Types Of Learning Environments Research Articles

Two types of learning environment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to first elaborate on the notion of a learning environment based on an empirical study of care work. Second, to explore how aspects of a learning environment may differ between and within units in the same organization, and how to understand and explain such differences.Design/methodology/approachThe study was based on a multiple case‐study design including four departments within two care units. Data were collected through direct observation of working conditions and work practices as well as semi‐structured interviews with all care‐workers within the two units (29 persons), and with the head and deputy head for each of the two units.FindingsIt was possible to distinguish between two qualitatively different patterns of working conditions and practices within the four teams. These patterns of practice were interpreted as representing an enabling and a constraining type of learning environment as these concepts were defined in this study. The evidence suggests that the emergence of an enabling learning environment was an outcome of a dynamic interplay between a number of factors that had the character of a virtuous circle.Originality/valueThe article adds to previous research through a distinction between two types of learning environment (enabling and constraining), and by linking these two types of learning environment to different conceptions of learning and to different working conditions and practices.

Creating the reasonable adventurer: the co‐evolution of student and learning environment

PurposeThis paper seeks to address the issue of how graduate skills are developed. The focus is not on which skills, but rather what type of learning environments are required within higher education to support the development of skills valued and demanded by SMEs within Australia.Design/methodology/approachThis paper takes a step back to consider the underlying issue of how an individual student's habits of thought are altered. In doing so, the past works of Morgan, Dewey, Whitehead, and Tyler are synthesized with the modern work of Baxter Magolda, Heath, and Biggs.FindingsIt is argued that that without the development of a student‐centred learning environment, most graduates will not develop the types of skills demanded by SMEs in a meaningful way. The failure to treat knowledge and skills as equal drivers of curriculum design will result in an imbalance that relegates skill development to a secondary learning outcome.Practical implicationsBy removing the distraction of what skills should be developed, a clearer focus is possible regarding how educators should assist students to develop a broad array of generic graduate skills. From this perspective, skills can be viewed as an essential element of the educational process, rather than a new element that must be squeezed in between content.Originality/valueThis paper extends recent discussion of skills development through the use of an evolutionary perspective. Viewed as a process of creating social change, education becomes increasingly connected to a world that lies beyond institutional boundaries, thus promoting the notion of developing graduates for the world that awaits them.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEARNING STYLES, LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS, AND STUDENT SUCCESS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Extension employees' learning styles and their performance in three different types of learning environments: traditional face-to-face instruction, minimally interactive online instruction, and highly interactive, multimedia-rich online instruction. Keith Golay's Learning Pattern Assessment and a ten-question post-test were used to gather data for this study. A 4 x 3 factorial ANOVA was used to test the data at the .10 level of significance. Results indicate that participants in the traditional face-to-face and the multimedia-rich, highly interactive online environment had statistically higher post-test scores than those participants in a minimally interactive online environment. Further, it was discovered that a participant's learning style had no statistically significant effect on their final post-test scores in any of the three instructional methods; and no significant interaction was found between the learning style and instructional method.

Learning opportunities to support student self-regulation: comparing different instructional formats

Background Secondary vocational schools are engaged in a process of innovation and improving their instructional formats to help students acquire the necessary skills in occupational settings. Teachers in vocational education are increasingly being required to offer instructional environments that stimulate students to organize their own learning and take responsibility for extending their knowledge and skills. Among these skills, self-regulated learning strategies have become basic for both school and work. Purpose In this study, we analysed learning environments for self-regulation in secondary vocational schools in The Netherlands. Student perceptions of learning environments were related to their motivation and learning strategies used for self-regulation. Sample Data for this study were collected based on a sample of 623 students participating in five differently arranged programmes of vocational education in The Netherlands. Design and methods Questionnaires were used and partly developed to measure student motivation, perceived teaching behaviour and use of self-regulation strategies. A categorization scheme to analyse learning environments was developed for the purpose of this study. Results Our findings indicate that some types of learning environments presently offered in secondary vocational schools do offer positive experiences for self-regulation of students. Positive relationships were found between students' motivation for learning and the strategies used for self-regulated learning. Conclusions Based on a categorization of design features of learning environments, we suggest some directions on how to create powerful learning environments in vocational schools.

