Managing uncertainty and promoting ownership over learning in D&T students using an interactive learning environment

This paper reports on a research study exploring the value of interactive media to enhancing creativity in Design and Technology (D&T) students. The literature review contextualises the issues of self-management and risktaking as phenomena which need to be managed and supported to ensure successful learning in D&T students. These phenomena are discussed from the point of view of both approaches to designing interactive media for learning and in the context of D&T education. An action research approach was adopted to exploring the value of interactive media in this respect. The findings of a preliminary study based on focus group interviews carried out with D&T A Level students are discussed, setting out a series of learning needs. These learning needs were derived from students' descriptions of the issues influencing their engagement with creative work. The identified students' learning needs were used to inform the design of an interactive learning environment, including the focus of its content on ecodesign issues, its social constructivist pedagogy and the structure of the learning interactions. This paper reports on the findings of the evaluation of the interactive learning environment which made implications for the value of interactive media to managing uncertainty and risk-taking in students. The new research findings highlighted the value of interactive media to encouraging students to engage in exploring a design context in an environment free of authoritarian control. The phenomenon of shared ownership over the learning problem emerged as a positive aspect of peer-to-peer collaboration. Finally, the role of the tutor as a facilitator of learning providing scaffolded support to the learning interactions was emphasised

Defining user requirements and strategies for a multimedia learning environment aimed at enhancing creativity in A' level design and technology teaching and learning

This paper describes preliminary research into establishing strategies for designing computerbased learning material, which have the potential to enhance creativity in post-16 design and technology (D&T) A’ level students. It explores meanings and perceptions of creativity from the point of view of D&T students. A series of three focus group interviews were carried out with A’ level students, in which aspects of creativity within the D&T classroom were discussed. The interviews provide insights into what students need from learning expressed in their own words. These insights are envisaged to provide an empirical basis for the future design and implementation of an interactive multimedia learning environment (IMLE), aimed at enhancing students’ creativity. The design and implementation of the learning environment will take place in the further stages of the wider research project, which identifying user requirements is a part of. The findings of the interviews form a list of user requirements to be used within an IMLE, concerning aspects of pedagogy and curriculum, or in terms of computer based learning, recommendations on the structuring of content and the structuring of learning interactions. Among the key findings are the need for, and importance of, collaborative work, discussing ideas and sharing perspectives, to developing and encouraging generative as well as evaluative thinking in students. The computer as a dialogue partner emerges as a valuable conceptual model within human computer interactions. The constructivist paradigm is seen as appropriate in supporting students’ natural learning strategy, experiential learning and the type of task-oriented, problem solving learning environment which would best support creative thinking in D&T. The findings discussed in this paper form the first part of a wider PhD research which explores the potential of multimedia technology and structured learning to enhancing creativity in D&T A’ level students. The stages of design and implementation of the learning environment are the next step of the research which will build directly on the findings of interview data discussed in this pape

Enhancing the value of professional experience in undergraduate education: implications for academic and career counseling

Rising costs and competition for entry-level employment increasingly call into question the value of a university degree. Now more than ever, career counselors must identify key factors that enhance employability for graduating seniors. Existing research shows professional experience is vital to securing quality postgraduate employment but offers little insight into ways perceived value varies by experience characteristics. This study surveyed value perceptions of more than 600 U.S. hiring managers. Results revealed a significant preference for hiring undergraduates with off-campus professional experience relevant to their full-time position at graduation. An experience of 3 to 5 months duration was considered valuable

Early years teachers and digital literacies: Navigating a kaleidoscope of discourses

For many young children in developed countries, family and community life is mediated by digital technology. Despite this, for early years educators, the process of integrating digital technologies into classroom practice raises a number of issues and tensions. In an attempt to gain insights from early years teachers, we draw from semi-structured interview data from ten practising teachers which explored their perspectives on digital technologies within their personal and professional lives, and of children’s use of digital technologies within and outside educational settings. Our analysis builds on previous work that suggests that teachers draw on multiple discourses related to conceptualisations of childhood when thinking about digital technology and young children. In this paper we contribute to these discussions, drawing specifically on examples from the data where teachers articulate their understandings of children’s use of digital technology where this relates directly to children’s literacy practices. We assert that narrow conceptualized notions of literacy, compounded by national imperatives to raise print literacy standards, add another layer of discursive complexity that comes to the fore when teachers are asked to provide a rationale for the promotion of digital literacies in early years classrooms. A broader framing of literacy therefore, is needed if the potential of digital technologies in the early years is to be realized

