Attitudinal Learning Research Articles

Attitudinal Learning in Large-Enrollment Classrooms: a Case Study

How to provide effective attitudinal learning in large-enrollment classrooms is a continuing question in higher education. This qualitative single case study investigated instructional design strategies and activities that could effectively be applied to attitude change in large-enrollment learning contexts. By evaluating an undergraduate sustainability course from multiple perspectives, this study focused on answering four research questions: 1) Did students perceive that their attitudes towards sustainability changed after taking the course? 2) From expert instructional designers’ perspectives, to what extent was the course design aligned with the first principles for attitudinal instruction? 3) From both the instructor and students’ perspectives, what instructional activities were most effective for attitude change? 4) From the instructor’s perspective, what were the key instructional design strategies for promoting effective attitudinal instruction? Results showed that despite the challenges a large course might present, this course successfully helped students change their attitudes towards sustainability. A variety of instructional strategies and activities were applied in this course, including active learning, instructional videos, collaborative projects, and teamwork. This case study set a successful example of incorporating active learning strategies and activities in large classroom contexts.

Measuring Attitudinal Learning Outcomes in Electronics and Communication Engineering Experimental Instructions

In traditional time bound linear teaching practices, learning outcomes are difficult to measure from the actual learning happened, as autonomous learning is not explicitly considered. Research studies and documents available on the practice of Outcome Based Education and the subsequent design and development of Learning Outcomes for measuring core competencies along with skills and attitudes of learners, which specifically concentrating on the Laboratory experimental courses in Electronics and Communication engineering is very rare. This paper attempts to make an experimental study on a selected set of experiments, to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of measuring learning outcomes that actually encourage students for autonomous learning. Demography and the subjects considered for the experimental studies are presented along with statistical outputs. The results are encouraging and would throw more light for further research in this area. Besides, the results will be highly useful to the generic area of engineering education. Validation of the results is done by social survey method, which includes statistical analysis. The experimental students are however limited to Indian conditions (and the current practices followed) of engineering education.

Proyecto cultural para la adquisición de competencias laborales en Ingeniería Industrial

Integral training in university degree allows the full development of the potential of the human being; In addition to academics, personal growth must be cultivated, including culture and environmental care. So teachers should conceive learning activities that promote this development. The experience of an educational intervention that promotes the generation of labor competencies using a cultural project, intertwining the subjects of economics, sustainable development and metrology and standardization, based on investigation into the learning styles of university students of Industrial engineering, they presents a preference to the theoretical style, followed by active and pragmatic, so a didactic strategy was carried out that promoted the care of the environment, the traditions of the day of the dead, teamwork, cost analysis, the measurement of the structures linking the theoretical, practical and attitudinal learning, with the production of a Calaca whit reuse material that had bone proportions according to its dimensions. The participation of the students in the cultural event with their proposals of Catrinas showed their competences of the subjects.

Potentialities of Thermography in Ecocentric Education of Children: An Experience on Training of Future Primary Teachers

Current serious environmental issues, such as deforestation, compel compulsory school education on the need for reflection on pedagogical practices to promote education for environmental sustainability. The educational process about the “tree as living being” requires that content and attitudinal dimensions be deeply integrated. Therefore, meaningful learning of biological similarity—between tree and animal—needs to be prioritised. It will promote the development of tree protection attitudes. Under this approach, an action research was developed to contribute to a future primary teacher education model. A didactic-pedagogical intervention was designed. It was implemented to assess the educational potential of infrared thermography in the development of ecocentric education. A group of students attending the 3rd year of primary education participated in this qualitative case study. The results revealed that ecocentric conceptions were constructed bringing these children closer to scientific knowledge. It resulted in the development of conservation/protection tree attitudinal learning. It is also worth mentioning the contribution of this study to (re)think (re)construction of the formative process of future primary teachers in order to: direct the teaching–learning process to environment real problems; and to promote the necessary debate on the contribution of technology to achieve innovation of pedagogical practices.

Characteristics, Structure, and Effects of an On-Line Tool for Improvement in Adolescents' Competency for Interaction With Alcohol: The e-ALADOTM Utility.

