Pedagogical Affordances Research Articles

Investigating Teachers’ Use of an AI-Enabled System and Their Perceptions of AI Integration in Science Classrooms: A Case Study

Recent research indicates the significant potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing teachers’ instructional practices in areas such as lesson planning, personalized teacher intervention and feedback, and performance assessment. To fully realize the potential of AI in teaching, it is crucial to understand how teachers innovatively apply and critically evaluate AI applications in their teaching practices. However, there is a research gap in investigating how teachers use various features of an AI-enabled system and their perceptions of AI integration in teaching to promote teachers’ effective AI integration practices. Employing an exploratory case study design, we investigated how six science teachers utilized an AI-enabled inquiry intelligent tutoring system (Inq-ITS) within their teaching and examined their perceptions of AI integration. Classroom observations and teacher interview data were collected. When using Inq-ITS functionalities, two teachers with a pedagogical orientation of teacher-guided scientific inquiry mainly engaged with its virtual tutor and teacher report summary features. Conversely, four teachers, practicing the pedagogical orientation of AI-guided scientific inquiry, relied on the AI system to guide student learning, interacting intensively with its features, particularly real-time teacher alerts and teacher inquiry practice support. Regardless of the differences in using Inq-ITS features, all teachers recognized the potential benefits of pedagogical change and encountered various challenges. This analysis also revealed that teachers exhibited distinct perceptions regarding the role of Inq-ITS integration in their teaching. Teachers who adopted a teacher-guided pedagogical orientation perceived the Inq-ITS as a supporting tool that enhanced traditional teaching methods. In contrast, those with an AI-guided pedagogical orientation viewed the Inq-ITS as akin to a teaching assistant and a pedagogical collaborator. The findings underscored the importance of enhancing teachers’ realization of the pedagogical affordance of AI in teaching through their use of AI functionalities. It is essential to consider teachers’ diverse perceptions of AI integration when promoting their integration of AI into teaching practices.

Re-embracing orality in digital education: the pedagogical affordances of podcasting in the era of generative AI

Re-embracing orality in digital education: the pedagogical affordances of podcasting in the era of generative AI

Saudi teachers’ perceptions on pedagogical affordances of digital applications in teaching students with learning disabilities

ABSTRACT Creating a supporting learning environment for students with learning disabilities has been the concern of most teachers. However, digital applications provide numerous pedagogical affordances for teaching students with learning disabilities. This quantitative study examined teachers’ perspectives on the pedagogical affordances of digital applications and challenges when teaching students with learning disabilities in primary schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from 280 teachers of students with learning disabilities through a questionnaire using a random strategy. The results showed that despite teachers’ awareness of the pedagogical affordances of digital applications in developing the academic skills of students with learning disabilities, the use of digital applications was intermediate. Teachers identified a lack of digital tools, time pressure and teachers’ workload as hindering the use of digital applications in their teaching. Findings also reveal statistically significant differences in perceptions for males and females, holding a master’s degree or above qualification, experience category (1–5 years), and training category (1–5 training sessions). These findings highlight the need for ongoing professional development and support that focuses more on real-classroom practices and resources, and how teachers can use digital tools to meet the various learning needs of students with learning disabilities.

Learning from Ludemes: An Inventory of Common Player Actions within Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs) to Inform Principled Design of Game-Based Learning Experiences

In this study, the authors investigate role-playing game design through the lens of instructional design practice to probe the ecosystem of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) and their applied use for learning. A qualitative thematic analysis approach is used to systematically catalog and categorize all possible player actions, called ludemes, from the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). Through this analysis, the interplay of game mechanics, player actions, and rules of TTRPGs are explored, unveiling their potential to stimulate various psychological, environmental, and behavioral factors that positively influence learning processes. Specifically, this study’s analysis of a game’s ludemes (i.e., player actions) exposes the interrelationships, congruence, and combinations of actions with various learning processes. The identified categories of ludemes in the study pave the way toward a working vocabulary and framework for future research in the application of game-based learning and its potential to catalyze meaningful learning outcomes. From a global instructional standpoint, this study highlights the role of pedagogical affordances, such as collaborative storytelling and problem solving skills, theorizing how TTRPGs can promote cognitive, metacognitive, affective, social, and cultural learning. Toward these goals, the authors posit that role-playing, with its complex dynamics and compelling narratives, offers a robust and natural conduit for learning.

