Development of the breastfeeding quality improvement in hospitals learning collaborative in New York state.

PubMed

Fitzpatrick, Eileen; Dennison, Barbara A; Welge, Sara Bonam; Hisgen, Stephanie; Boyce, Patricia Simino; Waniewski, Patricia A

2013-06-01

Exclusive breastfeeding is a public health priority. A strong body of evidence links maternity care practices, based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, to increased breastfeeding initiation, duration and exclusivity. Despite having written breastfeeding policies, New York (NY) hospitals vary widely in reported maternity care practices and in prevalence rates of breastfeeding, especially exclusive breastfeeding, during the birth hospitalization. To improve hospital maternity care practices, breastfeeding support, and the percentage of infants exclusively breastfeeding, the NY State Department of Health developed the Breastfeeding Quality Improvement in Hospitals (BQIH) Learning Collaborative. The BQIH Learning Collaborative was the first to use the Institute for Health Care Improvement's Breakthrough Series methodology to specifically focus on increasing hospital breastfeeding support. The evidence-based maternity care practices from the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding provided the basis for the Change Package and Data Measurement Plan. The present article describes the development of the BQIH Learning Collaborative. The engagement of breastfeeding experts, partners, and stakeholders in refining the Learning Collaborative design and content, in defining the strategies and interventions (Change Package) that drive hospital systems change, and in developing the Data Measurement Plan to assess progress in meeting the Learning Collaborative goals and hospital aims is illustrated. The BQIH Learning Collaborative is a model program that was implemented in a group of NY hospitals with plans to spread to additional hospitals in NY and across the country.

Realizing a Deflection-type D.C. Bridge-based Thermometer under Project-based Learning Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warsahemas, T.; Ramadhiansyah; Ulum, A. I. N.; Yuliza, E.; Khairurrijal

2016-08-01

In addition to conventional learning, project-based learning (PBL) helps students developing skills and becoming more engaged in learning as they have a chance to solve real life problems of actual projects. As the name suggests, PBL is a model that organizes learning around projects. In this paper, the project that will be completed by a group of three students is about making a water temperature measuring instrument using a simple deflection-type d.c. bridge circuit. The project was done in the period of January to April 2015 when they was taking the Measurement and Data Processing Techniques, which is a compulsory course in the fourth semester of undergraduate program in Department of Physics at Institut Teknologi Bandung. With the help of a lecturer and a tutor as facilitators, they have followed this series of steps: 1. Start with a driving question, a problem to be solved, 2. Exploring the driving question by participating in authentic, situated inquiry, 3. Engaging collaborative activities with lecturer and tutor to find solutions to the driving question, 4. Scaffolding with learning technologies that help students participating in activities normally beyond their ability, and 5. Creating a set of tangible products that address the driving question. With this series of steps, the students have become easier to understand the lectures that have been given and the instrument has been realized to measure the temperature of water properly. When realizing the project under the PBL method, we learned other materials beside that have been taught in the course. Due to this project, we have had more skills like designing and soldering as well as problem-solving, teamwork, critical thinking, synthesis and analysis.

Using a Learning Collaborative Strategy With Office-based Practices to Increase Access and Improve Quality of Care for Patients With Opioid Use Disorders.

PubMed

Nordstrom, Benjamin R; Saunders, Elizabeth C; McLeman, Bethany; Meier, Andrea; Xie, Haiyi; Lambert-Harris, Chantal; Tanzman, Beth; Brooklyn, John; King, Gregory; Kloster, Nels; Lord, Clifton Frederick; Roberts, William; McGovern, Mark P

2016-01-01

Rapidly escalating rates of heroin and prescription opioid use have been widely observed in rural areas across the United States. Although US Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for opioid use disorders exist, they are not routinely accessible to patients. One medication, buprenorphine, can be prescribed by waivered physicians in office-based practice settings, but practice patterns vary widely. This study explored the use of a learning collaborative method to improve the provision of buprenorphine in the state of Vermont. We initiated a learning collaborative with 4 cohorts of physician practices (28 total practices). The learning collaborative consisted of a series of 4 face-to-face and 5 teleconference sessions over 9 months. Practices collected and reported on 8 quality-improvement data measures, which included the number of patients prescribed buprenorphine, and the percent of unstable patients seen weekly. Changes from baseline to 8 months were examined using a p-chart and logistic regression methodology. Physician engagement in the learning collaborative was favorable across all 4 cohorts (85.7%). On 6 of the 7 quality-improvement measures, there were improvements from baseline to 8 months. On 4 measures, these improvements were statistically significant (P < 0.001). Importantly, practice variation decreased over time on all measures. The number of patients receiving medication increased only slightly (3.4%). Results support the effectiveness of a learning collaborative approach to engage physicians, modestly improve patient access, and significantly reduce practice variation. The strategy is potentially generalizable to other systems and regions struggling with this important public health problem.

[Empathy, inter-professional collaboration, and lifelong medical learning in Spanish and Latin-American physicians-in-training who start their postgraduate training in hospitals in Spain. Preliminary outcomes].

PubMed

San-Martín, Montserrat; Roig-Carrera, Helena; Villalonga-Vadell, Rosa M; Benito-Sevillano, Carmen; Torres-Salinas, Miquel; Claret-Teruel, Gemma; Robles, Bernabé; Sans-Boix, Antonia; Alcorta-Garza, Adelina; Vivanco, Luis

2017-01-01

To identify similarities and differences in empathy, abilities toward inter-professional collaboration, and lifelong medical learning, between Spanish and Latin-American physicians-in-training who start their posgraduate training in teaching hospitals in Spain. Observational study using self-administered questionnaires. Five teaching hospitals in the province of Barcelona, Spain. Spanish and Latin-American physicians-in-training who started their first year of post-graduate medical training. Empathy was measured using the Jefferson scale of empathy. Abilities for inter-professional collaboration were measured using the Jefferson scale attitudes towards nurse-physician collaboration. Learning was measured using the Jefferson scale of medical lifelong learning scale. From a sample of 156 physicians-in-training, 110 from Spain and 40 from Latin America, the Spanish group showed the highest empathy (p<.05). On the other hand, Latin-American physicians had the highest scores in lifelong learning abilities (p<.001). A positive relationship was found between empathy and inter-professional collaboration for the whole sample (r=+0.34; p<.05). These results confirm previous preliminary data and underline the positive influence of empathy in the development of inter-professional collaboration abilities. In Latin-American physicians who start posgraduate training programs, lifelong learning abilities have a positive influence on the development of other professional competencies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

An Approach Based on Social Network Analysis Applied to a Collaborative Learning Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Claros, Iván; Cobos, Ruth; Collazos, César A.

2016-01-01

The Social Network Analysis (SNA) techniques allow modelling and analysing the interaction among individuals based on their attributes and relationships. This approach has been used by several researchers in order to measure the social processes in collaborative learning experiences. But oftentimes such measures were calculated at the final state…

Pre-Service Teachers' Learning Styles and Preferences towards Instructional Technology Activities and Collaborative Works

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yusop, Farrah Dina; Sumari, Melati

2015-01-01

The main purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate pre-service teachers' learning styles and their preferences with respect to 15 technology-based instructional activities and collaborative work tasks. Felder and Silverman's online Index of Learning Style (ILS) and a questionnaire were used to measure students' learning styles and…

Understanding the Effects of Time on Collaborative Learning Processes in Problem Based Learning: A Mixed Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hommes, J.; Van den Bossche, P.; de Grave, W.; Bos, G.; Schuwirth, L.; Scherpbier, A.

2014-01-01

Little is known how time influences collaborative learning groups in medical education. Therefore a thorough exploration of the development of learning processes over time was undertaken in an undergraduate PBL curriculum over 18 months. A mixed-methods triangulation design was used. First, the quantitative study measured how various learning…

Measuring Student Interactions Using Networks: Insights into the Learning Community of a Large Active Learning Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchenroth-Martin, Cynthia; DiMartino, Trevor; Martin, Andrew P.

2017-01-01

Collaborative learning in small groups is commonly implemented as a part of student-centered curricula. In large-enrollment courses, details of the interactions among students as a consequence of working in collaborative groups are often unknown but are important because how students interact influences the effectiveness of peer learning. We…

Quantifiable outcomes from corporate and higher education learning collaborations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devine, Thomas G.

The study investigated the existence of measurable learning outcomes that emerged out of the shared strengths of collaborating sponsors. The study identified quantifiable learning outcomes that confirm corporate, academic and learner participation in learning collaborations. Each of the three hypotheses and the synergy indicator quantitatively and qualitatively confirmed learning outcomes benefiting participants. The academic-indicator quantitatively confirmed that learning outcomes attract learners to the institution. The corporate-indicator confirmed that learning outcomes include knowledge exchange and enhanced workforce talents for careers in the energy-utility industry. The learner-indicator confirmed that learning outcomes provide professional development opportunities for employment. The synergy-indicator confirmed that best learning practices in learning collaborations emanate out of the sponsors' shared strengths, and that partnerships can be elevated to strategic alliances, going beyond response to the desires of sponsors to create learner-centered cultures. The synergy-indicator confirmed the value of organizational processes that elevate sponsors' interactions to sharing strength, to create a learner-centered culture. The study's series of qualitative questions confirmed prior success factors, while verifying the hypothesis results and providing insight not available from quantitative data. The direct benefactors of the study are the energy-utility learning-collaboration participants of the study, and corporation, academic institutions, and learners of the collaboration. The indirect benefactors are the stakeholders of future learning collaborations, through improved knowledge of the existence or absence of quantifiable learning outcomes.

Using a Learning Collaborative Strategy With Office-based Practices to Increase Access and Improve Quality of Care for Patients With Opioid Use Disorders

PubMed Central

Nordstrom, Benjamin R.; Saunders, Elizabeth C.; McLeman, Bethany; Meier, Andrea; Xie, Haiyi; Lambert-Harris, Chantal; Tanzman, Beth; Brooklyn, John; King, Gregory; Kloster, Nels; Lord, Clifton Frederick; Roberts, William; McGovern, Mark P.

2016-01-01

Objectives Rapidly escalating rates of heroin and prescription opioid use have been widely observed in rural areas across the United States. Although US Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for opioid use disorders exist, they are not routinely accessible to patients. One medication, buprenorphine, can be prescribed by waivered physicians in office-based practice settings, but practice patterns vary widely. This study explored the use of a learning collaborative method to improve the provision of buprenorphine in the state of Vermont. Methods We initiated a learning collaborative with 4 cohorts of physician practices (28 total practices). The learning collaborative consisted of a series of 4 face-to-face and 5 teleconference sessions over 9 months. Practices collected and reported on 8 quality-improvement data measures, which included the number of patients prescribed buprenorphine, and the percent of unstable patients seen weekly. Changes from baseline to 8 months were examined using a p-chart and logistic regression methodology. Results Physician engagement in the learning collaborative was favorable across all 4 cohorts (85.7%). On 6 of the 7 quality-improvement measures, there were improvements from baseline to 8 months. On 4 measures, these improvements were statistically significant (P < 0.001). Importantly, practice variation decreased over time on all measures. The number of patients receiving medication increased only slightly (3.4%). Conclusions Results support the effectiveness of a learning collaborative approach to engage physicians, modestly improve patient access, and significantly reduce practice variation. The strategy is potentially generalizable to other systems and regions struggling with this important public health problem. PMID:26900669

Social Effects of Collaborative Learning in Primary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tolmie, Andrew Kenneth; Topping, Keith J.; Christie, Donald; Donaldson, Caroline; Howe, Christine; Jessiman, Emma; Livingston, Kay; Thurston, Allen

2010-01-01

There is conflicting evidence on whether collaborative group work leads to improved classroom relations, and if so how. A before and after design was used to measure the impact on work and play relations of a collaborative learning programme involving 575 students 9-12 years old in single- and mixed-age classes across urban and rural schools. Data…

Addressing the challenges of ECMO simulation.

PubMed

Alinier, Guillaume; Hassan, Ibrahim Fawzy; Alsalemi, Abdullah; Al Disi, Mohammed; Ait Hssain, Ali; Labib, Ahmed; Alhomsi, Yahya; Bensaali, Fayçal; Amira, Abbes; Ibrahim, Abdulsalam Saif

2018-05-01

The patient's condition and high-risk nature of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy force clinical services to ensure clinicians are properly trained and always ready to deal effectively with critical situations. Simulation-based education (SBE), from the simplest approaches to the most immersive modalities, helps promote optimum individual and team performance. The risks of SBE are negative learning, inauthenticity in learning and over-reliance on the participants' suspension of disbelief. This is especially relevant to ECMO SBE as circuit/patient interactions are difficult to fully simulate without confusing circuit alterations. Our efforts concentrate on making ECMO simulation easier and more realistic in order to reduce the current gap there is between SBE and real ECMO patient care. Issues to be overcome include controlling the circuit pressures, system failures, patient issues, blood colour and cost factors. Key to our developments are the hospital-university collaboration and research funding. A prototype ECMO simulator has been developed that allows for realistic ECMO SBE. The system emulates the ECMO machine interface with remotely controllable pressure parameters, haemorrhaging, line chattering, air bubble noise and simulated blood colour change. The prototype simulator allows the simulation of common ECMO emergencies through innovative solutions that enhance the fidelity of ECMO SBE and reduce the requirement for suspension of disbelief from participants. Future developments will encompass the patient cannulation aspect.

Measurement Learning Trajectories: A Tool for Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCool, Jenni K.

2009-01-01

This study investigated the ways in which a teacher developed conceptions of measurement teaching and learning as she collaborated with a researcher to learn and implement a measurement learning trajectory with two of her students. Teachers need tools that effectively address the content area of measurement and can be used to improve their…

Implementation of treat-to-target in rheumatoid arthritis through a Learning Collaborative: Rationale and design of the TRACTION trial.

PubMed

Solomon, Daniel H; Lee, Sara B; Zak, Agnes; Corrigan, Cassandra; Agosti, Jenifer; Bitton, Asaf; Harrold, Leslie; Losina, Elena; Lu, Bing; Pincus, Ted; Radner, Helga; Smolen, Josef; Katz, Jeffrey N; Fraenkel, Liana

2016-08-01

Treat-to-target (TTT) is a recommended strategy in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but various data sources suggest that its uptake in routine care in the US is suboptimal. Herein, we describe the design of a randomized controlled trial of a Learning Collaborative to facilitate implementation of TTT. We recruited 11 rheumatology sites from across the US and randomized them into the following two groups: one received the Learning Collaborative intervention in Phase 1 (month 1-9) and the second formed a wait-list control group to receive the intervention in Phase 2 (months 10-18). The Learning Collaborative intervention was designed using the Model for Improvement, consisting of a Change Package with corresponding principles and action phases. Phase 1 intervention practices had nine learning sessions, collaborated using a web-based tool, and shared results of plan-do-study-act cycles and monthly improvement metrics collected at each practice. The wait-list control group sites had no intervention during Phase 1. The primary trial outcome is the implementation of TTT as measured by chart review, comparing the differences from baseline to end of Phase 1, between intervention and control sites. All intervention sites remained engaged in the Learning Collaborative throughout Phase 1, with a total of 38 providers participating. The primary trial outcome measures are currently being collected by the study team through medical record review. If the Learning Collaborative is an effective means for improving implementation of TTT, this strategy could serve as a way of implementing disseminating TTT more widely. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How to Measure Qualitative Understanding of DC-Circuit Phenomena - Taking a Closer Look at the External Representations of 9-Year-Olds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kallunki, Veera

2013-04-01

Pupils' qualitative understanding of DC-circuit phenomena is reported to be weak. In numerous research reports lists of problems in understanding the functioning of simple DC-circuits have been presented. So-called mental model surveys have uncovered difficulties in different age groups, and in different phases of instruction. In this study, the concept of qualitative understanding, and the content or position of reported mental models of DC-circuit phenomena are discussed. On the grounds of this review, new tools for investigating qualitative understanding and analysing external representations of DC-circuit phenomena are presented. According to this approach, the external representations of DC-circuit phenomena that describe pupils' expressed conceptions of the topic should include both empirical-based models and theoretical explanations. In the empirical part of this study , third-graders (9-year-olds) learning DC-circuit phenomena in a comprehensive school in a small group were scrutinised. The focus of the study is the external representations manifested in the talk of the small group. The study challenges earlier studies, which claim that children exhibit a wide range of qualitative difficulties when learning DC-circuit phenomena. In this study it will be shown that even in the case of abstract subject matter like DC-circuit phenomena, small groups that highlight empirical-based modelling and activate talk can be a fruitful learning environment, where pupils' qualitative understanding really develops. Thus, the study proposes taking a closer look at pupils' external representations concerning DC-circuit phenomena.

The Identification and Establishment of Reinforcement for Collaboration in Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darcy, Laura

2017-01-01

In Experiment 1, I conducted a functional analysis of student rate of learning with and without a peer-yoked contingency for 12 students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade in order to determine if they had conditioned reinforcement for collaboration. Using an ABAB reversal design, I compared rate of learning as measured by learn units to criterion…

E-Learning System for Learning Virtual Circuit Making with a Microcontroller and Programming to Control a Robot

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takemura, Atsushi

2015-01-01

This paper proposes a novel e-Learning system for learning electronic circuit making and programming a microcontroller to control a robot. The proposed e-Learning system comprises a virtual-circuit-making function for the construction of circuits with a versatile, Arduino microcontroller and an educational system that can simulate behaviors of…

Virtual Power Electronics: Novel Software Tools for Design, Modeling and Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamar, Janos; Nagy, István; Funato, Hirohito; Ogasawara, Satoshi; Dranga, Octavian; Nishida, Yasuyuki

The current paper is dedicated to present browser-based multimedia-rich software tools and e-learning curriculum to support the design and modeling process of power electronics circuits and to explain sometimes rather sophisticated phenomena. Two projects will be discussed. The so-called Inetele project is financed by the Leonardo da Vinci program of the European Union (EU). It is a collaborative project between numerous EU universities and institutes to develop state-of-the art curriculum in Electrical Engineering. Another cooperative project with participation of Japanese, European and Australian institutes focuses especially on developing e-learning curriculum, interactive design and modeling tools, furthermore on development of a virtual laboratory. Snapshots from these two projects will be presented.

Progress Check Module; Basic Electricity and Electronics Individualized Learning System. Progress Check Booklet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, DC.

The Progress Check Booklet is designed to be used by the student working in the programed course to determine if he has mastered the concepts in the course booklets on: electrical current; voltage; resistance; measuring current and voltage in series circuits; relationships of current, voltage, and resistance; parellel circuits; combination…

Identifying and Investigating Difficult Concepts in Engineering Mechanics and Electric Circuits. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Streveler, Ruth; Geist, Monica; Ammerman, Ravel; Sulzbach, Candace; Miller, Ronald; Olds, Barbara; Nelson, Mary

2007-01-01

This study extends ongoing work to identify difficult concepts in thermal and transport science and measure students' understanding of those concepts via a concept inventory. Two research questions provided the focal point: "What important concepts in electric circuits and engineering mechanics do students find difficult to learn?" and…

Students' approaches to learning in clinical interprofessional context.

PubMed

Hylin, Uffe; Lonka, Kirsti; Ponzer, Sari

2011-01-01

Health care professionals are supposed to work in teams. Students in health care need to learn how to collaborate during their undergraduate education. Interprofessional learning environments, where collaboration is necessary, may be differently accepted by students depending on their approach to learning. We investigated health care students' evaluations of interprofessional clinical training in relation to their study orientations. The participants were 369 students (40 occupational therapy-, 85 medical-, 52 physiotherapy-, and 192 nursing students) attending an IPE course at a Swedish University Hospital. Data were collected by questionnaires measuring orientations to studying and attitudes towards the clinical training and the IPE concept before and after the training. The response rate was 77 %. Study groups were formed by a cluster analysis on the basis of the students' learning orientations. Three clusters were found: Low collaboration-, Collaborative Constructivist-, and Cookbook groups. These clusters were related to different professions and how students perceived their interprofessional learning environment. Study orientations appear to play a role in the way students evaluate interprofessional training. This should be taken into account in instruction. Students with a 'Cookbook' approach to learning showed an increased understanding of interprofessional collaboration after the course.

Student Teachers' Skills in the Implementation of Collaborative Learning: A Multilevel Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruys, Ilse; Van Keer, Hilde; Aelterman, Antonia

2011-01-01

This study explores the development of student teachers' skills in implementing collaborative learning (CL) using a multilevel repeated measures design. Participants were 105 pre-service teachers that were trained in CL implementation. The results indicate that student teachers generally perform well in implementing CL. Further, it appears that…

Measuring Learner's Performance in E-Learning Recommender Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghauth, Khairil Imran; Abdullah, Nor Aniza

2010-01-01

A recommender system is a piece of software that helps users to identify the most interesting and relevant learning items from a large number of items. Recommender systems may be based on collaborative filtering (by user ratings), content-based filtering (by keywords), and hybrid filtering (by both collaborative and content-based filtering).…

Understanding the effects of time on collaborative learning processes in problem based learning: a mixed methods study.

PubMed

Hommes, J; Van den Bossche, P; de Grave, W; Bos, G; Schuwirth, L; Scherpbier, A

2014-10-01

Little is known how time influences collaborative learning groups in medical education. Therefore a thorough exploration of the development of learning processes over time was undertaken in an undergraduate PBL curriculum over 18 months. A mixed-methods triangulation design was used. First, the quantitative study measured how various learning processes developed within and over three periods in the first 1,5 study years of an undergraduate curriculum. Next, a qualitative study using semi-structured individual interviews focused on detailed development of group processes driving collaborative learning during one period in seven tutorial groups. The hierarchic multilevel analyses of the quantitative data showed that a varying combination of group processes developed within and over the three observed periods. The qualitative study illustrated development in psychological safety, interdependence, potency, group learning behaviour, social and task cohesion. Two new processes emerged: 'transactive memory' and 'convergence in mental models'. The results indicate that groups are dynamic social systems with numerous contextual influences. Future research should thus include time as an important influence on collaborative learning. Practical implications are discussed.

Two Processes in Early Bimanual Motor Skill Learning

PubMed Central

Yeganeh Doost, Maral; Orban de Xivry, Jean-Jacques; Bihin, Benoît; Vandermeeren, Yves

2017-01-01

Most daily activities are bimanual and their efficient performance requires learning and retention of bimanual coordination. Despite in-depth knowledge of the various stages of motor skill learning in general, how new bimanual coordination control policies are established is still unclear. We designed a new cooperative bimanual task in which subjects had to move a cursor across a complex path (a circuit) as fast and as accurately as possible through coordinated bimanual movements. By looking at the transfer of the skill between different circuits and by looking at training with varying circuits, we identified two processes in early bimanual motor learning. Loss of performance due to the switch in circuit after 15 min of training amounted to 20%, which suggests that a significant portion of improvements in bimanual performance is specific to the used circuit (circuit-specific skill). In contrast, the loss of performance due to the switch in circuit was 5% after 4 min of training. This suggests that learning the new bimanual coordination control policy dominates early in the training and is independent of the used circuit. Finally, switching between two circuits throughout training did not affect the early stage of learning (i.e., the first few minutes), but did affect the later stage. Together, these results suggest that early bimanual motor skill learning includes two different processes. Learning the new bimanual coordination control policy predominates in the first minutes whereas circuit-specific skill improvements unfold later in parallel with further improvements in the bimanual coordination control policy. PMID:29326573

Color Coding of Circuit Quantities in Introductory Circuit Analysis Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reisslein, Jana; Johnson, Amy M.; Reisslein, Martin

2015-01-01

Learning the analysis of electrical circuits represented by circuit diagrams is often challenging for novice students. An open research question in electrical circuit analysis instruction is whether color coding of the mathematical symbols (variables) that denote electrical quantities can improve circuit analysis learning. The present study…

Evaluation of social interaction, task management, and trust among dental hygiene students in a collaborative learning environment.

PubMed

Saylor, Catherine D; Keselyak, Nancy T; Simmer-Beck, Melanie; Tira, Daniel

2011-02-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of collaborative learning on the development of social interaction, task management, and trust in dental hygiene students. These three traits were assessed with the Teamwork Assessment Scale in two different learning environments (traditional lecture/lab and collaborative learning environment). A convenience sample of fifty-six entry-level dental hygiene students taking an introductory/preclinic course at two metropolitan area dental hygiene programs provided comparable experimental and control groups. Factor scores were computed for the three traits, and comparisons were conducted using the Ryan-Einot-Gabriel-Welsh multiple comparison procedure among specific cell comparisons generated from a two-factor repeated measures ANOVA. The results indicate that the collaborative learning environment influenced dental hygiene students positively regarding the traits of social interaction, task management, and trust. However, comparing dental hygiene students to undergraduate students overall indicates that dental hygiene students already possess somewhat higher levels of these traits. Future studies on active learning strategies should examine factors such as student achievement and explore other possible active learning methodologies.

The Effect of Student Collaboration in Solving Physics Problems Using an Online Interactive Response System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balta, Nuri; Awedh, Mohammad Hamza

2017-01-01

Advanced technology helps educational institutes to improve student learning performance and outcomes. In this study, our aim is to measure and assess student engagement and collaborative learning in engineering classes when using online technology in solving physics problems. The interactive response system used in this study is a collaborative…

Interaction between Tool and Talk: How Instruction and Tools Support Consensus Building in Collaborative Inquiry-Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gijlers, H.; Saab, N.; Van Joolingen, W. R.; De Jong, T.; Van Hout-Wolters, B. H. A. M.

2009-01-01

The process of collaborative inquiry learning requires maintaining a mutual understanding of the task, along with reaching consensus on strategies, plans and domain knowledge. In this study, we explore how different supportive measures affect students' consensus-building process, based on a re-analysis of data from four studies. We distinguish…

Temporal learning in the cerebellum: The microcircuit model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miles, Coe F.; Rogers, David

1990-01-01

The cerebellum is that part of the brain which coordinates motor reflex behavior. To perform effectively, it must learn to generate specific motor commands at the proper times. We propose a fundamental circuit, called the MicroCircuit, which is the minimal ensemble of neurons both necessary and sufficient to learn timing. We describe how learning takes place in the MicroCircuit, which then explains the global behavior of the cerebellum as coordinated MicroCircuit behavior.

An approach to integrating interprofessional education in collaborative mental health care.

PubMed

Curran, Vernon; Heath, Olga; Adey, Tanis; Callahan, Terrance; Craig, David; Hearn, Taryn; White, Hubert; Hollett, Ann

2012-03-01

This article describes an evaluation of a curriculum approach to integrating interprofessional education (IPE) in collaborative mental health practice across the pre- to post-licensure continuum of medical education. A systematic evaluation of IPE activities was conducted, utilizing a combination of evaluation study designs, including: pretest-posttest control group; one-group pre-test-post-test; and one-shot case study. Participant satisfaction, attitudes toward teamwork, and self-reported teamwork abilities were key evaluative outcome measures. IPE in collaborative mental health practice was well received at both the pre- and post-licensure levels. Satisfaction scores were very high, and students, trainees, and practitioners welcomed the opportunity to learn about collaboration in the context of mental health. Medical student satisfaction increased significantly with the introduction of standardized patients (SPs) as an interprofessional learning method. Medical students and faculty reported that experiential learning in practice-based settings is a key component of effective approaches to IPE implementation. At a post-licensure level, practitioners reported significant improvement in attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration in mental health care after participation in IPE. IPE in collaborative mental health is feasible, and mental health settings offer practical and useful learning experiences for students, trainees, and practitioners in interprofessional collaboration.

Action Research: Measuring Literacy Programme Participants' Learning Outcomes. Results of the Final Phase (2011-2014)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolly, Madina; Jonas, Nicolas

2015-01-01

Action Research on Measuring Literacy Programme Participants' Learning Outcomes (RAMAA) aims to develop, implement and collaborate on the creation of a methodological approach to measure acquired learning and study the various factors that influence its development. This report examines how RAMAA I has been implemented over the past four years in…

Active Learning: The Importance of Developing a Comprehensive Measure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carr, Rodney; Palmer, Stuart; Hagel, Pauline

2015-01-01

This article reports on an investigation into the validity of a widely used scale for measuring the extent to which higher education students employ active learning strategies. The scale is the active learning scale in the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement. This scale is based on the Active and Collaborative Learning scale of the National…

Design of a biochemical circuit motif for learning linear functions

PubMed Central

Lakin, Matthew R.; Minnich, Amanda; Lane, Terran; Stefanovic, Darko

2014-01-01

Learning and adaptive behaviour are fundamental biological processes. A key goal in the field of bioengineering is to develop biochemical circuit architectures with the ability to adapt to dynamic chemical environments. Here, we present a novel design for a biomolecular circuit capable of supervised learning of linear functions, using a model based on chemical reactions catalysed by DNAzymes. To achieve this, we propose a novel mechanism of maintaining and modifying internal state in biochemical systems, thereby advancing the state of the art in biomolecular circuit architecture. We use simulations to demonstrate that the circuit is capable of learning behaviour and assess its asymptotic learning performance, scalability and robustness to noise. Such circuits show great potential for building autonomous in vivo nanomedical devices. While such a biochemical system can tell us a great deal about the fundamentals of learning in living systems and may have broad applications in biomedicine (e.g. autonomous and adaptive drugs), it also offers some intriguing challenges and surprising behaviours from a machine learning perspective. PMID:25401175

Design of a biochemical circuit motif for learning linear functions.

PubMed

Lakin, Matthew R; Minnich, Amanda; Lane, Terran; Stefanovic, Darko

2014-12-06

Learning and adaptive behaviour are fundamental biological processes. A key goal in the field of bioengineering is to develop biochemical circuit architectures with the ability to adapt to dynamic chemical environments. Here, we present a novel design for a biomolecular circuit capable of supervised learning of linear functions, using a model based on chemical reactions catalysed by DNAzymes. To achieve this, we propose a novel mechanism of maintaining and modifying internal state in biochemical systems, thereby advancing the state of the art in biomolecular circuit architecture. We use simulations to demonstrate that the circuit is capable of learning behaviour and assess its asymptotic learning performance, scalability and robustness to noise. Such circuits show great potential for building autonomous in vivo nanomedical devices. While such a biochemical system can tell us a great deal about the fundamentals of learning in living systems and may have broad applications in biomedicine (e.g. autonomous and adaptive drugs), it also offers some intriguing challenges and surprising behaviours from a machine learning perspective.

Learning Progressions as Tools for Assessment and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shepard, Lorrie A.

2018-01-01

This article addresses the teaching and learning side of the learning progressions literature, calling out for measurement specialists the knowledge most needed when collaborating with subject-matter experts in the development of learning progressions. Learning progressions are one of the strongest instantiations of principles from "Knowing…

Variability-aware compact modeling and statistical circuit validation on SRAM test array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Ying; Spanos, Costas J.

2016-03-01

Variability modeling at the compact transistor model level can enable statistically optimized designs in view of limitations imposed by the fabrication technology. In this work we propose a variability-aware compact model characterization methodology based on stepwise parameter selection. Transistor I-V measurements are obtained from bit transistor accessible SRAM test array fabricated using a collaborating foundry's 28nm FDSOI technology. Our in-house customized Monte Carlo simulation bench can incorporate these statistical compact models; and simulation results on SRAM writability performance are very close to measurements in distribution estimation. Our proposed statistical compact model parameter extraction methodology also has the potential of predicting non-Gaussian behavior in statistical circuit performances through mixtures of Gaussian distributions.

Mixed Signal Learning by Spike Correlation Propagation in Feedback Inhibitory Circuits

PubMed Central

Hiratani, Naoki; Fukai, Tomoki

2015-01-01

The brain can learn and detect mixed input signals masked by various types of noise, and spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) is the candidate synaptic level mechanism. Because sensory inputs typically have spike correlation, and local circuits have dense feedback connections, input spikes cause the propagation of spike correlation in lateral circuits; however, it is largely unknown how this secondary correlation generated by lateral circuits influences learning processes through STDP, or whether it is beneficial to achieve efficient spike-based learning from uncertain stimuli. To explore the answers to these questions, we construct models of feedforward networks with lateral inhibitory circuits and study how propagated correlation influences STDP learning, and what kind of learning algorithm such circuits achieve. We derive analytical conditions at which neurons detect minor signals with STDP, and show that depending on the origin of the noise, different correlation timescales are useful for learning. In particular, we show that non-precise spike correlation is beneficial for learning in the presence of cross-talk noise. We also show that by considering excitatory and inhibitory STDP at lateral connections, the circuit can acquire a lateral structure optimal for signal detection. In addition, we demonstrate that the model performs blind source separation in a manner similar to the sequential sampling approximation of the Bayesian independent component analysis algorithm. Our results provide a basic understanding of STDP learning in feedback circuits by integrating analyses from both dynamical systems and information theory. PMID:25910189

Do medical students watch video clips in eLearning and do these facilitate learning?

PubMed

Romanov, Kalle; Nevgi, Anne

2007-06-01

There is controversial evidence of the impact of individual learning style on students' performance in computer-aided learning. We assessed the association between the use of multimedia materials, such as video clips, and collaborative communication tools with learning outcome among medical students. One hundred and twenty-one third-year medical students attended a course in medical informatics (0.7 credits) consisting of lectures, small group sessions and eLearning material. The eLearning material contained six learning modules with integrated video clips and collaborative learning tools in WebCT. Learning outcome was measured with a course exam. Approximately two-thirds of students (68.6%) viewed two or more videos. Female students were significantly more active video-watchers. No significant associations were found between video-watching and self-test scores or the time used in eLearning. Video-watchers were more active in WebCT; they loaded more pages and more actively participated in discussion forums. Video-watching was associated with a better course grade. Students who watched video clips were more active in using collaborative eLearning tools and achieved higher course grades.

Visual complexity: a review.

PubMed

Donderi, Don C

2006-01-01

The idea of visual complexity, the history of its measurement, and its implications for behavior are reviewed, starting with structuralism and Gestalt psychology at the beginning of the 20th century and ending with visual complexity theory, perceptual learning theory, and neural circuit theory at the beginning of the 21st. Evidence is drawn from research on single forms, form and texture arrays and visual displays. Form complexity and form probability are shown to be linked through their reciprocal relationship in complexity theory, which is in turn shown to be consistent with recent developments in perceptual learning and neural circuit theory. Directions for further research are suggested.

Designing and Evaluating an Interprofessional Experiential Course Series Involving Medical and Pharmacy Students

PubMed Central

Dueñas, Gladys G.; Zanoni, Aileen; Grover, Anisha B.

2016-01-01

Objective. To prepare first-year and second-year pharmacy and medical students to build effective collaborative health care teams by participating in an interprofessional experiential 6-semester course series. Design. An interprofessional experiential course series was designed using a variety of teaching methods to achieve both interprofessional and experiential learning outcomes. A standardized objective behavioral assessment was developed to measure team performance of interprofessional communication and teamwork. In addition, student perceptions were measured using a validated instrument. Assessment. A majority of teams demonstrated appropriate competence with respect to interprofessional communication and teamwork. Additionally, a majority of students expressed positive perceptions of interprofessional collaboration with respect to teamwork, roles and responsibilities, and patient outcomes. Conclusion. An interprofessional experiential course series can be successfully implemented to achieve both interprofessional and experiential learning outcomes. Highly collaborative teams and positive student perceptions provide evidence of achievement of interprofessional education learning outcomes. PMID:27402988

How social network analysis can be used to monitor online collaborative learning and guide an informed intervention

PubMed Central

Fors, Uno; Tedre, Matti; Nouri, Jalal

2018-01-01

To ensure online collaborative learning meets the intended pedagogical goals (is actually collaborative and stimulates learning), mechanisms are needed for monitoring the efficiency of online collaboration. Various studies have indicated that social network analysis can be particularly effective in studying students’ interactions in online collaboration. However, research in education has only focused on the theoretical potential of using SNA, not on the actual benefits they achieved. This study investigated how social network analysis can be used to monitor online collaborative learning, find aspects in need of improvement, guide an informed intervention, and assess the efficacy of intervention using an experimental, observational repeated-measurement design in three courses over a full-term duration. Using a combination of SNA-based visual and quantitative analysis, we monitored three SNA constructs for each participant: the level of interactivity, the role, and position in information exchange, and the role played by each participant in the collaboration. On the group level, we monitored interactivity and group cohesion indicators. Our monitoring uncovered a non-collaborative teacher-centered pattern of interactions in the three studied courses as well as very few interactions among students, limited information exchange or negotiation, and very limited student networks dominated by the teacher. An intervention based on SNA-generated insights was designed. The intervention was structured into five actions: increasing awareness, promoting collaboration, improving the content, preparing teachers, and finally practicing with feedback. Evaluation of the intervention revealed that it has significantly enhanced student-student interactions and teacher-student interactions, as well as produced a collaborative pattern of interactions among most students and teachers. Since efficient and communicative activities are essential prerequisites for successful content discussion and for realizing the goals of collaboration, we suggest that our SNA-based approach will positively affect teaching and learning in many educational domains. Our study offers a proof-of-concept of what SNA can add to the current tools for monitoring and supporting teaching and learning in higher education. PMID:29566058

How social network analysis can be used to monitor online collaborative learning and guide an informed intervention.

PubMed

Saqr, Mohammed; Fors, Uno; Tedre, Matti; Nouri, Jalal

2018-01-01

To ensure online collaborative learning meets the intended pedagogical goals (is actually collaborative and stimulates learning), mechanisms are needed for monitoring the efficiency of online collaboration. Various studies have indicated that social network analysis can be particularly effective in studying students' interactions in online collaboration. However, research in education has only focused on the theoretical potential of using SNA, not on the actual benefits they achieved. This study investigated how social network analysis can be used to monitor online collaborative learning, find aspects in need of improvement, guide an informed intervention, and assess the efficacy of intervention using an experimental, observational repeated-measurement design in three courses over a full-term duration. Using a combination of SNA-based visual and quantitative analysis, we monitored three SNA constructs for each participant: the level of interactivity, the role, and position in information exchange, and the role played by each participant in the collaboration. On the group level, we monitored interactivity and group cohesion indicators. Our monitoring uncovered a non-collaborative teacher-centered pattern of interactions in the three studied courses as well as very few interactions among students, limited information exchange or negotiation, and very limited student networks dominated by the teacher. An intervention based on SNA-generated insights was designed. The intervention was structured into five actions: increasing awareness, promoting collaboration, improving the content, preparing teachers, and finally practicing with feedback. Evaluation of the intervention revealed that it has significantly enhanced student-student interactions and teacher-student interactions, as well as produced a collaborative pattern of interactions among most students and teachers. Since efficient and communicative activities are essential prerequisites for successful content discussion and for realizing the goals of collaboration, we suggest that our SNA-based approach will positively affect teaching and learning in many educational domains. Our study offers a proof-of-concept of what SNA can add to the current tools for monitoring and supporting teaching and learning in higher education.

A differential memristive synapse circuit for on-line learning in neuromorphic computing systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nair, Manu V.; Muller, Lorenz K.; Indiveri, Giacomo

2017-12-01

Spike-based learning with memristive devices in neuromorphic computing architectures typically uses learning circuits that require overlapping pulses from pre- and post-synaptic nodes. This imposes severe constraints on the length of the pulses transmitted in the network, and on the network’s throughput. Furthermore, most of these circuits do not decouple the currents flowing through memristive devices from the one stimulating the target neuron. This can be a problem when using devices with high conductance values, because of the resulting large currents. In this paper, we propose a novel circuit that decouples the current produced by the memristive device from the one used to stimulate the post-synaptic neuron, by using a novel differential scheme based on the Gilbert normalizer circuit. We show how this circuit is useful for reducing the effect of variability in the memristive devices, and how it is ideally suited for spike-based learning mechanisms that do not require overlapping pre- and post-synaptic pulses. We demonstrate the features of the proposed synapse circuit with SPICE simulations, and validate its learning properties with high-level behavioral network simulations which use a stochastic gradient descent learning rule in two benchmark classification tasks.

Wikis and Collaborative Learning in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zheng, Binbin; Niiya, Melissa; Warschauer, Mark

2015-01-01

While collaborative learning and collaborative writing can be of great value to student learning, the implementation of a technology-supported collaborative learning environment is a challenge. With their built-in features for supporting collaborative writing and social communication, wikis are a promising platform for collaborative learning;…

Mobile Learning Based Worked Example in Electric Circuit (WEIEC) Application to Improve the High School Students' Electric Circuits Interpretation Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yadiannur, Mitra; Supahar

2017-01-01

This research aims to determine the feasibility and effectivity of mobile learning based Worked Example in Electric Circuits (WEIEC) application in improving the high school students' electric circuits interpretation ability on Direct Current Circuits materials. The research method used was a combination of Four-D Models and ADDIE model. The…

The effectiveness of collaborative problem based physics learning (CPBPL) model to improve student’s self-confidence on physics learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prahani, B. K.; Suprapto, N.; Suliyanah; Lestari, N. A.; Jauhariyah, M. N. R.; Admoko, S.; Wahyuni, S.

2018-03-01

In the previous research, Collaborative Problem Based Physic Learning (CPBPL) model has been developed to improve student’s science process skills, collaborative problem solving, and self-confidence on physics learning. This research is aimed to analyze the effectiveness of CPBPL model towards the improvement of student’s self-confidence on physics learning. This research implemented quasi experimental design on 140 senior high school students who were divided into 4 groups. Data collection was conducted through questionnaire, observation, and interview. Self-confidence measurement was conducted through Self-Confidence Evaluation Sheet (SCES). The data was analyzed using Wilcoxon test, n-gain, and Kruskal Wallis test. Result shows that: (1) There is a significant score improvement on student’s self-confidence on physics learning (α=5%), (2) n-gain value student’s self-confidence on physics learning is high, and (3) n-gain average student’s self-confidence on physics learning was consistent throughout all groups. It can be concluded that CPBPL model is effective to improve student’s self-confidence on physics learning.

