1,720,964 research outputs found
Professional values and the teacher
No full textThis chapter is based on an introductory lecture entitled “Why teaching?” given by the author in recent years to new students on the Secondary PGCE course at the University of Southampton
Exploring school students’ online interactions within a science knowledge-building community
No full textA considerable quantity of research into online learning communities has been conducted on the assumption that the entire meaning of online interactions can be captured by the logfiles of online dialogue generated automatically by the computer. Recent work has highlighted the inadequacy of this approach, pointing out that the richness of human interactions, even when computer-mediated, makes them not susceptible to simple textual representation. This work strongly suggests that the use of more naturalistic approaches are likely to provide a deeper picture of the research setting, leading ultimately to a fuller understanding. Although the use of naturalistic methods may offer advantages in terms of the depth of description, this may be at the expense of an ability to generalise from the findings so as to be able to “search for universal laws which explain and govern the reality being observed” (Cohen & Manion, 1989:8); the adoption of a multi-method approach to data collection and analysis may go some way towards addressing these concerns.This paper describes the methodological approach adopted in the analysis of online data gathered during a study conducted over 12 months with nearly 150 UK school students aged 13-14. In this study networked computers were used to provide students with a Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environment in which to engage in knowledge-building as they undertook practical science investigations as part of their school work
Activity theory and critical incident recall as a pedagogical approach for using online knowledge-building communities in schools
Full text linkNetworked computers provide an important opportunity for schools to extend learning by engaging students in online interactions which supplement their offline learning. These communities of learners can be understood using activity theory as a unifying framework. This leads to a novel pedagogy in which records of online interactions provide the stimulus for subsequent offline discussions
Synchronous web-based communication using text as a means of enhancing discussion among school students
No full textPurpose: To explore the use of asynchronous and synchronous text-based communication using the Internet as a means of promoting discussion among a knowledge-building community of school students carrying out a science investigation.
Methodology/approach: Activity theory is used to bring together the various theories associated with the study, both those framing the context and those concerned with data analysis. Logfiles from both asynchronous and synchronous discussion forums were analysed to identify critical incidents – sequences of interactions between students indicating significant discussions concerned with knowledge-building – which were then the subject of critical incident recall through group interviews with the students involved. This method of data analysis allows the subjects of the research to engage in the construction of meaning, giving access to aspects of the discussions that are otherwise not available from the transcripts of online discussions.
Findings: Although it was not expected that synchronous interactions would yield significantly rich interactions between students, logfile analysis shows this is not the case. Critical incidents from synchronous interactions can lead to a large amount of information about the social processes of knowledge-construction.
Practical implications: The significance of synchronous text-based interactions in this study suggests that an appropriate pedagogy may prove valuable for teachers employing this strategy, providing a way to reveal students’ tacit understandings as they engage in knowledge construction.
Originality/value: There is little comparable work involving school students undertaking knowledge-building in a synchronous, text-based environment
Understanding the way in which students contribute to knowledge building and knowledge claim critiquing within a community of learners working in a computer supported learning environment
No full textCollaborating in the production of a scientific explanation for the behaviour of a prototype toy, a group of school students was encouraged to use a Web-based environment to share their ideas and to be critical of the knowledge claims made by others, in the spirit of a knowledge-building community. The logfiles produced by online interactions were subject to content analysis and were followed by group interviews with students to allow explication of contributions. Instruments based on work from the area of science studies were then used to categorise the data, revealing patterns in the epistemological stances within the community, and highlighting the ways in which the community went about examining knowledge claims. This work suggests that content analysis of logfiles alone is insufficient to produce a deep understanding of knowledge-building and critiquing in a CSLE, which bear comparison with the processes used by professional scientists
Why school science pupils should discuss practical science work online
No full textIn this paper I want to argue that there are compelling reasons for school science students to engage in discussing their practical work online. These reasons stem from two sources: first, a general agreement among science educators that the discussion of practical work may, if suitably managed, lead to increased understanding among students of the nature of science; and second, the observation that the rapidly increasing use of networked computers (in learning settings outside formal schooling and by school students in their personal lives, also outside formal schooling) provides a natural way of doing this. When referring to the use of networked computers as a tool for online collaborative learning, the term CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning) is used throughout this paper
Knowledge building among school students working in a networked computer supported learning environment
No full textThe National Curriculum for Science in England requires science teachers to teach about scientific enquiry, and contains details of the expectations of practical investigations connected with this teaching. Although such investigations are intended to be open-ended and to lead to a range of possible outcomes, the dual role of practical work as it functions as a warrant for belief can often lead to investigations serving both roles in an unsatisfactory fashion. This study describes an investigation into the use of online discussion forums (both asynchronous and synchronous) to support Year 9 students (aged 13/14 years) in two English schools as they conducted science investigations. These investigations were carefully chosen to provide ample scope for students to produce scientific explanations for simple phenomena (the behaviour of a prototype toy and the digestion of cooked egg white by biological washing powder) without the need to focus on replicating accepted scientific theories. Whilst working on their investigations, students made use of online resources designed to enable them to communicate with other members of the group and to share ideas whilst outside the science classroom. These online resources were structured through the application of activity theory, the focus being directed towards three aspects of the online interactions: Subject-Community-Object (knowledge-building); Rules-Community-Object (sociology of science); Tools-Community-Object (epistemology of science). Analysis of the logfiles of online discussions was conducted by identification of critical incidents in order to focus attention on interactions between students which merited deeper investigation, making use of taxonomic frameworks derived from literatures associated with studies of the nature of science. Further explication of critical incidents was sought through critical incident recall using group interviews with students, providing them with an opportunity to contribute to the construction of meaning relating to their discussions. The outcomes of this analysis suggest that students employ a range of tacit tools and rules when engaging in knowledge-building, and that the process of critical incident identification and recall used in the research may be employed as a valuable pedagogical tool when online discussion is used with students.</p
Using networked computers to help school students learn about science
No full textAs computer ownership rises and as the cost of high-speed connection to the Internet falls, increasing numbers of young people are making use of the Internet for communication and for learning [1]. Networked computers are also extensively used for teaching and learning in industry and in Higher Education, yet schools lag significantly in this respect, since both researchers [2] and school inspectors [3] find little use of networked computers used to support collaborative learning in schools. This paper reports the results of research carried out with three classes of 13/14 year-old science students. Working in an online environment, these students engaged in asynchronous and synchronous discussions relating to a practical science investigation, using these discussions to support their developing ideas and, later, to critique the research reports and associated knowledge claims produced by other students. Preliminary analysis of students’ online discussions was followed by group interviews. The outcomes of this research reveals that online discussions among students followed by group discussion of carefully selected extracts from logfiles may provide teachers with a powerful tool for developing students’ understanding of science through the discussion of practical work. A pedagogical framework for this process is proposed, based on the framework used in the research
ILASH: Incorporating learning strategies in hypermedia
No full textThis paper describes the main ideas behind the adaptation and architecture of an educational hypermedia system called ILASH that incorporates learning strategies into hypermedia. The paper describes a computational framework designed to provide adaptive support for learning by using ILASH. The framework includes different adaptive techniques embedded in the text and link structure to scaffold and encourage the use of strategies and a dynamic student model. The pedagogical rationale underlying the study and adaptive features employed in the system are presented
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