Learning design – making practice explicit

New technologies have immense potential for learning, but the sheer variety possible also creates challenges for learners in terms of navigating through an increasingly complex digital landscape and for teachers in terms of how to design and support learning interventions. How can learners and teachers make informed decisions about what technologies to use in the design and support of learning activities? This presentation will consider this question and present a new methodology for design – 'learning design', which aims to shift the creation and support of learning from what has traditionally been an implicit, belief-based practice to one that is explicit and design based. Learning design research at the Open University, UK has included the development of a set of conceptual design views, a tool for visualising designs (CompendiumLD) and a social networking site, for sharing and discussing learning and teaching ideas and designs (Cloudworks). An overview of this work will be provided, along with a discussion of the perceived benefits of this new approach to educational design

Meaning in Animal Communication: Varieties of meaning and their roles in explaining communication

Why explain the communicative behaviours of animals by invoking the information/meaning 'transmitted' by signals? Why not explain communication in purely causal/functional terms? This thesis addresses active controversy regarding the nature and role of concepts of information, content and meaning in the scientific explanation of animal communication. I defend the methodology of explaining animal communication by invoking the 'meaning' of signals, and responds to worries raised by sceptics of this methodology in the scientific and philosophical literature. This task involves: showing what facts about communication non-informational methodology leaves unexplained; constructing a well-defined theory of content (or 'natural meaning') for most animal signals; and getting clearer on what cognitive capacities, if any, attributing natural meaning to signals implies for senders and receivers. Second, it weighs into comparative debates on human-nonhuman continuity, arguing that there are, in fact, different notions of meaning applicable to human communication that have different consequences for how continuous key aspects of human communication are with other species

Learners' perceptions of teachers' non-verbal behaviours in the foreign language class

This study explores the meanings that participants in a British ELT setting give to teachers' non-verbal behaviours. It is a qualitative, descriptive study of the perceived functions that gestures and other non-verbal behaviours perform in the foreign language classroom, viewed mainly from the language learners' perspective. The thesis presents the stages of the research process, from the initial development of the research questions to the discussion of the research findings that summarise and discuss the participants' views. There are two distinct research phases presented in the thesis. The pilot study explores the perceptions of 18 experienced language learners of teachers' non-verbal behaviours. The data is collected in interviews based on videotaped extracts of classroom interaction, presented to the participants in two experimental conditions, with and without sound. The findings of this initial study justify the later change of method from the experimental design to a more exploratory framework. In the main study, 22 learners explain, in interviews based on stimulated recall, their perceptions on their teachers' verbal and non-verbal behaviours as occurring within the immediate classroom context. Finally, learners' views are complemented by 20 trainee teachers' written reports of classroom observation and their opinions expressed in focus group interviews. The data for the main study were thus collected through a combination of methods, ranging from classroom direct observations and videotaped recordings, to semi-structured interviews with language learners. The research findings indicate that participants generally believe that gestures and other non-verbal behaviours playa key role in the language learning and teaching process. Learners identify three types of functions that non-verbal behaviours play in the classroom interaction: (i) cognitive, i.e. non-verbal behaviours which work as enhancers of the learning processes, (ii) emotional, i.e. non-verbal behaviours that function as reliable communicative devices of teachers' emotions and attitudes and (iii) organisational, i.e. non-verbal behaviours which serve as tools of classroom management and control. The findings suggest that learners interpret teachers' non-verbal behaviours in a functional manner and use these messages and cues in their learning and social interaction with the teacher. The trainee teachers value in a similar manner the roles that non-verbal behaviours play in the language teaching and learning. However, they seem to prioritise the cognitive and managerial functions of teachers' non-verbal behaviours over the emotional ones and do not consider the latter as important as the learners did. This study is original in relation to previous studies of language classroom interaction in that it: • describes the kinds of teachers' behaviours which all teachers and learners are familiar with, but which have seldom been foregrounded in classroom-based research; • unlike previous studies of non-verbal behaviour, investigates the perceiver's view of the others' non-verbal behaviour rather than its production; • documents these processes of perception through an innovative methodology of data collection and analysis; • explores the teachers' non-verbal behaviours as perceived by the learners themselves, suggesting that their viewpoint can be one window on the reality of language classrooms; • provides explanations and functional interpretations for the many spontaneous and apparently unimportant actions that teachers use on a routine basis; • identifies a new area which needs consideration in any future research and pedagogy of language teaching and learning

