KONSTRUKTIVISTIČKI PRISTUP UČENJU DECE PREDŠKOLSKOG UZRASTA

Constructivism, as a theory about learning and knowledge, is the subject of a large number of both theoretical and empirical researches. Views on the values of constructivism range from advocacy to refutation. What is characteristic of modern educational policy is the focus on productivity, activity and knowledge that will be applicable in real life circumstances. The basic idea of constructivism is based on these assumptions. In this paper, we deal with the question of why this approach is extremely important in early childhood. The preschool period is one of the most sensitive periods in development. It is characterized by numerous regularities and specifics, which should be followed within every program intended for the upbringing and education of children in the preschool period. Preschool children are characterized by curiosity, desire to learn, activity but also short-term maintenance of intentional attention, rapid fatigue and loss of interest in things that are familiar to them. Therefore, the constructivist approach in this period is very suitable, because it does not insist on imposing certain knowledge, but suggests an activity based on interests. The modern preschool institution has the task of providing children with a favorable social and material environment that will encourage development through activity and gaining experience and thus support the realization of their potential. Keywords: constructivism, preschool education, active learning.

Exploring the use of a writing-to-learn activity embedded with multiple modes using ‘Popplet’ on pre-university students’ alternative conceptions on transition metals

A study of transition metals includes studying the physical and chemical properties of first-row d block metals in the Periodic Table. The curriculum on transition metals emphasizes learning the physical and chemical properties and is a lecture-based strategy that is predominately employed by teachers to transfer the knowledge on properties of the metals. As the teacher-centred strategy is unable to promote conceptual change, students frequently retain incorrect alternative conceptions about the metals. Literature indicates that multiple modes of representation embedded within the writing to learn activity facilitated learning and improved understanding of several scientific concepts. Literature also indicates that using a digital platform to create the writing encourages embedding of multiple modes. Modes such as diagrams, chemical equations, graphs, chemical formulae, and tables are often employed to illustrate the properties of transition metals. Hence, in this study, an attempt was made to encourage embedding modes commonly associated with transition metals into a writing-to-learn activity using the ‘Popplet’ application communicating the information on the properties of metals to their peers. The study explored the effect of embedding multiple modes of representation within a writing-to-learn activity using ‘Popplet’ in reducing the alternative conceptions on transition metals. For this purpose, 81 pre-university students responded to a diagnostic test administered as a pre-test before the writing-to-learn activity and post-test after the activity. From the pre-test, the alternative conceptions held by the students were identified. The post-test results showed a smaller number of students with the alternative conceptions identified in the pre-test. The paired sample t-test shows that the difference between the pre and post-test means is significant. The qualitative interview responses provided insights into how embedding the modes within the writing activity using ‘Popplet’ reduces the alternative conceptions. The findings of the study inform the teachers of an alternative student-centred approach to teaching the lessons on transition metals. This study introduces multiple modes of representation embedded within a writing-to-learn activity using ‘Popplet’ as an approach that promotes conceptual change.

Capturing student conceptions of thermodynamics and kinetics using writing

Thermodynamics and kinetics are key topics in the chemistry curriculum that pose challenges to students across a range of educational levels. These struggles arise from the complexity and mixed representations inherent to the topics. Additionally, while thermodynamics and kinetics are related, students struggle to make conceptually correct connections, sometimes seeing them as two separate topics with no relation and other times conflating their meanings and explanatory powers. Herein we captured student conceptions about thermodynamics and kinetics through a Writing-to-Learn activity that utilized peer review and revision to engage students with the concepts by applying them to a real-world context. This study identified whether students focused on the concepts targeted by the assignment and characterized the chemistry content of the peer review feedback. Students’ descriptions of thermodynamics and kinetics content, as well as the relationship between the two and how they connect to the application given in the assignment, improved during the process and suggests that peer review and revision played an important role in supporting students to describe these concepts. When guided by a content-focused peer review rubric, students provided constructive chemistry content-directed feedback. Specifically, analysis of student writing and comments demonstrated the potential of the assignment to engage students in building connections between complexly related topics, including distinguishing between sponteneity and rate and appropriately relating activation energy and rate. Findings from this study suggest that writing can be used to elicit student-specific conceptions of physical chemistry topics and develop students’ explanatory skills of chemistry content even without direct instructor feedback.

