Developing an e-portfolio based pedagogy for work-based learners

In this thesis I explore the use of an e-portfolio as the framework for a pedagogy for work-based learners, in particular for those employed in small to medium sized enterprises; a group of potential learners that are recognised as having potential difficulties in accessing higher education. I analyse the reasons for targeting this group of learners, with particular reference to the economic need to increase the higher level learning of people in the workplace and the potential impact this could have in the local, and wider, economy. Central to the pedagogic development is the use of e-portfolios. I will interrogate why this technology and methodology was chosen and how the personal learning space it provides is well-suited to supporting and engaging learners in the target group. The means by which I explore the use of an e-portfolio based pedagogy is through participative action research. This method allows for my explorations to be situated in live settings and to involve participants from the key stakeholder groups. Unlike experimental design, action research aims to generate understandings rather than prove causal relationships. I will explain the cycles of action research employed in my project and evaluate how this impacted on the successful development of the pedagogy. Findings from my research strongly suggest the benefits of an inclusive approach to pedagogic development which centres on involvement of key stakeholders for the creation of an holistic model. This model incorporates a speedy, flexible and quality assured curriculum that is accessible to the target learners and that can be adapted to a range of existing and perceived needs. At the heart of this model is the use of e-portfolio which provides the learning and personal development space through which the work-based learners’ needs can be met and through which dialogue between the learner, employer and academic tutor can be facilitated. The key innovation in my research findings is the theorisation of different types of scaffolding for e-learning developments and the positing of a taxonomy of scaffolding approaches to learning and teaching design that is founded within the concept of the holistic scaffolding model

The hub in a pub: University of Wolverhampton Apprenticeship Hub

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Emerald in Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning on 13/02/2017, available online: https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-05-2016-0035 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Purpose This paper presents the innovative approach being taken by the University of Wolverhampton to create an Apprenticeship Hub through which the regional offer for Intermediate, Advanced, Higher and Degree Apprenticeships can be accessed. Readers can review the approach taken and consider the possibilities of a similar approach in their own context. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a case study that set out and discusses the drivers behind the approach adopted to create the Apprenticeship Hub. It identifies the stakeholders who will engage with the Apprenticeship Hub and it outlines the reasons for, and benefits of, working in collaboration with other organisations to provide an integrated offer for apprenticeship provision across the region. Findings The Apprenticeship Hub is a physical entity within a well-known local landmark building that is easily accessible to the communities which it is intended to serve. It has been developed to meet the national and local contexts and, although only recently established, it is meeting the needs of the stakeholder groups. It provides an environment through which the integrated regional apprenticeship offer can be accessed. Practical implications The world of apprenticeships is changing significantly with many new requirements for employers and for education. It is a complex road to travel, particularly for Higher Education which has not, traditionally, been involved in the world of apprenticeships. This paper posits that a collaborative approach to stakeholder engagement and recognition of respective strengths can lead to organisations working in partnership to draw together their respective expertise to ensure that, through a collaborative approach they can meet the needs of the communities that they serve. Originality/value Apprenticeships are new to Higher Education; universities are entering a complex and unknown territory. This paper set out the approach taken by one university to working in partnership with others to provide an integrated offer that could be adopted or adapted by other providers to their own context

Medical Psychology.

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Gold standard or fool's gold: the pursuit of certainty in experimental criminology

This article assesses some of the claims made for experimental research in the field of rehabilitation of offenders. It suggests that both policy officials and evaluators have tended to over-invest financially and intellectually in a technocratic model of reducing reoffending that emphasizes programmes for offenders, and to under-invest in models that see the process as a complex ‘people changing’ skill. It argues that the complexity of this process renders it hard to evaluate using experimental methods of evaluation such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs). RCTs provide strong internal validity, but in complex settings offer weak external validity, making it hard to generalize from the experimental setting to other settings. The article suggests that the proper role for evaluative research in this field should be seen as building and testing middle-level theories about how best to change offenders’ behaviour

Work-based skills development: A context-engaged approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to give a successful example of how universities can work with business to identify and address skills needs through a context-engaged approach to developing learning to meet the needs identified. Design/methodology/approach – Using a case study approach the business-university collaboration to introduce work-based learning programmes is explained. The paper sets out how learning interventions were researched, designed and introduced to meet identified skills needs throughout the organisation. It highlights the practicalities of the management approach adopted and the benefits achieved through partnership working. Findings – Key to the success of the collaboration was the recruitment of a “Training Centre Facilitator” (TCF) who was co-managed by the company and the university and who was located within the company. The TCF was able to fully understand the company’s and learners’ requirements and thus propose a context-engaged solution that met the needs of the individuals and the organisation. The work-based learning programmes introduced reflected the organisational requirements, individuals’ needs and took into account constraints and restraints on their design and implementation. Originality/value – The paper presents a case study that investigates an innovative approach to partnership working between HE, FE and a private business organisation. The appointment of a TCF, employed within the company to undertake research and implement identified training interventions is an unusual and original approach to bringing together the three organisations to achieve the planned business improvements. The process used and the key principles for achieving a successful partnership are presented and could be applied in other business-education collaborations to develop in-company work-based learning

Low-Energy Dynamics of String Solitons

The dynamics of a class of fivebrane string solitons is considered in the moduli space approximation. The metric on moduli space is found to be flat. This implies that at low energies the solitons do not interact, and their scattering is trivial. The range of validity of the approximation is also briefly discussed.Comment: 8 pages, Minor typos correcte

