Context-Aware Writing Support for SNS: Connecting Formal and Informal Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waragai, Ikumi; Kurabayashi, Shuichi; Ohta, Tatsuya; Raindl, Marco; Kiyoki, Yasushi; Tokuda, Hideyuki

2014-01-01

This paper presents another stage in a series of research efforts by the authors to develop an experience-connected mobile language learning environment, bridging formal and informal learning. Building on a study in which the authors tried to connect classroom learning (of German in Japan) with learners' real life experiences abroad by having…

Use of Online Learning Resources in the Development of Learning Environments at the Intersection of Formal and Informal Learning: The Student as Autonomous Designer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lebenicnik, Maja; Pitt, Ian; Istenic Starcic, Andreja

2015-01-01

Learning resources that are used in the education of university students are often available online. The nature of new technologies causes an interweaving of formal and informal learning, with the result that a more active role is expected from students with regard to the use of ICT for their learning. The variety of online learning resources…

The Expectations of Teachers and Students Who Visit a Non-Formal Student Chemistry Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garner, Nicole; Eilks, Ingo

2015-01-01

Non-formal student laboratory environments for primary and secondary school science education have become a major trend in the German educational arena in recent years. These non-formal student laboratory environments are thought to offer unique experimental learning experiences that often cannot be realized in daily school routines. The biggest…

Toward a Learner-Centered System for Adult Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hermans, Henry; Kalz, Marco; Koper, Rob

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an e-learning system that integrates the use of concepts of virtual learning environments, personal learning environments, and social network sites. The system is based on a learning model which comprises and integrates three learning contexts for the adult learner: the formal, instructional…

Adult Learners' Learning Environment Perceptions and Satisfaction in Formal Education--Case Study of Four East-European Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radovan, Marko; Makovec, Danijela

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore attitudes towards learning and perceptions of the learning environment. Our theoretical examination is based on the social-cognitive theory of motivation and research that emphasizes the connections between an individual's perceptions of the learning environment and his/her motivation, interest, attitudes…

Enriching Formal Language Learning with an Informal Social Component

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dettori, Giuliana; Torsani, Simone

2013-01-01

This paper describes an informal component that we added to an online formal language learning environment in order to help the learners reach relevant Internet pages they can freely use to complement their learning activity. Thanks to this facility, each lesson is enriched, at run time, with a number of links automatically retrieved from social…

School in the Park: Bridging Formal and Informal Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathison, Carla; Wachowiak, Susan; Feldman, Linda

2007-01-01

In San Diego, California, 800 public school students from the inner city are attending a program called School in the Park (SITP), for approximately one-fourth of their 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-grade education. This unique program blends rigorous academic standards (formal learning) with hands-on, experiential curricula (informal learning), using…

From Personal to Social: Learning Environments that Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Camacho, Mar; Guilana, Sonia

2011-01-01

VLE (Virtual Learning Environments) are rapidly falling short to meet the demands of a networked society. Web 2.0 and social networks are proving to offer a more personalized, open environment for students to learn formally as they are already doing informally. With the irruption of social media into society, and therefore, education, many voices…

Creative and Playful Learning: Learning through Game Co-Creation and Games in a Playful Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kangas, Marjaana

2010-01-01

This paper reports on a pilot study in which children aged 7-12 (N = 68) had an opportunity to study in a novel formal and informal learning setting. The learning activities were extended from the classroom to the playful learning environment (PLE), an innovative playground enriched by technological tools. Curriculum-based learning was intertwined…

Learning Competences in Open Mobile Environments: A Comparative Analysis between Formal and Non-Formal Spaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Figaredo, Daniel Domínguez; Miravalles, Paz Trillo

2014-01-01

As a result of the increasing use of mobile devices in education, new approaches to define the learning competences in the field of digitally mediated learning have emerged. This paper examines these approaches, using data obtained from empirical research with a group of Spanish university students. The analysis is focused on the experiences of…

Formal and Integrated Strategies for Competence Development in SMEs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kock, Henrik; Ellstrom, Per-Erik

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the relationships among the workplace as a learning environment, strategies for competence development used by SMEs and learning outcomes. Specifically, there is a focus on a distinction between formal and integrated strategies for competence development, the conditions under which…

Informal Learning in Work Environments: Training with the Social Web in the Workplace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia-Penalvo, Francisco J.; Colomo-Palacios, Ricardo; Lytras, Miltiadis D.

2012-01-01

The Internet and its increasing usage has changed informal learning in depth. This change has affected young and older adults in both the workplace and in higher education. But, in spite of this, formal and non-formal course-based approaches have not taken full advantage of these new informal learning scenarios and technologies. The Web 2.0 is a…

Social Argumentation in Online Synchronous Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alagoz, Esra

2013-01-01

The ability to argue well is a valuable skill for students in both formal and informal learning environments. While many studies have explored the argumentative practices in formal environments and some researchers have developed tools to enhance the argumentative skills, the social argumentation that is occurring in informal spaces has yet to be…

Analytic Frameworks for Assessing Dialogic Argumentation in Online Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Douglas B; Sampson, Victor; Weinberger, Armin; Erkens, Gijsbert

2007-01-01

Over the last decade, researchers have developed sophisticated online learning environments to support students engaging in dialogic argumentation. This review examines five categories of analytic frameworks for measuring participant interactions within these environments focusing on (1) formal argumentation structure, (2) conceptual quality, (3)…

Modeling Growth in Electronic Learning Environments Using a Longitudinal Random Item Response Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kadengye, Damazo T.; Ceulemans, Eva; Van Den Noortgate, Wim

2015-01-01

In educational environments, monitoring persons' progress over time may help teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching procedures. Electronic learning environments are increasingly being used as part of formal education and resulting datasets can be used to understand and to improve the environment. This study presents…

Does Online Game-Based Learning Work in Formal Education at School? A Case Study of VISOLE

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jong, Morris S. Y.

2015-01-01

VISOLE (Virtual Interactive Student-Oriented Environment) is a teacher-facilitated pedagogical approach to integrating constructivist online game-based learning into formal curriculum teaching in school education. This paper reports a case study on the implementation of VISOLE in secondary Geography education. We compared the pedagogical…

Formal Schema Theory and Teaching EFL Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Barbara N; Man, Zhou

2005-01-01

Inquirers designed and conducted a study investigating whether or not results derived from previous research focusing on teaching and learning English as a native or foreign language would be replicated in a learning environment in which English is taught as a foreign language as in China. Because activation of formal schemata plays an important…

Teacher Educators as Learners: Enabling Learning while Developing Innovative Practice in ICT-Rich Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reading, Chris; Doyle, Helen

2013-01-01

It's time for teachers to consider themselves as learners in ICT-rich learning environments and to become more aware of factors that enable their learning in such environments. The notion of teachers as learners in ICT-rich environments is not new but the focus is usually on school teachers and formal professional development, rather than teachers…

Experienced Teachers' Informal Learning in the Workplace. IVLOS Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoekstra, Annemarieke

2007-01-01

The aim of the research reported in this dissertation is to describe how experienced secondary school teachers learn at work in an informal environment. The study is part of a larger research project aimed at providing a conceptual framework of teacher learning in the workplace as it takes place both in informal and formal learning environments.…

Characterizing Pedagogical Practices of University Physics Students in Informal Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinko, Kathleen A.; Madigan, Peter; Miller, Eric; Finkelstein, Noah D.

2016-01-01

University educators (UEs) have a long history of teaching physics not only in formal classroom settings but also in informal outreach environments. The pedagogical practices of UEs in informal physics teaching have not been widely studied, and they may provide insight into formal practices and preparation. We investigate the interactions between…

Using Exemption Examinations to Assess Finnish Business Students' Non-Formal and Informal Learning of ESP: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuomainen, Satu

2014-01-01

In recent years Finnish university language centres have increasingly developed procedures for assessing and recognising the skills in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) that students acquire in various non-formal and informal learning environments. This article describes the procedures developed by the University of Eastern Finland Language…

Online Social Networks as Formal Learning Environments: Learner Experiences and Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veletsianos, George; Navarrete, Cesar C.

2012-01-01

While the potential of social networking sites to contribute to educational endeavors is highlighted by researchers and practitioners alike, empirical evidence on the use of such sites for formal online learning is scant. To fill this gap in the literature, we present a case study of learners' perspectives and experiences in an online course…

Combining Formal and Informal Learning: The Use of an Application to Enhance Information Gathering and Sharing Competence in a Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sato, Yukiko; Rachmawan, Irene Erlyn Wina; Brückner, Stefan; Waragai, Ikumi; Kiyoki, Yasushi

2017-01-01

This study aims to enhance foreign language learners' language competence by integrating formal and informal learning environments and considers how they can improve their grammatical and lexical skills through the gathering (comprehension) and sharing (writing) of information in the foreign language. Experiments with German learners at a Japanese…

Learning Analytics for Supporting Seamless Language Learning Using E-Book with Ubiquitous Learning System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mouri, Kousuke; Uosaki, Noriko; Ogata, Hiroaki

2018-01-01

Seamless learning has been recognized as an effective learning approach across various dimensions including formal and informal learning contexts, individual and social learning, and physical world and cyberspace. With the emergence of seamless learning, the majority of the current research focuses on realizing a seamless learning environment at…

Housing Quality and Access to Material and Learning Resources within the Home Environment in Developing Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradley, Robert H.; Putnick, Diane L.

2012-01-01

This study examined home environment conditions (housing quality, material resources, formal and informal learning materials) and their relations with the Human Development Index (HDI) in 28 developing countries. Home environment conditions in these countries varied widely. The quality of housing and availability of material resources at home were…

System Quality Characteristics for Selecting Mobile Learning Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarrab, Mohamed; Al-Shihi, Hafedh; Al-Manthari, Bader

2015-01-01

The majority of M-learning (Mobile learning) applications available today are developed for the formal learning and education environment. These applications are characterized by the improvement in the interaction between learners and instructors to provide high interaction and flexibility to the learning process. M-learning is gaining increased…

Youth's Engagement as Scientists and Engineers in an Afterschool Making and Tinkering Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simpson, Amber; Burris, Alexandra; Maltese, Adam

2017-11-01

Making and tinkering is currently gaining traction as an interdisciplinary approach to education. However, little is known about how these activities and explorations in formal and informal learning spaces address the content and skills common to professionals across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. As such, the purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how youth were engaged in the eight science and engineering practices outlined within the US Next Generation Science Standards within an informal learning environment utilizing principles of tinkering within the daily activities. Findings highlight how youth and facilitators engaged and enacted in practices common to scientists and engineers. Yet, in this study, enactment of these practices "looked" differently than might be expected in a formal learning environment such as a laboratory setting. For example, in this setting, students were observed carrying out trials on their design as opposed to carrying out a formal scientific investigation. Results also highlight instances of doing science and engineering not explicitly stated within parameters of formal education documents in the USA, such as experiences with failure.

Do we face a fourth paradigm shift in medicine--algorithms in education?

PubMed

Eitel, F; Kanz, K G; Hortig, E; Tesche, A

2000-08-01

Medicine has evolved toward rationalization since the Enlightenment, favouring quantitative measures. Now, a paradigm shift toward control through formalization can be observed in health care whose structures and processes are subjected to increasing standardization. However, educational reforms and curricula do not yet adequately respond to this shift. The aim of this article is to describe innovative approaches in medical education for adapting to these changes. The study design is a descriptive case report relying on a literature review and on a reform project's evaluation. Concept mapping is used to graphically represent relationships among concepts, i.e. defined terms from educational literature. Definitions of 'concept map', 'guideline' and 'algorithm' are presented. A prototypical algorithm for organizational decision making in the project's instructional design is shown. Evaluation results of intrinsic learning motivation are demonstrated: intrinsic learning motivation depends upon students' perception of their competence exhibiting path coefficients varying from 0.42 to 0.51. Perception of competence varies with the type of learning environment. An innovative educational format, called 'evidence-based learning (EBL)' is deduced from these findings and described here. Effects of formalization consist of structuring decision making about implementation of different learning environments or about minimizing variance in teaching or learning. Unintended effects of formalization such as implementation problems and bureaucracy are discussed. Formalized tools for designing medical education are available. Specific instructional designs influence students' learning motivation. Concept maps are suitable for controlling educational quality, thus enabling the paradigm shift in medical education.

