The Role of Play in the Pedagogy of ICT

Today’s children meet a wide range of technology in their everyday lives, and they become competent users of devices such as mobile phones and games machines without any formal instruction. It appears that highly complex ICT processes and techniques can be learned through informal methods which are very much learner directed—unfocussed exploration, creative invention, trial-and-error, cooperation with friends and asking people who are more experienced. Indeed, the children themselves tend to see their activity as play rather than learning.This paper describes a project carried out in a number of informal learning situations. The children involved were relatively disadvantaged economically, and the majority were not very confident in using a PC. Most had access to both a games machine and a mobile phone, however, and rated themselves as very confident with these. The project aimed to find out how they developed competence in using unfamiliar hardware and software, and how much they learned from self-directed study in a loosely structured learning environment. In order to investigate these issues, groups of children were introduced to new software tools and left to ‘play’ with the software in order to explore the possibilities and discover new features. The children were observed and their questions answered, and the researcher also discussed their experiences with them afterwards.Despite their lack of previous experience with PCs and the particular software used for the project, the children were generally successful in gaining specified competencies with the software. Several children reflected that they were learning in the same way as they had learned to use mobile phones, although there was no evidence for transfer of specific techniques. This indicates that the role of higher order learning skills is important, and evidence emerged that the influence of self-efficacy may be more important in gaining success than previous experience with PC technology. This factor is suggested as the focus for further investigation.     

Paradigms Regained: Toward Integrating Objectivism and Constructivism in Instructional Design and the Learning Sciences

This article proposes a model that integrates the traditionally conflicting objectivist and constructivist approaches to instructional design. I argue that these two approaches are complementary rather than oppositional. I present and analyze two learning programs in order to show how learning events can contain both objectivist and constructivist elements. By plotting the two approaches at right angles to one another, I produce four quadrants which I then discuss and explain. What fallows after that is a discussion of comments that were received from members of a prominent instructional technology mailing list about the feasibility of the model. Finally I present two case studies. The first describes a two-day workshop that was designed to be high on both axes, while the second shows how the model could be used as a decision-making tool. Initial findings suggest that it is both feasible and useful to plot objectivism and constructivism at right angles to one another rather than at opposite ends of a continuum.     

The (non)effect of Joint Construction in a genre-based approach to teaching writing

This quasi-experimental intervention study examines the effect of genre-based instructional practices on 90 primary students’ narrative writing achievements and is a result of six teachers’ action to meet the educational goals of the Swedish national curriculum. Specifically, the authors examine the effects of Joint Construction, the phase in the genre pedagogical model of the Sydney School known as the Teaching and Learning Cycle, in which teachers and students work together to co-construct texts. Joint Construction has been put forward as the most powerful part of the Teaching and Learning Cycle. The authors challenge this argument, presenting findings that are inconsistent with this widely held belief. Using a pretest-posttest control group design, the study shows that the Joint Construction stage did not significantly improve the quality of students’ narrative writing or increase the text length of their writings.     

Opening dimensions of variation: An empirical study of learning in a Web-based discussion

The discussions held in specifying an automaticvehicle as a project in a distance work-relatedcourse are in focus for an analysis of learningin networked discussions. Learning ischaracterised as coming to experience things indistinctly new ways, in keeping with theunderlying phenomenographic research approachfor the study. Group discussions are seen asone feature in the experience of, and theformation of, the context for learning, in anexperiential interpretation of activitysystems. The analysis has led to theidentification of pivotal contributions todiscussions that can be said to afford learningwithin the group, in the sense of openingdimensions of variation around criticalfeatures of the task. This is developed toproduce a taxonomy of contributions, withparticipatory, factual, reflective and learningcontributions, suggested to be necessary,though not sufficient, conditions for learning.The taxonomy is illustrated and discussed, asare its implications for tutoring in networkedcourses of this type.     

Review of Brief School-Based Positive Psychological Interventions: a Taster for Teachers and Educators

Research studies looking into the effects of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) implemented in classrooms have yielded promising results, not only in terms of student well-being but also in terms of academic outcomes, school climate, and teacher well-being. However, a number of PPIs require relatively high levels of commitment from school administrators and teachers to put into place. This may result in many teachers dismissing PPIs across the board as too complicated to implement. The goal of the present article is thus to present a review of brief PPIs (BPPIs) based on positive psychology research in order to encourage involvement in such interventions at school. The BPPIs presented here have been categorized into four sections according to established areas of research in positive psychology, mindfulness, gratitude, strengths, and positive relationships, with precise examples of practices which have been successfully implemented and have demonstrated diverse benefits on student learning and well-being. The potential limitations of such interventions are also highlighted in order to foster best practices and cross-cultural adaptations of such projects.     

Boon and bane of being sure: the effect of performance certainty and expectancy on task performance

Previous research has suggested certainty to be an important factor when investigating effects of level of expectancies on future behavior. With the present study, we addressed the interplay of expectancy certainty and level of expectancies regarding task performance. We assumed that certain performance expectancies provide a better basis for the regulation of persistence and, therefore, lead to improved performance when people expect to perform well. However, when people have bad performance expectations, being certain (compared to being uncertain) about this expectation decreases motivation to work hard on the task because it is assumed it will not pay off anyway. Accordingly, in our study, we found that the performance of participants with high performance expectancies increased with increasing expectancy certainty. By contrast, performance of participants with low performance expectancies decreased with increasing expectancy certainty. Additionally, certainty and expectancy were shown to be unrelated, supporting the idea that they are independent constructs.     

Response to intervention

This introduction provides a context for the other articles included in this volume. The Learning Disabilities Initiative, a multiyear effort at the Office of Special Education Programs, has been focused on a more efficient and effective process for determining specific learning disability eligibility.     

What is implied when researchers claim to use a theory?

The focus of this article is on the use of theories and on what we imply when we in research claim to use a theory. In this article, diverse uses of one theory will be illustrated with reference to 10 different studies. The aim is not to evaluate or judge how the theory is used in these studies, but to discuss how the diverse uses of one and the same theory may infer very different things in research. Questions are raised about what happens with the hierarchy and the coherence of an argument and what conclusions can be drawn when only some parts of a theory are used.     

Introduction: problematizing voice and representation in youth media production

This introduction to the special issue Voice and representation in youth media production in educational settings: transnational dialogues presents a discussion of the notions of voice and representation and an overview of the contributions to this issue, and reflects on the possibilities and limits for a transnational dialogue within current academic traditions and publishing practices.     

Students’ engagement in different STEM learning environments: integrated STEM education as promising practice?

In this paper, we explore how students’ engagement varies in different STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) learning environments. More specifically, we focus on the significance of a learning environment applying an integrated STEM (iSTEM) approach and the significance of STEM learning environments’ student-centredness. Moreover, we explore the relative importance of different student-centred principles (lesson plan and implementation, communicative interactions, student-teacher relationships) for students’ engagement in the STEM learning environment. Applying a mixed-method approach, we draw from observational data of 24 STEM lessons in combination with data from seven focus groups with 67 grade 9 students. The quantitative findings, based on the observational data, show that a learning environment applying an iSTEM approach seems to support students’ engagement. Further investigation made it clear that the student-centredness in this learning environment is especially significant. Regarding the specific student-centred principles, all principles had a significant impact on students’ engagement. The focus group data make clear that, besides student-centredness, the integrative aspect and the use of authentic real-world problems in iSTEM can also be engaging for students. These results indicate that iSTEM is a good practice to engage students in the STEM learning environment, as it facilitates teachers’ implementation of a general student-centred approach.