Analyzing student-teacher interactions in challenge-based learning

Challenge-based learning (CBL) exposes students to the complexities of openended and real-life challenges and encourages them to be in the lead of their learning. The role of teachers remains important but shifts from being the expert to the role of a coach who gradually scaffolds students into becoming independent learners. Accordingly, the interplay between teachers' and students' regulation of teaching and learning can result in friction and influence students' learning experience. This study explores incidents of constructive or destructive friction between student and teacher regulation during a 9-week CBL course for first-year engineering students. Thematic analysis is employed to identify critical incidents of friction during students' learning via analyzing students' weekly learning portfolios. Results suggest that students' experience in CBL is not linear, and there is a constant interplay between students' ability to regulate their learning and teachers' scaffolding. Initial exposure to CBL was characterized by friction in student and teacher interactions. Several students increased their self-regulated learning skills by resolving the initial friction by adopting a more proactive approach to their learning by actively asking questions and feedback from their teachers. The findings of this study are particularly relevant for CBL, where much attention is paid to students' autonomy, self-directedness, and collaboration. Building on the insights of this research, we make recommendations for further research and educational practice

An investigation into student and teacher perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the use of information communications technologies to support digital forms of summative performance assessment in the applied information technology and engineering studies courses in Western Australia

This study investigated the connections between teachers’ and students’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to support assessment in senior secondary courses in Western Australia, and the feasibility of such support in various forms. This investigation focused on the main characteristics of these perceptions, and attitudes and their relationships with curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and ICT. The findings provide guidelines for educators in using ICT to support summative performance assessment. My study was part of the main research study undertaken by Edith Cowan University (ECU) and the Curriculum Council of Western Australia (CCWA) and will provides significant clarity into the implementation of ICT support for performance assessment employing practices which characterise practical performance in digital forms. It was in the range of teacher and student perceptions and attitudes that this study added knowledge to the practice of digital forms of assessment. The overall intent was to design, cultivate and implement the best assessment task possible to measure the practical performance of students in Engineering Studies and Applied Information Technology (AIT). Therefore, it was also necessary to evaluate the feasibility of this task and factors that would affect feasibility such as perceptions and attitudes of particpants. To achieve this the study needed to gather data in various forms from a wide variety of sources that would allow triangluation of data analysis. Qualitative data were gathered from a student survey where a set of measurements scales were constructed. Quantitative data were assembled from observation and discussion with teachers before, during and after schools’ visits, from open-ended items in the student survey section and from teacher interview responses. In addition small groups of students were assembled into discussion forums and responses to a series of questions were recorded and analysed. A number of critical thresholds had been reached to underpin the relevance and importance of research into aspects of the use of ICT to support summative assessment. Firstly the growth in access to, and improvements, in ICT services has enabled this emergent area of digital assessment or e-assessment (JISC, 2006). However, this growth is not sufficient justification for the investigation and implementation of digital forms of assessment. The research is justified when this growth in ICT is combined with the increasing use of ICT to improve pedagogical practices; the employment of ICT to improve productivity in education; and the need to effectively and efficiently assess the practical performance of students in a large number of contexts. It was likely that the development of techniques to represent student performance in digital forms would assist the addressing of these imperatives. Whether these techniques were successful would depend on a number of influences including the attitudes and perceptions of students and teachers. When accountability and efficiency are called upon comparisions are often made with non-ICT strategies. These controlled experiment approaches can prove problematic due to ethical and political questions arising with non-ICT groups. The inherent assumptions to computer use in exams contexts are still conducted using pen and paper. In addition their lack of or slow uptake of ICT and the believed that curriculum will remain unchanged despite the introduction of ICT to support. Therefore this study took an ethnographic, rather than experimental approach, but sought to make comparisons between two key stakeholders; teachers and students. In line with the larger study of which this study was a part, data were collected using observation, interview, survey and document analysis. Analysis and interpretation included the application of a feasibility framework and case study comparison. The adoption of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) or models based upon CBAM as an instrument to analyse data was employed in the case studies. The feasibility framework comprised four interrelated and complex parameters Manageability, Technical, Functional and Pedgogical dimensions is described in chapter eight of this study. It was evident from the research data, that students’ and teachers’ positive attutudes towards the computer-based performance exams and their beliefs in the value of ICT for assessment and all these intrinsic factors were fundamental to the feasibility of the implementation of digital forms of assessment in both Engineering Studies and AIT. From research data it was evident the application of ICT increasingly permeates students’ and teachers’ work and life, and their attitudes towards interaction with computer systems was a major factor in the success of digital forms of assessments in practical performance tasks. This was the focus and the background for this study. This study found that students in both the Engineering studies and AIT case studies attempted the assessment tasks with enthusiasm, however the AIT assessments were perceived a little more positively by students and teachers than the Engineering studies assessment. Assessment tasks worked best where the approach was familiar to students. This occurred for almost all cases in AIT, but not for Engineering although approach was relatively similar there were logisitical constraints in organising time to complete the tasks and in some cases technical in running the software on school workstations or accessing online systems through school networks. In a number of schools changes had to be mads to standard operating systems to allow software to run off USB thumb drives, video to be viewed, Flash applications to run within Internet browsers and sound to be recorded. Overall the study found that the benefits of digital forms of assessment implemented outweighted the constraints for both the Engineering studies and AIT course. In particular students’ and teachers’ responses were overwhelmingly postive due to the practical nature of the work in all assessment tasks. Generally they perferred this form of assessment to paper-based assessments. This study has added to existing knowledge on the implementing of digital forms of assessment, in particular to both the Engineering Studies and AIT, and in general to secondary senior courses in Western Australian (WA) schools

