Learning in Context and Practicing in Place: Engaging Preservice Teachers in Urban-Focused Context Specific Teacher Education

Teacher education programs are increasingly taking up commitments to prepare new teachers for equitable teaching. Despite best intentions, programs feel challenged to help candidates translate these commitments into classroom practice. Using a context-specific teacher education framework, we conducted a mixed-methods study of seven urban-focused programs to understand how they targeted preparation for urban contexts. We found that while programs offer multiple opportunities to learn about content embedded in context, fewer opportunities exist for candidates to practice in context, and that faculty play a critical bridging role in designing practice opportunities that are informed by program vision.

Universal Design for Learning and Active Blended Learning

This chapter examines active blended learning and universal design for learning in context within the lived professional experience of the author. The tension between both of these approaches to teaching and learning is first analyzed and explored through a series of vignettes. In the second stage, an analysis is carried out to identify ways in which the tension between both paradigms can be resolved by practitioners in higher education. The final stage of the chapter conceptualizes this empirical reflection and offers a model that can be used in professional development activities with faculty to guide them seamlessly as they attempt to reconcile these 21st century imperatives of teaching and learning in one progressive, cohesive, and coherent discourse.

The Association Between Parent Participation in School Management and Student Achievement in Eight Countries and Economies

Parent participation in school management has been promoted as a strategy for holding schools accountable for education quality and outcomes. However, the evidence has proven inconclusive and limited in explaining mechanisms to affect student achievement. By using public school student data derived from the Programme for International Student Assessment 2015, this study examines how 1) participation of a student’s own parents in school management, which would affect their learning support at home and 2) participation of a group of parents, which would influence school decisions and thus affect the learning environment at school, are associated with student achievement in Croatia, Georgia, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Korea, Hong Kong, and Macao. I found no evidence that parent participation in school management contributed to improving student achievement. Instead, depending on the country, a negative association is derived from either individual-level or school-level parent participation. The associations are not moderated by parents’ socioeconomic status but by school’s openness to parental engagement in some of the countries, indicating that what matters might not be participation per se but the degree of engagement. The findings underscore the importance of understanding mechanisms and conditions in which parent participation affects student learning in context to design effective participatory school governance.

‘ON MONDAY AFTERNOONS WE GO TO DISCOVER THE WORLD!’: UNDERSTANDING A TRADITIONAL ITALIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL’S ADAPTATION TO A STUDENT-DRIVEN APPROACH TO LEARNING / IL LUNEDÌ POMERIGGIO ANDIAMO A SCOPRIRE IL MONDO: MODIFICAZIONI NELL’APPROCCIO SCOLASTICO TRADIZIONALE A FAVORE DI PERCORSI D’APPRENDIMENTO GUIDATI DAGLI ALUNNI IN UNA SCUOLA PRIMARIA ITALIANA

Across the globe, increasing attention is being paid to curricular learning outside the classroom. While there is no Italian national outdoor learning policy, there is a growing wave of lecturers, teachers, schools, environmental education centres, who are developing this field. This paper examines one rural primary school’s attempts to incorporate learning outside the classroom into their rather conventional teaching practices. Michael Fullan’s seven premises of ‘change knowledge’ are employed to lend a deeper interrogation of the findings. Since the boundaries of inquiry were so clear, in terms of context, space-time, and people, a case study design was used. Data generation featured two principal methods and took place over a six-year period. First, there were open-ended interviews with each of the two principal educators; two focus group interviews with the entire staff team; and large focus groups with senior pupils. Field notes from participant observation and informal conversations were also used. The findings highlighted the importance of alliances between teachers, parents, and the wider community; the need for pupils to have the power to shape what is being learned; and the value of having pupil groups with different ages and abilities. The teachers stressed how crucial it was for pupils to learn how to critically refine the questions they were asking about their ‘places’. Further analysis of the data showed that Fullan’s premises of motivation and commitment, learning in context, capacity building, and persistence and flexibility were especially present. A livello globale, si registra un crescente interesse nello sviluppare il curriculum scolastico all’aperto. In Italia, pur non essendoci un diretto interesse da parte di organizzazioni centrali, si assiste comunque ad un’ondata di docenti, insegnanti, scuole, centri di educazione ambientale, che stanno vieppiù sviluppando questo settore. Il presente lavoro esamina gli sforzi di una scuola elementare rurale, al fine d’inserire l'apprendimento all’aperto nelle proprie pratiche didattiche, generalmente piuttosto convenzionali. Le sette premesse di Michael Fullan per "cambiare la conoscenza" sono state utilizzate per riflettere a fondo sui risultati ottenuti. Poiché i confini dell’indagine qui sviluppata erano molto chiari in termini di contesto spazio-temporale e personale, è stato adottato l’approccio dello “studio di caso”. I dati sono stati raccolti nell'arco di sei anni, attraverso due metodi principali. In primo luogo, si sono utilizzate interviste approfondite con ciascuno dei due insegnanti principali della scuola; due incontri di focus group con l'intero corpo insegnante; e focus group allargati a tutti gli alunni. Inoltre, sono state raccolte numerose note di campo provenienti sia dall'osservazione dei partecipanti, sia da conversazioni informali. In generale, i risultati hanno evidenziato l'importanza dell’alleanza tra insegnanti, genitori e con la comunità locale; la necessità che gli alunni abbiano la possibilità di essere coinvolti nella definizione dei contenuti d’apprendimento; il valore dei gruppi d’alunni con età e capacità diverse. Gli insegnanti hanno sottolineato quanto sia cruciale che gli alunni imparino ad affinare criticamente le domande che si ponevano sui loro "luoghi". Un'ulteriore analisi dei dati ha mostrato che le premesse di Fullan su motivazione, impegno, apprendimento nel contesto, sviluppo delle capacità, continuità e flessibilità, siano particolarmente presenti. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0720/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Examining the Design of Microlearning for Korean Adult Learners

