7,342 research outputs found
Strategic directions in the what and how of learning and teaching innovation—a fifty-year synopsis
No full textStudent learning experiences at university are constantly evolving; new disciplinary discoveries, new knowledge, interdisciplinary synergies and new exigencies make learning a dynamic experience for students, teachers and researchers alike; and that is just the what of learning. Add to this, changes in the how of learning, new pedagogies and new technologies, new partners in the provision of learning, as well as new configurations of where learning takes place, such as on campus, at home, in the workplace and online; and it is not hard to make the case that learning experiences of students enrolled in a degree are relatively more complex today than they were even 20 years ago. Much of this change has been captured over the last five decades in the journal Higher Education. The ongoing challenge of these changes is the complexity that accompanies them. How do we improve the student experience of learning in a complex context? What should the outcomes of a higher education degree be? What learning processes are likely to lead better outcomes? How do you assess the quality of learning that may occur in small groups on campus or online, or in large groups in both places, or in laboratories or the workplace? What is the role of material objects in these experiences and do they contribute to outcomes? This manuscript will consider such questions and where the journal is pointing researchers towards new avenues that are developing in learning and teaching internationally
Quality in blended learning environments – Significant differences in how students approach learning collaborations
No full textEvaluating the quality of student experiences of learning in a blended environment requires the careful consideration of many aspects that can contribute to learning outcomes. In this study, university students in first year engineering were required to collaborate and inquire in a blended course design over a semester-long course. This study investigates their approaches to inquiry and online learning technologies as they collaborated both in class and online. The results identify sub-groups within the population sample (n > 200) which reported qualitatively different experiences of how they approached inquiry and used the online learning technologies. The results also measure aspects of their collaborations which help to explain why some students were more successful than others. The outcomes of the study have important implications for teaching and course design and the effective evaluation of blended experiences of university student learning.Robert A. Ellis, Abelardo Pardo, Feifei Ha
Using Phenomenography to Tackle Key Challenges in Science Education
No full textThis article describes how phenomenography, as a qualitative research method, can be used to tackle key challenges in science education. It begins with an overview of the development of phenomenography. It then describes the philosophical underpinnings of phenomenographic inquiry, including ontological and epistemological roots, and its unique second-order perspective. From theoretical background to practicality, the paper uses rich examples to describe in detail the procedures of conducting a phenomenographic study, including sampling and data collection, analyzing phenomenographic data, and communicating key findings. The paper concludes by showing how the phenomenographic method can be used to develop students’ conceptual understanding of scientific concepts, to inform effective instructional design in science teaching, and to identify and improve evidence-based factors in student learning to enhance learning outcomes in science.Full Tex
Assessing the quality of university student experiences in blended course designs: an ecological perspective
No full textAdopting an ecological perspective on student learning in blended course designs, this study investigates the quality of 335 undergraduates’ experience in a first-year compulsory engineering course. Interrelations amongst cognitive, social, and material aspects of the student learning experience are examined. The cognitive elements include self-reports of approaches to, and perceptions of, learning; the social elements include self-report collaboration; and the material elements include engagement with online learning tasks. The cognitive elements distinguished students by ‘understanding’ and ‘reproducing’ learning orientations. These orientations when combined with students’ choice of whether or not and with whom to collaborate, generated five sub-groups of students with different collaborative experience. Students who had an ‘understanding’ orientation and also collaborated with ‘understanding’ students tended to have relatively more successful learning experiences than the other sub-groups. Such experiences were characterized by deep approaches to learning in class and online, positive perceptions of the blended learning environment, better positioning in collaboration networks, and relatively higher learning achievement as measured by course marks. This study has potential to guide learning and teaching in blended course designs and offers ecologically informed theoretical insights into university student learning.Full Tex
The effect of pulmonary rehabilitation on the experience of breathlessness and activity in COPD - a qualitative study