This research report aims to present the characteristics, structure and effects of a psychoeducational technological innovation (called the e-ALADO Program) for the prevention of alcohol intake in adolescents. Based on the Competency model for interaction with alcohol, this program consists of a total of 24 lessons that promote conceptual, procedural, and attitudinal learning, in ICT format (www.alado.es). The hypothesis of this validation study established that adolescents treated with the program would improve their levels of competence and their interaction behavior with alcohol, depending of their personal level of self-regulation. A total of 148 adolescents from 12 to 16 years of age from three Spanish educational centers with different sociocultural contexts participated. A quasi-experimental methodology with repeated measures and use of inferential analysis was used (ANOVAs and MANOVAs). The results show a main principal effect of the Treatment variable, of the Self-Regulation Level variable, and an interaction effect of Treatment × Self-regulation in the conceptual and attitudinal subcompetence for interaction with alcohol. The results are discussed in the face of new technological developments that allow the evaluation and intervention in the prevention of alcohol intake with adolescents. An important implication of this work is related to the importance of self-regulation as a psychological variable. Also, the suitability of psychoeducational interventions with new technological formats in the prevention of adolescents’ alcohol intake as entrepreneurial activity.

Supporting urban change: Using a MOOC to facilitate attitudinal learning and participation in smart cities

Smart cities try to use technology and data to improve the efficiency of city services, to address societal challenges and to improve collaboration between citizens and government. Driving such social change requires a deep socio-ecological transition with both organisations and individual's lifestyles needing to change. This has led to an increasing recognition of the need for education to empower people to play a more active role within smart city initiatives. This paper examines our use of a MOOC as a tool to facilitate attitudinal learning around the topic of smart cities and to explore whether the learners engage in local smart city activities. A mixed methods research design was employed, collecting data via an online survey that was completed by 202 learners and through in-depth interviews with 8 of those learners. The results show that learners' perceived high levels of attitudinal learning on the topic of smart cities across four categories of learning outcomes (general, cognitive, affective and behavioural). Our findings also contribute to an understanding of the types of post-course activities learners participate in and their experiences of trying to apply what they learnt if they participated in local smart city activities. We conclude by providing new insights into how to design for learning to support social change in the context of a MOOC.

The development and validation of the Attitudinal Learning Inventory (ALI): a measure of attitudinal learning and instruction

In this paper, we present the development and validation of a new measure of attitudinal learning—the Attitudinal Learning Inventory (ALI). While specific scales are available for measuring attitudes, they largely focus on established attitudes, not the impact of instruction on those attitudes. We developed the inventory with two explicit objectives: (1) to measure a broad range of attitude constructs representing a holistic view of attitudinal learning and instruction; and (2) to facilitate the measurement of attitudinal learning that can be useful for educational researchers beyond traditional metrics. The ALI was developed and validated across two samples of a total of 1009 participants with diverse demographics. The ALI comprises 15 scale items and exhibited good psychometric properties and conformed to the theoretical four-dimensional structure of attitudinal learning: cognitive, affective, behavioral, and social. The ALI was also shown to correlate with behavioral metrics of class engagement. Future uses of the new measure are discussed. Participants were taken from entirely online populations, and while demographically diverse, implementation of the scale with face-to-face instruction, in varied settings, and across different groups of learners is needed to provide additional evidence of its intended generalizability and consider possible biases.

Perceived attitudinal learning in a self-paced versus fixed-schedule MOOC

ABSTRACTThis study (N = 427) examined perceived attitudinal learning gains (i.e., cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning) related to the course topic by comparing a self-paced version of a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) with a fixed-scheduled version. Independent samples t-tests revealed that those in a self-paced classroom were more likely to perceive higher levels of attitudinal learning gains and satisfaction than those in a fixed-scheduled MOOC. Those enrolling in the self-paced course also identified significantly more diverse reasons for enrolling. Learners in both courses identified course videos as the most impactful instructional component. Implications for the design of self-paced MOOCs are discussed.

