Types Of Learning Environments Research Articles

Teachers’ ICT in pedagogy: A case for mentoring and mirrored practice

AbstractThe rapid expansion of the knowledge society, due mainly to the ubiquity and access of information and communication technology (ICT), places a professional demand on teachers to acquire relevant knowledge to make use of technology in their classrooms. Thus, for teachers to effectively integrate ICT into their teaching repertoire, they must transform their pedagogical practices. In this regard, the quality of pre-service and in-service training is pivotal in preparing teachers for effective technology integration. Utilising a case study approach and Activity Theory principles as a theoretical lens, this study set out to explore the influence of ICT as a tool of instruction on the classroom practice of in-service teachers in Rwanda. Qualitative methods were employed to capture data through interviews, observations, and document analysis. Data was analysed using content analysis to understand in-service teachers’ constructions about learning through ICT and how it influenced their classroom practice. The investigation of the influence of ICT as an instructional tool to in-service teachers yielded unique patterns of their ICT learning-teaching experiences. The findings were two-fold. First, the ICT learning experiences of the in-service teachers changed their perspective towards teaching and learning with ICT in their own classrooms. Second, the teacher participants vicariously mirrored their lecturers’ use of ICT in their own classroom practice. This unintended experience created affordances for the in-service teacher trainees to not only learn ‘about’ ICT, but significantly ‘how to teach’ pedagogically with ICT. It is crucial for teacher trainees to experience the same type of learning environments they are expected to create in their own classrooms.

Students’ Perceptions of acoustic comfort in traditional and flexible learning environments: a study in Chile

The acoustic quality of educational spaces has an important impact on well-being and occupant performance. This study investigates noise perception and hearing ability among primary students in traditional learning environments (TLE) and flexible learning environments (FLE). A survey was conducted in Santiago de Chile, involving 21 teachers and 315 children from 13 schools, to gather responses on acoustic comfort. Additionally, a checklist was used to inspect the physical spaces. The analysis of students’ responses revealed that self-reported complaints related to indoor environmental quality (IEQ) predominantly focused on noise discomfort in both types of learning environments. A significant relationship was found between the type of space and children’s perception of noise from their peers. Although students in TLE reported greater annoyance with noise, those in FLE experienced slightly more listening problems. Interestingly, in FLE, students with an occupancy density greater than 2.1 m2 per student did not feel bothered by the noise produced by their classmates speaking. Although further research is needed, these findings highlight the crucial role of acoustic conditions in ensuring the comfort and hearing abilities of young students. Adequate acoustic treatment and enough space per student are important to mitigate potential indoor noise issues.

Effects of Cognitive and Metacognitive Prompts on Learning Performance in Digital Learning Environments

Self-regulated learning (SRL) requires learners’ active participation, i.e., they need to activate cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies. These strategies can be activated and supported by using cognitive and metacognitive prompts. Extensive research concerning the effects of prompts on SRL is necessary to determine connections between these two concepts. Our study investigates the effects of cognitive and metacognitive activities—i.e., prompts—on learning performance during SRL. Therefore, we developed three types of learning environments that use different types of prompts—cognitive or metacognitive prompts—or no prompts. Moreover, we also used a questionnaire to examine prior knowledge and post-knowledge. Pre- and post-tests show that self-confidence in prior knowledge has a significant effect on self-confidence in post-knowledge, cognitive prompts reduce extrinsic motivation, and knowing how to use cognitive learning strategies enables using cognitive prompts more effectively. These results are partially in line with existing research findings on the effects of prompts in SRL.

