Self Organising Wayfinding Support for Lifelong Learners

Lifelong learning puts learner self-direction centre-stage. However, increased responsibility should not come at the price of over-burdening or abandonment of learners as they progress along their learning journey. This paper introduces an approach to wayfinding support for lifelong learners based on self-organisation theory. It describes an architecture which supports the recording, processing and presentation of collective learner behaviour designed to create a feedback loop informing learners of successful paths towards the attainment of learning goals. The approach is presented as an alternative to methods of achieving adaptation in hypermedia-based learning environments which involve learner modelling. The article concludes with a discussion of the questions being addressed in our ongoing research.     

Integrating mobile phones into teaching and learning: A case study of teacher training through professional development workshops

This paper presents the development and implementation of a professional development workshop series on integrating mobile phones into science teaching for a group of teachers in Sri Lanka. The series comprised a 3‐day Planning Workshop followed by implementation of the planned lessons in real classrooms and a subsequent 1‐day Reviewing Workshop. During the Planning Workshop, teachers were provided with a hands‐on‐session on the use of mobile phones in science teaching followed by collaborative lesson planning activities. The methodological approach taken to evaluating the initiative was qualitative, and data were collected using observations and fieldnotes. The data were analysed using thematic analysis techniques with the support of NVivo8 (QSR International Pty Ltd., Victoria, Australia) qualitative data analysis software. It was found that as professional development for teachers was provided separately as Planning and Reviewing Workshops, these workshops supported the teachers in recognising the educational potential of mobile phones, in learning how to use them in science teaching and learning, in changing their attitudes towards the use of mobile phones in teaching and in sharing knowledge and skills relating to mobile phone applications in science teaching and learning.     

The Contributors' Column

This project investigated the effects of a standards-based mathematics methods course on the mathematics anxiety levels of preservice teachers. The qualitative portion of the study examined aspects of a math methods course that affected mathematics anxiety levels and the antecedents of mathematics anxiety. Findings revealed a significant difference (p.05) between pretest and posttest mathematics anxiety levels, indicating a decrease in mathematics anxiety from the onset of the mathematics methods course.     

Enhancing children's thinking skills: an instructional model for decision-making under certainty

Modern society is characterized by rapid change, an overload of information, an interrelation between once distinct fields (science, technology and society) and a growing recognition of the importance of personal and social values. In such a dynamic society the teaching of facts becomes less vital while the teaching of thinking skills turns out to be indispensable. Educators have recognized the need for curricula devoted to thinking skills in general and attempts to attain this goal have already been made. However, almost no attention has been given to teaching children the very important and daily used skill of decision-making under certainty. In the present paper we propose a framework for developing school material which cultivates decision-making skills. This framework is a tripartite model which describes (a) the general strategy an ideal decision maker should adopt, (b) the underlying cognitive skills needed for that strategy and (c) the educational objectives for the promotion of each cognitive skill mentioned.Science in a Technological Society, a curriculum developed in the Israeli Science Teaching Center, Center for Curriculum Research and Development, School of Education, Tel-Aviv University.NoteIsraeli Science Teaching Center, Center for Curriculum Research & Development, School of Education,Tel-Aviv University     

How do teachers learn together? A study of school-based teacher learning in China from the perspective of organisational learning

Studies of professional development have examined the influence of school-based approaches on in-service teacher learning and change but have seldom investigated teachers’ job-embedded learning processes. This paper explores the dynamic processes of teacher learning in school-based settings. A qualitative comparative case study based on the framework of organisational learning was conducted to analyse the ways that 17 teachers from two school-based communities in a secondary school in Shanghai, China, experienced learning through various learning activities. The findings showed that the two group teachers had actively developed implementation-oriented and experimentation-oriented processes of learning. The former process is referred to as exploitation learning. Exploitation learning helps teachers by creating a stable environment to learn the existing knowledge and norms of practice of a school organisation. The latter process is referred to as exploration learning. Exploration or exploratory learning provides a platform for new knowledge construction aimed at improving existing practices in a more radical way. Teachers’ perceptions of and participation in school-based learning activities shape their learning experiences in different ways. Specifically, the support of school leaders is necessary to promote teachers’ exploratory learning in school-based settings. However, the leadership strategies that best support teachers’ learning require further investigation.     

