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Educators are responsible for developing generic graduate capabilities, but the theoretical justification for teaching techniques is infrequently articulated. This conceptual paper aims to provide theory-informed principles to guide teaching practice in developing future-focused generic capabilities. The paper describes future-focused generic capabilities and then considers how cognitive constructivist, transformational and social learning theories inform the development of these capabilities. From these theories, four principles (4Es) for teaching generic capabilities are identified: students need to 1) be Enthused to develop personally relevant generic capabilities, 2) have opportunities to Explore by intellectually and emotionally connecting learning to processes, topics and situations, 3) develop by purposefully Extending their capabilities within varied and progressively more complex contexts, and 4) be given opportunities to Exhibit their capabilities. We contend that the development of generic capabilities can be informed by this set of principles. By unearthing and researching them, educators can become more versatile, informed, and impactful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of Digital Competence in teacher education has increased in recent years resulting in a range of digital competency frameworks aimed at guiding national and regional governments in their integration of digital competence in teacher education. The discourses and assumptions underpinning digital competence frameworks are discussed in this paper using two influential supra-national competency frameworks, the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers and the DigCompEdu, as examples. The theoretical reflection argues that several influences have shaped the current discourse. These influences include the rise of teacher performance and competency frameworks, the tradition of ranking teachers' levels of technology use and the techno-centric education discourses that align technology use with constructivist practices. Through this theoretical reflection, the paper raises questions about their use in, and implications for, teacher education arguing that, while such frameworks provide helpful guidance for policy makers and teacher educators, they may stifle teachers' professional autonomy and straight-jacket technology use in a linear and deterministic manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the hegemony of developmentalism in early childhood education and care, this article uses a poetic juxtapositional approach to bewilder Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Critical consideration of how the theory of cognitive development has contributed to the imagining of a universal, ahistorical child and childhood(s) are discussed and analysed whilst providing a rationale for a more complex and nuanced understanding of how children develop, drawing on the theoretical concept of clocking practices. This paper analyses data from Piaget's writing in 'The Origins of Intelligence in Children' and micro-ethical events from research with children, teachers, families from an affirmative diffractive stance through the lens of bewilderment. Creative poetic vignettes are included which encourage readers to unsettle dominant and deficit assumptions made about children and their abilities, framed by Piagetian theory. The insights are shared via three propositions: following learning experiences of and with children requires openness, forms of resistance to linear understandings of time are generative, and resist the desire to chase secure meanings and intentions. These propositions and the corresponding questions offer possibilities for seeing children's ideas and contributions through a capability-oriented lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following calls to 'bewilder' (Snaza 2013) the pioneers of early education, this article positions Montessori pedagogy as a 'desire path' that acts as resistance to normative policy-driven pathways in early childhood education and care. Desire paths are alternative tracks made aside from officially established walking routes. In this paper I think with the metaphor of pathways and desire paths positioning an educator's choice to practice Montessori pedagogy as an approach which wanders outside of mainstream qualifications and education. To do this, I take fragments of a professional life story that chart the agentic nature of choosing Montessori pedagogy as a way to problematise how walking that desire line challenges, and defies normative pathways. I also propose a re-reading of Montessori's pedagogy, not as pioneering but as nomadic, and suggest that social desire paths enable Montessori education to be viewed as multiple, situated, alternative tracks to prescribed pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This follow-up study presents a design-based research (DBR) setting implemented over a three-year project called 'eKidZ – Teach Your Parents Well' which uses research-based learning and follows the four phases of DBR. In an iterative cycle, 20 teenagers aged 14–16 took on the role of researchers and investigated intergenerational learning and the multiplier effects of students participating in the Climate Change Education project 'k.i.d.Z.21 – Competent into the Future' on their parents, using the complete research process. Simultaneously, scientists implemented and tested the DBR setting to validate student research findings and to evaluate the quality of the educational setting. In this fully integrated DBR, using multiple methods (quantitative and qualitative), educational and scientific perspectives are brought together to evaluate students' findings and draw conclusions regarding their learning effects. These research results demonstrate that not only did students generate valid and reliable research, but – when changing perspectives – teenagers also contribute to the discussion about closing the gaps in science education and practice. By examining young people's research on Climate Change Education and recognising their contribution in scientific discourse, this paper offers a host of new insights. Teenagers take on the role of researchers and perform reliable and valid research results on intergenerational learning and multiplier effects in Climate Change Education, by completing all phases of research-based learning. Design-based research is an effective method to combine science and education and thus delivering novel insights into science education and practice. High-quality Climate Change Education fosters constructive cooperation among all participants with inter – and intragenerational learning and multiplier effects. Constructivism, transdisciplinarity and research-based learning form the basis for effective design-based research and Climate Change Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research, primarily from pre-service teachers' perspectives, has found that teacher education programmes are not providing adequate preparation for constructivist pedagogy using information technology. This subject is pronounced in Ghana's teacher education programmes, where local research that investigates knowledge patterns in technology training methods and competencies pre-service teachers mainly acquire is also scarce. In addressing this gap, this paper describes a qualitative study that examined the reflective views and experiences of 20 in-service teachers regarding what was offered and missing in their pre-service training for digital pedagogy. Findings revealed teachers benefit from standalone educational technology courses, teacher educators modelling technology use, and curriculum activities requiring technology use. The knowledge pattern in these training methods suggests a prioritisation of technical skills acquisition that mostly supports traditional, teacher-centred teaching tasks. Factors impeding pedagogical development training are unpacked, along with the reasons behind misalignments between teacher education policy requirements, and actual pre-service technology training practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to contribute to the field of knowledge surrounding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) curricula with a view to filling a gap in ESD literature by