The Relationship Between The Different Types of Learning Environments and The Individual Differences in Navigation Abilities

The study attempted to determine the relationship between the different environmental learning types and the performance in wayfinding task. The types of learning environments were measured by the Walking Corsi test while the wayfinding task performance was measured by the travel time in finding the target location. The wayfinding task performance was measured three times. Eighty-nine (89) undergraduate students aged between 18-23 years were divided based on the types of learning environments into 3 groups, namely route learning type (31 students), map learning type (30 students) and verbal learning type (28 students). The mixed analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. The results showed that there were significant differences in the travel time to find the target location between three types of environmental learning groups F (3.6, 172) = 11.040; p<0.01). In the first occasion, the travel time of the map learning type group was faster than the route learning type group and the verbal learning type group. In the second occasion to track the target location, the travel time of the map learning type group was faster than route learning type group and the verbal learning type group. In the third occasion, the travel time of the map and verbal instruction learning type group were not different.

Impacts of the flipped classroom on student performance and problem solving skills in secondary school chemistry courses

The use of the flipped classroom approach in chemistry courses has rapidly increased over the past decade, and it appears that this type of learning environment will play an essential role in improving student success. However, it's crucial to note that the majority of these studies were carried out in higher education environments. There hasn’t been much research comparing flipped to traditional classrooms in K-12 institutions. The majority of comparisons between flipped and non-flipped groups were taught by different teachers, and typically conducted over a brief period of time, often a few weeks. The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of the flipped classroom on student performance and problem solving skills in chemistry courses. A two-stage experiment was conducted in a secondary school in the Northwestern part of China with the flipped classroom group including 46 students, 20 males and 26 females and the non-flipped classroom group consisting of 50 students, 30 males and 20 females. Both groups were taught by the same chemistry teacher with eight years of teaching experience. Independent t-tests showed that the flipped classroom significantly improved student academic performance compared to the non-flipped classroom, and this effect lasted for at least one year. The study also found that flipped classrooms have a more progressive impact on students’ problem solving skills, which always take a long teaching period. Meanwhile, the research findings revealed that most students preferred or strongly preferred the flipped classroom approach after they experienced it. However, as the duration of the teaching experiment grows, students’ attitudes toward the flipped classroom approach tend to polarize.

Motivation style of K–12 students attending outreach activities in the STEM field: a person-based approach

This study focused on K–12 students attending outreach activities (i.e. activities from STEM-based industry emphasizing applications of STEM content in the STEM field), with the main objective being to motivate students for a future career in STEM. Outreach activities can be regarded as environments that extend the regular in-class learning environment and that differ from regular environments in terms of several dimensions, such as autonomy, relevance and learning resources. To date, little research has been conducted on these types of learning environments. We followed a person-centred approach in identifying students’ motivational profiles and corresponding student groups in outreach activities, and in evaluating whether students with different profiles differ in their STEM-related attitudes and experience of outreach activities. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Latent-profile analyses revealed four different motivational profiles: good-quality motivation, moderate-motivation, high-quantity motivation and low-quantity motivation. Students with a good-quality motivation reported significantly more favorable-attitudes towards a future career in STEM compared with the other groups, with content and personal relevance being key factors for students with this profile. This study provided support for adding outreach activities to the school learning environment.

Implementing a technology-aided check-in/check-out intervention in an online learning environment: a pilot study

With a growing number of students with disabilities participating in online distance education, there is a need to explore support strategies that promote their academic success in these virtual environments. For students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), this type of learning environment often lacks the structure and support for them to develop social emotional and self-management skills needed to be successful in their academics. The current study pilots a technology-aided check-in/check-out (CICO) intervention package for parents to implement with their students enrolled in online schooling. This study particularly focuses on using the intervention to increase the student engagement of one high school student with ASD participating in online distance education. Using a single-case, AB design, data were collected on student engagement prior to and during the implementation of the intervention package. Results show a significant increase in student engagement when the intervention was implemented. Reports from both the student and his mother indicated overall positive perceptions of the intervention. Further exploration of the results, including limitations and future directions, are discussed.

