204 research outputs found
Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum
The field of specialization known as the science of learning is not, in fact, one field. Science of learning is a term that serves as an umbrella for many lines of research, theory, and application. A term with an even wider reach is Learning Sciences (Sawyer, 2006). The present book represents a sliver, albeit a substantial one, of the scholarship on the science of learning and its application in educational settings (Science of Instruction, Mayer 2011). Although much, but not all, of what is presented in this book is focused on learning in college and university settings, teachers of all academic levels may find the recommendations made by chapter authors of service. The overarching theme of this book is on the interplay between the science of learning, the science of instruction, and the science of assessment (Mayer, 2011). The science of learning is a systematic and empirical approach to understanding how people learn. More formally, Mayer (2011) defined the science of learning as the âscientific study of how people learnâ (p. 3). The science of instruction (Mayer 2011), informed in part by the science of learning, is also on display throughout the book. Mayer defined the science of instruction as the âscientific study of how to help people learnâ (p. 3). Finally, the assessment of student learning (e.g., learning, remembering, transferring knowledge) during and after instruction helps us determine the effectiveness of our instructional methods. Mayer defined the science of assessment as the âscientific study of how to determine what people knowâ (p.3). Most of the research and applications presented in this book are completed within a science of learning framework. Researchers first conducted research to understand how people learn in certain controlled contexts (i.e., in the laboratory) and then they, or others, began to consider how these understandings could be applied in educational settings. Work on the cognitive load theory of learning, which is discussed in depth in several chapters of this book (e.g., Chew; Lee and Kalyuga; Mayer; Renkl), provides an excellent example that documents how science of learning has led to valuable work on the science of instruction. Most of the work described in this book is based on theory and research in cognitive psychology. We might have selected other topics (and, thus, other authors) that have their research base in behavior analysis, computational modeling and computer science, neuroscience, etc. We made the selections we did because the work of our authors ties together nicely and seemed to us to have direct applicability in academic settings
Influencing robot learning through design and social interactions: a framework for balancing designer effort with active and explicit interactions
This thesis examines a balance between designer effort required in biasing a robotâs learn-ing of a task, and the effort required from an experienced agent in influencing the learning using social interactions, and the effect of this balance on learning performance. In order to characterise this balance, a two dimensional design space is identified, where the dimensions represent the effort from the designer, who abstracts the robotâs raw sensorimotor data accord-ing to the salient parts of the task to increasing degrees, and the effort from the experienced agent, who interacts with the learner robot using increasing degrees of complexities to actively accentuate the salient parts of the task and explicitly communicate about them. While the in-fluence from the designer must be imposed at design time, the influence from the experienced agent can be tailored during the social interactions because this agent is situated in the environ-ment while the robot is learning. The design space is proposed as a general characterisation of robotic systems that learn from social interactions. The usefulness of the design space is shown firstly by organising the related work into the space, secondly by providing empirical investigations of the effect of the various influences o
The Role of Self-Efficacy in Female Post-Secondary Leadership
This qualitative study explored the relationship between leadership development of female academics and self-efficacy. Although self-efficacy has become one of the key variables employed to understand and facilitate people's career development, less attention has focused on studying the relationship between self-efficacy and female academics' career paths into leadership positions. The conceptual framework of this study was based upon Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory from which the construct of self-efficacy was developed. Multiple iterations of semi-structured interviews were conducted with three female faculty members who held leadership positions in social science disciplines and STEM fields. Three significant findings were identified: (1) self-efficacy influences leadership development in multi-faceted and dynamic ways; (2) Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy shape women's senses of self-efficacy which then influence leadership development, and; (3) self-efficacy influences multiple areas of occupational behaviour, including persistence, optimism, motivation, and adaptive career behaviours
