Learning Context Research Articles

Blended Learning Approach in TVET Colleges: Lecturers and Students Perceptions of Teaching and Learning Practical Subjects Online

With the advent of artificial intelligence, institutions are now adopting the Blended learning approach, which infuses face-to-face strategies and online teaching methodologies. A blended learning approach is a way to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in higher education institutions, but how feasible is that in TVET Colleges? This study thus investigated the global perceptions of lecturers and students in Technical Vocational Education (TVET) colleges regarding Blended learning for teaching practical subjects online. It examined the challenges and opportunities of moving practical learning online, considering the unique requirements of first-hand subjects like Electrical Engineering, Tourism, Hospitality, Art, and Design. The study utilised articles from Google Scholar and Science Direct databases to comprehensively understand the effectiveness of Blended learning in the TVET context. Using Blended learning as a theoretical framework, a new methodological approach, and a promising blueprint for transforming higher education, the study adopted an integrative literature review methodology to synthesise identified cases and draw themes from the survey. The study brings new knowledge regarding the significant shift in online learning usage during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in vocational education, providing valuable insights for designing effective online learning strategies. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Blended Learning, Integrative Literature Review, Technical Vocational Education (TVET) Colleges

Exploring the Relationship Between Learner Engagement and Language Achievement in Blended Learning Context

Engagement has been considered as an important construct which influences learner’s language learning. This study aims to assess EFL learners’ engagement level in the blended learning context and then to explore its relationship with language achievement. A quantitative research design was adopted with a survey approach. A total of 209 questionnaires were collected. Learners’ language achievement was measured through their end-of-term exams. Descriptive statistics and correlation were conducted for data analysis. The findings revealed that EFL learners’ total engagement level was high in the blended learning, and there was a significant positive correlation between learner engagement level and their language achievement. Moreover, learners’ behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement and emotional engagement were also found to be correlated with their language achievement. These findings not only provide empirical evidence on the pivotal role of learner engagement in language learning, but also have much implications for language teaching in blended context.

AI Copilot for the Modern Developer : Leveraging GenAI in Software Development

This paper explores the transformative impact of AI copilots on software development, powered by Generative AI and Large Language Models. It examines how these tools enhance developer productivity, improve code quality, and democratize software development. The study delves into the core technologies behind AI copilots, including code synthesis and contextual learning, and discusses their integration with development environments. The paper also investigates the role of reinforcement learning in continuously improving AI copilots and analyzes their impact on software development practices. Additionally, it explores future prospects, including more sophisticated natural language understanding and improved cross-language support. Throughout, the paper emphasizes how AI copilots are reshaping the landscape of software engineering, potentially leading to more efficient, higher-quality, and innovative software solutions.

Unskilled and unaware? Differences in metacognitive awareness between high and low-ability students in STEM

IntroductionMetacognition, or the ability to monitor and control one's cognitive processes, is critical for learning in self-regulated contexts, particularly in introductory STEM courses. The ability to accurately make predictions about one's ability and performance can determine the effectiveness in which students effectively prepare for exams and employ good study strategies. The Dunning-Kruger pattern, where low-performing individuals are more overconfident and less accurate at the ability to predict their performance than high-performing individuals, is robustly found in studies examining metacognitive monitoring. The extent to which the Dunning-Kruger pattern can be explained by the lack of metacognitive awareness is not yet established in the literature. In other words, it is unclear from prior work whether low-performing students are “unskilled and unaware” or simply “unskilled but subjectively aware.” In addition, arguments about whether this pattern is a psychological phenomenon or a statistical artifact of the measurement of metacognition can be found in the literature.MethodsStudents enrolled in three different physics courses made predictions about their exam scores immediately before and after taking each of the three exams in the course. Student predictions were compared to their exam scores to exam metacognitive accuracy. A new method for examining the cause of the Dunning-Kruger effect was tested by examining how students adjust their metacognitive predictions after taking exams.ResultsIn all contexts low-performing students were more overconfident and less accurate at making metacognitive predictions than high-performing students. In addition, these students were less able to efficiently adjust their metacognitive predictions after taking an exam.DiscussionThe results of the study provide evidence for the Dunning-Kruger effect being a psychological phenomenon. In addition, findings from this study align with the position that the skills needed to accurately monitor one's performance are the same as those needed for accurate performance in the first place, thus providing support for the “unskilled and unaware” hypothesis.

