"Radically Different Learning": Implementing Sustainability Pedagogy in a University Peer Mentor Program

Science.gov (United States)

Sherman, Jacob D. B.; Burns, Heather L.

2015-01-01

Sustainability education is a growing field within higher education that fosters personal and intellectual engagement with the interconnected tensions of pressing social, ecological, economic, and political issues. Sustainability education aims to prepare learners to become creative problem solvers and active citizens who understand the…

Governance and Citizens' Engagement in Terms of Local Sustainable Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnieszka Sobol

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Local sustainable development emphasizes the role of a community. One of the key prerequisite of this process is therefore participation of inhabitants. Nevertheless traditional way of managing cities does not work very well in terms of public engagement. Local sustainable development requires both i.e. governance mechanisms introduced by the local authorities and positive reaction of inhabitants for the invitation for cooperation. The paper is intended to explore some critical issues and dimensions of governance and citizens' engagement in terms of local sustainable development. It shows the general outlook on the most relevant conditions, factors, problems and barriers of this process in Poland. It presents experiences of the city of Rybnik in its work towards public engagement in local development.

Engagement with the TeenDrivingPlan and diversity of teens' supervised practice driving: lessons for internet-based learner driver interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Winston, Flaura K; Mirman, Jessica H; Curry, Allison E; Pfeiffer, Melissa R; Elliott, Michael R; Durbin, Dennis R

2015-02-01

Inexperienced, less-skilled driving characterises many newly licensed drivers and contributes to high crash rates. A randomised trial of TeenDrivingPlan (TDP), a new learner driver phase internet-based intervention, demonstrated effectiveness in improving safety relevant, on-road driving behaviour, primarily through greater driving practice diversity. To inform future learner driver interventions, this analysis examined TDP use and its association with practice diversity. Posthoc analysis of data from teen/parent dyads (n=107), enrolled early in learner phase and assigned to treatment arm in randomised trial. Inserted software beacons captured TDP use data. Electronic surveys completed by parents and teens assessed diversity of practice driving and TDP usability ratings at 24 weeks (end of study period). Most families (84%) used TDP early in the learner period; however, the number of TDP sessions in the first week was three times higher among dyads who achieved greater practice diversity than those with less. By week five many families still engaged with TDP, but differences in TDP use could not be detected between families with high versus low practice diversity. Usability was not a major issue for this sample based on largely positive user ratings. An engaging internet-based intervention, such as TDP, can support families in achieving high practice diversity. Future learner driver interventions should provide important information early in the learner period when engagement is greatest, encourage continued learning as part of logging practice drives, and incorporate monitoring software for further personalisation to meet family needs. NCT01498575. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Sequencing learning experiences to engage different level learners in the workplace: An interview study with excellent clinical teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, H Carrie; O'Sullivan, Patricia; Teherani, Arianne; Fogh, Shannon; Kobashi, Brent; ten Cate, Olle

2015-01-01

Learning in the clinical workplace can appear to rely on opportunistic teaching. The cognitive apprenticeship model describes assigning tasks based on learner rather than just workplace needs. This study aimed to determine how excellent clinical teachers select clinical learning experiences to support the workplace participation and development of different level learners. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with medical school faculty identified as excellent clinical teachers teaching multiple levels of learners. We explored their approach to teach different level learners and their perceived role in promoting learner development. We performed thematic analysis of the interview transcripts using open and axial coding. We interviewed 19 clinical teachers and identified three themes related to their teaching approach: sequencing of learning experiences, selection of learning activities and teacher responsibilities. All teachers used sequencing as a teaching strategy by varying content, complexity and expectations by learner level. The teachers initially selected learning activities based on learner level and adjusted for individual competencies over time. They identified teacher responsibilities for learner education and patient safety, and used sequencing to promote both. Excellent clinical teachers described strategies for matching available learning opportunities to learners' developmental levels to safely engage learners and improve learning in the clinical workplace.

Infusing Sustainability Across Disciplines to Build Student Engagement

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Bruckner, M. Z.; O'Connell, K.; McDaris, J. R.; Kirk, K. B.; Larsen, K.; Kent, M.; Manduca, C. A.; Egger, A. E.; Blockstein, D.; Mogk, D. W.; Taber, J.

2014-12-01

Establishing relevance and effective communication are key mechanisms for building student and community engagement in a topic and can be used to promote the importance of working across disciplines to solve problems. Sustainability, including the impacts of and responses to climate change, is an inherently interdisciplinary issue and can be infused across courses and curricula in a variety of ways. Key topics such as climate change, hazards, and food, water, and energy production and sustainability are relevant to a wide audience and can be used to build student engagement. Using real-world examples, service learning, and focusing on the local environment may further boost engagement by establishing relevance between sustainability issues and students' lives. Communication plays a key role in the exchange of information across disciplines and allows for a more holistic approach to tackling the complex climate and sustainability issues our society faces. It has the power to bridge gaps, break down disciplinary silos, and build connections among diverse audiences with a wide range of expertise, including scientists, policy-makers, stakeholders, and the general public. It also aids in planning and preparation for, response to, and mitigation of issues related to sustainability, including the impacts of climate change, to lessen the detrimental effects of unavoidable events such as sea level rise and extreme weather events. Several workshops from the InTeGrate and On the Cutting Edge projects brought together educators and practitioners from a range of disciplines including geoscience, engineering, social science, and more to encourage communication and collaboration across disciplines. They supported networking, community-building, and sharing of best practices for preparing our students for a sustainable future, both in and out of the workplace, and across disciplines. Interdisciplinary teams are also working together to author curricular materials that highlight

Research training in integrative medicine: how can we make teaching and learning in research methods more sustainable and engaging?

Science.gov (United States)

Witt, Claudia M; Withers, Shelly Rafferty

2013-01-01

The aim of this project was to identify strategies for increasing learner engagement and knowledge retention in clinical research training of complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) practitioners, and to offer a conceptual framework to address clinical research training for CIM practitioners. In a featured large-group discussion (15min presentation and 30min discussion), two questions (strategies that are recommended to overcome these barriers; relevant aspects for a framework for building sustainable knowledge) were put to the audience. The sample consisted of 43 participants at the International Congress of Educators in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, in Washington, DC, in October 2012. The featured discussion was moderated and detailed notes were taken. Notes were synthesized and discussed by both authors until consensus was reached. Based on the results from the featured discussion session and a focused literature search, a framework for building sustainable knowledge and skills in clinical research for CIM practitioners was developed. Participants' responses to the questions of engagement and sustainability included curricular structures, pedagogical strategies for instruction, the use of digital tools to extend the learning experience, the necessity to ground instruction firmly in the medical literature of the field, and the relevance of mentoring. Key considerations for building sustainable knowledge in clinical research for CIM practitioners are as follows: (1) prioritizing clinical research training, (2) issues of curriculum and pedagogy, (3) technology/digital tools, (4) administrative challenges, (5) supporting the formation of communities of practice, and (6) cultural perspectives of CIM practitioners. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interactive Exhibits Foster Partnership and Engage Diverse Learners at Their Local Libraries

Science.gov (United States)

LaConte, K.; Dusenbery, P.; Fitzhugh, G.; Harold, J. B.; Holland, A.

2016-12-01

Learners frequently need to access increasingly complex information to help them understand our changing world. More and more libraries are transforming themselves into places where learners not only access STEM information, but interact with professionals and undertake hands-on learning. Libraries are beginning to position themselves as part of learning ecosystems that contribute to a collective impact on the community. Traveling STEM exhibits are catalyzing these partnerships and engaging students, families, and adults in repeat visits through an accessible venue: their public library. The impact of the STAR Library Education Network's (STAR_Net) Discover Earth: A Century of Change exhibit on partnerships, the circulation of STEM resources, and the engagement of learners was studied by an external evaluation team. The STAR_Net project's summative evaluation utilized mixed methods to investigate project implementation and its outcomes. Methods included pre- and post-exhibit surveys administered to staff from each library that hosted the exhibits; interviews with staff from host libraries; patron surveys; exhibit-related circulation records; web metrics regarding the online STAR_Net community of practice; and site visits. A subset of host libraries recruited professionals, who delivered programming that connected Earth systems science, weather, climate, and conservation themes from the exhibit to local issues. Library patrons improved their knowledge about STEM topics presented in the exhibits and associated programming, and patrons viewing the exhibit reflected the demographics of their communities. In a follow-up survey, patrons reported spending an average of 60 minutes looking at the exhibit over their cumulative visits to the library. In contrast, visitors might visit a museum only once to look at a comparably-sized traveling exhibit due to barriers such as cost and distance. Exhibit host libraries reported an increase in the circulation of Earth science

Student Engagement in Long-Term Collaborative EFL Storytelling Activities: An Analysis of Learners with English Proficiency Differences

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Huang, Yun-Yin; Liu, Chen-Chung; Wang, Yu; Tsai, Chin-Chung; Lin, Hung-Ming

2017-01-01

English proficiency difference among students is a challenging pedagogical issue in EFL classrooms worldwide. Collaborative digital storytelling has been adopted in language learning settings to increase motivation and engagement, especially for young learners. However, it remains unknown whether students of different proficiency levels can…

Urban policy engagement with social sustainability in metro Vancouver.

Science.gov (United States)

Holden, Meg

2012-01-01

This article presents an analysis of social sustainability in comparative theoretical context and as a challenge to the post-political interpretation of sustainability in policy practice at the urban and regional scales. Metro Vancouver provides a case study for improving our understanding of the meaning of social sustainability as a framework for social policy in that it is among the handful of cities around the world currently working to define and enact social sustainability in governance terms. Results of this participant research provide evidence that some cities are politically engaging alternative development pathways using the concept of social sustainability. For sustainable development to retain its promise as an alternative policy framework for cities, social sustainability must be at the forefront.

Ten Tips for Engaging the Millennial Learner and Moving an Emergency Medicine Residency Curriculum into the 21st Century.

Science.gov (United States)

Toohey, Shannon L; Wray, Alisa; Wiechmann, Warren; Lin, Michelle; Boysen-Osborn, Megan

2016-05-01

Millennial learners are changing the face of residency education because they place emphasis on technology with new styles and means of learning. While research on the most effective way to teach the millennial learner is lacking, programs should consider incorporating educational theories and multimedia design principles to update the curriculum for these new learners. The purpose of the study is to discuss strategies for updating an emergency medicine (EM) residency program's curriculum to accommodate the modern learner. These 10 tips provide detailed examples and approaches to incorporate technology and learning theories into an EM curriculum to potentially enhance learning and engagement by residents. While it is unclear whether technologies actually promote or enhance learning, millennials use these technologies. Identifying best practice, grounded by theory and active learning principles, may help learners receive quality, high-yield education. Future studies will need to evaluate the efficacy of these techniques to fully delineate best practices.

Ten Tips for Engaging the Millennial Learner and Moving an Emergency Medicine Residency Curriculum into the 21st Century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shannon L. Toohey

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Millennial learners are changing the face of residency education because they place emphasis on technology with new styles and means of learning. While research on the most effective way to teach the millennial learner is lacking, programs should consider incorporating educational theories and multimedia design principles to update the curriculum for these new learners. The purpose of the study is to discuss strategies for updating an emergency medicine (EM residency program’s curriculum to accommodate the modern learner. Discussion: These 10 tips provide detailed examples and approaches to incorporate technology and learning theories into an EM curriculum to potentially enhance learning and engagement by residents. Conclusion: While it is unclear whether technologies actually promote or enhance learning, millennials use these technologies. Identifying best practice, grounded by theory and active learning principles, may help learners receive quality, high-yield education. Future studies will need to evaluate the efficacy of these techniques to fully delineate best practices.

The Formation of Learners' Motivation to Study Physics in Terms of Sustainable Development of Education in Ukraine

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Korsun, Igor

2017-01-01

This study is aimed at creating a general technique for the formation of learners' interest in physics in the context of sustainable development of education. The active means of training and active learning methods are the components of this technique. The sequence of interest formation for physics in the context of sustainable development of…

QoS-based experience-aware adaptation in multimedia e-learning - A learner, is a learner, is a user, is a customer

OpenAIRE

Moebs, Sabine

2011-01-01

One of the challenges for the future of technology-enhanced learning is the retention of learners. On-line learning environments should engage learners and provide an appropriate “Quality of Experience” (QoE). For more than a decade, adaptive hypermedia systems have been used to adapt content and instruction to individual knowledge, goals and preferences in an effort to engage learners. However, even if the content is highly engaging it can be very difficult to achieve good Quality ...

Reimagining Student Engagement: How Nontraditional Adult Learners Engage in Traditional Postsecondary Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Rabourn, Karyn E.; BrckaLorenz, Allison; Shoup, Rick

2018-01-01

Adult learners are a growing population in U.S. postsecondary education who experience distinct barriers to academic success. However, higher education institutions continue to create and adhere to policies that favor traditional college students. Thus, adult learner experiences must be better understood to ensure this population is supported.…

WORK AND LEARNER IDENTITY

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kondrup, Sissel

2015-01-01

The aim of this article is to suggest a theoretical framework than can assess to how people’s engagement in specific historical and social work practices are significant to their development, maintenance or transformation of a learner identity. Such a framework is crucial in order to grasp how...... different groups have distinctive conditions for meeting the obligation of forming a proactive learner identity and engage in lifelong learning prevalent in both national and transnational policies on lifelong learning....

High engagement, high quality: A guiding framework for developing empirically informed asynchronous e-learning programs for health professional educators.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinclair, Peter M; Levett-Jones, Tracey; Morris, Amanda; Carter, Ben; Bennett, Paul N; Kable, Ashley

2017-03-01

E-learning involves the transfer of skills and knowledge via technology so that learners can access meaningful and authentic educational materials. While learner engagement is important, in the context of healthcare education, pedagogy must not be sacrificed for edu-tainment style instructional design. Consequently, health professional educators need to be competent in the use of current web-based educational technologies so that learners are able to access relevant and engaging e-learning materials without restriction. The increasing popularity of asynchronous e-learning programs developed for use outside of formal education institutions has made this need more relevant. In these contexts, educators must balance design and functionality to deliver relevant, cost-effective, sustainable, and accessible programs that overcome scheduling and geographic barriers for learners. This paper presents 10 guiding design principles and their application in the development of an e-learning program for general practice nurses focused on behavior change. Consideration of these principles will assist educators to develop high quality, pedagogically sound, engaging, and interactive e-learning resources. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Sustaining Engagement and Interest in the Classroom: Effects of the EngageALL Instructional Model

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Sue C.

2014-01-01

This chapter describes an empirical study that tests the motivational and learning effects of an intervention designed to initiate and sustain interest and engagement in high school biology classrooms. Positive effects were demonstrated for conceptual understanding, vocabulary acquisition, and perceptions of the learning experiences. [This article…

Experiential Learning for Engaging Nutrition Undergraduates with Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Maher, Judith; Burkhart, Sarah

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe students' self-reported learning from engaging in an experiential learning task designed to develop their understanding of sustainable food systems and dietary practices. Design/methodology/approach: In all, 143 first-year students enrolled in an entry level food and nutrition subject undertook a…

Sustainable Supply Chain Engagement in a Retail Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anika Berning

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Sustainability is a key requirement for business success and is often regarded a competitive advantage if strategically managed. Sustainability-mature organisations look to their value chains where the retailer-supplier collaboration becomes critical in embedding sustainability. With this in mind, it is important to monitor retailer-supplier collaboration to determine whether it is effective. To facilitate this monitoring, the UN Global Compact Supply Chain Sustainability: A Guide for Continuous Improvement was consulted. The research question aimed to determine the progress of a prominent South African retailer regarding their sustainable supply chain management (SSCM and collaboration with suppliers. Therefore, this study attempts to apply the Supplier Engagement Continuum, extracted from the UN Global Compact Supply Chain Sustainability: A Guide for Continuous Improvement, in order to determine how the retailer is progressing in sustainable supply chain management. The qualitative and exploratory nature of the study necessitated a case study research design, while the technique of purposive sampling was used to select the sample of three suppliers. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews facilitated by an interview guide, and data analysis was conducted with Atlas.ti software. It was found that the retailer’s sustainable supply chain management can only be located on level one of the continuum. Supply chain sustainability in organisations lack the theoretical foundation of what sustainability really is. Therefore, the model was amended and an additional level was added to incorporate the education of sustainability.

Formative evaluation of an adaptive game for engaging learners of programming concepts in K-12

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renny S. N. Lindberg

2018-06-01

Full Text Available As the global demand for programmers is soaring, several countries have integrated programming into their K-12 curricula. Finding effective ways to engage children in programming education is an important objective. One effective method for this can be presenting learning materials via games, which are known to increase engagement and motivation. Current programming education games often focus on a single genre and offer one-size-fits-all experience to heterogeneous learners. In this study, we presented Minerva, a multi-genre (adventure, action, puzzle game to engage elementary school students in learning programming concepts. The game content is adapted to play and learning styles of the player to personalize the gameplay. We conducted a formative mixed-method evaluation of Minerva with 32 Korean 6th grade students who played the game and compared their learning outcomes with 32 6th grade students who studied the same concepts using handouts. The results indicated that, in terms of retention, learning was equally effective in both groups. Furthermore, the game was shown to facilitate engagement among the students. These results, together with uncovered issues, will guide Minerva’s further development.

Learners' independent records of vocabulary

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shaw, Philip; Leeke, Philip

1999-01-01

Handbooks recommend a variety of quite complicated procedures for learning and remembering vocabulary, but most learners only engage in very simple procedures. The aim of this project was to establish a basis for identifying optimal vocabulary recording procedures by finding out what learners...

A Natural Variation Study of Engagement and Confidence among Parents of Learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Science.gov (United States)

Barlow, Alexandra; Humphrey, Neil

2012-01-01

Parents' involvement in their children's education is known to be an important predictor of a range of adaptive outcomes. For learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), lack of parental engagement and confidence has been highlighted as a problematic issue. Given this, the objectives of the current study were to: (i) determine…

NASA's Universe of Learning: Engaging Learners in Discovery

Science.gov (United States)

Cominsky, L.; Smith, D. A.; Lestition, K.; Greene, M.; Squires, G.

2016-12-01

NASA's Universe of Learning is one of 27 competitively awarded education programs selected by NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) to enable scientists and engineers to more effectively engage with learners of all ages. The NASA's Universe of Learning program is created through a partnership between the Space Telescope Science Institute, Chandra X-ray Center, IPAC at Caltech, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Exoplanet Exploration Program, and Sonoma State University. The program will connect the scientists, engineers, science, technology and adventure of NASA Astrophysics with audience needs, proven infrastructure, and a network of over 500 partners to advance the objectives of SMD's newly restructured education program. The multi-institutional team will develop and deliver a unified, consolidated suite of education products, programs, and professional development offerings that spans the full spectrum of NASA Astrophysics, including the Exoplanet Exploration theme. Program elements include enabling educational use of Astrophysics mission data and offering participatory experiences; creating multimedia and immersive experiences; designing exhibits and community programs; providing professional development for pre-service educators, undergraduate instructors, and informal educators; and, producing resources for special needs and underserved/underrepresented audiences. This presentation will provide an overview of the program and process for mapping discoveries to products and programs for informal, lifelong, and self-directed learning environments.

A Faculty Development Session or Resident as Teacher Session for Clinical and Clinical Teaching Techniques; Part 2 of 2: Engaging Learners with Effective Clinical Teaching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Megan Boysen-Osborn

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Audience: This workshop is intended for faculty members in an emergency medicine (or other residency program, but is also appropriate for chief residents and medical student clerkship educators. Introduction: Faculty development sessions are required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and enhance the learning environment within residency programs. Resident as teacher sessions are important in helping residents transition from junior learners to supervisors of medical students and junior residents. Part I of this two-part workshop introduces learners to effective techniques to engaging learners with clinical and bedside teaching. Objectives: By the end of this workshop, the learner will: 1 describe and implement nine new clinical teaching techniques; 2 implement clinical teaching techniques specific to junior and senior resident learners. Methods: This educational session is uses several blended instructional methods, including team- based learning (modified, the flipped classroom, audience response systems, pause procedures.

Working with language learner histories from three perspectives: Teachers, learners and researchers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Mercer

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Recent developments in SLA, such as learner-centredness, social constructivism, the postmethod era, and complexity perspectives, have highlighted the need for more localized, situated understandings of teaching and learning and greater recognition of learner individuality and diversity. In this article, I suggest an effective way of meeting these needs is to employ learner histories. This powerful form of writing allows learners to use their L2 to engage in authentic, personally meaningful communication with others about their identities, experiences, perceptions and emotions related to their language learning histories. As a text type, they are able to facilitate a more holistic perspective of the learner’s life and reveal the unique interconnections that an individual makes across various domains. They also enable the situated, contextualised and dynamic nature of their learning experiences to become apparent and provide learners with a genuine, motivating purpose for writing. Exploring data generated in Austria with tertiary-level EFL learners, I seek to illustrate some of the rich potential of these text types from three perspectives, namely, those of the teacher, learner and researcher.

Work-life Experience and Learner Identity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kondrup, Sissel

2013-01-01

In order to examine how orientations toward learning activities are situated in and conditioned by specific work-life experiences it is crucial to develop a dialectic concept of learner identity. Based on a qualitative research-project (Kondrup 2012) this paper outlines how unskilled work forms...... a specific condition for engaging in lifelong learning. The aim of the study was to examine how an unskilled work-life presents certain conditions for the formation, maintenance and transformation of a learner identity, enabling workers to position themselves as educable subjects and engage in formal...

Early Learner Engagement in the Clinical Workplace

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, H.C.

2015-01-01

Introduction Recent calls for medical education reform advocate for the integration of knowledge with clinical experience through early clinical immersion. Yet, early learners rarely are invited to participate in workplace activities and early clinical experiences remain largely observational.

Engaging Physician Learners Through a Web-Based Platform: Individualized End-of-Life Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergman, Jonathan; Ballon-Landa, Eric; Lerman, Steven E; Kwan, Lorna; Bennett, Carol J; Litwin, Mark S

2016-09-01

Web-based modules provide a convenient and low-cost education platform, yet should be carefully designed to ensure that learners are actively engaged. In order to improve attitudes and knowledge in end-of-life (EOL) care, we developed a web-based educational module that employed hyperlinks to allow users access to auxiliary resources: clinical guidelines and seminal research papers. Participants took pre-test evaluations of attitudes and knowledge regarding EOL care prior to accessing the educational module, and a post-test evaluation following the module intervention. We recorded the type of hyperlinks (guideline or paper) accessed by learners, and stratified participants into groups based on link type accessed (none, either, or both). We used demographic and educational data to develop a multivariate mixed-effects regression analysis to develop adjusted predictions of attitudes and knowledge. 114 individuals participated. The majority had some professional exposure to EOL care (prior instruction 62%; EOL referral 53%; EOL discussion 56%), though most had no family (68%) or personal experience (51%). On bivariate analysis, non-partnered (p = .04), medical student training level (p = .03), prior palliative care referral (p = .02), having a family member (p = .02) and personal experience of EOL care (p improvements. Auxiliary resources accessible by hyperlink are an effective adjunct to web-based learning in end-of-life care. © The Author(s) 2015.

What drives energy consumers? : Engaging people in a sustainable energy transition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steg, Linda; Shwom, Rachel; Dietz, Thomas

Providing clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy for people everywhere will require converting to an energy system in which the use of fossil fuels is minimal. A sustainable energy transition means substantial changes in technology and the engagement of the engineering community. But it will

Examining Structural Relationships between Work Engagement, Organizational Procedural Justice, Knowledge Sharing, and Innovative Work Behavior for Sustainable Organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woocheol Kim

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Despite the importance of the human/social dimension of organizational sustainability, this area of scholastic endeavor has received relatively little attention when compared to the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. On the basis of social exchange theory, this study posited the important role that employee work engagement is a key component for improving human performance for organizational sustainability. In order to do so, it suggests the important role that employee work engagement has on the relationships among various factors in the organization, including organizational procedural justice, knowledge sharing, and innovative work behaviors. A total of 400 complete responses from full-time employees in Korean organizations were used for the purpose of data analysis with structural equation modeling (SEM. The results demonstrated that organizational procedural justice is positively related with employee work engagement, knowledge sharing, and innovative work behavior. In addition, work engagement enhances employee knowledge sharing and innovative work behavior, and knowledge sharing enhances innovative work behavior. With regard to the mechanisms of these relationships, work engagement and knowledge sharing acted as significant mediators. Based on the findings, we suggested relevant research implications and recommendations for future research on sustainable organizations.

How Could Companies Engage in Sustainable Landscape Management? An Exploratory Perspective

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Paul Opdam

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Current concepts that aim to align economic development with sustainability, such as the circular and green economy, often consider natural systems as externalities. We extend the green economy concept by including the landscape as the provider of social, economic and environmental values. Our aim is to explore how companies could engage in creating landscape-inclusive solutions for sustainable landscapes. We propose a conceptual model of the relationship between companies and landscape services based on a demand for landscape benefits by companies, implications for wider society. We present a short overview of how scientists addressed the role of companies in landscape-inclusive solutions. We also give some examples taken from the World Wide Web to illustrate the variety of ways in which companies already invest in landscape services. Our findings suggest that the relationship between companies and landscapes is not yet strongly recognized in sustainability science. However, examples from practice show that some companies do recognize the added values of landscape services, to the extent that they invest in landscape management. We conclude that future research should provide information on the added value of landscape-inclusive solutions to companies, and increase their capacity to engage in regional social–ecological networks.

Impacts and Feedbacks in a Warming Arctic: Engaging Diverse Learners in Geoscience Education and Research

Science.gov (United States)

Sparrow, Elena; Spellman, Katie; Fabbri, Cindy; Verbyla, David; Yoshikawa, Kenji; Fochesatto, Gilberto; Comiso, Josefino; Chase, Malinda; Jones, Debra; Bacsujlaky, Mara

2016-04-01

A warming climate has changed the timing of the seasons in the Arctic and elsewhere. Our project will engage learners in the investigation of the shifting seasons' impacts on vegetation, soils, hydrology, infrastructure, livelihoods, and communities and the feedbacks between these factors. Primary and secondary students, pre- and in-service teachers and lifelong learners will use historical and current National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) data, NASA experts, and the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) methods to help uncover the surprises from and consequences of earlier springs, warmer and later falls, changing ice cover, later freeze-up and earlier break-up of rivers and lakes. Key objectives are to: 1) provide new opportunities to bring NASA assets to learners of all ages, 2) enhance Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning and understanding of the Earth system, 3) improve STEM instruction, 4) enhance STEM experience of undergraduate students, and 5) increase participation of groups historically underrepresented in STEM such as Native Americans who are also more vulnerable to climate change impacts. Incorporating issues of local importance with national and global implications, into educational experiences will make learning relevant which may be helpful to communities in developing strategies for adaptation. We intend to use NASA assets (e.g. MODIS snow data, NDVI, Cloudsat, and SMAP data), GLOBE methodologies (classic and new ground observations and measurements) to develop and deliver curriculum materials including culturally responsive learning activities, course/modules, professional development workshops, and educational experiences using best practices in pedagogy such as constructivism, inquiry- and place- based, interdisciplinary and systems approach, and cutting-edge technology to reach a variety of target audiences, while improving STEM education. Audiences include K-12 teachers and their

Connected minds technology and today's learners

CERN Document Server

Pedrò, Francesc

2012-01-01

In all OECD countries, digital media and connectedness are integral to the lives of todays learners. It is often claimed that these learners are ""new millennium learners"", or ""digital natives"", who have different expectations about education. This book contributes to the debate about the effects of technology attachment and connectedness on todays learners, and their expectations about teaching. The book sets out to answer the following questions: Can the claim that todays students are ""new millenium learners"" or ""digital natives be sustained empirically? Is there consistent research evidence demonstrating the effects of technology on cognitive development, social values, and learning expectations? What are the implications for educational policy and practice?

233 Meaning and the Second Language Learner Jane Nkechi ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ike Odimegwu

second language learner seeks to interpret word meaning without reference to the .... Meaning can be natural but language is conventional - that is there is no .... language learner is usually engaged in processing contextual information to ...

NASA’s Universe of Learning: Engaging Learners in Discovery

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Denise A.; Lestition, Kathleen; Squires, Gordon K.; Greene, W. M.; Cominsky, Lynn R.; Eisenhamer, Bonnie; NASA's Universe of Learning Team

2016-06-01

NASA’s Universe of Learning is one of 27 competitively awarded education programs selected by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) to enable scientists and engineers to more effectively engage with learners of all ages. The NASA's Universe of Learning program is created through a partnership between the Space Telescope Science Institute, Chandra X-ray Center, IPAC at Caltech, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Exoplanet Exploration Program, and Sonoma State University. The program will connect the scientists, engineers, science, technology and adventure of NASA Astrophysics with audience needs, proven infrastructure, and a network of over 500 partners to advance the objectives of SMD’s newly restructured education program. The multi-institutional team will develop and deliver a unified, consolidated suite of education products, programs, and professional development offerings that spans the full spectrum of NASA Astrophysics, including the Cosmic Origins, Physics of the Cosmos, and Exoplanet Exploration themes. Program elements include enabling educational use of Astrophysics mission data and offering participatory experiences; creating multimedia and immersive experiences; designing exhibits and community programs; providing professional development for pre-service educators, undergraduate instructors, and informal educators; and, producing resources for special needs and underserved/underrepresented audiences. This presentation will provide an overview of the program and process for mapping discoveries to products and programs for informal, lifelong, and self-directed learning environments.

English Language Learners in a Digital Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Prince, Johanna

2017-01-01

English language learners (ELLs) experience linguistic, cultural, and cognitive shifts that can be challenging and at times lead to isolation for ELLs. While education technology may be an instructional resource and engage learners, devices alone do not shift instructional practices or lead to student gains. This case study was performed at an…

A Faculty Development Session or Resident as Teacher Session for Didactic and Clinical Teaching Techniques; Part 1 of 2: Engaging Learners with Effective Didactic Teaching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Megan Boysen-Osborn

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Audience: This workshop is intended for faculty members in an emergency medicine (or other residency program, but is also appropriate for chief residents and medical student educators, including basic science faculty. Introduction: Faculty development sessions are required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and enhance the learning environment within residency programs. Resident as teacher sessions are important in helping residents transition from junior learners to supervisors of medical students and junior residents. Part I of this two-part workshop introduces learners to effective techniques to engaging learners during didactic sessions. Objectives: By the end of this workshop, the learner will: 1 describe eight teaching techniques that encourage active learning during didactic sessions; 2 plan a didactic session using at least one of eight new teaching techniques for didactic instruction. Methods: This educational session is uses several blended instructional methods, including team-based learning (classic and modified, the flipped classroom, audience response systems, pause procedures in order to demonstrate effective didactic teaching techniques.

Potential of Social Networking Sites for Distance Education Student Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Lester, Jaime; Perini, Michael

2010-01-01

This chapter explores the potential of social networking sites for increasing student engagement for distance education learners. The authors present a modified student engagement model with a focus on the integration of technology, specifically social networking sites for community college distance education learners. The chapter concludes with…

Game Engagement Theory and Adult Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Whitton, Nicola

2011-01-01

One of the benefits of computer game-based learning is the ability of certain types of game to engage and motivate learners. However, theories of learning and engagement, particularly in the sphere of higher education, typically fail to consider gaming engagement theory. In this article, the author examines the principles of engagement from games…

Does engineering education need to engage more with the economic and social aspects of sustainability?

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Fitzpatrick, John J.

2017-11-01

This paper questions if engineering educators are producing engineers that are accelerating humanity along an unsustainable path. Even though technology and engineering are important drivers in trying to move humanity towards an environmentally sustainable paradigm, the paper suggests that maybe the most important levers and challenges lie in the economic and social domains. Short case studies of energy efficiency, the experience of the industrialist Ray Anderson and the authors own reflection of teaching chemical engineering students are used to highlight this. Engineering/technological innovation may not be enough and is often counteracted by the rebound effect and the current dominant neoclassical economic paradigm. The paper discusses what engineering educators can do to produce sustainability informed engineers who are better able to engage with the economic and social dimensions of sustainability. Some suggestions for engaging engineering students with the economic and social dimensions of environmental sustainability are provided. Engineers must somehow find ways, not just to influence technological levers (which are very important) but also to influence economic and social levers so that changes in economic and social behaviours can complement and facilitate technological change in moving humanity to an environmentally sustainable paradigm.

Transnational Comparison of Sustainability Assessment Programs for Viticulture and a Case-Study on Programs’ Engagement Processes

OpenAIRE

Irina Santiago-Brown; Andrew Metcalfe; Cate Jerram; Cassandra Collins

2014-01-01

This article documents and compares the most prominent sustainability assessment programs for individual organisations in viticulture worldwide. Certification and engagement processes for membership uptake; benefits; motives; inhibiting factors; and desirable reporting system features of viticultural sustainability programs, are all considered. Case-study results are derived from nine sustainability programs; 14 focus groups with 83 CEOs, Chief Viticulturists or Winemakers from wine grape pro...

Unskilled Work and Learner Identity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kondrup, Sissel

2014-01-01

. The main argument is that participation research must abandon the notion of motivation as an individual attribute and apply a dialectic concept of learner identity acknowledging work-life as a pivotal space for learning and formation of identity. I outline how a work-life-historical approach combining......The paper examines how unskilled work forms conditions for meeting the obligation to position oneself as an educable subject and engage in formal learning activities. Sensitivity to peoples’ work-life-experiences is necessary to understand their orientation toward different learning activities...... a critical theoretical approach inspired by Salling-Olesen’s and Archer’s concepts of identity and concerns can contribute to an understanding of the relationship between work and learner identity. Through narrative work-life interviews I examine how engagement in unskilled work in small and medium sized...

An Analysis of Learners in Introductory Astronomy Massive Open Online Courses

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Buxner, Sanlyn; Formanek, Martin; Impey, Chris David; Wenger, Matthew

2016-06-01

We describe learners enrolled in three iterations of introductory astronomy massive open online courses (MOOCs). These courses are offered through commercial providers and facilitated by an instructional team at the University of Arizona. We describe an ongoing study of those who enroll, engage in, and complete these courses. The course has undergone several revisions, including integrating pedagogical techniques, found to be effective for in-person courses, to increase engagement including peer review, online discussions, and the use of cohorts. In its current version, learners enroll on a continual basis and complete 11 weeks of course content; they watch videos, complete content quizzes, submit writing assignments, complete peer review of other students’ work, and complete online citizen science projects. Tens of thousands of students has signed up for these courses but completion rates are much lower, around 10%. We have collected survey data from over 8,500 of these learners to assess their basic science knowledge, attitudes towards science and technology, motivations for taking the courses, and information about other ways they engage in science related activities. We present information about these learners, including their demographics, motivations, how they use the courses, and what factors lead to increased engagement and completion. Additionally, we present how survey data from these learners compare to 26 years of data we have collected from parallel group of undergraduate non-science major students enrolled in astronomy courses at the University of Arizona. Overall, we find that learners who enroll in the MOOCs have more interest in science and higher basic science knowledge that undergraduates who pay tuition for a similar course. Our work is helping us understand how to better serve learners in MOOCs and bridge more traditional courses with these types of courses.

Exposing Students to the Potential and Risks of Stakeholder Engagement when Teaching Sustainability: A Classroom Exercise

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Collins, Eva; Kearins, Kate

2007-01-01

In-class, stakeholder negotiation exercises are proposed as a means of students experiencing and reflecting critically on the potential and the risks of an increasingly popular mechanism for advancing sustainability--stakeholder engagement. This article reviews the theoretical framework for stakeholder engagement and for an issue-based rather than…

Creating and sustaining an academic-practice Partnership Engagement Model.

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Schaffer, Marjorie A; Schoon, Patricia M; Brueshoff, Bonnie L

2017-11-01

Public health clinical educators and practicing public health nurses (PHNs) are experiencing challenges in creating meaningful clinical learning experiences for nursing students due to an increase in nursing programs and greater workload responsibilities for both nursing faculty and PHNs. The Henry Street Consortium (HSC), a collaborative group of PHNs and nursing faculty, conducted a project to identify best practices for public health nursing student clinical learning experiences. Project leaders surveyed HSC members about preferences for teaching-learning strategies, facilitated development of resources and tools to guide learning, organized faculty/PHN pilot teams to test resources and tools with students, and evaluated the pilot team experiences through two focus groups. The analysis of the outcomes of the partnership engagement project led to the development of the Partnership Engagement Model (PEM), which may be used by nursing faculty and their public health practice partners to guide building relationships and sustainable partnerships for educating nursing students. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

SEATURTLE: Sustained Engagement Autonomous Tracking of Underwater RepTiLEs

OpenAIRE

Budd, Johnathan

2015-01-01

While oceans cover the majority of our planet, these vast expanses remain relatively unexplored. Among the most interesting parts of the ocean are the shallow reef systems, which contain a huge amount of the planet’s biodiversity. The Sustained Engagement Autonomous Tracking of Underwater RepTiLEs or SEATURTLE is a low cost Autonomous Underwater Vehicle designed to carry out missions in these shallow environments. Its small displacement and precise movement make it ideal for navigating tight ...

Learners engaging with transformation geometry

African Journals Online (AJOL)

participants engaged in investigative semi-structured interviews with the resear- chers. ... Keywords: analysis; conversions; transformation geometry; transformations; treatments .... semiotic systems of representation is not only to designate mathematical objects or to com- municate but also to ... Research design. We believe ...

Sustainable childhood obesity prevention through community engagement (SCOPE) program: evaluation of the implementation phase.

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McIntosh, Bonnie; Daly, Amelia; Mâsse, Louise C; Collet, Jean-Paul; Higgins, Joan Wharf; Naylor, Patti-Jean; Amed, Shazhan

2015-10-01

Childhood obesity rates are steadily rising. Sustainable Childhood Obesity Prevention Through Community Engagement (SCOPE) is a community-based participatory action research (PAR) program aimed at preventing childhood obesity. This study aimed to describe community perspectives on, and elicit feedback about, SCOPE's first phase of implementation in two pilot cities in British Columbia, Canada. A case study was implemented using interviews and questionnaires to obtain feedback about SCOPE from two groups: SCOPE coordinators and stakeholders (i.e., individuals and organizations that were a member of the community and engaged with SCOPE coordinators). Participants were recruited via email and (or) by telephone. Coordinators completed a telephone interview. Stakeholders completed a questionnaire and (or) a telephone interview. Thematic analysis was conducted. Participants included 2 coordinators and 15 stakeholders. Participants similarly interpreted SCOPE as a program focused on raising awareness about childhood obesity prevention, while engaging multiple community sectors. Overall, participants valued the program's role in facilitating networking and partnership development, providing evidence-based resources, technical expertise, and contributing funding. Participants felt that SCOPE is sustainable. However, participants felt that barriers to achieving healthy weights among children included those related to the built environment, and social, behavioral, and economic obstacles. Perspectives on factors that facilitated and acted as barriers to SCOPE's first phase of implementation were obtained from the SCOPE communities and may be used to enhance the sustainability of SCOPE and its applicability to other BC communities.

Effects of Character Voice-Over on Players' Engagement in a Digital Role-Playing Game Environment

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Byun, JaeHwan

2012-01-01

Learner engagement has been considered one of the keys that can lead learners to successful learning in a multimedia learning environment such as digital game-based learning. Regarding this point, game-based learning advocates (e.g., Gee, 2003; Prensky, 2001) have asserted that digital games have great potential to engage learners. Nonetheless,…

Danish Young Learners inside and outside the classroom

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Signe Hannibal; aus der Wieschen, Maria Vanessa

This paper explores the importance of starting age for learning a foreign language taking into account classroom practices and extramural activities. Looking at learners receiving formal English education from the 1st and 3rd grade on respectively in terms of their classroom activities...... and their engagement in extramural English activities, the paper explores the following research questions: Which types of English language activities are 1st and 3rd grade Danish students engaged in inside and outside school? Is there a difference in receptive English proficiency between the two groups? If so, can...... this be explained by classroom practices or engagement in extramural activities? The study involves 300 Danish learners of English (ages 6-11). Receptive vocabulary (PPVT™-4 ) and grammar (Trog-2) tests were administered at the onset of formal teaching and after 1 year. Classroom practices were evaluated by video...

Transnational Comparison of Sustainability Assessment Programs for Viticulture and a Case-Study on Programs’ Engagement Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina Santiago-Brown

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This article documents and compares the most prominent sustainability assessment programs for individual organisations in viticulture worldwide. Certification and engagement processes for membership uptake; benefits; motives; inhibiting factors; and desirable reporting system features of viticultural sustainability programs, are all considered. Case-study results are derived from nine sustainability programs; 14 focus groups with 83 CEOs, Chief Viticulturists or Winemakers from wine grape production organizations from five countries (Australia, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States; 12 semi-structured interviews with managers either currently or formerly in charge of the sustainability programs; researcher observations; and analysis of documents. Programs were categorized by their distinct program assessment methods: process-based, best practice-based, indicator-based and criterion-based. We found that programs have been created to increase growers’ sustainability, mainly through the direct and indirect education they receive and promote, and the economic benefit to their business caused by overall improvement of their operations. The main finding from this study is that the success of each of these programs is largely due to the people driving the programs (program managers, innovative growers and/or early adopters and the way these people communicate and engage with their stakeholders and peers.

Literacy in Social Studies: The Influence of Cognitive and Motivational Practices on the Reading Comprehension of English Learners and Non-English Learners

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Taboada Barber, Ana; Buehl, Michelle M.; Beck, Jori S.; Ramirez, Erin M.; Gallagher, Melissa; Richey Nuland, Leila N.; Archer, Casey J.

