Let's get beyond community and practice: the many meanings of learning by participating

This article is an attempt to tease out what is so often termed learning through participation. Drawing on the analysis undertaken by the Learning Outcomes Thematic Group, the use of the participation metaphor in TLRP projects is discussed. The conclusion arrived at is that its use appears mainly to focus on behaviour and engagement in practices. After looking at the cognitive potential to be found in both cultural psychology and in the work that has its origins in interactionism and developmental psychology, the article cautions against simply seeing participation as another way of looking at behaviour and how it is shaped by context. It calls for a recognition of the cognitive elements in socio-cultural and activity theory frameworks and their capacity to explain how we learn new practices. It argues that a focus on coming to know or sense making requires a discursive shift that allows a rethinking of what is meant by acquisition. The implications of these frameworks for assessment are also touched upon.     

Collaborative learning processes in the context of a public health professional development program: a case study

The health promotion laboratory (HPL – Canada) is a public health professional development program building on a collaborative learning approach in order to support long-term practice change in local health services teams. This study aims to analyse the collaborative learning processes of two teams involved in the program during the first year of implementation. Based on a multiple case study design involving observations, interviews, and documentary sources, the study: (1) describes the learning process by which each team built a common understanding of the problem at hand and developed an intervention to address it; (2) identifies factors that facilitated or hindered these processes; and (3) proposes a cross-case explanation of the collaborative learning process in the HPL. The results demonstrate that the two teams learned by expanding their repertoire of actions, albeit experiencing different processes. Results point to the central role of shared mental models and key influencing factors, such as commitment and participation (team cohesion), team climate (psychological safety), and leadership style. Unlike previous studies on team learning that concentrated on existing teams in organisations, the current research studied purposely created teams working at transforming their practices and showed that they can successfully learn if specific conditions are achieved.     

Learning and building social capital in a community of family farm businesses

This paper analyses the processes that occur in a ‘learning community’ of Australian family agricultural businesses for evidence of use or generation of stores of social capital. The purpose of analysing processes that use or build social capital is to derive a framework or checklist of stages and characteristics that can be used to analyse the extent of social capital use and generation in other communities. The qualitative design is suitable for a study such as this, which investigates possible relationships and influencing factors concerning learning and changes to farm management practices. Data collection involved observing a learning activity session and interviewing 12 members in a focus group during the session and subsequently 14 individually at their farms. Data were analysed for themes and coded with the assistance of NUD*IST qualitative data analysis software. An understanding of how what is identified as social capital can be built in a formalized learning programme can be used to facilitate social capital building; in other formal learning settings, as well as more widely. The findings of the study reported here and findings from studies of informal learning in geographic communities have contributed to the development of the Centre for Research and Learning in Regional Australia's model of the simultaneous building and use of social capital. The model, presented in this paper, conceptualizes the way in which social capital is used and built in interactions between individuals.     

The communication patterns of Chinese students with their lecturers in an Australian university

Chinese students are now the largest group of international students in the Australian higher education sector. The patterns of Chinese communication and education affect the ways that Chinese students engage with their lecturers and manage their learning relationships. A case study of these patterns provides a small window through which to observe the progress of higher education internationalisation in Australia. In this study, the experiences of seven Chinese students in a multicultural educational context are explored, with a focus on their communication practices and relationships with their lecturers in Australia. This paper contributes to understandings of how student–teacher communication practices affect learning experiences for Chinese students in Australian or other international universities.     

创建学习型企业的原因及智障分析

创建学习型组织是一个最前沿的管理理论,是成功企业共有的特征,是市场竞争的最终决定力。真正有生命力的保持企业活力的组织是那些善于学习的企业。人人都希望自己的组织是一个学习型组织,人们也认识到创建学习型组织的重要性、必要性和紧迫感。然而,学习型组织的创建,是不可能一蹴而就的,创建进程中存在着许多需要克服的智障因素。消除组织学习的智障,是个世界性的难题,它贯穿于创建学习型组织的全过程。     

How students with intellectual disabilities experience learning in one Irish university

Over the last number of years, opportunities to learn in higher education for people with intellectual disabilities have increased. Consequently, this subgroup of students is gradually becoming part of an increasingly diverse college community. Because learning varies across different individual cultures and systems of higher education, our current understandings of how students with intellectual disabilities learn are inadequate. This study set out to explore how people with intellectual disabilities learn in one Irish college. Eighteen students with intellectual disabilities were asked to make a drawing of how they understood learning and were interviewed by six of their peers who trained as co-researchers. The findings indicate that the learning experiences of these students are as complex and as multifaceted as any other college student. A model that captures this learning is presented using four categories: the Cognitive Stages of Learning, Self-regulation of Learning, Learning as Collective Meaning Making and the Supportive Environment and Learning. The learning potential for people with intellectual disabilities presented in this paper goes some way to addressing preconceived notions associated with the label of intellectual disability.     

