Self-reflective Learning Research Articles

The Self-Cognisant Robot

This work discusses the challenge of developing self-cognisant artificial intelligence systems, looking at the possible benefits and the main issues in this quest. It is argued that the degree of complexity, variation, and specialisation of technological artefacts used nowadays, along with their sheer number, represent an issue that can and should be addressed through an important step towards greater autonomy, that is, the integration of learning, which will allow the artefact to observe its own functionality and build a model of itself. This model can be used to adjust the expectations from an imperfectly manufactured item, patch up its performance and control its consistency over time, so providing a form of self-certification and a warning mechanism in case of deterioration. It is suggested that these goals cannot be fully achieved without the ability of the learner to model its own performance, and the implications and issues of this self-reflective learning are debated. A possible way of quantifying the faculty for self-cognition is proposed, and relevant areas of computer science, philosophy and the study of the evolution of language are mentioned.

Student peer assessment: Research findings from a case study in a master of chemical engineering coursework-program

Results from a case study of student peer assessment, as an alternate learning activity to traditional lecturer- and tutor-assessments, in a two-year, Master of Chemical Engineering Coursework-program show that, overall, whilst students gave higher marks than the lecturer in summative grading (Student:Lecturer S/L ∼1.2), there was no correlation between student Assessors who gave high marks and Assessees who received high marks, or, between Assessors who gave low marks and Assessees who received low marks. Each of 14 students (4 female and 10 male) enrolled in a one-semester, introductory course in Pinch Analysis were required to anonymously mark the solutions of a randomly selected class colleague to each of nine assigned problems using, as a guide, idealized solutions provided by the lecturer. The assigned problems involved four-descriptive and five-numeric types. None of the students had taken part in peer assessment beforehand. Student Assessors generally gave higher marks for descriptive questions than the lecturer (S/L ∼1.4). However, both students and lecturer marked the numeric questions equally on average. Assessee expectations that class-peers would mark harder than the lecturer were therefore not borne out. An independent and unique Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) survey revealed broad student agreement that peer assessment was an effective way to learn (13/13) and that it stimulated interest in the course material (13/13). Students (12/13) stated that idealized solutions of the lecturer were essential for successful peer assessment outcomes. Research results show therefore that these students highly valued this complementary and self-reflective learning experience.

Focus on Authors

Focus on Authors

학습성찰도구로서 e-포트폴리오 활성화를 위한 연구: 경희대학교 사례를 중심으로

요사이 많은 대학에서 사용하고 있는 학습포트폴리오는 학생의 학업 과정 및 산출물을 자료화하여 학업이력을 관리하고, 나아가 자기주도적 학습 역량을 기르는 목적으로 사용되고 있는데, 이를 웹상에서 제공할 경우, e-포트폴리오라고도 불린다. 그러나 대부분의 실제 사례를 살펴보면, 기대한 만큼 활발하게 활용 되고 있지 않으며, 관련 선행연구들도 대부분 소수 학생 사례 중심이거나 학습포트폴리오의 장단점에 대한 일반적인 연구로 이루어져 있다. 이에 본 연구에서는 좀 더 많은 학생을 대상으로 한 구체적인 활용 사례를 분석하여, 학습 포트폴리오를 학습도구로서 활성화시킬 수 있는 방안을 제시하고자 한다. 본 연구는 총 289명의 경희대학교 학부 학생들이 사용하고 있는 경희대학교 e-포트폴리오 프로그램을 대상으로 하였으며, e-포트폴리오 활성화 방안을 도출하기 위해, 학생들의 e-포트폴리오에 올라와 있는 '성찰저널'와 '참여 만족도 설문지'를 분석 자료로써 활용하였다. 그 결과에 따르면, 학생 대부분이 e-포트폴리오를 학습도구로는 활용하고 있지만, e-포트폴리오가 좀 더 활성화되기 위해서는 몇 가지 시스템 및 운영방법의 개선이 필요하다. 이에 본 연구에서는 참여 학생들의 요구사항과 국내외 대학에서 운영되는 e-포트폴리오 사례를 참조하여 e-포트폴리오 시스템의 개선이라는 측면에 초점을 두고 활성화 방안을 제안하였다. Portfolio has recently come to gain more attention from school as an alternative evaluation tool and a self-reflective learning tool for learning. After literature reviews about the case studies on the use of portfolio in higher education including both universities in Korea and abroad, this study attempted, first, to analyze the current e-portfolio system running in Kyung Hee University for the undergraduate students starting from the spring semester, 2010, and then, suggested the ways the system can be more actively utilized among the students, and simultaneously, acquiring more interest and participation from both the faculty members and the school administrators. The data collected from the survey and reflective journals of the students suggested 1) more user-friendly, easy-to-edit version of the system, 2) more diverse modes and functions of the system which, therefore, are able to adjust well to the specific and unique features of subjects or majors of the students, and 3) collaborative learning environments among the students and between the students and the faculty members from which students can share, participate, interact with each other, getting useful feedback from those co-learners and faculty members. Eventually the study aimed to enhance the recognition of the participants about the importance of portfolio as a learning tool for self-reflective learning and authentic evaluation of the students.

