Collaborative Learning Experiences Research Articles

Development of a multilingual educational platform for cross-nation real-time distant interaction in youth disaster preparedness between Indonesia and Japan

The increasing prevalence and cross-national nature of disasters means countries have much to learn from each other in terms of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). However, cross-nation mutual learning are often hindered by distance and language barriers. Japan and Indonesia, as countries with significant similarities and differences in terms of disaster profile, socioeconomic and cultural conditions, embody both the potentials and barriers for mutual learning. To help surmount these barriers, this paper describes the project plan to develop a multilingual educational platform for cross-nation, real-time distant interaction in youth disaster preparedness between Indonesia and Japan. The platform is designed for both mobile and web-based applications, with interfaces in Indonesian, English and Japanese to facilitate language barriers. The design consists of three main elements. First, an interactive assessment module is used to measure knowledge and preparedness. Second, a series of multimedia eLearning modules allow participants to increase their knowledge and capacity in DRR. Finally, a set of gamified educational materials is developed to allow an immersive and collaborative learning experience. To facilitate mutual learning across countries, this module includes an online multiplayer serious game where participants from different countries work together in various disaster simulation scenarios, utilizing skills they learnt from the eLearning modules. The use and implementation of this platform is hoped to increase local DRR capacities and awareness, grow networks of mutual learning among youth in Indonesia and Japan, and add to creative methods for DRR education. Evaluation will also increase knowledge regarding similarities, differences, and potential synergies in DRR across local and cross national levels in Indonesia and Japan.

Learning in the openness: the lost way of the MOOC

At the end of the 2000´s, MOOCs broke into the educational field with the promise of learning with features more suited to the demands of our times. Their connectivist genesis provided a provocative expectation regarding the potential of collaboration, sharing, reuse, and free access, as factors of a possible transformation of the current educational system, which has been characterized by being rigid and reluctant to change. Given the relevance and growing participation of MOOC in education, there is a strong interest in understanding both their functioning and structure so that they can be considered as relevant educational options for a networked society. In this sense, a mixed study was conducted on 225 MOOCs based on the four categories that make up their denomination. The results of the study show that the contributions of MOOCs as generators of shared and collaborative learning experiences as proposed in their origins are not reflected in the reality of their current offering.

Ageism in Higher Education: Historical Reasons and Contemporary Age-Friendly Solutions

The need for greater attention to aging in higher education is indisputable. Changing age demographics are reshaping societies and challenging colleges and universities to consider how they can respond to aging populations through new approaches to teaching, research, and community engagement. However, ageism permeates academia in systematic as well as implicit ways, holding higher education back from expanding attention to aging. This presentation will describe how ageism manifests itself and how the pioneering Age-Friendly University (AFU) initiative with its ten guiding principles offers a framework to address the neglect of age in academia by advocating for greater age-diversity and inclusion. Special attention will be given to an AFU focus on breaking down age-segregation by bringing younger and older learners together around educational goals of mutual interest, engaging in collaborative teaching and learning experiences, and building intergenerational solidarity in line with social-psychological principles known to reduce prejudice and discrimination. Part of a symposium sponsored by Age-Friendly University (AFU) Interest Group.

Innovations in Gerontology Education: A Multifaceted Approach

By 2030, older adults are projected to outnumber children. This growth among older adults presents both opportunities and challenges on how to care for this unprecedented older adult population. In 2010, there were 7.2 family caregivers for every person 80 and older; this is expected to fall to 3 by 2050. Many older adults are at risk of becoming an elder orphan - someone aging alone with no family available to address their caregiving needs. This underscores the urgent need for the education of nurses who are prepared to care for older adults with complex social and health needs, many of whom are suffering from three to five chronic conditions. This symposium highlights cutting-edge research designed to transform nursing education to better prepare students to advance the health of older adults. Our first presentation describes ageism among undergraduate students and innovative curricula to positively influence their preference for working with older adults. Next, the groundbreaking tool-kit that encourages self-reflection on beliefs about aging and reframes how students view older adults. Third, the qualitative results of a collaborative learning experience designed to introduce students earlier and more often to older adults. Finally, findings from a student-led study investigating the unique needs of caregivers of older adults with diabetes highlights the importance of funding students to conduct research related to older adults. Our symposium ends with a discussion of how these approaches are transforming nursing education to adequately prepare nurses to improve the health and health care of older adults.

