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2010

Learning

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Articles 1 - 16 of 16

Full-Text Articles in Education

Understanding The Need: Using Collaboratively Created Draft Guiding Principles To Direct Online Synchronous Learning In Indigenous Communities, Michelle J. Eady, Stuart Woodcock Jan 2010

Understanding The Need: Using Collaboratively Created Draft Guiding Principles To Direct Online Synchronous Learning In Indigenous Communities, Michelle J. Eady, Stuart Woodcock

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This article reports on the experience of members of an Australian Aboriginal community as they used synchronous computer technologies to enhance their literacy learning. The aspiration to learn meaningful and relevant literacy and computer skills was discussed in focus groups, as well as the need to articulate the group’s position within the wider community, the value of the wisdom of the Elders, and the importance of the dissemination of traditional language and Aboriginal knowledge. Educational integrity was deeply embedded in the project’s approach to the Aboriginal learning experience, and included ensuring respect for cultural needs and traditions, as well as …


Attributional Beliefs Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Stuart Woodcock, Wilma Vialle Jan 2010

Attributional Beliefs Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Stuart Woodcock, Wilma Vialle

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

While claims of the importance of attribution theory and teachers’ expectations of students in regards to performance are repeatedly made, there is little comprehensive research identifying the perceptions preservice teachers have of students with learning disabilities (LD). Accordingly, this study examined 154 Australian preservice secondary school teachers to ascertain their responses to students with and without LD. It was found that preservice secondary school teachers held a negative attribution style towards students with LD. Preservice secondary teachers perceived students with LD as lacking ability in comparison to others in the class. Recommendations for research and training programs conclude the paper.


The Digital Technology In The Learning Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders (Asd) In Applied Classroom Settings, Kathleen Tanner, Roselyn M. Dixon, Irina Verenikina Jan 2010

The Digital Technology In The Learning Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders (Asd) In Applied Classroom Settings, Kathleen Tanner, Roselyn M. Dixon, Irina Verenikina

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper describes a research study that is a stepping stone to further research on the affordances of digital technologies in the learning of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The study is framed around the modern understanding of technologies as cognitive tools for learning based on the theory of social and cultural mediation of children’s development and learning (Vygotsky, 1978), together with Activity Theory (Engestrom, 2001). The study focuses on the day-to-day reality of the use of computer and other digital technologies to assist the classroom learning of children with ASD. A series of observations, semi-structured interviews with teachers …


Web 2.0 In Higher Education: Blurring Social Networks And Learning Networks, Lori Lockyer, Shane P. Dawson, Elizabeth Heathcote Jan 2010

Web 2.0 In Higher Education: Blurring Social Networks And Learning Networks, Lori Lockyer, Shane P. Dawson, Elizabeth Heathcote

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper reports on a study that investigated how two cohorts of students (in medicine and education) adopted a social networking platform to assist their university studies. The study examines the sites of dissonance between predicted and actual usage of the tool. Although the integration of social technologies into higher education is not new, there is mounting imperatives for developing creative, flexible, technologically literate graduates. Yet, to date, limited research has focused on how contemporary learners expect to and in actual fact, utilise these tools to support their study. This study observed that students’ perceptions of how technologies should support …


Literacy Practitioners' Perspectives On Adult Learning Needs And Technology Approaches In Indigenous Communities, Michelle J. Eady, Anthony Herrington, Caroline Jones Jan 2010

Literacy Practitioners' Perspectives On Adult Learning Needs And Technology Approaches In Indigenous Communities, Michelle J. Eady, Anthony Herrington, Caroline Jones

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Current reports of literacy rates in Australia indicate an ongoing gap in literacy skills between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian adults, at a time when the literacy demands of work and life are increasing. There are many perspectives on what are the literacy needs of Indigenous adults,from the perspectives of community members themselves to the relatively under-researched perspective of literacy practitioners. This paper provides the insights, experiences and recommendations from adult literacy practitioners who work with adult Indigenous learners in communities across Australia. Focus group interviews, using an online synchronous platform, were used to elicit views about the literacy needs of …


Teaching, Learning And Talking: Mapping "The Trail Of Fire", Pauline T. Jones Jan 2010

