Education Commons^™

Students’ Views About Learning With Technologies: A Literature Review, Kathryn Moyle, Guus Wijingaards, Susanne Owen

Professor Kathryn Moyle

There is a paucity of recent, formal education research that listens directly to students’ views of learning with technologies. Much of the research that has been conducted has tended to focus on evaluating students’ current experiences within a specific course, or concerned with tangible issues such as frequency of computer use, access to computers and the Internet, and evaluations of technical skill levels. Available research has tended to use quantitative or mixed method approaches, with data collected through surveys using convenience samples, Likert scales and free response questions. These methods are sometimes supplemented with interviews and observations. To establish an …

Cooperative Learning In The Inclusive Physical Education Setting: A Case Study, Wendy Dowler, Roselyn Dixon, Gregg Rowland

Rose Dixon

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the development and implementation of a six-week cooperative learning intervention in a secondary school inclusive physical education class that included a student with a mild intellectual disability. The social interaction behaviours of this student with her peers were the dependent variables for analysis. Participants were a 14year old female student with a mild intellectual disability, 26 of her peers without a disability and the Head Physical and Health Education teacher. Data were gathered through interviews, focus groups, observation and a teacher journal. The following themes emerged from the study and …

Learning Preferences And Impacts Of Education Programs In Dog Health Programs In Five Rural And Remote Indigenous Australian Communities, Roselyn Dixon, Sophie Constable, Robert Dixon

Rose Dixon

As part of strategies to improve dog and community health in rural and remote Indigenous communities, this study investigated preferences and impacts of dog health education programs. Semistructured interviews with 63 residents from five communities explored learning preferences. Though each community differed, on average yarning was preferred by most (68.4%) respondents, followed by visual (65.0%) and practical learning (46.9%). Text-based and computer/screen-based learning were important to 16.2% and 14.6% of respondents respectively. With paper-based visual and text resources, respondents reported a preference for locally made (28/36 or 78%) over mainstream resources. Twenty eight residents involved in the creation of locally …

Learning As Doing –Common Goals And Interests Across Management And Education., Pauline Joyce

Pauline Joyce

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate approaches to learning of healthcare professionals in a postgraduate management programme.

Background: The study was carried out in a higher education institution.

Methods: An evaluation research study of an interprofessional healthcare group was carried out with students (insider stakeholders), and their lecturers and external examiner (external stakeholders). All three perspectives are presented here. Data was collected by interview, document analysis and reflection.

Results: This paper focused on the domain of learning as doing, as a major theme of the study, drawing variances between nurses and other healthcare professionals. The study highlights …

Measurement Of Student Engagement In Learning, Hamish Coates, Ali Radloff

Ali Radloff

No abstract provided.

Creating Pioneers For An Unknown Land: Education For The Future, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

Today's students must be actively engaged in real-life experiences with educational designs that foster experimentation and collaborative inquiry so that they are enabled to link their natural and more intuitive ways of learning with more formal and disciplinary forms of knowledge creation.

How Design Can Get Kids On The Path To Tech Careers: A Conversation With Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall, The Founder Of A New Type Of Science And Math Academy, Stephanie Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

An interview with Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall about educational design and the design of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. "IMSA sought not only to develop decidedly different scientific minds, but also to develop a decidedly different residential learning community -- one that was nurturing and innovative, and one that instilled a sense of stewardship, and an obligation to give back. As a dynamic teaching and learning laboratory, IMSA continues to evolve, yet the roots of our founding ideas and goals remain."

