Genuine Learning Research Articles

The ghost effect: how gamification can hinder genuine learning

The ghost effect: how gamification can hinder genuine learning

Children’s Expressed Emotions During Playful Learning Games

Studies on software tutoring systems for complex learning have shown that confusion has a beneficial relationship with the learning experience and student engagement (Arguel et al., 2017). Causing confusion can prevent boredom while signs of confusion can serve as a signal of genuine learning and as a predecessor for frustration. There is little to no research on the role of confusion in early childhood education and playful learning, as these studies primarily focus on high school and university students during complex learning tasks. Despite that, the field acknowledges that confusion may be caused by inconsistency between information and a student’s internal model referred to as cognitive disequilibrium known from the theory of cognitive development, which was originally theorized based on observational studies on young children (D’Mello and Graesser, 2012). Therefore, there is reason to expect that the virtues of confusion also apply to young children engaging in learning activities, such as playful learning. To investigate the role of confusion in playful learning, we conducted an observational study, in which the behavior and expressed emotions of young children were collected by familiar pedagogues, using a web app, while they engaged with playful learning games designed for kindergartens. The expressed emotions were analyzed using a likelihood metric to determine the likely transitions between emotions (D’Mello and Graesser, 2012). The preliminary results showed that during short play sessions, children express confusion, frustration, and boredom. Furthermore, the observed emotional transitions were matched with previously established models of affect dynamics during complex learning. We argue that games with a learning objective can benefit by purposely confusing the player and how the player’s confusion may be managed to improve the learning experience.

Improving Bahasa Indonesia writing skill: a project-based learning experimental study

This study examines the effectiveness of project-based learning (PBL) in improving the academic writing skills of sixth-semester Bahasa Indonesia students at Universitas Muhammadiyah Pringsewu. We used a quasi-experimental design to address on the effects of PBL on improving Bahasa Indonesia wtiting skill among university students. This involved 32 students participating in PBL activities for one semester. Pre- and post-intervention tests measured writing quality, engagement, and critical thinking skills. Statistical studies demonstrated a notable enhancement in writing quality after the intervention, as shown by paired t-tests (𝑝 < 0.05). Additionally, groups that participated in various problem-based learning (PBL) activities had higher levels of engagement, as indicated by ANOVA (𝑝 < 0.05). The examination of observations and reflective essays revealed several prominent themes, including heightened passion, improved critical thinking, and a higher drive to learn and use Bahasa Indonesia. The study's findings indicate that Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a potential method to improve the competency of university students in Bahasa Indonesia. PBL encourages greater involvement and the development of skills in the language. Practically, Project-Based Learning (PBL) enhances students' writing skills and promotes a profound comprehension of language by offering genuine learning experiences and chances for collaborative inquiry. This approach encourages students to actively participate in language usage in real-world situations. These findings add to the wider discussion on innovative teaching methods in higher education and have implications for developing curriculum and instructional practices that aim to enhance educational results.

Alternative grading strategies in organic chemistry: a journey

The global pandemic forced educators at all levels to re-evaluate how they would engage content, generate relevance, and assess the development of their students. While alternative grading strategies were not necessarily new to the world of chemical education research (CER) in 2020, the pandemic accelerated the examination of such principles for instructors who wished to prioritize learning over compliance with course policies and eschew points for grading. This article describes the transformation of a traditional lecture organic chemistry course under new, standards-based principles. Working from a discrete set of grouped learning outcomes, these courses aim to clearly define standards, give helpful feedback, indicate semester-long student progress, and allow for reattempts without penalty using a token system. Students explore both core (all of which must be passed in order to show progress) and non-core (students can choose a majority of these to pass) learning outcomes in a variety of formative and summative assessment approaches. Unique to the reformatting of these courses is the use of collaborative, take-home assessments, integration of multiple-choice questions, ungrading of student-submitted summary notes, live solving of select problems with peer feedback, and a learning check system that reinforces the flipped nature of content delivery. Another distinctive feature of the courses is the requirement for students who reach a certain threshold of repeating learning outcomes to perform in-person problem solving for the instructor. Overall, students report that the structure of the courses reduces their general and specific anxiety, lowers the temptations to challenge their academic integrity, and increases their own learning self-monitoring, reflecting known pedagogies of metacognition. The instructor reports that alternative grading strategies take far less time, generates more meaningful feedback, and shifts student attitudes away from final grading and toward genuine learning.

