Informal learning organizations as part of an educational ecology: Lessons from collaboration across the formal-informal divide

How do informal learning organizations work with schools as part of a broader educational ecology? We examined this question through a comparative case study of two collaborative efforts whereby informal arts education organizations, a children’s museum and a community-based organization, worked with an urban school district to redefine the provision of educational services for children and youth. Grounded conceptually in organizational theory, our study identified factors that enable and constrain collaboration across the formal-informal divide. We argue that examining the dynamics of cross-sector collaboration as occurring within a regional ecology of diverse learning organizations and broader institutional context provides insights into the outcomes of joint work. Our findings have implications for designing collaborations between schools and informal organizations that contribute to their respective strength, as well as the broader regional educational ecology in which they reside.     

Applying tangible story avatars to enhance children's collaborative storytelling

Software avatars are increasingly applied to support children's collaborative storytelling because avatars may serve as a transparent shield or as embodied agents to facilitate creativity in children. However, when using avatars, it is not easy for children to practise and refine their speaking skills by narrating their stories to an audience. The programming difficulties involved in that process tend to distract attention away from the collaborative storytelling activity itself. This study therefore proposes an interaction model featuring tangible story avatars (TSAs) that can serve as a platform to scaffold collaborative story creation, revision and narrative. A 9‐week study with 16 children aged 8 years was conducted to evaluate the interaction model with the TSAs. The results suggest that the TSAs may play three primary roles in facilitating collaborative storytelling: as a tool for developing confidence, as a tool for reflective story development and as a group artefact. Researchers and educators may find it valuable to consider these three roles in designing the TSAs in support of collaborative storytelling in similar contexts.     

“That’s How We Roll”: A Case Study of a Recently Arrived Refugee Student in an Urban High School

This critical case study of one, Somali Bantu male high school student illuminates the struggle for recently arrived refugees at the high school level. Few educational research studies describe how recently arrived refugee students and their families make their transition to US schools (Ngo et al. in Hmong Stud J 8:1?C35, 2007; Hones and Cha in Educating new Americans: immigrant lives and learning. Erlbaum, Mahwah, 1999; Igoa in The inner world of the immigrant child. Erlbaum, Mahwah, 1995). Studies that examine how race, county of origin, and low socio-economic status affect refugee students also are few in number. Specifically Kamya (Soc Work 42:154?C165, 1997) argues that there is a compelling need for research that investigates how racism and stereotypes of Black Americans affect the experiences of African black immigrants and refugees. Rong and Brown (Educ Urban Soc 2:247?C273, 2002) add that black newcomers students often face a triple disadvantage of being black, having limited access to educational opportunity, and being poor. These challenges are particularly relevant for high school students as they have a limited amount of time to acquire proficiency in English and content area knowledge before transitioning to post-secondary education or the work force. In order to better understand how some of these processes work for a recently arrived refugee student in an urban school district, this paper examines the educational adaptation and coping strategies of one Somali Bantu male high school student and his family to the US public school system during the 2007?C2008 school year through the lens of intersectionality.     

Influence of student learning experience on academic performance: The mediator and moderator effects of self‐regulation and motivation

This study examined the mediator and moderator roles of self‐regulation and motivation constructs in the relationship between learning experience and academic success. Self‐reported measures of learning experience, self‐regulation and motivation were obtained from 384 undergraduate students from a university in Hong Kong. Structural equation modelling indicated that self‐regulation and motivation fully mediated the learning experience—academic performance relation. In addition, hierarchical regression analysis also showed that both self‐regulation and motivation had small moderating effects on the link between learning experience and academic performance. That is, the association between learning experience and cumulative GPA was stronger for students with lower levels of self‐regulation and motivation. The implications of fostering motivation and enhancing university learning experience are discussed.     

The rise and fall of the MTL: an example of European policy borrowing

The success of Finland in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) highlights the quality of Finnish teacher education underpinning its consistently high performance in the survey. In 2010 the UK government initiated a masters in teaching and learning (MTL) in order to raise the education level of teachers, following Finland’s teacher education model. Educationists both past and present, however, warn against ‘quick fix’ political solutions and of the consequences of ‘uncritical policy transfer’. For an educational policy to be effectively borrowed, it must travel through different stages. In this article we argue that the MTL has been implemented in the hope of quick solutions to long-term difficulties; we also maintain that the MTL has applied distinctly English factors into the Finnish model and was achieving informed policy transfer. Nevertheless, the rapid introduction and withdrawal of the programme has not allowed for the MTL to reach complete policy borrowing.     

Examining charter student achievement effects across seven states

Since their inception, charter schools have been a lighting rod for controversy, with much of the debate revolving around their effectiveness in improving student achievement. Previous research has shown mixed results for student achievement; this could be the consequence of different policy environments or varying methodological approaches with differing assumptions across studies. In our analysis, we discuss these approaches and their assumptions and estimate charter school achievement effects using a consistent methodology across seven locations.     

Social support within an on-line cancer community: an assessment of emotional support,perceptions of advantages and disadvantages,and motives for using the community from a communication perspective

This study investigated an on-line cancer support community emphasizing communication concerns important to the community administrators. The researcher conducted an on-line survey of participants (N v = v 103) focused on their on-line communication activities and social support. The results indicate a modest negative correlation between emotional support received on-line and perceived stress, differences in emotional support scores based on perceptions of disadvantages of on-line support groups, and different motives for using the community between people with cancer and family members. The study also describes suggestions based on the results that were made to community administrators and which could be used by other on-line support communities.     

Students Designing Video Games about Immunology: Insights for Science Learning

Exposing American K–12 students to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) content is a national initiative. Game Design Through Mentoring and Collaboration targets students from underserved communities and uses their interest in video games as a way to introduce science, technology, engineering, and math topics. This article describes a Game Design Through Mentoring and Collaboration summer program for 16 high school students and 3 college student mentors who collaborated with a science subject matter expert. After four weeks, most students produced 2-D video games with themes based on immunology concepts from the educational science game Immune Attack. Findings from three groups that finished their games and one group with an uncompleted game are explored.     

Strategic and bonding effects of enhancing the student feedback process

In order to produce distinctiveness that leads to competitive advantage, higher education institutions must remain cognizant that students are co-creators. Thus, to create genuine value in educational service delivery, there is a need for a more highly developed understanding of the student-institutional intersection. The present research contributes to the marketing of higher education by developing and testing a model related to the antecedents of a broader conception of student feedback as part of student/customer orientation and co-creation. Conceived as customer feedback, student feedback to an educational institution can be positive (compliment), negative (complaint), or be an idea for an improvement to any person, or service group of the institution. Perceived ease of the feedback process and perceived usefulness, customer orientation and affective commitment are found as antecedents to intention to provide feedback. The result is a model with conceptual and managerial implications for strategically bonding students to universities.