A Review of Work Based Learning in Higher Education

The idea of work based learning in higher education might sound like a contradiction in terms. Work based learning is surely in the the workplace. The senses in which it might also, under certain conditions, be in higher education are explored in this review. There are increasing arrangements whereby people can obtain academic recognition for learning which has taken place outside of educational institutions. In addition to traditional forms of professional education and sandwich courses, one can add a host of relationships between employers and higher education institutions which involve quite fundamental questioning of the roles and responsibilities of each in the continuing education and training of adults. Such developments can be related to broader themes concerning the organisation of knowledge in society, the changing nature of work and career, the learning society and the implications they hold for individual workers, their employers and educational providers. The Department for Education and Employment sponsored the study to produce a substantial literature review of progress and issues raised in the field of work based learning in higher education. The first part of the book provides a contextual and conceptual backdrop against which more practical aspects of work based learning are then considered in part two. The final part considers strategic issues of implementation for higher education institutions, employers and individuals, before turning to more wide ranging issues of policy

Scaffolding reflective inquiry - enabling why-questioning while e-learning

This paper presents some theoretical and interdisciplinary perspectives that might inform the design and development of information and communications technology (ICT) tools to support reflective inquiry during e-learning. The role of why-questioning provides the focus of discussion and is guided by literature that spans critical thinking, inquiry-based and problem-based learning, storytelling, sense-making, and reflective practice, as well as knowledge management, information science, computational linguistics and automated question generation. It is argued that there exists broad scope for the development of ICT scaffolding targeted at supporting reflective inquiry duringe-learning. Evidence suggests that wiki-based learning tasks, digital storytelling, and e-portfolio tools demonstrate the value of accommodating reflective practice and explanatory content in supporting learning; however, it is also argued that the scope for ICT tools that directly support why-questioning as a key aspect of reflective inquiry is a frontier ready for development

Conference Program: Interfaces, Intersections, and Gateways

Letter, by Bill Burke (Conference Coordinator), Sally Kuhlenschmidt (Program Chair), Mary Deane Sorcinelli (President) Core Committee, 2001-2002 POD Presidents / Conference Sites Conference Overview Acknowledgements Conference Tracks Schedule Changes to POD Program as of Wednesday noon, October 1

Conference Program: Interfaces, Intersections, and Gateways

Letter, by Bill Burke (Conference Coordinator), Sally Kuhlenschmidt (Program Chair), Mary Deane Sorcinelli (President) Core Committee, 2001-2002 POD Presidents / Conference Sites Conference Overview Acknowledgements Conference Tracks Schedule Changes to POD Program as of Wednesday noon, October 1

Essential assessment for quality online learning in higher education

Linking assessment with learning objectives and outcomes has become significantly important in assessing adult learners in higher education. To better understand how adults learn and their expectations for learning, this paper provides a literature review that examines adult learning theory, learner characteristics, and motivation factors that shape our understanding. Additionally, this paper provides an in-depth review on the definition of assessment, types of assessment, formative versus summative assessment, alternative assessment, self-assessment, and the most appropriate and essential implementing principles and strategies in an online learning environment. The resources were retrieved using the University of Northern Iowa Library\u27s online cataloging system - UNISTAR as well as resources from two online metadatabases - Panther Prowler and Google Scholar™. The literature review reveals that assessment is not only a key indicator for both teaching and learning; it is also an extended motivator to trigger online learners. While innovative strategies and techniques for effectively using assessment need to be further explored and developed, this paper provides some good practices for aligning assessment with course objectives and learning outcome to ensure quality online learning in higher education

Proceedings of the 6th Workshop on Awareness and Reflection in Technology Enhanced Learning. In conjunction with the 11th European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning: Adaptive and Adaptable Learning.

Awareness and reflection are viewed differently across the disciplines informing Technology-Enhanced Learning (CSCW, psychology, educational sciences, computer science and others). The ARTEL workshop series brings together researchers and professionals from different backgrounds to provide a forum for discussing the multi-faceted area of awareness and reflection. 2016 was the 6th workshop in this series. Through the last ARTEL workshops at EC-TEL the topic has gained maturity and questions addresses are converging towards the usage of awareness and reflection in practice, its implementation in modern organisations, its impact on learners and questions of feasibility and sustainability for awareness and reflection in education and work. To reflect the growing maturity of research in ARTEL over the years in conjunction with the latest trends in TEL, this year's topic particularly invited contributions that deal with the contribution and impact of Learning Analytics on awareness and reflection. The motto of the workshop this year was: 'Learning Analytics for Awareness and Reflection: How can Learning Analytics methodologies and tools support awareness and reflection in different learning contexts?