Extending Learning Opportunities Research Articles

STEM education for the twenty-first century: A New Zealand perspective

This paper clarifies the nature of STEM education and how it could fit within the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) structure. It also considers aspects of course design and adaptations of the National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) required for successful inclusion within secondary school learning programmes. The paper also discusses some problems and challenges of developing such programmes which require students to interact with, or integrate knowledge from the science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning areas. It finds that rather than replacing established curriculum areas, a STEM course can run parallel to them providing extended learning opportunities for students which are not presently common in New Zealand.

Sustainable professional learning for early childhood educators: Lessons from an Australia-wide mental health promotion initiative

New policy initiatives, such as those concerned with promoting young children’s positive mental health, highlight the need for good quality professional education in the early childhood education and care sector. However, although a wealth of literature exists from the school sector, little is known about professional education in early childhood education and care settings. This article presents an analysis of early childhood education and care educators’ perspectives about their professional learning during an initiative to promote young children’s mental health in 111 early childhood education and care centres in Australia. Questionnaires and feedback forms were collected from educators on four occasions over 2 years. In addition, programme facilitators rated the quality of implementation of the initiative in each centre. Thematic analysis indicated that the professional education was instrumental in building early childhood education and care educators’ knowledge about children’s social-emotional learning and mental health, increased educators’ self-efficacy for mental health promotion and encouraged a more collegial and collaborative workplace. Hierarchical linear modelling supported the learning gains identified in the qualitative analysis, but showed that the effect sizes for positive change depended on the quality of programme implementation. The findings highlight important synergies between opportunities for professional learning and workplaces that are conducive to transformation and renewal. Recommendations from participants for improvement included the need to ensure the relevance of content to local contexts, more extended learning opportunities, translation of unfamiliar language and more accessible timetabling of professional learning sessions. Issues concerning the need to advocate for, and sustain, professional education in early childhood education and care settings are discussed.

Knowledge infrastructures and the inscrutability of openness in education

Openness has a long genealogy in education. Whether through the use of post, radio, television and digital technologies, extending learning opportunities to more and a wider range of people has been a significant aspect of educational history. Transcending barriers to learning has been promoted as the means of opening educational opportunities in highly normative ways, focusing on the media through which to remove the limits of institutional selection, and of space and time. While there is an obvious attractiveness is such notions, they do little to engage with the critical research on the selectiveness and exclusions inherent in all curricula and pedagogic approaches, however open. The nature, scale and range of digital technologies have seen resurgent interest in the possibilities of openness in education. However, these technologies work on the basis of ontologies, code, algorithms and standards to build knowledge infrastructures that are not always open or opening. This article will suggest that the work of the knowledge infrastructures of open education results in an inherent inscrutability within its practices, which is elusive in terms of significance, processes and effects.

Afterschool Sustainability

Youth participation in quality extended learning opportunities (ELOs) results in positive academic, physical, mental health, and social/emotional outcomes. Funding is essential to implementing and sustaining quality ELOs; however multiple funding barriers and challenges exist. Understanding the types of funds available for ELOs and the factors that influence sustainability is critical. Through surveys and telephone interviews of ELO providers, this descriptive study identified and examined ELO funding streams, the ways ELO providers use these funding streams, and the barriers and challenges to sustainability. ELO programs often relied on one major funding stream coupled with nutrition supports as well as in-kind resources. Barriers to sustainability included year-to-year funding, transportation costs, reducing community partnerships, and difficulty in diversifying funds. Recommendations to enhance ELO sustainability are offered, particularly in relation to overcoming the challenges to diversification of funding resources and establishing mutually supportive partnerships and collaboration.

