Exploring factors that influence adoption of e‐learning within higher education

E‐learning is increasingly adopted in the workplace for supporting professional development and continuing education; however, in higher education, the use of e‐learning is predominantly used as a tool support teaching. As a relatively new priority for universities, this paper explores what influences its adoption. Challenges identified in the literature include organisational features of universities like faculty autonomy and dispersed academic perspectives. This study, carried out at the University of Warwick, adopted a phenomenological approach and explored participants' perceptions through a series of faculty‐based focus groups and individual interviews. Factors identified as influential to adoption of e‐learning included the institutional infrastructure, staff attitudes and skills, and perceived student expectations. Participants suggested the importance of an institutional strategy targeted at providing sufficient resources and guidance for effective implementation. This strategy needs to be supported by a varied programme of staff development and opportunities for sharing practice among colleagues. In further developing understanding in this area, it would be beneficial to replicate the study with other stakeholder groups (including the leadership team and students) to develop an institutional strategy responsive at all levels of implementation. It would also be valuable to investigate the extent to which these findings are replicated within other workplaces looking to adopt innovation.     

Studying children’s social learning experimentally “in the wild”

Diffusion studies are taking us a step closer to understanding social learning and cultural transmission in young children. The first half of this article presents a review that focuses on four main cultural issues addressed by diffusion studies: (1) horizontal transmission, including child-to-child learning; (2) learning in children’s everyday environments (“in the wild”); (3) the experience of multiple demonstrations and attempts at mastering new tasks; and (4) the iterative process of learning across multiple cultural “generations.” The second half of the article introduces an open-diffusion experiment. After an initial asocial-learning phase in which children had the chance to discover two possible solutions to a puzzle box, the box was brought into the children’s playgroup, thus allowing observational learning. Although variation of method use occurred in the asocial-learning phase, by the end of the second day of the open diffusion, the group had converged on a single method. The open-diffusion approach allowed the documentation of social interactions not seen in the dyadic studies typical of the field, including both coaction and scrounging, the significance of which for cultural transmission is discussed.     

英国医疗服务创新模式分析——以NHS西北创新中心TrusTECH为例

英国医疗服务创新成果显著,值得借鉴.首先简要介绍了英国国家医疗服务体系(NHS)及其创新系统的主要情况,接着以NHS的西北创新中心TrusTECH为例,介绍了它的两种创新模式--商业化创新和服务创新计划,然后通过三个案例(生理学追踪和触发系统、信息管理工作手册和戒烟服务)深入分析了TrusTECH的服务创新流程和特点.最后总结了英国医疗服务创新模式的理论启示,以及对我国医疗服务创新的实践启示,包括培养医护人员创新意识和能力,建立系统化的创新平台,实现平台上的知识共享,以及重视非商业化创新等.     

‘That extra sparkle’: students’ experiences of volunteering and the impact on satisfaction and employability in higher education

Research suggests that students entering Higher Education are doing so with greater expectations around their graduate employability. Students’ volunteering activities have been of interest to academics, but the impact of these activities on learning, employability and student satisfaction has been neglected. The current study investigated whether students who volunteered felt it benefited them, whether they felt they were more employable and whether they perceived their course as satisfying in combination with their volunteering. This small-scale qualitative study used a sample of psychology undergraduate students in focus groups (n = 11), and also a number of psychology graduate interviews (n = 6) from one UK university. Thematic analysis produced several key themes including students’ motivations to begin volunteering, which were mainly career-oriented; their motivations to continue, which included rewarding feelings and personal development; the impact of volunteering on their psychology degree, which included situated learning; and their perceptions of their volunteering and its impact on their employability. The findings indicated many reasons for both starting and continuing with volunteering activities with a clear narrative among this sample that volunteering enhanced their employment and postgraduate prospects. Findings are discussed in line with the current context of Higher Education and the implications for both students and Higher Education Institutions.     

Application of the Literacy Training Service component of the National Service Training Program in New Bilibid Prison (Philippines)

International Review of Education - In 2000, the government of the Philippines launched its National Service Training Program (NSTP), a compulsory 2-semester course component for all the...     

Exploring the Structure and Benefits of an Integrated Yearlong Dual Certification Student Teaching Internship

Abstract

Many teacher preparation programs offering dual certification have engaged in program redesign to establish greater integration between general education and special education. This article presents findings from an exploratory case study that examined the perspectives of former preservice teacher candidates and school personnel regarding an integrated yearlong dual certification internship. Findings indicated research participants (a) placed value on the breadth and authenticity of the experience; (b) built deep relationships with students and staff that contributed to building confidence; and (c) felt the structure and impact of the model yielded positive outcomes for both the school and for preservice teacher candidates. Implications for practice include suggestions for how teacher preparation programs might move toward integrated models of dual certification teacher preparation and explore the importance of clinically rich partnerships that benefit both preservice teacher candidates and field sites.     

Supervision of Doctoral Students in the Natural Sciences: expectations and experiences

Within the natural sciences and engineering, literature relating to postgraduate education, in particular the process of completing a doctorate, remains generally scarce. That which does exist emphasises the role of the supervisor in effecting successful completion and points to a wide range of activities performed by supervisors. There remains, however, little by way of accounts of the actual experiences of supervisors or students when engaged in the process of doctoral supervision. It is these experiences which form the basis of this paper which focuses upon doctoral students and their supervisors in the disciplines of physics, mathematics and engineering science. Data for the paper have been collected, as part of an ESRC funded project, by means of in‐depth interviews with students and supervisors in nine universities in England. In particular, we address students expectations of PhD supervision, the extent to which expectations have been met, and within the context of the ‘career’ of the PhD, the ways in which supervision changes as the doctoral process progresses. Important issues relating to the need for training for PhD supervisors and their capacity to meet the expectations of their students are raised, together with those which question the relationship between the PhD and the culture of academic work.     

Improving children's working memory and classroom performance

Previous research has demonstrated close relationships between working memory and children's scholastic attainment. The aim of the present study was to explore a method of improving working memory, using memory strategy training. Two hundred and fifty‐four children aged five to eight years were tested on measures of the phonological loop, visuo‐spatial sketchpad and central executive components of the multiple component model of working memory. Subgroups of children also completed tasks of following instructions and mental arithmetic in the classroom, and standardised tests of reading, arithmetic and mathematics. Half of the children then used Memory Booster, a computer game that teaches memory strategies, over a period of six to eight weeks. All the children were then retested on the memory and ability measures. The standardised tests were also administered five months later. The results revealed that working memory strategy training resulted in significant improvements in tasks assessing the phonological loop and central executive components of working memory, and tasks assessing following instructions and mental arithmetic in the classroom. However, no improvements were observed on standardised tests of reading, arithmetic or mathematics, either immediately following training or five months later. The results are discussed in terms of implications for educational practice.     

Reading and Generalist Genes

ABSTRACT— Twin-study research suggests that many (but not all) of the same genes contribute to genetic influence on diverse learning abilities and disabilities, a hypothesis called generalist genes . This generalist genes hypothesis was tested using a set of 10 DNA markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) found to be associated with early reading ability in a study of 4,258 7-year-old children that screened 100,000 SNPs. Using the same sample, we show that this early reading SNP set also correlates with other aspects of literacy, components of mathematics, and more general cognitive abilities. These results provide support for the generalist genes hypothesis. Although the effect size of the current SNP set is small, such SNP sets could eventually be used to predict genetic risk for learning disabilities as well as to prescribe genetically tailored intervention and prevention programs.