2018-01-01

We examined the impact of cognitive and motivation practices within a social studies literacy intervention (United States History for Engaged Reading [USHER]) on Grade 6 English learners' (ELs) and non-ELs' history reading comprehension, cognitive strategy use, reading self-efficacy, and reading engagement. We used a switching replications…

The effectiveness of TBL with real patients in neurology education in terms of knowledge retention, in-class engagement, and learner reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Alimoglu, Mustafa Kemal; Yardım, Selda; Uysal, Hilmi

2017-03-01

In our medical school, we changed from a lecture-based method to a team-based learning (TBL) method to teach "polyneuropathies" in the neurology clerkship starting from the 2014 to 2015 academic year. Real patients were used instead of written scenarios in TBL sessions. This study aimed to compare former lecture-based and the current TBL methods in terms of knowledge retention, in-class learner engagement, and learner reactions. First, we determined in-class engagement and satisfaction of the students for the lectures given in the 2013-2014 academic year. The following year, besides the same criteria, we also determined individual (IRAT) and group readiness test (GRAT) scores in the TBL group. End-of-clerkship exam scores for both groups were recorded. Additionally, opinions of patients about their experiences throughout the TBL process were determined. One year later (2015 for lecture and 2016 for TBL), both groups sat for an MCQ test to determine their knowledge retention levels. We found no difference between groups regarding end-of-clerkship exam scores. The mean knowledge retention test score of the TBL group was significantly higher than that of the lecture group (5.85 ± 1.74 vs. 3.28 ± 1.70). The differences between IRAT, GRAT, and retention test scores in the TBL group were significant. The mean student satisfaction score on a five-point scale was 3.01 ± 0.9 (median = 3) in the lecture group and 4.11 ± 1.1 (median = 4) in the TBL group. Our results seem encouraging for use of TBL performed with real patients in neurology education to achieve better long-term knowledge retention and higher in-class engagement and student satisfaction. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Journey through Transformation: A Case Study of Two Literacy Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Duckworth, Vicky; Ade-Ojo, Gordon O.

2016-01-01

The study draws on life history, literacy studies, and ethnographic approaches to exploring social practices as a frame to explore the narratives of two UK adult literacy learners who provide a description of their engagement with a transformative curriculum and pedagogical approach. One of the learners reveals his frustration at the lack of…

The Outcome of Constructive Alignment between Open Educational Services and Learners' Needs, Employability and Capabilities Development: Heutagogy and Transformative Migration among Underprivileged Learners in Rwanda

Science.gov (United States)

Nkuyubwatsi, Bernard

2016-01-01

While teachers play an important role in education and supporting learning, many learners in under-resourced settings are not privileged to have access to teachers. Some of these underprivileged learners deal with the issue by engaging in self-determined and self-directed learning. Their efforts sometimes pay off with access to formal higher…

The "INCOTERMS" Challenge: Using Multi-Media to Engage Learners

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Holley, Debbie; Haynes, Richard

2003-01-01

This paper explores issues raised during the development and implementation of a new multimedia learning experience, outlining the context to the research and focussing on the changing roles for teachers and learners in the light of evolving new technologies. A backdrop of successive government policies to widening participation is provided to…

Inside Out: Detecting Learners' Confusion to Improve Interactive Digital Learning Environments

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Arguel, Amaël; Lockyer, Lori; Lipp, Ottmar V.; Lodge, Jason M.; Kennedy, Gregor

2017-01-01

Confusion is an emotion that is likely to occur while learning complex information. This emotion can be beneficial to learners in that it can foster engagement, leading to deeper understanding. However, if learners fail to resolve confusion, its effect can be detrimental to learning. Such detrimental learning experiences are particularly…

Motivation Management of Project-Based Learning for Business English Adult Learners

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Liu, Xiaoqin

2016-01-01

The paper finds out poor engagement in business English training program prevents adult learners at College of Continuing Education of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies from improving their communication skills. PBL (Project-Based Learning) is proposed to motivate adult learners to get involved with learning a lot. Based on the perspective…

LingoBee: Engaging Mobile Language Learners through Crowd-Sourcing

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Petersen, Sobah Abbas; Procter-Legg, Emma; Cacchione, Annamaria

2014-01-01

This paper describes three case studies, where language learners were invited to use "LingoBee" as a means of supporting their language learning. LingoBee is a mobile app that provides user-generated language content in a cloud-based shared repository. Assuming that today's students are mobile savvy and "Digital Natives" able…

Civic Engagement and Environmental Sustainability in Teaching and Learning at Higher Education Institution in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nhokodi Tererai

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This article seeks to provide an outline the scope of professional teaching and learning activities and their connection to civic engagement and the achievement of environmental sustainability at Rhodes University and in Makana Local Municipality. Activities in the context of rainwater water harvesting and sanitation research are used as examples. The improved hydrogen-sulphide test kit was used as the tool for the assessment of microbial water quality between April and July 2016. An approach to the improvement in the design and modelling of the performance of ventillated improved pit latrines under laboratory conditions is also described. All activities described have been taking place in the context of undergraduate and postgraduate student research projects at Rhodes University. They have implications for teaching and learning, civic engagement and environmental sustainability. Teaching and learning of the concepts of sustainability can facilitate the development of the necessary connection between academia and the society at large. This can have a significant positive effect on societal conditions in South Africa. Further endeavours similar those described in this article should be stimulated in South and beyond.

The Effects of Levels of Elaboration on Learners' Strategic Processing of Text

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Dornisch, Michele; Sperling, Rayne A.; Zeruth, Jill A.

2011-01-01

In the current work, we examined learners' comprehension when engaged with elaborative processing strategies. In Experiment 1, we randomly assigned students to one of five elaborative processing conditions and addressed differences in learners' lower- and higher-order learning outcomes and ability to employ elaborative strategies. Findings…

Inducing Socio-Cognitive Conflict in Finnish and German Groups of Online Learners by CSCL Script

Science.gov (United States)

Weinberger, Armin; Marttunen, Miika; Laurinen, Leena; Stegmann, Karsten

2013-01-01

Collaborative learners are often meant to be guided by collaboration scripts to identify, discuss, and resolve differences of opinion and knowledge. How learners engage in and resolve conflict, however, may be highly dependent on learners' cultural background. In this article, we examine the extent to which a peer-critique collaboration script…

Real-World Problems: Engaging Young Learners in Critical Thinking

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Cole, Bronwyn; McGuire, Margit

2012-01-01

Critical thinking is a process that can be taught. It involves "evaluating the accuracy, credibility, and worth of information and lines of reasoning. Critical thinking is reflective, logical, evidence-based, and has a purposeful quality to it--that is, the learner thinks critically in order to achieve a particular goal." The authors have found…

LANGUAGE LEARNING ACTIVITIES OF DISTANCE EFL LEARNERS IN THE TURKISH OPEN EDUCATION SYSTEM AS THE INDICATOR OF THEIR LEARNER AUTONOMY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dilek ALTUNAY

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the noncompulsory language learning activities performed by a group of distance EFL learners in the Turkish Open Education System. Performance of these activities has been considered as an indicator of their learner autonomy. The data were collected through an online questionnaire and interviews. The study shows that in general learners do not demonstrate autonomous language learning behaviour. They prefer learning English in a relaxed environment particularly by engaging in entertaining activities, and through note-taking. However, they do not have sufficient interaction with their facilitator, other learners or speakers. Although the participants are distance learners, they do not prefer Internet-based activities. Conditions stemming from adulthood, lack of skills necessary to perform an activity, lack of awareness of some activities and learners’ experiences in their previous years of education are some of the reasons for their unautonomous behaviour. The article also includes suggestions for teaching and future research.

How Do Novice and Expert Learners Represent, Understand, and Discuss Geologic Time?

Science.gov (United States)

Layow, Erica Amanda

This dissertation examined the representations novice and expert learners constructed for the geologic timescale. Learners engaged in a three-part activity. The purpose was to compare novice learners' representations to those of expert learners. This provided insight into the similarities and differences between their strategies for event ordering, assigning values and scale to the geologic timescale model, as well as their language and practices to complete the model. With a qualitative approach to data analysis informed by an expert-novice theoretical framework grounded in phenomenography, learner responses comprised the data analyzed. These data highlighted learners' metacognitive thoughts that might not otherwise be shared through lectures or laboratory activities. Learners' responses were analyzed using a discourse framework that positioned learners as knowers. Novice and expert learners both excelled at ordering and discussing events before the Phanerozoic, but were challenged with events during the Phanerozoic. Novice learners had difficulty assigning values to events and establishing a scale for their models. Expert learners expressed difficulty with determining a scale because of the size of the model, yet eventually used anchor points and unitized the model to establish a scale. Despite challenges constructing their models, novice learners spoke confidently using claims and few hedging phrases indicating their confidence in statements made. Experts used more hedges than novices, however the hedging comments were made about more complex conceptions. Using both phenomenographic and discourse analysis approaches for analysis foregrounded learners' discussions of how they perceived geologic time and their ways of knowing and doing. This research is intended to enhance the geoscience community's understanding of the ways novice and expert learners think and discuss conceptions of geologic time, including the events and values of time, and the strategies used

Toward a Unified Modeling of Learner's Growth Process and Flow Theory

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Challco, Geiser C.; Andrade, Fernando R. H.; Borges, Simone S.; Bittencourt, Ig I.; Isotani, Seiji

2016-01-01

Flow is the affective state in which a learner is so engaged and involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter. In this sense, to help students in the skill development and knowledge acquisition (referred to as learners' growth process) under optimal conditions, the instructional designers should create learning scenarios that favor…

Can an Interactive Digital Game Help French Learners Improve Their Pronunciation?

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Walcir; Rueb, Avery; Grimshaw, Jennica

2017-01-01

This study examines the effects of the pedagogical use of an interactive mobile digital game, Prêt à Négocier (PàN), on improving learners' pronunciation of French as a Second Language (FSL), using three holistic measures: comprehensibility, fluency, and overall pronunciation. Two groups of FSL learners engaged in different types of game-playing…

Sustaining Student Engagement in Learning Science

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Ateh, Comfort M.; Charpentier, Alicia

2014-01-01

Many students perceive science to be a difficult subject and are minimally engaged in learning it. This article describes a lesson that embedded an activity to engage students in learning science. It also identifies features of a science lesson that are likely to enhance students' engagement and learning of science and possibly reverse students'…

Symphony: A case study for exploring and describing design methods and guidelines for learner-centered design

Science.gov (United States)

Quintana, Christopher

Learner-centered design is an evolving software design perspective addressing the needs of learners---a specific audience trying to work in and understand new work practices in which they have a novice or naive understanding. Learner-centered design involves designing software that incorporates work support features (or scaffolding features) informed by social constructivist learning theories. By adopting a constructivist "learning by doing" perspective, scaffolds should support learners so they can mindfully engage in previously inaccessible work activity, which in turn allows those learners to progressively gain a better understanding of the new work. While there is an intuitive notion of "learner-centered design", there is less specific design information for developing learner-centered software. As a result, learner-centered software results from "educated guesses" and ad-hoc design approaches rather than from systematic design methods. Thus there is a need for specific design guidance to facilitate the development of learner-centered tools that help learners see the tasks, terminology, tools, etc. in the new work context and engage in that work. The research in this dissertation provides a more specific base of learner-centered design descriptions, methods, and guidelines to analyze work practices and design and evaluate scaffolds. The research approach involves using the development of Symphony---a scaffolded integrated tool environment for high-school students learning the work of computational science inquiry---as a case study to develop the learner-centered design approach. Symphony incorporates a variety of science tools with process scaffolding to support students in performing complex air pollution investigations. Six ninth-grade students used Symphony to investigate air quality questions for several weeks in an environmental science class. The student testing helped assess the effectiveness of the software scaffolding and in turn, the learner

More than Just a Pretty (Inter) Face: The Role of the Graphical User Interface in Engaging Elearners.

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Metros, Susan E.; Hedberg, John G.

2002-01-01

Examines the relationship between the graphical user interface (GUI) and the cognitive demands placed on the learner in eLearning (electronic learning) environments. Describes ways educators can design appropriate interfaces to facilitate meaningful interactions with educational content; and examines learner engagement and engagement theory using…

Development of affective modelling competencies in primary school learners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piera Biccard

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Learner affect and beliefs about mathematics are complex and multifaceted aspects of mathematical learning. Traditional teaching and learning approaches in mathematics education often result in problematic beliefs about mathematics. Since beliefs influence what learners learn and how they deal with learning mathematics, it is essential that the roles of beliefs and affect in mathematics classrooms are carefully examined. In solving modelling problems, learners and teachers take on new roles in the classroom: learners are placed in an active, self-directing situation in which they solve real-world problems. When learners engage in modelling tasks, they display and integrate cognitive, meta-cognitive and affective competencies. A modelling approach therefore allows one to detect learner beliefs in an authentic learning environment. Will this environment lead to students having more positive and productive dispositions towards mathematics? This article presents partial results of a study documenting the development of modelling competencies in learners working in groups over a period of 12 weeks. Through a design research approach, 12 learners working in groups solved three modelling problems, and transcriptions of learner interactions, questionnaires and informal interviews revealed that learner beliefs improved over this short period when exposed to modelling tasks. The results are encouraging, and may provide mathematics education with an avenue to develop more positive learner beliefs in mathematics.

Why Learner-Centered New Faculty Orientations Matter: Organizational Culture and Faculty Retention

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Scott, Whitney; Lemus, Daisy; Knotts, Greg; Oh, Janet

2016-01-01

A learner-centered New Faculty Orientation (NFO) can be a powerful way to immediately engage new faculty and develop their organizational identification to the institution and its values. Unfortunately, some NFOs do not model a learner-centered philosophy and miss opportunities to establish a collaborative and celebratory tone. In this paper, we…

Barriers and Strategies to Engaging Our Community-Based Preceptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Graziano, Scott C; McKenzie, Margaret L; Abbott, Jodi F; Buery-Joyner, Samantha D; Craig, LaTasha B; Dalrymple, John L; Forstein, David A; Hampton, Brittany S; Page-Ramsey, Sarah M; Pradhan, Archana; Wolf, Abigail; Hopkins, Laura

2018-03-26

This article, from the "To the Point" series that is prepared by the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics Undergraduate Medical Education Committee, is a review of commonly cited barriers to recruiting and retaining community-based preceptors in undergraduate medical education and potential strategies to overcome them. Community-based preceptors have traditionally served as volunteer, nonsalaried faculty, with academic institutions relying on intrinsic teaching rewards to sustain this model. However, increasing numbers of learners, the burdens of incorporating the electronic medical record in practice, and increasing demands for clinical productivity are making recruitment and retention of community-based preceptors more challenging. General challenges to engaging preceptors, as well as those unique to women's health, are discussed. Potential solutions are reviewed, including alternative recruitment strategies, faculty development to emphasize efficient teaching practices in the ambulatory setting, offers of online educational resources, and opportunities to incorporate students in value-added roles. Through examples cited in this review, clerkship directors and medical school administrators should have a solid foundation to actively engage their community-based preceptors.

The Three Little Wolves Go to College: A Picture Book Lesson for Young Adult EFL Learners

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Sun, Chia-Ho

2015-01-01

For at least three decades, scholars have discussed the rationale for using picture books with English learners of all ages. Research on how older ESL and EFL learners can benefit from picture books, however, remains scarce. This study explored 25 Taiwanese university EFL learners' engagement in a predicting-reading-confirming-integrating plus…

Using Tiered Assignments to Engage Learners in Advanced Placement Physics

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Geddes, Kimberly A.

2010-01-01

This article presents lesson plans that incorporate tiered objectives and brainstorming techniques as means for differentiating instruction and ensuring that learners are challenged at levels commensurate with their abilities even though they are developing an understanding of the same physics concepts. A listing of materials and resources…

Data-informed nudges for student engagement and success

OpenAIRE

Stephens, Jason; Leichtweis, Steve; Liu, Danny; Blumenstein, Marion; Richards, Deborah

2018-01-01

Student engagement has never mattered more in college and university education. While the problem of low engagement and underachievement may differ greatly depending on learning contexts their relationship is well-established. Increasingly, digital technologies have allowed teachers to utilize actionable insights gleaned from data about learner engagement and performance to influence students’ choices on regulating their learning behaviour towards academic success. In this context, we apply t...

A prescription for sustaining community engagement in malaria elimination on Aneityum Island, Vanuatu: an application of Health Empowerment Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Noriko; Kaneko, Akira; Yamar, Sam; Taleo, George; Tanihata, Takeo; Lum, J Koji; Larson, Peter S; Shearer, Nelma B C

2015-07-31

Community engagement has contributed to disease control and elimination in many countries. Community engagement in malaria elimination (ME) on Aneityum Island has been sustained since its introduction in the early 1990s. Capacity developed within this population has led to a health empowered community response. Health Empowerment Theory (HET) can account for the innovative community actions and capacity development efforts taken to realize and sustain meaningful changes in well-being. This study used the HET framework to investigate participant perceptions of ME efforts on the island focusing on two HET elements, personal and social-contextual resources. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of empowerment as a critical element of community engagement. Six focus group discussions, ten key informant interviews and 17 in-depth interviews were conducted in July 2012 on Aneityum. Both deductive and inductive approaches to qualitative content analysis were used to identify themes, which were condensed, coded and classified based on the HET elements above. Awareness and use of personal and social-contextual resources played an important role in ME efforts. Most participants shared their knowledge to prevent malaria reintroduction. Many participants reported their skills needed for behavioral maintenance, problem-solving or leadership. Participants who perceived a threat took preventive actions even in the dry season. Community leaders focused on second generation capacity development. A local health coalition provided ME services. Members of networks were sources of information and assistance. Face-to-face was the preferred method of communication. Barriers to engagement (e.g., financial difficulties, health literacy issues and underdeveloped infrastructure) were minimized through active collaboration and mutual assistance. In the community engagement continuum, health empowerment develops incrementally overtime as people gain their knowledge and skills, form

Elderly Learners and Massive Open Online Courses: A Review.

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Liyanagunawardena, Tharindu Rekha; Williams, Shirley Ann

2016-01-07

engagement with MOOCs. Similarly, there has been little research into exploiting the scope of MOOCs for delivering topics that would be of interest to elderly learners. We believe there is potential to use MOOCs as a way of tackling the issue of loneliness among older adults by engaging them as either resource personnel or learners.

Stakeholder Engagement in Sustainability Reporting in Higher Education: An Analysis of Key Internal Stakeholders' Expectations

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Ferrero-Ferrero, Idoya; Fernández-Izquierdo, María Ángeles; Muñoz-Torres, María Jesús; Bellés-Colomer, Lucía

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of stakeholder engagement in the context of sustainability reporting (SR) for higher education institutions (HEIs), together with the materiality principle and stakeholder expectations. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses an exploratory approach based on content…

Feedback on Feedback: Eliciting Learners' Responses to Written Feedback through Student-Generated Screencasts

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Fernández-Toro, María; Furnborough, Concha

2014-01-01

Despite the potential benefits of assignment feedback, learners often fail to use it effectively. This study examines the ways in which adult distance learners engage with written feedback on one of their assignments. Participants were 10 undergraduates studying Spanish at the Open University, UK. Their responses to feedback were elicited by means…

Learner-Generated Content and Engagement in Second Language Task Performance

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Lambert, Craig; Philp, Jenefer; Nakamura, Sachiko

2017-01-01

This study investigates the benefits of designing second language (L2) learning tasks to operate on learner-generated content (related to actual content in their lives and experiences) as opposed to teacher-generated content typical of current approaches to L2 task design (fictitious ideas and events created to provide an opportunity for…

How does technology impact on the self-beliefs of adult basic education learners?

OpenAIRE

Nwosu, Uchenna June

2010-01-01

Non-peer-reviewed Adult Basic Education learners return to education to solve a problem of inadequacy in life hence many adult basic education learners engage in the learning of basic skills to meet their needs in life than for the education itself. Due to feelings of inadequacy, in many instances the adult basic education learner displays low beliefs in abilities and capabilities which if not properly managed and enhanced can negatively impact on learning and consequently the mee...

Learner Analysis Framework for Globalized E-Learning: A Case Study

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Mamta Saxena

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The shift to technology-mediated modes of instructional delivery and increased global connectivity has led to a rise in globalized e-learning programs. Educational institutions face multiple challenges as they seek to design effective, engaging, and culturally competent instruction for an increasingly diverse learner population. The purpose of this study was to explore strategies for expanding learner analysis within the instructional design process to better address cultural influences on learning. A case study approach leveraged the experience of practicing instructional designers to build a framework for culturally competent learner analysis.The study discussed the related challenges and recommended strategies to improve the effectiveness of cross-cultural learner analysis. Based on the findings, a framework for conducting cross-cultural learner analysis to guide the cultural analysis of diverse learners was proposed. The study identified the most critical factors in improving cross-cultural learner analysis as the judicious use of existing research on cross-cultural theories and joint deliberation on the part of all the participants from the management to the learners. Several strategies for guiding and improving the cultural inquiry process were summarized. Barriers and solutions for the requirements are also discussed.

Learner Analysis Framework for Globalized E-Learning

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Saxena, Mamta

2010-01-01

The digital shift to technology-mediated modes of instructional delivery and the increased global connectivity has led to the rise in globalized e-learning programs. Educational institutions face multiple challenges as they seek to design effective, engaging and culturally competent instruction for an increasingly diverse learner population. The…

Ubiquitous learning model using interactive internet messenger group (IIMG) to improve engagement and behavior for smart campus

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Umam, K.; Mardi, S. N. S.; Hariadi, M.

2017-01-01

The recent popularity of internet messenger based smartphone technologies has motivated some university lecturers to use them for educational activities. These technologies have enormous potential to enhance the teaching and ubiquitous learning experience for smart campus development. However, the design ubiquitous learning model using interactive internet messenger group (IIMG) and empirical evidence that would favor a broad application of mobile and ubiquitous learning in smart campus settings to improve engagement and behavior is still limited. In addition, the expectation that mobile learning could improve engagement and behavior on smart campus cannot be confirmed because the majority of the reviewed studies followed instructions paradigms. This article aims to present ubiquitous learning model design and showing learners’ experiences in improved engagement and behavior using IIMG for learner-learner and learner-lecturer interactions. The method applied in this paper includes design process and quantitative analysis techniques, with the purpose of identifying scenarios of ubiquitous learning and realize the impressions of learners and lecturers about engagement and behavior aspect, and its contribution to learning.

Where Do Teachers and Learners Stand in Music Education Research? A Multi-Voiced Call for a New Ethos of Music Education Research

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Gouzouasis, Peter; Bakan, Danny; Ryu, Jee Yeon; Ballam, Helen; Murphy, David; Ihnatovych, Diana; Virag, Zoltan; Yanko, Matthew

2014-01-01

We offer a multi-voiced performance autoethnography where contemporary music education practices are informed and imbued with the voices of teachers and learners. By dialogically and musically engaging with the very people who live, make music, and engage with learners in music classrooms, we promote contemporary qualitative forms of research and…

Electronic Reading and Digital Library Technologies: Understanding Learner Expectation and Usage Intent for Mobile Learning

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Hyman, Jack A.; Moser, Mary T.; Segala, Laura N.

2014-01-01

Mobile information technology is changing the education landscape by offering learners the opportunity to engage in asynchronous, ubiquitous instruction. While there is a proliferation of mobile content management systems being developed for the mobile Web and stand-alone mobile applications, few studies have addressed learner expectations and…

Effects of Community Service-Learning on Heritage Language Learners' Attitudes toward Their Language and Culture

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Pascual y Cabo, Diego; Prada, Josh; Lowther Pereira, Kelly

2017-01-01

This study examined the effects of participation in a community service-learning experience on Spanish heritage language learners' attitudes toward their heritage language and culture. Quantitative and qualitative data from heritage language learners demonstrated that engagement in community service-learning activities as part of the Spanish…

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Decommissioning Offshore Wells Using Stakeholder Engagement, Risk Identification, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

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Battalora, L.; Prasad, M.

2017-12-01

Context/PurposeThe typical oil and gas project lifecycle includes acquisition, exploration, drilling, production, and decommissioning phases. The oil and gas industry (Industry) has become proactive in identifying and mitigating health, safety, security, environment, and social responsibility risks during these phases as well as designing for sustainable development. With many fields reaching the end stages of the lifecycle, Industry is faced with the challenge of identifying and evaluating risks in the decommissioning phase. The level of challenge is increased when planning for the decommissioning of offshore wells. This paper describes tools that can be applied in the multidisciplinary design of the decommissioning program including use of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). MethodsStakeholder engagement is key to a successful project. Typical stakeholders in an oil and gas project include the community, regulatory agencies, federal, state, and local governments, private investors, academia, and non-governmental organizations. Before engagement begins, stakeholders must be identified as well as their level of influence in the project. Relationships between stakeholders are "mapped" providing a better understanding of priorities and areas of concentration. Project risks are identified and ranked according to likelihood and impact. Mitigations are matched to risks. Sustainable development is implemented through acknowledgement of societal, economic, and environmental impacts in engineering design. InterpretationRecently, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and IPIECA, the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues, partnered to develop the publication, Mapping the oil and gas industry to the Sustainable Development Goals: An Atlas. SDGs have been linked to Industry operations and can serve as a guide for the offshore decommissioning phase Conclusion

Modifying Dialogical Strategy in Asynchronous Critical Discussions for Cross-Strait Chinese Learners

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Jean Yiching Chiu

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In this global era, critical thinking has become crucial for educators and learners. The purpose of this research was to explore how modifying a dialogical strategy in asynchronous online discussion forums impacted Chinese learners’ critical thinking. Due to the Chinese cultural impact of social harmony, the majority of learners tend to maintain silent and avoid critical discussions in instructional settings. The author deployed an affectively supportive model in a modified dialogical strategy to structure Chinese EFL learners’ asynchronous critical postings by probing and questioning while requiring labeling of each cross-referencing posting as Agree/Disagree/Challenge/New Perspective. The participants were two cohorts of similar cultural background but under different political systems in China and Taiwan, here engaged together in cultural interactions. This study employed two research methods: standardized critical thinking tests, and focus groups. Findings reveal that learners in both cohorts indicated some improvement in their critical thinking skills. Nevertheless, there remain affective and cultural issues. Future studies are thus recommended to further investigate the potential of an adaptive model to engage critical discussions with English native speakers and optimize critical thinking for Chinese learners in an EFL environment.

Finding the community in sustainable online community engagement: Not-for-profit organisation websites, service-learning and research

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Alice Dodd

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This article explores the use of action research (2008–2014 based on a case study of the Sustainable Online Community Engagement (SOCE Project, a service-learning project in which University of South Australia students build websites for not-for-profit (NFP organisations, to demonstrate that effective teaching, public service and research are interdependent. A significant problem experienced in the SOCE project was that, despite some training and ongoing assistance, the community organisations reported that they found it difficult to make effective use of their websites. One of the proposed solutions was to develop an online community of the participating organisations that would be self-supporting, member-driven and collaborative, and enable the organisations to share information about web-based technology. The research reported here explored the usefulness of developing such an online community for the organisations involved and sought alternative ways to assist the organisations to maintain an effective and sustainable web presence. The research used a three-phase ethnographic action research approach. The first phase was a content analysis and review of the editing records of 135 organisational websites hosted by the SOCE project. The second phase was an online survey sent to 145 community organisation members responsible for the management of these websites, resulting in 48 responses. The third phase consisted of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 18 of the website managers from 12 of these organisations. The research revealed the extent to which organisations were unable to manage their websites and found that the proposed solution of an online community would not be useful. More importantly, it suggested other useful strategies which have been implemented. In Furco’s (2010 model of the engaged campus, public engagement can be used to advance the public service, teaching and research components of higher education’s tripartite

Training Learners to Use Quizlet Vocabulary Activities on Mobile Phones in Vietnam with Facebook

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Tran, Phuong

2016-01-01

Mobile phone ownership among university students in Vietnam has reached almost 100%, exceeding that of Internet-capable desktop computers. This has made them increasingly popular to allow learners to carry out learning activities outside of the classroom, but some studies have suggested that learners are not always willing to engage in activities…

Power Distance in Online Learning: Experience of Chinese Learners in U.S. Higher Education

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Zhang, Yi (Leaf)

2013-01-01

The purpose of this research study was to explore the influence of Confucian-heritage culture on Chinese learners' online learning and engagement in online discussion in U.S. higher education. More specifically, this research studied Chinese learners' perceptions of power distance and its impact on their interactions with instructors and peers in…

Developing principles of sustainability and stakeholder engagement for "gentle" remediation approaches: the European context.

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Cundy, A B; Bardos, R P; Church, A; Puschenreiter, M; Friesl-Hanl, W; Müller, I; Neu, S; Mench, M; Witters, N; Vangronsveld, J

2013-11-15

Gentle Remediation Options (GRO) are risk management strategies or techniques for contaminated sites that result in no gross reduction in soil functionality (or a net gain) as well as risk management. Intelligently applied GROs can provide: (a) rapid risk management via pathway control, through containment and stabilisation, coupled with a longer term removal or immobilisation/isolation of the contaminant source term; and (b) a range of additional economic (e.g. biomass generation), social (e.g. leisure and recreation) and environmental (e.g. CO2 sequestration) benefits. In order for these benefits to be optimised or indeed realised, effective stakeholder engagement is required. This paper reviews current sector practice in stakeholder engagement and its importance when implementing GRO and other remediation options. From this, knowledge gaps are identified, and strategies to promote more effective stakeholder engagement during GRO application are outlined. Further work is required on integrating stakeholder engagement strategies into decision support systems and tools for GRO (to raise the profile of the benefits of effective stakeholder engagement and participation, particularly with sector professionals), and developing criteria for the identification of different stakeholder profiles/categories. Demonstrator sites can make a significant contribution to stakeholder engagement via providing evidence on the effectiveness of GRO under varying site contexts and conditions. Effective and sustained engagement strategies however will be required to ensure that site risk is effectively managed over the longer-term, and that full potential benefits of GRO (e.g. CO2 sequestration, economic returns from biomass generation and "leverage" of marginal land, amenity and educational value, ecosystem services) are realised and communicated to stakeholders. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigating service features to sustain engagement in early intervention mental health services.

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Becker, Mackenzie; Cunningham, Charles E; Christensen, Bruce K; Furimsky, Ivana; Rimas, Heather; Wilson, Fiona; Jeffs, Lisa; Madsen, Victoria; Bieling, Peter; Chen, Yvonne; Mielko, Stephanie; Zipursky, Robert B

2017-08-23

To understand what service features would sustain patient engagement in early intervention mental health treatment. Mental health patients, family members of individuals with mental illness and mental health professionals completed a survey consisting of 18 choice tasks that involved 14 different service attributes. Preferences were ascertained using importance and utility scores. Latent class analysis revealed segments characterized by distinct preferences. Simulations were carried out to estimate utilization of hypothetical clinical services. Overall, 333 patients and family members and 183 professionals (N = 516) participated. Respondents were distributed between a Professional segment (53%) and a Patient segment (47%) that differed in a number of their preferences including for appointment times, individual vs group sessions and mode of after-hours support. Members of both segments shared preferences for many of the service attributes including having crisis support available 24 h per day, having a choice of different treatment modalities, being offered help for substance use problems and having a focus on improving symptoms rather than functioning. Simulations predicted that 60% of the Patient segment thought patients would remain engaged with a Hospital service, while 69% of the Professional segment thought patients would be most likely to remain engaged with an E-Health service. Patients, family members and professionals shared a number of preferences about what service characteristics will optimize patient engagement in early intervention services but diverged on others. Providing effective crisis support as well as a range of treatment options should be prioritized in the future design of early intervention services. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

When learners become teachers: a review of peer teaching in medical student education.

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Benè, Kristen L; Bergus, George

2014-01-01

Peer teaching engages students as teachers and is widely used in K-12 education, many universities, and increasingly in medical schools. It draws on the social and cognitive congruence between learner and teacher and can be attractive to medical schools faced with a growing number of learners but a static faculty size. Peer teachers can give lectures on assigned topics, lead problem-based learning sessions, and provide one on one support to classmates in the form of tutoring. We undertook a narrative review of research on peer teachers in medical school, specifically investigating how medical students are impacted by being peer teachers and how having a peer teacher impacts learners. Studies have shown that peer teaching has a primarily positive impact on both the peer teacher and the learners. In the setting of problem-based learning courses or clinical skills instruction, medical students' performance on tests of knowledge or skills is similar whether they have faculty instructors or peer teachers. There is also strong evidence that being a peer teacher enhances the learning of the peer teacher relative to the content being taught. It is common for peer teachers to lack confidence in their abilities to successfully teach, and they appreciate receiving training related to their teaching role. We find evidence from several different educational settings that peer teaching benefits both the peer teachers and the learners. This suggests that peer teaching is a valuable methodology for medical schools to engage learners as teachers.

Researching Oral Production Skills of Young Learners

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Szpotowicz, Magdalena

2012-01-01

This chapter focuses on the development of young learners' ability to communicate in a foreign language. An empirical study was carried out to determine whether, after four years of learning English as a compulsory school subject, children are ready to engage in oral interaction in a semi-controlled task and produce answers and questions in…

Evaluating the engagement of universities in capacity building for sustainable development in local communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiel, Chris; Leal Filho, Walter; do Paço, Arminda; Brandli, Luciana

2016-02-01

Universities have the potential to play a leading role in enabling communities to develop more sustainable ways of living and working however, sustainable communities may only emerge with facilitation, community learning and continual efforts to build their capacities. Elements of programme planning and evaluation on the one hand, and capacity building on the other, are needed. The latter entails approaches and processes that may contribute to community empowerment; universities may either lead such approaches, or be key partners in an endeavour to empower communities to address the challenges posed by the need for sustainable development. Although capacity building and the promotion of sustainable development locally, are on the agenda for universities who take seriously regional engagement, very little is published that illustrates or describes the various forms of activities that take place. Further, there is a paucity of studies that have evaluated the work performed by universities in building capacity for sustainable development at the local level. This paper is an attempt to address this need, and entails an empirical study based on a sample of universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Brazil. The paper examines the extent to which capacity building for sustainable development is being undertaken, suggests the forms that this might take and evaluates some of the benefits for local communities. The paper concludes by reinforcing that universities have a critical role to play in community development; that role has to prioritise the sustainability agenda. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Empowering Learners with Mobile Open-Access Learning Initiatives

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Mills, Michael, Ed.; Wake, Donna, Ed.

2017-01-01

Education has been progressing at a rapid pace ever since educators have been able to harness the power of mobile technology. Open-access learning techniques provide more students with the opportunity to engage in educational opportunities that may have been previously restricted. "Empowering Learners with Mobile Open-Access Learning…

Mobile-Assisted Language Learning and Language Learner Autonomy

Science.gov (United States)

Lyddon, Paul

2016-01-01

In the modern age of exponential knowledge growth and accelerating technological development, the need to engage in lifelong learning is becoming increasingly urgent. Successful lifelong learning, in turn, requires learner autonomy, or "the capacity to take control of one's own learning" (Benson, 2011, p. 58), including all relevant…

Authentic Tasks to Foster Oral Production among English as a Foreign Language Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Ramírez Ortiz, Sandra Milena; Artunduaga Cuéllar, Marco Tulio

2018-01-01

Attaining oral production is a challenge for most English language teachers because most of the strategies implemented in class do not engage students in speaking activities. Tasks are an optimal alternative to engage learners in communicative exchanges. This article presents the results of a qualitative action research study examining the effects…

Engaging Students in Large Health Classes with Active Learning Strategies

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Elliott, Steven; Combs, Sue; Huelskamp, Amelia; Hritz, Nancy

2017-01-01

Creative K-12 health teachers can engage students in large classes by utilizing active learning strategies. Active learning involves engaging students in higher-order tasks, such as analysis and synthesis, which is a crucial element of the movement toward what is commonly called "learner-centered" teaching. Health education teachers who…

Action towards hope: Addressing learner behaviour in a classroom

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Raelene LeeFon

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Unruly learners and disciplinary problems are an intractable part of every teacher’s teaching experience. It appears that, even though most schools have enacted a code of conduct to regulate learner behaviour, this does not always have the desired effect. Disciplinary problems in schools impact negatively on the teaching and learning environment as well as on teachers’ personal and professional well-being and morale. Framed within the context of a biblical worldview, this article narrates the experiences of one teacher who decided to take action towards hope. The situation in her classroom was quite desperate with learners coming to school unprepared and behaving very badly and parents being uninterested in the performance of their children at school. She realised that she could not change the learners or their parents unless she started with herself. In this context, she, as a postgraduate student under the supervision of the co-authors, embarked on an action-research project to promote positive learner behaviour. By collaborating with the learners on a set of classroom rules, engaging in reflective teaching and changing her own behaviour towards the learners, the situation in her classroom improved. Based on her experiences, this article argues that teachers should empower themselves with knowledge and a better understanding of the concept of discipline rather than viewing the classroom as a battlefield. It is important to acknowledge and show respect and appreciation for each learner in his or her own context.

A.P. Cowie. English Dictionaries for Foreign Learners: A History

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Phillip Louw

2011-10-01

Full Text Available In the mid 1990s the evolution of the English learner's dictionary reached a zenith with the appearance on the market of four advanced-level monolingual learners' dictionaries. Three of these were existing works, i.e. the Oxford Ad-vanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English (henceforth ALD, the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (henceforth LDOCE and the Collins CO-BUILD English Language Dictionary (henceforth COBUILD, which marked, to differing extents, significant departures from the lexicographical procedures followed by their predecessors. The last one, the Cambridge International Dic-tionary of English (henceforth CIDE, was a completely new dictionary. This highly productive burst of lexicographical energy was also the catalyst for an even more productive and sustained body of metalexicographical research and writing that dealt with the topic of learners' dictionaries.

Humanizing Teaching English to Young Learners with Children’s Literature

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Irma Ghosn

2013-05-01

Full Text Available High quality children’s fiction can be used in the young learner classroom to advance the broader social intent of language education and humanize it, while enriching language learning. Children are naturally drawn to picturebooks, which can provide a highly motivating and engaging instructional medium in pre-primary and lower primary classes. Short, illustrated chapter books can be used with intermediate level learners. Children’s literature not only enhances language learning, as proven by extensive research, but it can also nurture moral reasoning skills, emotional intelligence and empathy, as well as help children work through difficult issues. Language teaching tasks around literature can further these goals. This paper argues that quality children’s literature, therefore, has a rightful place in teaching English to young learners, and no less so in the very young learner classes that are becoming increasingly common in many parts of the world.

The Engagement of Students in Higher Education Institutions with the Concepts of Sustainability: A Case Study of the University of Northampton, in England

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Leo Cleverdon

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Across higher education institutions there has, for some time, been a growing move towards incorporation of the concepts of sustainability into the policies and practices of the organisations. Using the University of Northampton, in the United Kingdom as a case study, this project aimed to understand the efficacy of student engagement with a sustainability project called Planet Too. The study employed a range of methods including waste and energy audits, as well as questionnaire surveys both with students and landlords to examine their environmental attitudes, beliefs, and practices. The project was able to lead to increased awareness and engagement with the concepts of sustainability amongst the students. Recycling, though it was not one of the initiatives focused upon, was a key practice mentioned by both students and landlords. The engagement of the landlords was focused primarily on conservation of energy and water. However, conservation practices generally remained static, with limited significant or long-term changes in environmental practices. The key implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations suggested.

High School Learners' Mental Construction during Solving Optimisation Problems in Calculus: A South African Case Study

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Brijlall, Deonarain; Ndlovu, Zanele

2013-01-01

This qualitative case study in a rural school in Umgungundlovu District in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, explored Grade 12 learners' mental constructions of mathematical knowledge during engagement with optimisation problems. Ten Grade 12 learners who do pure Mathemat-ics participated, and data were collected through structured activity sheets and…

Active learners in sustainable electronics and it

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schultz, Ole

This poster-presentation is about active learning in a course sustainable wireless electronics and it. Active learning understood as practical lab-exercises and a team chosen project.......This poster-presentation is about active learning in a course sustainable wireless electronics and it. Active learning understood as practical lab-exercises and a team chosen project....

How transformational learning promotes caring, consultation and creativity, and ultimately contributes to sustainable development: Lessons from the Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living (PERL) network

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Thoresen, Victoria Wyszynski

2017-12-01

Oases of learning which are transformative and lead to significant behavioural change can be found around the globe. Transformational learning has helped learners not only to understand what they have been taught but also to re-conceptualise and re-apply this understanding to their daily lives. Unfortunately, as many global reports indicate, inspirational transformational learning approaches for sustainable development are rare and have yet to become the norm - despite calls for such approaches by several outstanding educators and organisations. This article examines three learning approaches developed by the network of the Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living (PERL). These approaches are structured around core elements of transformative learning for sustainable development, yet focus particularly on the ability to care, consult with others and be creative. They seem to depend on the learners' ability to articulate their perceptions of sustainable development in relation to their own values and to identify how these are actualised in their daily life. Together with other core elements of transformative learning, an almost magical (not precisely measurable) synergy then emerges. The intensity of this synergy appears to be directly related to the individual learner's understanding of the contradictions, interlinkages and interdependencies of modern society. The impact of this synergy seems to be concurrent with the extent to which the learner engages in a continual learning process with those with whom he/she has contact. The findings of this study suggest that mainstreaming transformational learning for sustainable development in ways that release the "magic synergy of creative caring" can result in the emergence of individuals who are willing and able to move from "business as usual" towards more socially just, economically equitable, and environmentally sensitive behaviour.

The potential of public engagement in sustainable waste management: designing the future for biosolids in New Zealand.

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Goven, Joanna; Lisa Langer, E R

2009-02-01

Strategies for beneficial use of biosolids in New Zealand and elsewhere are currently focused primarily on land application. The long-term success of these and other strategies is dependent not only on technical factors, but also on their environmental, economic, social and cultural sustainability. This paper briefly reviews the situation with respect to biosolids management in New Zealand, where land application is not yet widespread; the rise in public opposition to land application in the United States; and the biosolids industry's approach to public engagement. We argue that, at least until recently, the industry has misinterpreted the nature and meaning of public opposition and thus substituted public relations for public engagement. We argue that genuine public engagement is necessary and that its purpose cannot be to gain public acceptance for an already-decided-upon strategy. It therefore calls for humility among biosolids managers, including a willingness to open up the framing of 'the problem', to acknowledge areas of uncertainty, and to recognise the role of values in 'technical' decision-making. We then present and analyse an example of the use of the scenario workshop process for public participation in biosolids management policy in Christchurch, New Zealand, and conclude that scenario workshops and related methods represent an opportunity to enhance sustainable waste management when certain conditions are met.

Learners misperceive the benefits of redundant text in multimedia learning.

