Models for Learning (Mod4L) Final Report: Representing Learning Designs

The Mod4L Models of Practice project is part of the JISC-funded Design for Learning Programme. It ran from 1 May – 31 December 2006. The philosophy underlying the project was that a general split is evident in the e-learning community between development of e-learning tools, services and standards, and research into how teachers can use these most effectively, and is impeding uptake of new tools and methods by teachers. To help overcome this barrier and bridge the gap, a need is felt for practitioner-focused resources which describe a range of learning designs and offer guidance on how these may be chosen and applied, how they can support effective practice in design for learning, and how they can support the development of effective tools, standards and systems with a learning design capability (see, for example, Griffiths and Blat 2005, JISC 2006). Practice models, it was suggested, were such a resource. The aim of the project was to: develop a range of practice models that could be used by practitioners in real life contexts and have a high impact on improving teaching and learning practice. We worked with two definitions of practice models. Practice models are: 1. generic approaches to the structuring and orchestration of learning activities. They express elements of pedagogic principle and allow practitioners to make informed choices (JISC 2006) However, however effective a learning design may be, it can only be shared with others through a representation. The issue of representation of learning designs is, then, central to the concept of sharing and reuse at the heart of JISC’s Design for Learning programme. Thus practice models should be both representations of effective practice, and effective representations of practice. Hence we arrived at the project working definition of practice models as: 2. Common, but decontextualised, learning designs that are represented in a way that is usable by practitioners (teachers, managers, etc).(Mod4L working definition, Falconer & Littlejohn 2006). A learning design is defined as the outcome of the process of designing, planning and orchestrating learning activities as part of a learning session or programme (JISC 2006). Practice models have many potential uses: they describe a range of learning designs that are found to be effective, and offer guidance on their use; they support sharing, reuse and adaptation of learning designs by teachers, and also the development of tools, standards and systems for planning, editing and running the designs. The project took a practitioner-centred approach, working in close collaboration with a focus group of 12 teachers recruited across a range of disciplines and from both FE and HE. Focus group members are listed in Appendix 1. Information was gathered from the focus group through two face to face workshops, and through their contributions to discussions on the project wiki. This was supplemented by an activity at a JISC pedagogy experts meeting in October 2006, and a part workshop at ALT-C in September 2006. The project interim report of August 2006 contained the outcomes of the first workshop (Falconer and Littlejohn, 2006). The current report refines the discussion of issues of representing learning designs for sharing and reuse evidenced in the interim report and highlights problems with the concept of practice models (section 2), characterises the requirements teachers have of effective representations (section 3), evaluates a number of types of representation against these requirements (section 4), explores the more technically focused role of sequencing representations and controlled vocabularies (sections 5 & 6), documents some generic learning designs (section 8.2) and suggests ways forward for bridging the gap between teachers and developers (section 2.6). All quotations are taken from the Mod4L wiki unless otherwise stated

The impact of social networking sites on socialization and political engagement: Role of acculturation

YesThis research examines the extent to which immigrant consumers' use of social networking sites affect their socialization and political engagement in the Netherlands. The study uses self-administered questionnaires to collect data from 514 Turkish-Dutch respondents of various ages, occupations, levels of education and locations in the Netherlands. The study finds that the propensity to share information, the intensity of use, and privacy concerns positively impact socialization on online social networking sites. In addition, a significant positive relationship between socialization and political involvement positively impacts voting intentions. The study also examines the interaction effects of enculturation and acculturation orientations on the relationship between socialization and political involvement. The study's findings point to a positive moderating role of acculturation in this relationship but a negative one for enculturation. The study is the first to investigate simultaneously the drivers of socialization on social networking sites in the context of immigrant consumers and the impact of their socialization on political involvement and voting intention. The research further contributes to the scholarly work by exploring the interaction effects of acculturation and enculturation orientation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

Designing for vibrant and robust communities of practice in blended learning environments

This paper provides insight into the thinking that informed the design of a programme delivered in blended learning mode with the explicit intent to establish a learning environment conducive to the development of vibrant and robust communities of practices (CoPs). Within the higher education context, the explicit articulation of learning design principles as derived from theory is not often offered for dissemination and are regarded as implicit to programme development. This paper begins by exploring the association between CoPs and learning design; considers various approaches to blended learning; offers a blended learning programme as an exemplar for interrogation and then presents learning design principles that informed the development of vibrant and robust CoPs within the blended learning programme. Placing CoPs central to the design of the blended learning programme afforded students an authentic learning experience with an opportunity to make design decisions explicit, thereby contributing to the overall impact of the programme in the education sector. Four emerging learning design principles that underpin the design decisions in this programme are offered for interrogation: provide opportunities to model professional behaviour; develop social foundations from which to build the CoP; sustain guided and self-regulated learning; and realign and reinforce the course objectives. Drawing from the knowledge gained in their vibrant and robust CoPs, institutional leaders – as students in this programme – embraced new models of professional development to bring sustainable change at schools in all districts across South Africa