Mind wandering dynamic in automated environments and its influence on out-of-the-loop situations
Des niveaux d'automatisation Ă©levĂ©s sont intĂ©grĂ©s dans les environnements critiques pour satisfaire la demande croissante de systĂšmes plus sĂ»rs. Cette philosophie dĂ©place les opĂ©rateurs vers un rĂŽle de supervision et crĂ©e de nouveaux problĂšmes appelĂ©s problĂšmes de performance liĂ©s Ă la sortie de boucle (SDB). L'Ă©mergence de pensĂ©es sans lien avec ici et maintenant, ou divagation attentionnelle (DA), pourrait affecter les opĂ©rateurs dans des situations de SDB par le biais du dĂ©couplage perceptuel induit. Cette thĂšse a Ă©tudiĂ© la dynamique de la DA dans les situations de SDB et son influence sur les opĂ©rateurs. Nous avons en premier lieu examinĂ© les preuves dans la littĂ©rature pointant vers un lien entre le problĂšme de performance liĂ© Ă la SDB et la DA. Nous avons complĂ©tĂ© cette analyse thĂ©orique en rapportant la tendance des pilotes (collectĂ©e avec un questionnaire) Ă
rencontrer plus de problÚmes avec leur pilote automatique pour ceux ayant une plus grande propension au MW non lié à la tùche. Nous avons ensuite mené trois expériences dans des
conditions de SDB. Nous avons observé une augmentation significative des épisodes de DA dans les situations de SDB quelle que soit la fiabilité du systÚme, par rapport aux
conditions manuelles. Les épisodes de DA étaient également accompagnés d'un découplage perceptuel vis-à -vis de la tùche créé par la DA non lié à la tùche. Ce découplage était
visible sur des rapports de demande mentale ainsi que les signaux oculomĂ©triques et encĂ©phalographiques. Dans l'ensemble, nos rĂ©sultats dĂ©montrent la possibilitĂ© d'utiliser des marqueurs physiologiques de la DA dans des environnements de SDB complexes. Nous discutons de nouvelles perspectives d'utilisation des marqueurs de la DA pour caractĂ©riser les problĂšmes de performance liĂ©s Ă la SDB. Sans vouloir arrĂȘter aveuglĂ©ment l'Ă©mergence de la DA, qui pourrait ĂȘtre bĂ©nĂ©fique pour les opĂ©rateurs, les recherches futures devraient se concentrer sur la conception de systĂšmes capables de gĂ©rer la DA et d'identifier les informations nĂ©cessaires pour faciliter la rentrĂ©e de l'opĂ©rateur dans la boucle de contrĂŽle.Higher levels of automation are progressively integrated in critical environments to satisfy the increasing demand for safer systems. Such philosophy moves operators to a
supervisory role, also called out-of-the-loop (OOTL) situations. Unfortunately, OOTL situations also create a new kind of human-machine interaction issues, called OOTL
performance problem. The dramatic consequences of OOTL performance problem stress the need to identify which mechanisms could influence their appearance. The emergence of thoughts unrelated to the here and now, labeled mind wandering (MW), could affect operators in OOTL situations through the perceptual decoupling induced. This thesis
investigates MW dynamic in OOTL situations and its influence on operators. We firstly reviewed the evidences in the literature underlining a link between OOTL performance
problem and MW. We completed theoretical insights by reporting pilots' tendency (collected with a questionnaire) to encounter more problems with autopilots when experiencing
more task-unrelated MW. Then, we conducted three experiments in OOTL conditions using an obstacle avoidance task. With non-expert population and sessions longer than 45 minutes,
we observed a significant increase of MW in OOTL situations compared to manual conditions, independently of system reliability. MW episodes were also accompanied by a perceptual decoupling from the task induced by task-unrelated MW. This decoupling was visible on reports of mental demand as well as oculometric (pupil size, blinks) and encephalographic (N1 component, alpha activity) signals. Overall, our results demonstrate the possibility to use physiological markers of MW in complex OOTL environments. We discuss new perspectives towards the use of MW markers to characterize the OOTL performance problem. Instead of blindly stopping MW episodes, which could have benefits for operators, future research should focus on designing systems able to cope with MW and identify information needed to facilitate the reentry in the control loop when needed
Pressure, Threat, and Fear in the Classroom: Pupils' and Teachers' Perceptions of Soft Failure in an 11+ Context