Systematic review synthesising the effects of study abroad experience on the development of language fluency

ABSTRACT Given the importance of learning contexts in second language (L2) learning, study abroad (SA) has received due attention in the L2 literature, as this context has been proposed to accelerate L2 development. In line with recent efforts to synthesise the effects of SA on L2 learning, the present study reports a meta-analysis of the effects of SA experience on the development of L2 fluency compared to the at-home environment. Our dataset comprised 14 between-group studies, all based on quasi-experimental designs, including a comparison group. The results indicate that the SA context had an overall medium effect (Hedges’ g = 0.65, SE = 0.10, 95% CI [0.44, 0.87]) on the development of L2 fluency compared to its at-home counterpart. We also identified several variables related to learner characteristics and SA programme features and further examined their moderating effects on SA. Based on our findings, an in-depth discussion of how these variables are related to the effectiveness of SA was provided, and recommendations for L2 learners and SA researchers involved in SA programmes were proposed.

The here and clown

This practise-as-research paper applies Cormac Power’s three categories of presence (2006) to contemporary clown training and performance in the theatre with specific reference to a recently devised performance that used clown principles to open up challenging discussions around shame, race and Afrikaner Identity. Through my perspective as a South African educator, clown practitioner and postdoctoral fellow, I propose that the contemporary clown’s failed efforts to sustain the audience's belief in their persona is what paradoxically leads to the clown’s success by drawing attention to presence as a multibodied phenomenon. Failure, a key principle of clowning, is an effective performance strategy that relies on the performer's awareness of their presence as a dynamic exchange to establish and maintain connection with an audience through listening and reacting to audience appreciation (laughter) or lack thereof (silence). Through critical reflection of the clown as both a state of presence and a performative strategy, this paper highlights the valuable role that the clown’s insider-outsider position plays in bringing about awareness and learning in both theatrical and pedagogic contexts. This work is based on the research supported by the National Institute for The Humanities and Social Science.

Predicting student burnout in blended environments: a complementary PLS-SEM and machine learning approach

ABSTRACT Despite student burnout has attracted the attention of researchers and practitioners in education and psychology, little is known about the factors that contribute to it in blended contexts. This research aims to formulate and verify a predictive model elucidating how social support and self-regulated learning predict student burnout within blended learning contexts. Utilizing data collected from a sample of 303 students, a complementary method that combines partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with machine learning (ML) algorithms was implemented. The favorable impact of perceived social support and self-regulated learning in mitigating burnout was demonstrated by the PLS results. Additionally, it was discovered that self-regulated learning fully mediates the correlation between offline social support students received and learning burnout. Furthermore, the employed ML algorithms achieved a prediction accuracy rate exceeding 70% in the majority of cases. Employing a complementary analytical method is believed to offer a substantial contribution to the current body of research on learning burnout generally and blended learning in particular.

Developing and using an adapted mosaic approach to explore children's foreign language learning experiences in primary school

This article describes an adapted mosaic approach, developed and used in a longitudinal, ethnographic study that explored children's foreign language learning (FLL) experiences in primary school in England. As a methodological innovation within the field of instructed early foreign language learning, the adapted approach addresses an identified need for a wider range of research methodologies and more inductive approaches. The original mosaic approach was initially considered to help address methodological questions that arose during the ethnography. That approach was subsequently adapted and developed in four main ways: firstly, for use within the longitudinal, ethnographic study; second, for use with its older, primary school-aged children; third, for development and use together with children in school rather than a tool designed for use on children and finally, where the focus was upon the process of completion rather than the end product. The adapted approach met the needs identified within the ethnography by further enhancing children's voices, their agency and perspectives within its data collection and analysis. Recommendations for its use in language learning contexts are made to support further research together with children, to help strengthen what is currently known and understood about children's experiences of instructed foreign language learning. This is based on the premise that knowing and understanding more about these will help inform future practices and initiatives.

