Formation Of Learning Groups Research Articles

An Algorithm Based on An Efficient Cost Model to Form Learning Groups

The purpose of this research is to form learning groups that are intra-homogeneous (a high level of similarity across student GPAs inside a group), inter-homogeneous (similarity or balance in the degree of homogeneity between groups), and balanced in size. The algorithm proposed for this purpose treats the learning group formation as an assignment-type optimization problem where it seeks to find a feasible least-cost assignment of a given set of students to a given set of learning groups. It is referred to as GAGF (Generalized Assignment Strategy for Group Formation). It is based on an efficient cost model, which performs three tasks: measuring the cost of assigning students to a learning group, relating each improvement in assignment cost to increased intra-group homogeneity and group size balance, and bringing the intra-homogeneity of the groups to a reference value (a specific level of homogeneity), which improves inter-homogeneity. Experimental results have shown that the GAGF algorithm is effective at constructing intra- and inter-homogeneous learning groups with balanced sizes. It was found that using GAGF attained an improvement of more than 29% in intra-group homogeneity when compared to both related work and self-formation methods. It significantly improved inter-group homogeneity, outperforming related works by 79.75%.

The Relationship Between the Formation of Study Groups and Student Learning Independence

The purpose of this study was to determine the “Relationship Between The Formation Of Study Groups And Student Learning Independence. This research uses a quantitative approach with the correlation method. In this study, the sample was 70 students in class XI IPS SMA Negeri 8 Medan. The data collection technique used in this research was a questionnaire using a Likert scale. The validity of the instrument is obtained using the product moment correlation formula, while the reliability of the instrument is obtained using the Cronbach's Alpha formula. Data were analyzed using Product Moment Correlation Statistics to test the hypotheses in the research with the help of SPSS 29 for Windows. The analysis results show r = 0.541 and Rsquare = 0.321 and a significant value of 0.001 (p<0.05). Based on the results of this research, the research hypothesis "there is a relationship between the formation of learning groups and learning independence" is put forward. Considering that this relationship is positive at .541, it can be stated that the formation of study groups is related to student learning independence in class XI PS SMA Negeri 8 Medan.

Integration mechanism of moral education concept and civic education in colleges and universities based on proximal strategy optimisation algorithm

Abstract This paper firstly researches the integration of the concept of establishing moral integrity into the work of Civic and political education in colleges and universities and analyzes the thinking and path of the integration of the concept of establishing moral integrity into the work of Civic and political education in colleges and universities, to put forward a new system of Civic and political courses under the concept of establishing moral integrity and establishing people. Secondly, under the perspective of reinforcement learning, the Bellman optimal strategy equation, direct strategy search, and proximal strategy optimization algorithm are compared, respectively, and then the Civic and political education based on the proximal strategy optimization algorithm is proposed. Then, the online learning group formation strategy of the Civics course is constructed through the proximal strategy optimization algorithm, and the Civics education in colleges and universities based on the proximal strategy optimization algorithm is empirically analyzed. The results show that in the algorithmic analysis, the PPO algorithm is overall superior to the path-based, embedding-based, and strategy network reinforcement learning-based methods on the FB15K-237 dataset. On analyzing online learning group formation strategies for Civics courses, the first group of learning members tends to prefer audio learning resources, and the fourth group prefers text learning resources, with a clear manifestation of proximity. This study has promoted the concept of “cultivating morality and nurturing people” throughout the work of Civic and Political Education.

Minimum entropy collaborative groupings: A tool for an automatic heterogeneous learning group formation.

For some decades now, theories on learning methodologies have advocated collaborative learning due to its good results in terms of effectiveness and learning types and its promotion of educational and social values. This means that teachers need to be able to apply different criteria when forming heterogeneous groups of students and to use automated techniques to assist them. In this study, we have created an approach based on complex network theory to design an algorithm called Minimum Entropy Collaborative Groupings (MECG) in order to form these heterogeneous groups more effectively. The algorithm was tested firstly under a synthetic framework and secondly in a real situation. In the first case, we generated 30 synthetic classrooms of different sizes and compared our approach with a genetic algorithm and a random grouping. In the latter case, the approach was tested on a group of 200 students on two subjects of a master's degree in teacher training. For each subject there were 4 large groups of 50 students each, in which collaborative groups of 4 students were created. Two of these large groups were used as random groups, another group used the CHAEA test and the fourth group used the LML test. The results showed that the groups created with MECG were more effective, had less uncertainty and were more interrelated and mature. It was observed that the randomized groups did not obtain significantly better LML results and that this cannot be related to any emotional or motivational effect because the students performed the test as a placebo measure. In terms of learning styles, the results were significantly better with LML than with CHAEA, whereas no significant difference was observed in the randomized groups.