Poetry Fridays: Authorizing Readers in the High-Stakes, Testing-Oriented Classroom

ABSTRACT This article examines the liberatory potential of student-led discussions in an increasingly neoliberal global context. More specifically, it will explore one such poetry-oriented practice as it embodies theories from scholars like Peter Rabinowitz and Michael Smith (as established in Authorizing Readers: Resistance and Respect in the Teaching of Literature, 1998) and Sheridan Blau (The Literature Workshop, 2003). Years after these authors first recommended locating classroom authority in students and the text rather than in the teacher, such practices remain rare; however, as both scholarship and student survey responses show, they are vital tools in cultivating genuine learning, student agency, and collaborative engagement. Although the article concentrates on student engagement with poetry as it exists in relation to the Advanced Placement® (AP) framework for English Literature and Composition, the commentary it provides is also relevant to alternative models such as International Baccalaureate® (I.B.) programs and college preparatory curricula more generally.

Predicting Students’ Genuine Learning Interest in Socio-Scientific Issues within an Engaged Learning Context

This study investigated the predictive effect of 11th grade Taiwanese students’ ( N = 878) self-assessed critical thinking, group participation self-efficacy, and active learning on their genuine learning interest (GLI) in socio-scientific issues (SSI). Results showed that active learning had a direct effect on GLI, while critical thinking and group participation self-efficacy had indirect effects on GLI as mediated by active learning. Critical thinking showed a significant direct effect on active learning, and a significant indirect effect on active learning that was mediated by group participation self-efficacy.

Voluntourism placements: Voluntourists’ experiences and learning potential

ABSTRACT This paper aims to contribute to the broader understanding of voluntourists’ impressions with voluntourism and how their experiences evolve throughout the volunteering process (pre-, peri-, and post-trip stages). Interviews of Belgian and Dutch voluntourists (n = 21) were analysed thematically, focusing on their overall experiences by questioning success factors, obstacles, and stakeholders’ roles. Results show that providing organisations, host countries/cultures/residents, and other volunteers/tourists functioned in triangular relationships that influence voluntourists’ intercultural and transformative learning processes. This study concludes that when the stakeholders recognise their roles and see participants’ learning as a goal, voluntourism may enhance the interests of its customers (volunteers and host countries), thus making it a genuine learning opportunity.

Looking for Insights: A Comparison of Secondary Education English Curricula in Indonesia and Estonia

Both Indonesia and Estonia have similar contexts of learning English as a foreign language. The learning achievements reveal a considerable disparity when considering the worldwide assessment of English proficiency, with Indonesia ranking 79th and Estonia securing the 23rd position according to the (EF English Proficiency Index in 2023). This study compares English curricula in Indonesia and Estonia, examining the differences between them despite similar conditions for teaching English as a foreign language. The fundamental goal of the study was to identify the factors that influence diverse learning outcomes in various countries. The study used content analysis to compare curricular papers from both countries on six critical criteria including: (1) stakeholders involved in English curriculum development, (2) stakeholders' reactions to the English curriculum, (3) stated purposes of the curriculum, (4) educational philosophies underlying the English curricula, (5) unstated purposes of the curricula, and (6) influential factors shaping the curricula. The analysis suggested that the key drivers to the discrepancy in learning results in both countries were national policy, pedagogy, and assessment implementations. The results showed that the main result of the mentioned alterations underscored the need for an enhanced approach to the instruction and acquisition of English. Allocating sufficient time for English learning allows students to maximize their opportunities for developing language skills. Moreover, integrating speaking and writing elements into final evaluations and embracing a communicative language strategy can inspire both educators and learners to participate in more genuine learning experiences.