identifying features that may help ESD course designers. The study asks the questions: what is taught in ESD courses in higher education? and what content do students say they like? Working within the constructivist tradition, this study involved two groups of participants: 13 ESD design/delivery participants from six universities based in five countries (Group One) and 737 ESD students (Group Two) from three of those universities. The overarching methodology of comparative analysis was used to address the research questions. Data collection included course learning materials, participant questionnaires, one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and feedback on teaching. Group One data was analysed using comparative/descriptive analysis and reflexive thematic analysis was used for Group Two data. The methods were complementary to de/reconstruct data for comparability of features. NVivo software was employed to acquire results which are presented visually using tables and concept maps. The study identifies common content taught in stand-alone ESD courses and makes recommendations for course modelling based on Group One data contributions and what content Group Two say they like. The recommendations are presented as seven categories of consolidated curricular themes including science and sustainability based, contextually relevant, and futures hope. Consideration is given to student internal/external motivational domains and possible connection to curricular themes. Recommendations are practical and flexible, not prescriptive. The original contribution to knowledge lies in suggestions for ESD course content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching and librarianship are interrelated. This paper explores the author's experiences and views of working as a librarian in higher education, within the Australian University context. It perceives Australian University libraries and librarianship as aligning with Social Constructivist views on learning. Through drawing on information from professional practice, this paper considers the professional identities of librarians in a third-space paradigm, including in contributing to doctoral supervision. It examines teachers as curators and sees this observation of teaching yielding the view of librarians as teachers explicitly. It touches on the author's new awareness of librarians and their role in supporting assessment for learning. The paper puts forward the author's use of reflective practice to enhance teaching, and shares experiences in using the Technology Pedagogy Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework to ensure reflective practice is focused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As teaching and learning processes evolve in the wake of COVID−19, fresh thinking about the role of remote online learning (ROL) is critical as part of a wider reimagining of education in a post-pandemic context. In this paper, attention is focused on ROL within teacher education. This study sought to explore pre-service teachers' perceptions of their ROL experiences in a Fijian teacher education programme. The qualitative study design was informed by transactional distance theory. Using a narrative inquiry approach, data from 15 pre-service teachers were collected and analysed. Via individual interviews conducted online, the prospective teachers shared their perceptions about the nature of interactions experienced whilst engaged in ROL during the pandemic. Data were analysed thematically, in relation to instructional dialogue, course structure, and autonomy. In-depth analysis of rich data allowed main themes to emerge that captured the participants' viewpoints. Prominent themes in instructional dialogue revealed some concerns about the precedence of textual communication over verbal in ROL and the perception of emphasis on product over the process of learning. In terms of course structure, volume of assessment and teaching style were among aspects which participants identified as affecting learner-content engagement. Comments about learner autonomy suggested that the pre-service teachers sought positives amidst the difficulties encountered, whilst maintaining a focus on completing the assessments and passing the course. The analysis of pre-service teachers' experiences offers insight into how aspects of ROL may challenge participant engagement within elements of teacher education courses. It highlights the support that needs to be provided to prospective teachers in order to reduce transactional distance, suggesting that effective course design and instructional dialogue to promote learner autonomy are both crucial to sustainable teacher education in the post-pandemic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several student-centred and game-based approaches have developed in the last 40 years. Publications intended to describe the underlying theory and/or mechanics of each particular teaching/learning model have usually focused on modalities related to teacher-student interactions, taking into account the particular pedagogical content knowledge pertaining to the activities concerned. The extent to which a particular approach has students taking charge of their learning varies from one model to the other. Underlying learning theories, such as constructivism and nonlinear pedagogy, play an important role in explaining or justifying reasons for pedagogical choices. However, whatever approach is favoured by a teacher, there remains the matter of the regulation of learning in a student-centred teaching/learning environment. Purpose: The main purpose of this paper was to discuss the regulation procedures implemented in a particular team-sport related teaching/learning strategy called the 'Tactical-Decision Learning Model' (T-DLM). A second and preliminary objective was to examine various AfL models with regard to the regulation of learning. Scaffold of the paper: In the first section of the paper, a review of the literature is presented with regard to the diversity of the student-learning regulation construct, spreading from self-regulation to co-regulation and to shared/socially-shared regulation. In the second part of the paper, the authors discuss the regulation of tactical learning in team sports through the lens of T-DLM, considering the contribution of four basic features of the model: game-play in a small-sided game format, student observation, debate, road map, and their iterations. Conclusion: In a team-sport teaching/learning context, cooperative learning becomes, by definition, the pivotal characteristic of the learning and learning-regulation processes. Although ever present, self-regulation is intermingled with socially shared regulation in the sense that each student's self-regulation activities voluntarily mingle with that of his/her teammates to bring about a collective action plan. Due to its socio-constructivist foundation and particular features, T-DLM offers many opportunities for socially-shared regulation of learning and may, given the right conditions, open the way for socially-shared metacognitive awareness of learning-regulation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University libraries are constituted in the literature by a range of overlapping and shifting conceptual models that are deployed to capture, express and legitimise their repurposing, progressive status and function within the university campus. Over the last two decades university libraries have been increasingly characterised as highly responsive and receptive to the fast-moving currents of technological innovation, and emergent teaching and learning paradigms. This paper charts and discusses the evolutionary trajectory of the university library set within an historical context, exploring the discursive influences that have both stimulated and propagated what might be described as progressive transformation. The paper seeks to portray and unpack the Zeitgeist of the academic library that has been cultivated in contemporary times; positioning the university library against a backdrop of global developments that have shaped the university sector from the early 1990s, and offering a macro-level exploration of the increasing status of the university library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer group mentoring can serve as a meaningful developmental