Ecologically relevant neurobehavioral assessment of the development of threat learning

PubMed Central

Mouly, Anne-Marie

2016-01-01

As altricial infants gradually transition to adults, their proximate environment changes. In three short weeks, pups transition from a small world with the caregiver and siblings to a complex milieu rich in dangers as their environment expands. Such contrasting environments require different learning abilities and lead to distinct responses throughout development. Here, we will review some of the learned fear conditioned responses to threats in rats during their ontogeny, including behavioral and physiological measures that permit the assessment of learning and its supporting neurobiology from infancy through adulthood. In adulthood, odor–shock conditioning produces robust fear learning to the odor that depends upon the amygdala and related circuitry. Paradoxically, this conditioning in young pups fails to support fear learning and supports approach learning to the odor previously paired with shock. This approach learning is mediated by the infant attachment network that does not include the amygdala. During the age range when pups transition from the infant to the adult circuit (10–15 d old), pups have access to both networks: odor–shock conditioning in maternal presence uses the attachment circuit but the adult amygdala-dependent circuit when alone. However, throughout development (as young as 5 d old) the attachment associated learning can be overridden and amygdala-dependent fear learning supported, if the mother expresses fear in the presence of the pup. This social modulation of the fear permits the expression of defense reactions in life threatening situations informed by the caregiver but prevents the learning of the caregiver itself as a threat. PMID:27634146

Ecologically relevant neurobehavioral assessment of the development of threat learning.

PubMed

Boulanger Bertolus, Julie; Mouly, Anne-Marie; Sullivan, Regina M

2016-10-01

As altricial infants gradually transition to adults, their proximate environment changes. In three short weeks, pups transition from a small world with the caregiver and siblings to a complex milieu rich in dangers as their environment expands. Such contrasting environments require different learning abilities and lead to distinct responses throughout development. Here, we will review some of the learned fear conditioned responses to threats in rats during their ontogeny, including behavioral and physiological measures that permit the assessment of learning and its supporting neurobiology from infancy through adulthood. In adulthood, odor-shock conditioning produces robust fear learning to the odor that depends upon the amygdala and related circuitry. Paradoxically, this conditioning in young pups fails to support fear learning and supports approach learning to the odor previously paired with shock. This approach learning is mediated by the infant attachment network that does not include the amygdala. During the age range when pups transition from the infant to the adult circuit (10-15 d old), pups have access to both networks: odor-shock conditioning in maternal presence uses the attachment circuit but the adult amygdala-dependent circuit when alone. However, throughout development (as young as 5 d old) the attachment associated learning can be overridden and amygdala-dependent fear learning supported, if the mother expresses fear in the presence of the pup. This social modulation of the fear permits the expression of defense reactions in life threatening situations informed by the caregiver but prevents the learning of the caregiver itself as a threat. © 2016 Boulanger Bertolus et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Learning To Serve, Serving To Learn: A View from Higher Education. Integrating Service-Learning into Curriculum: Lessons Learned. Teacher Education Consortium in Service-Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2003

This collection of papers includes lessons learned from a 3-year collaboration among faculty who had pursued a scholarly inquiry of service-learning, integrated service-learning into their curricula, altered their teaching, forged partnerships with community based organizations, and developed measures and methodologies for assessing results. The…

The Simulation Computer Based Learning (SCBL) for Short Circuit Multi Machine Power System Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahmaniar; Putri, Maharani

2018-03-01

Strengthening Competitiveness of human resources become the reply of college as a conductor of high fomal education. Electrical Engineering Program UNPAB (Prodi TE UNPAB) as one of the department of electrical engineering that manages the field of electrical engineering expertise has a very important part in preparing human resources (HR), Which is required by where graduates are produced by DE UNPAB, Is expected to be able to compete globally, especially related to the implementation of Asean Economic Community (AEC) which requires the active participation of graduates with competence and quality of human resource competitiveness. Preparation of HR formation Competitive is done with the various strategies contained in the Seven (7) Higher Education Standard, one part of which is the implementation of teaching and learning process in Electrical system analysis with short circuit analysis (SCA) This course is a course The core of which is the basis for the competencies of other subjects in the advanced semester at Development of Computer Based Learning model (CBL) is done in the learning of interference analysis of multi-machine short circuit which includes: (a) Short-circuit One phase, (B) Two-phase Short Circuit Disruption, (c) Ground Short Circuit Disruption, (d) Short Circuit Disruption One Ground Floor Development of CBL learning model for Electrical System Analysis course provides space for students to be more active In learning in solving complex (complicated) problems, so it is thrilling Ilkan flexibility of student learning how to actively solve the problem of short-circuit analysis and to form the active participation of students in learning (Student Center Learning, in the course of electrical power system analysis.

E-Learning System Using Segmentation-Based MR Technique for Learning Circuit Construction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takemura, Atsushi

2016-01-01

This paper proposes a novel e-Learning system using the mixed reality (MR) technique for technical experiments involving the construction of electronic circuits. The proposed system comprises experimenters' mobile computers and a remote analysis system. When constructing circuits, each learner uses a mobile computer to transmit image data from the…

Analyses of Student Learning in Global Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takle, E. S.; Moser, H.; Sorensen, E. K.

2004-12-01

The Global Change course at Iowa State University is a senior undergraduate and graduate level course that has been delivered over the internet with online dialog and learning activities since 1995. Students may enroll in the course as a distance education course, but in doing so they engage in dialog with students in the conventional on-campus face-to-face course. Online delivery and student participation offer opportunities for promoting use of critical thinking skills and collaborative learning not available in face-to-face environments. Students are required to research, post, and defend with authoritative information their positions on a variety of global change issues and specifically identify how they have demonstrated use of critical thinking skills in their online postings. Threaded dialog is used for structuring interactions toward promoting collaborative learning. We analyze collaborative learning by use of a rubric based on the theory of language games. By random selection of 1,350 online dialog comments posted over the last 10 years we evaluated student response to requirements for demonstrating critical thinking skills and collaboration in learning. We found that, by itself, the requirement of demonstrating critical thinking skills in online dialog was insufficient in promoting collaborative learned as measured by the standards of language game theory. But we also found that if an online comment clearly defines a situation and makes a clear expectation of a response, the likelihood is high that a game will be created. And if a game is established, there is a high probability that it will be closed, thereby giving evidence that collaborative learning had occurred. We conclude that a key component in collaborative online learning lies in establishing a lead-off comment that provides sufficient background information to clearly define an engaging situation. It also must include a clear expectation that a response is expected that will provide dialog participants an opportunity to demonstrate critical thinking skills in their responding comments.

An Integrated Framework for Human-Robot Collaborative Manipulation.

PubMed

Sheng, Weihua; Thobbi, Anand; Gu, Ye

2015-10-01

This paper presents an integrated learning framework that enables humanoid robots to perform human-robot collaborative manipulation tasks. Specifically, a table-lifting task performed jointly by a human and a humanoid robot is chosen for validation purpose. The proposed framework is split into two phases: 1) phase I-learning to grasp the table and 2) phase II-learning to perform the manipulation task. An imitation learning approach is proposed for phase I. In phase II, the behavior of the robot is controlled by a combination of two types of controllers: 1) reactive and 2) proactive. The reactive controller lets the robot take a reactive control action to make the table horizontal. The proactive controller lets the robot take proactive actions based on human motion prediction. A measure of confidence of the prediction is also generated by the motion predictor. This confidence measure determines the leader/follower behavior of the robot. Hence, the robot can autonomously switch between the behaviors during the task. Finally, the performance of the human-robot team carrying out the collaborative manipulation task is experimentally evaluated on a platform consisting of a Nao humanoid robot and a Vicon motion capture system. Results show that the proposed framework can enable the robot to carry out the collaborative manipulation task successfully.

Seven Affordances of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: How to Support Collaborative Learning? How Can Technologies Help?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeong, Heisawn; Hmelo-Silver, Cindy E.

2016-01-01

This article proposes 7 core affordances of technology for collaborative learning based on theories of collaborative learning and CSCL (Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning) practices. Technology affords learner opportunities to (1) engage in a joint task, (2) communicate, (3) share resources, (4) engage in productive collaborative learning…

E-Learning System for Experiments Involving Construction of Practical Electronic Circuits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takemura, Atsushi

2013-01-01

This paper proposes a novel e-learning system for technical experiments involving the construction of practical electronic circuits; this system would meet the various demands of individual experimenters. This mixed mode is beneficial for practical use in that an experimenter who does not have sufficient circuit components for circuit making can…

Effect of Guided Collaboration on General and Special Educators' Perceptions of Collaboration and Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laine, Sandra

2013-01-01

This study investigated the effects of a guided collaboration approach during professional learning community meetings (PLC's) on the perceptions of general and special educators as well as the effect on student performance as measured by benchmark evaluation. A mixed methodology approach was used to collect data through surveys, weekly…

Community-Academic Partnerships: Developing a Service-Learning Framework.

PubMed

Voss, Heather C; Mathews, Launa Rae; Fossen, Traci; Scott, Ginger; Schaefer, Michele

2015-01-01

Academic partnerships with hospitals and health care agencies for authentic clinical learning have become a major focus of schools of nursing and professional nursing organizations. Formal academic partnerships in community settings are less common despite evolving models of care delivery outside of inpatient settings. Community-Academic partnerships are commonly developed as a means to engage nursing students in service-learning experiences with an emphasis on student outcomes. The benefit of service-learning projects on community partners and populations receiving the service is largely unknown primarily due to the lack of structure for identifying and measuring outcomes specific to service-learning. Nursing students and their faculty engaged in service-learning have a unique opportunity to collaborate with community partners to evaluate benefits of service-learning projects on those receiving the service. This article describes the development of a service-learning framework as a first step toward successful measurement of the benefits of undergraduate nursing students' service-learning projects on community agencies and the people they serve through a collaborative community-academic partnership. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A new model in teaching undergraduate research: A collaborative approach and learning cooperatives.

PubMed

O'Neal, Pamela V; McClellan, Lynx Carlton; Jarosinski, Judith M

2016-05-01

Forming new, innovative collaborative approaches and cooperative learning methods between universities and hospitals maximize learning for undergraduate nursing students in a research course and provide professional development for nurses on the unit. The purpose of this Collaborative Approach and Learning Cooperatives (CALC) Model is to foster working relations between faculty and hospital administrators, maximize small group learning of undergraduate nursing students, and promote onsite knowledge of evidence based care for unit nurses. A quality improvement study using the CALC Model was implemented in an undergraduate nursing research course at a southern university. Hospital administrators provided a list of clinical concerns based on national performance outcome measures. Undergraduate junior nursing student teams chose a clinical question, gathered evidence from the literature, synthesized results, demonstrated practice application, and developed practice recommendations. The student teams developed posters, which were evaluated by hospital administrators. The administrators selected several posters to display on hospital units for continuing education opportunity. This CALC Model is a systematic, calculated approach and an economically feasible plan to maximize personnel and financial resources to optimize collaboration and cooperative learning. Universities and hospital administrators, nurses, and students benefit from working together and learning from each other. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Collaborative Learning Styles on Performance of Students in a Ubiquitous Collaborative Mobile Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fakomogbon, Michael Ayodele; Bolaji, Hameed Olalekan

2017-01-01

Collaborative learning is an approach employed by instructors to facilitate learning and improve learner's performance. Mobile learning can accommodate a variety of learning approaches. This study, therefore, investigated the effects of collaborative learning styles on performance of students in a mobile learning environment. The specific purposes…

Measuring Deeper Learning through Cognitively Demanding Test Items: Results from the Analysis of Six National and International Exams. Research Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuan, Kun; Le, Vi-Nhuan

2014-01-01

In 2010, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's Education Program has established the Deeper Learning Initiative, which focuses on students' development of deeper learning skills (i.e., the mastery of core academic content, critical-thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and "learn-how-to-learn" skills). Two test…

A Circuit-Based Neural Network with Hybrid Learning of Backpropagation and Random Weight Change Algorithms

PubMed Central

Yang, Changju; Kim, Hyongsuk; Adhikari, Shyam Prasad; Chua, Leon O.

2016-01-01

A hybrid learning method of a software-based backpropagation learning and a hardware-based RWC learning is proposed for the development of circuit-based neural networks. The backpropagation is known as one of the most efficient learning algorithms. A weak point is that its hardware implementation is extremely difficult. The RWC algorithm, which is very easy to implement with respect to its hardware circuits, takes too many iterations for learning. The proposed learning algorithm is a hybrid one of these two. The main learning is performed with a software version of the BP algorithm, firstly, and then, learned weights are transplanted on a hardware version of a neural circuit. At the time of the weight transplantation, a significant amount of output error would occur due to the characteristic difference between the software and the hardware. In the proposed method, such error is reduced via a complementary learning of the RWC algorithm, which is implemented in a simple hardware. The usefulness of the proposed hybrid learning system is verified via simulations upon several classical learning problems. PMID:28025566

An Efficient Hardware Circuit for Spike Sorting Based on Competitive Learning Networks.

PubMed

Chen, Huan-Yuan; Chen, Chih-Chang; Hwang, Wen-Jyi

2017-09-28

This study aims to present an effective VLSI circuit for multi-channel spike sorting. The circuit supports the spike detection, feature extraction and classification operations. The detection circuit is implemented in accordance with the nonlinear energy operator algorithm. Both the peak detection and area computation operations are adopted for the realization of the hardware architecture for feature extraction. The resulting feature vectors are classified by a circuit for competitive learning (CL) neural networks. The CL circuit supports both online training and classification. In the proposed architecture, all the channels share the same detection, feature extraction, learning and classification circuits for a low area cost hardware implementation. The clock-gating technique is also employed for reducing the power dissipation. To evaluate the performance of the architecture, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) implementation is presented. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed circuit exhibits the advantages of a low chip area, a low power dissipation and a high classification success rate for spike sorting.

An Efficient Hardware Circuit for Spike Sorting Based on Competitive Learning Networks

PubMed Central

Chen, Huan-Yuan; Chen, Chih-Chang

2017-01-01

This study aims to present an effective VLSI circuit for multi-channel spike sorting. The circuit supports the spike detection, feature extraction and classification operations. The detection circuit is implemented in accordance with the nonlinear energy operator algorithm. Both the peak detection and area computation operations are adopted for the realization of the hardware architecture for feature extraction. The resulting feature vectors are classified by a circuit for competitive learning (CL) neural networks. The CL circuit supports both online training and classification. In the proposed architecture, all the channels share the same detection, feature extraction, learning and classification circuits for a low area cost hardware implementation. The clock-gating technique is also employed for reducing the power dissipation. To evaluate the performance of the architecture, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) implementation is presented. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed circuit exhibits the advantages of a low chip area, a low power dissipation and a high classification success rate for spike sorting. PMID:28956859

PBL and beyond: trends in collaborative learning.

PubMed

Pluta, William J; Richards, Boyd F; Mutnick, Andrew

2013-01-01

Building upon the disruption to lecture-based methods triggered by the introduction of problem-based learning, approaches to promote collaborative learning are becoming increasingly diverse, widespread and generally well accepted within medical education. Examples of relatively new, structured collaborative learning methods include team-based learning and just-in-time teaching. Examples of less structured approaches include think-pair share, case discussions, and the flipped classroom. It is now common practice in medical education to employ a range of instructional approaches to support collaborative learning. We believe that the adoption of such approaches is entering a new and challenging era. We define collaborate learning by drawing on the broader literature, including Chi's ICAP framework that emphasizes the importance of sustained, interactive explanation and elaboration by learners. We distinguish collaborate learning from constructive, active, and passive learning and provide preliminary evidence documenting the growth of methods that support collaborative learning. We argue that the rate of adoption of collaborative learning methods will accelerate due to a growing emphasis on the development of team competencies and the increasing availability of digital media. At the same time, the adoption collaborative learning strategies face persistent challenges, stemming from an overdependence on comparative-effectiveness research and a lack of useful guidelines about how best to adapt collaborative learning methods to given learning contexts. The medical education community has struggled to consistently demonstrate superior outcomes when using collaborative learning methods and strategies. Despite this, support for their use will continue to expand. To select approaches with the greatest utility, instructors must carefully align conditions of the learning context with the learning approaches under consideration. Further, it is critical that modifications are made with caution and that instructors verify that modifications do not impede the desired cognitive activities needed to support meaningful collaborative learning.

E-Learning in Science and Technology via a Common Learning Platform in a Lifelong Learning Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Priem, Freddy; De Craemer, Renaat; Calu, Johan; Pedreschi, Fran; Zimmer, Thomas; Saighi, Sylvain; Lilja, Jarmo

2011-01-01

This three-year Virtual Measurements Environment curriculum development project for higher education within the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union is the result of intense collaboration among four institutions, teaching applied sciences and technology. It aims to apply the principles and possibilities of evolved distance and…

Effects of personality traits on collaborative performance in problem-based learning tutorials

PubMed Central

Jang, Hye Won; Park, Seung Won

2016-01-01

Objectives To examine the relationship between students’ collaborative performance in a problem-based learning (PBL) environment and their personality traits. Methods This retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted using student data of a PBL program between 2013 and 2014 at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. Eighty students were included in the study. Student data from the Temperament and Character Inventory were used as a measure of their personality traits. Peer evaluation scores during PBL were used as a measure of students’ collaborative performance. Results Simple regression analyses indicated that participation was negatively related to harm avoidance and positively related to persistence, whereas preparedness for the group work was negatively related to reward dependence. On multiple regression analyses, low reward dependence remained a significant predictor of preparedness. Grade-point average (GPA) was negatively associated with novelty seeking and cooperativeness and was positively associated with persistence. Conclusion Medical students who are less dependent on social reward are more likely to complete assigned independent work to prepare for the PBL tutorials. The findings of this study can help educators better understand and support medical students who are at risk of struggling in collaborative learning environments. PMID:27874153

Effects of personality traits on collaborative performance in problem-based learning tutorials.

PubMed

Jang, Hye Won; Park, Seung Won

2016-12-01

To examine the relationship between students' collaborative performance in a problem-based learning (PBL) environment and their personality traits. Methods:This retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted using student data of a PBL program between 2013 and 2014 at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. Eighty students were included in the study. Student data from the Temperament and Character Inventory were used as a measure of their personality traits. Peer evaluation scores during PBL were used as a measure of students' collaborative performance. Results: Simple regression analyses indicated that participation was negatively related to harm avoidance and positively related to persistence, whereas preparedness for the group work was negatively related to reward dependence. On multiple regression analyses, low reward dependence remained a significant predictor of preparedness. Grade-point average (GPA)  was negatively associated with novelty seeking and cooperativeness and was positively associated with persistence.  Conclusion: Medical students who are less dependent on social reward are more likely to complete assigned independent work to prepare for the PBL tutorials. The findings of this study can help educators better understand and support medical students who are at risk of struggling in collaborative learning environments.

When Collaborative Is Not Collaborative: Supporting Student Learning through Self-Surveillance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kotsopoulos, Donna

2010-01-01

Collaborative learning has been widely endorsed in education. This qualitative research examines instances of collaborative learning during mathematics that were seen to be predominantly non-collaborative despite the pedagogical efforts and intentions of the teacher and the task. In an effort to disrupt the non-collaborative learning, small groups…

Collaborative testing as a learning strategy in nursing education: a review of the literature.

PubMed

Sandahl, Sheryl S

2009-01-01

Nurses are important members of a patient's interprofessional health care team. A primary goal of nursing education is to prepare nursing professionals who can work collaboratively with other team members for the benefit of the patient. Collaborative learning strategies provide students with opportunities to learn and practice collaboration. Collaborative testing is a collaborative learning strategy used to foster knowledge development, critical thinking in decision-making, and group processing skills. This article reviews the theoretical basis for collaborative learning and research on collaborative testing in nursing education.

Effects of a Collaborative Science Intervention on High Achieving Students' Learning Anxiety and Attitudes toward Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Zuway-R.

2010-10-01

This study investigated the effects of a collaborative science intervention on high achieving students' learning anxiety and attitudes toward science. Thirty-seven eighth-grade high achieving students (16 boys and 21 girls) were selected as an experimental group who joined a 20-week collaborative science intervention, which integrated and utilized an innovative teaching strategy. Fifty-eight eighth-grade high achieving students were selected as the comparison group. The Secondary School Student Questionnaire was conducted to measure all participants' learning anxiety and attitudes toward science. In addition, 12 target students from the experimental group (i.e., six active and six passive students) were recruited for weekly classroom observations and follow-up interviews during the intervention. Both quantitative and qualitative findings revealed that experimental group students experienced significant impact as seen through increased attitudes and decreased anxiety of learning science. Implications for practice and research are provided.

Collaborative and Competitive Video Games for Teaching Computing in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Spencer; Chan, Samantha

2017-01-01

This study measures the success of using a collaborative and competitive video game, named Space Race, to teach computing to first year engineering students. Space Race is played by teams of four, each with their own tablet, collaborating to compete against the other teams in the class. The impact of the game on student learning was studied…

A study on an information security system of a regional collaborative medical platform.

PubMed

Zhao, Junping; Peng, Kun; Leng, Jinchang; Sun, Xiaowei; Zhang, Zhenjiang; Xue, Wanguo; Ren, Lianzhong

2010-01-01

The objective of this study was to share the experience of building an information security system for a regional collaborative medical platform (RCMP) and discuss the lessons learned from practical projects. Safety measures are analyzed from the perspective of system engineering. We present the essential requirements, critical architectures, and policies for system security of regional collaborative medical platforms.

Collaborative Learning in Higher Education: Lecturers' Practices and Beliefs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Hei, Miranda Suzanna Angelique; Strijbos, Jan-Willem; Sjoer, Ellen; Admiraal, Wilfried

2015-01-01

Collaborative learning can, if designed and implemented properly, contribute to student learning outcomes and prepare them for teamwork. However, the design and implementation of collaborative learning in practice depend on beliefs of lecturers about teaching and learning in general, and collaborative learning in particular. One hundred and…

Collaborative Learning: Sourcebook for Collaborative Learning in the Arts and Sciences at Indiana University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Sharon J., Ed.; Hansen, Edmund J., Ed.

This sourcebook, prepared by the Intercampus Group on Collaborative Learning of Indiana University, offers suggestions to those who are already familiar with collaborative learning, but want to know how others are responding to the same or similar challenges. Papers are presented that examine general issues of collaborative learning in the Arts…

Assessment of (Computer-Supported) Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strijbos, J. -W.

2011-01-01

Within the (Computer-Supported) Collaborative Learning (CS)CL research community, there has been an extensive dialogue on theories and perspectives on learning from collaboration, approaches to scaffold (script) the collaborative process, and most recently research methodology. In contrast, the issue of assessment of collaborative learning has…

Integrating Collaborative Learning Groups in the Large Enrollment Lecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, J. P.; Brissenden, G.; Lindell Adrian, R.; Slater, T. F.

1998-12-01

Recent reforms for undergraduate education propose that students should work in teams to solve problems that simulate problems that research scientists address. In the context of an innovative large-enrollment course at Montana State University, faculty have developed a series of 15 in-class, collaborative learning group activities that provide students with realistic scenarios to investigate. Focusing on a team approach, the four principle types of activities employed are historical, conceptual, process, and open-ended activities. Examples of these activities include classifying stellar spectra, characterizing galaxies, parallax measurements, estimating stellar radii, and correlating star colors with absolute magnitudes. Summative evaluation results from a combination of attitude surveys, astronomy concept examinations, and focus group interviews strongly suggest that, overall, students are learning more astronomy, believe that the group activities are valuable, enjoy the less-lecture course format, and have significantly higher attendance rates. In addition, class observations of 48 self-formed, collaborative learning groups reveal that female students are more engaged in single-gender learning groups than in mixed gender groups.

Older adults catch up to younger adults on a learning and memory task that involves collaborative social interaction.

PubMed

Derksen, B J; Duff, M C; Weldon, K; Zhang, J; Zamba, K D; Tranel, D; Denburg, N L

2015-01-01

Learning and memory abilities tend to decline as people age. The current study examines the question of whether a learning situation that emphasises collaborative social interaction might help older persons overcome age-related learning and memory changes and thus perform similarly to younger persons. Younger and Older participants (n = 34 in each group) completed the Barrier Task (BT), a game-like social interaction where partners work together to develop labels for a set of abstract tangrams. Participants were also administered standard clinical neuropsychological measures of memory, on which the Older group showed expected inferiority to the Younger group. On the BT, the Older group performed less well than the Younger group early on, but as the task progressed, the performance of the Older group caught up and became statistically indistinguishable from that of the Younger group. These results can be taken to suggest that a learning milieu characterised by collaborative social interaction can attenuate some of the typical memory disadvantages associated with being older.

Synaptic plasticity and oscillation at zinc tin oxide/silver oxide interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murdoch, Billy J.; McCulloch, Dougal G.; Partridge, James G.

2017-02-01

Short-term plasticity, long-term potentiation, and pulse interval dependent plasticity learning/memory functions have been observed in junctions between amorphous zinc-tin-oxide and silver-oxide. The same junctions exhibited current-controlled negative differential resistance and when connected in an appropriate circuit, they behaved as relaxation oscillators. These oscillators produced voltage pulses suitable for device programming. Transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and electrical measurements suggest that the characteristics of these junctions arise from Ag+/O- electromigration across a highly resistive interface layer. With memory/learning functions and programming spikes provided in a single device structure, arrays of similar devices could be used to form transistor-free neuromorphic circuits.

Supporting Distance Learners for Collaborative Problem Solving.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Verdejo, M. F.; Barros, B.; Abad, M. T.

This paper describes a computer-supported environment designed to facilitate distance learning through collaborative problem-solving. The goal is to encourage distance learning students to work together, in order to promote both learning of collaboration and learning through collaboration. Collaboration is defined as working together on a common…

Using Wikis as a Support and Assessment Tool in Collaborative Digital Game-Based Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samur, Yavuz

2011-01-01

In computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments, there are many researches done on collaborative learning activities; however, in game-based learning environments, more research and literature on collaborative learning activities are required. Actually, both game-based learning environments and wikis enable us to use new chances…

A Better Way to Measure: New Survey Tool Gives Educators a Clear Picture of Professional Learning's Impact

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blank, Rolf K.

2010-01-01

Just when educators are learning more about what constitutes effective professional development, a collaborative team of education researchers and practitioners have developed, tested, and implemented a cost-effective method of measuring and reporting on the quality of teacher professional development. The teacher professional development analysis…

Piloting a Statewide Home Visiting Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative.

PubMed

Goyal, Neera K; Rome, Martha G; Massie, Julie A; Mangeot, Colleen; Ammerman, Robert T; Breckenridge, Jye; Lannon, Carole M

2017-02-01

Objective To pilot test a statewide quality improvement (QI) collaborative learning network of home visiting agencies. Methods Project timeline was June 2014-May 2015. Overall objectives of this 8-month initiative were to assess the use of collaborative QI to engage local home visiting agencies and to test the use of statewide home visiting data for QI. Outcome measures were mean time from referral to first home visit, percentage of families with at least three home visits per month, mean duration of participation, and exit rate among infants <6 months. Of 110 agencies, eight sites were selected based on volume, geography, and agency leadership. Our adapted Breakthrough Series model included monthly calls with performance feedback and cross-agency learning. A statewide data system was used to generate monthly run charts. Results Mean time from referral to first home visit was 16.7 days, and 9.4% of families received ≥3 visits per month. Mean participation was 11.7 months, and the exit rate among infants <6 months old was 6.1%. Agencies tested several strategies, including parent commitment agreements, expedited contact after referral, and Facebook forums. No shift in outcome measures was observed, but agencies tracked intermediate process changes using internal site-specific data. Agencies reported positive experiences from participation including more frequent and structured staff meetings. Conclusions for Practice Within a pilot QI learning network, agencies tested and measured changes using statewide and internal data. Potential next steps are to develop and test new metrics with current pilot sites and a larger collaborative.

Relationships among Individual Task Self-Efficacy, Self-Regulated Learning Strategy Use and Academic Performance in a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Kimberly; Narayan, Anupama

2016-01-01

This study investigates relationships between self-efficacy, self-regulated learning strategy use and academic performance. Participants were 96 undergraduate students working on projects with three subtasks (idea generation task, methodical task and data collection) in a blended learning environment. Task self-efficacy was measured with…

Perceptions of Learning Effectiveness in M-Learning: Scale Development and Student Awareness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Wen-Hui; Liu, Yuan-Chen; Huang, Tzu-Hua

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to develop a multi-dimensional scale to measure students' awareness of key competencies for M-learning and to test its reliability and validity. The Key Competencies of Mobile Learning Scale (KCMLS) was determined via confirmatory factor analysis to have four dimensions: team collaboration, creative thinking, critical…

Methodological Challenges for Collaborative Learning Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strijbos, Jan-Willem; Fischer, Frank

2007-01-01

Research on collaborative learning, both face-to-face and computer-supported, has thrived in the past 10 years. The studies range from outcome-oriented (individual and group learning) to process-oriented (impact of interaction on learning processes, motivation and organisation of collaboration) to mixed studies. Collaborative learning research is…

The influence of learning styles on collaborative performances of allied health students in a clinical exercise.

PubMed

Sandmire, D A; Vroman, K G; Sanders, R

2000-01-01

With the increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary practice, there is a need to recognize factors that promote effective interdisciplinary teams. The influence of individual learning-style preference on collaborative performance was examined in 78 occupational and physical therapy students in a neuroscience course. They were randomly assigned in pairs to one of three subsets based upon their Kolb Learning Style Inventory scores (active experimenters vs reflective observers). The students viewed a videotape of a quadriplegic patient's physical examination and completed a collaborative exercise that required performance skills on all levels of Bloom's taxonomy of learning. Analysis of variance revealed no significant difference among learning-style subset pairs in performance (F2, 36 = 0.43, p > 0.05), but the exercise's overall grade correlated with the average of the pair's highest individual scores on two prior written exams (r = 0.631, p < 0.05), suggesting that background knowledge may predict performance better than learning styles do. It is suggested that differences in information-processing styles as measured by the Kolb inventory do not affect interdisciplinary team performance.

Pre-test and post-test evaluation of students' perceptions of a collaborative clinical education model on the learning environment.

PubMed

Henderson, Amanda; Heel, Alison; Twentyman, Michelle; Lloyd, Belinda

2006-01-01

This study investigated the impact of a collaborative clinical education model on students' perception of the psycho-social learning environment. A pre-test and post-test quasi experimental design. A tertiary referral centre. Second and third year undergraduate nursing students were asked to rate their perceptions of the psycho-social learning environment at the completion of the clinical practicum. TOOL: The tool used to measure psycho-social perceptions of the clinical learning environment was the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory previously validated in Australian health care contexts. A collaborative arrangement with the university and ward staff where eight students are placed on a ward and a ward staff member is paid by the university to be 'off-line' from a clinical workload to supervise the students. This is in contrast to the standard facilitation model where students are placed with registered nurses in different localities under the supervision of a 'roving' registered nurse paid by the university. No significant differences were found in pre-test mean scores when comparing wards. Significant differences in post-test scores for the intervention group were identified in the sub scales of Student Involvement, Satisfaction, Personalisation and Task Orientation. The adoption of a collaborative clinical education model where students are integrated into the ward team and the team is responsible for student learning can positively enhance capacity for student learning during their clinical practicum.

Enhancing Collaborative Learning in Web 2.0-Based E-Learning Systems: A Design Framework for Building Collaborative E-Learning Contents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

El Mhouti, Abderrahim; Nasseh, Azeddine; Erradi, Mohamed; Vasquèz, José Marfa

2017-01-01

Today, the implication of Web 2.0 technologies in e-learning allows envisaging new teaching and learning forms, advocating an important place to the collaboration and social interaction. However, in e-learning systems, learn in a collaborative way is not always so easy because one of the difficulties when arranging e-learning courses can be that…

E pluribus unum: the potential of collaborative learning to enhance Microbiology teaching in higher education.

PubMed

Rutherford, Stephen

2015-12-01

Collaborative learning, where students work together towards a shared understanding of a concept, is a well-established pedagogy, and one which has great potential for higher education (HE). Through discussion and challenging each other's ideas, learners gain a richer appreciation for a subject than with solitary study or didactic teaching methods. However, collaborative learning does require some scaffolding by the teacher in order to be successful. Collaborative learning can be augmented by the use of Web 2.0 collaborative technologies, such as wikis, blogs and social media. This article reviews some of the uses of collaborative learning strategies in Microbiology teaching in HE. Despite the great potential of collaborative learning, evidence of its use in Microbiology teaching is, to date, limited. But the potential for collaborative learning approaches to develop self-regulated, deep learners is considerable, and so collaborative learning should be considered strongly as a viable pedagogy for HE. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Advancing Learner Autonomy in TEFL via Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

Interaction Forms in Successful Collaborative Learning in Virtual Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vuopala, Essi; Hyvönen, Pirkko; Järvelä, Sanna

2016-01-01

Despite the numerous studies on social interaction in collaborative learning, little is known about interaction forms in successful computer-supported collaborative learning situations. The purpose of this study was to explore and understand student interaction in successful collaborative learning during a university course which was mediated by…

Application of a Novel Collaboration Engineering Method for Learning Design: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Xusen; Li, Yuanyuan; Sun, Jianshan; Huang, Jianqing

2016-01-01

Collaborative case studies and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) play an important role in the modern education environment. A number of researchers have given significant attention to learning design in order to improve the satisfaction of collaborative learning. Although collaboration engineering (CE) is a mature method widely…

The Effects of Mobile-Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: Meta-Analysis and Critical Synthesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sung, Yao-Ting; Yang, Je-Ming; Lee, Han-Yueh

2017-01-01

One of the trends in collaborative learning is using mobile devices for supporting the process and products of collaboration, which has been forming the field of mobile-computer-supported collaborative learning (mCSCL). Although mobile devices have become valuable collaborative learning tools, evaluative evidence for their substantial…

The Modified Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale in Currently Practicing Athletic Trainers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welsch, Lauren A.; Rutledge, Carolyn; Hoch, Johanna M.

2017-01-01

Context: Athletic trainers are encouraged to work collaboratively with other health care professionals to improve patient outcomes. Interprofessional education (IPE) experiences for practicing clinicians should be developed to improve interprofessional collaborative practice postcertification. An outcome measure, such as the modified Readiness for…

Development Switch in Neural Circuitry Underlying Odor-Malaise Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lunday, Lauren; Miner, Cathrine; Roth, Tania L.; Sullivan, Regina M.; Shionoya, Kiseko; Moriceau, Stephanie

2006-01-01

Fetal and infant rats can learn to avoid odors paired with illness before development of brain areas supporting this learning in adults, suggesting an alternate learning circuit. Here we begin to document the transition from the infant to adult neural circuit underlying odor-malaise avoidance learning using LiCl (0.3 M; 1% of body weight, ip) and…

A team-based interprofessional education course for first-year health professions students.

PubMed

Peeters, Michael J; Sexton, Martha; Metz, Alexia E; Hasbrouck, Carol S

2017-11-01

Interprofessional education (IPE) is required within pharmacy education, and should include classroom-based education along with experiential interprofessional collaboration. For classroom-based education, small-group learning environments may create a better platform for engaging students in the essential domain of interprofessional collaboration towards meaningful learning within IPE sub-domains (interprofessional communication, teams and teamwork, roles and responsibilities, and values and ethics). Faculty envisioned creating a small-group learning environment that was inviting, interactive, and flexible using situated learning theory. This report describes an introductory, team-based, IPE course for first-year health-professions students; it used small-group methods for health-professions students' learning of interprofessional collaboration. The University of Toledo implemented a 14-week required course involving 554 first-year health-sciences students from eight professions. The course focused on the Interprofessional Education Collaborative's (IPEC) Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaboration. Students were placed within interprofessional teams of 11-12 students each and engaged in simulations, standardized-patient interviews, case-based communications exercises, vital signs training, and patient safety rotations. Outcomes measured were students' self-ratings of attaining learning objectives, perceptions of other professions (from word cloud), and satisfaction through end-of-course evaluations. This introductory, team-based IPE course with 554 students improved students' self-assessed competency in learning objectives (p < 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.9), changed students' perceptions of other professions (via word clouds), and met students' satisfaction through course evaluations. Through triangulation of our various assessment methods, we considered this course offering a success. This interprofessional, team-based, small-group strategy to teaching and learning IPE appeared helpful within this interactive, classroom-based course. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stitching Codeable Circuits: High School Students' Learning About Circuitry and Coding with Electronic Textiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Litts, Breanne K.; Kafai, Yasmin B.; Lui, Debora A.; Walker, Justice T.; Widman, Sari A.

2017-10-01

Learning about circuitry by connecting a battery, light bulb, and wires is a common activity in many science classrooms. In this paper, we expand students' learning about circuitry with electronic textiles, which use conductive thread instead of wires and sewable LEDs instead of lightbulbs, by integrating programming sensor inputs and light outputs and examining how the two domains interact. We implemented an electronic textiles unit with 23 high school students ages 16-17 years who learned how to craft and code circuits with the LilyPad Arduino, an electronic textile construction kit. Our analyses not only confirm significant increases in students' understanding of functional circuits but also showcase students' ability in designing and remixing program code for controlling circuits. In our discussion, we address opportunities and challenges of introducing codeable circuit design for integrating maker activities that include engineering and computing into classrooms.

Matching tutors and students: effective strategies for information transfer between circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tesileanu, Tiberiu; Balasubramanian, Vijay; Olveczky, Bence

Many neural circuits transfer learned information to downstream circuits: hippocampal-dependent memories are consolidated into long-term memories elsewhere; motor cortex is essential for skill learning but dispensable for execution; anterior forebrain pathway (AFP) in songbirds drives short-term improvements in song that are later consolidated in pre-motor area RA. We show how to match instructive signals from tutor circuits to synaptic plasticity rules in student circuits to achieve effective two-stage learning. We focus on learning sequential patterns where a timebase is transformed into motor commands by connectivity with a `student' area. If the sign of the synaptic change is given by the magnitude of tutor input, a good teaching strategy uses a strong (weak) tutor signal if student output is below (above) its target. If instead timing of tutor input relative to the timebase determines the sign of synaptic modifications, a good instructive signal accumulates the errors in student output as the motor program progresses. We demonstrate song learning in a biologically-plausible model of the songbird circuit given diverse plasticity rules interpolating between those described above. The model also reproduces qualitative firing statistics of RA neurons in juveniles and adults. Also affiliated to CUNY - Graduate Center.

Supervised Learning Using Spike-Timing-Dependent Plasticity of Memristive Synapses.

PubMed

Nishitani, Yu; Kaneko, Yukihiro; Ueda, Michihito

2015-12-01

We propose a supervised learning model that enables error backpropagation for spiking neural network hardware. The method is modeled by modifying an existing model to suit the hardware implementation. An example of a network circuit for the model is also presented. In this circuit, a three-terminal ferroelectric memristor (3T-FeMEM), which is a field-effect transistor with a gate insulator composed of ferroelectric materials, is used as an electric synapse device to store the analog synaptic weight. Our model can be implemented by reflecting the network error to the write voltage of the 3T-FeMEMs and introducing a spike-timing-dependent learning function to the device. An XOR problem was successfully demonstrated as a benchmark learning by numerical simulations using the circuit properties to estimate the learning performance. In principle, the learning time per step of this supervised learning model and the circuit is independent of the number of neurons in each layer, promising a high-speed and low-power calculation in large-scale neural networks.

Rules and mechanisms for efficient two-stage learning in neural circuits.

PubMed

Teşileanu, Tiberiu; Ölveczky, Bence; Balasubramanian, Vijay

2017-04-04

Trial-and-error learning requires evaluating variable actions and reinforcing successful variants. In songbirds, vocal exploration is induced by LMAN, the output of a basal ganglia-related circuit that also contributes a corrective bias to the vocal output. This bias is gradually consolidated in RA, a motor cortex analogue downstream of LMAN. We develop a new model of such two-stage learning. Using stochastic gradient descent, we derive how the activity in 'tutor' circuits ( e.g., LMAN) should match plasticity mechanisms in 'student' circuits ( e.g., RA) to achieve efficient learning. We further describe a reinforcement learning framework through which the tutor can build its teaching signal. We show that mismatches between the tutor signal and the plasticity mechanism can impair learning. Applied to birdsong, our results predict the temporal structure of the corrective bias from LMAN given a plasticity rule in RA. Our framework can be applied predictively to other paired brain areas showing two-stage learning.

Module Eleven: Capacitance; Basic Electricity and Electronics Individualized Learning System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, DC.

In this module the student will learn about another circuit quantity, capacitance, and discover the effects of this component on circuit current, voltage, and power. The module is divided into seven lessons: the capacitor, theory of capacitance, total capacitance, RC (resistive-capacitive circuit) time constant, capacitive reactance, phase and…

Technological Literacy Learning with Cumulative and Stepwise Integration of Equations into Electrical Circuit Diagrams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozogul, G.; Johnson, A. M.; Moreno, R.; Reisslein, M.

2012-01-01

Technological literacy education involves the teaching of basic engineering principles and problem solving, including elementary electrical circuit analysis, to non-engineering students. Learning materials on circuit analysis typically rely on equations and schematic diagrams, which are often unfamiliar to non-engineering students. The goal of…

Collaborative training with a more experienced partner: remediating low pretraining self-efficacy in complex skill acquisition.

