Formative peer assessment in a CSCL environment

In this case study our aim was to gain more insight in the possibilities of qualitative formative peer assessment in a computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. An approach was chosen in which peer assessment was operationalised in assessment assignments and assessment tools that were embedded in the course material. The course concerned a higher education case-based virtual seminar, in which students were asked to conduct research and write a report in small multidisciplinary teams. The assessment assignments contained the discussion of assessment criteria, the assessment of a group report of a fellow group, and writing an assessment report. A list of feedback rules was one of the assessment tools. A qualitative oriented study was conducted, focussing on the attitude of students towards peer assessment and practical use of peer assessment assignments and tools. Results showed that students’ attitude towards peer assessment was positive and that assessment assignments had added value. However, not all students fulfilled all assessment assignments. Recommendations for implementation of peer assessment in CSCL environments as well as suggestions for future research are discussed

Direct and Constructivist Instructional Design: A Comparison of Efficiency Using Mental Workload and Task Performance

This paper investigates the efficiency of two instructional design conditions: a traditional design based on the direct instruction approach to learning and its extension with a collaborative activity based upon the community of inquiry approach to learning. This activity was built upon a set of textual trigger questions to elicit cognitive abilities and support knowledge formation. A total of 115 students participated in the experiments and a number of third-level computer science classes where divided in two groups. A control group of learners received the former instructional design while an experimental group also received the latter design. Subsequently, learners of each group individually answered a multiple-choice questionnaire, from which a performance measure was extracted for the evaluation of the acquired factual, conceptual and procedural knowledge. Two measures of mental workload were acquired through self-reporting questionnaires: one unidimensional and one multidimensional. These, in conjunction with the performance measure, contributed to the definition of a measure of efficiency. Evidence showed the positive impact of the added collaborative activity on efficiency

Machine and human observable differences in groups’ collaborative problem-solving behaviours

This paper contributes to our understanding of how to design learning analytics to capture and analyse collaborative problem-solving (CPS) in practice-based learning activities. Most research in learning analytics focuses on student interaction in digital learning environments, yet still most learning and teaching in schools occurs in physical environments. Investigation of student interaction in physical environments can be used to generate observable differences among students, which can then be used in the design and implementation of Learning Analytics. Here, we present several original methods for identifying such differences in groups CPS behaviours. Our data set is based on human observation, hand position (fiducial marker) and heads direction (face recognition) data from eighteen students working in six groups of three. The results show that the high competent CPS groups spend an equal distribution of time on their problem-solving and collaboration stages. Whereas, the low competent CPS groups spend most of their time in identifying knowledge and skill deficiencies only. Moreover, as machine observable data shows, high competent CPS groups present symmetrical contributions to the physical tasks and present high synchrony and individual accountability values. The findings have significant implications on the design and implementation of future learning analytics systems

The effects of an afterschool STEM program on students’ motivation and engagement

Background: One significant factor in facilitating students’ career intentions and persistence in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields is targeting their interests and motivation before eighth grade. To reach students at this critical stage, a design-based afterschool STEM program, titled Studio STEM, was implemented to foster motivation and engagement in STEM topics and activities. The purpose of this study is twofold: (a) to investigate how Studio STEM affected students’ beliefs about science and whether these beliefs differed from their peers who did not participate in the program, and (b) to examine a case study of one Studio STEM implementation to investigate elements of the curriculum that motivated students to engage in the program. Results: After completing two Studio STEM programs, participants’ ratings of their values for science and science competence were higher than those of non participants. In addition, the Studio STEM participants’ motivational beliefs about science and intentions to pursue a college degree were more resilient over time than their peers. We also found that students could be motivated in a voluntary afterschool program (Studio STEM) in which they grappled with STEM concepts and activities, and could verbalize specific program elements that motivated them. Conclusions: Through this study, we found that students could be motivated in Studio STEM and that the experience had a positive impact on their perceptions about science as a field. Importantly, Studio STEM appeared to halt the decline in these students’ motivational beliefs about science that typically occurs during the middle school years, indicating that after school programs can be one way to help students maintain their motivation in science. Studying the program features that the students found motivating may help educators to make connections between research and theory, and their classroom instruction to motivate their students.ECU Open Access Publishing Support Fun

Teaching as a Collaborative Practice:Reframing Security Practitioners as Navigators

The need is growing for a workforce with both technical skills and the ability to navigate existing and emerging information security challenges. Practitioners can no longer depend upon process-driven approaches to people, processes and IT systems to manage information security. They need to be navigators of the entire environment to effectively integrate controls to protect information and technology. The research presented in this paper trialed an innovative tactile learning activity developed through the European Technology-supported Risk Estimation by Predictive Assessment of Socio-technical Security (TREsPASS) project with tertiary education students, designed to provide students with experience in real-world modelling of complex information security scenarios. The outcomes demonstrate that constructing such models in an educational setting are a means of encouraging exploration of the multiple dimensions of security. Such teaching may be a means of teaching social, organization and technical navigation skills necessary to integrate security controls in complex settings

DojoIBL: Online Inquiry-based Learning

DojoIBL is a web based platform to support collaborative inquirybased learning processes. It imitates real-world research processes and organizes inquiry activities into several phases. DojoIBL considers lessons learned from the weSPOT project and offers a cloud-based highly scalable infrastructure that has a strong focus on (mobile) data collection. In this sense, DojoIBL blends formal (desk-top based) learning and informal (mobile) learning. Within the course of 1 year, a design based research methodology was implemented in 10 national and international inquiry projects. Within this period, students were inter-viewed at regular times. Time and task management issues turned out to be critical functionalities and were thus implemented in several iterations

Academic Performance and Behavioral Patterns

Identifying the factors that influence academic performance is an essential part of educational research. Previous studies have documented the importance of personality traits, class attendance, and social network structure. Because most of these analyses were based on a single behavioral aspect and/or small sample sizes, there is currently no quantification of the interplay of these factors. Here, we study the academic performance among a cohort of 538 undergraduate students forming a single, densely connected social network. Our work is based on data collected using smartphones, which the students used as their primary phones for two years. The availability of multi-channel data from a single population allows us to directly compare the explanatory power of individual and social characteristics. We find that the most informative indicators of performance are based on social ties and that network indicators result in better model performance than individual characteristics (including both personality and class attendance). We confirm earlier findings that class attendance is the most important predictor among individual characteristics. Finally, our results suggest the presence of strong homophily and/or peer effects among university students