A social learning formalism for learners trying to figure out what a teacher wants them to do

International audienceThis article presents a theoretical foundation for approaching the problem of how a learner can infer what a teacher wants it to do through strongly ambigu-ous interaction or observation. The article groups the in-terpretation of a broad range of information sources un-der the same theoretical framework. A teacher's motion demonstration, eye gaze during a reproduction attempt, pushes of "good"/"bad" buttons and speech comment are all treated as specific instances of the same general class of information sources. These sources all provide (partially and ambiguously) information about what the teacher wants the learner to do, and all need to be interpreted con-currently. We introduce a formalism to address this chal-lenge, which allows us to consider various strands of pre-vious research as different related facets of a single gener-alized problem. In turn, this allows us to identify impor-tant new avenues for research. To sketch these new direc-tions, several learning setups are introduced, and algorith-mic structures are introduced to illustrate some of the prac-tical problems that must be overcome

Designing electronic collaborative learning environments

Electronic collaborative learning environments for learning and working are in vogue. Designers design them according to their own constructivist interpretations of what collaborative learning is and what it should achieve. Educators employ them with different educational approaches and in diverse situations to achieve different ends. Students use them, sometimes very enthusiastically, but often in a perfunctory way. Finally, researchers study them and—as is usually the case when apples and oranges are compared—find no conclusive evidence as to whether or not they work, where they do or do not work, when they do or do not work and, most importantly, why, they do or do not work. This contribution presents an affordance framework for such collaborative learning environments; an interaction design procedure for designing, developing, and implementing them; and an educational affordance approach to the use of tasks in those environments. It also presents the results of three projects dealing with these three issues

Dealing with abstraction: Case study generalisation as a method for eliciting design patterns

Developing a pattern language is a non-trivial problem. A critical requirement is a method to support pattern writers with abstraction, so as they can produce generalised patterns. In this paper, we address this issue by developing a structured process of generalisation. It is important that this process is initiated through engaging participants in identifying initial patterns, i.e. directly dealing with the 'cold-start' problem. We have found that short case study descriptions provide a productive 'way into' the process for participants. We reflect on a 1-year interdisciplinary pan-European research project involving the development of almost 30 cases and over 150 patterns. We provide example cases, detailing the process by which their associated patterns emerged. This was based on a foundation for generalisation from cases with common attributes. We discuss the merits of this approach and its implications for pattern development

Approaches to Coaching Students in Design Reviews

Design reviews offer a unique window into understanding how design teachers help their students develop as designers. They are a prevalent practice for helping students develop design thinking expertise, although their structure and content may vary across disciplines. Understanding the teaching that occurs during design reviews can illuminate the ways teachers support students in becoming design thinkers. In this paper, we extend prior work to illustrate disciplinary perspectives of how design teachers help their students develop as design thinkers. The guiding framework is design pedagogical knowledge (PCK), the content-specific and practice-based specialized knowledge of teaching design. We analyzed five sets of longitudinal data (four individuals and one team) from an existing multi-disciplinary design review dataset (mechanical engineering, industrial design, and choreography). Where prior work focused on identifying patterns of design pedagogical content knowledge, this paper focuses on summarizing the teaching techniques used and design thinking knowledge conveyed across different design contexts. Results indicate: (1) design teachers across contexts share a common repertoire of design teaching techniques and design thinking process knowledge and (2) insights into what design teachers may be most concerned about regarding their students’ development as designers. One contribution of this study is a language for making visible teachers’ design thinking knowledge, the teaching techniques they use to convey this knowledge, and the kinds of design thinking knowledge they demonstrate or encourage with their students. Teachers can use this to make sense of their own experiences and discuss their experiences within a larger community of practice. Sharing results with students may provide opportunities to help them develop an awareness of design thinking (beyond a method to follow) and make sense of the ways their teachers help them learn to design and strengthen their design processes and products

The role of pedagogical tools in active learning: a case for sense-making

Evidence from the research literature indicates that both audience response systems (ARS) and guided inquiry worksheets (GIW) can lead to greater student engagement, learning, and equity in the STEM classroom. We compare the use of these two tools in large enrollment STEM courses delivered in different contexts, one in biology and one in engineering. The instructors studied utilized each of the active learning tools differently. In the biology course, ARS questions were used mainly to check in with students and assess if they were correctly interpreting and understanding worksheet questions. The engineering course presented ARS questions that afforded students the opportunity to apply learned concepts to new scenarios towards improving students conceptual understanding. In the biology course, the GIWs were primarily used in stand-alone activities, and most of the information necessary for students to answer the questions was contained within the worksheet in a context that aligned with a disciplinary model. In the engineering course, the instructor intended for students to reference their lecture notes and rely on their conceptual knowledge of fundamental principles from the previous ARS class session in order to successfully answer the GIW questions. However, while their specific implementation structures and practices differed, both instructors used these tools to build towards the same basic disciplinary thinking and sense-making processes of conceptual reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and metacognitive thinking.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Educational Philosophy of Islamic Hermeneutics and Its Application in Curriculum Studies

