Responsible research and innovation in science education: insights from evaluating the impact of using digital media and arts-based methods on RRI values

The European Commission policy approach of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is gaining momentum in European research planning and development as a strategy to align scientific and technological progress with socially desirable and acceptable ends. One of the RRI agendas is science education, aiming to foster future generations' acquisition of skills and values needed to engage in society responsibly. To this end, it is argued that RRI-based science education can benefit from more interdisciplinary methods such as those based on arts and digital technologies. However, the evidence existing on the impact of science education activities using digital media and arts-based methods on RRI values remains underexplored. This article comparatively reviews previous evidence on the evaluation of these activities, from primary to higher education, to examine whether and how RRI-related learning outcomes are evaluated and how these activities impact on students' learning. Forty academic publications were selected and its content analysed according to five RRI values: creative and critical thinking, engagement, inclusiveness, gender equality and integration of ethical issues. When evaluating the impact of digital and arts-based methods in science education activities, creative and critical thinking, engagement and partly inclusiveness are the RRI values mainly addressed. In contrast, gender equality and ethics integration are neglected. Digital-based methods seem to be more focused on students' questioning and inquiry skills, whereas those using arts often examine imagination, curiosity and autonomy. Differences in the evaluation focus between studies on digital media and those on arts partly explain differences in their impact on RRI values, but also result in non-documented outcomes and undermine their potential. Further developments in interdisciplinary approaches to science education following the RRI policy agenda should reinforce the design of the activities as well as procedural aspects of the evaluation research

Pedagogy, curriculum, teaching practices and teacher education in developing countries

This rigorous literature review focused on pedagogy, curriculum, teaching practices and teacher education in developing countries. It aimed to: 1. review existing evidence on the review topic to inform programme design and policy making undertaken by the DFID, other agencies and researchers 2. identify critical evidence gaps to guide the development of future research programme

A rationale for some directions of the development of resource territories: the complex ''meso-level'' problem

The article presents an approach to the analysis and evaluation of integrated investment projects, which consist of infrastructure facilities and industrial clusters allocated to poorly developed areas rich in natural resources. This study shows the feasibility of a public-private partnership during the construction of infrastructure facilities in order to minimize the risks and maximize the benefits. The conceptual framework of the resulting approach is associated with the ideas and principles of «impact investing» («creation of shared values») and inclusive economic development. These are increasingly used worldwide, especially to accelerate the socio-economic development of backward countries and territories. The article presents an international experience and explains the relevance of best practices in Russia. The authors identified methodological problems associated with the application of traditional methods to the evaluation of economic effects of project investing under the conditions of high uncertainty. The authors explain why it is necessary to use models and methods (real options analysis and fuzzy cognitive models) that allow researchers to directly take into account the uncertainty and project risks. The novelty of the article is the methodological tools for evaluating the socio-economic efficiency of complex projects combining the development of infrastructure and minerals. The proposed approach was used to provide a rationale for a road construction project in the Berezovsky district of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. The authors showed opportunities to generate a set of institutional, organizational, and financial conditions under which the implementation of the project will be attractive to both investors and government and will bring socio-economic benefits to this territory. The proposed approach and tools can be used for a socio-economic strategic decision-making process to justify infrastructure projects in resource-rich regions.The theoretical and methodological results presented in the article were obtained during the research funded by the Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 14–18–02345)

Design thinking and innovation: synthesising concepts of knowledge co-creation in spaces of professional development

This paper explores how design thinking connects to concepts of knowledge creation and innovation. A case study of a knowledge sharing network in the social services sector is used to illustrate how design thinking supports Ba, the spaces for knowledge creation. Further exploration of the four enabling conditions for Ba resulted in delineation of two distinct types: relational and structural. Relational enablers support three groups of enabling conditions: interaction, shared values and communication. It is proposed that design thinking aligns well with relational enabling conditions for Ba to create the ideal spaces for knowledge creation. The group of structural enablers can assist or obstruct change and relate to the culture and management approaches of an organization, which may or may not be assisted by design thinking. However, to ensure that design thinking is not undermined, and innovation is achieved, the presence of an appropriate structural enabler is critical for success