Interactions between the individual and the group level in organizations: The case of learning and group turnover

Previous research on organizations often focuses on either the individual, team, or organizational level. There is a lack of multidimensional research on emergent phenomena and interactions between the mechanisms at different levels. This paper takes a multifaceted perspective on individual learning and autonomous group formation. To analyze interactions between the two levels, we introduce an agent-based model that captures an organization with a population of heterogeneous agents who learn and are limited in their rationality. To solve a task, agents form a group which experiences turnover from time to time, i.e., its composition changes periodically. We explore organizations that promote learning and changes in group composition either simultaneously or sequentially and analyze the interactions between the activities and the effects on performance. We observe underproportional interactions when tasks are interdependent and show that pushing learning and group turnover too far might backfire and decrease performance significantly.

Engaging young adults in fostering entrepreneurial mind-set using the community education approach: Case study of chorkor community, Ghana

ABSTRACT This paper draws on McGivney’s study of adult education for marginal groups, including unemployed young adults. The young unemployed adults in Ghana are growing in numbers; hence engaging them using the community education to foster entrepreneurial mind-sets is a means of addressing the unemployment problem. The formation of learning groups helps foster self-help and enhances the contributions of diverse synergies to community development and transformation. This qualitative case-study used young adults between the ages of 18 to 35 at Chorker, Accra, as the unit of analysis. Judgmental sampling techniques were adopted to sample fourteen (14) participants to participate in the study. They consist of 8 participants for in-depth interview and 6 participants comprising three (3) male and three (3) female formed focus group discussions. Data was analyzed using descriptive narrative and interpretivist approaches. The results indicate that the participants were empowered as they engaged in group learning to acquire skills in trades. The study recommends that young adults are motivated to engage in community education to foster entrepreneurial mind-set, innovate and exploit opportunities to make their communities more vibrant and sustainable.

Learning analytics to develop future competences in higher education: a case study

Higher education institutions are challenged to develop innovative educational solutions to meet the competence development requirements set by the emerging future. This qualitative case study aims to identify the future competences considered important for higher education students to acquire during their studies and how the development of these competences can be supported with learning analytics. Reflection on these issues is based on three dimensions (subject development, object, and social environment) of future competences. A special emphasis is placed on the views of 19 teaching professionals gathered from group interviews and analyzed through a qualitative content analysis. The findings indicate that subject development-related future competences, such as reflective competence, self-awareness and self-management, learning literacy, and personal agency and self-efficacy were strongly identified as necessary future competences. The potential of learning analytics to support their development was also widely recognized as it provides means to reflect on learning and competence development and increase one’s self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses. In addition, learning analytics was considered to promote goal-orientation, metacognition and learning to learn, active engagement as well as learning confidence. To deal with complex topics and tasks, students should also acquire object-related competences, such as changeability and digital competence. In addition, they need cooperation and communication competence as well as a developmental mindset to operate successfully in social environments. The use of learning analytics to support most of these object and social environment-related competences was considered promising as it enables the wide exploitation of digital tools and systems, the analysis and visualization of social interactions, and the formation of purposeful learning groups and communal development practices. However, concrete ways of applying learning analytics were largely unacknowledged. This study provides useful insights on the relationship of important future competences and learning analytics while expanding on previous research and conceptual modelling. The findings support professionals working at higher education institutions in facilitating successful conditions for the development of future competences and in advancing purposeful use of learning analytics.

COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIC READING ON STUDENTS’ COMPREHENSION AND MOTIVATION

Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) is a comprehension approach developed by Janette Klingner and Sharon Vaughn in 1996 and 1998, which uses a mix of whole class instruction and small cooperative peer learning groups. It begins with teacher modeling, role-playing, and teacher think-aloud and then, followed by the formation of heterogeneous cooperative learning groups in which students employ four comprehension strategies: Preview, Click and Clunk, Get the Gist, and Wrap Up. This study investigated the effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading on students’ comprehension and motivation. Specifically, it sought to determine the reading comprehension level of the students in the CSR and non- CSR group in the pretest and posttest; identify the motivation level of the students in the CSR and non- CSR group in the pretest and posttest; find out if there is a significant difference in the reading comprehension level of the students in the CSR and non-CSR groups, and assess if there is a significant difference in the motivation level of the students in the CSR and non-CSR groups. The study used a quasi-experimental design method. It utilized a random sampling among 70 Grade 9 participants. The reading comprehension levels of students were identified through a teacher-made comprehension test which was interpreted using Phil-IRI Silent Reading Program. Students’ motivation was determined through a reading motivation questionnaire adapted from Wigfield and Guthrie (1997). Results showed that the CSR group outscored the non-CSR group on their reading comprehension. Also, students in both groups were moderately motivated towards reading, however, the CSR group has higher motivation compared to non-CSR group. Moreover, there was a significant difference in the reading comprehension of students exposed to CSR and non-CSR groups. On the other hand, the reading motivation of students exposed to CSR and non-CSR groups was statistically significant. Therefore, CSR was effective in improving the reading comprehension of students as well as enhancing their reading motivation.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0976/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Student’s Learning Profile as a Tool of Personal Learning Logistics

Increase of complexity and uncertainty as well as demand for personalization (including in education) urges universities to pay attention to educational subjectivity and its development; to transfer towards individual / collective-individual educational navigation and flexible systems of educational programs management (including formation of temporary learning groups, supply of required educational resources in due time, protocols of appraisal and mutual offset of educational results), what determines the relevance of the research. Usage of logistic approach enables to distinguish the pedagogical and management objectives of educational activity organization as well as to facilitate personalization of education. The article considers an educational profile as an instrument of personal educational logistics in digital educational environment, presents the preliminary terms “digital track”, “portfolio”, “profile”. The authors also dwell on the requirements to educational profiles development and scenarios of handling them in digital educational environment taking into account domestic and global experience of educational profiles’ implementation.

Learning to be a doctoral supervisor: Experiences and views of nurse supervisors of higher degree research students

Given the importance of doctoral training to the future of the discipline, we sought to gain insight into nurse doctoral supervisor's experiences of supervision training and preparation and their views on what quality training for doctoral supervisors in nursing would look like. Doctorally prepared nurses have been found to contribute significantly to improvements in knowledge to inform patient care; yet there is little focus on the development of this aspect of the nursing workforce, and little evaluation of supervisor training, confidence and competence. Qualitative storytelling, semi-structured interviews were conducted via a videoconferencing programme, audio-recorded and thematically analysed with twenty-one experienced nurse doctoral supervisors. Findings are reported in line with the COREQ guidelines. Thematic analysis revealed four themes: 'I had a great mentor': the importance of mentorship and role modelling; 'Sometimes it's just trial and error': learning through experience; 'It's like tick a box': strengths and limitations of formal supervisor training; and 'The training should be more holistic': what should be in supervisor training. We recommend doctoral supervisors be encouraged to seek mentoring for supervision, formal mentoring and clinical supervision for the first five completions and the formation of discipline-based supervisor learning groups in nursing as an adjunct to generic mandatory supervisor training. Further development of clinical nursing is inextricably linked to quality nurse-led research, and doctorally prepared nurses are essential to the continued development of nursing as an evidence-informed practice discipline. Quality doctoral supervision for and by nurses is crucial and we argue that focus must be given to ensuring the development of a skilled doctoral supervision workforce in nursing.

Classes with selective intake in Finnish Comprehensive School: A Problem of Societally Equal Opportunity for Schooling or a Boost for Learning and Equity in Pedagogical arrangements?

This article discusses the political programs of welfare state and neoliberalism in the context of Finnish basic education. It unfolds developments in the welfare-state inspired comprehensive model by focusing on in/equity as a decisional dilemma in learning-group formation. Niklas Luhmann's societal theory and reappraisal of Ralf Dahrendorf's notion of “life chances” allow theoretical clarification between societally in/equal opportunities for schooling and organizational in/equity-concerns in pedagogical arrangements. Based on nationally representative data, we found that the modest diversification in the form of ‘selective classes’ cater to better achieving students from families with higher educational status. We see this to signal resilience of the comprehensive model rather than its claimed erosion backed by policy analysts’ reference to a neoliberalist turn toward market-modelled policy premises for public education. The selective classes, based on an emphasis of a curricular subject and primarily attending to interest and motivation, are claimed to supplement the Finnish focus on special education, characteristic for the comprehensive school since its adoption in the 1970s.