Schools as Environments for Social Learning--Shaping Mechanisms? Comparisons of Smaller and Larger Rural Schools in Norway

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kvalsund, Rune

2004-01-01

This article analyses and compares the learning environment in smaller and bigger rural schools by focusing on the arenas of both formal and informal learning; the lessons and the recesses between. Relational patterns are both analysed using complete network data from 19 schools in four different municipalities in four Norwegian counties and by…

Promoting Argumentation in Primary Science Contexts: An Analysis of Students' Interactions in Formal and Informal Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simon, S.; Johnson, S; Cavell, S.; Parsons, T.

2012-01-01

The paper reports on the outcomes of a study that utilized a graphical tool, Digalo, to stimulate argumentative interactions in both school and informal learning settings. Digalo was developed in a European study to explore argumentation in a range of learning environments. The focus here is on the potential for using Digalo in promoting…

The "Double-Edged Sword" of the Adult Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Sara; Mitchell, Jane

2013-01-01

The vocational education and training sector plays a critical role in the provision of educational opportunities for young adults who have left school prior to completing a qualification. Some research has found that a major factor that supports student re-engagement in formal education is the "adult learning environment" that…

Multiple Modes in Corporate Learning: Propelling Business IQ with Formal, Informal and Social Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambrose, John; Ogilvie, Julie

2010-01-01

Recognizing that the shifting corporate environment is placing ever greater stresses on learning organizations, this paper reports how companies are increasingly offering employees a wide choice of learning options beyond conventional classroom training, including online, social learning, and other modalities in "blended" programs. Identifying a…

Examining Informal Learning in Commercial Airline Pilots' Communities of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corns, Kevin M.

2014-01-01

A pragmatic sequential mixed methods research methodology was used to examine commercial airline pilots' (N =156) types and frequencies of informal learning activities, perceptions of workplace informal learning, and opinions on how organizations should support workplace informal learning outside of the formal learning environment. This study…

"I Feel like I'm Being Hit from All Directions": Enduring the Bombardment as a Mature-Age Learner Returning to Formal Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willans, Julie; Seary, Karen

2011-01-01

The mature-age learner's re-engagement with a formal learning environment may be somewhat akin to the novice Paintball player who, unless well positioned and attuned to the rules of the combative game, is bombarded and worn down by constant "hits". For the mature-age learner, such "hits" may come in the form of tensions…

Studying Student Motivations in an Astronomy Massive Open Online Class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-01-01

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are large-scale, free classes open to anyone around the world and are are part of an educational industry that includes a growing number of universities. Although they resemble formal classes, MOOCs are of interest to instructors and educational researchers because they are unique learning environments where various people--particularly adult learners--learn science. This research project examined learners in an astronomy MOOC in order to better understand the motivations of MOOC learners. Using a well-tested instrument that examines student motivations for learning, we wanted to compare the motivations of MOOC learners to previous results in undergraduate classrooms. Our results show that our MOOC learners scored high in intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and self-determination. They differed from learners in traditional formal educational environments by having lower grade and career-related motivations. These results suggest that MOOC learners have characteristics of learners in so called “free-choice” learning environments, similar to other life-long learners.

Space Matters: Experiences of Managing Static Formal Learning Spaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montgomery, Tim

2008-01-01

Managing the space in which learning takes place is subject to ongoing debate. Spatial management and movement can impact upon the construction of meaning within education and upon the dynamic of learning. It is suggested that there are now different learning goals and expectations and consequently a need for different learning environments. We…

Older Adults' Motivation to Learn in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Yi-Yin

2011-01-01

A limited amount of literature has discussed older adults in formal education, especially their motivations to learn in higher education. This study aims to understand older adults' learning in the context of higher education. Specifically, this study argues that higher education can function as a stimulating learning environment that helps older…

Anatomy and histology as socially networked learning environments: some preliminary findings.

PubMed

Hafferty, Frederic W; Castellani, Brian; Hafferty, Philip K; Pawlina, Wojciech

2013-09-01

An exploratory study to better understand the "networked" life of the medical school as a learning environment. In a recent academic year, the authors gathered data during two six-week blocks of a sequential histology and anatomy course at a U.S. medical college. An eight-item questionnaire captured different dimensions of student interactions. The student cohort/network was 48 first-year medical students. Using social network analysis (SNA), the authors focused on (1) the initial structure and the evolution of informal class networks over time, (2) how informal class networks compare to formal in-class small-group assignments in influencing student information gathering, and (3) how peer assignment of professionalism role model status is shaped more by informal than formal ties. In examining these latter two issues, the authors explored not only how formal group assignment persisted over time but also how it functioned to prevent the tendency for groupings based on gender or ethnicity. The study revealed an evolving dynamic between the formal small-group learning structure of the course blocks and the emergence of informal student networks. For example, whereas formal group membership did influence in-class questions and did prevent formation of groups of like gender and ethnicity, outside-class questions and professionalism were influenced more by informal group ties where gender and, to a much lesser extent, ethnicity influence student information gathering. The richness of these preliminary findings suggests that SNA may be a useful tool in examining an array of medical student learning encounters.

Capturing the Range of Learning: Implications for Disaster Health in a Resource Constrained Future

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-01

article suggests the value of Coombs and Ahmed’s three interrelated “modes of education” (formal, nonformal, and informal) in considering disaster health...learning by health professionals, amidst an environment of resource constraint, is challenging. This article suggests the value of Coombs and...TABLES Table 1. Coombs and Ahmed’s three interelated "modes of education" (formal, nonformal, and informal)a,b with disaster health examples

Design of environmental education module towards the needs of aboriginal community learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dasman, Siti Mariam; Yasin, Ruhizan Mohammad

2017-05-01

Non-formal education (NFE) refers to a program that is designed for personal and social education for learners to improve the level of skills and competencies outside formal educational curriculum. Issues related to geography and environment of different Aboriginal communities with other communities play an important role in determining the types and methods that should be made available to the minority community groups. Thus, this concept paper is intended to cater for educational environment through the design and development of learning modules based on non-formal education to the learning of Aboriginal community. Methods and techniques in the design and construction of the modules is based on the Design and Development Research (DDR) that was based on instructional design model of Morrison, Kemp and Ross which is more flexible and prioritizes the needs and characteristics of learners who were involved in the learning modules of the future. The discussion is related to the module development which is suitable to the learning needs of the community and there are several recommendations which may be applied in the implementation of this approach. In conclusion, the community of Orang Asli should be offered the same education as other communities but it is important to distinguish acceptance of learning techniques or approaches used in the education system to meet their standards. The implications of this concept paper is to meet the educational needs of the environment which includes a few aspects of science and some learning activities using effective approaches such as playing and building their own knowledge of meaning.

Formal and Informal Learning and First-Year Psychology Students’ Development of Scientific Thinking: A Two-Wave Panel Study

PubMed Central

Soyyılmaz, Demet; Griffin, Laura M.; Martín, Miguel H.; Kucharský, Šimon; Peycheva, Ekaterina D.; Vaupotič, Nina; Edelsbrunner, Peter A.

2017-01-01

Scientific thinking is a predicate for scientific inquiry, and thus important to develop early in psychology students as potential future researchers. The present research is aimed at fathoming the contributions of formal and informal learning experiences to psychology students’ development of scientific thinking during their 1st-year of study. We hypothesize that informal experiences are relevant beyond formal experiences. First-year psychology student cohorts from various European countries will be assessed at the beginning and again at the end of the second semester. Assessments of scientific thinking will include scientific reasoning skills, the understanding of basic statistics concepts, and epistemic cognition. Formal learning experiences will include engagement in academic activities which are guided by university authorities. Informal learning experiences will include non-compulsory, self-guided learning experiences. Formal and informal experiences will be assessed with a newly developed survey. As dispositional predictors, students’ need for cognition and self-efficacy in psychological science will be assessed. In a structural equation model, students’ learning experiences and personal dispositions will be examined as predictors of their development of scientific thinking. Commonalities and differences in predictive weights across universities will be tested. The project is aimed at contributing information for designing university environments to optimize the development of students’ scientific thinking. PMID:28239363

Formal and Informal Learning and First-Year Psychology Students' Development of Scientific Thinking: A Two-Wave Panel Study.

PubMed

Soyyılmaz, Demet; Griffin, Laura M; Martín, Miguel H; Kucharský, Šimon; Peycheva, Ekaterina D; Vaupotič, Nina; Edelsbrunner, Peter A

2017-01-01

Scientific thinking is a predicate for scientific inquiry, and thus important to develop early in psychology students as potential future researchers. The present research is aimed at fathoming the contributions of formal and informal learning experiences to psychology students' development of scientific thinking during their 1st-year of study. We hypothesize that informal experiences are relevant beyond formal experiences. First-year psychology student cohorts from various European countries will be assessed at the beginning and again at the end of the second semester. Assessments of scientific thinking will include scientific reasoning skills, the understanding of basic statistics concepts, and epistemic cognition. Formal learning experiences will include engagement in academic activities which are guided by university authorities. Informal learning experiences will include non-compulsory, self-guided learning experiences. Formal and informal experiences will be assessed with a newly developed survey. As dispositional predictors, students' need for cognition and self-efficacy in psychological science will be assessed. In a structural equation model, students' learning experiences and personal dispositions will be examined as predictors of their development of scientific thinking. Commonalities and differences in predictive weights across universities will be tested. The project is aimed at contributing information for designing university environments to optimize the development of students' scientific thinking.

Dyslexic Students in Higher Education and Virtual Learning Environments: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Habib, L.; Berget, G.; Sandnes, F. E.; Sanderson, N.; Kahn, P.; Fagernes, S.; Olcay, A.

2012-01-01

This paper presents the results of an interview-based study of the use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) among dyslexic students. Interviews were carried out with 12 informants who had been formally diagnosed as dyslexic. The informants were either enrolled in a university or college programme, or had graduated less than a year before the…

Methodological Advances in Research on Learning and Instruction and in the Learning Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fischer, Frank; Järvelä, Sanna

2014-01-01

Recent years have seen a dynamic growth of research communities addressing conditions, processes and outcomes of learning in formal and informal environments. Two of them have markedly advanced the field: The community on research on learning and instruction that has been organized in the European Association for Research on Learning and…

Teaching and Learning Hand in Hand: Adaptive Teaching and Self-Regulated Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Randi, Judi

2017-01-01

This article presents case studies of two novice teachers and their mentors who, without formal knowledge of self-regulation theory, established a classroom environment that promoted self-regulated learning. This case was drawn from a larger descriptive study of novice teachers learning to integrate a student-centered visual literacy instructional…

Note-taking and Handouts in The Digital Age.

PubMed

Stacy, Elizabeth Moore; Cain, Jeff

2015-09-25

Most educators consider note-taking a critical component of formal classroom learning. Advancements in technology such as tablet computers, mobile applications, and recorded lectures are altering classroom dynamics and affecting the way students compose and review class notes. These tools may improve a student's ability to take notes, but they also may hinder learning. In an era of dynamic technology developments, it is important for educators to routinely examine and evaluate influences on formal and informal learning environments. This paper discusses key background literature on student note-taking, identifies recent trends and potential implications of mobile technologies on classroom note-taking and student learning, and discusses future directions for note-taking in the context of digitally enabled lifelong learning.

