Exploring a Culture of Learning with Technology: An Ethnographic Content Analysis of the Activity of Learning with Educational iPad Apps

This study explored the culture of learning with educational iPad apps using activity theory as a guiding framework. First, the top nine educational apps were tracked in the Top Charts section of Apple’s App Store for a duration of four months. The nine sampled apps, selected based on their frequency of appearance, included Toca Hair Salon 2, Stack the States, Endless Alphabet, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Wildlife Count Along, Wild Kratts Creature Power World Adventure, Wallykazam! Letter and Word Magic, Starfall Learn to Read, Dr. Panda’s Restaurant 2, and Bug Art. The descriptions, version updates, app content, and customer reviews for each app were digitized, coded, and analyzed in Dedoose using the Activity Checklist. Additionally instructional analysis diagrams were developed to provide insight into the user interface and actions. Results of the study were presented in the form of nine portraits. The overview and relevant instructional characteristics were detailed for each app. The final chapter examined the broader implications of the app experience. The technology, the instruction, the adult guide, and the App Store were identified as mediating factors that contributed to the dynamic app culture

An analysis of the teaching of introductory statistics at university in 'context'

In this research study I explore the teaching of introductory inferential statistics to non- statistics undergraduates. My main aim in this work is a characterisation of teaching practice in the context of two introductory statistics university modules, one aimed at Psychology students and another at Engineering students from the perspective of the lecturers.In the pilot study, I investigated lecturers’ beliefs about intended statistics curricula at university. The study used repertory grid interviews with twenty statistical methods lecturers. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis revealed that lecturers conceptualised the intended curricula around three themes: (1) teaching of statistics with “context”, (2) teaching the statistical process components, and (3) student learning.The main study focused on the teaching of statistics on two introductory modules. Ob- servational and interview data was interpreted at the macro and micro levels of analysis using sociocultural theory as a theoretical lens and applying a grounded analytical approach. In- troductory statistics modules are taught in a range of disciplines, including Psychology and Engineering. Previous research shows that some students find statistics very difficult and challenging. The two lecturers, although approached the teaching of statistics very differ- ently, had a deep concern for their students’ learning. The first lecturer, a Psychologist, approached the teaching of statistics in a ‘philosophical’ way meaning that the explanations were non-mathematical and there was a sequence of cases or “contexts” which the lecturer taught in different ways throughout the module. The second lecturer, a Mathematician, taught a ‘typical’ statistics module consisting of the mathematical underpinnings of statistical models through a sequence of statistical theory and calculations.Through this research, I provided representations into the lecturers’ beliefs, intentions and strategies in relation to their teaching. The application of the sociocultural lens with a grounded analytical approach enabled me to conceptualise the lecturers’ teaching actions and present a model of teaching statistics in context.</div

An activity theory analysis of social epistemologies within tertiary-level eLearning environments