The impact of mobile-assisted project-based learning on developing EFL students' speaking skills

Combining mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) with project-based learning (PBL) might be the potential framework for enhancing EFL learners' speaking skills. However, only a few studies have scrutinised the impact of modern technologies on project work. More importantly, investigating how MALL, as a new field within ICT with unique pedagogical affordances, and PBL can enhance learners' speaking skills is still lacking in the literature. Accordingly, this study examines how integrating MALL through mobile phones and PBL, defined as mobile-assisted project-based learning or mobile-assisted projects, improves Moroccan secondary school students’ speaking performance. A true experimental study was conducted with 91 students assigned randomly to one experimental group and two control groups. The experimental group received instruction through mobile-assisted projects over one semester. In contrast, participants in the first control group taught speaking through project-based learning, and participants in the second control group received traditional teaching. Two instruments were employed to collect data: a speaking pre- and post-test to evaluate the three groups’ oral proficiency and a 5-Likert scale survey to detect the experimental group participants’ experience and attitudes toward the implementation. Based on independent sample t tests and paired sample t tests (SPSS-26), it was found that instruction through mobile-assisted projects was considerably more effective than project-based learning and conventional teaching in enhancing learners’ overall speaking performance and sub-skills: fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation. Further, the results of the attitude post-questionnaire demonstrated a very high positive perception of the participants toward the implementation. As a result, these findings confirm the pedagogical role of combining MALL with PBL as an innovative mode of instruction in enhancing EFL learners’ speaking performance.

Beyond the hype: exploring faculty perceptions and acceptability of AI in teaching practices

Limited studies exist on faculty members or lecturers’ perception and behavioural acceptance of artificial intelligence (AI) (e.g. ChatGPT) for their students' benefit. Teachers are the decision-makers for students' teaching and classroom activities. In this regard, the study examined lecturers’ use of AI-powered tools and the factors that influence the acceptance of AI in teaching and learning in universities. An online survey was conducted using a cross-sectional design, and the results were analysed using SPSS and SmartPLS. The study findings revealed that more than two-thirds (84%) of lecturers are willing to accept AI for their students, while 16% stated non-acceptance of AI for students. Factors such as years of teaching experience, institutional support for AI use, and attitude towards AI proved to be significant predictors of AI acceptance in education. Key factors influencing lecturers' acceptance of AI for their students include perceived pedagogical affordances, organisational policies and incentives, perceived complexity and usability and socio-cultural context. By addressing teacher concerns through supportive policies, user-friendly interfaces, and alignment with pedagogical goals, higher education institutions can create a more fertile ground for AI adoption.

ICT Integration in a Multigrade Context: Exploring Primary School Teachers Experiences

Technology offers pedagogical affordances that can transform teaching and learning in multigrade classrooms to assist in the process of teaching and learning. However, it is challenging for teachers to effectively integrate technology into their classrooms, given the complex and dynamic multigrade context. The technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) model was a lens through which to explore teachers’ experiences in ICT integration in their multigrade classrooms in selected primary schools in South Africa. A case study design guided this qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve teachers thematic analysis was used to analyse data. The findings revealed that access to ICT equipment for teachers and students is crucial. This study has found that generally, it is difficult for teachers to incorporate technology into their teaching because of the caveats, such as the multigrade context and the rural location which presents issues such as lack of basic technology infrastructure, limited training on integrating technology in teaching, time, the teaching context, and support from principals. This study recommends that teachers be trained on ICT usage and given the support needed to function effectively in their multigrade context. For teachers to be digitally connected and ensure ICT integration in the teaching and learning process, they need to be equipped with relevant knowledge and skills to use technology to transform their teaching and create new opportunities for learning.

Evaluating the Technical Quality and Pedagogical Affordances of an English Language Learning (ELL) Website Using a Methodological Framework

Websites are commonly regarded as valuable educational resources that extend beyond the confines of the traditional classroom setting. The primary challenge lies in the identification of reputable online sources. The aforementioned concept underscores the imperative necessity of conducting website evaluations. The use of methodological frameworks as an evaluative instrument can effectively examine the potential of a website within a specific context, as frameworks possess descriptive qualities. Despite the extensive body of studies done concerning website evaluation, there are still a significant number of unresolved issues. Therefore, in order to address these significant deficiencies, this qualitative study aims to evaluate the efficacy of an English Language Learning (ELL) website by examining its technical and pedagogical dimensions. The LearnEnglish Kids website was chosen due to its adherence to all of the screening criteria. The evaluation process was conducted in accordance with the methodological framework. Despite the limitations identified, the LearnEnglish Kids proves to be a suitable English Language Learning (ELL) website for integration within the Malaysian educational context. The examination of the six evaluation aspects provides a comprehensive guide for the Ministry of Education in the development of open educational resources (OER) for primary school students in Malaysia.

