Diverse Learning Experiences Research Articles

Challenging School Segregation in the Twenty-first Century: How Districts can Leverage Dual Language Education to Increase School and Classroom Diversity

ABSTRACTNationally, schools are increasingly segregated by race and poverty as a result of demographic shifts and a changing legal and political landscape. Based on evidence that students benefit academically and socially from attending integrating settings, many school districts are exploring options for providing diverse learning experiences. We examine dual language education as a means for promoting ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse learning experiences. First, we describe the various advantages of dual language both in general and specifically to the creation of diverse schools and classrooms. Next, we provide recommendations for how districts can effectively implement dual language education in a manner that also advances diversity goals.

An Arduous but Hopeful Journey: Implementing Project-Based Learning in a Middle School of China

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the lived experience of teachers from one middle school in East China who implemented project-based learning (PBL) in their classes. A sample of 22 grade 6 and 7 teachers participated in this research between September 2008 and June 2010. Data were observation, transcripts of semi-structural interviews and workshop audiotapes. It reveals that teachers were struggling with the roles they should play and in particular with how to effectively facilitate students’ project work. However, they also creatively reconceptualized the new curriculum from their own perspectives and brought their students unique and diverse learning experiences. These struggles and reconceptualizations are believed to be the result of teachers’ evaluative, identifying and pedagogical culture-cognitions.

Gail E. Latimer, MSN, RN, FACHE, FAAN

Gail E. Latimer, MSN, RN, FACHE, FAAN

Medical Exemption From Physical Education in Secondary School Students // Oslobođanje učenika srednjih škola od nastave fizičkog vaspitanja

Physical education of today faces many challenges, one of them being students’ medical exemption. Previous studies suggest that reasons for exemption from physical education might not be only medical, but related to students’ lack of motivation, miscommunication with PE teacher etc. The aim of the study was to examine the extent of the problem of medical exemption from physical education in secondary schools. The sample included 5226 students, 2068 males and 3158 females, from secondary schools in Novi Sad (Serbia). Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and chi-square test. In addition a set of conversational interviews with PE teachers was conducted and analyzed. Total percentage of medically exempted students was 3.73%. A significant relation between gender and medical exemption was identified, while age and PE teachers’ gender were not significantly related to medical exemption. The results indicate that female students are more likely to be medically exempted from physical education in secondary school than their male counterparts. Qualitative data revealed that in addition to medical reasons, there might be others, as well: less interest in physical activity, instructional content that does not meet students’ needs, self-consciousness about physical appearance, girls’ perceptions of physical activity and sports as non-feminine, etc. PE teachers should plan for diverse and positive learning experiences for all student, while motivating them to develop an active lifestyle.

Interdependence of roles, role rotation, and sense of community in an online course

More and more educational institutions are moving towards online distance learning. Although asynchronous online learning overcomes the constraints of time, place and pace, online distance learners feel isolated due to the lack of real-time communications. One possible solution for overcoming this sense of isolation is regulating student online behavior by assigning specific roles and protocols for participation to learners in order to stimulate online learning activities. This qualitative study explored the use of such a technique in a fully online class in order to find out how the interdependence of roles and role rotation support a sense of community among learners. Data was collected through observations, discussion archives, surveys, and interviews. The results indicate that interdependent roles and role rotation provide students diverse learning experiences and interdependence in different ways. Students’ tendency to depend on their classmates and to participate is enhanced when using the starter-wrapper with roles technique.

Development of a Diverse Learning Experience for Diverse Psychiatry Resident Needs: A Four-Year Biological Psychiatry Curriculum Incorporating Principles of Neurobiology, Psychopharmacology, and Evidence-Based Practice.

