A pedagogy of larger concerns used as a lens to reflect on the design of student learning experiences

ABSTRACT

Although engineering educational endeavours are often described with regard to how well they prepare students to meet national or global engineering concerns, the purpose of this paper is to show how those efforts can also serve the larger educational goals of the educators themselves as they develop learning experiences for their students. This paper describes the reflections of four engineering educators who used a research-based ‘Pedagogy of Larger Concerns’ (PLC) as a conceptual lens for examining important aspects of their courses. A PLC is a set of teaching conceptions that was identified in a study exploring the thinking of outstanding professors in order to improve our understanding of the basis of their effectiveness.     

Developing an Initial Learning Progression for the Use of Evidence in Decision-Making Contexts

This paper outlines an initial learning progression for the use of evidence to support scientific arguments in the context of decision-making. Use of evidence is a central feature of knowledge evaluation and, therefore, of argumentation. The proposal is based on the literature on argumentation and use of evidence in decision-making contexts. The objective is to develop a construct map describing a trajectory of evidence use in a decision-making context. The levels in the initial learning progression are characterised by students’ performance in practice. The framework is applied to a multiple-case study in 10th grade (66 students), structured around a marine resource management task. Data included audio and video recordings, as well as students’ written artefacts. Five levels of complexity in student performance are described; on the lowest level, students are able to identify and extract information in response to a problem and recognise general features in a set of data; on the uppermost level, they are able to articulate arguments by synthesising evidence from multiple sources and evaluate options based on evidence and scientific content. The framework also shows potential for recognising students’ difficulties in identifying and integrating data and evidence in their justifications and in drawing from domain knowledge to interpret evidence. Implications for educational practice are discussed.     

Improving the Effectiveness of Educational Development: Concerns,Constraints and Recommendations

A Higher Education Research and Development Unit (HERDU) is a specialised sub‐unit within higher education institutions whose members collectively act as a visionary, educational interest group. They aim to be critically reflective, dynamic agents of educational development and help to develop the practices and potential of individuals and groups. This paper defines HERDUs in organisation terms, clarifies educational development, and assesses the web of contexts that educational developers experience. The paper then canvasses international perspectives on improvement and effectiveness of educational development theory, practice and outcomes. Finally, it is suggested that coming to grips with long‐standing concerns might be aided by a set of performance indicators, a model of self‐review, and enhanced cooperation among educational developers to share research, theories, practices and experiences.     

Enhancement of Online and Offline Student Learning

An attempt is made in this paper to outline the commonly reported features of constructivism and collaborative learning as they might underpin a proposed model of ICT support for learning. This model is then evaluated for its use in examining three projects involving ICT in student learning environments. The focus of the proposed model is on the pedagogic issues relating to the design of ICT learning environments, effectiveness of student learning and the wider promotion of ICT inlearning.

Encouragement de l'apprentissage de l'enseigné en ligne et hors ligne

Dans cet article on cherche à mettre en valeur les aspects du constructivisme et l'acquisition des apprentissages collectifs qui peuvent s'entendre en modèle proposé de support ICT d'apprentissage. On évalue ensuite ce modèle utilisé en examinant 3 projets impliquant les ICT dans l'environnement de l'apprentissage des étudiants. L'accent du modèle proposé est mis sur les aspects pédagogiques relatifs à la conception des enrichissements des ICT, à l'efficacité de l'apprentissage de l'enseigné et la promotion a plus large de ICT dans l'apprentissage.

Die Verbesserung von Online und Offline Lernleistung

In diesem Papier wird versucht, die allgemein berichteten Eigenschaften von Konstruktivismus und gemeinschaftlichem Lernen in Bezug auf ein vorgeschlagenes IKT-Lernunterstützungsmodell zu umreißen. Der Einsatz dieses Modells wird sodann bei drei Projekten, in denen IKT in die Lernumgebung der Studenten einbezogen ist, evaluiert. Der Schwerpunkt des vorgeschlagenen Modells liegt auf den pädagogischen Aspekten von IKT-Lernumgebungen in Bezug auf ihre Gestaltung, der Lerneffektivität und der weiteren Förderung der Nutzung von IKT für das Lernen.     

Accessibility and Product Ecosystems

Products, including assistive and accessible technologies, do not exist in isolation. They are all part of rich product ecosystems; they inhabit specific niches of economics, functionality, and technology, and they interact with other products. The concept of product ecosystem goes beyond technological interoperability. For accessibility to advance, we must understand more about the interactions among products. This article sketches an explanatory approach that may be useful in understanding how accessible technologies thrive, survive, or fail within their ecosystems.