Design Of Learning Experiences Research Articles

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Video Games and Simulations for Designing Learning Experiences for Nursing Student and Educators

The term video game generally means the interaction of games played utilizing a specialized electronic device or any other type of screen that it is programmed on (video game, n.d.). The term ‘video game,’ has been recorded in history as early as 1948 with the invention of the “Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement device” (Brookhaven National Library, n.d.).

A Systems View of Supporting the Transfer of Learning through E-Service-Learning Experiences in Real-World Contexts

Despite the fact that e-service-learning has been regarded as a means to providing students with valuable real-world experiences, the pace of implementing e-service-learning into online courses has not kept up with the overall growth of online learning. Further examination into instructional strategies and supports to facilitate e-service-learning are needed. To address this need, a systematic review of research was conducted to examine instructional supports used to facilitate e-service-learning experiences in an online environment. Many authors recommended the importance of providing the tools necessary to promote collaboration in the online environment. This study proffers a conceptual framework to support the design of learning experiences that promote service-learning, real-world experiences, while contending with contextual factors that impact transfer of learning in authentic contexts. It also examines how instructional scaffolds are being used in digital settings to mitigate design challenges and promote authentic experiences through e-service-learning activities.

Ascertaining impacts of capacity building in open educational practices

ABSTRACT Interest in the adoption of open educational practices (OEP) is growing, and the strongest arguments in its favor are that the adoption of such practices has the best chances of making education affordable and accessible to all. However, engagement with such practices requires the adoption of a fundamentally different set of beliefs and value systems about the role of education and educational resources in the development of societies. The development of these beliefs and values are achievable through a combination of strategies. These include appropriate policies, as well as capacity building through sustained engagement in carefully designed learning experiences, which involves people reflecting on authentic problems and situations around the adoption of OEP. The impacts of such capacity building are difficult to ascertain because they are an outcome of a combination of factors involving the practitioners themselves, their educational context, as well as their views about intellectual property, its ownership, and role in educational development. This article discusses our approach to shifting the mindsets of practitioners around OEP and ascertaining its impacts on them.

Choice and interest in designed learning environments: the case of FUSE Studios

PurposeEmpirical investigation into the e-learning innovation, FUSE Studios, is both timely and relevant because FUSE is rapidly expanding domestically and abroad and there is continued interest in the interdisciplinary fields of information and learning sciences in the constructs of choice and interest as they relate to the provision and design of learning experiences. In particular, this paper aims to contribute to scholarly and design-based conversations on how e-learning innovations – especially those situated within the digital youth and constructionism strands of research – can be designed in ways that support robust opportunities for learning for young people (Reynolds et al., 2019).Design/methodology/approachDrawing upon a large corpus of mixed-methods data including computer-generated activity log data, youth survey data and studio facilitator interview data, this paper examines patterns of use and interest-related experience among young people in a range of FUSE Studios settings across the USA.FindingsThe results suggest that student choice within FUSE’s curricular and Studio model tends to support a broad exploration of interests across a wide range of youth, rather than a deep dive into particular Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) content areas.Practical implicationsAlongside the broad exploration that was found to characterize the patterns of student choice in FUSE Studios, a striking number of students from those surveyed reported that FUSE supported their interest development: they liked the FUSE challenges, were always able to find something of interest to do in the FUSE Studios and saw the FUSE challenges are supportive of their current and future interests. (See similar findings in Stevens et al., 2016). We understand these student self-reported experiences as evidence that the FUSE Studios model did well to encourage meaningful, interest-driven learning experiences for youth.Originality/valueCommitted to making research usable for practice, this paper offers implications for future e-learning designs that seek to make choice and interest central to the organization of activity and environment.

Hands-on versus virtual: Reshaping the design classroom with blended learning

The heart of design studio teaching is traditionally linked to one-on-one teaching activities and to the exchange of feedback prompting many design educators to think it does not lend itself to online delivery. This study explored how design educators can translate the essence of design studio pedagogy into a blended learning environment. The four-year study involving 119 first-year undergraduate design students reports on the development, implementation, and iteration of a blended learning experience in an introductory design subject. The subject followed a flipped classroom model where video lectures, software tutorials, and additional readings were delivered online through a Learning Management System; practical face-to-face tutorials allowed students to work on their projects, present their work, and engage in the dialogical learning process. Student and design instructor feedback was collected to evaluate the changes and overall effectiveness of the design of the blended learning experience, which proved to be effective.

