Developing a model of conflict in virtual learning communities in the context of a democratic pedagogy

In this paper, we argue that in order to get a fuller understanding of the complexity of conflict in democratic pedagogies in online and blended learning settings, it is important to know not only how to manage or resolve it, but also how it is triggered and can be avoided. The emancipatory nature of democratic pedagogies fosters differences, and differences provide the basis for the emergence of conflict among learning community members. Much has been written on certain aspects of conflict, such as conflict management or effects of conflict; however, these studies are frequently disparate and fragmented. Conflict has a cyclical dynamic and the main purpose of this study has been to experimentally build an analytical model of this cyclical dynamic of conflict, drawing on both literature and research data.We believe that such a model might empower practitioners and designers of democratic pedagogies to embrace and work with the differences that lead to conflict, as a way to support collaborative learning and action. The model of conflict which emerged at the end of the study is supported by illustrative qualitative evidence and constituted in a diagrammatic depiction of analytic themes that illustrate the connections between these themes, and the values ascribed to them. The outcomes of this study have implications for developing learning strategies for distance and blended learnin

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

Innovating Pedagogy 2017: Exploring new forms of teaching, learning and assessment, to guide educators and policy makers. Open University Innovation Report 6

This series of reports explores new forms of teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This sixth report proposes ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education. To produce it, a group of academics at the Institute of Educational Technology in The Open University collaborated with researchers from the Learning In a NetworKed Society (LINKS) Israeli Center of Research Excellence (I-CORE). Themes: • Big-data inquiry: thinking with data • Learners making science • Navigating post-truth societies • Immersive learning • Learning with internal values • Student-led analytics • Intergroup empathy • Humanistic knowledge-building communities • Open Textbooks • Spaced Learnin

Identity, citizenship, and moral constructs from the virtual self

Many young people now access digital networks that include individuals very unlike them who promote different cultural, religious and ethical value systems and behaviour. Such value systems can create conflicts of expectation for young people seeking to resolve their relationship to a national citizenship in a pluralistic society, especially if they are experiencing adolescent uncertainties or a growing awareness of social inequalities. The emergence of trans-national political structures and their differing value systems, together with the rise of international tensions, have increased uncertainty about the nature of identity and entitlement to a national citizenship. This paper describes the ongoing Citizens project study of identity development in young people, using real-world scenarios to discover the values that underpin their engagement with this wider range of religious and cultural value systems and to explore personal identity, political issues and citizenship

Integrando aprendizaje-servicio y tecnologías digitales: análisis de sus desafíos y promesas

Our intent is to frame the integration of service learning and digital technologies broadly in teaching and learning and to explore some of the complexities of the challenge and the promise, thereby setting up readers’ engagement with the questions and issues that follow in the papers of RIED.  We seek to provide perspectives that may contribute to subsequent implementation of pedagogical innovations and research that will improve practice and, in consequence, outcomes for all.  We begin by offering an overview of the what’s and why’s of service learning.  We then examine some of the how’s of service learning in the context of its integration with digital technologies.  Finally, we explore several issues that may shape new developments at the interface of these two pedagogical innovation.En este artículo pretendemos enmarcar la incorporación del aprendizaje-servicio y las tecnologías digitales en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje, a la vez que analizar la complejidad de algunos de sus desafíos y promesas. De esta forma, se compromete a los lectores con las preguntas y los problemas que se abordan en los artículos que componen este monográfico de RIED. Buscamos proporcionar perspectivas que puedan contribuir a la implementación de innovaciones e investigaciones pedagógicas que mejorarán la práctica y, en consecuencia, los resultados de aprendizaje. Comenzamos brindando una descripción general de lo qué es y el porqué del aprendizaje-servicio, para examinar, en una segunda parte, el cómo del aprendizaje-servicio en escenarios digitales. Finalmente, exploramos varios temas que pueden dar forma a nuevos desarrollos en el contexto de estas dos innovaciones pedagógicas

Taking great pains: critical theory, affective pedagogies and radical democracy

The consolidation of neoliberal capitalism over the past decade has been intense, as has the articulation of critical and creative responses to it. One of the most remarkable is the turn towards forms of political resistance that seek liberation from the logics of state and capital while – or through – simultaneously creating alternative, radically democratic modes of existence. Many of these draw on anarchistic and autonomist traditions of critical theory which assert the possibility of prefiguring alternative political projects as well as critiquing existing ones, thus appearing to transcend what Herbert Marcuse described as a ‘vicious circle’ of liberation (1964, 1967). We have thus seen a proliferation of work on problems of prefigurative politics, autonomy, co-operation and self-valorisation; significantly, there is renewed attention to pedagogy in critical theory and as a political practice. However, there is still little attention to the affective and social labour that this type of prefigurative theory and practice requires, or to the systemic critique of the conditions of possibility for it to constitute a challenge to neoliberalism. My concern is that these lacunae can lead to misinterpretations of the meaning of radical democracy and of its possibilities and limitations as a challenge to the logics of neoliberal capitalism and other forms of dehumanising power. In this paper, I draw on work with British-based cultural workers who are active in radical-democratic projects to illustrate how bringing practical work into conversation with critical theories of political subjectivity, on the one hand, and theories of affective pedagogy and politics, on the other, can contribute to strengthening both theories and practices of radical democracy

Reaching out with rugby role models to inspire literacy in young children: Informing hybrid pedagogy

Children are exposed to influential role models, such as parents, peers, teachers, fictional characters and humans in virtual and physical environments. Utilising role modelling as a teaching approach or rich teaching resource not only appeals to the social learning preference of a young child but also supports teachers in reaching out to virtual and physical communities to enrich literacy learning experiences. The perspective of role models to promote acceptable social and academic behaviour in young children has progressively introduced scholarly views on the achievability and importance thereof in education and its applicability as a hybrid pedagogy. With rapid technological advancements and increased access to the Internet, an integrated platform is provided which teachers can benefit from when incorporating role models to help cultivate responsible social and academic behaviour. In this study, we implemented a literacy programme – the Reading, Rugby and Responsibility project – as a community project to improve our understanding of how rugby students, as role models, can intentionally inculcate responsible social and reading behaviour in Grade 3 children. We aligned the outcomes of the project with the Community of Inquiry framework to hypothesise the value and feasibility of using role models as a hybrid pedagogy and resource in early childhood education. We utilised a qualitative case study design and purposefully selected five rugby students to interact with 35 Grade 3 children at an inner-city primary school in Pretoria. The data generated from informal discussions with the rugby students and reflections of their experiences, as well as the children’s narrative accounts and drawings, were thematically analysed. The findings revealed that children yearn to engage with role models and be part of a community. Further investigation on how the Community of Inquiry framework can inform and utilise role modelling as a hybrid pedagogy and resource is beckoned and recommended

In response to 'Celebrate citation: flipping the pedagogy of plagiarism in Qatar'

In her article (http://uobrep.openrepository.com/uobrep/handle/10547/335947) Molly McHarg makes several points that I agree with, particularly that for the majority of students the plagiarism is not deliberate but is due to a lack of understanding of how to reference correctly

Distributed Leadership: A Review of Literature

A review of empirical research studies of distributed leadership from public and private sector settings completed since 1995