Using the International Negotiation Modules Project (INMP) to Build a Learning Community

This chapter profiles a program that uses online simulation to internationalize the community college curriculum. For the past two decades the International Negotiation Modules Project (INMP) has had a particular effect on the construction of knowledge for community college students who often need non-traditional approaches to learning for their success. Through active learning and collaborative work on cross-disciplinary concepts, the simulation enhances overall student comprehension. In the process, the INMP helps to build a cohesive learning community that begins with student teams, continues with classroom learning, and transcends to multi-college classroom dialogue. This chapter explores how unique interactions inherent in INMP reinforce student engagement that, in turn, enhances overall student success.

Knowledge Creation and Student Engagement Within 3D Virtual Worlds

Examined in this 3D Virtual World case study was undergraduate student engagement on a learning task and student creation of knowledge. After creating a 3D didactic constructivist virtual world, student conversations were recorded for analysis using Hara, Bonk, and Angeli's (2000) engagement framework and Nonaka and Takeuchi's (1995) knowledge creation theory. The five forms of student engagement augmented the learning process and a complete knowledge spiral was documented, emphasizing the use of the four modes of knowledge conversion. Though limited in time and scope, results further suggest that a highly engaged community of learners was created.

The Importance of a Collaboratory

Researchers have identified active collaborative learning and membership in learning communities as factors that facilitate the engagement of learners. In the reported student engagement study, a commercially available software utility was used to establish such an environment in a computer laboratory. This chapter addresses the following issues: will collaborative learning result in more student engagement and what type of software will support such activity? The collected data includes anonymous survey responses, mean marks for assessable components, and tutorial attendance figures for 2011 (pre-intervention) and 2012 (post-intervention) and 2013 (modified content with post-intervention style delivery). Freeform responses in the anonymous student survey were positive towards the experience. In 2012 with respect to those of 2011, mean assignment and tutorial participation marks for the students improved, while those for other assessable components appeared to have worsened. Student engagement, as reflected in tutorial attendance and assignment marks, were better in 2012. In 2013, the study was repeated with the focus of the tutorials changed to group problem solving with the tutorial participation reflecting student contributions during such sessions. The mean marks for the exam, the laboratory participation and for the course improved over those for 2012 and 2011, respectively. The other means slightly improved over those for 2011 but were slightly worse for those for 2012.

Affect Recognition for Web 2.0 Intelligent E-Tutoring Systems

This chapter describes how a machine vision approach could be utilized for tracking learning feedback information on emotions for enhanced teaching and learning with Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS). The chapter focuses on analyzing learners' emotions to show how affective states account for personalization or traceability for learning feedback. The chapter achieves this goal in three ways: (1) by presenting a comprehensive review of adaptive educational learning systems, particularly inspired by machine vision approaches; (2) by proposing an affective model for monitoring learners' emotions and engagement with educational learning systems; (3) by presenting a case-based technique as an experimental prototype for the proposed affective model, where students' facial expressions are tracked in the course of studying a composite video lecture. Results of the experiments indicate the superiority of such emotion-aware systems over emotion-unaware ones, achieving a significant performance increment of 71.4%.

Reconceptualizing Learning Designs in Higher Education

This goal of this chapter is to provide a design and development roadmap for the adaptation of traditional classroom activities into engaging iPad-based digital learning activities. Reporting on an ongoing longitudinal case study, the chapter provides an overview of rationale and design considerations of the authentic iPad learning design implementation project, and the outcomes and improvements made over time. The iPad activities described provide further details of the approach taken and adaptations made. Since implementing iPad activities into this higher education environment several terms ago, the lecturer reports significantly higher levels of student engagement. Additionally, students report that the classroom activities in the post-graduate marketing course are authentic, transferrable, and are more engaging due the use of the iPad-based activities.

Implementing a Game-Based Instructional Design Strategy in the Eighth Grade Science Classroom

This chapter examines the effects of a game-like environment on instructional activity design and learning outcomes in a middle school general science class. The authors investigated if science content can be designed and successfully delivered instructionally using a game-like learning environment. The authors also wanted to investigate if by utilizing a game-design method could class and student engagement be increased. The results indicated that the instructional design of the unit using a game-like environment was successful and students exhibited learning. The authors also address the challenges inherent in utilizing this instructional strategy.

Intercultural Dialogue through Design (iDiDe)

Intercultural dialogue through design, globally known as “iDiDe” (pronounced i-dee-dee) was initiated by an Australian university in 2011 for architecture and built environment disciplines. Set within the context of international education and internationalisation, which are the focus of Australian universities this century, iDiDe offers a model of intercultural collaboration and student engagement. iDiDe is more than a generic international study tour. Firstly, there is collaborative academic leadership that comes from institutional partnerships between Australia and five Asian nations (Malaysia, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka), secondly, intercultural dialogue and intercultural understanding underpin the pedagogical approach, and thirdly, iDiDe projects extend discipline specific learning into the realms of reality. This chapter is an expose of iDiDe. It seeks to determine what elements of the model contribute to intercultural collaboration and student engagement. Findings are evaluated for their impact upon participants. The potential for transformative learning and response to global citizenship are discussed along with future research.

Personal Learning Environments and Social Networks in the Traditional School System

An effort to integrate new technologies in learning and school life in general has been put forward by the ministry of education in Greece with an action known as “Digital School.” One of the components of “Digital School” is the digital platform that includes all schoolbooks converted to an electronic format (e-books), enhanced with additional interactive educational material. This research focuses on how the enhanced 10th grade mathematics books could comprise a constructive learning environment beyond the classroom, facilitating pupils studying on their own and at their own pace. The results of the research show that social networks, digital tools, and the resources that pupils use on a daily basis can pave the way in this direction on condition and that they are utilized for the configuration of a PLE (Personal Learning Environment) by each pupil, which ensures the required communication and feedback between the community of pupils and teachers.

Engage Online Learners

Online learning will continue to be one of the popular modes of instruction offered by higher education institutions to accommodate different learning needs. Student engagement is critical to the success of online learning. Students should be engaged cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally. This chapter discusses design considerations for online courses to promote student-instructor, student-student, and student-content interactions to engage students cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally. The chapter also discusses the application of flow theory, specifically, in the design of instruction to engage students during their interaction with course content.

Community Service Learning

Poverty and low-socioeconomic status can have negative effects on the academic and social outcomes of children and youth. However, despite the growing number of children and families from low-income communities, the American Psychological Association reports that the field of psychology has not contributed significantly to research, education, and advocacy initiatives for low-income families. The purpose of the START model was to recruit and train psychology majors to work in low-income communities by engaging them in service, research, and teaching activities in a middle school located in a high-poverty community. For one semester, psychology undergraduate and graduate students collaborated on a literacy and classroom management project with a local middle school in a low-income community. Results showed an increase in the number of psychology students interested in working with low-income populations and high rates of satisfaction for the teacher who participated. Barriers and facilitators to implementation are discussed.