Putting theory oriented evaluation into practice

Evaluations of gaming simulations and business games as teaching devices are typically end-state driven. This emphasis fails to detect how the simulation being evaluated does or does not bring about its desired consequences. This paper advances the use of a logic model approach which possesses a holistic perspective that aims at including all elements associated with the situation created by a game. The use of the logic model approach is illustrated as applied to Simgame, a board game created for secondary school level business education in six European Union countries

What factors influence the studens' decision to become teachers in the faculty of education at Andrés Bello University?

Tesis (Profesor de Inglés para la Enseñanza Básica y Media y al grado académico de Licenciado en Educación)In the present research, a quantitative study is conducted in order to know what motivates Chilean students to enter a teaching program at Andrés Bello University. In Chile, pedagogy is a controversial topic due to the fact that for many years, the Chilean government has been trying to attract the most qualified students into teaching programs being the efforts not enough. Therefore, knowing what motivates students would help accomplishing this goal. Motivation was measured applying the FIT-Choice Scale to 143 students from four teaching programs: Elementary Education, Musical Education, Physical Education, and English Teaching. In order to analyse the data, descriptive statistics were implemented which were the mean, standard deviation, and median being crucial exponents to have a complete and reliable base to find results and draw conclusions on the topic. The results obtained in this study showed that shaping the future of children and adolescents was one of the most important factors to choose a teaching career.En la presente investigación, un estudio cuantitativo es conducido para conocer qué es lo que motiva a los estudiantes chilenos a entrar a carreras de pedagogía en la Universidad Andrés Bello. En Chile, la pedagogía es un tema controversial debido a que por muchos años el gobierno ha intentado atraer a los estudiantes mejor calificados a las carreras de educación, pero estos esfuerzos no han dado los frutos esperados. Debido a esto, el saber qué factores motivan a los estudiantes podría ayudar a cumplir ésta meta. Se midió la motivación aplicando el “FIT-Choice Scale” a 143 estudiantes de 4 carreras de pedagogía: Educación Básica, Educación Musical, Educación Física y Pedagogía en Inglés. Con el fin de analizar los datos, se implementaron estadísticas descriptivas, la media, la desviación estándar y la mediana, siendo estos exponentes cruciales para tener una base completa y confiable para así arrojar conclusiones acerca del tema. Los resultados obtenidos en este estudio evidenciaron que Formando el Futuro de Niños y Adolescentes fue uno de los factores más importantes al escoger una carrera relacionada con la pedagogía

Sustainable Work Over the Life Course: Concept Paper

Ageing of the population is likely to threaten the ability of states to finance welfare states and social protection systems in the future. A viable solution is to increase employment rates and to lengthen working life. To achieve this dual goal requires devising new solutions for working conditions and career paths that help workers to retain their physical and mental health, motivation and productivity over an extended working life. In other words, work must be made sustainable over the life course. Identifying and analysing the factors and actions underpinning sustainable work throughout working life is a research priority for Eurofound in the 2013–2016 programming period. This paper sets out to clarify and illuminate Eurofound’s framework for understanding the rather expansive concept of sustainable work. It can be used as reference point for a range of Eurofound research projects that exami ne different aspects of sustainable work

BRINGING GAME ELEMENTS TO THE CLASSROOM: THE ROLE OF CHALLENGE AND TECHNOLOGY

This paper illustrates a teaching methodology which implements some motivational mechanics of games to help overcome the widespread lack of interest of students and make learning engaging. A learning cycle that promotes three main transformative dimensions within the overall learning process is detailed: from deductive to inductive teaching; from transmissive to constructivist teaching; from summative to formative assessment. Some concrete examples of learning activities are provided. Finally, the implications of the methodology resulting from a quasi-experimental study conducted in a high school are discussed. The study compared two classes, experimental and control, in relation to the following variables: self-determination towards studying, basic psychological needs, and support for autonomy. The results show that there are significant differences in the analyzed variables, suggesting that the proposed methodology could be effective in determining positive changes in motivational dynamics

