Educating through communities of practice

The aim of this paper is to attempt at building a bridge between education and situated learning. The etymology of the word education outlines the two major ways of envisioning education. The meaning which we give to the term ‘education’ surely influences the ways in which the process of education unfolds and is actually conducted. The Constructivist Approach which is being used in education today is characterised by its studentcenteredness rather than teacher‑centeredness. The adoption of Communities of Practice from the industrial sphere to the realm of Catholic schools is a way in which education as bringing forth from the student (e‑ducere) and the constructivist approach developed earlier can be put into practice in Catholic Schools. Communities of practice create the right condition for situated learning in Catholic schools today. It is here that legitimate peripheral participation can be put into practice, thus fulfilling the Church’s mission of evangelisation in our contemporary culture by drawing students from the periphery of the educational endeavour, making them active participants at the core.peer-reviewe

Developing a Constructivist Model for Effective Physics Learning

The paper considered developing a constructivist model for effective physics teaching. The model is imperative because of the increasing difficulty in learning physics and the resulting poor academic performance in the subject. The paper reviewed two types of constructivism which are the social and cognitive constructivism. Highlights of correlations between the constructivist learning and the authentic learning were revealed. To applying the model to physics learning, it was argued that constructivist teachers should give serious attention to the prior knowledge of the students. This will determine the mode of teacher instruction. The teacher content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge are central to excellent teaching. The paper concludes that physics teacher should promote student interactions and respect student ideas being the kernel of the constructivist learning. Aina, Jacob Kola "Developing a Constructivist Model for Effective Physics Learning" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-1 | Issue-4 , June 201

E-Engineering Drawing : a web based system for teaching and learning engineering drawing for upper secondary school

Engineering drawing is a combination of geometrical and building, mechanical and electrical drawing. It relates between theory and picture of reality. Engineering drawing will provide an accurate and complete picture for every object in terms of shape and size. Individuals involved in the world of engineering must be able to read and interpret an engineering drawing. This is an important pre-requisite. Many researches showed that those who learn Engineering drawing encounter difficulties to see an image in 3-dimension, in other words, visualization. In Engineering drawing, information and specifications from the real object must be transferred to a drawing; likewise,interpretation of information from a drawing to produce a real image. The transfer from reality to a drawing and vice versa is not an easy task. Thus, a web-based system for teaching and learning Engineering drawing was developed based on the Visualization and Constructivist Model. EEDTM is tailored for several topics of engineering drawing such as Orthographic Projection; Sectional View; Isometric and Oblique drawing at the secondary level. The learning strategy consists of multiple phases beginning with orientation, elicitation of ideas, reconstruction, application of concept and reflection. For example, in the orientation phase, students will be exposed to an overview of the topic followed by learning of specific concepts. Other phase involved eliciting of ideas reconstruction of concept and application of knowledge. This system also provides a learning environment that allows learners to view objects from different angles; such as third angle projection and first angle projection as well as views of plans, side and front elevations. The learners will be guided through the various steps in drawing methods for each topic via animations and simulations. Learners are able to view any section repeatedly. Examples of real application of engineering drawings will be also given using graphic, animations and video. To evaluate students understanding, exercises will be given at the end of each session. The effectiveness of the system will also be evaluated using students’ interactive patterns while working at the interface. (Authors' abstract

Contemporary developments in teaching and learning introductory programming: Towards a research proposal

The teaching and learning of introductory programming in tertiary institutions is problematic. Failure rates are high and the inability of students to complete small programming tasks at the completion of introductory units is not unusual. The literature on teaching programming contains many examples of changes in teaching strategies and curricula that have been implemented in an effort to reduce failure rates. This paper analyses contemporary research into the area, and summarises developments in the teaching of introductory programming. It also focuses on areas for future research which will potentially lead to improvements in both the teaching and learning of introductory programming. A graphical representation of the issues from the literature that are covered in the document is provided in the introduction

Virtual Collaboration in the Online Educational Setting: A Concept Analysis

This study was designed to explore the concept of virtual collaboration within the context of an online learning environment in an academic setting. Rodgers’ method of evolutionary concept analysis was used to provide a contextual view of the concept to identify attributes, antecedents, and consequences of virtual collaboration. Commonly used terms to describe virtual collaboration are collaborative and cooperative learning, group work, group interaction, group learning and teamwork. A constructivist pedagogy, group-based process with a shared purpose, support and web-based technology are required for virtual collaboration to take place. Consequences of virtual collaboration are higher order thinking and learning to work with others. A comprehensive definition of virtual collaboration is offered as an outcome of this analysis. Clarification of virtual collaboration prior to using it as a pedagogic tool in the online learning environment will enhance nursing education with the changes in nursing curriculum being implemented today. Further research is recommended to describe the developmental stages of the collaborative process among nursing students in online education and how virtual collaboration facilitates collaboration in practice

Exploring the Development of Core Teaching Practices in the Context of Inquiry-based Science Instruction: An Interpretive Case Study

This paper describes our reflection on a clinical-based teacher preparation program. We examined a context in which novice pre-service teachers and a mentor teacher implemented inquiry-based science instruction to help students make sense of genetic engineering. We utilized developmental models of professional practice that outline the complexity inherent in professional knowledge as a conceptual framework to analyze teacher practice. Drawing on our analysis, we developed a typography of understandings of inquiry-based science instruction that teachers in our cohort held and generated a two dimensional model characterizing pathways through which teachers develop core teaching practices supporting inquiry-based science instruction

Learning theory and its application to female learner support in engineering

School of Engineering at Murdoch University is now in its fifth year: a new School sited on the new regional Campus. This environment enabled the staff to take an innovative approach to the School's development. One key issue addressed from the outset was that of women in a nontraditional area. Positive action was taken to attract high calibre female staff and as a consequence over 50% of the School's staff, academic and non-academic, are female. From the student perspective, issues confronting females studying in Engineering, which are reflected in international low recruitment and retention, continue to be addressed. Individuals are different and these differences affect how a student performs. In particular, gender differences in learning styles have been noted. This has directed us to administer, as part of a first year foundational unit, learning style inventories to all first year students, who then identify their self-reported learning styles. In this positive atmosphere many varied and successful initiatives, based on our learning style research, are being trialled to encourage female students into our programs and then support and retain them throughout their four years of study. This research discusses the initial learning style results and their application to our initiatives