scholarly journals Comparative Evaluation of Sustainable Framework in STEM Intensive Programs for Secondary and Tertiary Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 978
Author(s):  
Mihaela-Elena Ulmeanu ◽  
Cristian-Vasile Doicin ◽  
Paulina Spânu

Sustainability of learning environments is a key pillar of all societal development frameworks. A variety of research address the development of education as a fine balanced relation between flexibility, adaptability, innovation, and efficient resource allocation. The main limitation of current approaches is the lack of correlation between various efficiency analyses and budget expenditure of learning environments. The current research aims at undertaking a comparative evaluation of a sustainable framework in STEM intensive programs for secondary and tertiary education. This was done using several established methods like the Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle for the development main framework, the Analytic Hierarchy Process for efficiency evaluation and Value Analysis for budget expenditure allocations and improvement identification. The main framework is based on learning objectives defined in accordance with Blooms’ revised taxonomy and student feedback was collected through surveys and group feedback. The main results of the study show that the framework had overall efficiencies over the 80% threshold in both secondary and tertiary education, whilst some of the components scored under 65%, identifying immediate improvement features. Further research involves the transition to an online and mixed teaching environment, by adapting the content and framework structure with the aid of smart learning environments.

Author(s):  
Lana Hiasat ◽  
Anthony John Pollitt

Smart learning environments for the Emirati learners are defined as a combination of blended learning and experiential learning approaches to create joyful educational environments. The current case study is an investigation into what generation Y of Emirati learners in one of the largest tertiary educational institutions in the United Arab Emirates consider joyful learning. The case study was based on mixed method surveys of educators and students. The case study investigation resulted in four important recommendations for creating smart learning environments where context and situated learning are essential considerations for mindful teaching and learning.


Author(s):  
Angeliki Leonardou ◽  
Maria Rigou ◽  
John D. Garofalakis

Smart learning environments (SLEs), like all adaptive learning systems, are built around the learner model and use it to support a variety of interventions such as mastery learning, scaffolding, adaptive sequencing, and adaptive navigation support. Open learner models (OLMs) “expose” the learner data to users through easily perceivable visual representations aiming to improve student self-reflection and self-regulated learning and also increase user motivation and even foster collaboration. This chapter presents the evolution and current state of OLMs, summarizes related research in the field emphasizing on OLM types, locus of control between the system and the user and visualizations categorized on the basis of quantized/continuous and structured/unstructured representations. OLM cases implementing typical SLEs features are described, along with representative real-life scenarios of incorporating OLMs in SLEs. Moreover, the chapter provides guidelines for designing effective OLMs and discusses current research trends in this active scientific field.


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