An investigation into the formation of learning groups on social media and their growth

ABSTRACT This study aims to identify the formulation differences of groups in two online activities in a university course with different strategies by using social network analysis. Specifically, the connections within the members and identification of brokers were analyzed. Whilst the group enhancing a “community of practice” in WeChat by assigned posting showed larger evolution on the social graph, it lacked active involvement of students’ friends and structural holes and their diameter were shown to increase towards the end. Another group enhancing a “personal knowledge network” in Twitter by their free posting showed no ties with any social actors, implying a cold-start and problems of sparsity in the social communication. From the discussion about brokers, we concluded similar future needs to develop their social skills to promote itinerant and liaison brokers to evolve learning groups socially.

Implementasi Penugasan Dosen di Sekolah (PDS) dalam Mata Kuliah Strategi, Metode, dan Media Pembelajaran Berbasis Lesson Study

After undergoing stage 1 PDS program, namely the implementation of lecturers to become "teachers" in schools, the next stage is the implementation of PDS within the university environment. The implementation of the PDS program phase 2 is realized in the Strategy, Method and Learning Media courses. The implementation of the PDS program in tertiary institutions is based on the principle of lesson study. Based on the results of the application, there are a number of lesson learns obtained. Lesson learns include: 1) giving material with appropriate learning media becomes a special attraction for students, 2) the formation of learning groups allows students to develop collaborative and communicative abilities, 3) assignments in the form of videos in the application of collaborative learning methods make students learn directly so a more maximal understanding process is obtained.

Pedagogical needs of faculty members for sustainability education

The appearance of sustainability challenges in the fields of agriculture and natural resources could be drived from the inadequate attention of higher education system in the development of sustainability education. One of the strategies in sustainability education is the integration of sustainability in teaching and learning strategies that can strengthen student's competencies for sustainability actions in the future. Therefore, this study has been conducted to analyze pedagogical needs of faculty members for sustainability education through the lenz of B.Sc. graduates who were studied at University College of Agricultural and Natural Resources, University of Tehran. This study limits the pedagogy to teaching and learning strategies. To conduct the study, 120 B.Sc. graduates in different disciplines, in four five-year intervals between 1971 and 2011 were selected using simple random sampling and Cochran Formula. The data were gathered from the questionnaire. Validity of questionnaire was obtained through the opinions of thematic experts and its reliability through Cronbach's alpha. After that, the data were analyzed using the descriptive and inferential statistics by SPSS v.20. The results indicated the mean of use level of faculty members from teaching and learning strategies for sustainability education was 4.34 from 10. So, in different intervals, this amount had no significant change. Among strategies, first to third priority is related to: Expressing the applications of disciplinary content in real situations, linking different issues, and providing learning opportunities using field visits. Also, the lowest usage is related to these strategies: use of the teaching team in a course, formation of learning groups to class discussions, and giving multidisciplinary exercises and projects to students. Therefore, the professional development of faculty members should be designed for reinforcing pedagogical skills.

Optimal learning group formation: A multi-objective heuristic search strategy for enhancing inter-group homogeneity and intra-group heterogeneity

In modern education systems, plenty of research suggests that clustering the learners into optimal learning groups based on their multiple characteristics is a determining effort in enhancing the effectiveness of collaborative learning. Although there have been several evidences on developing and implementing appropriate computational tools to handle classification processes in expert and intelligent systems, the effectiveness and accuracy of optimal grouping algorithms are still worth improving. For instance, the majority of grouping processes in collaborative learning environments is orchestrated through single-objective optimization algorithms, which need to be revisited due to some intrinsic limitations. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm capable of properly addressing a variety of optimization problems in optimal learning group formation processes. To this end, a multi-objective version of Genetic Algorithms, i.e. Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm, NSGA-II, was successfully implemented and applied to improve the performance and accuracy of optimally formed learning groups. In contrast to the previous related works applying single-objective algorithms, the main advantage of our work is simultaneous satisfaction of multiple targets predefined for the formation of optimal learning groups, especially the inter-homogeneity and intra-heterogeneity of each learning group, which significantly enhance both effectiveness and accuracy of optimal grouping processes in the underlying intelligent systems. Challenging the proposed optimization algorithms, both single- and multi-objective optimizers, with a similar grouping problem, clearly proved that the single-objective optimization technique has limited control and sensitivity to the quality of individual groups. Contrary to single-objective optimization techniques, which are mainly governed by adjusting the quality of the groups altogether in average, the proposed multi-objective algorithm not only takes the average desirability of all formed groups into account but also precisely monitors the fitness of each group in a potential solution distinctively. The generality of the proposed algorithm makes it a suitable candidate not only to handle optimal grouping in learning environments but also to be competent enough for grouping problems in other domains as well.