Attitudinal learning and its relation to gender, age, ethnicity, enrolment purpose, and most impactful learning activity in a science of happiness MOOC

This mixed-method study examined learners' perceptions of attitudinal learning gains in a MOOC and the impact of their demographics, enrolment purpose, and perception of the most impactful learning activity on those gains. Interview data provided greater insights into survey results, with learners sharing their thoughts on instructional design choices and learning challenges and how those impacted attitudinal learning in the MOOC. Furthermore, a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that age and ethnicity were the best predictors for affective learning gains; gender and perception of impactful activity for behavioural learning gains; and ethnicity, enrolment purpose, and perception of impactful activity for cognitive learning gains. Implications for the design and facilitation of instructional activities in MOOCs designed to enhance attitudinal learning are discussed.

Attitudinal learning and its relation to gender, age, ethnicity, enrolment purpose, and most impactful learning activity in a science of happiness MOOC

This mixed-method study examined learners' perceptions of attitudinal learning gains in a MOOC and the impact of their demographics, enrolment purpose, and perception of the most impactful learning activity on those gains. Interview data provided greater insights into survey results, with learners sharing their thoughts on instructional design choices and learning challenges and how those impacted attitudinal learning in the MOOC. Furthermore, a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that age and ethnicity were the best predictors for affective learning gains; gender and perception of impactful activity for behavioural learning gains; and ethnicity, enrolment purpose, and perception of impactful activity for cognitive learning gains. Implications for the design and facilitation of instructional activities in MOOCs designed to enhance attitudinal learning are discussed.

Medical Professionalism: the Effects of Sociodemographic Diversity and Curricular Organization on the Attitudinal Performance of Medical Students

ABSTRACT Introduction: Socioeconomic and demographic diversity in the educational environment and the development of professional attitudes enhance the quality of health care delivery. Despite the importance of diversity for equity and accessibility to health care, its repercussions for students’ attitudinal learning have not been adequately evaluated. Purpose: Evaluate the influence of academic sociodemographic diversity and curricular organization in the development of professional attitudes in different phases of the undergraduate medical curriculum. Method: In 2012, the attitudinal performance of 310 socioeconomically diverse medical students was evaluated by the administration of a five-point professional attitudes scale. The participants were at different points in their education at a Brazilian public school of medicine in Brasília, Federal District. The scale comprised 6 factors: communication, ethics, professional excellence, self-assessment, beliefs, social determinants; and a general factor called medical professionalism and was validated for the purpose of this research. The reliability coefficients (aCronbach) ranged from 0.65 to 0.87, according to different scale dimensions. Student diversity was analyzed according to differences in gender, age, religious affiliation, system of student selection and socioeconomic background. Results: The authors observed a decline in the mean attitude scores during the clinical phase compared to the preclinical phase of the curriculum. Female students displayed more positive attitudes than male students, and the students who declared a religious affiliation recorded higher attitude scores compared to those who declared themselves atheist, agnostic or non-religious. There was no correlation between family income or the system of student selection and the students’ attitude scores. The students who had attended public schools expressed a greater interest in working in the public health system compared to the other students. Age and marital status had no relevant effect on attitude scores. Conclusions: The attitude scores of medical students declined as the curriculum progressed. Female students had more positive attitudes than male students. Religious affiliation appeared to positively influence the observed attitude scores.

Facilitating attitudinal learning in an animal behaviour and welfare MOOC

ABSTRACTThis case study examines the design and facilitation of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that focused on attitudinal learning about the topic of animal behaviour and welfare. Findings showed that a team of instructors worked together collaboratively towards realising learning goals and found the experience rewarding. While learners had mixed perceptions of gains in cognitive, affective and behavioural learning, they reported high satisfaction with lecture videos and instructor course participation. Implications for the instructional design of MOOCs and attitudinal learning are discussed based on these findings, including a discussion of MOOCs as a unique platform for attitudinal learning, and recommendations for their successful use. The recommendations include the importance of creating a collaborative instructor team, establishing high instructor presence, using interactive and collaborative learning activities, and receiving support from platform providers and institutions.