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Fenesi, Barbara; Kim, Joseph A

2014-01-01

Research on metacognition has consistently demonstrated that learners fail to endorse instructional designs that produce benefits to memory, and often prefer designs that actually impair comprehension. Unlike previous studies in which learners were only exposed to a single multimedia design, the current study used a within-subjects approach to examine whether exposure to both redundant text and non-redundant text multimedia presentations improved learners' metacognitive judgments about presentation styles that promote better understanding. A redundant text multimedia presentation containing narration paired with verbatim on-screen text (Redundant) was contrasted with two non-redundant text multimedia presentations: (1) narration paired with images and minimal text (Complementary) or (2) narration paired with minimal text (Sparse). Learners watched presentation pairs of either Redundant + Complementary, or Redundant + Sparse. Results demonstrate that Complementary and Sparse presentations produced highest overall performance on the final comprehension assessment, but the Redundant presentation produced highest perceived understanding and engagement ratings. These findings suggest that learners misperceive the benefits of redundant text, even after direct exposure to a non-redundant, effective presentation.

ESL Teachers' Perceptions about English Learners' Reading Motivation

Science.gov (United States)

Protacio, Maria Selena; Jang, Bong Gee

2016-01-01

The role of motivation in engaging students in reading activities and thus improving their reading achievement has been widely reported for the past decades. However, despite the increasing numbers of English learners (ELs) in the United States, little is known about how teachers perceive their motivation to read. Focus group methodology was used…

The Influence of a Game-Making Project on Male and Female Learners' Attitudes to Computing

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Robertson, Judy

2013-01-01

There is a pressing need for gender inclusive approaches to engage young people in computer science. A recent popular approach has been to harness learners' enthusiasm for computer games to motivate them to learn computer science concepts through game authoring. This article describes a study in which 992 learners across 13 schools took part in a…

Complexities and constraints influencing learner performance in physical science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mavhungu Abel Mafukata

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper explores complexities and constraints affecting performance and output of physical science learners in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study was motivated by the desire of the researcher to establish, profile and characterise the complexities and constraints reminiscence of poor performance of learners in physical science as measured through end-of-year Grade 12 (final year of high school education examination results. Twenty six schools (n=26 were purposively selected from three circuits of education (n=3. From these schools, two learners were randomly selected (n=52 for interviews. In addition, two circuit managers (n=2 were conveniently selected as part of Key Informant Interviews (KII. For the Focus Group Discussions (FGDs, twelve (n=12 parents were randomly selected to form two groups of six members each. Multi-factor complexities and constraints impeding performance of learners were discovered. Intensive teacher in-service programme is recommended. Community engagement should be encouraged to educate parents on the value of involvement in the education of their children. Free access learner support structures such as Homework and Extra-lessons Assistance Centre (H&EACs should be established.

Pulling My Gut out--Simple Tools for Engaging Students in Gross Anatomy Lectures

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Chan, Lap Ki

2010-01-01

A lecture is not necessarily a monologue, promoting only passive learning. If appropriate techniques are used, a lecture can stimulate active learning too. One such method is demonstration, which can engage learners' attention and increase the interaction between the lecturer and the learners. This article describes two simple and useful tools for…

Investigating the impact of moulage on simulation engagement - A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Stokes-Parish, Jessica B; Duvivier, Robbert; Jolly, Brian

2018-05-01

Simulation Based Education (SBE) is used as a primer for clinical education in nursing and other health professions. Participant engagement strategies and good debriefing have been identified as key for effective simulations. The environment in which the simulation is situated also plays a large role in the degree of participant engagement. Various cues are staged within simulations to enhance this engagement process. Moulage techniques are used in current-day simulation to mimic illnesses and wounds, acting as visual and tactile cues for the learner. To effectively utilise moulage in simulation, significant expense is required to train simulation staff and to purchase relevant equipment. Explore the use of moulage in simulation practice today and its influence on participant engagement. Using a systematic process to extract papers, we reviewed the literature with a critical-realist lens. CINAHL Complete, ERIC, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Proquest, Science Direct and SAGE. 10 databases were systematically reviewed using the keyword "moulage" to answer the question "How does the authenticity of moulage impact on participant engagement?". 1318 records were identified prior to exclusion criterion were applied. 10 articles were targeted for review, following exclusion for English language and publication between 2005 and 2015. The resulting 10 papers were assessed for quality using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI). The majority of papers were situated in dermatology teaching, with only one nursing paper. Study participants were both undergraduate and postgraduate. Most of the studies were undertaken at a university setting. No papers comprehensively addressed whether the authenticity of moulage influences learner engagement. Results were limited, yet clearly outline a widely held assumption that moulage is essential in simulation-based education for improved realism and subsequent learner engagement. Despite this

Facilitating programming comprehension for novice learners with multimedia approach: A preliminary investigation

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Annamalai, Subashini; Salam, Sobihatun Nur Abdul

2017-10-01

This research paper presents the preliminary investigation on the use of an interactive multimedia courseware named MAFPro, to facilitate C Programming lessons for novice learners. The courseware utilizes the elements of multimedia that focus on enhancing learners' programming comprehension. Among the aspects that were examined were the students' programming comprehension and their perceived motivation of MAFPro. This study was carried out in a survey design method with the participation of 30 undergraduates who are novice learners. The data analysis indicates that the multimedia courseware, MAFPro that has been used in the C programming classroom has a significant difference on the undergraduates' programming comprehension. The students also perceived MAFPro as motivating and engaging.

Enhancing English Learners' Language Development Using Wordless Picture Books

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Louie, Belinda; Sierschynski, Jarek

2015-01-01

This article presents an approach to use wordless picture books to enhance the language development of English language learners. This approach is grounded in best practices to teach ELLs. The process starts with viewing and analyzing the visual images, engaging ELLs in discussion, and ending with students' self-authored texts. The wordless…

Towards Sustainability in Viral Marketing with User Engaging Supporting Campaigns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jarosław Jankowski

2017-12-01

Full Text Available While viral marketing has captured substantial academic and professional interest, the processes that underpin successful viral marketing campaigns remain poorly understood. High competition and pressure for successful campaigns lead to strategies based on persuasion, unsolicited messages, and other techniques that negatively affect brand perception. The need for more sustainable strategies with a limited negative impact on web users is observed. Therefore, the current study examines the effectiveness of viral marketing and a supporting campaign, where the main goal was to increase user engagement and overall campaign performance. Supporting campaigns were evaluated, to determine whether they enhanced viral activity, but without the need for high persuasion or intrusive techniques. Results showed that supporting actions could be integrated with lower performing campaigns to increase their effectiveness. Apart from the main scientific goal that is presented, the study demonstrates how virtual worlds can provide a laboratory-like environment for identifying the processes that underpin viral marketing.

Raising the motivation and self-esteem of all learners by creating a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. ... The learners were engaged in real-life problem-solving that revolved around their personal and ... This article also considers the essential qualities of leadership and democratic ...

Learner Analysis Framework for Globalized E-Learning: A Case Study

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Saxena, Mamta

2011-01-01

The shift to technology-mediated modes of instructional delivery and increased global connectivity has led to the rise in globalized e-learning programs. Educational institutions face multiple challenges as they seek to design effective, engaging, and culturally competent instruction for an increasingly diverse learner population. The purpose of…

Fostering Sustained Climate Engagement and Collaborative Leadership through Creativity and Science-Informed Arts

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Rothballer, K.; Sturges, M. J.

2016-12-01

Join veteran artist/activist Molly Sturges for a presentation on FIREROCK: PASS THE SPARK performances and engagement processes that foster personal and collective creativity for sustained climate engagement and collaborative leadership. FIREROCK: PASS THE ROCK opens in San Francisco in October 2016. This project is an evolving, long-term, social innovation project that has been developed with faith, Indigenous and directly impacted communities as well as schools, towns and universities. Informed by science, social justice, Indigenous knowledge, and grassroots activism FIREROCK includes performances that are accompanied by a series of activities designed to build community and engineer creative spaces for dialogue and response. The FIREROCK team has found that people are excited to engage around climate when there are venues available for expressivity and meaningful exchange. FIREROCK supports us in moving from our current stance in which we are paralyzed— often not knowing what to do or how to act—to seeing ourselves as part of the solution. FIREROCK is a family-friendly catalytic musical journey inviting people into the complexity of climate change and sparking an inspired response to the mythic challenges of our time. Through story, song and unique engagement experiences, FIREROCK builds community towards action and solutions. FIREROCK provides partners with everything they need to make the project their own, including a comprehensive toolkit to assist groups in learning how to develop community partnerships, convene FIREROCK engagement activities and facilitate dialogue and skill sharing. This dynamic storytelling project is scalable and can be employed, adapted and localized by groups and communities nationwide as a powerful catalyst for climate engagement work. Molly Sturges is a national leader in arts, ecology and social change work. She is the Founding Artistic Director of Littleglobe, a diverse arts cooperative made up of artistic and cultural workers

Get up and Sing! Get up and Move! Using Songs and Movement with Young Learners of English

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Shin, Joan Kang

2017-01-01

Teachers of young learners (YLs) often use songs and movement to engage children in the classroom. However, are there missed opportunities for language learning and practice that can be added to what they are already doing in their English for young learner (EYL) classes? A deeper understanding of the importance of music in children's lives and…

University engagement and regional sustainability initiatives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lehmann, Martin; Christensen, Per; Thrane, Mikkel

2009-01-01

With an outset in ‘sustainability' defined as a continuous process requiring balance between (the emergence of) problems and our ability and capability to solve them using four distinct capitals available, i.e. natural, production, human and intellectual, and social capital, a model of universities...... University, Denmark, the linkages (actual, potential and missing) between academic work in research and education and sustainability initiatives are explored. The focus is both on the university's core activities as a provider of research and education and on the university's activities as an organisation, i...... societal benefit would be the ability to better cope with emerging problems endangering the sustainable development of our societies. It is concluded that Aalborg University with its long tradition for project-based and problem-oriented learning in fact has every opportunity to be able to lead by example...

A Look at Advanced Learners' Use of Mobile Devices for English Language Study: Insights from Interview Data

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Kruk, Mariusz

2017-01-01

The paper discusses the results of a study which explored advanced learners of English engagement with their mobile devices to develop learning experiences that meet their needs and goals as foreign language learners. The data were collected from 20 students by means of a semi-structured interview. The gathered data were subjected to qualitative…

Can machine learning on learner analytics produce a predictive model on student performance?

OpenAIRE

Busch, John; Hanna, Philip; O'Neill, Ian; McGowan, Aidan; Collins, Matthew

2017-01-01

The aim of this research is to analysis past student learner analytics using machine learning algorithms that had undertaken a web development and programming module. By specifically using the access and error web server logs from each student web server it provides a deeper learner analytic data. The web server logs every web file access and error access from a browser so in turn each data file can directly relate to a student's engagement level and assessment strategy. Each log holds severa...

Developing Intentionality and L2 Classroom Task-Engagement

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Stelma, Juup

2014-01-01

This paper extends work on "intentionality", from philosophy, psychology and education to an exploration of learners' meaning-making in L2 classroom task-engagement. The paper draws on both phenomenological and folk-psychological perspectives on intentionality, and employs John R. Searle's intrinsic (mental) and derived (observable)…

Examining learner-centered training with teen volunteer staff at an aquarium

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Bautista, Raelene M.

This research project examined the effects of a training program that focused on helping youth volunteers create a learner-centered interaction at an Aquarium. This study explored whether this learner centered training resulted in an increased ability to identify learner-centered engagement as well as reported changes in practice. Most research on training programs and professional development, that introduces learner-centered strategies examines adult teachers working in formal environments. This study examined youth volunteer staff in an informal science institution that participated in a weekly one-hour training for four weeks during their eight week long summer volunteer program. The data showed that some of topics introduced in the learner centered training, such as the importance of visitors' prior knowledge and the use of objects, were identified more often as good practice after the training. In addition, participants seemed to hold on to some of their original perceptions of good practices, such as providing positive reinforcement and modifying their physical posture to make the visitors feel comfortable. The investigation also revealed that conversation patterns changed in some participants' practice as a result of the training.

The Relationship between Iranian English Language Teachers' and Learners' Gender and Their Perceptions of an Effective English Language Teacher

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Shishavan, Homa Babai

2010-01-01

In this study English language teachers and learners engaged in teaching and learning of English in Iranian universities, high schools and private language institutes were asked about characteristics of an effective English language teacher. The aim of the study was to investigate whether male and female teachers and learners of English hold…

Development, validation, and factorial comparison of the McGill Self-Efficacy of Learners For Inquiry Engagement (McSELFIE) survey in natural science disciplines

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Ibrahim, Ahmed; Aulls, Mark W.; Shore, Bruce M.

2016-11-01

Sociocognitive theory [Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; Bandura, A. (1989). Human agency in social cognitive theory. American Psychologist, 44, 1175-1184. doi:10.1037/0003-066x.44.9.1175; Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 248-287. doi:10.1016/0749-5978(91)90022-L] accords high importance to the mechanisms of human agency and how they are exercised through self-efficacy. In this paper, we developed and validated the McGill Self-Efficacy For Inquiry Engagement (McSELFIE) instrument with undergraduate students in natural science disciplines. We defined inquiry engagement as carrying out the practices of science (POS) that are supported by students' personality characteristics (SPCs) and that result in achieving inquiry-learning outcomes (ILOs). Based on these theoretical perspectives, the McSELFIE is a 60-item, learner-focused survey that addresses three components that are theoretically important for engaging in scientific inquiry: (a) SPCs, (b) ILOs, and (c) POS. Evidence for construct and content validity were obtained by using experts' judgments and confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of 110 undergraduate students enrolled in science disciplines. Internal consistency of the factors and instrument was also examined. The McSELFIE instrument is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring science undergraduate students' self-efficacy for inquiry engagement. Matched pairs analyses were conducted among the instruments' factors. Students reported the highest self-efficacy for openness, applying knowledge, and carrying out investigations. Students reported the lowest self-efficacy for extraversion, understanding metacognitive knowledge, and planning investigations. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Moving evidence into practice: cost analysis and assessment of macaques' sustained behavioral engagement with videogames and foraging devices.

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Bennett, Allyson J; Perkins, Chaney M; Tenpas, Parker D; Reinebach, Alma L; Pierre, Peter J

2016-12-01

Environmental enrichment plans for captive nonhuman primates often include provision of foraging devices. The rationale for using foraging devices is to promote species-typical activity patterns that encourage physical engagement and provide multi-sensory stimulation. However, these devices have been shown to be ineffective at sustaining manipulation over long periods of time, and often produce minimal cognitive engagement. Here we use an evidence-based approach to directly compare the amount of object-directed behavior with a foraging device and a computer-based videogame system. We recorded 11 adult male rhesus monkeys' interactions with a foraging device and two tasks within a joystick videogame cognitive test battery. Both techniques successfully produced high levels of engagement during the initial 20 min of observation. After 1 hr the monkeys manipulated the foraging device significantly less than the joystick, F(2,10) = 43.93, P videogame play for the majority of a 5 hr period, provided that they received a 94 mg chow pellet upon successful completion of trials. Using a model approach, we developed previously as a basis for standardized cost:benefit analysis to inform facility decisions, we calculated the comprehensive cost of incorporating a videogame system as an enrichment strategy. The videogame system has a higher initial cost compared to widely-used foraging devices, however, the ongoing labor and supply costs are relatively low. Our findings add to two decades of empirical studies by a number of laboratories that have demonstrated the successful use of videogame-based systems to promote sustained non-social cognitive engagement for macaques. The broader significance of the work lies in the application of a systematic approach to compare and contrast enrichment strategies and encourage evidence-based decision making when choosing an enrichment strategy in a manner that promotes meaningful cognitive enrichment to the animals. © 2016 Wiley

Moving Evidence into Practice: Cost Analysis and Assessment of Macaques’ Sustained Behavioral Engagement with Videogames and Foraging Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Allyson J.; Perkins, Chaney M.; Tenpas, Parker D.; Reinebach, Alma L.; Pierre, Peter J.

2017-01-01

Environmental enrichment plans for captive nonhuman primates often include provision of foraging devices. The rationale for using foraging devices is to promote species-typical activity patterns that encourage physical engagement and provide multi-sensory stimulation. However, these devices have been shown to be ineffective at sustaining manipulation over long periods of time, and often produce minimal cognitive engagement. Here we use an evidence-based approach to directly compare the amount of object-directed behavior with a foraging device and a computer-based videogame system. We recorded 11adult male rhesus monkeys’ interactions with a foraging device and two tasks within a joystick videogame cognitive test battery. Both techniques successfully produced high levels of engagement during the initial 20-min of observation. After 1-hr the monkeys manipulated the foraging device significantly less than the joystick, F(2,10)= 43.93, p videogame play for the majority of a 5-hr period, provided that they received a 94mg chow pellet upon successful completion of trials. Using a model approach we developed previously as a basis for standardized cost:benefit analysis to inform facility decisions, we calculated the comprehensive cost of incorporating a videogame system as an enrichment strategy. The videogame system has a higher initial cost compared to widely-used foraging devices however, the ongoing labor and supply costs are relatively low. Our findings add to two decades of empirical studies by a number of laboratories that have demonstrated the successful use of videogame-based systems to promote sustained non-social cognitive engagement for macaques. The broader significance of the work lies in the application of a systematic approach to compare and contrast enrichment strategies and encourage evidence-based decision making when choosing an enrichment strategy in a manner that promotes meaningful cognitive enrichment to the animals. PMID:27404766

Learner, Patient, and Supervisor Features Are Associated With Different Types of Cognitive Load During Procedural Skills Training: Implications for Teaching and Instructional Design.

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Sewell, Justin L; Boscardin, Christy K; Young, John Q; Ten Cate, Olle; O'Sullivan, Patricia S

2017-11-01

Cognitive load theory, focusing on limits of the working memory, is relevant to medical education; however, factors associated with cognitive load during procedural skills training are not well characterized. The authors sought to determine how features of learners, patients/tasks, settings, and supervisors were associated with three types of cognitive load among learners performing a specific procedure, colonoscopy, to identify implications for procedural teaching. Data were collected through an electronically administered survey sent to 1,061 U.S. gastroenterology fellows during the 2014-2015 academic year; 477 (45.0%) participated. Participants completed the survey immediately following a colonoscopy. Using multivariable linear regression analyses, the authors identified sets of features associated with intrinsic, extraneous, and germane loads. Features associated with intrinsic load included learners (prior experience and year in training negatively associated, fatigue positively associated) and patient/tasks (procedural complexity positively associated, better patient tolerance negatively associated). Features associated with extraneous load included learners (fatigue positively associated), setting (queue order positively associated), and supervisors (supervisor engagement and confidence negatively associated). Only one feature, supervisor engagement, was (positively) associated with germane load. These data support practical recommendations for teaching procedural skills through the lens of cognitive load theory. To optimize intrinsic load, level of experience and competence of learners should be balanced with procedural complexity; part-task approaches and scaffolding may be beneficial. To reduce extraneous load, teachers should remain engaged, and factors within the procedural setting that may interfere with learning should be minimized. To optimize germane load, teachers should remain engaged.

LEARNERS SATISFACTION FACTORS IN NEUROLOGY RELATED MOOCs

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Ionela MANIU

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to investigate the factors that are influencing student satisfaction in case of neurology related massive open online courses (MOOCs. We analyzed data collected from learners enrolled in 40 neurology related MOOCs, by manually looking for information in these courses reviews. The main identified satisfaction factors can be grouped into the following categories: content related factors: course content, additional materials, assignments, external research and teaching - learning related factors (teacher presentation techniques / style: engaging, clear, coherent, knowledgeable, sharing / explanation, interactive, excitement, considering student’s needs, inspiring, sense of humor. Competences, skills and objectives pursued by neurology related MOOCs are also discussed. Analyzing these factors can be useful in new courses management (design and implementation and also in understanding the needs (motivation, behaviors, perception of 21st century learners interested in neurology related fields.

Pedagogical Practices of NetNZ Teachers for Supporting Online Distance Learners

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Lai, Kwok-Wing

2017-01-01

A supportive online learning environment entails teachers using effective pedagogical practices to meet the needs of their students and developing a positive teacher-student relationship to foster learner motivation and engagement. This paper reports a study investigating how 32 secondary teachers in New Zealand taught their online distance…

Global Internet Video Classroom: A Technology Supported Learner-Centered Classroom

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Lawrence, Oliver

2010-01-01

The Global Internet Video Classroom (GIVC) Project connected Chicago Civil Rights activists of the 1960s with Cape Town Anti-Apartheid activists of the 1960s in a classroom setting where learners from Cape Town and Chicago engaged activists in conversations about their motivation, principles, and strategies. The project was launched in order to…

Finding the community in sustainable online community engagement: Not-for-profit organisation websites, service-learning and research

OpenAIRE

Dodd, Alice

2017-01-01

This article explores the use of action research (2008–2014) based on a case study of the Sustainable Online Community Engagement (SOCE) Project, a service-learning project in which University of South Australia students build websites for not-for-profit (NFP) organisations, to demonstrate that effective teaching, public service and research are interdependent. A significant problem experienced in the SOCE project was that, despite some training and ongoing assistance, the community organisat...

Participatory Sustainability Approach to Value Capture-Based Urban Rail Financing in India through Deliberated Stakeholder Engagement

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Satya Sai Kumar Jillella

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Increasingly, cities around the world are seeking innovative financial mechanisms to build rail transit projects. Land value capture (VC is a financing mechanism to fund urban rail transit. Often VC mechanisms are viewed only as a financing tool applied in relation to increased land values from the administration and legislation perspectives, without actively involving the community in the process. The lack of such participation has resulted in the under collection of the true value established. The transit beneficiary community and city tax payers are especially important stakeholders in this process as their willingness to participate is really critical to the overall VC success and transport outcome. This paper introduces a participatory sustainability approach to enable a more deliberated stakeholder engagement intervention across the VC life cycle. A four-step “Participatory Strategic Value Capture (PSVC” framework is proposed offering step-by-step guidance toward facilitating a meaningful stakeholder dialogue, deliberation, and collaboration around the stated engagement interests. The PSVC framework, applied to the proposed Bangalore sub-urban rail project in India, has demonstrated the importance of stakeholder engagement using deliberated participatory approaches from a win-win perspective.

A novel self-organizing E-Learner community model with award and exchange mechanisms.

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Yang, Fan; Shen, Rui-min; Han, Peng

2004-11-01

How to share experience and resources among learners is becoming one of the hottest topics in the field of E-Learning collaborative techniques. An intuitive way to achieve this objective is to group learners which can help each other into the same community and help them learn collaboratively. In this paper, we proposed a novel community self-organization model based on multi-agent mechanism, which can automatically group learners with similar preferences and capabilities. In particular, we proposed award and exchange schemas with evaluation and preference track records to raise the performance of this algorithm. The description of learner capability, the matchmaking process, the definition of evaluation and preference track records, the rules of award and exchange schemas and the self-organization algorithm are all discussed in this paper. Meanwhile, a prototype has been built to verify the validity and efficiency of the algorithm. Experiments based on real learner data showed that this mechanism can organize learner communities properly and efficiently; and that it has sustainable improved efficiency and scalability.

Climate Generation: Advancing Climate Action through Education, Public Engagement and Youth Leadership

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Poppleton, K. L. I.

2017-12-01

Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy empowers youth, educators, decision-makers and the public to foster climate literacy and action with the goal of building a more equitable and resilient future. We have over eleven years of experience delivering high-quality K-12 education, public engagement and youth leadership programming, reaching over 75,000 people, 35,000 students and 17,000 educators since 2006. By engaging educators, youth, and the public, we believe that communities can be better positioned to build a resilient and equitable future. For this reason we strive to engage with all these sectors through innovative programming and policy initiatives. Communities are resilient when individuals are connected to each other, resources, and decision-makers. Sharing personal narratives, and highlighting locally relevant solutions are all tools that Climate Generation employs to engage the public. We do this through community wide convenings, as well as sector specific events including at breweries, art fairs, and businesses. Education is also an integral piece for sustained action on climate change. We support educators with a science-based, interdisciplinary model of climate change education that engages all learners, and fosters climate literacy and action. We develop curriculum and offer professional development, encouraging teachers to develop today's students into action-competent citizens. Finally, Climate Generation recognizes the importance of empowering high school youth as a key strategy in transitioning to a just and sustainable future for all. We believe in the inherent genius of youth and know from experience that mentorship fosters powerful youth leadership at the community level, inspiring peers, family members, and local decision-makers to take critical action on climate change solutions. In order to accelerate and implement action on climate change we must take a multi-faceted approach: we are building public will for strong climate action at

A Case Study of Peer Review Practices of Four Adolescent English Language Learners in Face-to-Face and Online Contexts

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Vorobel, Oksana

2013-01-01

Peer review is a complex collaborative activity, which may engage English language learners in reading, writing, listening, and speaking and carry many potential benefits for their language learning (Hu, 2005). While many research studies focused on peer review practices of adult language learners in academic settings in the USA or abroad in…

Young Learners and Lexical Awareness: Children's Engagement with Wordlists and Concordances

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MacGregor, Alex

2014-01-01

Sinclair (1991) found that lexical analysis can be overcomplicated, yet Johns (1994) called for investigation into whether corpus analysis can motivate beginners and near-beginners. The findings of this research suggest that young EFL learners can enjoy using corpus analysis tools (wordlists and concordances) to identify, classify, and generalize…

Who Are with Us: MOOC Learners on a FutureLearn Course

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Liyanagunawardena, Tharindu Rekha; Lundqvist, Karsten Øster; Williams, Shirley Ann

2015-01-01

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) attract learners with a variety of backgrounds. Engaging them using game development was trialled in a beginner's programming course, "Begin programming: build your first mobile game," on FutureLearn platform. The course has completed two iterations: first in autumn 2013 and second in spring 2014 with…

Synthesizing Technology Adoption and Learners' Approaches towards Active Learning in Higher Education

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Chan, Kevin; Cheung, George; Wan, Kelvin; Brown, Ian; Luk, Green

2015-01-01

In understanding how active and blended learning approaches with learning technologies engagement in undergraduate education, current research models tend to undermine the effect of learners' variations, particularly regarding their styles and approaches to learning, on intention and use of learning technologies. This study contributes to further…

The Impact of Choice on EFL Students' Motivation and Engagement with L2 Vocabulary Learning

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Wang, Han-Chung; Huang, Hung-Tzu; Hsu, Chun-Chieh

2015-01-01

The current study investigates EFL college learners' motivation and engagement during English vocabulary learning tasks. By adopting self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000), the study looked into the impact of autonomy on college students' task motivation and engagement with vocabulary learning tasks and their general English…

Critical relationships between teachers and learners of school mathematics

OpenAIRE

Wright, P.

2017-01-01

This article draws on critical theories and perspectives on mathematics education to explain the tendency of mathematics teaching worldwide to remain focused on developing procedural understanding, despite repeated calls from the mathematics education community for a more relevant and engaging curriculum. It highlights how conventional approaches to teaching mathematics contribute towards alienating a high proportion of learners and reproducing inequities within society. The article reports o...

Culture in Sustainability--Defining Cultural Sustainability in Education

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Laine, Marja

2016-01-01

The definition of cultural sustainability in education is explored in this article by looking into conceptions of cultural sustainability collected through expert queries and focus group engagement. These conceptions are compared with the scientific and especially pedagogical discourse on the matter as well as Soini and Birkeland's theory of story…

Exploring Engaging Gamification Mechanics in Massive Online Open Courses

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Chang, Jen-Wei; Wei, Hung-Yu

2016-01-01

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have developed rapidly and become tremendously popular because of their plentiful gamification designs, such as reputation points, rewards, and goal setting. Although previous studies have mentioned a broad range of gamification designs that might influence MOOC learner engagement, most gamified MOOCs fail to…

Digital gaming and second language development: Japanese learners interactions in a MMORPG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Peterson

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs are identified as valuable arenas for language learning, as they provide access to contexts and types of interaction that are held to be beneficial in second language acquisition research. This paper will describe the development and key features of these games, and explore claims made regarding their value as environments for language learning. The discussion will then examine current research. This is followed by an analysis of the findings from an experimental qualitative study that investigates the interaction and attitudes of Japanese English as a foreign language learners who participated in MMORPG-based game play. The analysis draws attention to the challenging nature of the communication environment and the need for learner training. The findings indicate that system management issues, proficiency levels, the operation of affective factors, and prior gaming experiences appeared to influence participation. The data shows that for the intermediate learners who were novice users, the interplay of these factors appeared to restrict opportunities to engage in beneficial forms of interaction. In a positive finding, it was found that the intermediate and advanced level participants effectively utilized both adaptive and transfer discourse management strategies. Analysis reveals they took the lead in managing their discourse, and actively engaged in collaborative social interaction involving dialog in the target language. Participant feedback suggests that real time computer-based nature of the interaction provided benefits. These include access to an engaging social context, enjoyment, exposure to new vocabulary, reduced anxiety, and valuable opportunities to practice using a foreign language. This paper concludes by identifying areas of interest for future research.

Building a Market Simulation to Teach Business Process Analysis: Effects of Realism on Engaged Learning

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Peng, Jacob; Abdullah, Ira

2018-01-01

The emphases of student involvement and meaningful engagement in the learner-centered education model have created a new paradigm in an effort to generate a more engaging learning environment. This study examines the success of using different simulation platforms in creating a market simulation to teach business processes in the accounting…

Critical Assessment of Video Production in Teacher Education: Can Video Production Foster Community-Engaged Scholarship?

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Yang, Kyung-Hwa

2014-01-01

In the theoretical framework of production pedagogy, I reflect on a video production project conducted in a teacher education program and discuss the potential of video production to foster community-engaged scholarship among pre-service teachers. While the importance of engaging learners in creating media has been emphasized, studies show little…

Engaging Disaffected Learners in Key Stage 4 through Work-Related Learning in England

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White, Caroline; Laczik, Andrea

2016-01-01

Work-Related Learning (WRL) has been enthusiastically embraced by UK governments since the 1990s as a means of reengaging learners in the final years of compulsory schooling. However, recent years have seen a policy shift away from WRL towards a more academic curriculum for all young people. Drawing on a qualitative study commissioned by the…

Obstacles to engaging in young driver licensing: Perspectives of parents.

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Naz, Sehana; Scott-Parker, Bridie

2017-02-01

Young novice drivers remain at greater risk of injury and death despite a wealth of interventions including graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs. The key to implementing safer practices inherent in GDL appears to lie with optimising the role of parents. This qualitative research explored the parent's perspectives of obstacles to engaging in the driver licensing process within a GDL program. Parents also shared advice on what they found helpful, and where relevant, recommended changes in the process to enable safer practices for young drivers. Twenty-three parents (aged 35-60 years, M=49.52, SD=8.01, 11 males) participated in semi-structured interviews regarding licensing experiences with their young driver children. The young drivers included learner (n=11), provisional (restricted/intermediate) (n=9) and open (unrestricted/full) licence drivers (n=3), ranging from 16 to 24 years (M=18.04, SD=2.21, 13 males). Content analysis revealed that most obstacles were encountered at the learner licensing phase, with the parent-reported difficult temperament of the learner driver the most prominent. Unsurprisingly, advice to other parents to be patient and remain calm featured heavily during the same phase. Anxiety from not having control of the vehicle was another obstacle at the learner phase, translating to anxieties for child safety in the early stages of provisional driving. Recommendations for the current GDL included more rigorous road rule testing, with general support for the program, professional driver training at learner and provisional stages facilitated parental engagement through the licensing phases. The findings overwhelmingly suggest a need for parents to be educated regarding their importance in, and of, the driver licensing process, and the efficacy of their instruction, content and practices. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultivating Inquiry-Driven Learners: A College Education for the Twenty-First Century

Science.gov (United States)

Conrad, Clifton; Dunek, Laura

2012-01-01

Inquiry-driven learners anticipate, embrace, and adapt to disruptive change. Clifton Conrad and Laura Dunek advance a transformative purpose of a college education. They invite stakeholders from across higher education to engage in vigorous dialogue about the aims of a college education--and how to realize those aims. Increasingly influenced by…

Sustaining engagement and partnership: model of enhancing cultural capital among nonaffiliated IRB members.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Yvonne; Ayala, Armida; Morales, Francisco; Frierman-Hunt, Gina; Moreno, Alva; Nwachuku, Ijeoma

2013-07-01

Although federal regulations require the presence of at least one nonaffiliated member on the roster of an institutional review board (IRB), little research exists about how to foster their participation and satisfaction. Guided by principles of justice and diversity, the Kaiser Permanente Southern California IRB adapted the sociological concept of "cultural capital" to develop training and support with its nonaffiliated IRB members. Using in-depth qualitative interviews with four past and current nonaffiliated IRB members, we describe how our initial and ongoing activities enhanced their ability to analyze, communicate, and complete the ethical review of research. This case study is situated in the gaps of existing research about nonaffiliated IRB members by providing insights into how to sustain their engagement while protecting the rights of research volunteers, particularly from vulnerable communities.

Accelerating Literacy for Diverse Learners: Classroom Strategies That Integrate Social/Emotional Engagement and Academic Achievement, K-8. Second Edition

Science.gov (United States)

Herrera, Socorro G.; Kavimandan, Shabina K.; Perez, Della R.; Wessels, Stephanie

2017-01-01

Research indicates that the culturally responsive teaching strategies outlined in this book accelerate literacy, language development, and academic growth for students in grades K-8, particularly for English language learners. Completely revised and updated, this bestselling resource speaks to the social-emotional needs of learners and helps…

Moving beyond Readability: Considering Choice, Motivation and Learner Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Moley, Pauline F.; Bandre, Patricia E.; George, John E.

2011-01-01

As reading professionals and former middle school teachers, we believe it is essential for teachers to select books thoughtfully, understand the relationship between book selection and student motivation and engagement, and realize the importance of classroom instruction during the reading of literature. Teachers strive to help middle school…

Can New Perspectives on Sustainability Drive Lifestyles?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Constança Belchior

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Understanding sustainability engages multiple views in a wide spectrum of technological, social and political positions. Over the last two decades it appears that an evolutionary process reflects a changing sustainability paradigm. At the basis of this changing paradigm remain strong principles of dematerialization, reflected in cuts in natural resource consumption, changing pathways to overcome lock-ins, mastering the art of economic innovation with ecological principles. This may engage new consumption attitudes and behavior. This review paper adopts a holistic and integrated sustainability perspective, suggesting a mix-and-match approach to engage more context specific designs for sustainability to look into principles of consumption behavior and people’s motivation in choosing their lifestyle.

Towards data-driven decision-making for sustainable diets in Vietnam: Identifying priority indicators through stakeholder engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Mayton, H.; Beal, T.; Rubin, J.; Sanchez, A.; Heller, M.; Hoey, L.; Khoury, C. K.; Jones, A.

2017-12-01

Globally, food systems impact and are impacted by the sustainability of environmental, societal, political, and public health factors. At the center of these systems are human diets, which vary substantially by culture and region, and have significant influence on human health, community livelihoods, climate change, and natural resources. However, rapidly growing and highly diverse lower middle-income countries like Vietnam face challenges in gathering data and defining clear policy intervention points and approaches that will provide a net-positive systemic influence across sectors. A new collaboration, Entry points to Advance Transitions towards Sustainable diets (EATS), between the University of Michigan and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) aims to identify ways that existing data and insights into the policy process can be leveraged to inform decision-making on where and how to intervene to effectively shift multiple axes of food systems to enhance the sustainability of diets. As a first step towards developing a model that other policy communities could follow, researchers aggregated and characterized approximately 50 major existing datasets on food, agriculture, and nutrition in Vietnam. They also created a conceptual framework for evaluating the sustainability of diets and for characterizing existing datasets, including eight domains and over 200 unique, measurable indicators. Figure 1 summarizes these domains and their key relationships, which forms a foundation for identifying leverage points that can positively impact multiple aspects of sustainable diets. Researchers then engaged food system stakeholders through informal interviews, surveys, and collaborative workshops to prioritize indicators and identify additional relevant data sources. Stakeholders included national government, research, NGO, and private sector representatives from across the range of identified domains. The key indicators identified by stakeholders will

An interview study of how clinical teachers develop skills to attend to different level learners.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, H Carrie; Fogh, Shannon; Kobashi, Brent; Teherani, Arianne; Ten Cate, Olle; O'Sullivan, Patricia

2016-06-01

One clinical teaching challenge is the engagement of learners at different levels. Faculty development offerings mostly address general strategies applicable to all learners. This study examined how clinical faculty members develop the skills to work with different level learners. We conducted semi-structured interviews with medical school faculty members identified as excellent clinical teachers teaching multiple levels of learners. They discussed how they developed their approach to teaching different level learners and how their teaching evolved over time. We performed thematic analysis of the interview transcripts using open and axial coding. We interviewed 19 faculty members and identified three themes related to development of teaching practices: teacher agency and work-based learning of teaching strategies, developmental trajectory of clinical teachers, and interplay between clinical confidence and teaching skills. Faculty members were proactive in using on-the-job experiences to develop their teaching practices. Their teaching practices followed a developmental trajectory towards learner centeredness, and this evolution was associated with the development of clinical skills and confidence. Learning skills to teach multi-level learners requires workplace learning. Faculty development should include workplace learning opportunities and use a developmental approach that accounts for the trajectory of teaching as well as clinical skills attainment.

Clinical engagement: improving healthcare together.

Science.gov (United States)

Riches, E; Robson, B

2014-02-01

Clinical engagement can achieve lasting change in the delivery of healthcare. In October 2011, Healthcare Improvement Scotland formulated a clinical engagement strategy to ensure that a progressive and sustainable approach to engaging healthcare professionals is firmly embedded in its health improvement and public assurance activities. The strategy was developed using a 90-day process, combining an evidence base of best practice and feedback from semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The strategy aims to create a culture where clinicians view working with Healthcare Improvement Scotland as a worthwhile venture, which offers a number of positive benefits such as training, career development and research opportunities. The strategy works towards developing a respectful partnership between Healthcare Improvement Scotland, the clinical community and key stakeholders whereby clinicians' contributions are recognised in a non-financial reward system. To do this, the organisation needs a sustainable infrastructure and an efficient, cost-effective approach to clinical engagement. There are a number of obstacles to achieving successful clinical engagement and these must be addressed as key drivers in its implementation. The implementation of the strategy is supported by an action and resource plan, and its impact will be monitored by a measurement plan to ensure the organisation reviews its approaches towards clinical engagement.

Creating a Global Community of Learners in Nursing and Beyond: Caring Science, Mindful Practice MOOC.

Science.gov (United States)

Sitzman, Kathleen L; Jensen, Andrea; Chan, Sang

The aim was to examine the usefulness of a massive open online course (MOOC) on caring and mindfulness to a broad international audience that included nurses, allied health professionals, and others. MOOCs in higher education have been evident since 2008. Very few MOOCs on nursing topics have appeared since that time. Exploration was needed regarding how MOOCs could be employed to share nursing knowledge with national and international communities. Two "Caring Science, Mindful Practice" MOOC sessions were examined. Demographics, learner satisfaction, course flow, and perceived usefulness of content were analyzed. Learners from varied backgrounds participated. Higher than expected course activity levels and completion rates suggested effective learner engagement. Excellent course ratings demonstrated that content and delivery methods were effective. Active learners communicated specific plans to apply new knowledge in the future. MOOCs facilitate learning where participants learn about topics of interest in nursing and beyond.

Comparisons Between Science Knowledge, Interest, and Information Literacy of Learners in Introductory Astronomy Courses

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Buxner, Sanlyn; Impey, Chris David; Formanek, Martin; Wenger, Matthew

2018-01-01

Introductory astronomy courses are exciting opportunities to engage non-major students in scientific issues, new discoveries, and scientific thinking. Many undergraduate students take these courses to complete their general education requirements. Many free-choice learners also take these courses, but for their own interest. We report on a study comparing the basic science knowledge, interest in science, and information literacy of undergraduate students and free choice learners enrolled in introductory astronomy courses run by the University of Arizona. Undergraduate students take both in-person and online courses for college credit. Free choice learners enroll in massive open online courses (MOOCs), through commercial platforms, that can earn them a certificate (although most do not take advantage of that opportunity). In general, we find that undergraduate students outperform the general public on basic science knowledge and that learners in our astronomy MOOCs outperform the undergraduate students in the study. Learners in the MOOC have higher interest in science in general. Overall, learners in both groups report getting information about science from online sources. Additionally, learners’ judgement of the reliability of different sources of information is weakly related to their basic science knowledge and more strongly related to how they describe what it means to study something scientifically. We discuss the implications of our findings for both undergraduate students and free-choice learners as well as instructors of these types of courses.

Big Bang! An Evaluation of NASA's Space School Musical Program for Elementary and Middle School Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Haden, C.; Styers, M.; Asplund, S.

2015-12-01

Music and the performing arts can be a powerful way to engage students in learning about science. Research suggests that content-rich songs enhance student understanding of science concepts by helping students develop content-based vocabulary, by providing examples and explanations of concepts, and connecting to personal and situational interest in a topic. Building on the role of music in engaging students in learning, and on best practices in out-of-school time learning, the NASA Discovery and New Frontiers program in association with Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Marshall Space Flight Center, and KidTribe developed Space School Musical. Space School Musical consists of a set of nine songs and 36 educational activities to teach elementary and middle school learners about the solar system and space science through an engaging storyline and the opportunity for active learning. In 2014, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory contracted with Magnolia Consulting, LLC to conduct an evaluation of Space School Musical. Evaluators used a mixed methods approach to address evaluation questions related to educator professional development experiences, program implementation and perceptions, and impacts on participating students. Measures included a professional development feedback survey, facilitator follow-up survey, facilitator interviews, and a student survey. Evaluation results showed that educators were able to use the program in a variety of contexts and in different ways to best meet their instructional needs. They noted that the program worked well for diverse learners and helped to build excitement for science through engaging all learners in the musical. Students and educators reported positive personal and academic benefits to participating students. We present findings from the evaluation and lessons learned about integration of the arts into STEM education.

Tutoring Styles That Encourage Learner Satisfaction, Academic Engagement, and Achievement in an Online Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Chae, Soo Eun; Shin, Jae-Han

2016-01-01

This study was aimed to find which tutoring styles significantly predict learners' satisfaction with an e-learning service, academic involvement, and academic achievement. The tutoring styles included subject expert, facilitator, guider, and administrator. In this study, 818 Korean sixth-grade students (ages 11-12 years), enrolled in the…

The Guilded Classroom: Using Gamification to Engage and Motivate Undergraduates

Science.gov (United States)

Gressick, Julia; Langston, Joel B.