Teaching, Learning And Talking: Mapping "The Trail Of Fire", Pauline T. Jones

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper addresses the current resurgence of interest in classroom talk and its place in pedagogy; in particular the role of teachers in shaping students’ learning through the design of classroom interactivity. The importance of teacher agency with respect to pedagogic design is highlighted in recent studies of pedagogy in the UK (Alexander, 2008; Mercer, 2008) and in linguistically oriented studies of pedagogic discourse undertaken in the Australian context (Christie, 2002; Jones, 2005). The paper presents a case study of classroom talk to explore how such work might be brought into alignment in order to shed further light on the …


Articulating Constructionism: Learning Science Through Designing And Making "Slowmations" (Student-Generated Animations), Garry Hoban, Wendy Nielsen, Charles Carceller Jan 2010

Articulating Constructionism: Learning Science Through Designing And Making "Slowmations" (Student-Generated Animations), Garry Hoban, Wendy Nielsen, Charles Carceller

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This conceptual paper analyses several theoretical frameworks for “learning through making” using technology. First, the theoretical framework of Constructionism, which was proposed by Seymour Papert (1987), is discussed which is based on an integration of constructivist views of learning and social views of learning. Second, several instructional design frameworks are analysed and finally a theoretical framework based on Peirce‟s (1931) Semiotic Triad is explained. An example of learning through making is provided in the form of a “Slowmation” (abbreviated from “Slow Animation”), which is a new way for preservice teachers to learn science by making a narrated animation. It is …


Collaborative Learning In An Online Course: A Comparison Of Communication Patterns In Small And Whole Group Activities, Wendy Nielsen, Eric Kh Chan, Namsook Jahng Jan 2010

Collaborative Learning In An Online Course: A Comparison Of Communication Patterns In Small And Whole Group Activities, Wendy Nielsen, Eric Kh Chan, Namsook Jahng

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This article reports on the investigation of collaborative learning processes in an online course that examined students' communication during whole-group discussions and small-group activities. Content analysis and social network analysis methods were employed to code and categorize text messages to uncover students' communication behaviour. The results show that individuals' participation patterns were similar during the two different settings, but some inactive students during whole-group discussions were more active in small-groups. The social-out (sent-out messages) during whole-group discussions was a significant variable associated with cognitive contributions in whole-group as well as social and managerial contributions in small-group activities. It also identified …


Learning With The Arts: What Opportunities Are There For Work Related Adult Learning?, Claire Manning, Irina M. Verenikina, Ian M. Brown Jan 2010

Learning With The Arts: What Opportunities Are There For Work Related Adult Learning?, Claire Manning, Irina M. Verenikina, Ian M. Brown

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

What can arts‐based learning offer to adult, work‐related education? A study was undertaken that explored the benefits of learning with the arts for professional development of an adult learner in Australia. The individual experiences of nine adults who participated in arts‐based workshops to build work‐related skills were examined using the contextual model of learning where the personal, socio‐cultural and physical contexts were considered. To determine the potential for professional development, the participants' perceived learning outcomes were examined against the list of the skills valued in the modern workplace. The adult learners who participated in this research found learning with the …


Slowmation As A Pedagogical Scaffold For Improving Science Teaching And Learning, Stephen Keast, Rebecca Cooper, Amanda Berry, John Loughran, Garry Hoban Jan 2010

Slowmation As A Pedagogical Scaffold For Improving Science Teaching And Learning, Stephen Keast, Rebecca Cooper, Amanda Berry, John Loughran, Garry Hoban

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

In this study, two classes of General Science Teaching Method preservice secondary teachers at Monash University (n = 38 in 2007 and n = 34 in 2008) developed Slowmation movies as part of their course work, then introduced Slowmation into the their science classrooms during their school practicum. On returning to university following their practicum these preservice teachers shared the Slowmations created by their students during the practicum, and discussed the impact of introducing this procedure on their students’ learning about science concepts. The classroom presentations and discussions of school students’ Slowmation movies post practicum provided valuable feedback to the …


Crocodiles And Polar Bears: A Cross Cultural Comparison Of Adult Learning In Remote Indigenous Communities, Michelle J. Eady, Alison Reedy Jan 2010

Crocodiles And Polar Bears: A Cross Cultural Comparison Of Adult Learning In Remote Indigenous Communities, Michelle J. Eady, Alison Reedy