Interactive media for enhancing learning and creativity in design and technology education

This thesis is an exploration of the potential of interactive media to enhance learning and creativity in Design and Technology education. The work focuses on A level which is a stage at which autonomous learning becomes a significant part of the subject's pedagogy. This research is interdisciplinary in nature, bringing together the areas of D&T education and interactive media for learning. The gap in knowledge which it targets is the development of interactive learning resources aimed specifically at the creative development of the learner. This is an area which has been given limited attention in interactive media for learning, which has tended to place a focus on declarative knowledge, rather than original thought. In addition, while D&T education research has explored issues of enhancing creativity, the development of interactive learning resources which are aimed at enhancing creativity in the subject has been limited. Yet as the literature review makes explicit, D&T is an exciting subject area for interactive media development. Through an action research methodology involving the design and evaluation of an interactive media learning environment entitled ecoWarrior, this research explores a number of key research questions regarding the role of interactive media in enhancing creativity in D&T education. These questions include an exploration of the role of collaboration and dialogue within a computer-supported learning environment; the structuring of the learning content and interactions; issues of user control and learner autonomy; the influence of affective factors on student learning. The contribution to knowledge of the work can be summarised as identifying specific conditions of learning which would improve the potential of an interactive learning environment to enhance learning and creativity in D&T. The original contribution to knowledge can be summarised in the following categories: The need to promote learner autonomy, in order to encourage original thinking in the learner. Within this the specific roles of teacher, learners and learning environment are discussed; The value of dialogue and collaboration to enhancing creativity in the learner; The specific characteristics of an interactive learning environment to enhancing creativity in the learner- namely its flexibility and its capacity to personalise the learning interactions; The ability of an interactive learning environment to support attitude change in the learner, both towards their own work and towards the subject studied.</ul

Developing open academic practices in research methods teaching within an HE in FE context

This paper reports on a SCORE teaching fellowship project focused on embedding open academic practices within social science research methods teaching. The host institution is a large, mixed economy Higher Education in Further Education (HE in FE) college where the majority of the HE provision is at full degree and postgraduate level. This requires effective research methods teaching at levels 4 (first year of undergraduate study) to 7 (Masters level, postgraduate study) and is an argument for making good use of the high quality research methods OER available through repositories such as Jorum Open, iTunesU, the National Centre for Research Methods and Merlot. However as the HE provision sits within a further education framework, historically there has been a strong emphasis on extended face time with students. As a result the introduction of blended and distance learning pedagogies to supplement or substitute this face time is a fairly new concept which is currently starting to take shape within the institution. This transition is in part driven by the learners' own preparedness for e-learning and their increasing expectations for such provision (Online Learning Task Force, 2011). This project has sought to develop tutors' awareness of OER for research methods teaching and evaluate the embedding of such resources in academic practice. Tutors from three different disciplines engaged in evaluating 22 research methods OER and subsequently embedding some of these in teaching practice. Using criteria for evaluating OER emerging from the literature (Windle, et al., 2010; Pegler, 2012), each tutor completed 6 evaluative questionnaires - three for OER they would like to use in practice and three for OER which they would not consider suitable for reuse. The tutors participated in extended interviews the purpose of which was to develop an understanding of their preferences and needs where reuse of the resources in academic practice was concerned. Learning designs for embedding OER in specific modules were developed on the basis of the evaluation. These learning designs applied pattern based frameworks (Learning Design Support Environment, 2011, Littlejohn and Pegler, 2007, Oliver et al., 2002) to plan and structure academic practice with OER. The learning designs were trialled with students at levels 5,6, and 7 on two different programmes of study. Focus group interviews were conducted with students who used the OER in a self-directed way, beyond their face-to-face sessions. The findings this paper reports on are concerned with understanding the role which OER have in developing e-learning within HE in FE academic practice. In addition, the capacity of OER to meet learners' needs in this context will be explored. Conclusions are drawn regarding the contribution which OER make in supporting learners and tutors in research methods teaching and learning. Keywords: Research methods, academic practice, OER, learning design, reuse, threshold concept

Students' experiences of writing a dissertation

If you are a student about to start working on your dissertation in childhood or education studies, this resource aims to help you. Here you will find interviews with students who have successfully completed their course, sharing their experiences of writing a dissertation. They discuss how they chose the topic for their research, issues of access and ethics and the methodology they chose. They share their experiences on the process of structuring a large piece of writing and finally discuss their plans for sharing this work with a broader audience.