Action learning in postgraduate research training

This account of practice explores the benefits and challenges of using Action Learning (AL) with junior researchers. Findings are grounded in an AL set of six doctoral students, organised and convened by the author. The case study reveals the range of emotional and structural hurdles that Ph.D. candidates typically face in completing their programme of study. AL’s streamlined process made space for set members to present themselves as whole persons and to thereby grapple with, and better manage, a wide range of real-life issues that were having direct impact on their academic performance. Set members expressed how participation reduced feelings of isolation and offered a valued space to reflect on their situation. They explored root causes of stress, anxiety, or dips in productivity; strategised plausible actions for overcoming problems; and identified opportunities. The evidence presented in this account strongly supports the proposal that AL be made a core component of research-training programmes. In the conclusion, the author reasons that institutional investment would pay back with dividends: AL cultivates peer-support groups that consequently reduce dependence on academic supervisors, student counselling, and other costly and overburdened support services. Perhaps most crucially, AL incites individuals to take responsibility for their own development and learning: a ‘transferrable skill’ for achieving success in any endeavour.     

The role of emotion in the learning process: Comparisons between online and face-to-face learning settings

As the presence of online and hybrid coursework at institutions of higher education has increased, so too has interest among educators and scholars in understanding personal and contextual factors that predict success in different types of learning environments. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relations among temporally-ordered variables, including beginning-semester self-efficacy, utility value, and relevance of instruction, mid-semester emotions (hope, frustration, and anxiety), and end-of-semester learning strategies in a sample of 291 graduate students (N = 219 for the traditional education group and N = 72 for the distance education group) enrolled in an introductory research methods course. Multigroup path analyses were performed to test the equality of path coefficients among the two groups. Results demonstrate that the groups differed with respect to several paths, including the paths from: extrinsic utility value to anxiety and to hope; relevance to hope; and frustration and anxiety to learning strategies. Implications for research, theory, and practice are discussed.     

MUSCLES, MORALS AND MIND: CRAFT APPRENTICESHIP AND THE FORMATION OF PERSON

ABSTRACT:  The paper considers apprenticeship as a model of education that both teaches technical skills and provides the grounding for personal formation. The research presented is based on long-term anthropological fieldwork with minaret builders in Yemen, mud masons in Mali and fine-woodwork trainees in London. These case studies of on-site learning and practice support an expanded notion of knowledge that exceeds propositional thinking and language and centrally includes the body and skilled performance. Crafts – like sport, dance and other skilled physical activities – are largely communicated, understood and negotiated between practitioners without words, and learning is achieved through observation, mimesis and repeated exercise. The need for an interdisciplinary study of communication and understanding from the body is therefore underlined, and the paper suggests a way forward drawing on linguistic theory and recent neurological findings. It is argued that the validation and promotion of skilled practice as 'intelligent' is necessary for raising the status and credibility of apprentice-style learning within our Western systems of education.     

Complex Systems Research in Educational Psychology: Aligning Theory and Method

The purpose of this work is to provide an overview of complex systems research for educational psychologists. We outline a philosophically and theoretically sourced definition of complex systems research organized around complex, dynamic, and emergent ontological characteristics that is useful and appropriate for educational psychology. A complex systems approach is positioned as a means to align underexplored elements of existing theory with appropriate interaction dominant theoretical models, research methods, and equation-based analytic techniques. We conclude with a brief discussion of several foundational topics for complex systems research in educational psychology.     

FORMATIVE,INFORMATIVE, AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT: THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG CURRICULUM‐BASED MEASUREMENT OF READING,CLASSROOM ENGAGEMENT,AND READING PERFORMANCE

This study explored the relationships among formative curriculum‐based measures of reading (CBM‐R), student engagement as an extra‐academic indicator of student motivation, and summative performance on a high‐stakes reading assessment. A diverse sample of third‐, fourth‐, and fifth‐grade students and their teachers responded to questionnaires about student engagement in academic tasks. These questionnaires were collected about the same time as fall CBM‐R oral reading fluency and maze screening tasks. Results indicated that fall student and teacher reports of engagement and a composite score of reading competence derived from CBM‐R screening tests uniquely predicted student performance on year‐end standardized reading tests. Profile analyses indicated that student engagement was associated with better reading performance among students with low competence, suggesting that engagement may be particularly important for increasing student performance for struggling readers. Implications for interventions targeting both student motivation, as well as reading skill development, are discussed.