Seven Affordances of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: How to Support Collaborative Learning? How Can Technologies Help?

This article proposes 7 core affordances of technology for collaborative learning based on theories of collaborative learning and CSCL (Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning) practices. Technology affords learner opportunities to (1) engage in a joint task, (2) communicate, (3) share resources, (4) engage in productive collaborative learning processes, (5) engage in co-construction, (6) monitor and regulate collaborative learning, and (7) find and build groups and communities. We elaborate our framework using in-depth explorations of how technologies are actually used to support collaborative learning in CSCL research and identify representative design strategies and technology examples. While technology can play an important role in addressing the demands of collaborative learning, it needs to be considered in conjunction with pedagogical strategies and other social and cultural supports for collaborative learning. The supports also need to remain at an appropriate level so as not to interfere with long-term learning goals.     

The impact of professional learning on in-service teachers’ pedagogical delivery of literacy-infused science with middle school English learners: a randomised controlled trial study in the U.S

ABSTRACT

Research in the United States show that professional learning (PL) can improve classroom instruction. However, teachers, especially educators in the content areas, receive insufficient training specific to meeting the language and academic needs of English learners (ELs). The purpose of the current randomized controlled trial (RCT) study was to introduce a high-quality PL program for supporting middle school teachers in teaching science to ELs through classroom observations, so as to evaluate whether in-service science teachers’ instructional delivery can be shaped by intensive, structured, and ongoing PL. Results indicated that after receiving PL, treatment teachers allocated a significantly higher portion of their instructional time in teaching content language, developing students’ expressive language skills, small group and pair activities, implementing strategies evidenced to effective with ELs, and providing more opportunities for students to participate in hands-on activities that were content-related and grade-appropriate. Practical implications for PL were discussed for an international audience.     

A longitudinal analysis of the alignment between children’s early word-level reading trajectories,teachers’ reported concerns and supports provided

Reading and Writing - In this longitudinal study, the word-level reading trajectories of 118 children were tracked alongside teachers’ reported concerns and types of support provided through...     

The Correlation Between Brain Development, Language Acquisition, and Cognition

There continues to be a debate whether educators should use brain research to their advantage in the classroom. This debate should not prevent educators from using their new found knowledge toward enhancing their students’ learning. By understanding how the brain learns, educators are able to determine what developmental level the child is physically, mentally, socially, and cognitively. The more knowledge an educator has and applies, the better the children will learn, and our future leaders will be better educated.     

What Do Learning Scientists Do? A Survey of the ISLS Membership

This study responds to a question that people working in the field of learning sciences get asked regularly: What do learning scientists do? Earlier attempts to answer this question came from a need to define a new field of educational research. Now that the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) has grown into a robust and productive society, it is time to gain a more nuanced understanding of learning sciences research and practices—including where it takes place, for whom, and in what form—as defined by members of the learning sciences community. Here we report on the responses of 253 ISLS members to a survey conducted in 2014. We discuss implications of the findings in terms of the type of impact learning scientists have. We also discuss how these results might be used to advise prospective students and to create a vision for our future.     

Factors promoting and hindering data-based decision making in schools

Although data-based decision making can lead to improved student achievement, data are often not used effectively in schools. This paper therefore focuses on conditions for effective data use. We studied the extent to which school organizational characteristics, data characteristics, user characteristics, and collaboration influenced data use for (1) accountability, (2) school development, and (3) instruction. The results of our hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis from this large-scale quantitative study (N = 1073) show that, on average, teachers appear to score relatively high on data use for accountability and school development. Regarding instruction, however, several data sources are used only on a yearly basis. Among the factors investigated, school organizational characteristics and collaboration have the greatest influence on teachers’ data use in schools.     

The Relationship Between Students’ Perceptions of “Good Practices for Undergraduate Education” and the Paradigmatic Development of Disciplines in Course-Taking Behavior

Our study uses data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education to interrogate the affinity disciplines hypothesis through students’ perceptions of faculty use of six of Chickering and Gamson’s (AAHE Bull 39(7):3–7, 1987) principles of good practice for undergraduate education. We created a proportional scale based on Biglan’s (J Appl Psychol 57(3):195–203, 1973) classification of paradigmatic development (with higher scores on the scale corresponding to students taking a higher proportion of courses in ‘hard’ fields compared to ‘soft’ fields), our study tests differences by the paradigmatic development of the disciplines or fields in which students take their courses within the first year of college. Our findings suggest that as paradigmatic development increases (toward a higher proportion of courses taken in hard disciplines), student perceptions of both faculty use of prompt feedback and faculty use of high expectations/academic challenge decrease, while student perceptions of cooperative learning increase. Further, no statistically significant differences were found between the paradigmatic development of fields in which students’ take their courses and students’ perceptions of faculty use of student-faculty contact, active and collaborative learning, or teaching clarity and organization. This study replicates the findings from Braxton et al. (Res High Educ 39(3):299–318, 1998) using student-level rather than faculty-level reports of faculty use of good teaching practices.     

The Informational Text Structure Survey (ITS2): An exploration of primary grade teachers’ sensitivity to text structure in young children's informational texts

There has been no research reported about if or how well primary grade teachers can identify information text structures in children's authentic informational texts. The ability to do so accurately and reliably is a prerequisite for teachers to be able to teach students how to recognize and use text structures to assist them in comprehending informational texts. The authors report the development of the Informational Text Structure Survey (ITS²). Prior to training, primary grade teachers demonstrated low accuracy and reliability in identifying traditional expository text structures in well-structured children's grade level–appropriate informational texts. Results after training with the ITS² instrument showed significant improvements in the teachers’ accuracy and reliability in identifying traditional informational text structures in well-structured children's grade level–appropriate informational texts after training with the ITS² instrument.     

A theory-driven approach to assessing the cognitive effects of PBL

Medical schools are increasingly looking to case-based formats such as problem-based learning (PBL) for their medical students. However, the effects of PBL have not been adequately assessed for an informed decision. An approach to assessment should consider not just the knowledge outcomes expected of all students, but should be tailored to the theoretical goals of PBL: clinical reasoning, integration of scientific and clinical knowledge, and lifelong learning skills. This means that problem-solving processes as well as products need to be measured. In addition, cognitive measures associated with expert performance can be used to assess the extent to which PBL affects the development of expertise. In this study, students taking an elective in PBL were compared with students taking other electives on a realistic pathophysiological explanation task. The problem-solving protocols were examined for coherence, use of science concepts, strategy use, and self-directed learning. The results indicate that cognitive measures can be used to distinguish students who have participated in PBL from their counterparts in terms of knowledge, reasoning, and learning strategies. This suggests that such measures may play a meaningful role in assessment of student learning.