The built environment and public spaces informing teaching and learning

Modern learning environments have evolved beyond traditional classrooms, encompassing various settings like digital networks, social media, communities, and urban landscapes. The defining characteristics of an educational space include purpose and intentionality, going beyond conventional boundaries and offering students practical, context-specific learning experiences. Engagement with public spaces and the constructed environment facilitates spatial engagement and participation.
 This text explores a critical pedagogy that aims to uncover institutional power and prevailing ideologies within everyday experiences, questioning the educational value of buildings, cities, streets, and walls. It examines the constructed environment as an educational tool, including cities, parks, houses, streets, public, and private spaces.
 Within the domain of educational research, urban public spaces and the built environment serve as crucial contexts for graduate students, providing experiential learning opportunities and an in-depth analysis of the intricate relationship between political and pedagogical rationales that shape urban spaces and structures. This exploration also extends to the spaces between buildings and the practices that influence them.
 Urban spaces offer genuine learning contexts, enhancing research skills and honing observational abilities. Students are encouraged to delve beneath the surface of familiarity, transcending self-evident truths.
 The text presents three case studies examining cultures formed by young individuals in schools, urban populations, small communities, and urban artists. These studies spotlight the educational significance embedded within the interplay of spatial configurations and the inhabitants of these spaces.
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Tutoring with the Vampire

Attending a tutoring session can be challenging for students. In addition to general anxiety, cultural norms and bad experiences may deter students from pursuing tutoring. Additionally, if the experience is unpleasant, students may not return despite the potential benefits. Anxiety is detrimental to learning, so an anxiety-ridden student will not receive a fulfilling learning experience. Therefore, part of a tutor’s responsibility is ensuring their tutee has a positive tutoring experience in a comfortable environment that fosters genuine learning. However, how does a tutor provide a positive experience?“Tutoring with the Vampire” is a creative non-fiction short story highlighting how a tutor can create a good environment, looking at the benefits of breaking the ice, building rapport, and avoiding appropriation. The short story obeys the rule “show, don’t tell” as it strives to demonstrate that these are three beneficial things for tutors to consider while utilizing scholarly sources. In addition, the narrative prose shows the reader a positive tutoring experience, allowing the reader to envision the examples in a straightforward fashion.

Placing language where it – in the world of education – truly belongs

Educational systems which ignore language as its unequivocal foundation can be regarded as essentially haphazard. Not resting education on language is tantamount to disregard for four basic truths following from one another: (1) Language shapes one’s identity and understanding of the world, (hence) (2) All education rests on language, (hence) (3) Every teacher is a language teacher, (hence) (4) Language merits a special position in education. These four straightforward statements – constituting the key premises of ERL Framework, to which ERL Association as the publisher of ERL Journal belongs to – point to such evident priority of language to be assigned to it that does not apply to any other subject or discipline. They also imply that in order to take them all into account in a sufficient degree, educational systems would need to be practically devised completely anew, which, with education remaining an ongoing process across the globe, may be hard to envisage as plausible for implementation too soon. Yet, it still remains not only possible, but unequivocally necessary if the education of our children and next generations is not to fall behind what we know today about how people learn and how significant a role is played by language in the entire process. More specifically, what the world of education call been calling for is a thorough reconsideration of students’ development marking the presence of language of four different levels (ranging from its one-off classroom uses to its pivotal role in life-changing processes). First, as we can read on ERL Association’s website, on the instructional level, language needs to be “invited” more into classrooms of different subjects as it has been shown to underlie students’ reality and to enable sense-making, genuine learning, and knowledge construction (or knowledge composition, as I myself tend to refer to the process of language use encompassing, like in music, the fixed and the novel, meaning well-known “pieces” (formulaic language), on the one hand, and authorial or artistic combinations of words and phrases). Second, on the systemic level language needs to be assigned a paradigmatic role in the construction of hybrid educational systems owing to its today-unquestioned developmental potential and interdisciplinary presence providing bases for educational alternatives resting on criticality, equality of languages, plurilingual and transdisciplinary literacy and oracy. Third, on the cultural level, language needs to be viewed as a platform of cultural change and intercultural communication, with cultural diversity resting predominantly on language and the quality of educational systems depending on the level of subject literacy and oracy being the fundamental indicator of effective teaching and meaningful learning. And fourth, on the societal level, language needs to be prioritized as the dominant “player” in civilizational change, with its omnipresence in social life serving international cooperation and formation of learners’ and teachers’ linguistic (culturally-conditioned) identities, and language determining the equalization of educational opportunities and thus fostering democracy.

