Enhancing electronic intelligent tutoring systems by responding to affective states

The overall aim of this research is the exploration mechanisms which allow an understanding of the emotional state of students and the selection of an appropriate cognitive and affective feedback for students on the basis of students' emotional state and cognitive state in an affective learning environment. The learning environment in which this research is based is one in which students learn by watching an instructional video. The main contributions in the thesis include: - A video study was carried out to gather data in order to construct the emotional models in this research. This video study adopted a methodology in qualitative research called “Quick and Dirty Ethnography”(Hughes et al., 1995). In the video study, the emotional states, including boredom, frustration, confusion, flow, happiness, interest, were identified as being the most important to a learner in learning. The results of the video study indicates that blink frequencies can reflect the learner's emotional states and it is necessary to intervene when students are in self-learning through watching an instructional video in order to ensure that attention levels do not decrease. - A novel emotional analysis model for modeling student’s cognitive and emotional state in an affective learning system was constructed. It is an appraisal model which is on the basis of an instructional theory called Gagne’s theory (Gagne, 1965). - A novel emotion feedback model for producing appropriate feedback tactics in affective learning system was developed by Ontology and Influence Diagram ii approach. On the basis of the tutor-remediation hypothesis and the self-remediation hypothesis (Hausmann et al., 2013), two feedback tactic selection algorithms were designed and implemented. The evaluation results show: the emotion analysis model can be used to classify negative emotion and hence deduce the learner’s cognitive state; the degree of satisfaction with the feedback based on the tutor-remediation hypothesis is higher than the feedback based on self-remediation hypothesis; the results indicated a higher degree of satisfaction with the combined cognitive and emotional feedback than cognitive feedback on its own

The Lived Professional Military Education Experience of Air National Guard Officers at Air University: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology Study

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of Air National Guard officers attending professional military education at Air University. The theory guiding this research study is David Kolb’s experiential learning theory because of the emphasis placed on experiences, observations, and reflections during the education programs at Air University. The central research question was, what are the lived experiences of Air National Guard officers in the resident professional military education program at Air War College? This research study utilized a phenomenological approach as the research design and focused on Air National Guard officers attending a resident professional military education program at Air University. This study utilized semi-structured individual interviews, focus groups, and writing prompts to collect data. The analysis technique used for this research was a six-step thematic analysis process to uncover emergent themes from the interviews, focus groups, and writing prompts. The primary themes identified were: encouraged and dedicated reflection, learning through dialogue, a focus on highlighting diverse experiences, and applying learned concepts. In addition, this study identified that personal connections enhance the experience, Air War College is more than an education course, and the experience prepares senior military leaders for their next assignment. Future research should include a qualitative study focusing on professional military education programs and a quantitative study comparing and contrasting the resident programs with the correspondence programs

Adolescent voices speak out: if only they would - if only they could : a case study : the interplay between linguistic and strategic competence in classrooms where modern languages are used

This thesis focuses on groups of adolescent learners in two comprehensive schools. It explores the interplay between linguistic and strategic competence in classrooms where a foreign language is used i e. in French or Spanish lessons and in geography classes where the foreign language is also used as a medium for instruction. In Part 1, the research is positioned within a contextual, conceptual and theoretical framework, underpinned by Vygotskian socio-cognitive principles. Part 2 consists of an ethnographic-oriented.case study at two sites. The study uses methodological triangulation to co-construct the learning environments from different perspectives, based on document analysis, questionnaires, interviews, lesson observations and the microgenetic analysis of student interaction during linguistic tasks analysed at both an inter- and intramental level. The thesis is built on the metaphor of language games and identifies strategic and linguistic moves which could potentially bring about changing the rules in order to enable an alternative game to played. The thesis leads the writer to argue for a re-conceptualisation of learner strategies based on the notion of ‘strategic classrooms’ and recommends the integration of ‘alternative’ linguistic and strategic ‘moves' into everyday classroom practice if learners are to find a ‘voice’

Planning purposeful imaginative activities in creative contexts for children’s literacy