2017-01-01

There is a breadth of psychological research that points to potential cognitive benefits of game play. Games engage and motivate learners while promoting mastery of skills and content knowledge. Further, thoughtfully applying gaming elements and structures to classroom environments, an approach called gamification, has the potential to optimize…

Alternative Education Engaging Indigenous Young People: Flexi Schooling in Queensland

Science.gov (United States)

Shay, Marnee; Heck, Deborah

2015-01-01

This article will discuss some of the findings from a qualitative research project that explored the connections between alternative education and Indigenous learners. This study investigated how flexi school leaders reported they were supporting Indigenous young people to remain engaged in education. The results of the survey provide demographic…

Would You Watch It? Creating Effective and Engaging Video Tutorials

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Nichole A.; Martin, Ross

2015-01-01

Video tutorials are a common form of library instruction used with distance learners. This paper combines professional experience and literature reviews from multiple disciplines to provide a contextual overview of recommendations and findings for effective and engaging videos. The tools for tutorials appear in five main categories: screencasts,…

Grammatical Templates: Improving Text Difficulty Evaluation for Language Learners

OpenAIRE

Wang, Shuhan; Andersen, Erik

2016-01-01

Language students are most engaged while reading texts at an appropriate difficulty level. However, existing methods of evaluating text difficulty focus mainly on vocabulary and do not prioritize grammatical features, hence they do not work well for language learners with limited knowledge of grammar. In this paper, we introduce grammatical templates, the expert-identified units of grammar that students learn from class, as an important feature of text difficulty evaluation. Experimental clas...

Don't forget the learner: an essential aspect for developing effective hypermedia online learning in continuing medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandars, John; Homer, Matthew; Walsh, Kieran; Rutherford, Alaster

2012-03-01

There is increasing use of hypermedia online learning in continuing medical education (CME) that presents the learner with a wide range of different learning resources, requiring the learner to use self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. This study is the first to apply an SRL perspective to understand how learners engage with hypermedia online learning in CME. We found that the main SRL skills used by learners were use of strategies and monitoring. The increasing use of strategies was associated with increasing interest in the topic and with increasing satisfaction with the learning experience. Further research is recommended to understand SRL processes and its impact on learning in other aspects of hypermedia online learning across the different phases of medical education. Research is also recommended to implement and evaluate the learning impact of a variety of approaches to develop the SRL skills of hypermedia online learners in CME.

Practicing Learner-Centered Teaching: Pedagogical Design and Assessment of a Second Life Project

Science.gov (United States)

Schiller, Shu Z.

2009-01-01

Guided by the principles of learner-centered teaching methodology, a Second Life project is designed to engage students in active learning of virtual commerce through hands-on experiences and teamwork in a virtual environment. More importantly, an assessment framework is proposed to evaluate the learning objectives and learning process of the…

An Exploration of Hispanic Mothers' Culturally Sustaining Experiences at an Informal Science Center

Science.gov (United States)

Weiland, Ingrid

2015-01-01

Science education reform focuses on learner-centered instruction within contexts that support learners' sociocultural experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore Hispanic mothers' experiences as accompanying adults at an informal science center within the context of culturally sustaining experiences, which include the fluidity…

A Critique of Peter Jarvis's Conceptualisation of the Lifelong Learner in the Contemporary Cultural Context

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Bagnall, Richard G.

2017-01-01

This paper examines Peter Jarvis's conceptualisation of lifelong learners, who are seen as being the individual products of their learning engagements, constrained by their individual biological potentials. They are presented as seeking existentially authentic resolution to dialectically oppositional disjunctures between their individual…

Engage, discover, apply, learn, repeat: Implementing a Sustained National Climate Assessment within the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Moss, R. H.

2017-12-01

Assessment of potential impacts and adaptations to global environmental change evaluate the continuously evolving state of science through the lens of relevance to challenges such as planning long-lived infrastructure and managing risks to property, ecosystems, public health, and other valued assets or objectives. These planning and decision contexts present varied challenges, including: multiple attributes at risk from interacting environmental and socioeconomic trends; uncertainties (scientific and otherwise); partial solutions with indefinite costs and benefits; and tradeoffs across stakeholder groups. Research and evaluation of assessments indicate they convey information that is more usable and relevant to decision makers if they are designed as sustained interactions of pertinent scientific and user communities and result in products beyond written reports. This talk will report on the work of a Federal Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment (SNCA) to develop recommendations to increase the SNCA's relevance and usability. The recommendations build on the conclusions of a 2013 report by the predecessor SNCA advisory committee and suggest next steps for (1) engagement, (2) provision of core scientific products, (3) tailoring of information and tools to provide insights under uncertainty, and (4) evaluation of products and outcomes. The recommended process focuses on providing insights relevant to consideration of risks and solutions. While resulting in a wide range of products and outcomes on an ongoing basis, aggregation and assessment of emerging insights and good practice for supporting decision making under uncertainty would recur over a four-year adaptive management cycle in the context of the preparation of the US national assessment report mandated under the Global Change Research Act. Uncertainty about the future role of Federal agencies in the assessment process and opportunities for increased engagement by non-Federal actors

High school learners' mental construction during solving optimisation problems in Calculus: a South African case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deonarain Brijlall

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This qualitative case study in a rural school in Umgungundlovu District in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, explored Grade 12 learners' mental constructions of mathematical knowledge during engagement with optimisation problems. Ten Grade 12 learners who do pure Mathematics participated, and data were collected through structured activity sheets and semi-structured interviews. Structured activity sheets with three tasks were given to learners; these tasks were done in groups, and the group leaders were interviewed. It was found that learners tended to do well with routine-type questions, implying that they were functioning at an action level. From the interviews it appeared that learners might have the correct answer, but lacked conceptual understanding. Exploring learners' mental constructions via their responses to activity sheets and interviews enabled common errors and misconceptions to be identified. Themes that emerged were that learners: 1 lacked the understanding of notation dy/dx, 2 had not constructed the derivative and minima/maxima schema, 3 had some difficulty in modelling problems, 4 preferred rules and formulas, and 5 applied algebraic notions incorrectly. Inferences are drawn for curriculum developers and teachers. This study also formulated itemised genetic decompositions for particular tasks, which contribute to APOS theory.

Engaging stakeholder networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Svendsen, A. [CoreRelation Consulting Inc., Delta, BC (Canada)]|[Simon Fraser Univ., Burnaby, BC (Canada); Laberge, M. [Simon Fraser Univ., Burnaby, BC (Canada)

2004-07-01

Management philosophies concerning stakeholder engagement were reviewed. This presentation provided guidelines for managers working from a sustainability value creation framework who wish to develop more effective ways to engage with stakeholders and high stakes issues that cross political, social and organizational boundaries. It was suggested that conflicts over resources, the demand for participation and the increasing power of Non-Governmental Organizations have all contributed to the increased need for stakeholder engagement. A review of different types of stakeholders was provided. Earlier strategies of managing stakeholders were examined, in which externalities such as environmental cost were not accounted for. By contrast, the emerging management philosophy presented here stressed a recognition that long term survival relied on the good health of external and internal environments. Core business strategies were discussed with reference to core values. It was suggested that a longer term focus, inclusiveness, and integration were beneficial to businesses as a whole. A case study of Clayoquot Sound was presented. The concept of social capital was examined. Individual and collective learning were evaluated. A model for engaging stakeholder networks was presented as well as a step by step procedural guide, which included the creation of a solid foundation; organizational alignment; strategy; the importance of asking questions; trust building; evaluation; and renewal. Challenges to stakeholder engagement included finding resources; ensuring consistency; patience; a tendency in business to measure success in short term payoffs; and maintaining a stakeholder perspective. It was concluded that the benefits of a sustainability value creation framework for businesses far outweighed any initial disadvantages. refs., tabs., figs.

Assessing Students' Motivation to Engage in Sustainable Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

McCormick, Mary; Bielefeldt, Angela R.; Swan, Christopher W.; Paterson, Kurtis G.

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to design an assessment instrument to evaluate students' attitudes toward sustainable engineering (SE). Factors that impact SE beliefs could then be explored. Design/methodology/approach: Using the definition of sustainability from the Brundtland report and expectancy value theory, students' sentiment toward…

Enabling Pedagogy and Andragogy for 21st-Century Sign Language Users and Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Hermann-Shores, Patricia

2017-01-01

Enabling pedagogy and andragogy is discussed as a form of lifelong learning in which learners attain competences and skills as children (pedagogy) and as adults (andragogy) that enable them to engage in independent learning in the 21st century. Throughout the article the author avoids as much as possible the labels "deaf" and…

Learner Satisfaction in Online Learning: An Analysis of the Perceived Impact of Learner-Social Media and Learner-Instructor Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Jeffery C.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between general course satisfaction, learner-instructor interaction, and the learner-social media interaction scores of participants. This study used an online survey with 60 questions to gather the participants' demographic data, learner-instructor interaction data, learner-social…

Campus as a Living Laboratory for Sustainability: The Chemistry Connection

Science.gov (United States)

Lindstrom, Timothy; Middlecamp, Catherine

2017-01-01

In the undergraduate curriculum, chemistry and sustainability connect easily and well. Topics in chemistry provide instructors with opportunities to engage students in learning about sustainability; similarly, topics in sustainability provide instructors with opportunities to engage students in learning chemistry. One's own college or university…

From Seatwork to Feetwork: Engaging Students in Their Own Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Nash, Ron

2011-01-01

How do you teach students to communicate, collaborate, and solve problems? In his engaging style, Ron Nash shows teachers how to create a student-centered environment that transforms learners from passive attendees into active participants and leaders in the classroom. Building on the foundation of his prior works on active learning, he combines…

Broadening the Definition of Engagement for Students with Severe Disabilities: A Phenomenological Study of the Experts in the Field

Science.gov (United States)

Hollingshead, Aleksandra K.

2013-01-01

While a great deal has been written about the complexities of engagement for learners without severe disabilities, there is less for students with severe disabilities. Engagement as a complex construct, consisting of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional components (Finn & Zimmer, 2012; Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004; Skinner &…

Conflicts of Interest: An Indispensable Element of Education for Sustainable Development

Science.gov (United States)

Lundegard, Iann; Wickman, Per-Olof

2007-01-01

A central concept introduced in the Nordic debate on sustainable development is "action competence". The concept has been defined as a competence of learners, i.e. the ability to take into consideration the social factors and human conflict of interest that lies behind environmental questions and sustainable development. The concern of…

Engaging Environments Enhance Motor Skill Learning in a Computer Gaming Task.

Science.gov (United States)

Lohse, Keith R; Boyd, Lara A; Hodges, Nicola J

2016-01-01

Engagement during practice can motivate a learner to practice more, hence having indirect effects on learning through increased practice. However, it is not known whether engagement can also have a direct effect on learning when the amount of practice is held constant. To address this question, 40 participants played a video game that contained an embedded repeated sequence component, under either highly engaging conditions (the game group) or mechanically identical but less engaging conditions (the sterile group). The game environment facilitated retention over a 1-week interval. Specifically, the game group improved in both speed and accuracy for random and repeated trials, suggesting a general motor-related improvement, rather than a specific influence of engagement on implicit sequence learning. These data provide initial evidence that increased engagement during practice has a direct effect on generalized learning, improving retention and transfer of a complex motor skill.

Campus Sustainability Governance in Canada: A Content Analysis of Post-Secondary Institutions' Sustainability Policies

Science.gov (United States)

Vaughter, Philip; McKenzie, Marcia; Lidstone, Lauri; Wright, Tarah

2016-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to provide an overview of a content analysis of sustainability policies from Canadian post-secondary education institutions. The paper reports findings on the orientations to sustainability evident in the policies; references to other policies within the documents; and other key themes on how sustainability is engaged in…

Training for Content Teachers of English Language Learners: Using Experiential Learning to Improve Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Bohon, Leslie L.; McKelvey, Susan; Rhodes, Joan A.; Robnolt, Valerie J.

2017-01-01

Experiential learning theory places experience at the center of learning. Kolb's four-stage cycle of experiential learning suggests that effective learners must engage fully in each stage of the cycle--feeling, reflection, thinking, and action. This research assesses the alignment of Kolb's experiential learning cycle with the week-long Summer…

Workplace spirituality, work engagement and thriving at work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Freda van der Walt

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Orientation: In order to create competitive advantage in an increasingly turbulent economic environment, sustainability of high performance is crucial. Only a few individuals have the drive, mindset, discipline and ability to sustain high performance on a daily basis. Thus, it is necessary to consider what can be done so that employees can sustain high performance over the long term. Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to establish whether spiritual workplaces will enhance employees’ work engagement and thriving at work. Motivation for the study: Two important mechanisms for understanding the human dimension of sustainability are thriving at work and work engagement. However, because work engagement and thriving are affective-motivational states, it is necessary to consider contextual factors that promote these positive states. As work engagement and thriving at work move beyond mere energy, to a sense of connectedness, it seems important that spiritual workplaces are created. Research approach, design and method: The study was quantitative in nature, and data were collected from employees working at small, medium and macro enterprises (SMMEs in one geographical area in South Africa. The final sample consisted of 259 employees. A survey that was cross-sectional in nature was conducted by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Main findings: The findings of the study show that there is a positive and significant relationship between workplace spirituality, work engagement and thriving at work. Furthermore, workplace spirituality significantly influences the variance in both work engagement and thriving at work. Practical or managerial implications: In order for SMMEs to promote work engagement and thriving at work, spiritual workplaces need to be created. Furthermore, emphasis needs to be placed on the work experience, rather than on work outcomes. It is also important that SMMEs develop employees holistically, that they create

Elucidating the relationship between Sustainability Reporting and Organisational Change Management for Sustainability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lozano, Rodrigo|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/36412380X; Nummert, Benjamin; Ceulemans, Kim

2016-01-01

An increasing number of companies have, during the last two decades, engaged in reporting their sustainability efforts. Although Sustainability Reporting is considered to be a key driver for organisational change in companies; research into the link between these two processes has been limited. This

Earth Stewardship: An initiative by the Ecological Society of America to foster engagement to sustain Planet Earth

Science.gov (United States)

Chapin, F. Stuart; Pickett, S.T.A.; Power, Mary E.; Collins, Scott L.; Baron, Jill S.; Inouye, David W.; Turner, Monica G.

2017-01-01

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has responded to the growing commitment among ecologists to make their science relevant to society through a series of concerted efforts, including the Sustainable Biosphere Initiative (1991), scientific assessment of ecosystem management (1996), ESA’s vision for the future (2003), Rapid Response Teams that respond to environmental crises (2005), and the Earth Stewardship Initiative (2009). During the past 25 years, ESA launched five new journals, largely reflecting the expansion of scholarship linking ecology with broader societal issues. The goal of the Earth Stewardship Initiative is to raise awareness and to explore ways for ecologists and other scientists to contribute more effectively to the sustainability of our planet. This has occurred through four approaches: (1) articulation of the stewardship concept in ESA publications and Website, (2) selection of meeting themes and symposia, (3) engagement of ESA sections in implementing the initiative, and (4) outreach beyond ecology through collaborations and demonstration projects. Collaborations include societies and groups of Earth and social scientists, practitioners and policy makers, religious and business leaders, federal agencies, and artists and writers. The Earth Stewardship Initiative is a work in progress, so next steps likely include continued nurturing of these emerging collaborations, advancing the development of sustainability and stewardship theory, improving communication of stewardship science, and identifying opportunities for scientists and civil society to take actions that move the Earth toward a more sustainable trajectory.

Engage key social concepts for sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

C. C. Hicks; A. Levine; A. Agrawal; X. Basurto; S. J. Breslow; C. Carothers; Susan Charnley; S. Coulthard; N. Dolsak; J. Donatuto; C. Garcia-Quijano; M. B. Mascia; K. Norman; M. R. Poe; T. Satterfield; K. St. Martin; P. S. Levin

2016-01-01

With humans altering climate processes, biogeochemical cycles, and ecosystem functions (1), governments and societies confront the challenge of shaping a sustainable future for people and nature. Policies and practices to address these challenges must draw on social sciences, along with natural sciences and engineering (2). Although various social science approaches...

SUSTAIN: a network model of category learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Love, Bradley C; Medin, Douglas L; Gureckis, Todd M

2004-04-01

SUSTAIN (Supervised and Unsupervised STratified Adaptive Incremental Network) is a model of how humans learn categories from examples. SUSTAIN initially assumes a simple category structure. If simple solutions prove inadequate and SUSTAIN is confronted with a surprising event (e.g., it is told that a bat is a mammal instead of a bird), SUSTAIN recruits an additional cluster to represent the surprising event. Newly recruited clusters are available to explain future events and can themselves evolve into prototypes-attractors-rules. SUSTAIN's discovery of category substructure is affected not only by the structure of the world but by the nature of the learning task and the learner's goals. SUSTAIN successfully extends category learning models to studies of inference learning, unsupervised learning, category construction, and contexts in which identification learning is faster than classification learning.

Engineering Students' Sustainability Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Haase, S.

2014-01-01

Sustainability issues are increasingly important in engineering work all over the world. This article explores systematic differences in self-assessed competencies, interests, importance, engagement and practices of newly enrolled engineering students in Denmark in relation to environmental and non-environmental sustainability issues. The…

Morphological Awareness Intervention: Improving Spelling, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension for Adult Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Bangs, Kathryn E.; Binder, Katherine S.

2016-01-01

Adult Basic Education programs are under pressure to develop and deliver instruction that promotes rapid and sustained literacy development. We describe a novel approach to a literacy intervention that focuses on morphemes, which are the smallest meaningful units contained in words. We argue that if you teach learners that big words are comprised…

THE USE OF FACEBOOK FOR ONLINE DISCUSSIONS AMONG DISTANCE LEARNERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tina LIM

2010-10-01

Full Text Available With the advent of Web 2.0 tools, educators are looking to these new technological tools to examine its potential in enhancing teaching and learning. While its runaway success as a social networking tool is now renowned, the use of Facebook for educational purposes may be considered still at its infancy stage. This paper describes the use of Facebook as a platform for academic discussions among distance learners. It offers a glimpse into how mobile learning via SMS together with Facebook was used to support and enhance the blended learning approach at Open University Malaysia for three courses: Learning Skills for Open and Distance Learners, Company Law and Renal Nursing. Data on user interactions collected were from the “Page Insights” tools available to Page administrators for the whole duration of a course semester. Facebook interactions examined include total number of fans, total interactions, interactions per post, post quality and unique page views. Findings indicate that Facebook does have the potential to draw distance learners to engage in meaningful academic conversations but the quantity and quality of posts very much depends on the timing as well as the topics of discussion.

Why Do Learners Choose Online Learning: The Learners' Voices

Science.gov (United States)

Ilgaz, Hale; Gulbahar, Yasemin

2017-01-01

Offering many advantages to adult learners, e-Learning is now being recognized--and preferred--by more and more people, resulting in an increased number of distance learners in recent years. Numerous research studies focus on learner preferences for online learning, with most converging around the individual characteristics and differences, if not…

Worldwide Engagement for Sustainable Energy Strategies

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NONE

2013-08-01

Almost 40 years after the Agency’s founding, the IEA responsibility for ensuring access to global oil supplies is still a core mandate. Yet over the course of its history, the IEA’s responsibilities have expanded along with both the international energy economy and conceptions of energy security itself. Our mission to promote secure and sustainable energy provision spans the energy mix. At the same time, a changing global energy map means that the industrialised nations of the world no longer dominate energy consumption. The IEA must work in close co-operation with partner countries and organisations worldwide to achieve its three core objectives: energy security, economic prosperity, and environmental sustainability. Working toward international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global climate change; facilitating energy technology exchange, innovation and deployment; improving modern energy access to the billions of people who are without it; bolstering both cleanliness and security through energy efficiency; and promoting flexible and functioning energy markets – these efforts complement our traditional core responsibilities of mitigating the effects of supply disruptions and improving statistical transparency.

Stakeholder Engagement Through Social Media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Etter, Michael; Castello, Itziar

competing logics of stakeholder engagement: the current (influence logic) and the new logic underlying social media (logic of community). With a longitudinal study of 26 months we observe how engagements failed since managers were not able to integrate certain symbolic and substantive elements of the new......The introduction of new information and communication technologies such social media platforms in organizations results in a new emerging logic of stakeholder engagement around sustainable development issues. We investigate how middle managers of a pharmaceutical corporation navigate between two...... introduced by social media....

The Effectiveness of Game-Based Learning as an Instructional Strategy to Engage Students in Higher Education in Singapore

Science.gov (United States)

Tham, Raymond; Tham, Lesley

2014-01-01

The Internet Generation today is accustomed to multi-tasking, graphics, fun, and fantasy. Educators are finding it challenging to engage and motivate students with the traditional mode of teaching. They are increasingly seeking to tap the potential of game-based learning to engage and motivate learners. Game-based learning is also catching on in…

Creating Flexible and Sustainable Work Models for Academic Obstetrician-Gynecologists Engaged in Global Health Work.

Science.gov (United States)

Molina, Rose; Boatin, Adeline; Farid, Huma; Luckett, Rebecca; Neo, Dayna; Ricciotti, Hope; Scott, Jennifer

2017-10-01

To describe various work models for obstetrics and gynecology global health faculty affiliated with academic medical centers and to identify barriers and opportunities for pursuing global health work. A mixed-methods study was conducted in 2016 among obstetrics and gynecology faculty and leaders from seven academic medical institutions in Boston, Massachusetts. Global health faculty members were invited to complete an online survey about their work models and to participate in semistructured interviews about barriers and facilitators of these models. Department chairs and residency directors were asked to participate in interviews. The survey response rate among faculty was 65.6% (21/32), of which 76.2% (16/21) completed an interview. Five department leaders (45.5% [5/11]) participated in an interview. Faculty described a range of work models with varied time and compensation, but only one third reported contracted time for global health work. The most common barriers to global health work were financial constraints, time limitations, lack of mentorship, need for specialized training, and maintenance of clinical skills. Career satisfaction, creating value for the obstetrics and gynecology department, and work model flexibility were the most important facilitators of sustainable global health careers. The study identified challenges and opportunities to creating flexible and sustainable work models for academic obstetrics and gynecology clinicians engaged in global health work. Additional research and innovation are needed to identify work models that allow for sustainable careers in global women's health. There are opportunities to create professional standards and models for academic global health work in the obstetrics and gynecology specialty.

Whose voice matters? Learners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Bansilal

2010-01-01

Full Text Available International and national mathematics studies have revealed the poor mathematics skills of South African learners. An essential tool that can be used to improve learners' mathematical skills is for educators to use effective feedback. Our purpose in this study was to elicit learners' understanding and expectations of teacher assessment feedback. The study was conducted with five Grade 9 mathematics learners. Data were generated from one group interview, seven journal entries by each learner, video-taped classroom observations and researcher field notes. The study revealed that the learners have insightful perceptions of the concept of educator feedback. While some learners viewed educator feedback as a tool to probe their understanding, others viewed it as a mechanism to get the educator's point of view. A significant finding of the study was that learners viewed educator assessment feedback as instrumental in building or breaking their self-confidence.

Constructing a Voice in English as a Foreign Language: Identity and Engagement

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Nasrollahi Shahri, Mohammad Naseh

2018-01-01

Situated in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context, this study navigates the intersection of language learner identity and foreign language engagement. Specifically, drawing on the concept of voice (Canagarajah, 2013; Johnstone, 1996; Kramsch, 2003), Bakhtin's (1981) theory of language, and the notion of investment (Darvin & Norton,…

Is a Transdisciplinary Theory of Engagement in Organized Settings Possible? A Concept Analysis of the Literature on Employee Engagement, Consumer Engagement and Patient Engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Graffigna, Guendalina

2017-01-01

Organizations are experiencing increased competition, disruptive innovation, and continuous changes in their social and economic context. Furthermore, the decrease of resources (economic and human) in such a demanding context make it imperative for organizations to find new models and strategies to make their service delivery more sustainable at the economic, environmental and psychological levels. In such a complex scenario the concept of engagement of the individuals involved in organized settings (either as service providers or as final receivers) is a promising lever for innovation. However, despite the number of studies on the matter, the debate on engagement is still very fragmented because the corpus of literature addressing the different areas of engagement is divided and diverse in its nature. In this paper, we discuss the results of a conceptual analysis of the literature conducted in order to investigate overlapping features and areas of divergence among three different areas of investigation and application of the engagement phenomenon in organized settings: the domains of employee engagement, consumer engagement, and patient engagement. These are deliberately selected as prototypical of the phenomenon of engagement along the "inside/outside" of organizational settings. The analysis consisted in a qualitative conceptual survey? Of the scholarly literature indexed with the key terms "employee engagement," "consumer engagement," and "patient engagement." We performed a key-word based survey? Of the literature in the Scopus database. A total of 163 articles were selected and analyzed. The analysis cast light on the following areas of conceptual overlap among employee, consumer and patient engagement: (1) engagement is different from empowerment and activation; (2) engagement is a multi-componential psychological experience; (3) engagement is a self-transformative experience; (4) engagement develops within a relational context; (5) engagement is a systemic

Is a Transdisciplinary Theory of Engagement in Organized Settings Possible? A Concept Analysis of the Literature on Employee Engagement, Consumer Engagement and Patient Engagement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guendalina Graffigna

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Organizations are experiencing increased competition, disruptive innovation, and continuous changes in their social and economic context. Furthermore, the decrease of resources (economic and human in such a demanding context make it imperative for organizations to find new models and strategies to make their service delivery more sustainable at the economic, environmental and psychological levels. In such a complex scenario the concept of engagement of the individuals involved in organized settings (either as service providers or as final receivers is a promising lever for innovation. However, despite the number of studies on the matter, the debate on engagement is still very fragmented because the corpus of literature addressing the different areas of engagement is divided and diverse in its nature. In this paper, we discuss the results of a conceptual analysis of the literature conducted in order to investigate overlapping features and areas of divergence among three different areas of investigation and application of the engagement phenomenon in organized settings: the domains of employee engagement, consumer engagement, and patient engagement. These are deliberately selected as prototypical of the phenomenon of engagement along the “inside/outside” of organizational settings. The analysis consisted in a qualitative conceptual survey? Of the scholarly literature indexed with the key terms “employee engagement,” “consumer engagement,” and “patient engagement.” We performed a key-word based survey? Of the literature in the Scopus database. A total of 163 articles were selected and analyzed. The analysis cast light on the following areas of conceptual overlap among employee, consumer and patient engagement: (1 engagement is different from empowerment and activation; (2 engagement is a multi-componential psychological experience; (3 engagement is a self-transformative experience; (4 engagement develops within a relational context

Communication Strategies in Primary Schools in Botswana: Interventions Using Cooks, Teacher Aides and Learners

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Mokibelo, Eureka B.

2016-01-01

This paper examines the micro planning activities that schools engage in to address learners' needs to make education work in rural primary schools of Botswana. The national language plan prescribes the use of English and Setswana only as languages of instruction at the primary school level. However, this plan is not practical in some regions…

Opportunities for Teaching Sustainable Development through the Chemistry Component of CAPS Physical Sciences

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Tsakeni, Maria

2018-01-01

The realisation that education may, in part, have contributed to non-sustainable environmental practices warrants rethinking about what learners experience at school. One approach could involve the promotion of education for sustainable development (ESD). This study analysed the opportunities to integrate ESD presented by the chemistry component…

Building Sustainable Research Engagements: Lessons Learned from Research with Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Vukotich, Charles J., Jr.; Cousins, Jennifer; Stebbins, Samuel

2014-01-01

Engaged scholarship, translational science, integrated research, and interventionist research, all involve bringing research into a practical context. These usually require working with communities and institutions, and often involve community based participatory research. The article offers practical guidance for engaged research. The authors…

The contributing student: Learners as co-developers of learning resources for reuse in Web environments.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Collis, Betty; Moonen, J.C.M.M.; Hung, David; Khine, Myint Swe

2005-01-01

Learners can and do become engaged in learning through intrinsic motivations without the need for a teacher or instructional designer. In the workplace, for example, workplace learning is typically seen as a process of such self-guided learning, based on the needs of the task at hand. In the school

Learner corpus profiles the case of Romanian learner English

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Chitez, Madalina

2014-01-01

The first three chapters of the book offer relevant information on the new methodological approach, learner corpus profiling, and the exemplifying case, Romanian Learner English. The description of the Romanian Corpus of Learner English is also given special attention. The following three chapters include corpus-based frequency analyses of selected grammatical categories (articles, prepositions, genitives), combined with error analyses. In the concluding discussion, the book summarizes the features compiled as lexico-grammatical profiles.

Learner Personas in CALL

Science.gov (United States)

Heift, Trude

2007-01-01

In examining the titles of this year's conference presentations, the author noticed quite a few papers that focus on learner-specific issues, for instance, papers that address learning styles, learner needs, personality and learning, learner modeling and, more generally, pedagogical issues that deal with individual learner differences in…

Engaging Students in Learning Science through Promoting Creative Reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Waldrip, Bruce; Prain, Vaughan

2017-01-01

Student engagement in learning science is both a desirable goal and a long-standing teacher challenge. Moving beyond engagement understood as transient topic interest, we argue that cognitive engagement entails sustained interaction in the processes of how knowledge claims are generated, judged, and shared in this subject. In this paper, we…

3D Virtual Reality Check: Learner Engagement and Constructivist Theory

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Bair, Richard A.

2013-01-01

The inclusion of three-dimensional (3D) virtual tools has created a need to communicate the engagement of 3D tools and specify learning gains that educators and the institutions, which are funding 3D tools, can expect. A review of literature demonstrates that specific models and theories for 3D Virtual Reality (VR) learning do not exist "per…

Information technology for sustainable development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holgaard, Jette Egelund; Guerra, Aida; Knoche, Hendrik

2013-01-01

implications of the different approaches to integrate sustainability. We conclude that students indeed chose divers strategies to integrate sustainability into their projects and those diverse strategies are indeed needed to obtain student engagement. Furthermore, the introduction of an open-ended thematic...

Focus on Form, Learner Uptake and Subsequent Lexical Gains in Learners' Oral Production

Science.gov (United States)

Alcon-Soler, Eva

2009-01-01

This descriptive study reports findings on the relationship between focus on form, learner uptake and subsequent lexical gains in learners' oral production. The data for the study consisted in 17 45-minute audio-recorded teacher-led conversations, 204 learners' diaries (17 sessions x 12 learners) reporting what they had learned after each…

Engaging Fifth Graders in Scientific Modeling to Learn about Evaporation and Condensation

Science.gov (United States)

Hokayem, Hayat; Schwarz, Christina

2014-01-01

Reform efforts in science education have aimed at fostering scientific literacy by helping learners meaningfully engage in scientific practices to make sense of the world. In this paper, we report on our second year of unit implementation that has investigated 34 fifth grade students' (10-year-olds) learning about evaporation and condensation…

The Relationship Between Engagement and Neurophysiological Measures of Attention in Motion-Controlled Video Games: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Leiker, Amber M; Miller, Matthew; Brewer, Lauren; Nelson, Monica; Siow, Maria; Lohse, Keith

2016-04-21

Video games and virtual environments continue to be the subject of research in health sciences for their capacity to augment practice through user engagement. Creating game mechanics that increase user engagement may have indirect benefits on learning (ie, engaged learners are likely to practice more) and may also have direct benefits on learning (ie, for a fixed amount of practice, engaged learners show superior retention of information or skills). To manipulate engagement through the aesthetic features of a motion-controlled video game and measure engagement's influence on learning. A group of 40 right-handed participants played the game under two different conditions (game condition or sterile condition). The mechanics of the game and the amount of practice were constant. During practice, event-related potentials (ERPs) to task-irrelevant probe tones were recorded during practice as an index of participants' attentional reserve. Participants returned for retention and transfer testing one week later. Although both groups improved in the task, there was no difference in the amount of learning between the game and sterile groups, countering previous research. A new finding was a statistically significant relationship between self-reported engagement and the amplitude of the early-P3a (eP3a) component of the ERP waveform, such that participants who reported higher levels of engagement showed a smaller eP3a (beta=-.08, P=.02). This finding provides physiological data showing that engagement elicits increased information processing (reducing attentional reserve), which yields new insight into engagement and its underlying neurophysiological properties. Future studies may objectively index engagement by quantifying ERPs (specifically the eP3a) to task-irrelevant probes.

The Effects of Student Engagement, Student Satisfaction, and Perceived Learning in Online Learning Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Julie A.; DiLoreto, Melanie

2016-01-01

Studies have shown that course organization and structure, student engagement, learner interaction, and instructor presence have accounted for considerable variance in student satisfaction and perceived learning in online learning environments through a range of pathways, although no research to date has tested the mediational relationship…

Using M-learning as a Means to Promote Self-direction and Engagement in Apprenticeship Theoretical Lessons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan O'Donnell

2014-06-01

Full Text Available An exploratory case study was carried out to investigate if the use of mobile phones as a tool for learning could address concerns over the current learning of the carpentry and joinery apprentices in the Dublin Institute of Technology. The concerns are regarding a lack of learner self-direction and engagement with the learning content. A high level of mobile phone usage was apparent among the apprentice cohort. It was decided to take advantage of the potential learning opportunity offered by mobile technologies to promote the learning and engagement of the apprentices. Towards this goal, a compatible resource was developed, hosting presentations, course content, videos and questions. This study explored the views of the learners in the carpentry and joinery trade apprenticeship and their attitudes towards developing an m-learning resource. The aim of the research was to explore if this m-learning resource encouraged self-direction and engagement. Further objectives of this study were to establish a start point for further research projects and resource development.

Creating and Sustaining Inclusive Instructional Settings for English Language Learners: Why, What, and How

Science.gov (United States)

López, Francesca; Iribarren, Jacqueline

2014-01-01

In this article, we provide an empirically based framework for school leaders to support the replacement of separate means of providing services for English learners (ELs) with more inclusive learning supports. The framework encompasses evidence on cultivating language proficiency, ensuring access to a high-quality curriculum, and promoting…

Shame, guilt, and the medical learner: ignored connections and why we should care.

Science.gov (United States)

Bynum, William E; Goodie, Jeffrey L

2014-11-01

Shame and guilt are subjective emotional responses that occur in response to negative events such as the making of mistakes or an experience of mistreatment, and have been studied extensively in the field of psychology. Despite their potentially damaging effects and ubiquitous presence in everyday life, very little has been written about the impact of shame and guilt in medical education. The authors reference the psychology literature to define shame and guilt and then focus on one area in medical education in which they manifest: the response of the learner and teacher to medical errors. Evidence is provided from the psychology literature to show associations between shame and negative coping mechanisms, decreased empathy and impaired self-forgiveness following a transgression. The authors link this evidence to existing findings in the medical literature that may be related to unrecognised shame and guilt, and propose novel ways of thinking about a learner's ability to cope, remain empathetic and forgive him or herself following an error. The authors combine the discussion of shame, guilt and learner error with findings from the medical education literature and outline three specific ways in which teachers might lead learners to a shame-free response to errors: by acknowledging the presence of shame and guilt in the learner; by avoiding humiliation, and by leveraging effective feedback. The authors conclude with recommendations for research on shame and guilt and their influence on the experience of the medical learner. This critical research plus enhanced recognition of shame and guilt will allow teachers and institutions to further cultivate the engaged, empathetic and shame-resilient learners they strive to create. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Close Encounters with Nature in an Urban Kindergarten: A Study of Learners' Inquiry and Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Ghafouri, Farveh

2014-01-01

This article reports on the findings of a recent qualitative grounded theory research study in a metropolitan area in the south-east of Canada examining one junior/senior kindergarten classroom's engagement with nature. It focuses on the role of the learners, the children and the teacher, in co-constructing two very different learning experiences.…

Engagement Portraits and (Socio)linguistic Performance: A Transversal and Longitudinal Study of Advanced L2 Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Mougeon, Françoise; Rehner, Katherine

2015-01-01

This study considers, both transversally and longitudinally, advanced second language (L2) learners' profile portraits, how these correlate with their sociolinguistic and linguistic performance, and how changes in these portraits over time connect to changes in sociolinguistic performance. The results show a strong correlation between high degrees…

Strategic Leadership of Corporate Sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strand, Robert

2014-01-01

Strategic leadership and corporate sustainability have recently come together in conspicuously explicit fashion through the emergence of top management team (TMT) positions with dedicated corporate sustainability responsibilities. These TMT positions, commonly referred to as 'Chief Sustainability......? What effects do corporate sustainability TMT positions have at their organizations? We consider these questions through strategic leadership and neoinstitutional theoretical frameworks. Through the latter, we also engage with Weberian considerations of bureaucracy. We find that the reasons why...

Sustainable Civil-Society Engagement: Potentials of a Transnational Civil Society in French-German, Polish-German, and Czech-German Border Regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klaus Boehnke

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Based on representative survey data, the present study examines potentials for the sustainable development of a transnational civil society in French-German, Polish-German, and Czech-German border regions. The theoretical framework is a social capital approach in the tradition of Putnam. Transnational engagement is seen as a key element for the development of a border-crossing civil society. For the analysis, existing forms of social capital were classified according to their bridging and bonding functions and the potentials of local and transnational activities are described. Furthermore, using multilevel analysis, the predictive power of different variables like individual dispositions and specific contexts of the regions on cross-border activities are examined. Descriptively, the expected lower level of local civil-society engagement, in general, and also with regard to the transnational activities was found for post-socialist border regions. It is shown that, first and foremost, existing experience in civil-society engagement in the local context is a high-impact predictor for both transnational activities and an interest in such activities. Other variables like feelings of a historical burden or the economic situation of the region are less important.

Campus sustainable food projects: critique and engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Barlett, Peggy F

2011-01-01

Campus sustainable food projects recently have expanded rapidly. A review of four components - purchasing goals, academic programs, direct marketing, and experiential learning - shows both intent and capacity to contribute to transformational change toward an alternative food system. The published rationales for campus projects and specific purchasing guidelines join curricular and cocurricular activities to evaluate, disseminate, and legitimize environmental, economic, social justice, and health concerns about conventional food. Emerging new metrics of food service practices mark a potential shift from rhetoric to market clout, and experiential learning builds new coalitions and can reshape relations with food and place. Campus projects are relatively new and their resilience is not assured, but leading projects have had regional, state, and national impact. The emergence of sustainability rankings in higher education and contract-based compliance around purchasing goals suggests that if support continues, higher education's leadership can extend to the broader agrifood system.

Identifying the influence of gender on motivation and engagement levels in student physiotherapists.

Science.gov (United States)

Edgar, Susan

2015-04-01

There is an increasing focus in higher education on the role of learner characteristics and their influence on academic performance. Educators are interested in how students engage with learning activities as they progress through the curriculum. A previous study highlighted gender effects in academic performance in student physiotherapists, despite comparable entry scores. The aim of this study was to determine variation in student motivation and engagement, across the four year levels of the physiotherapy program at The University of Notre Dame Australia while considering gender and age. A cross-sectional design was adopted surveying 233 students utilising the Motivation and Engagement Scale - University/College (MES-UC), to review motivational thoughts and behaviours influencing learning. RESULTS identified gender effects with males having on average significantly lower scores for planning, task management and persistence; and higher scores for disengagement from their studies. Females displayed higher average scores for anxiety particularly in their first year and final clinical year. RESULTS were consistent with gender effects noted in academic performance throughout the program for previous student cohorts. The application of the MES-UC early in course would highlight to educators the areas where intervention can be targeted. Early individualized intervention is recommended to address learner characteristics influencing performance.

Working Together to Support English Language Learners: School-Family-Community Engagement. PERC Research Brief

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Rosemary; Reumann-Moore, Rebecca; Rowland, Jeannette; Lin, Joshua

2016-01-01

When schools, families, and communities work together, student outcomes are better. This brief focuses on the ways family and community engagement can enhance schools' efforts to improve outcomes for ELLs and highlights specific strategies schools can use to more effectively engage families and communities.

Towards Science for Democratic Sustainable Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Jonas Egmose

residents, sustainability resear- chers and practitioners in deliberating on how future research can meet societal challenges of urban sustainability. Based on the research project Citizen Science for Sustainability (SuScit) I analyse how orientations towards sustainability can be understood and challenged...... of urban everyday life, confronting academic concepts of sustainability. This process not at least calls for reflexivity among researchers facing the challenge how science can further sustainability through community engagement. To conceptualise this dynamic I propose the concept of creation and doubling...

Learner-to-learner visual acuity screening: A solution for early ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The National School Health Policy guidelines (2002) stipulate that primary school learners should have their vision, speech, hearing, mental health, teeth, ... This project created greater awareness among learners, parents and teachers ...

Metaliteracy as Pedagogical Framework for Learner-Centered Design in Three MOOC Platforms: Connectivist, Coursera and Canvas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelsey L. O'Brien

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This article examines metaliteracy as a pedagogical model that leverages the assets of MOOC platforms to enhance self-regulated and self-empowered learning. Between 2013 and 2015, a collaborative teaching team within the State University of New York (SUNY developed three MOOCs on three different platforms—connectivist, Coursera and Canvas—to engage with learners about metaliteracy. As a reframing of information literacy, metaliteracy envisions the learner as an active and metacognitive producer of digital information in online communities and social media environments (Mackey & Jacobson, 2011; 2014. This team of educators, which constitutes the core of the Metaliteracy Learning Collaborative, used metaliteracy as a lens for applied teaching and learning strategies in the development of a cMOOC and two xMOOCs. The metaliteracy MOOCs pushed against the dominant trends of lecture-based, automated MOOC design towards a more learner-centered pedagogy that aligns with key components of metaliteracy.