Implementation of Smartphone-based Blended Learning in an EFL Undergraduate Grammar Course

As smartphones are currently the most widely used mobile device (Jung, 2012), using them and their applications for language learning is increasingly being researched. The current study investigated the effect of using the smartphone application Band in blended learning for developing Korean EFL learners` English grammar skills. The research questions are: 1) Does the use of a smartphone application (Band) in blended learning affect students` development of grammar skills? 2) What are the general perceptions of students towards smartphone-based blended learning? 3) What are the advantages and disadvantages of using smartphones in blended learning? To triangulate the findings, both qualitative and quantitative methods, specifically, a pre/post-test, a questionnaire, and interviews were used to collect data. The research findings showed that the adoption of the smartphone application Band in blended learning was effective in developing students` grammar skills. The experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in grammar development. In addition, students had an overall positive attitude and perspective toward smartphone use in their blended learning environment. Smartphone-based blended learning extended learning opportunities beyond the traditional classroom and increased students` involvement in learning activities. Additional advantages and disadvantages of using smartphone applications in blended learning were also reported in this study.

Editorial: Technology for higher education, adult learning and human performance

This special issue is dedicated to technology-enabled approaches for improving higher education, adult learning, and human performance. Improvement of learning and human development for sustainable development has been recognized as a key strategy for individuals, institutions, and organizations to strengthen their competitive advantages. It is crucial to help adult learners and knowledge workers to improve their self-directed and life-long learning capabilities. Meanwhile, advances in technology have been increasingly enabling and facilitating learning and knowledge-related initiatives. They have largely extended learning opportunities through the provision of resource-rich and learner-centered environment, computer-based learning support, and expanded social interactions and networks. Papers in this special issue are representative of ongoing research on integration of technology with learning for innovative and sustainable development in higher education institutions and organizational and community environments.

Learner outcomes and satisfaction: A comparison of live video-streamed instruction, satellite broadcast instruction, and face-to-face instruction

This study examined the final grade and satisfaction level differences among students taking specific courses using three different methods: face-to-face in class, via satellite broadcasting at remote sites, and via live video-streaming at home or at work. In each case, the same course was taught by the same instructor in all three delivery methods, and an attempt was made to survey students taking the course via the three different delivery methods. MANOVA results indicated no grade or satisfaction level differences among the three populations. Self-reported computer literacy skills revealed a slight fit between the chosen delivery mode and the reported computer literacy skills. These results provide additional evidence to support both the “no significant difference” phenomenon and the use of distance education as a viable, convenient and flexible alternative delivery mode capable of extending learning opportunities to non-traditional students.

Understanding the Need of Mobile ICT Learning as an Elderly Learning Tool

With a rapid deployment of mobile devices, mobile learning gives rise to new possibilities for extending learning opportunities. Nevertheless, current research on mobile learning has mostly been aimed at enhancing learning of school or college students. In this light, the paper seeks to throw light on the potential of mobile learning for elderly. We describe in this paper a research study for examining needs that determine the adoption and usage of mobile devices by elderly population. The elderly are an often neglected group in product development and marketing, but they are the only growing age group in most developed societies. By using semi-structured interviews with a number of different stakeholders interested in elderly people, we identify a set of issues that need to be taken into account when designing strategy for the elderly learners. The results of our study indicate that elderly people are interested in using mobile devices and services, but these services need to deliver real value for them.

The versatile question: Diverse uses of questioning in online and traditional learning

Questions are a key tool for engaging students and extending learning opportunities. Nursing educators, traditionally using questions in the classroom, now also need best questioning techniques for online courses. Online questioning, missing the traditional nonverbal cues, poses certain challenges. This article, based on a literature review focused on questioning in online courses, highlights models and strategies for using questioning across diverse settings. Recommendations include that questions should be purposeful and clearly communicated to serve as effective learning tools.

Using Home Learning Tool Kits to Facilitate Family Involvement

It is a widely held belief that increased family involvement enhances student academic achievement. When considering children with special needs, involvement is not only beneficial; it is often an essential ingredient in a child's success. Families of children with special needs are often limited by time constraints that inhibit school involvement. This leads to the need to extend learning opportunities to families of children with special needs as a means of increasing levels of involvement in their children's education. This article describes a collaborative project between teachers at a local elementary school in North Carolina and members of their Parent-Teacher Association. The Home Learning Tool Kit served as a bridge between home and school, thereby assisting in educating families about their children's academic progress. The project focused on extending learning opportunities to families as a means of increasing their levels of involvement in their children's education.