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This presentation compares and contrasts the context of adult learning for two groups of adult Indigenous students, one from the northern Australian tropics and one from far Northwestern Ontario. It also examines the ways that technology is used to try and bridge the distance between Indigenous adult learners' goals and educational opportunities. From this comparison we conclude that the educational gap between Indigenous and non Indigenous learners in Canada is closing, while the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is widening. We reflect on the reasons why Indigenous adult learners in Northwestern Ontario are being better served in comparison to …


The Potential To Learn: Pre-Service Teachers' Proposed Use Of Instructional Strategies For Students With A Learning Disability, Stuart Woodcock, Wilma Vialle Jan 2010

The Potential To Learn: Pre-Service Teachers' Proposed Use Of Instructional Strategies For Students With A Learning Disability, Stuart Woodcock, Wilma Vialle

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Over recent years, moves toward the inclusion of students with special needs in mainstream classrooms has brought about increasing attention to the way general education teachers perceive these students. Commensurate with this has been a growing interest in what may constitute educational success for children with special needs in mainstream classrooms, plus the ability of general education teachers to provide effective and appropriate instruction for them. It is known that teachers form beliefs about the process of teaching during their pre-service training and also that once a belief has been held for a long time, it becomes extremely difficult to …


This Is Me! Empowering Children To Talk About Their Learning Through Digital Story, Jessica Mantei, Lisa K. Kervin Jan 2010

This Is Me! Empowering Children To Talk About Their Learning Through Digital Story, Jessica Mantei, Lisa K. Kervin

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The transition from pre-school to Kindergarten is an important part of a child’s learning journey. In the early childhood setting children develop interests, knowledge and learning preferences that often remain unknown in the early days of Kindergarten. We argue that from this young age children can identify and articulate learning preferences as they use their literate practices to communicate their preferences, aspirations and reflections. Digital Stories are short, personal, multimedia presentations created through image (from still and/or video cameras), which are then edited on a computer with video editing software to include a spoken narrative. In this paper we share …


Data Dumping, After The Test You Forget It All: Seeking Deep Approaches To Science Learning With Slowmation (Student-Generated Animations), Garry Hoban Jan 2010

Data Dumping, After The Test You Forget It All: Seeking Deep Approaches To Science Learning With Slowmation (Student-Generated Animations), Garry Hoban

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

It Is not uncommon for university students to role learn facts and formulae to memorise information for a test. Unfortunately, these surface approaches to learning are encouraged by the complex teaching and learning system embedded in the context of university courses. Where possible, academics should encourage students to develop a deep approach to learning in their subJects. ' Slowmation" (abbreviated from Slow Animation) is an innovative teaching strategy that encourages students to design and make their own narrated digital animation that is played slowly at 2 frames/second to explain a concept. It is a simplified way of making animations that …


Indigenous Sharing, Collaboration And Synchronous Learning, Michelle J. Eady, Irina Verenikina, Sarah Jones Jan 2010

Indigenous Sharing, Collaboration And Synchronous Learning, Michelle J. Eady, Irina Verenikina, Sarah Jones

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Online learning is progressively accepted in Indigenous communities with the realized potential for sharing, collaboration and learning for adults living in remote and isolated communities. This study used a design-based research approach that provided opportunity to integrate the current literature, literacy practitioners' views and community members' self identified literacy needs to generate ten draft guiding principles which guided this study. A collaborative community engagement project was created by the community members in consideration of these principles and presented in three iterations in a synchronous environment which will lead to design-based principles for working with technology and Indigenous communities. This paper …


Reframing Dyslexia As A Result Of Customised Educational Provision In An Adult Learning Environment, Kathleen Tanner Jan 2010

Reframing Dyslexia As A Result Of Customised Educational Provision In An Adult Learning Environment, Kathleen Tanner

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Reframing has been identified as a process used by people with learning disabilities to change their beliefs and understanding about themselves and their learning disabilities (Gerber, Reiff and Ginsberg, 1996). This paper will discuss the influence of a specially designed course for people with dyslexia conducted through the tertiary TAFE (Technical and Further Education) system in Western Australia and how it provided the catalyst for participants to reframe their perceptions of their dyslexia through empowering them with knowledge and understanding of dyslexia alongside current societal perceptions toward people with literacy difficulties. Findings revealed that all 10 participants reframed their perceptions …