Learner profiles of attitudinal learning in a MOOC: An explanatory sequential mixed methods study

The aims of the study were to investigate learner profiles in a MOOC focused on attitudinal learning, Science of Happiness, based on learner self-assessment of “happiness” and relationships with demographics, attitudinal learning gains and preferred instructional activities. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was used in the attitudinal learning survey. The survey assessed cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning, and was followed by interviews with 12 participants. Latent profile analysis identified two profiles based on the differences in the levels and trends of happiness reported by learners during the 10-week course. Results indicated that MOOC learners described different preferences for exploratory or instructor-directed instructional strategies. Identified implications for the instructional design of MOOCs for attitudinal learning included recognizing that MOOC learners often view MOOCs more as entertainment as opposed to formal education. Therefore, course length, pace, scope, and difficulty should be considered in this light. Furthermore, supporting varied learner goals and interests, and instructional preferences are important. Finally, special consideration must also be paid to the design and facilitation of course discussions.

Primary assessment activity and learner perceptions of attitude change in four MOOCs

This study seeks to examine perceptions of attitudinal change in relation to the primary assessment activity within four Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that were designed for attitudinal learning. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, we sought to understand if by focusing on assessing cognitive learning (quizzes) as opposed to behavioral learning (personal projects), the courses would result in greater reported attitude change in the respective areas. The second component of the study examined whether learners who identified cognitive learning (quizzes) as opposed to behavioral learning (personal projects) as the most impactful learning activity (or vice versa) reported stronger learning in the respective attitudinal component. Using an author-created survey that included learner reported attitudinal learning, perceptions of attitude change were collected. Results revealed that learners who utilized assessment activities focusing on behavioral learning did not report higher perceptions of behavioral learning. In contrast, learners utilizing assessment activities that focused on cognitive learning did report higher perceptions of cognitive learning. We conclude with a discussion of instructional design and facilitation of learning in MOOCs, as well as instruction for attitudinal learning within open-learning environments.

Recursos audiovisuales en la educación en enfermería: revisión de la literatura

Introducción. Los recursos audiovisuales como estrategias de enseñanza fomentan el cambio de una educación tradicional hacia una que integra los cambios tecnológicos, la cual utiliza y dispone de los recursos para mejorar el aprendizaje, por lo que es necesario contar con la mejor evidencia disponible para apoyar su utilización en la formación de los estudiantes.<br />Objetivo. Analizar la evidencia existente del impacto que tienen los recursos audiovisuales en el mejoramiento de la enseñanza en enfermería.<br />Metodología. Búsqueda sistematizada en las bases de datos Medline, CINAHL, EBSCO, SciELO, ERIC, PubMed, LILACS y Cochrane. Utilizando el método PICo y Descriptores de Ciencias de la Salud (DeSC) en inglés, español y portugués.<br />Resultados. Se seleccionaron 7 estudios experimentales y cuasi-experimentales dónde se observa que los recursos audiovisuales ayudan a mejorar el aprendizaje declarativo, contextual y actitudinal, sin embargo, no superan a las estrategias situadas como la simulación, práctica tutorizada y actividades interactivas.<br />Conclusiones. La evidencia demuestra que el uso de los recursos audiovisuales desarrolla la empatía y favorece la expresión de la interioridad del alumno, sin embargo, por sí solos no superan a estrategias de aprendizaje constructivistas.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><strong> </strong></p>

A Salamander Tale: Effective Exhibits and Attitude Change

Little information exists regarding intention behind the design and development of Extension outreach and educational exhibits. An evaluation of response to the exhibit A Salamander Tale indicates that the methods used to develop the exhibit resulted in an effective way to present information to an adult audience. Survey questions were based on research literature on attitudinal learning, especially literature discussing cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning components. Of 409 survey respondents, 69% or more reported positive changes in attitude about eastern hellbender salamanders and their habitats. Perhaps most important to hellbender conservation efforts, 73% of survey respondents claimed they would change their behavior and 70% claimed they would tell others what they learned from the exhibit.