Intelligent Abstractive Summarization of Scholarly Publications with Transfer Learning

Intelligent abstractive text summarization of scholarly publications refers to machine-generated summaries that capture the essential ideas of an article while maintaining semantic coherence and grammatical accuracy. As information continues to grow at an overwhelming rate, text summarization has emerged as a critical area of research. In the past, summarization of scientific publications predominantly relied on extractive methods. These approaches involve selecting key sentences or phrases directly from the original document to create a summary or generate a suitable title. Although extractive methods preserve the original wording, they often lack the ability to produce a coherent, concise, and fluent summary, especially when dealing with complex or lengthy texts. In contrast, abstractive summarization represents a more sophisticated approach. Rather than extracting content from the source, abstractive models generate summaries using new language, often incorporating words and phrases not found in the original text. This allows for more natural, human-like summaries that better capture the key ideas in a fluid and cohesive manner. This study introduces two advanced models for generating titles from the abstracts of scientific articles. The first model employs a Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) encoder coupled with a greedy-search decoder, while the second utilizes a Transformer model, known for its capacity to handle long-range dependencies in text. The findings demonstrate that both models outperform the baseline Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model in terms of efficiency and fluency. Specifically, the GRU model achieved a ROUGE-1 score of 0.2336, and the Transformer model scored 0.2881, significantly higher than the baseline LSTM model, which reported a ROUGE-1 score of 0.1033. These results underscore the potential of abstractive models to enhance the quality and accuracy of summarization in academic and scholarly contexts, offering more intuitive and meaningful summaries.

INTEGRAÇÃO DE TICS NA SALA DE AULA MELHORES PRÁTICAS E DESAFIOS

The constant changes in the educational landscape reveal a constant challenge in the classroom environment, driving educators to seek help in pedagogical resources that precisely adjust to the complex context of teaching and learning. In this fluid scenario, the use of meticulously planned teaching resources is configured as a crucial link between the educator, knowledge and the student, generating motivational stimuli that can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the learning process. This study aims, in general, to investigate traditional pedagogical resources with a particular focus on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), and has the following specific objectives: to identify activities that act as facilitators in the educational process and to examine the importance of the work of properly trained professionals. The methodology adopted was guided by a qualitative approach, which proposes an analytical investigation, supported by a bibliographic review that explores educational technologies and their relevance to the current context. The results highlight the importance of pedagogical resources, especially ICTs, as a differentiating factor in the teaching process, since they maximize the time spent on classroom activities, thus promoting a richer exchange of experiences and expanding the connection between educator and student with regard to knowledge.

Autoethnographical Research on the Experience of Identity Change as an Artist, Teacher and Teaching Artist

AbstractAn autoethnographic exploration of identity formation raises the question of how individuals inhabit, negotiate, accommodate and resist the social groups to which they belong, continually coming to terms with who and what they are. This paper discusses, through this researcher's autobiographical exploration, the ways in which pedagogical discourse and practice produce identities that are constructed within the broader sociocultural context of arts education. As an art educator who has been learning and teaching in the Korean sociocultural context since the 1970s, I have experienced the struggle between my identity as an artist and my identity as a teacher amidst the changes in educational ideology reflected in the Korean national curriculum, which is a set of pedagogical discourses and practices that are constructed within a particular sociocultural context. It can be said that my autobiographical narration has important implications for the practice of art education in connecting individuals and society in an ambiguous and complex future society by enhancing theoretical understanding of wider social phenomena. In this paper, the narrative interpretation of my changing identity as an artist, an art teacher and a teaching artist provides a timely insight into identity shifts in how the artwork we encounter and our perceptions of art are shaped and transformed by our own cultural experiences and recollections of our own personal experiences within the interconnectedness of art and education across time.

Visual context learning based on cross-modal knowledge for continuous sign language recognition

Visual context learning based on cross-modal knowledge for continuous sign language recognition

L2 learner experiences in a playful constructivist metaverse space

Abstract This study creates a virtual space for language learning using a user-customizable metaverse platform and explores its potential for EFL learning. To this end, a virtual learning space, grounded in constructivist learning principles – contextualized learning, active learning, and collaborative learning – was created on a 2D metaverse platform. The metaverse was designed as a simulated deserted island for enjoyable and playful learning, allowing the students to actively explore, discover, and interact as they look for clues to escape the island. For educational application, 29 Korean middle school students participated in a two-hour activity. Data included screen recordings of student activities, student surveys, and interviews with the students and teachers. The findings showed that, as an EFL learning space of playful constructivism, the metaverse had great potential to embed contextualized learning and served as a medium for active learning that positively affected student interest and motivation. The results confirmed that the team-based approach combined with a game-like metaverse fostered student collaboration. Overall, the study showcased how language instructors can make use of a customizable metaverse for L2 learning and how a virtual space may serve as an arena for learner-centered instruction.