“I Am What You Make Me. I Am Who I Am”

The growing accessibility of digital technologies has led to an increase in media projects enabling young people to connect and communicate with international peers. These projects are often uncritically celebrated as opportunities for young people to learn something about a cultural “Other” and, in so doing, enhance their tolerance of difference, their consciousness of global issues, and their appreciation of diversity. Projects conceptualised in this way, however, risk reinforcing problematic notions of multiculturalism. This article describes the Durban Plymouth Story Exchange, a youth media project facilitated by the author. The project attempted to use the creation and exchange of audio recordings between young people in Durban, South Africa and Plymouth, UK to encourage self-reflection, self-expression and cultural learning. By putting knowledge of self rather than knowledge of the Other at the centre of this project, the author/facilitator hoped the project would avoid some of the pitfalls of conventional multiculturalism.

The Process of Acquiring Practical Knowledge By Emergency Nursing Professionals in Taiwan: A Phenomenological Study

The emergency department is the front line in the hospital battlefield. Medical staff are frequently tested with highly complex and fast-changing clinical situations. Nurses must acquire practical knowledge in a fast-changing environment in order to provide the most appropriate form of nursing care. This study explores the process of the development of practical knowledge in emergency nurses. This study uses a phenomenological approach and in-depth interviews and adopts Moustakas data analysis techniques. In 2007, the researcher interviewed 10 professional nurses with at least 3 years of ED experience and collected 13 interview transcripts. Data analysis identified 4 major themes and 10 sub themes in the process of development of practical knowledge for ED nurses. The 4 major stages in the learning process are (1) matter-of-course apprenticeship, (2) stimulus-response learning, (3) work demand-oriented learning, and (4) self-reflective learning. Upon entering the emergency department, nurses began learning by serving as apprentices to seniors. After this, they experienced the stimulus-response learning phase as they responded to stimuli in the form of pressure to grow and learn. As they gradually drifted away from the protection of seniors, they continued to learn in order to meet work demands, hold on to their jobs, and maintain a proper level of professional competence. A small number of participants entered the final stage of self-reflective learning, in which they examined their life experience by self-reflection and developed a proper nursing attitude and knowledge about holistic patient care.

Metacognition Needed: Teaching Middle and High School Students to Develop Strategic Learning Skills

ABSTRACT Students' ineffective learning strategies are linked to poor metacognition, revealing that struggling learners have not developed the practical figure it out skills to succeed in academic challenges. Well-documented research has noted the positive effect of self-reflective learning on students' academic and personal development. Also, researchers have described that metacognitive awareness can be taught. The author explores these issues and presents practical suggestions that middle and high school teachers can use to help students develop metacognitive skills.

Systemic Intervention in a University Department: Reflections on Arrested Action Research

This paper reflects on my experience as an insider researcher attempting to use critical systems ideas and practices to promote quality improvement in a university engineering department. Reflection is a key part of learning. This paper is intended to contribute to critically, self-reflective learning for the community of systems practitioners. These reflections on my questions about participation, ethics, politics of process, and the choices and actions resulting from them may help others to formulate their own. The complexity of systems practice places substantial demands on the researcher, particularly in the case of insider, practitioner research. Nevertheless, the exploration of critical systems approaches to critique boundaries and structure ‘problems’ in the core aspects of higher education in locally meaningful ways should continue. While demanding, it still can work to promote learning about authentic quality.

Assessing learning styles of adults with intellectual difficulties

The development of an electronic inventory to assess learning styles of adults with intellectual difficulties was seen as an inclusion strategy to aid learning and achievement. Some argue for the 'centrality of e-learning to educational diversity', for example. The use of VAK inventories (whether electronic or paper based), however, has been derogated as leading to theory-practice pedagogy that is misinterpreted and ill-informed. The focus here is dual in that the vigour and 'user friendliness' of the tool developed is analysed in the midst of a critical appraisal of its use. Assessments conducted using the inventory developed showed 34 percent of the participants have visual preferences, 34 percent have auditory, 23 percent have kinaesthetic, and 9 percent have multimodal learning preferences. Thus, this participant group requires a varied and diverse learning programme. The inventory was found to be user friendly but in need of further development, and would best be used as part of a self-reflective learning package.

Managing the evolution of the strategic planning process

Most strategic planning processes do not facilitate the self-reflective learning that is necessary for organizations to adapt to changing competitive conditions. Instead, they become self-perpetuating bureaucratic mechanisms that limit strategic vision. This article presents guidelines for managing the evolution of the strategic planning process.