The Effect of the Interaction between the Type of Learning Environment (Face to Face - Online) And the Type of Test (Essay - Bubble Sheet) on The Results of Academic Achievement among Students of Obour Institutes

The Effect of the Interaction between the Type of Learning Environment (Face to Face - Online) And the Type of Test (Essay - Bubble Sheet) on The Results of Academic Achievement among Students of Obour Institutes

Critical Thinking in Academic Writing amongst Rukwangali Students: Lecturers‘ Perspectives

This article is a part of a larger study that explored the perspectives of Rukwangali education lecturers towards Rukwangali students’ critical thinking in academic writing. The main aim is not only to bring into focus the strategies towards lecturing for critical thinking in academic writing but also to highlight some of the barriers to successful integration by Rukwangali language education students in academic writing and also to elicit perceptions that would impede Rukwangali language lecturers to lecture for critical thinking. On the basis of a critical review of literature, claims about the role of critical thinking in higher education are discussed and the synergies concerning critical thinking and academics are discussed. With the growing enthusiasm for critical thinking and academic writing in higher institutions of learning, a plethora of authors around critical thinking and academic writing have claimed that critical thinking and academic writing have a pivotal role in shaping students. Indeed, these concepts are useful for different solicitations. However, there are certain barriers that can prevent students from utilizing critical thinking in academic writing and lecturers from incorporating critical thinking in their content delivery and assessments even if the definitions and approaches exist. A qualitative design was used in the process of data collection and analysis. A purposive sample of four Rukwangali language education lecturers participated in the study. The findings of the study have led to the acknowledgement that the inability of critical thinking in academic writing by students is influenced by a combination of factors such as subject knowledge, authorial voice, the essay genre, parental education, lack of enough efforts from colleges and universities, teacher competence, nature of students, type of learning environment, organizational ethos and resources, content-driven curricula, assessment criteria, inability to translate content and language barrier. Whereas, a lack of training, lack of information, personal beliefs and preconceptions, and time constraints are singled out to be stumbling blocks for Rukwangali lecturers in implementing critical thinking strategies into their lectures. The article concludes by making recommendations that a closer look at these factors and their solutions would be beneficial in making the skill of critical thinking in academic writing more effective in mitigating the inability of students’ critical thinking in Rukwangali academic writing at Unam’s Rundu campus.

APPLYING BLENDED LEARNING COURSES FOR EDUCATION IN THE CONTEMPORARY UNIVERSITY. INFORMATION SYSTEM ‘E-UNIVERSITY’ OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VELIKO TARNOVO, BULGARIA

In the past few years, blended learning has become more and more rapidly spread in the field of education worldwide. The idea of blended learning seems attractive because it allows for the preservation of the traditional forms of education resulting from accumulated pedagogical experience for centuries and we could altogether use the various educational functions of new technologies. The methodology developed by the author introduces a key subsystem from the integrated management information system of Veliko Tarnovo University, namely the ‘E-University’ subsystem. On the base of own experience and the analyzed research, there is an opportunity to use different media, individualize the learning process, opportunity to use different styles of learning, organizing joint learning activities. The successful application of this approach together with the organization of education and the quality of the virtual environment require the presence of the human factor which is able to combine different types of learning environments in order to provoke students to perform various types of activities and develop their potential abilities and talents in the future.

The potential of Zoom technology for enabling creativity in the drama classroom through peer-assisted learning and group collaboration in pre service teacher education

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all levels of education around the world in many ways, including in Sri Lanka. In higher education institutions this has involved an unexpected and ‘forced’ transition from face-to-face to remote teaching and learning modes, with universities being required to create new types of learning environments. This paper reports on work with students in a pre-service Drama and Theatre teacher education degree, with a focus on the final year professional practice component. It reports on an innovative approach involving Zoom technology, adopted not only to evaluate students’ learning outcomes and pre-service capabilities, but also to strengthen their collaborative and creativity skills. The findings of the study contribute to strengthening understanding of the potential of virtual, technology-based approaches such as Zoom in changed teaching and learning conditions, and signpost possible future research directions in terms of integrating technology and online delivery for Drama and Theatre teacher education.