This thesis concerns both pupilsâ and teachersâ perceptions and reactions to soft failure. Whilst there is widespread agreement that errors and impasses in the classroom can be pedagogically useful, pupils do not always respond positively to soft failure, potentially limiting their learning. Teachers, whilst keen to support pupils experiencing temporary academic setbacks, can unintentionally cement perceptions that errors should be avoided, leading to a co-construction between teacher and pupil of a classroom climate that is unfriendly to error making. In taking a bio ecological and interdisciplinary approach, this thesis addresses a gap in error climate studies through examining the intersection of sociocultural and psychological factors that impact perceptions of, and reactions to, soft failure. This thesis argues that pupilsâ reactions to soft failure are imprinted, not only with immediate classroom proximal processes, but also from processes within the home, wider values, and ideologies. Drawing upon the case study genre and bound by the entry and exit points of a selective education system, findings from observations and interviews with Y7 and Y5 pupils suggest the facilitation of classroom peer ecologies orientated towards performance and demonstrating success. Through conceptualising gender as heteroglossic, Y7 grammar school girls were seen to enact masculine, highly competitive performances which reinforced a pressured climate where negative evaluation and soft failure was feared. However, these findings are complicated by pupilsâ divergent and fluctuating responses and reactions to soft failure, situated and contextualised by teachersâ error handling, classroom organisation and school processes. Therefore, to establish when soft failure matters for pupils, this thesis explores the interplay of competing values, goals, and interactions. In doing so, the antecedents of soft failure adaptivity are identified, with the perceived threat to pupilsâ dignity â which I reason must be understood in an adolescent context â argued as the fulcrum on which soft failure appraisals are made
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Middle School Learning, Academic Emotions and Engagement as Precursors to College Attendance
This dissertation research focuses on assessing student behavior, academic emotions, and knowledge within a middle school online learning environment, and analyzing potential effects on studentsâ interests and choices related to decisions about going to college. Using studentsâ longitudinal data ranging from their middle school, to high school, to postsecondary years, this dissertation uses quantitative methodologies to investigate antecedents to college attendance that occur as early as middle school. The dissertation asks whether student behavior, academic emotions, and learning as early as middle school can be predictive of college attendance years later. This is investigated by developing predictive and structural models of said outcomes, using assessments of learning, emotions and engagement from student interaction data from an online learning environment they used in their middle school curriculum. The same middle school factors are also assessed with self-report measures of course choices, interests in college majors and careers formed when they were in high school. The dissertation then evaluates how student choices and interests in high school can mediate between the educational experiences students have during middle school and their eventual college attendance, to give a fuller illustration of the cognitive and non-cognitive mechanisms that students may experience throughout varied periods in school. Such understanding may provide educators with actionable information about a studentsâ in-depth experiences and trajectories within the college pipeline
A descriptive study of the efforts and related elements of two middle schools highly successful in assisting at-risk young adolescents
This study describes efforts to assist at-risk students in two North Carolina middle schools and describes aspects of the schools that add to the understanding of those efforts. Using case study methodology, the study includes detailed accounts of meetings, classes, and interviews with teachers. A survey of teacher opinions about their schools is also included. The Carnegie Recommendations found in Turning Points (1989) were used to organize the data. Most of the data fell under the following recommendations: (a) Create a small learning community where stable, close, mutually respectful relationships are fundamental; (b) Ensure success for all students; (c) Empower staff members to make decisions about the experiences of students; and (d) Re-engage the family in the education of its students. Implications from the study include: (a) People and the settings they create are critical to successful efforts to assist at-risk students; (b) Relationships within these settings are the key to successful interventions; and (c) Institutional values manifested in practices and policies influence the chances for at-risk students to experience school success
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