Middle and High Schoolers Get Hands-on STEM Experiences

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has been hot stuff in 2008. Pick up a magazine or newspaper, and STEM is there. STEM subjects relate to invention, industry, and commerce. They relate to chemistry and electricity and health. Far greater numbers of kids need to know more and be able to understand why things work the way they do. One could safely predict that state economies rise and fall in direct proportion to the knowledge and skills of each state's graduates. Recognizing that rote learning in the STEM fields is far from sufficient, state leaders are beginning to provide support for students to engage in real-life mentoring and intern programs or to get engaging, challenging, hands-on science and math experiences in afterschool programs. Kyle Zinth, a policy analyst with the Education Commission of the States, recently collected and synthesized state policies related to STEM instruction (www.ecs.org/hsdb-stem). In addition to mining state laws for state policies that recruit math and science teachers, target greater participation by low-income or minority students, etc., he looked for and documented provisions that support real-life and hands-on experiences. Real-Life Experiences Engaging in mentoring and intern programs gives students opportunities to see and understand what STEM careers really look like. Internship and mentoring programs can foster student interest in STEM fields and provide valuable hands-on experience. Students are exposed to STEM-related opportunities within their community, showing them that opportunities exist nearby, possibly combating brain drain. Zinth found that eight states support mentoring or internships for high school students in the STEM fields. A pilot program in Connecticut, for example, provides grants to establish self-perpetuating programs offering job-shadowing and internships in science, mathematics, or technology intensive businesses. Kentucky's Science and Technology Council is responsible for enhancing students' interest in STEM subjects through industry internships, mentorship, and career exploration. Florida's career academies--which include schools focused on STEM and information technology--must include partnerships that provide for internships and externships. Washington's director for mathematics, science, and technology is responsible for creating and promoting student internships and apprenticeships. Outside the School Day According to Zinth, 12 states support extended learning opportunities in STEM subjects. For example, Missouri's Afterschool METS Grant Program provides competitive grants to expand quality afterschool programs that focus on STEM subjects (referred to in Missouri as METS subjects) or health. As of 2008, about $500,000 has been allocated for each grant program. Competition Engages Students, Reinforces Learning In addition, a handful of states have begun to fiscally support participation in math- and science-related competitions. Why is this important? Not only do competitions help increase student interest, but providing financial support to students representing a state encourages students who otherwise might not have been able to afford it. Districts and schools have traditionally footed the bill for competitions. Music contests, athletic events, and such head-to-heads as Odyssey of the Mind are the most common--but funding often hinges on parent support, volunteers, or student activity funding that comes out of per-pupil operating revenues. Other longstanding competitive programs serve career and technical students. In 2007, the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education looked at the impact of Career and Technical Student Organizations, or CTSOs (Looking Inside the Black Box: The Value Added by Career and Technical Student Organizations to Students' High School Experience, June 2007). …