Playing the Field: An Australian Case Study of Student Popular Musicians’ Informal Learning in Senior Secondary Classroom Music Education

This thesis explores the field of classroom music education in order to foreground the learning experiences of student popular musicians. The Australian, New South Wales (NSW) context is well able to contribute to the global discussion that is underway in popular music education, as senior secondary curriculum here acknowledges the inclusion of students with “informal learning” backgrounds. Over the past decade, research globally has sought to qualify the nature of informal learning, and develop classroom pedagogies relevant to the study of popular music. Utilising these as a starting point, this thesis examines the relationship between these students’ informal learning and the dynamics of the formal classroom. Research was undertaken on three levels: historical, through an investigation of curriculum documents, reforms and matriculation trends; empirical, through a classroom research project exploring a range of informal and formal tasks; and theoretical, via an overarching explanatory tool known as Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). The research revealed that NSW curricular pathways and classroom pedagogies employed result in the maintenance of a ‘code’ distinction: cultivating traditional knowledge and skills for WAM, but not providing adequate knowledge-building opportunities for student popular musicians. Considering the range of cross-genre music-making evident in the study, and the delineation of a spectrum of knowledge and skills spanning code distinctions, findings highlight the need for a re-evaluation of NSW curriculum and pedagogy, with implications beyond the specificities of the case. A recognition and theorisation of the relationship between different forms of musical knowledge across the informal-formal range is believed to be key to providing both socially relevant, and epistemically challenging classroom music education inclusive of all students in the future

The impact of social networking sites on immigrants' socialization and political engagement: the role of acculturation

This research examines the extent to which immigrant consumers’ use of social networking sites affect their socialization and political engagement in the Netherlands. The study uses self-administered questionnaires to collect data from 514 Turkish-Dutch respondents of various ages, occupations, levels of education and locations in the Netherlands. The study finds that the propensity to share information, the intensity of use, and privacy concerns positively impact socialization on online social networking sites. In addition, a significant positive relationship between socialization and political involvement positively impacts voting intentions. The study also examines the interaction effects of enculturation and acculturation orientations on the relationship between socialization and political involvement. The study’s findings point to a positive moderating role of acculturation in this relationship but a negative one for enculturation. The study is the first to investigate simultaneously the drivers of socialization on social networking sites in the context of immigrant consumers and the impact of their socialization on political involvement and voting intention. The research further contributes to the scholarly work by exploring the interaction effects of acculturation and enculturation orientation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

An anatomy of a social network : momentum, enhanced engagement and social media fatigue : a qualitative case study of situated literacy and engagement among further education re-sit students in the UK

The thesis presents a case study of how an online social network supported the classroom learning experienced by students undertaking the GCSE English re-sit. Inherent to the study is the problem of engagement and motivation among students ambivalent to this compulsory curriculum. The case study compares uses of the network between 16-19 year olds and adults in a Further Education college in the northwest of England.A theoretical model was constructed from a content analysis of communication posts across two years and four separate groups (n = 87) using the social network Edmodo.com. This was complemented by interviews with 15 students and observations of blended (classroom-based) use of the network. Coding of network communications showed how high levels of engagement assisted the negotiation of actions towards goals through co-operative communities of practice. High instances of affective disclosures in the network reveal apprehension to mobile provision, as well as opportunities for transformed perspective framed as decision-making thresholds.Students‘ posts lead to a profiling based on the frequency and types of communication posts made to the network, enabling insights into use and the design of a Continuum of Engagement. The theoretical continuum illustrates how momentum occurs through increased activity across time through socially cohesive communities that can help orientate learners to objectives, albeit, mainly among adult learners and specifically where blended to classroom use. Further conceptualisation of the inhibitors that exist with younger and peripheral members are presented as ontological thresholds of online presence – barriers to community participation based upon individual‘s affective dispositions. These factors may contribute to a sense of resistance to online learning, labelled Social Media Fatigue, indicating divergence with social learning models. Underscoring all activity are technological features perceived variably by students as affordances or as inhibitors to participation. Pedagogical strategies and interventions by educators are recommended that illustrate how students can be supported to negotiate ontological thresholds creating momentum in engaged agency towards increased self-determination

