Selection Of Learning Tasks Research Articles

A qualitative content analysis exploring gender representation in language textbooks published by Jammu and Kashmir board of school education

This paper examines gender representation in Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) language textbooks. These books were revised and developed as per the guidelines of National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005, which emphasizes on the elimination of gender inequality in education through the design and selection of learning tasks and pedagogic practices. The factors examined include the ratio of male-female appearances, titles of address for both sexes and the roles/activities assigned to males and females. To examine these factors, a method of qualitative content analysis was adopted. The study findings revealed that the revised textbooks lack relevance with the NCF (2005) guidelines and contribute towards the perpetuation of gender inequality. The bias in favor of males is still present in the core curriculum. Male's appearance dominates in written text and titles. Females are shown in their stereotypical gender roles and activities. This study shows concern towards the gender biased approach of curriculum designers and textbook writers; and recommends of producing gender fair educational material based on the guidelines of NCF (2005).

The Selection of Learning Tasks as a Communication Process

Research within the discipline of vocational teaching rarely attends to how teachers communicate about didactic design elements and how they arrive at didactic decisions in the course of collaborative lesson planning. Our qualitative, comparative study focuses on joint selection decisions between action-oriented learning tasks by tandems of prospective and practicing teachers. Using a vignette on a didactic planning situation, seven tandems from each of the two status groups had to make a choice from three learning tasks which were varied with regard to predefined design features of action-oriented tasks. Qualitative content analyses indicate that the professionally experienced teachers consistently hold longer, better structured, more thematically focused, and more deeply elaborated conversations for the purpose of shared decision-making. Nevertheless, some of the novice tandems achieve similarly scores. Implications for further research and teacher education are presented.

Self-regulation of secondary school students: self-assessments are inaccurate and insufficiently used for learning-task selection

Self-assessment and task selection are important self-regulated learning skills for secondary school students. More specifically, selecting new tasks based on self-assessments is very important for them, because teachers are not always present or able to select tasks for them individually. However, little is known about the processes underlying these self-regulated learning skills, and thus no guidelines exist for teaching self-assessment and the selection of subsequent learning-tasks. We propose a model for self-regulated learning-task selection (SRLTS) which represents a possible pathway for the task-selection process, and which students could use as a norm when making task selections. The model could help students to decide what possible new tasks might be suitable for their current skill level, based on self-assessments. The aim of this study is to evaluate to what extent secondary school students select learning tasks according to this model, and whether they use self-assessments to this end. Secondary school students (N = 15) selected learning tasks in the domain of genetics from a structured task database. The tasks varied in difficulty and amount of support provided (i.e., completion problems vs. traditional problems). We used eye tracking, performance estimates, estimates of mental effort, judgments of learning, and open questions to gain more insight in what students focus on and think about when selecting a task. Results suggest that students roughly follow the SRLTS model, but they base their decisions on inaccurate self-assessments. This implies that students might benefit from self-assessment and task-selection advice, which could provide feedback on self-assessments and stimulate students to use self-assessment information as input for task selection in the way the model prescribes to optimize their learning.

Scaffolding advice on task selection: a safe path toward self‐directed learning in on‐demand education

An intuitively appealing approach to increasing the flexibility of vocational education and training is to delegate choices on instruction, such as the selection of learning tasks, to students. However, empirical evidence shows that students often do not have sufficiently developed self‐directed learning skills to select suitable tasks. This article describes the Informed Self‐Directed Learning (ISDL) model, which depicts three information resources supporting students’ process of task selection and helping them to develop important self‐directed learning skills necessary for effective task selection: (1) a structured development portfolio to support and develop their self‐assessment skills; (2) a description of task metadata to help them compare and select suitable tasks; and (3) a protocol for giving advice, which explicitly demonstrates how to use performance results to select suitable tasks. Furthermore, the ISDL model proposes that as students further develop their self‐directed learning skills and improve their task selections, the frequency and/or level of detail of given advice gradually diminishes and the choice of available tasks increases.

Dynamic task selection: Effects of feedback and learner control on efficiency and motivation

Structural features of learning tasks are relevant for problem solving but not salient for novice learners. Feedback in the form of Knowledge of Correct Response (KCR) during practice is expected to help learners recognize the structural features and to profit from learner control over the selection of learning tasks. A 2 × 2 factorial experiment ( N = 118) was conducted to study the effects of the KCR feedback (present and absent) and control over the selection of learning tasks (learner control and program control). The presence of the KCR feedback yielded higher efficiency on a near-transfer test as well as higher learner motivation. An interaction between feedback and control, indicating extra beneficial effects of feedback when learners control the selection of learning tasks, was not found. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Exploring Technology-Mediated Learning from a Pedagogical Perspective

A considerable amount of the effort and enthusiasm that goes into the development and implementation of technology-mediated learning environments often fails to create effective settings for learning. Too often the opportunities and advantages of the use of technology in the learning process are poorly exploited. This paper explores ways in which contemporary pedagogical principles can inform and guide the design of technology-mediated learning environments. The paper argues the need to plan learning settings based on meaningful and relevant activities and tasks which are supported in deliberate and proactive ways by the tutor. The paper presents and describes a framework which supports a design process comprising three critical strategies: the selection of learning tasks; the selection of learning supports; and the selection of learning supports as a strategy for the development of online learning settings that promote knowledge construction.

Collaborating with teachers in the interest of student collaboration

Teachers' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowledge acquisition are explored in terms of the design and outcome of collaborative learning arrangements. Interviews with teachers and observations from instructional research are used to discuss: the selection of learning tasks, the structure of collaborative learning interactions, and the grouping of children for collaborative learning.