Informal learning: A lived experience in a university musicianship class

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie O. Mok

This study investigates how a class of university music students who engaged in a ‘lived’ experience of informal learning adopted methods and strategies to complete a self-learning ‘aural copying’ performance assignment in a musicianship class in Hong Kong. Data were collected from observations of the performances and the students’ written reflections. The findings showed that they used the methods of intensive listening, using technology, and collaborative learning, as well as the strategies of putting their knowledge of music theory into practice, substitution of instruments, and learning a new instrument in order to emulate the sounds of various instruments. They found this an interesting task that gave them opportunities to improve their musicianship, and they became more sensitive to different voice parts.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8642
Author(s):  
Lucas Kohnke ◽  
Andrew Jarvis

COVID-19 and the shift to online teaching necessitated a change in approach for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers in preparing their students for university studies. This study explored how EAP instructors coped with and adapted their provision for emergency remote teaching. The study was conducted at an English-medium university in Hong Kong and a qualitative case study approach was adopted. The results revealed two overarching themes of opportunity and challenge. While the sudden shift to online teaching forced innovation and fostered collaborative learning and feedback, teachers experienced difficulties in communicating with students and monitoring their learning. The study voices teacher perspectives in delivering EAP courses online and highlights important implications for the successful delivery of future online EAP provisions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7675
Author(s):  
Radovan Madleňák ◽  
Stephen P. D’Alessandro ◽  
Agostino Marengo ◽  
Jenny Pange ◽  
György Iván Neszmélyi

Online courses are gaining popularity because they provide extensive and varied course material, information, knowledge, and skills, whilst also creating an effective educational online community. This research adopts a case study approach to focus on the teaching method and the manner in which a strategic commitment to eLearning provides scope for the development and implementation of top quality educational online fully accredited programs. Entrepreneurship focuses on developing businesses that add value and create wealth and prosperity in our societies. Therefore, entrepreneurship is a key area of learning for graduate students seeking to set up and operate their own SME organizations. It can serve as a benchmark for the teaching of other graduate subjects that require a sound correlation for the correlation of concepts and theories to the challenging complexities of the real world. The program was developed on the basis of the implementation of a state-of-the-art eLearning platform that allowed for a combination of varied self-learning and collaborative learning elements and activities within a single platform. This enabled students to access the online content material efficiently and effectively. It allows for the development of a program based on the flipped classroom teaching methodology. The underlying concept of the flipped classroom methodology is that effective eLearning should comprise both synchronous and asynchronous learning activities. This combination of self-learning and collaborative learning calls for careful planning by the tutor to ensure that the learning objectives are clearly defined for each activity and that the relevant deliverables are monitored. The content material for each subject course module was designed, developed, produced, and presented by the different project partners in a holistic manner structured to motivate participants to learn. The results of our analysis have shown that students were able to learn, discuss their projects, and cooperate during an online course in an effective and participant-focused manner with their tutors. The feedback given highlights the importance of ongoing communications between students and the tutors who often need to act as mentors to retain student engagement.


1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Chi Kin Lee ◽  
Rod Gerber

Author(s):  
Rosa Sanchidrian Pardo ◽  
Pilar Yubero Hermoso ◽  
Begoña Torrente Barredo

The main mission of this project is to improve the professional skills of first year students and to measure their motivation, focus on self-learning and professionalism. For that, the professor uses The TED methodology as a great tool to develop these essential competences and introduces the student as the protagonist of the self- learning process. The TED tool was created to disseminate scientific results of great researchers. It has now become a system of scientific and social dissemination, used to improve formal and informal learning. Also, one of the skills that Spanish people need to work on is their communication skills and these kinds of projects are based on the effective communication competences and others that increase the motivation of students to self-learn and ask about newly acquired knowledge. This educational innovation project tries to use these tools to improve the professional and academic skills and reinforce the human dimension of students and the factor to motivate them to study and learn. It has been evaluated and with the advice of a mentor (subject teacher). The project has been evaluated using a quantitative and qualitative method and the conclusions are interesting because the students recommend it and indicates that their has been an improvement on skills, motivation, values and knowledge.


Author(s):  
Kari K. Veblen

This article examines current research and practice in formal, nonformal, and informal learning for adult music students. In a formal setting, the teacher controls the materials, pacing, and interactions in a structured environment. Nonformal learning practices involve systematic and deliberate but less regulated pursuits that occur outside of educational structures. Informal practices comprise aspects of knowledge and skill acquisition that are largely experiential.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 172
Author(s):  
Fridolin Sze Thou Ting ◽  
Wai Hung Lam ◽  
Ronnie Homi Shroff

Research has demonstrated the positive impact of active learning on students’ learning outcomes, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, few studies have explored the impact of active learning via problem-based collaborative games in large mathematics classes in the context of Asian tertiary education. This study assesses the effects of active learning on students’ learning outcomes using class test scores and the calculus concept inventory (CCI) to test the conceptual understanding of the basic principles of differential calculus, in a first year calculus course in Hong Kong. Three hypotheses were tested to determine the effects of game-based collaborative learning on learning mathematics among students. Active learning through a problem-based collaborative learning methodology was employed, using Kahoot!, a game-based learning platform. Results supported all three hypotheses, demonstrating a statistically significant increase in students’ conceptual understanding and examination performance, based upon their individual perceptions of active engagement and time spent in active learning. Our results indicated that active learning “levels the playing field”, in the sense that students with less pre-requisite background knowledge, using a problem-based collaborative learning methodology, were relatively more inclined to catch up or even exceed the performance of students with a stronger prerequisite background knowledge, at the end of the course.


2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-458
Author(s):  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Moses M.W. Shek

Abstract Although collaborative learning has been widely researched in Western contexts, no study has been carried out to understand how associate degree students look at collaborative learning in Hong Kong. In this study, perceptions of and attitudes to collaborative learning among associate degree students were studied. A total of 44 associate degree students completed an online questionnaire including measures of perceived benefits and attitudes to collaborative learning, and social-emotional competence. Results showed that there were no significant differences between male and female students on perceived benefits of and attitudes towards collaborative learning. Social-emotional competence was related to perceived benefits of and attitudes to collaborative learning. Attitudes were also related to perceived benefits of collaborative learning. This paper is the first known study looking at the relationships among perceived benefits and attitudes to collaborative learning and social-emotional competence in Chinese associate degree students in different Chinese contexts.


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