Considering the increasing demand for microlearning in informal learning spaces, the main purpose of this research is to examine the design of microlearning perceived by adult learners and experts in Korea. The research questions include: (1) what modality and content length do adult learners perceive to be relevant for microlearning? (2) what content areas do adult learners perceive to be relevant for microlearning? and (3) what are the expected impacts and future directions of microlearning perceived by the experts? The participants include 11 e-learning experts and 326 adult learners working in the fields of science and technology. Data were collected from the learner survey, focus group interview, and expert survey. Overall, this study found that adult learners tend to have some conflicting opinions about the content areas perceived to be relevant for e-learning and microlearning. The design of content that takes the modality of video consumed within 3-5 minutes was considered to be the most relevant for microlearning. Experts perceived that microlearning is an efficient and effective direction for adult learners to enhance professional knowledge and to broaden informal learning opportunities. However, the experts were less positive about the potential of microlearning for increasing convergence research and learning transfer. There was a considerable gap between desirability and feasibility in the directions toward integrating microlearning with advanced technologies. Based on the key findings, we discuss some implications concerning the design of microlearning for adult learners’ informal learning. Cite as So, H-J., Lee, H., Roh, S-Z. (2020) Examining the Design of Microlearning for Korean Adult Learners. Computer-Based Learning in Context, 2(1), 40-53. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4057859

Advancements in Deep Learning Theory and Applications: Perspective in 2020 and beyond

The aim of this chapter is to introduce newcomers to deep learning, deep learning platforms, algorithms, applications, and open-source datasets. This chapter will give you a broad overview of the term deep learning, in context to deep learning machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also introduced. In Introduction, there is a brief overview of the research achievements of deep learning. After Introduction, a brief history of deep learning has been also discussed. The history started from a famous scientist called Allen Turing (1951) to 2020. In the start of a chapter after Introduction, there are some commonly used terminologies, which are used in deep learning. The main focus is on the most recent applications, the most commonly used algorithms, modern platforms, and relevant open-source databases or datasets available online. While discussing the most recent applications and platforms of deep learning, their scope in future is also discussed. Future research directions are discussed in applications and platforms. The natural language processing and auto-pilot vehicles were considered the state-of-the-art application, and these applications still need a good portion of further research. Any reader from undergraduate and postgraduate students, data scientist, and researchers would be benefitted from this.

Learning in Context: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach to Analyze Knowledge Acquisition at Trade Fairs

Conceptualizations of trade fairs as temporary clusters have identified important learning processes at such events, particularly at leading international trade fairs – both in developed and developing countries. However, little attention has been paid to the home contexts of participating firms that may affect knowledge acquisition patterns. In particular, it is unclear which contextual factors may influence learning behavior. This paper aims to investigate the role of geographical context conditions at the exhibitors’ permanent locations and whether their knowledge acquisition behavior during trade fairs varies systematically with aspects, such as city scale, peripherality, growth dynamics and connectivity. Our analysis is based on a survey of 211 firms conducted between 2014 and 2018 at the China International Industry Fair (CIIF) in Shanghai – one of Asia’s most important manufacturing fairs. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), the study identifies significant pathways of knowledge acquisition and how these differ with geographical context.

Culture in Computer-Based Learning Systems: Challenges and Opportunities

Computer-based learning technologies are now being used worldwide, but are mostly researched in a small number of countries and contexts. Increasing research suggests that modifications are needed to make computer-based learning responsive for all students worldwide. In this article for the inaugural special issue of Computer-Based Learning in Context, we discuss the virtues and limitations of existing theoretical paradigms of culture and context, relevant to computer-based learning. We note cases where existing approaches are successful, while listing some key phenomena in computer-based learning that fail to be explained by current approaches. We close by unpacking some open questions that limit our ability to make progress on such systems and suggesting some of the attributes of useful next-generation theory on culture and context in computer-based learning. In particular, we discuss possible steps forward that can be used to better operationalize culture and make theory on culture and context more concrete and actionable. Published as Baker, R.S., Ogan, A.E., Madaio, M., Walker, E. (2019) Culture in Computer-Based Learning Systems: Challenges and Opportunities. Computer-Based Learning in Context, 1(1), 1-13.