The Power To Transform: Leadership That Brings Learning And Schooling To Life, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

The Power to Transform is a call to re-conceive and re-design schooling. Rather than offer “best practices” or “prescriptive solutions,” it invites leaders of all ages and walks of life to think differently about learning and schooling. It illuminates the “why” and “what” of educational transformation and explores its deepest roots. It offers new language, new design principles, a new framework, and a new map for creating vibrant, imaginative and adaptive learning landscapes that integrate the dynamic properties of living systems with the generative principles of learning. It is from this natural integration that the new story of learning and …

Blessed Unrest: The Power Of Unreasonable People To Change The World, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

In her keynote address at the 2008 NCSSSMST Professional Conference, Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall addresses what work can be done with the collective resources of its Consortium members which beg to be shared and connected--and also explores what the source of "...our Blessed Unrest that will give us the courage to become unreasonable advocates for our children and for STEM transformation?"

Beyond Competition--Innovation For A Sustainable Future, Stephanie Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

Dr. Marshall outlines her belief that the current context and conditions of schooling are far too constrained, prescribed and risk-averse for our children’s imagination, and as a result, actually mitigate against innovative thinking and creative and collaborative problem-solving. Authentic learning is a live encounter. She feels that we cannot mandate, punish or test our children into greatness and provides recommendations for educational transformation--not reform--to design the educational experiences needed by today's children.

A New Story Of Learning And Schooling, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

In order to create a compassionate and sustainable world, a new global consciousness must become manifest, and this can only come from a paradigm of generative--not prescriptive--learning. It is this paradigm that grounds the design of a new story of teaching and learning.

Stem Talent: Moving Beyond Traditional Boundaries, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

The future well-being, prosperity and sustainability of our nation, the global community and our planet resides in igniting and nurturing decidedly different STEM minds that can advance both the new STEM frontier and the human future.

A Decidedly Different Mind, Stephanie Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall explains the need for educational transformation grounded in the design of a generative and more natural system of learning and schooling.

Educating The Whole Child: The Real Story Of Wholeness And Belonging, Stephanie Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

In her 2008 keynote address to the Massachusetts ASCD, Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall outlines why we--as leaders, storytellers and mapmakers--must ensure that the story, map, and landscape of schooling does not constrain our children’s potentials, silence their spirit, demean their passion, ridicule their dreams, or deny them access to wisely learn whatever it is that they want to know.

Knowledge, Learning, And Teaching: Striving For Conocimiento, Tim Sieber

Tim Sieber

Anzaldúa inspires my courage to write and speak plainly, and together with encouragement from several good colleagues, I offer personal testimony, as part of a critical reflection on my own long teaching practice, my earlier writing and speaking about education, and an even longer history as a learner. Love is at the heart of it, a concern for students' well being, intellectual and spiritual. As bell hooks has noted, an "engaged pedagogy" involves the teacher in "sharing in the intellectual and spiritual growth" (hooks 1994: 13) of students, not only for the student's sake, but also for the professor's. Of …

Can We Fix It? Yes We Can!: Daring To Care About Teaching In A Multicultural Classroom, Amy Kenworthy, George Hrivnak, Louise Mulligan

George Hrivnak

No abstract provided.

Health Education In A Web-Based Learning Environment - Learners' Perceptions., Lori Lockyer, Barry Harper, John W. Patterson

John Patterson

The increasing utilization of the World Wide Web in higher education allows instructors to re examine pedagogical strategies and explore ways of taking advantage of the Web's potential to provide for learning experiences that go beyond that possible in the traditional classroom environment. Assumptions on how this enhances the learning experience for students require examination. This paper discusses a study which examines, among other issues, student perceptions of the learning experience when asynchronous, Web-based, collaborative tutorial activities are utilized within an undergraduate health education subject. Analysis of the study data demonstrates that students' perceptions of the effectiveness of the Web-based …

The Development Of An On-Line Learning Community Of Physical And Health Education Professionals, Lori Lockyer, Gregg S. Rowland, John W. Patterson

John Patterson

While ad hoc, course-specific projects have allowed early adopters to explore possible innovations in the use of information and communication technologies in facilitating flexible learning situations, educational institutions are now exploring more integrated strategies to such developments. This paper describes the development of one such strategy that attempts to foster a community-wide approach for a group of professionals coming to terms with the most effective way to utilise technologies -- physical and health educators. The Faculty of Education at University of Wollongong is developing an on-line learning community to facilitate the pre-service education and continuing professional development of students, faculty …