New type of learning environment based on a cross-platform learning model: methodology and testing

The author presents a multi-component practical study of a new type of electronic educational environment on the example of the author’s cross-platform project Langteach-online, aimed at teaching foreign students Russian. A new type of elearning environment will allow you to create online courses without the use of Western learning management systems, such as LMS Moodle, Schoology, and others with the integration of mobile devices that are trained in the learning process in mixed and distance formats. The methodology of this study will allow creating multidisciplinary online courses for teachers without special training in information technology and programming, which is especially relevant in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Russian cross-platform project Langteach-online is used in teaching foreign citizens Russian at the bachelor’s and master’s levels in a number of higher educational institutions of the Russian Federation in order to form a creative professional personality of a foreign graduate. The multi-format of organized tasks and materials (text, video, audio, graphics, presentations) allows us to talk about the possibility of using cross-platform projects of this type not only for teaching practical courses in foreign languages and RFL, but also other disciplines that are taught in schools and higher educational institutions. Training based on this model can be carried out both in blended and distant formats. The system of technical and methodological organization of a cross-platform project has the fexibility to use it inside the personal web resource of a teacher or educational institution.

Variety-seeking, learning and performance

According to the variance hypothesis, variety-seeking or exploration is a critical condition for improving learning and performance over time. Extant computational learning models support this hypothesis by showing how individuals who are exposed to diverse knowledge sources are more likely to find superior solutions to a particular problem. Yet this research provides no precise guidelines about how broadly individuals should search. Our goal in this paper is to elucidate the conditions under which variety-seeking in organizations is beneficial. To this end, we developed a computational model in which individuals learn as they interact with other individuals, and update their knowledge as a result of this interaction. The model reveals how the type of learning environment (performance landscape) in which the learning dynamic unfolds determines when the benefits of variety-seeking outweigh the costs. Variety-seeking is performance-enhancing only when the knowledge of the chosen learning targets (i.e., individuals to learn from) provide useful information about the features of the performance landscape. The results further suggest that superior knowledge might be available locally, i.e., in the proximity of an individual’s current location. We also identify the point beyond which variety-seeking causes a sharp performance decline and show how this point depends on the type of landscape in which the learning dynamic unfolds and the degree of specialization of individual knowledge. The presence of this critical point explains why exploration becomes very costly. The implications of our findings for establishing the boundaries of exploration are discussed.

Increasing student achievement motivation during online learning activities

Learning motivation to engage students has been a challenge in building and learning. This study studied the effectiveness of learning using online media in improving student academic achievement and increasing student motivation in online learning. This type of research includes literature research as an information activity that is relevant to the topic used as the research object. The purpose of this study was to explain online learning in improving students’ academic achievement and facilitate them for all kinds of learning interactions. This research may be useful in supporting the idea that evaluation of online learning is important for students who have good learning motivation. In line with the findings obtained, this study provides operational advice on how to increase student interest and motivation in online learning activities namely a systematic review of the study of students’ motivational interest in online learning activities in the type of learning environment and how to increase student motivation in terms of the importance of students in increasing learning activities. In addition to that, study analytics to understand learners at a very subtle level is necessary to provide the most appropriate support for students.

Outlining play and playful learning in Finland and Brazil: A content analysis of early childhood education policy documents

Early childhood education and care is a current interest in many countries. Many international studies have highlighted the importance of high-quality early education environments where learning and play are integrated. Studies show that these types of learning environments have a positive impact on children’s future prospects and overall development. Critical curriculum steering documents from Finland and Brazil form the basis of this study and can similarly be shown to define the quality of these environments, as well as providing definitions of playful learning in these differing cultural contexts. A content analysis explores patterns of the cultural and pedagogical difference of definition. This descriptive comparison permitted similarities and differences between the countries with regard to play to emerge. In this article, the authors explore what these different cultural and pedagogical definitions of play and playful learning are and what they might mean. The article thus makes a methodological contribution to a broader discussion of comparative studies of national curricula in early childhood education with specific regard to children’s engagement, learning and development in and through play. The theoretical conclusions are, however, more tentative, but the authors suggest some innovative ways to conceptualise cultural and pedagogical differences in play by making an analogy with Wittgenstein’s analysis of games in his Philosophical Investigations.