PubMed

Day, Eric Anthony; Boatman, Paul R; Kowollik, Vanessa; Espejo, Jazmine; McEntire, Lauren E; Sherwin, Rachel E

2007-12-01

This study examined the effectiveness of collaborative training for individuals with low pretraining self-efficacy versus individuals with high pretraining self-efficacy regarding the acquisition of a complex skill that involved strong cognitive and psychomotor demands. Despite support for collaborative learning from the educational literature and the similarities between collaborative learning and interventions designed to remediate low self-efficacy, no research has addressed how self-efficacy and collaborative learning interact in contexts concerning complex skills and human-machine interactions. One hundred fifty-five young male adults trained either individually or collaboratively with a more experienced partner on a complex computer task that simulated the demands of a dynamic aviation environment. Participants also completed a task-specific measure of self-efficacy before, during, and after training. Collaborative training enhanced skill acquisition significantly more for individuals with low pretraining self-efficacy than for individuals with high pretraining self-efficacy. However, collaborative training did not bring the skill acquisition levels of those persons with low pretraining self-efficacy to the levels found for persons with high pretraining self-efficacy. Moreover, tests of mediation suggested that collaborative training may have enhanced appropriate skill development strategies without actually raising self-efficacy. Although collaborative training can facilitate the skill acquisition process for trainees with low self-efficacy, future research is needed that examines how the negative effects of low pretraining self-efficacy on complex skill acquisition can be more fully remediated. The differential effects of collaborative training as a function of self-efficacy highlight the importance of person analysis and tailoring training to meet differing trainee needs.

Student Collaboration and Standards-Based Music Learning: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cangro, Richard

2016-01-01

This article is a review of relevant literature on collaborative, standards-based music learning. The review is organized as follows: (a) historical perspective, (b) collaborative music learning, (c) collaboration and creating, (d) collaboration and performing, (e) collaboration and responding, and (f) conclusions. In an effort to bridge the gap…

Applying Adaptive Swarm Intelligence Technology with Structuration in Web-Based Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Yueh-Min; Liu, Chien-Hung

2009-01-01

One of the key challenges in the promotion of web-based learning is the development of effective collaborative learning environments. We posit that the structuration process strongly influences the effectiveness of technology used in web-based collaborative learning activities. In this paper, we propose an ant swarm collaborative learning (ASCL)…

The Effect of Socially Shared Regulation Approach on Learning Performance in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zheng, Lanqin; Li, Xin; Huang, Ronghuai

2017-01-01

Students' abilities to socially shared regulation of their learning are crucial to productive and successful collaborative learning. However, how group members sustain and regulate collaborative processes is a neglected area in the field of collaborative learning. Furthermore, how group members engage in socially shared regulation still remains to…

Using a Game Environment to Foster Collaborative Learning: A Design-Based Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamalainen, Raija

2011-01-01

Designing collaborative three-dimensional learning games for vocational learning may be one way to respond to the needs of working life. The theoretical vantage points of collaborative learning for game development and the "design-based research" methodology are described; these have been used to support collaborative learning in the…

Deriving Process-Driven Collaborative Editing Pattern from Collaborative Learning Flow Patterns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marjanovic, Olivera; Skaf-Molli, Hala; Molli, Pascal; Godart, Claude

2007-01-01

Collaborative Learning Flow Patterns (CLFPs) have recently emerged as a new method to formulate best practices in structuring the flow of activities within various collaborative learning scenarios. The term "learning flow" is used to describe coordination and sequencing of learning tasks. This paper adopts the existing concept of CLFP and argues…

Measuring the RC time constant with Arduino

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, N. S. A.

2016-11-01

In this work we use the Arduino UNO R3 open source hardware platform to assemble an experimental apparatus for the measurement of the time constant of an RC circuit. With adequate programming, the Arduino is used as a signal generator, a data acquisition system and a basic signal visualisation tool. Theoretical calculations are compared with direct observations from an analogue oscilloscope. Data processing and curve fitting is performed on a spreadsheet. The results obtained for the six RC test circuits are within the expected interval of values defined by the tolerance of the components. The hardware and software prove to be adequate to the proposed measurements and therefore adaptable to a laboratorial teaching and learning context.

Collaborative use of virtual patients after a lecture enhances learning with minimal investment of cognitive load.

PubMed

Marei, Hesham F; Donkers, Jeroen; Al-Eraky, Mohamed M; Van Merrienboer, Jeroen J G

2018-05-25

The use of virtual patients (VPs), due to their high complexity and/or inappropriate sequencing with other instructional methods, might cause a high cognitive load, which hampers learning. To investigate the efficiency of instructional methods that involved three different applications of VPs combined with lectures. From two consecutive batches, 171 out of 183 students have participated in lecture and VPs sessions. One group received a lecture session followed by a collaborative VPs learning activity (collaborative deductive). The other two groups received a lecture session and an independent VP learning activity, which either followed the lecture session (independent deductive) or preceded it (independent inductive). All groups were administrated written knowledge acquisition and retention tests as well as transfer tests using two new VPs. All participants completed a cognitive load questionnaire, which measured intrinsic, extraneous and germane load. Mixed effect analysis of cognitive load and efficiency using the R statistical program was performed. The highest intrinsic and extraneous load was found in the independent inductive group, while the lowest intrinsic and extraneous load was seen in the collaborative deductive group. Furthermore, comparisons showed a significantly higher efficiency, that is, higher performance in combination with lower cognitive load, for the collaborative deductive group than for the other two groups. Collaborative use of VPs after a lecture is the most efficient instructional method, of those tested, as it leads to better learning and transfer combined with lower cognitive load, when compared with independent use of VPs, either before or after the lecture.

A learning collaborative of CMHCs and CHCs to support integration of behavioral health and general medical care.

PubMed

Vannoy, Steven D; Mauer, Barbara; Kern, John; Girn, Kamaljeet; Ingoglia, Charles; Campbell, Jeannie; Galbreath, Laura; Unützer, Jürgen

2011-07-01

Integration of general medical and mental health services is a growing priority for safety-net providers. The authors describe a project that established a one-year learning collaborative focused on integration of services between community health centers (CHCs) and community mental health centers (CMHCs). Specific targets were treatment for general medical and psychiatric symptoms related to depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol use disorders, and metabolic syndrome. This observational study used mixed methods. Quantitative measures included 15 patient-level health indicators, practice self-assessment of resources and support for chronic disease self-management, and participant satisfaction. Sixteen CHC-CMHC pairs were selected for the learning collaborative series. One pair dropped out because of personnel turnover. All teams increased capacity on one or more patient health indicators. CHCs scored higher than CMHCs on support for chronic disease self-management. Participation in the learning collaborative increased self-assessment scores for CHCs and CMHCs. Participant satisfaction was high. Observations by faculty indicate that quality improvement challenges included tracking patient-level outcomes, workforce issues, and cross-agency communication. Even though numerous systemic barriers were encountered, the findings support existing literature indicating that the learning collaborative is a viable quality improvement approach for enhancing integration of general medical and mental health services between CHCs and CMHCs. Real-world implementation of evidence-based guidelines presents challenges often absent in research. Technical resources and support, a stable workforce with adequate training, and adequate opportunities for collaborator communications are particular challenges for integrating behavioral and general medical services across CHCs and CMHCs.

Accelerating what works: using qualitative research methods in developing a change package for a learning collaborative.

PubMed

Sorensen, Asta V; Bernard, Shulamit L

2012-02-01

Learning (quality improvement) collaboratives are effective vehicles for driving coordinated organizational improvements. A central element of a learning collaborative is the change package-a catalogue of strategies, change concepts, and action steps that guide participants in their improvement efforts. Despite a vast literature describing learning collaboratives, little to no information is available on how the guiding strategies, change concepts, and action items are identified and developed to a replicable and actionable format that can be used to make measurable improvements within participating organizations. The process for developing the change package for the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative entailed environmental scan and identification of leading practices, case studies, interim debriefing meetings, data synthesis, and a technical expert panel meeting. Data synthesis involved end-of-day debriefings, systematic qualitative analyses, and the use of grounded theory and inductive data analysis techniques. This approach allowed systematic identification of innovative patient safety and clinical pharmacy practices that could be adopted in diverse environments. A case study approach enabled the research team to study practices in their natural environments. Use of grounded theory and inductive data analysis techniques enabled identification of strategies, change concepts, and actionable items that might not have been captured using different approaches. Use of systematic processes and qualitative methods in identification and translation of innovative practices can greatly accelerate the diffusion of innovations and practice improvements. This approach is effective whether or not an individual organization is part of a learning collaborative.

Including the kids across the hall: collaborative instruction of hearing, deaf, and hard-of-hearing students.

PubMed

Gaustad, M

1999-01-01

This study follows graduate interns and their cooperating teachers through a collaborative student teaching experience in D/HH and hearing classrooms at the same grade level. Teacher teams, enrolled in a graduate course on collaboration, designed and conducted collaborative instruction (K-junior high school level), which focused on cooperative learning activities. Measures included student evaluations and separate intern and teacher evaluations of student performance, the integrated instructional units, and professional collaboration. Student evaluations included positive responses to integrated instruction by both groups, though there was more trepidation expressed by some D/HH students. Teachers reported very positive outcomes for all students including increased motivation to learn about and to interact with the other group and, for D/HH students, an increase in socially and academically appropriate behaviors. Specific student needs for training prior to integrated experiences were noted. Teachers stressed the importance of topic selections that would involve the expertise of all participants equally, needs for teacher in-service training and, administrative support for collaborative planning.

Fluid Centrality: A Social Network Analysis of Social-Technical Relations in Computer-Mediated Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enriquez, Judith Guevarra

2010-01-01

In this article, centrality is explored as a measure of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in networked learning. Centrality measure is quite common in performing social network analysis (SNA) and in analysing social cohesion, strength of ties and influence in CMC, and computer-supported collaborative learning research. It argues that measuring…

The early evolution of southwestern Pennsylvania's regional math/science collaborative from the leadership perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bunt, Nancy R.

Designed as a regional approach to the coordination of efforts and focusing of resources in fragmented southwestern Pennsylvania, the Collaborative's story is narrated by its founding director. Drawing from office archives, including letters of invitation, meeting notes, and participant evaluations of each event, the study describes the genesis of the Collaborative. It begins with identification of the problem and the resulting charge by a founding congress. It details the building of an organizational framework, the creation of a shared vision, the development of a blueprint for action, and the decision-making involved in determining how to strengthen mathematics and science education in the region. The study notes several influences on the Collaborative's leadership. Considering the role of other collaboratives, the study notes that knowledge of the Los Angeles Educational Partnership's LA SMART jump-started the Collaborative's initial planning process. Knowledge of San Francisco's SEABA influenced the size and naming of the Collaborative's Journal. Fred Newmann's definition of authentic instruction, learning and assessment are reflected in the shared vision and belief statements of the Collaborative. The five disciplines of Peter Senge influenced the nature of the organizational framework as well as the day-to-day operations of the Collaborative. The study also notes that the five organizational tensions identified in Ann Lieberman's work on "intentional learning communities" were present in every aspect of the evolution of the Collaborative. The study suggests that leaders of evolving collaboratives: (1) engage all relevant stakeholders in assessing the current situation and defining a desired future state, (2) take advantage of the lessons learned by others and the resources available at the state and national levels to design strategies and build action plans, (3) model the practices to be inspired in the learning community, (4) constantly gather feedback on process and content--and act on the recommendations as soon as possible, and (5) keep the focus of efforts on achieving the desired future--and measure progress toward it.

Development switch in neural circuitry underlying odor-malaise learning.

PubMed

Shionoya, Kiseko; Moriceau, Stephanie; Lunday, Lauren; Miner, Cathrine; Roth, Tania L; Sullivan, Regina M

2006-01-01

Fetal and infant rats can learn to avoid odors paired with illness before development of brain areas supporting this learning in adults, suggesting an alternate learning circuit. Here we begin to document the transition from the infant to adult neural circuit underlying odor-malaise avoidance learning using LiCl (0.3 M; 1% of body weight, ip) and a 30-min peppermint-odor exposure. Conditioning groups included: Paired odor-LiCl, Paired odor-LiCl-Nursing, LiCl, and odor-saline. Results showed that Paired LiCl-odor conditioning induced a learned odor aversion in postnatal day (PN) 7, 12, and 23 pups. Odor-LiCl Paired Nursing induced a learned odor preference in PN7 and PN12 pups but blocked learning in PN23 pups. 14C 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) autoradiography indicated enhanced olfactory bulb activity in PN7 and PN12 pups with odor preference and avoidance learning. The odor aversion in weanling aged (PN23) pups resulted in enhanced amygdala activity in Paired odor-LiCl pups, but not if they were nursing. Thus, the neural circuit supporting malaise-induced aversions changes over development, indicating that similar infant and adult-learned behaviors may have distinct neural circuits.

The Impact of a Cohort Model Learning Community on First-Year Engineering Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doolen, Toni L.; Biddlecombe, Erin

2014-01-01

This study investigated the effect of cohort participation in a learning community and collaborative learning techniques on the success of first-year engineering students. Student success was measured as gains in knowledge, skills, and attitudes, student engagement, and persistence in engineering. The study group was comprised of students…

Are Online Learners Frustrated with Collaborative Learning Experiences?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capdeferro, Neus; Romero, Margarida

2012-01-01

Online education increasingly puts emphasis on collaborative learning methods. Despite the pedagogical advantages of collaborative learning, online learners can perceive collaborative learning activities as frustrating experiences. The purpose of this study was to characterize the feelings of frustration as a negative emotion among online learners…

Online Collaborative Learning: Theory and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Tim, Ed.

2004-01-01

"Online Collaborative Learning: Theory and Practice" provides a resource for researchers and practitioners in the area of online collaborative learning (also known as CSCL, computer-supported collaborative learning), particularly those working within a tertiary education environment. It includes articles of relevance to those interested in both…

Collaborative Defense of Transmission and Distribution Protection and Control Devices Against Cyber Attacks (CODEF) DE-OE0000674. ABB Inc. Final Scientific/Technical Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nuqui, Reynaldo

This report summarizes the activities conducted under the DOE-OE funded project DEOE0000674, where ABB Inc. (ABB), in collaboration with University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), and Ameren-Illinois (Ameren-IL) pursued the development of a system of collaborative defense of electrical substation’s intelligent electronic devices against cyber-attacks (CODEF). An electrical substation with CODEF features will be more capable of mitigating cyber-attacks especially those that seek to control switching devices. It leverages the security extensions of IEC 61850 to empower existing devices to collaborate in identifying and blocking malicious intents to trip circuit breakers, mis-coordinate devices settings, even thoughmore » the commands and the measurements comply with correct syntax. The CODEF functions utilize the physics of electromagnetic systems, electric power engineering principles, and computer science to bring more in depth cyber defense closer to the protected substation devices.« less

The Effects of Different Computer-Supported Collaboration Scripts on Students' Learning Processes and Outcome in a Simulation-Based Collaborative Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wieland, Kristina

2010-01-01

Students benefit from collaborative learning activities, but they do not automatically reach desired learning outcomes when working together (Fischer, Kollar, Mandl, & Haake, 2007; King, 2007). Learners need instructional support to increase the quality of collaborative processes and individual learning outcomes. The core challenge is to find…

Enhancing Elementary Students' Experiences Learning about Circuits Using an Exploration-Explanation Instructional Sequence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Timothy M.; Brown, Patrick L.

2010-01-01

Using an exploration-explanation sequence of science instruction helps teachers unveil students' prior knowledge about circuits and engage them in minds-on science learning. In these lessons, fourth grade students make predictions and test their ideas about circuits in series through hands-on investigations. The teacher helps students make…

An e-Learning System with MR for Experiments Involving Circuit Construction to Control a Robot

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takemura, Atsushi

2016-01-01

This paper proposes a novel e-Learning system for technological experiments involving electronic circuit-construction and controlling robot motion that are necessary in the field of technology. The proposed system performs automated recognition of circuit images transmitted from individual learners and automatically supplies the learner with…

Complexity and Competition in Appetitive and Aversive Neural Circuits

PubMed Central

Barberini, Crista L.; Morrison, Sara E.; Saez, Alex; Lau, Brian; Salzman, C. Daniel

2012-01-01

Decision-making often involves using sensory cues to predict possible rewarding or punishing reinforcement outcomes before selecting a course of action. Recent work has revealed complexity in how the brain learns to predict rewards and punishments. Analysis of neural signaling during and after learning in the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex, two brain areas that process appetitive and aversive stimuli, reveals a dynamic relationship between appetitive and aversive circuits. Specifically, the relationship between signaling in appetitive and aversive circuits in these areas shifts as a function of learning. Furthermore, although appetitive and aversive circuits may often drive opposite behaviors – approaching or avoiding reinforcement depending upon its valence – these circuits can also drive similar behaviors, such as enhanced arousal or attention; these processes also may influence choice behavior. These data highlight the formidable challenges ahead in dissecting how appetitive and aversive neural circuits interact to produce a complex and nuanced range of behaviors. PMID:23189037

A Collaborative Learning Network Approach to Improvement: The CUSP Learning Network.

PubMed

Weaver, Sallie J; Lofthus, Jennifer; Sawyer, Melinda; Greer, Lee; Opett, Kristin; Reynolds, Catherine; Wyskiel, Rhonda; Peditto, Stephanie; Pronovost, Peter J

2015-04-01

Collaborative improvement networks draw on the science of collaborative organizational learning and communities of practice to facilitate peer-to-peer learning, coaching, and local adaption. Although significant improvements in patient safety and quality have been achieved through collaborative methods, insight regarding how collaborative networks are used by members is needed. Improvement Strategy: The Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) Learning Network is a multi-institutional collaborative network that is designed to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and coaching specifically related to CUSP. Member organizations implement all or part of the CUSP methodology to improve organizational safety culture, patient safety, and care quality. Qualitative case studies developed by participating members examine the impact of network participation across three levels of analysis (unit, hospital, health system). In addition, results of a satisfaction survey designed to evaluate member experiences were collected to inform network development. Common themes across case studies suggest that members found value in collaborative learning and sharing strategies across organizational boundaries related to a specific improvement strategy. The CUSP Learning Network is an example of network-based collaborative learning in action. Although this learning network focuses on a particular improvement methodology-CUSP-there is clear potential for member-driven learning networks to grow around other methods or topic areas. Such collaborative learning networks may offer a way to develop an infrastructure for longer-term support of improvement efforts and to more quickly diffuse creative sustainment strategies.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adams, B.W.; et al.

The Large Area Picosecond PhotoDetector (LAPPD) Collaboration was formed in 2009 to develop large-area photodetectors capable of time resolutions measured in pico-seconds, with accompanying sub-millimeter spatial resolution. During the next three and one-half years the Collaboration developed the LAPPD design of 20 x 20 cm modules with gains greater thanmore » $10^7$ and non-uniformity less than $$15\\%$$, time resolution less than 50 psec for single photons and spatial resolution of 700~microns in both lateral dimensions. We describe the R\\&D performed to develop large-area micro-channel plate glass substrates, resistive and secondary-emitting coatings, large-area bialkali photocathodes, and RF-capable hermetic packaging. In addition, the Collaboration developed the necessary electronics for large systems capable of precise timing, built up from a custom low-power 15-GigaSample/sec waveform sampling 6-channel integrated circuit and supported by a two-level modular data acquisition system based on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays for local control, data-sparcification, and triggering. We discuss the formation, organization, and technical successes and short-comings of the Collaboration. The Collaboration ended in December 2012 with a transition from R\\&D to commercialization.« less

Collaborative learning of clinical skills in health professions education: the why, how, when and for whom.

PubMed

Tolsgaard, Martin G; Kulasegaram, Kulamakan M; Ringsted, Charlotte V

2016-01-01

This study is designed to provide an overview of why, how, when and for whom collaborative learning of clinical skills may work in health professions education. Collaborative learning of clinical skills may influence learning positively according to the non-medical literature. Training efficiency may therefore be improved if the outcomes of collaborative learning of clinical skills are superior or equivalent to those attained through individual learning. According to a social interaction perspective, collaborative learning of clinical skills mediates its effects through social interaction, motivation, accountability and positive interdependence between learners. Motor skills learning theory suggests that positive effects rely on observational learning and action imitation, and negative effects may include decreased hands-on experience. Finally, a cognitive perspective suggests that learning is dependent on cognitive co-construction, shared knowledge and reduced cognitive load. The literature on the collaborative learning of clinical skills in health science education is reviewed to support or contradict the hypotheses provided by the theories outlined above. Collaborative learning of clinical skills leads to improvements in self-efficacy, confidence and performance when task processing is observable or communicable. However, the effects of collaborative learning of clinical skills may decrease over time as benefits in terms of shared cognition, scaffolding and cognitive co-construction are outweighed by reductions in hands-on experience and time on task. Collaborative learning of clinical skills has demonstrated promising results in the simulated setting. However, further research into how collaborative learning of clinical skills may work in clinical settings, as well as into the role of social dynamics between learners, is required. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Capturing readiness to learn and collaboration as explored with an interprofessional simulation scenario: A mixed-methods research study.

PubMed

Rossler, Kelly L; Kimble, Laura P

2016-01-01

Didactic lecture does not lend itself to teaching interprofessional collaboration. High-fidelity human patient simulation with a focus on clinical situations/scenarios is highly conducive to interprofessional education. Consequently, a need for research supporting the incorporation of interprofessional education with high-fidelity patient simulation based technology exists. The purpose of this study was to explore readiness for interprofessional learning and collaboration among pre-licensure health professions students participating in an interprofessional education human patient simulation experience. Using a mixed methods convergent parallel design, a sample of 53 pre-licensure health professions students enrolled in nursing, respiratory therapy, health administration, and physical therapy programs within a college of health professions participated in high-fidelity human patient simulation experiences. Perceptions of interprofessional learning and collaboration were measured with the revised Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and the Health Professional Collaboration Scale (HPCS). Focus groups were conducted during the simulation post-briefing to obtain qualitative data. Statistical analysis included non-parametric, inferential statistics. Qualitative data were analyzed using a phenomenological approach. Pre- and post-RIPLS demonstrated pre-licensure health professions students reported significantly more positive attitudes about readiness for interprofessional learning post-simulation in the areas of team work and collaboration, negative professional identity, and positive professional identity. Post-simulation HPCS revealed pre-licensure nursing and health administration groups reported greater health collaboration during simulation than physical therapy students. Qualitative analysis yielded three themes: "exposure to experiential learning," "acquisition of interactional relationships," and "presence of chronology in role preparation." Quantitative and qualitative data converged around the finding that physical therapy students had less positive perceptions of the experience because they viewed physical therapy practice as occurring one-on-one rather than in groups. Findings support that pre-licensure students are ready to engage in interprofessional education through exposure to an experiential format such as high-fidelity human patient simulation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design and Evaluation of a Collaborative Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Qiyun

2009-01-01

Collaboration becomes an essential competency in the current knowledge society. In this study, a collaborative learning environment was designed to facilitate students in group collaboration. Instructional support strategies of friendship and meaningful learning tasks were applied to promote collaboration. Scaffolding strategies such as writing…

Learning multiple variable-speed sequences in striatum via cortical tutoring.

PubMed

Murray, James M; Escola, G Sean

2017-05-08

Sparse, sequential patterns of neural activity have been observed in numerous brain areas during timekeeping and motor sequence tasks. Inspired by such observations, we construct a model of the striatum, an all-inhibitory circuit where sequential activity patterns are prominent, addressing the following key challenges: (i) obtaining control over temporal rescaling of the sequence speed, with the ability to generalize to new speeds; (ii) facilitating flexible expression of distinct sequences via selective activation, concatenation, and recycling of specific subsequences; and (iii) enabling the biologically plausible learning of sequences, consistent with the decoupling of learning and execution suggested by lesion studies showing that cortical circuits are necessary for learning, but that subcortical circuits are sufficient to drive learned behaviors. The same mechanisms that we describe can also be applied to circuits with both excitatory and inhibitory populations, and hence may underlie general features of sequential neural activity pattern generation in the brain.

Collaborative learning: A next step in the training of peer support providers.

PubMed

Cronise, Rita

2016-09-01

This column explores how peer support provider training is enhanced through collaborative learning. Collaborative learning is an approach that draws upon the "real life" experiences of individual learners and encompasses opportunities to explore varying perspectives and collectively construct solutions that enrich the practice of all participants. This description draws upon published articles and examples of collaborative learning in training and communities of practice of peer support providers. Similar to person-centered practices that enhance the recovery experience of individuals receiving services, collaborative learning enhances the experience of peer support providers as they explore relevant "real world" issues, offer unique contributions, and work together toward improving practice. Three examples of collaborative learning approaches are provided that have resulted in successful collaborative learning opportunities for peer support providers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The value of inter-professional education: a comparative study of dental technology students' perceptions across four countries.

PubMed

Evans, J; Henderson, A J; Sun, J; Haugen, H; Myhrer, T; Maryan, C; Ivanow, K N; Cameron, A; Johnson, N W

2015-04-24

The ability to function as an effective member of a dental care team is a highly desirable--frequently mandated--attribute of dental technology (DT) graduates. Currently, there is little rigorous examination of how the learning of team-working skills might best be structured in a DT curriculum. This research compares DT curricula, and students' attitudes and perceptions regarding collaboration in practice, from four countries. Students (n=376) were invited to complete an education profile questionnaire, and the standardised measure--the shared learning scale. There were 196 (52%) responses. Students given opportunities to engage with others had better perceptions of inter-professional learning (IPL). Most believed that team-work and collaborative skills were best acquired by learning together with other dental care professionals, preferably sharing cases for real patients. Curricula should maximise opportunities for dental technology students to experience authentic IPL. Collaboration and team-work needs to be embedded through the whole undergraduate programme.

Implementing Collaborative Design in the Next Series of eLearning Platforms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kropf, Dorothy

2013-01-01

Collaborative design empowers learning management system (LMS) providers and end users (online students) to develop a vibrant teaching and learning community. Successful periodic collaborations utilizing collaborative web tools between these two pivotal groups can produce the next series of eLearning platforms that are fertile grounds for…

A Delphi Study on Collaborative Learning in Distance Education: The Faculty Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neill, Susan; Scott, Murray; Conboy, Kieran

2011-01-01

This paper focuses on the factors that influence collaborative learning in distance education. Distance education has been around for many years and the use of collaborative learning techniques in distance education is becoming increasingly popular. Several studies have demonstrated the superiority of collaborative learning over traditional modes…

Examining the Role of Collaborative Learning in a Public Speaking Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liao, Hsiang-Ann

2014-01-01

Collaborative learning has been found to benefit students in various disciplines. Moreover, in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics literature, it was noted that minority students benefited the most from collaborative learning. Studies on the effects of collaborative learning in communication are limited. As a result, I examined…

OLDER ADULTS CATCH UP TO YOUNGER ADULTS ON A LEARNING AND MEMORY TASK THAT INVOLVES COLLABORATIVE SOCIAL INTERACTION

PubMed Central

Derksen, B.J.; Duff, M.C.; Weldon, K.; Zhang, J.; Zamba, G.; Tranel, D.; Denburg, N.L.

2014-01-01

Learning and memory abilities tend to decline as people age. The current study examines the question of whether a learning situation that emphasizes collaborative social interaction might help older persons overcome age-related learning and memory changes and thus perform similarly to younger persons. Younger and Older participants (n = 34 in each group) completed the Barrier Task, a game-like social interaction where partners work together to develop labels for a set of abstract tangrams. Participants were also administered standard clinical neuropsychological measures of memory, on which the Older group showed expected inferiority to the Younger group. On the Barrier Task, the Older group performed less well than the Younger group early on, but as the task progressed, the performance of the Older group caught up and became statistically indistinguishable from that of the Younger group. These results can be taken to suggest that a learning milieu characterized by collaborative social interaction can attenuate some of the typical memory disadvantages associated with being older. PMID:24841619

When Collaborative Learning Meets Nature: Collaborative Learning as a Meaningful Learning Tool in the Ecology Inquiry Based Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rozenszayn, Ronit; Assaraf, Orit Ben-Zvi

2011-01-01

This research suggests utilizing collaborative learning among high school students for better performance on ecology inquiry-based projects. A case study of nine 12th grade students who participated in collaborative learning sessions in the open field and in class is examined. The results show that the students concentrated on discussing the…

Self-Regulated Learning Strategies of Engineering College Students While Learning Electric Circuit Concepts with Enhanced Guided Notes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawanto, Oenardi; Santoso, Harry

2013-01-01

The current study evaluated engineering college students' self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies while learning electric circuit concepts using enhanced guided notes (EGN). Our goal was to describe how students exercise SRL strategies and how their grade performance changes after using EGN. Two research questions guided the study: (1) To what…

Shining Light on Social Learning Circuits.

PubMed

Chang, Steve W C; Dal Monte, Olga

2018-05-28

Learning from others powerfully shapes our lives, yet the circuit-specific mechanisms underlying social learning in the brain remain unclear. A recent study in mice provides evidence that direct neuronal projections from the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) play a critical role in observational fear learning. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lights, camera, action research: The effects of didactic digital movie making on students' twenty-first century learning skills and science content in the middle school classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ochsner, Karl

Students are moving away from content consumption to content production. Short movies are uploaded onto video social networking sites and shared around the world. Unfortunately they usually contain little to no educational value, lack a narrative and are rarely created in the science classroom. According to new Arizona Technology standards and ISTE NET*S, along with the framework from the Partnership for 21st Century Learning Standards, our society demands students not only to learn curriculum, but to think critically, problem solve effectively, and become adept at communicating and collaborating. Didactic digital movie making in the science classroom may be one way that these twenty-first century learning skills may be implemented. An action research study using a mixed-methods approach to collect data was used to investigate if didactic moviemaking can help eighth grade students learn physical science content while incorporating 21st century learning skills of collaboration, communication, problem solving and critical thinking skills through their group production. Over a five week period, students researched lessons, wrote scripts, acted, video recorded and edited a didactic movie that contained a narrative plot to teach a science strand from the Arizona State Standards in physical science. A pretest/posttest science content test and KWL chart was given before and after the innovation to measure content learned by the students. Students then took a 21st Century Learning Skills Student Survey to measure how much they perceived that communication, collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking were taking place during the production. An open ended survey and a focus group of four students were used for qualitative analysis. Three science teachers used a project evaluation rubric to measure science content and production values from the movies. Triangulating the science content test, KWL chart, open ended questions and the project evaluation rubric, it appeared that science content was gained from this project. Students felt motivated to learn and had positive experience. Students also felt that the repetition of production and watching their movies helped them remember science. Students also perceived that creating the didactic digital movie helped them use collaboration, communication, problem solving and critical thinking skills throughout their production.

Input clustering in the normal and learned circuits of adult barn owls.

PubMed

McBride, Thomas J; DeBello, William M

2015-05-01

Experience-dependent formation of synaptic input clusters can occur in juvenile brains. Whether this also occurs in adults is largely unknown. We previously reconstructed the normal and learned circuits of prism-adapted barn owls and found that changes in clustering of axo-dendritic contacts (putative synapses) predicted functional circuit strength. Here we asked whether comparable changes occurred in normal and prism-removed adults. Across all anatomical zones, no systematic differences in the primary metrics for within-branch or between-branch clustering were observed: 95-99% of contacts resided within clusters (<10-20 μm from nearest neighbor) regardless of circuit strength. Bouton volumes, a proxy measure of synaptic strength, were on average larger in the functionally strong zones, indicating that changes in synaptic efficacy contributed to the differences in circuit strength. Bootstrap analysis showed that the distribution of inter-contact distances strongly deviated from random not in the functionally strong zones but in those that had been strong during the sensitive period (60-250 d), indicating that clusters formed early in life were preserved regardless of current value. While cluster formation in juveniles appeared to require the production of new synapses, cluster formation in adults did not. In total, these results support a model in which high cluster dynamics in juveniles sculpt a potential connectivity map that is refined in adulthood. We propose that preservation of clusters in functionally weak adult circuits provides a storage mechanism for disused but potentially useful pathways. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Experiences in Digital Circuit Design Courses: A Self-Study Platform for Learning Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bañeres, David; Clarisó, Robert; Jorba, Josep; Serra, Montse

2014-01-01

The synthesis of digital circuits is a basic skill in all the bachelor programmes around the ICT area of knowledge, such as Computer Science, Telecommunication Engineering or Electrical Engineering. An important hindrance in the learning process of this skill is that the existing educational tools for the design of circuits do not allow the…

Module Six: Parallel Circuits; Basic Electricity and Electronics Individualized Learning System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, DC.

In this module the student will learn the rules that govern the characteristics of parallel circuits; the relationships between voltage, current, resistance and power; and the results of common troubles in parallel circuits. The module is divided into four lessons: rules of voltage and current, rules for resistance and power, variational analysis,…

Flexible Simulation E-Learning Environment for Studying Digital Circuits and Possibilities for It Deployment as Semantic Web Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radoyska, P.; Ivanova, T.; Spasova, N.

2011-01-01

In this article we present a partially realized project for building a distributed learning environment for studying digital circuits Test and Diagnostics at TU-Sofia. We describe the main requirements for this environment, substantiate the developer platform choice, and present our simulation and circuit parameter calculation tools.…

Rules and mechanisms for efficient two-stage learning in neural circuits

PubMed Central

Teşileanu, Tiberiu; Ölveczky, Bence; Balasubramanian, Vijay

2017-01-01

Trial-and-error learning requires evaluating variable actions and reinforcing successful variants. In songbirds, vocal exploration is induced by LMAN, the output of a basal ganglia-related circuit that also contributes a corrective bias to the vocal output. This bias is gradually consolidated in RA, a motor cortex analogue downstream of LMAN. We develop a new model of such two-stage learning. Using stochastic gradient descent, we derive how the activity in ‘tutor’ circuits (e.g., LMAN) should match plasticity mechanisms in ‘student’ circuits (e.g., RA) to achieve efficient learning. We further describe a reinforcement learning framework through which the tutor can build its teaching signal. We show that mismatches between the tutor signal and the plasticity mechanism can impair learning. Applied to birdsong, our results predict the temporal structure of the corrective bias from LMAN given a plasticity rule in RA. Our framework can be applied predictively to other paired brain areas showing two-stage learning. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.20944.001 PMID:28374674

Occupational therapy students in the process of interprofessional collaborative learning: a grounded theory study.

PubMed

Howell, Dana

2009-01-01

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to generate a theory of the interprofessional collaborative learning process of occupational therapy (OT) students who were engaged in a collaborative learning experience with students from other allied health disciplines. Data consisted of semi-structured interviews with nine OT students from four different interprofessional collaborative learning experiences at three universities. The emergent theory explained OT students' need to build a culture of mutual respect among disciplines in order to facilitate interprofessional collaborative learning. Occupational therapy students went through a progression of learned skills that included learning how to represent the profession of OT, hold their weight within a team situation, solve problems collaboratively, work as a team, and ultimately, to work in an actual team in practice. This learning process occurred simultaneously as students also learned course content. The students had to contend with barriers and facilitators that influenced their participation and the success of their collaboration. Understanding the interprofessional learning process of OT students will help allied health faculty to design more effective, inclusive interprofessional courses.

A Comparison of the Efficacy of Individual and Collaborative Music Learning in Ensemble Rehearsals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brandler, Brian J.; Peynircioglu, Zehra F.

2015-01-01

Collaboration is essential in learning ensemble music. It is unclear, however, whether an individual benefits more from collaborative or individual rehearsal in the initial stages of such learning. In nonmusical domains, the effect of collaboration has been mixed, sometimes enhancing and sometimes inhibiting an individual's learning process. In…

Investigating Technical and Pedagogical Usability Issues of Collaborative Learning with Wikis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadjerrouit, Said

2012-01-01

Wikis have been recently promoted as tools that foster collaborative learning. However, there has been little research devoted to the criteria that are suitable to address issues pertinent to collaborative learning. This paper proposes a set of criteria to explore technical and pedagogical usability issues of collaborative learning with wikis. The…

When Is It Better to Learn Together? Insights from Research on Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nokes-Malach, Timothy J.; Richey, J. Elizabeth; Gadgil, Soniya

2015-01-01

Although collaboration is often considered a beneficial learning strategy, research examining the claim suggests a much more complex picture. Critically, the question is not whether collaboration is beneficial to learning, but instead how and when collaboration improves outcomes. In this paper, we first discuss the mechanisms hypothesized to…

Creativity and Collaborative Learning: The Practical Guide to Empowering Students, Teachers, and Families. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thousand, Jacqueline S., Ed.; Villa, Richard A., Ed.; Nevin, Ann I., Ed.

These 24 papers explain how using the collaborative learning model can help teachers address classroom challenges. Section 1, "Toward Creativity and Collaborative Learning in the 21st Century," begins with "Toward Whole Schools: Building a Movement for Creativity and Collaborative Learning in the 21st Century" (J. Michael…

A New Semantic List Learning Task to Probe Functioning of the Papez Circuit

PubMed Central

Schallmo, Michael-Paul; Kassel, Michelle T.; Weisenbach, Sara L.; Walker, Sara J.; Guidotti-Breting, Leslie M.; Rao, Julia A.; Hazlett, Kathleen E.; Considine, Ciaran M.; Sethi, Gurpriya; Vats, Naalti; Pecina, Marta; Welsh, Robert C.; Starkman, Monica N.; Giordani, Bruno; Langenecker, Scott A.

2016-01-01

Introduction List learning tasks are powerful clinical tools for studying memory, yet have been relatively underutilized within the functional imaging literature. This limits understanding of regions such as the Papez circuit which support memory performance in healthy, non-demented adults. Method The current study characterized list learning performance in 40 adults who completed a Semantic List Learning Task (SLLT) with a Brown-Peterson manipulation during functional MRI (fMRI). Cued recall with semantic cues, and recognition memory were assessed after imaging. Internal reliability and convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated. Results Subjects averaged 38% accuracy in recall (62% for recognition), with primacy but no recency effects observed. Validity and reliability were demonstrated by showing that the SLLT was correlated with the California Verbal Learning test (CVLT), but not with executive functioning tests, and high intraclass correlation coefficient across lists for recall (.91). fMRI measurements during Encoding (vs. Silent Rehearsal) revealed significant activation in bilateral hippocampus, parahippocampus, and bilateral anterior and posterior cingulate cortex. Post-hoc analyses showed increased activation in anterior and middle hippocampus, subgenual cingulate, and mammillary bodies specific to Encoding. In addition, increasing age was positively associated with increased activation in a diffuse network, particularly frontal cortex and specific Papez regions for correctly recalled words. Gender differences were specific to left inferior and superior frontal cortex. Conclusions This is a clinically relevant list learning task that can be used in studies of groups for which the Papez circuit is damaged or disrupted, in mixed or crossover studies at imaging and clinical sites. PMID:26313512

Case study on perspicacity of collaborative learning experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdullah, Fadzidah; Majid, Noor Hanita Abdul; Numen, Ibrahim; Kesuma Azmin, Aida; Abd. Rahim, Zaiton; Denan, Zuraini; Emin Sisman, Muhammet

2017-12-01

In the attempt to relate to the architectural practice, architectural education today has augmented the development of collaborative learning environment in the campus scenario. Presently, collaborative work among students from the same program and university is considered common. Hence, attempts of collaboration is extended into having learning and teaching collaboration by means of inter-universities. The School of Architecture, at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) has explored into having collaboration across the continent with Fatih Sultan Mehmet Waqf University (FSMWU), among faculty members and students of the two (2) universities This paper explicates the empirical study on students’ perspicacity of their collaborative learning experiences; in term of effectiveness, generative behaviour, and teamwork. Survey with three (3) open-ended questions are distributed to students to express their opinions on learning collaboration that they have had during the execution of the Joint Summer School Program (JSSP). Feedback on their perspicacity is obtained and organised into numerical and understandable data display, using qualitative data processing software. Albeit the relevancy of collaborative learning, students gave both positive and negative feedbacks on their experiences. Suggestions are given to enhance the quality of collaborative learning experience for future development

Description of Self-efficacy and Initial Cognitive Abilities on the Students’ Physics Learning of the Direct Current Electrical Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaenudin; Maknun, J.; Muslim

2017-03-01

This study aims to determine description of self -efficacy and initial cognitive abilities on the students of MAN 1 Bandung (senior high school) in learning physics on the subject of electrical circuits Direct Current (DC) before they get academy ask assigned in the classroom. From the results of this research can be used as a reference to provide appropriate measures for the advancement of student learning. The theory used in this research is the theory of Bandura. The design in this study using case study and data collection is done by tests and questionnaires, sampling techniques used by random sampling, the study was conducted on 10th grade students of MAN 1 Bandung by the amount of students 35 participants. The results of data analysis showed that the percentage of students who have moderate self-efficacy amounted to 67.05 %, and cognitive ability 50 %, this shows that the process of learning that takes place in school before that junior high school is not much scientific implement processes that provide students the opportunity to discover new things, then learning approaches of right is Problem Based Learning (PBL).

Do action learning sets facilitate collaborative, deliberative learning?: A focus group evaluation of Graduate Entry Pre-registration Nursing (GEN) students' experience.

PubMed

Maddison, Charlotte; Strang, Gus

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate if by participating in action learning sets, Graduate Entry Pre-registration Nursing (GEN) students were able to engage in collaborative and deliberative learning. A single focus group interview involving eleven participants was used to collect data. Data analysis identified five themes; collaborative learning; reflection; learning through case study and problem-solving; communication, and rejection of codified learning. The themes are discussed and further analysed in the context of collaborative and deliberative learning. The evidence from this small scale study suggests that action learning sets do provide an environment where collaborative and deliberative learning can occur. However, students perceived some of them, particularly during year one, to be too 'teacher lead', which stifled learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Organizational Learning Framework for Patient Safety.