Pre-service Teachers’ Collaborative Learning Experiences in a Science Content Course

Developing an in-depth understanding, skills, and level of comfort to teach through inquiry requires that pre-service teachers themselves learn through an inquiry-based approach that would allow them to explore various dimensions of such an approach. Productive discourse and collaboration, involving extensive interactions among students, constant and mutual exchange of ideas, and higher-order thinking are critical components of inquiry-based learning. Further research is needed to understand the dynamics of collaborative experiences and the process by which science is learned in collaborative team contexts, particularly with teacher candidates who will be responsible for implementing such approaches in their future classrooms. This qualitative study aimed to explore the dynamics of inquiry-based learning experiences of two teams of elementary pre-service teachers in an introductory science content course. Analysis of observation data indicated that although the team engaged in a less structured activity engaged in slightly more productive communication, both teams experienced inequitable levels of involvement by different team members. Team members assumed different roles and varying degrees of participation and engagement in discourse. Our research indicated possible challenges of collaborative interaction and discourse which are critical to consider as teacher educators and researchers. It is imperative that science content and methods courses offer pre-service teachers opportunities for direct experience and explicit instruction on effective means of productive interactions and discourse.

Virtually Authentic: Graduate Students’ Perspective Changes toward Authentic Learning while Collaborating in a Virtual World

This qualitative case study investigates graduate students’ perspective changes apropos their cross-national collaborative learning experience while participating in an online teaching and learning course jointly taught by graduate schools in the United States and Israel. The participants met virtually, on a weekly basis between November and December 2018, on a platform called Second Life, to design and participate in collaborative learning activities. On completion of the course, interviews were conducted with a small sample of student-participants regarding their experiences. During the design phase, participants’ dominant perceptions of their learning experiences were characterized by genuine “excitement” at the novelty of collaborating virtually with colleagues on the other side of the world. Their initial perceptions evolved during the participation phase to realization as learning communities emerged and students’ roles expanded beyond the scope of mere participants. In this study, the authors argue that participants’ construction of new knowledge resulted in authentic learning from the standpoints of social constructivism and online collaborative learning theory and further discuss the factors that enabled the participants’ authentic learning experience.

Configurations of collaborations based on learning orientations amongst medical students.

While collaboration is an important and key attribute for medical students in order to prepare them to perform well in health care teams, how to effectively develop and assess such skills is challenging. The current widespread practice of using Likert-scale questionnaire only to measure the quantity of collaboration at course and/or program level appears to be insufficient to provide an evidence-base for what counts desirable collaborative learning experience. Drawing on research into student approaches to learning and social network analysis, this study investigates differences in collaborative learning configurations amongst 217 Australian medical students. Based on students' learning orientations (i.e., 'understanding' and 'reproducing') and their choice of collaborations (i.e., whether to collaborate or not, with whom to collaborate, and mode of collaboration), the analyses found five configurations of collaborations differing in a number of features. The most desirable collaborative experience was a configuration of collaborations formed by students with an 'understanding' orientation. This configuration revealed a strong tendency towards intensive pair work with measurable differences in how easy and effectively they collaborated. The results of the study not only have practical implications for teaching and curriculum design for collaborative learning, but also have significant implications for assessing students' collaborative learning experiences.

Exploring item discrimination in an online self and peer assessment of interprofessional teamwork

Abstract Prior research on interprofessional education has used item response theory to demonstrate that existing measures of attitudes are not capable of differentiating between learners. However, current literature does not speak to the discriminatory abilities of existing self or peer assessments of team behaviors. The purpose of this study was to use item response theory to examine the validity of teamwork items associated with the Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effective (CATME) online system. Rating data was derived from 2731 students who participated in a collaborative longitudinal interprofessional service learning experience between 2014 and 2017. Students participating in interprofessional teams provided peer and self-evaluations using the CATME online system twice during the nine month experience. We evaluated the data using a generalized partial credit model finding evidence of factor multidimensionality and item miss-fit across all six items comprising the assessment. While items could identify those who had limited teamwork ability, the items could not discriminate between individuals at or above the estimated population mean. These results provide evidence that the CATME peer and self-assessment items may be most useful as a single component of a multimodal assessment on interprofessional teamwork behaviors.