Leading Sustainability in Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Katie

2016-01-01

What is the role of schools, and more specifically school leadership, in the transition to a sustainable future for humankind? What different forms of leadership are needed to enable this role? The challenges are huge and complex and for those of us engaged in promoting sustainability learning, it is clear that the issue has never been more…

Writing a Recipe for Teaching Sustainable Food Systems: Lessons from Three University Courses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christy Anderson Brekken

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The sustainability of the food system is at the forefront of academic and policy discussions as we face the challenge of providing food security to a growing population amidst environmental uncertainty and depletion, social disruptions, and structural economic shocks and stresses. Crafting a sustainable and resilient food system requires us to go beyond disciplinary boundaries and broaden critical and creative thinking skills. Recent literature calls for examples of pedagogical transformations from food systems courses to identify successful practices and potential challenges. We offer a recipe for what to teach by framing systems thinking concepts, then discuss how to teach it with five learning activities: deductive case studies, experiential learning, reflective narrative learning, system dynamics simulations and scenarios, and inductive/open-ended case studies, implemented with collaborative group learning, inter/trans-disciplinarity, and instructor-modeled co-learning. Each learning activity is animated with concrete examples from our courses at Oregon State University, University of Minnesota, and University of Vermont, USA. We discuss opportunities and challenges implementing these strategies in light of student, instructor, and institutional expectations and constraints. But the challenge is worth the effort, because food system transformation requires active learners and systemic thinkers as engaged citizens, food system advocates, entrepreneurs, and policy makers.

A Sustainability Education Academic Development Framework (SEAD)

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Holdsworth, Sarah; Thomas, Ian

2016-01-01

Academic development is one means of reorientating education within higher education (HE) to include sustainability principles. This paper identifies the requirements of academic development programmes that will provide educators with the skills to engage students in the ideas of sustainability and sustainable development. In order to determine…

Disseminating effective clinician communication techniques: Engaging clinicians to want to learn how to engage patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollak, Kathryn I; Back, Anthony L; Tulsky, James A

2017-10-01

Patient-clinician communication that promotes patient engagement enhances health care quality. Yet, disseminating effective communication interventions to practicing clinicians remains challenging. Current methods do not have large and sustainable effects. In this paper, we argue that both top-down approaches (mandated by institutions) should be coupled with bottom-up approaches that address clinician motivation, confidence, and barriers. We need to engage clinicians in the same way we ask them to engage patients - strategically and with empathy. We discuss potentially innovative strategies to integrate top-down and bottom-up approaches in ways that fit clinicians' busy schedules and can inform policy. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Engaging diverse communities towards climate protection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nichols, J.; Imran, N. [Blekinge Inst. of Technology, Karlskrona (Sweden)

2008-07-01

Engaging urban communities as newcomers towards UN climate change targets is not only good governance but also a way of relating deliberative democracy to the human need of participation. This poster outlines effective multicultural engagement as it relates to strategic sustainable development. The presentation shares the benefits of broadening communication strategies from informing citizens to consultation and empowering diverse communities to participate in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Increasing student engagement and retention using immersive interfaces virtual worlds, gaming and simulation

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Wankel, Charles

2012-01-01

Increasing Student Engagement and Retention Using Immersive Interfaces: Virtual Worlds, Gaming, and Simulation uses case studies, surveys, and literature reviews to critically examine how gaming, simulation, and virtualization are being used to improve teamwork and leadership skills in students, create engaging communities of practice, and as experiential learning tools to create inter-cultural, multi-perspective, and global experiences. Chapters include how to increase learner engagement using serious games, using game features for classroom engagement, using client-based peer assessment in multi-role, whole-enterprise simulations, using virtual worlds to develop teacher candidate skills, enhancing leadership skills through virtual simulation, using online video simulation for educational leadership, using augmented reality in education, using open source software in education, using educational robotics laboratories to enhance active learning, and utilizing the virtual learning environment to encourage facu...

Bringing home the health humanities: narrative humility, structural competency, and engaged pedagogy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsevat, Rebecca K; Sinha, Anoushka A; Gutierrez, Kevin J; DasGupta, Sayantani

2015-11-01

As health humanities programs grow and thrive across the country, encouraging medical students to read, write, and become more reflective about their professional roles, educators must bring a sense of self-reflexivity to the discipline itself. In the health humanities, novels, patient histories, and pieces of reflective writing are often treated as architectural spaces or "homes" that one can enter and examine. Yet, narrative-based learning in health care settings does not always allow its participants to feel "at home"; when not taught with a critical attention to power and pedagogy, the health humanities can be unsettling and even dangerous. Educators can mitigate these risks by considering not only what they teach but also how they teach it.In this essay, the authors present three pedagogical pillars that educators can use to invite learners to engage more fully, develop critical awareness of medical narratives, and feel "at home" in the health humanities. These pedagogical pillars are narrative humility (an awareness of one's prejudices, expectations, and frames of listening), structural competency (attention to sources of power and privilege), and engaged pedagogy (the protection of students' security and well-being). Incorporating these concepts into pedagogical practices can create safe and productive classroom spaces for all, including those most vulnerable and at risk of being "unhomed" by conventional hierarchies and oppressive social structures. This model then can be translated through a parallel process from classroom to clinic, such that empowered, engaged, and cared-for learners become empowering, engaging, and caring clinicians.

AR-based Technoself Enhanced Learning Approach to Improving Student Engagement

OpenAIRE

Jin, L.; Huang, W.; Wen, Z.

2016-01-01

The emerging technologies have expanded a new dimension of self – ‘technoself’ driven by socio-technical innovations and taken an important step forward in pervasive learning. Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) research has increasingly focused on emergent technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) for augmented learning, mobile learning, and game-based learning in order to improve self-motivation and self-engagement of the learners in enriched multimodal learning environments. These researc...

Collaborative Literacy Work in a High School: Enhancing Teacher Capacity for English Learner Instruction in the Mainstream

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Felice Atesoglu

2014-01-01

As more English learners (ELs) are included in mainstream content classrooms at the secondary level, the need to understand how teachers collaborate to meet the particular instructional needs of ELs is essential. This paper presents findings from a qualitative case study that investigated the collaborative work that engaged a group of literacy…

Using the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to Assess and Plan for Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Mainor, Avia; Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Maier, Ryan C.; Brossart, Laura; Luke, Douglas A.

2014-01-01

Implementing and growing a public health program that benefits society takes considerable time and effort. To ensure that positive outcomes are maintained over time, program managers and stakeholders should plan and implement activities to build sustainability capacity within their programs. We describe a 3-part sustainability planning process that programs can follow to build their sustainability capacity. First, program staff and stakeholders take the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to measure their program’s sustainability across 8 domains. Next, managers and stakeholders use results from the assessment to inform and prioritize sustainability action planning. Lastly, staff members implement the plan and keep track of progress toward their sustainability goals. Through this process, staff can more holistically address the internal and external challenges and pressures associated with sustaining a program. We include a case example of a chronic disease program that completed the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool and engaged in program sustainability planning. PMID:24456644

The Impact of Vocabulary Enhancement Activities on Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention among Male and Female EFL Learners in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Sharafi-Nejad, Maryam; Raftari, Shohreh; Bijami, Maryam; Khavari, Zahra; Ismail, Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed; Eng, Lin Siew

2014-01-01

In general, incidental vocabulary acquisition is represented as the "picking up" of new vocabularies when students are engaged in a variety of reading, listening, speaking, or writing activities. Research has shown when learners read extensively incidental vocabulary acquisition happens. Many EFL students cannot be involved in reading…

Is a Transdisciplinary Theory of Engagement in Organized Settings Possible? A Concept Analysis of the Literature on Employee Engagement, Consumer Engagement and Patient Engagement

OpenAIRE

Graffigna, Guendalina

2017-01-01

Organizations are experiencing increased competition, disruptive innovation, and continuous changes in their social and economic context. Furthermore, the decrease of resources (economic and human) in such a demanding context make it imperative for organizations to find new models and strategies to make their service delivery more sustainable at the economic, environmental and psychological levels. In such a complex scenario the concept of engagement of the individuals involved in organized s...

Learner's Passport

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogdan Jug

1996-12-01

Full Text Available For the first time learner's passport was pre­ sented at the international conference on permanent education, taking place in Rome in December 1994. This document is not meant for students only but for the entire population. It should contain notes on any format education, additional education, working experiences, cultural activities, sport results, awards, prizes and recommen­ dations. The mission of learner's passport is to gather all documents in one place, a handy book­ let which gives one an overall view over his/her achievements. It should help personnel departments in choosing the right person for a certain job as well as indirectly stimul ate additional activities of the learner's passport holder.

Public engagement in climate change - Disjunctions, tensions and blind spots in the UK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoeppner, C

2009-01-01

There is much talk about engaging the public in climate change mitigation and adaptation in the UK and elsewhere. Governments rush to demand greater engagement of the public in tackling climate change and delivering sustainable futures. The importance that public engagement has gained as part of the UK climate agenda begs the questions of what is actually behind this call and what are the implications. This paper analyses the rationale for public engagement as enshrined in major policy documents. This rationale is clearly instrumental in that citizens are expected to engage by adopting the 'right attitude', by performing prescribed behaviours, and by consenting to proposed measures. Using recent cases of climate change mitigation and adaptation practice the paper discusses the implications of such an approach to public engagement. The paper concludes that until the manifold disjunctions between climate related policy agendas and their rationales for engagement are explicitly addressed citizen engagement will be serving incumbent interests rather than contributing to socially sustainable and democratic decision-making

Educating the Future of Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gillian Bowser

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The future of global environmental sustainability is contingent upon educating the next generation of environmental stewards. Critical elements of training such an interdisciplinary workforce include mentoring and experiential learning in the areas of science, communication, and leadership. To keep pace with the ever changing and increasingly complex issues of global environmental sustainability, environmental educators must encourage and support the participation and training of a diverse body of students in the environmental sciences. The Rocky Mountain Sustainability and Science Network (RMSSN is a partnership of over two dozen universities, federal agencies and other organizations designed to help train the next diverse generation of interdisciplinary leaders who are prepared to address issues related to global climate change, environmental sustainability, and the management of public lands and resources using the Rocky Mountains as a laboratory and classroom. Herein, we present the RMSSN as a model for engaging students in the environmental sciences with an emphasis on understanding key elements of sustainability. Our model is based on a foundation of: (1 diversity; (2 tiered mentoring in cohorts; (3 engaging lectures coupled with field experiences on public lands; (4 long term networking; and (5 environmental internships.

The Use and Role of Pop Culture in Heritage Language Learning: A Study of Advanced Learners of Korean

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Choi, Jayoung; Yi, Youngjoo

2012-01-01

Despite the important use of pop culture in many instructional settings, its use in the heritage language (HL) classroom remains largely unexplored. Thus, this article reports findings from classroom-based qualitative research that examined the use and role of pop culture in advanced Korean HL learners' literacy engagement and identity…

Capturing the Stakeholders’ View in Sustainability Reporting: A Novel Approach

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Nicola Bellantuono

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Sustainability reporting is the process by which companies describe how they deal with their own economic, environmental, and social impacts, thus making stakeholders able to recognize the value of sustainable practices. As stressed in the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, which act as a de facto standard for sustainability reporting, sustainable reports should take into account the stakeholders’ view. In particular, engaging stakeholders is essential to carry out the materiality analysis, by which organizations can identify their own more relevant sustainability aspects. Yet, on the one hand, the existing guidelines do not provide specific indications on how to get stakeholders actually engaged; on the other hand, research on quantitative techniques to support stakeholder engagement in materiality analysis is scarce. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is the development of a quantitative structured approach based on multi-attribute group decision-making techniques to effectively and reliably support stakeholder engagement during materiality analysis in sustainability reporting. As it more strictly guides the reporting process, the proposed approach at the same time simplifies materiality analysis and makes it more reliable. Though any company can adopt the approach, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs are expected to particularly benefit from it, due to the quite limited implementation effort that is required. With this respect, the approach has been validated on a sample of Italian SMEs belonging to different sectors.

Using Reciprocal Peer Teaching to Develop Learner Autonomy: An Action Research Project with a Beginners' Chinese Class

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Liu, Weiming; Devitt, Ann

2014-01-01

Peer teaching has been used as a mechanism for promoting learner autonomy in a range of language learning contexts. This article explores how absolute beginners in a Chinese class can engage in reciprocal peer teaching (RPT) from the start of their language learning experience and how this contributes to the development of their autonomy as…

Researching Oral Production Skills of Young Learners

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Magdalena Szpotowicz

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This chapter focuses on the development of young learners’ ability to communicate in a foreign language. An empirical study was carried out to determine whether, after four years of learning English as a compulsory school subject, children are ready to engage in oral interaction in a semicontrolled task and produce answers and questions in English. A convenience sample of ten-year-old children was selected from 180 participants in ELLiE2 in Poland. Six learners from one class of each of seven schools were selected on the basis of teachers’ reports to ensure equal proportions of learners with low, medium and high ability. Schools were chosen to represent different socio-economic milieux. The results of the Year Four oral test (an interactive task showed that almost all the participating childrencould respond to questions but only half were able to ask questions.Considering generally positive attitudes to speaking activities, the results suggest that ten-year-old children are already developing their interactive skills and could benefit from more interaction-focused classroom activities. Further experimental classroom-based studies are necessary to gain better insight into potential oral achievements in this age group. The results are discussed in the context of national curriculum requirements, drawing on the Common European Framework of Reference level descriptors.

Classifying Adoption of Sustainability Policies and Programs: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods for the Development of a Community Sustainability Typology

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Understanding how and why different communities engage with sustainability policies and actions is of critical importance for furthering implementation of innovative and conventional sustainability strategies. Despite this importance, an understanding of how and why communities a...

Exploring Social Learning through Upstream Engagement in Science and Technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Jonas Egmose

This discussion paper deliberates on how the concept of social learning can be used for evaluating upstream engagement initiatives in science and technology.  The paper briefly introduces to the concept of upstream engagement and a concrete case, the UK Citizen Science for Sustainability project...... (SuScit), as an outset for discussing how the concept of social learning can be used for analysing and understanding relations between citizen participation, Science and research, and sustainability. A number of relevant research questions and methodological considerations are distilled...

Sustainability Assessment and Reporting in Agriculture Sector

OpenAIRE

Edward Kassem; Oldřich Trenz; Jiří Hřebíček; Oldřich Faldík

2017-01-01

Sustainability assessment is a mainstream business activity that demonstrates the link between the organization’s strategy and commitment to a sustainable global economy. Sustainability indicators describe the environmental, social, economic and governance performance of Small and Medium‑sized Businesses/Enterprises (SMB/SME). Unfortunately, their implementations in the Czech Republic show a low level of engagement in sustainability assessment. The paper presents the results of the authors’ r...

Measuring patient engagement: development and psychometric properties of the Patient Health Engagement (PHE) Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Graffigna, Guendalina; Barello, Serena; Bonanomi, Andrea; Lozza, Edoardo

2015-01-01

Beyond the rhetorical call for increasing patients' engagement, policy makers recognize the urgency to have an evidence-based measure of patients' engagement and capture its effect when planning and implementing initiatives aimed at sustaining the engagement of consumers in their health. In this paper, authors describe the Patient Health Engagement Scale (PHE-scale), a measure of patient engagement that is grounded in rigorous conceptualization and appropriate psychometric methods. The scale was developed based on our previous conceptualization of patient engagement (the PHE-model). In particular, the items of the PHE-scale were developed based on the findings from the literature review and from interviews with chronic patients. Initial psychometric analysis was performed to pilot test a preliminary version of the items. The items were then refined and administered to a national sample of chronic patients (N = 382) to assess the measure's psychometric performance. A final phase of test-retest reliability was performed. The analysis showed that the PHE Scale has good psychometric properties with good correlation with concurrent measures and solid reliability. Having a valid and reliable measure to assess patient engagement is the first step in understanding patient engagement and its role in health care quality, outcomes, and cost containment. The PHE Scale shows a promising clinical relevance, indicating that it can be used to tailor intervention and assess changes after patient engagement interventions.

Assessing faculty professional development in STEM higher education: Sustainability of outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Derting, Terry L; Ebert-May, Diane; Henkel, Timothy P; Maher, Jessica Middlemis; Arnold, Bryan; Passmore, Heather A

2016-03-01

We tested the effectiveness of Faculty Institutes for Reforming Science Teaching IV (FIRST), a professional development program for postdoctoral scholars, by conducting a study of program alumni. Faculty professional development programs are critical components of efforts to improve teaching and learning in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines, but reliable evidence of the sustained impacts of these programs is lacking. We used a paired design in which we matched a FIRST alumnus employed in a tenure-track position with a non-FIRST faculty member at the same institution. The members of a pair taught courses that were of similar size and level. To determine whether teaching practices of FIRST participants were more learner-centered than those of non-FIRST faculty, we compared faculty perceptions of their teaching strategies, perceptions of environmental factors that influence teaching, and actual teaching practice. Non-FIRST and FIRST faculty reported similar perceptions of their teaching strategies and teaching environment. FIRST faculty reported using active learning and interactive engagement in lecture sessions more frequently compared with non-FIRST faculty. Ratings from external reviewers also documented that FIRST faculty taught class sessions that were learner-centered, contrasting with the teacher-centered class sessions of most non-FIRST faculty. Despite marked differences in teaching practice, FIRST and non-FIRST participants used assessments that targeted lower-level cognitive skills. Our study demonstrated the effectiveness of the FIRST program and the empirical utility of comparison groups, where groups are well matched and controlled for contextual variables (for example, departments), for evaluating the effectiveness of professional development for subsequent teaching practices.

Engaging Foreign Language Learners in a Web 2.0-Mediated Collaborative Learning Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Eduardo Cote Parra

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this action research was to explore the types of interactions that foreign language learners experience while using a wiki as a supporting tool for a face-to-face research course. This design allowed me to play a dual role: first, I studied my own classroom setting and students. Second, I implemented a pedagogical intervention based on a collaborative online learning interaction. The data were gathered from participants’ posts, and the findings revealed that class tasks promoted an asynchronous voluntary interaction among participants in which they shared knowledge and experiences while expressing the opinions and points of view that enabled them to actively participate in the face-to-face class.

Fostering clinical reasoning in physiotherapy: comparing the effects of concept map study and concept map completion after example study in novice and advanced learners.

Science.gov (United States)

Montpetit-Tourangeau, Katherine; Dyer, Joseph-Omer; Hudon, Anne; Windsor, Monica; Charlin, Bernard; Mamede, Sílvia; van Gog, Tamara

2017-12-01

Health profession learners can foster clinical reasoning by studying worked examples presenting fully worked out solutions to a clinical problem. It is possible to improve the learning effect of these worked examples by combining them with other learning activities based on concept maps. This study investigated which combinaison of activities, worked examples study with concept map completion or worked examples study with concept map study, fosters more meaningful learning of intervention knowledge in physiotherapy students. Moreover, this study compared the learning effects of these learning activity combinations between novice and advanced learners. Sixty-one second-year physiotherapy students participated in the study which included a pre-test phase, a 130-min guided-learning phase and a four-week self-study phase. During the guided and self-study learning sessions, participants had to study three written worked examples presenting the clinical reasoning for selecting electrotherapeutic currents to treat patients with motor deficits. After each example, participants engaged in either concept map completion or concept map study depending on which learning condition they were randomly allocated to. Students participated in an immediate post-test at the end of the guided-learning phase and a delayed post-test at the end of the self-study phase. Post-tests assessed the understanding of principles governing the domain of knowledge to be learned (conceptual knowledge) and the ability to solve new problems that have similar (i.e., near transfer) or different (i.e., far transfer) solution rationales as problems previously studied in the examples. Learners engaged in concept map completion outperformed those engaged in concept map study on near transfer (p = .010) and far transfer (p concept map completion led to greater transfer performance than worked examples study combined with concept map study for both novice and advanced learners. Concept map completion

Literacy Instruction in Multilingual Classrooms: Engaging English Language Learners in Elementary School. Language & Literacy Series--Practitioners Bookshelf

Science.gov (United States)

Helman, Lori

2012-01-01

This hands-on guide shows elementary school teachers how to create multilingual classroom communities that support every learner's success in reading, writing, and general literacy development. The author provides a practical overview of key ideas and techniques and describes specific literacy activities that lead to vocabulary and oral English…

Developing student engagement in networked teaching and learning practices through problem- and project-based learning approaches

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Lars Birch; Lerche Nielsen, Jørgen

2012-01-01

This paper focuses on how learner engagement can be facilitated through use of social media and communication technologies. The discussions are based on the Danish Master’s Programme of ICT and Learning (MIL), where students study in groups within a networked learning structure. The paper reflect...

Business Engagement with Sustainable Water Resource Management through Water Footprint Accounting: The Case of the Barilla Company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Antonelli

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This study investigates business engagement in sustainable water management, focusing on water footprint accounting as a tool to account for water use in food supply chains. An explorative analysis is conducted on the Barilla Company. The study explores two corporate strategies aimed at achieving more sustainable water use: the adoption of environmental products declarations (EPDs, a reporting system that accounts for the environmental footprints of Barilla’s pasta and other products; and the implementation of the Aureo Wheat Programme. The study deployed both primary and secondary data. The study shows that the largest share of the water footprint of pasta relates to the cultivation phase (over 90%, which is almost fully rainfed. EPDs show that the water footprint of the other phases of the supply chain is negligible. It is argued that the use of water footprinting in EPDs can raise awareness about water use in agricultural supply chains to reach a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including consumers. The study also shows that the implementation of the Aureo Wheat Programme, consisting of a shift in cultivation site and in the type of wheat, enabled a reduction in the blue water footprint of pasta, with water savings amounting to 35 million m3 of blue water since 2011.

Towards Sustainable Internationalisation of Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Ilieva, Roumiana; Beck, Kumari; Waterstone, Bonnie

2014-01-01

This article engages with the question: what does the internationalisation of higher education in times of globalisation sustain and what should it sustain? We first consider, through literature on globalisation and Stier's ("Glob Soc Educ" 2(1):1-28, 2004) work, limitations of currently prevalent perspectives on…

Fostering learners' interaction with content: A learner-centered mobile device interface

Science.gov (United States)

Abdous, M.

2015-12-01

With the ever-increasing omnipresence of mobile devices in student life, leveraging smart devices to foster students' interaction with course content is critical. Following a learner-centered design iterative approach, we designed a mobile interface that may enable learners to access and interact with online course content efficiently and intuitively. Our design process leveraged recent technologies, such as bootstrap, Google's Material Design, HTML5, and JavaScript to design an intuitive, efficient, and portable mobile interface with a variety of built-in features, including context sensitive bookmarking, searching, progress tracking, captioning, and transcript display. The mobile interface also offers students the ability to ask context-related questions and to complete self-checks as they watch audio/video presentations. Our design process involved ongoing iterative feedback from learners, allowing us to refine and tweak the interface to provide learners with a unified experience across platforms and devices. The innovative combination of technologies built around well-structured and well-designed content seems to provide an effective learning experience to mobile learners. Early feedback indicates a high level of satisfaction with the interface's efficiency, intuitiveness, and robustness from both students and faculty.

Towards an Integrated Model for Developing Sustainable Assessment Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Fastre, Greet M. J.; van der Klink, Marcel R.; Sluijsmans, Dominique; van Merrienboer, Jeroen J. G.

2013-01-01

One of the goals of current education is to ensure that graduates can act as independent lifelong learners. Graduates need to be able to assess their own learning and interpret assessment results. The central question in this article is how to acquire sustainable assessment skills, enabling students to assess their performance and learning…

Unskilled work and learner identity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kondrup, Sissel

The main argument in this paper is: In order to comprehend the ‘invisible’ conditions for forming motivation to participate in different kinds of learning activities (formal, non-formal and informal) in relation to work-life it is crucial to develop a dialectic concept of learner identity....... A concept enabling researcher in the field of work and learning to examine how the orientation toward learning activities are situated in and conditioned by specific work-life experiences. Based on a qualitative research-project (Kondrup 2012) the paper outlines how unskilled work forms a specific condition...... for engaging in learning. The aim of the project was to examine the challenges in order to fulfil the Danish national strategy on Lifelong learning and training for all. Danish as well as international research reveals that low skilled workers and workers in small and medium sized private companies tend...

Learning as Existential Engagement with/in Place: Departing from Vandenberg and the Reams

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Ruyu

2014-01-01

This article takes Vandenberg's critique of Ream and Ream's view on the Deweyan learning environment as a departing point to explore the educational meaning of place. The divergence between Vandenberg and the Reams reminds us that the place is not merely a physical site for learners to be located in but also a horizon to be engaged with.…

Assessing Learner Satisfaction by Simultaneously Measuring Learner Attitude, Motivation, Loyalty and Service Quality in English Academies

Science.gov (United States)

Huong, Vu Thi; Casadesus, Marti; Marimon, Frederic

2017-01-01

The aims of this study are threefold in their approach to English academy teaching: (i) to assess learner satisfaction, (ii) to assess the impact of satisfaction on loyalty and (iii) to assess the three constructs that we considered to be the antecedents of learner satisfaction: learner motivation, learner attitude and service quality. To collect…

Gamifying the Media Classroom: Instructor Perspectives and the Multidimensional Impact of Gamification on Student Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Seaborn, Katie; Fels, Deborah I.; Bajko, Rob; Hodson, Jaigris

2017-01-01

Gamification, or the use of game elements in non-game contexts, has become a popular and increasingly accepted method of engaging learners in educational settings. However, there have been few comparisons of different kinds of courses and students, particularly in terms of discipline and content. Additionally, little work has reported on course…

Engaging in Productive Sector Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Whitfield, Lindsay; Buur, Lars

Through a comparison of sector cases in Mozambique and Ghana, the paper analyzes why and how African states engage in developing productive sectors and with what success. It argues that successful state interventions depend on four factors: (1) sustained political support by the government...... in the four factors and thus different economic outcomes. Specifically, cocoa, export is a case of sustained political support, palm oil is a case of poorly implemented industrial policy, and horticulture export is a case of political neglect of an industry. In concluding, the paper emphasizes the political...

Engaging in productive sector development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buur, Lars; Whitfield, Lindsay

Through a comparison of sector cases in Mozambique and Ghana, the paper analyzes why and how African states engage in developing productive sectors and with what success. It argues that successful state interventions depend on four factors: (1) sustained political support by the government...... in the four factors and thus different economic outcomes. Specifically, cocoa, export is a case of sustained political support, palm oil is a case of poorly implemented industrial policy, and horticulture export is a case of political neglect of an industry. In concluding, the paper emphasizes the political...

A template for integrated community sustainability planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, Christopher; Hanna, Kevin; Dale, Ann

2009-08-01

This article describes a template for implementing an integrated community sustainability plan. The template emphasizes community engagement and outlines the components of a basic framework for integrating ecological, social and economic dynamics into a community plan. The framework is a series of steps that support a sustainable community development process. While it reflects the Canadian experience, the tools and techniques have applied value for a range of environmental planning contexts around the world. The research is case study based and draws from a diverse range of communities representing many types of infrastructure, demographics and ecological and geographical contexts. A critical path for moving local governments to sustainable community development is the creation and implementation of integrated planning approaches. To be effective and to be implemented, a requisite shift to sustainability requires active community engagement processes, political will, and a commitment to political and administrative accountability, and measurement.

Category-bound rights and obligations of young EFL learners in Denmark: The case of (extreme) differentiation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

aus der Wieschen, Maria Vanessa

2018-01-01

This study investigates if and how primary school teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) to young learners in Denmark interact in everyday classroom interaction with students who - according to a receptive vocabulary test - differ vastly in their English skills. Using Conversation Analysis......, the study looks at how students present themselves in terms of claimed and demonstrated proficiency, epistemic displays, and willingness to participate, and at teachers’ methods to engage in interactions with these children, for example when they select them as next speakers. The analysis focuses on how...... for successful differentiation. The analysis of EFL teachers’ practices of doing differentiation in teaching-in-interaction of Young Learners of EFL in Denmark contributes to our understanding of differentiation in language classrooms....

Sustainable Development Policies as Indicators and Pre-Conditions for Sustainability Efforts at Universities: Fact or Fiction?

Science.gov (United States)

Leal Filho, Walter; Brandli, Luciana Londero; Becker, Deisi; Skanavis, Constantina; Kounani, Aristea; Sardi, Chrysoula; Papaioannidou, Dimitra; Paço, Arminda; Azeiteiro, Ulisses; de Sousa, Luiza Olim; Raath, Schalk; Pretorius, Rudi Wessel; Shiel, Christine; Vargas, Valeria; Trencher, Gregory; Marans, Robert W.

2018-01-01

Purpose: There is a widely held belief that sustainable development (SD) policies are essential for universities to successfully engage in matters related to sustainability, and are an indicator of the extent to which they are active in this field. This paper aims to examine the evidence which currently exists to support this assumption. It…

Individual competencies for managers engaged in corporate sustainable management practices

OpenAIRE

Wesselink, R.; Blok, V.; Leur, van, S.; Lans, T.; Dentoni, D.

2015-01-01

Corporations increasingly acknowledge the importance of sustainable practices. Corporate social responsibility is therefore gaining significance in the business world. Since solving corporate social responsibility issues is not a routine job, every challenge in corporate social responsibility requires its own approach; and management competencies are crucial for designing appropriate approaches towards the realization of sustainable solutions. On the basis of seven corporate social responsibi...

Understanding producers' motives for adopting sustainable practices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Trujillo-Barrera, Andres; Pennings, Joost M.E.; Hofenk, Dianne

2016-01-01

Understanding the motives and risk attitudes of producers to engage in sustainable practices is important for policy-makers who wish to increase the likelihood of adoption and improve the design of incentives. This article examines the underlying motives of producers to adopt sustainable

MOOCs as disruptive technologies: strategies for enhancing the learner experience and quality of MOOCs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gráinne Conole

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This chapter considers the pedagogies associated with different types of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs. It argues that the current discourse around the concept of xMOOCs (primarily based around interaction with content and essentially adopting a behaviourist learning approach, and cMOOCs (which focus on harnessing the power of social media and interaction with peers, adopting a connectivist learning approach, is an inadequate way of describing the variety of MOOCs and the ways in which learners engage with them. It will provide a brief history of the emergence of MOOCs and the key stakeholders. It will introduce an alternative means of categorising MOOCs, based on their key characteristics. It will then describe the 7Cs of Learning Design framework, which can be used to design more pedagogically informed MOOCs, which enhances the learner experience and ensure quality assurance.

How could companies engage in sustainable landscape management?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Opdam, P.F.M.; Steingröver, E.G.

2018-01-01

Current concepts that aim to align economic development with sustainability, such as the circular and green economy, often consider natural systems as externalities. We extend the green economy concept by including the landscape as the provider of social, economic and environmental values. Our aim

Designing a Robot Teaching Assistant for Enhancing and Sustaining Learning Motivation

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, I-Chun; Chao, Kuo-Jen; Lee, Ling; Chen, Nian-Shing

2013-01-01

Although many researchers have pointed out that educational robots can stimulate learners' learning motivation, the learning motivation will be hardly sustained and rapidly decreased over time if the amusement and interaction merely come from the new technology itself without incorporating instructional strategies. Many researchers have…

Composing new understandings of sustainability in the Anthropocene

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Sophia (Sun Kyung); Britton, Stacey; Haverkos, Kimberly; Kutner, Mel; Shume, Teresa; Tippins, Deborah

2018-03-01

The relationship between sustainability and the Anthropocene takes on new meaning in a time of unprecedented human impact on Earth systems. This relationship is at times contested and not well researched but critical in considering how we will respond to environmental challenges of today and the future. Elaborating on the need for new perspectives and nuanced understandings of sustainability, the contributors to this volume draw on posthumanist and "new" feminist materialist methodologies and theoretical lenses to engage readers in ways, which often contrast with prevailing thinking and research. From the cosmopolitics of place in urban Berlin to the watery space of urban wetlands they share research and rich narratives, which illustrate how sustainability is theorized and enacted across a range of diverse educational contexts. Moving beyond the rhetoric of sustainability, the authors invite us to explore innovative ways to engage with new concepts and emerging tensions that are now influencing the fields of education and sustainability.

Anthropogenic impacts on continental margins: New frontiers and engagement arena for global sustainability research and action

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, K. K.; Glavovic, B.; Limburg, K.; Emeis, K. C.; Thomas, H.; Kremer, H.; Avril, B.; Zhang, J.; Mulholland, M. R.; Glaser, M.; Swaney, D. P.

2014-12-01

There is an urgent need to design and implement transformative governance strategies that safeguard Earth's life-support systems essential for long-term human well-being. From a series of meetings of the Continental Margins Working Group co-sponsored by IMBER and LOICZ of IGBP, we conclude that the greatest urgency exists at the ocean-land interface - the continental margins or the Margin - which extends from coastlands over continental shelves and slopes bordering the deep ocean. The Margin is enduring quadruple squeeze from (i) Population growth and rising demands for resources; (ii) Ecosystem degradation and loss; (iii) Rising CO2, climate change and alteration of marine biogeochemistry and ecosystems; and (iv) Rapid and irreversible changes in social-ecological systems. Some areas of the Margin that are subject to the greatest pressures (e.g. the Arctic) are also those for which knowledge of fundamental processes remains most limited. Aside from improving our basic understanding of the nature and variability of the Margin, priority issues include: (i) investment reform to prevent lethal but profitable activities; (ii) risk reduction; and (iii) jurisdiction, equity and fiscal responsibility. However, governance deficits or mismatches are particularly pronounced at the ocean-edge of the Margin and the prevailing Law of the Sea is incapable of resolving these challenges. The "gold rush" of accelerating demands for space and resources, and variability in how this domain is regulated, move the Margin to the forefront of global sustainability research and action. We outline a research strategy in 3 engagement arenas: (a) knowledge and understanding of dynamic Margin processes; (b) development, innovation and risk at the Margin; and (c) governance for sustainability on the Margin. The goals are (1) to better understand Margin social-ecological systems, including their physical and biogeochemical components; (2) to develop practical guidance for sustainable development

The use of mobile technologies for mathematical engagement in informal learning environments

OpenAIRE

2014-01-01

M.Ed. (Ict in Education) South African learners are underperforming in Mathematics. Annual National Assessments for grade 9 and grade 12 results in Mathematics are shocking according to the Ministry of Education. This study investigates informal learning as an alternative method of addressing underperformance in Mathematics in South African schools. Informal learning with the use of mobile technology enhances engagement in Mathematics learning. The participants of this study had access to ...

Sustainable Lifestyle Marketing of Individuals: the Base of Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mira Rakic

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This paper highlights the sustainable lifestyle marketing of an individual (SLMOI. The SLMOI is the activity, a set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating and maintaining the sustainable lifestyle of an individual (SLOI. The SLOI is an individual’s sustainability-oriented pattern of living represented by his or her activities, interests and opinions. The SLOI refers to a sustainable pattern of life (daily activities within the family, a sustainable pattern of consumption, a sustainable pattern of work and production (as employees in organizations and a sustainable pattern of behavior in the society and the environment they live in. The SLOI reflects an individual’s choices with respect to spending time, money and energy in accordance with the sustainable pattern of life. The SLOI stands for sustainable behavioral patterns on the basis of attitudes and values. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the attitudes of the population towards sustainable lifestyles and the SLMOI (performed by different actors and behaviors on the basis of attitudes.Using a face-to-face questionnaire interview, the study was conducted on a sample of 400 citizens of Serbia. There are three key conclusions. First, the SLMOI leads to the SLOI, and the SLOI further leads to sustainability. Second, the creation and maintenance of the SLOI is a long-term process. Third, a holistic approach is needed as well as the engagement of numerous actors in that process of creating and maintaining the SLOI.

Integrating Role-Play with Case Study and Carbon Footprint Monitoring: A Transformative Approach to Enhancing Learners' Social Behavior for a More Sustainable Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Simon

2016-01-01

Learners were separated into groups representing the interests of parties that typically negotiate environmental affairs in real world scenarios (conservationists, scientists, politicians, NGOs, stakeholders), and tasked with preparing role-play simulations using a variety of flipped learning techniques. Learners' carbon footprints were monitored…

Who takes more sustainability-oriented entrepreneurial actions? The role of entrepreneurs' values, beliefs and orientations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jahanshahi, Asghar Afshar; Brem, Alexander; Bhattacharjee, Amitab

2017-01-01

We examine the relationships between entrepreneurs' values, beliefs and orientations with their firms' engagement in sustainability-oriented entrepreneurial actions, using a sample of 352 newly established businesses from two Asian countries (Bangladesh and Iran). Our results reveal a dual role o...... of sustainable entrepreneurship, by providing answers for recent calls for better understanding which entrepreneurial ventures engage more in sustainability-oriented actions.......We examine the relationships between entrepreneurs' values, beliefs and orientations with their firms' engagement in sustainability-oriented entrepreneurial actions, using a sample of 352 newly established businesses from two Asian countries (Bangladesh and Iran). Our results reveal a dual role...... of entrepreneurs' values, beliefs and orientations when taking sustainability-oriented actions. We confirm that individual differences in the set of values, beliefs and orientations can foster or hinder the sustainability-oriented actions across organizations. Our paper contributes to the growing literature...

The Relationship between Learner Autonomy and Vocabulary Learning Strategies in Iranian EFL Learners with Different Language Proficiency Level

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Ebrahim Azimi Mohammad Abadi

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Vocabulary learning is incredibly noteworthy to English language acquisition. It is unfeasible for a learner to communicate without the required vocabulary. In high education levels, learners are habitually forced to become autonomous and make conscious effort to learn vocabulary outside of the classroom. Consequently, the autonomy of the learners plays an important role in developing and enhancing their vocabulary. Learner autonomy is a huge assistance for learners in vocabulary learning since it provides the learners with numerous diverse privileges such as independency from teacher. The researcher investigated whether there is any statistically significant relationship between learner autonomy and vocabulary learning strategies use in Iranian EFL learners with different language proficiency levels. To meet the above purpose, a total number of 190 male and female EFL learners participated in this study. The methodology underlying this study was quantitative (thorough the administration of two questionnaires and two language proficiency test – TOEFL for advanced group, and Nelson for intermediate level. The quantitative data was analyzed using a set of correlational analysis revealing a significant positive correlation between learner autonomy and vocabulary learning strategies use in high proficient group, and a significant positive relationship between these two constructs in low proficient group, however not as strong as in the advanced group.

Examining the Relations among Student Motivation, Engagement, and Retention in a MOOC: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

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Yao Xiong

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Students who are enrolled in MOOCs tend to have different motivational patterns than fee-paying college students. A majority of MOOC students demonstrate characteristics akin more to "tourists" than formal learners. As a consequence, MOOC students’ completion rate is usually very low. The current study examines the relations among student motivation, engagement, and retention using structural equation modeling and data from a Penn State University MOOC. Three distinct types of motivation are examined: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and social motivation. Two main hypotheses are tested: (a motivation predicts student course engagement; and (b student engagement predicts their retention in the course. The results show that motivation is significantly predictive of student course engagement. Furthermore, engagement is a strong predictor of retention. The findings suggest that promoting student motivation and monitoring individual students’ online activities might improve course retention

An Empirical Assessment of Dropout Rate of Learners at Selected High Schools in King William’s Town, South Africa

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Wendy Manona

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated and analysed factors responsible for high dropout rate of learners at selected high schools in King William’s Town District, Province of the Eastern Cape. The aim of the study is provide an understanding into inherent problems of early exit of learners in the education sector, which impede the long-term production of professionals with bright future. The main findings of this study revealed that multiple motives, associated with individual characteristics of dropouts and social problems emanating from their family background and influence of the community, prompted learners to dropout. Moreover, learner dropout is inter alia caused by social factors such as lack of resources, the effect of poverty, orphans at school, the distance between the school and the community, drug abuse, pregnancy and HIV and AIDS prevalence in schools, gangsterism and learning barriers. The results of this research suggest that the government should make resources available with regard to scholar transport, school nurses to provide education awareness programmes in relation to early pregnancies, HIV and AIDS infection to improve attendance rate. The Department of Social Development should provide information with regard to benefits available to orphaned learners. The government should ensure sustainable provision of the school nutrition programme to alleviate hunger and poverty. School management should effectively regulate the behaviour of learners to promote discipline in schools so that substance abuse is eliminated.

Relationship between Teachers' Perception of Causes of Challenging Behaviour and the Choice of Management Strategies among Learners with Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Khasakhala, Edward; Galava, Priscilla

2016-01-01

The ministry of Public Health and Sanitation in Kenya together with ministry of Education recognizes that mental well being is important in psychosocial well being and cognitive development of children. They point out that learners with emotional and behavioural problems may engage in truancy, delinquency, drug and substance abuse and other…

Reparative Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Tarc, Aparna Mishra

2011-01-01

Supporting learners' public engagement with traumatic histories of mass human violence can develop and sustain reparative relations across and between strained social collectives. In this article I theorize the intrapersonal and inter-political dynamics of psychical and social reparation through a classroom case of reparative learning. I analyze…

Developing the master learner: applying learning theory to the learner, the teacher, and the learning environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Schumacher, Daniel J; Englander, Robert; Carraccio, Carol

2013-11-01

As a result of the paradigm shift to a competency-based framework, both self-directed lifelong learning and learner-centeredness have become essential tenets of medical education. In the competency-based framework, learners drive their own educational process, and both learners and teachers share the responsibility for the path and content of learning. This learner-centered emphasis requires each physician to develop and maintain lifelong learning skills, which the authors propose culminate in becoming a "master leaner." To better understand the development of these skills and the attainment of that goal, the authors explore how learning theories inform the development of master learners and how to translate these theories into practical strategies for the learner, the teacher, and the learning environment so as to optimize this development.The authors begin by exploring self-determination theory, which lays the groundwork for understanding the motivation to learn. They next consider the theories of cognitive load and situated cognition, which inform the optimal context and environment for learning. Building from this foundation, the authors consider key educational theories that affect learners' abilities to serve as primary drivers of their learning, including self-directed learning (SDL); the self-assessment skills necessary for SDL; factors affecting self-assessment (self-concept, self-efficacy, illusory superiority, gap filling); and ways to mitigate the inaccuracies of self-assessment (reflection, self-monitoring, external information seeking, and self-directed assessment seeking).For each theory, they suggest practical action steps for the learner, the teacher, and the learning environment in an effort to provide a road map for developing master learners.