Effectiveness of learning objects in various instructional settings

Learning objects (LOs), generally understood as digital learning resources shared and accessed through the Internet and reused in multiple learning contexts, have aroused enthusiasm in the field of educational technology. Although LOs offer many possibilities to change educational practices, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the effectiveness and usefulness of LOs. This paper reports results from three studies on effectiveness of LOs in various instructional settings. According to the results, there exists interaction between the effectiveness of LOs and various instructional arrangements. In order to be effective LOs require carefully designed learning environments and instructional arrangements. LOs themselves do not guarantee high‐quality learning performance and meaningful learning activities. It is the context of use together with instructional arrangements that defines the pedagogical value of LOs.     

Technology student learning preferences and the design of flexible learning programs

The learning preferences of three hundred and thirty eighttechnology students enrolled in sub-degree programs at an Australian institution of Technical andFurther Education were tested using the Canfield Learning Styles Inventory (CLSI). The results have been interpreted in a learning preferences framework and providesupportive evidence for the preferences factors of print-nonprint, collaborative, dependent,and autonomous learning identified by Sadler-Smith & Riding (1999). Although theresearch focussed on learning preferences the analysis also indicated support for theWholist-Analytic cognitive style proposed by Riding & Cheema (1991). Genderdifferences were shown for the Interest subscales of the CLSI. Age-group differenceswere shown for several Conditions of Learning and Modes of Learning subscales.Implications for the design of training programs, and the skillsthat may need to be developed in technology learners to enable effective use offlexible delivery, are also discussed.     

学习者在线学习倾向的研究

病因的Margaret Martinez等人在1997-1999的研究中,提出了在线学习倾向这一概念,并将它分成了四种类型:变通型、实干型、顺应型和逆反型。Martinez等人认为在线学习者的学习倾向是引起个体学习差异的主要因素,它是影响学习差异的最外层,正因为学习倾向不同,才使得人们的学习偏好、学习风格、学习能力和认知等方面的不同。本研究旨在通过本地化问卷调查,从心理纬度调查我国在线学习者的在线学习情感投入度、在线学习策略及自治力等方面的情况,并以此求证Martinez等人的在线学习倾向模型是否符合我国在线学习者的实际情况,用以指导网络学习环境的分析、设计、开发、实施和评估工作,为建立“以学习者为主体”的个性化的在线学习环境提供理论依据和实践指导。     

Learning from Organizations: Mobilizing and Sustaining Teacher Change

Peter Senge's (1990) theory of organizational change includes teams that perceive the whole of the organization; grow professionally; navigate short- and long-term organizational experiences through exposed mental models; share a vision; and hear each voice in an ongoing communal learning process. The Margaret Sue Copenhaver Institute for Teaching and Learning is changing teacher education and professional development by employing Senge's model of learning organizations.

When you ask people what it is like being part of a great team, what is most striking is the meaningfulness of the experience. People talk about being part of something larger than themselves, of being connected, of being generative. It becomes quite clear that, for many, their experiences as part of truly great teams stand out as singular periods of life lived to the fullest. Some spend the rest of their lives looking for ways to recapture that spirit. (Senge 1990, 13)     

Designing support to enhance co-operation between farmers and advisors in solving farm-management problems

Summary

The purpose of co-operation between advisors and farmers during formulation and solving of farm-management problems is to improve the efficiency of farm-management advice and to improve the adaptation of farm management to the increasing uncertainty which presently characterises the agricultural sector. The aim of the present study was to design a tool that supports co-operation between a management advisor and a farmer when they work together on the farmer's management problems. This was performed within a management centre with a group of farmers and advisors. We describe our design approach in order to point out the discrepancies between farmers' and advisors' conceptions of the advisory relation as well as the way the group overcame these discrepancies by building up support for the advisory relation. We refer to this type of support as co-monitoring support as it is geared towards maintaining a common operative frame of reference and a periodical re-examination of the advisor's role in the problem-solving process. The support tools are under test in the management centre. We finally discuss the relevance of the design approach according to the use of the support by advisors and farmers.     

MOTIVATIONAL BELIEFS AND LEARNING STRATEGIES IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Students enter college chemistry courses with different sources of motivation, appropriate or inappropriate assumptions about their probability of success and how to study. This study is theoretically aligned with self-regulated learning research. Clearly, academic performance is closely related to student motivational beliefs and learning strategies. This study investigated the motivational beliefs and learning strategies of 2 years of college students in the second semester of organic chemistry. Responses to the Motivational Beliefs and Learning Strategies Questionnaire indicated that student self-efficacy was highly correlated with academic performance (semester grades). Gender differences were quite pronounced. Male academic performance was associated with intrinsic motivation as well as the importance placed on the learning task. Test anxiety was negatively associated with male grades. Extrinsic motivation was negatively correlated with female grades. Responses to students’ sense of control over learning, the value of the learning task, and self-efficacy were significantly higher for males compared to females. Faculty who attend to these different patterns may influence beliefs as well as learning strategies. Correcting erroneous assumptions about how to learn chemistry may help students shift both their attitudes and their learning practices. The notable gender difference suggests that female chemistry students may especially profit from focused faculty intervention.     

