Explicating development of personal professional theories from higher vocational education to beginning a professional career through computer-supported drawing of concept maps

This article explores how personal professional theories (PPTs) develop. PPT development of nine junior accountants and nine novice teachers was monitored by repeated measurements over a period of 1.5 years, from the last year of vocational education until the second year of their professional careers. Computer-supported construction of PPT concept maps was used at three moments to test hypotheses derived from theories on expertise development. It could be concluded that on average PPTs became more complex. The PPTs of teachers also became richer, but the generality of PPTs did not significantly increase. Appearance and disappearance of concepts and changes in their importance were observed and appeared dependent on the professional environment of the participants. The findings indicate that: PPT development is an important manifestation of expertise development which could be used to support the professional development of students and beginning workers; and the concept map method can be used to reveal this development

Design‑based research with mARC ID model:designing experiential learning environments

The relationship between experience (through practice) and knowledge (by theory) is becoming increasingly important in contemporary educational research and development. Where educational curricula aim to support students in linking practical experience to their academic knowledge development, experiential learning appears complex to design with high instructional prerequisites that make it difficult to achieve. This article reports the process of redesigning an experiential learning environment throughout iterative design based research. For reasons of methodological consistency, we first introduce and discuss the mARC instructional design model that identifies three pillars of experiential learning (more Authenticity, Refection, and Collaboration). We then present three empirical studies of how the implementation of the mARC model affected the quality of learning process and outcomes. The results of our design-based research show that the model offers powerful practical guidelines for experiential learning design. Application of the model: (a) improved students’ academic achievement, (b) helped students to engage with both re- and de-contextualisation of knowledge, and (c) improved refection processes during learning. The study suggests that experiential learning, aligned with the pillars of mARC model, can successfully support learners in their effort to create knowledge through practical experience

Mini-games for entrepreneurship in construction:Instructional Design and effects of the TYCON game

Entrepreneurship is crucial for economic growth and employment, but conventional didactical approaches appear ineffective. Effective approaches should include experiential learning from real problems. The serious game under study was developed in the context of entrepreneurship training for construction workers (at European Quality Framework levels 3 to 5). The game offers an immersive scenario with players carrying out authentic tasks in authentic construction business contexts. The article describes important instructional design guidelines applied to assure that tasks and game mechanisms support such more experiential learning. An empirical study (with complete datasets collected from 97 participants across six countries) compared the professional awareness about entrepreneurship before and after gameplay, and analysed computer logging data on game behaviour. We administered a questionnaire after gameplay to inquire about game appreciation. Effective learning from gameplay could indeed be achieved by applying instructional design guidelines. The awareness gain from gameplay was significant (with mean scores on a knowledge test increasing from 45% to 61% correct answers). The games were appreciated (mildly) positive on important game features (flow, authenticity, motivation, usability, learnability and attractiveness). We discuss limitations of the study and recommendations for future research into professional games for awareness raising.</p

The mARC instructional design model for more experiential learning in higher education:theoretical foundations and practical guidelines

The concept of lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important in contemporary educational research and development. Although the relationship between experience (practice) and knowledge (theory) becoming an important aspect of the formal learning process, current instructional design models do not point to educational strategies that support learners in re– and de–contextualisation (both directions of Kolb's learning cycle). This article aims to provide more insight on the process of creating and redesigning experiential learning environments and to better understand the complex relationship that exists between the learning environments and the experiential learning (considering underlying learning theories). We will present and discuss mARC (more Authentic, Reflective and Collaborative), a three– components instruction model with a set of instructional elements proven to facilitate the re– and de– contextualisation of knowledge. This article ends with practical guidelines for using the mARC model to support students in linking learning experience to academic knowledge development within higher education

The Challenge of Designing ‘More’ Experiential Learning in Higher Education Programs in the Field of Teacher Education:A Systematic Review Study

Although a long time has passed since the theoretical foundation of experiential learning was proposed, designing experiential learning instructions for master of education programme has proven to remain a challenge. We contribute to this matter by reviewing 31 empirical articles that have provided insights into what this “more” experiential learning could be about within the domain in focus. Results are systematically compared using four perspectives to distinguish situated and general characteristics. The review highlights a) three pillars of learning environments that foster experiential learning (Authenticity, Reflection, and Collaboration), b) learning processes within each pillar, c) categories of factors with facilitating and hindering influence on learning (Student, Learning Environment and Mediating), and d) a variety of learning outcomes. Moreover, this review identifies several gaps in the research literature and reveals an unbalance between the number of studies exploring re- and de- contextualization of knowledge within experiential learning. Finally, the findings are discussed to provide a) more clarity about the design of experiential learning, and b) recommendations for future theory building and practical implementation

Improving academic performance:strengthening the relation between theory and practice through prompted reflection

The importance of reflection is widely recognised. Drawing on the broad literature on benefits and challenges of reflection, this paper presents a study where students were stimulated to reflect during experiential learning, in order to both re- and de- contextualise their knowledge. The empirical study took place in the context of an Educational Sciences Master programme. We describe how different levels of prompted reflection can be related to academic performance and perceptions of the learning process. We found relations between prompting reflection and the academic performance of the students. This paper therefore argues that prompting reflection leads to higher level of reflection and better performance measured through writing. The results also show that higher levels of reflection do not have to diminish students’ motivation, perception of usefulness, interest and enjoyment during learning. Finally, the research results reveal motives for encouraging more collaborative reflection during learning