Engaging students and faculty: implications of self-determination theory for teachers and leaders in academic medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyness, Jeffrey M; Lurie, Stephen J; Ward, Denham S; Mooney, Christopher J; Lambert, David R

2013-11-11

Much of the work of teachers and leaders at academic health centers involves engaging learners and faculty members in shared goals. Strategies to do so, however, are seldom informed by empirically-supported theories of human motivation. This article summarizes a substantial body of motivational research that yields insights and approaches of importance to academic faculty leaders. After identification of key limitations of traditional rewards-based (i.e., incentives, or 'carrots and sticks') approaches, key findings are summarized from the science of self-determination theory. These findings demonstrate the importance of fostering autonomous motivation by supporting the fundamental human needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. In turn, these considerations lead to specific recommendations about approaches to engaging autonomous motivation, using examples in academic health centers. Since supporting autonomous motivation maximizes both functioning and well-being (i.e., people are both happier and more productive), the approaches recommended will help academic health centers recruit, retain, and foster the success of learners and faculty members. Such goals are particularly important to address the multiple challenges confronting these institutions.

Smart Automation, Customer Experience and Customer Engagement in Electric Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asad Ullah

2018-04-01

Full Text Available A major challenge to cleaner and more sustainable transportation is the lack of adoptability of electric vehicles (EVs by customers. Therefore, most of the vehicles we see on the road use fossil fuel instead of sustainable green energy sources. One way to improve customer acceptance is to market EVs as a socially desirable product, rather than only environmentally friendly. The silver lining to promote is the potential of information and communications technology (ICT features in EVs, which can lead to a deeper connection between the EVs and their users. These engaging technologies can bring customers closer to the company, resulting in generating big data, which can lead to even deeper insights into customer preferences. Because the technology of vehicle connectivity and automation is just taking off, it is important to understand how these technologies in EVs can enhance customer experiences and result in sustainable customer engagement. Unfortunately, this important research area remains neglected. This research, therefore, is focused on building a conceptual framework for understanding the influence of electric vehicle (EV automation and connectivity on customer experience, and ultimately, customer engagement.

Beyond and within public engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cañada, Jose A.; Tupasela, Aaro Mikael; Snell, Karoliina

2015-01-01

Social studies on biobanking have traditionally focused on public engagement, that is, engagement with donors, patients and the general public as an important factor of sustainability. In this article, we claim that, in order to fully understand the way biobanks work, it is necessary to pay...... attention to a number of other actors, which have an equal, if not greater, impact on their practices and strategies. This means taking a broadened approach to biobank engagement. By using data collected from interviews with different biobank experts based in five different countries (UK, Canada, Finland......, Spain and Iceland), we identify seven communities, including the public, that emerge as relevant. Such relationships condition the way biobanks develop, act and plan. The discussion illustrates how the relationships with those seven communities are articulated. We conclude that there is a need...

Learner-Generated Noticing Behavior by Novice Learners: Tracing the Effects of Learners' L1 on Their Emerging L2

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Eun Sung

2013-01-01

This study examines novice learners' self-generated input noticing approaches and strategies. It is motivated by previous research on input enhancement which yielded insights that learners are naturally prone to notice certain aspects of L2 input on their own without any external means to channel their attention. Two L1 groups (Japanese and…

Learners' perceptions of learners regarded as having a homosexual orientation in an independent secondary school environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Mostert, Hendrik P; Myburgh, Chris; Poggenpoel, Marie

2012-10-04

In schools today discrimination based on sexual orientation takes place on a regular basis. This form of discrimination leads to aggression towards learners perceived to be homosexual, as well as towards those with a homosexual orientation. For more than 15 years South Africa has been a democratic country with laws that protect learners who have a homosexual orientation. Nevertheless, aggression and discrimination towards these learners still occur in schools. Aggression often leads to verbal and physical bullying of the victims by perpetrators. The objectives of this research were to explore and describe Grade 11 learners' experiences of aggression towards learners perceived to be homosexual as well as those with a homosexual orientation in an independent secondary school environment. The research design was qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual in nature. The data for this investigation consisted of essays based on a published newspaper photograph, phenomenological group interviews, observations and field notes. Tesch's method of data analysis was used, and an independent coder assisted. Three themes were identified, discussed and supported by a literature control: that learners experience that it is right and acceptable to have a homosexual orientation; that they experience ambivalence towards homosexual orientation of learners; and experienced feelings that it is wrong to have a homosexual orientation. Recommended guidelines are provided to address aggression towards learners perceived to be homosexual and those with a homosexual orientation.

Politics in food markets: alternative modes of qualification and engaging

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Daniel Carvalho de Rezende

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Consumers are increasingly practicing an alternative model of politics when they make food choices influenced by civic concerns. The new markets that emerge in this context carry specific modes of qualification that makes food products valuable not only for their intrinsic properties, but also for features associated with their production and distribution. This paper aims to describe the different modes of political qualification and consumer engagement that operate in food markets based on secondary data collected in papers, books, certification norms, and websites. Three distinct "political food markets" are identified: a Fair Trade; b sustainable agriculture; and c vegetarian. Whilst the latter is based on a boycott of "bad" products, the other two focus on "good" alternatives. Different types of political engagement are associated to these markets, ranging from a delegation form in Fair Trade, empowered consumption in sustainable agriculture, to a lifestyle engagement regarding vegetarianism. Market devices such as certification play a major role in the growth of these markets, but also affect the type of engagement that is solicited from consumers.

Initial Perceptions of Open Higher Education Students with Learner Management Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asu ALTUNOGLU

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Learner management systems (LMS are used in open education as a means of managing and recording e-learning facilities as well as improving student engagement. Students benefit from them to become active participants in the decision-making process of their own learning. This study aims to investigate the initial perceptions of students experiencing the LMS for the first time in the Open Education System of Anadolu University with the purpose of identifying the effective and ineffective aspects of it from their perspective and their demands and suggestions for how to improve their the engagement in the system. To do this, an interpretive qualitative case study research design was used in order to focus on individual contexts and perceptions formed within those contexts. According to the findings, students were found to have highly personalized and customized user habits and engagement levels with the LMS depending on their varying ages, occupational statuses, IT capacities, and educational backgrounds. In terms of their satisfaction with the LMS, the quality, quantity and variety of content in LMS was found to have a major influence on their initial perceptions of satisfaction.

A New Approach of an Intelligent E-Learning System Based on Learners' Skill Level and Learners' Success Rate

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamed, Hafidi; Lamia, Mahnane

2015-01-01

Learners usually meet cognitive overload and disorientation problems when using e-learning system. At present, most of the studies in e-learning either concentrate on the technological aspect or focus on adapting learner's interests or browsing behaviors, while, learner's skill level and learners' success rate is usually neglected. In this paper,…

Engaging African American landowners in sustainable forest management

Science.gov (United States)

John Schelhas; Sarah Hitchner; Cassandra Johnson Gaither; Rory Fraser; Viniece Jennings; Amadou Diop

2016-01-01

The Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Program is a comprehensive effort to address the long-standing problem of underparticipation of African Americans in forest management. We conducted rapid appraisal baseline research for pilot projects in this program in three Southern states using a carefully selected purposive sample to enhance our...

LIBRE Model: Engagement Styles in Counseling

Science.gov (United States)

Guerra, Norma S.

2007-01-01

Engagement is essential for the processing of information. It is presented here as 2 points along a continuum: initial attention (primary self-presentation) and sustained attention (continued self-regulation). The LIBRE (Listen, Identify, Brainstorm, Reality Test, Encourage) Stick Figure Tool (N. S. Guerra, 2003) provides a graphic organizer for…

Exploring two teachers’ engagement with their students in an online writing environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nagaletchimee Annamalai

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Little research in the ESL context has examined the online teaching and learning activities in high schools. One main reason is the lack of appropriate theoretical framework rather than the learners or the environment. Using data from twelve high school students and two teachers from two Malaysian schools, the current study adapted Borup et al.’s framework to identify the teachers’ interaction with the students while engaged in the online writing environment. Borup et al. termed the construct as teacher engagement. Findings revealed that the teacher from the urban school was actively engaged in the interactions. However, the interactions of the sub-urban teacher were limited. The implications of this study suggest that teachers who are seen as digital immigrants need to consider the use of technology. Appropriate training and a checklist will be helpful to encourage the adoption of technology by teachers.

Sustainability in health care by allocating resources effectively (SHARE) 4: exploring opportunities and methods for consumer engagement in resource allocation in a local healthcare setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Claire; Ko, Henry; Waller, Cara; Sloss, Pamela; Williams, Pamela

2017-05-05

This is the fourth in a series of papers reporting a program of Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) in a local healthcare setting. Healthcare decision-makers have sought to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services through removal or restriction of practices that are unsafe or of little benefit, often referred to as 'disinvestment'. A systematic, integrated, evidence-based program for disinvestment was being established within a large Australian health service network. Consumer engagement was acknowledged as integral to this process. This paper reports the process of developing a model to integrate consumer views and preferences into an organisation-wide approach to resource allocation. A literature search was conducted and interviews and workshops were undertaken with health service consumers and staff. Findings were drafted into a model for consumer engagement in resource allocation which was workshopped and refined. Although consumer engagement is increasingly becoming a requirement of publicly-funded health services and documented in standards and policies, participation in organisational decision-making is not widespread. Several consistent messages for consumer engagement in this context emerged from the literature and consumer responses. Opportunities, settings and activities for consumer engagement through communication, consultation and participation were identified within the resource allocation process. Sources of information regarding consumer values and perspectives in publications and locally-collected data, and methods to use them in health service decision-making, were identified. A model bringing these elements together was developed. The proposed model presents potential opportunities and activities for consumer engagement in the context of resource allocation.

ECG Rhythm Analysis with Expert and Learner-Generated Schemas in Novice Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Blissett, Sarah; Cavalcanti, Rodrigo; Sibbald, Matthew

2015-01-01

Although instruction using expert-generated schemas is associated with higher diagnostic performance, implementation is resource intensive. Learner-generated schemas are an alternative, but may be limited by increases in cognitive load. We compared expert- and learner-generated schemas for learning ECG rhythm interpretation on diagnostic accuracy,…

41 CFR 50-202.3 - Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... than the minimum wage prescribed in § 50-202.2 to the same extent such employment is permitted under... Management Other Provisions Relating to Public Contracts PUBLIC CONTRACTS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 202-MINIMUM WAGE DETERMINATIONS Groups of Industries § 50-202.3 Learners, student learners, apprentices, and...

Learning for Sustainability Among Faith-Based Organizations in Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Moyer, Joanne M.; Sinclair, A. John; Diduck, Alan P.

2014-08-01

The complex and unpredictable contexts in which environmental and development work take place require an adaptable, learning approach. Faith-based organizations (FBOs) play a significant role in sustainability work around the world, and provide a unique setting in which to study learning. This paper explores individual learning for sustainability within two FBOs engaged in sustainability work in Kenya. Learning outcomes covered a broad range of areas, including the sustainability framework, environment/conservation, skills, community work, interpersonal engagement, and personal and faith development. These outcomes were acquired through embodied experience and activity, facilitation by the workplace, interpersonal interaction, personal reflection, and Bible study and worship. Grounded categories were compared to learning domains and processes described by Mezirow's transformative learning theory. The findings indicate that for learning in the sustainability field, instrumental learning and embodied learning processes are particularly important, and consequently they require greater attention in the theory when applied in this field.

Who will study HSC physics? Relationships between motivation, engagement and choice

Science.gov (United States)

Abraham, Jessy

This study investigates the relationship between students' achievement motivation, sustained engagement and sustained enrolment intentions, in relation to senior secondary physics. Specifically, this study sought to determine the motivational factors that predict students' sustained engagement and sustained enrolment intentions in four physics modules, and tested whether there were gender differences. These issues were addressed through a multi-occasional exploration among senior secondary students in New South Wales during their first year of elective physics. This study pioneered an innovative approach to exploring sustained enrolment intentions in the enacted physics curriculum, since students were asked about their enrolment plans at a time when they were actually studying physics modules, rather than before they had studied the subject, which as has been the case for most research on science enrolment. An achievement motivation theoretical framework was employed to provide a more comprehensive explanation of students' sustained physics engagement and enrolment plans. A significant feature of this exploration is the topic (module) specificity of motivation. This study, based on Expectancy-Value (EV) theoretical underpinnings, has implications for strengthening physics enrolment research, and makes a significant contribution to advancing research and practice. While the declining trend in physics enrolment and the widening gender imbalance in physics participation have been explored widely, the retention of students in physics courses remains largely unexplored. The existing research mainly focuses on the main exit point from physics education, which is the transition from a general science course to non-compulsory, more specialised science courses that takes place during the transition from junior high school to senior high school in Australia. Another major exit point from physics education is the transition from senior high school to tertiary level. However

Theories of willpower affect sustained learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Eric M; Walton, Gregory M; Dweck, Carol S; Job, Veronika; Trzesniewski, Kali H; McClure, Samuel M

2012-01-01

Building cognitive abilities often requires sustained engagement with effortful tasks. We demonstrate that beliefs about willpower-whether willpower is viewed as a limited or non-limited resource-impact sustained learning on a strenuous mental task. As predicted, beliefs about willpower did not affect accuracy or improvement during the initial phases of learning; however, participants who were led to view willpower as non-limited showed greater sustained learning over the full duration of the task. These findings highlight the interactive nature of motivational and cognitive processes: motivational factors can substantially affect people's ability to recruit their cognitive resources to sustain learning over time.

Multidimensional Learner Model In Intelligent Learning System

Science.gov (United States)

Deliyska, B.; Rozeva, A.

2009-11-01

The learner model in an intelligent learning system (ILS) has to ensure the personalization (individualization) and the adaptability of e-learning in an online learner-centered environment. ILS is a distributed e-learning system whose modules can be independent and located in different nodes (servers) on the Web. This kind of e-learning is achieved through the resources of the Semantic Web and is designed and developed around a course, group of courses or specialty. An essential part of ILS is learner model database which contains structured data about learner profile and temporal status in the learning process of one or more courses. In the paper a learner model position in ILS is considered and a relational database is designed from learner's domain ontology. Multidimensional modeling agent for the source database is designed and resultant learner data cube is presented. Agent's modules are proposed with corresponding algorithms and procedures. Multidimensional (OLAP) analysis guidelines on the resultant learner module for designing dynamic learning strategy have been highlighted.

Engineering students' sustainability approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Haase, S.

2014-05-01

Sustainability issues are increasingly important in engineering work all over the world. This article explores systematic differences in self-assessed competencies, interests, importance, engagement and practices of newly enrolled engineering students in Denmark in relation to environmental and non-environmental sustainability issues. The empirical base of the article is a nation-wide, web-based survey sent to all newly enrolled engineering students in Denmark commencing their education in the fall term 2010. The response rate was 46%. The survey focused on a variety of different aspects of what can be conceived as sustainability. By means of cluster analysis, three engineering student approaches to sustainability are identified and described. The article provides knowledge on the different prerequisites of engineering students in relation to the role of sustainability in engineering. This information is important input to educators trying to target new engineering students and contribute to the provision of engineers equipped to meet sustainability challenges.

Sustainability and Small to Medium Sized Enterprises--How to Engage Them

Science.gov (United States)

Condon, Linda

2004-01-01

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have a major advantage over larger organisations in regard to addressing sustainability issues--their size means they are able to react very quickly to changes in the business environment. They are disadvantaged, however, by lack of information on marketplace changes that make sustainability an opportunity…

Impacts of Sustained Institutional Participation in Service-Learning: Perspectives from faculty, staff and administrators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda L. Vogel

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The movement for greater civic engagement in higher education in the United States has taken hold across the core academic missions of teaching, research and service. One manifestation of this movement has been growing participation in service-learning, a teaching method grounded in community-university partnerships in which students provide services that simultaneously address community-identified concerns and meet key learning objectives. In order to assess the benefits of long-term sustained institutional involvement in service-learning, in 2007–2008 we interviewed 23 faculty members, staff and administrators from 16 academic institutions that had participated in a national demonstration program for service-learning, which ended in 1998. We found that 15 of these institutions had sustained service-learning to some degree and 12 had integrated service-learning into the curriculum, with varying degrees of institutional support. Interview participants described five main impacts of their institutions’ sustained participation in service-learning: 1 increased community engagement and community-engaged scholarship, and increased valuation of both, among participating faculty members; 2 greater capacity for community-university partnerships among academic and community partners; 3 improved community-university relations; 4 diffusion of service-learning and/or principles of community-university partnerships to other departments and schools; and 5 recruitment of students seeking community engagement opportunities. This study provides evidence that sustained institutional participation in service-learning can foster an understanding of the scholarly value of community-engaged teaching and research among participating faculty, and increase community-engaged activities at participating academic institutions. These findings suggest that funding agencies, faculty members and academic administrators can use service-learning as a strategy to foster a

Effective instruction for English learners.

Science.gov (United States)

Calderón, Margarita; Slavin, Robert; Sánchez, Marta

2011-01-01

The fastest-growing student population in U.S. schools today is children of immigrants, half of whom do not speak English fluently and are thus labeled English learners. Although the federal government requires school districts to provide services to English learners, it offers states no policies to follow in identifying, assessing, placing, or instructing them. Margarita Calderón, Robert Slavin, and Marta Sánchez identify the elements of effective instruction and review a variety of successful program models. During 2007-08, more than 5.3 million English learners made up 10.6 percent of the nation's K-12 public school enrollment. Wide and persistent achievement disparities between these English learners and English-proficient students show clearly, say the authors, that schools must address the language, literacy, and academic needs of English learners more effectively. Researchers have fiercely debated the merits of bilingual and English-only reading instruction. In elementary schools, English learners commonly receive thirty minutes of English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction but attend general education classes for the rest of the day, usually with teachers who are unprepared to teach them. Though English learners have strikingly diverse levels of skills, in high school they are typically lumped together, with one teacher to address their widely varying needs. These in-school factors contribute to the achievement disparities. Based on the studies presented here, Calderón, Slavin, and Sánchez assert that the quality of instruction is what matters most in educating English learners. They highlight comprehensive reform models, as well as individual components of these models: school structures and leadership; language and literacy instruction; integration of language, literacy, and content instruction in secondary schools; cooperative learning; professional development; parent and family support teams; tutoring; and monitoring implementation and outcomes

Kinetics of full scrum and staggered scrum engagement in under 19 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Two hundred and eight male Rugby Union players from 13 high schools, whose ages ranged from 16 to 19 years, were used to examine the kinetics of the full scrum versus staggered scrum engagement techniques. Telemetric pressure transducers were used to measure the engagement and sustained forces acting on the ...

Sustainable Innovation - Driving Factors in Large Firms

OpenAIRE

Alderin, Clara; Do, Thao

2016-01-01

During recent years, there has been a growing interest in sustainable innovation both in academia and in practice. Our qualitative, multiple case study examines this emerging field in the context of large firms. By doing so, this thesis contributes to the understanding of the concept as well as the underlying factors driving sustainable innovation. Theory highlighted both external and internal factors in firms’ sustainable innovation engagement. The empirical evidence identifies five key fact...

Creating Sustainable Societies: Developing Emerging Professionals through Transforming Current Mindsets

Science.gov (United States)

Griswold, Wendy

2017-01-01

Future professionals will bear the brunt of creating sustainable societies. Equipping them for the task is the challenge of current educators. Educational experiences facilitating the development of sustainable habits of mind are needed. This research reports on the experiences of developing scientists and engineers engaged in a sustainable energy…

Modulating Reward Induces Differential Neurocognitive Approaches to Sustained Attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Esterman, Michael; Poole, Victoria; Liu, Guanyu; DeGutis, Joseph

2017-08-01

Reward and motivation have powerful effects on cognition and brain activity, yet it remains unclear how they affect sustained cognitive performance. We have recently shown that a variety of motivators improve accuracy and reduce variability during sustained attention. In the current study, we investigate how neural activity in task-positive networks supports these sustained attention improvements. Participants performed the gradual-onset continuous performance task with alternating motivated (rewarded) and unmotivated (unrewarded) blocks. During motivated blocks, we observed increased sustained neural recruitment of task-positive regions, which interacted with fluctuations in task performance. Specifically, during motivated blocks, participants recruited these regions in preparation for upcoming targets, and this activation predicted accuracy. In contrast, during unmotivated blocks, no such advanced preparation was observed. Furthermore, during motivated blocks, participants had similar activation levels during both optimal (in-the-zone) and suboptimal (out-of-the-zone) epochs of performance. In contrast, during unmotivated blocks, task-positive regions were only engaged to a similar degree as motivated blocks during suboptimal (out-of-the-zone) periods. These data support a framework in which motivated individuals act as "cognitive investors," engaging task-positive resources proactively and consistently during sustaining attention. When unmotivated, however, the same individuals act as "cognitive misers," engaging maximal task-positive resources only during periods of struggle. Published by Oxford University Press 2016.

Introduction to Reproduction: Online Education for the Millennial Learner.

Science.gov (United States)

Castle, Megan; Kick, Laura; Haseley, Heather; Wallach, Harlan; Woodruff, Teresa K

2016-07-01

Despite staggering rates of sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies, reproductive health education is not yet standardized across secondary or postsecondary curricula. The Women's Health Research Institute and Northwestern University Information Technology created Introduction to Reproduction, a massive open online course to encourage global students to learn the biological foundations of reproductive health. This digital education experience appeals to the Millennial learner and offers unique opportunities to explore topics in reproductive biology via lectures, animations, and three-dimensional anatomical illustrations. Data were collected anonymously from de-identified learners who elected to self-report on their experiences while completing the course as well as through Coursera datasets. Northwestern University's Institutional Review Board classified this research project as an exempt status due to the de-identified nature of the collected data. Participants from 47 countries report on reproductive health content knowledge, past reproductive health education, and level of engagement with the topic. These data indicate that the Introduction to Reproduction course has a meaningful impact on its participants and presents the information in a concise and accessible format. Distribution of this course to a wider audience is the goal for the program and important to the field of reproductive health. © 2016 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc.

When Learner Inquiries Arise: Marking Teacher Cognition as It Unfolds “In-The-Moment”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Drew S. Fagan

2015-06-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2015v68n1p75 With the understanding that teacher cognition itself is ever-emergent, originating and framed by engagement with social activities (Johnson & Golombek, 2011, the current study examines one expert English as a Second Language (ESL teacher’s micro-analysis of her classroom practices when addressing learner inquiries in-themoment, and how such analysis leads the teacher to alter her conscious awareness of what it means to teach language even at an advanced point in her career. Bridging the methodologies of conversation analysis and ethnographic analysis, two distinct practices were used by the teacher when addressing learner inquiries: doing answering and modeling exploration. Each practice is detailed with a focus on their varied constructions and the speciic verbal and nonverbal communicative cues found to inluence their uses. Numerous and simultaneous factors are shown to afect the teacher’s management of learner inquiries, factors both paralleling and contradicting her perceptions of teaching. he paper concludes with a discussion on how the indings not only connect to the current teacher cognition literature but also advocates for opening up the methodological tools used in SLTE to more fully understand teacher learning.

We are what we do: Examining learner-generated content in the anatomy laboratory through the lens of activity theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Doubleday, Alison F; Wille, Sarah J

2014-01-01

Video and photography are often used for delivering content within the anatomical sciences. However, instructors typically produce these resources to provide instructional or procedural information. Although the benefits of learner-generated content have been explored within educational research, virtually no studies have investigated the use of learner-generated video and photograph content within anatomy dissection laboratories. This study outlines an activity involving learner-generated video diaries and learner-generated photograph assignments produced during anatomy laboratory sessions. The learner-generated photographs and videos provided instructors with a means of formative assessment and allowed instructors to identify evidence of collaborative behavior in the laboratory. Student questionnaires (n = 21) and interviews (n = 5), as well as in-class observations, were conducted to examine student perspectives on the laboratory activities. The quantitative and qualitative data were examined using the framework of activity theory to identify contradictions between student expectations of, and engagement with, the activity and the actual experiences of the students. Results indicate that learner-generated photograph and video content can act as a rich source of data on student learning processes and can be used for formative assessment, for observing collaborative behavior, and as a starting point for class discussions. This study stresses the idea that technology choice for activities must align with instructional goals. This research also highlights the utility of activity theory as a framework for assessing classroom and laboratory activities, demonstrating that this approach can guide the development of laboratory activities. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.

Sustainable diet policy development: implications of multi-criteria and other approaches, 2008-2017.

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Tim; Mason, Pamela

2017-12-04

The objective of the present paper is to draw lessons from policy development on sustainable diets. It considers the emergence of sustainable diets as a policy issue and reviews the environmental challenge to nutrition science as to what a 'good' diet is for contemporary policy. It explores the variations in how sustainable diets have been approached by policy-makers. The paper considers how international United Nations and European Union (EU) policy engagement now centres on the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Climate Change Accord, which require changes across food systems. The paper outlines national sustainable diet policy in various countries: Australia, Brazil, France, the Netherlands, Qatar, Sweden, UK and USA. While no overarching common framework for sustainable diets has appeared, a policy typology of lessons for sustainable diets is proposed, differentiating (a) orientation and focus, (b) engagement styles and (c) modes of leadership. The paper considers the particularly tortuous rise and fall of UK governmental interest in sustainable diet advice. Initial engagement in the 2000s turned to disengagement in the 2010s, yet some advice has emerged. The 2016 referendum to leave the EU has created a new period of policy uncertainty for the UK food system. This might marginalise attempts to generate sustainable diet advice, but could also be an opportunity for sustainable diets to be a goal for a sustainable UK food system. The role of nutritionists and other food science professions will be significant in this period of policy flux.

Innovative Strategies for Empowering Your Students to Become Active, Responsible Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Hufnagel, B.

2011-09-01

The economy continues to sputter along, and the repercussions are now hitting hard at publicly-funded colleges and universities, with enrollment increasing and funding decreasing. Funding agencies are starting to look at retention and completion rates as a way to allocate scarce dollars. Improving these rates is also one way to increase the future stream of tuition; students who can't pass introductory classes like ASTRO101 won't enroll and pay tuition for the next level, and they won't complete their degree. So what can you, a mere professor of astronomy, do? Tired of the "What do you want me to know?" questions? Provide your students with learner-centered structures to help them learn more deeply. Do your students resist active-engagement techniques and hate group work? Share empowerment strategies for helping students become active, responsible learners who can thrive in a learner-centered environment. Do you think that it's wrong for the freshman classes to be over-crowded, yet your sophomore classes don't get enough students or don't even exist? After using the proven curriculum of On Course, college and universities across the country have improved their retention across a wide range of disciplines (http://www.OnCourseWorkshop.com/Data.htm). Experience a sample of the fun and engaging activities developed over two decades to help students (1) accept personal responsibility, (2) discover self motivation, (3) master self-management, (4) use interdependence, (5) gain self-awareness, (6) adopt lifelong learning, (7) develop emotional intelligence, and (8) believe in themselves. Since this is only a one-hour workshop, we will focus on choices one and four: to be successful, students need to see themselves as the primary cause of their outcomes and experiences and to build mutually supportive relationships in our classroom and labs. Outcomes: (1) one ASTRO101 Course-ready activity to help students accept personal responsibility; (2) one ASTRO101 Course

Engaging with European Politics through Twitter and Facebook

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bossetta, Michael; Dutceac Segesten, Anamaria; Trenz, Hans-Jörg

2017-01-01

, partisan, and moral) and four degrees of engagement (making, commenting, diffusing, and listening). Moreover, we argue that differences in Twitter and Facebook’s “digital architectures” encourage certain styles and degrees of engagement over others, and that the two social platforms sustain different...... levels of transnational activity. Supporting our argument with European cases, we suggest that Twitter is more suitable to fulfill social media’s transnational promise than Facebook, which is better adept at stimulating political participation....

Using just-in-time teaching and peer instruction in a residency program's core curriculum: enhancing satisfaction, engagement, and retention.

Science.gov (United States)

Schuller, Mary C; DaRosa, Debra A; Crandall, Marie L

2015-03-01

To assess use of the combined just-in-time teaching (JiTT) and peer instruction (PI) instructional strategy in a residency program's core curriculum. In 2010-2011, JiTT/PI was piloted in 31 core curriculum sessions taught by 22 faculty in the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine's general surgery residency program. JiTT/PI required preliminary and categorical residents (n=31) to complete Web-based study questions before weekly specialty topic sessions. Responses were examined by faculty members "just in time" to tailor session content to residents' learning needs. In the sessions, residents answered multiple-choice questions (MCQs) using clickers and engaged in PI. Participants completed surveys assessing their perceptions of JiTT/PI. Videos were coded to assess resident engagement time in JiTT/PI sessions versus prior lecture-based sessions. Responses to topic session MCQs repeated in review sessions were evaluated to study retention. More than 70% of resident survey respondents indicated that JiTT/PI aided in the learning of key points. At least 90% of faculty survey respondents reported positive perceptions of aspects of the JiTT/PI strategy. Resident engagement time for JiTT/PI sessions was significantly greater than for prior lecture-based sessions (z=-2.4, P=.016). Significantly more review session MCQ responses were correct for residents who had attended corresponding JiTT/PI sessions than for residents who had not (chi-square=13.7; df=1; P<.001). JiTT/PI increased learner participation, learner retention, and the amount of learner-centered time. JiTT/PI represents an effective approach for meaningful and active learning in core curriculum sessions.

Chinese English Learners' Strategic Competence.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Dianjian; Lai, Hongling; Leslie, Michael

2015-12-01

The present study aims to investigate Chinese English learners' ability to use communication strategies (CSs). The subjects are put in a relatively real English referential communication setting and the analyses of the research data show that Chinese English learners, when encountering problems in foreign language (FL) communication, are characterized by the frequent use of substitution, approximation, circumlocution, literal translation, exemplification, word-coinage, repetition, and the infrequent use of cultural-knowledge and paralinguistic CSs. The rare use of paralinguistic strategies is found to be typical of Chinese English learners. The high frequency of literal translation, one first language (L1)-based strategy in our study sample, suggests that FL learners' use of L1-based CSs may depend more upon the developmental stage of their target language than the typology distance between L1 and the target language. The frequency of repetition reveals one fact that the Chinese English learners lack variety and flexibility in their use of CSs. Based on these findings, it was indicated that learners' use of CSs is influenced by a variety of factors, among which the development stage of their interlanguage and their cultural background are identified as two important factors. Some implications are finally suggested for the English foreign language teaching practice in China.

Education for Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development in Social Science Textbooks

Science.gov (United States)

Jimenez, Jeremy David; Lerch, Julia; Bromley, Patricia

2017-01-01

This article reviews the state of research and data on relevant content, broadly understood as sustainable development, in social science textbooks worldwide. Specifically, it examines the extent to which these textbooks could help learners to acquire the knowledge, skills and values that are needed to meet goal 4.7 of the United Nation's…

Societal health and urban sustainability indicators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petrich, C.H.; Tonn, B.E.

1996-08-27

Without the social will, no city can successfully Undertake the planning and programs necessary for meaningful progress toward sustainability. Social will derives from wellsprings of vital societal health. This paper presents an approach to helping cities in APEC member economies initiate a program for developing indicators of sustainability. Representative indicators of social capital and other aspects of civic engagement, as proxies for societal health, are presented.

The "Human Colour" Crayon: Investigating the Attitudes and Perceptions of Learners regarding Race and Skin Colour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neeske Alexander

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Some coloured and black learners in South Africa use a light orange or pink crayon to represent themselves in art. Many learners name this colour “human colour” or “skin colour”. This is troublesome, because it could reflect exclusionary ways of representing race in images and language. This case study, conducted with two schools in the Western Cape, investigated Grade 3 learners’ attitudes and perceptions regarding race and skin colour through art processes and discussion. The aim was to promote critical engagement with race in Foundation Phase educational contexts. Suggestions include changing the language used to describe skin colour, just recognition and representation of races in educational resources and the promotion of critical citizenship education. This research indicates the need to create practical curriculum guidelines to discuss race issues in the South African classroom.

What Is This Thing Called Learner's Lexicography?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Sandro

2010-01-01

Learner lexicography as a research area has attracted increased attention during the past decades, but what is actually the true nature of learner lexicography? This question calls for a complex answer. Learner lexicography has as its objective to develop principles that help practitioners......, namely its functions, data and structures, as this strengthens the basis of learner lexicography because it leads to a proper study and understanding of the competences and needs of learners. Finally, the modern theory of dictionary functions encourages theoretical and practical lexicographers to adopt...

STEM@School: an engaging Serious Game!

Science.gov (United States)

terracina, annalisa; mecella, massimo

2016-04-01

Over the last ten years, the way in which education and training is delivered has changed considerably with the advent of new technologies. Thus, technology should be a prominent part of the learning process and should be intended as a support for teachers and learners. One new technology that holds considerable promise for helping to engage learners is Games-Based Learning (GBL). The term game is quite ambiguous, that means that researchers, game designers, parents, students, teachers, etc. have a different concept of games. In this research, we intend games as inquiry based laboratories in which participants are able to imagine, engage with, and reflect upon their experiences. Gaming and schooling have developed into two distinct "knowledge traditions" that often rely on opposing validity criteria for determining what counts and what does not count as relevant knowledge. To avoid that dichotomy, GBL should integrate different aspects that are related to the knowledge itself, to pedagogical aspects, to scenario-based and every day practice. In the above scenario we matured the idea to develop a serious game that integrates the most up-to-date technologies in new teaching trends: Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) and Intelligent Pedagogical Agents (IPAs). The main idea of our research is a VLE that in turn is a role playing game. The role playing game is a social game in which each student becomes a player with her abilities and her tasks. In order to succeed, all the players should work to achieve a common objective/goal. The storyboard is designed in a way that there is an evolution in the role playing game and a progress in the level of learning as well. The idea of helping students in the process of learning in a different way with respect to the classical approach finds support in many psychological studies and previous work, in particular we refer to Howard Gardner theory (1983): "We might think of the topic as a room with at least five doors or entry

End-of-life conversations and care: an asset-based model for community engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Matthiesen, Mary; Froggatt, Katherine; Owen, Elaine; Ashton, John R

2014-09-01

Public awareness work regarding palliative and end-of-life care is increasingly promoted within national strategies for palliative care. Different approaches to undertaking this work are being used, often based upon broader educational principles, but little is known about how to undertake such initiatives in a way that equally engages both the health and social care sector and the local communities. An asset-based community engagement approach has been developed that facilitates community-led awareness initiatives concerning end-of-life conversations and care by identifying and connecting existing skills and expertise. (1) To describe the processes and features of an asset-based community engagement approach that facilitates community-led awareness initiatives with a focus on end-of-life conversations and care; and (2) to identify key community-identified priorities for sustainable community engagement processes. An asset-based model of community engagement specific to end-of-life issues using a four-step process is described (getting started, coming together, action planning and implementation). The use of this approach, in two regional community engagement programmes, based across rural and urban communities in the northwest of England, is described. The assets identified in the facilitated community engagement process encompassed people's talents and skills, community groups and networks, government and non-government agencies, physical and economic assets and community values and stories. Five priority areas were addressed to ensure active community engagement work: information, outreach, education, leadership and sustainability. A facilitated, asset-based approach of community engagement for end-of-life conversations and care can catalyse community-led awareness initiatives. This occurs through the involvement of community and local health and social care organisations as co-creators of this change across multiple sectors in a sustainable way. This approach

Collaborative Engagement Approaches For Delivering Sustainable Infrastructure Projects In The AEC Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adetola, Alaba

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The public sector has traditionally financed and operated infrastructure projects using resources from taxes and various levies (e.g. fuel taxes, road user charges. However, the rapid increase in human population growth coupled with extended globalisation complexities and associated social/political/economic challenges have placed new demands on the purveyors and operators of infrastructure projects. The importance of delivering quality infrastructure has been underlined by the United Nations declaration of the Millennium Development Goals; as has the provision of ‘adequate’ basic structures and facilities necessary for the well-being of urban populations in developing countries. Thus, in an effort to finance developing countries’ infrastructure needs, most countries have adopted some form of public-private collaboration strategy. This paper critically reviews these collaborative engagement approaches, identifies and highlights 10 critical themes that need to be appropriately captured and aligned to existing business models in order to successfully deliver sustainable infrastructure projects. Research findings show that infrastructure services can be delivered in many ways, and through various routes. For example, a purely public approach can cause problems such as slow and ineffective decision-making, inefficient organisational and institutional augmentation, and lack of competition and inefficiency (collectively known as government failure. On the other hand, adopting a purely private approach can cause problems such as inequalities in the distribution of infrastructure services (known as market failure. Thus, to overcome both government and market failures, a collaborative approach is advocated which incorporates the strengths of both of these polarised positions.

Sustainability benefits and challenges of inter-organizational collaboration in bio-based business

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nuhoff-Isakhanyan, Gohar; Wubben, Emiel F.M.; Omta, S.W.F.

2016-01-01

Bio-based businesses are often considered to be sustainable. However, they are also linked to sustainability challenges such as deforestation and soil erosion. Encouraged to exploit innovative solutions and enhance sustainability, organizations engaged in bio-based activities extensively explore

Theories of willpower affect sustained learning.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric M Miller

Full Text Available Building cognitive abilities often requires sustained engagement with effortful tasks. We demonstrate that beliefs about willpower-whether willpower is viewed as a limited or non-limited resource-impact sustained learning on a strenuous mental task. As predicted, beliefs about willpower did not affect accuracy or improvement during the initial phases of learning; however, participants who were led to view willpower as non-limited showed greater sustained learning over the full duration of the task. These findings highlight the interactive nature of motivational and cognitive processes: motivational factors can substantially affect people's ability to recruit their cognitive resources to sustain learning over time.

Teachers of adults as learners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund Larsen, Lea

This poster is a part of an on-going qualitative empirical research project: “Teachers of adults as learners. A study on teachers’ experiences in practice”. Adult learners have particular needs and characteristics that their teachers must be able to address. Some of the competencies that teachers...... need can be taught in formal settings, but in most teaching settings, the teachers act alone and develop their pedagogical approaches/-teaching strategies with no synchronous sparring from a colleague. Adult learners have particular needs and characteristics that their teachers must be able to address...... (cf. Knowles, Brookfield, Illeris, Lawler, King, Wahlgreen). If we study adult teachers as learners in practice, we may be able to identify what the teachers’ practice requires, and thereby qualify the efforts of teacher educators....

"Disqus" Website-Based Commenting as an e-Research Method: Engaging Doctoral and Early-Career Academic Learners in Educational Research

Science.gov (United States)

Kilburn, Daniel; Earley, Jonathan

2015-01-01

This article presents an adaptation of established qualitative research methods for online focus groups by using the "Disqus" website-based commenting platform as a medium for discussion among doctoral and early-career academic learners. Facilities allowing Internet users to comment on the content of web pages are increasingly popular on…

Surreptitious symbiosis: engagement between activists and NGOs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Glasius, M.; Ishkanian, A.

2015-01-01

Based on research conducted in Athens, Cairo, London and Yerevan, the article analyzes the relationship between activists engaged in street protests or direct action since 2011 and NGOs. It examines how activists relate to NGOs and whether it is possible to do sustained activism to bring about

Engaged Service Learning--Implications for Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, Tony; Burgin, Shelley

2009-01-01

Dwindling resources for tertiary education, has resulted in reduced emphasis on intensive, small group, staff-student collaborative project-based service learning. However, training scientists to manage significant issues, such as sustainable water use, requires an ability to engage both industry and community stakeholders. This paper describes…

Leverage points for sustainability transformation.

Science.gov (United States)

Abson, David J; Fischer, Joern; Leventon, Julia; Newig, Jens; Schomerus, Thomas; Vilsmaier, Ulli; von Wehrden, Henrik; Abernethy, Paivi; Ives, Christopher D; Jager, Nicolas W; Lang, Daniel J

2017-02-01

Despite substantial focus on sustainability issues in both science and politics, humanity remains on largely unsustainable development trajectories. Partly, this is due to the failure of sustainability science to engage with the root causes of unsustainability. Drawing on ideas by Donella Meadows, we argue that many sustainability interventions target highly tangible, but essentially weak, leverage points (i.e. using interventions that are easy, but have limited potential for transformational change). Thus, there is an urgent need to focus on less obvious but potentially far more powerful areas of intervention. We propose a research agenda inspired by systems thinking that focuses on transformational 'sustainability interventions', centred on three realms of leverage: reconnecting people to nature, restructuring institutions and rethinking how knowledge is created and used in pursuit of sustainability. The notion of leverage points has the potential to act as a boundary object for genuinely transformational sustainability science.

A little healthy competition: using mixed methods to pilot a team-based digital game for boosting medical student engagement with anatomy and histology content.

Science.gov (United States)

Janssen, Anna; Shaw, Tim; Goodyear, Peter; Kerfoot, B Price; Bryce, Deborah

2015-10-12

Digital games have been demonstrated to be beneficial for a range of non-recreational purposes, with a particular focus on their value for education. There is a limited amount of research supporting their use for medical education, but their are several studies on their use in areas such as surgical training, and life-support re-training. However, a significant gap exists in demonstrating how they engage with learners and games can be used most effectively in medical education. This pilot study assessed the value of digital games for teaching anatomy, by evaluating participant engagement and their attitudes towards a team-based strategy game. A digital game platform was designed, and then populated with anatomy questions developed by subject matter experts. Second year medical students were recruited to play three matches of the game. At the end of each match participants were asked to complete a Likert rating of their experiences of the game across five domains. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to assess engagement with the platform and perceived value to learners. Sixteen participants volunteered to participate. Post-match ratings indicated that participants had a generally positive experience with the game, with 89 % of respondents agreeing the game was engaging, 93 % of respondents agreeing the game was challenging and 74 % indicating they would like to play the game again if given the opportunity. A total of fourteen participants agreed to be interviewed after playing three matches of the game. Interview responses supported the findings of the post-match ratings that the game was considered enjoyable and engaging. Participants noted they particularly enjoyed the competitive aspect of the game, particularly the opportunity to play against peers they consider their academic equals. In addition to finding the game engaging interview participants indicated they perceived the game impacted on their knowledge around anatomy. In particular, participants

Emotional Intelligence of Self Regulated Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Rathore, Ami

2018-01-01

The study was conducted on self regulated learners of senior secondary school. The main objectives of the study were to find out significant dimensions of emotional intelligence held by self regulated learners. To compare the emotional intelligence dimensions of self regulated learners, in terms of subject and gender. To find out the relationship…

Enhancing Effective Stakeholder Participation in Local Groundwater Sustainability Planning through Technical Assistance in California

Science.gov (United States)

Weintraub, C.; Christian-Smith, J.; Dobbin, K.; Cullen, K.