Rethinking Pedagogical Use of Eye Trackers for Visual Problems with Eye Gaze Interpretation Tasks

Eye tracking technology enables the visualisation of a problem solver's eye movement while working on a problem. The eye movement of experts has been used to draw attention to expert problem solving processes in a bid to teach procedural skills to learners. Such affordances appear as eye movement modelling examples (EMME) in the literature. This work intends to further this line of work by suggesting how eye gaze data can not only guide attention but also scaffold learning through constructive engagement with the problem solving process of another human. Inferring the models’ problem solving process, be it that of an expert or novice, from their eye gaze display would require a learner to make interpretations that are rooted in the knowledge elements relevant to such problem solving. Such tasks, if designed properly, are expected to probe or foster a deeper understanding of a topic as their solutions would require not only following the expert gaze to learn a particular skill, but also interpreting the solution process as evident from the gaze pattern of an expert or even of a novice. This position paper presents a case for such tasks, which we call eye gaze interpretation (EGI) tasks. We start with the theoretical background of these tasks, followed by a conceptual example and representation to elucidate the concept of EGI tasks. Thereafter, we discuss design considerations and pedagogical affordances, using a domain-specific (chemistry) spectral graph problem. Finally, we explore the possibilities and constraints of EGI tasks in various fields that require visual representations for problem solving.

Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers Attention to Tasks Affordances While Analyzing and Designing Tasks

The objective of this collective case study is to comprehend how pre-service mathematics teachers (PMTs) attend to mathematical and pedagogical affordances in task analysis and how their attention reflects their original task-design. To achieve this, we acquired data from written reports analyzing their selected tasks, instructor notes, and the designed tasks of five PMTs over four phases. PMTs conducted an analysis of a task during Phase 1, revised their analysis in Phase 2, had the opportunity to observe a task implementation provided by the course instructor in Phase 3, and designed an original task during Phase 4. As a result of being prompted to identify the mathematical elements of the activities, PMTs described more mathematical and pedagogical aspects of the tasks. Based on the instructor's notes, PMTs have a belief that quality tasks require intricate procedures, leading to critical instructional phases being overlooked during implementation. Furthermore, the PMTs, who paid attention to the instructional questions, appropriately designed tasks with a higher level of cognitive demand. Therefore, PMTs require assistance in evaluating and designing original tasks with regards to their mathematical and pedagogical elements.

Understanding the effect of video conferencing learning environments on students' engagement: The role of basic psychological needs

AbstractBackgroundVideo conferencing learning offers a more accessible and flexible learning mode for students who cannot attend face‐to‐face class in person. However, research about the video conferencing learning is still lacked, especially for students' engagement in this setting.ObjectivesThis study adopts the self‐system model of motivational development to uncover effects of the video conferencing learning environment (VCLE) to students' engagement.MethodsTwo hundred and ninety‐eight primary school students involved in the VCLE were surveyed. The partial least square structural equation modelling was employed to explore the link between the VCLE and students' engagement with a mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS).Results and ConclusionsResults showed that the BPNS played a mediating role in the processes from the VCLE to engagement. Both pedagogical and social affordance had a significant effect on the BPNS. However, their influences were different. Specifically, pedagogical affordance yielded a stronger effect on the BPNS for autonomy than social affordance. The predicting power of social affordance on BPNS for relatedness and competence was stronger than pedagogical affordance. Generally, social affordance yielded more contributions to behavioral and emotional engagement than pedagogical affordance. Moreover, BPNS for competence was the only significant mediator between the VCLE and behavioral engagement, and it owned the strongest mediating power on the relationship between the VCLE and emotional engagement, followed by autonomy, and the smallest of relatedness. This study suggests that practitioners and researchers should give more consideration to improve social affordance of the VCLE and to meet students' BPNS especially for competence in order to design and implement an engaged video conferencing course.

Designing a framework for teachers' integration of computational thinking into elementary science

AbstractAs professional science becomes increasingly computational, researchers and educators are advocating for the integration of computational thinking (CT) into science education. Researchers and policymakers have argued that CT learning opportunities should begin in elementary school and span across the K‐12 grades. While researchers and policymakers have specified how students should engage in CT for science learning, the success of CT integration ultimately depends on how elementary teachers implement CT in their science lessons. This new demand for teachers who can integrate CT has created a need for effective conceptual tools that teacher educators and professional development designers can use to develop elementary teachers' understanding and operationalization of CT for their classrooms. However, existing frameworks for CT integration have limitations. Existing frameworks either overlook the elementary grades, conceptualize CT in isolation and not integrated into science, and/or have not been tested in teacher education contexts. After reviewing existing CT integration frameworks and detailing an important gap in the science teacher education literature, we present our framework for the integration of CT into elementary science education, with a special focus on how to use this framework with teachers. Situated within our design‐based research study, we (a) explain the decision‐making process of designing the framework; (b) describe the pedagogical affordances and challenges it provided as we implemented it with a cohort of pre‐ and in‐service teachers; (c) provide suggestions for its use in teacher education contexts; and (d) theorize possible pathways to continue its refinement.