Educational modelling language: modelling reusable, interoperable, rich and personalised units of learning

Nowadays there is a huge demand for flexible, independent learning without the constraints of time and place. Various trends in the field of education and training are the bases for the development of new technologies for education. This article describes the development of a learning technology specification, which supports these new demands for learning challenging the new technological possibilities. This specification is named Educational Modelling Language (EML) and is developed by the Open University of the Netherlands.     

Distance Coaching for Pre-service Teachers: Impacts on Children’s Functional Communication in Inclusive Preschool Classrooms

This article reports the results of a post hoc analysis of child data from a single-case multiple-probe study of pre-service teachers’ use of communication strategies before, while, and after receiving distance coaching. Data were analyzed for the number of functional communication utterances used by groups of preschool children with and without disabilities who participated in activities. Results suggest pre-service teachers’ use of evidence-based communication strategies was related to increased functional communication by children in the inclusive preschool classrooms. Implications for future research and classroom practices are discussed.     

Affirming our commitment to research: the Medical Library Association's research policy statement: the process and findings

Purpose: Building on its 1995 research policy statement, the Medical Library Association (MLA) has issued a new research policy, The Research Imperative. This paper shares the background research that informed the new policy.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifty-one key informants representing various library types, functions, geographic locations, ages, and ethnicities. The grounded theory approach was used to analyze the resulting textual database. Additionally, to gather input from the membership as a whole, two open forums were held at MLA annual meetings.Results: Key informant data indicated that the policy should provide roles for MLA in leadership, advocacy, collaboration, services, education, publishing, and development of a research agenda. Evidence-based library and information practice was emphasized. Six themes emerged to center the new policy: creation of a research culture, challenges, domains of research, research skills set, roles of stakeholders, and measurement of progress.Conclusion: Reflecting the interests and beliefs of the membership, The Research Imperative challenges MLA members to build a supportive culture that values and contributes to a research base that is recognized as an essential tool for future practice.

Highlights

• The Research Imperative reaffirms the Medical Library Association''s (MLA''s) commitment to research and emphasizes the need to develop health sciences librarianship''s own knowledgebase as a solid foundation for best practices.
• Informants described a growing recognition that health sciences librarians should base their practice decisions on evidence just as the health care practitioners and researchers they serve should.
• A research process that gathered data systematically from the membership guided the policy''s development.
• Members expect the association to monitor progress toward its research goals and report on it annually.

Implications

• The Research Imperative challenges the association and its members to build a culture of reflective practice in which the profession''s evidence base is routinely used.
• To advance the vision articulated in its research policy, MLA must lead by inculcating research throughout the association, identifying a research agenda, advocating for improved access to and support of library and information science research, fostering collaborations, and educating members to better use and conduct their own applied research.
• MLA should leverage its Center of Research and Education (CORE) as a repository for member-generated research, tools, and datasets.

     

Gender, ‘bias’, assessment and feedback: analyzing the written assessment of undergraduate history essays

This paper reports on findings relating to a project on gender and essay assessment in HE. It focuses on one aspect of the study: the assessment of and feedback given to two sample essays by 50 historians based at universities in England and Wales. We found considerable variation both as to the classification awarded to the essays and to positive and negative comments made about their quality, supporting the argument that the ‘quality’ of a piece of writing for assessment is ultimately constructed by the reader of the essay and cannot be objectively ascertained. Gender issues emerging from the data are explored in the paper, relating to lecturers’ perceptions of the essays’ qualities; views concerning the way feedback should be presented; and the content and style of feedback given by lecturers on the sample essays. We found that gender constructions were manifested more in presentation than practice. These findings on the situated practice of assessment have implications for the conception of the ‘reliability’ of essay assessment in HE.     

The State of Criminal Justice Educational Programs in the United States: Bachelors’ Degrees,Curriculum Standards,and the Ongoing Quest for Quality

While definitions for, and assessments of, the quality of degree programs in higher education are varied, in criminal justice the field has determined a quality program is one that meets certain standards involving such areas as program mission, curriculum, faculty credentials, and resources determined through “academic certification” by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS).The problem is few programs have pursued certification and almost no research has otherwise assessed degree program quality. Using data collected from the population of bachelor’s degree programs in criminal justice (BCJ) operating during 2015–2016 (N = 670), this study assessed program curriculum using ACJS standards, and examined institutional, departmental, and programmatic influences on the number of standards met. Results indicated BCJ programs met few curriculum standards, and that departmental factors were especially significant influences on the number of standards met. These results warrant revisiting accreditation as the mechanism for insuring the quality of criminal justice academic programs.