PubMed

Edwards, Marc T

Despite concerted effort to improve quality and safety, high reliability remains a distant goal. Although this likely reflects the challenge of organizational change, persistent controversy over basic issues suggests that weaknesses in conceptual models may contribute. The essence of operational improvement is organizational learning. This article presents a framework for identifying leverage points for improvement based on organizational learning theory and applies it to an analysis of current practice and controversy. Organizations learn from others, from defects, from measurement, and from mindfulness. These learning modes correspond with contemporary themes of collaboration, no blame for human error, accountability for performance, and managing the unexpected. The collaborative model has dominated improvement efforts. Greater attention to the underdeveloped modes of organizational learning may foster more rapid progress in patient safety by increasing organizational capabilities, strengthening a culture of safety, and fixing more of the process problems that contribute to patient harm.

Neural Representation of a Target Auditory Memory in a Cortico-Basal Ganglia Pathway

PubMed Central

Bottjer, Sarah W.

2013-01-01

Vocal learning in songbirds, like speech acquisition in humans, entails a period of sensorimotor integration during which vocalizations are evaluated via auditory feedback and progressively refined to achieve an imitation of memorized vocal sounds. This process requires the brain to compare feedback of current vocal behavior to a memory of target vocal sounds. We report the discovery of two distinct populations of neurons in a cortico-basal ganglia circuit of juvenile songbirds (zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata) during vocal learning: (1) one in which neurons are selectively tuned to memorized sounds and (2) another in which neurons are selectively tuned to self-produced vocalizations. These results suggest that neurons tuned to learned vocal sounds encode a memory of those target sounds, whereas neurons tuned to self-produced vocalizations encode a representation of current vocal sounds. The presence of neurons tuned to memorized sounds is limited to early stages of sensorimotor integration: after learning, the incidence of neurons encoding memorized vocal sounds was greatly diminished. In contrast to this circuit, neurons known to drive vocal behavior through a parallel cortico-basal ganglia pathway show little selective tuning until late in learning. One interpretation of these data is that representations of current and target vocal sounds in the shell circuit are used to compare ongoing patterns of vocal feedback to memorized sounds, whereas the parallel core circuit has a motor-related role in learning. Such a functional subdivision is similar to mammalian cortico-basal ganglia pathways in which associative-limbic circuits mediate goal-directed responses, whereas sensorimotor circuits support motor aspects of learning. PMID:24005299

eLearning, knowledge brokering, and nursing: strengthening collaborative practice in long-term care.

PubMed

Halabisky, Brenda; Humbert, Jennie; Stodel, Emma J; MacDonald, Colla J; Chambers, Larry W; Doucette, Suzanne; Dalziel, William B; Conklin, James

2010-01-01

Interprofessional collaboration is vital to the delivery of quality care in long-term care settings; however, caregivers in long-term care face barriers to participating in training programs to improve collaborative practices. Consequently, eLearning can be used to create an environment that combines convenient, individual learning with collaborative experiential learning. Findings of this study revealed that learners enjoyed the flexibility of the Working Together learning resource. They acquired new knowledge and skills that they were able to use in their practice setting to achieve higher levels of collaborative practice. Nurses were identified as team leaders because of their pivotal role in the long-term care home and collaboration with all patient care providers. Nurses are ideal as knowledge brokers for the collaborative practice team. Quantitative findings showed no change in learner's attitudes regarding collaborative practice; however, interviews provided examples of positive changes experienced. Face-to-face collaboration was found to be a challenge, and changes to organizations, systems, and technology need to be made to facilitate this process. The Working Together learning resource is an important first step toward strengthening collaboration in long-term care, and the pilot implementation provides insights that further our understanding of both interprofessional collaboration and effective eLearning.

Project Circuits in a Basic Electric Circuits Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, James P.; Plumb, Carolyn; Revia, Richard A.

2014-01-01

The use of project circuits (a photoplethysmograph circuit and a simple audio amplifier), introduced in a sophomore-level electric circuits course utilizing active learning and inquiry-based methods, is described. The development of the project circuits was initiated to promote enhanced engagement and deeper understanding of course content among…

Use of an Interculturally Enriched Collaboration Script in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Popov, Vitaliy; Biemans, Harm J. A.; Kuznetsov, Andrei N.; Mulder, Martin

2014-01-01

In this exploratory study, the authors introduced an interculturally enriched collaboration script (IECS) for working in culturally diverse groups within a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment and then assessed student online collaborative behaviour, learning performance and experiences. The question was if and how these…

A Balanced Scorecard for Open Innovation: Measuring the Impact of Industry-University Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores, Myrna; Al-Ashaab, Ahmed; Magyar, Andrea

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) can be considered as a strategic measurement tool. Since its first publication by Norton and Kaplan in the early 1990’s, many companies have applied it to measure four key aspects of their organisations’ performance: Financial, Customer, Internal Business Process, Learning and Growth. Although it is widely used in the business arena, this original BSC was not developed to assess the impact of collaborative research projects under an open innovation strategy, where the outputs of research and development (R&D) developed by collaborative projects undertaken by industry and universities should be measured in a different way. In fact, many companies are losing important opportunities to spur their R&D results by not being able to quantify the results of such collaborations. Therefore, this paper will propose a Scorecard to measure the outcomes of collaborative research. It is important to recall that this scorecard has been developed during a collaborative research project by CEMEX Research Group AG (Switzerland) and Cranfield University (UK). During such project, a survey was developed to carry out eleven face-to-face interviews in a sample of ten companies in UK, which provided important inputs to design such strategic scorecard. It was confirmed that a collaborative balanced scorecard is a very useful tool to measure, track and improve the impact of conducting collaborative projects with universities.

Oxytocin attenuates trust as a subset of more general reinforcement learning, with altered reward circuit functional connectivity in males.

PubMed

Ide, Jaime S; Nedic, Sanja; Wong, Kin F; Strey, Shmuel L; Lawson, Elizabeth A; Dickerson, Bradford C; Wald, Lawrence L; La Camera, Giancarlo; Mujica-Parodi, Lilianne R

2018-07-01

Oxytocin (OT) is an endogenous neuropeptide that, while originally thought to promote trust, has more recently been found to be context-dependent. Here we extend experimental paradigms previously restricted to de novo decision-to-trust, to a more realistic environment in which social relationships evolve in response to iterative feedback over twenty interactions. In a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled within-subject/crossover experiment of human adult males, we investigated the effects of a single dose of intranasal OT (40 IU) on Bayesian expectation updating and reinforcement learning within a social context, with associated brain circuit dynamics. Subjects participated in a neuroeconomic task (Iterative Trust Game) designed to probe iterative social learning while their brains were scanned using ultra-high field (7T) fMRI. We modeled each subject's behavior using Bayesian updating of belief-states ("willingness to trust") as well as canonical measures of reinforcement learning (learning rate, inverse temperature). Behavioral trajectories were then used as regressors within fMRI activation and connectivity analyses to identify corresponding brain network functionality affected by OT. Behaviorally, OT reduced feedback learning, without bias with respect to positive versus negative reward. Neurobiologically, reduced learning under OT was associated with muted communication between three key nodes within the reward circuit: the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, and lateral (limbic) habenula. Our data suggest that OT, rather than inspiring feelings of generosity, instead attenuates the brain's encoding of prediction error and therefore its ability to modulate pre-existing beliefs. This effect may underlie OT's putative role in promoting what has typically been reported as 'unjustified trust' in the face of information that suggests likely betrayal, while also resolving apparent contradictions with regard to OT's context-dependent behavioral effects. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Auto-programmable impulse neural circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watula, D.; Meador, J.

1990-01-01

Impulse neural networks use pulse trains to communicate neuron activation levels. Impulse neural circuits emulate natural neurons at a more detailed level than that typically employed by contemporary neural network implementation methods. An impulse neural circuit which realizes short term memory dynamics is presented. The operation of that circuit is then characterized in terms of pulse frequency modulated signals. Both fixed and programmable synapse circuits for realizing long term memory are also described. The implementation of a simple and useful unsupervised learning law is then presented. The implementation of a differential Hebbian learning rule for a specific mean-frequency signal interpretation is shown to have a straightforward implementation using digital combinational logic with a variation of a previously developed programmable synapse circuit. This circuit is expected to be exploited for simple and straightforward implementation of future auto-adaptive neural circuits.

Learning Motivation and Retention Effects of Pair Programming in Data Structures Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Ya-Fei; Lee, Chien-I; Chang, Chih-Kai

2016-01-01

Collaborative learning is an activity in which two or more students learn something together. Many studies have found that collaborative learning improve students' memory retention and motivation to learn. Peer Instruction (PI) is one of the most successful evidence-based collaborative learning methods. This article investigates issues of student…

Stress in Japanese Learners Engaged in Online Collaborative Learning in English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jung, Insung; Kudo, Masayuki; Choi, Sook-Kyoung

2012-01-01

Many studies report positive learning experience and improved performance in online collaborative learning. However, such learning can also incur unnecessary or excessive stress with a resultant adverse effect on the learning. This study aimed to determine the stress factors in online collaborative learning as perceived by 226 Japanese university…

Combining Collaborative Learning with Learning Management Systems in Teaching Programming Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavus, Nadire; Uzunboylu, Huseyin; Ibrahim, Dogan

2006-01-01

The development of collaborative studies in learning has led to a renewed interest in the field of web-based education. In this experimental study, a highly interactive and collaborative teaching environment was created using Moodle, a learning management system with two types of Collaborative Tools (CTs): Standard CT and Advanced CT to create a…

Taking an Instrumental Genesis Lens: New Insights into Collaborative Mobile Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cerratto Pargman, Teresa; Nouri, Jalal; Milrad, Marcelo

2018-01-01

In this paper, we argue that in order to gain a deeper understanding of collaborative mobile learning in schools, it is important to know not only how mobile devices affect collaborative learning but also how collaborative learning emerges and is mediated by these devices. We develop our argument by applying the instrumental genesis theory and the…

Bridging the Gap between Students and Computers: Supporting Activity Awareness for Network Collaborative Learning with GSM Network

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, C.-C.; Tao, S.-Y.; Nee, J.-N.

2008-01-01

The internet has been widely used to promote collaborative learning among students. However, students do not always have access to the system, leading to doubt in the interaction among the students, and reducing the effectiveness of collaborative learning, since the web-based collaborative learning environment relies entirely on the availability…

Analog hardware for delta-backpropagation neural networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eberhardt, Silvio P. (Inventor)

1992-01-01

This is a fully parallel analog backpropagation learning processor which comprises a plurality of programmable resistive memory elements serving as synapse connections whose values can be weighted during learning with buffer amplifiers, summing circuits, and sample-and-hold circuits arranged in a plurality of neuron layers in accordance with delta-backpropagation algorithms modified so as to control weight changes due to circuit drift.

Exploring Collaborative Learning Effect in Blended Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Z.; Liu, R.; Luo, L.; Wu, M.; Shi, C.

2017-01-01

The use of new technology encouraged exploration of the effectiveness and difference of collaborative learning in blended learning environments. This study investigated the social interactive network of students, level of knowledge building and perception level on usefulness in online and mobile collaborative learning environments in higher…

Three Philosophical Pillars That Support Collaborative Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maltese, Ralph

1991-01-01

Discusses three philosophical pillars that support collaborative learning: "spaces of appearance," active engagement, and ownership. Describes classroom experiences with collaborative learning supported by these pillars. (PRA)

Virtual collaboration in the online educational setting: a concept analysis.

PubMed

Breen, Henny

2013-01-01

This study was designed to explore the concept of virtual collaboration within the context of an online learning environment in an academic setting. Rodgers' method of evolutionary concept analysis was used to provide a contextual view of the concept to identify attributes, antecedents, and consequences of virtual collaboration. Commonly used terms to describe virtual collaboration are collaborative and cooperative learning, group work, group interaction, group learning, and teamwork. A constructivist pedagogy, group-based process with a shared purpose, support, and web-based technology is required for virtual collaboration to take place. Consequences of virtual collaboration are higher order thinking and learning to work with others. A comprehensive definition of virtual collaboration is offered as an outcome of this analysis. Clarification of virtual collaboration prior to using it as a pedagogical tool in the online learning environment will enhance nursing education with the changes in nursing curriculum being implemented today. Further research is recommended to describe the developmental stages of the collaborative process among nursing students in online education and how virtual collaboration facilitates collaboration in practice. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The quality and impact of computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) in radiology case-based learning.

PubMed

Kourdioukova, Elena V; Verstraete, Koenraad L; Valcke, Martin

2011-06-01

The aim of this research was to explore (1) clinical years students' perceptions about radiology case-based learning within a computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) setting, (2) an analysis of the collaborative learning process, and (3) the learning impact of collaborative work on the radiology cases. The first part of this study focuses on a more detailed analysis of a survey study about CSCL based case-based learning, set up in the context of a broader radiology curriculum innovation. The second part centers on a qualitative and quantitative analysis of 52 online collaborative learning discussions from 5th year and nearly graduating medical students. The collaborative work was based on 26 radiology cases regarding musculoskeletal radiology. The analysis of perceptions about collaborative learning on radiology cases reflects a rather neutral attitude that also does not differ significantly in students of different grade levels. Less advanced students are more positive about CSCL as compared to last year students. Outcome evaluation shows a significantly higher level of accuracy in identification of radiology key structures and in radiology diagnosis as well as in linking the radiological signs with available clinical information in nearly graduated students. No significant differences between different grade levels were found in accuracy of using medical terminology. Students appreciate computer supported collaborative learning settings when tackling radiology case-based learning. Scripted computer supported collaborative learning groups proved to be useful for both 5th and 7th year students in view of developing components of their radiology diagnostic approaches. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Collaborative learning in pre-clinical dental hygiene education.

PubMed

Mueller-Joseph, Laura J; Nappo-Dattoma, Luisa

2013-04-01

Dental hygiene education continues to move beyond mastery of content material and skill development to learning concepts that promote critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of collaborative learning and determine the growth in intellectual development of 54 first-year dental hygiene students. The control group used traditional pre-clinical teaching and the experimental group used collaborative pedagogy for instrument introduction. All students were subjected to a post-test evaluating their ability to apply the principles of instrumentation. Intellectual development was determined using pre- and post-tests based on the Perry Scheme of Intellectual Development. Student attitudes were assessed using daily Classroom Assessment Activities and an end-of-semester departmental course evaluation. Findings indicated no significant difference between collaborative learning and traditional learning in achieving pre-clinical competence as evidenced by the students' ability to apply the principles of instrumentation. Advancement in intellectual development did not differ significantly between groups. Value added benefits of a collaborative learning environment as identified by the evaluation of student attitudes included decreased student reliance on authority, recognition of peers as legitimate sources of learning and increased self-confidence. A significant difference in student responses to daily classroom assessments was evident on the 5 days a collaborative learning environment was employed. Dental hygiene students involved in a pre-clinical collaborative learning environment are more responsible for their own learning and tend to have a more positive attitude toward the subject matter. Future studies evaluating collaborative learning in clinical dental hygiene education need to investigate the cost/benefit ratio of the value added outcomes of collaborative learning.

Collaborative project-based learning: an integrative science and technological education project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baser, Derya; Ozden, M. Yasar; Karaarslan, Hasan

2017-04-01

Background: Blending collaborative learning and project-based learning (PBL) based on Wolff (2003) design categories, students interacted in a learning environment where they developed their technology integration practices as well as their technological and collaborative skills.

A Collaborative Perspective on Learning Transfer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nielsen, Klaus

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that it is important to focus on the apprentices' collaborative learning processes when addressing issues of learning transfer. Design/methodology/approach: The claims about the importance of addressing processes of collaborative activities and learning in relation to learning transfer are based on…

Implementing Collaborative Learning Methods in the Political Science Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolfe, Angela

2012-01-01

Collaborative learning is one, among other, active learning methods, widely acclaimed in higher education. Consequently, instructors in fields that lack pedagogical training often implement new learning methods such as collaborative learning on the basis of trial and error. Moreover, even though the benefits in academic circles are broadly touted,…

Learning Alone or Together? A Combination Can Be Best!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olsen, Jennifer K.; Rummel, Nikol; Aleven, Vincent

2017-01-01

Collaborative and individual learning are both frequently used in classrooms to support learning. However, little research has investigated the benefits of combining individual and collaborative learning, as compared to learning only individually or only collaboratively. With our study, we address this research gap. We compared a combined…

Do quality improvement collaboratives' educational components match the dominant learning style preferences of the participants?

PubMed

Weggelaar-Jansen, Anne Marie; van Wijngaarden, Jeroen; Slaghuis, Sarah-Sue

2015-06-20

Quality improvement collaboratives are used to improve healthcare by various organizations. Despite their popularity literature shows mixed results on their effectiveness. A quality improvement collaborative can be seen as a temporary learning organization in which knowledge about improvement themes and methods is exchanged. In this research we studied: Does the learning approach of a quality improvement collaborative match the learning styles preferences of the individual participants and how does that affect the learning process of participants? This research used a mixed methods design combining a validated learning style questionnaire with data collected in the tradition of action research methodology to study two Dutch quality improvement collaboratives. The questionnaire is based on the learning style model of Ruijters and Simons, distinguishing five learning style preferences: Acquisition of knowledge, Apperception from others, Discovery of new insights, Exercising in fictitious situations and Participation with others. The most preferred learning styles of the participants were Discovery and Participation. The learning style Acquisition was moderately preferred and Apperception and Exercising were least preferred. The educational components of the quality improvement collaboratives studied (national conferences, half-day learning sessions, faculty site visits and use of an online tool) were predominantly associated with the learning styles Acquisition and Apperception. We observed a decrease in attendance to the learning activities and non-conformance with the standardized set goals and approaches. We conclude that the participants' satisfaction with the offered learning approach changed over time. The lacking match between these learning style preferences and the learning approach in the educational components of the quality improvement collaboratives studied might be the reason why the participants felt they did not gain new insights and therefore ceased their participation in the collaborative. This study provides guidance for future organisers and participants of quality improvement collaboratives about which learning approaches will best suit the participants and enhance improvement work.

Educational Support System for Experiments Involving Construction of Sound Processing Circuits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takemura, Atsushi

2012-01-01

This paper proposes a novel educational support system for technical experiments involving the production of practical electronic circuits for sound processing. To support circuit design and production, each student uses a computer during the experiments, and can learn circuit design, virtual circuit making, and real circuit making. In the…

Exploring the Influences of Elementary School Students' Learning Motivation on Web-Based Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chin-Fei, Huang; Chia-Ju, Liu

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore the influences of students' learning motivation on Web-based collaborative learning. This study conducted learning materials of Web pages about science and collaborative learning, a motivation questionnaire and interviews were used for data collection. Eighty Grade 5 students and a science teacher were…

Distinguishable memory retrieval networks for collaboratively and non-collaboratively learned information.

PubMed

Vanlangendonck, Flora; Takashima, Atsuko; Willems, Roel M; Hagoort, Peter

2018-03-01

Learning often occurs in communicative and collaborative settings, yet almost all research into the neural basis of memory relies on participants encoding and retrieving information on their own. We investigated whether learning linguistic labels in a collaborative context at least partly relies on cognitively and neurally distinct representations, as compared to learning in an individual context. Healthy human participants learned labels for sets of abstract shapes in three different tasks. They came up with labels with another person in a collaborative communication task (collaborative condition), by themselves (individual condition), or were given pre-determined unrelated labels to learn by themselves (arbitrary condition). Immediately after learning, participants retrieved and produced the labels aloud during a communicative task in the MRI scanner. The fMRI results show that the retrieval of collaboratively generated labels as compared to individually learned labels engages brain regions involved in understanding others (mentalizing or theory of mind) and autobiographical memory, including the medial prefrontal cortex, the right temporoparietal junction and the precuneus. This study is the first to show that collaboration during encoding affects the neural networks involved in retrieval. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Assessing collaborative computing: development of the Collaborative-Computing Observation Instrument (C-COI)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Israel, Maya; Wherfel, Quentin M.; Shehab, Saadeddine; Ramos, Evan A.; Metzger, Adam; Reese, George C.

2016-07-01

This paper describes the development, validation, and uses of the Collaborative Computing Observation Instrument (C-COI), a web-based analysis instrument that classifies individual and/or collaborative behaviors of students during computing problem-solving (e.g. coding, programming). The C-COI analyzes data gathered through video and audio screen recording software that captures students' computer screens as they program, and their conversations with their peers or adults. The instrument allows researchers to organize and quantify these data to track behavioral patterns that could be further analyzed for deeper understanding of persistence and/or collaborative interactions. The article provides a rationale for the C-COI including the development of a theoretical framework for measuring collaborative interactions in computer-mediated environments. This theoretical framework relied on the computer-supported collaborative learning literature related to adaptive help seeking, the joint problem-solving space in which collaborative computing occurs, and conversations related to outcomes and products of computational activities. Instrument development and validation also included ongoing advisory board feedback from experts in computer science, collaborative learning, and K-12 computing as well as classroom observations to test out the constructs in the C-COI. These processes resulted in an instrument with rigorous validation procedures and a high inter-rater reliability.

Supporting Multimedia Learning with Visual Signalling and Animated Pedagogical Agent: Moderating Effects of Prior Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, A. M.; Ozogul, G.; Reisslein, M.

2015-01-01

An experiment examined the effects of visual signalling to relevant information in multiple external representations and the visual presence of an animated pedagogical agent (APA). Students learned electric circuit analysis using a computer-based learning environment that included Cartesian graphs, equations and electric circuit diagrams. The…

Student Learning in an Electric Circuit Theory Course: Critical Aspects and Task Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carstensen, Anna-Karin; Bernhard, Jonte

2009-01-01

Understanding time-dependent responses, such as transients, is important in electric circuit theory and other branches of engineering. However, transient response is considered difficult to learn since familiarity with advanced mathematical tools such as Laplace transforms is required. Here, we analyse and describe a novel learning environment…

Beyond the Bolus: Transgenic Tools for Investigating the Neurophysiology of Learning and Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lykken, Christine; Kentros, Clifford G.

2014-01-01

Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying learning and memory in the entorhinal-hippocampal circuit is a central challenge of systems neuroscience. For more than 40 years, electrophysiological recordings in awake, behaving animals have been used to relate the receptive fields of neurons in this circuit to learning and memory. However, the…

Using Learning Walks to Improve Collaboration and Charter School Performance (A University/?P-12 School Partnership): Year One

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bole, Paul Thomas; Farizo, Kenneth Paul

2013-01-01

Many universities exist apart from their community's public schools. A New Orleans area public university took measures to facilitate collaborative partnerships with four public schools. Those schools were taken over and converted to charter schools by state officials for poor performance. The partnerships created simultaneous opportunities and…

Interactive Online Physics Labs Increase High School Students' Interest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gryczka, Patrick; Klementowicz, Edward; Sharrock, Chappel; Montclare, Jin Kim

2016-01-01

Here we describe the incorporation of a web-based application focusing on circuits for the physics high school classroom as part of an outreach program. The program involves college mentors creating and implementing science lessons in collaboration with the classroom teacher. Focusing on the challenge of understanding circuit design, a technology…

Using "get with the guidelines" to improve cardiovascular secondary prevention.

PubMed

LaBresh, Kenneth A; Gliklich, Richard; Liljestrand, James; Peto, Randolph; Ellrodt, A Gray

2003-10-01

"Get With The Guidelines (GWTG)" was developed and piloted by the American Heart Association (AHA), New England Affiliate; MassPRO, Inc.; and other organizations to reduce the gap in the application of secondary prevention guidelines in hospitalized cardiovascular disease patients. Collaborative learning programs and technology solutions were created for the project. The interactive Web-based patient management tool (PMT) was developed using quality measures derived from the AHA/American College of Cardiology secondary prevention guidelines. It provided data entry, embedded reminders and guideline summaries, and online reports of quality measure performance, including comparisons with the aggregate performance of all hospitals. Multidisciplinary teams from 24 hospitals participated in the 2000-2001 pilot. Four collaborative learning sessions and monthly conference calls supported team interaction. Best-practices sharing and the use of an Internet tool enabled hospitals to change systems and collect data on 1,738 patients. The GWTG program, a template of learning sessions with didactic presentations, best-practices sharing, and collaborative multidisciplinary team meetings supported by the Internet-based data collection and reporting system, can be extended to multiple regions without requiring additional development. Following the completion of the pilot, the AHA adopted GWTG as a national program.

Using Appropriate Digital Tools to Overcome Barriers to Collaborative Learning in Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wardlow, Liane; Harm, Eian

2015-01-01

Collaborative learning provides students with vital opportunities to create and build knowledge. Existing technologies can facilitate collaborative learning. However, barriers exist to enacting collaborative practices related to the coverage of material for assessments and classroom management concerns, among others. Teachers can overcome these…

Supporting Awareness for Augmenting Participation in Collaborative Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogata, Hiroaki; Yano, Yoneo

This paper describes Coconuts (Concurrent Collaborative Learning Environment Supported by Awareness), a proposed module of Sharlok (Sharing, Linking and Looking-for Knowledge), an open-ended and collaborative learning environment that integrates a knowledge building tool with a collaborative interface tool. Coconuts was developed in order to…

Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Collaborative Learning in a Differential Equations Mathematics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hajra, Sayonita Ghosh; Das, Ujjaini

2015-01-01

This paper uses collaborative learning strategies to examine students' perceptions in a differential equations mathematics course. Students' perceptions were analyzed using three collaborative learning strategies including collaborative activity, group-quiz and online discussion. The study results show that students identified both strengths and…

Effectiveness of Collaborative Learning with 3D Virtual Worlds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cho, Young Hoan; Lim, Kenneth Y. T.

2017-01-01

Virtual worlds have affordances to enhance collaborative learning in authentic contexts. Despite the potential of collaborative learning with a virtual world, few studies investigated whether it is more effective in student achievements than teacher-directed instruction. This study investigated the effectiveness of collaborative problem solving…

A common neural circuit mechanism for internally guided and externally reinforced forms of motor learning.

PubMed

Hisey, Erin; Kearney, Matthew Gene; Mooney, Richard

2018-04-01

The complex skills underlying verbal and musical expression can be learned without external punishment or reward, indicating their learning is internally guided. The neural mechanisms that mediate internally guided learning are poorly understood, but a circuit comprising dopamine-releasing neurons in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) and their targets in the basal ganglia are important to externally reinforced learning. Juvenile zebra finches copy a tutor song in a process that is internally guided and, in adulthood, can learn to modify the fundamental frequency (pitch) of a target syllable in response to external reinforcement with white noise. Here we combined intersectional genetic ablation of VTA neurons, reversible blockade of dopamine receptors in the basal ganglia, and singing-triggered optogenetic stimulation of VTA terminals to establish that a common VTA-basal ganglia circuit enables internally guided song copying and externally reinforced syllable pitch learning.

Learning Abstract Physical Concepts from Experience: Design and Use of an RC Circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parra, Alfredo; Ordenes, Jorge; de la Fuente, Milton

2018-05-01

Science learning for undergraduate students requires grasping a great number of theoretical concepts in a rather short time. In our experience, this is especially difficult when students are required to simultaneously use abstract concepts, mathematical reasoning, and graphical analysis, such as occurs when learning about RC circuits. We present a simple experimental model in this work that allows students to easily design, build, and analyze RC circuits, thus providing an opportunity to test personal ideas, build graphical descriptions, and explore the meaning of the respective mathematical models, ultimately gaining a better grasp of the concepts involved. The result suggests that the simple setup indeed helps untrained students to visualize the essential points of this kind of circuit.

A Multi-Agent Question-Answering System for E-Learning and Collaborative Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alinaghi, Tannaz; Bahreininejad, Ardeshir

2011-01-01

The increasing advances of new Internet technologies in all application domains have changed life styles and interactions. E-learning and collaborative learning environment systems are originated through such changes and aim at providing facilities for people in different times and geographical locations to cooperate, collaborate, learn and work…

Opportunities and Challenges for Teacher Professional Development: A Case of Collaborative Learning Community in South Korea

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Minjeong; So, Kyunghee

2014-01-01

This study investigates how characteristics of a collaborative professional learning activity support and hinder teacher learning and growth by examining the experiences of three Korean secondary teachers who participated in a school-initiated collaborative teacher learning project. The findings demonstrated that this learning opportunity…

Social Media, Collaboration and Social Learning--A Case-Study of Foreign Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mondahl, Margrethe; Razmerita, Liana

2014-01-01

Social media has created new possibilities for digitally native students to engage, interact and collaborate in learning tasks that foster learning processes and the overall learning experience. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, this article discusses experiences and challenges of using a social media-enhanced collaborative learning…

Teaching with Technology: Applications of Collaborative Online Learning Units to Improve 21st Century Skills for All

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terrazas-Arellanes, Fatima E.; Strycker, Lisa A.; Walden, Emily D.; Gallard, Alejandro

2017-01-01

Inquiry-based learning methods, coupled with advanced technology, hold promise for closing the science literacy gap for English learners (ELs) and students with learning difficulties (SWLDs). Project ESCOLAR (Etext Supports for Collaborative Online Learning and Academic Reading) created collaborative online learning units for middle school science…

Development of collaborative-creative learning model using virtual laboratory media for instrumental analytical chemistry lectures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zurweni, Wibawa, Basuki; Erwin, Tuti Nurian

2017-08-01

The framework for teaching and learning in the 21st century was prepared with 4Cs criteria. Learning providing opportunity for the development of students' optimal creative skills is by implementing collaborative learning. Learners are challenged to be able to compete, work independently to bring either individual or group excellence and master the learning material. Virtual laboratory is used for the media of Instrumental Analytical Chemistry (Vis, UV-Vis-AAS etc) lectures through simulations computer application and used as a substitution for the laboratory if the equipment and instruments are not available. This research aims to design and develop collaborative-creative learning model using virtual laboratory media for Instrumental Analytical Chemistry lectures, to know the effectiveness of this design model adapting the Dick & Carey's model and Hannafin & Peck's model. The development steps of this model are: needs analyze, design collaborative-creative learning, virtual laboratory media using macromedia flash, formative evaluation and test of learning model effectiveness. While, the development stages of collaborative-creative learning model are: apperception, exploration, collaboration, creation, evaluation, feedback. Development of collaborative-creative learning model using virtual laboratory media can be used to improve the quality learning in the classroom, overcome the limitation of lab instruments for the real instrumental analysis. Formative test results show that the Collaborative-Creative Learning Model developed meets the requirements. The effectiveness test of students' pretest and posttest proves significant at 95% confidence level, t-test higher than t-table. It can be concluded that this learning model is effective to use for Instrumental Analytical Chemistry lectures.

Effects of Learning Style Profile of Team on Quality of Materials Developed in Collaborative Learning Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erdem, Mukaddes

2009-01-01

The study described looks at the effects of learning style profile of teams on the quality of materials developed in a collaborative learning process. The study was carried out on collaborative teams of four or five university students, formed through learner preferences. Learning styles of the teams were determined using Kolb's Learning Styles…

Project-Based Learning in International Financial Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, John H.; Legister, Allison P.

2018-01-01

This exploratory study measures the effectiveness of the signature project-based learning model to assess the enhancement of student engagement. The goal of the signature project is to prepare students to apply critical thinking and collaborative skills; making connections between global financial issues and textbook concepts in application to a…

The Tao of Microelectronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yumin

2014-12-01

Microelectronics is a challenging course to many undergraduate students and is often described as very messy. Before taking this course, all the students have learned circuit analysis, where basically all the problems can be solved by applying Kirchhoff's laws. In addition, most engineering students have also learned engineering mechanics: statics and dynamics, where Newton's laws and related principles can be applied in solving all the problems. However, microelectronics is not as clean as these courses. There are hundreds of equations for different circuits, and it is impossible to remember which equation should be applied to which circuit. One of the common pitfalls in learning this course is over-focusing at the equation level and ignoring the ideas (Tao) behind it. Unfortunately, these ideas are not summarized and emphasized in most microelectronics textbooks, though they cover various electronic circuits comprehensively. Therefore, most undergraduate students feel at a loss when they start to learn this topic. This book tries to illustrate the major ideas and the basic analysis techniques, so that students can derive the right equations easily when facing an electronic circuit.

A 'RIPPER' Project: advancing rural inter-professional health education at the University of Tasmania.

PubMed

Whelan, Jessica J; Spencer, Judy F; Rooney, Kim

2008-01-01

Attending to the shortage and sustainability of health care professionals and resources in rural areas in Australia is a continuing challenge. In response, there is a heightened focus on new models of healthcare delivery and collaboration that optimise the quality of patient care, respond to complex health needs and increase professional job satisfaction. Interprofessional rural health education within universities has been proposed as one way of addressing these challenges. This article reports on the development, design, implementation and evaluation of the RIPPER initiative (Rural Interprofessional Program Education Retreat). RIPPER is an interprofessional rural health education initiative developed by a team at the University of Tasmania's Faculty of Health Science. The objective of the program was to develop a rural interprofessional learning module for final year undergraduate health science students at the University of Tasmania. The program was first piloted in a rural Tasmanian community in 2006, with a second iteration in 2007. Participants in the program included approximately 60 students from the disciplines of Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. The format and educational design of the RIPPER program was focussed on a multi-station learning circuit using interprofessional case-based scenarios. Each learning station employed experiential and interactive educational strategies that included high and low fidelity simulation, role play and reflection. The learning stations required students to work collaboratively in small interprofessional teams to respond to a series of rural emergency healthcare scenarios. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation data was collected from student participants over two years utilising a pre- and post-test quasi experimental design. Results demonstrated a positive shift in students' understanding of interprofessional practice and the roles and skills of other health professions. There was also an increase in the value ascribed by students to collaboration and team work as a way of problem solving and improving patient outcomes. The project evaluation indicated the importance of developing a sustainable and embedded interprofessional rural module within the undergraduate health science curriculum. The project evaluation findings also point to some of the strengths and limitations of implementing interprofessional education activities in a rural setting.

Collaborative Learning and Competence Development in School Health Nursing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nordentoft, Helle Merete; Wistoft, Karen

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process and learning outcomes of peer collaboration in a Danish health developmental project in school health nursing. The paper explores how peer collaboration influences the school nurses' collaborative learning and competence development. Design/methodology/approach: The article is based…

Ontology Enabled Annotation and Knowledge Management for Collaborative Learning in Virtual Learning Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Stephen J. H.; Chen, Irene Ya-Ling; Shao, Norman W. Y.

2004-01-01

The nature of collaborative learning involves intensive interactions among collaborators, such as articulating knowledge into written, verbal or symbolic forms, authoring articles or posting messages to this community's discussion forum, responding or adding comments to messages or articles posted by others, etc. Knowledge collaborators'…

Socially Challenged Collaborative Learning of Secondary School Students in Singapore

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pang, Christopher; Lau, Jesslyn; Seah, Chong Poh; Cheong, Linda; Low, Audrey

2018-01-01

Using a grounded theory research design, this paper examined the collaborative learning experiences of secondary school students in Singapore. The core phenomenon that emerged was the need for social interactions in collaborative learning, both in classroom and online settings. Educators often take for granted that effective collaborative learning…

Flexibility in Macro-Scripts for Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dillenbourg, P.; Tchounikine, P.

2007-01-01

In the field of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), scripts are designed to support collaboration among distant learners or co-present learners whose interactions are (at least partially) mediated by a computer. The rationale of scripts is to structure collaborative learning processes in order to trigger group interactions that may…

Supporting the "Collaborative" Part of Wiki-Mediated Collaborative Learning Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larusson, Johann Ari

2010-01-01

Prior research has highlighted the educational benefit of enabling students to participate in collaborative learning activities. Developing technology that extends the physical boundaries of the classroom and enables students to engage in meaningful collaborative learning activities outside class time can be of significant value. For any…

Traditional and Accelerated Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Self-Efficacy for Interprofessional Learning.

PubMed

Durkin, Anne E; Feinn, Richard S

The aim of the study was to examine self-efficacy among traditional and accelerated nursing students with regard to interprofessional learning. The World Health Organization and other organizations recognize the need for interprofessional education to prepare health care providers for collaborative practice. Graduates of baccalaureate nursing programs require competence in interprofessional collaboration and communication. Traditional (n = 239) and accelerated (n = 114) nursing students' self-efficacy was measured utilizing Mann et al.'s Self-Efficacy for Interprofessional Experiential Learning Scale. Accelerated students averaged significantly higher than traditional students on the interprofessional team evaluation and feedback subscale (p = .006) and overall self-efficacy (p = .041). Awareness of possible differences between traditional and accelerated nursing students with regard to self-efficacy may help faculty develop effective interprofessional learning experiences for students in each cohort. Although results cannot be generalized, findings from this study provide evidence to guide the selection of learning strategies.

Messy Collaboration: Learning from a Learning Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adamson, Bob; Walker, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

Messy collaboration refers to complexity, unpredictability and management dilemmas when educators work together. Such messiness was evident in a Hong Kong English Learning Study, a structured cyclical process in which teachers and researcher-participants from a teacher education institution work collaboratively on effective student learning. This…

Collaboration Scripts--A Conceptual Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kollar, Ingo; Fischer, Frank; Hesse, Friedrich W.

2006-01-01

This article presents a conceptual analysis of collaboration scripts used in face-to-face and computer-mediated collaborative learning. Collaboration scripts are scaffolds that aim to improve collaboration through structuring the interactive processes between two or more learning partners. Collaboration scripts consist of at least five components:…

The IPS supported employment learning collaborative.

PubMed

Becker, Deborah R; Drake, Robert E; Bond, Gary R

2014-06-01

Learning collaboratives aim to improve the quality and outcomes of health care. This paper updates the Johnson & Johnson-Dartmouth Community Mental Health Program, a 12-year learning collaborative on supported employment for people with mental illness. We gathered data from quarterly employment reports, monthly Individual Placement and Support (IPS) meetings, and presentations at the 2013 annual meeting of the learning collaborative. The number of participant states or regions (and sites within these jurisdictions) was expanded to 16 jurisdictions in the United States and 3 in European countries. The quarterly rate of competitive employment has averaged 43% over 11 years in the U.S. sites. The collaborative has spawned numerous interactions, trainings, innovations, and research projects. Long-term learning collaboratives can produce high quality services, good outcomes, sustainability, and innovation.

Effects of an eHealth Literacy Intervention for Older Adults

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Older adults generally have low health and computer literacies, making it challenging for them to function well in the eHealth era where technology is increasingly being used in health care. Little is known about effective interventions and strategies for improving the eHealth literacy of the older population. Objective The objective of this study was to examine the effects of a theory-driven eHealth literacy intervention for older adults. Methods The experimental design was a 2 × 2 mixed factorial design with learning method (collaborative; individualistic) as the between-participants variable and time of measurement (pre; post) as the within-participants variable. A total of 146 older adults aged 56–91 (mean 69.99, SD 8.12) participated in this study during February to May 2011. The intervention involved 2 weeks of learning about using the National Institutes of Health’s SeniorHealth.gov website to access reliable health information. The intervention took place at public libraries. Participants were randomly assigned to either experimental condition (collaborative: n = 72; individualistic: n = 74). Results Overall, participants’ knowledge, skills, and eHealth literacy efficacy all improved significantly from pre to post intervention (P < .001 in all cases; effect sizes were >0.8 with statistical power of 1.00 even at the .01 level in all cases). When controlling for baseline differences, no significant main effect of the learning method was found on computer/Web knowledge, skills, or eHealth literacy efficacy. Thus, collaborative learning did not differ from individualistic learning in affecting the learning outcomes. No significant interaction effect of learning method and time of measurement was found. Group composition based on gender, familiarity with peers, or prior computer experience had no significant main or interaction effect on the learning outcomes. Regardless of the specific learning method used, participants had overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward the intervention and reported positive changes in participation in their own health care as a result of the intervention. Conclusions The findings provide strong evidence that the eHealth literacy intervention tested in this study, regardless of the specific learning method used, significantly improved knowledge, skills, and eHealth literacy efficacy from pre to post intervention, was positively perceived by participants, and led to positive changes in their own health care. Collaborative learning did not differ from individualistic learning in affecting the learning outcomes, suggesting the previously widely reported advantages of collaborative over individualistic learning may not be easily applied to the older population in informal settings, though several confounding factors might have contributed to this finding (ie, the largely inexperienced computer user composition of the study sample, potential instructor effect, and ceiling effect). Further research is necessary before a more firm conclusion can be drawn. These findings contribute to the literatures on adult learning, social interdependence theory, and health literacy. PMID:22052161

Reward and motivation in pain and pain relief

PubMed Central

Navratilova, Edita; Porreca, Frank

2015-01-01

Pain is fundamentally unpleasant, a feature that protects the organism by promoting motivation and learning. Relief of aversive states, including pain, is rewarding. The aversiveness of pain, as well as the reward from relief of pain, is encoded by brain reward/motivational mesocorticolimbic circuitry. In this Review, we describe current knowledge of the impact of acute and chronic pain on reward/motivation circuits gained from preclinical models and from human neuroimaging. We highlight emerging clinical evidence suggesting that anatomical and functional changes in these circuits contribute to the transition from acute to chronic pain. We propose that assessing activity in these conserved circuits can offer new outcome measures for preclinical evaluation of analgesic efficacy to improve translation and speed drug discovery. We further suggest that targeting reward/motivation circuits may provide a path for normalizing the consequences of chronic pain to the brain, surpassing symptomatic management to promote recovery from chronic pain. PMID:25254980

Collaborative Learning in Higher Education: Evoking Positive Interdependence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scager, Karin; Boonstra, Johannes; Peeters, Ton; Vulperhorst, Jonne; Wiegant, Fred

2016-01-01

Collaborative learning is a widely used instructional method, but the learning potential of this instructional method is often underused in practice. Therefore, the importance of various factors underlying effective collaborative learning should be determined. In the current study, five different life sciences undergraduate courses with successful…

Peer Collaboration: The Relation of Regulatory Behaviors to Learning with Hypermedia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winters, Fielding I.; Alexander, Patricia A.