Alleviation of social injustices in STEM education: Harnessing pedagogical affordances of virtual and augmented reality applications through open learning

This paper explores the extent to which pedagogical affordances of virtual and augmented reality (VAR) applications can be harnessed as a means to alleviate social injustices in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education through open learning. The enhancement of epistemic and epistemological access in STEM education requires coherent implementation of appropriate strategic interventions which are essentially geared towards the promotion of pedagogic innovation in its broadest sense. The empirical investigation adopted a qualitative research design located within the interpretivist paradigm. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The study is underpinned by the theory of social justice framework as a theoretical lens. Key findings emanating from the study demonstrated that sustainable integration of VAR applications in STEM education can essentially be harnessed as a catalytic tool to address the articulation gap between school and higher education through parity of participation within the broader South African context. The realisation of this key strategic imperative hinges to a large degree on the critical interrogation of enablers and constraints about sustainable utilisation of VAR applications in STEM teaching and learning.

Is Artificial Intelligence Really the Next Big Thing in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education? A Conceptual Paper

Artificial Intelligence in higher education (AIED) is becoming a more important research area with increasing developments and application of AI within the wider society. However, as yet AI based tools have not been widely adopted in higher education. As a result there is a lack of sound evidence available on the pedagogical impact of AI for learning and teaching. This conceptual paper thus seeks to bridge the gap and addresses the following question: is artificial intelligence really the new big thing that will revolutionise learning and teaching in higher education? Adopting the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) as the theoretical foundations, we argue that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, at least in their current state of development, do not afford any real new advances for pedagogy in higher education. This is mainly because there does not seem to be valid evidence as to how the use of AI technologies and applications has helped students improve learning, and/or helped tutors make effective pedagogical changes. In addition, the pedagogical affordances of AI have not yet been clearly defined. The challenges that the higher education sector is currently experiencing relating to AI adoption are discussed at three hierarchical levels, namely national, institutional and personal levels. The paper ends with recommendations with regard to accelerating AI use in universities. This includes developing dedicated AI adoption strategies at the institutional level, updating the existing technology infrastructure and up-skilling academic tutors for AI.

Online professional development across institutions and borders

Professional development (PD) is a key element for enhancing the quality of academic teaching. An increasing number of PD activities have moved to blended and online formats, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the desire, potential, and need for collaboration among educators to learn from innovative and best practices, several institutions have started to pool their resources and expertise together and have started to implement cross-institutional and cross-national online professional development (OPD). The questions of what type of a (cross-)institutional OPD educators might prefer, and whether educators learn effectively from (and with) peers in such cross-cultural context have not been adequately explored empirically. In this case-study across three European countries, we explored the lived experiences of 86 educators as a result of a cross-institutional OPD. Using a mixed methods design approach our pre-post findings indicated that, on average, participants made substantial gains in knowledge. In addition, several cultural differences were evident in the expectations and lived experiences in ODP, as well as the intention to transfer what had been learned into one's own practice of action. This study indicates that while substantial economic and pedagogical affordances are provided with cross-institutional OPD, cultural differences in context might impact the extent to which educators implement lessons learned from OPD.

Improving EFL students’ stance-taking in academic writing with SFL-based instruction: A qualitative inquiry

Students of English as a foreign language (EFL) are often found to have weak control over authorial stance for constructing persuasive argumentation in academic writing. However, little interventional research has been reported on improving students’ stance-taking, particularly the patterning of stance resources. To fill the gap, we conducted this quasi-experimental study to explore the effects of the systemic functional linguistics (SFL) Engagement system as a pedagogical affordance on improving EFL students’ stance-taking with a pre- and post-test design. Forty-six Chinese EFL undergraduate students were randomly assigned either to a treatment group or a comparison group. The treatment group was provided with a seven-week intervention which included explicit instruction in stance-taking, while the comparison group received regular writing instruction that did not involve the teacher teaching stance-taking explicitly to students. Upon completion of the intervention, we conducted qualitative analysis of stance patterns and found across-group differences. Students in the treatment group were more capable of establishing argumentation through an alternation of contractive and expansive stances. The stance patterns for introducing external sources further indicate their enhanced undertaking of authorial responsibility and better incorporation of sources. However, both groups kept using unspecified sources in stance attributions. We conclude our study with a discussion of pedagogical implications.

