Emotional Aspects Of Learning Research Articles

Social and Emotional Modes of Learning Within Digital Ecosystems: Emerging Research Agendas

AbstractThis article brings together literature and perspectives that have evolved during the last decade on issues of social and emotional aspects of learning in a digital age. This topic points to some core challenges and worries of contemporary social developments within digitalized societies, and ways of perceiving future developments of how we conceptualize learning and education within and beyond formal schooling to better provide for ways of engaging young learners. The aim is to address some emerging issues on the importance of digital social and emotional skills (D-SEL) relevant for our understanding of learning and education in contemporary and future societies. We use developments in selected countries (Norway, Czech Republic, USA and Japan) as examples to discuss how social and emotional skills have entered educational systems. The findings show that not only knowledge in a cognitive sense is important for human life, but also people’s approach to life and their ability to adapt to changes as digital social and emotional ways of learning.

Teaching note: personal attack or the personal touch? Evaluating the use of video feedback methods with qualifying social workers

ABSTRACT Social work skills such as the ability to reflect on self and to recognize and manage emotions are fostered in part through using and receiving feedback, however there is limited research about feedback methods that effectively enable social work students and post-qualifying workers to engage with the emotional aspects of learning and feedback. This teaching note reports on a pilot project in which video feedback on academic assignments was provided to first year undergraduate social work students studying at a university in England. The project findings underscore the importance of engaging with the emotional dimensions of feedback processes and recognizing how feedback experiences can shape emerging learner and professional identities. The findings also underline the psychological and social skills required to engage in more performative aspects of contemporary education and practice. We argue that social work students are likely to benefit from support to develop meta-cognition (the process of thinking about one’s thinking processes) and self-regulation (regulation of emotion and behavior) skills before they can make sense of academic and practice-orientated feedback. Video feedback on academic assignments is therefore best utilized when it is underpinned by a dialogical approach to teaching and learning in the ‘classroom’ and the ‘field’.

Probleme Dayalı Öğrenme ve Geleneksel Öğretim Yöntemlerinin Lisansüstü Çalışmalarda Karşılaştırmalı Çözümlemesi: Öğrenme Çıktıları Üzerine Etkilerinin Sentezi

This research aimed to evaluate and synthesize the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) compared to traditional instruction (TI) in various learning outcomes. The study, using a sequential explanatory mixed research approach, reviewed 74 postgraduate dissertations from Türkiye, spanning from 2009 to 2021, that matched specific inclusion criteria. Qualitative data analysis revealed that the majority of these dissertations were master’s level and completed in 2010. These studies frequently implemented experimental interventions in middle school science classes, typically over five weeks with groups of 21-30 students. The quantitative analysis showed that PBL had a significant overall impact, with a General Effect Size (GES) of 0.734 across all variables. This effect was divided into specific clusters: knowledge (GES of 0.992), skills (GES of 0.696), and emotions (GES of 0.406). Further, PBL particularly affected academic achievement (GES of 0.842), scientific process skills (GES of 0.351), and course attitude (GES of 0.402), which were the most commonly assessed variables in the respective dimensions of knowledge, skills, and emotions. Additionally, PBL showed a substantial impact (GES of 0.799) on variables covering 21st-century competency framework skills. In summary, the study found that PBL is significantly more effective than traditional instructional methods across various learning outcomes, particularly in enhancing knowledge, skills, and emotional aspects of learning. This study suggests that integrating PBL activities can significantly enhance the attainment of curriculum objectives.

Canary in the mine: what white working-class underachievement reveals about processes of marginalisation in English secondary education

ABSTRACT This paper argues that processes of marginalisation experienced by white working-class students provide insight into systemic problems with the English education system. White British students eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) are a low attaining group. This research investigates factors affecting their engagement and achievement. Fieldwork in three comprehensive secondary schools in a London borough used qualitative methods to gather data on the perspectives of staff, students and parents. Using Bourdieu’s conceptual tools to guide the analysis, the study found that performance pressure and funding cuts can result in an institutional habitus which privileges academic attainment, side-lines the social and emotional aspects of learning and misrecognises working-class capitals. Such habitus fosters pedagogic practices which reduce levels of felt safety and limit opportunities to actively engage and exercise agency in the classroom. These conditions often make fragile the learner identity of white working-class students (and others) and prompt disengagement from school.