experience and outlet for women. Historically, as well as in contemporary contexts, women have been excluded from traditional mentoring relationships and developmental opportunities. In this paper, the authors utilize the lived experiences and voices of one dozen executive-level professional women to highlight how peer group mentoring can serve as a valuable developmental experience. This study illuminates that these peer group mentoring experiences were a catalyst for development due to (a) mutual engagement by the mentoring collaborators; (b) shared dialogue and learning; and (c) support for one another within and beyond the Circle gatherings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mainstream approaches in comparative education have paid more attention to trends in donors' priorities than to policy processes in recipient countries, overlooking the agency of national governments in the institutional configuration of vocational education and training (VET) in developing contexts. Drawing on constructivist political economy and historical institutionalist frameworks, the paper analyses the role played by global development paradigms and ideas in the VET policy reforms adopted in Chile during the period between 1964 and 2005. The study shows how the selective adoption of international development ideas in Chile was mediated by the ideological orientation of national government administrations in each historical period. It also shows how the main goals of VET policies evolved as the economy tertiarised and the demand for education grew among lower social classes. Finally, the paper identifies the military dictatorship as a path-shaping moment in the institutional configuration of VET in Chile, as it was able to impose a radical transformation of the system from central planning to decentralised market competition. This profound transformation generated institutional path-dependencies that restricted the capacity of future democratic governments to reverse the market model in VET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-directed learning and creativity are critical workplace competences that are important to foster in formal educational settings. Previous studies have identified a relationship between self-directed learning and creativity, but the specific nature of this relationship is unclear. The purpose of the present theoretical paper is to examine through a literature review the possibility that creative learning outcomes can be supported through a self-directed learning process. The importance of considering self-directed learning in the context of adult learning – as a pragmatic learning process – is outlined. A conclusion is drawn that (1) creative learning outcomes are potentially supported through self-directed learning, and (2) in the process, teachers can provide support to learners in three distinct different ways. A variety of pragmatic educational activities that may enable self-directed learning and creative learning outcomes are discussed, including experiential learning; workplace simulations; and problem-, case-, and (e-) portfolio-based learning. In these activities, teacher support seems advantageous for many learners. The three distinct dimensions of teacher support identified in the present paper are important to consider in further empirical studies on self-directed learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, there has been a strong focus on moving university teaching away from a so-called 'instructivist', lecture-centred mode, in which the focus is on what teachers are doing, towards a more student-centred 'constructivist' approach, centred on active learning and students' own constructions of knowledge. This paper considers the tensions and challenges raised by the ways in which constructivist ideas are being taken up in higher education, highlighting two particular issues (1) the positioning of curriculum knowledge as settled and easily transferable across modes of teaching; and (2) the neglect of important disciplinary differences as a result. These issues are explored in relation to two particular case studies of universities introducing new online learning reforms. These case studies show the problems potentially raised by the limited attention to curriculum in the push for more constructivist pedagogies, including a limited interpretation of what constructivist teaching entails and an inattention to the conditions required for its practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I discuss the potential transformations to teach K-12 geometry topics with the technology of 3D Pens, which enabled 3D models to be created instantly via one's moving hands. I draw on an example of using constructionist learning activities with 3D Pens to teach young children, 'how tall is the triangle?' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the enlargement of the initial conception of formative assessment with reference to constructivist, sociocultural and situated theories of learning and the concept of co-regulation. It reviews research on student involvement in formative assessment practices (self-assessment, peer assessment, whole-class discussions of criteria and exemplars) in the area of writing, with a focus on primary school classrooms. Student participation in the co-construction of formative assessment is illustrated by qualitative observations from a study of a writing activity carried out in grades 5 and 6. The observations are discussed in relation to findings from other research and implications are presented for teacher professional development and for future studies of formative assessment of writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital play is a pedagogical construct used in early childhood to explain young children's engagement with technologies. Digital play draws upon theories of play to explain young children's learning with technologies. This paper proposes the further development of digital play by examining how the digital aspect of digital play may also be interpreted. This is achieved using the notion of technical code from critical constructivism to show how historically-valued knowledge shapes technology use in practice. Technical code illustrates how alternative knowledge sources can be used to remediate technological understandings in practice, known in sociocultural terms as new knowledge formations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in the flipped classroom in higher education has burgeoned despite the literature revealing that the effects on assessment outcomes remain elusive. In this paper, we present the results of an empirical analysis designed to compare the impact on assessment outcomes of different approaches to the flipped classroom (didactic and non-didactic). Focusing on a cohort of Intermediate Economics students we investigated the influence of these approaches on their examination results by utilising an OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) regression and probit followed by quantile regression. Our analysis revealed small positive effects when students were exposed to the 'non-didactic' flipped classroom but no effect when pre-lecture materials were used didactically to mimic the material given in traditional lectures. This study demonstrates the need for further meta-analysis and longitudinal studies to investigate the relationship between different forms of the flipped classroom and student assessment outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Slade ["Do the Structures Used by International Hockey Coaches for Practising Field-Goal Shooting Reflect Game Centred Learning Within a Representative Learning Design?" The International Journal of Sport Science and Coaching 10 (4): 655–668] argued that because no two students learn or conceive knowledge in exactly the same way, teaching contexts require a flexible approach to instruction, based on a methodological continuum of empirical to radical constructivism. In short, providing novice learners with sufficient opportunities to learn requires flexibility and a holistic experiential approach to teaching that is appropriate for the learner, activity and context. Purpose: This paper examines an evolving understanding of TGfU and Game-Centred Learning (GCL). The medium for articulating this is through the presentation of a proposed model of GCL. At the heart of this model is the notion of play, invented games and its attendant qualities of creativity, fun, affiliation and exploration. The process of arriving at this model of GCL has involved an evaluation of various models of GCL, and exploring associated questions related to teaching games, especially for the generalist teacher. Discussion: This proposed model also reflects a discussion of arguments along ideological continuums of instruction in games; for example, should fundamental movement skills (FMS) be taught before game instruction or should game pedagogy be solely based on GCL? In this paper, these positions are brought together through reference to Fundamental Game Skills [Smith, W. "Fundamental Movement Skills and Fundamental Games Skills Are Complementary Pairs and Should be Taught in Complementary Ways at all Stages of Skill Development." Sport, Education and Society 21 (3): 431–442], the application of complexity theory [Ovens, A., T. Hopper, and J. Butler. 