The evolution of pedagogic models for work-based learning within a virtual university

The process of designing a pedagogic model for work-based learning within a virtual university is not a simple matter of using ‘off the shelf’ good practice. Instead, it can be characterised as an evolutionary process that reflects the backgrounds, skills and experiences of the project partners. Within the context of a large-scale project that was building a virtual university for work-based learners, an ambitious goal was set: to base the development of learning materials on a pedagogic model that would be adopted across the project. However, the reality proved to be far more complex than simply putting together an appropriate model from existing research evidence. Instead, the project progressed through a series of redevelopments, each of which was pre-empted by the involvement of a different team from within the project consortium. The pedagogic models that evolved as part of the project will be outlined, and the reasons for rejecting each will be given. They moved from a simple model, relying on core computer-based materials (assessed by multiple choice questions with optional work-based learning), to a more sophisticated model that integrated different forms of learning. The challenges that were addressed included making learning flexible and suitable for work-based learning, the coherence of accreditation pathways, the appropriate use of the opportunities provided by online learning and the learning curves and training needs of the different project teams. Although some of these issues were project-specific (being influenced by the needs of the learners, the aims of the project and the partners involved), the evolutionary process described in this case study illustrates that there can be a steep learning curve for the different collaborating groups within the project team. Whilst this example focuses on work-based learning, the process and the lessons may equally be applicable to a range of learning scenarios

Sustainable eLearning in a Changing Landscape: A Scoping Study (SeLScope)

The report begins by exploring the concept of sustainable e-learning - defining it and establishing its characteristics in the context of Higher Education. To ensure a sound and systematic process, the review is informed by a five-phase methodological framework for scoping reviews by Arksey and O'Malley (2005). Examples and perspectives on the concept of sustainable e-learning are summarised and key factors impacting on sustainability are abstracted. highlights potential gaps and suggests directions for further research on the topic

MountainRise, Volume 2, Number 2

Volume 2, Number 2 (2005). MountainRise, an open, peer-reviewed, international electronic journal, was published by the Coulter Faculty Commons for Excellence in Teaching & Learning at Western Carolina University. Originating in the ancient mountains of western North Carolina, MountainRise served as an international vehicle for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL). MountainRise applied insightful scholarly methodologies to the processes of teaching and learning. The aim of the journal was to foster a higher education culture that embraced innovation in teaching and learning

Addressing Interprofessional Competence in Interpretation of Electronic Fetal Monitor Tracings

Interpretation of electronic fetal monitor (EFM) tracings is a critical clinical practice skill nurses and physicians perform during the intrapartum stage of pregnancy. However, if performed inaccurately can potentially jeopardize the well-being of the neonate. This risk is present because if concerning EFM tracings are not interpreted accurately, preventative care interventions to promote the well-being of the unborn child do not occur. The project was initiated by completing a scoping literature review on the methods for training and evaluating EFM interpretation competence, which revealed current EFM interpretation training and evaluation methods are lacking. A concept analysis defined nurse competence in diagnostic healthcare technologies. The analysis included examining surrogate terms, related concepts, attributes, antecedents, and consequences. This dissertation evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of a Simulation-Based Mastery Learning intervention on clinical interprofessional team members’ EFM interpretation competence and self-efficacy compared to clinical experience alone. In addition, it determined how participants’ characteristics affect baseline EFM interpretation scores. The study was a randomized longitudinal design with participants recruited from a convenience sample of interprofessional healthcare team members from a large research hospital in the southeastern United States. Randomization procedures placed recruited participants into either an intervention or clinical experience alone group, with competence evaluations for both groups occurring at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and three months post-intervention. Once completed, add results and conclusion here

Helping children with difficulties learn : an overview

The purpose of this paper is to integrate multiple variables related to learning for children with special needs. Regarding the first variable, intelligence, the paper considers its history, development, and biological foundations. Gardner\u27s contemporary theory of Multiple Intelligence is also discussed. Then a discussion of learning styles, including the history, identification procedures and matching styles to instruction, is provided. Finally, the paper takes a historical journey through the learning process, to discuss the works of numerous authors in their related fields

Examining the Effects of Students' Classroom Expectations on Undergraduate Biology Course Reform