A novel metaheuristic approach for collaborative learning group formation

AbstractIn this paper, a new approach for the formation of four‐member collaborative learning groups is presented. Group formation is presented by the mathematical optimization problem. Based on the proposed approach and the variable neighbourhood search (VNS) algorithm, the application that solves the presented problem and provides the appropriate division into groups is created. The proposed approach considers the scores of a pretest, interpersonal relationships, and prosocial behaviour/openness skill of students. In order to validate our approach, an experiment was designed with 108 first‐year university students of Belgrade Business School—Higher Educational Institution for Applied Studies. Experimental and control groups were divided into four‐member groups. The experimental group was divided by using the proposed method and the control group by student selection and random selection. Multilevel analysis is used to determine whether there is a significant difference in learning outcomes between the two groups. The experimental results showed that students from the experimental group achieved significantly higher success than the students from the control group. In addition, computational results obtained with the proposed VNS algorithms are compared and verified with the results obtained by random (Monte Carlo) method.

IbM KELOMPOK BIMBINGAN BELAJAR DI KELURAHAN BANDUNGREJOSARI DAN BAKALANKRAJAN KECAMATAN SUKUN MALANG JAWA TIMUR

The study aims at forming larning group and improving students’ learning achievement of the elementary, junior, and senior schools at villages Bandungrejosari and Bakalankrajan Kecamatan Sukun Malang. The study uses quantitative-qualitative descritptive approach. The subjects are 15 local peopleas IbM cooperative partners trained to be learning counseling instructors and (2) 138 elementary , 18 junior, and 14 senior high school students joining with learning group and learning counseling at villages Bandungrejosari and Bakalankrajan kecamatan Sukun Malang. The instruments are observation sheet and test consisting of pretest and posttest. Based on the result achieved, the IbM program got extraordinary encouragement and symphaty from local people, villages, schools, and social leaders. The learning counseling activity was going on for 3 months from September 1 to November 29, 2014. Based on the test analysis, it was found that learning group formation by providing learning counseling could give significant influence which could be shown in that the mean of the posttest was higher than that of pretest for the students of elementary, junior, and senior schools at villages Bandungrejosari and Bakalankrajan kecamatan Sukun Malang.

Who is the Perfect Match?

Abstract Using digital tools for teaching allows to unburden teachers from organizational load and even provides qualitative improvements that are not achieved in traditional teaching. Algorithmically supported learning group formation aims at optimizing group composition so that each learner can achieve his or her maximum learning gain and learning groups stay stable and productive. Selecting and weighting relevant criteria for learning group formation is an interdisciplinary challenge. This contribution presents the status quo of algorithmic approaches and respective criteria for learning group formation. Based on this theoretical foundation, we describe an empirical study that investigated the influence of distributing two personality traits (conscientiousness and extraversion) either homogeneously or heterogeneously on subjective and objective measures of productivity, time investment, satisfaction, and performance. Results are compared to an earlier study that also included motivation and prior knowledge as criteria. We find both personality traits to enhance group satisfaction and performance when distributed heterogeneously.

Toward Enhancing Collaborative Learning Groups Formation in Q&A Website Using Tag-based Next Questions Predictor

The advent of informal social learning environment has provided the necessary platform for realising of lifelong learning. The basic platform of learning in an informal environment is the learning groups called online Community of Practice (oCoP). This study proposes a predictor for predicting the topics most suitable for the formation of oCoPs for the users adopting the roles of co-learner and mentor in a shared domain perspective. Proposed predictor operates based on Naive Bayes prediction and collaborative filtering and uses educational social tags for realising the learners' roles and behaviour. The predictor is evaluated with the dataset of the website StackOverflow. The results show that the proposed predictor can predict the next question of learners with high accuracy. Therefore, the system can facilitate the formation of suitable learning groups around the predicted users' interest topics.

Pengembangan Aplikasi Pembentukan Kelompok Cooperative Learning Menggunakan Visual Basic

This study aim to develop an application using visual basic programming to facilitate the formation of cooperative groups and to investigate the validity, effectiveness, and practicality of the development of this application. This research method including R&D performed with 6 stage, consists of: the potential and problems, data collection, product design, design validation, improved of design, and test products. The results showed that the yield of the IT media expert validation amounted to 82.5% and validation of learning experts is 92.86%. In addition, the results of the questionnaire responses test of subjects each amounted 83.33% for the first test subjects and 91.67% for the second test subjects. Seeing these findings, it can be concluded that the application of cooperative learning group formation using visual basic can be said to be very feasible to be used as a tool for the establishment of cooperative learning groups.