Challenging Mobile Learning Discourse Through Research: Student Perceptions Of Blackboard Mobile Learn And Ipads, Shelley Kinash, Jeffrey Brand, Trishita Mathew

Trishita Mathew

Many university academics disagree with the rationale that we should pursue mobile learning because 21st century students are apparently demanding it. We argue that the only defensible rationale for making mobile learning part of pedagogy is because it enhances student learning. This presentation shares results from research with 135 students engaged in mobile learning over two semesters. It addresses the question of whether Blackboard Mobile Learn made a perceived difference to their learning. Results revealed that in-class, students used their mobile devices for Blackboard Mobile Learn to the same extent as they used them for searching the web for study, …

Challenging Mobile Learning Discourse Through Research: Student Perceptions Of Blackboard Mobile Learn And Ipads, Shelley Kinash, Jeffrey Brand, Trishita Mathew

Jeffrey Brand

Many university academics disagree with the rationale that we should pursue mobile learning because 21st century students are apparently demanding it. We argue that the only defensible rationale for making mobile learning part of pedagogy is because it enhances student learning. This presentation shares results from research with 135 students engaged in mobile learning over two semesters. It addresses the question of whether Blackboard Mobile Learn made a perceived difference to their learning. Results revealed that in-class, students used their mobile devices for Blackboard Mobile Learn to the same extent as they used them for searching the web for study, …

Understanding The Design Context For Australian University Teachers: Implications For The Future Of Learning Design, Susan Bennett, Lisa Thomas, Shirley Agostinho, Lori Lockyer, Jennifer Jones, Barry Harper

Professor Lori Lockyer

Based on the premise that providing support for university teachers in designing for their teaching will ultimately improve the quality of student learning outcomes, recent interest in the development of support tools and strategies has gained momentum. This article reports on a study that examined the context in which Australian university teachers design in order to understand what role design support tools and strategies could play. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 academics across 16 Australian universities. The findings suggest that most Australian university teachers have a high degree of flexibility in their design decisions suggesting that opportunities exist for …

Integrating Technology To Enhance Teaching And Learning In Physical And Health Education: An Activehealth Framework, Gregg S. Rowland, Douglas Hearne, Lori Lockyer, Philip J. Pearson

Professor Lori Lockyer

In an era of limited resources across educational sectors, academics associated with faculties of education are under increasing pressure to find innovative ways to support their teaching and research activities - activities with which collaboration and interaction with pre-service teachers, practicing teachers and fellow academics is crucial. As such, developing a sustained community that involves such representative members is paramount for academics. A team at the University of Wollongong has initiated this concept through research and development of the ActiveHealth learning community for physical and health educators. Whilst it is envisaged that such a project will take time to establish, …

An Examination Of Learning Design Descriptions In A Repository, Shirley Agostinho, Susan J. Bennett, Lori Lockyer, Lisa Kosta, Jennifer Jones, Barry Harper

Professor Lori Lockyer

The past decade has seen a significant expansion of flexible learning in higher education as new communication technologies have broadened the scope and potential for online learning. With this expansion has come the need for pedagogically sound learning experiences and an interest in reusing effective pedagogical designs. The concept of a ‘learning design’ - a formalism for documenting educational practice to facilitate sharing and reuse by teachers, is being researched as one way of supporting dissemination of ‘best practice’. This paper reports an analytical study that sought to advance understanding of what constitutes an effective learning design description based on …

Learning Or Performance: Predicting Drivers Of Student Motivation, Shane P. Dawson, Leah Macfadyen, Lori Lockyer