2017-12-01

This presentation will share content from UCS's new publication, Getting Involved in Groundwater; A Guide to Effective Engagement in California's Groundwater Sustainability Plans, as well as lessons learned from collaborating with community organizations to provide technical assistance to Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) board members and stakeholders in the San Joaquin Valley on Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) development. California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) mandates extensive stakeholder engagement, presenting an opportunity for unincorporated, low-income communities that have historically been affected by but not included in water decisions. However, implementation requires a concerted, thoughtful effort. Through technical assistance and strategic outreach, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is working to ensure stakeholder engagement in GSP development is robust, diverse, and supported by the best science available. UCS created the GSP stakeholder engagement guide to equip GSA members, scientists and interested community members to meaningfully engage in the GSP development process. The guide serves as a technical primer on SGMA's GSP process and as a resource for understanding groundwater management in California. The guide is just one component of a larger effort to overcome barriers to effective engagement in sustainable groundwater management, especially those presented by technical information. In April, UCS co-hosted a technical assistance workshop for GSA and advisory committee members in Visalia, CA with the Community Water Center (CWC), a local environmental justice non-profit. The workshop was well received and UCS and the CWC were invited to host a second workshop in June. To deepen this engagement and provide one-on-one technical assistance, UCS developed a program to match relevant water experts in the UCS Science Network with GSA members or involved community members in need of specific technical support

Managing Sustainability in Management Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lystbæk, Christian Tang

2014-01-01

Sustainability has until relatively recently been seen as irrelevant to business practice and, hence, has been largely missing from management education. But, environmental issues are increasingly becoming a key business concern at local, national, international and global levels. This conceptual...... paper addresses the question: How can sustainability be addresses within management education? It engages in a critical discussion of traditional models for teaching sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in order to develop an advanced framework that addresses the limitations...... concerning trade-offs and complexity. Thus, the paper proposes an approach to sustainability in management education which help to initiate such critical reflection and discussion by drawing attention to the complex network of relations in which a given business or industry is embedded....

The social sustainability of entrepreneurship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjerregaard, Toke; Lauring, Jakob

2012-01-01

Sustainable entrepreneurship is attracting increasing attention in entrepreneurship literature. Social sustainable entrepreneurship is often conceived as entrepreneurial processes that generate social value. In this chapter we illuminate how small business entrepreneurs in a developing country...... engage in activities of importance for social sustainability and development as they undertake entrepreneurial ventures. We present the findings from an ethnographic field study that examines the strategies used by small entrepreneurs in an area of extreme resource scarcity to navigate co-existing social...... and market logics. The cases elucidate how the entrepreneurs cope with and exploit such co-existing logics through their sphere-straddling ventures to ensure sustainability during changes from an economy based on traditional exchange relationships to a situation with an emerging market economy. The chapter...

The Challenge of Audience Reception: A Developmental Model for Educational Game Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Sherry, John L.

2013-01-01

According to educational gaming advocates, the engaging nature of games encourages sustained game play and enhanced attention to learning outcomes among players. Because children's and adolescents' play time varies by game genre, engagement with a game likely reflects the match between the genre and the player's preferences and needs. Youth learn…

How Do Chinese ESL Learners Recognize English Words during a Reading Test? A Comparison with Romance-Language-Speaking ESL Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hongli; Suen, Hoi K.

2015-01-01

This study examines how Chinese ESL learners recognize English words while responding to a multiple-choice reading test as compared to Romance-language-speaking ESL learners. Four adult Chinese ESL learners and three adult Romance-language-speaking ESL learners participated in a think-aloud study with the Michigan English Language Assessment…

Speaking out on Behalf of the Voiceless Learners: Written Corrective Feedback for English Language Learners in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Nemati, Majid; Alavi, Sayyed Mohammad; Mohebbi, Hassan; Masjedlou, Ali Panahi

2017-01-01

To date, L2 researchers have studied the effect of feedback on improving L2 learners' writing from different perspectives. However, there are a lot of aspects which are not comprehensively researched yet, such as L2 learners' and teachers' perceptions and practices about feedback. To close the gap, this study investigates language learners'…

Living Smart Homes: A Pilot Australian Sustainability Education Programme

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Evonne; Buys, Laurie; Bell, Lorraine

2009-01-01

This article documents the rationale and experience of a pilot Australian sustainability education programme, "Living Smart Homes" (LSH) based on a community-based social marketing model. Inspired by the Australian "Land for Wildlife" scheme, LSH is designed to engage homeowners with sustainable practices through face-to-face…

Gamification, Social Networks and Sustainable Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fábio Silva

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Intelligent environments and ambient intelligence enabled systems provide means to gather rich information from both environments and its users. With the help of such systems, it is possible to foster communities of ambient intelligence systems with community driven knowledge, which is created by individual actions and setups in each of the environments. Such arrangements provides the potential to build systems that promote better practices and more efficient and sustainable environments by promoting the community best examples and engaging users to adopt and develop proactive behaviors to improve their standings in the community. This work aims to use knowledge from communities of intelligent environments to their own benefit. The approach presented in this work uses information from different environments, ranking them according to their sustainability assessment. Recommendations are then computed using similarity and clustering functions ranking users and environments, updating their previous records and launching new recommendations in the process. Gamification concepts are used in order to keep users motivation and engage them actively to produce better results in terms of sustainability.

Capturing the Stakeholders’ View in Sustainability Reporting: A Novel Approach

OpenAIRE

Nicola Bellantuono; Pierpaolo Pontrandolfo; Barbara Scozzi

2016-01-01

Sustainability reporting is the process by which companies describe how they deal with their own economic, environmental, and social impacts, thus making stakeholders able to recognize the value of sustainable practices. As stressed in the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, which act as a de facto standard for sustainability reporting, sustainable reports should take into account the stakeholders’ view. In particular, engaging stakeholders is essential to carry out the materiality analys...

Sustainable Campus Dining: How Campuses Are Targeting Sustainability and Engagement through Dining Services Initiatives

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Celeste

2013-01-01

Sustainable food and dining is a popular topic on college and university campuses. Popular areas of focus include equipment upgrades in the kitchen, installation of campus or community gardens, and streamlining existing campus recycling operations, such as by converting campus vehicles to run on used vegetable oil from the dining hall. Research…

Heritage and Non-Heritage Language Learners in Arabic Classrooms: Inter and Intra-group Beliefs, Attitudes and Perceptions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghazi Abuhakema

2012-08-01

Full Text Available This study examines how Arabic heritage language learners (HLLs and non-heritage language learners (non-HLLs perceive each other, and the class dynamics in a combined classroom setting. Two groups of HLLs and non-HLLs completed a separate questionnaire and answered follow-up open-ended questions. The results show that learners do not feel strongly about mixing or separation, but they also acknowledge that just as there are disadvantages to combining, there are advantages as well. While instructors need to capitalize on the advantages to create a more engaging and more successful teaching environment for both groups, they also need to be aware of the disadvantages in order to counteract them. The study also shows that the particular diglossic situation of Arabic seems to have impacted students’ perceptions and attitudes. The implications and recommendations of the study are quite relevant to schools similar to where the study was conducted. The study makes it possible for the voices of HLLs and non-HLLs to reach educators and administrators and empower them in their research processes to inform the teaching of heritage languages.

Engaging students in learning science through promoting creative reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Waldrip, Bruce; Prain, Vaughan

2017-10-01

Student engagement in learning science is both a desirable goal and a long-standing teacher challenge. Moving beyond engagement understood as transient topic interest, we argue that cognitive engagement entails sustained interaction in the processes of how knowledge claims are generated, judged, and shared in this subject. In this paper, we particularly focus on the initial claim-building aspect of this reasoning as a crucial phase in student engagement. In reviewing the literature on student reasoning and argumentation, we note that the well-established frameworks for claim-judging are not matched by accounts of creative reasoning in claim-building. We develop an exploratory framework to characterise and enact this reasoning to enhance engagement. We then apply this framework to interpret two lessons by two science teachers where they aimed to develop students' reasoning capabilities to support learning.

Researching transformative learning spaces through learners' stories

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maslo, Elina

spaces, learning to learn through languages, learners´ stories, qualitative research method Methodology or Methods/Research Instruments or Sources Used A number of semi structured qualitative interviews have been conducted with three learners of Danish as second language. The language learners...... in the paper is on the research process and methodological tools. The goal of this paper is to show, that learners´ stories have a huge potential in researching learning processes. References Benson, P. & D. Nunan (2004). Lerners´ stories. Difference and Diversity in Language Learning. Cambridge University...... to use learners´ stories as a research methodology in the field of learning in general and language learning in particular....

Making change last: applying the NHS institute for innovation and improvement sustainability model to healthcare improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, Cathal; Howe, Cathy; Woodcock, Thomas; Myron, Rowan; Phekoo, Karen; McNicholas, Chris; Saffer, Jessica; Bell, Derek

2013-10-26

The implementation of evidence-based treatments to deliver high-quality care is essential to meet the healthcare demands of aging populations. However, the sustainable application of recommended practice is difficult to achieve and variable outcomes well recognised. The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement Sustainability Model (SM) was designed to help healthcare teams recognise determinants of sustainability and take action to embed new practice in routine care. This article describes a formative evaluation of the application of the SM by the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care for Northwest London (CLAHRC NWL). Data from project teams' responses to the SM and formal reviews was used to assess acceptability of the SM and the extent to which it prompted teams to take action. Projects were classified as 'engaged,' 'partially engaged' and 'non-engaged.' Quarterly survey feedback data was used to explore reasons for variation in engagement. Score patterns were compared against formal review data and a 'diversity of opinion' measure was derived to assess response variance over time. Of the 19 teams, six were categorized as 'engaged,' six 'partially engaged,' and seven as 'non-engaged.' Twelve teams found the model acceptable to some extent. Diversity of opinion reduced over time. A minority of teams used the SM consistently to take action to promote sustainability but for the majority SM use was sporadic. Feedback from some team members indicates difficulty in understanding and applying the model and negative views regarding its usefulness. The SM is an important attempt to enable teams to systematically consider determinants of sustainability, provide timely data to assess progress, and prompt action to create conditions for sustained practice. Tools such as these need to be tested in healthcare settings to assess strengths and weaknesses and findings disseminated to aid development. This

Hip-Hop Citizens: Arts-Based, Culturally Sustaining Civic Engagement Pedagogy

Science.gov (United States)

Kuttner, Paul J.

2016-01-01

Amid concerns about the decreasing political engagement of young people, scholars and policy makers have begun discussing the "civic achievement gap," disparities in civic capacity between low-income students and Students of Color and their White, wealthier counterparts. While this scholarship raises important issues, it often relies on…

Building work engagement: A systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of work engagement interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, Caroline; Patterson, Malcolm; Dawson, Jeremy

2017-07-01

Low work engagement may contribute towards decreased well-being and work performance. Evaluating, boosting and sustaining work engagement are therefore of interest to many organisations. However, the evidence on which to base interventions has not yet been synthesised. A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted to assess the evidence for the effectiveness of work engagement interventions. A systematic literature search identified controlled workplace interventions employing a validated measure of work engagement. Most used the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Studies containing the relevant quantitative data underwent random-effects meta-analyses. Results were assessed for homogeneity, systematic sampling error, publication bias and quality. Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria and were categorised into four types of interventions: (i) personal resource building; (ii) job resource building; (iii) leadership training; and (iv) health promotion. The overall effect on work engagement was small, but positive, k  = 14, Hedges g  = 0.29, 95%-CI = 0.12-0.46. Moderator analyses revealed a significant result for intervention style, with a medium to large effect for group interventions. Heterogeneity between the studies was high, and the success of implementation varied. More studies are needed, and researchers are encouraged to collaborate closely with organisations to design interventions appropriate to individual contexts and settings, and include evaluations of intervention implementation. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Organizational Behavior published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Profiling Learners' Achievement Goals when Completing Academic Essays

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Chi-Hung Clarence

2009-01-01

This study explored adult learners' goal profiles in relation to the completion of a compulsory academic essay. Based on learners' scores on items assessing mastery, performance-approach, and work-avoidance goals, cluster analyses produced three distinct categories of learners: performance-focused, work-avoidant, and multiple-goal learners. These…

Transformative Learning for a Sustainable Future: An Exploration of Pedagogies for Change at an Alternative College

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Blake

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Educators and policy makers have long recognised the central role that education can play in creating a more sustainable and equitable world. Yet some question whether current processes across mainstream higher education prepare learners sufficiently to graduate with the capabilities or motivation to shape and create a future that is life-sustaining. This paper presents findings from a qualitative research project carried out by Plymouth University in association with Schumacher College, Devon, UK. Schumacher College is an alternative, civil society college, owned by the Dartington Hall Trust that claims to provide transformative learning opportunities within a broad context of sustainability. The study explored the nature and application of transformative learning as a pedagogical approach to advance change towards sustainability. If learners claimed transformational learning experiences, the research asked whether, and to what extent, this transformation could be attributed to the pedagogies employed at the College. The paper begins by setting out the broad background to the relationship between marginal and mainstream educational settings, and definitions and theoretical underpinnings of transformative learning, and then leads into the research design and findings. The potential for transformative pedagogies to be applied to and employed within the wider higher education (HE sector is then discussed, and the overall findings and conclusions are presented.

Issues of promoting learner autonomy in EFL context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pichugova Inna L.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper is focuded on investigating the phenomenon of learner autonomy, which has mostly been explored in Europe and the USA and is now attracting attention of researchers and academics in many other countries including Russia. Learner autonomy through a focus on learner reflection and taking responsibility for one’s own learning processes has become a central concern in the recent history of language teaching. However, many language teachers, who are committed to concepts of learnercentredness and autonomy, struggle with the ways to foster learner autonomy or at least to encourage the idea of learner autonomy in language classroom. The study aims at investigating what the most important issues which have a great impact on developing learner autonomy are. Having given special attention to conditions which can insure development of learner autonomy, a model covering seven issues relating to the subject matter has been designed. The authors state that such aspects as choice, goals and needs, support, emotional climate, learning strategies, learner attitude and motivation, and self-esteem should be considered as the goal to promote learner autonomy in EFL context.

Product Innovation in Sustainability-Oriented New Ventures : A Process Perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keskin, D.

2015-01-01

Despite the recognition that new ventures are potential candidates of creating innovations necessary for sustainability, little is know on how they actually engage in this journey. Sustainability-oriented new ventures are confronted with high levels of uncertainty that stem from the liabilities of

Education for a Sustainable Future: Strategies of the New Hindu Religious Movements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Haigh

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Increasingly, sustainability is conceived as a crisis of the human mind and the key challenge for pro-sustainability education is developing sufficient motivation in learners. The spiritual aspirations of religious communities contain sufficient motivational force, which may be deployed for effective sustainability education. This paper explores the approaches to sustainability and sustainability education of some internationally-oriented Hindu religious movements. These include the rural education initiatives of Gandhian Sarvodaya, which emphasizes non-harming, self-reliance and personal ethics, ISKCON, which emphasizes devotional service, P.R. Sarkar’s Ananda Marg, which emphasizes cooperative enterprise, the Tantric body re-imagined at the social scale, and Swami Vivekananda’s Sri Ramakrishna Order, which emphasizes karma yoga, spiritual development through service to the God in each human. It also describes the British Hindu contribution to the UNDP/ARC’s multi-faith sustainability initiative “Many Heavens, One Earth”; which is the “Bhumi Project” and its two main campaigns, Green Temples and Compassionate Living.

Case Studies in Sustainability Used in an Introductory Laboratory Course to Enhance Laboratory Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Luster-Teasley, Stephanie; Hargrove-Leak, Sirena; Gibson, Willietta; Leak, Roland

2017-01-01

This educational research seeks to develop novel laboratory modules by using Case Studies in the Science Teaching method to introduce sustainability and environmental engineering laboratory concepts to 21st century learners. The increased interest in "going green" has led to a surge in the number of engineering students studying…

Flexible provisioning for adult learners

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hermans, Henry; Janssen, José; Vogten, Hubert; Koper, Rob

2014-01-01

In adult education there is a continuous, growing demand for learning opportunities that fit the specific characteristics and preferences of particular learner groups or individual learners. This requires educational institutions to rethink their business and educational models, and develop more

Specificities of sustainable tourism planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jegdić Vaso

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In the past two decades, companies have been mentioning achievement of sustainability in their activities as a target of companies, governments and non-profit organizations, although measuring the degree to which an organization conducts its activities in a sustainable manner, can be very difficult. Sustainable tourism development requires a process of planning and management that will unite the interests of various stakeholders in a sustainable and strategic way. It requires an understanding of the meaning of sustainable development and guiding values for promoting sustainable tourism. The paper points to the importance of cross-sector partnerships and the roles of different stakeholders in the planning of sustainable tourism projects. Special importance is given to the community of which a willingness to understand the impacts of tourism industry is expected, as well as various procedures of engagement in participatory planning, consensus building and conflict resolution among all stakeholders. The aim of this research is to find an optimal model of planning of sustainable tourism projects that would take into consideration the interests of all stakeholders and reflect the specificities imposed by the acceptance of the concept of sustainable development by all participants in the project.

Improving Learner Handovers in Medical Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Warm, Eric J; Englander, Robert; Pereira, Anne; Barach, Paul

2017-07-01

Multiple studies have demonstrated that the information included in the Medical Student Performance Evaluation fails to reliably predict medical students' future performance. This faulty transfer of information can lead to harm when poorly prepared students fail out of residency or, worse, are shuttled through the medical education system without an honest accounting of their performance. Such poor learner handovers likely arise from two root causes: (1) the absence of agreed-on outcomes of training and/or accepted assessments of those outcomes, and (2) the lack of standardized ways to communicate the results of those assessments. To improve the current learner handover situation, an authentic, shared mental model of competency is needed; high-quality tools to assess that competency must be developed and tested; and transparent, reliable, and safe ways to communicate this information must be created.To achieve these goals, the authors propose using a learner handover process modeled after a patient handover process. The CLASS model includes a description of the learner's Competency attainment, a summary of the Learner's performance, an Action list and statement of Situational awareness, and Synthesis by the receiving program. This model also includes coaching oriented towards improvement along the continuum of education and care. Just as studies have evaluated patient handover models using metrics that matter most to patients, studies must evaluate this learner handover model using metrics that matter most to providers, patients, and learners.

ICT USAGE BY DISTANCE LEARNERS IN INDIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashish Kumar AWADHIYA

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Open Universities across the world are embracing ICT based teaching and learning process to disseminate quality education to their learners spread across the globe. In India availability and access of ICT and learner characteristics are uneven and vary from state to state. Hence it is important to establish the facts about ICT access among learners, their ICT usage patterns and their readiness to use ICT for educational purpose. In view of this, a study was conducted with the objective to find out the access level of ICT among distance learners. The analysis indicates that maximum learners have desktop/laptops and most of them are accessing internet very frequently from their home. The analysis also indicates that maximum respondents are browsing social networking sites followed by educational and e-mail service providing websites. Findings suggest that there is a need to generate ICT based tutorials complemented with social networking tools and mobile applications. Study also shows that learners are equipped with mobile phones and they are browsing internet through it and also availing support services offered by the university. Hence possibility of integrating mobile phone services may be used for providing learner support services and content delivery.

Sustained User Engagement in Health Information Technology: The Long Road from Implementation to System Optimization of Computerized Physician Order Entry and Clinical Decision Support Systems for Prescribing in Hospitals in England.

Science.gov (United States)

Cresswell, Kathrin M; Lee, Lisa; Mozaffar, Hajar; Williams, Robin; Sheikh, Aziz

2017-10-01

To explore and understand approaches to user engagement through investigating the range of ways in which health care workers and organizations accommodated the introduction of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) and computerized decision support (CDS) for hospital prescribing. Six hospitals in England, United Kingdom. Qualitative case study. We undertook qualitative semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations of meetings and system use, and collected organizational documents over three time periods from six hospitals. Thematic analysis was initially undertaken within individual cases, followed by cross-case comparisons. We conducted 173 interviews, conducted 24 observations, and collected 17 documents between 2011 and 2015. We found that perceived individual and safety benefits among different user groups tended to facilitate engagement in some, while other less engaged groups developed resistance and unsanctioned workarounds if systems were perceived to be inadequate. We identified both the opportunity and need for sustained engagement across user groups around system enhancement (e.g., through customizing software) and the development of user competencies and effective use. There is an urgent need to move away from an episodic view of engagement focused on the preimplementation phase, to more continuous holistic attempts to engage with and respond to end-users. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Buffalo City learners' knowledge of abortion legislation

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2014-06-19

Jun 19, 2014 ... Objectives: This research investigated Grade 11 learners' knowledge of the CTOP Act and ... those learners attending schools formerly designated for African learners during Apartheid .... be performed if, in the opinion of a medical practitioner, ..... of pre-termination of pregnancy counselling to the woman.

Dimensionality in Language Learners' Personal Epistemologies

Science.gov (United States)

Nikitina, Larisa; Furuoka, Fumitaka

2018-01-01

This study aimed to examine dimensionality in language learners' epistemic beliefs. To achieve this, a survey was conducted using a newly-developed research instrument-"Language Learners' Epistemic Beliefs" (LLEB) questionnaire. Based on a review of literature, it was proposed that language learners' epistemic beliefs would cluster in…

Exploring high school learners' perceptions of bullying.

Science.gov (United States)

Blake, Patricia; Louw, Johann

2010-12-01

Learners' perceptions of aspects of school life that are sufficiently serious to interfere with their schoolwork were investigated. Bullying was a form of behaviour that was singled out for inclusion and further exploration in the study. Learners from three coeducational Western Cape Education Department schools were surveyed: 414 Grade 8 and 474 Grade 9 learners completed an anonymous, voluntary self-report questionnaire. Factors identified as most frequently interfering with their schoolwork included classmates not listening in class, feeling overwhelmed by schoolwork, teacher absenteeism, and verbal fighting. When asked specifically about bullying, 40% of learners indicated that they frequently experienced bullying at school-although they ranked it as much lower when compared to other potentially problematic school experiences. Furthermore, although the majority of learners indicated they thought teachers considered bullying a problem, few felt there was anything that school staff could do to counteract bullying effectively. These findings suggest that learners perceive bullying as an unavoidable part of school experience and have normalised this aggressive behaviour.

A look at the advanced learners' use of mobile devices for English language study: Insights from interview data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariusz Kruk

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the results of a study which explored advanced learners of English engagement with their mobile devices to develop learning experiences that meet their needs and goals as foreign language learners. The data were collected from 20 students by means of a semi-structured interview. The gathered data were subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. The results of the study demonstrated that, on the one hand, some subjects manifested heightened awareness relating to the advantageous role of mobile devices in their learning endeavors, their ability to reach for suitable tools and retrieve necessary information so as to achieve their goals, meet their needs and adjust their learning of English to their personal learning styles, and on the other, a rather intuitive and/or ad hoc use of their mobile devices in the classroom.

Towards Increased Engagement of Geoscientists in Global Development Frameworks

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Joel

2016-04-01

Geoscientists have the potential to make a significant contribution to tackling some of the major socio-environmental challenges of today, including extreme poverty, sustainable development, disaster risk reduction and climate change. This presentation explores the importance and social responsibility of geoscientists to engage in such work through understanding and supporting key global development frameworks. During 2015 the international community agreed three important agendas for change. Each framework relates to the intersection of environmental processes with human activities and behaviours, addressing significant challenges affecting society. The frameworks are (i) the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development, (ii) the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and (iii) subject to final confirmation at the time of writing, an agreement on climate change at the Paris Conference of the Parties - COP21. The UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development, for example, includes 17 goals aiming to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and ensure environmental sustainability. Specific goals relate to clean water and sanitation, clean and affordable energy, the development of resilient infrastructure, and the need for climate action. Given this context, here (i) a synthesis is presented of the role of geoscience in successfully achieving these major global development frameworks agreed in 2015, (ii) the ethical and social understanding that underpins effective engagement by geoscientists in the science-policy-practice interface is discussed, and (iii) this required ethical understanding is placed into the context of geoscience training and development needs. This approach demonstrates the importance of geoscientists from across all sectors and specialisms, engaging in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of global development frameworks. It highlights the importance of a greater awareness and consideration of our ethical responsibilities in

The data collection/data distribution center: building a sustainable African-American church-based research network.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldmon, Moses; Roberson, James T; Carey, Tim; Godley, Paul; Howard, Daniel L; Boyd, Carlton; Ammerman, Alice

2008-01-01

This article describes the Carolina-Shaw Partnership for the Elimination of Health Disparities efforts to engage a diverse group of Black churches in a sustainable network. We sought to develop a diverse network of 25 churches to work with the Carolina-Shaw Partnership to develop sustainable health disparities research, education, and intervention initiatives. Churches were selected based on location, pastoral buy-in, and capacity to engage. A purposive sampling technique was applied. (1) Collecting information on the location and characteristics of churches helps to identify and recruit churches that possess the desired qualities and characteristics. (2) The process used to identify, recruit, and select churches is time intensive. (3) The time, energy, and effort required managing an inter-institutional partnership and engage churches in health disparities research and interventions lends itself to sustainability. The development of a sustainable network of churches could lead to successful health disparities initiatives.

Love and enjoyment in context: Four case studies of adolescent EFL learners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liana Maria Pavelescu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This study explores the foreign language learning emotions of four EFL adolescent students in Romania and the ways in which their emotions emerge in their sociocultural context. Multiple qualitative methods were employed over a school semester, including a written task, semi-structured interviews with the learners and their teachers, lesson observations and English-related events outside the classroom. It was found that, while all four participants reported experiencing positive emotions in language learning, a distinction was identified in the intensity and stability of their emotions. Two participants expressed a strong and stable emotion of love towards English, while the other two participants experienced enjoyment in their English language learning without an intense emotional attachment to English. Unlike enjoyment, love was found to be the driving force in the learning process, creating effective coping mechanisms when there was a lack of enjoyment in certain classroom situations and motivating learners to invest greater effort into language learning in and out of the classroom. The findings thus revealed that, unlike enjoyment, love broadened cognition and maintained engagement in learning. The study emphasizes the role of strong, enduring positive emotions in teenage students’ language learning process.

How sustainable entrepreneurs engage in institutional change : insights from biomass torrefaction in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thompson, N.A.; Herrmann, A.M.; Hekkert, M.P.

2015-01-01

Sustainable entrepreneurship often requires a purposeful change to the existing business environment, market regulations, and societal norms and values (institutions) to ensure sustainable products and services become legitimate and competitive. Yet, how sustainable entrepreneurs alter or create

Economics, Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility

OpenAIRE

Tisdell, Clement A.

2008-01-01

It is often argued that corporate sustainability requires a corporation to make a profit, to act in a socially responsible manner and to engage in policies that are environmentally sustainable. This is sometimes called the corporation’s triple bottom line. In this paper it is argued that in practice profitability or more general maintaining economic variability constitutes a corporation’s bottom line and that it is limited by this consideration in showing social responsibility and in acting w...

Positive technology as a driver for health engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Graffigna, Guendalina; Barello, Serena; Wiederhold, Brenda K; Bosio, A Claudio; Riva, Giuseppe

2013-01-01

Despite the fact that older adults are healthier than in the past, the current trend of an ageing population implies an increased risk and severity of chronic diseases. Low-resource healthcare systems face increased organizational healthcare costs, which is likely to result in an allocation of limited health resources. Healthcare organizations themselves must deal with patients' increasing need for a more active role in all the steps of the care & cure process. Technological advances may play a crucial role in sustaining people's health management in daily life, but only if it is "ecologically" designed and well-attuned to people's health needs and expectations. Healthcare is more and more called to orient innovative research approaches that recognize the crucial role of a person's engagement in health and well-being. This will enable patients to reach a higher quality of life and achieve a general psychophysical well-being. Thus, positive technological innovation can sustain people's engagement in health and invoke community empowerment, as we shall discuss in this document.

Volume Home Building: The Provision of Sustainability Information for New Homebuyers

OpenAIRE

Georgia Warren-Myers; Erryn McRae

2017-01-01

The new residential housing sector is producing approximately 200,000 homes a year that could benefit from methods to increase sustainability and energy efficiency. Currently, there is limited implementation of sustainability measures beyond mandatory minimum requirements in Australia. New homebuyers are often the scapegoats for the poor sustainability adoption due to their perceived lack of interest and willingness to pay. However, their knowledge and engagement in sustainability is likely t...

Barriers and Pathways to Creating Sustainability Education Programs: Policy, Rhetoric and Reality

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Janet

2005-01-01

This article outlines an action-oriented research project regarding the University of British Columbia's engagement with sustainability. In 1997, the University of British Columbia (UBC) created a sustainability policy that suggests all UBC students should be educated about sustainability. Using data from a series of in-depth interviews the author…

Trusting early learners with critical professional activities through emergency medical technician certification.

Science.gov (United States)

Brenner, Judith; Bird, Jeffrey; Ginzburg, Samara B; Kwiatkowski, Thomas; Papasodero, Vincent; Rennie, William; Schlegel, Elisabeth; Ten Cate, Olle; Willey, Joanne M

2018-03-08

Two dominant themes face medical education: developing integrated curricula and improving the undergraduate medical education (UME) to graduate medical education (GME) transition. An innovative solution to both of these challenges at the Zucker School of Medicine has been the application of the cognitive apprenticeship framework in requiring emergency medical technician (EMT) certification during the first course in medical school as the core on which to build an integrated curriculum and provide entrustable clinical skills. Beginning with the Class of 2011, student feedback about the short-term impact of the experience was collected annually. In addition, perceptions of near graduates and alumni were surveyed in 2017 to explore the long-term impact of the experience. Theme analysis was conducted via inductive coding. Both first-year and more experienced learners report the value of the EMT curriculum as an integrated component of the first course of medical school. Reported positive long-term impacts included the first-hand observation of social determinants of health and interprofessionalism. Negative comments by early learners focused on course logistics, whereas older learners recalled the variability of clinical experiences during ambulance runs. The integration of the EMT curriculum as a core component of the first course serves multiple purposes: 1) it provides the foundation of a spiral learning approach; 2) it contextualizes the basic sciences within clinical practice; 3) it provides opportunities for students to engage in authentic clinical activities under the guidance of mentors; 4) it introduces students to the interdisciplinary nature of medicine; and 5) it serves as the first entrustable professional activity (EPA) for our students.

Engaging students and faculty: implications of self-determination theory for teachers and leaders in academic medicine

OpenAIRE

Lyness, Jeffrey M; Lurie, Stephen J; Ward, Denham S; Mooney, Christopher J; Lambert, David R

2013-01-01

Background Much of the work of teachers and leaders at academic health centers involves engaging learners and faculty members in shared goals. Strategies to do so, however, are seldom informed by empirically-supported theories of human motivation. Discussion This article summarizes a substantial body of motivational research that yields insights and approaches of importance to academic faculty leaders. After identification of key limitations of traditional rewards-based (i.e., incentives, or ...

Building work engagement: A systematic review and meta‐analysis investigating the effectiveness of work engagement interventions

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Malcolm; Dawson, Jeremy

2016-01-01

Summary Low work engagement may contribute towards decreased well‐being and work performance. Evaluating, boosting and sustaining work engagement are therefore of interest to many organisations. However, the evidence on which to base interventions has not yet been synthesised. A systematic review with meta‐analysis was conducted to assess the evidence for the effectiveness of work engagement interventions. A systematic literature search identified controlled workplace interventions employing a validated measure of work engagement. Most used the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Studies containing the relevant quantitative data underwent random‐effects meta‐analyses. Results were assessed for homogeneity, systematic sampling error, publication bias and quality. Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria and were categorised into four types of interventions: (i) personal resource building; (ii) job resource building; (iii) leadership training; and (iv) health promotion. The overall effect on work engagement was small, but positive, k = 14, Hedges g = 0.29, 95%‐CI = 0.12–0.46. Moderator analyses revealed a significant result for intervention style, with a medium to large effect for group interventions. Heterogeneity between the studies was high, and the success of implementation varied. More studies are needed, and researchers are encouraged to collaborate closely with organisations to design interventions appropriate to individual contexts and settings, and include evaluations of intervention implementation. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Organizational Behavior published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID:28781428

Individual competencies for managers engaged in corporate sustainable management practices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wesselink, R.; Blok, V.; Leur, van S.; Lans, T.; Dentoni, D.

2015-01-01

Corporations increasingly acknowledge the importance of sustainable practices. Corporate social responsibility is therefore gaining significance in the business world. Since solving corporate social responsibility issues is not a routine job, every challenge in corporate social responsibility

Autonomous Learner Model Resource Book

Science.gov (United States)

Betts, George T.; Carey, Robin J.; Kapushion, Blanche M.

2016-01-01

"Autonomous Learner Model Resource Book" includes activities and strategies to support the development of autonomous learners. More than 40 activities are included, all geared to the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical development of students. Teachers may use these activities and strategies with the entire class, small groups, or…

Approaches to Sustainable Development in Poland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kostrzewa, Karina; ); Piasecki, Ryszard

2009-01-01

The sustainable development principle was introduced into the legal system of Poland when the Constitution of the Polish Republic was adopted in 1997. Paradoxically, in Poland - one of the few countries in the world which have introduced the concept of sustainable development at the level of the Constitution, it is difficult to find a reference to it in the political debate. The national sustainable development strategy Poland 2025 has met no response among society and today it seems to be hardly remembered by anybody. An average citizen does not know the concept of sustainable development, or has a vague notion of it, often identifying it exclusively with environmental protection. Solving social problems (the labour market, education, health protection, equality of the sexes, etc.) is not associated with sustainable development whatsoever, and neither is engagement into achieving these development targets on the global scale

Developing a stakeholder engagement strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nixon, J.A.

2004-01-01

Shell Canada's social performance plan was outlined in this presentation. Stakeholder engagement is a key strategy in the company's response to the concerns and broader priorities of different groups and individuals affected by their operations. A review of the business and societal values of stakeholder engagement was presented. Key benefits include greater profitability; protection of the environment; effective resource management; community benefits; and the delivery of value to customers. It was suggested that a continuous engagement process helps companies to assess impacts and work on strategies to avoid and mitigate negative impacts. A framework for social performance management was presented. It was noted that accountability and transparency are key components of Shell's progress towards sustainable development, and their direct and indirect contributions to the communities and societies where they operate. The social impact of core business operations is now a focus of the company. Key concerns of the social performance plan include environmental and health impacts; land use and changes in local economies; cultural concerns; and infrastructure impacts. An outline of Shell's Listening and Responding Program was also provided. refs., tabs., figs

Sustaining organizational culture change in health systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Willis, Cameron David; Saul, Jessie; Bevan, Helen; Scheirer, Mary Ann; Best, Allan; Greenhalgh, Trisha; Mannion, Russell; Cornelissen, Evelyn; Howland, David; Jenkins, Emily; Bitz, Jennifer

2016-01-01

The questions addressed by this review are: first, what are the guiding principles underlying efforts to stimulate sustained cultural change; second, what are the mechanisms by which these principles operate; and, finally, what are the contextual factors that influence the likelihood of these principles being effective? The paper aims to discuss these issues. The authors conducted a literature review informed by rapid realist review methodology that examined how interventions interact with contexts and mechanisms to influence the sustainability of cultural change. Reference and expert panelists assisted in refining the research questions, systematically searching published and grey literature, and helping to identify interactions between interventions, mechanisms and contexts. Six guiding principles were identified: align vision and action; make incremental changes within a comprehensive transformation strategy; foster distributed leadership; promote staff engagement; create collaborative relationships; and continuously assess and learn from change. These principles interact with contextual elements such as local power distributions, pre-existing values and beliefs and readiness to engage. Mechanisms influencing how these principles sustain cultural change include activation of a shared sense of urgency and fostering flexible levels of engagement. The principles identified in this review, along with the contexts and mechanisms that influence their effectiveness, are useful domains for policy and practice leaders to explore when grappling with cultural change. These principles are sufficiently broad to allow local flexibilities in adoption and application. This is the first study to adopt a realist approach for understanding how changes in organizational culture may be sustained. Through doing so, this review highlights the broad principles by which organizational action may be organized within enabling contextual settings.

High school learners' mental construction during solving ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Structured activity sheets with three tasks were given to learners; these tasks were done in groups, and the group leaders were interviewed. It was found that learners tended to do well with routine-type questions, implying that they were functioning at an action level. From the interviews it appeared that learners might have ...

Exploring mechanisms for mobilising industrial sustainability models across different industrial locations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Ole Morten Noel Brings

2009-01-01

Industrial symbiosis is a model of sustainability which suggests that agglomerations of industries can achieve considerable environmental benefits by engaging in inter-organisational waste recycling, energy cascading and water recovery. This article considers how such a complex inter-organisation......Industrial symbiosis is a model of sustainability which suggests that agglomerations of industries can achieve considerable environmental benefits by engaging in inter-organisational waste recycling, energy cascading and water recovery. This article considers how such a complex inter...... symbiosis model may in this way be mobilised across industrial localities as part of the global corporate search for marked access and cost reductions. This suggestion is supported by an illustrative case study shedding some light on the mechanisms for mobilising sustainability models across localities....

Chemistry education for sustainability: Assessing the chemistry curricula at Cardiff University

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lozano, R.; Watson, M.K.

2013-01-01

As more universities become interested in, and engaged with, sustainability, there has been a growing need to assess how their curricula addresses sustainable development and its myriad issues. Different tools and assessment exercises have looked at course descriptors. This paper presents the

Strategies to improve the performance of learners in a nursing college. Part I: Issues pertaining to nursing education.

Science.gov (United States)

Waterson, E; Harms, E; Qupe, L; Maritz, J; Manning, M; Makobe, K; Chabeli, M

2006-05-01

The aim of this contextual, exploratory, descriptive and qualitative study was to describe strategies to improve the performance of learners in a nursing college. The article seeks to deal with factors relating to nursing education that contribute to the poor performance of learners and to outline related strategies to improve the situation. Three focus group interviews were conducted. One group was formed by seven tutors, and the other two groups were formed by fourth-year learners following a four-year comprehensive diploma course. All participants voluntarily took part in the study. Data was analyzed using the descriptive method of open coding by Tesch (in Creswell, 1994:154-156). Trustworthiness was ensured in accordance with Lincoln and Guba's (1985:290-326) principles of credibility, conformability, transferability and dependability. The findings were categorized into issues pertaining to nursing education as follows: curriculum overload; lack of theory and practice integration; teaching and assessment methods that do not promote critical thinking; tutors' lack of skills and experience; inadequate preparation of tutors for lectures; insufficient knowledge of tutors regarding outcomes-based education approach to teaching and learning; inadequate process of remedial teaching; discrepancies between tutors' marking; lack of clinical role-models and high expectations from the affiliated university as regards standards of nursing development programme by the staff development committee of the nursing college under study for implementation. Future research should focus on the effectiveness of the described strategies to improve the learners' performance. It is also recommended that similar studies be conducted or replicated in other nursing colleges to address the problem of poor performance of learners engaged in a four-year comprehensive diploma course.

An Analysis of Lexical Errors of Korean Language Learners: Some American College Learners' Case

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Manjin

2014-01-01

There has been a huge amount of research on errors of language learners. However, most of them have focused on syntactic errors and those about lexical errors are not found easily despite the importance of lexical learning for the language learners. The case is even rarer for Korean language. In line with this background, this study was designed…

Teachers’ dialogue in a learner centered professional development initiative In a us urban high school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leticia Alvarez Gutiérrez

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Using paradigms emerging from Learner Centered Professional Development (LCPD, dialogic education and Transformative Pedagogical Practices (TPPs, this research study examined pedagogies that ignited a revitalization of shared values as a community of learners, challenged assumptions about learning while invigorating professional identities and cultivating possibilities for transforming praxis of a group of female teachers and female administrators in an urban high school. The LCPD initiative engaged teachers (13 and administrators (3 in dialogue, self-examination, and reflection, while also chipping away dearth perceptions of Latina/o student as learners and nourish possibilities for their successes. The data for this study is part of a larger corpus of data exploring teacher professional development initiatives in a large urban city in the southwestern region of Texas. Narrative analysis was the methodological tool used to code and analyze the data. The authors highlight the pedagogies that served to renew teachers and administrators’ sense of community, professional identities and modifications of teachers’ attitudes and pedagogies regarding themselves and Latina/o students. Our research findings underscore the urgency of educational reform to include on-going LCPD in order to transform and encourage professional enrichment, teacher agency and revive pedagogies that support all students’ academic and social successes.

Creating sustainable empowering learning environments through ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... as these impede optimal learning especially among rural and immigrant communities in South Africa, Canada and the world over. The primary focus of all papers herein therefore is on the creation of sustainable empowering learning environments through engaged scholarship spearheaded by the university.

The Sustainable Development Goals: An Experience on Higher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bárbara Crespo

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Sustainable development is acquiring high attendance in higher education. In fact, one of the targets for the Sustainable Development Goals announced by the United Nations in September 2015 aims to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, thorough education on sustainable development. The current study focuses on the evaluation of individual works based on the sustainable development suggested to students in a subject of the Master’s of Thermal Engineering at the University of Vigo. In addition, a sustainable holistic rubric is presented, which was used to analyze the ability of the students to incorporate sustainability principles in their work. The rubric was based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the associated targets of the United Nations, more specifically on the Goals 7, 8, 12, and 13. A total of 10 works were evaluated. As a general conclusion, it was found that the students generally do not consider or consider to a lower extent the economic criteria opposite to the environmental, technical, and social dimensions. The environmental sub-criterion were applied to a greater extent in the development of the works. However, the technical and social dimensions were included to a greater or lesser extent depending on the type of work developed.

Technologies for learner-centered feedback

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jane Costello

2013-09-01

Full Text Available As the number, type, and use of technologies to support learning increases, so do the opportunities for using these technologies for feedback. Learner-centered feedback is a core to the teaching-learning process. It is related to assessment in describing how learners perform in their learning, their gain in knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Feedback, types of feedback, guidelines for effective learner-centered feedback, and feedback’s relationship to assessment are presented. Methods of providing feedback, for example, automated, audio scribe pens, digital audio, etc., and the related technologies are described. Technologies that allow instructors to make informed decisions about the use of various methods for feedback are discussed.

Livestock Husbandry and Economic-Sustainability of Small Farmers ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management ... their engagement in different operations of livestock husbandry for economic sustainability. ... husbandry for barn and cleaning while men performed 71.5% marketing activities.