Understanding the Development of Self-Regulated Learning: An Intervention Study to Promote Self-Regulated Learning in Vocational Schools

Self-regulated learning (SRL) provides the foundation for building sustainable knowledge and is therefore important for schools, classrooms, and lifelong learning in general. Especially in vocational education and training, the concept of SRL remains fundamental as it relates to preparing future employees. However, further research is needed on how vocational students situationally regulate their learning process and the extent to which this may be related to a dispositional change in their SRL. In this study, we analyzed longitudinal questionnaire data from 159 students who attended either SRL-conducive or regular vocational classes. We refer to Perry and colleagues' (2018) framework of an SRL-conducive learning environment, which focuses on (meta)cognitive, motivational, and emotional aspects of learning. Using multilevel analysis, we found differences in the development of (meta)cognitive components of learning, whereas no clear differences could be identified for motivational and emotional components. The results support the assumption that process analyses can be used to draw a more differentiated picture of SRL in vocational schools. Moreover, indirect approaches to promoting SRL should be designed to include all SRL-relevant aspects.

Measuring and Promoting Self-Regulation for Equity and Quality of Online Learning: New Evidence from a Multi-Institutional Survey during COVID-19

Self-regulation is a core concept to understand the metacognitive, motivational, and emotional aspects of learning. The outbreak of COVID-19 resulted in large numbers of courses being shifted online, thus providing a large-scale setting to collect new empirical evidence to shed light on the specific challenges that different learner subgroups struggle with in the authentic online learning environment and then to provide practical implications to improve the learning outcomes by promoting learners’ online self-regulation. Based on a survey of 64,949 participants enrolled at 39 universities in a metropolitan city of China during the pandemic, we developed the Undergraduate Online Self-regulated Learning Questionnaire (UOSL), tested the reliability and construct validity of the UOSL items, and then built regression models to estimate the associations between online self-regulation and mastery of eight skills across different subgroups in a diverse student body. Disadvantaged subgroups such as rural, first-generation college students reported significantly lower UOSL scores as well as lower skill mastery in online learning. After controlling self-regulation in the regression model, these gaps related to student demographics have shrunk substantially and some become statistically insignificant (e.g., the gender gap in online skill mastery). The findings highlight the critical role of the targeted interventions of self-regulation to promote equity and enhance quality in the online teaching design and learning support.

Comparing Construction and Study of Concept Maps – An Intervention Study on Learning Outcome, Self-Evaluation and Enjoyment Through Training and Learning

Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge. They are recommended for biology learning to support conceptual thinking. In this study, we compare concept map construction (CM-c, i.e., creating concept maps) and concept map study (CM-s, i.e., observing concept maps). Existing theories and indirect empirical evidence suggest distinct effects of both formats on cognitive, metacognitive and emotional aspects of learning. We developed a CM-c training, a CM-s training, and a brief introduction to concept maps (control training) for junior high school students. We investigated effects on learning performance, concept map quality, cognitive load (cognitive effects), accuracy of self-evaluation (metacognitive effects) and enjoyment (emotional effects) of these trainings in a subsequent learning phase (CM-c learning vs. CM-s learning) in a quasi-experimental two-factorial study with 3 × 2 groups (N = 167), involving the factors training type and learning type. Results reveal that CM-c training increased learning performance and concept map quality. Effects of CM-c training on learning performance transferred onto learning with CM-s. Self-evaluation was slightly more accurate after CM-c training than CM-s training. Students reported moderate, and highly varying enjoyment during CM-c and CM-s learning. The superiority of CM-c over CM-s in learning performance and concept map quality probably lies in its characteristic of being an active learning strategy. We recommend practitioners to favor CM-c training over CM-s training, and foster students’ active engagement and enjoyment.