A Team of Instructors’ Use of Social Presence, Teaching Presence, and Attitudinal Dissonance Strategies: An Animal Behaviour and Welfare MOOC

<p class="3">This case study examined a team of instructors’ use of social presence, teaching presence, and attitudinal dissonance in a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on Animal Behaviour and Welfare (ABW), designed to facilitate attitudinal learning. The study reviewed a team of six instructors’ use of social presence and teaching presence by applying the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, as well as the establishment of attitudinal dissonance within the announcements and discussion forums. The instructors entered the MOOC as a collaborative facilitation team and created a highly balanced manner of communication and positive atmosphere within the course. The instructional design focused on creating an informative and knowledgeable network of global learners that would agree that animal welfare was a critical social issue in today’s society. These course goals and facilitation intentions were demonstrated through a high number of social and teaching presence indicators, with a significant use of all social presence, teaching presence, and attitudinal dissonance categories in evidence. The results present a review of an instructional team’s facilitation that focused on shaping attitudes about the topic of animal behaviour and welfare within a MOOC. We conclude by providing insights into instructional design and facilitation of MOOCs in general or attitudinal learning specifically.</p>

Instructional quality of massive open online courses: a review of attitudinal change MOOCs

This study builds on prior research regarding attitudinal learning MOOCs, and a study examining the quality of MOOCs based on adherence to the first principles of instruction. Nine MOOCs designed for attitudinal instruction were reviewed to rate the degree they incorporated first principles of instruction and first principles of attitudinal instruction. The study found that while none of the MOOCs incorporated all of the first principles, overall, they incorporated the first principles of instruction more consistently than in the prior study. The review also showed that all of the courses did incorporate the attitudinal instruction first principles to some degree. This study provides researchers an approach to evaluating the instructional design quality of attitudinal instruction in general and MOOCs designed for attitudinal learning specifically, while also guiding practitioners in understanding how others have approached the design of attitudinal learning MOOCs.

Measuring Student Transformation in Entrepreneurship Education Programs

This article describes how to measure student transformation primarily within a university entrepreneurship degree program. Student transformation is defined as changes in knowledge (“Head”), skills (“Hand”), and attitudinal (“Heart”) learning outcomes. Following the institutional impact model, student transformation is the primary goal of education and all other program goals and aspects of quality desired by stakeholders are either input factors (professors, courses, facilities, support, etc.) or output performance (number of startups, average starting salary, % employment, etc.). This goal‐setting framework allows competing stakeholder quality expectations to be incorporated into a continuous process improvement (CPI) model when establishing program goals. How to measure these goals to implement TQM methods is shown. Measuring student transformation as the central focus of a program promotes harmony among competing stakeholders and also provides a metric on which other program decisions (e.g., class size, assignments, and pedagogical technique) may be based. Different stakeholders hold surprisingly different views on defining program quality. The proposed framework provides a useful way to bring these competing views into a CPI cycle to implement TQM requirements of accreditation. The specific entrepreneurial learning outcome goals described in the tables in this article may also be used directly by educators in nonaccredited programs and single courses/workshops or for other audiences.

Singlish in the classroom: is Singapore ready for additive bidialectalism?

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the concept of additive bidialectalism and argues that promoting it in dialectally diverse English language classrooms such as in Singapore can help address the ‘problem’ of non-standard language use in these contexts. Although its historical trajectory goes back to the 1970s, additive bidialectalism, especially in postcolonial countries, remains a marginalized view in the teaching of English. In classrooms where devalued but structurally stabilized varieties are used, standard English should be reconceptualized not only as (1) an additional dialect or variety that needs to be taught and learned, but also as (2) an inextricable part of classroom discourse that encompasses standard and non-standard use. Knowledge and strategic use of Singlish help improve learners’ competence in standard English. However, classroom strategies must simultaneously work towards attitudinal change, facilitative learning, and cultural affirmation. Singapore is a highly progressive English-dominant multilingual nation; there is no reason for ‘linguistic self-flagellation’ [Wee, L. 2008. In Varieties of English: Africa, South and South Asia, edited by R. Mesthrie, 1017–33. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 265] to continue.