Boundaries, bricolage and student-teacher learning

This thesis explores the learning opportunities that are presented to student-teachers as they talk about teaching and learning with their school-based mentor and part-time university-based tutor. Against the backcloth of endemic complexity in initial teacher education, the study asks what these conversations tell us about student-teacher learning. What each of these participants talk about, the sources they draw on and the levels of agreement, disagreement or contradiction evident in their conversations with one another are issues that are central to developing an understanding of this research problem and to this thesis. The thesis adopts an activity theoretical approach, complemented by a social learning theory perspective, to investigate the way that boundaries between university study and the classroom as a site for work-based learning are seen as learning assets. The research is in two phases, the first in the form of a scoping questionnaire which attempts to identify the level of perceived contradiction by student-teachers on a PGCE course and the second in the form of four case studies. A variety of data-gathering tools and methods inform the studies and, in particular, content analysis is used to examine and report on conversations which centre around one taught lesson in each case. The study reveals understandings about the way that learning opportunities are presented to student-teachers. When teaching is presented as a process of bricolage and when provenance is not fully articulated, opportunities for expansive and systemic learning are restricted. The thesis argues that by looking at student-teacher learning systemically, with a focus on dissonance, student-teacher learning can be enhanced. It concludes with recommendations for the Open University PGCE programme team

Lived experiences of teacher mentors; the importance of context and partnership in mentoring arrangements in the English school system

Teacher mentoring is a crucial component of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and has grown in importance with its reconfiguration towards school-centred Initial Teacher Training. However, schools, whose primary focus is educating pupils, may lack the capacity, and in some cases the capability, to support increased mentoring expectations, resulting in varied and inconsistent mentoring practice. What then are the conditions that enable or constrain mentor practice? Using a social constructivist paradigm with an interpretivist stance, the research examines what enables and constrains mentors’ practice through an initial mentor survey, followed by detailed interviews. Data were thematically analysed, facilitated through an activity theory framework, employing the theory of practice architecture and concept of ecology of practices, to ascertain those factors impacting mentors’ practice. Analysis of the data reveals the importance of the context in which mentors work, and that the role of both the school and the provider is critical in creating a quality mentoring environment. The findings suggest there are four ‘capacities’ (organisational, staff, mentor, and partnership) operating within the school and provider context that influence teachers’ experiences of mentoring. School and provider capacities may enable and/or constrain mentoring practice along a continuum from strongly enabling to strongly constraining. Amalgamating the continuums, I created a four-quadrant framework illustrating how school and provider contexts interact. Each quadrant represents a mentoring ecology characterising different circumstances of mentor practice with varying levels of efficacy. The findings suggest it is both the provider and the school working in partnership that influences mentors’ experience. In particular, the role of the school is underestimated in a policy landscape currently focussed on managing and assessing the provider. This has wider ramifications for mentor driven policy areas such as the Early Career Framework and ITT Market Reform and suggests a greater need for future focus on partnership

Engaging Phronesis: religious education with primary initial teacher education students

This thesis considers the initial teacher education of non-specialist primary undergraduate student teachers in teaching Religious Education. The focus of the research is a short module taught in the second year of the students’ degree course, which prepares students to teach in predominantly multicultural classrooms in London. The module adopts an Interpretive Approach to Religious Education, which contributes to a realignment of the students’ conceptualisation of knowledge through examination of the concepts of episteme and phronesis. Findings show that overt acknowledgement of the student teachers’ developing professional understandings, situated in decisions which reference values as well as subject knowledge, can alter their understanding and confidence about teaching Religious Education and indicates wider benefit in their appreciation of their developing teacher personae. The Structure of the Research Chapter 1 is a contextual introduction which presents a series of lenses through which to view the Religious Education module. Chapter 2 is an exploration of three main ideas which influenced the research: the Interpretive Approach to RE, the concept of phronesis, and the benefits to understanding pedagogy through self-study in teacher education. Chapter 3 explains the methodological thinking behind the research, ethical considerations and the methods employed. These include practitioner research, use of ethnographic and reflexive lenses and analysis of data from both students and personal reflection through self-study. Chapter 4 reports the findings from the research carried out with students, exploring the ideas which emerge from their responses to the module and my observations and interviews which illuminate ideas which emerge from the analysis. Chapter 5 is a discussion of the content and development of the module itself, exploring the impact and development of activities which influence the students’ understanding of RE. Chapter 6 draws together the threads of the research to explore the vision of a transformative ITE RE module, which recognises the value of acknowledging and developing phronesis in primary non-specialist student teacher education and concludes with recommendations to improve the current situation in RE in primary ITE