A Review of Benefits and Limitations of Online Learning in the Context of the Student, the Instructor, and the Tenured Faculty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Appana, Subhashni

2008-01-01

Distance education is a formal learning activity, which occurs when students and instructors are separated by geographic distance or by time. Learning is supported by communications technology such as television, videotape, computers, e-mail, and mail. Online learning is any learning experience or environment that relies upon the Internet/World…

How Artefacts Mediate Small-Group Co-Creation Activities in a Mobile-Assisted Seamless Language Learning Environment?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, L. -H.; Chen, W.; Jan, M.

2012-01-01

The rich learning resources and contexts learners experience in their everyday life could play important roles in complementing formal learning, but are often neglected by learners and teachers. In this paper, we present an intervention study in "Move, Idioms!", a mobile-assisted Chinese language learning approach that emphasizes contextualized…

Experiential Learning and Its Role in Training and Improved Practice in High Level Sports Officiating

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grover, Kenda S.

2014-01-01

This qualitative study investigated how high level sports officials engage in experiential learning to improve their practice. Adult learning occurs in formal, nonformal and informal environments, and in some cases it is difficult to differentiate between these settings. In the case of cycling officials, learning begins in a nonformal environment…

Note-taking and Handouts in The Digital Age

PubMed Central

Stacy, Elizabeth Moore

2015-01-01

Most educators consider note-taking a critical component of formal classroom learning. Advancements in technology such as tablet computers, mobile applications, and recorded lectures are altering classroom dynamics and affecting the way students compose and review class notes. These tools may improve a student’s ability to take notes, but they also may hinder learning. In an era of dynamic technology developments, it is important for educators to routinely examine and evaluate influences on formal and informal learning environments. This paper discusses key background literature on student note-taking, identifies recent trends and potential implications of mobile technologies on classroom note-taking and student learning, and discusses future directions for note-taking in the context of digitally enabled lifelong learning. PMID:27168620

Problem-Based Learning in Formal and Informal Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shimic, Goran; Jevremovic, Aleksandar

2012-01-01

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered instructional strategy in which students solve problems and reflect on their experiences. Different domains need different approaches in the design of PBL systems. Therefore, we present one case study in this article: A Java Programming PBL. The application is developed as an additional module for…

Putting the PLE into PLD: Virtual Professional Learning and Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owen, Hazel

2014-01-01

The range of affordances that a virtual environment offers can provide opportunities for more formal Professional Learning and Development (PLD) that has flexibility of choice, time and approach for educators. It was this potential that inspired the design of the Virtual Professional Learning and Development (VPLD) program that was instigated in…

Learning Opportunities beyond the School. 2nd Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hatcher, Barbara, Ed.; Beck, Shirley S., Ed.

The fact that much of learning occurs beyond school walls points to the need for a holistic approach to education. Such an approach involves planned cooperative links between family and the formal and informal learning environments that exist in the community. This monograph advocates such a holistic approach, discussing not only the value of…

Teachers' Concerns about Adopting Constructivist Online Game-Based Learning in Formal Curriculum Teaching: The VISOLE Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jong, Morris S. Y.

2016-01-01

Our work is set against the backdrop of the pervasive discussion of harnessing online games to provide students with new constructivist learning opportunities. Upon the theoretical foundation, we have developed Virtual Interactive Student-Oriented Learning Environment (VISOLE), a teaching framework for implementing constructivist online game-based…

ReVisioning the Public Library as an Oasis of Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cassell, Mary A.; Bamdas, Jo Ann M.; Bryan, Valerie C.

2012-01-01

Culturally diverse older adult learners are among the fastest growing age groups for which public libraries promote the needs of lifelong learning today. This article explores the past, present, and future of informal and non-formal public learning environments as safe and welcoming, with supportive educational programming provided by librarians…

Impeding Phenomena Emerging from Students' Constructivist Online Game-Based Learning Process: Implications for the Importance of Teacher Facilitation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jong, Morris Siu-yung; Shang, Junjie

2015-01-01

"Virtual Interactive Student-Oriented Learning Environment" ("VISOLE") is a pedagogical approach to integrating constructivist online game-based learning (COGBLe) into formal teaching in school education. This paper reports a qualitative case study on the implementation of VISOLE (in secondary Geography education) in which we…

Creating Environments Conducive for Lifelong Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Derrick, M. Gail

2003-01-01

A technological transformation during the past decade has eliminated the boundaries between formal and informal learning. As people adapt to a knowledge-driven society, a cultural transformation is occurring. Lifelong learning is an essential goal of education as a means to improve the quality of life for an individual, a culture, or a society.…

Animals, Emperors, Senses: Exploring a Story-Based Learning Design in a Museum Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murmann, Mai; Avraamidou, Lucy

2014-01-01

The aim of this qualitative case study was to explore the use of stories as tools for learning within formal and informal learning environments. The design was based on three areas of interest: (a) the story as a tool for learning; (b) the student as subjects engaging with the story; and (c) the context in which the story learning activity takes…

Seniors' Demographic Correlates for Motivations to Enroll in Degree-Conferring Programs in Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Li-Kuang; Wang, Shan Tair

2016-01-01

Policies, practices, and studies have long been focused on nonformal learning for older adults as if this were the only learning context for grey populations. In fact, today more elderly adults participate in degree-conferring programs. It is important to explore why formal learning environments attract the elderly. Therefore, the purpose of this…

Ten Things that Teachers Should Teach (and Students Should Learn) about Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barratt, Leslie

1988-01-01

To create an environment which motivates students to learn the conventions of formal writing, teachers must teach children the place that these conventions have in language and in linguistic history. Principles that give students a broad picture of language are listed. (JL)

Movement Education-Past-Present-Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fowler, John S.

Physical education in England at the secondary school level was dominated in the 1950's by a formal, disciplinary method of teaching known as the "Swedish Drill," developed from the remedial gymnastics of P. H. Ling. However, at the elementary education level, a change towards informality, discovery learning, learning environments, and…

Formal and Information Learning in a Computer Clubhouse Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDougall, Anne; Lowe, Jenny; Hopkins, Josie

2004-01-01

This paper outlines the establishment and running of an after-school Computer Clubhouse, describing aspects of the leadership, mentoring and learning activities undertaken there. Research data has been collected from examination of documents associated with the Clubhouse, interviews with its founders, Director, session leaders and mentors, and…

It's a Zoo out There!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henson, Kate

2008-01-01

Zoos can provide exciting educational opportunities for students to learn about a wide range of science subject matter. Zoos and similar nonschool sites have the added advantage of getting students out of school and into another environment, demonstrating that science learning can take place anywhere--not only in formal school settings. Through…

Affinity Spaces: How Young People Live and Learn on Line and out of School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gee, James Paul

2018-01-01

In the digital age, young people's most powerful learning opportunities often occur online, in experiences and environments created by people working outside of the K-12 school system. In a sense, the internet has given new life to an older, less formal approach to education, in which individuals seek out and learn from others who share their…

Coordinating Formal and Informal Aspects of Mathematics in a Computer Based Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skouras, A. S.

2006-01-01

The introduction of educational technology to school classes promises--through the students' active engagement with mathematical concepts--the creation of teaching and learning opportunities in mathematics. However, the way technological tools are used in the teaching practice as a means of human thought and action remains an unsettled matter as…

Evaluation of Scalable Applications of Information Technology to On-Campus Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Harry R.; Sommer, Barbara; Maher, Michael; Acredolo, Curt; Ho, Arnold; Falk, Richard

The University of California, Davis, is transforming large general education courses in a cost-effective way that maintains high academic standards in the face of rising student enrollments. Two multi-year pilot projects have demonstrated the feasibility of using rich online learning environments to reduce the dependence on formal lectures. This…

The Violet Experience: Social Interaction through Eclectic Music Learning Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dakon, Jacob M.; Cloete, Elene

2018-01-01

In this qualitative case study, we used participant observation and interviews to examine Violet, a Flemish string youth orchestra. In doing so, we identify the qualities that constitute an 'eclectic' ensemble space, herein defined as a musical environment that uses a blend of informal and formal learning practices. Moreover, we emphasize how…

Case Study III: The University of Washington and Bellevue School District Partnership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coburn, Cynthia E.; Penuel, William R.; Geil, Kimberly E.

2015-01-01

This design-research partnership involves learning scientists, design researchers, and graduate students from the Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center and the College of Education at the University of Washington (UW), and district staff, teachers, and students from the Bellevue School District (BSD). The goal of their work is…

Science Education in Rural America: Adaptations for the Ivory Tower

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Doren, Gregory S.

2010-01-01

This thesis illustrated what can happen when academic culture disconnects from the cultures surrounding it. It showed that formal school environments are not always the best places to learn. A discussion of the debate between coherence and fragmentation learning theories illustrated academic chasms and a mindset that science education must…

Putting sex education in its place.

PubMed

Cassell, C

1981-04-01

In order to help reduce fears and anxieties regarding the influence of sex education in a public school setting, school and community sexuality educators need to better articulate the difference between formal and structured sex education and non-formal, informal and incidental sex learning. Sex education is only 1 aspect of the sexual learning process. 2 main points have to be clarified for parents and the general public to set the stage for a new way to view the school and community involvement in the sexual learning process: the schools' sexuality education courses constitute only a small portion of the sexual learning process; and sexual learning is not an event for youth only, but a process spanning life. Sex education (the process) connotates an academic setting with a specific curricula taught by a trained instructor, but sexual learning relates to environmental, non-formal incidental learning from a multitude of sources. Studies indicate that teenagers receive about 90% of their contraceptive and sexuality informaation from peers and mass media and that these sources of information are becoming their preferred sources of sex education. What is needed is a way to address and improve the conditions of sexual learning in the community. As home is the ideal environment for primary and positive sexual learning, parents need support in their role as sex educators. Classroom sexuality education curricula in all school settings have a solid place in the process of sexual learning.

An approach for investigation of secure access processes at a combined e-learning environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romansky, Radi; Noninska, Irina

2017-12-01

The article discuses an approach to investigate processes for regulation the security and privacy control at a heterogenous e-learning environment realized as a combination of traditional and cloud means and tools. Authors' proposal for combined architecture of e-learning system is presented and main subsystems and procedures are discussed. A formalization of the processes for using different types resources (public, private internal and private external) is proposed. The apparatus of Markovian chains (MC) is used for modeling and analytical investigation of the secure access to the resources is used and some assessments are presented.

Developing Visualization Tools for Geographic Literacy in a Museum Exhibit: An Interdisciplinary Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bloodworth, Gina; Petersen, Naomi Jeffery

2011-01-01

As a result of reduced formal instruction and reduced direct experience in the natural environment, students suffer from a deficiency in geographic literacy. Informal learning environments, such as a model railroad exhibit at a history museum, can be exploited to introduce key geographic concepts (e.g., scalar compression, landscape…

A Case Study of a High School Fab Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lacy, Jennifer E.

This dissertation examines making and design-based STEM education in a formal makerspace. It focuses on how the design and implementation of a Fab Lab learning environment and curriculum affect how instructors and students see themselves engaging in science, and how the Fab Lab relates to the social sorting practices that already take place at North High School. While there is research examining design-based STEM education in informal and formal learning environments, we know little about how K-12 teachers define STEM in making activities when no university or museum partnership exists. This study sought to help fill this gap in the research literature. This case study of a formal makerspace followed instructors and students in one introductory Fab Lab course for one semester. Additional observations of an introductory woodworking course helped build the case and set it into the school context, and provided supplementary material to better understand the similarities and differences between the Fab Lab course and a more traditional design-based learning course. Using evidence from observational field notes, participant interviews, course materials, and student work, I found that the North Fab Lab relies on artifacts and rhetoric symbolic of science and STEM to set itself apart from other design-based courses at North High School. Secondly, the North Fab Lab instructors and students were unable to explain how what they were doing in the Fab Lab was science, and instead relied on vague and unsupported claims related to interdisciplinary STEM practices and dated descriptions of science. Lastly, the design and implementation of the Fab Lab learning environment and curriculum and its separation from North High School's low tech, design-based courses effectively reinforced social sorting practices and cultural assumptions about student work and intelligence.