Hermeneutics is known as the science of interpreting and explaining texts. Hermeneutics, which was originally used as a way to interpret the scriptures and understand the text, has now risen to the level of a philosophical school and even entered the field of research theorizing and curriculum. It is especially important for disciplines about religious texts. For a hermeneutic educator, education is considered to be the heart of education, because education is nothing more than a process of effective application of hermeneutics (language) and for educators, it is a framework that may be used as a strategy and technique called critical thinking, which is a necessity of the present age. The first step of the article starts with extracting materials from the perspective of hermeneutic philosophy of Islamic approach by studying the internal and external texts of the curriculum dimensions and for this purpose the analytical-inferential method is used. In the second stage of the article, by examining the handful of patterns on hermeneutics that were deductive, theoretical, a new model for children's curriculum is presented to offer educators solutions to develop students' judgments and critical thinking from an early age. For this purpose, the practical analogy presented in a prescriptive form has been used as a useful and obligatory knowledge that has a great help in the field of education with an Islamic approach. This is provided that educators are familiar with the specific language of religious instruction, which requires skillful interpretations, so that students can learn how religious subjects influence people

The effects of teacher talk on students' oral productions

The present study is a brief personal enquiry into the teaching and learning of EFL in the classroom with an orientation to action and personal professional development. It focuses on teacher talk, making special emphasis on questions, as well as on students' resulting oral productions. The research contains samples of empirical data, which include their interpretations in the light of relevant research literature, and a more personal overall reflection of the teaching practice. Both the analysis and the reflections derive to a large extent from the self-observation paper 1 (SO1) and the Practicum portfolio (PP) developed within the TED Masters Degree practicum stagesL'objectiu d'aquest estudi és elaborar una petita reflexió personal sobre la manera d'ensenyar i aprendre l'anglès a les aules, amb la finalitat principal d'assolir una millora d'aptituds pedagògiques i un major desenvolupament professional. Per fer-ho, s'analitza el discurs docent, fent especial èmfasi en les preguntes, i la producció oral dels alumnes que en deriva. L'estudi inclou dades empíriques interpretades segons la literatura corresponent i una reflexió més personal sobre la pròpia pràctica docent. Bona part de l'anàlisi i les reflexions s'han extret del Self-observation Paper 1 (SO1) i el Practicum Portfolio (PP) elaborats al final dels dos períodes de pràctiques del màster de formació de professorat de secundàri

Teaching Against Tradition: Historical Preludes to Critical Pedagogy

This dissertation revises the historical narrative of critical pedagogy in college writing classrooms. It argues that the key principles of critical pedagogy, first articulated by Paulo Freire in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, were practiced by a number of pedagogues as early as the eighteenth century. It examines the teaching practices of these men and shows that they anticipated the methods of critical pedagogy. This dissertation spotlights the need to reinterpret the history of critical pedagogy and to select a wider lens through which to understand the current pedagogical scene. Chapter I defines critical pedagogy as method and explains the Freirean project. Chapter II locates parallels between critical pedagogy and the process and expressive pedagogies of the late 1960s and early '70s. Specifically, it argues that the works of Peter Elbow and Donald Murray embody the principles of critical pedagogy. Their emphasis on the epistemological power of language, for example, prefigures the theoretical foundation upon which Freire constructs his critical methodology. Chapter III argues that the pedagogical advancements of I. A. Richards in the early twentieth century anticipated the teaching methods of critical pedagogy, especially insofar as they established student-centered writing classrooms. Richards's attempts to place student interpretations at the center of the course situate his pedagogy more comfortably among contemporary approaches to writing instruction like critical pedagogy than it does among the formalist approaches to which he is generally linked. Chapter IV argues that Isaac Watts and Philip Doddridge, two eighteenth-century educators, employ teaching methods that parallel contemporary critical pedagogy. Foremost, Watts and Doddridge create participatory learning environments that center on practical subjects. They are among the first educators to teach in the English vernacular and to supplement the traditional classical curriculum with new learning. Chapter V examines the historical contexts in which these preludes to critical pedagogy emerge and shows that Murray, Elbow, Richards, Watts, and Doddridge taught at times when educational access was expanding. It argues that their pedagogies developed in an effort to address classroom diversity and to discover strategies for bringing people into dialogue with each other about the world

Through the Looking Glass: Teaching Literary Theory in the High School English Classroom

The project examines the historical context of Contemporary Literary Theories: Deconstruction, Marxist Literary Theory, Althusser\u27s Theory ofldeology, and Feminist Literary Theory, through a review ofliterature. The project culminates in a 4-6 week unit on teaching Feminist Literary Theory, Marxist Literary Theory, and Deconstruction in connection with a unit on Rudolfo Anaya\u27s award-winning novel, Bless Me, Wtima. The unit is designed for 10th grade Honors Language Arts classes