2013. Complexity Thinking in Physical Education: Reframing Curriculum, Pedagogy and Research. Oxon: Routledge], and complementary learning in skill acquisition [Kelso, J. A. S., and D. A. Engstrom. 2006. The Complementary Nature. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press]. Smith's practitioner position provides further justification for a GCL model from a skill acquisition perspective. Conclusion: The proposed model of GCL focuses on flexibility and pragmatism, with the intent of making a GCL approach accessible to those who teach games to novices or to more experienced athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What can we learn from K-5 science teachers who have integrated science and creative dance for a five-year period? In this paper, the preliminary findings of the qualitative research conducted by a constructivist elementary charter school principal, a university dance professor, and an educational researcher is presented.This research highlights the experiences of science teachers who were given professional development in science/creative dance integration each semester and implemented arts integration strategies in the science classroom. To conclude the five-year period, the six teachers completed a questionnaire and participated in a videotaped interview to document their reflections on the project, Dance of Science Project (DoS), which serves as the primary data source for this paper. An interpretive methodology is used as a framework for interpreting the interviews of the teachers. Of interest is how teachers developed arts integration practices on their own in the classroom without being in partnership with a dance educator, and how arts integration in the science class supported their constructivist teaching practices which include elements of co-operation, autonomy, experimentation, play, and interest. In addition, the article discusses how creative dance aligns with the elements of constructivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past 40 years have been characterized by an ongoing shift in the rationale underlying the use of educational technologies – an earlier emphasis on efficiency and engagement has been overshadowed by a vision centered on educational technologies' capacity to facilitate authentic learning in the inauthentic school context. However, despite its intuitive appeal, authenticity is a vague and contestable concept that warrants further scrutiny. Accordingly, this theoretical paper sets out to offer a conceptual analysis of the various meanings of authenticity in educational discourse, and to examine how these both shape and obfuscate arguments concerning educational technologies. To do so, I identify two key ambiguities inherent in the concept of authenticity: (1) whether authenticity relies on correspondence to real-world contexts (is), or aims to tap into a deeper essence of an individual or phenomenon (ought); (2) whether authenticity is mainly viewed from a supposedly objective perspective (external), or aims to capture individuals' subjective experiences (internal). The depiction of technology as authentic, along with the conflations between its various meanings, serve to naturalize existing patterns of technology use, while obscuring the ways in which they are shaped by social, political and pedagogical considerations that should remain open to evaluation and critique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Independent work and silent classrooms appear to be part of a wider discourse adopted by some schools across England and promoted as good practice by England's Education Secretary. This paper explores the effect of grouped and individual seating on the engagement of four boys in small group sessions teaching the English Language GCSE. Observations show how behaviour was detrimental when pupils were sat independently and in rows but improved when they were grouped together. The social constructivist elements of learning facilitated by grouped seating helped pupils find English relevant to their own lives and made the lesson more accessible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science is concerned with understanding the world. As such, engaging with the materiality of that world is integral to both empirical experimentation and theorising within science. However, it has been recognised for some time that the way scientists learn about the world and the way that young people learn about science cannot be simply equated. This difference has been pronounced in recent decades by the dominance of constructivist and social-constructivist theories of learning, which focus on the development of concepts in the minds of people. Whilst these theories have yielded insight into the complexity of learning, the role of the material remains undertheorised, not only within practical science inquiry, but also in relation to the broader materiality of classrooms. Through a detailed critical literature review, this paper demonstrates the need for a stronger theoretical frame through which to understand the role of the material in the learning and pedagogy of science. Building upon the gaps and possibilities that this review reveals, we outline a new material-dialogic theory via a synthesis of Barad's Agential Realism and Bakhtinian dialogic theory. The significance of this paper lies in offering a theoretical basis for more effective practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demystifies the process of open and distance learning (ODL) policy development in a dual-mode university after existing without one for 50 years. The two-pronged critical questions this paper addresses are: What does it take to successfully develop an ODL policy? And what aspects constitute an ODL policy applicable for a dual-mode context? To address these, the study adopted a qualitative constructivist approach to generate evidence on policy development process and content. In using the constructivist approach, the researchers focused on policy development records, such as proposals, correspondence, speeches and workshop reports. Four lessons emerged for dual-mode institutions with a similar context to replicate, two of which are the need for high leadership level sponsorship of the policy development process and product; and the need for total involvement of staff to minimise sabotage at the implementation stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how culture impacts upon pedagogic practice in Cambodian primary schools. Acknowledging that there is an increasing homogeneity of ideas focusing on constructivist pedagogical approaches as the most effective means of achieving improvements in education quality globally, this study investigates the extent to which the Cambodian Ministry of Education's constructivist pedagogy embedded in its Child Friendly Schools policy was adopted in the schools in this study. Using a case study methodology data were collected, primarily, through student focus groups and interviews with educators in three government primary schools located in different geographical areas. Findings identified that CFS policy not only fails to take into account the local cultural situation but appears to side-line the significance of local forms of pedagogy. To develop teaching and learning in the schools in this study, the findings point to a more nuanced approach that