JuxtaLearn D3.2 Performance Framework

This deliverable, D3.2, for Work Package 3 incorporating the pedagogy from WP2 and orchestration factors mapped in D3.1 reviews aspects of performance in the context of participative video making. It reviews literature on curiosity and engagement characteristics of interaction mechanisms for public displays and anticipates requirements for social network analysis of relevant public videos from WP6 task 6.3. Thus, to support JuxtaLearn performance it proposes a reflective performance framework that encompasses the material environment and objects required, the participants, and the knowledge needed

Procedural embodiment and magic in linear equations

How do students think about algebra? Here we consider a theoretical framework which builds from natural human functioning in terms of embodiment – perceiving the world, acting on it and reflecting on the effect of the actions – to shift to the use of symbolism to solve linear equations. In the main, the students involved in this study do not encapsulate algebraic expressions from process to object, they do not solve ‘evaluation equations’ such as by ‘undoing’ the operations on the left, they do not find such equations easier to solve than , and they do not use general principles of ‘do the same thing to both sides.’ Instead they build their own ways of working based on the embodied actions they perform on the symbols, mentally picking them up and moving them around, with the added ‘magic’ of rules such as ‘change sides, change signs.’ We consider the need for a theoretical framework that includes both embodiment and process-object encapsulation of symbolism and the need for communication of theoretical insights to address the practical problems of teachers and students

Replacing the ‘View from Nowhere’: A Pragmatist-Feminist Science Classroom.

ABSTRACT Despite the importance of having an appropriate, coherent, and defensible philosophy of science, many science teachers have either given this part of their profession little thought or adhere to problematic and outdated philosophies. This article begins by tracing a brief history of the view from nowhere and its adoption by many teachers as the epistemological framework for teaching science. This conception of objectivity and its corresponding philosophy of science are shown to be problematically masculinist, disembodied, and aperspectival. Within this discussion, a new notion of pragmatist-feminist objectivity, as the socially conscious intersection of multiple and diverse perspectives in regard to the lived world, is developed. Finally, suggestions are offered on how this type of objectivity and larger understanding of science could be used in both the pedagogy and curriculum of the science classroom

The Collective Building of Knowledge in Collaborative Learning Environments

The intention of this chapter is to investigate how collaborative learning environments (CLEs) can be used to elicit the collective building of knowledge. This work discusses CLEs as lively cognitive systems and looks at some strategies that might contribute to the improvement of significant pedagogical practices. The study is supported by rhizome principles, whose characteristics allow us to understand the process of selecting and connecting what is relevant and meaningful for the collective building of knowledge. A brief theoretical and conceptual approach is presented and major contributions and difficulties about collaborative learning environments are discussed. New questions and future trends about the collective building of knowledge are suggested

Panning for gold: designing pedagogically-inspired learning nuggets

Tools to support teachers and learning technologists in the creation of effective learning designs are currently in their infancy. This paper describes a metadata model, devised to assist in the conception and design of new learning activities, that has been developed, used and evaluated over a period of three years. The online tool that embodies this model was not originally intended to produce runtime executable code such as IMS-LD, but rather focussed on assisting teachers in the thought processes involved in selecting appropriate methods, tools, student activities and assessments to suit the required learning objectives. Subsequently, we have modified the RELOAD editor such that the output from our tool can be translated into IMS-LD. The contribution of this paper is the comparison of our data model with that of IMS-LD, and the analysis of how each can inform the other

Teaching English for Young Learners

Language as a means of communication plays very important role in social relationship among human beings. The English language is the first foreign language we teach to children at very early stages of schooling. The primary aim of teaching English in the early years of schooling is to motivate young learners to be ready and have self-confident in learning English at higher levels of education. Some children are born to parents who are polyglots, so they have to acquire two or three different languages. Some others learn second or third language because they have to immigrate to a new country. Others learn English as foreign language because English is not their native language in their country. Teaching English to young learners then can be beneficial or detrimental to learners. It will be beneficial if the teachers can facilitate learning and enable learners to bring to language learning their curiosity and eagerness to make sense of the world, as a result, the teachers may help the learners are able to overcome their problem even the most demanding tasks with enthusiasm and willingness

The use value of real-world projects: Children and community-based experts connecting through school work

In this paper we discuss how the products of student work during long-term, interdisciplinary curricular units at King Middle School, a grades 6-8 public school in Portland, Maine, through their aesthetic qualities, transformed people’s understanding of what children were capable of. We argue that, to effectively understand student work of this type, ‘cognitive’ and ‘practical’ criteria for evaluation – i.e., as a supposed indicator of what students need to know and be able to do – fail to convey the actual, substantive value of the work, rendering it relatively static and meaningless like much conventional schoolwork. Instead, we argue that aesthetic criteria can help to adequately understand and assess community-based, project work. Moreover, focusing only on student learning throughout the production process occludes the importance of collaboration, communication, and dialogue with an audience: in this case, community experts whose goals and interests must be accommodated as students do their work. The aim of the article is twofold: 1) to present a coherent picture of student project work that adequately captures its complexity both in the process of its production, and in its use-value upon completion; and 2) to argue for the importance of aesthetic criteria in planning and assessing student projects