In recent years, eLearning or the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in tertiary-level educational environments has experienced phenomenal growth. There is an extensive body of research that has established the pedagogic value of eLearning. The literature has identified key factors that can afford or constrain participation in learning activities supported by ICT. However, amidst much discussion of the benefits of eLearning, concern has been voiced about the apparent failure of eLearning to transform teaching and learning environments. In response to these concerns, this study intends to examine one aspect of eLearning – the use of learning activities underpinned by social epistemologies and mediated by asynchronous web-based technologies in three blended papers (a combination of face-to-face and ICT-supported modes of delivery) in higher education in New Zealand. More specifically, due to the significant numbers of English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners enrolled in New Zealand tertiary institutions, the study seeks to gain a rich and in-depth understanding of the nature of teacher and EAL learner participation in three mainstream (not English language learning) papers within the disciplines of nursing, management, and applied linguistics. By positioning the study within an activity theory perspective and thereby highlighting mediated activity, this inquiry intends to use an expansive conception of participation that takes account of social, cultural, and historical factors in the local and broader context. To investigate the nature of participation within three eLearning contexts, the research design has been shaped by a qualitative orientation. The study has used a case study approach, an exploratory research question, and inductive procedures, and has drawn from ethnographic and phenomenological research methods to allow the nature of participation to emerge through the experiences of teachers and students. Data have been systematically gathered over a five month period by way of semi-structured interviews, accounts, and observations of face-to-face and online activity. Using activity theory as an interpretative tool and drawing from techniques of grounded theory, the collected data have been analysed, coded, and categorised, and the findings emerging from this process have been grounded in the data. The findings show the complexity of eLearning environments and emphasise the crucial role that social and historical factors play in shaping participation. The study has shed light on the ways in which students and teachers make sense of the learning activity by exploring the intersection of previous beliefs and understandings with emergent practice, indicating that sometimes the classroom community constructs meaning in differing and conflicting ways. In addition, this inquiry has brought a critical perspective to bear on the use of interactive learning activities, suggesting that the enactment of social epistemologies is both complex and problematic. This has been particularly evident in relation to the credibility of students to act as resources for each other and the pervasiveness of expedient and instrumentalist approaches to participation. Finally, this inquiry adds to the growing body of work that has used activity theory in educational research, finding activity theory well positioned to meet the need for more expansive conceptions of participation in eLearning

Defining community art : theoretical and practical reconstruction

This research investigates the area of practice commonly known as community art, defined to be where a gathering of people participates in facilitated collaborative art making aimed to be increasing their autonomy in generating artistic and social satisfaction and enrichment. This definition is a result of integrating existing research, literature, interviews with practitioners and analyses of their work. It is an interdisciplinary research conducted through a grounded methodology where data from practitioners and literature mutually inform to yield insights into a seemingly unstructured practice. Seven interviewees were chosen to represent a coherent and recognized body of practice. They are practicing visual and performing artists who specialize in facilitating people of communities in collaborative art process. Each having over 15 years of experience in committed engagement with communities, they are also trainers, educators and professionals in various tertiary, cultural and public institutions. They are either based or are/were committed to the development of community art in Hong Kong, and are all experienced overseas1. Their mix of art disciplines and effectiveness across countries indicate a fundamental connection in their view of art and people that is beyond artistic media and cultural context. Thus, a Hong Kong perspective is provided that may contribute to other metropolitan settings in Asia and worldwide. Guided by the data, this research sought theoretical support for the community artists’ operational concepts of art, people, community and participation. The literature drawn include the ethology of art (Dissanayake, Davies), the nature of the experience of art (Dewey), theories of education (Freire, Dewey), theories of community and individuals (Putnam, McKnight & Block), psychological theories on experience and motivation (Csikszentmihalyi, Ryan & Deci), and theories of social psychology on identity and social belonging (Baumeister & Leary, Aron & McLaughlin-Volpe). This interdisciplinary perspective builds a framework that explains how the artistic and social dimensions in community art, instead of being in compromise, can be synergetic. Of special interest are the untapped aspects of Freire and Dewey’s theories often overlooked by scholars of artistic engagement with communities. Requiring expertise beyond a single scholar, this research proposes only one effective integration of the above disciplines. This research conceptualizes the development of community art to be an interplay of artistic movements, to progressively seek social relevance from object, place, then to people, and at the same time to return art into the hands of the people. It is a practice distinct but in relation to the overlapping categories of the socially engaged arts, dialogical art, community cultural development, community-based art education and public art (Bishop, Cartiere, Goldbard, Kester, Thompson). The shifting definitions have nurtured a blossoming of artist engagement in the society, but has also resulted in miscommunication of what exactly academics, artists and institutions are planning, funding, doing, evaluating and researching. In contrast to an embracive attitude that has unfortunately led to confusion, this research proposes certain defining characteristics for community art, with implications that seek to further the discourse of artistic engagement with communities

DeReFrame: a design-research framework to study game mechanics and game aesthetics in an engineering design process

The main aim of this research is to study gaming techniques and elements that may potentially be beneficial to the future development of CAD systems for engineering design, in particular to maintain cognitive engagement. A design-research framework, called DeReFrame, was employed to construct an experimental game-based CAD framework exploring this. This research is based on reviews from the literature and experimental studies and include quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods measuring engineers’ performance and emotional responses. The thesis presents the construction process of the framework (DeReframe) to study a set of game mechanics and game aesthetics in an engineering design process and compare this with the traditional CAD. The framework was used to design and implement a game-based CAD system, called ICAD which was embedded with the following game mechanics of Directional Goals, Progression, Performance-Feedback and Rewards-Achievement. The DeReFrame and ICAD evolved through the experimental studies. In each case, selected game mechanics were at the core of each interaction and iteration which gave rise to feelings of progress, competence and mastery. The final results from the DeReFrame framework and ICAD indicated that gamified approaches should be included in engineering design with CAD: in particular the game mechanics of performance feedback and rewards-achievements influence engineers’ behaviour by supporting them within the problem-solving process creating an engaging-challenging interaction. In conclusion, this research has shown that a framework, that includes both engineering requirements and gamified aspects into consideration, cam serve as a basis for implementing game-based CAD to facilitate performance by providing engaging experiences for engineers

Constructing Meanings by Designing Worlds: Digital Games as Participatory Platforms for Interest-Driven Learning and Creativity

This study emerges from the observation of an increasing divide between generations: a lack of a shared ground that carries profound social, cultural, and educational implications. In particular, the broadening differences between academic and “grassroots” approaches to learning and creativity are transforming formal and informal enterprises into seemingly incommunicable realms. This clash between different (and distant) practices, inside and outside of school, is inhibiting the construction of a common language between teachers and students, and, more broadly, between generations, thus hindering the development of any educational discourse. In this study I inquired into an online participatory space in order to advance our understanding on how its participants, driven by their interest for gaming and game design, discursively constructed learning and creativity. In particular, I looked into a community dedicated to designing, sharing, and critiquing digital game levels (i.e. “mini-games”) created with LittleBigPlanet (a digital game and creative tool for the PlayStation 3 game console) and discussed in the “Forum” section of the LittleBigPlanet Central website (www.lbpcentral.com). In this qualitative study I applied a hybrid intertextual methodology based on discourse analysis, studio critique, and design process analysis to analyze discursive texts (threads/posts in the discussion forum), interactive artifacts (user-generated game levels), and constructive practices (deigning, sharing, and critiquing game levels). The findings of this study show that participants socially construct and negotiate learning and creativity by enacting specific discursive functions that entail the use of humor and specialist language and the negotiation of effort and self-appreciation. By engaging in multimodal and intertextual practices in an attentive and competent community, users create a safe social space that fosters reciprocal trust, togetherness, participation, planning, and reflectivity. By furthering our understanding of a situated interest world, this research advances our knowledge on informal participatory spaces in which learning and creativity emerge as intertwined phenomena that develop through social-constructive endeavors that spur from people’s interests and passions

Watch and Learn

Since the late 1990s, there has been a marked increase in academic interest in what are sometimes called 'utility films', intended for purposes of information, training, teaching or advertising. Although such research was long overdue, the current academic output tends to be restricted in scope, paying little attention to the films' textual features: the means they deploy in defending their informational, educational or commercial arguments. In the absence of such studies, the image survives of very 'formulaic' genres. This book seeks to modify this picture, and suggests a methodology that helps to foreground the films' rhetorical diversity. Taking her departure from a historic collection of Dutch classroom films, Masson proposes an approach that considers an audio-visual text as part of a so-called dispositif: the set-up of technology, text and viewing situation that is relevant to the specific corpus under scrutiny.Sinds de late jaren negentig is er een toenemende academische belangstelling voor zogenoemde 'gebruiksfilms': films die bedoeld zijn om te informeren, te trainen of onderwijzen, of te overtuigen van het nut van een service of product. Onderzoek richtte zich tot nu toe vooral op de productie- of distributiegeschiedenis van dergelijke films, of hun pedagogische effectiviteit. Minder aandacht is er voor hun tekstuele dimensie: de middelen die ze inzetten ter onderbouwing van hun informatieve, educatieve of commerciële argument. Intussen hebben gebruiksfilms echter nog steeds het imago van erg 'formulaire' genres. Eef Masson nuanceert dit beeld in haar boek, en stelt een methodologie voor die de aandacht vestigt op de retorische diversiteit van deze films

An exploration of mathematics teacher educators’ understanding and practices of formative assessment: a case of three colleges in Ghana.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Teacher educators play a significant role in the preparation of pre-service teachers to become assessment-literate and able to practice after their training. In this respect, an exploration of teacher educators' understanding, and practices of formative assessment (FA) will provide an insight into the kind of assessment practices that their students are exposed to. There is a lack of evidence on teacher educators’ understanding of FA and its implementation in mathematics modules, especially in the Ghanaian context. This thesis therefore uses a qualitative approach underpinned by an interpretivist research paradigm to explore mathematics teacher educators’ (MTEs) understanding and practices of FA within a system of activity in mathematics modules. The objectives that guided this study were: to explore MTEs’ understanding and practices of FA in mathematics; determining how MTEs implement FA in mathematics modules; and finally, exploring why MTEs adopt FA techniques in their instruction. The qualitative, interpretive study was framed using activity theory and was located at three teacher colleges in the Central Region of Ghana. To triangulate the data, multiple types of data were generated from six MTEs after they signed a consent form to participate in the study. Data were generated through the administration of semistructured interviews, lesson observations and perusal of textual materials. Thematic coding and interpretive strategies were employed to analyse the data generated. The analysis and the subsequent findings were established based mainly on participants’ responses from the transcribed semi-structured interviews, lesson observation transcripts and document analysis. The findings of this study revealed that MTEs understand FA as an ongoing activity that forms an integral part of teachers' pedagogical practices and occurs before, during and after teaching and learning. Significantly, they also recounted that the main role of FA is to gain evidence about students to enhance the instruction and learning process. The study also demonstrated that teacher educators were able to implement some FA techniques with success, while other techniques were implemented in a disjointed manner. Questioning was found to be the principal technique that teacher educators employ in gathering information about students’ learning and for checking their instructional methodology. The findings of the study further established that the ultimate reason which informs teacher educators' decision to adopt FA strategies is their wish to amend and enhance students’ mathematics performance, and to forestall it from further deteriorating. However, while teacher educators adopt FA techniques in their teaching, lack of material resources and college assessment policy seem to be a roadblock to the efficient implementation of FA in mathematics. Knowledge of these inhibiting factors is useful to college management and heads of mathematics departments in order to address MTEs’ challenges in FA and to minimise these barriers for effective implementation of FA techniques in the mathematics modules

Empowering adolescents: A multiple case study of U.S. Montessori high schools

The standards-based, teach-and-test methods that have come to proliferate secondary education since the inception of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) fail to adequately prepare students for higher education and employment. This system lacks opportunities for developing 21st century skills such as higher-level thinking, problem solving, and group dynamics, as well as opportunities for fostering spiritual growth and personal development. This problem impacts graduates of U.S. high schools because they are unprepared for higher education and the 21st century workplace. Using qualitative multiple case study methodology, this study examined five U.S. Montessori high schools through the lens of cultural-historical activity theory. Interview and blog-based focus group responses and document data were coded line-by-line using predetermined categories and codes as well as open coding. The coded data were analyzed by individual case and then collectively. Findings revealed that education in these settings addressed all areas of development and fostered 21st century skills. Some characteristics that typify Montessori education at lower levels, such as multi-age classes and the prepared environment, played less significant or different roles in the high school programs. Characteristics that were prominent across the cases included use of place-based, experiential learning; building of caring, family-like staff/student relationships; and emphasis on social development. Implications for social change within the Montessori community include informing practice at existing schools and development of teacher education programs. In the broader education community, the consistency in program emphasis, despite diverse school circumstances, suggests a Montessori approach may facilitate social change by inspiring a fresh approach to school reform in high schools