Computational participation and thelearner‐technologypairing in K‐12STEMeducation

The role of technology in STEM education remains unclear and needs stronger operational definition. In this paper, we explore the theoretical connection between STEM and emergent technologies, with a focus on learner behaviors and the potential of technology‐mediated experiences with computational participation (CP) in shaping STEM learning. In particular, by de‐emphasizing what technology is used and bringing renewed focus to how the technology is used, we make a case for CP as an epistemological and pedagogical approach that promotes collaborative STEM practices. Utilizing Ihde's work as a conceptual framework, we explore how technology‐mediated relations shape STEM learner experiences and behaviors by empowering learners to develop scientific knowledge through collaborative participation and interactive relationships with technology. In particular, we focus on technology mediated game‐based learning and citizen science, and examine how CP creates opportunities for STEM learners to leverage learning with technology in innovative ways. We argue that through computational and collaborative learning experiences, learners participate as members of STEM learning communities in ways that mirror how STEM professionals collaborate, applying interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to complex real‐world problems. Computational participation consequently creates opportunities for learner‐technology pairings to (re)shape STEM learning behaviors, empowering learners to engage collaboratively as members of a STEM community of practice.

USE OF MOBILE DEVICE LANGUAGE LEARNING APPLICATIONS BY TURKISH SPEAKING ADULTS: A SURVEY STUDY

Foreign language education is going under constant change. Mobile technologies have gained significant momentum in foreign language education in recent years with their unique features and affordances. A large number of mobile apps have been specifically designed, created, and used for teaching foreign languages. Although these apps seem to be ubiquitous, much remains unknown with regard to their actual usage as self-directed materials. This paper reports and discusses the results of a survey study that aimed to investigate adult Turkish speaking mobile device owners’ experiences with and reasons for foreign language teaching app use/nonuse, perceived effectiveness, strengths and weaknesses of apps, and suggestions for improving language teaching apps. The survey included close-ended and open-ended questions and are analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis methods. Results showed that mobile language learning applications are perceived to have a strong potential to overcome the constraints in front of language learning such as time, space, linguistic input. Apps can personalize instruction by taking into account the needs of different students and increase the motivation of learning with features such as gamification. However, it was also observed that learners rarely used mobile technologies used to enable a more communication-based and collaborative language learning experience.

Creating Cultural Safety as an Aboriginal Teacher in a Class of Non-Aboriginal University Students

ABSTRACT Creating a culturally safe learning environment is critical for Aboriginal teachers in universities. This paper explores my experience as a new lecturer convening an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social work course at an Australian university. As an Aboriginal woman teaching to a large class of non-Aboriginal students, establishing cultural safety became a priority early on. Through reflecting on my journey from feeling vulnerable at the beginning of the course, to developing a safe and collaborative learning and teaching experience, this paper presents the rare perspective of an Aboriginal academic in the teaching space, and offers practical ways to develop cultural safety in university classrooms. IMPLICATIONS Aboriginal social work teaching academics need to feel culturally safe in the classroom setting to sustain them in their role. Engaging non-Aboriginal students to feel safe through collaborative learning enhances the learning and teaching experience for everyone and contributes to cultural safety for Aboriginal academics. Aboriginal academics teaching Aboriginal-specific content risk being traumatised through intensive and consistent exposure to traumatic content that may be personal to them. Universities need to provide practical support to new teaching academics to best equip and prepare them for the role.

Feature: Bringing the Community to the Classroom: Using Campus-Wide Collaborations to Foster Belonging for Dual Enrollment Students

This article describes the experience of three professors teaching dual enrollment BTECH Early College High School students at Queensborough Community College, and our incorporation of departmental and campus-wide collaborative learning experiences as an intervention for student success and engagement. We present our collaborative approach to course design, culminating in the Upstanders Project, a multimodal research-based writing assignment incorporating on-campus cultural and learning resources. We argue that this approach led to an immersive learning experience for dual enrollment students that strengthened their ties to the college community.

협력학습 경험을 통한 예비유아교사의 창의성 교육 프로그램 의미 탐색

협력학습 경험을 통한 예비유아교사의 창의성 교육 프로그램 의미 탐색

Escape the (Remote) Classroom: An Online Escape Room for Remote Learning

An online virtual escape-room game was created using the Google Forms survey app for an undergraduate chemistry lab class. Zoom video conferencing service was used to make the activity a collaborative learning experience. The theme was an escape from an abandoned chocolate factory, and the students solved problems to move to the next section or “room” on the Google Forms survey.