Exploring a capability-demand interaction model for inclusive design evaluation

Designers are required to evaluate their designs against the needs and capabilities of their target user groups in order to achieve successful, inclusive products. This dissertation presents exploratory research into the specific problem of supporting analytical design evaluation for Inclusive Design. The analytical evaluation process involves evaluating products with user data rather than testing with actual users. The work focuses on the exploration of a capability-demand model of product interaction as the basis for analytical inclusive evaluation. This model suggests that by comparing the measured sensory, cognitive and motor capabilities of a user population to the corresponding product demands, the degree of fit between users and products can be assessed. The research problem was addressed by firstly examining theories of human function and performance together with existing sources of user capability data. It was found that user capability data was fragmented and lacking in terms of predicting design exclusion and difficulty at the population level. More fundamentally, however, it was found that the relationships between measured capability in populations with low functional capacity and real world task performance with products (such as errors, times and difficulty) were not well understood. Given that an understanding of these relationships are necessary to guide capability data collection and to drive valid and robust analytical evaluation methods, the research effort focused on exploring these relationships via empirical and analytical studies. The research process culminated in an experimental study with nineteen users of various functional capability profiles performing tasks with four consumer products (a clock radio, a mobile phone, a blender and a vacuum cleaner). Measures of user capability were related to corresponding product demands (on those capabilities) and task outcome measures. A complex picture emerged, where linear relationships did not generally account for significant variance in task outcome measures. Further, it appeared that multiple capabilities were possibly interacting in unknown ways to support real world interaction. These indicative results point to the further investigation of multivariate and non-linear models for describing capability-demand relationships, and also the replication of similar studies with larger sample sizes to confirm the relationships observed. The resulting overall recommendation, therefore, is that there is a need to direct research efforts in this critical but largely unexplored area of capability-demand model building for Inclusive Design evaluation

Problem-based learning: enhancing students learning of building information modelling

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an innovative collaborative process underpinned by digital technologies introduced to improve project performance in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. Growth in industry demands has necessitated BIM inclusion into the Higher Education (HE) curricula as both a pedagogic and practical objective to prepare and develop aspiring Built Environment (BE) professionals with the required competence for contemporary practice. However, comprehension of BIM concepts and developing the skill set required for its application can be overwhelming for students and crucial to mitigating this challenge is the adoption of appropriate learner-centred strategies. Problem-based Learning (PBL) is becoming a widespread strategy to address such concern. This paper evaluates the impact of PBL strategy on students accelerated learning of BIM based on a case study of an undergraduate BIM module. Findings from the study show PBL benefits on students’ knowledge acquisition (cognitive and affective) of BIM concept and development of transferable skills (academic and disciplinary) equipping them with capabilities to become BIM competent and workplace ready for the AEC industry

A systematic review of whole class, subject based, pedagogies with reported outcomes for the academic and social inclusion of pupils with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms

Schools across the world have responded to international and national initiatives designed to further the development of inclusive education. In England, there is a statutory requirement for all schools to provide effective learning opportunities for all pupils (QCA, 2000) and children with special educational needs (SEN) are positioned as having a right to be within mainstream classrooms accessing an appropriate curriculum (SENDA, 2001). Previous reviews which have sought to identify classroom practices that support the inclusion of children with SEN have been technically non-systematic and hence a need for a systematic review within this area has been identified (Nind et al., 2004; Rix et al., 2006). This systematic literature review is the last in a series of three

Theoretical and Factual Meaning in Assisted Instruction

Technology determines new borders for knowledge domain while education reflects more complex activities. A solution in this context is to integrate technology in the educational system, extending it as e-Education.E-Education is a dynamic system and a conceptdeveloped on three kinds of infrastructure which are likely to emerge: technological infrastructure, conceptual infrastructure of the type ofthe study programmes, and cognitive infrastructure of all participants involved in the teaching-learning activities. The purpose of this paper is to provide a meaningful framework for contextual learning, developed on the idea that a personal computer can deliver many skills to a student, but only academic environment can connect those skills to a modern community where they belong. This approach is developed on the much known principle which sustain that the educational system becomes the engine of the learning society.Scientific Research in E-Education, Assisted Instruction, E-Classroom, Didactic Knowledge, Concepts Map Approach

Virtual pedagogical model: development scenarios

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio