Collective sensemaking in virtual teams

Virtual teams (VT) have been studied since two decades because of their increasing presence in today’s organizations. To better understand how VTs work, our research tries to address this issue by analysing interpretive frameworks through which students made sense of a VT experience as part of a course taught simultaneously in two distant universities. Using the concepts of sensemaking (Weick, 1995) and sensegiving (Gioia and Chittipeddi, 1991), I ask: how does individual sensemaking contribute to constructing collective sensemaking? I used a narrative approach to study reflective narrations produced by the students and logs they posted on their team’s forum. The findings show how competitive frameworks hinder collective sensemaking; the importance of sensegiving on the development of VTs; and how perceptions of CMC limitations depend on interpretive frameworks

Teachers and teacher educators learning through inquiry: international perspectives

This text focuses on the issue of teacher knowledge and expertise and demands that teachers and teacher educators must be engaged in professional inquiry or practitioner research. Teachers are expected to lead curriculum development through inquiry. Teacher educators, based in school or in the university, are all expected to engage in professional inquiry and be able to support the inquiry-based learning of student teachers and beginning teachers. University-based teacher educators are expected to engage in practitioner research related to developing their practice in teacher education. The text brings together teacher educators from across Europe and beyond to share their studies of inquiry-based learning by teachers and teacher educators

Interactive Activities for the Worcester Art Museum

The goal of this project was to provide recommendations for interactive activities to support the Reusable Universes exhibit at the Worcester Art Museum (WAM). Through observations, archival research, interviews, and visits to other museums, we determined what qualities a successful interactive activity should have and identified four such activities. We recommended the WAM use a Rating for Interactive Activities form we developed to identify how successful these activities were to improve these activities, engage all visitors and spark their creativity

How Expert Teachers in Community Colleges Describe the Process of Becoming Master Teachers

This research study is an examination of the process of how community college instructors describe the process of becoming master teachers. Master teachers are those recognized by the Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching award of the State University of New York. The purpose of the proposed study was to identify the habits, attitudes, and behaviors of these professionals. Using a quantitative research design, a sample of 9 community college instructors were interviewed using a semi-structured format. Directed content analysis using the theoretical framework of reflective practice informed the audience The findings suggest that the instructors at community college welcome change in their teaching by seeking mentors, attending professional development events, engaging students, possessing passion, and self-regulating so that teaching excellence occurs for all students

‘This Building Is Never Complete’: studying adaptations of a library building over time

Moving beyond the concept of buildings as fixed physical objects, Patel and Tutt draw on a rich empirical study of the adaptations and refurbishments of a 50-year old library building. An innovative methodology is developed, through utilising visual data from archives, undertaking ethnographic fieldwork and curating an exhibition, to help trace the changes in the library building over time. Patel and Tutt build an ontology of the library in which different versions of the library are relationally and multiply enacted. They push for empirical visions and theoretical frameworks of research that look beyond notions of the fixity of the buildings and infrastructure, towards acknowledging their flexibility and heterogeneous nature over time; ‘building’ as always in the making

The use of education for sustainability websites for community education in Chile

An increasing recognition of the impact of human activity on the natural environment has oriented attention to the role of education for sustainability (EfS) as a means to create more ecologically literate and sustainable societies. One premise is that socio-ecological sustainability issues and challenges are immediate and locally rooted. This calls for educational interventions that promote participative action by local communities, recognizing that adults in those communities need to engage in action and change towards sustainability. In relation to this, current evidence indicates that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Internet have the potential not only to promote teaching and learning for EfS, but also to increase knowledge, and promote attitude and behaviour change of individuals and the broader community. In addition, sustainability issues are interrelated with other social dimensions with inherent complexity. Similarly, the design, implementation and use of ICT in education bring together learning and technology in complex ways. To address these types of educational contexts, both the ICT and EfS literature support a holistic and systems thinking approach. This suggests that developing a theoretical framework that informs the development of EfS websites, based on a systems thinking approach, might be an effective way to enhance ecological literacy, and action competence for socio-ecological sustainability at the community level. Within this context, this PhD research study aimed to investigate the use of Internet websites for community EfS in Chile. A theoretical model for the design and development of EfS websites aimed at the community and non-formal level was developed based on literature from EfS, systems thinking, ICT, and community education. This model was trialled in an authentic context in Chile, through the design and build of an EfS website addressing the ecological sustainability issues of a lake, and its impact on the local community and visitors. Key considerations of this model relate to a deep understanding of the local, social and cultural characteristics and needs of the target community, and associated sustainability issues; the use of culturally meaningful ICT affordances such as multimedia, Web 2.0, and social networking tools; and the inclusion of EfS pedagogical considerations and strategies for learning, such as promoting ecological literacy, critical thinking and action competence through knowledge integration and challenging beliefs. Within a naturalistic paradigm, using an interpretive methodology, and following an activity theory analytical framework, the evaluation of the use of the EfS website by 24 local participants was conducted through the following research design. Firslty participants were administered a pre-intervention questionnaire, which assessed participants’ prior knowledge related to ICT use, and to local sustainability issues. Immediately after they were invited to visit and browse the EfS website for a period ranging between 10 to 20 minutes. Following participants’ use of the EfS website, a post-intervention interview explored participants’ perceptions, understanding change, and motivations to take action. Finally, a follow-up online survey assessed participants’ change in understanding, actions, and adoption of sustainable living principles, based on revisits to the EfS website during a period of five weeks, five months after their first visit. Findings indicate that EfS websites are culturally shaped tools with the potential for facilitating transformative understanding processes, and empowering community members in engaging in action and participation towards socio-ecological sustainability at the local community level. A key aspect of the successful use of EfS websites for community education is to achieve meaningfulness and relevance through the website on local community members. Different considerations from the theoretical model appeared to have contributed in to the achievement of such relevance in the Chilean community addressed in this study. These are fully presented and explored in the coming chapters. The expected contribution of this study is to inform the literature on the effective use of ICT to enhance practice of EfS at the community level