Across the Curriculum with Handheld Computers

Using computer technology to support authentic learning activities produces effective learning environments when two situations occur-the teacher understands how technology tools can be used in delivering instruction and the students have access to the tools anywhere and anytime. The use of handheld computers in classrooms hints at the possibility of providing computer access for every student in classrooms across the country; and with teachers developing a repertoire of activities based on activity structures designed to deliver instruction that seamlessly integrates technology into a variety of learning situations, students everywhere can participate in learning environments that support interactive, creative, and learner-centered scholarship. This article describes the use of activity structures to seamlessly integrate handheld computers into instructional designs that promote these types of learning environments.

Monitoring online communication: can the development of convergence and social presence indicate an interactive learning environment?

More units of study are being offered flexibly, using distance education and online facilities, as a consequence of recent educational developments in higher education, with learner expectations of being able to study when they like and where they like, as well as increasing class enrolments and more students studying remotely or part‐time. However, the quality of the learning experience and the efficacy of placing learning activities that require student interaction and discourse in an online environment have been questioned. The concerns raised by educators regarding placing learning activities online are often about the types of learning environments that are being created and the tools available to support student communication in a virtual learning environment. Asynchronous computer‐mediated communication is one means of allowing students to communicate independently of time and place, and to communicate questions, opinions and queries when transferring interactive learning activities to an online environment. The use of threaded, online discussions that allow asynchronous communication has been criticised for not producing the perceived benefits for learners and educators. This paper assesses the use of asynchronous computer‐mediated communication and the degree of convergence and level of social presence as indicators of developing highly responsive and interactive learning environments in the context of an inquiry‐based learning activity, using a case study approach with problem solving and self‐directed research.

11. CROSSING FRONTIERS: NEW DIRECTIONS IN ONLINE PEDAGOGY AND RESEARCH

Research on networked language learning is now entering its second decade. While earlier research tended to focus on the linguistic and affective characteristics of computer-assisted discussion in single classrooms, more recent research has increasingly focused on long-distance collaboration. This type of learning environment is challenging to arrange, because it involves diverse learners who operate with different cultural backgrounds, communicative expectations, and rhetorical frameworks. These features, as well as the fact that the communication takes place both inside and outside of class and on students' own schedules, also pose special research challenges. This chapter summarizes what knowledge has been gained about learning and instruction in long-distance online exchanges, focusing on three key themes: (a) linguistic interaction and development, (b) intercultural awareness and learning, and (c) development of new multiliteracies and their relations to identity. In each area, research has indicated that there is no single effect of using online communication, but rather that processes and results vary widely depending on a range of logistical, pedagogical, and social factors.

Teachers' Attitudes Towards Mainstreaming and Their Pupils' Perceptions of Their Classroom Learning Environment

In spite of the widespread adoption of policies on mainstreaming, and more recently on inclusive education for children and young people with special educational needs, little is actually known about the relationship between what teachers think about such policies and the type of learning environments that they provide. In this study in New Zealand, a sample of regular primary school teachers (N= 63) were categorised according to ‘high’, ‘moderate’ or ‘low’ scores on a scale which measures their views on mainstreaming policies and practices. The pupils (N= 1729) of these teachers also completed a scale measuring perceptions of their classroom learning environments. Children taught by teachers who espoused highly positive attitudes towards mainstreaming were found to have significantly higher levels of classroom satisfaction and marginally lower levels of classroom friction than children taught by teachers with less positive attitudes. Implications of these findings are discussed for further research on the role of teacher attitudes in the successful inclusion of children and young people with special needs and for policies on the implementation of effective inclusive practice.

Recognition of tacit skills and knowledge

The part played by tacit skills and knowledge in work performance is well recognised but not well understood. These implicit or hidden dimensions of knowledge and skill are key elements of “mastery”, which experienced workers draw upon in everyday activities and continuously expand in tackling new or unexpected situations. This paper, based on the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Network on Workplace Learning, argues that it is important to understand better how tacit forms of key competences can contribute to sustaining learning outcomes in different types of learning environments.