Knowledge Types Used by Researchers and Wool Producers in Australia under a Workplace Learning Typology: Implications for Innovation in the Australian Sheep Industry

Abstract

This paper reports on research into the learning aspects of adopting integrated parasite management practices for sheep (IPM-s) applying a workplace learning framework. An analysis of four primary data sources was conducted; a postal survey of Australian wool producers, a Delphi process with IPM-s researchers, focus groups and interviews with wool producers.

Researchers had a high expectation of conceptual and high level procedural knowledge for IPM-s, while wool producers had a tendency to rely on low- and high-level procedural knowledge for parasite management. Researchers also showed concern for disposition as it related to parasite management. Practices identified as potentially problematic for extension, included worm egg count testing (according to best practice), supplementary feed (specifically for worm management), selecting estimated breeding value-tested rams, weighing and monitoring body condition scores, and keeping written paddock histories.

This research provides significant empirical insights into the knowledge differences between researchers and producers that can affect how research is developed and communicated for the IPM-s project to facilitate behaviour change. The identification of some IPM practices as problematic for producers will also allow targeted extension for these practices.     

The rebirth of children's learning

Learning is a central part of children's lives, but the study of learning is a rather peripheral part of the field of cognitive development. Fortunately, this situation is starting to change; recent theoretical and methodological advances have sparked renewed interest in children's learning. This renewed interest has already yielded a set of consistent and interesting findings regarding how children learn, as well as intriguing proposals regarding the mechanisms that underlie the learning. Increasing our focus on children's learning promises to yield practical benefits as well as a more exciting field of cognitive development.     

Individual and organisational learning: balance in the pursuit of change

Change is a function of the interaction between an individual and an organisation. Current concepts about organisational learning are stronger on concepts than on practical processes. These processes must be built on the individual learner first. Learning to learn then leads to continuous learning, and a full understanding of learning (especially at work) as a sequential process not a series of separate events. The main contribution to effective learning within the organisation will come from ‘helpers’ who recognise and manage learning opportunities.     

Lifelong learning and the reform of the teaching practicum in Australia

This paper reports the findings of a project—‘Lifelong learning and teacher education’—undertaken by the Centre for Lifelong Learning, Australian Catholic University, under the auspices of the Australian Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training. The study was designed to investigate the operationalization of lifelong learning in Australian teacher education. The study revealed that there is a range of existing, innovative practices regarding partnerships between schools and higher and further education that are in keeping with emerging ideas about lifelong learning. Moreover, some of these take the form of collaborative action research projects focused on improving the learning occurring in the partnership schools. This paper describes some current approaches in Australia to collaborative action research by teacher educators' and their partnership schools and shows how they contribute to lifelong learning. The approaches are then analyzed to suggest ways of advancing lifelong learning within Australian Education Faculties thus helping to make lifelong learning more of a reality for all.     

An ensemble approach in converging contents of LMS and KMS

Currently the challenges in e-Learning are converging the learning content from various sources and managing them within e-learning practices. Data mining learning algorithms can be used and the contents can be converged based on the Metadata of the objects. Ensemble methods use multiple learning algorithms and it can be used to converge the Learning Objects from Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Knowledge Objects from Knowledge Management System (KMS). This can increase the performance of the learning system, especially when there is different content available from a variety of models. In this research, Data mining ensemble techniques are used so that an appropriate learning content is delivered to the learner. By converging, the learning content from various sources the Learning system pedagogies can also be revolutionized and a right learning path can be provided to the learners. This research work uses various classification techniques for converging and are evaluated using statistical measures.     

Mapping government reforms in quality against higher education theory: is the relationship symbiotic?

In Australia, a review of the higher education sector is usually triggered by a change in government leadership, followed by the development and implementation of the government’s response in the form of a reform package to enact change. The aim of this study was to conduct an independent evaluation of a large-scale national government policy implementation. This article concludes that the 2003 Government Reform Package was successful in bringing attention to learning and teaching practice in the Australian higher education sector through three national initiatives: (1) Learning and Teaching Performance Fund; (2) Australian Learning and Teaching Council; (3) Australian Universities Quality Agency. These initiatives were implemented with the full delivery of the initial funding cycle, each initiative applied a different model of quality and these models were found to be aligned to Bigg’s theoretical model of teaching and learning and to have a symbiotic relationship.     

办公自动化课程教学中有效促进学习迁移的方法

学习迁移在办公自动化课程教学中非常重要。实践证明,倡导“素质教育”,必须学会关心。提高教学效果,有效促进大学生学习迁移的方法,确立合理的教学目标,精选教学材料,合理编排教学内容,有效设计教学程序,教授学生学会学习,评价和反思教学过程。