Online learning in primary schools: designing for school culture change

This study explores how an online integrated learning environment (ILE) to cater for individual learning differences is used by teachers in two primary schools in Hong Kong. The findings reveal a positive change in both perception and pedagogy of the participants. The results indicate that scaffolding activities led to an enhanced ability to engage in independent learning. Principals and teachers were prepared to alter systemic structures to support the use of the ILE. During the 3‐year period teachers developed coping strategies which led to ICT‐enriched learning, provision of extended learning opportunities and development of study units for online delivery. Evidence also suggests that adoption of the ILE allowed teachers to pay fresh attention to the need to engage students, to respond to them properly and efficiently and to ensure that at each step of the way the students fully understand the work they are doing and that the work set is at an appropriate level. L’apprentissage en ligne dans les écoles primaires : concevoir pour changer la culture scolaire Cette étude examine la façon dont les enseignants de deux écoles primaires de Hong Kong utilisent un environnement intégré en ligne (ILE) pour répondre aux différences individuelles dans l’apprentissage. Les observations font apparaître un changement positif à la fois dans la perception et dans la pédagogie des participants. Les résultats indiquent que les activités d’étayage ont conduit à une plus grande capacité à entreprendre un apprentissage autonome. Les chefs d’établissements et les professeurs ont été prêts à changer les structures du système pour faciliter l’emploi de l’ILE. Pendant cette période de 3 ans, les enseignants ont mis au point des stratégies complémentaires qui ont conduit à un apprentissage enrichi par les TIC, à une offre étendue d’occasions d’apprentissage et à l’élaboration d’unités d’étude destinées à être transmises en ligne. Les résultats indiquent aussi que l’adoption de l’ILE a permis aux professeurs de prêter une attention nouvelle à la nécessité de communiquer avec les élèves, de leur apporter des réponses adaptées et efficaces et de s’assurer qu’à chaque étape du processus ces élèves comprennent pleinement le travail qu’ils sont en train de faire et que ce travail est bien situé au niveau qui leur convient. Online‐Lernen in Grundschulen: Entwürfe für eine Änderung der Schulkultur Diese Studie erkundet wie eine Online‐integrierte Lernumgebung (ILE), die ursprünglich für das Beheben individueller Lernunterschiede gedacht war, von Lehrern zweier Grundschulen in Hongkong verwendet wird. Die Befunde zeigen eine positive Änderung sowohl in der Wahrnehmung als auch der Pädagogik der Teilnehmer. Die Ergebnisse ergaben, dass Stützaktivitäten zu einer verbesserten Fähigkeit führen, selbständiges Lernen zu praktizieren. Schulleitung und Lehrer waren bereit, systemische Strukturen zur Unterstützung des Gebrauchs von ILE umzubauen. Während der dreijährigen Laufzeit des Versuchs entwickelten Lehrer erfolgreiche Anwendungsstrategien zum Einsatz verstärkter ICT‐Nutzung beim Lernen, Vorsorge zur Anwendung erweiterter Lernmöglichkeiten und zum Erarbeiten von Studieneinheiten für Online‐Belieferung führten. Es war auch evident, dass die Einbeziehung von ILE es den Lehrern erleichterte, der Notwendigkeit von Engagementbildung der Schüler neue Aufmerksamkeit entgegenzubringen, passend und effektiv auf ihre Bedürfnisse zu reagieren und sicherzustellen, dass die Schüler an jedem Punkt des Lernweges wussten, was sie arbeiteten und dass die Arbeitsmenge sich auf einem angemessenen Niveau befand.

Effects of Top‐Down and Bottom‐Up Elementary School Standards Reform in an Underperforming California District

In this article we describe how an underperforming school district used research and theory on curriculum, assessment, implementation, and school and classroom organization to develop and implement district standards and improve the achievement of elementary school students. Key reforms included teachers developing essential curriculum standards, standards‐based criterion‐referenced tests, and standards‐based extended learning opportunities. Teachers rated the reform efforts positively and reported a high likelihood of implementation. Using California Department of Education data, we employed econometric analyses to estimate program effects for the district’s elementary schools from 1999 to 2002. A difference‐of‐differences model estimated 10 of 16 positive and significant effects on grades 2 to 5 SAT9 scaled score mathematics achievement, ranging from .2σ to .7σ. The same model applied to reading scores showed 12 of 16 insignificant or negative grade‐level effects. As predicted, however, second and third graders in 2002—those students who had 3 and 4 years of exposure to the program exclusively—experienced only positive (4 of 4) and mostly significant (3 of 4) reading and mathematics effects. Results may guide district administrators implementing standards or comprehensive school reforms.

Indicators of Success in Distance Education

Distance education offers many advantages to students, faculty, and educational institutions. Despite these advantages, distance education classes historically have higher dropout rates than do the courses taught in the traditional, face-to-face setting. Current research includes information related to technology, teaching tips, and resources for these extended learning opportunities. However, information related to student success in distance education is limited and success indicators are poorly defined. Current studies on success indicators often lack a defining framework that provides an opportunity for study replication and strengthens the credibility of study findings. An empirical model developed by Powell et al divides potential determinants of success into three categories. This literature review identifies indicators in each category and indicates a need to revise the current framework to include technology as a fourth category. The revised framework should provide a basis for additional research in this rapidly growing area.