Being a Student on a Part-time Early Years Degree

This paper offers a critical examination of the student experience of a new part-time degree in Early Childhood Studies. The current Scottish Executive emphasis on encouraging lifelong learning through improved access, extended participation and the provision of opportunities for progression has created a climate where studying part-time while continuing to work is receiving active government support. The degree examined in this paper offers Early Years staff the opportunity to continue their personal development as they work and it fits well with the increasing recognition of the need for a more valued and qualified workforce in Early Years. Data on student experiences was collected at the end of the first calendar year of the course through structured student evaluation of the modules delivered and through student responses to a 'Support for Learning Agenda'. The agenda was used twice during the year to encourage reflective comment about ongoing participation in the course and also as the basis for discussion with a personal tutor. Results from the two sets of data highlighted the complexity of balancing work, personal and study commitments in part-time study. The issues which emerged for discussion and further investigation included expectations of the learning environment, the difficulties of making transitions from one type of learning environment to another and a number of issues related to combining study and work. The paper concludes by considering the implications for policy and practice.

Creating an organizational space for learning

Individual and group development is an essential element of achieving competitive advantage through people. The building and transfer of knowledge is widely discussed in the literature with respect to explicit knowledge, and some authors have gone on to address environments for learning and even building tacit knowledge. Separately, complexity theory suggests a process of self‐organization and adaptation that, in some respects, parallels an environment of learning. Extensive interaction, learning by doing, and experimenting seem to be not only the foundation for individual development, but also a fundamental part of the natural adaptive process for organizations as complex adaptive systems. One problem noted, however, is that the current literature has done little to highlight the parallels between individual development and complex adaptive organizational systems. Drawing on the apparent similarities in these processes, describes self‐organizing activities and the natural emergence of new systems as a model for a new type of learning environment. Explores the idea of facilitating self‐organizing learning activities in a separate organizational space within existing organizations, and outlines the theoretical elements for making such a space successful.

New Tools in Social Practice: Learning, Medical Education and 3D Environments

Learning with different kinds of ICT-based tools is an important issue in today's society. In this article we focus on how design of technology rich environments based on state of the art learning principles can give us new insights about how learning occur, and how we can develop new types of learning environments. Medical education constitutes the subject domain. There has been a considerable effort to develop 3D technologies in this field, and the article provides a careful review of how these technologies are applied. There is, however, a substantial gap between these advances and the use of technologies in medical education. Related work proposes individualistic assumptions or metaphors that do not focus explicitly on learning and technology mediation. Based on theoretical analysis of previous literature in the field we argue that there is a need for a new unit of analysis that includes the relationship between individual and collective activity and the role of technology herein. The socio-cultural and especially activity theory is taken as the perspective which gives the possibility to develop the argumentation about the unit of analysis. The unit of analysis also has implications for design of 3D environments. The design principles are elaborated upon and examples are given in relation to an application called Matador (Medical Advanced Training in an Artificial Distributed Environment). Matador is aimed at developing a simulation environment for training in emergency medicine.

Supporting Critical Thinking in Interactive Learning Environments

Summary The aim of this paper is to investigate the utilization of critical thinking in different applications and in different types of learning environments. The art of analytical reading includes the same skills as those involved in the art of problem solving and communicating. These skills are essential to the process of filtering, assimilating, and finding new meaning in the torrents of information faced daily. Described are a problem-solving environment and Web communication systems, with the suggestion that the Web tools have not yet come up to faculty expectations for teaching and learning.