Designing a Mobile-Messaging App-Based Teachers’ Community of Practice in India

A mobile-based messaging app (MMA) was implemented as a teachers’ community of practice in the Indian context through a large-scale educational initiative. The development process adopted a Design-based Research approach to test underlying theories in real-world settings. The researchers theorised the pedagogical affordances of the MMA Telegram using Davis and Chouinard's theoretical framework of affordances, defined as a relational process among users, designers, the environment, and the artefact. This paper discusses the iterative design process in detail. The findings showed that the MMA encourages accessibility and for teachers to showcase their practice in the online community of practice and refuses (does not allow) the development of the online community of practice as an epistemic community.

A Critical Analysis Comparing the Role of L1 in CLIL and Translanguaging

Mother tongue use in the classroom is an emerging practice combatting the old idea of achieving bilingualism through parallel monolingualism. As the discussion of the first language’s (L1) role within pedagogical contexts is still in its relative infancy, a critical analysis which compares how the pedagogical affordances of two recent L2 pedagogical approaches, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and Translanguaging, influence language teachers’ pedagogical choices will contribute to the current understanding of how educators clarify the role of L1. Besides its recency, both pedagogies are also chosen as the scope of this discussion because their aims are not solely to gain knowledge of the target language (TL). Funnelling the discussion with two empirical studies which represents the typical application of these pedagogies, this essay found that L1 has three types of facilitating roles, namely class and task management, scaffolding the target language production, and conceptual clarification. A clear distinction between these two pedagogies is established: while CLIL teachers always prioritise TL and treats L1 as a compensatory measure, Translanguaging teachers are authorised to mobilise a wider range of communicative resources rooted in the learners’ mother tongue. This essay recommends further exploration on the role of L1 across other pedagogies to better empower educators in actively and judiciously employing the inevitability of students’ L1 in the classroom to their advantage.

Teachers’ CALL professional development in synchronous, asynchronous, and bichronous online learning through project-oriented tasks: developing CALL pedagogical knowledge

The popularity of online education has prompted computer-assisted language learning (CALL) teachers to attend online teacher professional development (OTPD) courses. Online education has necessitated a deeper look into online delivery in professional development courses. Hence, an exploratory qualitative case study was conducted to investigate how synchronous, asynchronous, or the blend of both, called bichronous online learning, could develop teachers’ CALL pedagogical knowledge through project-oriented tasks. In light of data from technology-review projects and discussions, it was revealed that bichronous online learning benefited teachers significantly in acquiring CALL pedagogical knowledge, specifically in selecting, developing, and evaluating CALL materials. Bichronous online learning incorporates the best affordances of synchronous and asynchronous modalities. The findings showed that synchronous and asynchronous modalities complement each other and should not be substituted for each other. This study could be considered a contribution on account of informing the community of inquiry about the pedagogical affordances of bichronous online learning and proving that bichronous online learning is an ideal learning setting to aid CALL teacher education programs.

Multilingual, Multimodal, and Multivocal Creative Songwriting based on Tomi Ungerer’s Picturebooksve Songwriting based on Tomi Ungerer’s Picturebooks

Abstract: 
 As creative writing research has shown, literary education in the context of teacher education at university greatly benefits from the collaborative practice of creative forms of literary expression for the development of creative literacies and imaginative agency. Accordingly, this study analyses the creative processes and outcomes of a bilingual songwriting workshop that was carried out in 2022 at the University of Strasbourg with 18 bilingual student teachers, in collaboration with the Franco-German world hip-hop artists Zweierpasch. This creative action research was guided by the following research questions: What are the pedagogical affordances of translingual creative writing for the acquisition of multiliteracies in bilingual education? What are the impacts of this creative writing workshop on the bilingual student teachers’ attitudes and beliefs towards creative pedagogical approaches in bilingual education? What are the effects of this workshop on the development of their linguistic, cultural, and professional identities?
 This study presents a literary analysis of the poetic outcome of this creative action research, as well as an evaluation of the workshop in the form of a qualitative content analysis of the student teachers’ reflections and perspectives. Overall, the student teachers considered creative writing as a valuable pedagogical approach for multimodal literacy teaching and learning in bilingual education. Their discourses reveal the transformation process of their attitudes and beliefs towards creative pedagogical approaches, and the enrichment of their linguistic and cultural identity through multilingual creative writing.
 Keywords:
 Creative writing; multilingual writing; multiliteracies; creative literacies; Tomi Ungerer.