``GodMode is his video game name'': situating learning and identity in structures of social practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bricker, Leah A.; Bell, Philip

2012-12-01

In this paper, we report on the structural nexus of one youth's gaming practices across contexts and over time. We utilize data from an ethnography of youth science and technology learning, as well as expertise development, across settings and developmental time. We use Ole Dreier's theory of persons to understand how this youth is able to develop considerable gaming expertise. Additionally, we explicate the learning practices embedded in the structural nexus of this youth's gaming and we examine associated issues of learning and identity. We problematize the lack of continuity between his formal schooling experiences and the structural nexus of his gaming practices as situated in a variety of other contexts and we reflect on the implications for the design of STEM gaming experiences in formal school environments.

The Role of Work-Related Learning in the Identity Transformation of Canadian Workers with Low Literacy Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Maurice C.; Trumpower, David L.; Purse, Edward R.

2015-01-01

Workplaces are settings where power, knowledge and self are brought together in a complex social environment which includes various forms of struggle related to identity, agency, socio-cultural norms, political structures and functional practices. The purpose of this article is to uncover how formal and informal work-related learning processes…

Intentionally Designed Thinking and Experience Spaces: What We Learned at Summer Camp

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dahl, Tove I.; Sethre-Hofstad, Lisa; Salomon, Gavriel

2013-01-01

How do young people experience camp, and how might that experience help us expand our understanding of what is possible in non-formal learning environments? In-depth interviews consisting of forced-choice and open-ended questions were conducted with 59 Concordia Language Villages residential camp participants who partake in a linguistically and…

An Inquiry-Based Augmented Reality Mobile Learning Approach to Fostering Primary School Students' Historical Reasoning in Non-Formal Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Efstathiou, Irene; Kyza, Eleni A.; Georgiou, Yiannis

2018-01-01

This study investigated the contribution of a location-based augmented reality (AR) inquiry-learning environment in developing 3rd grade students' historical empathy and conceptual understanding. Historical empathy is an important element of historical thinking, which is considered to improve conceptual understanding and support the development of…

Formal Learning Sequences and Progression in the Studio: A Framework for Digital Design Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wärnestål, Pontus

2016-01-01

This paper examines how to leverage the design studio learning environment throughout long-term Digital Design education in order to support students to progress from tactical, well-defined, device-centric routine design, to confidently design sustainable solutions for strategic, complex, problems for a wide range of devices and platforms in the…

The Impact of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning on Internship Outcomes of Pharmacy Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Timmers, S.; Valcke, M.; de Mil, K.; Baeyens, W. R. G.

2008-01-01

This article focuses on an evaluation of the impact of an innovative instructional design of internships in view of a new integrated pharmaceutical curriculum. A key innovative element was the implementation of a computer-supported collaborative learning environment. Students were, as part of their formal curriculum, expected to work in a…

Enculturation to Musical Pitch Structure in Young Children: Evidence from Behavioral and Electrophysiological Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corrigall, Kathleen A.; Trainor, Laurel J.

2014-01-01

Children learn the structure of the music of their culture similarly to how they learn the language to which they are exposed in their daily environment. Furthermore, as with language, children acquire this musical knowledge without formal instruction. Two critical aspects of musical pitch structure in Western tonal music are key membership…

Chemistry in Primetime and Online: Communicating Chemistry in Informal Environments: Workshop Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Masciangioli, Tina

2011-01-01

It is critical that we increase public knowledge and understanding of science and technology issues through formal and informal learning for the United States to maintain its competitive edge in today's global economy. Since most Americans learn about science outside of school, we must take advantage of opportunities to present chemistry…

Constructing Apathy: How Environmentalism and Environmental Education May Be Fostering "Learned Hopelessness" in Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nagel, Michael

2005-01-01

For children, environmental issues have become part of their formal and informal educational lives. The merging of the terms environment and education in the 1970s has also witnessed an emerging degree of pessimism through bringing the plight of the environment to the educational arena of children. Much of the discourse surrounding sustainable…

Experimentally Assessing a Resource-Effective Design for ODL Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karoulis, Athanasis; Sfetsos, Panagiotis; Stamelos, Ioannis; Angelis, Lefteris; Pombortsis, Andreas

2004-01-01

This study is concerned with the formal assessment of a Distance Learning Environment (DLE) created to deliver a course on UML sequence diagrams to university-level students, divided into control and treatment groups. An ad-hoc DLE was constructed to deliver instruction to the treatment group, while the control group was taught in a traditional…

Learning how we learn: an ethnographic study in a neonatal intensive care unit.

PubMed

Hunter, Cynthia Louise; Spence, Kaye; McKenna, Kate; Iedema, Rick

2008-06-01

This paper is a report of a study to identify how nurse clinicians learn with and from each other in the workplace. Clinicians' everyday practices and interactions with each other have recently been targeted as areas of research, because it is there that quality of care and patient safety are achieved. Orientation of new nurses and doctors into a specialty unit often results in stress. An ethnographic approach was used, including a 12-month period of fieldwork observations involving participation and in-depth interviews with nurse, doctor and allied health clinicians in their workplace. The data were collected in 2005-2006 in a paediatric teaching hospital in Australia. The findings were grouped into four dimensions: orientation of nurses, orientation of medical registrars, preceptoring and decision-making. The orientation of new staff (nursing and medical) is a complex and multi-layered process which accommodates multiple kinds of learning, in addition to formal learning. Workplace learning also can be informal, incidental, interpersonal and interactive. Interactive and interpersonal learning and the transfer of knowledge include codified and tacit knowledge as well as intuitive understandings of 'how we do things here'. Research into how nurses learn is crucial for illuminating learning that is non-formal and less recognized than more formal kinds. To provide a safe practice environment built on a foundation of knowledge and best practice, there needs to be an allocation of time in the busy workday for learning and reflection.

Learning in non-formal education: Is it "youthful" for youth in action?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norqvist, Lars; Leffler, Eva

2017-04-01

This article offers insights into the practices of a non-formal education programme for youth provided by the European Union (EU). It takes a qualitative approach and is based on a case study of the European Voluntary Service (EVS). Data were collected during individual and focus group interviews with learners (the EVS volunteers), decision takers and trainers, with the aim of deriving an understanding of learning in non-formal education. The research questions concerned learning, the recognition of learning and perspectives of usefulness. The study also examined the Youthpass documentation tool as a key to understanding the recognition of learning and to determine whether the learning was useful for learners (the volunteers). The findings and analysis offer several interpretations of learning, and the recognition of learning, which take place in non-formal education. The findings also revealed that it is complicated to divide learning into formal and non- formal categories; instead, non-formal education is useful for individual learners when both formal and non-formal educational contexts are integrated. As a consequence, the division of formal and non-formal (and possibly even informal) learning creates a gap which works against the development of flexible and interconnected education with ubiquitous learning and mobility within and across formal and non-formal education. This development is not in the best interests of learners, especially when seeking useful learning and education for youth (what the authors term "youthful" for youth in action).

The Consuming (No)Body of Online Learners: Re-Membering E-Communities of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lander, Dorothy A.

2005-01-01

This paper unfolds through the eating, speaking mouths of online learners and teachers and theorists as a way of exploring the educative potential of holding in tension the ambiguous virtues of the body and the (no)body in formal and informal electronic learning environments. Online learning research commonly devalues the body and takes the body…

Music Education through Popular Music Festivals: A Study of the "OM Music Festival" in Ontario, Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snell, Karen

2005-01-01

Most people think of the teaching and learning of music as taking place in formal, institutional contexts like schools and universities. This study looks at the transmission of music teaching and learning that takes place in a more informal, musical environment, namely at a "popular music festival." In particular, it discusses the OM…

Women Learners and Their "Virtual Handbags": Invisible Experiences and Everyday Contexts in Vocational Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniels, Jeannie

2010-01-01

As more and more mature women return to vocational learning, the issues facing this group of learners are being acknowledged and attempts made to address these concerns. Many existing strategies, developed to address the needs of other groups of learners, are applied to mature women. These women are drawn into a formal learning environment in…

Use of Weblogs to Enhance Group Learning and Design Creativity amongst Students at a Thai University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Auttawutikul, Siwanit; Wiwitkunkasem, Kasemrut; Smith, Duncan R.

2014-01-01

This study reports on the introduction of weblogs as a part of the teaching environment for Thai students to facilitate group learning and enhance creativity. Assessment of progress was through formal creative thought testing, as well as a questionnaire with both structured and open questions. Results showed a significant improvement in assessed…

Simulating Technology Processes to Foster Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krumholtz, Nira

1998-01-01

Based on a spiral model of technology evolution, elementary students used LOGO computer software to become both developers and users of technology. The computerized environment enabled 87% to reach intuitive understanding of physical concepts; 24% expressed more formal scientific understanding. (SK)

The ALIVE Project: Astronomy Learning in Immersive Virtual Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, K. C.; Sahami, K.; Denn, G.

2008-06-01

The Astronomy Learning in Immersive Virtual Environments (ALIVE) project seeks to discover learning modes and optimal teaching strategies using immersive virtual environments (VEs). VEs are computer-generated, three-dimensional environments that can be navigated to provide multiple perspectives. Immersive VEs provide the additional benefit of surrounding a viewer with the simulated reality. ALIVE evaluates the incorporation of an interactive, real-time ``virtual universe'' into formal college astronomy education. In the experiment, pre-course, post-course, and curriculum tests will be used to determine the efficacy of immersive visualizations presented in a digital planetarium versus the same visual simulations in the non-immersive setting of a normal classroom, as well as a control case using traditional classroom multimedia. To normalize for inter-instructor variability, each ALIVE instructor will teach at least one of each class in each of the three test groups.

Work-based learning in health care environments.

PubMed

Spouse, J

2001-03-01

In reviewing contemporary literature and theories about work-based learning, this paper explores recent trends promoting life-long learning. In the process the paper reviews and discusses some implications of implementing recent policies and fostering le arning in health care practice settings. Recent Government policies designed to provide quality health care services and to improve staffing levels in the nursing workforce, have emphasized the importance of life-long learning whilst learning-on-the-job and the need to recognize and credit experiential learning. Such calls include negotiation of personal development plans tailored to individual educational need and context-sensitive learning activities. To be implemented effectively, this policy cann ot be seen as a cheap option but requires considerable financial resourcing for preparation of staff and the conduct of such activities. Successful work-based learning requires investment in staff at all levels as well as changes to staffing structures in organizations and trusts; changes designed to free people up to work and learn collaboratively. Creating an organizational environment where learning is prized depends upon a climate of trust; a climate where investigation and speculation are fostered and where time is protected for engaging in discussions about practice. Such a change may be radical for many health care organizations and may require a review of current policies and practices ensuring that they include education at all levels. The nature of such education also requires reconceptualizing. In the past, learning in practice settings was seen as formal lecturing or demonstration, and relied upon behaviourist principles of learning. Contemporary thinking suggests effective learning in work-settings is multi-faceted and draws on previously acquired formal knowledge, contextualizes it and moulds it according to situations at hand. Thinking about work-based learning in this way raises questions about how such learning can be supported and facilitated.

Experiences from psychiatric rotation for pre-registration house officers: contributions to subjective learning.

PubMed

Sørensen Høifødt, Tordis; Sexton, Hal; Olstad, Reidun

2004-04-01

The clinical experience and the subjective learning of pre-registration house officers who completed 4 months' psychiatric rotation are described. The study was cross-sectional and based on self-report. The participants had responded to an anonymous questionnaire at the completion of their 4 months' psychiatric rotation in the period 1999-2001. Of those eligible (n = 137), 85 (61%) completed the questionnaire. The relationships between individual background variables, different factors of the learning environment, and good learning outcome were explored. The subjective learning benefit and positive learning environment were most related to the amount of practical experience, the degree of tailoring of the tasks to the house officers' competence, and to the formal intramural teaching programme. Supervision, gender, previous experience, and prior interest in psychiatry did not have significant impact on subjective learning. The findings are discussed in terms of the learning model that was developed.