Understanding palliative care learning: A narrative inquiry exploring health care professionals’ memorable experiences

Palliative care is an emotionally evocative domain of care, the complexities of which are not well understood. Palliative care has been described as a cultural shift in healthcare away from disease focused interventions toward a holistic and patient centered approach. Concerns have arisen around a lack of preparation for this approach to care following formal education programs across a variety of health professions. Demographics in many areas of the world demonstrate an increasing need for healthcare providers (HCPs) who are competent, confident, and engaged with this practice. Using narrative methodology to consider visual and verbal forms of storytelling, we explored memorable palliative care learning experiences of rural HCPs in Canada (2018–2019) to broaden understanding of how palliative care learning happens. HCPs across a variety of professions drew and recounted emotionally rich narratives that revealed personal and contextual dimensions as central to learning, inclusive of relationships, settings, and cultures. HCPs across professions recounted experiences that followed a common narrative arc that we call the 4Ds: difference, discomfort, disruptive, departure. This narrative arc is compatible with viewing learning as an ongoing process of transformation or becoming. Through considering the 4Ds and its implications for education, providers and educators can attune to opportunities to support students and colleagues as they emerge and grow as HCPs. Conversely, not attending to difficult, disruptive, and emotional aspects of learning may perpetuate hidden aspects of healthcare culture with possible negative impacts on provider experience and notions of professional identity.

Fear Processing in Mice with PMAT Deficiency

The plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT, Slc29a4) is a polyspecific cation transporter that, in the brain, predominantly takes up monoamine neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. PMAT function is hypothesized to emerge when other monoamine transporter function is impaired, such as under conditions of heightened monoamine neurotransmitter release in response to stressors. In humans, common genetic polymorphisms can reduce PMAT function, but these have exclusively been studied in the context of metformin treatment response under diabetic conditions. Nothing is currently known about how reduced PMAT function affects fear processing, nor any other aspects of emotional learning or memory. Our lab sought to begin examining the effects of PMAT deficiency on fear processing by using mice with constitutive reductions in PMAT function (i.e., heterozygotes) and comparing these to wildtype mice. Specifically, we evaluated both cued and contextual fear processing. Based on evidence that chronic pharmacological blockade of serotonin transporter‐mediated monoamine uptake decreased both cued and contextual fear expression, we hypothesized heterozygote mice would display lower levels of both cued and contextual fear relative to wildtypes. Surprisingly, we only observed a trend (p=0.08) specifically in male heterozygotes for attenuated cued fear expression. Otherwise, heterozygotes of both sexes exhibited cued fear acquisition, extinction retention, and renewal that was indistinguishable from wildtypes, as was their contextual fear processing. Four weeks after fear processing behavior tests concluded, mice were subjected to a brief swim stress, and blood was collected for stress hormone quantification. These data are currently being analyzed, and we hypothesize that heterotypic stressor exposure will unmask the behavioral sequelae of reduced PMAT function. Our current findings are consistent with previous reports of sex‐selective effects of PMAT deficiency on behavioral responses to stressor exposure. Continued investigation into how reduced PMAT function affects emotion processing and stress responsivity could have translational implications for people with functional PMAT polymorphisms.

Between Knowing and Experiencing: Israel’s Ministry of Education Policies and Practices for Enhancing Jewish Identity in the 1950s and 1960s

The article presents the policy of Israel’s Ministry of Education and the educational theorization and implementation of fostering Jewish consciousness and identity in the (non-religious) state elementary and secondary education system in the 1950s and 1960s. The guiding educational conception addressed the relationship between knowing and experiencing, emphasizing the experiential aspect and the evocation of emotion in the learning process. Policymakers anticipated that imparting knowledge about Jewish life experientially would lead to identification and the assimilation of Jewish identity among both school pupils and the “secular” Jewish-Israeli public. Two main educational practices to achieve this were used in the state education system, reflecting the experiential and emotional aspects of learning: first, designing teaching/learning materials for teachers and students in state schools; second, sending a delegation of high school and teachers seminary students in the summer of 1966 to see the extermination camps in Poland and Czechoslovakia.

Critical Approaches to Sustainability in the Business Communication Classroom: A Developmental Perspective

Business communication faculty who invite students to critically engage with issues of sustainability must consider students’ developmental readiness to do so, as these invitations can often seem uninvited. To promote students’ readiness for critical inquiry, faculty should adopt a developmental approach that attends to both cognitive and emotional aspects of learning. This article outlines three ways to frame critical discussions of sustainability: as a new conception of wealth, as a cultural way of knowing, and as an intergenerational social contract. To help faculty develop students’ capacity to engage critically, this article includes guided questions to support critical inquiry and a supplemental reading list.

