Situated Learning Environment Research Articles

‘Reservoirs’ and ‘Repertoires’: Epistemological and Discursive Complexities in Multidisciplinary Engineering Practice

At the heart of the redesign of Higher Education qualifications in South Africa lies the issue of increasing evidence of student difficulties in integrating different forms of knowledge. This article proposes that in order to design curricula and pedagogy which better prepare our graduates for legitimate participation in the world of work, we need to understand what that participation might look like. Using a Bernsteinian (Bernstein 1996, 2000) conceptual framework, a research study was conducted which entailed mapping the knowledge integration practices of final year multidisciplinary engineering diploma students in a situated learning environment. The intention of the research was to illuminate the nature of and relationship between the different forms of knowledge evident in actual practice. The concurrent analysis of discursive practices representing complex knowledge integration reveals that in addition to forms of meaning-making associated with traditional engineering disciplines, successful practice is dependent on the ability to draw on a range of oral and written individual ‘repertoires’, as well as those of a collective ‘reservoir’ that stretches beyond the academy: the invisible community of users on the Internet. The complex praxis and concomitant discourses described in this article suggest we need to see integration of knowledge as more than that of language and content, or concept and context, rather as a system of ‘collaboration’ at multiple levels.

Exploring the relationship between situated activity and CALL learning in teacher education

AbstractSituated learning is often proposed as a model for CALL teacher education. However, we know little about how students perceive situated CALL coursework and activities, and the nature of the relationship between situated learning and CALL learning. This exploratory case study addresses these issues. Survey, questionnaire, and open-ended data were collected from 21 MA TESOL students enrolled in a CALL course in South Korea. The results showed that students perceived that the course offered many elements of situated learning environments, and that some course activities were more situated than others. Additionally, the relationship between situated learning and CALL was strong and positive. Implications for research into situated learning and CALL teacher education are discussed.

The French Digital Kitchen

This paper reports on the French Digital Kitchen, a design-based project which drew on digital sensor technology to take the principles of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) out of the classroom and into the real-world environment of a kitchen. The project aimed to produce a situated language learning environment where learners could learn aspects of French language and cuisine whilst performing a real-world task. The article describes the blend of TBLT, human-computer interaction (HCI) and user-centred design (UCD) principles the authors adopted in constructing and trialling the kitchen, using multiple data sources. An example of a task cycle is then presented to illustrate (by using CA analysis of transcripts) how learners have used the resources of the kitchen to accomplish the task. The authors’ findings show how the integration of the pedagogical and technological design enabled learners to notice and manipulate new vocabulary items.

Toward an Interdisciplinary Perspective

Researchers have yet to agree on an approach that supports how adults best learn novel motor skills in formal educational contexts. The literature fails to adequately discuss adult motor learning from the standpoint of adult education. Instead, the subject is addressed by other disciplines. This review attempts to integrate perspectives across disciplines to enhance understanding of adult motor learning. The review suggests a disciplinary disconnect but finds several potential integrations: (a) a unifying framework between representational motor learning models and reflective practice; (b) the applicability of modeling approaches to experiential frameworks; (c) the relationship between chaining, motor programs, variability of practice, and analogy learning to “doing” and “action” in experiential learning; and (d) the role of embedded motor learning approaches within situated environments. Research should continue to examine how aspects of didactic approaches affect the effectiveness of the modeling approach and how situated learning environments naturalistically use motor learning approaches.

An analysis of the interactive behaviors of self-learning management in a web-based Moodle e-learning platform

This study adopted quasi-experiments and semi-structure interviews to investigate students’ interactive behaviors in a situated internet-assisted learning environment. Forty senior university students participated in the study after taking a three-hour introductory energy course each week for 18 weeks with web-based cooperative learning at a Moodle learning platform. It was found that 62% of the students who have participated in the interactive discussions demonstrate significantly better learning outcomes than those who do not. Students believed that asynchronous web-based cooperative learning offered good learning approaches and experience. Through Moodle’s e-learning platforms, students could express their own opinions freely and refer to other people’s viewpoints towards the teaching themes. From the interview data, it was found that when students provided possible answers or gave their own explanations, they were not only connected to their previous knowledge, but also had self-reflections on their own opinions and re-examine their opinions when they were evoked by the stimulus of different opinions. From the feedback data, it showed that 52.4% of students were satisfied with the web-based cooperative learning. By means of interviews, it was verified that students held positive thoughts that on-line discussions offered them the chance to express different opinions and stimulated their thinking to promote their robust optimal self-learning management. Key words: Situated learning theory, web-based cooperative learning, introduction to energy, moodle e-learning platform, self-learning management.

