational inclusion, and how this might more effectively advance in a post‐conflict transforming society. In particular, the paper poses the ‘so what’ question, and it responds by exploring the practical implications of six key ideas thought essential for transforming learning environments supportive of cultural diversity, equity and excellence for all. In addition, it includes examples of how school staff, along with collaborating partners, might utilize these key principles in order to facilitate school improvement.     

认知语法的“构式观”及其对艺术类大学生英语教学的启示

在艺术类大学生英语学习中,学习者没有养成良好的英语学习习惯,更重要的是没有形成符合英语学科的认知和思维习惯。鉴于此,以艺术类大学生的英语学习现状和认知特点为前提,以艺术类大学生基于构式语法的英语教学为例,分析解读认知语法的"构式观",探讨构式语法理念对艺术类大学生英语教学的启示。     

‘Learning Style’: frameworks and instruments

In both education and training an important aspect of the design, development and delivery of learning is the role of individual differences between learners in terms of their ‘learning styles’. One may identify four broad categories of what have been termed ‘learning style’: (i) ‘cognitive personality elements’ (e.g. Witkin et al. 1977; Riding, 1991); (ii) ‘information‐processing style’ (e.g. Kolb, 1984; Honey & Mumford, 1992); (iii) ‘approaches to studying’ (e.g. Entwistle & Tait, 1994); (iv) ‘instructional preferences’ (e.g. Riechmann & Grasha, 1974). A study of 245 university undergraduates in business studies aimed to: (i) describe the range of individual differences present within the sample; (ii) investigate the relationship between learners’ cognitive styles, learning styles, approaches to studying and learning preferences; (iii) consider the implications of ‘learning style’ for teaching and learning in higher education. The present study suggested some overlap between the dimensions measured by the Learning Styles Questionnaire (Honey & Mumford, 1986; 1992) and the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (Entwistle & Tait, 1994). No statistically significant correlations were found between cognitive style, as measured by the Cognitive Styles Analysis (Riding, 1991) and any of the other ‘style’ constructs used. Further research is required to investigate these relationships, as is a large‐scale factor analytical study of the Honey and Mumford and Kolb instruments. The notions of whole brain functioning, integra‐tive approaches to studying and degree of learning activity are discussed.     

Using learning styles theory in engineering education

Studies have shown that, while learning different concepts, people sometimes take different approaches (learning styles). Accordingly, their performance reflected differently in their academic studies. With the effect of globalisation to the educational environments, the influence of individual learning styles on educational performance is getting more significant. In this study, a learning style assessment tool was used to examine the relationship between students’ learning styles and their performance in engineering education programmes. At the beginning of the programme, 285 students’ learning styles were measured using a learning style assessment tool. Four years after the engineering education, their performance in the programme was compared with their individual learning styles. This study shows that most of the students are assimilators. Divergers and convergers follow the assimilators. The number of accommodators is very limited. The relationship between engineering students’ learning styles and their performance is found: assimilators and convergers performed better than the divergers and accommodators. The performance difference between assimilators and divergers is statistically significant. The results of this study show that the learning style theory is a potential tool for guiding the design and improvement of courses and helping students to improve their individual performance.     

Learning and Instruction: a review of main research lines during recent decades

Research on learning and instruction focuses on structural and procedural characteristics of guided human learning as well as its internal and external constraints including the embeddedness of human learning into social systems. Instruction (which is in this context just as a synonym for teaching) needs to be aligned with these characteristics of human learning in order to be successful. The following article provides an overview of main research lines on learning and instruction during the recent decades with a special focus on educational psychology and empirical pedagogy. In a first step, the article will outline basic theoretical approaches to teaching and learning. Second, it will analyze the role of learning environments and students’ learning activities within these environments and, third, the role of self-directed learning in such environments. Fourth, the paper will consider the role of media in learning and instruction with a special focus on possibilities to enhance students’ cognitive flexibility. In a fifth step, the article will specify cognitive and developmental constraints of learning and its instructional consequences. Finally, the article will suggest perspectives for further interdisciplinary research in this area.     

学习风格理论与外语教学实践研究

阐述学习风格与认知风格的区别，系统介绍学习风格的分类与类型，纠正长期以来人们对学习风格的错误认识，并以社会建构主义为理论框架，提出在外语教学实践中，使教学风格与学习风格相匹配的重要性和具体实施建议。