Designing Interactive Academia-Industry Framework in Digital Language Classroom

: Language pedagogy has recently shifted its focus to digital pedagogy, hence classroom tasks being modified has become an essential practice around the world. One challenging element of teaching in a digital classroom is keeping students interested and ensuring that they have genuine learning experiences. It was also discovered that digital language classrooms give students minimal exposure to real-world settings, especially in English for Professional Interaction digital classrooms as it lacks the tools that connect academics and industry players. This study’s main objective is to conceptualise a framework that uses an educational research and development model that includes industry players as part of the classroom tasks and lesson plans for students’ engagement in the digital language classroom. The study's research design is a 10-stage research and development methodology that includes both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. The study was conducted over the course of four semesters from June 2020 until January 2022 in English for Professional Interaction classrooms. Professional speakers from various industries were invited for online class discussions and feedback was collected after each session. This interactive academia-industry framework in the digital language classroom serves as a methodological design that has the potential to affect students through authentic usage of content for realistic learning experiences.

Genuine Movement Learning Through a Deleuzian Approach.

The purpose of the article is to outline how Deleuzian concepts, notably the notions of apprenticeship in signs based on a pedagogy of the concept, can stimulate thinking and understanding of movement learning, and provide insights about pedagogical implications in various movement educational settings. Methodologically, the article falls somewhere in between theoretical exposition and presentation of original empirical research, i.e., a “theoreticoempirical” exposition. We borrowed some ideas formulated by Deleuze (and Guattari), which have been further developed by educational researchers, about “an apprenticeship in signs” based on “a pedagogy of the concept,” to analyse situations where students explore new movements. We use material generated from pedagogical interventions comprising of exploration of kinescapes. In these interventions, school and university students are encouraged to explore, and learn, juggling, unicycling and dancing. Findings indicate how students pass through interpretative illusions until some of them grasp difference in itself in what could be called its immanent differentiation of the actual, i.e., they learn how to juggle, unicycle or dance. This is what we designate genuine learning. The triadic relation between concepts, percepts and affects offer us clues to what juggling, unicycling or dancing mean to learners (concepts), what learners pay attention to while practising (percepts), and what gets them moving (affects). Importantly, through viewing learning as an apprenticeship in signs, the Deleuzian approach reminds us that the triadic relation is open-ended, meaning that concepts, percepts and affects are never final but always a potential actualisation. Concepts, percepts and affects are constantly in the process of becoming. Since genuine learning is not about narrowing down how a movement should be executed and experienced, the task of a movement educator could, then, be to accompany learners in explorative pursuits. In this way, teachers can help learners escape preconceptions about movements (who can do what and when) and instead explore new movement opportunities.