ObjectiveA clinically relevant approach to patient care grounded in neurobiological constructs and evidence based practice which emphasizes a relevant psychopharmacology is needed to optimally train psychiatry residents.MethodsWe implemented a biological psychiatry course that now incorporates neurobiology, psychopharmacology, and evidence-based practice in conjunction with a Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) perspective. A survey launched prior to course implementation and following each class session, served as the outcome metric of residents' attitudes toward the new curriculum and followed a baseline attitudinal survey designed to evaluate the program.ResultsGreater than 90% of the psychiatry residents at Duke University who took the attitudinal survey agreed or strongly agreed with needing a course that helped them develop an understanding of neurobiology, psychopharmacology, and evidence-based practice concepts. Most residents also indicated a less than adequate understanding of the neurobiology and psychopharmacology of psychiatric disorders prior to sessions.ConclusionOur biological psychiatry curriculum was associated with enthusiasm among residents regarding the incorporation of neurobiology, psychopharmacology, and evidence-based practice into course topics and discussions. A biological psychiatry curriculum with integrated neurobiology and psychopharmacology built on an evidence base approach is possible, well-received, and needed in training of future psychiatrists.

The Learning Environment Counts: Longitudinal Qualitative Analysis of Study Strategies Adopted by First-Year Medical Students in a Competency-Based Educational Program.

The move toward competency-based education will require medical schools and postgraduate training programs to restructure learning environments to motivate trainees to take personal ownership for learning. This qualitative study explores how medical students select and implement study strategies while enrolled in a unique, nontraditional program that emphasizes reflection on performance and competence rather than relying on high-stakes examinations or grades to motivate students to learn and excel. Fourteen first-year medical students volunteered to participate in three, 45-minute interviews (42 overall) scheduled three months apart during 2013-2014. Two medical educators used structured interview guides to solicit students' previous assessment experiences, preferred learning strategies, and performance monitoring processes. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Participants confirmed accuracy of transcripts. Researchers independently read transcripts and met regularly to discuss transcripts and judge when themes achieved saturation. Medical students can adopt an assessment for learning mind-set with faculty guidance and implement appropriate study strategies for mastery-learning demands. Though students developed new strategies at different rates during the year, they all eventually identified study and performance monitoring strategies to meet learning needs. Students who had diverse learning experiences in college embraced mastery-based study strategies sooner than peers after recognizing that the learning environment did not reward performance-based strategies. Medical students can take ownership for their learning and implement specific strategies to regulate behavior when learning environments contain building blocks emphasized in self-determination theory. Findings should generalize to educational programs seeking strategies to design learning environments that promote self-regulated learning.

A Song and a Dance: Being Inclusive and Creative in Practicing and Documenting Reflection for Learning.

As the number of students engaging in higher education increases, so too does their diversity. Additionally, there is growing pressure on universities to better prepare graduates for the varied paths they will pursue beyond study. In responding to these conditions it is important to develop pedagogical approaches that are both inclusive and engaging. One adaptation needed is in relation to the practice and documentation of reflection for learning. Reflection is widely practiced across higher education, and is favoured by the WorkIntegrated Learning field for the ways it helps students make sense of their learning. The ongoing reliance on journals for practising and documenting reflection has several benefits; however, a diverse student body, engaging with diverse learning experiences, is likely to benefit from being offered diverse, flexible ways of engaging with reflective practice. Informed by student and practitioner reflective data gathered at an Australian university, this conceptual paper accepts the challenge to “disrupt” (deFreitas 2007) the text and “move beyond the diary” (Harvey et al. 2012) to present an argument for the value and role of alternative modes of reflection, spanning arts-based, embodied, mindful and technological approaches. Underpinning this advocacy of diverse mediums for reflection are the principles of inclusivity and universal design.

A Systematic Review of Remote Laboratory Work in Science Education with the Support of Visualizing its Structure through the HistCite and CiteSpace Software

Laboratory work, particularly the latest remote laboratories (RLs), has been assumed to have a general positive effect on science education because practical work can provide diverse learning experiences and enhance thinking skills suitable for the 21st century. However, there has not been a synthesis of the science education research to support this assumption. The objective of this study is to systematically review the growth of educational research on laboratory work, particularly in RLs, utilizing a series of review processes with innovative software for visualizing structural relationships. The combined use and support of HistCite and CiteSpace software enabled the visualization of the citation structure and history of articles. The findings revealed that RLs were a state-of-the-art subset of laboratory work and a new way of conducting laboratory work that has gained fairly wide research attention in engineering education over the past two decades. Thus, this innovative literature review process has established a solid background for future research and development efforts on RLs in science education dealing with scientific and engineering practices.

