Precarious school level scalability amid network level resilience: insights from a multilevel multiscale model of scalability

Meeting Theme: Toward Justice: Culture, Language, and Heritage in Education Research and PraxisThis paper presents the scalability analyses of two teacher networks in Hong Kong supported by university researchers. The Learning Community Projects (LCP, 2001-2012) promoted knowledge building pedagogy (Scardamalia 2002) using Knowledge Forum® for online discussions and networked with the Knowledge Building International Project (KBIP). Learning 2.0 (L2.0 for short) was a local network that provided a Moodle-based online learning platform and pedagogical design support to teachers for implementation of Liberal Studies, a new school subject stipulated as compulsory in the education reform process for nurturing critical thinking and lifelong learning skills during 2008 to 2012. Funding for both projects ended in 2012. All network activities in LCP ended, but a number of the L2.0 schools still sought to maintain the pedagogical practices and the online platform using their own resources. This paper proposes a multilevel multiscale model for analyzing the architecture for learning in the specific contexts of three teachers, two connected with LCP and one with L2.0. The analysis reveal that different raison d’être for the SUNG projects, system level involvement, school level conditions and how the learning technology relate to the wider technologic environment interact, leading to the different scalability outcomes observed. The implications of these findings and the utility of the analytic model are discussed.postprin

Supporting teacher learning for pedagogical innovation through collaborative co-design: issues and challenges

This study reports on an in-depth analysis of two teachers’ implementation of one collaboratively designed curriculum unit in the context of the school’s participation in an e-learning initiative to integrate ICT use in the grade 5 General Studies curriculum. The analysis reveals significant differences in the actual implementation as well as in the students’ learning outcomes achieved. While both teachers ventured beyond their comfort zone to provide more opportunities for student interactions and explorations, the enacted implementations reflect differences in the learning goals they targeted and their knowledge of practice. Visualizations of learning analytics did not trigger further exploration among teachers, though these reveal strong links between learning outcomes and the enacted curriculum. Findings raise questions about collaborative instructional design as a model for organizing teacher learning for pedagogical innovation, and the paper proposes design principles and further research to better facilitate innovation-focused professional development.published_or_final_versio

Tools for learning design & learning analytics for teaching as an evidence-based design profession

Invited presentatio

Knowledge Building and Conceptual Change

Since the early research on naive Physics that started in the 1970s, there has been growing recognition of the need for education to take account of learners intuitive ideas, many of which have been found to be robust to change, and the challenge that such ideas pose for education, within the science disciplines and beyond. Some theories have pointed to metaconceptual aspects of understanding as pivotal to conceptual change and that intentional learning would possibly prove to be an effective education approach to change. Knowledge building is a form of intentional learning that promotes epistemic agency at an individual as well as community level. Can we find evidence that knowledge building discourse lead to conceptual change and hence more effective learning of correct concepts in science? A study was designed and conducted on the possible impact of knowledge building activities on conceptual change in mechanics concepts in conjunction with the Go Up, Stay High! Science Design Competition . This contribution reports on the preliminary findings from this study

COLODA: an assessment and facilitation support tool for teachers adopting discussion forum in inquiry learning

Main Theme: E-Learning in a Changing Landscape of Emerging Technologies and PedagogiesSub-theme: Learning analytics: analysis and visualization tools to support assessment for learning and just-in-time feedback - Workshop: paper no. 569One of the major challenges facing teachers who use discussion forums to support students’ collaborative inquiry is understanding students’ progress and identifying appropriate facilitation when there is limited time to navigate through large numbers of postings. This workshop provides an opportunity for participants to experience using automated analyses output from COLODA to make sense of students’ interactions and progress. COLODA is a web-based discourse analysis tool that generates quantitative and qualitative data to inform the progress of collaborative ideas advancement. Participants will have chance to work on real data and to discuss the pedagogical value and use of this tool.link_to_OA_fulltex

Guidelines for interpretation of 16S rRNA gene sequence-based results for identification of medically important aerobic Gram-positive bacteria

This study is believed to be the first to provide guidelines for facilitating interpretation of results based on full and 527 bp 16S rRNA gene sequencing and MicroSeq databases used for identifying medically important aerobic Gram-positive bacteria. Overall, full and 527 bp 16S rRNA gene sequencing can identify 24 and 40% of medically important Gram-positive cocci (GPC), and 21 and 34% of medically important Gram-positive rods (GPR) confidently to the species level, whereas the full-MicroSeq and 500-MicroSeq databases can identify 15 and 34% of medically important GPC and 14 and 25% of medically important GPR confidently to the species level. Among staphylococci, streptococci, enterococci, mycobacteria, corynebacteria, nocardia and members of Bacillus and related taxa (Paenibacillus, Brevibacillus, Geobacillus and Virgibacillus), the methods and databases are least useful for identification of staphylococci and nocardia. Only 0-2 and 2-13% of staphylococci, and 0 and 0-10% of nocardia, can be confidently and doubtfully identified, respectively. However, these methods and databases are most useful for identification of Bacillus and related taxa, with 36-56 and 11-14% of Bacillus and related taxa confidently and doubtfully identified, respectively. A total of 15 medically important GPC and 18 medically important GPR that should be confidently identified by full 16S rRNA gene sequencing are not included in the full-MicroSeq database. A total of 9 medically important GPC and 21 medically important GPR that should be confidently identified by 527 bp 16S rRNA gene sequencing are not included in the 500-MicroSeq database. 16S rRNA gene sequence results of Gram-positive bacteria should be interpreted with basic phenotypic tests results. Additional biochemical tests or sequencing of additional gene loci are often required for definitive identification. To improve the usefulness of the MicroSeq databases, bacterial species that can be confidently identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing but are not found in the MicroSeq databases should be included. © 2009 SGM.link_to_OA_fulltex