Although children in primary schools in England are required to write imaginatively in order to gain optimum marks in statutory tests, an emphasis is often placed on revising decontextualised genre features, grammar and spelling. I wondered whether there was a place for creativity and imagination within the apparent constraints of a curriculum for English that had become defined by objectives and teaching procedures imposed by national strategies to raise literacy standards. Using a definition of creativity as purposeful imaginative activity, I set out to explore how teachers could interpret the objectives imaginatively and plan meaningful contexts for literacy, even in a climate of changing curriculum emphases. My thesis reports on three cycles of reflective, collaborative action research focused on literacy planning, in order to theorise meanings in relation to my values, understanding and practice. As a result of the research, approaches to planning sequences of purposeful imaginative activities that embed literacy concepts in meaningful creative contexts are exemplified. Evidence from an analysis of literacy plans for children in classrooms across the primary phase shows that teachers use their professional imaginations to plan their provision for children to read and write imaginatively – their statutory national curriculum entitlement (DfEE, 2000). We found that children’s literacy improves when they dwell in possible worlds as, for example, curators, custodians or concerned villagers, using the powerful resource of their own, and collective, imaginations. In addition, an analysis of drawings revealed evidence of the effort and effect of children’s somatic and affective imaginations. The work is underpinned by theories of: aesthetic appreciation and representation; child-centred, holistic pedagogy; inclusive creative processes; and the imagination as a resource for creating meaning. My ideas have been challenged and developed by academics such as Pat D'Arcy on literacy, Robert Sternberg on creativity, and Ken Robinson on imagination, in particular. As a result of the research, two conceptual tools for planning were developed and tested. They are underpinned by theory and professional experience and have been used effectively in schools during and beyond the research project. Components of the creative process were identified as motivating ideas, associating ideas, generating ideas, innovating ideas and communicating ideas, and became the MAGIC planning tool. Components of the imagination's repertoire were identified as auditory, kinaesthetic, tactile, emotional and visual, and became the AKTEV imagination repertoire. These represent the living education theories that have transformed my practice, and are offered as a contribution to the field of primary English education

A case study exploring tutor perceptions on the effects of the study diamond in developing critical thinking on an Open University level 1 arts course

This case study explores the concept of teaching critical thinking through a process known as the Study Diamond. The Study Diamond is a study tool embedded in an Open University (OU) Level 1 Introductory Arts course. Entitled 'Making Sense of the Arts' and identified by the code Y160, the course introduces students to higher education, distance learning and to three distinctive arts disciplines. Using qualitative data collection methods that include an informal non-directive group interview with Y1 60 Course Authors, an e-survey of Y1 60 Tutors, and one-to-one semi-structured telephone interviews with targeted Y160 Tutors, this enquiry considers how the Study Diamond process augments tutors' pedagogy. Specifically, through the experiences of Y160 Tutors who use a blended delivery method which includes telephone tuition, it looks at the challenges tutors face teaching the concept of critical thinking on a multi-disciplinary arts course and how they facilitate and measure understanding. The study applies an interpretivist framework whereby qualitative data, together with the researcher's own experience of tutoring on the course, are aligned with an established body of literature specific to adult learning, distance tutoring and critical thinking. In particular the theoretical ideas of social constructivism and transformation learning are considered within a teaching context that is essentially directed at students from a widening participation (WP) orientation. Findings suggest the Study Diamond has transferable characteristics that are beneficial to Tutors in their teaching of critical thinking. A model for its practical application in inter-disciplinary arts courses is proposed that aims to support Tutors in guiding students, particularly those new to higher education, through the challenges of academic writing and argumentation

Adolescent voices speak out: if only they would - if only they could : a case study : the interplay between linguistic and strategic competence in classrooms where modern languages are used

This thesis focuses on groups of adolescent learners in two comprehensive schools. It explores the interplay between linguistic and strategic competence in classrooms where a foreign language is used i e. in French or Spanish lessons and in geography classes where the foreign language is also used as a medium for instruction. In Part 1, the research is positioned within a contextual, conceptual and theoretical framework, underpinned by Vygotskian socio-cognitive principles. Part 2 consists of an ethnographic-oriented.case study at two sites. The study uses methodological triangulation to co-construct the learning environments from different perspectives, based on document analysis, questionnaires, interviews, lesson observations and the microgenetic analysis of student interaction during linguistic tasks analysed at both an inter- and intramental level. The thesis is built on the metaphor of language games and identifies strategic and linguistic moves which could potentially bring about changing the rules in order to enable an alternative game to played. The thesis leads the writer to argue for a re-conceptualisation of learner strategies based on the notion of ‘strategic classrooms’ and recommends the integration of ‘alternative’ linguistic and strategic ‘moves' into everyday classroom practice if learners are to find a ‘voice’

Feedback in Higher Education: Exploring students’ appraisal, comprehension and utilisation