Primary Traits of Oral Business Presentation: Translatable Use for Assessment in a Virtual Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leeds, Elke M.; Raven, Arjan; Brawley, Dorothy

2007-01-01

As more and more classes are taught on-line, new challenges for assessment of student learning have come about. In this paper on the use of digital video (DV) as an acceptable means to assess student oral business presentation skills, content analysis was used to test for the presence of primary traits inherent in effective formal business…

No need to grow my resumé? Mentorship and the intersection of learning between emerging and established leaders.

PubMed

Stevenson, Lynn; Vaulkhard, Kimberley

2017-09-01

Active ongoing learning is a foundational expectation of every healthcare leader whether at the beginning or end of their career. In order for leaders to be nimble and responsive to the ongoing changes in the healthcare environment, they must actively engage in a multiplicity of learning activities. One way of ensuring diversity of learning is for emerging and established leaders to learn together through formal or informal mentoring. This article will explore that intersection and the value add of a reciprocal mentoring relationship where mentor and mentee roles become blurred and joint learning becomes the goal. Capabilities from the LEADS in a Caring Environment framework will be drawn upon, and a challenge is suggested for experienced leaders to go beyond resumé building and invest in emerging leaders, as ultimately it is an investment in their own learning and the future.

Communities of teaching practice in the workplace: Evaluation of a faculty development programme.

PubMed

Schreurs, Marie-Louise; Huveneers, Wilma; Dolmans, Diana

2016-08-01

The focus of faculty development (FD) has recently shifted from individual and formal learning to formal and informal learning by a team of teachers in the workplace where the teaching is actually effected. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a faculty development programme on teachers' educational workplace environment. We invited 23 teachers, who had successfully completed a University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) programme, to evaluate the faculty development programme and participate in focus group discussions. This UTQ programme spanned one year and covered 185 hours of formal and informal learning and training activities and formal coaching. After having obtained their UTQ, teachers reported that coaching enhances reflection and feedback, to participate more frequently in educational networks, which enhances consultation among teachers, increased awareness of organizational educational policies and more confidence in fulfilling educational tasks and activities. The evaluation of the UTQ programme demonstrated to enhance the development of a community of teachers at the workplace who share a passion for education and provide each other with support and feedback, which triggered a change in culture enhancing improvement of education. However, this did not hold for all teachers. Inhibiting factors hold sway, such as a prevailing commitment to research over education in some departments and a lack of interest in education by some department chairs.

Preservice Teachers' Attitudes toward Parental Involvement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McBride, Brent A.

This exploratory study investigated preservice teachers' attitudes toward parental involvement in an attempt to identify a source of or solution to the relatively low rates of parental involvement in formal preschool learning environments. Subjects were 271 undergraduate, early childhood teacher education majors. Demographic data supplemented…

A New Virtual and Remote Experimental Environment for Teaching and Learning Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lustigova, Zdena; Lustig, Frantisek

This paper describes how a scientifically exact and problem-solving-oriented remote and virtual science experimental environment might help to build a new strategy for science education. The main features are: the remote observations and control of real world phenomena, their processing and evaluation, verification of hypotheses combined with the development of critical thinking, supported by sophisticated relevant information search, classification and storing tools and collaborative environment, supporting argumentative writing and teamwork, public presentations and defense of achieved results, all either in real presence, in telepresence or in combination of both. Only then real understanding of generalized science laws and their consequences can be developed. This science learning and teaching environment (called ROL - Remote and Open Laboratory), has been developed and used by Charles University in Prague since 1996, offered to science students in both formal and informal learning, and also to science teachers within their professional development studies, since 2003.

Non-Formal Learning: Clarification of the Concept and Its Application in Music Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mok, On Nei Annie

2011-01-01

The concept of non-formal learning, which falls outside the categories of informal and formal learning, has not been as widely discussed, especially in the music education literature. In order to bridge this gap and to provide supplementary framework to the discussion of informal and formal learning, therefore, this paper will first summarize…

Transformation of the System of Values of Autonomous Learning for English Acquisition in Blended E-Studies for Adults: A Holistic Fractal Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bojare, Inara; Skrinda, Astrida

2016-01-01

The present study is aimed at creating a holistic fractal model (HFM) of autonomous learning for English acquisition in a blended environment of e-studies in adult non-formal education on the basis of the theories and paradigms of philosophy, psychology and education for sustainable development to promote the development of adult learners'…

Lifelong Learning to Empowerment: Beyond Formal Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carr, Alexis; Balasubramanian, K.; Atieno, Rosemary; Onyango, James

2018-01-01

This paper discusses the relevance of lifelong learning vis-à-vis the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and stresses the need for an approach blending formal education, non-formal and informal learning. The role of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in moving beyond formal education and the importance of integrating pedagogy, andragogy and…

Atmospheric/Space Environment Support Lessons Learned Regarding Aerospace Vehicle Design and Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vaughan, William W.; Anderson, B. Jeffrey

2005-01-01

In modern government and aerospace industry institutions the necessity of controlling current year costs often leads to high mobility in the technical workforce, "one-deep" technical capabilities, and minimal mentoring for young engineers. Thus, formal recording, use, and teaching of lessons learned are especially important in the maintenance and improvement of current knowledge and development of new technologies, regardless of the discipline area. Within the NASA Technical Standards Program Website http://standards.nasa.gov there is a menu item entitled "Lessons Learned/Best Practices". It contains links to a large number of engineering and technical disciplines related data sets that contain a wealth of lessons learned information based on past experiences. This paper has provided a small sample of lessons learned relative to the atmospheric and space environment. There are many more whose subsequent applications have improved our knowledge of the atmosphere and space environment, and the application of this knowledge to the engineering and operations for a variety of aerospace programs.

The effects of exposure to general anesthesia in infancy on academic performance at age 12.

PubMed

Bong, Choon Looi; Allen, John Carson; Kim, Josephine Tan Swee

2013-12-01

Recent evidence from juvenile animal models has shown that exposure to anesthetic drugs above threshold doses during a critical neurodevelopmental window causes widespread neuronal apoptosis, resulting in irreversible brain damage and subsequent learning difficulties. The relevance of this to human infants having general anesthesia for minor surgery is unknown. In this pilot observational cohort study, we sought to determine whether children exposed to general anesthesia for minor surgery during infancy exhibited differences in academic achievement at age 12 years, as evidenced by (1) lower aggregate scores in the Singapore standardized Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and (2) formally diagnosed learning disability, compared with children who were never exposed to anesthesia or sedation. We compared 100 full-term, apparently healthy children aged 12 years who were exposed to general anesthesia for minor surgery before age 1 at our institution with an age-matched cohort of 106 children who were never exposed to anesthesia or sedation. Parents of children completed a 20-minute telephone interview with questions regarding their children's medical history, school environment, and home environment. The difference in mean PSLE aggregate scores (3.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], -8.3 to 14.3) between exposed (197.0; 95% CI, 185.6-208.4) and control groups (194.0; 95% CI, 182.9-205.1) was not statistically significant (P = 0.603). The presence of formally diagnosed learning disability was 15% (15 of 100) in the exposed group compared with 3.77% (4 of 106) in the control group (P < 0.001). The odds ratio for a formal diagnosis of learning disability in those exposed to general anesthesia relative to controls was 4.5 (95% CI, 1.44-14.1). The odds of a formal diagnosis of learning disability by age 12 years in apparently healthy children exposed to general anesthesia for minor surgery during infancy were 4.5 times greater than their peers who had never been exposed to anesthesia. However, study precision was inadequate to detect a clinically relevant difference in PSLE scores.

A Web-Based Learning Support System for Inquiry-Based Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Dong Won; Yao, Jingtao

The emergence of the Internet and Web technology makes it possible to implement the ideals of inquiry-based learning, in which students seek truth, information, or knowledge by questioning. Web-based learning support systems can provide a good framework for inquiry-based learning. This article presents a study on a Web-based learning support system called Online Treasure Hunt. The Web-based learning support system mainly consists of a teaching support subsystem, a learning support subsystem, and a treasure hunt game. The teaching support subsystem allows instructors to design their own inquiry-based learning environments. The learning support subsystem supports students' inquiry activities. The treasure hunt game enables students to investigate new knowledge, develop ideas, and review their findings. Online Treasure Hunt complies with a treasure hunt model. The treasure hunt model formalizes a general treasure hunt game to contain the learning strategies of inquiry-based learning. This Web-based learning support system empowered with the online-learning game and founded on the sound learning strategies furnishes students with the interactive and collaborative student-centered learning environment.

Incorporating active learning in psychiatry education.

PubMed

Kumar, Sonia; McLean, Loyola; Nash, Louise; Trigwell, Keith

2017-06-01

We aim to summarise the active learning literature in higher education and consider its relevance for postgraduate psychiatry trainees, to inform the development of a new Formal Education Course (FEC): the Master of Medicine (Psychiatry) at the University of Sydney. We undertook a literature search on 'active learning', 'flipped classroom', 'problem-based learning' and 'psychiatry education'. The effectiveness of active learning pedagogy in higher education is well supported by evidence; however, there have been few psychiatry-specific studies. A new 'flipped classroom' format was developed for the Master of Medicine (Psychiatry). Postgraduate psychiatry training is an active learning environment; the pedagogical approach to FECs requires further evaluation.

Lifelong learning: Established concepts and evolving values.

PubMed

Talati, Jamsheer Jehangir

2014-03-01

To summarise the concepts critical for understanding the content and value of lifelong learning (LL). Ideas generated by personal experience were combined with those of philosophers, social scientists, educational institutions, governments and UNESCO, to facilitate an understanding of the importance of the basic concepts of LL. Autopoietic, continuous, self-determined, informal, vicarious, biographical, lifelong reflexive learning, from and for society, when supported by self-chosen formal courses, can build capacities and portable skills that allow useful responses to challenges and society's new structures of governance. The need for LL is driven by challenges. LL flows continuously in pursuit of one agenda, which could either be citizenship, as is conventional, or as this article proposes, health. LL cannot be wholly centred on vocation. Continuous medical education and continuous professional development, important in their own right, cannot supply all that is needed. LL aids society with its learning, and it requires an awareness of the environment and structures of society. It is heavily vicarious, draws on formal learning and relies for effectiveness on reflection, self-assessment and personal shaping of views of the world from different perspectives. Health is critical to rational thought and peace, and determines society's capacity to govern itself, and improve its health. LL should be reshaped to focus on health not citizenship. Therefore, embedding learning in society and environment is critical. Each urologist must develop an understanding of the numerous concepts in LL, of which 'biographicisation' is the seed that will promote innovative strategies.

Lifelong learning: Established concepts and evolving values

PubMed Central

Talati, Jamsheer Jehangir

2014-01-01

Objective To summarise the concepts critical for understanding the content and value of lifelong learning (LL). Methods Ideas generated by personal experience were combined with those of philosophers, social scientists, educational institutions, governments and UNESCO, to facilitate an understanding of the importance of the basic concepts of LL. Results Autopoietic, continuous, self-determined, informal, vicarious, biographical, lifelong reflexive learning, from and for society, when supported by self-chosen formal courses, can build capacities and portable skills that allow useful responses to challenges and society’s new structures of governance. The need for LL is driven by challenges. LL flows continuously in pursuit of one agenda, which could either be citizenship, as is conventional, or as this article proposes, health. LL cannot be wholly centred on vocation. Continuous medical education and continuous professional development, important in their own right, cannot supply all that is needed. LL aids society with its learning, and it requires an awareness of the environment and structures of society. It is heavily vicarious, draws on formal learning and relies for effectiveness on reflection, self-assessment and personal shaping of views of the world from different perspectives. Conclusion Health is critical to rational thought and peace, and determines society’s capacity to govern itself, and improve its health. LL should be reshaped to focus on health not citizenship. Therefore, embedding learning in society and environment is critical. Each urologist must develop an understanding of the numerous concepts in LL, of which ‘biographicisation’ is the seed that will promote innovative strategies. PMID:26019932

Blending Formal and Informal Learning Networks for Online Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Czerkawski, Betül C.

