The value of using Video Narratives for research

A report of how an ESCalate small grant helped Gordon Joyes to use video to record students' research experiences

Localisation of the e-Educator module: the Malaysian experience

The University of Nottingham, UK and Beijing Foreign Studies University, China developed a module for training tutors of online learners - one that could be adapted for use in a variety of contexts. The module was piloted at the School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang with eight staff members (six tutors and two local mentors). They undertook to work through the different units of the e-Educator module and complete all the e-Educator tasks required which include online forums and other online activities. They were also required to complete reflective blog entries at regular intervals. This paper will share the results of the four focus group interviews and the reflections of one of the tutors. The findings of the focus groups were analysed first and then triangulated with the reflections of the tutor to give a more holistic picture of the Malaysian experience. The findings revealed that the e-Educator module curriculum was perceived as highly relevant to the tutors and impacted on their personal and professional development, establishing a community of practice for the tutors involved. However, the extent to which it can be localised needs to be explored further

Localisation of the e-Educator module: the Malaysian experience

The University of Nottingham, UK and Beijing Foreign Studies University, China developed a module for training tutors of online learners - one that could be adapted for use in a variety of contexts. The module was piloted at the School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang with eight staff members (six tutors and two local mentors). They undertook to work through the different units of the e-Educator module and complete all the e-Educator tasks required which include online forums and other online activities. They were also required to complete reflective blog entries at regular intervals. This paper will share the results of the four focus group interviews and the reflections of one of the tutors. The findings of the focus groups were analysed first and then triangulated with the reflections of the tutor to give a more holistic picture of the Malaysian experience. The findings revealed that the e-Educator module curriculum was perceived as highly relevant to the tutors and impacted on their personal and professional development, establishing a community of practice for the tutors involved. However, the extent to which it can be localised needs to be explored further

Problems in the learning of physics: development in the control of variables

The primary purpose of this work was to identify the process by which the control of variables' strategy develops. Investigations are described which indicate that the strategies used on 'control of variables' tasks are task specific. The quasi/empirical nature of science tasks is shown to affect the use of the control strategy. Further investigations are described that indicate the existence of a concrete operational control strategy which has as its basis negation by elimination and cancellation, and not Piaget's formal level operation of negation by neutralisation. Two major studies, one at the Secondary School and one at the Junior School level, are described in which four parallel substages in the development of the control strategy were noted. At the concrete operational level these substages represented an increasing ability to produce a consistency between judgments and experimental results through the formation of increasingly sophisticated strategies, i.e. through attendance to first order relations. At the formal operational level the substages represented an increasing ability to compare criteria for the use of strategies, i.e. attendance to second order relations. Neo-Piagetian procedures are applied and the calculation of the M demand for the substages tends to confirm a static model for the size of M space

Problems in the learning of physics: development in the control of variables

The primary purpose of this work was to identify the process by which the control of variables' strategy develops. Investigations are described which indicate that the strategies used on 'control of variables' tasks are task specific. The quasi/empirical nature of science tasks is shown to affect the use of the control strategy. Further investigations are described that indicate the existence of a concrete operational control strategy which has as its basis negation by elimination and cancellation, and not Piaget's formal level operation of negation by neutralisation. Two major studies, one at the Secondary School and one at the Junior School level, are described in which four parallel substages in the development of the control strategy were noted. At the concrete operational level these substages represented an increasing ability to produce a consistency between judgments and experimental results through the formation of increasingly sophisticated strategies, i.e. through attendance to first order relations. At the formal operational level the substages represented an increasing ability to compare criteria for the use of strategies, i.e. attendance to second order relations. Neo-Piagetian procedures are applied and the calculation of the M demand for the substages tends to confirm a static model for the size of M space

Measuring online interaction

Equivalency Theorem (Anderson, 2003) suggests “deep and meaningful� learning is possible as long as one of the main forms of interaction is at a high level: student-teacher; studentstudent; student-content. In measuring an online interaction, one common technique used is content analysis. It is a technique to study the interaction patterns among students and tutors. It also enables researcher to study human behaviour in an indirect way through an analysis of their communication. (Fraenkel and Wallen, 2006). This paper will look at (1) the use of content analysis used to measure on-line interaction and (2) the application of Salmon’s Five-Step model in analysing online interaction which has been criticised by Moule’s E-learning Ladder model

Using blended learning to enhance students' cognitive presence

The adoption of e-learning has had a great impact on the process of teaching and learning at Malaysian institutions of higher learning. More educators have started encouraging their students to participate actively within groups through online learning (Brindley et al., 2009) as it could enhance students’ cognitive skills (Moscinska & Rutkowski, 2011). When the flexibility of online learning is integrated with the face-to-face method, it provides a new experience in teaching and learning. The important question raised was: Does learning in blended mode also increase the students’ cognitive skills? As the study of blended learning is based mainly on content analysis (online transcripts), a case study with a qualitative approach was conducted. The findings proved that learning through blended learning could enhance students’ cognitive skills