Making Use of Summer Time

EVERY WORKDAY morning, I pop in my exercise video and follow whichever one of 20 different sessions is up that day. If I were to go to a gym on my own, I would tend to do my favorite or most familiar exercises, I might have to wait for equipment to be free, and I might have to rest because I was concentrating on the same muscle group for the whole workout. With the video, I'm able to work almost nonstop because while I'm working my biceps, my triceps and shoulders are resting; while I do my shoulders, my biceps are resting. I need regimentation, but I can't afford to waste any time. Such an efficient use of time -- spending it only on effective activities and focusing on particular skills -- contributes to my health. And if there's a particular area I need to strengthen, I dedicate more time to it. So it is with schools and students. Additional time is essential for struggling readers or for those having difficulty with math concepts, but the time spent on extended learning must also be spent effectively. If Tammy attends summer school or an after-school session in which time is spent on material she's already learned, if she is taught in the same way as she was taught when she failed to learn the first time, or if she is presented with material unconnected to or below the level of knowledge expected in next year's classroom, she won't gain as much from her experience. Strengthening Summer School When the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) published Summer School: Unfulfilled Promise in June 2002, it focused on the potential for high- quality summer to help struggling students avoid failure. The report suggests seven features to improve the effectiveness of summer school programs. Here are SREB's seven features, along with some examples of how state policies might support each of them. 1. Summer school should be an integral part of a year-round program of extra time and extra help. Last year, H.B. 626 in Kentucky authorized the commissioner of education to approve district requests for waivers that would allow the district to use grants awarded for extending the day, week, or year to support alternative service delivery options, including offered during the school day. Two years ago, California passed a law (Chapter No. 582) requiring that, when selecting schools to participate in the After School Learning and Safe Neighborhoods Partnerships Program, the state department give primary emphasis to the capacity of applicants to facilitate integration of the program with the regular school day and with other extended learning opportunities. In 1999 Arkansas lawmakers repealed the state's mandatory summer school and replaced it with just in time' remediation (H.B. 1212). One way of delivering that remediation can be summer school. Finally, in Maryland, academic intervention programs are defined as those that take place before or after school, on weekends, or during holidays, vacations, or summer break. The state provides grants to county boards for that meet certain criteria. In his 2003 state-of-the-state address, Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove proposed bringing kindergartners to the classroom two months before the start of their kindergarten year and keeping them there two months after. He called the program Summer Start. 2. Summer school should be available to all failing students at no cost to parents. Most states that support extended learning time provide grants to districts or schools. In cases where there is no state support, districts have tapped federal and local sources of funds. It appears that most are provided at no charge to parents. However, policies that target failing students can be quite specific about who qualifies for which benefits. For example, North Dakota state board policy 67-24-01-05 specifies that students must be in grades 1 through 8 to qualify for proportionate payments; they must also score below the 60th percentile on a standardized or teacher- developed test or have a grade of C or lower in the previous school term. …

Logged on to learning? assessing the impact of technology on participation in lifelong learning

The role of information and communications technology (ICT) in widening participation in lifelong learning, and thereby establishing the UK as a bona fide ‘learning society’, is now enshrined in a series of multi-million pound government initiatives such as the University for Industry, learndirect and UK Online. Although politicians and educationalists have been quick to herald such initiatives as revolutionizing post-compulsory education and extending learning opportunities to ‘anyone’ on an ‘anytime, anywhere’ basis, there has been little empirical analysis of how ICT is actually impacting on patterns of lifelong learning in the UK. With this in mind, the present paper presents an analysis of data from the 2002 National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) survey of 5885 households, focusing on learners' access to technology and the role that technology is playing in facilitating learning.

Learning Electronic Reference Resources: A Team-Learning Project for Reference Staff

This article describes how a large academic library addressed the problem of supporting the extensive learning of electronic information resources required by reference and library instruction staff. Library staff participants were organized into teams called Electronic Reference Resource Groups (ERRGs). Individuals within each team shared responsibility for the topics to be covered and for ensuring that everyone participated in both the teaching and learning processes. The ultimate measure of success was whether individuals, who took part voluntarily, found the teams sufficiently beneficial to warrant further participation in the team-learning process. A further stage, an ERRG Learn-in, was later implemented to extend learning opportunities to all library staff.