2011-01-01

Peer collaboration is a pedagogical method currently used to facilitate learning in classrooms. Similarly, computer-learning environments (CLEs) are often used to promote student learning in science classrooms, in particular. However, students often have difficulty utilizing these environments effectively. Does peer collaboration help students…

Solitary Learner in Online Collaborative Learning: A Disappointing Experience?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ke, Fengfeng; Carr-Chellman, Alison

2006-01-01

Research suggests that the solitary learner's learning preferences might be a mismatch with collaborative instructional settings. A question is therefore posed: "In online learning environments that require collaboration, how do solitary learners experience their own learning?" It is important to answer this question to understand and…

Accountability for Project-Based Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jamal, Abu-Hussain; Essawi, Mohammad; Tilchin, Oleg

2014-01-01

One perspective model for the creation of the learning environment and engendering students' thinking development is the Project-Based Collaborative Learning (PBCL) model. This model organizes learning by collaborative performance of various projects. In this paper we describe an approach to enhancing the PBCL model through the creation of…

Collaborative Learning in Higher Education: Evoking Positive Interdependence

PubMed Central

Scager, Karin; Boonstra, Johannes; Peeters, Ton; Vulperhorst, Jonne; Wiegant, Fred

2016-01-01

Collaborative learning is a widely used instructional method, but the learning potential of this instructional method is often underused in practice. Therefore, the importance of various factors underlying effective collaborative learning should be determined. In the current study, five different life sciences undergraduate courses with successful collaborative-learning results were selected. This study focuses on factors that increased the effectiveness of collaboration in these courses, according to the students. Nine focus group interviews were conducted and analyzed. Results show that factors evoking effective collaboration were student autonomy and self-regulatory behavior, combined with a challenging, open, and complex group task that required the students to create something new and original. The design factors of these courses fostered a sense of responsibility and of shared ownership of both the collaborative process and the end product of the group assignment. In addition, students reported the absence of any free riders in these group assignments. Interestingly, it was observed that students seemed to value their sense of achievement, their learning processes, and the products they were working on more than their grades. It is concluded that collaborative learning in higher education should be designed using challenging and relevant tasks that build shared ownership with students. PMID:27909019

Motivation, students' needs and learning outcomes: a hybrid game-based app for enhanced language learning.

PubMed

Berns, Anke; Isla-Montes, José-Luis; Palomo-Duarte, Manuel; Dodero, Juan-Manuel

2016-01-01

In the context of European Higher Education students face an increasing focus on independent, individual learning-at the expense of face-to-face interaction. Hence learners are, all too often, not provided with enough opportunities to negotiate in the target language. The current case study aims to address this reality by going beyond conventional approaches to provide students with a hybrid game-based app, combining individual and collaborative learning opportunities. The 4-week study was carried out with 104 German language students (A1.2 CEFR) who had previously been enrolled in a first-semester A1.1 level course at a Spanish university. The VocabTrainerA1 app-designed specifically for this study-harnesses the synergy of combining individual learning tasks and a collaborative murder mystery game in a hybrid level-based architecture. By doing so, the app provides learners with opportunities to apply their language skills to real-life-like communication. The purpose of the study was twofold: on one hand we aimed to measure learner motivation, perceived usefulness and added value of hybrid game-based apps; on the other, we sought to determine their impact on language learning. To this end, we conducted focus group interviews and an anonymous Technology Acceptance Model survey (TAM). In addition, students took a pre-test and a post-test. Scores from both tests were compared with the results obtained in first-semester conventional writing tasks, with a view to measure learning outcomes. The study provides qualitative and quantitative data supporting our initial hypotheses. Our findings suggest that hybrid game-based apps like VocabTrainerA1-which seamlessly combine individual and collaborative learning tasks-motivate learners, stimulate perceived usefulness and added value, and better meet the language learning needs of today's digital natives. In terms of acceptance, outcomes and sustainability, the data indicate that hybrid game-based apps significantly improve proficiency, hence are indeed, effective tools for enhanced language learning.

A New Automated Design Method Based on Machine Learning for CMOS Analog Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moradi, Behzad; Mirzaei, Abdolreza

2016-11-01

A new simulation based automated CMOS analog circuit design method which applies a multi-objective non-Darwinian-type evolutionary algorithm based on Learnable Evolution Model (LEM) is proposed in this article. The multi-objective property of this automated design of CMOS analog circuits is governed by a modified Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm (SPEA) incorporated in the LEM algorithm presented here. LEM includes a machine learning method such as the decision trees that makes a distinction between high- and low-fitness areas in the design space. The learning process can detect the right directions of the evolution and lead to high steps in the evolution of the individuals. The learning phase shortens the evolution process and makes remarkable reduction in the number of individual evaluations. The expert designer's knowledge on circuit is applied in the design process in order to reduce the design space as well as the design time. The circuit evaluation is made by HSPICE simulator. In order to improve the design accuracy, bsim3v3 CMOS transistor model is adopted in this proposed design method. This proposed design method is tested on three different operational amplifier circuits. The performance of this proposed design method is verified by comparing it with the evolutionary strategy algorithm and other similar methods.

The Effects of a Creative Commons Approach on Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Chen-Chung; Tao, Shu-Yuan; Chen, Wei-Hung; Chen, Sherry Y.; Liu, Baw-Jhiune

2013-01-01

Social media on the World Wide Web, such as Wiki, are increasingly applied to support collaborative learning for students to conduct a project together. However, recent studies indicated that students, learning in the collaborative project, may not actively contribute to the collaborative work and are involved only in a limited level of positive…

Towards Effective Partnerships in a Collaborative Problem-Solving Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmitz, Megan J.; Winskel, Heather

2008-01-01

Background: Collaborative learning is recognized as an effective learning tool in the classroom. In order to optimize the collaborative learning experience for children within a collaborative partnership, it is important to understand how to match the children by ability level, and whether assigning roles within these dyads is beneficial or not.…

Support for Mobile Collaborative Learning Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Sergio; Boticki, Ivica; Jacobs, George; Castro, Manuel; Peire, Juan

2010-01-01

This work is intended to describe a framework aimed to address the challenges in the development of mobile Collaborative Learning applications. Firstly, the paper offers an overview of some of the main principles of Collaborative Learning that will be the basis of the framework, which is based on three main pillars: collaboration and communication…

A Pilot Study: Facilitating Cross-Cultural Understanding with Project-Based Collaborative Learning in an Online Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shadiev, Rustam; Hwang, Wu-Yuin; Huang, Yueh-Min

2015-01-01

This study investigated three aspects: how project-based collaborative learning facilitates cross-cultural understanding; how students perceive project-based collaborative learning implementation in a collaborative cyber community (3C) online environment; and what types of communication among students are used. A qualitative case study approach…

Collaborative Approaches to Deepen Student Learning: Information Literacy, Curriculum Design, and Student Learning Workshops

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurvitz, Tate; Benvau, Roxane; Parry, Megan

2015-01-01

Creating a collaborative environment across student services and instruction is often more challenging than it may first seem. Although effective collaboration is context specific, keeping student learning at the center of the work is a powerful element in successful collaborations. Grossmont College's first year experience program has attempted…

Learning Tasks, Peer Interaction, and Cognition Process: An Online Collaborative Design Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Du, Jianxia; Durrington, Vance A.

2013-01-01

This paper illustrates a model for Online Group Collaborative Learning. The authors based the foundation of the Online Collaborative Design Model upon Piaget's concepts of assimilation and accommodation, and Vygotsky's theory of social interaction. The four components of online collaborative learning include: individual processes, the task(s)…

Collaboration, Intragroup Conflict, and Social Skills in Project-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Dabae; Huh, Yeol; Reigeluth, Charles M.

2015-01-01

This case study was conducted in two high school classrooms that utilized collaborative project-based learning (PBL). Collaboration is an important instructional strategy, especially used in conjunction with PBL, and is an essential learning outcome for the twenty-first century. This study examined how collaboration can be achieved as a learning…

Comparing Learning Performance of Students Using Algorithm Visualizations Collaboratively on Different Engagement Levels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laakso, Mikko-Jussi; Myller, Niko; Korhonen, Ari

2009-01-01

In this paper, two emerging learning and teaching methods have been studied: collaboration in concert with algorithm visualization. When visualizations have been employed in collaborative learning, collaboration introduces new challenges for the visualization tools. In addition, new theories are needed to guide the development and research of the…

Utilizing constructivism learning theory in collaborative testing as a creative strategy to promote essential nursing skills.

PubMed

Duane, Barbara T; Satre, Maria E

2014-01-01

In nursing education, students participate in individual learner testing. This process follows the instructionist learning theory of a system model. However, in the practice of nursing, success depends upon collaboration with numerous people in different capacities, critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and the ability to communicate with others. Research has shown that collaborative testing, a constructivism learning activity and a form of collaborative learning, enhances students' abilities to master these areas. Collaborative testing is a clear, creative strategy which constructivists would say supports the socio-linguistic base of their learning theory. The test becomes an active implementation of peer-mediated learning where individual knowledge is enhanced through problem solving or defense of an individual position with the collaborative method. There is criticism for the testing method's potential of grade inflation and for students to receive grade benefits with little effort. After a review of various collaborative testing methods, this nursing faculty implemented a collaborative testing format that addresses both the positive and negative aspects of the process. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Mobile-Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: Meta-Analysis and Critical Synthesis.

PubMed

Sung, Yao-Ting; Yang, Je-Ming; Lee, Han-Yueh

2017-08-01

One of the trends in collaborative learning is using mobile devices for supporting the process and products of collaboration, which has been forming the field of mobile-computer-supported collaborative learning (mCSCL). Although mobile devices have become valuable collaborative learning tools, evaluative evidence for their substantial contributions to collaborative learning is still scarce. The present meta-analysis, which included 48 peer-reviewed journal articles and doctoral dissertations written over a 16-year period (2000-2015) involving 5,294 participants, revealed that mCSCL has produced meaningful improvements for collaborative learning, with an overall mean effect size of 0.516. Moderator variables, such as domain subject, group size, teaching method, intervention duration, and reward method were related to different effect sizes. The results provided implications for future research and practice, such as suggestions on how to appropriately use the functionalities of mobile devices, how to best leverage mCSCL through effective group learning mechanisms, and what outcome variables should be included in future studies to fully elucidate the process and products of mCSCL.

The Effects of Mobile-Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: Meta-Analysis and Critical Synthesis

PubMed Central

Sung, Yao-Ting; Yang, Je-Ming; Lee, Han-Yueh

2017-01-01

One of the trends in collaborative learning is using mobile devices for supporting the process and products of collaboration, which has been forming the field of mobile-computer-supported collaborative learning (mCSCL). Although mobile devices have become valuable collaborative learning tools, evaluative evidence for their substantial contributions to collaborative learning is still scarce. The present meta-analysis, which included 48 peer-reviewed journal articles and doctoral dissertations written over a 16-year period (2000–2015) involving 5,294 participants, revealed that mCSCL has produced meaningful improvements for collaborative learning, with an overall mean effect size of 0.516. Moderator variables, such as domain subject, group size, teaching method, intervention duration, and reward method were related to different effect sizes. The results provided implications for future research and practice, such as suggestions on how to appropriately use the functionalities of mobile devices, how to best leverage mCSCL through effective group learning mechanisms, and what outcome variables should be included in future studies to fully elucidate the process and products of mCSCL. PMID:28989193

Learning, Engagement, and Technology: Middle School Students' Three-Year Experience in Pervasive Technology Environments in South Korea

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hur, Jung Won; Oh, Jaekyeon

2012-01-01

This study explored an initiative that created a pervasive learning environment in a middle school in South Korea and examined its impact on student academic achievement and learning engagement. Forty students received a laptop to use for class projects, online collaboration, and lesson reviews over a 3-year period. To measure the effect of laptop…

An Information Processing Perspective on Divergence and Convergence in Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jorczak, Robert L.

2011-01-01

This paper presents a model of collaborative learning that takes an information processing perspective of learning by social interaction. The collaborative information processing model provides a theoretical basis for understanding learning principles associated with social interaction and explains why peer-to-peer discussion is potentially more…

Monitoring Collaborative Activities in Computer Supported Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Persico, Donatella; Pozzi, Francesca; Sarti, Luigi

2010-01-01

Monitoring the learning process in computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments is a key element for supporting the efficacy of tutor actions. This article proposes an approach for analysing learning processes in a CSCL environment to support tutors in their monitoring tasks. The approach entails tracking the interactions within…

Problem Finding in Professional Learning Communities: A Learning Study Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Yuen Sze Michelle; Caleon, Imelda Santos

2016-01-01

This study marries collaborative problem solving and learning study in understanding the onset of a cycle of teacher professional development process within school-based professional learning communities (PLCs). It aimed to explore how a PLC carried out collaborative problem finding--a key process involved in collaborative problem solving--that…

Collaborative Learning: Cognitive and Computational Approaches. Advances in Learning and Instruction Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dillenbourg, Pierre, Ed.

Intended to illustrate the benefits of collaboration between scientists from psychology and computer science, namely machine learning, this book contains the following chapters, most of which are co-authored by scholars from both sides: (1) "Introduction: What Do You Mean by 'Collaborative Learning'?" (Pierre Dillenbourg); (2)…

Peer Interaction in Three Collaborative Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Staarman, Judith Kleine; Krol, Karen; Meijden, Henny van der

2005-01-01

The aim of the study was to gain insight into the occurrence of different types of peer interaction and particularly the types of interaction beneficial for learning in different collaborative learning environments. Based on theoretical notions related to collaborative learning and peer interaction, a coding scheme was developed to analyze the…

Predicting Student Performance in a Collaborative Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olsen, Jennifer K.; Aleven, Vincent; Rummel, Nikol

2015-01-01

Student models for adaptive systems may not model collaborative learning optimally. Past research has either focused on modeling individual learning or for collaboration, has focused on group dynamics or group processes without predicting learning. In the current paper, we adjust the Additive Factors Model (AFM), a standard logistic regression…

Development and Determination of Reliability and Validity of Professional Learning Community Collaborative Team Survey (CTS)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colvin, Joshua A.

2013-01-01

The study of transformative learning within collaborative teams was conducted to gain new applicable knowledge used to influence overall school improvement and implementation of professional learning communities. To obtain this new knowledge, the Professional Learning Community Collaborative Team Survey (CTS) was developed and psychometrically…

InstanceCollage: A Tool for the Particularization of Collaborative IMS-LD Scripts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villasclaras-Fernandez, Eloy D.; Hernandez-Gonzalo, Julio A.; Hernandez-Leo, Davinia; Asensio-Perez, Juan I.; Dimitriadis, Yannis; Martinez-Mones, Alejandra

2009-01-01

Current research work in e-learning and more specifically in the field of CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning) deals with design of collaborative activities, according to computer-interpretable specifications, such as IMS Learning Design, and their posterior enactment using LMSs (Learning Management Systems). A script that describes…

Supporting Teachers to Design and Use Mobile Collaborative Learning Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marfisi-Schottman, Iza; George, Sébastien

2014-01-01

Mobile Collaborative Learning Games combine all the ingredients necessary to attract students' attention and engage them in learning activities. However, designing a coherent scenario that combines mobility, game mechanics and collaborative learning is quite a challenge. In this article, we take the first step by proposing several game patterns…

CSCL in Teacher Training: What Learning Tasks Lead to Collaboration?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lockhorst, Ditte; Admiraal, Wilfried; Pilot, Albert

2010-01-01

Professional teacher communities appear to be positively related to student learning, teacher learning, teacher practice and school culture. Teacher collaboration is a significant element of these communities. In initial teacher training as well as in-service training and other initiatives for teacher learning, collaborative skills should be…

Collaborative E-Learning Using Semantic Course Blog

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lu, Lai-Chen; Yeh, Ching-Long

2008-01-01

Collaborative e-learning delivers many enhancements to e-learning technology; it enables students to collaborate with each other and improves their learning efficiency. Semantic blog combines semantic Web and blog technology that users can import, export, view, navigate, and query the blog. We developed a semantic course blog for collaborative…

Statistically Modeling Individual Students' Learning over Successive Collaborative Practice Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olsen, Jennifer; Aleven, Vincent; Rummel, Nikol

2017-01-01

Within educational data mining, many statistical models capture the learning of students working individually. However, not much work has been done to extend these statistical models of individual learning to a collaborative setting, despite the effectiveness of collaborative learning activities. We extend a widely used model (the additive factors…

Collaborative Project-Based Learning: An Integrative Science and Technological Education Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baser, Derya; Ozden, M. Yasar; Karaarslan, Hasan

2017-01-01

Background: Blending collaborative learning and project-based learning (PBL) based on Wolff (2003) design categories, students interacted in a learning environment where they developed their technology integration practices as well as their technological and collaborative skills. Purpose: The study aims to understand how seventh grade students…

Catalyzing Collaborative Learning: How Automated Task Distribution May Prompt Students to Collaborate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Armstrong, Chandler

2010-01-01

Collaborative learning must prompt collaborative behavior among students. Once initiated, collaboration then must facilitate awareness between students of each other's activities and knowledge. Collaborative scripts provide explicit framework and guidance for roles and activities within student interactions, and are one method of fulfilling the…

Collaborative distance learning: Developing an online learning community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoytcheva, Maria

2017-12-01

The method of collaborative distance learning has been applied for years in a number of distance learning courses, but they are relatively few in foreign language learning. The context of this research is a hybrid distance learning of French for specific purposes, delivered through the platform UNIV-RcT (Strasbourg University), which combines collaborative activities for the realization of a common problem-solving task online. The study focuses on a couple of aspects: on-line interactions carried out in small, tutored groups and the process of community building online. By analyzing the learner's perceptions of community and collaborative learning, we have tried to understand the process of building and maintenance of online learning community and to see to what extent the collaborative distance learning contribute to the development of the competence expectations at the end of the course. The analysis of the results allows us to distinguish the advantages and limitations of this type of e-learning and thus evaluate their pertinence.

The basal ganglia is necessary for learning spectral, but not temporal features of birdsong

PubMed Central

Ali, Farhan; Fantana, Antoniu L.; Burak, Yoram; Ölveczky, Bence P.

2013-01-01

Executing a motor skill requires the brain to control which muscles to activate at what times. How these aspects of control - motor implementation and timing - are acquired, and whether the learning processes underlying them differ, is not well understood. To address this we used a reinforcement learning paradigm to independently manipulate both spectral and temporal features of birdsong, a complex learned motor sequence, while recording and perturbing activity in underlying circuits. Our results uncovered a striking dissociation in how neural circuits underlie learning in the two domains. The basal ganglia was required for modifying spectral, but not temporal structure. This functional dissociation extended to the descending motor pathway, where recordings from a premotor cortex analogue nucleus reflected changes to temporal, but not spectral structure. Our results reveal a strategy in which the nervous system employs different and largely independent circuits to learn distinct aspects of a motor skill. PMID:24075977

Learning to Listen and Listening to Learn: One Student's Experience of Small Group Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Remedios, Louisa; Clarke, David; Hawthorne, Lesleyanne

2012-01-01

The dialogic nature of small group collaborative learning requires verbal contributions from students to progress individual and group learning. Speaking can become privileged over listening as a collaborative act, and an imbalance in these values can become embedded in the classroom culture to the degree that the core value of listening can be…

Social Regulation of Learning during Collaborative Inquiry Learning in Science: How Does It Emerge and What Are Its Functions?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ucan, Serkan; Webb, Mary

2015-01-01

Students' ability to regulate their learning is considered important for the quality of collaborative inquiry learning. However, there is still limited understanding about how students engage in social forms of regulation processes and what roles these regulatory processes may play during collaborative learning. The purpose of this study was to…

Exploring Middle School Math Teachers' Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Collaborative Learning Teams within Professional Learning Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rawding, Molly Rothermel

2013-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of what makes a collaborative learning team (CLT) effective for novice and experienced teachers. Professional learning communities have emerged as one approach for job-embedded professional learning so that teachers have the opportunity to collaborate with the end goal of…

Assessing Online Collaborative Discourse.

PubMed

Breen, Henny

2015-01-01

This qualitative study using transcript analysis was undertaken to clarify the value of Harasim's Online Collaborative Learning Theory as a way to assess the collaborative process within nursing education. The theory incorporated three phases: (a) idea generating; (b) idea organizing; and (c) intellectual convergence. The transcripts of asynchronous discussions from a 2-week module about disaster nursing using a virtual community were analyzed and formed the data for this study. This study supports the use of Online Collaborative Learning Theory as a framework for assessing online collaborative discourse. Individual or group outcomes were required for the students to move through all three phases of the theory. The phases of the Online Collaborative Learning Theory could be used to evaluate the student's ability to collaborate. It is recommended that group process skills, which have more to do with interpersonal skills, be evaluated separately from collaborative learning, which has more to do with cognitive skills. Both are required for practicing nurses. When evaluated separately, the student learning needs are more clearly delineated. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Dynamic Training Elements in a Circuit Theory Course to Implement a Self-Directed Learning Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krouk, B. I.; Zhuravleva, O. B.

2009-01-01

This paper reports on the implementation of a self-directed learning process in a circuit theory course, incorporating dynamic training elements which were designed on the basis of a cybernetic model of cognitive process management. These elements are centrally linked in a dynamic learning frame, created on the monitor screen, which displays the…

Visual Complexity: A Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donderi, Don C.

2006-01-01

The idea of visual complexity, the history of its measurement, and its implications for behavior are reviewed, starting with structuralism and Gestalt psychology at the beginning of the 20th century and ending with visual complexity theory, perceptual learning theory, and neural circuit theory at the beginning of the 21st. Evidence is drawn from…

Specifying Computer-Supported Collaboration Scripts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kobbe, Lars; Weinberger, Armin; Dillenbourg, Pierre; Harrer, Andreas; Hamalainen, Raija; Hakkinen, Paivi; Fischer, Frank

2007-01-01

Collaboration scripts facilitate social and cognitive processes of collaborative learning by shaping the way learners interact with each other. Computer-supported collaboration scripts generally suffer from the problem of being restrained to a specific learning platform. A standardization of collaboration scripts first requires a specification of…

Comparison of Collaboration and Performance in Groups of Learners Assembled Randomly or Based on Learners' Topic Preferences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cela, Karina L.; Sicilia, Miguel Ángel; Sánchez, Salvador

2015-01-01

Teachers and instructional designers frequently incorporate collaborative learning approaches into their e-learning environments. A key factor of collaborative learning that may affect learner outcomes is whether the collaborative groups are assigned project topics randomly or based on a shared interest in the topic. This is a particularly…

Building an open academic environment – a new approach to empowering students in their learning of anatomy through ‘Shadow Modules’

PubMed Central

Scott, Jonathan L; Moxham, Bernard J; Rutherford, Stephen M

2014-01-01

Teaching and learning in anatomy is undertaken by a variety of methodologies, yet all of these pedagogies benefit from students discussing and reflecting upon their learning activities. An approach of particular potency is peer-mediated learning, through either peer-teaching or collaborative peer-learning. Collaborative, peer-mediated, learning activities help promote deep learning approaches and foster communities of practice in learning. Students generally flourish in collaborative learning settings but there are limitations to the benefits of collaborative learning undertaken solely within the confines of modular curricula. We describe the development of peer-mediated learning through student-focused and student-led study groups we have termed ‘Shadow Modules’. The ‘Shadow Module’ takes place parallel to the formal academically taught module and facilitates collaboration between students to support their learning for that module. In ‘Shadow Module’ activities, students collaborate towards curating existing online open resources as well as developing learning resources of their own to support their study. Through the use of communication technologies and web 2.0 tools these resources are able to be shared with their peers, thus enhancing the learning experience of all students following the module. The Shadow Module activities have the potential to lead to participants feeling a greater sense of engagement with the subject material, as well as improving their study and group-working skills and developing digital literacy. The outputs from Shadow Module collaborative work are open-source and may be utilised by subsequent student cohorts, thus building up a repository of learning resources designed by and for students. Shadow Module activities would benefit all pedagogies in the study of anatomy, and support students moving from being passive consumers to active participants in learning. PMID:24117249

Building an open academic environment - a new approach to empowering students in their learning of anatomy through 'Shadow Modules'.

PubMed

Scott, Jonathan L; Moxham, Bernard J; Rutherford, Stephen M

2014-03-01

Teaching and learning in anatomy is undertaken by a variety of methodologies, yet all of these pedagogies benefit from students discussing and reflecting upon their learning activities. An approach of particular potency is peer-mediated learning, through either peer-teaching or collaborative peer-learning. Collaborative, peer-mediated, learning activities help promote deep learning approaches and foster communities of practice in learning. Students generally flourish in collaborative learning settings but there are limitations to the benefits of collaborative learning undertaken solely within the confines of modular curricula. We describe the development of peer-mediated learning through student-focused and student-led study groups we have termed 'Shadow Modules'. The 'Shadow Module' takes place parallel to the formal academically taught module and facilitates collaboration between students to support their learning for that module. In 'Shadow Module' activities, students collaborate towards curating existing online open resources as well as developing learning resources of their own to support their study. Through the use of communication technologies and Web 2.0 tools these resources are able to be shared with their peers, thus enhancing the learning experience of all students following the module. The Shadow Module activities have the potential to lead to participants feeling a greater sense of engagement with the subject material, as well as improving their study and group-working skills and developing digital literacy. The outputs from Shadow Module collaborative work are open-source and may be utilised by subsequent student cohorts, thus building up a repository of learning resources designed by and for students. Shadow Module activities would benefit all pedagogies in the study of anatomy, and support students moving from being passive consumers to active participants in learning. © 2013 Anatomical Society.

Context Aware Ubiquitous Learning Environments for Peer-to-Peer Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Stephen J. H.

2006-01-01

A ubiquitous learning environment provides an interoperable, pervasive, and seamless learning architecture to connect, integrate, and share three major dimensions of learning resources: learning collaborators, learning contents, and learning services. Ubiquitous learning is characterized by providing intuitive ways for identifying right learning…

Professionals learning together with patients: An exploratory study of a collaborative learning Fellowship programme for healthcare improvement.

PubMed

Myron, Rowan; French, Catherine; Sullivan, Paul; Sathyamoorthy, Ganesh; Barlow, James; Pomeroy, Linda

2018-05-01

Improving the quality of healthcare involves collaboration between many different stakeholders. Collaborative learning theory suggests that teaching different professional groups alongside each other may enable them to develop skills in how to collaborate effectively, but there is little literature on how this works in practice. Further, though it is recognised that patients play a fundamental role in quality improvement, there are few examples of where they learn together with professionals. To contribute to addressing this gap, we review a collaborative fellowship in Northwest London, designed to build capacity to improve healthcare, which enabled patients and professionals to learn together. Using the lens of collaborative learning, we conducted an exploratory study of six cohorts of the year long programme (71 participants). Data were collected using open text responses from an online survey (n = 31) and semi-structured interviews (n = 34) and analysed using an inductive open coding approach. The collaborative design of the Fellowship, which included bringing multiple perspectives to discussions of real world problems, was valued by participants who reflected on the safe, egalitarian space created by the programme. Participants (healthcare professionals and patients) found this way of learning initially challenging yet ultimately productive. Despite the pedagogical and practical challenges of developing a collaborative programme, this study indicates that opening up previously restricted learning opportunities as widely as possible, to include patients and carers, is an effective mechanism to develop collaborative skills for quality improvement.

Analog Delta-Back-Propagation Neural-Network Circuitry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eberhart, Silvio

1990-01-01

Changes in synapse weights due to circuit drifts suppressed. Proposed fully parallel analog version of electronic neural-network processor based on delta-back-propagation algorithm. Processor able to "learn" when provided with suitable combinations of inputs and enforced outputs. Includes programmable resistive memory elements (corresponding to synapses), conductances (synapse weights) adjusted during learning. Buffer amplifiers, summing circuits, and sample-and-hold circuits arranged in layers of electronic neurons in accordance with delta-back-propagation algorithm.

Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Regulators Workshop: Lessons from Wind

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baring-Gould, E. Ian

2015-09-03

Ian Baring-Gould presented these lessons learned from wind energy to an audience of marine hydrokinetic regulators. Lessons learned spanned the areas of technology advances, using collaborative approaches to involve key stakeholders; using baseline studies to measure and prioritize wildlife impacts, and look at avoidance and mitigation options early in the process.

Measuring Flow Experience in an Immersive Virtual Environment for Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Schaik, P.; Martin, S.; Vallance, M.

2012-01-01

In contexts other than immersive virtual environments, theoretical and empirical work has identified flow experience as a major factor in learning and human-computer interaction. Flow is defined as a "holistic sensation that people feel when they act with total involvement". We applied the concept of flow to modeling the experience of…

Tools for Science Inquiry Learning: Tool Affordances, Experimentation Strategies, and Conceptual Understanding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bumbacher, Engin; Salehi, Shima; Wieman, Carl; Blikstein, Paulo

2017-12-01

Manipulative environments play a fundamental role in inquiry-based science learning, yet how they impact learning is not fully understood. In a series of two studies, we develop the argument that manipulative environments (MEs) influence the kind of inquiry behaviors students engage in, and that this influence realizes through the affordances of MEs, independent of whether they are physical or virtual. In particular, we examine how MEs shape college students' experimentation strategies and conceptual understanding. In study 1, students engaged in two consecutive inquiry tasks, first on mass and spring systems and then on electric circuits. They either used virtual or physical MEs. We found that the use of experimentation strategies was strongly related to conceptual understanding across tasks, but that students engaged differently in those strategies depending on what ME they used. More students engaged in productive strategies using the virtual ME for electric circuits, and vice versa using the physical ME for mass and spring systems. In study 2, we isolated the affordance of measurement uncertainty by comparing two versions of the same virtual ME for electric circuits—one with and one without noise—and found that the conditions differed in terms of productive experimentation strategies. These findings indicate that measures of inquiry processes may resolve apparent ambiguities and inconsistencies between studies on MEs that are based on learning outcomes alone.

Critical brain circuits at the intersection between stress and learning.

PubMed

Bangasser, Debra A; Shors, Tracey J

2010-07-01

The effects of stressful life experience on learning are pervasive and vary greatly both within and between individuals. It is therefore unlikely that any one mechanism will underlie these complicated processes. Nonetheless, without identifying the necessary and sufficient circuitry, no complete mechanism or set of mechanisms can be identified. In this review, we provide two anatomical frameworks through which stressful life experience can influence processes related to learning and memory. In the first, stressful experience releases stress hormones, primarily from the adrenals, which directly impact brain areas engaged in learning. In the second, stressful experience indirectly alters the circuits used in learning via intermediary brain regions. Importantly, these intermediary brain regions are not integral to the stress response or learning itself, but rather link the consequences of a stressful experience with circuits used to learn associations. As reviewed, the existing literature provides support for both frameworks, with somewhat more support for the first but sufficient evidence for the latter which involves intermediary structures. Once we determine the circumstances that engage each framework and identify which one is most predominant, we can begin to focus our efforts on describing the neuronal and hormonal mechanisms that operate within these circuits to influence cognitive processes after stressful life experience.

Patterns of Discourse in Online Interaction: Seeking Evidence of the Collaborative Learning Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohd Nor, Nor Fariza; Hamat, Afendi; Embi, Mohamed Amin

2012-01-01

Asynchronous communication by means of discussion forums plays an essential role in supporting collaborative learning. Online forums allow learners to ask questions, express their thoughts, share resources, and justify their opinions beyond the four walls of the classroom. Proponents of collaborative learning claim that this type of learning can…

Promoting College Student Development through Collaborative Learning: A Case Study of "Hevruta"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bergom, Inger; Wright, Mary C.; Brown, Marie Kendall; Brooks, Michael

2011-01-01

Much has been written about the benefits of collaborative learning in terms of its impact on interpersonal skills and academic achievement. Many education studies suggest that students learn better when they work interactively with others and that retention of material is improved through collaborative learning. Others explain that the development…

Changing Attitudes and Facilitating Understanding in the Undergraduate Statistics Classroom: A Collaborative Learning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curran, Erin; Carlson, Kerri; Celotta, Dayius Turvold

2013-01-01

Collaborative and problem-based learning strategies are theorized to be effective methods for strengthening undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) is a collaborative learning technique that engages students in problem solving and discussion under the guidance of a trained peer…

A Framework for Collaborative and Convenient Learning on Cloud Computing Platforms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharma, Deepika; Kumar, Vikas

2017-01-01

The depth of learning resides in collaborative work with more engagement and fun. Technology can enhance collaboration with a higher level of convenience and cloud computing can facilitate this in a cost effective and scalable manner. However, to deploy a successful online learning environment, elementary components of learning pedagogy must be…

Virtual Learning Spaces in the Web: An Agent-Based Architecture of Personalized Collaborative Learning Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nunez Esquer, Gustavo; Sheremetov, Leonid

This paper reports on the results and future research work within the paradigm of Configurable Collaborative Distance Learning, called Espacios Virtuales de Apredizaje (EVA). The paper focuses on: (1) description of the main concepts, including virtual learning spaces for knowledge, collaboration, consulting, and experimentation, a…

Successful Implementation of a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning System in Teaching E-Commerce

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ngai, E. W. T.; Lam, S. S.; Poon, J. K. L.

2013-01-01

This paper describes the successful application of a computer-supported collaborative learning system in teaching e-commerce. The authors created a teaching and learning environment for 39 local secondary schools to introduce e-commerce using a computer-supported collaborative learning system. This system is designed to equip students with…

The Proposed Model of Collaborative Virtual Learning Environment for Introductory Programming Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Othman, Mahfudzah; Othman, Muhaini

2012-01-01

This paper discusses the proposed model of the collaborative virtual learning system for the introductory computer programming course which uses one of the collaborative learning techniques known as the "Think-Pair-Share". The main objective of this study is to design a model for an online learning system that facilitates the…

Collective Machine Learning: Team Learning and Classification in Multi-Agent Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gifford, Christopher M.

2009-01-01

This dissertation focuses on the collaboration of multiple heterogeneous, intelligent agents (hardware or software) which collaborate to learn a task and are capable of sharing knowledge. The concept of collaborative learning in multi-agent and multi-robot systems is largely under studied, and represents an area where further research is needed to…

Collaborative Tasks in Wiki-Based Environment in EFL Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zou, Bin; Wang, Dongshuo; Xing, Minjie

2016-01-01

Wikis provide users with opportunities to post and edit messages to collaborate in the language learning process. Many studies have offered findings to show positive impact of Wiki-based language learning for learners. This paper explores the effect of collaborative task in error correction for English as a Foreign Language learning in an online…

Designing learning apparatus to promote twelfth grade students’ understanding of digital technology concept: A preliminary studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marlius; Kaniawati, I.; Feranie, S.

2018-05-01

A preliminary learning design using relay to promote twelfth grade student’s understanding of logic gates concept is implemented to see how well it’s to adopted by six high school students, three male students and three female students of twelfth grade. This learning design is considered for next learning of digital technology concept i.e. data digital transmition and analog. This work is a preliminary study to design the learning for large class. So far just a few researches designing learning design related to digital technology with relay. It may due to this concept inserted in Indonesian twelfth grade curriculum recently. This analysis is focus on student difficulties trough video analysis to learn the concept. Based on our analysis, the recommended thing for redesigning learning is: students understand first about symbols and electrical circuits; the Student Worksheet is made in more detail on the assembly steps to the project board; mark with symbols at points in certain places in the circuit for easy assembly; assembly using relays by students is enough until is the NOT’s logic gates and the others that have been assembled so that effective time. The design of learning using relays can make the relay a liaison between the abstract on the digital with the real thing of it, especially in the circuit of symbols and real circuits. Besides it is expected to also enrich the ability of teachers in classroom learning about digital technology.

Teaching Teamwork: Electronics Instruction in a Collaborative Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horwitz, Paul; von Davier, Alina; Chamberlain, John; Koon, Al; Andrews, Jessica; McIntyre, Cynthia

2017-01-01

The Teaching Teamwork Project is using an online simulated electronic circuit, running on multiple computers, to assess students' abilities to work together as a team. We pose problems that must be tackled collaboratively, and log students' actions as they attempt to solve them. Team members are isolated from one another and can communicate only…

A multicenter collaborative approach to reducing pediatric codes outside the ICU.

PubMed

Hayes, Leslie W; Dobyns, Emily L; DiGiovine, Bruno; Brown, Ann-Marie; Jacobson, Sharon; Randall, Kelly H; Wathen, Beth; Richard, Heather; Schwab, Carolyn; Duncan, Kathy D; Thrasher, Jodi; Logsdon, Tina R; Hall, Matthew; Markovitz, Barry

2012-03-01

The Child Health Corporation of America formed a multicenter collaborative to decrease the rate of pediatric codes outside the ICU by 50%, double the days between these events, and improve the patient safety culture scores by 5 percentage points. A multidisciplinary pediatric advisory panel developed a comprehensive change package of process improvement strategies and measures for tracking progress. Learning sessions, conference calls, and data submission facilitated collaborative group learning and implementation. Twenty Child Health Corporation of America hospitals participated in this 12-month improvement project. Each hospital identified at least 1 noncritical care target unit in which to implement selected elements of the change package. Strategies to improve prevention, detection, and correction of the deteriorating patient ranged from relatively simple, foundational changes to more complex, advanced changes. Each hospital selected a broad range of change package elements for implementation using rapid-cycle methodologies. The primary outcome measure was reduction in codes per 1000 patient days. Secondary outcomes were days between codes and change in patient safety culture scores. Code rate for the collaborative did not decrease significantly (3% decrease). Twelve hospitals reported additional data after the collaborative and saw significant improvement in code rates (24% decrease). Patient safety culture scores improved by 4.5% to 8.5%. A complex process, such as patient deterioration, requires sufficient time and effort to achieve improved outcomes and create a deeply embedded culture of patient safety. The collaborative model can accelerate improvements achieved by individual institutions.

Cabri 3D - assisted collaborative learning to enhance junior high school students’ spatial ability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muntazhimah; Miatun, A.

2018-01-01

The main purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the enhancement of spatial ability of junior high school students who learned through Cabri-3D assisted collaborative learning. The methodology of this study was the nonequivalent group that was conducted to students of the eighth grade in a junior high school as a population. Samples consisted one class of the experimental group who studied with Cabri-3D assisted collaborative learning and one class as a control group who got regular learning activity. The instrument used in this study was a spatial ability test. Analyzing normalized gain of students’ spatial ability based on mathemathical prior knowledge (MPK) and its interactions was tested by two-way ANOVA at a significance level of 5% then continued with using Post Hoc Scheffe test. The research results showed that there was significant difference in enhancement of the spatial ability between students who learnt with Cabri 3D assisted collaborative learning and students who got regular learning, there was significant difference in enhancement of the spatial ability between students who learnt with cabri 3D assisted collaborative learning and students who got regular learning in terms of MPK and there is no significant interaction between learning (Cabri-3D assisted collaborative learning and regular learning) with students’ MPK (high, medium, and low) toward the enhancement of students’ spatial abilities. From the above findings, it can be seen that cabri-3D assisted collaborative learning could enhance spatial ability of junior high school students.

Education and training column: the learning collaborative.

PubMed

MacDonald-Wilson, Kim L; Nemec, Patricia B

2015-03-01

This column describes the key components of a learning collaborative, with examples from the experience of 1 organization. A learning collaborative is a method for management, learning, and improvement of products or processes, and is a useful approach to implementation of a new service design or approach. This description draws from published material on learning collaboratives and the authors' experiences. The learning collaborative approach offers an effective method to improve service provider skills, provide support, and structure environments to result in lasting change for people using behavioral health services. This approach is consistent with psychiatric rehabilitation principles and practices, and serves to increase the overall capacity of the mental health system by structuring a process for discovering and sharing knowledge and expertise across provider agencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Observing tutorial dialogues collaboratively: insights about human tutoring effectiveness from vicarious learning.

PubMed

Chi, Michelene T H; Roy, Marguerite; Hausmann, Robert G M

2008-03-01

The goals of this study are to evaluate a relatively novel learning environment, as well as to seek greater understanding of why human tutoring is so effective. This alternative learning environment consists of pairs of students collaboratively observing a videotape of another student being tutored. Comparing this collaboratively observing environment to four other instructional methods-one-on-one human tutoring, observing tutoring individually, collaborating without observing, and studying alone-the results showed that students learned to solve physics problems just as effectively from observing tutoring collaboratively as the tutees who were being tutored individually. We explain the effectiveness of this learning environment by postulating that such a situation encourages learners to become active and constructive observers through interactions with a peer. In essence, collaboratively observing combines the benefit of tutoring with the benefit of collaborating. The learning outcomes of the tutees and the collaborative observers, along with the tutoring dialogues, were used to further evaluate three hypotheses explaining why human tutoring is an effective learning method. Detailed analyses of the protocols at several grain sizes suggest that tutoring is effective when tutees are independently or jointly constructing knowledge: with the tutor, but not when the tutor independently conveys knowledge. 2008 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Improving the Quality of Palliative Care Through National and Regional Collaboration Efforts.

PubMed

Kamal, Arif H; Harrison, Krista L; Bakitas, Marie; Dionne-Odom, J Nicholas; Zubkoff, Lisa; Akyar, Imatullah; Pantilat, Steven Z; O'Riordan, David L; Bragg, Ashley R; Bischoff, Kara E; Bull, Janet

2015-10-01

The measurement and reporting of the quality of care in the field of palliation has become a required task for many health care leaders and specialists in palliative care. Such efforts are aided when organizations collaborate together to share lessons learned. The authors reviewed examples of quality-improvement collaborations in palliative care to understand the similarities, differences, and future directions of quality measurement and improvement strategies in the discipline. Three examples were identified that showed areas of robust and growing quality-improvement collaboration in the field of palliative care: the Global Palliative Care Quality Alliance, Palliative Care Quality Network, and Project Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends. These efforts exemplify how shared-improvement activities can inform improved practice for organizations participating in collaboration. National and regional collaboratives can be used to enhance the quality of palliative care and are important efforts to standardize and improve the delivery of palliative care for persons with serious illness, along with their friends, family, and caregivers.