Agents for educational games and simulations

This book consists mainly of revised papers that were presented at the Agents for Educational Games and Simulation (AEGS) workshop held on May 2, 2011, as part of the Autonomous Agents and MultiAgent Systems (AAMAS) conference in Taipei, Taiwan. The 12 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from various submissions. The papers are organized topical sections on middleware applications, dialogues and learning, adaption and convergence, and agent applications

Reorientating social learning: an ethnographic exploration of metacognition and critical discourse in farmer discussion groups

This PhD project explored whether, how and why social learning was promoted through the peer-to-peer interactions of seven farmer discussion groups (FDGs) throughout South West England. Social learning theory provided the conceptual frame for the study, building on Bandura’s original theory focused on cognitive development and self-regulation through interaction with one’s environment (in the form of behaviour modelling by role models) to incorporate metacognitive outcomes through self-reflexivity. The role of the facilitator was also explored within the context of the groups. Conducted using an ethnographic methodology, participant observation was carried out at each group’s monthly or quarterly meetings as well as semi-structured interviews with the five facilitators / coordinators and nineteen farmer participants (as well as familial partners in the business where possible). All FDGs were found to exhibit behaviour modelling in the course of their interactions and participant engagement in observational learning. This related to the element of role modelling, which was important throughout the groups as well in terms of who was modelling the behaviours and the impact that had on the observers’ attention, motivation and self-efficacy to learn (cognitively process, retain and potentially produce the behaviour) from her or him. The extent to which the various groups’ interactions promoted self-reflexivity by the participants differed, however, due to their varying engagement in critical discourse. That element was found to be highly influential in promoting metacognition, but its emergence was dependent on the different groups’ ecologies for collaborative learning supporting those norms for interaction, highlighting nuances in trust amongst groups with strong bonding social capital. The facilitators of those learning processes were found to play a vital role in supporting the groups’ ecologies to incorporate critical discourse, social learning and metacognition. The findings therefore suggest that certain elements should be present if collaborative learning processes intend to promote social learning

Strategic Communication in Context: Theoretical Debates and Applied Research

Strategic communication is becoming more relevant in communication sciences, though it needs to deepen its reflective practices, especially considering its potential in a VUCA world — volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. The capillary, holistic and result-oriented nature that portrays this scientific field has led to the imperative of expanding knowledge about the different approaches, methodologies and impacts in all kinds of organisations when strategic communication is applied. Therefore Strategic Communication in Context: Theoretical Debates and Applied Research assembles several studies and essays by renowned authors who explore the topic from different angles, thus testing the elasticity of the concept. Moreover, this group of authors represents various schools of thought and geographies, making this book particularly rich and cross-disciplinary.illustrato

The value and use of urban health indicator tools in the complex urban planning policy and decision-making context

Urban health indicator (UHI) tools are promoted as an evidence-based form of information to influence urban planning policy and decision-making. However, there is a lack of research on their value and use. Indicator producers, often from health fields, tend to have a linear and rational view of indicator use and policy-making that is starkly contrasted by urban policy scholars who see these processes as complex and socially constructed. It is therefore unclear how UHI tools might function within the complex planning policy and decision-making process to promote health considerations. This mixed-methods research investigates the use and value of UHI tools using collaborative rationality and systems theories. A two-part systematic review included a census of 145 UHI tools and a narrative synthesis of 10 qualitative studies on the use of UHI tools. The results were used to develop a taxonomy of UHI tools and theory of change. A series of 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted with indicator producers and users in San Francisco, Melbourne and Sydney. These data were analysed using thematic analysis and systems thinking approaches to produce causal loop diagrams (CLD) of participants’ mental models. The CLDs were tested and improved in a participatory modelling workshop. Indicator users and producers had significant overlap in their mental models. The development and application of UHI tools increased inter-sectoral relationships which supported actors to better understand each other’s opportunities and constraints for health promotion. Relationships helped to create new advocates for health in diverse organisations, supporting health in all policies or whole-of-society approaches to health promotion. Community involvement in UHI tools and the effectiveness of advocates helped to challenge constraints to health-promoting policy development and implementation. However, the high number of new indicators being created can create confusion and reduce indicator use, particularly when they are not designed to meet users’ needs