acknowledges and accommodates varied forms of pedagogic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current distance education practices can be susceptible to the types of content-heavy, top-down instruction often seen in physical classrooms. These practices are similar to the activities of corporations, which use recommendation systems and game theory to mold the public sphere and fragment it. We propose that free knowledge creation through open, multichannel communication needs to be used in distance education to permit both individual and collective agency for students to process knowledge and develop higher order reflectivity. Such frameworks would help students of distance education and instructors to use critical thinking to discuss concepts as equal stakeholders and develop varied ideological outcomes that could contribute to creating social change. This conceptual paper places current distance education practices within Habermasian theory, discusses ways in which the Internet and its educative potential has come to be viewed thus far, and suggests platforms that could open distance learning to new possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within teacher education in England, self-reflective practices commonly function as a tool for student development. However, with current philosophical thought tending towards social-constructivism whereby understanding is deeply influenced by social context, the extent to which student teachers can objectively express 'themselves' must be carefully considered. This paper presents a philosophical and empirical account of student teacher self-reflection, exploring the extent to which these are personally or contextually defined. Through a discussion of theoretical debates surrounding discourse, I draw on Žižek's notion of ideology as subjectively maintained and apply a Critical Discourse Analysis to analyse this within individual texts. Student reflections from two contexts are thus analysed and findings highlight stark differences in the educational priorities expressed in these different settings. This implies that students simultaneously adopt conflicting and therefore untenable sets of professional values. By drawing attention to this, I aim to encourage individual resistance where necessary towards healthier future professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the last two decades, the polysemous notion of 'scale' has drawn an increasing amount of attention among scholars studying heritage policies and practices, often with regard to UNESCO conventions. Significantly, in many of these works, terms such as 'global', 'national' and 'local' are connected to categories of 'scale' or 'level' that are taken for granted by the scholars who use them to guide their analysis. This paper, in contrast, promotes a different, constructivist understanding of the notion of scale. From our perspective, there is an added value to be found in focusing—without using any preconceived or external conception of scale—on the ways in which stakeholders conceive of and use scale throughout the processes of heritage making. Using the case of alpinism and the creation of its file for submission to the Intangible Cultural Heritage list, we show that the interest of this approach lies in its comprehensive ability to highlight how people define, elaborate and use scale in order to qualify their practices or to achieve specific goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work of L.S. Vygotsky was popularised in the West between two great waves of educational thought: constructivism and cognitivism. Reception was therefore colored by three metaphors introduced by Jerome Bruner: 'construction', 'scaffolding' and 'narrative'. Narratives were to be characterized by features we call SELF: Subjects, Expectancy and counter-expectancy, a Linear subject-verb-object clause grammar, and a Focalizing voice. In this paper, we try to understand how narratives might be learned in Korean, where subjects are optional and often dispreferred, processes tend to predominate in expectancy over participants, linearity is subject-object-verb rather than subject-verb-object, and even the focal voice must often be shared. For help, we return to Vygotsky's work in 'pedology', the holistic science of the child, and to similarly inspired work on child language by M.A.K. Halliday. First, we explore Vygotsky's own unit for the development of consciousness, perezhivanie, an untranslatable term for the way in which the child 'over-lives' experience through language. Second, we show how Halliday's system networks can help us describe how perezhivanie might develop and we argue that Halliday's term 'construal' is a more useful, non-metaphorical, description of what Vygotsky had in mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (RBT) and some of the major theories and frameworks that influence the teaching, learning, and assessment of mathematics. This comparison has been made to help students and researchers make decisions about which of the available theories and frameworks might best suit their study. The comparison identifies that RBT has greater potential for analysing the teaching, learning, and assessment of mathematics than many other theories and frameworks because of its broad approach. While other theories and frameworks can be aligned to elements of RBT, they tend to overlook other elements. In particular, the strength of RBT comes from its two dimensional structure, its inclusion of metacognitive knowledge, and its rejection of strict hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs a constructivist approach to representation to investigate the representative claims of Members of Parliament in a state legislature of Minas Gerais in Brazil. It argues that parliamentary discourses should be thought of as utterances addressing multiple audiences at the same time, and, thus, mobilising diverse layers in the everyday construction of representation. It focuses on some underdeveloped points in the concept of shape-shifting representation, advocated by Saward ([2014]. Shape-shifting representation. American Political Science Review, 108(4), 723–736.). The analysis has shown that the idea of multiple layers may be interpretively fruitful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I work out a five-stringed criticism of John Hattie’s theory of Visible Learning. First, I argue that the theory is a theory of evaluation that denies education as such. Second, I show that there are problems with the dependent variable, learning, i.e. the effect of a given intervention. Thirdly, I show that Hattie's theory belongs to the radical constructivist paradigm. Thus, the problems of constructivism, i.e. problems of normativity and the outside world, walks directly into Hattie’s concept of teaching, resulting in a double breakdown of the essence of teaching. Fourth, I argue that Hattie’s concept of feedback has a centralizing trend which ultimately has the potential to transform the country’s educational activities into a big hierarchical and data-driven organism. Finally, I show that Hattie’s reference to Karl Popper’s theory of “three worlds” is based on a highly problematic reading, where Popper’s objective world is reduced to a subset of a radical subjectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1995 the UK higher education sector has been required to implement national disability related legislation. This paper reports on a study which explored the role that policies play in influencing how staff support disabled students. In particular the extent to which staff in HE behave in similar ways to those described as street level bureaucrats by (Lipsky, M. 1980. Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services. New York: Russell Sage Foundation). Semi-structured interviews undertaken with 34 staff in the case study university provided the substantive data. Although there was little evidence to show that policy had a direct influence on practice, it was clear that staff made considerable efforts to support disabled learners and these efforts were based on values associated with providing an equitable experience for all students. Additionally, staff were able to exercise discretion in the way they responded to disabled students and constructed responses to policies without significant influence from institutional managers, national legislation or broader policy discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contextualised mobile assisted language learning (MALL) has been known for its potential in language learning rooted in social constructivism theories. However, a consistent approach to constituents of contextualised MALL, in addition to a quantitative tool to evaluate it, is missing in reported case studies. The present research, drawing upon literature context definitions, presents a research framework for analysing, designing and evaluating contextualised MALL. Real world and real life context variables were analysed and the potential influence of the country (target and non-target) and the mobile activities language learning orientation (generic/dedicated) on contextualised MALL was suggested. Empirical data collected from 53 L2 Chinese students in Taiwan and Israel, encompassing 296 types of MALL activities performed by students, was used to develop the contextualised MALL model as well as an index for measuring real world and real life context learning. This measuring index was subsequently established in a combined top-down and bottom-up process, using pre-defined context literature augmented with students' stories. At the end of the research procedure a quantitatively operative evaluation tool was developed. Real world was measured by the amount of content activity in relation to the place, typical or non-typical objects of the place and typical situations at the place. Real life was measured by the degree to which other tools assisted in other core activities whose purpose was not learning. The paper presents the research framework, the developed model and index with examples illustrating their application. They are offered for the research and practice community to use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is a critical global public health issue. It leads to numerous health conditions that limit the quality and length of life, placing a huge burden on healthcare systems around the world. Scholars believe that the fight against obesity can be won only through multidisciplinary efforts. However, the literature on people’s understanding of obesity is limited, perhaps because this topic does not attract the attention of educators at the appropriate level. Although existing studies show that people lack understanding about the mechanisms of obesity, most of the arguments in these papers suffer from a lack of theoretical background and methodological problems. Therefore, we conceived the present study based on a sound theory (conceptual change) in order to understand school students’ conceptual patterns regarding weight gain, which is an important component of obesity knowledge. A written questionnaire probing the mechanism of weight gain was distributed to 151 secondary school students in the Turkish part of Cyprus. Content analysis was applied to students’ compositions. The results showed that students have six major conceptual patterns about weight gain. They also hold a range of misconceptions and misunderstandings, and sometimes have no conceptions. At the end of the paper, we discuss possible curricular and teaching implications based on the patterns and incorrect knowledge structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the redesign of an MSc module to enhance students’ engagement and learning through embedding social media technologies into the academic curriculum as a learning and assessment strategy, and in a complementary manner that facilitated and enhanced the achievement of the module’s learning outcomes. This paper describes the process and some of the components of the module redesign. Although the eventual redesign allowed for incorporation of social media both as a learning strategy and for assessment purposes, this paper is focused on use/application of social media in academic curriculum as a learning strategy. Grounding the new module in constructivist pedagogy, and an enquiry-based action learning model, the redesign leveraged the use of social media to expand the interrelational dimensions of students’ learning. This increased the students’ engagement and the depth and breadth of their learning, while enhancing their appreciation for e-professionalism and personal learning networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The development of effective learning environments in higher education (HE) appears to become increasingly prioritised by HE institutions. This approach reflects an increasingly ‘consumer’ focused student body, and HE attempt to further quantify the quality of their products. However, all too often attempts to build more effective learning environments are hampered by the structures and processes that have historically existed in HE. The traditional lecture-seminar approach is increasingly been seen as not supporting effective student learning. As a result, the quality of the student learning experience is being compromised. This paper explores some of the factors currently limiting the development of effective learning environments and considers relevant questions and possible solutions. In particular, this paper explores the degree to which University interactions with student groups are driven by quality assurance processes rather than for maximising student learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Group work is often used in Physical Education (and Health – HPE). In this paper, we propose that despite: (1) its widespread use; (2) advances surrounding HPE models that utilize group strategies; and (3) a significant amount of literature dealing with group work in other school subjects, we do not have a particularly good theoretical understanding of group learning in HPE. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose one way of conceptualizing individual learning in peer interaction based on three tenets of post-Vygotskian theory that relate to the zone of proximal development (ZPD); namely that in learning situations: (i) group members engage in shared communication; (ii) expert–novice relationships can develop and change during group activities and (iii) constructing knowledge can be thought of as reaching agreement. Participants and setting: Empirical material was generated with eight different HPE classes in lower and upper secondary schools in Sweden. Schools were selected in a way that maximized variation and were distributed across four geographic locations with varying sizes and types of communities. Data collection: Observational material was produced at each of the sites with the use of two cameras: one stationary and the other mobile. Stationary filming maintained a wide-angled focus and captured the entire class. Mobile filming focused on different groups working within the classes. During mobile filming, between two and five students were generally in the frame and filming was directed at sequences in which a group of students worked together on a specific task. Data analysis: Analysis of the data focused on two kinds of incidents. The first comprised a sequence in which two or more students were interacting to complete a task which they could not immediately do and were engaged in collective signification by talking about or doing the activity in mutually compatible ways. These conditions were sufficient in our view to signal the creation of a ZPD. The second kind of incident fulfilled the first criteria but not the second – i.e. the students were interacting but not in mutually compatible ways. Findings: A post-Vygotskian interpretation of three group work sequences draws attention to: (i) the flexible and fluid nature of ‘expertness’ as it exists within groups; (ii) the unpredictable nature of member interactions and (iii) the challenging role that teachers occupy while trying to facilitate group work. Conclusion: Such an interpretation contributes to a growing understanding of group work and helps HPE practitioners to make the most of a teaching strategy which is already used widely in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper considers the practical implementation of constructivist grounded theory principles in a study of widening participation in Irish higher education. Following a brief introduction to the research study upon which this paper draws, a rationale is provided for the use of grounded