Cultural enrichment in Indonesian language for foreign speaker (BIPA) learning with Trihita Karana concept

Indonesian Language for foreign speaker (BIPA) students are very interested in cultural values, the provision of cultural values ​​is very important for BIPA students to enrich their language skills. Even cultural errors can be more serious than language errors. Trihita Karana is a philosophical value of living in harmony with God, nature, and fellow human beings. To teach BIPA students, it is necessary to have a genuine learning method so that BIPA students can absorb the culture significantly. The twenty BIPA learners in the State Polytechnic of Bali were conducted in this research. Questionnaire and observation methods were used in data collection. The data obtained were then analysed using a qualitative descriptive method. Based on the results of BIPA students' responses to several methods being tested, it can be concluded that 96.7% of respondents argued that the Trihita Karana cultural learning method was very feasible to support the BIPA learning process. There were several methods appreciated by BIPA students, including guessing pictures, running while dictation, observing, video documentation, immersion, and debate. Among these methods, the immersion method was the most favoured by BIPA students because they directly experienced it in daily life.

Conscious awareness of motor fluidity improves performance and decreases cognitive effort in sequence learning

Motor skill learning is improved when participants are instructed to judge after each trial whether their performed movements have reached maximal fluidity. Consequently, the conscious awareness of this maximal fluidity can be classified as a genuine learning factor for motor sequences. However, it is unknown whether this effect of conscious awareness on motor learning could be mediated by the increased cognitive effort that may accompany such judgment making. The main aim of this study was to test this hypothesis in comparing two groups with, and without, the conscious awareness of the maximal fluidity. To assess the possible involvement of cognitive effort, we have recorded the pupillary dilation to the task, which is well-known to increase in proportion to cognitive effort. Results confirmed that conscious awareness indeed improved motor sequence learning of the trained sequence specifically. Pupil dilation was smaller during trained than during novel sequence performance, indicating that sequence learning decreased the cognitive cost of sequence execution. However, we found that in the group that had to judge on their maximal fluidity, pupil dilation during sequence production was smaller than in the control group, indicating that the motor improvement induced by the fluidity judgment does not involve additional cognitive effort. We discuss these results in the context of motor learning and cognitive effort theories.

Implementation of Learning Organization in School

The human resource development aspect is an important and significant element in ensuring a school organization to achieve and realize the vision and goals of the school organization. To ensure that school organizations respond appropriately, responsively and efficiently to all challenges and expectations in the 21st century, school organizations are required to implement transformation and transition into a genuine learning organization in order to survive and maintain their excellence. The current study aims to investigate the level of implementation of learning organization practices in school organization according to teachers' perceptions in Melaka Tengah District, Melaka. This study employed a quantitative research design. Using the instrument, Learning Organisation Practices Profile (LOPP), the study collected data from 500 teachers from thirteen school organization located in Melaka Tengah District, Melaka that is chosen based on cluster and simple random sampling. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 25 for Windows was used to analyze the Learning Organization practices in the school organization. Based on the analysis of mean scores obtained from the twelve components contained in LOPP, it was found that the level of learning organization practice in the school organizations studied is at a high level. The most practiced components in the school organization studied are organizational climate, information flow and executive practices while the least practiced and need to be given more emphasis are the reward and recognition component, management practices and performance goals and feedback. The findings of this study show the importance of developing human resources by cultivating a culture of learning organization in school organizations.

Using UDL to Plan a Book Study Lesson for Students With Intellectual Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms

Students with intellectual disabilities are among the least likely students to spend a significant amount of time in general education classrooms. When they are included, they may spend their time on non-academic learning experiences. Universal Design for Learning is a lesson planning framework that can guide teachers in inclusive lesson planning. This article explores the Universal Design for Learning framework and how teachers can incorporate it into the lesson planning process for a book study in high school English Language Arts. This lesson planning process provides genuine learning experiences to students with intellectual disabilities in the general education classrooms. The article offers examples of how to incorporate multiple means of representation, multiple means of engagement, and multiple means of expression and action within the four steps of the lesson planning process: learning goals, instructional methods, instructional materials, and assessment.