Marshaling Resources: A Classic Grounded Theory Study of Online Learners

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Barbara Yalof

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Classic grounded theory (CGT was used to identify a main concern of online students in higher education. One of the main impediments to studying online is a sense of isolation and lack of access to support systems as students navigate through complex requirements of their online programs. Hypothetical probability statements illustrate the imbalance between heightened needs of virtual learners and perceived inadequate support provided by educational institutions. The core variable, marshaling resources, explains how peer supports sustain motivation toward successful program completion. Understanding the critical contribution virtual interpersonal networks make towards maximizing resources by group problem solving is a significant aspect of this theory. Keywords: Online learning, e-learning, personal learning networks, peer networks

Learners, teachers and curriculum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Karen Bjerg

2008-01-01

of virtual e-learning, interviews with teachers and 10 learner participants in a virtual classroom setting, and discourse analysis of curriculum developed for the particular e-learning course The research has taken place in the context of a study of e-learning and virtual teaching of Danish as a Second...... language for adults. The research results indicate that teachers seem to compensate by trying to create virtual communities of learning. Learners, however, experience disembedded relations. Conversely, curriculum development, on tends to ‘exploit’ the conditions of disembedding social relations in e-learning......, locationally distant”. The aim of the paper is to analyse and discuss how different positions in e-learning settings result in different answers to modernity. These settings can be applied to either teacher, learner or curriculum positions. The research was based on a qualitative longitudinal case study...

Impacts of Mobile Learning in Motivation, Engagement and Achievement of Learners

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Selcan Kilis

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The integration of mobile technology into the education is widely proliferated in recent years due to portability, convenience, independence of time, location, flexibility, and so on. However, there are some conflicts among educators, teachers and students with regards to the implications of mobile technology in educational settings. Main challenges are related with hardware limitations such as small screen size, low resolution, etc. technical problems, motivation, engagement and achievement of students and so on. Literature was reviewed in this frame. This study is investigated to both profits and drawbacks of mobile technology and critical points in this consideration. Previous studies declared that there are some critical issues related with these factors and should be taken into consideration for intended integration of mobile technology successfully and effectively into educational settings

Language Learner Strategies for Building EFL Learners’ Autonomy

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Hooshang Khoshsima

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The critical discussions and matters in enhancing students’ learning performance, knowledge, and language proficiency have received a remarkable degree of attention in educational contexts. This study was undertaken to encourage learners to build the required competence in the foreign language by utilizing learning strategies so that they could become autonomous learners. Language learners' learning difficulties while learning a foreign language were identified in this study. With regard to problems which language learners faced in learning a foreign language, the teachers are able to recognize and to utilize appropriate language learning strategies in order to develop autonomy in learners who conceptualize and use those strategies in the foreign language. The research design adopted for the present study was survey method. The data for the study were collected with the use of a questionnaire. This questionnaire was administered to a total of 60 EFL learners who were selected from a university in Iran. It was used to assess learners’ awareness and perceived use of strategies and to provide data on their best utilized strategies. Results have been driven through statistical analysis. The analyzed data reveal the students’ styles and assist teachers to take part in shifting the strategies and heighten language learners' autonomy. The findings support the claim that knowing and making language learners aware of the most appropriate strategy would assist learners to improve their autonomy and to enhance their learning.

Artificial learners adopting normative conventions from human teachers

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Cederborg Thomas

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This survey provides an overview of implemented systems, theoretical work, as well as studies of biological systems relevant to the design of artificial learners trying to figure out what a human teacher would like them to do. Implementations of artificial learners are covered, with a focus on experiments trying to find better interpretations of human behavior, as well as algorithms that autonomously improve a model of the teacher. A distinction is made between learners trying to interpret teacher behavior in order to learn what the teacher would like the learner to do on the one hand, and learners whose explicit or implicit goal is to get something from the teacher on the other hand (for example rewards, or knowledge about how the world works. The survey covers the former type of systems. Human teachers are covered, focusing on studies that say something concrete about how one should interpret the behavior of a human teacher that is interacting with an artificial learner. Certain types of biological learners are interesting as inspiration for the types of artificial systems we are concerned with. The survey focus on studies of biological learners adopting normative conventions, as well as joint intentionality team efforts.

Engaging Undergraduate Students in Space Weather Research at a 2- Year College

Science.gov (United States)

Damas, M. C.

2017-07-01

The Queensborough Community College (QCC) of the City University of New York (CUNY), a Hispanic and minority-serving institution, has been very successful at engaging undergraduate students in space weather research for the past ten years. Recently, it received two awards to support student research and education in solar and atmospheric physics under the umbrella discipline of space weather. Through these awards, students receive stipends during the academic year and summer to engage in scientific research. Students also have the opportunity to complete a summer internship at NASA and at other partner institutions. Funding also supports the development of course materials and tools in space weather. Educational materials development and the challenges of engaging students in research as early as their first year will be discussed. Once funding is over, how is the program sustained? Sustaining such a program, as well as how to implement it at other universities will also be discussed.

Learner Motivation and Interest

OpenAIRE

Daskalovska, Nina; Gudeva, Liljana Koleva; Ivanovska, Biljana

2012-01-01

There are a lot of factors which influence success in learning. However, one of the most important factors is the learner’s motivation to reach the desired goals. Research and experience show that learners with strong motivation can achieve a lot regardless of circumstances. Studies of motivation in second language learning have led to several distinctions, one of which is the distinction between integrative and instrumental motivation. According to this distinction, some learners are motivat...

Reducing the distance: providing challenging and engaging online postgraduate education in pain management.

Science.gov (United States)

Devonshire, Elizabeth; Henderson, Sarah E

2012-05-01

1. Health professionals need access to flexible, high-quality, advanced education in pain management. 2. There are multiple pedagogical distances to be negotiated in the delivery of effective postgraduate education. 3. A critical consideration in the design and delivery of effective online learning for postgraduate education in pain management is how to: actively engage students in the learning process; and encourage students to become lifelong learners. 4. Conceptual frameworks for encouraging student interaction online provide a useful tool in the design of postgraduate online learning activities.

Tweetalige aanleerderswoordeboek . bilingual learner's dictionary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Correct pronunciation is not guaranteed, because only syllabification and the main stress are indicated in words. Grammatical guidance is also not given to such an extent that learners will be able to generate correct sentences on their own. The role that contrastive analysis and error analysis can play to anticipate learners' ...

Fostering Sustainable Travel Behavior: Role of Sustainability Labels and Goal-Directed Behavior Regarding Touristic Services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elfriede Penz

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Individuals around the globe engage in sustainable consumption in their everyday life, e.g., when it comes to individual transportation. Although tourism behavior contributes to global carbon emissions to a considerable extent, consumers’ awareness of sustainability in the tourism industry is still underresearched. Placing eco-labels next to tourist offers on websites might direct consumer’s perception towards more sustainable offers. By employing eye-tracking techniques and surveys, this research aimed at linking information about sustainable tourist offers, perception of eco-labels and subsequent perception and preferences of tourism services. In Study 1, eight existing hotel offers with sustainability certification (four different labels were selected and their websites presented to 48 participants (four websites each, whose eye movements were tracked. After looking at each website, they rated the overall appearance of the website. Based on the results, in the second study, participants’ (n = 642 awareness of labels, their values and attitudes regarding sustainable behavior were found to influence their preference for certified tour operators. In addition, individuals’ ideas of their perfect holidays were captured to allow a better understanding of their motivation. This research proposes implementing appropriate sustainable labeling in the tourism industry to increase awareness about sustainability among travelers and subsequently increase sustainable travel behavior.

Learner Beliefs about Sociolinguistic Competence: A Qualitative Case Study of Four University Second Language Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jinsuk; Rehner, Katherine

2015-01-01

This article explores the beliefs about second language (L2) sociolinguistic competence of four university-level advanced L2 learners. It places particular emphasis on 1) how these university learners conceptualized L2 sociolinguistic competence; 2) how they thought about two different language learning contexts (viz., the L2 classroom versus…

High risk of suicide among highschool learners in uMgungundlovu District KwaZuluNatal Province South Africa

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N Khuzwayo

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Background. Worldwide, suicide affects the most vulnerable populations, including adolescents and young adults. It is estimated that suicide will contribute more than 2% to the global burden of disease by 2020. Information about the prevalence of suicidal behaviour and the sociodemographic characteristics and risk factors associated with suicide in the South African (SA rural context is important for local and national policy and contributes to global understanding of the phenomenon.Objective. To investigate key demographic factors and behaviours associated with planning and attempting suicide among high-school learners.Methods. In a cross-sectional study, we used stratified random sampling to select 16 schools in uMgungundlovu District, KwaZulu-Natal Province, SA. All grade 10 learners (N=1 759 at these schools completed a self-administered questionnaire (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. Data analysis was carried out with Stata 13 statistical software using generalised estimating equations.Results. In total, 222 learners (12.6% of the 1 759 had made plans to attempt suicide during the previous 12 months, 261 (14.8% had actually attempted suicide, and 218 attempts had resulted in the learner being treated by a doctor or nurse (12.4%. The risk of planning suicide increased with age. For male learners, being threatened with a weapon on school property (adjusted odds ratio (AOR 3.7, 95% confidence interval (CI 1.9 - 7.1; p<0.01 or bullied through Facebook or WhatsApp (AOR 3.1, 95% CI 1.5 - 7.1; p<0.01 significantly increased the likelihood of making a suicide attempt that resulted in treatment by a doctor or nurse. For female learners, engaging in risk behaviours increased this likelihood, risk factors including being physically hurt by someone they were dating (1 - 3 times AOR 3.3, 95% CI 1.9 - 5.7; p<0.01, ≥4 times AOR 10.0, 95% CI 2.5 - 40.2 (p<0.01 and number of drinks consumed

Outcomes-Based Funding and Stakeholder Engagement. Lumina Issue Papers

Science.gov (United States)

Kadlec, Alison; Shelton, Susan

2015-01-01

This paper examines the key aspects of stakeholder engagement that can strengthen the design, implementation and sustainability of outcomes-based funding policies. We seek to help policymakers understand the prevailing starting-point attitudes of institutional stakeholders, primarily college and university administrators, faculty and staff, and…

Civic Engagement and Social Media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The recent wave of protests, from the Arab Spring to the Occupy movement and austerity protests, have reinvigorated hopes for the democratic potential of the Internet, and particularly social media. With their popular appeal and multimodal affordances social media such as YouTube, Twitter...... and Facebook have generated both media and scholarly interest in their possibilities for granting visibility to and facilitating the organization of activism. However, the role of social media in sustaining civic engagement beyond protest and fatalism remains under-explored. How can social media contribute...... to sustaining longer-term involvement of civil society? What is the potential of social media for making available alternative social imaginaries? And what role may social media play in facilitating social change through cooperation with business? This volume offers answers to these questions by providing...

MOOC Learners’ Engagement with Two Variants of Virtual Patients: A Randomised Trial

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Natalia Stathakarou

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs are an increasingly popular form of education in health professional education. VPs have been introduced in MOOCs to increase interactivity. There is a lack of research in understanding the reasons behind high dropout rates in MOOCs. We explored how learners interact with VPs and compared the significance of different VP designs on dropout rates. Methods: RCT of 378 participants split into two groups to interact with two VPs using different design: branching and linear. Data on node progression and VP attempts was analysed using descriptive and quantitative analysis. Results: Eight groups of learner interaction patterns were identified. The majority of learners completed the VP in a linear path in one attempt. A significant number either completed the case in a loop path in one attempt, completed in a linear path in multiple attempts or dropped out without attempting the case. VP design has a significant effect on dropout rates of learners. There is a higher dropout rate from a branched VP compared to linear VP. Discussion: Prior research showed that branched VPs are more engaging and promote greater learning compared to linear VPs. However, our results indicate that branched VPs had greater dropout compared to VPs that require less time to be solved. Conclusions: We conclude that branching had a negative effect on completion of the VP activity in the MOOC. Moreover, we believe that more complex VPs require more effort on task and this might not be a design that facilitates the interaction in a MOOC audience, where the participants might wish to acquire the basic medical knowledge offered by the course.

Facility for sustained positive affect as an individual difference characteristic

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Nicola S. Schutte

2015-12-01

Full Text Available A series of studies investigated a proposed new individual difference characteristic or trait, facility for sustained positive affect, consisting of tendencies that allow individuals to maintain a high level of positive mood. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses resulted in the creation of a measure, the self-congruent and new activities (SANA scale which identified two core aspects of sustainable positive affect, engaging in self-congruent activities and engaging in new activities. A higher level of facility for sustainable affect, as operationalized by the SANA scale, was associated with maintenance of positive mood for a month, fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, less negative affect, and more life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, work satisfaction, mindfulness, personal expansion and growth, and emotional intelligence. The results provided initial evidence that facility to maintain positive affect may be an emotion-related individual difference characteristic.

Technologies for Learner-Centered Feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Costello, Jane; Crane, Daph

2013-01-01

As the number, type, and use of technologies to support learning increases, so do the opportunities for using these technologies for feedback. Learner-centered feedback is a core to the teaching-learning process. It is related to assessment in describing how learners perform in their learning, their gain in knowledge, skills, and attitudes.…

Learner-Centred Teaching Contributes in Promising Results in Improving Learner Understanding and Motivation: A Case Study at Malaysia Tertiary Education

Science.gov (United States)

Yap, Wei-Li; Neo, Mai; Neo, Tse-Kian

2016-01-01

In Malaysia, traditional teaching is still a common approach among many lecturers. There have been many studies that have reported its limitations and many lecturers have started to adopt a more learner-centred teaching approach to promote better learner understanding and learner motivation. Throughout this effort, it is noticed there are…

Category-bound rights and obligations of young EFL learners in Denmark: The case of (extreme) differentiation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

aus der Wieschen, Maria Vanessa

2018-01-01

This study investigates if and how primary school teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) to young learners in Denmark interact in everyday classroom interaction with students who - according to a receptive vocabulary test - differ vastly in their English skills. Using Conversation Analysis......, the study looks at how students present themselves in terms of claimed and demonstrated proficiency, epistemic displays, and willingness to participate, and at teachers’ methods to engage in interactions with these children, for example when they select them as next speakers. The analysis focuses on how...

Minecraft in support of teaching sustainable spatial planning in secondary education lessons learned from the Marker Wadden-project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Opmeer, M.; Dias, E.; De Vogel, B.; Tangerman, L.; Scholten, H. J.

2018-01-01

In this article, we have assessed the educational affordances of Minecraft to teach school children about sustainable spatial planning. Specifically, we carefully examined the expectations and experiences of the learners and the teachers of this digital game as an educational tool for spatial

HIV and AIDS knowledge and sexual behaviours amongst secondary school learners in Harare, Zimbabwe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margaret Mlingo

2012-07-01

Most learners had obtained their HIV and AIDS knowledge from schools, but some did so from their parents, community activities, the radio or television. No learner had commenced with sexual activities and all had heard about HIV, but not all knew what HIV was, and even fewer could define AIDS. Less than one-third of the learners could mention the three most important HIV preventive measures. Most learners were willing to undergo voluntary counselling and testing (VCT, but few had done so. As no learner had commenced sexual activities, opportunities existed to empower Grade 8 (Form 1 learners with adequate HIV and AIDS knowledge. Generally the learners’ HIV and AIDS knowledge levels were high but some misconceptions existed. Schools should engage with radio and television programmes to address misconceptions about HIV and AIDS. Learners should be enabled to access VCT services. More effective HIV prevention education in Zimbabwe’s schools, could enable more youth to remain HIV negative. Opsomming Pogings om die Menslike Immuniteitsgebrekvirus (MIV en Verworwe immuniteits-gebreksindroom (VIGS pandemiese golf in Afrika te stuit, beklemtoon die noodsaaklikheid dat leerders ingeligte besluite moet kan neem. Alhoewel leerders in Zimbabwe se skole onderrig word oor MIV en VIGS, behoort die omvang van die kennis vasgestel te word. Die hoofdoelwit was om sekondêre skool leerders van Harare, Zimbabwe, se MIV en VIGS kennis te bepaal. Gestruktureerde onderhoude is gevoer met 75 Graad 8 (Vorm 1 sekondêre skool leerders van vier skole in Harare. Die meeste leerders het hulle MIV and VIGS kennis by skole opgedoen terwyl ‘n paar dit van hulle ouers, gemeenskapsaktiwiteite, die radio en televisie gekry het. Geen leerders het met seksuele aktiwiteite begin nie, almal het van MIV gehoor, maar nie almal het geweet wat MIV is nie, en nog minder kon VIGS definieer. Minder as een-derde kon die drie belangrikste MIV voorkomende maatreëls noem. Die meeste leerders was gewillig om

Learner Agency within the Design of an EAP Course

Science.gov (United States)

Seppälä, Riina

2015-01-01

To meet the demands of today's society and working life, higher education should support the development of learner agency. How the agency of individual learners emerges in university courses and what kind of agency empowers the learners to face new challenges should be considered. In this article, the focus is on learner agency enabled and…

Experiences of learners from informal settlements

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Erna Kinsey

problem is further compounded if educators are not trained to work with learners from ... to locate problems that emerge with the learners themselves rather than within the system ..... "Black students' school success: coping with the burden of ...

An Integrated Sustainable Business and Development System: Thoughts and Opinions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel J. C. Chen

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Companies understand the importance of monitoring and managing their environmental impacts and aim to integrate, with consistent quality control, effective reduce-reuse-recycle programs and risk preventions. By building an integrated sustainable business and development system to meet certain environmental standards, many companies are eligible to be “green” certified. Companies may consider recognizing global visions on sustainability while implementing local best practices. An integrated sustainable business and development system includes talent management, sustainable supply chain, practicing strategies of leveraging resources effectively, implementing social responsibilities, initiating innovative programs of recycling, reducing, and reusing, advancing leaders’ perceptions towards sustainability, reducing innovation barriers, and engaging sustainable practices strategically.

Profiling Mobile English Language Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Byrne, Jason; Diem, Robert

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to use an app-embedded survey to profile language learner demographics. A total of 3,759 EFL language learners from primarily eight L1 backgrounds (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Thai) responded to the survey embedded within a popular English grammar app. This app has over 500,000…

Sustainable Procurement in the United Nations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund-Thomsen, Peter; Costa, Nives

2011-01-01

are highly contested among UN procurement officers and member states. However, so far the debate has mostly been based on assumptions about how the implementation of SP might affect developing country stakeholders. In fact, very few academic studies have been made of the economic, social and environmental......This paper deals with the integration of economic, social and environmental criteria into the purchasing practices of the United Nations (UN) system--also known as the UN engagement in sustainable procurement (SP). We argue that the debates about the pros and cons of the UN engaging in SP...

Selected Screen for Engaging Students in Projectile Motion

Science.gov (United States)

Dramae, A.; Toedtanya, K.; Wuttiprom, S.

2017-09-01

Connecting physics concepts to activities that are interesting to students or what they encounter in everyday life will help students build a strong foundation. When there is an interesting activity for the student, it will result in the student responding, engaging, and enthusiasm in learning. Learning activities that are based on what students are interested in and regularly experience will enable students to understand the long and memorable experience. Both of these will enhance the student’s learning experience. One of the activities that can be described in this research used the learning activity through movies, which is the application of the basic motion projectile for students to understand the characteristics of such movement. It also aims to further develop critical thinking skills of learners.

Situation of the sustainable mobility plans in Spain

OpenAIRE

Diez, Jose Maria; Gonzalo Orden, Hernán; Velasco, Lara; López Lambas, María Eugenia

2013-01-01

Ponencia presentada en: Participación ciudadana activa para la Planificación de la Movilidad Urbana Sostenible (PMUS) : Engaging in a dynamic dialogue for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP). Summer University 2013

Turning university professors into competent learners

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stefanova, Eliza; Ilieva, Miroslava; Nikolova, Nikolina; Stefanov, Krassen

2008-01-01

Stefanova, E., Ilieva, M., Nikolova, N, & Stefanov, K. (2008). Turning university professors into competent learners. In H. W. Sligte & R. Koper (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th TENCompetence Open Workshop. Empowering Learners for Lifelong Competence Development: pedagogical, organisational and

Supporting and mentoring mature learners : a 'train-the-trainer' programme for facilitators of ICT learning for older adults

OpenAIRE

Formosa, Marvin

2015-01-01

Mature learning refers to the process in which adults aged in the (circa) 50 - 75 age bracket, individually and in association with others, engage in direct encounter and then purposefully reflect upon, validate, transform, give personal meaning to and seek to integrate their ways of knowing. The handbook draws on practical experience, from planning and running events, to suggest ways to teach and train mature learners. It serves as a resource book to guide new projects that address the life ...

Towards a Community-led Agenda for Urban Sustainability Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eames, Malcolm; Mortensen, Jonas Egmose; Adebowale, Maria

This report describes the findings from the Citizens Science for Sustainability (SuScit) Project. The report provides an overview of the innovative ‘bottom-up' public engagement and foresight process developed through the SuScit Project, before setting out a ten point agenda for urban...... sustainability research developed through our work with the local community in the Mildmay area of Islington, North London....

How to engage end-users in smart energy behaviour?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valkering Pieter

2014-01-01

Full Text Available End users will play a crucial role in up-coming smart grids that aim to link end-users and energy providers in a better balanced and more efficient electricity system. Within this context, this paper aims to deliver a coherent view on current good practice in end-user engagement in smart grid projects. It draws from a recent review of theoretical insights from sustainable consumption behaviour, social marketing and innovation systems and empirical insights from recent smart grid projects to create an inventory of common motivators, enablers and barriers of behavioural change, and the end-user engagement principles that can be derived from that. We conclude with identifying current research challenges as input for a research agenda on end-user engagement in smart grids.

Learning with peers, active citizenship and student engagement in Enabling Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nick Zepke

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This paper examines one specific question:  What support do students in Enabling Education need to learn the behaviours, knowledge and attitudes required to succeed in tertiary education, employment and life? Success appears in many guises. It can mean achieving officially desired outcomes such as retention, completion and employment. It can also mean achieving less measurable outcomes such as deep learning, wellbeing and active citizenship. The paper first introduces an overarching success framework before exploring how the widely used student engagement pedagogy can support learners to achieve both official and personal success outcomes. It then develops two specific constructs applicable to Enabling Education as found in student engagement: facilitated peer learning and active citizenship. Peer learning is here connected to tutor supported but peer facilitated mentoring; active citizenship to educational experiences in classrooms, institutions and workplaces that support flexibility, resilience, openness to change and diversity. The paper includes examples of how facilitated peer learning and active citizenship can build success in practice.

Kenyan women adult literacy learners: why their motivation is difficult to sustain.

Science.gov (United States)

Mwiria, K

1993-05-01

Kenya, like other Third World countries, has illiteracy rates for women which are twice those of men (in 1978, 35% of males and 70% of females aged 15 and above were illiterate). Since the beginning of the country's literacy campaign in 1979, women have comprised more than 70% of attendees. While this situation remains the case, the overall enrolment figures for the program have shown a gradual decline from 1979 to 1990 due to a lack of emphasis on individual motivation. Women dominate the literacy programs for several reasons: 1) women historically had less access to formal education than men; 2) the changing economy has forced women to assume extra responsibilities outside the home which make the women want to acquire formal skills; 3) women's schedules are often flexible enough to allow them to attend classes; 4) literacy classes provide women with needed socialization opportunities; and 5) in some communities cultural norms prevent men from attending classes with women. Women also have many obstacles which make their desire to become adult learners difficult to sustain. They have responsibilities which range from child-bearing to management of their family farms which leave them little time for study or class attendance. There is also little encouragement offered the women either at home or in their classes. At home they are confronted with a myriad of demands on their time. Their classes take place in conditions which are not very conducive to learning (classrooms designed for children or open air centers). The literacy teachers are, for the most part, unqualified. They must meet only minimal requirements and receive no training. The women also have less opportunities to practice their new skills outside of the classroom. Women have less time then men to read, and they are less fluent then men in English and Kiswahili, the 2 official languages of Kenya. Because Kenyan society is male-dominated, there is little encouragement given to women who attempt to

Whose voice matters? LEARNERS | Bansilal | South African Journal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

International and national mathematics studies have revealed the poor mathematics skills of South African learners. An essential tool that can be used to improve learners' mathematical skills is for educators to use effective feedback. Our purpose in this study was to elicit learners' understanding and expectations of teacher ...

The Engagement Continuum Model Using Corporate Social Responsibility as an Intervention for Sustained Employee Engagement: Research Leading Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Valentin, Marie Anttonitte; Valentin, Celestino C.; Nafukho, Fredrick Muyia

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore implications of motivational potential that are highly correlated to the self-determination theory (SDT) (intrinsic motivating factors), in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR). This paper specifies key antecedents of engagement within the theoretical framework of the self-determination…

Learners' experiences of learning support in selected Western Cape schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olaniyi Bojuwoye

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The study explored Western Cape primary and secondary school learners' experiences regarding the provision and utilization of support services for improving learning. A qualitative interpretive approach was adopted and data gathered through focus group interviews involving 90 learners. Results revealed that learners received and utilized various forms of learning support from their schools, teachers, and peers. The learning support assisted in meeting learners' academic, social and emotional needs by addressing barriers to learning, creating conducive learning environments, enhancing learners' self-esteem and improving learners' academic performance.

Meaningful work, work engagement and organisational commitment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madelyn Geldenhuys

2014-03-01

Research purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships amongst psychological meaningfulness, work engagement and organisational commitment and to test for a possible mediation effect of work engagement on the relationship between psychological meaningfulness and organisational commitment. Motivation for the study: Managers have to rethink ways of improving productivity and performance at work, due to the diverse, and in some instances escalating, needs of employees (e.g. financial support to uphold their interest in and enjoyment of working. Research approach, design and method: A quantitative approach was employed to gather the data for the study, utilising a cross-sectional survey design. The sample (n = 415 consisted of working employees from various companies and positions in Gauteng, South Africa. Main findings: The results confirmed a positive relationship between psychological meaningfulness, work engagement and organisational commitment. Further, psychological meaningfulness predicts work engagement, whilst psychological meaningfulness and work engagement predict organisational commitment. Practical/managerial implications: Employers identifying their employees’ commitment patterns and mapping out strategies for enhancing those that are relevant to organisational goals will yield positive work outcomes (e.g. employees who are creative, seek growth or challenges for themselves. Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the literature through highlighting the impact that meaningful work has on sustaining employee commitment to the organisation.

Advancing Learner Autonomy in TEFL via Collaborative Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, George M.; Shan, Tan Hui

2015-01-01

The present paper begins by situating learner autonomy and collaborative learning as part of a larger paradigm shift towards student-centred learning. Next are brief discussions of learner autonomy and how learner autonomy links with collaborative learning. In the main part of the paper, four central principles of collaborative learning are…

The Effect of Flipped Model of Instruction on EFL Learners' Reading Comprehension: Learners' Attitudes in Focus

Science.gov (United States)

Karimi, Mehrnoosh; Hamzavi, Raouf

2017-01-01

The present study aimed at investigating the effect of flipped model of instruction on EFL learners' reading comprehension ability. Moreover, this study aimed at identifying EFL students' attitudes toward flipped model of instruction. To this end, 60 EFL learners studying at an accredited private language institute in Isfahan were first…

Plants, Pollution and Public Engagement with Atmospheric Chemistry: Sharing the TEMPO Story Through Ozone Garden Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Reilly, L. G.; Pippin, M. R.; Malick, E.; Summers, D.; Dussault, M. E.; Wright, E. A.; Skelly, J.

2016-12-01

What do a snap-bean plant and a future NASA satellite instrument named TEMPO have in common? They are both indicators of the quality of the air we breathe. Scientists, educators, and museum and student collaborators of the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring Pollution (TEMPO) instrument team are developing a program model to engage learners of all ages via public ozone garden exhibits and associated activities. TEMPO, an ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy instrument due for launch on a geostationary host satellite between 2019 and 2021, will scan North America hourly to measure the major elements in the tropospheric ozone chemistry cycle, providing near real-time data with high temporal and spatial resolution. The TEMPO mission provides a unique opportunity to share the story of the effects of air quality on living organisms. A public ozone garden exhibit affords an accessible way to understand atmospheric science through a connection with nature, while providing a visual representation of the impact of ozone pollution on living organisms. A prototype ozone garden exhibit was established at the Virginia Living Museum in partnership with NASA Langley, and has served as a site to formatively evaluate garden planting and exhibit display protocols, hands-on interpretive activities, and citizen science data collection protocols for learners as young as 3 to 10 as well as older adults. The fun and engaging activities, optimized for adult-child interaction in informal or free-choice learning environments, are aimed at developing foundational science skills such as observing, comparing, classifying, and collecting and making sense of data in the context of thinking about air quality - all NGSS-emphasized scientific practices, as well as key capabilities for future contributing members of the citizen science community. As the launch of TEMPO approaches, a major public engagement effort will include disseminating this ozone garden exhibit and program model to a network of

Information Systems Solutions for Environmental Sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gholami, Roya; Watson, Richard T.; Hasan, Helen

2016-01-01

We contend that too few information systems (IS) academics engage in impactful research that offers solutions to global warming despite the fact that climate change is one of the most critical challenges facing this generation. Climate change is a major threat to global sustainability in the 21st...... themselves in creating solutions for environmental problems. Moreover, information is a perquisite for assessing the state of the environment and making appropriate decisions to ameliorate identified problems. Indeed, the IS scholarly community needs to help create a sustainable society. While...

Developing a stakeholder engagement strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nixon, J.A. [Shell Canada Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada)

2004-07-01

Shell Canada's social performance plan was outlined in this presentation. Stakeholder engagement is a key strategy in the company's response to the concerns and broader priorities of different groups and individuals affected by their operations. A review of the business and societal values of stakeholder engagement was presented. Key benefits include greater profitability; protection of the environment; effective resource management; community benefits; and the delivery of value to customers. It was suggested that a continuous engagement process helps companies to assess impacts and work on strategies to avoid and mitigate negative impacts. A framework for social performance management was presented. It was noted that accountability and transparency are key components of Shell's progress towards sustainable development, and their direct and indirect contributions to the communities and societies where they operate. The social impact of core business operations is now a focus of the company. Key concerns of the social performance plan include environmental and health impacts; land use and changes in local economies; cultural concerns; and infrastructure impacts. An outline of Shell's Listening and Responding Program was also provided. refs., tabs., figs.

Sustainability Assessment and Reporting in Agriculture Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edward Kassem

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Sustainability assessment is a mainstream business activity that demonstrates the link between the organization’s strategy and commitment to a sustainable global economy. Sustainability indicators describe the environmental, social, economic and governance performance of Small and Medium‑sized Businesses/Enterprises (SMB/SME. Unfortunately, their implementations in the Czech Republic show a low level of engagement in sustainability assessment. The paper presents the results of the authors’ research in sustainability assessment of SMB/SMEs in the agriculture sector of the Czech Republic. An appropriate set of key performance indicators (KPIs in four dimensions (economy, environment, social and governance was developed to suit the SMB/SMEs sustainability assessment in the agriculture sector. A set of KPIs is proposed to help SMB/SMEs to avoid the barriers of sustainability assessment. These indicators are based mainly on Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture, Global Reporting Initiatives Frameworks and on current research state‑of‑the‑art. They have been created following the analysis of a number of agricultural enterprises over the world, particularly within European countries.

South African law and policy regulating learner absenteeism

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Packard Bell

Learner absenteeism often occurs involuntarily due to learners' social and economic circumstances. ..... still a child; e.g. under 18 years of age, and ... schools to take the age and maturity of the ... 5). The Policy on Learner Attendance (DBE, RSA,. 2010, para. 13(i)) allows the ..... Emotional literacy and the ecology of.

Online Games for Young Learners' Foreign Language Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Yuko Goto; Someya, Yuumi; Fukuhara, Eiji

2014-01-01

Young learners' use of instructional games in foreign language learning is not yet well understood. Using games that were part of the learning tools for an online assessment, Jido-Eiken, a standardized English proficiency test for young learners in Japan, we examined young learners' game-playing behaviours and the relationship of these behaviours…

Engaging students as partners in developing online learning and feedback activities for first-year fluid mechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Alan

2018-01-01

Much learning takes place outside of formal class settings, yet students starting in higher education are not always well equipped with independent learning skills, appropriate self-knowledge or the required levels of intrinsic motivation This project used students as partners to develop resources that could be used by first-year undergraduates in fluid mechanics, using activities and receiving feedback through the virtual learning environment (VLE), in order to build these three attributes of independent learners. While there were significant benefits to the students who developed the resources, the target students saw much lower benefits as a result of poorer than expected engagement. The challenge this research presents is to develop activities that maximise engagement in large classes, as well as develop appropriate independent learning skills.

Towards better embedding sustainability into companies’ systems: an analysis of voluntary corporate initiatives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lozano, R.

2012-01-01

Corporate leaders and employees have been increasingly recognising their role in contributing to sustainability. In this context, different voluntary tools, approaches, and initiatives have been developed by and for corporations to engage with sustainability. However, there has been a lack of

Evaluating task-based syllabus for EFL learners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luu, Hoang Mai

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This research is an evaluation of the effectiveness of task-based syllabus on EFL learners’ language competence at a private university in Vietnam educational context. This research resorts to questionnaire survey, semi-structured interview, and pretest and posttest as instruments for data collection. The research findings revealed that a strength of the current task-based syllabus is the match between lesson topics and students’ expectations. However, the syllabus still created difficulties for students including insufficient vocabulary, unfamiliar structures, and lack of life knowledge. The effect of teaching with task-based syllabus on students’ language performance is also reflected through a significant difference in mean scores between the pretest and the posttest. This research provides an insight into the effectiveness of English teaching through task-based syllabus at a private university in Vietnam setting. It implies to teachers that they need to be sustainable change catalysts for more interesting syllabus for learners

Effects of Online Synchronous Instruction with an Attention Monitoring and Alarm Mechanism on Sustained Attention and Learning Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chih-Ming; Wang, Jung-Ying

2018-01-01

Many studies have shown that learners' sustained attention strongly affects e-learning performance, particularly during online synchronous instruction. This work thus develops a novel attention monitoring and alarm mechanism (AMAM) based on brainwave signals to improve learning performance via monitoring the attention state of individual learners…

Policy Brief: Engagement with Sustainability Concerns in Public Procurement in India: Why and How

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goswami, Anandajit; Diljun, Gaurang Meher; Scrivastava, Nidhi

2013-08-15

A major part of the Indian GDP is spent on public procurement. Owing to large spending on procurement, Indian public sector can push towards a process of sustainable production and consumption through sustainable public procurement. Once such a process is implemented with specific contexts, it can create social, economic and environmental benefits. With this background, the policy brief explores why there is a need to promote sustainable public procurement within India. Further, it highlights how such a procurement process can be implemented within India by drawing from international experiences. This policy brief charts out an action plan to implement the procurement process with an analysis of roles and responsibilities of different agencies involved in the implementation. While laying down this action plan, the brief also indicates about the existing status of sustainable public procurement in India. Therefore, this policy brief creates a way forward for public sector agencies, policy and decision makers to implement sustainable public procurement within India by understanding the current context of the issue within the nation and abroad.

Identifying Successful Learners from Interaction Behaviour

Science.gov (United States)

McCuaig, Judi; Baldwin, Julia

2012-01-01

The interaction behaviours of successful, high-achieving learners when using a Learning Management System (LMS) are different than the behaviours of learners who are having more difficulty mastering the course material. This paper explores the idea that conventional Learning Management Systems can exploit data mining techniques to predict the…

Intrinsic Motivation and Rewards: What Sustains Young Children's Engagement with Text?

Science.gov (United States)

Marinak, Barbara A.; Gambrell, Linda B.

2008-01-01

This study investigated the effects of reward proximity and choice of reward on the reading motivation of third-grade students as measured by indicators of task persistence. The major finding from this study was that students who were given a book as a reward and students who received no reward were more motivated to engage in subsequent reading…

Learners' experiences of learning support in selected Western Cape ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The learning support assisted in meeting learners' academic, social and emotional needs by addressing barriers to learning, creating conducive learning environments, enhancing learners' self-esteem and improving learners' academic performance. Keywords: academic needs; academic performance; barriers to learning; ...

When Is an English Language Learner Not an English Language Learner? Exploring Individual Differences in Developmental Language and Literacy Acquisition for At-Risk Learners: A Latent Transition Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Guzman-Orth, Danielle Alicia

2012-01-01

Empirical evidence suggests oral language proficiency is correlated with literacy outcomes; however, the relationship between oral language proficiency and literacy outcomes for English Language Learners is highly variable. As a result, the field lacks critical direction to identify children who are English Language Learners experiencing general…

A Systematic Approach for Engagement Analysis Under Multitasking Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guangfan; Leddo, John; Xu, Roger; Richey, Carl; Schnell, Tom; McKenzie, Frederick; Li, Jiang

2011-01-01

An overload condition can lead to high stress for an operator and further cause substantial drops in performance. On the other extreme, in automated systems, an operator may become underloaded; in which case, it is difficult for the operator to maintain sustained attention. When an unexpected event occurs, either internal or external to the automated system, a disengaged operation may neglect, misunderstand, or respond slowly/inappropriately to the situation. In this paper, we discuss a systematic approach monitor for extremes of cognitive workload and engagement in multitasking environments. Inferences of cognitive workload ar engagement are based on subjective evaluations, objective performance measures, physiological signals, and task analysis results. The systematic approach developed In this paper aggregates these types of information collected under the multitasking environment and can provide a real-time assessment or engagement.

Developing the curriculum for a new Bachelor's degree in Engineering for Sustainable Development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lozano, F.J.; Lozano, R.

2013-01-01

With a growing interest in sustainability, a number of universities have engaged in educating the future leaders, decision makers, scientists, and engineers on how their decisions can help societies become more sustainable. This paper presents the process for developing the Bachelor’s degree

Developing the curriculum for a new Bachelor's degree in Engineering for Sustainable Development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lozano, Francisco J.; Lozano, Rodrigo

2014-01-01

With a growing interest in sustainability, a number of universities have engaged in educating the future leaders, decision makers, scientists, and engineers on how their decisions can help societies become more sustainable. This paper presents the process for developing the Bachelor's degree

Fluency-dependent cortical activation associated with speech production and comprehension in second language learners.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimada, K; Hirotani, M; Yokokawa, H; Yoshida, H; Makita, K; Yamazaki-Murase, M; Tanabe, H C; Sadato, N

2015-08-06

This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigated the brain regions underlying language task performance in adult second language (L2) learners. Specifically, we identified brain regions where the level of activation was associated with L2 fluency levels. Thirty Japanese-speaking adults participated in the study. All participants were L2 learners of English and had achieved varying levels of fluency, as determined by a standardized L2 English proficiency test, the Versant English Test (Pearson Education Inc., 2011). When participants performed the oral sentence building task from the production tasks administered, the dorsal part of the left inferior frontal gyrus (dIFG) showed activation patterns that differed depending on the L2 fluency levels: The more fluent the participants were, the more dIFG activation decreased. This decreased activation of the dIFG might reflect the increased automaticity of a syntactic building process. In contrast, when participants performed an oral story comprehension task, the left posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) showed increased activation with higher fluency levels. This suggests that the learners with higher L2 fluency were actively engaged in post-syntactic integration processing supported by the left pSTG. These data imply that L2 fluency predicts neural resource allocation during language comprehension tasks as well as in production tasks. This study sheds light on the neural underpinnings of L2 learning by identifying the brain regions recruited during different language tasks across different modalities (production vs. comprehension). Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Sustainable development: four post-2015 priorities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demailly, Damien; Spinazze, Lena; Treyer, Sebastien

2016-06-01

This Policy Brief provides a political agenda for actors engaged in the transformation. It identifies four priority drivers of action to build on the successes of 2015 and to support the progress towards sustainable development: adapting and implementing international commitments in countries; organizing the monitoring of commitments at the international level; encouraging the convergence of signals to bring about a massive investment shift; anticipating social impacts and placing social justice at the center of the transition. This brief is based on analytical work carried out over several months by a committee of practitioners and sustainable development experts, and on discussions involving 150 participants at the international conference 'Sustainable Development: it's time' organized in Paris by IDDRI on May 10-11, 2016

Social Networks, Engagement and Resilience in University Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Fernández-Martínez

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Analysis of social networks may be a useful tool for understanding the relationship between resilience and engagement, and this could be applied to educational methodologies, not only to improve academic performance, but also to create emotionally sustainable networks. This descriptive study was carried out on 134 university students. We collected the network structural variables, degree of resilience (CD-RISC 10, and engagement (UWES-S. The computer programs used were excel, UCINET for network analysis, and SPSS for statistical analysis. The analysis revealed results of means of 28.61 for resilience, 2.98 for absorption, 4.82 for dedication, and 3.13 for vigour. The students had two preferred places for sharing information: the classroom and WhatsApp. The greater the value for engagement, the greater the degree of centrality in the friendship network among students who are beginning their university studies. This relationship becomes reversed as the students move to later academic years. In terms of resilience, the highest values correspond to greater centrality in the friendship networks. The variables of engagement and resilience influenced the university students’ support networks.

Social Networks, Engagement and Resilience in University Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández-Martínez, Elena; Andina-Díaz, Elena; Fernández-Peña, Rosario; García-López, Rosa; Fulgueiras-Carril, Iván; Liébana-Presa, Cristina

2017-12-01

Analysis of social networks may be a useful tool for understanding the relationship between resilience and engagement, and this could be applied to educational methodologies, not only to improve academic performance, but also to create emotionally sustainable networks. This descriptive study was carried out on 134 university students. We collected the network structural variables, degree of resilience (CD-RISC 10), and engagement (UWES-S). The computer programs used were excel, UCINET for network analysis, and SPSS for statistical analysis. The analysis revealed results of means of 28.61 for resilience, 2.98 for absorption, 4.82 for dedication, and 3.13 for vigour. The students had two preferred places for sharing information: the classroom and WhatsApp. The greater the value for engagement, the greater the degree of centrality in the friendship network among students who are beginning their university studies. This relationship becomes reversed as the students move to later academic years. In terms of resilience, the highest values correspond to greater centrality in the friendship networks. The variables of engagement and resilience influenced the university students' support networks.

Implementing learnerships: learner recruitment and selection B ...