theory and the objectivist–constructivist nexus is examined. Grounded theory was regarded as a valuable methodology to employ in the area of social justice-oriented widening participation research; however, objectivist approaches were found to be problematic. This paper identifies key principles informing a constructivist grounded theory research design and subsequently focuses on what these principles might ‘look like’, in practice, through an exploration of three key processes I employed in my grounded theory study. These processes provide examples of how researchers might adapt grounded theory methods, in a constructivist fashion, to better align the methodology with social justice-oriented research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper makes a connection between transmission modes and constructivism in sociology and education, respectively. There are parallels between Archer’s criticism of upward and downward conflation in social theory, and approaches to learning in education. In her 2012 book, Archer seeks to reconceptualise socialisation as relational reflexivity. This paper seeks to connect this idea to thinking about learning in relational terms and links the analysis to Young’s account of ‘bringing knowledge back in’. The paper uses an example from field work on participation in learning to provide concrete examples that illuminate the points being made. It argues that learning theory needs to move away from transmission and the constructivists’ ideas about education and to consider the relational aspects of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports on the use of design-based research (DBR) for the development of a framework that grounds the use of social technologies in learning. The paper focuses on three studies which step on the learning theory of constructionism. Constructionism assumes that knowledge is better gained when students find this knowledge for themselves when engaging in the making of concrete and public artifacts. In an attempt to implement theoretically designed learning environments in real-world classrooms, DBR was employed as an overarching framework of inquiry. The three cycles of DBR inquiry provide deep insights into the use of social technologies as social constructionist tools and inform a novel framework for their use. The implementation of the framework is specified along with further implications for researchers and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Over the last 30 years, traditional skill-based game teaching models have gradually been supplemented by instruction under an inclusive banner of 'Teaching Games for Understanding' (TGfU). This approach focuses on developing tactical understanding through modified games and a philosophy that places the learner rather than the game at the centre of instruction. A recent paper by Grehaigne, Caty, and Godbout, 'Modelling Ball Circulation in Invasion Team Sports: A Way to Promote Learning Games Through Understanding', had a threefold focus. * to report the results of a qualitative study on various offensive configurations of football play observed in Physical Education (PE) lessons with young novice players * to propose a model of game play based on the analysis of such configurations of play * to promote a radical constructivist teaching approach based on Teaming games through understanding' that challenges the long-established TGfU methodology Purpose'. This paper critically examines the contention of Grehaigne, Caty, and Godbout that the presentation of tactical data collected through the observation of novices playing sport in ill-structured domains, e.g. team games such as football, represent a useful pedagogical model that promotes Teaming games through understanding'. In rewording the familiar TGfU approach, and calling it Teaming games through understanding', Grehaigne, Caty, and Godbout challenge the evolving TGfU approach as too solutions based and not sufficiently student centred. Discussion: This paper challenges the use of radical constructivism as a construct for the development of a philosophy for instructing novices in team games, in this instance, football. It defines ill-structured and well-structured learning domains and suggests that effective pedagogy, the art of teaching, requires flexible attitudes towards the choice of pedagogy in games. By inference, it also challenges Grehaigne, Caty, and Godbout's assumption that the TGfU models previously published, e.g. TGfU, Game Sense, Play Practice, and interpreted in various texts, e.g. Transforming Play, Teaching Tactics and Game Sense, are not student-centred and teacher dominated. Conclusions: Grehaigne, Caty, and Godbout' s work is important in the evolution of models of game instruction for use in PE contexts. The concept of Teaming games through understanding' is a timely reminder of the importance of pedagogies, for example, guided or discovery learning that induce effortful thinking. However, if we consider TGfU in its true philosophical light, that is, as a holistic and experiential approach to teaching, then it already encompasses Teaming games through understanding'. Because no two students learn or conceive knowledge in exactly the same way, teaching contexts require a flexible approach to instruction, based on a methodological continuum of empirical to radical constructivism. In short, providing novice learners with sufficient opportunities to learn, requires flexibility and a holistic experiential approach to teaching that is appropriate for the learner, activity and context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cloud computing has recently received interest in information systems research and practice as a new way to organise information with the help of an increasingly ubiquitous computer infrastructure. However, the use of cloud computing in higher education institutions and business schools, as well as its potential to create novel learning environments remains an underresearched topic. Purpose: To address the research gap, this paper investigates how the capabilities of cloud computing have fostered collaborative learning processes of students in the design of management classrooms. The research project has taken place in a three-year period and has covered five post-graduate knowledge management classes, which have been situated in the context of business education. Research design and sources of evidence: I have used an illustrative case study of five knowledge management classes as research design to explore and describe interconnections between methods of social constructionism and cloud computing properties which enhance collaborative learning experiences of students in the classroom. To develop a theoretical background for the case study, I first review literature on constructivist and experiential learning, new management profiles, and information systems. In the empirical part of the case study, I have observed the experimental blending of constructivist learning methods and the cloud computing platform Google Apps for Education in three post-graduate classes and two Executive Master of Business Administration classes on the topic of knowledge management. For the data collection, I have focused on collaboration processes to understand how students have used various cloud computing tools to work together, and how their usage has affected interaction and reflection in the observed courses. Results: Findings show that collaborative properties of cloud computing, when they are undergirded by methods of social constructionism, influence learning factors on cognitive, emotional, spatial and group levels and lead to substantial changes in teacher/student roles and behaviours. The ease-of-use, playfulness and immediacy of cloud platforms creates collaborative learning spaces and has the potential to foster lateral thinking and problem solving of students in the classroom. Conclusions and contribution: By illuminating mutual interrelations between learning factors, constructivist principles and cloud computing properties, the paper enriches the literature on the innovative use of information system technologies in universities and business schools. The paper provides, in addition, practice-oriented insights for pedagogical and methodological choices that undergird the capabilities of cloud platforms to foster collaborative learning