Situated learning in an educational technology course for pre-service teachers

This qualitative study investigated a situated learning environment implemented in an educational technology course where pre-service teachers worked collaboratively on meaningful real-world projects, assuming the role of professional teachers. With a traditional learning environment as a critical frame of reference, we found that the students in the situated learning environment demonstrated sophisticated problem-solving skills, exhibited metacognitive awareness, produced coherent artifacts, and showed high levels of motivation. The findings implied that if we want to successfully implement situated learning, effort should be made to promote a constructive learning culture, improve individual performance, manage students’ perceptions, and foster their positive attitudes.

Exploring a Model of Situated Professional Development: Impact on Classroom Practice

A hallmark of current science education reform involves teaching through inquiry. However, the widespread use of inquiry-based instruction in many classrooms has not occurred (Roehrig and Luft in Int J Sci Educ 26:3–24, 2004; Schneider et al. in J Res Sci Teach 42:283–312, 2005). The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a professional development program on middle school science teachers’ ability to enact inquiry-based pedagogical practices. Data were generated through evaluation of teacher practice using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) (Sawada et al. in School Sci Math 102:245–253, 2002) at three distinct junctures, before, during, and after the professional development treatment. Analysis of teacher-participant post-institute reflections was then utilized to determine the perceived role of the various institute components. Statistical significant changes in RTOP scores indicated that the teachers were able to successfully transfer the enactment of the inquiry-based practices into their classrooms. The subsequent discussion provides connection between these pedagogical changes with use of professional development strategies that provide a situated learning environment.

Engaging students in an online situated language learning environment

Previous studies have emphasized the relationship between students' engagement and learning performance, and yet the context in which students and the teacher interact to engage each other has been ignored. In order to engage college students who are learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in the context of a big class, this study developed a system, which is an online situated language learning environment, to support the students, the teachers, and the teaching assistants (TAs) to communicate synchronously and asynchronously in and after class. A sample of 118 undergraduate students was recruited to participate in an E-meeting to express their thoughts and opinions toward the drama, and Post an Opinion to predict subsequent scenes in the enfolding plot. Students were also required to take an Assessment online, after reading each episode of the drama. In this study, the behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of students' intensive and reciprocal engagement were observed and recorded in the system for students to reflect on their language usage and further improve their language learning and for the teachers and the TAs to monitor and identify their students' difficulties and provide further scaffoldings. Students' language learning progress was also revealed through a questionnaire and the pre- and post-tests. Based on the interpretation of the result, suggestions for future studies are also discussed.

Students' Perceptions of Their Learning Experiences in an Authentic Instructional Design Context

The purpose of this case study was to examine students' perceptions of their learning experiences while working on a real world instructional design project in a performance oriented team in the context of a situated and problem-based learning environment. Participants were 11 graduate students enrolled in a learning-by-doing instructional design program. The results revealed that overall students had a positive perception of their learning experiences despite difficulties related to managing expectations which led to initial feelings of anxiety and confusion. These expectations were primarily related to the nature of the project, the degree of scaffolding provided, and teamwork.

Students’ perceptions of a situated learning environment

In this study, middle school students’ perceptions of a situated learning environment were investigated. Because there was not a definite situated instruction model in the literature, the characteristics of ideal/situated learning environments, which had been proposed by Collins, Brown, & Newman (1989), were put into practice. Evaluation was based on the science journals that students kept after the activities and observations of the researcher and the classroom teacher during the instruction. Results showed that students had a positive perception of a situated learning environment. The current study is unique in terms of providing a sample unit plan for science classes based on Collins et. al.’s proposed model and examining students’ perception of situated learning environments from a qualitative perspective.