Educational Data Mining and Learning Analytics: Past, Present and Future

Educational data mining and learning analytics have recently emerged as two important fields aimed at rendering e-learning environments more effective. Aim of this study seeks first to reveal the differences between these two fields and then to discuss the future of these concepts by evaluating how they changed throughout history. Educational data mining refers to uncovering the patterns hidden in the big data whilst learning analytics is the use of these patterns to optimize e-learning environments. One of the purposes of the study is to add to the literature on the future trends regarding these concepts. In the very near future, it seems that studies will be performed on EDM and the Industry 4.0 and one of its application areas, “(Internet of Things-IoT)” and EDM has the potential to substantially help researchers in discovering the patterns in the interaction data in the Learning Management Systems and in designing more effective learning environments. The studies on the future of learning analytics are categorized in five main headings: personalization of learning processes, learning design, learning experience design, dashboard design and the Industry 4.0 applications.

Transfer of Training, Trainee Attitudes and Best Practices in Training Design: a Multiple-Case Study

Transfer of training has not been perceived as successful for training programs in bringing about targeted knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA). The review of current literature revealed a lack of consensus of the nature of transfer and ambiguity of the role an individual’s attitude plays in the learning and transfer process. To provide insight into trainees’ attitude from a holistic view, we conducted a multiple-case study to investigate trainees’ learning and transfer experience in depth. The findings from five independent cases revealed high transfer rates of newly acquired KSA to teaching, and that trainees’ affective, cognitive, and behavioral attitudes are perceived to be closely related to their learning and transfer. Recommendations of training design practice such as experiential learning design and signature pedagogies across different disciplines are provided based on the training program design and the triangulated data resources.

USING AUTHENTIC LEADER DILEMMAS TO TEACH MICROINFLUENCE MAKING

Designing learning experiences that mimic real-life contexts has always been a challenge for leadership educators. As a result, many educators in leadership courses rely on studies of leadership perspectives, selfassessment activities, and textbook case analysis. However, many educators also successfully design microlevel processes and interactions that offer students the opportunity to experience the dynamics of power and influence whereby they practice leadership. Others explore the daunting challenges of placing students in various organizations to practice leadership. This latter type of practicing leadership is often full of challenges because of the reluctance of organizations to allow practicing students in decision making processes. In this paper, I present a two-week teaching segment in which leader dilemmas are used as inputs for practicing leadership in micro-level processes. The segment is designed in such a way that it mimics real life group dynamics, problem solving, and decision dilemmas. The objective is to provide a context wherein students practice micro-influence making as they experience the complexity of group life and, at the same time, learn to reflect on their learning, emotion, and the potential capacity to lead and follow.

My journey in technology enhanced education within engineering to achieve sustainability amidst disruptions

Abstract Educational transformation in higher education places new demands on academics, especially in terms of shifting from traditional methods of teaching and learning to the application of innovative methods. Engaging with technology can be daunting for many lecturers. Especially during the times of disruption finding an alternate way of making sure that the lecturer reaches out to students in a student-centred approach. These disruptions have taken various forms and has happened in our institution as part of #feesmustfall as one of the prominent examples. There have been instances where lecturers couldn’t get hold of students and the willing students didn’t get an opportunity to come to campus to be facilitated or give information or even allowed to write assessments. Student attendance has been a serious issue all along and the whole sustainability of the department or the qualifications being offered. This has in a way given us lecturers to sit back reflect and think of ways that we could avoid it and make our institution sustainable as well as the future of higher education. Being a University of Technology we were fortunate enough to hold on to educational technologies to reach out to students post assessments and also adopted technology as a medium to conduct summative assessments. My presentation focuses on my own journey towards blended learning. The journey will showcase, how it started small and has subsequently moved towards introducing more tools responding to feedback from students. The session will be an amalgamation of all the blended learning methods that has been used so far and will showcase selected clips of those being used in the class to the students. The journey starts by introducing students to the LMS, online assignment submission and the use of Google Docs for a student feedback survey. It then moves on to introducing more interactive tools and activities such as role-play and digital storytelling as one form of their assessment. Finally classroom engagement, where it’s either podcast or screencast the session and use the world cafe methodology pre and post a chapter/module. This small-step, iterative, reflective way of introducing technologies has helped me gain confidence and design learning experiences that fit my context and my students’ profile. Evaluation and student feedback showed that participants benefitted from the exposure and were more confident in the classroom. This gives me an indication that using technology definitely helps students and supports and assists them on the go. It also ensures that students can be tracked back on the progress made, be it in terms of understanding of concepts and theories, or be it submission of assignments or even being part of group discussions and peer feedback. At times, it helps the disadvantaged students to gain access to resources and tasks within their comfort zone if they couldn’t make it to the campus for some or the other reason. Hence I can conclude that my approach addresses to the right target group keeping the institutional and the education industry’s sustainability in perspective.