Facilitation for professional learning community conversations in Singapore

Professional Learning Community (PLC) has steadily grown in importance over the last decade. The growing importance of PLCs lies in its potential to act as a lever for school-based curriculum development and innovation so as to provide diverse learning experiences to satisfy broader learning outcomes beyond academic achievements (e.g., the twenty-first century skills). The growth in PLCs implies greater time investment for teachers to come together to develop new curricula that engage students to meet these broadened set of learning outcomes. However, this also implies that new competencies need to be acquired to productively participate in PLCs. One essential competency is facilitating PLC conversations. This paper describes key findings drawn from participant observations with three Grade 5 PLC facilitators’ involvement in an intervention to explore how PLC facilitators can support teachers’ collective learning with one another on matters of teaching and learning. The findings from the study served to aid in generating a proposed intervention framework consisting of processes, principles, and practices that facilitators can use in PLC conversations.

A song and a dance: Being inclusive and creative in practicing and documenting reflection for learning

As the number of students engaging in higher education increases, so too does their diversity. Additionally, there is growing pressure on universities to better prepare graduates for the varied paths they will pursue beyond study. In responding to these conditions it is important to develop pedagogical approaches that are both inclusive and engaging. One adaptation needed is in relation to the practice and documentation of reflection for learning. Reflection is widely practiced across higher education, and is favoured by the Work-Integrated Learning field for the ways it helps students make sense of their learning. The ongoing reliance on journals for practising and documenting reflection has several benefits; however, a diverse student body, engaging with diverse learning experiences, is likely to benefit from being offered diverse, flexible ways of engaging with reflective practice. Informed by student and practitioner reflective data gathered at an Australian university, this conceptual paper accepts the challenge to “disrupt” (deFreitas 2007) the text and “move beyond the diary” (Harvey et al. 2012) to present an argument for the value and role of alternative modes of reflection, spanning arts-based, embodied, mindful and technological approaches. Underpinning this advocacy of diverse mediums for reflection are the principles of inclusivity and universal design.

Preservice Classroom Teachers’ Identity Development in Learning to Teach Physical Education

The purpose of this study was to examine preservice classroom teachers’ (PCTs) identity development as teachers of physical education (PE) in a methods course designed based on the thematic framework of learning to teach (Feiman-Nemser 2008). Ten PCTs (four male, six female) were selected, and data were collected from PCTs’ reflective journal entries, as well as individual interviews with participants. Inductive analysis of data revealed that PCTs’ identity as elementary PE teachers has been changed: (a) from a sport coach to a movement educator, (b) from a recess organizer to a curriculum implementer, and (c) from a classroom teacher to school-wide physical activity teacher. These changes have been facilitated by the teacher educator’s modeling behaviors, micro-teaching practice, and reflection combined with metaphor development in regard to the teaching and the teacher. This study highlights the important role of a methods course to help PCTs transform diverse learning experiences into legitimate sources of knowledge for their own identity development.

An Analysis of Doctoral Students' Perceptions of Mentorship During Their Doctoral Studies

Context Mentorship has been established as a key facilitator of professional socialization for athletic trainers into various professional roles. Understanding how current doctoral students are trained to serve in future faculty roles is critical, as there is an increased demand for athletic trainers to serve in this capacity. Objective Gain an understanding of the relationship that develops between a doctoral student and the athletic training faculty mentor. Design Qualitative study. Setting Universities with athletic training doctoral students. Patients or Other Participants Twenty-eight doctoral students (19 females, 9 males; average age = 28 ± 3 years) participated in our study. The doctoral students were certified for 6 ± 3 years and represented 5 different National Athletic Trainers' Association districts and 9 different universities. Main Outcome Measures One-on-one telephone interviews following a semistructured script were recorded with all participants. Upon completion, each interview was transcribed and analyzed using a thematic approach. Peer review, multiple analyst triangulation, and stakeholder checks ensured trustworthiness. Results Three themes emerged from our thematic analysis procedure: (1) The relationship between the student and the faculty mentor needs to be one that is supportive, yet viewed as yielding autonomy and collaboration; (2) the relationship between the student and the faculty mentor needs to include opportunities for professional development specifically related to skill acquisition and development related to a future academic role; and (3) the relationship between the student and the faculty mentor must demonstrate a mutual investment in the educational experience. Conclusions Mentoring is necessary to help ensure a quality experience for doctoral students preparing for future positions in higher education or research. Like previous research in socialization, doctoral students want autonomy in their roles, but value their mentor's feedback and support. Therefore, doctoral faculty mentors should demonstrate strong communication skills and provide doctoral students opportunities for diverse learning experiences.

