Where the two shall meet: Exploring the relationship between teacher professional culture and student learning culture

This study focuses on the understudied connection between teachers’ and students’ perceptions of school culture. Utilizing a longitudinal sample of approximately 130,000 students and 9000 teachers in 225 New York City traditional public schools, we investigate how professional culture among teachers intersects with students’ collective emotional engagement—that is, the extent students together view the school environment as trusting and respectful, both between teachers and students and among students (i.e., student learning culture). We find that when the teachers report a strong collaborative culture, believe they have adequate materials, and feel physically safe, students report a stronger and more positive learning culture. Our results thus fill a gap in prior research on school change that has looked at either teacher or student perceptions of school culture but not the two together. Here, because our results demonstrate such a positive relationship between the collective views of teachers and the collective views of students regarding the environment in which these groups work, they suggest new avenues for research to examine how such subcultures within a school may, together, act as critical and interdependent levers for school change.     

Learning to learn: Research and development in student learning

This paper is concerned with systematic attempts to help students to learn more effectively. Current approaches to learning-to-learn, chiefly in Britain and involving groups rather than individuals, are reviewed against the background of recent research findings on student learning. Four issues are identified and discussed: contrasting conceptions of learning-to-learn; responses to the problems posed by subject and contextual varations in learning demands; the implications of autonomy, change and the individual learner; and the relationship between research on learning and the development of approaches to learning-to-learn.     

The integrated student: Fostering holistic development to advance learning

Advocates of educating the whole student have argued for years that emotional, social, and cognitive development are equally important aspects to consider in creating effective learning environments. Honors students—the cognitively accomplished—need integrated learning as much as anyone.     

Creating an information-rich learning environment to enhance design student learning: challenges and approaches

The use of technology with engineering design students is well established, with shared workspaces being particularly supportive of the collaborative design process. This paper reports on a study where a design knowledge framework involving three learning loops was used to analyse the effectiveness of shared workspaces and digital repositories in supporting design education. The issues discussed include the relationship between knowledge and information structures, the importance of integrating information literacy support, and the need for different systems within the learning environment to support formal and informal storage of resources. These issues are explored within the context of experiences of working in a multidisciplinary team with different approaches, research methodologies, and discourses.     

Self paced learning: A student perspective

Training reform in Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) has been well under way for over a decade. Reforms include marketisation, the widespread adoption of competency-based training, and most recently an adoption of various forms of flexible delivery. One of these alternative methods of delivery is self paced learning (SPL). SPL is presented by VET management as being advantageous to students and their employers, and in addition is generally less resource-intensive than face-to-face teaching. This paper examines SPL in a TAFE college from a student viewpoint. The research, using qualitative methods, examined the experiences of SPL, in Office Administration subjects, of students who have a Non English Speaking Background (NESB) or no regular access to computers. The paper describes how they adapted, reacted and responded to self paced learning. The difficulties experienced by these students when studying by self paced learning are discussed in detail The findings indicate that, whilst students are appreciative of the flexibility which self paced learning affords, there are some concerns about its efficacy in relation to educational outcomes.     

Self paced learning: A student perspective

Training reform in Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) has been well under way for over a decade. Reforms include marketisation, the widespread adoption of competency-based training, and most recently an adoption of various forms of flexible delivery. One of these alternative methods of delivery is self paced learning (SPL). SPL is presented by VET management as being advantageous to students and their employers, and in addition is generally less resource-intensive than face-to-face teaching. This paper examines SPL in a TAPE college from a student viewpoint. The research, using qualitative methods, examined the experiences of SPL, in Office Administration subjects, of students who have a Non English Speaking Background (NESB) or no regular access to computers. The paper describes how they adapted, reacted and responded to self paced learning. The difficulties experienced by these students when studying by self paced learning are discussed in detail. The findings indicate that, whilst students are appreciative of the flexibility which self paced learning affords, there are some concerns about its efficacy in relation to educational outcomes.     

The application of machine learning to student modelling

This article considers the prospects for applying machine learning techniques to the problem of maintaining the dynamic student models needed for intelligent tutoring. We imagine a learner endeavouring to understand a climate classification scheme through exploring a data-base guided by a tutorial system which does not itself know the classification rules. We consider the possible use of the focussing algorithm for concept learning as a basis for such a tutorial system. Several difficulties with this approach to guided discovery learning are discussed.     

Using Wikipedia to enhance student learning: A case study in economics

Currently, there is widespread interest in how Web 2.0 tools can be used to improve students’ learning experiences. Previous studies have focused either on the advantages of wikis or on concerns over the use of Wikipedia. In this study, we propose to use Wikipedia as a classroom wiki. In doing so, we discuss how students can improve their standard written assignments using Wikipedia instead of a module wiki. Compared to traditional essay assignments, students’ submission of articles to Wikipedia can address many of the problems faced by instructors of traditional assignments, such as students’ poor writing skills, lack of primary source research, and poorly balanced discussions. Our study was based on our experience in teaching an upper-level economics module at the National University of Singapore over two semesters: 121 students who were enrolled in semester 1 submitted a traditional writing assignment, while 124 students enrolled in semester 2 contributed two short entries to Wikipedia. The results showed a large increase in the number of students checking their assignment feedback. Further, students’ writing quality improved noticeably in the Wikipedia assignment, and they were able to put forth more balanced discussions of relevant issues and include a greater number of primary sources. Despite the challenges faced when using Wiki markup language, the students enjoyed the overall experience.     

In practice: Enriching the student learning experience through community service learning

Cecil D. Bradfield and R. Ann Myers are professors of sociology and social work at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where they cofounded the JMU Center for Service-Learning. The Center is noteworthy in its dedication to (and success in) serving equally the academic learning needs of students and the needs of the community. Here Bradfield and Myers describe the Center and at the same time examine what makes service learning different from community service.     

e-Assessment and the student learning experience: A survey of student perceptions of e-assessment

This paper describes a piece of research carried out at the University of Bradford into student perceptions of e-assessment. An online questionnaire was delivered to 130 undergraduates who had taken part in online assessment (either formative or summative) during the academic year 2007–2008. The survey looked at six main dimensions: (1) affective factors, (2) validity, (3) practical issues, (4) reliability, (5) security, and (6) learning and teaching. The aim of the survey was to identify possible risks in planning e-assessments, as well as to gauge student opinion. The findings of the survey indicated a range of opinions across the student body, with greatest concern about the fairness of item banking. It was also found that the most positive aspect of e-assessment in the eyes of students concerned the benefits that it can bring to teaching and learning. In addition, the paper concludes that age and gender did not significantly affect student responses in any of the areas studied.     

行动研究：建设高职学习型文化的有效路径

构建学习型文化是高职院校可持续发展的必由之路,而以解决实际问题为目的的教育行动研究是构建学习型文化最有效的方式。通过教育行动研究使教师“学会学习”,培养合作学习能力,养成反思性思维习惯,提高专业化程度。