Experiential learning with live case studies

The purpose of this mixed method study is to explore the opinions of students, lecturers, and founders/CEOs about the use of live case study firms as a learning method using the theoretical framework of Kolb's experiential learning cycle. The findings suggest that the use of live case study firms in strategic management classes enhances the in-class learning experience, the quality of the group work, and the level of learning outcomes of students, produces high quality and useful output for the live case study firms, and helps a business school to develop future managers for sustainability firms. The findings of this study have a high practical significance for students, the business school, and the live case study firms. This paper also contributes to the existent literature with its constructive perspective of design learning experiences, which puts a higher emphasis on learnability through theoretical and philosophical foundations of experience-based teaching and learning.

An affordance based design framework for technology- enabled learning spaces


 
 
 Educational institutions today are transforming their traditional learning spaces into technology-enabled learning spaces to facilitate innovation in pedagogy and enhance the teaching and learning experiences of its users. This transformation is driven by the changing needs of the 21st century educators and learners, and changes in pedagogical practices to meet these learning needs. The advent of digital technologies into the classroom has altered the traditional notions of teaching and learning. It has redefined the idea, design and implementation of learning activities and experiences. Learning spaces play an important role in the educational enterprise because it is the locus where educators and learners; pedagogy, content and technology; environment and experience converge. The various affordances integrated into its design play a critical role in defining the opportunities and constraints that it imposes on educators and learners using the space. However, due to the existence of diverse needs, contexts and use cases, the conceptualisation, design and implementation of such spaces vary from institution to institution. This paper discusses how the PECTS affordance framework was used to conceptualise the design of a technology-enabled learning space and how Education Design Research (EDR) was used as a developmental framework for the iterative design cycles.
 
 

Curriculum Based Interactive Exhibition Design and Family's Learning Experiences: A Case Study of the Children's Art Museum in Taipei

Abstract“Hands‐on learning” and “learning through play” are key terms that museums use to describe the interactive learning environments designed for families with young children. Using A Vastly Different Perspective exhibition at the Children's Art Museum in Taipei (CAMIT) as a case study, this research examines how interactive exhibition is designed and the learning experiences that occur that distinguishes it from other museums. The research shows that the most challenging issue for the CAMIT design team was to translate artistic concepts from the art studio environment into experiences in interactive galleries. It reveals that children engage in different types of play and that the roles of “learners” and “facilitator” interchange flexibly within family interactions. Conclusions of the research suggest two areas for further attention. First, museums like CAMIT need to test new strategies for engaging children and families through exhibit design and second, CAMIT and other museums of its kind may need to experiment with new ways of helping parents facilitate their children's learning in interactive exhibits.

Supporting seamless learners: exploring patterns of multiple device use in an open and distance learning context

Educators need to be aware of not just what their students are learning, but how and why as well. This study investigates how Open and Distance Learning (ODL) students make use of multiple devices for learning, particularly how students use their devices together. This study is situated in the context of ‘seamless learning’, where ODL students learn at different times, in different locations and with the use of different technologies. Understanding the needs and learning practices of students can help to improve the design of learning experiences and support offered to students. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews at two ODL universities, one in Spain and one in South Africa. The results show that while students mainly use one digital device at a time, they sometimes make use of two or more devices together. This usage can be characterised as sequential (moving from one device to another) or simultaneous (using two or more devices together at a time). This article describes the study patterns associated with sequential and simultaneous use of multiple devices, facilitated by the use of different devices and synchronisation tools. A continuum of seamless learners is proposed that can be used to help identify levels of support required by ODL students.

EFL Teachers as Designers of Ubiquitous Learning Experiences

EFL Teachers as Designers of Ubiquitous Learning Experiences

A reflective practicum for transforming instructor's industrial skills into the teaching of radio frequency techniques and systems

AbstractContemporary electromagnetic computer‐aided design tools augmented with parametric and optimization capabilities are extensively used in industry for design, validation, and prototyping to reduce time‐to‐market, resources, cost, and risks associated with the development of new radio frequency (RF) circuits and systems. Unfortunately, this technology still remains largely underutilized in undergraduate systems engineering education. This paper describes an approach for stimulating the analysis and design learning experience of undergraduate systems engineering students by engaging them in the cooperative, experiential, simulation‐assisted teaching, and research activities utilizing project‐based pedagogy. A case study is chosen in the realm of microwave‐assisted material processing, which is not typically covered in undergraduate engineering curricula. The objective is to further increase students’ interest in electromagnetic and RF systems by providing a well‐rounded learning experience to break the monotony often encountered in the heavily theoretical and abstract topics involved with a minimum of complex analytical formulations, reinforce fundamental principles and mathematical analyses offered in the class, foster students’ motivation and enthusiasm, reflect on today's technological advancement in industry, and stimulate early participation of undergraduate students in open‐ended research problems.