Screening immigrant mothers for postpartum depression. Development and feasibility of an educational Intervention for nurses in the child health services.

Postpartum depression is a major public health problem, which immigrant mothers are at particular risk of being affected by. Routine screening is implemented by many countries to increase identification, but research suggests that health care professionals experience screening of immigrant mothers as challenging. The overall aim of this thesis was therefore to develop an evidence-based educational intervention for Child Health Services nurses in screening immigrant mothers for postpartum depression, and to test its feasibility. Study A and Study B were qualitative interview studies with 13 participants each, Study C was a systematic review including eight papers and Study D had a one-group pretest-posttest experimental design with 30 participants. In Study A the Child Health Services nurses’ experiences of identifying signs of postpartum depression in non-Swedish-speaking immigrant mothers showed that a transcultural caring relationship needed to be established to enable assessment of the mother’s mood. The nurses relied on their tacit knowledge when identifying signs of postpartum depression and cultural knowledge was used to filter their impressions. Perceived lack of cultural competence, when trying to get the mother to disclose her feelings and accept external support, caused frustration. The findings in Study B showed that non-native-speaking immigrant mothers felt confirmed as a person when participating in screening for postpartum depression, although the condition itself was unclear to most mothers. Cultural beliefs about mental ill health, negative expectations connected to their perceived value as a woman, shame at not being grateful enough for their new life, fear of the Child Protective Services and negative experiences of theinteraction during the screening challenged them in speaking about their mood. In Study C health care professionals' synthesized experiences of identifying signs of and screening immigrant mothers for postpartum depression showed fear of missing mothers with signs of postpartum depression, feeling uncomfortable in the cross-cultural setting and frustrated in handling difficulties associated with communication, translated versions of the screening scale and cultural implications of postpartum depression. Based on the findings in Study A, Study B and Study C, previous research and theoretical frameworks, an educational intervention for Child Health Services nurses in screening immigrant mother for postpartum depression was developed and tested for feasibility (Study D). The Child Health Services nurses were 100% satisfied with the different training sessions in the intervention and 93% of them stated that the intervention to a high degree improved their ability to meet the requirements linked to the work task. The intervention was found to be feasible but required minor adjustments to the sessions on the use of interpreters and on tacit knowledge, as well as the practical training sessions. The material requires adjustment and further evaluation. In conclusion, this thesis contributes to the development of evidence-based clinical guidelines involving interpreters and translated versions of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale which may facilitate the screening of immigrant mothers for postpartum depression

Educating learners with communication disorders: an exploration of the experiences of mainstream educators in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Aim: To explore mainstream educators’ experiences of educating learners with communication disorders in rural KwaZulu-Natal. An exploration of mainstream educator’s experiences provided insight into the current status of service delivery for learners with communication disorders in rural mainstream schools of the iLembe South Circuit District. Background: The researcher’s personal experience has revealed that learners with communication disorders are promoted based on age. Such learners are not literate when they exit the secondary education system. Inclusive policies have been developed to facilitate the process of transformation but the implementation of such policies remains a challenge. Design: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was adopted. Method: Eleven Black African mainstream educators were interviewed individually using a semi-structured interview schedule. Results and Discussion: A thematic analysis yielded three superordinate and nine subordinate themes. Positive educator experiences were related to individualizing educational practices, accessing support teams and collaborating with private and public health professionals. Negative educator experiences were related to large classes, poor quality of educator training, implementation of the National Education Policy on Promotion, non-existent and dysfunctional support teams and poor collaboration amongst professionals. A few of the educators experienced a shift in their thinking and embraced inclusive practices. It is argued that paradigm shifts are facilitated in the context of increased support and hindered when the system is flawed by many challenges. The proper implementation of South African Educational policies is emphasized, as well as collaborative teamwork for the learner with a communication disorder. The limitations of the study are highlighted

Formative Assessment for mathematics teaching and learning

This book aims at describing pathways and achievements of the LLP Comenius Project “FAMT&L – Formative Assessment in mathematics for teaching and learning”. The main purpose of this research project was to encourage the use of formative assessment in the teaching-learning process carried out by mathematics teachers in lower secondary school. Through the voices of the several actors involved in this project, the book wants to contribute to the international debate on issues regarding teachers’ professionalism in the European school systems: specifically, on the development of the professional skills of teachers in the field of assessment practices and on the use of formative assessment in the classroom