Understanding Performance Coach Development: Perceptions About a Postgraduate Coach Education Program

The purpose of this study was to enrich our understanding of formal coach education settings. We investigated how coaches developed knowledge during a postgraduate tertiary coach education course. We also explored coaches’ perceptions of changes they made to their coaching attitudes, behaviours, skills, and practices as a result of their studies. Semistructured interviews1 were conducted with 17 performance coaches. Results revealed that coaches developed knowledge through rich learning situations that were relevant to their coaching context. Furthermore, the three types of knowledge (professional, interpersonal and intrapersonal; Côté & Gilbert, 2009) were fostered in an environment that was socially constructed through a Community of Practice. Coaches felt they were better equipped to develop athlete performance as a result of the knowledge gained through the course. The findings reinforce the importance of developing formal coach education that is learner-centred, provides diverse learning experiences, and embraces informal learning concepts when embedded in formal learning contexts.

Course redesign to promote local and global experiential learning about human occupation: Description and evaluation of a pilot effort

INTRODUCTION: Globalisation heightens the need for diverse learning experiences regarding human occupation. This article describes a two-phase redesign of an undergraduate occupational science course that generated community outings in the United States (U.S.) and synchronous online interactions between U.S. and Swedish students. Via experiential learning opportunities, the course redesign aimed to enhance students' understanding of occupational science and occupational therapy concepts as well as how such concepts are taken up across global contexts. METHOD: 96 undergraduate U.S. occupational science students participated in community outings, and 52 of those students also participated in synchronous online interactions with 35 undergraduate Swedish occupational therapy student peers. U.S. students provided feedback about the community outings and synchronous online interactions via written course evaluations and reflections. RESULTS: U.S. students perceived community outings and synchronous online interactions as positive learning opportunities but also suggested possible improvements which have been implemented in subsequent iterations of the course. CONCLUSIONS: When accompanied by structured reflective opportunities, local and global experiential learning can positively impact students. It is important to consider how experiential learning fits within course objectives, as well as how technology enables or inhibits experiential learning across local and global contexts. Key words: Experiential learning, learning spaces, synchronous online education, occupational science, occupational therapy

A Singapore Case Study of Curriculum Innovation in the Twenty-First Century: Demands, Tensions and Deliberations

With the ever-pressing twenty-first century demands, such as the need for new knowledge generation and application, schools today are aware of the necessity to change their structures, processes and practices to be relevant. In Singapore’s centralized education system, the Ministry has introduced several decentralization initiatives in the hope of promoting flexibility and innovation within schools. One such initiative is the Integrated Programme (IP). IP schools are expected to redefine existing educational structures, redesign teaching and learning processes and reshape classroom practices to generate diverse learning experiences. This paper describes the case of one school that has embarked on the IP to shed light on the processes involved in curriculum innovation. Our findings reveal three significant processes: negotiating the programme with the school’s vision, finding common ground for buy-in and investing in preparation time. These are instrumental in the development and enactment of IP by teachers and school leaders. These findings and their implications are deliberated on, providing ways that schools can shape and sustain curricular innovations.