Changing States of Matter: Science, Education, and Giftedness in 21st Century High Schools

Introduction I grew with a saying whose origin I do not know: If you hold on to something too tightly, it dies. Current education stills holds tightly to what are, or will soon be, outdated priorities. Such a system will flounder, delivering ineffective products, until it either collapses or reinvents itself. Society must loosen its grip on traditional education so we can avoid driving the last breath out of a system that would be easier to revise than resurrect. Gifted education can and should be a natural outgrowth of general education when that general education is centered on flexible curricula and is characterized by diverse opportunities designed to develop students' potentials. When teachers act as partners in learning and when teachers have the foresight to infuse the facts and details required by a specific curriculum (district, state, national) into the type of learning environment I present below, general education--and gifted education in particular--will flourish. Of special importance, giftedness can be maximally attended to and nurtured among all cultures and socioeconomic levels. As energy is added to a physical system, molecules move from solid, to liquid, to gas phases. It is time for high school education to transition from its current, rather rigid state (what I will call the solid state) to a liquid state. Increased flexibility, individual opportunity, and freedom characterize a liquid state. A liquid education approach offers a dynamic environment that enables gifts and talents to effervesce in unexpected ways at individually appropriate times (Renzulli, 1986). When particularly high levels of energy are infused, some molecules in the liquid phase enter the gas phase. This metaphoric gaseous state--representing gifted education-is exemplified by maxi mal energy, freedom, and flexibility; it bubbles up out of an energy-rich liquid state. The Social Context Social movements have an effect on scientific research (Subornik, 1988). As early as the 1970s, scientists noted insufficient study of the complexities of scientific and societal interactions (Mitroff, 1974, as cited in Subotnik, 1988). Four years ago, more than 90% of societal issues were rooted in science and technology (Yager, 1996), and this estimate is only likely to increase. Technology has been, and will remain, a catalyst for unprecedented, rapid development. Technology has made neighbors of distant lands, provided access to cultural caches, and enabled direct interaction with peoples diverse in countless ways. With access, however, comes increased responsibility; In other words, the world is getting smaller as personal access and responsibility grow. This inverse relationship has myriad impacts on society (see Figure 1). Interdisciplinary learning is imperative to the development of the thinking and work skills needed for success in a world confronted with such complex and intricately connected chan ges. Because of our projected dependence on scientific literacy (Dye, 2000), developing a populace that can be scientifically literate in all aspects of life is one of the most critical challenges facing education. With so many future political, social, industrial/business, and ethical issues rooted in science, it is imperative that tomorrow's leaders are familiar with current scientific issues and problem-solving approaches that will help them make optimal decisions. Every student needs to understand and be able to incorporate scientific processes (research, data collecting, evaluating) in every learning experience. Developing scientific learners is difficult in a solid-state education system; exclusive pursuit of learning in the narrow confines of the disciplines is limiting. In a liquid system, however, students are free to incorporate environmental science, bioethics, or physics into learning projects rooted in history, mathematics, business, or literature. Changes in General High School Education: Solid to Liquid Education should optimally address the needs and values of the culture in which it exists (Gardner, 1999). …

Learning as Acquisition and Learning as Interaction

System Dynamics (SD) is an experimental, quantitative approach for designing structures of social systems and policies that are compatible with a social system’s growth and stability objectives. The experimental model approach for the design of large scale systems is the key for learning about human organizations. Before elaborating on the types of learning environments that can be designed on the basis of SD models, this article presents a social systems theory, distinguishing classical and autopoietic systems theory. Two generic models are presented, which reflect both theoretical points of view and constitute different types of learning environments. The author summarizes epistemological views on learning and growth of knowledge in the context of learning as acquisition and learning as interaction. Subsequently, by building on the actor approach of social systems, learners are embedded in learning environments. They should learn to deal with the duality of structure of social systems, that is, learn to produce and self-reproduce structures as a context for action. Finally, these views are linked to three simulation modes and to participative design of learning environments.

Do we face a fourth paradigm shift in medicine--algorithms in education?