Effective Online Practices for International Learning Collaborations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ray, Waverly C.; Muñiz-Solari, Osvaldo; Klein, Phil; Solem, Michael

2012-01-01

The Association of American Geographers' Center for Global Geography Education aims to internationalize geography in higher education by providing materials and activities to support international learning collaborations. From 2007-2011, geographers in different countries collaboratively developed online learning materials and trialed these…

Remodeling of Dendritic Spines in the Avian Vocal Motor Cortex Following Deafening Depends on the Basal Ganglia Circuit.

PubMed

Zhou, Xin; Fu, Xin; Lin, Chun; Zhou, Xiaojuan; Liu, Jin; Wang, Li; Zhang, Xinwen; Zuo, Mingxue; Fan, Xiaolong; Li, Dapeng; Sun, Yingyu

2017-05-01

Deafening elicits a deterioration of learned vocalization, in both humans and songbirds. In songbirds, learned vocal plasticity has been shown to depend on the basal ganglia-cortical circuit, but the underlying cellular basis remains to be clarified. Using confocal imaging and electron microscopy, we examined the effect of deafening on dendritic spines in avian vocal motor cortex, the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA), and investigated the role of the basal ganglia circuit in motor cortex plasticity. We found rapid structural changes to RA dendritic spines in response to hearing loss, accompanied by learned song degradation. In particular, the morphological characters of RA spine synaptic contacts between 2 major pathways were altered differently. However, experimental disruption of the basal ganglia circuit, through lesions in song-specialized basal ganglia nucleus Area X, largely prevented both the observed changes to RA dendritic spines and the song deterioration after hearing loss. Our results provide cellular evidence to highlight a key role of the basal ganglia circuit in the motor cortical plasticity that underlies learned vocal plasticity. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Using multimedia and peer assessment to promote collaborative e-learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barra, Enrique; Aguirre Herrera, Sandra; Ygnacio Pastor Caño, Jose; Quemada Vives, Juan

2014-04-01

Collaborative e-learning is increasingly appealing as a pedagogical approach that can positively affect student learning. We propose a didactical model that integrates multimedia with collaborative tools and peer assessment to foster collaborative e-learning. In this paper, we explain it and present the results of its application to the "International Seminars on Materials Science" online course. The proposed didactical model consists of five educational activities. In the first three, students review the multimedia resources proposed by the teacher in collaboration with their classmates. Then, in the last two activities, they create their own multimedia resources and assess those created by their classmates. These activities foster communication and collaboration among students and their ability to use and create multimedia resources. Our purpose is to encourage the creativity, motivation, and dynamism of the learning process for both teachers and students.

Two-Stage Exams Improve Student Learning in an Introductory Geology Course: Logistics, Attendance, and Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knierim, Katherine; Turner, Henry; Davis, Ralph K.

2015-01-01

Two-stage exams--where students complete part one of an exam closed book and independently and part two is completed open book and independently (two-stage independent, or TS-I) or collaboratively (two-stage collaborative, or TS-C)--provide a means to include collaborative learning in summative assessments. Collaborative learning has been shown to…

A Preliminary Evaluation of Using WebPA for Online Peer Assessment of Collaborative Performance by Groups of Online Distance Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Jo-Anne; Boyd, Sharon

2015-01-01

Collaborative assessment has well-recognised benefits in higher education and, in online distance learning, this type of assessment may be integral to collaborative e-learning and may have a strong influence on the student's relationship with learning. While there are known benefits associated with collaborative assessment, the main drawback is…

Are They Thinking Differently: A Cross-Cultural Study on the Relationship of Thinking Styles and Emerging Roles in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gu, Xiaoqing; Wang, Huawen; Mason, Jon

2017-01-01

Numerous studies have recognized collaboration as an effective way of learning. When collaboration involves students from different cultural backgrounds, a question arises: "Will cultural differences influence the manner in which roles are adopted within collaborative learning?" In this study, a correlation analysis was used to explore…

Basic guidelines to introduce electric circuit simulation software in a general physics course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moya, A. A.

2018-05-01

The introduction of electric circuit simulation software for undergraduate students in a general physics course is proposed in order to contribute to the constructive learning of electric circuit theory. This work focuses on the lab exercises based on dc, transient and ac analysis in electric circuits found in introductory physics courses, and shows how students can use the simulation software to do simple activities associated with a lab exercise itself and with related topics. By introducing electric circuit simulation programs in a general physics course as a brief activitiy complementing lab exercise, students develop basic skills in using simulation software, improve their knowledge on the topology of electric circuits and perceive that the technology contributes to their learning, all without reducing the time spent on the actual content of the course.

Principal Professional Learning Community Behavior in Low Wealth High Schools with Higher and Lower Student Achievement as Measured by Mastery Scores on the New York State Eleventh Grade ELA Regents Exam

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Adrian

2016-01-01

This study was designed to analyze non-principal staff supervisors' perceptions of PLC efforts, encouragements, and activities in the six dimensions of a professional learning community (PLC) characterized as shared and supportive leadership, shared values and vision, collaborative culture, a focus on learning, supportive relationships, and…

Functional Plasticity in Somatosensory Cortex Supports Motor Learning by Observing.

PubMed

McGregor, Heather R; Cashaback, Joshua G A; Gribble, Paul L

2016-04-04

An influential idea in neuroscience is that the sensory-motor system is activated when observing the actions of others [1, 2]. This idea has recently been extended to motor learning, in which observation results in sensory-motor plasticity and behavioral changes in both motor and somatosensory domains [3-9]. However, it is unclear how the brain maps visual information onto motor circuits for learning. Here we test the idea that the somatosensory system, and specifically primary somatosensory cortex (S1), plays a role in motor learning by observing. In experiment 1, we applied stimulation to the median nerve to occupy the somatosensory system with unrelated inputs while participants observed a tutor learning to reach in a force field. Stimulation disrupted motor learning by observing in a limb-specific manner. Stimulation delivered to the right arm (the same arm used by the tutor) disrupted learning, whereas left arm stimulation did not. This is consistent with the idea that a somatosensory representation of the observed effector must be available during observation for learning to occur. In experiment 2, we assessed S1 cortical processing before and after observation by measuring somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) associated with median nerve stimulation. SEP amplitudes increased only for participants who observed learning. Moreover, SEPs increased more for participants who exhibited greater motor learning following observation. Taken together, these findings support the idea that motor learning by observing relies on functional plasticity in S1. We propose that visual signals about the movements of others are mapped onto motor circuits for learning via the somatosensory system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Case-Based Learning in Virtual Groups--Collaborative Problem Solving Activities and Learning Outcomes in a Virtual Professional Training Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kopp, Birgitta; Hasenbein, Melanie; Mandl, Heinz

2014-01-01

This article analyzes the collaborative problem solving activities and learning outcomes of five groups that worked on two different complex cases in a virtual professional training course. In this asynchronous virtual learning environment, all knowledge management content was delivered virtually and collaboration took place through forums. To…

An Examination of Collaborative Learning Assessment through Dialogue (CLAD) in Traditional and Hybrid Human Development Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCarthy, Wanda C.; Green, Peter J.; Fitch, Trey

2010-01-01

This investigation assessed the effectiveness of using Collaborative Learning Assessment through Dialogue (CLAD) (Fitch & Hulgin, 2007) with students in undergraduate human development courses. The key parts of CLAD are student collaboration, active learning, and altering the role of the instructor to a guide who enhances learning opportunities.…

Discovery of Action Patterns and User Correlations in Task-Oriented Processes for Goal-Driven Learning Recommendation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhou, Xiaokang; Chen, Jian; Wu, Bo; Jin, Qun

2014-01-01

With the high development of social networks, collaborations in a socialized web-based learning environment has become increasing important, which means people can learn through interactions and collaborations in communities across social networks. In this study, in order to support the enhanced collaborative learning, two important factors, user…

The Comparison of Solitary and Collaborative Modes of Game-Based Learning on Students' Science Learning and Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Ching-Huei; Wang, Kuan-Chieh; Lin, Yu-Hsuan

2015-01-01

In this study, we investigated and compared solitary and collaborative modes of game-based learning in promoting students' science learning and motivation. A total of fifty seventh grade students participated in this study. The results showed that students who played in a solitary or collaborative mode demonstrated improvement in learning…

A Case Study of the Dynamics of Scaffolding among ESL Learners and Online Resources in Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsieh, Yi Chin

2017-01-01

Collaborative learning has been widely applied in education, and has been seen as conducive to student learning. The advent of technology and its applications in education have also greatly enhanced the classroom learning environment, leading to increasing research attention on the combination of technology and collaboration. The case study…

The Dynamics of Non-Convergent Learning with a Conflicting Other: Internally Persuasive Discourse as a Framework for Articulating Successful Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kolikant, Yifat Ben-David; Pollack, Sarah

2015-01-01

Successful collaborative learning is often conceptualized in terms of convergence, a process through which participants' shared understanding increases. This conceptualization does not capture certain successful collaborative learning processes, especially in the humanities, where multiple perspectives are often celebrated. Such is the context of…

A Web-Based Educational Setting Supporting Individualized Learning, Collaborative Learning and Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gogoulou, Agoritsa; Gouli, Evangelia; Grigoriadou, Maria; Samarakou, Maria; Chinou, Dionisia

2007-01-01

In this paper, we present a web-based educational setting, referred to as SCALE (Supporting Collaboration and Adaptation in a Learning Environment), which aims to serve learning and assessment. SCALE enables learners to (i) work on individual and collaborative activities proposed by the environment with respect to learners' knowledge level, (ii)…

The Answering Process for Multiple-Choice Questions in Collaborative Learning: A Mathematical Learning Model Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nakamura, Yasuyuki; Nishi, Shinnosuke; Muramatsu, Yuta; Yasutake, Koichi; Yamakawa, Osamu; Tagawa, Takahiro

2014-01-01

In this paper, we introduce a mathematical model for collaborative learning and the answering process for multiple-choice questions. The collaborative learning model is inspired by the Ising spin model and the model for answering multiple-choice questions is based on their difficulty level. An intensive simulation study predicts the possibility of…

The Perceptions of Participation in a Mobile Collaborative Learning among Pre-Service Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Shih-Hsiung

2016-01-01

This study uses Facebook as a platform and arranges certain learning tasks to identify the feasibility of mobile collaborative learning for pre-service teachers. The pre-service teachers' sense of community and perceptions of collaborative learning are investigated. A total of 153 pre-service teachers volunteered to participate in an Intern Mobile…

From Assumptions to Practice: Creating and Supporting Robust Online Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lock, Jennifer; Johnson, Carol

2017-01-01

Collaboration is more than an activity. In the contemporary online learning environment, collaboration needs to be conceived as an overarching way of learning that fosters continued knowledge building. For this to occur, design of a learning task goes beyond students working together. There are integral nuances that give rise to: how the task is…

Structuring and Regulating Collaborative Learning in Higher Education with Wireless Networks and Mobile Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarvela, Sanna; Naykki, Piia; Laru, Jari; Luokkanen, Tiina

2007-01-01

In our recent research we have explored possibilities to scaffold collaborative learning in higher education with wireless networks and mobile tools. The pedagogical ideas are grounded on concepts of collaborative learning, including the socially shared origin of cognition, as well as self-regulated learning theory. This paper presents our three…

The Influence of Collaborative Learning Games within Different Devices on Student's Learning Performance and Behaviours

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsiao, Hsien-Sheng; Chang, Cheng-Sian; Lin, Chien-Yu; Chang, Chih-Chun; Chen, Jyun-Chen

2014-01-01

This study demonstrates the effectiveness of using multi-touch tabletop collaborative game (MTCG) as a collaborative learning platform, in which multiple students can play games using a digital surface. The learning performance of participants is also explored, along with their related behaviours and their experiences. Consisting of 49 Taipei…

Regulation during Cooperative and Collaborative Learning: A Theory-Based Review of Terms and Concepts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schoor, Cornelia; Narciss, Susanne; Körndle, Hermann

2015-01-01

This article reviews the terms and concepts that have been used for describing regulation of learning during cooperative and collaborative learning and suggests differentiating them on the basis of which parts of a regulatory feedback loop model are being shared. During cooperative and collaborative learning, not only self-regulation but also the…

Pros & Cons of Using Blackboard Collaborate for Blended Learning on Students' Learning Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamad, Mona M.

2017-01-01

Blackboard Collaborate was introduced to King Khalid University recently in the last decade; instructors and students were trained to use it in an effective way. The objective of this study is to find pros and cons of using Blackboard Collaborate for Blended Learning and its effect on students' learning outcomes. The researcher used the…

Stimulating Collaboration and Discussion in Online Learning Environments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Jim

2001-01-01

Discussion of the advantages of online learning environments (OLEs) for distance education focuses on the importance of collaboration and discussion to make the students feel more central to the learning process. Presents methods to stimulate collaboration and discussion in OLEs. (Author/LRW)

Investigating habits: strategies, technologies and models

PubMed Central

Smith, Kyle S.; Graybiel, Ann M.

2014-01-01

Understanding habits at a biological level requires a combination of behavioral observations and measures of ongoing neural activity. Theoretical frameworks as well as definitions of habitual behaviors emerging from classic behavioral research have been enriched by new approaches taking account of the identification of brain regions and circuits related to habitual behavior. Together, this combination of experimental and theoretical work has provided key insights into how brain circuits underlying action-learning and action-selection are organized, and how a balance between behavioral flexibility and fixity is achieved. New methods to monitor and manipulate neural activity in real time are allowing us to have a first look “under the hood” of a habit as it is formed and expressed. Here we discuss ideas emerging from such approaches. We pay special attention to the unexpected findings that have arisen from our own experiments suggesting that habitual behaviors likely require the simultaneous activity of multiple distinct components, or operators, seen as responsible for the contrasting dynamics of neural activity in both cortico-limbic and sensorimotor circuits recorded concurrently during different stages of habit learning. The neural dynamics identified thus far do not fully meet expectations derived from traditional models of the structure of habits, and the behavioral measures of habits that we have made also are not fully aligned with these models. We explore these new clues as opportunities to refine an understanding of habits. PMID:24574988

Social competence and collaborative guided inquiry science activities: Experiences of students with learning disabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Jennifer Anne

This thesis presents a qualitative investigation of the effects of social competence on the participation of students with learning disabilities (LD) in the science learning processes associated with collaborative, guided inquiry learning. An inclusive Grade 2 classroom provided the setting for the study. Detailed classroom observations were the primary source of data. In addition, the researcher conducted two interviews with the teacher, and collected samples of students' written work. The purpose of the research was to investigate: (a) How do teachers and peers mediate the participation of students with LD in collaborative, guided inquiry science activities, (b) What learning processes do students with LD participate in during collaborative, guided inquiry science activities, and (c) What components of social competence support and constrain the participation of students with LD during collaborative, guided inquiry science activities? The findings of the study suggest five key ideas for research and teaching in collaborative, guided inquiry science in inclusive classrooms. First, using a variety of collaborative learning formats (whole-class, small-group, and pairs) creates more opportunities for the successful participation of diverse students with LD. Second, creating an inclusive community where students feel accepted and valued may enhance the academic and social success of students with LD. Third, careful selection of partners for students with LD is important for a positive learning experience. Students with LD should be partnered with academically successful, socially competent peers; also, this study suggested that students with LD experience more success working collaboratively in pairs rather than in small groups. Fourth, a variety of strategies are needed to promote active participation and positive social interactions for students with and without LD during collaborative, guided inquiry learning. Fifth, adopting a general approach to teaching collaborative inquiry that crosses curriculum borders may enhance success of inclusive teaching practices.

Do learning collaboratives strengthen communication? A comparison of organizational team communication networks over time.

PubMed

Bunger, Alicia C; Lengnick-Hall, Rebecca

Collaborative learning models were designed to support quality improvements, such as innovation implementation by promoting communication within organizational teams. Yet the effect of collaborative learning approaches on organizational team communication during implementation is untested. The aim of this study was to explore change in communication patterns within teams from children's mental health organizations during a year-long learning collaborative focused on implementing a new treatment. We adopt a social network perspective to examine intraorganizational communication within each team and assess change in (a) the frequency of communication among team members, (b) communication across organizational hierarchies, and (c) the overall structure of team communication networks. A pretest-posttest design compared communication among 135 participants from 21 organizational teams at the start and end of a learning collaborative. At both time points, participants were asked to list the members of their team and rate the frequency of communication with each along a 7-point Likert scale. Several individual, pair-wise, and team level communication network metrics were calculated and compared over time. At the individual level, participants reported communicating with more team members by the end of the learning collaborative. Cross-hierarchical communication did not change. At the team level, these changes manifested differently depending on team size. In large teams, communication frequency increased, and networks grew denser and slightly less centralized. In small teams, communication frequency declined, growing more sparse and centralized. Results suggest that team communication patterns change minimally but evolve differently depending on size. Learning collaboratives may be more helpful for enhancing communication among larger teams; thus, managers might consider selecting and sending larger staff teams to learning collaboratives. This study highlights key future research directions that can disentangle the relationship between learning collaboratives and team networks.

Implementing Collaborative Learning in Prelicensure Nursing Curricula: Student Perceptions and Learning Outcomes.

PubMed

Schoening, Anne M; Selde, M Susan; Goodman, Joely T; Tow, Joyce C; Selig, Cindy L; Wichman, Chris; Cosimano, Amy; Galt, Kimberly A

2015-01-01

This study evaluated learning outcomes and student perceptions of collaborative learning in an undergraduate nursing program. Participants in this 3-phase action research study included students enrolled in a traditional and an accelerated nursing program. The number of students who passed the unit examination was not significantly different between the 3 phases. Students had positive and negative perceptions about the use of collaborative learning.

The Design of Collaborative Learning for Teaching Physics in Vocational Secondary School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismayati, Euis

2018-04-01

Vocational secondary school (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan or SMK) is a vocational education that is based on the principle of human resource investment (human capital investment) referring to the quality of education and productivity to compete in the global job market. Therefore, vocational education relates directly to business world/industry which fulfills the needs of the skilled worker. According to the results of some researches, the work ethics of vocational graduates are still unsatisfying. Most of them are less able to perform their works, to adapt to the changes and development of technology and science, to be retrained, to develop themselves, to collaborate, and to argue. Meanwhile, the employers in the world of work and industries require their employees to have abilities to think creatively and working collaboratively. In addition, the students’ abilities to adapt to the technology in working environment are greatly influenced by the learning process in their schools, especially in science learning. The process of science learning which can help the students to think and act scientifically should be implemented by teachers using a learning approach which is appropriate to the students’ need and the material taught to the students. To master technology and industry needs science mastery. Physics, as a part of science, has an important role in the development of technology since the products of technology strongly support further development of science. In order to develop the abilities to think critically and working collaboratively, education should be given to the students through the learning process using learning model which refers to a collaborative group discussion system called Collaborative Learning. Moreover, Collaborative learning for teaching Physics in vocational secondary school should be designed in such a way that the goal of teaching and learning can be achieved. Collaborative Learning is advantageous to improve the students’ creative thinking and collaborative working.

Communication in Collaborative Discovery Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saab, Nadira; van Joolingen, Wouter R.; van Hout-Wolters, Bernadette H. A. M.

2005-01-01

Background: Constructivist approaches to learning focus on learning environments in which students have the opportunity to construct knowledge themselves, and negotiate this knowledge with others. "Discovery learning" and "collaborative learning" are examples of learning contexts that cater for knowledge construction processes. We introduce a…

A reconfigurable on-line learning spiking neuromorphic processor comprising 256 neurons and 128K synapses.

PubMed

Qiao, Ning; Mostafa, Hesham; Corradi, Federico; Osswald, Marc; Stefanini, Fabio; Sumislawska, Dora; Indiveri, Giacomo

2015-01-01

Implementing compact, low-power artificial neural processing systems with real-time on-line learning abilities is still an open challenge. In this paper we present a full-custom mixed-signal VLSI device with neuromorphic learning circuits that emulate the biophysics of real spiking neurons and dynamic synapses for exploring the properties of computational neuroscience models and for building brain-inspired computing systems. The proposed architecture allows the on-chip configuration of a wide range of network connectivities, including recurrent and deep networks, with short-term and long-term plasticity. The device comprises 128 K analog synapse and 256 neuron circuits with biologically plausible dynamics and bi-stable spike-based plasticity mechanisms that endow it with on-line learning abilities. In addition to the analog circuits, the device comprises also asynchronous digital logic circuits for setting different synapse and neuron properties as well as different network configurations. This prototype device, fabricated using a 180 nm 1P6M CMOS process, occupies an area of 51.4 mm(2), and consumes approximately 4 mW for typical experiments, for example involving attractor networks. Here we describe the details of the overall architecture and of the individual circuits and present experimental results that showcase its potential. By supporting a wide range of cortical-like computational modules comprising plasticity mechanisms, this device will enable the realization of intelligent autonomous systems with on-line learning capabilities.

Collaborative Instructional Strategies to Enhance Knowledge Convergence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Draper, Darryl C.

2015-01-01

To promote knowledge convergence through collaborative learning activities in groups, this qualitative case study involved a layered approach for the design and delivery of a highly collaborative learning environment incorporating various instructional technologies grounded in learning theory. In a graduate-level instructional technology course,…

Facilitating Learning in Multidisciplinary Groups with Transactive CSCL Scripts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noroozi, Omid; Teasley, Stephanie D.; Biemans, Harm J. A.; Weinberger, Armin; Mulder, Martin

2013-01-01

Knowledge sharing and transfer are essential for learning in groups, especially when group members have different disciplinary expertise and collaborate online. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environments have been designed to facilitate transactive knowledge sharing and transfer in collaborative problem-solving settings. This…

Learning through Collaboration: Student Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osman, Gihan; Duffy, Thomas M.; Chang, Ju-yu; Lee, Jieun

2011-01-01

This research examines the effectiveness of collaborative learning pedagogies from the perspective of students. There is a rich history of research on collaborative learning demonstrating the effectiveness and this has led to indexing educational quality by student engagement. However, the findings from this study question the efficacy of…

A hypothesis on a role of oxytocin in the social mechanisms of speech and vocal learning.

PubMed

Theofanopoulou, Constantina; Boeckx, Cedric; Jarvis, Erich D

2017-08-30

Language acquisition in humans and song learning in songbirds naturally happen as a social learning experience, providing an excellent opportunity to reveal social motivation and reward mechanisms that boost sensorimotor learning. Our knowledge about the molecules and circuits that control these social mechanisms for vocal learning and language is limited. Here we propose a hypothesis of a role for oxytocin (OT) in the social motivation and evolution of vocal learning and language. Building upon existing evidence, we suggest specific neural pathways and mechanisms through which OT might modulate vocal learning circuits in specific developmental stages. © 2017 The Authors.

A hypothesis on a role of oxytocin in the social mechanisms of speech and vocal learning

PubMed Central

Jarvis, Erich D.

2017-01-01

Language acquisition in humans and song learning in songbirds naturally happen as a social learning experience, providing an excellent opportunity to reveal social motivation and reward mechanisms that boost sensorimotor learning. Our knowledge about the molecules and circuits that control these social mechanisms for vocal learning and language is limited. Here we propose a hypothesis of a role for oxytocin (OT) in the social motivation and evolution of vocal learning and language. Building upon existing evidence, we suggest specific neural pathways and mechanisms through which OT might modulate vocal learning circuits in specific developmental stages. PMID:28835557

Asynchronous Cooperative e-Learning System and Its Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eto, Kazuhiro; Miyoshi, Takumi

Much attention has been attracted to collaborative learning on an e-learning system. However, it is difficult to implement the collaborative environment to an asynchronous e-learning system since collaboration would be realized only when learners join the system at the same time. On the other hand, cooperative learning has been proposed. In this method, learners can study on their own pace without making mutual agreement but with receiving cognitive information from others. In this paper, the authors have developed the asynchronous cooperative e-learning system that provides learners' attendance and studying progress as the cognitive information. The subjective evaluation experiments show that our system is slightly inferior to the synchronous collaborative e-learning system, but it can motivate the learners more than the conventional system.

Collaborative, case-based learning: how do students actually learn from each other?

PubMed

Thurman, Joanne; Volet, Simone E; Bolton, John R

2009-01-01

The value of collaborative, case-based, and problem-based learning has received increased attention in recent years. Several studies have documented veterinary staff and students' generally positive feedback on group learning activities, but one largely unaddressed question is how students actually learn from each other. This study examined how second-year veterinary students learned from each other during a collaborative, case-based learning project. Data were students' written reflections on their learning in the veterinary course and the specific learning experience, and a matched pre- and post-task questionnaire. Consistent with prior research describing veterinary students as individualistic learners, only a third of students spontaneously mentioned learning from each other as one of their most effective strategies. However, when prompted to describe a time when they felt that group members were really learning from each other, students reported highly valuable collaborative learning processes, which they explicitly linked to learning and understanding benefits. Questionnaire data were consistent, showing that students became more positive toward several aspects of the activity as well as toward group work in general. One unexpected finding was the lack of a relationship between students' self-evaluation of their learning and how well group members knew each other. These findings provide strong support for the educational value of collaborative, case-based learning. In light of other research evidence (using observation data) that the amount of time students actually engage in high-level collaborative processes may be rather limited, this article points to the need for veterinary teachers to better prepare students for group learning activities.

Evaluating a Chronic Disease Management Improvement Collaboration: Lessons in Design and Implementation Fundamentals.

PubMed

Phillips, Kaye; Amar, Claudia; Elicksen-Jensen, Keesa

2016-01-01

For the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI), the Atlantic Healthcare Collaboration (AHC) was a pivotal opportunity to build upon its experience and expertise in delivering regional change management training and to apply and refine its evaluation and performance measurement approach. This paper reports on its evaluation principles and approach, as well as the lessons learned as CFHI diligently coordinated and worked with improvement project (IP) teams and a network of stakeholders to design and undertake a suite of evaluative activities. The evaluation generated evidence and learnings about various elements of chronic disease prevention and management (CDPM) improvement processes, individual and team capacity building and the role and value of CFHI in facilitating tailored learning activities and networking among teams, coaches and other AHC stakeholders.

A virtual environment for medical radiation collaborative learning.

PubMed

Bridge, Pete; Trapp, Jamie V; Kastanis, Lazaros; Pack, Darren; Parker, Jacqui C

2015-06-01

A software-based environment was developed to provide practical training in medical radiation principles and safety. The Virtual Radiation Laboratory application allowed students to conduct virtual experiments using simulated diagnostic and radiotherapy X-ray generators. The experiments were designed to teach students about the inverse square law, half value layer and radiation protection measures and utilised genuine clinical and experimental data. Evaluation of the application was conducted in order to ascertain the impact of the software on students' understanding, satisfaction and collaborative learning skills and also to determine potential further improvements to the software and guidelines for its continued use. Feedback was gathered via an anonymous online survey consisting of a mixture of Likert-style questions and short answer open questions. Student feedback was highly positive with 80 % of students reporting increased understanding of radiation protection principles. Furthermore 72 % enjoyed using the software and 87 % of students felt that the project facilitated collaboration within small groups. The main themes arising in the qualitative feedback comments related to efficiency and effectiveness of teaching, safety of environment, collaboration and realism. Staff and students both report gains in efficiency and effectiveness associated with the virtual experiments. In addition students particularly value the visualisation of "invisible" physical principles and increased opportunity for experimentation and collaborative problem-based learning. Similar ventures will benefit from adopting an approach that allows for individual experimentation while visualizing challenging concepts.

Facilitative Components of Collaborative Learning: A Review of Nine Health Research Networks.

PubMed

Leroy, Lisa; Rittner, Jessica Levin; Johnson, Karin E; Gerteis, Jessie; Miller, Therese

2017-02-01

Collaborative research networks are increasingly used as an effective mechanism for accelerating knowledge transfer into policy and practice. This paper explored the characteristics and collaborative learning approaches of nine health research networks. Semi-structured interviews with representatives from eight diverse US health services research networks conducted between November 2012 and January 2013 and program evaluation data from a ninth. The qualitative analysis assessed each network's purpose, duration, funding sources, governance structure, methods used to foster collaboration, and barriers and facilitators to collaborative learning. The authors reviewed detailed notes from the interviews to distill salient themes. Face-to-face meetings, intentional facilitation and communication, shared vision, trust among members and willingness to work together were key facilitators of collaborative learning. Competing priorities for members, limited funding and lack of long-term support and geographic dispersion were the main barriers to coordination and collaboration across research network members. The findings illustrate the importance of collaborative learning in research networks and the challenges to evaluating the success of research network functionality. Conducting readiness assessments and developing process and outcome evaluation metrics will advance the design and show the impact of collaborative research networks. Copyright © 2017 Longwoods Publishing.

Collaborative learning in radiologic science education.

PubMed

Yates, Jennifer L

2006-01-01

Radiologic science is a complex health profession, requiring the competent use of technology as well as the ability to function as part of a team, think critically, exercise independent judgment, solve problems creatively and communicate effectively. This article presents a review of literature in support of the relevance of collaborative learning to radiologic science education. In addition, strategies for effective design, facilitation and authentic assessment of activities are provided for educators wishing to incorporate collaborative techniques into their program curriculum. The connection between the benefits of collaborative learning and necessary workplace skills, particularly in the areas of critical thinking, creative problem solving and communication skills, suggests that collaborative learning techniques may be particularly useful in the education of future radiologic technologists. This article summarizes research identifying the benefits of collaborative learning for adult education and identifying the link between these benefits and the necessary characteristics of medical imaging technologists.

Using collaborative technologies in remote lab delivery systems for topics in automation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashby, Joe E.

Lab exercises are a pedagogically essential component of engineering and technology education. Distance education remote labs are being developed which enable students to access lab facilities via the Internet. Collaboration, students working in teams, enhances learning activity through the development of communication skills, sharing observations and problem solving. Web meeting communication tools are currently used in remote labs. The problem identified for investigation was that no standards of practice or paradigms exist to guide remote lab designers in the selection of collaboration tools that best support learning achievement. The goal of this work was to add to the body of knowledge involving the selection and use of remote lab collaboration tools. Experimental research was conducted where the participants were randomly assigned to three communication treatments and learning achievement was measured via assessments at the completion of each of six remote lab based lessons. Quantitative instruments used for assessing learning achievement were implemented, along with a survey to correlate user preference with collaboration treatments. A total of 53 undergraduate technology students worked in two-person teams, where each team was assigned one of the treatments, namely (a) text messaging chat, (b) voice chat, or (c) webcam video with voice chat. Each had little experience with the subject matter involving automation, but possessed the necessary technical background. Analysis of the assessment score data included mean and standard deviation, confirmation of the homogeneity of variance, a one-way ANOVA test and post hoc comparisons. The quantitative and qualitative data indicated that text messaging chat negatively impacted learning achievement and that text messaging chat was not preferred. The data also suggested that the subjects were equally divided on preference to voice chat verses webcam video with voice chat. To the end of designing collaborative communication tools for remote labs involving automation equipment, the results of this work points to making voice chat the default method of communication; but the webcam video with voice chat option should be included. Standards are only beginning to be developed for the design of remote lab systems. Research, design and innovation involving collaboration and presence should be included.

A neural circuit mechanism for regulating vocal variability during song learning in zebra finches.

PubMed

Garst-Orozco, Jonathan; Babadi, Baktash; Ölveczky, Bence P

2014-12-15

Motor skill learning is characterized by improved performance and reduced motor variability. The neural mechanisms that couple skill level and variability, however, are not known. The zebra finch, a songbird, presents a unique opportunity to address this question because production of learned song and induction of vocal variability are instantiated in distinct circuits that converge on a motor cortex analogue controlling vocal output. To probe the interplay between learning and variability, we made intracellular recordings from neurons in this area, characterizing how their inputs from the functionally distinct pathways change throughout song development. We found that inputs that drive stereotyped song-patterns are strengthened and pruned, while inputs that induce variability remain unchanged. A simple network model showed that strengthening and pruning of action-specific connections reduces the sensitivity of motor control circuits to variable input and neural 'noise'. This identifies a simple and general mechanism for learning-related regulation of motor variability.

Leading the Charge for SoTL--Embracing Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cassard, Anita; Sloboda, Brian

2014-01-01

The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) enables colleges and universities to assess student learning and measure the outcomes by engaging in meaningful research, and to disseminate this research. The objective of this paper is to give a snapshot of and assess the current thinking behind this scholarship by presenting examples of SoTL, and…

Developing an Instrument to Characterise Peer-Led Groups in Collaborative Learning Environments: Assessing Problem-Solving Approach and Group Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pazos, Pilar; Micari, Marina; Light, Gregory

2010-01-01

Collaborative learning is being used extensively by educators at all levels. Peer-led team learning in a version of collaborative learning that has shown consistent success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. Using a multi-phase research study we describe the development of an observation instrument that can be used to…

Challenge of Supporting Vocational Learning: Empowering Collaboration in a Scripted 3D Game--How Does Teachers' Real-Time Orchestration Make a Difference?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamalainen, Raija; Oksanen, Kimmo

2012-01-01

Along with the development of new technologies, orchestrating computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has become a topic of discussion because new learning spaces challenge teacher to support collaborative learning in new ways. However, despite the optimistic notions of teachers' orchestration in CSCL situations, there are still no…

Lighting the Blue Touchpaper for UK e-Science - Closing Conference of ESLEA Project. ESLEA, March 26-28, 2007, Edinburgh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clarke, Peter; Davenhall, Clive; Greenwood, Colin; Strong, Matthew

ESLEA, an EPSRC-funded project, aims to demonstrate the potential benefits of circuit-switched optical networks (lightpaths) to the UK e-Science community. This is being achieved by running a number of "proof of benefit" pilot applications over UKLight, the UK's first national optical research network. UKLight provides a new way for researchers to obtain dedicated "lightpaths" between remote sites and to deploy and test novel networking methods and technologies. It facilitates collaboration on global projects by providing a point of access to the fast growing international optical R&D infrastructure. A diverse range of data-intensive fields of academic endeavour are participating in the ESLEA project; all these groups require the integration of high-bandwidth switched lightpath circuits into their experimental and analysis infrastructure for international transport of high-volume applications data. In addition, network protocol research and development of circuit reservation mechanisms has been carried out to help the pilot applications to exploit the UKLight infrastructure effectively. Further information about ESLEA can be viewed at www.eslea.uklight.ac.uk. ESLEA activities are now coming to an end and work will finish from February to July 2007, depending upon the terms of funding of each pilot application. The first quarter of 2007 is considered the optimum time to hold a closing conference for the project. The objectives of the conference are to: 1. Provide a forum for the dissemination of research findings and learning experiences from the ESLEA project. 2. Enable colleagues from the UK and international e-Science communities to present, discuss and learn about the latest developments in networking technology. 3. Raise awareness about the deployment of the UKLight infrastructure and its relationship to SuperJANET 5. 4. Identify potential uses of UKLight by existing or future research projects

Stitching Circuits: Learning about Circuitry through E-Textile Materials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peppler, Kylie; Glosson, Diane

2013-01-01

Central to our understanding of learning is the relationship between various tools and technologies and the structuring of disciplinary subject matter. One of the staples of early science education curriculum is the use of electrical circuit toolkits to engage students in broader discussions of energy. Traditionally, these concepts are introduced…

A Flipped First-Year Digital Circuits Course for Engineering and Technology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yelamarthi, Kumar; Drake, Eron

2015-01-01

This paper describes a flipped and improved first-year digital circuits (DC) course that incorporates several active learning strategies. With the primary objective of increasing student interest and learning, an integrated instructional design framework is proposed to provide first-year engineering and technology students with practical knowledge…

Engaging Sharp-Leadenhall: An Interdisciplinary Faculty Collaboration in Service-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Falk, Audrey; Durington, Matthew; Lankford, Elsa

2012-01-01

This article reports on an interdisciplinary collaboration in the context of service-learning. Faculty members from the disciplines of family studies, anthropology, and media production worked collaboratively to develop and implement service-learning projects involving their classes and Sharp-Leadenhall, one of the oldest historically…

Fostering Distributed Science Learning through Collaborative Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vazquez-Abad, Jesus; Brousseau, Nancy; Guillermina, Waldegg C.; Vezina, Mylene; Martinez, Alicia D.; de Verjovsky, Janet Paul

2004-01-01

TACTICS (French and Spanish acronym standing for Collaborative Work and Learning in Science with Information and Communications Technologies) is an ongoing project aimed at investigating a distributed community of learning and practice in which information and communications technologies (ICT) take the role of collaborative tools to support social…

E-Collaboration Technologies in Teaching/Learning Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zascerinska, Jelena; Ahrens, Andreas

2009-01-01

A proper use of e-collaboration technologies in the teaching/learning process is provided by varied cooperative networks, which penetrate teachers' and students' activity more thoroughly with the availability of broadband services. However, the successful use of e-collaboration technologies in teaching/learning activity within a multicultural…

Accounting Experiences in Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edmond, Tracie; Tiggeman, Theresa

2009-01-01

This paper discusses incorporating collaborative learning into accounting classes as a response to the Accounting Education Change Commission's call to install a more active student learner in the classroom. Collaborative learning requires the students to interact with each other and with the material within the classroom setting. It is a…

Using Learning Analytics to Support Engagement in Collaborative Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Ming; Pardo, Abelardo; Liu, Li

2017-01-01

Online collaborative writing tools provide an efficient way to complete a writing task. However, existing tools only focus on technological affordances and ignore the importance of social affordances in a collaborative learning environment. This article describes a learning analytic system that analyzes writing behaviors, and creates…

Doing Outcomes-Based Collaborative Teaching and Learning in Asia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Schalkwyk, Gertina J.

2015-01-01

This chapter focuses on applying the concepts of outcomes-based collaborative teaching and learning in an Asian context and with students coming from a Confucian heritage culture and explores examples of how to implement effective collaborative teaching and learning in an Asian higher education setting.

Self-Efficacy and Collaborative Learning: An Intervention Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Jane

2012-01-01

Findings from empirical research suggest that both self-efficacy beliefs and collaborative learning may have an influence upon student academic performance. However, the phenomena of self-efficacy beliefs, collaborative learning, and academic achievement have not been studied in concert with one another. Using quantitative research methods, I…

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Tim, Ed.

2005-01-01

"Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning in Higher Education" provides a resource for researchers and practitioners in the area of computer-supported collaborative learning (also known as CSCL); particularly those working within a tertiary education environment. It includes articles of relevance to those interested in both theory and practice in…

Developing Argumentation Skills in Mathematics through Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: The Role of Transactivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vogel, Freydis; Kollar, Ingo; Ufer, Stefan; Reichersdorfer, Elisabeth; Reiss, Kristina; Fischer, Frank

2016-01-01

Collaboration scripts and heuristic worked examples are effective means to scaffold university freshmen's mathematical argumentation skills. Yet, which collaborative learning processes are responsible for these effects has remained unclear. Learners presumably will gain the most out of collaboration if the collaborators refer to each other's…

Hybrid E-Learning Tool TransLearning: Video Storytelling to Foster Vicarious Learning within Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Meij, Marjoleine G.; Kupper, Frank; Beers, Pieter J.; Broerse, Jacqueline E. W.

2016-01-01

E-learning and storytelling approaches can support informal vicarious learning within geographically widely distributed multi-stakeholder collaboration networks. This case study evaluates hybrid e-learning and video-storytelling approach "TransLearning" by investigation into how its storytelling e-tool supported informal vicarious…

The 3 R's of Learning Time: Rethink, Reshape, Reclaim

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sackey, Shera Carter

2012-01-01

The Learning School Alliance is a network of schools collaborating about professional practice. The network embodies Learning Forward's purpose to advance effective job-embedded professional learning that leads to student outcomes. A key component of Learning Forward's Standards for Professional Learning is a focus on collaborative learning,…

Collaborative testing for key-term definitions under representative conditions: Efficiency costs and no learning benefits.

PubMed

Wissman, Kathryn T; Rawson, Katherine A

2018-01-01

Students are expected to learn key-term definitions across many different grade levels and academic disciplines. Thus, investigating ways to promote understanding of key-term definitions is of critical importance for applied purposes. A recent survey showed that learners report engaging in collaborative practice testing when learning key-term definitions, with outcomes also shedding light on the way in which learners report engaging in collaborative testing in real-world contexts (Wissman & Rawson, 2016, Memory, 24, 223-239). However, no research has directly explored the effectiveness of engaging in collaborative testing under representative conditions. Accordingly, the current research evaluates the costs (with respect to efficiency) and the benefits (with respect to learning) of collaborative testing for key-term definitions under representative conditions. In three experiments (ns = 94, 74, 95), learners individually studied key-term definitions and then completed retrieval practice, which occurred either individually or collaboratively (in dyads). Two days later, all learners completed a final individual test. Results from Experiments 1-2 showed a cost (with respect to efficiency) and no benefit (with respect to learning) of engaging in collaborative testing for key-term definitions. Experiment 3 evaluated a theoretical explanation for why collaborative benefits do not emerge under representative conditions. Collectively, outcomes indicate that collaborative testing versus individual testing is less effective and less efficient when learning key-term definitions under representative conditions.

