Context based learning: a survey of contextual indicators for personalized and adaptive learning recommendations. A pedagogical and technical perspective

Learning personalization has proven its effectiveness in enhancing learner performance. Therefore, modern digital learning platforms have been increasingly depending on recommendation systems to offer learners personalized suggestions of learning materials. Learners can utilize those recommendations to acquire certain skills for the labor market or for their formal education. Personalization can be based on several factors, such as personal preference, social connections or learning context. In an educational environment, the learning context plays an important role in generating sound recommendations, which not only fulfill the preferences of the learner, but also correspond to the pedagogical goals of the learning process. This is because a learning context describes the actual situation of the learner at the moment of requesting a learning recommendation. It provides information about the learner current state of knowledge, goal orientation, motivation, needs, available time, and other factors that reflect their status and may influence how learning recommendations are perceived and utilized. Context aware recommender systems have the potential to reflect the logic that a learning expert may follow in recommending materials to students with respect to their status and needs. In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art approaches for defining a user learning-context. We provide an overview of the definitions available, as well as the different factors that are considered when defining a context. Moreover, we further investigate the links between those factors and their pedagogical foundations in learning theories. We aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of contextualized learning from both pedagogical and technical points of view. By combining those two viewpoints, we aim to bridge a gap between both domains, in terms of contextualizing learning recommendations

An analysis of verbal affixes in Kikongo with special reference to form and function

The relation between verbal affixes and their effect on the predicate argument structure of the verbs that host them has been the focus of many studies in linguistics, with special reference to Bantu languages in recent years. Given the colonial policy on indigenous languages in Angola, Kikongo, as is the case of other Bantu languages in that country, has not been sufficiently studied. This study explores the form and function of six verbal affixes, including the order in which they occur in the verb stem. The study maintains that the applicative and causative are valency-increasing verbal affixes and, as such, give rise to double object constructions in Kikongo. The passive, reciprocal, reflexive and stative are valency-decreasing and, as such, they reduce the valency of the verb by one object. This study also suggests that Kikongo is a symmetrical object language in which both objects appear to have equal status.African LanguagesM.A. (African Languages

Coaching Across Cultures: A Narrative Inquiry of Instructional Coaching in Rural Sarawak

This qualitative research seeks to understand the experiences of rural English instructional coaches in Sarawak, Malaysia through culturally relevant pedagogy and the three-dimensional narrative inquiry framework. Sarawak, the largest Malaysian state, is home to 27 main ethnic indigenous groups and over 40 ethnic subgroups, most of which reside in rural areas. Yet, conversations and research around race and culture in Malaysian educational spaces are limited and focus mostly on dominant ethnic groups while sidelining ethnic indigenous groups (Embong, 2018). Using narrative case study, this research adds to the racial discourse in Malaysian education by first exploring the complexities and subtleties that shape coaches’ experiences within rural Sarawak. It seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) In the context of a multicultural rural setting, how do instructional coaches narrate their experiences of supporting rural English teachers? (2) What can we learn from the narratives of instructional coaches regarding their roles and responsibilities of coaching English teachers in a multicultural rural setting? (3) What changes or adjustments need to be made in the preparation and professional development of coaches in a multicultural setting? Three instructional coaches were involved in 60 to 75-minute open-ended interviews as well as classroom and field observations over 3 months. Findings suggest the following themes: (a) making “ruralness” work, (b) the coaches’ perceived understanding of “culture”, and (c) missing pieces in the preparation and support of coaches. The findings highlight the importance of understanding how the nuanced experiences of coaches are shaped by their past and present, interactions, and the rural context. The in-depth and context-specific information has important implications for stakeholders and policymakers in reforming the preparation and support of instructional coaches toward being culturally relevant

English as medium of instruction in Higher Education in a cross-national context

The number of English taught programmes in Dutch higher education have risen tremendously last fifteen years. A wide array of critics raised concerns about possible negative effects. For instance, English supposedly would have a negative effect on academic performance. Secondly, the English of lecturers teaching through a foreign language, would have a negative impact on students’ learning. Thirdly, the increase of English in higher education might have a negative effect on the quality and position of the Dutch language. The research question was: What are the effects of English as a medium of instruction in higher education on academic performance? In order to answer this question, three studies were conducted at the International Business & Management Studies programme at NHL Stenden university of applied sciences in Leeuwarden and Qatar. The first study established a very weak relationship between entrance levels of English and academic performance. In the second study, students’ language use was traced through an app. It turned out that students in Leeuwarden used English only when engaged with their studies. In Qatar, English was used also in personal life. The third study revealed that lecturers and students in Leeuwarden and Qatar experience a positive effect of English taught education on their English language proficiency. Moreover, they reported no negative effects of English on knowledge and skills

OBE in action.

Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2000.Abstract not available

Social work with airports passengers

Social work at the airport is in to offer to passengers social services. The main methodological position is that people are under stress, which characterized by a particular set of characteristics in appearance and behavior. In such circumstances passenger attracts in his actions some attention. Only person whom he trusts can help him with the documents or psychologically