processes of students in higher education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper argues for an expanded field of inquiry to conceptualise young children in museums. Drawing on Murris’ [2016. The Post-Human Child: Educational Transformation Through Philosophy with Picturebooks. London: Routledge] analysis of childhood constructions, we discuss how cognitive and socio-constructivist models of the child dominate childhood and museum studies. We argue for the potential of Murris’ figure of the posthuman child to reconceptualise children in museums. This perspective offers a greater focus on the potency of objects themselves, and the animacy of the non-human aspects of the museum. It is also underpinned by a theoretical shift from representation to non-representation [Anderson, B., and P. Harrison. (2010) “The Promise of Non-representational Theories.” In Taking-place: Non-representational Theories and Geography. Farnham: Ashgate], presenting us with new ways to address questions such as ‘what does that mean?’ when we observe children’s learning in museums. Working with data that has proved resistant to interpretation across a range of research projects, what we call ‘sticky data’, we elaborate on three themes emerging from this reconceptualisation: vibrancy, repetition and movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now visualization courses have been taught at universities around the world. Keeping students motivated and actively engaged in this course can be a challenging task. In this paper we introduce our developed interactive learning system called VisMis (Visualization and Multi-modal Interaction System) for postgraduate scientific visualization course at Beijing Normal University. We develop it following the Great Didactic from Comenius and the theory of constructivism on constructing the visual and interactive learning environment to support and challenge the student’s learning. We give a report on our proprietary system including its educational objective, volume visualization module, multi-modal interaction module, and CUDA implementation etc. By the evaluation, we conclude that VisMis is an innovative platform for volume visualization with novel transfer function design and multi-modal interaction. It has more advantage in easiness, speed, layer control, interaction, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:The social constructivist perspective emphasises that learning is a process of self-construction of knowledge in a social context. Game-centred approaches, such as teaching games for understanding, have been used in accordance with this perspective. The process of transferring learning responsibility takes place when the learner is building his/her own knowledge. Purpose:the aim of this paper is to explore how progressively transferring responsibility for learning from the coach to the players occurs in an ecological learning environment. We address it describing the joint activity organisation and its dynamic evolution for a coaching sequence of rugby through the analysis of interaction between the players and the coach. Participants and setting:Ten novice rugby players (aged 17–19) and a coach-researcher participated in this study. The study was conducted over a 6-week period with a total of 11 sessions, each of 90 minutes. Research design:the research was designed as participant observation in a unique case study based on the observation of an ecological learning environment in a rugby club. Data collection:We video- and audio-recorded the sessions. Transcripts of sessions, including all verbal exchanges and descriptions of participants’ motor performance, are the main source of data. Data analysis:The unit of analysis is the segment of interactivity (SI). This is defined as the period of time within a session in which verbal exchanges and specific behaviours by participants are under the same instructional function. SIs are identified by analysis of interactivity that is generated during the learning process; they are not given in advance. In this study we analyse the evolution of the identified SIs during the 11-lesson unit in an interactivity map. The map depicts changes that occur during the learning process in relation to the transfer of learning responsibility from the coach to the players. Results:we have identified six SIs: SI Activity Organisation, SI Guided Practice, SI Autonomous Practice, SI Discussion, SI Recapitulation and SI Transition. There was an evolution of these SIs over the course of the unit showing transfer of learning control from coach to learner. This was evident by a decrease in SIs Activity Organisation in conjunction with an increase in SIs of Guided and Autonomous Practice. We also show that reflection time is firstly organised around specific SI Discussion, but progressively transferred to reflection during the guided practice, mainly about tactical aspects. Conclusions:In consonance with other research conducted in naturalistic physical education and sports contexts, we observe that the learning transfer process occurs but is neither linear nor progressive. We obtained specific evidences of this process, although we find abrupt changes in the shape of breakdowns and disruptions that make this process partially unpredictable. The consistent situations of discussion and reflection that appear in the SIs Discussion, Recapitulation and Guided Practice seem to play an important role that facilitates game understanding of learners. We consider the analysis of real teaching and learning settings to be of paramount importance to understand the educational influence that emerges in the knowledge construction in sports pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the wake of new museology and constructivist learning theories, the traditional unidirectional educational role of the museum has been contested and challenged. Museums have the potential to be progressive pedagogical sites and are an ideal terrain to explore educational theories and attitudes. Jacques Rancière, in his seminal book The Ignorant Schoolmaster (1987), proposed a different view of what education should look like. This article explores what an 'ignorant art museum' practice can look like beyond meaning-making, through analysis of key actions, such as observing, repeating, failing, trying and verifying. Theorising on literature (philosophy and educational theory) and taking international examples, it will explore the benefits and issues created by such practices. What are the tensions between the museum as the site of the expert and the space of the public? What can a new form of museum expertise look like? How can technology contribute to the development of the 'ignorant museum'? What knowledge can be created in an 'ignorant museum' environment and how can this knowledge be displayed in the framework of the museum? By attempting to resolve these questions, this paper aims to look into the 'ignorant museum' as a strategy for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Menzerath-Altmann law (henceforth the MA law), discovered by Menzerath and formulated by Altmann, describes the correlation between the language structure and its immediate components at all linguistic levels. This paper examines the correlation between Chinese sentences and their components, clauses, in texts from different registers based on the MA law. The results show that the correlation is described by the MA law only in the formal written texts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes that higher level learning of criminological theory can be accomplished by having students express a theory creatively through an art form (i.e. a drawing, a dance, a poem, or role play). This type of constructivist assignment would empower undergraduate students to be theory co-creators and allow them to be actively engaged in building knowledge off of a Piagetian platform. While Piaget’s theory was formulated to explain the cognitive development in children, neuroscience has revealed its potential for expanding cognitive capacity in adults. When students are presented with a novel task requiring fuller focus, such as being required to build new knowledge onto existing schema in a uniquely creative way, deeper levels of learning are more likely to occur and be retained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]