A change of mind: Error motivation is shaped by error perceptions in different learning environments

Background The medical profession has traditionally had a culture of “blame and shame,” despite the importance errors have for learning, motivation, and improvement of clinical skills. This study aimed to explore how medical students and newly graduated doctors perceive errors across different learning contexts and levels of expertise, and how error perceptions influence motivation and engagement in learning activities. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and thematic analysis was used to identify themes. Survey questions were developed based on the themes. The final survey included 27 questions divided into three sections. The survey was distributed via RedCap to medical students in year 1, year 4, and year 6 together with newly graduated doctors in Denmark. Results Of the 541 respondents, a majority anticipated making errors in both non-clinical (77.4%) and clinical (61.5%) learning situations, finding them motivating for participation (91.9% and 96.2%, respectively). A psychologically safe learning environment was seen to enhance the perception of errors as learning opportunities (96.9%) and increase risk willingness (96.3% non-clinical, 97.7% clinical). Respondents focused on the specific errors they made (86.0%), and their supervisors were perceived to focus more on correct handling of errors (70.7%). Respondents expected to conduct fewer errors in non-clinical learning situations in PGY-1 compared to medical students in year 1 (F(3529) = 3.0, adjusted p = 0.03). They showed an increase in risk willingness in clinical learning situations from year 6 to PGY-1 (F(3520) = 2.7, adjusted p-value 0.006) as long as the learning situations were considered psychologically safe. Conclusion The study suggests that a psychologically safe learning environment mitigates the “shame and blame culture” associated with errors. Respondents generally embraced errors as valuable learning experiences but noted a lack of specific error-related feedback. These findings underscore the nuanced relationship between errors, explicit learning activities, and supervisor support in medical education.

Multilingualism rather than English-only: policy and practice in classical music higher education

ABSTRACT The rise of English-medium education in (European) higher education has attracted considerable attention, but most analyses of the topic to date have been conducted in traditional universities. Highly international fields such as that of classical music higher education (CMHE) remain under-researched. Dafouz, E., and U. Smit. 2016. “Towards a Dynamic Conceptual Framework for English Medium Education in Multilingual University Settings.” Applied Linguistics 37 (3): 397–415 and Dafouz, E., and U. Smit. 2020. ROAD-MAPPING English Medium Education in the Internationalised University. Palgrave Macmillan. The ROAD-MAPPING framework provides an analytical tool for examining such complex contexts and unpacking the various factors at play in these multilingual university settings. In this paper, we present a mixed-methods case study at one of Austria’s largest state-funded music universities, comprising a policy analysis, a survey and semi-structured interviews with students, teachers and management. Using the ROAD-MAPPING framework to guide our analysis, we found that university policy and reported practice were coherent among all groups, with German as the default medium of education. English is explicitly designated the second academic language, while multilingualism and multimodality are actively promoted as a means of achieving educational and professional goals. However, we also noted that many strategies for coping with these multilingual teaching and learning contexts seem to be rather ad hoc, suggesting that there is a need for more awareness of multilingual pedagogy, and confirming the value of the ROAD-MAPPING framework for examining such complex settings.

Investigating the impact of gamification components on online learners’ engagement

As online learning and teaching are becoming an educational trend, online students’ engagement will directly impact the learning and teaching effects and outcomes. A scientific application of gamification in online learning, teaching, and online course design will improve online learners’ learning experience and help build a better virtual learning context for online learners worldwide. This study focuses on how gamification can engage online students from skills, emotional, participation, and performance perspectives. The gamification components investigated in this study are Points (also called Anar Seeds in the context of this study) and Badges, the most widely used components in gamification design in education, and online instructors have primarily used them to motivate students’ learning and acknowledge their achievements by timely rewarding specific learning behavior or performance. A mixed method has been applied to explore further the relationships between gamification components and online students’ engagement and how online students perceive the impacts of gamification on their online learning experience. The findings show a significant correlation between Points and online students’ skills, emotional, participation, and performance engagement, while it exists only between Badges and online students’ participation engagement. The findings also reveal mixed perceptions of online students towards gamification. Study limitations regarding lack of age criterion, limited measurement indicators, and oversimplification of survey responses have also been discussed. It is suggested that future research can be conducted from either the instructors’ or the gamification designers’ perspectives to determine any other factors that might contribute to the implementation of gamification in the online learning context.