Assessing the Success Rate of Students Using a Learning Management System Together with a Collaborative Tool in Web-Based Teaching of Programming Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavus, Nadire; Ibrahim, Dogan

2007-01-01

The development of collaborative studies in learning has led to a renewed interest in the field of Web-based education. In this experimental study a highly interactive and collaborative virtual teaching environment has been created by supporting Moodle LMS with collaborative learning tool GREWPtool. The aim of this experimental study has been to…

Synchronous Collaboration Competencies in Web-Conferencing Environments--Their Impact on the Learning Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bower, Matt

2011-01-01

Based on a three-semester design-based research study examining learning and teaching in a web-conferencing environment, this article identifies types of synchronous collaboration competencies and reveals their influence on learning processes. Four levels of online collaborative competencies were observed--operational, interactional, managerial,…

The Informal Workplace Learning Experiences of Virtual Team Members: A Look at the Role of Collaborative Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Frankie S.

2007-01-01

This qualitative study explored how collaborative technologies influence the informal learning experiences of virtual team members. Inputs revealed as critical to virtual informal learning were integrated, collaborative technological systems; positive relationships and trust; and organizational support and virtual team management. These inputs…

Assessment of Collaborative Learning Experiences by Graphical Analysis of Wiki Contributions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palomo-Duarte, Manuel; Dodero, Juan Manuel; Medina-Bulo, Inmaculada; Rodríguez-Posada, Emilio J.; Ruiz-Rube, Iván

2014-01-01

The widespread adoption of computers and Internet in our life has reached the classrooms, where computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) based on wikis offers new ways of collaboration and encourages student participation. When the number of contributions from students increases, traditional assessment procedures of e-learning settings…

Technology Supported Facilitation and Assessment of Small Group Collaborative Inquiry Learning in Large First-Year Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrie, Gwendolyn A.; Gahan, Lawrence R.; Matthews, Kelly E.; Weaver, Gabriela C.; Bailey, Chantal; Adams, Peter; Kavanagh, Lydia J.; Long, Phillip D.; Taylor, Matthew

2014-01-01

Collaborative learning activities offer the potential to support mutual knowledge construction and shared understanding amongst students. Introducing collaborative tasks into large first-year undergraduate science classes to create learning environments that foster student engagement and enhance communication skills is appealing. However,…

Tangible Technology-Enhanced Learning for Improvement of Student Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barneva, Reneta P.; Gelsomini, Federico; Kanev, Kamen; Bottoni, Paolo

2018-01-01

Collaboration among students in the course of learning plays an important role in developing communication skills. In particular, it helps for team building and brainstorming on solutions of complex problems. While an effective group organization is critical for the success of such collaborative learning, many instructors would make arbitrary…

Complexity Science and Professional Learning for Collaboration: A Critical Reconsideration of Possibilities and Limitations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fenwick, Tara

2012-01-01

Professionals increasingly must collaborate very closely, such as through inter-professional work arrangements. This involves learning both "in" and "for" collaboration. Some educational researchers have turned to complexity science to better understand these learning dynamics. This discussion asks, How useful is complexity science for examining…

Digital Games: Changing Education, One Raid at a Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pivec, Paul; Pivec, Maja

2011-01-01

Digital Games are becoming a new form of interactive content and game playing provides an interactive and collaborative platform for learning purposes. Collaborative learning allows participants to produce new ideas as well as to exchange information, simplify problems, and resolve the tasks. Context based collaborative learning method is based on…

Mobile Collaborative Language Learning: State of the Art

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Viberg, Olga

2018-01-01

This paper presents a review of mobile collaborative language learning studies published in 2012-16 with the aim to improve understanding of how mobile technologies have been used to support collaborative learning among second and foreign language students. We identify affordances, general pedagogical approaches, second- and foreign-language…

Multiple Mice Based Collaborative One-to-One Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Infante, Cristian; Hidalgo, Pedro; Nussbaum, Miguel; Alarcon, Rosa; Gottlieb, Andres

2009-01-01

Exchange is a collaborative learning application, originally developed for wirelessly interconnected Pocket PCs, that provides support for students and a teacher performing a face-to-face computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) activity in a Single Input/Single Display (SISD) mode. We extend the application to support a single display…

College Students' Perceptions of Short Message Service-Supported Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zamani-Miandashti, Naser; Ataei, Pouria

2015-01-01

Interaction is a major success factor that affects collaborative learning. This study examined the perceptions of college students about short message service (SMS) supported collaborative learning. Seventy-five BSc students from three classes were asked to cooperate on group assignments. The participants used their mobile phones to exchange text…

Has Research on Collaborative Learning Technologies Addressed Massiveness? A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manathunga, Kalpani; Hernández-Leo, Davinia

2015-01-01

There is a growing interest in understanding to what extent innovative educational technologies can be used to support massive courses. Collaboration is one of the main desired elements in massive learning actions involving large communities of participants. Accumulated research in collaborative learning technologies has proposed and evaluated…

Collaborative Planning: Cooking up an Inclusive Service-Learning Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonati, Michelle L.

2018-01-01

Collaborative planning between special education teachers and general education teachers that focuses on curriculum, instruction, and assessment can improve learning outcomes for students with and without disabilities. Service-learning is a teaching practice that can provide a flexible approach for teachers to collaboratively plan to meet the…

Face-to-Face Collaborative Learning Supported by Mobile Phones

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Echeverria, Alejandro; Nussbaum, Miguel; Calderon, Juan Felipe; Bravo, Claudio; Infante, Cristian; Vasquez, Andrea

2011-01-01

The use of handheld computers in educational contexts has increased considerably in recent years and their value as a teaching tool has been confirmed by many positive experiences, particular within collaborative learning systems (Mobile Computer Supported Collaborative Learning [MCSCL]). The cost of the devices has hindered widespread use in…

E-Learning Systems Support of Collaborative Agreements: A Theoretical Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aguirre, Sandra; Quemada, Juan

2012-01-01

This paper introduces a theoretical model for developing integrated degree programmes through e-learning systems as stipulated by a collaboration agreement signed by two universities. We have analysed several collaboration agreements between universities at the national, European, and transatlantic level as well as various e-learning frameworks. A…

Collaborative Learning: A Sourcebook for Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodsell, Anne S.; And Others

This sourcebook contains nine papers on various aspects of collaborative learning for students with emphasis on college level instruction (though some material relevant to secondary elementary education is also included). Contributors address what collaborative learning is, how is it implemented, how to assess it, and where it is used. Each…

Authoring and Enactment of Mobile Pyramid-Based Collaborative Learning Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manathunga, Kalpani; Hernández-Leo, Davinia

2018-01-01

Collaborative learning flow patterns (CLFPs) formulate best practices for the orchestration of activity sequences and collaboration mechanisms that can elicit fruitful social interactions. Mobile technology features offer opportunities to support interaction mediation and content accessibility. However, existing mobile collaborative learning…

The influence of learning methods on collaboration: prior repeated retrieval enhances retrieval organization, abolishes collaborative inhibition, and promotes post-collaborative memory.

PubMed

Congleton, Adam R; Rajaram, Suparna

2011-11-01

Research on collaborative memory has unveiled the counterintuitive yet robust phenomenon that collaboration impairs group recall. A candidate explanation for this collaborative inhibition effect is the disruption of people's idiosyncratic retrieval strategies during collaboration, and it is hypothesized that employing methods that improve one's organization protects against retrieval disruption. Here it is investigated how one's learning method during the study phase--defined as either repeatedly studying or repeatedly retrieving information--influences retrieval organization and what effects this has on collaborative recall and post-collaborative individual recall. Results show that repeated retrieval consistently eliminated collaborative inhibition. This enabled participants to gain the most from re-exposure to materials recalled by their partners that they themselves did not recall and led to improvements in their individual memory following collaboration. This repeated retrieval advantage stemmed from the preferential manner in which this learning method strengthened retrieval organization. Findings are also discussed that reveal a relationship between retrieval organization and the interaction observed between learning method and short versus long delay seen in the testing effect literature. Finally, results show that the elusive benefits of cross-cuing during collaboration may be best detected with a longer study-test delay. Together, these findings illuminate when and how collaboration can enhance memory.

Interprofessional education and collaborative practice: Psychometric analysis of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale in undergraduate Serbian healthcare student context.

PubMed

Milutinović, Dragana; Lovrić, Robert; Simin, Dragana

2018-06-01

There is an implicit expectation for medical sciences students to work together effectively as members of health-care team, and interprofessional education is therefore widely accepted. Students' attitudes, which are affected by various factors, have been recognized as the most important predictors of successful implementation of interprofessional education with the aim of developing collaborative practice. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale has often been used in studies to measure these perspectives. To describe the psychometric properties of the Serbian cross-culturally adapted version of the original Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale, to assess the attitudes of undergraduate health science students towards interprofessional education and to evaluate whether a professional group and student characteristics have influence on attitudes towards collaborative practice and shared learning. A descriptive/analytical and comparative cross-sectional study. Faculty of Medicine in Serbia. Nursing and medical students after completed first clinical rotations (n = 257). The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale for assessing attitudes among students towards interprofessional learning, Professional Identity Questionnaire for Nursing Students for assessing professional identity in nursing students, Professional Nursing Image Survey for assessing attitudes of medical students towards the nursing profession, as well as a socio-demographic questionnaire were the instruments used in this research study. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Exploratory factor analysis on 19 items revealed two-factors accounting for 51.1% of the total variance with the internal reliability α = 0.90. The mean total score of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale was 73.5 (SD = 11.5) indicating that students are ready for interprofessional learning. Nursing students, female students; students in their first years of studies, and those with previously completed education in the field of health care, have been more ready for interprofessional learning and collaborative practice. In the multiple linear regression analysis, gender and assessing professional nursing skills and abilities were significant predictors of medical students' readiness for interprofessional learning, whereas professional identity was for nursing students. The Serbian version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale has proven to be reliable and valid for the "teamwork, collaboration and shared learning" subscale, while the "role and responsibilities" subscale showed lower stability. The results of this study revealed positive students' attitudes towards interprofessional learning, which is important for Serbia, as a candidate country for European Union membership, and thus making our educational system more inclusive for joining the European Higher Education Area. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Comparison of Correctional Adult Educators and Formal Adult Educators in Terms of Their Expressed Beliefs in the Collaborative Teaching Mode. Theory and Methods of Adult Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sua, Dangbe Wuo

A study compared correctional adult educators and formal adult educators in terms of their expressed beliefs in the collaborative teaching mode as measured by the Principles of Adult Learning Scale. The sample consisted of 8 correctional adult educators from the Lake Correctional Institution and 10 adult education teachers from the Manatee Area…

Module Twelve: Series AC Resistive-Reactive Circuits; Basic Electricity and Electronics Individualized Learning System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, DC.

The module covers series circuits which contain both resistive and reactive components and methods of solving these circuits for current, voltage, impedance, and phase angle. The module is divided into six lessons: voltage and impedance in AC (alternating current) series circuits, vector computations, rectangular and polar notation, variational…

Collaborative Platform for DFM

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-12-20

generation litho hotspot checkers have also been implemented in automated hotspot fixers that can automatically fix designs by making small changes...processing side (ex. new CMP models, etch models, litho models) and on the circuit side (ex. Process aware circuit analysis or yield optimization...Since final gate CD is a function of not only litho , but Post Exposure Bake, ashing, and etch, the processing module can be augmented with more

Information on a Photon: Free-Space Quantum Communication (InPho: FSQC)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-06

3 5 kHz . 9 InPho: FSQCSuperconducting nanowire detectors InPho Breakthrough – Develop 8 channel SiW superconducting... nanowire detectors optimized for 710 nm in collaboration with NIST Status report (6/4/14): Cryostat constructed, chill-down tests, detectors...similar jitter with custom circuit vs. MPD circuit allows for higher key rate and photon efficiency 27 InPho: FSQCSuperconducting nanowire detectors

A Compound LAMS-MOODLE Environment to Support Collaborative Project-Based Learning: A Case Study with the Group Investigation Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paschalis, Giorgos

2017-01-01

Collaborative project-based learning is well established as a component of several courses in higher education, since it seems to motivate students and make them active in the learning process. Collaborative Project-Based Learning methods are demanded so that tutors become able to intervene and guide the students in flexible ways: by encouraging…

Interprofessional simulated learning: short-term associations between simulation and interprofessional collaboration

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Health professions education programs use simulation for teaching and maintaining clinical procedural skills. Simulated learning activities are also becoming useful methods of instruction for interprofessional education. The simulation environment for interprofessional training allows participants to explore collaborative ways of improving communicative aspects of clinical care. Simulation has shown communication improvement within and between health care professions, but the impacts of teamwork simulation on perceptions of others' interprofessional practices and one's own attitudes toward teamwork are largely unknown. Methods A single-arm intervention study tested the association between simulated team practice and measures of interprofessional collaboration, nurse-physician relationships, and attitudes toward health care teams. Participants were 154 post-licensure nurses, allied health professionals, and physicians. Self- and proxy-report survey measurements were taken before simulation training and two and six weeks after. Results Multilevel modeling revealed little change over the study period. Variation in interprofessional collaboration and attitudes was largely attributable to between-person characteristics. A constructed categorical variable indexing 'leadership capacity' found that participants with highest and lowest values were more likely to endorse shared team leadership over physician centrality. Conclusion Results from this study indicate that focusing interprofessional simulation education on shared leadership may provide the most leverage to improve interprofessional care. PMID:21443779

Collaborative Work or Individual Chores: The Role of Family Social Organization in Children's Learning to Collaborate and Develop Initiative.

PubMed

Mejía-Arauz, Rebeca; Correa-Chávez, Maricela; Keyser Ohrt, Ulrike; Aceves-Azuara, Itzel

2015-01-01

In many communities, children learn about family and community endeavors as they collaborate and become involved in community activities. This chapter analyzes how parents promote collaboration and learning to collaborate at home in an Indigenous and in a non-Indigenous Mexican community. We examine variation among parents with different extent of experience with schooling and concepts regarding child development and relate these to patterns of child collaboration at home among Mexican Indigenous and urban families. Drawing on interviews with 34 mothers in the P'urhépecha community of Cherán, Michoacán, and 18 interviews in the cosmopolitan city of Guadalajara, Mexico, we argue that the social nature of participation may be a key feature of learning to collaborate and pitch in in families and communities where school has not been a central institution of childhood over generations. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Corticostriatal circuit mechanisms of value-based action selection: Implementation of reinforcement learning algorithms and beyond.

PubMed

Morita, Kenji; Jitsev, Jenia; Morrison, Abigail

2016-09-15

Value-based action selection has been suggested to be realized in the corticostriatal local circuits through competition among neural populations. In this article, we review theoretical and experimental studies that have constructed and verified this notion, and provide new perspectives on how the local-circuit selection mechanisms implement reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms and computations beyond them. The striatal neurons are mostly inhibitory, and lateral inhibition among them has been classically proposed to realize "Winner-Take-All (WTA)" selection of the maximum-valued action (i.e., 'max' operation). Although this view has been challenged by the revealed weakness, sparseness, and asymmetry of lateral inhibition, which suggest more complex dynamics, WTA-like competition could still occur on short time scales. Unlike the striatal circuit, the cortical circuit contains recurrent excitation, which may enable retention or temporal integration of information and probabilistic "soft-max" selection. The striatal "max" circuit and the cortical "soft-max" circuit might co-implement an RL algorithm called Q-learning; the cortical circuit might also similarly serve for other algorithms such as SARSA. In these implementations, the cortical circuit presumably sustains activity representing the executed action, which negatively impacts dopamine neurons so that they can calculate reward-prediction-error. Regarding the suggested more complex dynamics of striatal, as well as cortical, circuits on long time scales, which could be viewed as a sequence of short WTA fragments, computational roles remain open: such a sequence might represent (1) sequential state-action-state transitions, constituting replay or simulation of the internal model, (2) a single state/action by the whole trajectory, or (3) probabilistic sampling of state/action. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The Efficacy of Three Learning Methods Collaborative, Context-Based Learning and Traditional, on Learning, Attitude and Behaviour of Undergraduate Nursing Students: Integrating Theory and Practice.

PubMed

Hasanpour-Dehkordi, Ali; Solati, Kamal

2016-04-01

Communication skills training, responsibility, respect, and self-awareness are important indexes of changing learning behaviours in modern approaches. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of three learning approaches, collaborative, context-based learning (CBL), and traditional, on learning, attitude, and behaviour of undergraduate nursing students. This study was a clinical trial with pretest and post-test of control group. The participants were senior nursing students. The samples were randomly assigned to three groups; CBL, collaborative, and traditional. To gather data a standard questionnaire of students' behaviour and attitude was administered prior to and after the intervention. Also, the rate of learning was investigated by a researcher-developed questionnaire prior to and after the intervention in the three groups. In CBL and collaborative training groups, the mean score of behaviour and attitude increased after the intervention. But no significant association was obtained between the mean scores of behaviour and attitude prior to and after the intervention in the traditional group. However, the mean learning score increased significantly in the CBL, collaborative, and traditional groups after the study in comparison to before the study. Both CBL and collaborative approaches were useful in terms of increased respect, self-awareness, self-evaluation, communication skills and responsibility as well as increased motivation and learning score in comparison to traditional method.

Mechanisms of Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning in Corticostriatal Circuits 1: Computational Analysis

PubMed Central

Badre, David

2012-01-01

Growing evidence suggests that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is organized hierarchically, with more anterior regions having increasingly abstract representations. How does this organization support hierarchical cognitive control and the rapid discovery of abstract action rules? We present computational models at different levels of description. A neural circuit model simulates interacting corticostriatal circuits organized hierarchically. In each circuit, the basal ganglia gate frontal actions, with some striatal units gating the inputs to PFC and others gating the outputs to influence response selection. Learning at all of these levels is accomplished via dopaminergic reward prediction error signals in each corticostriatal circuit. This functionality allows the system to exhibit conditional if–then hypothesis testing and to learn rapidly in environments with hierarchical structure. We also develop a hybrid Bayesian-reinforcement learning mixture of experts (MoE) model, which can estimate the most likely hypothesis state of individual participants based on their observed sequence of choices and rewards. This model yields accurate probabilistic estimates about which hypotheses are attended by manipulating attentional states in the generative neural model and recovering them with the MoE model. This 2-pronged modeling approach leads to multiple quantitative predictions that are tested with functional magnetic resonance imaging in the companion paper. PMID:21693490

An instructional intervention to encourage effective deep collaborative learning in undergraduate veterinary students.

PubMed

Khosa, Deep K; Volet, Simone E; Bolton, John R

2010-01-01

In recent years, veterinary education has received an increased amount of attention directed at the value and application of collaborative case-based learning. The benefit of instilling deep learning practices in undergraduate veterinary students has also emerged as a powerful tool in encouraging continued professional education. However, research into the design and application of instructional strategies to encourage deep, collaborative case-based learning in veterinary undergraduates has been limited. This study focused on delivering an instructional intervention (via a 20-minute presentation and student handout) to foster productive, collaborative case-based learning in veterinary education. The aim was to instigate and encourage deep learning practices in a collaborative case-based assignment and to assess the impact of the intervention on students' group learning. Two cohorts of veterinary students were involved in the study. One cohort was exposed to an instructional intervention, and the other provided the control for the study. The instructional strategy was grounded in the collaborative learning literature and prior empirical studies with veterinary students. Results showed that the intervention cohort spent proportionally more time on understanding case content material than did the control cohort and rated their face-to-face discussions as more useful in achieving their learning outcomes than did their control counterparts. In addition, the perceived difficulty of the assignment evolved differently for the control and intervention students from start to end of the assignment. This study provides encouraging evidence that veterinary students can change and enhance the way they interact in a group setting to effectively engage in collaborative learning practices.

Facilitating learning through an international virtual collaborative practice: A case study.

PubMed

Wihlborg, Monne; Friberg, Elizabeth E; Rose, Karen M; Eastham, Linda

2018-02-01

Internationalisation of higher education involving information and communication technology such as e-learning opens opportunities for innovative learning approaches across nations and cultures. Describe a case in practice of collaborative and transformative learning in relation to 'internationalisation on home grounds' with the broader learning objective of 'becoming aware and knowledgeable'. A mutually developed project established a virtual international collaborative exchange for faculty and students using a course management software (MOODLE) and open access technology (Adobe CONNECT). Two research universities in Sweden and the United States. Approximately 90 nursing students from each university per semester over several semesters. A collaborative process to develop a joint learning community to construct a virtual module and learning activity involving academics and nursing students in two countries using principles of meaning construction and negotiated learning. Developed possibilities for dealing with the challenges and finding strategies for a future higher education system that opens dialogues worldwide. Virtual international exchanges open innovative communication and learning contexts across nations and cultures. Internationalisation is so much more than students and teachers' mobility. 'Internationalisation on home grounds' (internationalisation for all) should receive more attention to support faculty and student collaboration, learning, and professional development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Intelligent Grouping Based on Learners' Collaboration Competence Level in Online Collaborative Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muuro, Maina Elizaphan; Oboko, Robert; Wagacha, Waiganjo Peter

2016-01-01

In this paper we explore the impact of an intelligent grouping algorithm based on learners' collaborative competency when compared with (a) instructor based Grade Point Average (GPA) method level and (b) random method, on group outcomes and group collaboration problems in an online collaborative learning environment. An intelligent grouping…

Functional imaging of hippocampal place cells at cellular resolution during virtual navigation

PubMed Central

Dombeck, Daniel A.; Harvey, Christopher D.; Tian, Lin; Looger, Loren L.; Tank, David W.

2010-01-01

Spatial navigation is a widely employed behavior in rodent studies of neuronal circuits underlying cognition, learning and memory. In vivo microscopy combined with genetically-encoded indicators provides important new tools to study neuronal circuits, but has been technically difficult to apply during navigation. We describe methods to image the activity of hippocampal CA1 neurons with sub-cellular resolution in behaving mice. Neurons expressing the genetically encoded calcium indicator GCaMP3 were imaged through a chronic hippocampal window. Head-fixed mice performed spatial behaviors within a setup combining a virtual reality system and a custom built two-photon microscope. Populations of place cells were optically identified, and the correlation between the location of their place fields in the virtual environment and their anatomical location in the local circuit was measured. The combination of virtual reality and high-resolution functional imaging should allow for a new generation of studies to probe neuronal circuit dynamics during behavior. PMID:20890294

Learning with Collaborative Inquiry: A Science Learning Environment for Secondary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Daner; Looi, Chee-Kit; Xie, Wenting

2017-01-01

When inquiry-based learning is designed for a collaborative context, the interactions that arise in the learning environment can become fairly complex. While the learning effectiveness of such learning environments has been reported in the literature, there have been fewer studies on the students' learning processes. To address this, the article…

A case study analysing the process of analogy-based learning in a teaching unit about simple electric circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paatz, Roland; Ryder, James; Schwedes, Hannelore; Scott, Philip

2004-09-01

The purpose of this case study is to analyse the learning processes of a 16-year-old student as she learns about simple electric circuits in response to an analogy-based teaching sequence. Analogical thinking processes are modelled by a sequence of four steps according to Gentner's structure mapping theory (activate base domain, postulate local matches, connect them to a global match, draw candidate inferences). We consider whether Gentner's theory can be used to account for the details of this specific teaching/learning context. The case study involved video-taping teaching and learning activities in a 10th-grade high school course in Germany. Teaching used water flow through pipes as an analogy for electrical circuits. Using Gentner's theory, relational nets were created from the student's statements at different stages of her learning. Overall, these nets reflect the four steps outlined earlier. We also consider to what extent the learning processes revealed by this case study are different from previous analyses of contexts in which no analogical knowledge is available.

Using Inquiry-Based Instruction for Teaching Science to Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydeniz, Mehmet; Cihak, David F.; Graham, Shannon C.; Retinger, Larryn

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of inquiry-based science instruction for five elementary students with learning disabilities (LD). Students participated in a series of inquiry-based activities targeting conceptual and application-based understanding of simple electric circuits, conductors and insulators, parallel circuits, and…

Pavlovian Conditioning of "Hermissenda": Current Cellular, Molecular, and Circuit Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crow, Terry

2004-01-01

The less-complex central nervous system of many invertebrates make them attractive for not only the molecular analysis of the associative learning and memory, but also in determining how neural circuits are modified by learning to generate changes in behavior. The nudibranch mollusk "Hermissenda crassicornis" is a preparation that has contributed…

Group Modeling in Social Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stankov, Slavomir; Glavinic, Vlado; Krpan, Divna

2012-01-01

Students' collaboration while learning could provide better learning environments. Collaboration assumes social interactions which occur in student groups. Social theories emphasize positive influence of such interactions on learning. In order to create an appropriate learning environment that enables social interactions, it is important to…

Co-Regulation of Learning in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Environments: A Discussion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Carol K. K.

2012-01-01

This discussion paper for this special issue examines co-regulation of learning in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments extending research on self-regulated learning in computer-based environments. The discussion employs a socio-cognitive perspective focusing on social and collective views of learning to examine how…

Facilitative Components of Collaborative Learning: A Review of Nine Health Research Networks

PubMed Central

Rittner, Jessica Levin; Johnson, Karin E.; Gerteis, Jessie; Miller, Therese

2017-01-01

Objective: Collaborative research networks are increasingly used as an effective mechanism for accelerating knowledge transfer into policy and practice. This paper explored the characteristics and collaborative learning approaches of nine health research networks. Data sources/study setting: Semi-structured interviews with representatives from eight diverse US health services research networks conducted between November 2012 and January 2013 and program evaluation data from a ninth. Study design: The qualitative analysis assessed each network's purpose, duration, funding sources, governance structure, methods used to foster collaboration, and barriers and facilitators to collaborative learning. Data collection: The authors reviewed detailed notes from the interviews to distill salient themes. Principal findings: Face-to-face meetings, intentional facilitation and communication, shared vision, trust among members and willingness to work together were key facilitators of collaborative learning. Competing priorities for members, limited funding and lack of long-term support and geographic dispersion were the main barriers to coordination and collaboration across research network members. Conclusion: The findings illustrate the importance of collaborative learning in research networks and the challenges to evaluating the success of research network functionality. Conducting readiness assessments and developing process and outcome evaluation metrics will advance the design and show the impact of collaborative research networks. PMID:28277202

Collaborative Dialogue in Learning Pragmatics: Pragmatic-Related Episodes as an Opportunity for Learning Request-Making

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taguchi, Naoko; Kim, Youjin

2016-01-01

This study examined the effects of collaborative dialogue in learning the speech act of request. Seventy-four second-grade girls' junior high students were divided into three groups. The "collaborative group" (n = 25) received explicit metapragmatic information on request (request head act and modifications) followed by a dialogue…

Intellectual and Physical Shared Workspace: Professional Learning Communities and the Collaborative Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carpenter, Daniel

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore shared workspace and professional learning community (PLC) interactions in schools. The collaborative culture and PLCs were parts of the school culture. The collaborative culture of each school was designed to ensure teachers share intellectual and physical contributions in learning to investigate…

Collaborative Inquiry and the Shared Workspace of Professional Learning Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carpenter, Daniel

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore educator collaborative inquiry in the shared workspace in professional learning communities (PLCs). Specifically, this investigation was part of an ongoing investigation of well-established PLC collaborative interactions and self-directed learning of educators as part of the shared workspace as a…

The Impact of Integrated Coaching and Collaboration within an Inquiry Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dragon, Toby

2013-01-01

This thesis explores the design and evaluation of a collaborative, inquiry learning Intelligent Tutoring System for ill-defined problem spaces. The common ground in the fields of Artificial Intelligence in Education and Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning is investigated to identify ways in which tutoring systems can employ both automated…

Focus on Collaborative Learning. Classroom Practices in Teaching English, 1988.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golub, Jeff; And Others

Written by English teachers considered successful in directing collaborative learning, this collection of essays focuses on the effective use of collaborative learning in the English language arts classroom. The essays and their authors are, as follows: (1) "None of Us Is as Smart as All of Us" (Dana Herreman); (2) "Collaborative…

Adaptive Synchronization of Semantically Compressed Instructional Videos for Collaborative Distance Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phung, Dan; Valetto, Giuseppe; Kaiser, Gail E.; Liu, Tiecheng; Kender, John R.

2007-01-01

The increasing popularity of online courses has highlighted the need for collaborative learning tools for student groups. In this article, we present an e-Learning architecture and adaptation model called AI2TV (Adaptive Interactive Internet Team Video), which allows groups of students to collaboratively view instructional videos in synchrony.…

Comparison of 1:1 and 1:m CSCL Environment for Collaborative Concept Mapping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, C.-P.; Wong, L.-H.; Shao, Y.-J.

2012-01-01

This paper reports an investigation into the effects of collaborative concept mapping in a digital learning environment, in terms of students' overall learning gains, knowledge retention, quality of student artefacts (the collaboratively created concept maps), interactive patterns, and learning perceptions. Sixty-four 12-year-old students from two…

Implementing Collaborative Learning across the Engineering Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ralston, Patricia A. S.; Tretter, Thomas R.; Kendall-Brown, Marie

2017-01-01

Active and collaborative teaching methods increase student learning, and it is broadly accepted that almost any active or collaborative approach will improve learning outcomes as compared to lecture. Yet, large numbers of faculty have not embraced these methods. Thus, the challenge to encourage evidence-based change in teaching is not only how to…

Enhancing Integrative Motivation: The Japanese-American Collaborative Learning Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kato, Fumie

2016-01-01

The Collaborative Learning Project is a language exchange program in which American and Japanese university students have the opportunity to interact with native speakers over the course of a three-week period. This paper reports the outcomes of the Collaborative Learning Project in terms of its effectiveness in fulfilling student expectations and…

Enhancing Socially Shared Regulation in Collaborative Learning Groups: Designing for CSCL Regulation Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Järvelä, Sanna; Kirschner, Paul A.; Panadero, Ernesto; Malmberg, Jonna; Phielix, Chris; Jaspers, Jos; Koivuniemi, Marika; Järvenoja, Hanna

2015-01-01

For effective computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL), socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL) is necessary. To this end, this article extends the idea first posited by Järvelä and Hadwin ("Educ Psychol" 48(1):25-39, 2013) that successful collaboration in CSCL contexts requires targeted support for promoting individual…

How Can Teachers' Entrepreneurial Competences Be Developed? A Collaborative Learning Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peltonen, Katariina

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of collaborative learning in the development of teachers' entrepreneurial competences in the school context at primary, secondary and vocational levels of education. Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on an interpretative and collaborative learning approach to teachers'…

Fostering Collaborative Learning in Second Life: Metaphors and Affordances

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andreas, Konstantinidis; Tsiatsos, Thrasyvoulos; Terzidou, Theodouli; Pomportsis, Andreas

2010-01-01

In this paper we examine the transferability of the Jigsaw and Fishbowl collaborative learning techniques to the Second Life platform. Our aim is to assess the applicability of Second Life for collaborative learning by developing virtual tools and metaphors and exploiting the representational richness of this novel medium. In order to enhance the…

Different Futures of Adaptive Collaborative Learning Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rummel, Nikol; Walker, Erin; Aleven, Vincent

2016-01-01

In this position paper we contrast a Dystopian view of the future of adaptive collaborative learning support (ACLS) with a Utopian scenario that--due to better-designed technology, grounded in research--avoids the pitfalls of the Dystopian version and paints a positive picture of the practice of computer-supported collaborative learning 25 years…

Preparing Graduates for Work in the Creative Industries: A Collaborative Learning Approach for Design Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turnbull, Morag; Littlejohn, Allison; Allan, Malcolm

2012-01-01

Interest in the use of collaborative learning strategies in higher education is growing as educators seek better ways to prepare students for the workplace. In design education, teamwork and creativity are particularly valued; successful collaborative learning depends on knowledge sharing between students, and there is increasing recognition that…

Internal and External Regulation to Support Knowledge Construction and Convergence in Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romero, Margarida; Lambropoulos, Niki

2011-01-01

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) activities aim to promote collaborative knowledge construction and convergence. During the CSCL activity, the students should regulate their learning activity, at the individual and collective level. This implies an organisation cost related to the coordination of the activity with the team-mates…

Collaborative Annotation System Environment (CASE) for Online Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glover, Ian; Hardaker, Glenn; Xu, Zhijie

2004-01-01

This paper outlines the design and development process of an online annotation system and how it is applied to the sphere of collaborative online learning. The architecture and design of the annotation system, illustrated in this paper, have been developed to enrich collaborative learning content through adding a layer of information in online…

Unpacking "Active Learning": A Combination of Flipped Classroom and Collaboration Support Is More Effective but Collaboration Support Alone Is Not

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rau, Martina A.; Kennedy, Kristopher; Oxtoby, Lucas; Bollom, Mark; Moore, John W.

2017-01-01

Much evidence shows that instruction that actively engages students with learning materials is more effective than traditional, lecture-centric instruction. These "active learning" models comprise an extremely heterogeneous set of instructional methods: they often include collaborative activities, flipped classrooms, or a combination of…

Exploratory Talk in the Early Years: Analysing Exploratory Talk in Collaborative Group Activities Involving Younger Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patterson, Eira Wyn

2018-01-01

Collaborative group work has the potential for providing rich opportunities for children to learn through talk with peers; however, in practice, little effective engagement in learning is observed within authentic learning contexts. Exploratory talk is associated with high levels of cognitive challenge within collaborative group work. Detailed…

Student Team Achievement Divisions (STAD) Technique through the Moodle to Enhance Learning Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tiantong, Monchai; Teemuangsai, Sanit

2013-01-01

One of the benefits of using collaborative learning is enhancing learning achievement and increasing social skills, and the second benefits is as the more students work together in collaborative groups, the more they understand, retain, and feel better about themselves and their peers, moreover working together in a collaborative environment…

Using Five Stage Model to Design of Collaborative Learning Environments in Second Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orhan, Sevil; Karaman, M. Kemal

2014-01-01

Specifically Second Life (SL) among virtual worlds draws attention of researchers to form collaborative learning environments (Sutcliffe & Alrayes, 2012) since it could be used as a rich platform to simulate a real environment containing many collaborative learning characteristics and interaction tools within itself. Five Stage Model (FSM)…

The importance of social and collaborative learning for online continuing medical education (OCME): directions for future development and research.

PubMed

Sandars, John; Kokotailo, Patricia; Singh, Gurmit

2012-01-01

There is an increasing use of online continuing medical education (OCME), but the potential use of social and collaborative learning to change professional performance and improve patient care has yet to be fully realised. The integration of the main themes from the presentations and comments from participants at a symposium at AMEE 2011. Sociological perspectives on change in professional performance highlight the need for social and collaborative learning in OCME so that learners can share information (explicit knowledge) and opinion (tacit knowledge). The educational topic should be relevant to the complexity of professional practice and use iterative cycles of implementation and critical reflection in social networks so that proposed solutions can be tested in actual practice. The challenge of developing effective online discussions for collaborative learning is recognised. The provision of OCME requires a shift in both policy and practice to emphasise the importance of social and collaborative learning. Further research is recommended, especially to evaluate the implementation and impact of social and collaborative learning for OCME on patient care and the use of newer Web 2.0 approaches.

Effective collaborative learning in biomedical education using a web-based infrastructure.

PubMed

Wu, Yunfeng; Zheng, Fang; Cai, Suxian; Xiang, Ning; Zhong, Zhangting; He, Jia; Xu, Fang

2012-01-01

This paper presents a feature-rich web-based system used for biomedical education at the undergraduate level. With the powerful groupware features provided by the wiki system, the instructors are able to establish a community-centered mentoring environment that capitalizes on local expertise to create a sense of online collaborative learning among students. The web-based infrastructure can help the instructors effectively organize and coordinate student research projects, and the groupware features may support the interactive activities, such as interpersonal communications and data sharing. The groupware features also provide the web-based system with a wide range of additional ways of organizing collaboratively developed materials, which makes it become an effective tool for online active learning. Students are able to learn the ability to work effectively in teams, with an improvement of project management, design collaboration, and technical writing skills. With the fruitful outcomes in recent years, it is positively thought that the web-based collaborative learning environment can perform an excellent shift away from the conventional instructor-centered teaching to community- centered collaborative learning in the undergraduate education.

Culture-Aware Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Economides, Anastasios A.

2008-01-01

Purpose: In a collaborative learning environment there will be many learners with diverse cultures. These learners should be supported to communicate and collaborate among themselves. The variety of the communication and collaboration tools and modes available to each learner would depend on his/her personal cultural background. The purpose of…

Understanding Nomadic Collaborative Learning Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryberg, Thomas; Davidsen, Jacob; Hodgson, Vivien

2018-01-01

The paper builds on the work of Rossitto "et al." on collaborative nomadic work to develop three categories of practice of nomadic collaborative learning groups. Our study is based on interviews, workshops and observations of two undergraduate student's group practices engaged in self-organised, long-term collaborations within the frame…

The Elusive Search for Teacher Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glazier, Jocelyn A.; Boyd, Ashley; Bell Hughes, Kristen; Able, Harriet; Mallous, Ritsa

2017-01-01

Collaboration is a well-used term in the field of education, identified as promising practice for student learning and teaching learning alike. However, collaboration comes in different shapes and sizes, leading to radically different ends. The authors examine teachers' own understandings and practices of collaboration with teacher colleagues…

Supporting Mobile Collaborative Activities through Scaffolded Flexible Grouping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boticki, Ivica; Looi, Chee-Kit; Wong, Lung-Hsiang

2011-01-01

Within the field of Mobile Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (mCSCL), we are interested in exploring the space of collaborative activities that enable students to practice communication, negotiation and decision-making skills. Collaboration is via learning activities that circumvent the constraints of fixed seating or locations of…

A reconfigurable on-line learning spiking neuromorphic processor comprising 256 neurons and 128K synapses

PubMed Central

Qiao, Ning; Mostafa, Hesham; Corradi, Federico; Osswald, Marc; Stefanini, Fabio; Sumislawska, Dora; Indiveri, Giacomo

2015-01-01

Implementing compact, low-power artificial neural processing systems with real-time on-line learning abilities is still an open challenge. In this paper we present a full-custom mixed-signal VLSI device with neuromorphic learning circuits that emulate the biophysics of real spiking neurons and dynamic synapses for exploring the properties of computational neuroscience models and for building brain-inspired computing systems. The proposed architecture allows the on-chip configuration of a wide range of network connectivities, including recurrent and deep networks, with short-term and long-term plasticity. The device comprises 128 K analog synapse and 256 neuron circuits with biologically plausible dynamics and bi-stable spike-based plasticity mechanisms that endow it with on-line learning abilities. In addition to the analog circuits, the device comprises also asynchronous digital logic circuits for setting different synapse and neuron properties as well as different network configurations. This prototype device, fabricated using a 180 nm 1P6M CMOS process, occupies an area of 51.4 mm2, and consumes approximately 4 mW for typical experiments, for example involving attractor networks. Here we describe the details of the overall architecture and of the individual circuits and present experimental results that showcase its potential. By supporting a wide range of cortical-like computational modules comprising plasticity mechanisms, this device will enable the realization of intelligent autonomous systems with on-line learning capabilities. PMID:25972778

The effectiveness of integration of virtual patients in a collaborative learning activity.

PubMed

Marei, Hesham F; Donkers, Jeroen; Van Merrienboer, Jeroen J G

2018-05-07

Virtual patients (VPs) have been recently integrated within different learning activities. To compare between the effect of using VPs in a collaborative learning activity and using VPs in an independent learning activity on students' knowledge acquisition, retention and transfer. For two different topics, respectively 82 and 76 dental students participated in teaching, learning and assessment sessions with VPs. Students from a female campus and from a male campus have been randomly assigned to condition (collaborative and independent), yielding four experimental groups. Each group received a lecture followed by a learning session using two VPs per topic. Students were administrated immediate and delayed written tests as well as transfer tests using two VPs to assess their knowledge in diagnosis and treatment. For the treatment items of the immediate and delayed written tests, females outperformed males in the collaborative VP group but not in the independent VP group. On the female campus, the use of VPs in a collaborative learning activity is more effective than its use as an independent learning activity in enhancing students' knowledge acquisition and retention. However, the collaborative use of VPs by itself is not enough to produce consistent results across different groups of students and attention should be given to all the factors that would affect students' interaction.

Finnish upper secondary students' collaborative processes in learning statistics in a CSCL environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaleva Oikarinen, Juho; Järvelä, Sanna; Kaasila, Raimo

2014-04-01

This design-based research project focuses on documenting statistical learning among 16-17-year-old Finnish upper secondary school students (N = 78) in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. One novel value of this study is in reporting the shift from teacher-led mathematical teaching to autonomous small-group learning in statistics. The main aim of this study is to examine how student collaboration occurs in learning statistics in a CSCL environment. The data include material from videotaped classroom observations and the researcher's notes. In this paper, the inter-subjective phenomena of students' interactions in a CSCL environment are analysed by using a contact summary sheet (CSS). The development of the multi-dimensional coding procedure of the CSS instrument is presented. Aptly selected video episodes were transcribed and coded in terms of conversational acts, which were divided into non-task-related and task-related categories to depict students' levels of collaboration. The results show that collaborative learning (CL) can facilitate cohesion and responsibility and reduce students' feelings of detachment in our classless, periodic school system. The interactive .pdf material and collaboration in small groups enable statistical learning. It is concluded that CSCL is one possible method of promoting statistical teaching. CL using interactive materials seems to foster and facilitate statistical learning processes.

The Nature of Social Practice among School Professionals: Consequences of the Academic Pressure Exerted by Teachers in Their Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christophersen, Knut-Andreas; Elstad, Eyvind; Turmo, Are

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to measure teachers' views about trust between teachers, trust between the principal and teachers, peer collaboration, positive attitudes towards the school and how these antecedents influence the academic pressure teachers put on pupils with respect to learning and learning intensity and performance. The methodology…

Olfactory Cued Learning Paradigm.