Learning through working: a case study of Chinese college students in South Korea

This qualitative case study was designed to provide an understanding of the work experience of Chinese college students in South Korea. A growing number of Chinese students are coming to South Korea for college education, and their aspirations for better work materialize into work experiences in South Korean businesses. In-depth interviews were conducted with five Chinese students to investigate their learning experience at local workplaces. The Chinese students' work experience not only led them to a deeper understanding of local culture and language, but also gave them integral learning within an experiential, situated learning environment.

"상황학습 환경에서의 모바일 학습을 위한 교수-학습 시나리오 및 교육콘텐츠 개발"

본 연구는 실제 학교현장에서 활용할 수 있는 상황학습 환경에서의 모바일 학습을 위한 교수-학습 시나리오를 구안하고 이를 기반으로 실제 모바일 기기 및 콘텐츠를 개발하는 것을 목표로 수행되었다. 이를 위한 연구문제의 설정은 다음과 같다: 첫째, 상황학습 환경에서의 모바일 학습을 위한 교수-학습 설계 전략은 어떻게 구체화될 수 있는가? 둘째, 실제 학교 현장에서 활용될 수 있는 상황학습 환경에서의 모바일 학습을 위한 교수-학습 시나리오는 어떻게 설계·개발될 수 있는가? 셋째, 상황학습 환경에서의 모바일 학습용 교수-학습 시나리오의 검증을 위한 학교 현장 활용 시 주요하게 나타나는 학습자의 활동은 무엇인가? 넷째, 상황학습 환경에서의 모바일 학습을 위한 교육콘텐츠는 어떻게 설계.개발될 수 있는가? 이와 같은 연구문제를 해결하고 답을 얻기 위하여 사용자 요구분석, 교과 내용 분석, 영어마을 벤치마킹, 교수-학습 시나리오 초안 작성, 교수-학습 시나리오 검증 및 수정, 콘텐츠 스토리보드 작성, 상황학습장 설치, 콘텐츠 개발 및 수정·보완의 절차를 거쳐 연구를 수행하였다. 연구 결과 지식전달형, 지식심화형, 개별상황학습형의 세 가지 유형별 교수-학습 시나리오를 개발하였고 교수-학습 시나리오의 타당화를 위하여 실제 D초등학교에 2개월간 상황학습장을 설치하였으며 맞춤화된 PDA기기 및 콘텐츠를 개발하고 6명의 학생들로 하여금 활동을 수행하도록 했다. 그런 다음 학습활동 장면을 녹화하고 이를 전사하여 이에 대한 프로토콜 내용분석을 통해 교수-학습 시나리안의 활동들을 분석하고 검증하였다. 분석 결과, 모든 유형의 교수-학습 활동에 거의 빠짐없이 나타나는 활동 영역은 ‘정보 습득 및 기억’, ‘정보 통합 및 정교화’, ‘정서.사회 활동’, ‘도움 활동’ 등으로 나타났다. 지식전달형에서는 주로 정보의 습득과 기억이 중점적으로 나타났고, 지식심화형에서는 정보 통합 및 정교화가 중심이 되었으며, 개별상황학습형에서는 생성 활동이 두드러지게 나타났다. 이와 같은 결과에 따라 교수-학습 시나리오를 최종 수정하여 확정하였다. 본 연구는 실제 학교 현장에서의 상황학습을 위한 교수-학습 시나리오, 콘텐츠, 모바일 기기, 상황학습장의 기본적인 프로토타입을 유형별로 개발하고 검증을 시도하였다는 데에 의의를 찾아볼 수 있다.