Strategic enablement investments: Exploring differences in human and technological knowledge transfers to supply chain partners

Business-to-business firms have a long history of investing in training their supply chain partners using primarily salespeople. However, advances in technology now allow for elements of sales enablement programs to be automated and run without human involvement. This paper examines how human and technology enablers are suited to transfer tacit and explicit knowledge respectively. It constructs a strategic enablement investment framework that, depending on the mix of investments in human or technology enablers, results in four types of learning environments: self-directed, collaborative, adaptive, and complex. We close by discussing the implications for future research and offer guidance for industrial marketing managers.

The Future of Embodied Design for Mathematics Teaching and Learning

A rising epistemological paradigm in the cognitive sciences—embodied cognition—has been stimulating innovative approaches, among educational researchers, to the design and analysis of STEM teaching and learning. The paradigm promotes theorizations of cognitive activity as grounded, or even constituted, in goal-oriented multimodal sensorimotor phenomenology. Conceptual learning, per these theories, could emanate from, or be triggered by, experiences of enacting or witnessing particular movement forms, even before these movements are explicitly signified as illustrating target content. Putting these theories to practice, new types of learning environments are being explored that utilize interactive technologies to initially foster student enactment of conceptually oriented movement forms and only then formalize these gestures and actions in disciplinary formats and language. In turn, new research instruments, such as multimodal learning analytics, now enable researchers to aggregate, integrate, model, and represent students’ physical movements, eye-gaze paths, and verbal–gestural utterance so as to track and evaluate emerging conceptual capacity. We—a cohort of cognitive scientists and design-based researchers of embodied mathematics—survey a set of empirically validated frameworks and principles for enhancing mathematics teaching and learning as dialogic multimodal activity, and we synthetize a set of principles for educational practice.

Technology Fatigue of Faculty in Higher Education

The study investigated technology fatigue in instructors employed at three universities located in the United States. Instructors at three private institutions of higher learning located in two states were invited to complete an online survey that was developed by the researchers. Technology fatigue was operationalized as technology-use related stress (technostress) and frequent change in technology (change fatigue). A total of 171 valid responses were received from participants during a four-week period. Results show that they experienced moderate levels of technology fatigue. No statistically significant differences in responses were found based on the two types of learning environments (campus-based and online). Small differences were found based on the participants’ gender. Respondents offered a variety of factors that contributed and mitigated their technology fatigue. Results are discussed within the context of the literature. Keywords: Faculty, Technology utilization, Change fatigue, Technology stress DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-18-02 Publication date: June 30th 2020

Developing a Shared Understanding of a Sense of Community in Large Classes

Over the past ten years, universities and other tertiary level institutions have seen a considerable increase in student enrolment. This has led to larger class sizes both in the lecture hall and tutorial classroom. Research has indicated that larger classes at the tertiary level have not only burdened teaching staff, but have also led to student disengagement in the lecture hall. Students, new to university life, have been found to be particularly unprepared for this type of learning environment. This project explores the shared understanding of how to create a sense of community in large class sizes within a School of Education. Three academics formed a partnership in an effort to share techniques that actively created a sense of community in lecture halls of over 200 students. This research is relevant not only in highlighting this problem, but in the sharing of recommendations and suggestions for large group teaching.

Dissecting the Flipped Classroom: Using a Randomized Controlled Trial Experiment to Determine When Student Learning Occurs

The use of the flipped classroom approach in higher education STEM courses has rapidly increased over the past decade, and it appears this type of learning environment will play an important role i...