PubMed

Liu, Gary; McClard, Cynthia K; Tepe, Burak; Swanson, Jessica; Pekarek, Brandon; Panneerselvam, Sugi; Arenkiel, Benjamin R

2017-05-05

Sensory stimulation leads to structural changes within the CNS (Central Nervous System), thus providing the fundamental mechanism for learning and memory. The olfactory circuit offers a unique model for studying experience-dependent plasticity, partly due to a continuous supply of integrating adult born neurons. Our lab has recently implemented an olfactory cued learning paradigm in which specific odor pairs are coupled to either a reward or punishment to study downstream circuit changes. The following protocol outlines the basic set up for our learning paradigm. Here, we describe the equipment setup, programming of software, and method of behavioral training.

Basic Guidelines to Introduce Electric Circuit Simulation Software in a General Physics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moya, A. A.

2018-01-01

The introduction of electric circuit simulation software for undergraduate students in a general physics course is proposed in order to contribute to the constructive learning of electric circuit theory. This work focuses on the lab exercises based on dc, transient and ac analysis in electric circuits found in introductory physics courses, and…

A Web-Based Synchronous Collaborative Review Tool: A Case Study of an On-Line Graduate Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serce, Fatma Cemile; Yildirim, Soner

2006-01-01

On-line collaboration is an instructional method that facilitates collaboration in an on-line learning setting. To promote effective collaboration, it is vital to reveal both the student's and the instructor's point of view pertaining to effective on-line collaboration. In this study, the effectiveness of a learning management system in on-line…

Communication, Collaboration, and Enhancing the Learning Experience: Developing a Collaborative Virtual Enquiry Service in University Libraries in the North of England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jolly, Liz; White, Sue

2016-01-01

This article uses the case study of developing a collaborative "out-of-hours" virtual enquiry service by members of the Northern Collaboration Group of academic libraries in the north of England to explore the importance of communication and collaboration between academic library services in enhancing student learning. Set within the…

Experiential Collaborative Learning and Preferential Thinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volpentesta, Antonio P.; Ammirato, Salvatore; Sofo, Francesco

The paper presents a Project-Based Learning (shortly, PBL) approach in a collaborative educational environment aimed to develop design ability and creativity of students coming from different engineering disciplines. Three collaborative learning experiences in product design were conducted in order to study their impact on preferred thinking styles of students. Using a thinking style inventory, pre- and post-survey data was collected and successively analyzed through ANOVA techniques. Statistically significant results showed students successfully developed empathy and an openness to multiple perspectives. Furthermore, data analysis confirms that the proposed collaborative learning experience positively contributes to increase awareness in students' thinking styles.

Collaborative Rhetorical Structure: A Discourse Analysis Method for Analyzing Student Collaborative Inquiry via Computer Conferencing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kou, Xiaojing

2011-01-01

Various formats of online discussion have proven valuable for enhancing learning and collaboration in distance and blended learning contexts. However, despite their capacity to reveal essential processes in collaborative inquiry, current mainstream analytical frameworks, such as the cognitive presence framework (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer,…

Using Intelligent Tutor Technology to Implement Adaptive Support for Student Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diziol, Dejana; Walker, Erin; Rummel, Nikol; Koedinger, Kenneth R.

2010-01-01

Research on computer-supported collaborative learning has shown that students need support to benefit from collaborative activities. While classical collaboration scripts have been effective in providing such support, they have also been criticized for being coercive and not allowing students to self-regulate their learning. Adaptive collaboration…

Improving Virtual Collaborative Learning through Canonical Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Peter; Lehr, Christian; Gersch, Martin

2014-01-01

Virtual collaboration continues to gain in significance and is attracting attention also as virtual collaborative learning (VCL) in education. This paper addresses aspects of VCL that we identified as critical in a series of courses named "Net Economy": (1) technical infrastructure, (2) motivation and collaboration, and (3) assessment…

Collaborative learning in gerontological clinical settings: The students' perspective.

PubMed

Suikkala, Arja; Kivelä, Eeva; Käyhkö, Pirjo

2016-03-01

This study deals with student nurses' experiences of collaborative learning in gerontological clinical settings where aged people are involved as age-experts in students' learning processes. The data were collected in 2012 using the contents of students' reflective writing assignments concerning elderly persons' life history interviews and the students' own assessments of their learning experiences in authentic elder care settings. The results, analyzed using qualitative content analysis, revealed mostly positive learning experiences. Interaction and collaborative learning activities in genuine gerontological clinical settings contributed to the students' understanding of the multiple age-related and disease-specific challenges as well as the issues of functional decline that aged patients face. Three types of factors influenced the students' collaborative learning experiences in gerontological clinical settings: student-related, patient-related and learning environment-related factors. According to the results, theoretical studies in combination with collaboration, in an authentic clinical environment, by student nurses, elderly patients, representatives of the elder care staff and nurse educators provide a feasible method for helping students transform their experiences with patients into actual skills. Their awareness of and sensitivity to the needs of the elderly increase as they learn. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mountain Plains Learning Experience Guide: Radio and T.V. Repair. Course: D.C. Circuits.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoggatt, P.; And Others

One of four individualized courses included in a radio and television repair curriculum, this course deals with the basic electrical properties of current, voltage, resistance, magnetism, mutual induction, and capacitance. The course is comprised of ten units: (1) Current, (2) Voltage, (3) Resistance, (4) Measuring Voltage and Current in Series…

The Relationships among Group Size, Participation, and Performance of Programming Language Learning Supported with Online Forums

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Ruey-Shiang

2013-01-01

This study examined the relationships among group size, participation, and learning performance factors when learning a programming language in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) context. An online forum was used as the CSCL environment for learning the Microsoft ASP.NET programming language. The collaborative-learning experiment…

Learning through Blogging: Students' Perspectives in Collaborative Blog-Enhanced Learning Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuo, Yu-Chun; Belland, Brian R.; Kuo, Yu-Tung

2017-01-01

This study employed a mixed method approach to investigate the relationships between learners' blogging self-efficacy, sense of community, perceived collaborative learning, and perceived learning in classroom environments. Learners' perspectives of group learning experiences in blog-enhanced settings were examined. Participants were minority adult…

Socially Constructed Self-Regulated Learning and Motivation Regulation in Collaborative Learning Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarvela, Sanna; Jarvenoja, Hanna

2011-01-01

Background/Context: Most of the earlier empirical findings deal with motivation regulation in individual learning situations. This study identifies higher education students' socially constructed motivation regulation in collaborative learning and stresses that regulation of motivation is crucial in socially self-regulated learning because…

How Big is Earth?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thurber, Bonnie B.

2015-08-01

How Big is Earth celebrates the Year of Light. Using only the sunlight striking the Earth and a wooden dowel, students meet each other and then measure the circumference of the earth. Eratosthenes did it over 2,000 years ago. In Cosmos, Carl Sagan shared the process by which Eratosthenes measured the angle of the shadow cast at local noon when sunlight strikes a stick positioned perpendicular to the ground. By comparing his measurement to another made a distance away, Eratosthenes was able to calculate the circumference of the earth. How Big is Earth provides an online learning environment where students do science the same way Eratosthenes did. A notable project in which this was done was The Eratosthenes Project, conducted in 2005 as part of the World Year of Physics; in fact, we will be drawing on the teacher's guide developed by that project.How Big Is Earth? expands on the Eratosthenes project by providing an online learning environment provided by the iCollaboratory, www.icollaboratory.org, where teachers and students from Sweden, China, Nepal, Russia, Morocco, and the United States collaborate, share data, and reflect on their learning of science and astronomy. They are sharing their information and discussing their ideas/brainstorming the solutions in a discussion forum. There is an ongoing database of student measurements and another database to collect data on both teacher and student learning from surveys, discussions, and self-reflection done online.We will share our research about the kinds of learning that takes place only in global collaborations.The entrance address for the iCollaboratory is http://www.icollaboratory.org.

Scalability issues in evolutionary synthesis of electronic circuits: lessons learned and challenges ahead

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoica, A.; Keymeulen, D.; Zebulum, R. S.; Ferguson, M. I.

2003-01-01

This paper describes scalability issues of evolutionary-driven automatic synthesis of electronic circuits. The article begins by reviewing the concepts of circuit evolution and discussing the limitations of this technique when trying to achieve more complex systems.

The Efficacy of Three Learning Methods Collaborative, Context-Based Learning and Traditional, on Learning, Attitude and Behaviour of Undergraduate Nursing Students: Integrating Theory and Practice

PubMed Central

Hasanpour-Dehkordi, Ali

2016-01-01

Introduction Communication skills training, responsibility, respect, and self-awareness are important indexes of changing learning behaviours in modern approaches. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of three learning approaches, collaborative, context-based learning (CBL), and traditional, on learning, attitude, and behaviour of undergraduate nursing students. Materials and Methods This study was a clinical trial with pretest and post-test of control group. The participants were senior nursing students. The samples were randomly assigned to three groups; CBL, collaborative, and traditional. To gather data a standard questionnaire of students’ behaviour and attitude was administered prior to and after the intervention. Also, the rate of learning was investigated by a researcher-developed questionnaire prior to and after the intervention in the three groups. Results In CBL and collaborative training groups, the mean score of behaviour and attitude increased after the intervention. But no significant association was obtained between the mean scores of behaviour and attitude prior to and after the intervention in the traditional group. However, the mean learning score increased significantly in the CBL, collaborative, and traditional groups after the study in comparison to before the study. Conclusion Both CBL and collaborative approaches were useful in terms of increased respect, self-awareness, self-evaluation, communication skills and responsibility as well as increased motivation and learning score in comparison to traditional method. PMID:27190926

Detecting and Understanding the Impact of Cognitive and Interpersonal Conflict in Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prata, David Nadler; Baker, Ryan S. J. d.; Costa, Evandro d. B.; Rose, Carolyn P.; Cui, Yue; de Carvalho, Adriana M. J. B.

2009-01-01

This paper presents a model which can automatically detect a variety of student speech acts as students collaborate within a computer supported collaborative learning environment. In addition, an analysis is presented which gives substantial insight as to how students' learning is associated with students' speech acts, knowledge that will…

Collaborative Learning with Screen-Based Simulation in Health Care Education: An Empirical Study of Collaborative Patterns and Proficiency Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, L. O.; Soderstrom, T.; Ahlqvist, J.; Nilsson, T.

2011-01-01

This article is about collaborative learning with educational computer-assisted simulation (ECAS) in health care education. Previous research on training with a radiological virtual reality simulator has indicated positive effects on learning when compared to a more conventional alternative. Drawing upon the field of Computer-Supported…

Collaborating to Learn Computer Technology: A Challenge for Teachers and Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collinson, Vivienne; Cook, Tanya Fedoruk

2004-01-01

Although teacher learning and collaboration are repeatedly linked to school improvement, surprisingly little is known about the facet of collaboration involving the dissemination or sharing of teacher knowledge; that is, what teachers share, why and with whom they share it, or how and when they share what they have learned. This article describes…

Teacher Competencies for the Implementation of Collaborative Learning in the Classroom: A Framework and Research Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaendler, Celia; Wiedmann, Michael; Rummel, Nikol; Spada, Hans

2015-01-01

This article describes teacher competencies for implementing collaborative learning in the classroom. Research has shown that the effectiveness of collaborative learning largely depends on the quality of student interaction. We therefore focus on what a "teacher" can do to foster student interaction. First, we present a framework that…

Collaborative Learning in the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence: The Challenges of Assessment and Potential of Multi-Touch Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKechan, Sandra; Ellis, Jennifer

2014-01-01

Scottish educational policy advocates the benefits of collaborative learning as a way of developing critical life skills, across the primary curriculum. In this paper, the rationale for collaborative learning, and specifically the Critical Skills (CS) approach, is considered along with an account of the perspectives of primary teachers…

Technology Trends in Mobile Computer Supported Collaborative Learning in Elementary Education from 2009 to 2014

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carapina, Mia; Boticki, Ivica

2015-01-01

This paper analyses mobile computer supported collaborative learning in elementary education worldwide focusing on technology trends for the period from 2009 to 2014. The results present representation of device types used to support collaborative activities, their distribution per users (1:1 or 1:m) and if students are learning through or around…

Collaborative Multimedia Learning: Influence of a Social Regulatory Support on Learning Performance and on Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acuña, Santiago Roger; López-Aymes, Gabriela

2016-01-01

This paper analyzes the effects of a support aimed at favoring the social regulatory processes in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment, specifically in a comprehension task of a multimedia text about Psychology of Communication. This support, named RIDE (Saab, van Joolingen, & van Hout-Wolters, 2007; 2012), consists…

Collaborative Learning Environments: Exploring Student Attitudes and Satisfaction in Face-to-Face and Asynchronous Computer Conferencing Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ocker, Rosalie J.; Yaverbaum, Gayle J.

2004-01-01

Although collaborative learning techniques have been shown to enhance the learning experience, it is difficult to incorporate these concepts into courses without requiring students to collaborate outside of class. There is an ever increasing number of nontraditional university students who find it difficult to schedule the necessary meetings with…

Teachers' Attitudes to and Beliefs about Web-Based Collaborative Learning Environments in the Context of an International Implementation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kollias, V.; Mamalougos, N.; Vamvakoussi, X.; Lakkala, M.; Vosniadou, S.

2005-01-01

Fifty-six teachers, from four European countries, were interviewed to ascertain their attitudes to and beliefs about the Collaborative Learning Environments (CLEs) which were designed under the Innovative Technologies for Collaborative Learning Project. Their responses were analysed using categories based on a model from cultural-historical…

Instructional Theory for Using a Class Wiki to Support Collaborative Learning in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Chun-Yi

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop an instructional theory for using a class wiki to support collaborative learning in higher education. Although wikis have been identified in theory as one of the most powerful emerging technologies to support collaborative learning, challenges have been revealed in a number of studies regarding student…

Transforming Primary Care Practice and Education: Lessons From 6 Academic Learning Collaboratives.

PubMed

Koch, Ursula; Bitton, Asaf; Landon, Bruce E; Phillips, Russell S

Adoption of new primary care models has been slow in academic teaching practices. We describe a common framework that academic learning collaboratives are using to transform primary care practice based on our analysis of 6 collaboratives nationally. We show that the work of the collaboratives could be divided into 3 phases and provide detail on the phases of work and a road map for those who seek to emulate this work. We found that learning collaboratives foster transformation, even in complex academic practices, but need specific support adapted to their unique challenges.

A Multiple-Sessions Interactive Computer-Based Learning Tool for Ability Cultivation in Circuit Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Q.; Lai, L. L.; Tse, N. C. F.; Ichiyanagi, K.

2011-01-01

An interactive computer-based learning tool with multiple sessions is proposed in this paper, which teaches students to think and helps them recognize the merits and limitations of simulation tools so as to improve their practical abilities in electrical circuit simulation based on the case of a power converter with progressive problems. The…

Team-based learning for midwifery education.

PubMed

Moore-Davis, Tonia L; Schorn, Mavis N; Collins, Michelle R; Phillippi, Julia; Holley, Sharon

2015-01-01

Many US health care and education stakeholder groups, recognizing the need to prepare learners for collaborative practice in complex care environments, have called for innovative approaches in health care education. Team-based learning is an educational method that relies on in-depth student preparation prior to class, individual and team knowledge assessment, and use of small-group learning to apply knowledge to complex scenarios. Although team-based learning has been studied as an approach to health care education, its application to midwifery education is not well described. A master's-level, nurse-midwifery, didactic antepartum course was revised to a team-based learning format. Student grades, course evaluations, and aggregate American Midwifery Certification Board examination pass rates for 3 student cohorts participating in the team-based course were compared with 3 student cohorts receiving traditional, lecture-based instruction. Students had mixed responses to the team-based learning format. Student evaluations improved when faculty added recorded lectures as part of student preclass preparation. Statistical comparisons were limited by variations across cohorts; however, student grades and certification examination pass rates did not change substantially after the course revision. Although initial course revision was time-consuming for faculty, subsequent iterations of the course required less effort. Team-based learning provides students with more opportunity to interact during on-site classes and may spur application of knowledge into practice. However, it is difficult to assess the effect of the team-based learning approach with current measures. Further research is needed to determine the effects of team-based learning on communication and collaboration skills, as well as long-term performance in clinical practice. This article is part of a special series of articles that address midwifery innovations in clinical practice, education, interprofessional collaboration, health policy, and global health. © 2015 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Causal learning is collaborative: Examining explanation and exploration in social contexts.

PubMed

Legare, Cristine H; Sobel, David M; Callanan, Maureen

2017-10-01

Causal learning in childhood is a dynamic and collaborative process of explanation and exploration within complex physical and social environments. Understanding how children learn causal knowledge requires examining how they update beliefs about the world given novel information and studying the processes by which children learn in collaboration with caregivers, educators, and peers. The objective of this article is to review evidence for how children learn causal knowledge by explaining and exploring in collaboration with others. We review three examples of causal learning in social contexts, which elucidate how interaction with others influences causal learning. First, we consider children's explanation-seeking behaviors in the form of "why" questions. Second, we examine parents' elaboration of meaning about causal relations. Finally, we consider parents' interactive styles with children during free play, which constrains how children explore. We propose that the best way to understand children's causal learning in social context is to combine results from laboratory and natural interactive informal learning environments.

MoLeNET Mobile Learning Conference 2009: Research Papers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guy Parker, Ed.

2010-01-01

The Mobile Learning Network (MoLeNET) is a unique collaborative approach to encouraging, supporting, expanding and promoting mobile learning, primarily in English post-14 education and training, via supported shared cost mobile learning projects. Collaboration at national level involves participating institutions and the Learning and Skills…

Computer Mediated Communication and Student Learning in Large Introductory Sociology Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Eric R.; Lawson, Anthony H.

2005-01-01

Over the past several years, scholars of teaching and learning have demonstrated the potential of collaborative learning strategies for improving student learning. This paper examines the use of computer-mediated communication to promote collaborative student learning in large introductory sociology courses. Specifically, we summarize a project we…

Methodological Reflections: Designing and Understanding Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamalainen, Raija

2012-01-01

Learning involves more than just a small group of participants, which makes designing and managing collaborative learning processes in higher education a challenging task. As a result, emerging concerns in current research have pointed increasingly to teacher orchestrated learning processes in naturalistic learning settings. In line with this…

The Influences of Cognitive Styles on Individual Learning and Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Sherry Y.; Chang, Li-Ping

2016-01-01

Both individual learning (IL) and collaborative learning (CL) provide students with different benefits. However, previous research indicates that cognitive styles affect students' learning preferences. Thus, it is necessary to examine how cognitive styles influence students' reactions to IL and CL. Among various cognitive styles, Pask's…

Measuring Costs to Community-Based Agencies for Implementation of an Evidence-Based Practice.

PubMed

Lang, Jason M; Connell, Christian M

2017-01-01

Healthcare reform has led to an increase in dissemination of evidence-based practices. Cost is frequently cited as a significant yet rarely studied barrier to dissemination of evidence-based practices and the associated improvements in quality of care. This study describes an approach to measuring the incremental, unreimbursed costs in staff time and direct costs to community-based clinics implementing an evidence-based practice through participating in a learning collaborative. Initial implementation costs exceeding those for providing "treatment as usual" were collected for ten clinics implementing trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy through participation in 10-month learning collaboratives. Incremental implementation costs of these ten community-based clinic teams averaged the equivalent of US$89,575 (US$ 2012). The most costly activities were training, supervision, preparation time, and implementation team meetings. Recommendations are made for further research on implementation costs, dissemination of evidence-based practices, and implications for researchers and policy makers.

Fostering Multimedia Learning with Collaborative Concept Mapping: The Effect of Cognitive Aid on Performance and on Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acuña, Santiago Roger; Aymes, Gabriela López; Medrano, Carlos Sergio López

2014-01-01

This paper analyzes the use of collaborative concept maps in multimedia learning tasks. Specifically, the effect of a cognitive aid (providing students a list of main concepts to generate a concept map) on the performance of collaborative concept mapping and on the level of collaboration in this task is discussed. The study was carried out with 57…

Inexpensive robots used to teach dc circuits and electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidebottom, David L.

2017-05-01

This article describes inexpensive, autonomous robots, built without microprocessors, used in a college-level introductory physics laboratory course to motivate student learning of dc circuits. Detailed circuit descriptions are provided as well as a week-by-week course plan that can guide students from elementary dc circuits, through Kirchhoff's laws, and into simple analog integrated circuits with the motivational incentive of building an autonomous robot that can compete with others in a public arena.

Alteration of circadian rhythm during epileptogenesis: implications for the suprachiasmatic nucleus circuits.

PubMed

Xiang, Yan; Li, Zhi-Xiao; Zhang, Ding-Yu; He, Zhi-Gang; Hu, Ji; Xiang, Hong-Bing

2017-01-01

It is important to realize that characterization of the circadian rhythm patterns of seizure occurrence can implicate in diagnosis and treatment of selected types of epilepsy. Evidence suggests a role for the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) circuits in overall circadian rhythm and seizure susceptibility both in animals and humans. Thus, we conclude that SCN circuits may exert modifying effects on circadian rhythmicity and neuronal excitability during epileptogenesis. SCN circuits will be studied in our brain centre and collaborating centres to explore further the interaction between the circadian rhythm and epileptic seizures. More and thorough research is warranted to provide insight into epileptic seizures with circadian disruption comorbidities such as disorders of cardiovascular parameters and core body temperature circadian rhythms.

Professional Learning: A Collaborative Model for Online Teaching and Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowser, Audrey; Davis, Kimberley; Singleton, Jacques; Small, Topeka

2017-01-01

This article examined a unique collaborative initiative between a team of graduate level faculty to improve the quality of course development and delivery using a collaborative review process. The collaborative review of teaching has become a widely accepted means for assuring quality distance learning coursework and for the purpose of evaluating…

A Qualitative Case Study of Teachers' Perceptions of Professional Learning through Mandated Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilt, Barbara C.

2016-01-01

Teacher collaboration is a school improvement priority that has the potential to positively impact student learning by building the capacity of teachers. In some states, teacher collaboration is mandated by legislation. The literature indicates that policy-driven collaboration in a top-down approach results in unintentional consequences and…

Collaboration Levels in Asynchronous Discussion Forums: A Social Network Analysis Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luhrs, Cecilia; McAnally-Salas, Lewis

2016-01-01

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning literature relates high levels of collaboration to enhanced learning outcomes. However, an agreement on what is considered a high level of collaboration is unclear, especially if a qualitative approach is taken. This study describes how methods of Social Network Analysis were used to design a collaboration…

Lives in Context: Facilitating Online, Cross-Course, Collaborative Service Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elwood, Susan A.

2014-01-01

An inquiry-based, cross-course, collaborative structure is being implemented toward a graduate program's goals of using project-based learning as a consistent, core learning experience in each course cycle. This paper focuses upon the course collaborative structure and the two key forms of assessment used in each collaborative cycle: a progressive…

Collaborative Learning in Higher Education: Evoking Positive Interdependence.

PubMed

Scager, Karin; Boonstra, Johannes; Peeters, Ton; Vulperhorst, Jonne; Wiegant, Fred

Collaborative learning is a widely used instructional method, but the learning potential of this instructional method is often underused in practice. Therefore, the importance of various factors underlying effective collaborative learning should be determined. In the current study, five different life sciences undergraduate courses with successful collaborative-learning results were selected. This study focuses on factors that increased the effectiveness of collaboration in these courses, according to the students. Nine focus group interviews were conducted and analyzed. Results show that factors evoking effective collaboration were student autonomy and self-regulatory behavior, combined with a challenging, open, and complex group task that required the students to create something new and original. The design factors of these courses fostered a sense of responsibility and of shared ownership of both the collaborative process and the end product of the group assignment. In addition, students reported the absence of any free riders in these group assignments. Interestingly, it was observed that students seemed to value their sense of achievement, their learning processes, and the products they were working on more than their grades. It is concluded that collaborative learning in higher education should be designed using challenging and relevant tasks that build shared ownership with students. © 2016 K. Scager et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

A Virtual Circuits Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vick, Matthew E.

2010-01-01

The University of Colorado's Physics Education Technology (PhET) website offers free, high-quality simulations of many physics experiments that can be used in the classroom. The Circuit Construction Kit, for example, allows students to safely and constructively play with circuit components while learning the mathematics behind many circuit…

Reconfiguration of parietal circuits with cognitive tutoring in elementary school children

PubMed Central

Jolles, Dietsje; Supekar, Kaustubh; Richardson, Jennifer; Tenison, Caitlin; Ashkenazi, Sarit; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Fuchs, Lynn; Menon, Vinod

2016-01-01

Cognitive development is shaped by brain plasticity during childhood, yet little is known about changes in large-scale functional circuits associated with learning in academically relevant cognitive domains such as mathematics. Here, we investigate plasticity of intrinsic brain circuits associated with one-on-one math tutoring and its relation to individual differences in children’s learning. We focused on functional circuits associated with the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and angular gyrus (AG), cytoarchitectonically distinct subdivisions of the human parietal cortex with different roles in numerical cognition. Tutoring improved performance and strengthened IPS connectivity with the lateral prefrontal cortex, ventral temporal-occipital cortex, and hippocampus. Crucially, increased IPS connectivity was associated with individual performance gains, highlighting the behavioral significance of plasticity in IPS circuits. Tutoring-related changes in IPS connectivity were distinct from those of the adjacent AG, which did not predict performance gains. Our findings provide new insights into plasticity of functional brain circuits associated with the development of specialized cognitive skills in children. PMID:27618765

Reconfiguration of parietal circuits with cognitive tutoring in elementary school children.

PubMed

Jolles, Dietsje; Supekar, Kaustubh; Richardson, Jennifer; Tenison, Caitlin; Ashkenazi, Sarit; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Fuchs, Lynn; Menon, Vinod

2016-10-01

Cognitive development is shaped by brain plasticity during childhood, yet little is known about changes in large-scale functional circuits associated with learning in academically relevant cognitive domains such as mathematics. Here, we investigate plasticity of intrinsic brain circuits associated with one-on-one math tutoring and its relation to individual differences in children's learning. We focused on functional circuits associated with the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and angular gyrus (AG), cytoarchitectonically distinct subdivisions of the human parietal cortex with different roles in numerical cognition. Tutoring improved performance and strengthened IPS connectivity with the lateral prefrontal cortex, ventral temporal-occipital cortex, and hippocampus. Crucially, increased IPS connectivity was associated with individual performance gains, highlighting the behavioral significance of plasticity in IPS circuits. Tutoring-related changes in IPS connectivity were distinct from those of the adjacent AG, which did not predict performance gains. Our findings provide new insights into plasticity of functional brain circuits associated with the development of specialized cognitive skills in children. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Decline in medical students' attitudes to interprofessional learning and patient-centredness.

PubMed

Hudson, Judith N; Lethbridge, Alistair; Vella, Susan; Caputi, Peter

2016-05-01

Interprofessional learning (IPL) is valuable in preparing health care students to work collaboratively in teams, with patients' needs at the core. Patient-centredness is the impetus for communication and collaboration in health care. Debate continues on when it is best to develop positive student attitudes towards these aspects of care. Should IPL commence early before attitudes to patients, professional stereotypes and identity are formed, or later for advanced learners with greater experience of their roles and responsibility in health care? This study explores graduate-entry medical students' attitudes to IPL and patient-centred care, on programme entry and after an early interdisciplinary clinical experience (ICE). An extended version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was administered to four cohorts of medical students (n = 279) on entry and after the 3-week placement. This 26-item RIPLS comprised four subscales: team work and collaboration; professional identity; roles and responsibilities; and patient-centredness. The impact of the placement on students' attitudes was assessed by using repeated measures analysis of variance to compare pre- and post-ICE subscale scores. There were significant main effects of time (pre- versus post-ICE) for the subscales of teamwork and collaboration, professional identity and patient-centredness, but not for roles and responsibilities. Scores for teamwork and collaboration, professional identity and patient-centredness were all lower post-ICE. The students' less positive attitudes to teamwork and collaboration and professional identity may be due to the experience itself, or because it reinforced negative beliefs about the value of learning from non-medical health professionals. Perhaps the students' idealised view of their future role as a doctor was challenged by the experience, or they had an underdeveloped professional identity. Limited student experience of patients having an active role in their own health care may explain the decrease in attitudes to patient-centredness. A longitudinal qualitative study will explore these results. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Determining sociability, social space, and social presence in (a)synchronous collaborative groups.

PubMed

Kreijns, Karel; Kirschner, Paul A; Jochems, Wim; Van Buuren, Hans

2004-04-01

The effectiveness of group learning in asynchronous distributed learning groups depends on the social interaction that takes place. This social interaction affects both cognitive and socioemotional processes that take place during learning, group forming, establishment of group structures, and group dynamics. Though now known to be important, this aspect is often ignored, denied or forgotten by educators and researchers who tend to concentrate on cognitive processes and on-task contexts. This "one-sided" educational focus largely determines the set of requirements in the design of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments resulting in functional CSCL environments. In contrast, our research is aimed at the design and implementation of sociable CSCL environments which may increase the likelihood that a sound social space will emerge. We use a theoretical framework that is based upon an ecological approach to social interaction, centering on the concept of social affordances, the concept of the sociability of CSCL environments, and social presence theory. The hypothesis is that the higher the sociability, the more likely that social interaction will take place or will increase, and the more likely that this will result in an emerging sound social space. In the present research, the variables of interest are sociability, social space, and social presence. This study deals with the construction and validation of three instruments to determine sociability, social space, and social presence in (a)synchronous collaborating groups. The findings suggest that the instruments have potential to be useful as measures for the respective variables. However, it must be realized that these measures are "first steps."

Specialized Motor-Driven dusp1 Expression in the Song Systems of Multiple Lineages of Vocal Learning Birds

PubMed Central

Horita, Haruhito; Kobayashi, Masahiko; Liu, Wan-chun; Oka, Kotaro; Jarvis, Erich D.; Wada, Kazuhiro

2012-01-01

Mechanisms for the evolution of convergent behavioral traits are largely unknown. Vocal learning is one such trait that evolved multiple times and is necessary in humans for the acquisition of spoken language. Among birds, vocal learning is evolved in songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds. Each time similar forebrain song nuclei specialized for vocal learning and production have evolved. This finding led to the hypothesis that the behavioral and neuroanatomical convergences for vocal learning could be associated with molecular convergence. We previously found that the neural activity-induced gene dual specificity phosphatase 1 (dusp1) was up-regulated in non-vocal circuits, specifically in sensory-input neurons of the thalamus and telencephalon; however, dusp1 was not up-regulated in higher order sensory neurons or motor circuits. Here we show that song motor nuclei are an exception to this pattern. The song nuclei of species from all known vocal learning avian lineages showed motor-driven up-regulation of dusp1 expression induced by singing. There was no detectable motor-driven dusp1 expression throughout the rest of the forebrain after non-vocal motor performance. This pattern contrasts with expression of the commonly studied activity-induced gene egr1, which shows motor-driven expression in song nuclei induced by singing, but also motor-driven expression in adjacent brain regions after non-vocal motor behaviors. In the vocal non-learning avian species, we found no detectable vocalizing-driven dusp1 expression in the forebrain. These findings suggest that independent evolutions of neural systems for vocal learning were accompanied by selection for specialized motor-driven expression of the dusp1 gene in those circuits. This specialized expression of dusp1 could potentially lead to differential regulation of dusp1-modulated molecular cascades in vocal learning circuits. PMID:22876306

Using Social Networking Environments to Support Collaborative Learning in a Chinese University Class: Interaction Pattern and Influencing Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lu, Jie; Churchill, Daniel

2014-01-01

This paper reports a study that investigated the social interaction pattern of collaborative learning and the factors affecting the effectiveness of collaborative learning in a social networking environment (SNE). A class of 55 undergraduate students enrolled in an elective course at a Chinese university was recruited for the study. The…

Exploring Temporal Sequences of Regulatory Phases and Associated Interactions in Low- and High-Challenge Collaborative Learning Sessions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sobocinski, Márta; Malmberg, Jonna; Järvelä, Sanna

2017-01-01

Investigating the temporal order of regulatory processes can explain in more detail the mechanisms behind success or lack of success during collaborative learning. The aim of this study is to explore the differences between high- and low-challenge collaborative learning sessions. This is achieved through examining how the three phases of…

Analyzing Collaborative Learning Processes Automatically: Exploiting the Advances of Computational Linguistics in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Carolyn; Wang, Yi-Chia; Cui, Yue; Arguello, Jaime; Stegmann, Karsten; Weinberger, Armin; Fischer, Frank

2008-01-01

In this article we describe the emerging area of text classification research focused on the problem of collaborative learning process analysis both from a broad perspective and more specifically in terms of a publicly available tool set called TagHelper tools. Analyzing the variety of pedagogically valuable facets of learners' interactions is a…

Collaborative Learning Processes in the Context of a Public Health Professional Development Program: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tremblay, Marie-Claude; Richard, Lucie; Brousselle, Astrid; Chiocchio, François; Beaudet, Nicole

2017-01-01

The health promotion laboratory (HPL-Canada) is a public health professional development program building on a collaborative learning approach in order to support long-term practice change in local health services teams. This study aims to analyse the collaborative learning processes of two teams involved in the program during the first year of…

Social learning in a policy-mandated collaboration: Community wildfire protection planning in the eastern United States

Treesearch

Rachel F. Brummel; Kristen C. Nelson; Pamela J. Jakes; Daniel R. Williams

2010-01-01

Policies such as the US Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) mandate collaboration in planning to create benefits such as social learning and shared understanding among partners. However, some question the ability of top-down policy to foster successful local collaboration. Through in-depth interviews and document analysis, this paper investigates social learning and...

Discrete Serotonin Systems Mediate Memory Enhancement and Escape Latencies after Unpredicted Aversive Experience in Drosophila Place Memory

PubMed Central

Sitaraman, Divya; Kramer, Elizabeth F.; Kahsai, Lily; Ostrowski, Daniela; Zars, Troy

2017-01-01

Feedback mechanisms in operant learning are critical for animals to increase reward or reduce punishment. However, not all conditions have a behavior that can readily resolve an event. Animals must then try out different behaviors to better their situation through outcome learning. This form of learning allows for novel solutions and with positive experience can lead to unexpected behavioral routines. Learned helplessness, as a type of outcome learning, manifests in part as increases in escape latency in the face of repeated unpredicted shocks. Little is known about the mechanisms of outcome learning. When fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster are exposed to unpredicted high temperatures in a place learning paradigm, flies both increase escape latencies and have a higher memory when given control of a place/temperature contingency. Here we describe discrete serotonin neuronal circuits that mediate aversive reinforcement, escape latencies, and memory levels after place learning in the presence and absence of unexpected aversive events. The results show that two features of learned helplessness depend on the same modulatory system as aversive reinforcement. Moreover, changes in aversive reinforcement and escape latency depend on local neural circuit modulation, while memory enhancement requires larger modulation of multiple behavioral control circuits. PMID:29321732

Academic-Hospital Partnership: Conducting a Community Health Needs Assessment as a Service Learning Project.

PubMed

Krumwiede, Kelly A; Van Gelderen, Stacey A; Krumwiede, Norma K

2015-01-01

The purposes of this service learning project were to trial nursing student application of the Community-Based Collaborative Action Research (CBCAR) framework while conducting a community health needs assessment and to assess the effectiveness of the CBCAR framework in providing real-world learning opportunities for enhancing baccalaureate nursing students' public health knowledge. In this case study analysis, the CBCAR framework linked service learning and community health needs assessment with public health nursing core competencies. Fifteen nursing students partnered with collaborative members. Student observational field notes and narrative reflections were analyzed qualitatively for fidelity to the CBCAR framework and to evaluate student public health knowledge. Students successfully employed the CBCAR framework in collaboration with the critical access hospital and community stakeholders to design and conduct the community health needs assessment. Service learning themes were real-world solutions, professional development, community collaboration, and making a difference. Students developed skills in six of the eight domains of the Quad Council's core competencies for public health nurses. Community-Based Collaborative Action Research facilitates collaborative partnerships and relationships throughout the research process. Students benefited by applying what they have learned from their education to a real community who lacks resources. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Collaborative Learning in the Texas Medicaid 1115 Waiver Program.

PubMed

Revere, Lee; Semaan, Adele; Lievsay, Nicole; Hall, Jessica; Wang, Zheng M; Begley, Charles

The Texas Medicaid 1115 Transformation Waiver reforms the state's safety net systems by creating a Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment incentive pool for innovative healthcare delivery. The Waiver supports the design and implementation of transformative projects. As part of the Waiver requirements, regions created Learning Collaboratives to collaborate on project implementation and outcomes. This paper describes the experience of one region in adapting the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Breakthrough Series (IHI BTS) model, as a framework for their Learning Collaborative. Implementation of the Learning Collaborative was systematic, multidimensional, and regularly evaluated. Some features of the IHI model were adapted, specifically longer Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles and the lack of a single clinical focus. This experience demonstrates the ability of a region to improve health from a more diverse perspective than the traditional IHI BTS Collaboratives. Within the region, organizations are connecting, agencies are building continuums of care, and stakeholders are involved in healthcare delivery. The initial stages show a remarkable increase in communication and enhanced relationships between providers. At the end of the 5-year Waiver, evaluation of the impact of the regional and cohort Learning Collaboratives will determine how well the adapted IHI BTS model facilitated improvements in the community's health.

Using a NIATx based local learning collaborative for performance improvement

PubMed Central

Roosa, Mathew; Scripa, Joseph S.; Zastowny, Thomas R.; Ford, James H.

2012-01-01

Local governments play an important role in improving substance abuse and mental health services. The structure of the local learning collaborative requires careful attention to old relationships and challenges local governmental leaders to help move participants from a competitive to collaborative environment. This study describes one county’s experience applying the NIATx process improvement model via a local learning collaborative. Local substance abuse and mental health agencies participated in two local learning collaboratives designed to improve client retention in substance abuse treatment and client access to mental health services. Results of changes implemented at the provider level on access and retention are outlined. The process of implementing evidence-based practices by using the Plan-Do-Study-Act rapid-cycle change is a powerful combination for change at the local level. Key lessons include: creating a clear plan and shared vision, recognizing that one size does not fit all, using data can help fuel participant engagement, a long collaborative may benefit from breaking it into smaller segments, and paying providers to offset costs of participation enhances their engagement. The experience gained in Onondaga County, New York, offers insights that serve as a foundation for using the local learning collaborative in other community-based organizations. PMID:21371751

Collaborative modelling: the future of computational neuroscience?

PubMed

Davison, Andrew P

2012-01-01

Given the complexity of biological neural circuits and of their component cells and synapses, building and simulating robust, well-validated, detailed models increasingly surpasses the resources of an individual researcher or small research group. In this article, I will briefly review possible solutions to this problem, argue for open, collaborative modelling as the optimal solution for advancing neuroscience knowledge, and identify potential bottlenecks and possible solutions.

Bringing It All Together through Group Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chance, Shannon M.

2014-01-01

Interpersonal and transdisciplinary collaboration can facilitate and amplify the benefits of learning. Drawing from ideas presented throughout this volume, this culminating chapter describes ways to enhance collaborative learning within and among various stakeholder groups.

Outcomes-Based Collaborative Teaching and Learning in Asian Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Schalkwyk, Gertina J.

2015-01-01

This chapter explores the background and development of outcomes-based collaborative teaching and learning, and provides guidance for writing learning outcomes and engaging students in the Asian higher education context.

Collaborative Structures in a Graduate Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Otty, Robyn; Milton, Lauren

2016-01-01

This chapter describes the Centralized Service Learning Model (CSLM), a collaborative-teaching structure that connects two separate courses with one service-learning project. We discuss the lessons learned from applying the CSLM in our courses.

Collaborative Testing: An Effective Invitational Strategy for High-Stakes Testing in Nursing.

PubMed

Green, Rebecca; Worthey, Terri; Kerven, Jenny

2018-05-01

A collaborative testing intervention was designed as an application of the invitational education model in an undergraduate nursing course. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of collaborative testing on examination scores and knowledge retention of course content and to evaluate students' feelings about the collaborative testing process. A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the effect of collaborative testing on examination scores and knowledge retention among undergraduate nursing students in a public health course (N = 106). A descriptive survey was used to evaluate students' perceptions of the collaborative testing intervention. Collaborative testing increased examination scores and facilitated knowledge retention. Students' perceptions of the intervention were positive. Invitational strategies, such as collaborative testing, may result in measurably better outcomes, such as better examination scores and improved knowledge retention. Rigor does not need to be a barrier to invitational learning and, in fact, it may be complemented and enhanced by it. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(5):291-295.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

Learning and Teaching in a Synchronous Collaborative Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marjanovic, Olivera

1999-01-01

Describes a new synchronous collaborative environment that combines interactive learning and Group Support Systems for computer-mediated collaboration. Illustrates its potential to improve critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills, and describes how teachers' roles are changed. (Author/LRW)

Memory and cognitive control circuits in mathematical cognition and learning.

PubMed

Menon, V

2016-01-01

Numerical cognition relies on interactions within and between multiple functional brain systems, including those subserving quantity processing, working memory, declarative memory, and cognitive control. This chapter describes recent advances in our understanding of memory and control circuits in mathematical cognition and learning. The working memory system involves multiple parietal-frontal circuits which create short-term representations that allow manipulation of discrete quantities over several seconds. In contrast, hippocampal-frontal circuits underlying the declarative memory system play an important role in formation of associative memories and binding of new and old information, leading to the formation of long-term memories that allow generalization beyond individual problem attributes. The flow of information across these systems is regulated by flexible cognitive control systems which facilitate the integration and manipulation of quantity and mnemonic information. The implications of recent research for formulating a more comprehensive systems neuroscience view of the neural basis of mathematical learning and knowledge acquisition in both children and adults are discussed. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.