Just4Me: pedagogical and functional design of a PLE for self-managed learning in different contexts / Just4Me: diseño pedagógico y funcional de un PLE para la autogestión del aprendizaje en distintos contextos

Abstract

This article provides the foundation and describes the pedagogical and functional design of a PLE within the Just4Me project. This environment integrates tools and functionalities to support learning across and throughout life.

The main goal of the pedagogical design is to encourage self-managed learning, regardless of whether it occurs in formal or informal settings. It aims to integrate learning experiences developed within different contexts.     

Survey of classroom use of representations: development,field test and multilevel analysis

Because of the multimodal nature of learning, doing and reporting science, it is important that students learn how to interpret, construct, relate and translate scientific representations or, in other words, to develop representational competence. Explicit instruction about multimodal representations is needed to foster students’ representational competence in the classroom. However, only a handful studies have surveyed how representations are actually used in science classes. This might be because of the fact that economical instruments for assessing the use of representations in classrooms are not available. To bridge that gap, an instrument was developed, field-tested in biology classes with 175 and 931 students, respectively, and analysed using exploratory and (multilevel) confirmatory factor analyses. Results supported an instrument with six scales and 21 items at the individual and classroom levels covering the following dimensions: (1) interpretation of visual representations, (2) construction of visual representations, (3) use of scientific texts (verbal representations), (4) use of symbolic representations, (5) number of terms used in class, and (6) the extent to which active social construction of knowledge is possible in the class. The scales showed satisfactory discriminant validity and reliability at each level. Further applications of this instrument for researchers and teachers are discussed.     

The University of Fort Hare’s learner‐centred Distance Education Programme

The Open University has been working with the University of Fort Hare on its Distance Education Project since 1997, helping to develop its innovative distance education programme for primary teachers in the Eastern Cape. Recently the OU has been involved in researching the impact of this programme on teachers’ perceptions of their practice and their classroom practice. This case study explores the context in which the programme was developed, the philosophy that underpinned its development, its structure, materials and the role played by the Open University. Using preliminary findings of teacher‐learner perceptions of the programme, the case study examines the effectiveness of the teacher support and their responses to the programme. Initial findings from questionnaires and semi‐structured interviews highlight the cohesive and holistic impact of the programme. The focus on context and culture in developing the programme is seen as significant by all teacher‐learners in challenging and motivating different ways of thinking about their teaching, learning and their practice.     

The logic of equity practice in Queensland state education—2010

This paper reports on an interview‐based study which explored the implementation of a major policy initiative in Queensland, Australia, with particular attention to social justice issues. Interviews were conducted with key policy actors in three sections of the bureaucracy: strategic directions, performance and measurement; curriculum and assessment; workforce and professional development. We were interested in the ways in which the tensions between redistributive and recognitive approaches to social justice were being managed in the bureaucracy. We drew on Bourdieu’s concepts of field, logic of practice, political discourse, habitus, capital, and symbolic power struggles to theorize the politics of discourse associated with such policy implementation processes within bureaucracies. The interview data revealed differences in approach to equity issues and in the language used in the three sections of the bureaucracy. We argue that these differences, associated with the different priorities of the three sections and their differing roles in the implementation processes, reflect the different logics of practice operating within the different sections. The final section of the paper discusses the implications of the analysis for theorizing equity and difference in education policy in new times and considers the value of Bourdieu’s concepts for theorizing policy implementation processes.     

INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAMMING IN ACTION: BEFRIENDERS

This article describes the development of an intergenerational program in a rural community. The Befrienders program was developed to aid homebound and isolated seniors who desired companionship and assistance in their homes. Young adults from the community and the local university were recruited to visit, actively interact with, and assist the seniors on a weekly basis. The collaborative work and processes are presented along with evaluation data from participants.     

Filipino Arts Among Elders in Institutionalized Care Settings

The use of traditional art in recreational therapies is unexplored. This paper, thus, attempts to surface the unique power of traditional Filipino arts (TFA) as synergizing lens in capturing the individual and the collective experiences of a select group of Filipino elderly in an institutionalized care setting relative to their feelings of depression and self-esteem. Three Filipino elderly housed in an institutionalized care setting were chosen for this phenomenological study, a robotfoto and a series of semistructured interviews constitute the main data gathering tool. Field texts were subjected to phenomenological reduction via the repertory grid analysis. Emerged themes were subjected to a series of member checking procedures to ensure the trustworthiness of the reported data. Depression and self-esteem were interpreted via two emerged themes. The themes were Me, Myself, and Melancholy and Will Not Let My Worth Wither. Through recreational therapies in the form of traditional Filipino arts, participants found novel psychological crutches that overcame the challenges of depression and give them hope toward more positive views of themselves and life.     

Third-Age Education in Canada and Japan: Attitudes Toward Aging and Participation in Learning

Lifelong learning is essential to participation in society, and presents important challenges for educational gerontology. This study compares Canadian and Japanese perspectives on (a) attitudes toward aging, (b) the learning needs of older adults, and (c) the role of centers of learning. Surveys were conducted of sample populations in two elder colleges in Japan (N = 419, 753; mean age 66.4,70.5) and two senior centers in Canada (N = 122; mean age 75.0). Results suggest Canadian respondents have more positive attitudes toward aging; Japanese respondents have greater needs for social/communicative learning; and Canadians have a greater need for traditional learning. Future implications for older-adult education and research are discussed.     

English Composition by Workshop

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of intensive in-class guidance of daily writing practice in freshman English composition courses as opposed to the presently practiced procedures in the course. The study involved 568 themes written by 142 students enrolled in six classes at UWM. Four groups were taught according to a workshop method developed by two instructors in English and an educational psychologist. Two groups were taught according to the procedures outlined in the freshman composition syllabus. An evaluation chart was developed by the three instructors and four complete sets of themes were graded once each by three raters. The hypothesis–there will be a significant difference in the grade achievement on selected freshmen English essays based on differences in instructional procedures between two control and four experimental groups–was supported. Since major variables of initial superiority of any writing group, variation in grading practices, and effect on students of theme assignments per se were not shown to be significant, it was concluded that the instructional procedures affected the grade achievement of the groups involved.