Technology and Adult Education: Rising Expectations

The uses of technology for adult literacy and adult education have grown exponentially in recent years, from computer-assisted instruction to the information highway, to the simple improvements engendered by the use of personal computers in management and information systems. It is apparent that the growth calls into question many of our assumptions about adult education, as learners begin to use the technology for communicating and learning. The funding and creation of new learning objects, the growth of multimedia, the use of telecommunications, and incorporation of the computer into other tool functions (such as reading, glasses, notebooks, and calculators) creates a very different image of what adult education could be, and many hope, will be. The recent growth and rising expectations of technology for adult education can be explained by five phenomena: * a technology explosion in American culture and the rise of the Internet as a primary tool for communications, commerce, and information; * the fact that for more than a decade policymakers have engaged in a national discussion about the perceived shortcomings of adult education programs and the need for new solutions to an enduring problem; * a realization that, a majority of American adults who are considered functionally illiterate will never enroll in a traditional adult education program. Of those who do enroll in programs, they tend to participate for only short periods of time and drop-out quickly; * history - millions of American's used Kentucky Educational Television's G.E.D. on TV' series since the early 1970s to earn a G.E.D. Software products such as Plato are widely accepted, and the Internet is a growing force; * multi-million dollar investments made on the behalf of adult education in Crossroads Cafe, PBS LiteracyLink, and Adult Literacy Media Alliance (ALMA). The growth and expectations are further driven by the potential technology has to improve both educational attainment and skill acquisition. Evidence exists that adults who use educational technology can acquire greater knowledge and develop active learning skills, problem solving skills, and critical thinking skills. National policymakers are excited about the power technology has to bridge the gap between educational disparities of race, income, and region, as well as provide greater access to adult learning. The recent trend toward the development of convergent technology (merging of computer and telecommunications technologies) has great potential for facilitating daily access to adult learning. Access to video learning materials through broadcast, videotape, and on-line is just one example of this trend in technology toward multiple channels of access and interoperability. Networking technologies also have the capacity to close such gaps by opening channels of communication, and providing access to information resources to marginalized communities and individuals. State policymakers are excited about the potential technology has to improve program effectiveness and contribute to accountability by reinforcing learner-centered instruction and outcomes-based education, while overall improving the relationship between teaching, learning, assessment, and effectiveness. They also expect technology to reconcile the gaps between learning in the workplace and learning in school by bringing real learning experiences into classroom settings. By the same token, they want technology to make it possible to extend learning opportunities, once available only in the classroom, into the world beyond the school Program directors are looking to technology to motivate and sustain adult learning and accommodate learning differences. Given the noncompulsory nature of adult learning, it is critically important that learning tasks not only be challenging, but also be rewarding. Adults are motivated to learn when they can see that the time and effort devoted to learning will pay off. …

Educational reform in Spain

This paper presents the main objectives of an historic reform of the Spanish school system and the overall process of educational change. In the first part, the present situation is described, principally the effort made during recent years to extend learning opportunities to everyone and the problems still to be resolved. In the second part, the main features of the reform process are identified: the quantitative versus qualitative debate, the meaning of quality, control over the curriculum, homogeneity versus diversity in the curriculum, the relationship between school and society, and the influence of the European context. In the third part, the three foremost aims of the reform are developed: to extend basic education, to modify the educational levels and to improve quality. Finally, the process of change is described from 1983 up to the present day and into the future.

Who's who in the APTI

Ford Foundation are sponsoring a 12‐month study at Sussex University of open learning systems in countries using modern media at post‐secondary level. Individual study reports will be linked by a generalising essay, drawing out aspects considered likely to be of interest to education planners, particularly in developing countries which face the problem of extending learning opportunities to adults by non‐traditional means. Countries involved include Australia, Japan, Kenya, West Germany, Ivory Coast and the United States.