Perceptions du rôle de l’interprète en contexte de formation internationale

This study explores the presence of community interpreters in lifelong learning contexts where adult learners engage in international education. It aims to uncover how adult learners perceive interpreters’ roles in educational settings through an online questionnaire. The research identifies interpreter roles, using Tryuk’s (2004) framework for community interpretation. It finds similarities between educational and community interpretation settings. Participants emphasize interpreters’ vital role in facilitating international education, ensuring accessibility, and reducing language-related stress. However, some note that interpreters can unintentionally introduce stress, especially without professional competence. Overall, this study provides pilot insights into adult learners’ perceptions of interpreters in educational contexts, revealing the complex dynamics of interpretation in international education.

Digital media interns

While COVID-19 dramatically changed the way that we taught during the pandemic, not all of these changes were negative. In response to the pivot to remote learning, Western University employed student digital media interns (DMIs) to support faculty in adapting their courses. This resulted in the formation of the Digital Media Intern program at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry (SSMD), a students-as-partners (SaP) approach that supports faculty in the adoption and use of educational technology. Despite moving back to in-person learning, the DMI program is thriving and has expanded its scope. An understanding of the learner context of technology can be missing when faculty are designing and updating their courses. The DMI program helps bridge this gap by creating a way for students to directly contribute to their education, gain meaningful employment or experience, and provide feedback to instructors. Instructors benefit in two ways: by gaining hands-on support and ongoing, actionable feedback. This case study will outline the evolution of the DMI program, its implementation and its impact. Leader and student perspectives will also be shared. It describes the evolution of this student intern strategy from a band-aid solution to a fully integrated and supported unit in one academic faculty.

Perception of University Nursing Students and Faculty Members Regarding Simulated Practices: A Mixed Methods Study.

Clinical simulation has been used as a teaching strategy for students in health programmes, fostering greater preparedness and confidence in performing procedures. This study aimed to analyse the perception of fourth-semester nursing students and teachers regarding the simulated practice methodology implemented in a private university in Cali, Colombia. A robust mixed-methods approach was used, incorporating quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with 41 students and 5 teaching nursing faculty members. Data triangulation was applied to ensure the robustness of the results. Both students and teachers reported a positive perception of simulated practice, which contributes to knowledge acquisition and contextual learning. Students emphasised that simulation improved their prior knowledge and motivated them to explore new topics. Lecturers emphasised the importance of well-trained instructors in simulation environments. However, participants identified challenges affecting performance, including simulation duration, group size, realism, and resource constraints. Students and teachers recommend strategic changes to the curriculum to optimise simulation practices.

DAMPAK PODCAST SEBAGAI MEDIA KOMUNIKASI BARU TERHADAP GAYA BELAJAR MAHASISWA INSTITUT TEKNOLOGI DAN BISNIS TRENGGALEK

information and introducing new ways of learning. Its presence has brought new flexibility to education, allowing students to study while doing other activities. However, the impact on student learning styles still needs to be understood more deeply, especially in academic environments such as the Trenggalek Institute of Technology and Business. Student learning styles, which are individual preferences for processing information, can be influenced by the use of technology such as podcasts. Therefore, this research aims to investigate how the use of podcasts influences the learning styles of students at Trenggalek Institute of Technology and Business. The literature review shows that podcasts, as an audiovisual medium, can cater to a variety of learning styles. However, student responses to the use of podcasts in learning contexts still need further research. This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach and literature review methods to collect and analyze data. Results show that podcasts provide flexibility in time and place, access to diverse resources, and support auditory learning styles. However, some negative aspects such as lack of visual support and potential distractions also need to be considered