In this dissertation, I perform and compare three studies of introductory biology students' classroom expectations -- what students expect to be the nature of the knowledge that they are learning, what they think they should be (or are) doing in order to learn, and what they think they should be (or are) doing in order to be successful. Previous work has shown that expectations can impact how students approach learning, yet biology education researchers have been reluctant to acknowledge or address the effects of student expectations on curricular reform (NRC, 2012). Most research in biology education reform has focused on students' conceptual understandings of biology and the efficacy of specific changes to content and pedagogy. The current research is lacking a deeper understanding of how students perceive the classroom environment and how those perceptions can shape students' interactions with the content and pedagogy. For present and future reforms in biology to reach their full potential, I argue that biology education should actively address the different ways students think about and approach learning in biology classes. The first study uses a Likert-scale instrument, adapted from the Maryland Physics Expectations Survey (Redish, Saul, & Steinberg, 1998). This new survey, the Maryland Biology Expectations Survey (MBEX) documents two critical results in biology classrooms: (i) certain student-centered pedagogical contexts can produce favorable changes in students' expectations, and (ii) more traditional classroom contexts appear to produce negative epistemological effects. The second study utilizes a modified version of the MBEX and focuses on students' interdisciplinary views. This study documents that: (i) biology students have both discipline-specific and context-specific classroom expectations, (ii) students respond more favorably to interdisciplinary content in the biology courses we surveyed (as opposed to biology content introduced into the physics courses we surveyed), and (iv) biology faculty are not fully "on board" with interdisciplinary and integrative curriculum initiatives commonly endorsed in the current reform literature. The third study is a case study of students' classroom expectations. From this data corpus, I have identified distinct patterns of biology-specific classroom expectations. I believe these expectations have important implications for how researchers should approach curricular reforms in the future

Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum

The field of specialization known as the science of learning is not, in fact, one field. Science of learning is a term that serves as an umbrella for many lines of research, theory, and application. A term with an even wider reach is Learning Sciences (Sawyer, 2006). The present book represents a sliver, albeit a substantial one, of the scholarship on the science of learning and its application in educational settings (Science of Instruction, Mayer 2011). Although much, but not all, of what is presented in this book is focused on learning in college and university settings, teachers of all academic levels may find the recommendations made by chapter authors of service. The overarching theme of this book is on the interplay between the science of learning, the science of instruction, and the science of assessment (Mayer, 2011). The science of learning is a systematic and empirical approach to understanding how people learn. More formally, Mayer (2011) defined the science of learning as the “scientific study of how people learn” (p. 3). The science of instruction (Mayer 2011), informed in part by the science of learning, is also on display throughout the book. Mayer defined the science of instruction as the “scientific study of how to help people learn” (p. 3). Finally, the assessment of student learning (e.g., learning, remembering, transferring knowledge) during and after instruction helps us determine the effectiveness of our instructional methods. Mayer defined the science of assessment as the “scientific study of how to determine what people know” (p.3). Most of the research and applications presented in this book are completed within a science of learning framework. Researchers first conducted research to understand how people learn in certain controlled contexts (i.e., in the laboratory) and then they, or others, began to consider how these understandings could be applied in educational settings. Work on the cognitive load theory of learning, which is discussed in depth in several chapters of this book (e.g., Chew; Lee and Kalyuga; Mayer; Renkl), provides an excellent example that documents how science of learning has led to valuable work on the science of instruction. Most of the work described in this book is based on theory and research in cognitive psychology. We might have selected other topics (and, thus, other authors) that have their research base in behavior analysis, computational modeling and computer science, neuroscience, etc. We made the selections we did because the work of our authors ties together nicely and seemed to us to have direct applicability in academic settings

Adaptive intelligent personalised learning (AIPL) environment

As individuals the ideal learning scenario would be a learning environment tailored just for how we like to learn, personalised to our requirements. This has previously been almost inconceivable given the complexities of learning, the constraints within the environments in which we teach, and the need for global repositories of knowledge to facilitate this process. Whilst it is still not necessarily achievable in its full sense this research project represents a path towards this ideal.In this thesis, findings from research into the development of a model (the Adaptive Intelligent Personalised Learning (AIPL)), the creation of a prototype implementation of a system designed around this model (the AIPL environment) and the construction of a suite of intelligent algorithms (Personalised Adaptive Filtering System (PAFS)) for personalised learning are presented and evaluated. A mixed methods approach is used in the evaluation of the AIPL environment. The AIPL model is built on the premise of an ideal system being one which does not just consider the individual but also considers groupings of likeminded individuals and their power to influence learner choice. The results show that: (1) There is a positive correlation for using group-learning-paradigms. (2) Using personalisation as a learning aid can help to facilitate individual learning and encourage learning on-line. (3) Using learning styles as a way of identifying and categorising the individuals can improve their on-line learning experience. (4) Using Adaptive Information Retrieval techniques linked to group-learning-paradigms can reduce and improve the problem of mis-matching. A number of approaches for further work to extend and expand upon the work presented are highlighted at the end of the Thesis