Professor Lori Lockyer

There is substantial research demonstrating that a student’s motivation for learning can be largely explained in terms of their preferred achievement orientation. This paper explores a case study investigating ICT derived lead indicators of student achievement orientation, and therefore underlying motivations. The study incorporated Tan’s (2009) research on learning dispositions to quantify student achievement orientations. These findings were then correlated with student LMS data to identify if patterns of online behaviour are indicative of the observed achievement orientation scores. The results suggest that there is a significant correlation between student achievement orientation and participation in discussion forums. Students reporting a …

Self-Directed Learning In Problem-Based Learning Versus Traditional Lecture-Based Learning: A Meta-Analysis, Heather Leary

Heather Leary, Ph.D.

Problem-based learning is a student-centered, inquiry-based approach that builds problem-solving skills. Reviews of problem-based learning, as compared to traditional lecture-based learning, report modest positive gains in cognitive outcomes. Many metaanalyses have been conducted to analyze the effectiveness of problem-based learning, but none have examined self-directed learning in the context of problem-based learning. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis across all disciplines examining the extent to which problem-based learning engenders self-directed learning compared to a lecture-based approach. This study used a random effects model meta-analysis using 75 outcomes from 38 studies. Results indicated a statistically significant, z(74) …

Learning For Disaster Resilience, Neil Dufty

Neil Dufty

No abstract provided.

Logo Programming (Part 1) - A Creative And Fun Way To Learn Mathematics And Problem-Solving, Abhay B. Joshi, Sandesh R. Gaikwad

Abhay B Joshi

Programming means tapping into the computerʹs immense power by talking with it directly. Through programming, children use the computerʹs terrific power to draw graphics, design animation, solve mathematical or word puzzles, and even build robots. This idea was first proposed in the famous book ʺMindstormsʺ by Seymour Papert and has subsequently been appreciated and praised by educators and parents all over the world.

Through programming, students discover that the computer is a powerful and flexible tool. Using interesting ideas embedded in programming environments, students solve problems in their favorite subjects, and also develop interest in ʺdifficultʺ subjects like Math and …

Logo Programming (Part 2) - A Creative And Fun Way To Learn Mathematics And Problem-Solving, Abhay B. Joshi, Sandesh R. Gaikwad

Abhay B Joshi

Programming means tapping into the computerʹs immense power by talking with it directly. Through programming, children use the computerʹs terrific power to draw graphics, design animation, solve mathematical or word puzzles, and even build robots. This idea was first proposed in the famous book ʺMindstormsʺ by Seymour Papert and has subsequently been appreciated and praised by educators and parents all over the world.

Through programming, students discover that the computer is a powerful and flexible tool. Using interesting ideas embedded in programming environments, students solve problems in their favorite subjects, and also develop interest in ʺdifficultʺ subjects like Math and …

‘I Don't Get It’: A Critical Reflection On Conceptual And Practical Challenges In Teaching Qualitative Methods, Sally Sargeant

Sally Sargeant

This article is a reflective piece that concentrates on facilitating student learning styles and reflexivity when teaching qualitative methods. It elaborates specifically on the challenges of deep and surface learning, and managing these differences in conjunction with the practical challenges posed by qualitative research. The introduction of reflexivity to undergraduate students and how this can be conveyed effectively is also discussed in connection with learning how to execute qualitative work. The teaching context was a section on qualitative methods that formed part of a larger research methods module. Student feedback indicates that time constraints and group-work affect the learning process. …

Student Reactions To Learning With Technologies: Perceptions And Outcomes, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

While the creation and adoption of new technologies has increased in recent years, the educational sector often limits technology use. Despite this, many researchers are convinced of the vital role that technologies can play in learning and teaching. Student Reactions to Learning with Technologies: Perceptions and Outcomes brings together recent research findings about the views and expectations of students when including technologies in their studies. The chapters in this book suggest that the use of technologies in teaching not only makes learning more interesting but also offers possibilities for variations in the learning processes. While this book does not offer …