Inaugural Editorial for Technology, Knowledge and Learning

This issue marks an exciting and challenging point as I begin my term as editor-in-chief of Technology, Knowledge and Learning. The new scope of the journal emphasizes the increased interest on context-aware adaptive and personalized digital learning environments. Rapid technological developments have led to new research challenges focusing on digital learning, game-based learning and gamification, automated assessment, as well as learning analytics (Spector 2012). These emerging systems aim to provide learning experiences delivered via personalized environments as well as mobile devices and are tailored to the educational needs, the personal characteristics, and the particular circumstances of the individual learner or a (massive) group of interconnected learners (Hannafin 1992; Spector et al. 2010; Huang et al. 2013). Such diverse learning experiences in realworld and virtual situations generate big data that provide rich potential for in-depth intelligent analyses and adaptive feedback as well as scaffolds whenever the learner needs it (Lockyer et al. 2013; Long and Siemens 2011; Ifenthaler in press). Therefore, the aim of Technology, Knowledge and Learning is to advance the scientific knowledge in a rapidly changing educational arena and to showcase practical implications of emerging educational technologies. Novel manuscripts are welcome that account for how these new technologies and systems reconfigure learning experiences, assessment methodologies, as well as current and future educational practices. In addition to regular issues, the journal also publishes guest-edited themed special issues linked to the emerging field of digital learning and educational technology. Technology, Knowledge and Learning publishes scholarly and timely contributions especially welcoming the following five article types (http://www. springer.com/10758?detailsPage=societies):

Connecting the Bridge at the Bedside and Beyond by Providing a Diverse Learning Experience for Infection Prevention Education

Learning is a way to transform knowledge, insights, and skills into behavior. The learning environment in healthcare settings is unique because of the diversity of healthcare personnel. Diversity includes characteristics such as age, cultural background, ethnicity, education, and learning styles. Adult learners seek out learning experiences to satisfy a personally perceived need based on past experiences. The more success adult learners have, the more willing they will be to participate in future learning experiences. In the effort to meet the needs of the healthcare worker, the Infection Prevention (IP) Team developed a unique education day.

Developing reflection and research skills through blogging in an evidence-based practice postgraduate physiotherapy module

Background. Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the process by which a clinician evaluates the quality of evidence before applying it in the management of a patient. Many practitioners struggle to integrate this research-based evidence into their professional practice. Blogs have been identified as useful pedagogical tools that can facilitate the sharing of ideas and clinical experiences among peers to reflect on diverse learning experiences. Objectives. A qualitative research design was used to examine the use of reflective blogging to teach the process of EBP in physiotherapy. Methods. A conveniently selected group of postgraduate students who were registered for an EBP module participated in the study. Blogging was used to teach the process of EBP in physiotherapy using Kolb's cycle as a guiding and an evaluative framework. Students reflected on and shared their learning experiences in ways that exposed the limits of their understanding around certain concepts. Results. The results reflect how students moved from assisted to independent performance by identifying gaps in their own understanding and finding the answers themselves. Conclusion. Reflective blogging was found to be a valuable tool for promoting meaningful learning activities among participants and assisted students in making sense of their shared experiences. It was also an effective tool to be used in teaching the process of EBP.

A Simulation of International Climate Regime Formation

The literature on pedagogical methods in international affairs includes a number of international politics simulations. We present the material for an in-class simulation exercise on international climate negotiations that attempts to help students understand the importance of theory as well as the substantive issues surrounding climate policy. Simulations have been proposed as a means of providing an engaging classroom experience and a more diverse learning experience. The exercises presented here focus on developing student research skills, analyzing data to present a realistic policy position and understanding the process of institutional regime formation. At the end of the simulation, students are asked to relate their own negotiation experiences back to the theoretical material discussed during the semester. An assessment was conducted of student expectations prior to the simulation exercise and compared with post-simulation experiences. Students reported the greatest positive difference between their expected learning outcome and actual experience with the simulation in terms of learning information about specific country assignments, overall enjoyment of the activity, and understanding the material covered in the course. The greatest negative difference between expectations and experience were reported for understanding international negotiations more generally and current international events. The article outlines the full content for an in-class simulation and its’ implementation as well as results from an evaluation of its use. The simulation provides students with a better understanding of the complexity of international negotiations over climate policy while outlining key theoretical concepts in international relations and comparative public policy.