The use of animated agents in e‐learning environments: an exploratory, interpretive case study

There is increasing interest in the use of animated agents in e‐learning environments. However, empirical investigations of their use in online education are limited. Our aim is to provide an empirically based framework for the development and evaluation of animated agents in e‐learning environments. Findings suggest a number of challenges, including the multiple dialogue models that animated agents will need to accommodate, the diverse range of roles that pedagogical animated agents can usefully support, the dichotomous relationship that emerges between these roles and that of the lecturer, and student perception of the degree of autonomy that can be afforded to animated agents

Virtual Environments for Training: From Individual Learning to Collaboration with Humanoids

The next generation of virtual environments for training is oriented towards collaborative aspects. Therefore, we have decided to enhance our platform for virtual training environments, adding collaboration opportunities and integrating humanoids. In this paper we put forward a model of humanoid that suits both virtual humans and representations of real users, according to collaborative training activities. We suggest adaptations to the scenario model of our platform making it possible to write collaborative procedures. We introduce a mechanism of action selection made up of a global repartition and an individual choice. These models are currently being integrated and validated in GVT, a virtual training tool for maintenance of military equipments, developed in collaboration with the French company NEXTER-Group

Generating socially appropriate tutorial dialog

Analysis of student-tutor coaching dialogs suggest that good human tutors attend to and attempt to influence the motivational state of learners. Moreover, they are sensitive to the social face of the learner, and seek to mitigate the potential face threat of their comments. This paper describes a dialog generator for pedagogical agents that takes motivation and face threat factors into account. This enables the agent to interact with learners in a socially appropriate fashion, and foster intrinsic motivation on the part of the learner, which in turn may lead to more positive learner affective states

Designing and Building immersive education spaces using Project Wonderland: from pedagogy through to practice

This paper presents work on the JISC funded SIMiLLE project to build a culturally sensitive virtual world to support language learning. This builds on the MiRTLE project (funded by Sun Microsystems), which created a mixed-reality space for teaching and learning. The aim of the SIMiLLE project is to investigate the technical feasibility and pedagogical value of using virtual environments to provide a realistic socio-cultural setting and content for language learning interaction. The paper starts by providing some background information on the Wonderland platform and the MiRTLE project, and then outlines the requirements for SIMiLLE, and how these requirements will be supported through the use of a virtual world based on Project Wonderland. We then present our plans for the evaluation of the system, with a particular focus on the importance of incorporating pedagogy into the design of these systems, and how we can support good practice with the ever-growing use of 3D virtual environments in formalised education

Development of a cadre of teacher educators: some lessons from Pakistan

This article is based on an educational innovation, the creation of a cadre of teacher educators, in the developing world. Professional Development Teachers were trained in an in-service two-year teacher education programme leading to a Masters of Education Degree. The Professional Development Teachers were expected to play three roles in their home schools upon completion of the Degree Programme: (a) Exemplary Teachers; (b) Teacher Educators; and (c) Change Agents within their home schools to effect improvement

Ethical Competence for Teachers: A Possible Model

In Education Sciences, the notion of ‘competence’ is widely used, both as an aim to be reached with students and as performance in teachers’ education. This article advances a type of competence that is highly relevant for teachers’ work, namely the ‘ethical competence.’ Ethical competence enables teachers to responsibly deal with the daily challenges arising from their professional roles. In this study, I put forward a definition of ethical competence and I propose a conceptual structure, both meant to support the illustration, description, and development of ethical competence for teachers

Transition, Decoding and Heutagogy; A strategy for improving undergraduate learning in sport, health and exercise.

Heutagogy, an established concept in educational literature, puts an emphasis on the development of a student’s ability to understand how they learn certain skills and abilities. To gain a clearer understanding on the implementation of heutagogy within the higher education environment, the present study considered the adoption of heutagogical approaches with students at University. A review of the literature was conducted to understand the use of pedagogy and andragogy in higher education and how a heutagogical approach could create a self-directed learning experience. Contemporary research has evidenced that the implementation of heutagogy at higher education encourages students to develop highly employable skills such as determination and initiative. In contrast, it has been discovered that students find heutagogy to be challenging, therefore a progressive development from pedagogy to andragogy to heutagogy is required. Nevertheless, the beneficial outcomes are apparent to educators and students, and increase employability rates. The beneficial learning outcomes of heutagogical learning such as employability and self-directed learning is discussed

Re-conceptualising learning-centred (instructional) leadership: an obsolete concept in need of renovation

For more than thirty years, ‘instructional leadership’ has been at the forefront of research and practice in school effectiveness and improvement. Governments, employers, universities and professional developers, all see it as a mainstay of raising school and student performance. Wave-after-wave of educational policy reforms during this period have changed school environments, widening and deepening the (instructional) leadership roles and functions of principals and other school leaders. Terminology has changed – while Americans still use ‘instructional leadership’, others prefer ‘learning-centred’ and ‘leadership-for -learning’, disputing whether they encompass the same or different meanings. Yet curiously, the concept itself – as defined and measured by academic researchers and scholars - has changed relatively little since Hallinger and Murphy’s first seminal contribution in 1985. This paper argues the case for wholesale renovation of the concept if it is to maintain relevance going forward. The case is supported by important and powerful trends in policy and practice

Navigating the muddy waters of the research into single sex class-rooms in co-educational middle years settings.

Establishing single sex classes within co-educational sites is an option that schools are again exploring. To date Australia has experienced three waves of interest in establishing single sex classes, the first focused on equitable education opportunities for girls, the second centered on boys' literacy and engagement and this current wave focuses on perceived difference between the sexes in co-educational classrooms. With the intersection of middle schooling movement, focusing on learner centered classrooms and current educational agendas aimed at improving student performance and measurable learning outcomes, it is understandable that schools are exploring such student grouping options. However, after thirty years of international research into the efficacy of single sex classes in co-educational settings, the results still remain unclear. This paper navigates the 'muddy waters' of this body of research and suggests a framework to help guide school communities through the decision-making process associated with considering single sex classes

Changing practice in Malaysian primary schools: learning from student teachers’ reports of using action, reflection and modelling (ARM)

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Education for Teaching on 15 March 2018, available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2018.1433468. Under embargo until 1 August 2019.Curricular and pedagogical reforms are complex inter-linked processes such that curricular reform can only be enacted through teachers teaching differently. This article reports the perspective of emergent Malaysian primary teachers who were expected to implement a Government reform that promoted active learning. The 120 student teachers were members of a single cohort completing a new B.Ed. degree programme in Primary Mathematics designed by teacher educators from Malaysia and the UK. They were taught to use a tripartite pedagogical framework involving action or active learning, supported in practice through reflection and modelling. Drawing on findings from surveys carried out with the student teachers at the end of their first and final placements this article examines evidence for the premise that the student teachers were teaching differently; illustrates how they reported using active learning strategies; and identifies factors that enabled and constrained pedagogic change in the primary classroom. The students’ accounts of using action, reflection and modelling are critiqued in order to learn about changing learning and teaching practice and to contribute to understanding teacher education and early teacher development. The students’ reports suggest diversity of understanding that emphasises the need to challenge assumptions when working internationally and within national and local cultures.Peer reviewe