Poverty Does Not Restrict a Student's Ability to Learn

In the early 1800s, the prevalent theoretical construct in the U.S. was genetic determinism, that is, who you were and what you could become were determined by what you had inherited. With the socialist movements in government came the theoretical construct of social determinism, that is, who you are and what you can become are determined by systems and social access. determinism also became the underlying theoretical construct for many social justice and multicultural studies. In the late 1980s, state assessments and school accountability began to surface, leading to the federal No Child Left Behind Act in January 2002. In essence, what NCLB said was this: We don't care whether you believe in genetic determinism or social determinism. Every child will learn and will learn to a level of proficiency against a standard knowledge and skills set. Period. The underlying theoretical construct became cognitive determinism (my terminology)--that is, everyone has a mind, and we will develop every mind. This development was being driven by the knowledge-based economy focusing on the development of intellectual capital (Stewart 1997), the new form of economic currency. Many educators grieved at the onset of rigorous state assessments and accountability. A number of the educators I worked with were either leaving teaching or becoming depressed. They said things like There's nothing I can do. It's hopeless. In the mid-1990s, I wrote A Framework for Understanding Poverty to help educators better address the issues in poverty. The underlying theoretical construct for the book is learning, a concept advanced by Lave and Wenger of Columbia University (1991). In essence, this theoretical approach says that virtually all initial occurs in situated learning environments that have context, language, relationships, and tasks where you reason with stories and act on situations. When a person goes from a situated-learning environment to formalized schooling, becomes decontextualized; the relationships and context are largely taken away. In formalized schooling, students reason with laws and act on symbols (numbers, letters, drawings, etc.). The purpose of Framework was to explain the situated-learning environment of generational (not situational) poverty and the bridges and strategies needed for students to make successful transitions to the decontextualized environment of school. To survive poverty, one must be an incredible problem solver. The decontextualized environment of school requires students to use an abstract representational system of knowledge that is learned and usually not available in the situated-learning environment of generational poverty. CRITICISM OF THE BOOK Then the criticism of the book started. Virtually all of the criticism comes from nontenured professors of higher education and a few practitioners who are firmly wedded to social determinism. Social determinism has gained much ideological purchase, especially among liberal academics. Indeed, it has largely become a political doctrine that has given up any pretense of being scientific (Levite 1996). Deficit is one of the phrases used by critics. It is a theoretical model that doesn't have a statistical research base. In other words, you can say the glass is half full of water or half empty. Regardless of which terminology you use, the level of water doesn't change. Deficit tends to be assigned to any model developed by a person of the dominant culture (I am white) that looks at what a student cannot do. To prepare students for state assessment, a teacher must know what they can and cannot do. The 2005 edition of Framework includes an additive model. The very first point states that the model honors internal assets of people from all economic classes, including poverty. …

Combining Speech Recognition/Natural Language Processing with 3D Online Learning Environments to Create Distributed Authentic and Situated Spoken Language Learning

This article will describe research done at the National Institute of Multimedia in Education, Japan and the University of North Texas on the creation of a distributed Internet-based spoken language learning system that would provide more interactive and motivating learning than current multimedia and audiotape-based systems. The project combined a 3D online learning environment by Created Realities Group with Nuance speech recognition technology. The system created an immersive situated learning environment that overlaid spoken language training with audio feedback and used the speech recognition system to determine if the student has accurately said the language items. A small study showed that participants did improve their spoken language skills within the narrow parameters of the research environment in the authentic and situated environment.

Structuring the project environment for learning

This paper argues that project learning and the learning competency development of project practitioners are most appropriately pursued through the creation and maintenance of supportive situated learning environments within projects. Drawing on participative action research into learning practices within a case study project involving organizational change, this paper introduces a model of project situated learning behaviour and identifies and explains five sociological elements (barriers or enablers) that are primal in shaping the learning behaviours of project team participants. This framework facilitates practitioners’ systematic and communal reflection on their learning practices and helps develop their skills in ‘learning how to learn’.

Informal Adult Learning and Everyday Literacy Practices

This study investigated the types of informal learning activities that adults with low literacy skills engage in outside of formal literacy programs and how these activities relate to their literacy practices. Key informants for the study included 10 adults identified at International Adult Literacy Survey levels 1 and 2. Using ethnographic methods, data were collected over three months from several sources. Three major themes emerged: life roles, the situated learning environments, and the practice of everyday literacy activities. Adults with limited literacy perform important life roles in much the same way as more literate adults do. These life roles, which precipitated informal learning, consisted of combinations of parent, supportive partner, family member, volunteer, and employee. A second pattern was the environment in which informal learning was situated. The three environments—home, community, and workplace—were the significant milieus where adults engaged in learning as a result of their life roles. A third theme was the range of everyday literacy activities practiced by adults through informal learning. There was a clear indication that oral communication skills were most often practiced as a result of engaging in an informal learning project, event, or episode at home, in the community, or at work. A discussion focuses on the implications of the findings for literacy research, practice, and policy development.