Üniversite hazırlık sınıfı a1 kuru öğrencilerinin lisedeki dil öğrenme deneyimleri

İngilizcenin küresel boyuttaki öneminden dolayı, Türkiye’de İngilizce ders olarak müfredatta yer almaktadır ve okul öncesinden liseye, her eğitim seviyesinde yıllardır öğretilmektedir. Harcanan zamana, paraya ve enerjiye rağmen öğrenciler üniversitelerdeki dil yeterlik sınavlarını geçememektedir ve bir yıllık üniversite hazırlık programlarına bölümlerine başlamadan önce devam etmek zorunda kalmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, hazırlık öğrencilerinin gözünden lisede gördükleri yabancı dil öğretiminin/öğreniminin bir resmini çekmek ve lisede anlamlı bir dil öğrenme ortamı yaşayıp yaşamadıklarını anlamak, mevcut durumu ve lisedeki müfredatı iyileştirmek için önerilerini almaktır. 2018-2019 güz döneminde bir devlet üniversitesi hazırlık okulundaki 521 A1 başlangıç düzeyindeki öğrenciden kısa cevap gerektiren ve bir açık uçlu sorudan oluşan 19 soruluk bir anketle veri toplanmıştır. Nicel verileri analiz ederken sıklıkları ve yüzdeleri alınmış, açık uçlu soruya verilen nitel cevapları incelemek için de içerik analizi yapılmıştır. Bulgular, lisedeki İngilizce derslerinin iletişim becerilerine ve gerçek bir öğrenme ortamına odaklanmadığını ortaya koymaktadır.

Aligning a CAD course constructively: telling-to-peer and writing-to-peer activities for efficient use of CAD in design curricula

As the literature points out the lack of efficient use of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) in design curricula, we aimed to align a CAD course based on student-centered learning theories. While designating a constructively aligned CAD course, the intended learning outcomes were specified in relation to the knowledge types classified for the CAD learning process. Based on these outcomes, two genuine learning activities were developed which were namely telling-to-peer and writing-to-peer. These activities put novice CAD learners into the center where they could construct and reconstruct the knowledge while transmitting it to a predefined audience. The telling-to-peer activity referred to a tutoring experience in which they explained specific commands to their classmates. Tutorials in this course functioned as a writing-to-peer activity where the learners were asked to prepare for a specific audience. Additionally, we aligned the assessment strategy with these learning activities through formative assessment tasks. To get insights especially about these learning activities from the students, a qualitative course evaluation template was conducted at the end of the semester. In conclusion, a model associating the knowledge types with learning outcomes in terms of their complexities was developed for CAD courses.

A situational Analysis of the faculties’ Industrial Attachment programme at public Technical Training Institutes (TTIs) in Bhutan

The study was conducted in three Technical Training Institutes (TTIs) in Bhutan. The objective of the study was to investigate the challenges facing industrial attachment as a learning experience for automobile faculties. The population of the study involved all the faculties of TTIs namely Ranjung, Thimphu and Samthang. However, the researcher used a sample size of 64 respondents (purposive sampling) for the study. The data was collected from the respondents through a research-designed survey questionnaire administered through the Online Google Form. Nonetheless, 58 questionnaires were received. The validity and reliability of the instruments were determined by pre-testing the instruments before taking into consideration for analysis. The data collected was analysed using SPSS software. Cronbach‐Alpha analysis was used to determine the reliability value of data. And the value of pre-test data was calculated at 0.788. The findings of the study concluded that the faculties of the three automobile institutes expressed high satisfaction with the program objectives, the usefulness of the program, adequacy of knowledge and skills acquired through the program. However, the study also concluded that the challenges they faced compromised the quality of engagement and meaningful learning experience. In this context, the researcher recommended that industrial attachment must be planned and implemented as a genuine learning experience right from the start. This could be done by allocating adequate funds to support the faculties' interns and, enable the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institution to maintain the relevancy of the attachment program and the industry. The immediate attachment supervisors of the industries should also be trained to deliver quality training and education to the faculties during the industrial attachment. This calls for a closer and synergized working relationship between the TVET institutions and the industries so that effective and uncompromised industrial attachment is ensured.