No full textAIM: The aim of this study was to explore, using qualitative research methods, how pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programmes affect the experience of activity and breathlessness of people with COPD. METHODS: A qualitative, interview-based approach was employed. Participants were interviewed pre- and post-PR. Data were analysed using systematic strategies informed by grounded theory methods. RESULTS: Nine participants (three female) took part. A change in participants’ perception of breathlessness and lessening of fear of activity were the main themes identified. PR appeared to impact on the experience of physical social activities, allowing participants to overcome feelings of social isolation. CONCLUSIONS: Prior to PR, participants associated activities with breathlessness and panic; post PR, participants reported reduced fear and felt able to increase their activities. These findings add to our understanding of the impact of PR on individuals’ experience of activity and may contribute to improved programmes by addressing patients’ needs.<br/
Rayleigh number dependence of the Archimedes number dependent large-scale flow structure formation in mixed convection
No full textWe report on experimental investigations of large-scale flow structure formation in mixed convection. We characterize the flow field by measuring the velocity fields within a rectangular model room using 2D2C PIV. The control parameters are the Reynolds number Re, the Rayleigh number Ra and the Prandtl number Pr. All parameters are linked through the Archimedes number Ar. In 6.4x10-2 ≤ Ar ≤ 1.39x101, 4.2x103 ≤ Re ≤ 6.35x104 and Ra = 3.1x107, Ra = 1.8x108 and Pr = 0.713 we found flow 3 different flow structures. While keeping Ra and Pr constant and varying Ar through Re variations, we found an Ar dependence of the largescale flow structure formation within 6.4x10-2 ≤ Ar ≤ 1.39x101. Furthermore, we found a Ra dependence of the structure formation, which shifts the transition points between the structures to higher Archimedes numbers and reduces the mean velocities within the investigated domain
ON THE γ-RAY SPECTRUM OF Ra(B + C)
No full text Measurements of the transmission of Ra(B + C) γ rays through lead between 0 and 26 cm. are described and compared with the transmissions predicted on the basis of a modified version of the γ-ray spectrum of Ellis and Aston and on the basis of the spectrum of Latyshev et al. Ellis and Aston's spectrum gives the better agreement. Both the relative and absolute values of the γ-ray intensities given by Ellis and Aston are revised in the light of more recent information. This revised spectrum leads to a predicted value of 0.84 roentgens per hour at a meter for the γ-ray output of a gram of radium and its equilibrium products in 0.5 mm. of platinum, in good agreement with experiment. </jats:p
Reynolds numbers near the ultimate state of turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection
No full textWe report on measurements of the mean-flow Reynolds number ReU and the rms fluctuation Reynolds number ReV in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection as a function of the Rayleigh number Ra for 4 x 1011 < Ra < 2 1014 and Pr ' 0:8. Both can be described by the same power law with an effective exponent = 0:44, in agreement with predictions for ReU but in disagreement with predictions for ReV
Logarithmic variance profiles and the corresponding f-1 spectra of temperature fluctuations in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection
No full textWe report experimental results for the temperature variance 2(z) and the corresponding frequency spectra P(f) in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection (RBC) in a cylindrical sample of aspect ratioT= D/L = 1:00 (D = 1:12 m is the diameter and L = 1:12 m the height). The measurements were conducted in the Rayleigh-number range 1011 < Ra < 1:35 1014 and Pr ' 0:8. For Ra = 1:35x1014, 2(z) could be described well by a logarithmic dependence on the vertical position z in a range of z 1 < z < z 2 with z 1 ' 70 and z 2 = 0:1L. Here L=(2Nu) is the thickness of a thin thermal sublayer adjacent to the horizontal plate where the heat flux (denoted by the Nusselt number Nu) is carried mostly by thermal diffusion. In the log layer, we found that the temperature spectra had a significant frequency range over which P(f) f with close to 1. As Ra decreased, increased so that the log layer became thinner. At Ra = 2:05 1011, z 2 < z 1 and therefore there was no range for a log layer. Correspondingly, the temperature spectrum near the horizontal plate did not have the f1 scaling form either
Improving learning analytics – Combining observational and self-report data on student learning
No full textThe field of education technology is embracing a use of learning analytics to improve student experiences of learning. Along with exponential growth in this area is an increasing concern of the interpretability of the analytics from the student experience and what they can tell us about learning. This study offers a way to address some of the concerns of collecting and interpreting learning analytics to improve student learning by combining observational and self-report data. The results present two models for predicting student academic performance which suggest that a combination of both observational and self-report data explains a significantly higher variation in student outcomes. The results offer a way into discussing the quality of interpretations of learning analytics and their usefulness for helping to improve the student experience of learning and also suggest a pathway for future research into this area.No Full Tex
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