Educating bricoleurs: nurturing a situated learning environment in technology projects

This paper argues that managing technological change involves creative improvisation. Managers of technological change inevitably act as bricoleurs who 'make do' in context as they act as brokers between different technological frames, social worlds and political interests. To improve their skills in this process, it is important that they are better educated in these skills and practices. This paper argues that such educational goals in technology projects are appropriately pursued through the creation of supportive situated learning environments and identifies and explores five sociological elements which are critical in creating that condition.

Virtual learning environments for time‐stressed and peripatetic managers

PurposeThe paper argues that virtual situated learning environments (VSLE), designed as authentic learning experiences, can provide managers with broader learning opportunities while also cater for the learning needs of the increasing number of peripatetic managers.Design/methodology/approachAn action learning methodology, using first person observation of practice, was used. This first person observation is inclusive of the designers and facilitators of the VSLE (the authors), and of the managers participating in virtual professional practice activities as students. This methodology was chosen in recognition of the need to qualitatively demonstrate the effectiveness of the VSLE for management education.FindingsThe findings suggest that on‐line learning environment has, when designed to supplement rather than replace face‐to‐face (F2F) learning, significant advantages for the peripatetic manager.Research limitations/implicationsIt is recognised that there are limitations in generalising from particular case studies, particularly when a first‐person action methodology is undertaking. However, this needs to be weighed against the opportunity provided to present the qualitative depth, particularly important when dealing with the intangibility of knowledge.Practical implicationsThe implications are that the on‐line learning environment has significant potential for augmenting the F2F environment for managers, particularly in providing the flexibility required by the increasing number of managers working in a global workplace.Originality/valueThe research has significant value for both peripatetic managers seeking to engage in learning environment and universities and academics seeking to provide learning opportunities that are both accessible to, and relevant for, managers, particularly the newly emerging, geographically flexible managers.

You can lead a student to water, but can you make them think? An evaluation of a situated learning environment: An Ocean in the Classroom

A marine science virtual environment was developed as a CD-ROM to simulate marine sampling procedures for abundant and rare species. Students participated as scientists in the process by conducting fish counts for species of differing abundances and sampling unit sizes, calculating the most cost effective sample unit size for common and rare species, and then presenting their findings and interpretations in scientific report format. This paper reports an evaluation of the CD-ROM as it was incorporated into an assessable activity in a third year undergraduate and postgraduate Marine Biology subject. The evaluation evidence indicated that: (a) most students were able to navigate and use the CD-ROM effectively; (b) most students experienced an improvement in their understanding of the sampling process, particularly with rare species; (c) staff confirmed that there was an improvement in students’ understanding of the sampling process, including how to choose and undertake the most cost effective sampling method; but (d) this understanding did not always improve students’ ability to interpret their results critically and to relate them to what they had observed in the field. These findings are discussed in terms of what is required to provide students with an authentic learning experience as marine scientists, and how the CD-ROM could be incorporated into such a learning experience in the future.

An instructional design framework for authentic learning environments

The instructional technology community is in the midst of a philosophical shift from a behaviorist to a constructivist framework, a move that may begin to address the growing rift between formal school learning and real-life learning. One theory of learning that has the capacity to promote authentic learning is that of situated learning. The purpose of this three-part study was first, to identify critical characteristics of a situated learning environment from the extensive literature base on the subject; second, to operationalize the critical characteristics of a situated learning environment by designing a multimedia program that incorporated the identified characteristics; and third, to investigate students' perceptions of their experiences using a multimedia package based on a situated learning framework. The learning environment, for preservice teachers, comprised a multimedia program on assessment in mathematics together with recommended implementation conditions for the classroom. Eight students were observed and interviewed to explore their perceptions of the situated learning environment. Findings suggest that the use of the situated learning framework provided effective instructional design guidelines for the design of an environment for the acquisition of advanced knowledge.