Medicine has evolved toward rationalization since the Enlightenment, favouring quantitative measures. Now, a paradigm shift toward control through formalization can be observed in health care whose structures and processes are subjected to increasing standardization. However, educational reforms and curricula do not yet adequately respond to this shift. The aim of this article is to describe innovative approaches in medical education for adapting to these changes. The study design is a descriptive case report relying on a literature review and on a reform project's evaluation. Concept mapping is used to graphically represent relationships among concepts, i.e. defined terms from educational literature. Definitions of 'concept map', 'guideline' and 'algorithm' are presented. A prototypical algorithm for organizational decision making in the project's instructional design is shown. Evaluation results of intrinsic learning motivation are demonstrated: intrinsic learning motivation depends upon students' perception of their competence exhibiting path coefficients varying from 0.42 to 0.51. Perception of competence varies with the type of learning environment. An innovative educational format, called 'evidence-based learning (EBL)' is deduced from these findings and described here. Effects of formalization consist of structuring decision making about implementation of different learning environments or about minimizing variance in teaching or learning. Unintended effects of formalization such as implementation problems and bureaucracy are discussed. Formalized tools for designing medical education are available. Specific instructional designs influence students' learning motivation. Concept maps are suitable for controlling educational quality, thus enabling the paradigm shift in medical education.

Communication Skills in New Teaching Methodologies

SUMMARYThis chapter discusses the importance of communication in innovative teaching strategies. Three general types of learning environments are discussed: interpersonal communication (one-to-one interactions), small group processes, and group presentations. Faculty and students must use effective communication skills in a variety of learning experiences including instruction, advising, and mentoring. The theoretical frameworks are discussed, as well as practical suggestions to enhance learning in new environments.

Progressive, classical or balanced— A look at mathematical learning environments in Swiss-German lower-secondary schools

In a national supplement to TIMSS, lower-secondary school teachers (N=102) and their students (N=975) reported on mathematics instruction by means of a teacher questionnaire (teaching-learning methods, instructional sub-goals, facilitated student activities, achievement assessment, teacher role) and a student questionnaire (teachers' instructional proficiency, classroom climate). A cluster analysis performed on the ratings of teaching-learning methods yielded a solution with three clusters referred to as progressive, classical, and balanced learning environment. Cluster-related differences in facilitated student activities, achievement evaluation and preferred teacher role were found but not in instructional sub-goals. Students from different learning environments equally approved teachers' instructional proficiency and classroom climate and also had similar TIMSS mathematics scores. The results of this study provide empirical evidence that in addition to classical teacher-centered learning environments there seem to exist more diversified and studentcentered learning environments that address the needs for students to direct their own learning, communicate and work with others, and develop ways of dealing with complex problems. In line with the research literature it was also found that high mathematics achievement is not restricted to a certain type of learning environment.

Volition: Use with measure

In this commentary, we applaud the elaboration of volition research in the direction of motivational and emotional regulation. However, we also warn for an overly positive image of volitional strategies in educational literature. First, we plead in favor of the construction of a widely acceptable instrument that is needed to enhance comparability between empirical data. However, it must be kept in mind that scores on this instrument provide convenient redescriptions of volitional behavior rather than an explanation for this behavior. Further, we argue that a lack of volition need not necessarily reflect maladaptive study strategies. Some types of students may not need volitional strategies very often. Moreover, chronic use of volitional strategies may have negative consequences. We also argue in favor of a more interactional approach, because not all volitional strategies may be equally adaptive for all types of students in all types of learning environments. Further, we point out that volition is not only needed to persist on difficult or unattractive activities but also to quit easygoing activities. Finally, we argue that enhancing volitional skills in students should not lead to unintentional consolidation of some types of existing evaluation methods.

The University as Learning Community

Organizations are increasingly faced with the need to "reinvent" themselves as they adapt to a changing society. In this article, the university is examined as one such organization. Faced with enormous pressures to educate an increasingly diverse group of students, equip them with skills for the global marketplace, and prepare them to be responsible citizens, the university must become a more responsive institution that can respond effectively to these challenges. Various perspectives on how the university can become a “learning organization” are discussed. Central to the discussion is the need to change the university culture in ways that encourage and nurture more interdisciplinary programs and problem-focused teams that address the needs of communities. It is suggested that culture change is also necessary to encourage the development of new types of learning environments that nurture the spirit and the mind. Future business organizations are then compared with the university. A key issue that needs to be considered is how universities can better prepare students for the work settings of tomorrow. It is suggested that such preparation requires environments that help students adapt to change and encourage them to become lifelong learners.