Virtual praxis: Constraints, approaches, and innovations of online creative arts teacher educators

Higher education, and in particular, initial teacher education, has been significantly transformed through the introduction of e-learning. However, online teacher education presents particular challenges in the creative arts, which has traditionally developed student understanding through embodied and collaborative learning experiences. In this qualitative study, in-depth interviews were conducted with eight online arts educators in teacher education programs to understand their perspectives and pedagogy in online arts coursework. Using Engeström’s Activity Theory as an analytical lens, the findings highlight how these academics navigated challenges and opportunities to facilitate authentic, praxis-focused arts experiences to prepare pre-service teachers for the classroom.

Effective collaborative learning from Chinese students’ perspective: a qualitative study in a teacher-training course

ABSTRACT This paper examines undergraduate students’ perceptions of when and how active learning and engagement were supported by group-based collaborative learning. Collaborative learning is a prevalent constructivist approach that has been promoted for its capability of assisting students’ shared knowledge construction. Existing research has, nonetheless, pointed towards social-cultural barriers to students’ participation in collaborative learning, particularly in Eastern societies. This study explored students’ perceptions of collaborative learning in group tasks during a 12-week course. Interviews revealed key themes regarding students’ perspectives on what effective and meaningful collaborative work in classrooms meant to them, and how and why collaborative work motivated and engaged them. Survey findings, which helped to triangulate interview findings, showed that students’ experiences of collaborative learning were supported by key elements of constructivist learning environments. Implications are derived for effective pedagogical design and theorization of collaborative learning in higher education.

Enhancing Students’ Collaborative Learning Experiences with Laurillard’s Conversational Framework

Collaborative learning (CL) is becoming increasingly recognised as a popular pedagogical practice in higher education that promotes socialization and learning among students. However, the use of collaborative learning does risk placing too much responsibility on the learner and reducing face-to-face interaction with the educator. Therefore, there is a need for educators to find a balance in the interaction and engagement with students to help improve their perceived collaborative learning experiences.

‘It was fun’: Exploring the pedagogical value of collaborative educational games

This qualitative descriptive study explored the value of games as pedagogical tools to teach team working and foster collaborative learning in a higher education classroom. Groups of three or four students (n = 181) were asked to participate in a simple low-tech serious game which required them to solve a puzzle. The puzzle simulated ‘good’ teamwork practices. Subsequently, participants were asked to complete an open-ended qualitative questionnaire about their experiences. The game was found to enhance learners’ understanding of the attributes of effective team working. It was concluded that team-based collaborative games have value in experientially ‘teaching’ team working skills. Moreover, simple low-tech games were found to have good capacity for generating high-quality collaborative learning experiences. In this context it is argued that simple low-tech games should not be forgotten in the rush to develop computer-supported collaborative learning environments. Not least because they generate opportunities for face-to-face interaction.

Connecting digital elements with physical learning contexts: an educational escape-the-room game for supporting learning in young children

ABSTRACT The purpose of the current study was to investigate students’ overall learning process during the implementation of educational escape-the-room games (EERGs) in classrooms. This study adopted a two-stage case-study methodology, namely single-case and multi-case designs. In the first stage, a well-designed EERG for a Chinese language class was developed on a web-based game platform. A total of 15 second-grade students from a public elementary school in Taiwan used tablet computers to engage in problem-solving tasks in the EERG. In the second stage, five schoolteachers from other elementary schools who had adopted similar EERGs in their classrooms in the previous academic year participated in the study to share their instructional experiences. The results indicated that students actively collaborated with their team members to address problem-solving tasks during the EERG activity. Positive collaborative learning experiences and learning attitudes towards the EERG were identified in the students’ self-reflection worksheets.

On-Campus Clinical: Preparing Prelicensure Nursing Students for a Safe Clinical Practice.

Ensuring students are both confident and competent for clinical practice will lead to improved patient outcomes. Early exposure to delivering safe and effective care using knowledge, skills, and abilities that are consonant with professional practice is essential. Caring for an increasingly complex patient population is challenging. Entry-to-practice competencies must begin early in the student's education and be developed throughout. This educational initiative outlines an innovative and a collaborative evidence-based learning experience that prepares prelicensure nursing students to deliver safe and effective patient-centered care during their first clinical practice. Lecture and laboratory topics, clinical skills stations, and simulation scenarios were developed to promote critical thinking and clinical judgment in a complex health care environment. More than 2300 first-year clinical students, instructors, and staff participated in this rigorous course-wide experience. This 1-day immersion cultivates safe practice and may be incorporated throughout the curriculum as students encounter increasingly challenging clinical practice experiences.