Simulación interprofesional: Enfoque de un sistema complejo

The complex systems share several characteristics with the interprofessional simulation; therefore, its understanding is necessary to be able to design learning experiences that include, in a balanced way, activities for the different participants. The relative difficulty in predicting the interactions and the results compel the teacher to create a support network with several health professionals previously trained in tasks that are specific to the clinical simulation. The objective of this paper is to facilitate the understanding of the characteristics of education based on interprofessional simulation, its challenges and the key components for its development.

Students as Designers of E-book for Authentic Assessment

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the elements that determine students’ success as designers of an e-book by means of an authentic assessment in a collaborative learning environment. A total of 11 English Language Teaching (ELT) postgraduate students were involved as designers, writers and peer reviewers of the e-book project.
 
 Methodology – Data was gathered based on a qualitative methodological approach, via face-to-face discussions, WhatsApp groups, Moodle classes and reflections from students’ e-portfolios. The data was analyzed using content analysis procedures where it was read carefully to understand emerging themes. It was then coded and labeled manually in relation to the aims of the study and its theoretical framework.
 Findings – The analysis suggested that the students had positive experiences where they became self-publishers while engaged in designing learning experiences via integrating technology. The use of authentic assessments enabled them to develop teamwork, to become motivated and self-directed learners with autonomy.
 Significance – The outcome of this research will help course designers and program developers to integrate authentic assessments that are relevant to the current needs of students. 

Different approaches to teach thermal analysis; roles of undergraduate students: trainee, tutor and designer

To provide future engineers with first-hand working knowledge on the thermal behavior of materials (such as polymers, metals, ceramics and even organic substances like foodstuffs or pharmaceuticals), it is necessary to design learning experiences that develop both transferable and disciplinary skills. This can be achieved by walking them through a thorough and comprehensive process that includes the fundamental scientific concepts and elements of experimental methodology, data acquisition and analysis. With this objective in mind, we designed a program at our institution in which students and faculty are involved in the construction of portable thermal characterization devices, an activity that provides fitting scenarios for developing different of cognitive and analytical competencies and experimental skills. Through their involvement in this research-based learning, students come to understand the thermal characterization of materials. In addition, they develop data-acquisition skills, learn graphic programming and how to construct equipment for the characterization of materials. The students can achieve different levels of expertise depending on their roles and involvement with the use and development of instrumentation for evaluating the thermal properties of materials. The students who participated in the learning process of thermal analysis were able to change roles—they may have started as trainees and then went on to become either tutors or designers of instruments used for thermal characterization.

Integrating Classroom Video Cases into a Teaching Methods Course

This design case illustrates a three-semester-long curricular and instructional design project focusing on the design and implementation of a technology-enhanced case-based learning experience for pre-service teachers within a teaching methods course. This case highlights the iterative process that a teacher educator and an instructional designer went through to integrate technology-enhanced cases into a methods course and connect them to other aspects of the course experiences, as well as the teacher education program in general. The first part of this case provides an overview of the project, the designers and their personal objectives, design context, information on the online environment and case materials, and ideas, challenges, and differences of the designers shared before the actual design process. The second part of this case presents each phase of our design from the first to the final semester, including the discussions of our goals, issues, results, and reflections.

The Role of Simulation-Enabled Design Learning Experiences on Middle School Students’ Self-generated Inherence Heuristics

In science and engineering education, the use of heuristics has been introduced as a way of understanding the world, and as a way to approach problem-solving and design. However, important consequences for the use of heuristics are that they do not always guarantee a correct solution. Learning by Design has been identified as a pedagogical strategy that can guide individuals to properly connect science learning via design challenges. Specifically, we focus on the effect of simulation-enabled Learning by Design learning experiences on student-generated heuristics that can lead to solutions to problems. A total of 318 middle school students were exposed to a lesson that integrated design practices in the context of energy consumption and energy conservation considerations when designing buildings using an educational CAD tool. The students were pre- and posttested before and after the 2-week long intervention. The data analysis procedures combined qualitative with quantitative methods along with machine learning approaches. Our analysis revealed two distinct groups of students based on their learning achievement: the naive developing heuristic group and semi-knowledgeable fixated heuristic group. Differences between the groups are discussed in terms of performance, as well as implications for the use of computer simulations to improve student learning.