Prioritising research and dissemination: a Delphi study of NHS Highland midwives

 This paper reports on a Delphi study undertaken by a health librarian and two midwifery professionals, to determine the research priorities of midwives working in NHS Highland. Six important topics were identified: workforce issues, second stage of labour, obesity in pregnancy, women's expectations of pregnancy and of childbirth, place of birth, and breastfeeding. Related evidence was examined to identify topics where dissemination of existing evidence was needed. The study dealt both with the practice of midwifery in general and with the information needs of local midwives in particular. The Delphi technique was found to be a useful method to determine research priorities but it was not without its limitations

Entre usage et apprentissage. Le rapport à la norme de L2 dans des productions orales d’apprenants de l’allemand peu avancés

L’adoption récente de l’approche actionnelle dans le domaine de l’enseignement des langues en France a conduit depuis peu à une redéfinition de l’objet d’apprentissage : il est aujourd’hui question de mesurer la compétence de communication en langue étrangère (L2), or cette compétence recouvre bien plus que la production d’énoncés corrects en référence à la norme du système. L’apprenant lui-même, mis en situation de réaliser des tâches communicatives, accède ainsi au statut de locuteur à part entière, dont l’objectif n’est alors pas d’apprendre des formes de la langue cible mais de voir aboutir son action langagière. Dans cette contribution, nous nous proposons d’analyser les aspects formels repérés dans des interactions exolingues d’apprenants peu avancés en les rapportant au contexte de production des données. En effet, si les choix formels observables dépendent de l’interlangue du locuteur/apprenant, ils témoignent aussi de l’interprétation que ce dernier se fait de la situation de communication dans laquelle il est engagé – se trouvent ainsi convoqués le contexte global, le statut endossé par chacun des participants à l’interaction et l’orientation de l’apprenant face à sa propre production verbale.Recently adopted in the second language learning methodologies in France, the action-based approach and its associated tasks lead to a new definition of the object supposed to be taught: if the foreign language was once conceived as a normative system, communicative competence cannot be reduced to the production of correct utterances. Which are the consequences for the learner at a lower level to be now considered as a L2 speaker in authentic social communicative situations? The aim of this contribution is to replace the formal aspects of learners’ interactions in L2 in the context in which these samples have been collected. On the one hand, the formal options observed can reflect the current state of the learners’ interlanguage, but on the other hand, they can also depend on the interpretation of situational elements – the external context, the speakers’ status, and the learners’ orientation towards their own language production

Le temps relatif de l’apprentissage entre activités numériques distancielles et séances de cours en présentiel : soutenir l’appropriation de L2 chez des apprenants débutants

En venant bouleverser les modalités d’enseignement, les restrictions imposées par la crise sanitaire du COVID‑19 ont conduit à modifier rapidement l’organisation des cours dispensés et ont donné une nouvelle actualité aux notions de synchronicité et d’asynchronicité spécifiques aux formations hybrides en langues. Au‑delà de la crise cependant, comment faire en sorte que ces modifications contribuent à une transformation durable des pratiques et apportent un soutien supplémentaire aux apprentissages ? Dans le cas d’une langue débutée, reconfigurer un parcours de formation selon de nouvelles modalités nécessite de s’interroger sur la nature et la distribution des contenus entre distanciel et présentiel, mais également d’en mesurer la pertinence en termes de progression et de dynamique d’appropriation. Nous retraçons dans cet article les étapes qui ont jalonné le processus de recomposition d’un cours d’allemand à destination d’apprenants grands débutants à l’université. Intervention et apprentissage y seront revisités à la lumière des différentes temporalités en jeu : celles‑ci s’appliquent à la sélection et au découpage des contenus langagiers et déterminent l’assignation de certaines des activités à des moments synchrones ou asynchrones ; elles concernent également le temps et la régularité que les apprenants décident d’allouer aux activités en ligne et qui sont susceptibles d’influencer la mémorisation et le rappel des expressions langagières rencontrées. À l’aune de ces considérations, des pistes seront proposées afin de déterminer dans quelle mesure l’engagement dans les activités numériques est susceptible de favoriser les processus de mémorisation et d’améliorer la fluidité de la production langagière en L2 en début d’apprentissage.The COVID‑19 crisis and the subsequent restrictions have brought about quick modifications of teaching settings and have given new relevance to the notions of synchronicity/asynchronicity specific to hybrid language courses. However, how could these changes contribute, beyond the response to the crisis, to a sustainable transformation of practices and provide additional support for learning? For beginner learners, a course design which could cope with new teaching modalities has led us to consider the nature and distribution of content between distance and face-to-face learning, but also to question their relevance in terms of progression and dynamics of acquisition. In this article, we retrace the different steps in the process of redesigning a German A1‑level course in higher education. Intervention and learning are revisited in the light of the different temporalities at play. They apply to the selection and division of language content and determine whether certain activities are to be performed in synchronous or asynchronous modes. They also concern the time which learners decide to allocate to online activities and which is likely to influence the memorization and recall of the language expressions encountered. Some solutions will be suggested in order to highlight how engagement in digital activities could foster memorization processes and enhance fluency in L2 language production by beginner learners

The Dynamics of D-3-brane Dyons and Toric Hyper-K\"ahler manifolds

We find the dyonic worldvolume solitons due to parallel (p,q) strings ending on a D-3-brane. These solutions preserve 1/4 of bulk supersymmetry. Then we investigate the scattering of well-separated dyons and find that their moduli space is a toric hyper-K\"ahler manifold. In addition, we present the worldvolume solitons of the D-3-brane which are related by duality to the M-theory configuration of two orthogonal membranes ending on a M-5-brane. We show that these solitons preserve 1/8 of supersymmetry and compute their effective action.Comment: 25 pages, phyzz