The evolution of mental health in schools: where from, where next?

ABSTRACT The current agenda for mental health in schools is considered in relation to the concept of mental health and how it has been iterated in schools in the UK. Key contributions from education pioneers are outlined, providing a time line for the first half of the twentieth century particularly informed by psychoanalysis. Mid twentieth century the term mental health begins to be used explicitly and we see the emergence of mental health counselling in schools. Developments culminate in Wall’s (1955) landmark book Education and Mental Health, which set out a whole school approach. In the latter part of the twentieth century we see a move towards a targeted approach, and the curriculum development for Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) and the consolidation of current policy drivers for mental health are set out. It is argued that in the future, in light of COVID-19, we will see new bridges between home and school, with schools acting more as community hubs supporting the mental health of children and their families.

Understanding inclusive pedagogy in primary education: teachers’ perspectives

ABSTRACT This article describes the beliefs, knowledge, designs and actions of primary education teachers who carry out inclusive pedagogy. We gathered the data using two semi-structured interviews. Twenty-five primary education teachers participated in the study, from eleven Spanish urban public schools. The results covered four topics: beliefs, knowledge, designs and actions for the learning of all students. We observed that teachers who apply inclusive pedagogy believe in the richness of diversity, use a student-centred learning approach, consider the affective and emotional aspects of learning, and base their teaching on active methodologies. This study provides examples of “good teachers” who may inspire others.

Cognitive Load as Motivational Cost

Research on cognitive load theory (CLT) has focused primarily on identifying the mechanisms and strategies that enhance cognitive learning outcomes. However, CLT researchers have given less attention to the ways in which cognitive load may interact with the motivational and emotional aspects of learning. Motivational beliefs have typically been assumed to be merely a precursor to the cognitive process. This view provides an incomplete picture of the dynamic relationship between cognitive load and motivational beliefs. In this review, we synthesize previous scholarly efforts concerning the motivational effects of anticipated investment of mental effort, new developments in the expectancy-value theory of motivation, and recent findings implicating cognitive load in the formulation of motivational beliefs. By conceptualizing cognitive load as motivational cost, we argue that motivational beliefs are an important outcome that results from instruction. We examine recent empirical evidence supporting this proposition and consider the implications for the further development of both CLT and motivational theories through their integration.

Odnos između strategija i tehnika učenja, anksioznosti i psihosomatskih simptoma učenika VIII i IX razreda osnovne škole

The study presented in this paper aims to examine the frequency of psychosomatic symptoms in students and their interaction with learning strategies and techniques. In addition, it aims to examine anxiety as a personality trait and its mediation effect between learning strategies and psychosomatic symptoms, with self-regulated learning linking cognitive, motivational, and emotional aspects of learning, serving as a theoretical framework. The sample comprises 420 students, aged 13.7 years on average, with a balanced percentage regarding gender. Through a descriptive analysis, it has been established that the commonest psychosomatic symptoms are gastrointestinal, pseudo-neurological, and symptoms of pain/feeling of weakness. The results show that learning strategies are negatively related to both the frequency (r=-.22, p<.01) and the intensity of the interference with psychosomatic symptoms (r=-.17, p<.01), as well as to anxiety (r=-.21, p<.01). Anxiety as a personality trait has a significant mediation effect between learning strategies and the frequency of psychosomatic symptoms (R2 =.208, b=-.437, SE=.219, 95% CI [-.75, -.21]) and learning strategies and the intensity of interference with psychosomatic symptoms (R2 =.111, b=-.363, SE=.126, 95% CI [-.66, -.15]). The mediation effect of anxiety in relation to learning techniques - frequency/intensity of interference with psychosomatic symptoms has not been established. The results point to the need for providing training to students with regard to a self-regulated learning process and the application of efficient learning strategies from early grades, in order to reduce the risk of psychosomatic symptoms occurrence.

Under the Guidance of Constructivism Learning Theory of Marine Auxiliary Machinery Teaching Reform

The STCW78/95 convention amendment was adopted by the International Maritime Organization contracting state in the city of Manila in the Philippines, in June 2010, and came into force on January 1, 2012. A request was put forward on the development of the professional education program by adding a ship skill assessment. With this objective, the marine auxiliary machinery teaching team analyzed the present situation of marine auxiliary machinery teaching, summarized the teaching experience, clarified the existing problems in the teaching process, and based on the constructivism learning theory, put forward a teaching plan. Constructivism learning theory emphasizes the initiative, social, and emotional aspects of learning. This paper discusses how to construct the knowledge from the integrity knowledge system, set actual teaching situation, carry out the teaching practice and establish the evaluation system.

