Discovering academics' key learning connections: An ego-centric network approach to analysing learning about teaching

The aim of this exploratory study is to investigate the role of personal networks in supporting academics’ professional learning about teaching. As part of a wider project, the paper focuses on the composition of academics’ networks and possible implications of network tendencies for academics’ learning about teaching. The study adopts a mixed-method approach. Firstly, the composition of academics’ networks is examined using Social Network Analysis. Secondly, the role of these networks in academics’ learning about teaching is analysed through semi-structured interviews. Findings reveal the prevalence of localised and strong-tie connections, which could inhibit opportunities for effective learning and spread of innovations in teaching. The study highlights the need to promote connectivity within and across institutions, creating favourable conditions for effective professional development

Supporting Constructive Video-based Learning: Requirements Elicitation from Exploratory Studies

Although videos are a highly popular digital medium for learning, video watching can be a passive activity and results in limited learning. This calls for interactive means to support engagement and active video watching. However, there is limited insight into what engagement challenges have to be overcome and what intelligent features are needed. This paper presents an empirical way to elicit requirements for innovative functionality to support constructive video-based learning. We present two user studies with an active video watching system instantiated for soft skill learning (pitch presenta-tions). Based on the studies, we identify whether learning is happening and what kind of interaction contributes to learning, what difficulties participants face and how these can be overcome with additional intelligent support. Our findings show that participants who engaged in constructive learning have improved their conceptual understanding of presentation skills, while those who exhibited more passive ways of learning have not improved as much as constructive learners. Analysis of participants’ profiles and experiences led to requirements for intelligent support with active video watching. Based on this, we propose intelligent nudging in the form of signposting and prompts to further promote constructive learning

Who's that talking in my class?: What does research say about pupil to pupil exploratory talk that leads to learning?

This paper explores the literature to determine if exploratory talk could aid pupil learning and understanding in secondary schools and, if so, how it could best be utilised and what the roles of the ‘teacher’ and the ‘learner’ are in the process. We found five main themes related to talk and learning: exploratory talk is educationally valuable but not easy to implement; ‘initiation-response-feedback’; is much more commonly used; there are other types of talk which are generally less good for developing thinking; exploratory talk is good for collaborative learning; and exploratory talk is best organised with a set of ‘ground rules’. It became apparent to us that agreeing and setting the ground rules was a very important factor in generating successful pupil to pupil talk for learning and that there is a strong relationship between adherence to ground rules for talking together and improving children’s ability to solve problems. For consistency of a whole-school approach, we found that these group-specific ground rules should be set within an overall framework developed through teachers developing ways to work collaboratively with colleagues to investigate ways of promoting exploratory talk with all classes. Finally we highlight to school leaders the importance of developing and supporting a whole school approach to exploratory talk

Interaction patterns in exploratory learning environments for mathematics: a sequential analysis of feedback and external representations in Chinese schools

Feedback in exploratory learning systems has been depicted as an important contributor to encourage exploration. However, few studies have explored learners’ interaction patterns associated with feedback and the use of external representations in exploratory learning environments. This study used Fractions Lab, an exploratory learning environment for mathematics, to facilitate children’s conceptual understanding of fractions in three Chinese schools. Students (n = 189) from six different classes were invited to use Fractions Lab, and 260,000 event logs were collected. Beyond demonstrating the overall efficacy of the approach, lag sequential analysis supported us in approaching a deeper understanding of patterns of interaction. The findings highlight that the design of three-levels of feedback (Socratic, guidance, and didactic-procedural feedback) played different roles in supporting students to use external representations to perform mathematical tasks in an exploratory learning environment. This study sheds light on how these interaction patterns might be applied to the Fractions Lab system in order to provide increasingly tailored support, based on cultural differences, to enhance students’ technology-mediated learning experiences

Virtual Learning Environment (VLE): a Web-based collaborative learning system

Using the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) to support teaching or learning has become a trend in modern higher education. However, most distance-learning or virtual-learning sites are still limited to the dissemination of teaching materials. The strengths of the Internet and WWW have not been maximized nor have their functions (e.g. supporting autonomous, exploratory, interactive and collaborative learning) been fully utilized. Hong Kong University (HKU) has developed a virtual learning system, called the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), to prove that such kind of learning is possible with Internet and WWW technologies.published_or_final_versio

How Consistent is Relevance Feedback in Exploratory Search?

Search activities involving knowledge acquisition, investigation and synthesis are collectively known as exploratory search. Exploratory search is challenging for users, who may be unable to formulate search queries, have ill-defined search goals or may even struggle to understand search results. To ameliorate these difficulties, reinforcement learning-based information retrieval systems were developed to provide adaptive support to users. Reinforcement learning is used to build a model of user intent based on relevance feedback provided by the user. But how reliable is relevance feedback in this context? To answer this question, we developed a novel permutation-based metric for scoring the consistency of relevance feedback. We used this metric to perform a retrospective analysis of interaction data from lookup and exploratory search experiments. Our analysis shows that for lookup search relevance judgments are highly consistent, supporting previous findings that relevance feedback improves retrieval performance. For exploratory search, however, the distribution of consistency scores shows considerable inconsistency.Peer reviewe

The computer as means of communication for peer-review groups

In a scientific-writing course, 15 of 54 students used a review-supporting computer program, PREP-EDITOR (PREP), to communicate with their peers about drafts. In an exploratory study, 10 students were interviewed regularly: 5 used PREP and 5 met face-to-face to exchange comments on drafts. The study showed that use of PREP did not increase time spent on various writing activities. The PREP group reported a large number of computer-related problems, whereas the non-PREP group reported more difficulties with assignments and course organization. It appeared that the technology was omnipresent in PREP users' perception of the course. The system of computer-mediated peer review has many of the drawbacks of 'distance learning,' but because networks are increasingly used by collaborating authors, we should teach our students how to use them sensibly

Teachers’ pedagogical work with children’s fundamental motor skills in early childhood education centres

The aim of this exploratory study is to analyse teachers’ pedagogical work in supporting children’s learning of fundamental motor skills (FMS) in early childhood education (ECE) centres. The study highlights teachers’ experiences and knowledge regarding their pedagogical work with FMS. The study was conducted in Finland, and the respondents in this qualitative and inductive study consisted of 16 ECE teachers. The empirical data consisted of semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed by content analysis with a conventional approach. The results show, among other things, a variety of different factors affecting pedagogical work with children’s FMS. Teachers make conscious pedagogical considerations during guided physical-activity lessons and in everyday life to support children’s learning of FMS. The results of the study show teachers’ versatile efforts that have significant consequences for the pedagogical work of supporting children’s learning of FMS in ECE centres

Book Review: Graglia, Disaster by Decree

The paper analyzes the organizational learning process experienced in the design of a new packing service for the pharmaceutical sector, using the 4I model designed by Crossan, Lane and White (1999) and its further developments. It was carried out an exploratory study using qualitative research methods. It was found evidence supporting the learning processes stated by the original model and its further developments. The interviews and focus group results suggested that organizational learning is not always a lineal process as stated by the model. Individual and group learning are parallel interacting and unfinished processes. This study contributed to adding empirical evidence to the 4I model of organizational learning and its further developments, in a manufacturing firm