Segmenting Publics

This research synthesis was commissioned by the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to examine audience segmentation methods and tools in the area of public engagement. It provides resources for assessing the ways in which segmentation tools might be used to enhance the various activities through which models of public engagement in higher education are implemented. Understanding the opinions, values, and motivations of members of the public is a crucial feature of successful engagement. Segmentation methods can offer potential resources to help understand the complex set of interests and attitudes that the public have towards higher education. Key findings: There exist a number of existing segmentations which address many of the areas of activity found in Universities and HEIs. These include segmentations which inform strategic planning of communications; segmentations which inform the design of collaborative engagement activities by museums, galleries, and libraries; and segmentations that are used to identify under-represented users and consumers. Segmentation is, on its own, only a tool, used in different ways in different contexts. The broader strategic rationale shaping the application and design of segmentation methods is a crucial factor in determining the utility of segmentation tools. Four issues emerged of particular importance: 1. Segmentation exercises are costly and technically complex. Undertaking segmentations therefore requires significant commitment of financial and professional resources by HEIs; the appropriate interpretation, analysis, and application of segmentation exercises also require high levels of professional capacity and expertise 2. Undertaking a segmentation exercise has implications for the internal organisational operations of HEIs, not only for how they engage with external publics and stakeholders 3. Segmentation tools are adopted to inform interventions of various sorts, and superficially to differentiate and sometime discriminate between how groups of people are addressed and engaged. 4. For HEIs, the ethical issues and reputational risks which have been identified in this Research Synthesis as endemic to the application of segmentation methods for public purposes are particularly relevant

The Effect of an Integrated Library Computer System on Job Characteristics in Public Libraries

This study investigated the effects of computerization with an integrated library system (ILS) on job characteristics in public libraries. Two different but complementary research design components were used. One component consisted of a case study of the Norfolk (Virginia) Public Library, where an ILS was implemented between 1988 and 1995. The case study relied on data from interviews, archival sources, and questionnaires. The other component was a mail survey of public library workers across Virginia. Case study interview data was analyzed by coding. Time series analysis was used to examine trends in budget and staffing. Pattern matching logic was used to identify a casual perspective. A chronological account of the ILS implementation project was developed from documentary and interview data. Questionnaire data was used to explore similarities and differences between the case study and the mail survey. Library jobs were found to be affected by computerization with and ILS. An emergent casual perspective was identified as the best explanatory approach to the data. Computerization interacted with concurrent downsizing of staff. The evidence supports a finding that the cost of computerizing resulted in staff reductions. Mail survey data was analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Five of 12 null hypotheses were rejected. Principal components analysis identified two separate components of an ILS: public service computing and backroom computing. The multiple regression analyses indicated that different types of job characteristics, as identified by the multidisciplinary job characteristics theory, were affected by different features of computerization. The most marked effect was that larger proportions of work time spent on the ILS were associated with more mechanistic job characteristics; this effect was moderated by job level. Perceptual/motor job characteristics were reduced by the presence of public service computing; this effect was moderated by professional status. Effects on motivational job characteristics were statistically significant but were so small that they lack practical significance

How to design for persistence and retention in MOOCs?

Design of educational interventions is typically carried out following a design cycle involving phases of investigation, conceptualization, prototyping, implementation, execution and evaluation. This cycle can be applied at different levels of granularity e.g. learning activity, module, course or programme. In this paper we consider an aspect of learner behavior that can be critical to the success of many MOOCs i.e. their persistence to study, and the related theme of learner retention. We reflect on the impact that consideration of these can have on design decisions at different stages in the design cycle with the aim of en-hancing MOOC design in relation to learner persistence and retention, with particular attention to the European context

What Motivates Crowdsourcing Contributors? A Cross-Platform Comparative Analysis

The crowdsourcing business model has gained increasing popularity over the last years. When requesters (companies, institutions or individuals) crowdsource tasks, they place them on a platform where contributors can view and complete them. This study assesses what factors motivate contributors to complete crowdsourcing tasks and whether and to what degree these factors differ across crowdsourcing platforms. This study compares the results of quantitative surveys of contributors on two crowdsourcing platforms: RapidWorkers and Amazon Mechanical Turk. The results show that contributors on both platforms are motivated by payment and by indirect feedback from the job. However, contributors on RapidWorkers are also motivated by enjoyment-based factors, whereas contributors at Mechanical Turk are also motivated by community-based factors and delayed payoffs. Thus, the contributors at RapidWorkers tend to be more extrinsically motivated, while the contributors at Mechanical Turk tend to be more intrinsically motivated