Recounting the role of emotions in learning economics: Using the Threshold Concepts Framework to explore affective dimensions of students’ learning

Many students find economics difficult. Undergraduate courses often record high failure rates, and research in economics education reflects concerns about the quality of students’ learning. Such concerns may be more acute in the South African context, where academic underpreparedness among students is one of many challenges facing higher education. Despite the emotional connotations of difficulty and challenge frequently associated with economics, affective aspects of learning are seldom considered explicitly in the design of pedagogy and curriculum. Likewise, emotions barely feature in research on teaching and learning in economics. The Threshold Concepts Framework (TCF) offers a view of learning that encompasses both cognitive and affective elements. This approach is increasingly influential within and beyond the discipline in exploring qualitative dimensions of learning. However, this scholarship has yet to delve deeply into emotional aspects of learning in economics. This paper draws on a study that explored the processes and experiences of economics students’ learning in a threshold concepts-infused tutorial programme that complemented a traditionally lectured Intermediate Microeconomics course at a South African university. The study used Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA), in which participants themselves generate and analyze data representing their experiences. Students were deeply involved in exploring their learning, in focus groups, individual interviews, and written reflections. These sources produced detailed representations, in the participants’ voices, of their learning in economics. We offer an account of the range of emotional responses they described, foregrounding their words. These descriptions depict learning in economics as a strongly affective process, coloured by a rich wash of emotions, both positive and painful. These responses stemmed from engaging with disciplinary content, from pedagogy and assessment practices, and from students’ views of themselves as learners in the discipline. Emotions in turn affected students’ motivation, learning behaviour and outcomes. We reflect on how these findings might inform teaching approaches that support and facilitate disciplinary learning.

Emotional Aspects of Learning and Teaching: Reviewing the Field − Discussing the Issues

The introductory paper gives an overview of the international research on emotions in learning and teaching. It addresses various theoretical, contextual, practical, and empirical aspects. In the first part, the paper reflects the core concept of emotions with particular emphasis on academic and achievement emotions. Next, it reviews the impact of emotions on students’ learning and achievement, as well as on the relation between emotions and instructional quality. The final part deals with academic emotions viewed in the context of different school subjects. In general, this introductory paper emphasizes the relevance of emotions for education, especially for learning and teaching in school.

Emotional Aspects of Learning and Teaching

Emotional Aspects of Learning and Teaching

Annual Conference 2015 paper ‘It’s something I do as a parent, it’s common sense to me’ – Non-teaching staff members’ perceptions of SEAL and their role in the development of children’s social, emotional and behavioural skills

The ‘Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning’ (SEAL) initiative is a curriculum-based resource aimed at developing all children’s social, emotional and behavioural skills across England and Wales. Devised as a tool to improve such skills by enhancing levels of emotional intelligence, SEAL is a scheme that utilises whole-school work such as classroom based lessons, assemblies, small group sessions and intervention with individual children. Although subsequent studies of the initiative have identified favourable outcomes, few have captured how the scheme is being interpreted or used by schools and their staff members. Drawing on empirical data gathered during a three-year study that investigated the interpretation and use of SEAL in primary schools, I present the accounts of a range of non-teaching primary school staff members, including teaching assistants, welfare assistants, and pastoral staff, who utilise the scheme in their individual roles, within their respective schools. The views offered by these staff members illustrate how their interpretation and use of SEAL is influenced by the behaviours and skills they have gained as parents, and how these ‘funds of knowledge’ (Gonzalez, Moll and Amanti 2005) have positioned them as competent social, emotional and behavioural facilitators. With reference to Hochschild’s (1983) concept of ‘emotional labour’, Osgood’s (2005) work on ‘educare’, and their links to Gee’s (2008) notion of ‘everyday knowledge’, this paper will consider the role of non-teaching, primary school staff in the development of children’s social, emotional and behavioural skills and ask if such work is, indeed, ‘common sense’.