Whilst at University students will experience many instances of feedback on their work. Quite often such feedback is facilitated by academic lecturers in the hope that the student will utilise this and improve in their next assessment (Hester, 2001). Often feedback does not have the desired effect and is unpredictable in terms of enhancing a student’s motivation, self-confidence and subsequent effort in future assessments. The thesis reports the findings from three studies. Primarily the present thesis, inspired by phenomenography, explored student’s appraisal, comprehension and utilisation of feedback. The thesis also explored lecturer’s responses to the observed student experiences in order to offer comparative research findings. The primary data collection method utilised within the thesis was one-to-one interviews however in order to stimulate discussion prior to interview visual representations were employed. In the data collection with students (study two) a drawing activity took place prior to the interview. In the data collection with lecturers’ (study three) videos of student’s responses to feedback were shown to the lecturers. The interviews in study two were subjected to thematic data analysis and revealed 8 main themes for the students (Lecturers, Emotions, Feedback Cognitions, Efficacy Cognitions, Draft Work, Motivation, Effort and Grades) and 6 main themes for the lecturers (Efficacy Cognitions, Student Autonomy, Problems with Feedback, Effort Conceptions, Feedback Mechanisms and Understanding Students). The findings from study two with students indicated a multifaceted interpretation of the student experience. The outcome space revealed five categories of description (Broken relationship, needy, low achiever, emotionally charged and high achiever). The structure of the variation revealed a hierarchically inclusive pattern indicating how varying patterns of behaviour and emotional reactions interact to affect the students processing and subsequent utilisation of the feedback received. In study three with the lecturers, similarities in conceptions of feedback alongside mismatches between lecturers and students were very apparent. Conclusively the thesis suggests that understanding students individually through fostering lecturer and student relationships, alongside dialogic feedback, help to improve the student’s propensity to utilise the feedback received

Transfer of learning in undergraduate radiotherapy education - An Exploration of the Recontextualisation of Patient Safety Knowledge in the Curriculum

This empirical case study explores what constitutes patient safety knowledge in the therapeutic radiography (TR) curriculum and how undergraduate students transfer this type of knowledge from the classroom to the workplace. Drawing on Guile and Evans' theory of recontextualisation (2010), the theoretical framework examines how the curriculum content and pedagogic practices from an undergraduate TR programme, based in a UK higher education institution, transfer to a placement programme based in a Foundation Trust Hospital where the students undertake workplace experience. The methodology used a qualitative, interpretive paradigm. Data collection between January and April 2015 involved documentary analysis of course documents and semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students, workplace educators and faculty staff. Observation involving level five students was undertaken in the workplace. Research findings showed that knowledge was recontextualised in the operation of the radiotherapy equipment, in the implementation of infection control measures and in the identification of patients. Additionally, content recontextualisation of professional and regulatory guidance showed that the safe use of ionising radiation constituted the core knowledge of radiography practitioners. Conclusions were that patient safety was multidimensional in practice thus defying the attempt to contain this concept as a discrete entity. This research forms the first study in the field of TR showing a socio-cultural understanding of how professional statements are recontextualised in the practice of patient safety. Curriculum statements regarding skills development and proficiency constitute an informal, self-directed workplace curriculum that is driven by students’ motivation to become competent practitioners. This study contributes to the literature on patient safety in the undergraduate healthcare curriculum and highlights the omission of the systems approach in the TR curriculum. In the application of the theoretical framework of recontextualisation, recasting of practice knowledge from the workplace into the formal TR undergraduate curriculum is shown thus demonstrating the explanatory power of this conceptual lens in this radiography discipline. Keywords: patient safety, healthcare, recontextualisation, therapeutic radiography, knowledge transfer, undergraduate education, workplace learnin

Metalearning: a contribution to theory and empirical investigation of Year 4 pupils' reflections on their classroom learning

This thesis constitutes an original theoretical and empirical approach to metalearning (also known as learning about learning). Metalearning is defined as the learner making sense of their own experience of learning, with a view to improving their future learning. Making sense implies being aware of situational features (affordances and constraints) of one's context of learning, and accordingly regulating one's own cognitive, motivational, and affective attitudes towards learning in that context. The overarching aim of this sense-making through regulating these aspects is the construction of a metalearning strategy, understood as a set of attitudes and dispositions towards learning and the application of oneself to this learning. Strategies are open-ended, flexible personal constructions for personal improvement and effectiveness in particular contexts. Lack of any existing empirical studies on how metalearning manifests itself in Primary pupils' learning in their classroom makes this research the first systematised effort towards understanding how a classroom cultivates its particular version of metalearning. This research addresses this issue in two ways: firstly, through a re-conceptualisation of metalearning with added emphasis on situativity; and secondly, through an empirical, interpretative, qualitative case study focusing on whether and how the pupils of a Year 4 Primary classroom make sense of their experiences of learning and use them to improve future learning. In this empirical project, emphasis is fully placed on pupils' voice as expressed in their qualitative interviewing, and in priority over validating theoretical constructions. Central among the findings of this research is the evidence that pupils' metalearning strategies do indeed develop as a result of their interacting with their context; that they manifest as a range of qualitatively different perceptions and attitudes about what learning is, how it happens, and how it can be improved. These perceptions and attitudes form an intertemporal connection between who the learner is and how they apply themselves to learning in the classroom: reflecting on the past and present, and envisaging doing so in the future. Finally, issues of classroom language and learner agency emerge as seminal for pupils' construction of their learning self and their metalearning strategies