2016-01-01

With the emergence of social software and the advance of web-based technologies, online learning networks provide invaluable opportunities for learning, whether formal or informal. Unlike top-down, instructor-centered, and carefully planned formal learning settings, informal learning networks offer more bottom-up, student-centered participatory…

Developing Educational Programs: Overcoming the Hidden Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giroux, Henry A.

1978-01-01

What students learn in school is determined more by the hidden curriculum of rigid classroom structures and power relationships than formal curriculum. A less alienating classroom environment must replace these traditional structures, such as tracking, grading, and student powerlessness, if education is really to be reformed. (SJL)

Bridging Formal and Informal Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barker, Bradley S.; Larson, Kim; Krehbiel, Michelle

2014-01-01

Out-of-school time programs that provide science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational content are promising approaches to develop skills and abilities in students. These programs may potentially inspire students with engaging hands-on, minds-on activities that encourages their natural curiosity around STEM content areas.…

Networked Professional Learning: Relating the Formal and the Informal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaessen, Matthieu; van den Beemt, Antoine; de Laat, Maarten

2014-01-01

The increasing complexity of the workplace environment requires teachers and professionals in general to tap into their social networks, inside and outside circles of direct colleagues and collaborators, for finding appropriate knowledge and expertise. This collective process of sharing and constructing knowledge can be considered "networked…

An exploration of student midwives' language to describe non-formal learning in professional practice.

PubMed

Finnerty, Gina; Pope, Rosemary

2005-05-01

The essence of non-formal learning in midwifery practice has not been previously explored. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the language of a sample of student midwives' descriptions of their practice learning in a range of clinical settings. The students submitted audio-diaries as part of a national study (Pope, R., Graham. L., Finnerty. G., Magnusson, C. 2003. An investigation of the preparation and assessment for midwifery practice within a range of settings. Project Report. University of Surrey). Participants detailed their learning activities and support obtained whilst working with their named mentors for approximately 10 days or shifts. The rich audio-diary data have been analysed using Discourse Analysis. A typology of non-formal learning (Eraut, M. 2000. Non-formal learning and implicit knowledge in professional work. British Journal of Educational Psychology 70, 113-136) has been used to provide a framework for the analysis. Non-formal learning is defined as any learning which does not take place within a formally organised learning programme (Eraut, M. 2000. Non-formal learning and implicit knowledge in professional work. British Journal of Educational Psychology 70, 113-136). Findings indicate that fear and ambiguity hindered students' learning. Recommendations include the protection of time by mentors within the clinical curriculum to guide and supervise students in both formal and non-formal elements of midwifery practice. This paper will explore the implications of the findings for practice-based education.

Improving Learner Outcomes in Lifelong Education: Formal Pedagogies in Non-Formal Learning Contexts?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zepke, Nick; Leach, Linda

2006-01-01

This article explores how far research findings about successful pedagogies in formal post-school education might be used in non-formal learning contexts--settings where learning may not lead to formal qualifications. It does this by examining a learner outcomes model adapted from a synthesis of research into retention. The article first…

A Bayesian formulation of behavioral control.

PubMed

Huys, Quentin J M; Dayan, Peter

2009-12-01

Helplessness, a belief that the world is not subject to behavioral control, has long been central to our understanding of depression, and has influenced cognitive theories, animal models and behavioral treatments. However, despite its importance, there is no fully accepted definition of helplessness or behavioral control in psychology or psychiatry, and the formal treatments in engineering appear to capture only limited aspects of the intuitive concepts. Here, we formalize controllability in terms of characteristics of prior distributions over affectively charged environments. We explore the relevance of this notion of control to reinforcement learning methods of optimising behavior in such environments and consider how apparently maladaptive beliefs can result from normative inference processes. These results are discussed with reference to depression and animal models thereof.

The Five Central Psychological Challenges Facing Effective Mobile Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terras, Melody M.; Ramsay, Judith

2012-01-01

Web 2.0 technology not only offers the opportunity of massively parallel interconnected networks that support the provision of information and communication anytime and anywhere but also offers immense opportunities for collaboration and sharing of user-generated content. This information-rich environment may support both formal and informal…

Link Maps and Map Meetings: Scaffolding Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindstrom, Christine; Sharma, Manjula D.

2009-01-01

With student numbers decreasing and traditional teaching methods having been found inefficient, it is widely accepted that alternative teaching methods need to be explored in tertiary physics education. In 2006 a different teaching environment was offered to 244 first year students with little or no prior formal instruction in physics. Students…

Personal Learning Environments: Concept or Technology?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fiedler, Sebastian H. D.; Väljataga, Terje

2011-01-01

This paper reviews and critiques how the notion of PLEs has been conceptualised and discussed in literature so far. It interprets the variability of its interpretations and conceptualisations as the expression of a fundamental contradiction between patterns of activity and digital instrumentation in formal education on one hand, and individual…

Popular Education for the Environment: Building Interest in the Educational Dimension of Social Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whelan, James

2005-01-01

Community-based environmental education is an important part of the sustainability project. Along with regulation and market-based instruments, adult learning and education in non-formal settings consistently features in the sustainability strategies advocated and implemented by government, community and industry entities. Community-situated…

Facilitating Family Group Inquiry at Science Museum Exhibits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gutwill, Joshua P.; Allen, Sue

2010-01-01

We describe a study of programs to deepen families' scientific inquiry practices in a science museum setting. The programs incorporated research-based learning principles from formal and informal educational environments. In a randomized experimental design, two versions of the programs, called "inquiry games," were compared to two control…

Hidden Curriculum as One of Current Issue of Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alsubaie, Merfat Ayesh

2015-01-01

There are several issues in the education system, especially in the curriculum field that affect education. Hidden curriculum is one of current controversial curriculum issues. Many hidden curricular issues are the result of assumptions and expectations that are not formally communicated, established, or conveyed within the learning environment.…

Deaf-Blindness and Communication: Practical Knowledge and Strategies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engleman, Melissa Darrow; Griffin, Harold C.; Wheeler, Linda

1998-01-01

Reviews interventions to help children who are deaf-blind to acquire and use communication skills. Focuses on children whose hearing and vision loss preclude traditional methods of communication training. Considers approaches from initial motor-based contacts with the outside environment to learning formal signs or the use of assistive technology.…

Rational Approximations to Rational Models: Alternative Algorithms for Category Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanborn, Adam N.; Griffiths, Thomas L.; Navarro, Daniel J.

2010-01-01

Rational models of cognition typically consider the abstract computational problems posed by the environment, assuming that people are capable of optimally solving those problems. This differs from more traditional formal models of cognition, which focus on the psychological processes responsible for behavior. A basic challenge for rational models…

Equity, the Arts, and Urban Education: A Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraehe, Amelia M.; Acuff, Joni B.; Travis, Sarah

2016-01-01

This review examines empirical studies of educational equity in and through the arts with broad implications for urban education. It extends the literature by (a) describing the interrelated spaces of urban education and the arts, (b) integrating knowledge of arts education across formal and informal learning environments, and (c) examining the…

Teaching from the Web: Constructing a Library Learning Environment Where Connections Can Be Made.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cox, Suellen; Housewright, Elizabeth

2001-01-01

Describes a course developed by librarians at California State University, Fullerton as an introduction to information technology for freshmen students. Topics include collaboration and feedback from team teaching; formal assessment and student evaluation;, and the increasing use of Web-based resources and technology. (Author/LRW)

Assessing Complexity. Group Composing for a Secondary School Qualifcation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thorpe, Vicki

2017-01-01

This article examines a unique music curriculum and assessment environment through the fndings of a practical action research project carried out in secondary schools. I address two current international educational issues: the relationship between formal and informal learning in music, and how individuals' contributions in collaborative groups…

The Lifelong Learning Iceberg of Information Systems Academics--A Study of On-Going Formal and Informal Learning by Academics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davey, Bill; Tatnall, Arthur

2007-01-01

This article describes a study that examined the lifelong learning of information systems academics in relation to their normal work. It begins by considering the concept of lifelong learning, its relationship to real-life learning and that lifelong learning should encompass the whole spectrum of formal, non-formal and informal learning. Most…

Supporting Professional Learning in a Massive Open Online Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milligan, Colin; Littlejohn, Allison

2014-01-01

Professional learning, combining formal and on the job learning, is important for the development and maintenance of expertise in the modern workplace. To integrate formal and informal learning, professionals have to have good self-regulatory ability. Formal learning opportunities are opening up through massive open online courses (MOOCs),…

Combining Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning for Workforce Skill Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Misko, Josie

2008-01-01

This literature review, undertaken for Australian Industry Group, shows how multiple variations and combinations of formal, informal and non-formal learning, accompanied by various government incentives and organisational initiatives (including job redesign, cross-skilling, multi-skilling, diversified career pathways, action learning projects,…

Family Literacy and the New Canadian: Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning: The Case of Literacy, Essential Skills and Language Learning in Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eaton, Sarah Elaine

2011-01-01

This paper examines literacy and language learning across the lifespan within the context of immigrants in the Canadian context. It explores the process of improving literacy skills and acquiring second or third language skills through the systems of formal, non-formal and informal learning, as defined by the OECD [Organisation for Economic…

Main factors in E-Learning for the Equivalency Education Program (E-LEEP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yel, M. B.; Sfenrianto

2018-03-01

There is a tremendous learning gap between formal education and non-formal education. E-Learning can facilitate non-formal education learners in improving the learning process. In this study, we present the main factors behind the E-learning for the Equivalency Education Program (E-LEEP) initiative in Indonesia. There are four main factors proposed, namely: standardization, learning materials, learning process, and learners’ characteristics. Each factor supports each other to achieve the learning process of E-LEEP in Indonesia. Although not yet proven, the E-learning should be developed followed the main factors for the non-formal education. This is because those factors can improve the quality of E-Learning for the Equivalency Education Program.

Eight-Legged Encounters—Arachnids, Volunteers, and Art help to Bridge the Gap between Informal and Formal Science Learning

PubMed Central

Hebets, Eileen A.; Welch-Lazoritz, Melissa; Tisdale, Pawl; Wonch Hill, Trish

2018-01-01

Increased integration and synergy between formal and informal learning environments is proposed to provide multiple benefits to science learners. In an effort to better bridge these two learning contexts, we developed an educational model that employs the charismatic nature of arachnids to engage the public of all ages in science learning; learning that aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas associated with Biodiversity and Evolution). We created, implemented, and evaluated a family-focused, interactive science event—Eight-Legged Encounters (ELE)—which encompasses more than twenty modular activities. Volunteers facilitated participant involvement at each activity station and original artwork scattered throughout the event was intended to attract visitors. Initial ELE goals were to increase interest in arachnids and science more generally, among ELE participants. In this study, we tested the efficacy of ELE in terms of (i) activity-specific visitation rates and self-reported interest levels, (ii) the self-reported efficacy of our use of volunteers and original artwork on visitor engagement, and (iii) self-reported increases in interest in both spiders and science more generally. We collected survey data across five ELE events at four museum and zoo sites throughout the Midwest. We found that all activities were successful at attracting visitors and capturing their interest. Both volunteers and artwork were reported to be effective at engaging visitors, though likely in different ways. Additionally, most participants reported increased interest in learning about arachnids and science. In summary, ELE appears effective at engaging the public and piquing their interest. Future work is now required to assess learning outcomes directly, as well as the ability for participants to transfer knowledge gain across learning environments. PMID:29495395

Eight-Legged Encounters-Arachnids, Volunteers, and Art help to Bridge the Gap between Informal and Formal Science Learning.