SELF-SUFFICIENCY OPTIMIZATION OF STUDENTS LEARNING THROUGH MODULE

<em>Students are unique individual. Primary students are individuals who have stages develope concrete operasional. They have conditional of study what on help understanding learning material. According to obvious until will creating procces of study purpose for participants of students and will impact for reached competences will expect. Additionally, other things what needed interest are learning independent. Learning independent is a learn attitude what not depend to ones, include to teacher for continue. Existence learning independent in students will appearence in active attitude to follow learn activity. Learning independent is depend to create and accustom early. A learning competence and independent in students will reached if teacher can created learn condition to approriote. One of them is arrange module material. Module is a complete unit what consist on structure learn activity what will arrange for help they for reached a number of purpose what will formula according to special and clear.</em>

Student learning in the workplace

Purpose This paper aims to outline a proof of concept for a framework to support students in reflecting on and in articulating their disciplinary, contextual and professional learning in the workplace. The purpose of the framework was to help students to recognize and articulate their transferable employability skills in preparation for the workplace or further studies upon graduation. Design/methodology/approach Researchers developed a Learning Evaluation and Reflection Narrative (LEARN) activity to facilitate real-world articulation of workplace learning. A group of work placement students completed pre- and post-work surveys, prompting reflection on their learning goals and behaviors. The Transferable Learning Orientation Survey comprised five constructs: goal orientation, learning belief, self-efficacy, transfer (deep learning) and organization. Subsequently, they completed a written reflection and a mock interview scenario, where they verbally articulated their abilities and the applicability of their skills. Results of thematic analysis are presented. Findings Survey results demonstrated changes in students’ orientation toward learning. Additionally, students were able to deliver sophisticated responses through engagement in the LEARN framework, articulating recognition and self-awareness of their personal and professional learning, as well as relevance of their learning within and beyond their workplace setting. Research limitations/implications The sample is small, and the authors therefore recommend further work to evaluate the effectiveness and practicality of the LEARN framework in larger cohorts and in alternate work environments. Social implications The responses suggest the LEARN framework are worthy of further investigation as a tool for students to articulate lifelong learning skills and behaviors, as it offers an opportunity for students to engage in reflective, deep learning. Originality/value This research builds on existing studies on the evaluation of lifelong learning, adapting a framework and testing its implementation in the workplace setting.

Learning and Planning Based on Merged Experience from Multiple Situations for a Service Robot

For a service robot, learning appropriate behaviours to acquire task knowledge and deliberation in various situations is essential, but the existing methods do not support merging the plan-based activity experiences from multiple situations in the same task. In this paper, an abstract method is introduced to integrate the empirical activity schemas of multiple situations, and a novel algorithm is presented to learn activity schema with abstract methods. Furthermore, a novel planner called the schema-based optimized planner (SBOP) is developed based on the learned activity schema, in which actions merging optimization and partially backtracking techniques are adopted. A simulation with a PR2 robot and a physical experiment is conducted to validate the proposed method. The results show that the robot can generate a plan to recover from failure automatically using the novel learning and planning method, given that the experienced exception has been merged in the activity schema. Owing to the improved autonomy, the proposed SBOP exhibits increased efficiency in dealing with tasks containing loops and multiple activity schema instances. This research presents a novel solution of how to merge activity experiences from multiple situations and generate an intelligent and efficient plan that could adapt to a dynamically changing environment.

Flipped Classroom Activity Using the PTA Model in an Introductory Sociology Course

This scaffolded writing-to-learn activity incorporates a number of Writing Across the Curriculum-based suggestions that draw upon the strengths of student reflection, the PTA (prioritization, translation, and analogization) model of concentric thinking, and the benefits of a flipped-classroom approach to learning. Thus, the purpose of this article is to explain what one model for structuring a flipped classroom that purposefully integrates writing in the PTA model looks like and to provide a concrete example of a flipped-classroom activity that I have utilized in numerous introductory sociology courses.

Learning Patterns of Motion Trajectories Using Real-Time Tracking

The understanding and description of behaviors for road vehicles is a hot topic of intelligent visual surveillance system. Trajectory analysis is one of the basic problems in behavior understanding, from which anomalies can be detected and also accidents can be predicted. In this paper, we proposed a hierarchical self-organizing neural network model to learn trajectory distribution pattern and a probability model for accident recognition. Sample data including motion trajectories are first get by real-time vehicle tracking. The self-organizing neural network algorithm is then applied to learn activity patterns from the sample trajectories. Using the learned patterns, we consider anomaly detection as well as object behavior prediction. Experiments in actual road scene show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.