Medium for empowerment or a ‘centre for everything’: Students’ experience of control in virtual learning environments within a university context

In maximising opportunities to nurture rich and productive learning communities, there is a need to know more about the cultures and sub-cultures that surround virtual learning environments (VLEs). Drawing from a small-scale interview study of students’ digital practices, this paper explores how different discourses may have patterned a group of students’ experiences of VLEs. Unlike studies which have focused upon evaluations of specific projects or interventions, this study investigated their experience across their course. It explores the student identities they associated with digital environments and the power relationships which seemed to pattern how they positioned themselves (or felt positioned) as learners. Whilst none were intimidated by technical aspects, the student identities available to them seemed to vary, as did their perceptions of the student identities associated with university-sponsored digital environments. The analysis considers three aspects of their experience: how they related to the VLE itself, how they related to others through this, and the alternative communities they created to attempt to manage their engagement with the VLE. The paper concludes by arguing for further research which focuses on the broader student experience across courses in order to explore how university-based digital environments intersect with students’ identities as learners.     

What is technology? Development and evaluation of a simple instrument for measuring children's conceptions of technology

Technology is important to all aspects of our lives, so helping students develop an accurate understanding of technology should be an educational goal at the K-12 level. Assessments are important tools in reaching this goal. We developed an instrument to measure the technology conceptions of children ages 8–11, the ‘What is Technology’ (WT) instrument. We gathered evidence for the validity of using the WT instrument to measure children's conceptions of technology, including changes due to an intervention, and we describe those changes. We used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to establish scales, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with new samples of subjects to confirm our hypothesised model of children's conceptions. For further evidence, we analyzed and coded the written responses children gave to open-ended questions asking them to explain their understanding of technology, then calculated correlations between these codes and the CFA-confirmed scale measures. We found that children tend to think of technology as artifacts that are powered by electrical energy; however, after instruction most children's conceptions become more consistent with definitions given in educational standards. The instrument is shown to be valid and reliable for its intended use, to assess preadolescent children's conceptions of technology, and evaluate the impact of an intervention.     

Effects of Cognitive Strategy Interventions and Cognitive Moderators on Word Problem Solving in Children at Risk for Problem Solving Difficulties

This study investigated the role of strategy instruction and cognitive abilities on word problem solving accuracy in children with math difficulties (MD). Elementary school children (N = 120) with and without MD were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: general‐heuristic (e.g., underline question sentence), visual‐schematic presentation (diagrams), general‐heuristic + visual‐schematic, and an untreated control. When compared to the control condition that included children with MD, an advantage at posttest was found for children with MD for the visual‐schematic‐alone condition on measures of problem solving and calculation accuracy, whereas all strategy conditions facilitated posttest performance in correctly identifying problem solving components. The results also suggested that strategy conditions drew upon different cognitive resources. The General‐heuristic condition drew primarily upon the executive component of working memory (WM), Visual‐schematic condition drew upon the visual component of WM and the combined strategies condition drew upon number processing skills.     

Using a Wiki in a Scientist-Teacher Professional Learning Community: Impact on Teacher Perception Changes

In this study, a wiki was integrated into a professional development model that systemically addresses early-career teachers?? needs. This study was conducted to examine the impact of wiki-based professional development activities in a scientist-teacher professional learning community and focused on early-career teachers?? perceptions of the role of wiki technology and knowledge of teaching through inquiry. Teachers participated in the Professional Learning Community Model for Entry into Teaching Science (PLC-METS), a professional development program that is based on an integrated teacher education model of knowledge sharing, collaboration, and communication between teachers and scientists, with the goal of supporting early-career teachers?? ability to engage their students in scientific inquiry. The use of a wiki environment to collaborate on activities, deliver resources, and share knowledge is rapidly expanding in professional development communities. The use of the wiki in PLC-METS positively predicted the results of teachers?? knowledge of inquiry-based teaching. Results demonstrate that the wiki can contribute to building a learning community for collaboration between early-career science teachers and scientists. The paper also discusses the educational implications for the design of wiki-based professional learning communities that impact teachers?? professional development.