PubMed

Hebets, Eileen A; Welch-Lazoritz, Melissa; Tisdale, Pawl; Wonch Hill, Trish

2018-02-26

Increased integration and synergy between formal and informal learning environments is proposed to provide multiple benefits to science learners. In an effort to better bridge these two learning contexts, we developed an educational model that employs the charismatic nature of arachnids to engage the public of all ages in science learning; learning that aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas associated with Biodiversity and Evolution). We created, implemented, and evaluated a family-focused, interactive science event- Eight-Legged Encounters (ELE )-which encompasses more than twenty modular activities. Volunteers facilitated participant involvement at each activity station and original artwork scattered throughout the event was intended to attract visitors. Initial ELE goals were to increase interest in arachnids and science more generally, among ELE participants. In this study, we tested the efficacy of ELE in terms of (i) activity-specific visitation rates and self-reported interest levels, (ii) the self-reported efficacy of our use of volunteers and original artwork on visitor engagement, and (iii) self-reported increases in interest in both spiders and science more generally. We collected survey data across five ELE events at four museum and zoo sites throughout the Midwest. We found that all activities were successful at attracting visitors and capturing their interest. Both volunteers and artwork were reported to be effective at engaging visitors, though likely in different ways. Additionally, most participants reported increased interest in learning about arachnids and science. In summary, ELE appears effective at engaging the public and piquing their interest. Future work is now required to assess learning outcomes directly, as well as the ability for participants to transfer knowledge gain across learning environments.

Understanding Informality and Formality in Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colley, Helen; Hodkinson, Phil; Malcolm, Janice

2003-01-01

Reviews definitions of and debates over distinctions among formal, informal, and nonformal learning. Outlines questions about four aspects of formality/informality with which to analyze learning situations: process, location/setting, purposes, and content. (SK)

Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning in the Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ainsworth, Heather L.; Eaton, Sarah Elaine

2010-01-01

This research report investigates the links between formal, non-formal and informal learning and the differences between them. In particular, the report aims to link these notions of learning to the field of sciences and engineering in Canada and the United States, including professional development of adults working in these fields. It offers…

Does Formal Credit Work for MOOC-Like Learning Environments?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kursun, Engin

2016-01-01

Although a number of claims have been made describing massive open online courses (MOOCs) as a disruptive innovation in education, these claims have not yet been proven through research. Instead, MOOCs should perhaps be considered as an integrative model for higher education systems, but to do so will require recognition of credentials. Initial…

Making Games after School: Participatory Game Design in Non-Formal Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Kevin; Brandt, Jami; Hopkins, Rhonda; Wilhelm, Jason

2009-01-01

Participatory design principles were used with primarily African-American and Latino children in the Washington, DC area in the development of sports-themed digital game prototypes in an after-school program. The three stages in participatory design are the discovery stage, the evaluative stage, and prototyping. Within the participatory design…

Learning Motivation Mediates Gene-by-Socioeconomic Status Interaction on Mathematics Achievement in Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucker-Drob, Elliot M.; Harden, K. Paige

2012-01-01

There is accumulating evidence that genetic influences on achievement are more pronounced among children living in higher socioeconomic status homes, and that these gene-by-environment interactions occur prior to children's entry into formal schooling. We hypothesized that one pathway through which socioeconomic status promotes genetic influences…

Designing and Using an Open Graphic Interface for Instruction in Geometrical Optics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ronen, Miky; And Others

1993-01-01

Discusses conceptual difficulties in the field of geometrical optics and describes RAY, a microcomputer-based graphic interface that was designed to serve as a teaching aid and as a learning environment. The ability to combine theory and formal representations with real demonstrations and experiments is discussed. (Contains seven references.) (LRW)

Peer Helping Relationships in Urban Schools. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webb, Michael

Research has shown that students and teachers can benefit from structured in-school helping relationships in which peers assume formal roles as tutors. For the student in need of academic help, peer tutoring programs provide an opportunity to learn in a more nonthreatening environment than the classroom. Immediate feedback and clarification of…

Measuring Teacher Authenticity: Criteria Students Use in Their Perception of Teacher Authenticity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Bruyckere, Pedro; Kirschner, Paul A.

2017-01-01

Authenticity is an often-heard term with respect to education. Tasks should be authentic, the learning environment should be authentic and, above all, the teacher should be authentic. Previous qualitative research has shown that there are four primary criteria that students in formal educational settings use when forming their perceptions of…

Hands On, Minds On: How Executive Function, Motor, and Spatial Skills Foster School Readiness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cameron, Claire E.

2018-01-01

A growing body of research indicates that three foundational cognitive skills--executive function, motor skills, and spatial skills--form the basis for children to make a strong academic, behavioral, and social transition to formal school. Given inequitable early learning environments or "opportunity gaps" in the United States, these…

M-AssIST: Interaction and Scaffolding Matters in Authentic Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santos, Patricia; Cook, John; Hernández-Leo, Davinia

2015-01-01

Authentic assessment is important in formal and informal learning. Technology has the potential to be used to support the assessment of higher order skills particularly with respect to real life tasks. In particular, the use of mobile devices allows the learner to increase her interactions with physical objects, various environments (indoors and…

Active Listening Strategies of Academically Successful University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canpolat, Murat; Kuzu, Sekvan; Yildirim, Bilal; Canpolat, Sevilay

2015-01-01

Problem Statement: In formal educational environments, the quality of student listening affects learning considerably. Students who are uninterested in a lesson listen reluctantly, wanting time to pass quickly and the class to end as soon as possible. In such situations, students become passive and, though appearing to be listening, will not use…

Developing and Piloting the Planning for Facilitating Mathematical Processes and Strategies for Preschool Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Botha, M.; Maree, J. G.; de Witt, M. W.

2005-01-01

From an early age young children actively engage informally in acquiring fundamental concepts and process skills that form a basis for mathematical understanding. Quite logically, questions will arise during planning when young children first encounter a more formal learning environment: what strategy should one use to develop mathematical …

Informal and Deliberate Learning with New Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trinder, Ruth

2017-01-01

Due to the ready availability of new technologies, opportunities for the incidental as well as deliberate practice of English have multiplied and far exceed what can be done in more formal environments. Yet, despite the sizeable literature on the classroom-based use of specific digital resources, few studies have investigated how students evaluate…

The Use of Piagetian Theory in the Development of Middle School Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sproatt, Rod H.

1981-01-01

The middle school originated out of an understanding for the need of a learning environment geared specifically to the needs of the early adolescent. The transition from concrete to formal operational thought and the affective and psychomotor developmental stages demonstrate the uniqueness of the early adolescent experience. (JN)

Sex and Secrecies: An Exploration of Students' Conceptualizations of Heteronormativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cassar, Joanne

2015-01-01

Graffiti on the female students' lavatory doors of a higher education institution in Malta, most often describing sexual and romantic desires, demonstrates how students create alternative spaces beyond formal learning environments to acquire knowledge about sex and sexual orientation. This article presents a study of the writings that document the…

Does (In)Formal Learning Enhance Employability?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Heijden, Beatrice I.J.M.; Boon, Jo; van der Klink, Marcel R.; Meys, Ely

2008-01-01

Not much is known about the actual contribution of informal learning to employability over and above formal learning activities. This paper presents findings of a research project among university staff members and is aimed to determine the contribution of formal and informal learning activities in the light of future career potential. Findings…

A care improvement program acting as a powerful learning environment to support nursing students learning facilitation competencies.

PubMed

Jukema, Jan S; Harps-Timmerman, Annelies; Stoopendaal, Annemiek; Smits, Carolien H M

2015-11-01

Change management is an important area of training in undergraduate nursing education. Successful change management in healthcare aimed at improving practices requires facilitation skills that support teams in attaining the desired change. Developing facilitation skills in nursing students requires formal educational support. A Dutch Regional Care Improvement Program based on a nationwide format of change management in healthcare was designed to act as a Powerful Learning Environment for nursing students developing competencies in facilitating change. This article has two aims: to provide comprehensive insight into the program components and to describe students' learning experiences in developing their facilitation skills. This Dutch Regional Care Improvement Program considers three aspects of a Powerful Learning Environment: self-regulated learning; problem-based learning; and complex, realistic and challenging learning tasks. These three aspects were operationalised in five distinct areas of facilitation: increasing awareness of the need for change; leadership and project management; relationship building and communication; importance of the local context; and ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Over a period of 18 months, 42 nursing students, supported by trained lecturer-coaches, took part in nine improvement teams in our Regional Care Improvement Program, executing activities in all five areas of facilitation. Based on the students' experiences, we propose refinements to various components of this program, aimed at strengthenin the learning environment. There is a need for further detailed empirical research to study the impact this kind of learning environment has on students developing facilitation competencies in healthcare improvement. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validity of Assessment and Recognition of Non-Formal and Informal Learning Achievements in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaminskiene, Lina; Stasiunaitiene, Egle

2013-01-01

The article identifies the validity of assessment of non-formal and informal learning achievements (NILA) as one of the key factors for encouraging further development of the process of assessing and recognising non-formal and informal learning achievements in higher education. The authors analyse why the recognition of non-formal and informal…

The Interrelatedness of Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning: Evidence from Labour Market Program Participants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cameron, Roslyn; Harrison, Jennifer L.

2012-01-01

Definitions, differences and relationships between formal, non-formal and informal learning have long been contentious. There has been a significant change in language and reference from adult education to what amounts to forms of learning categorised by their modes of facilitation. Nonetheless, there is currently a renewed interest in the…

Building the Capability of Non-Formal Education Teachers to Develop a Learning Society for Promoting Lifelong Education in Thailand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sungsri, Sumalee

2018-01-01

This study aims to study Thai non-formal education teachers' perceptions of their opportunities to obtain knowledge about the learning society; identify the knowledge of non-formal education teachers need about the learning society which could be obtained through a distance learning package; and to develop and evaluate distance learning package on…

Professional Development across the Teaching Career: Teachers' Uptake of Formal and Informal Learning Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richter, Dirk; Kunter, Mareike; Klusmann, Uta; Ludtke, Oliver; Baumert, Jurgen

2011-01-01

This study examined teachers' uptake of formal and informal learning opportunities across the career cycle. Analyses were based on data from 1939 German secondary teachers in 198 schools. Results showed that formal learning opportunities (in-service training) were used most frequently by mid-career teachers, whereas informal learning opportunities…

The Influence of Music Learning Cultures on the Construction of Teaching-Learning Conceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casas-Mas, Amalia; Pozo, Juan Ignacio; Montero, Ignacio

2014-01-01

Current research in music education tends to put the emphasis on learning processes outside formal academic contexts, both to rethink and to renew academic educational formats. Our aim is to observe and describe three music learning cultures simultaneously, including formal, non-formal and informal settings: Classical, Jazz and Flamenco,…

How Online Journalists Learn within a Non-Formal Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kronstad, Morten; Eide, Martin

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of workplace learning, with a focus on the non-formal learning that takes place among online journalists. The focus of this article is journalists working in an online newspaper and their experiences with workplace and non-formal learning, centering on framework conditions…

Distance Learning and Non-Formal Education: Existing Trends and New Possibilities of Distance Learning Experiences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romi, Shlomo

2000-01-01

Reviews the characteristics of non-formal education as expressed in various academic-theoretical definitions, presents the links in this field to distance learning, and recommends future directions for exploring distance learning in non-formal education. Discusses the use of information and communication technology and considers problems with…

How does non-formal marine education affect student attitude and knowledge? A case study using SCDNR's Discovery program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGovern, Mary Francis

Non-formal environmental education provides students the opportunity to learn in ways that would not be possible in a traditional classroom setting. Outdoor learning allows students to make connections to their environment and helps to foster an appreciation for nature. This type of education can be interdisciplinary---students not only develop skills in science, but also in mathematics, social studies, technology, and critical thinking. This case study focuses on a non-formal marine education program, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources' (SCDNR) Discovery vessel based program. The Discovery curriculum was evaluated to determine impact on student knowledge about and attitude toward the estuary. Students from two South Carolina coastal counties who attended the boat program during fall 2014 were asked to complete a brief survey before, immediately after, and two weeks following the program. The results of this study indicate that both student knowledge about and attitude significantly improved after completion of the Discovery vessel based program. Knowledge and attitude scores demonstrated a positive correlation.

Enhancing Formal E-Learning with Edutainment on Social Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Labus, A.; Despotovic-Zrakic, M.; Radenkovic, B.; Bogdanovic, Z.; Radenkovic, M.

2015-01-01

This paper reports on the investigation of the possibilities of enhancing the formal e-learning process by harnessing the potential of informal game-based learning on social networks. The goal of the research is to improve the outcomes of the formal learning process through the design and implementation of an educational game on a social network…

Introduction of Mobile Media into Formal Classroom Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laskin, Alexander V.; Avena, Joseph

2015-01-01

Among all the technological changes in the society, smartphones have become one of the most adopted innovations. Yet, in the classroom a common response to phones in students' hands is to ban them! This study uses Social Construction of Technology theory to investigate whether mobile media can have a place in the classroom. Using in-depth…

Child-Initiated Pedagogies in Finland, Estonia and England: Exploring Young Children's Views on Decisions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Leena Helavaara; Kinos, Jarmo; Barbour, Nancy; Pukk, Maarika; Rosqvist, Leif

2015-01-01

This paper focuses on child-initiated pedagogy that is based on the process of co-construction of learning experiences between children, adults and the environment, being part of longitudinal research project that analyses child-initiated pedagogies in formal early years settings with 3-6-year-old children. Drawing on an ethnographic approach this…

Children's Reasoning as Collective Social Action through Problem Solving in Grade 2/3 Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Mijung

2016-01-01

Research on young children's reasoning show the complex relationships of knowledge, theories, and evidence in their decision-making and problem solving. Most of the research on children's reasoning skills has been done in individualized and formal research settings, not collective classroom environments where children often engage in learning and…

A State Cyber Hub Operations Framework

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

to communicate and sense or interact with their internal states or the external environment. Machine Learning: A type of artificial intelligence that... artificial intelligence , and computational linguistics concerned with the interactions between computers and human (natural) languages. Patching: A piece...formalizing a proof of concept for cyber initiatives and developed frameworks for operationalizing the data and intelligence produced across state

Reinventing Solutions to Systems of Linear Differential Equations: A Case of Emergent Models Involving Analytic Expressions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rasmussen, Chris; Blumenfeld, Howard

2007-01-01

An enduring challenge in mathematics education is to create learning environments in which students generate, refine, and extend their intuitive and informal ways of reasoning to more sophisticated and formal ways of reasoning. Pressing concerns for research, therefore, are to detail students' progressively sophisticated ways of reasoning and…

ICT and Web Technology Based Innovations in Education Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sangeeta Namdev, Dhamdhere

2012-01-01

ICT made real magic and drastic changes in all service sectors along with higher education and library practices and services. The academic environment is changing from formal education to distance and online learning mode because of ICT. Web technology and mobile technology has made great impact on education sector. The role of Open Access,…

To Cheat or Not to Cheat: A Review with Implications for Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hensley, Lauren

2013-01-01

Cheating is antithetical to the goals of meaningful learning and moral development. The more that community college faculty, staff, and administrators understand the nature of cheating and factors associated with the behavior, the more effective they can be in creating environments of integrity both inside and outside of the formal classroom. This…

Improving Students' Expertise and Attitudes during the Postwriting Stage of the Writing Process through Collaborative Revision.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wells, Mary C.

A practicum addressed the problem of students' lack of fluency in standard English despite the traditional paradigm for formal grammar instruction and the emphasis on process writing in most English classrooms. Nineteen (English 2) high school students participated in peer editing groups in a collaborative learning environment. The solution…

A Novel Conceptual Model of Environmental Communal Education: Content Analysis Based on Distance Education Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hafezi, Soheila; Shobeiri, Seyed Mohammad; Sarmadi, Mohammad Reza; Ebadi, Abbas

2013-01-01

Environmental education as a learning process increases people's knowledge and awareness about the environment. Although in some countries, the Environmental Communal Education (ECE) is the core of the environmental education by formal and informal organizations and groups, but, it has not clarified the meaning of the ECE's concept. Therefore the…

Applications of Augmented Reality in Informal Science Learning Sites: a Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goff, Eric E.; Mulvey, Kelly Lynn; Irvin, Matthew J.; Hartstone-Rose, Adam

2018-05-01

The importance of increasing interest in the STEM disciplines has been noted in a number of recent national reports. While many previous studies have focused on such efforts inside of the formal classroom, comparatively few have looked closely at informal learning environments. We investigate the innovative use of technology in informal learning by reviewing research on the incorporation of augmented reality (AR) at exhibit-based informal science education (ISE) settings in the literature. We report on the common STEM-focused topics that are covered by current AR applications for ISE learning, as well as the different devices used to support these applications. Additionally, we report on the prevalence of positive learning outcomes and engagement factors commonly associated with the use AR applications in informal environments. This review aims to foster continued development and implementation of AR technology in exhibit-based ISE settings by informing the community of recent findings and promoting additional rigorous research for the future.

ISO learning approximates a solution to the inverse-controller problem in an unsupervised behavioral paradigm.

PubMed

Porr, Bernd; von Ferber, Christian; Wörgötter, Florentin

2003-04-01

In "Isotropic Sequence Order Learning" (pp. 831-864 in this issue), we introduced a novel algorithm for temporal sequence learning (ISO learning). Here, we embed this algorithm into a formal nonevaluating (teacher free) environment, which establishes a sensor-motor feedback. The system is initially guided by a fixed reflex reaction, which has the objective disadvantage that it can react only after a disturbance has occurred. ISO learning eliminates this disadvantage by replacing the reflex-loop reactions with earlier anticipatory actions. In this article, we analytically demonstrate that this process can be understood in terms of control theory, showing that the system learns the inverse controller of its own reflex. Thereby, this system is able to learn a simple form of feedforward motor control.

Talent development of high performance coaches in team sports in Ireland.

PubMed

Sherwin, Ian; Campbell, Mark J; Macintyre, Tadhg Eoghan

2017-04-01

Coaches are central to the development of the expert performer and similarly to continued lifelong participation in sport. Coaches are uniquely positioned to deliver specific technical and tactical instruction and mentoring programmes that support the psychological and social development of athletes in a challenging, goal-oriented and motivational environment. The current study aimed to qualitatively investigate current coach learning sources and coaches' educational backgrounds in team sports in Ireland. Coaches from five team sports in Ireland were asked to complete an online questionnaire. Subsequently male coaches (n = 19) from five team sports who completed the questionnaire and met the inclusion criteria were invited to attend a follow-up semi-structured interview. Inclusion criteria for coaches were that they possess at least 10 years' experience coaching their sport and were coaching more than 4 hours per week. Formal coach education does not meet the needs of high performance coaches who rely more on self-directed learning and coaching experience as their main sources of CPD. Although prior playing experience at a high level is both valuable and desirable, there are concerns about fast-tracking of ex-players into high performance coaching roles. Preferred sources of education and the best learning environment for coaches of team sports in Ireland are more informal than formal. Further research is needed to examine how this learning is applied in a practical manner by examining coaching behaviours and the impact it has on the athlete development process.

Connecting Informal and Formal Learning Experiences in the Age of Participatory Media: Commentary on Bull et al. (2008)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenhow, Christine

2008-01-01

The recent editorial in this journal by Bull et al. ("Connecting Informal and Formal Learning Experiences in the Age of Participatory Media" Vol 8, Iss 2) discussed the challenges of bridging formal learning practices and informal learning opportunities within the context of today's Web-enhanced world. In this commentary, Christine…

The Moderating Effects of Group Work on the Relationship Between Motivation and Cognitive Load

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costley, Jamie; Lange, Christopher

2018-01-01

Semi-formal learning is used to describe learning that is directed towards the goals of a formal learning institution but outside of the learning structure of a specific class. Students studying online may form semi-formal groups to increase their knowledge of the content by interacting with other learners taking the same class. This study of…

Recognising Non-Formal and Informal Learning: An Open Challenge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perulli, Elisabetta

2009-01-01

The social-institutional endorsement towards the perspective of recognising and enhancing learning acquired outside the formal education and training contexts (non-formal and informal learning), has been gaining strength and has entered policy agendas throughout Europe, but also in other major non-European countries. Nevertheless there are still…

Bridging In-school and Out-of-school Learning: Formal, Non-Formal, and Informal Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eshach, Haim

2007-04-01

The present paper thoroughly examines how one can effectively bridge in-school and out-of-school learning. The first part discusses the difficulty in defining out-of-school learning. It proposes to distinguish three types of learning: formal, informal, and non-formal. The second part raises the question of whether out-of-school learning should be dealt with in the in-school system, in view of the fact that we experience informal learning anyway as well as considering the disadvantages and difficulties teachers are confronted with when planning and carrying out scientific fieldtrips. The voices of the teachers, the students, and the non-formal institution staff are heard to provide insights into the problem. The third part discusses the cognitive and affective aspects of non-formal learning. The fourth part presents some models explaining scientific fieldtrip learning and based on those models, suggests a novel explanation. The fifth part offers some recommendations of how to bridge in and out-of-school learning. The paper closes with some practical ideas as to how one can bring the theory described in the paper into practice. It is hoped that this paper will provide educators with an insight so that they will be able to fully exploit the great potential that scientific field trips may offer.

The Organization of Informal Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogoff, Barbara; Callanan, Maureen; Gutiérrez, Kris D.; Erickson, Frederick

2016-01-01

Informal learning is often treated as simply an alternative to formal, didactic instruction. This chapter discusses how the organization of informal learning differs across distinct settings but with important commonalities distinguishing informal learning from formal learning: Informal learning is nondidactic, is embedded in meaningful activity,…

Fostering interprofessional learning in a rehabilitation setting: development of an interprofessional clinical learning unit.

PubMed

Vanderzalm, Jeanne; Hall, Mark D; McFarlane, Lu-Anne; Rutherford, Laurie; Patterson, Steven K

2013-01-01

The development and implementation of interprofessional (IP) clinical learning units as a method to enhance IP clinical education and improve patient care in a rehabilitation setting are described. Using a community-based participatory research approach, academia and healthcare delivery agencies formed a partnership to create an IP clinical learning unit in a rehabilitation setting. Preimplementation data from surveys and focus group data identified areas for improvement to enhance IP understanding and collaboration. A working group developed and implemented initiatives to enhance IP practice. Preimplementation, eight themes emerged from which the working group identified goals and implemented strategies to strengthen IP learning. Goals included Creation of an IP Learning Environment, Increased Awareness of IP Practice, Role Clarification, Enhanced IP Communication, and Reflection and Evaluation. Postimplementation data revealed six themes: Communication, Informal IP Learning, Role Awareness, Positive Learning Environment, Logistics, and Challenges. The development of the IP clinical learning unit was successful and rewarding, but not without its challenges. Formal IP education was necessary to enhance collaborative practice, even in a multidisciplinary environment. Commitment and support from all participants, particularly managers and administrators from the healthcare agency, were critical to success. The focus of this unit was on a stroke rehabilitation unit; however, the development and implementation principles identified may be applicable to any team-based clinical setting. © 2013 Association of Rehabilitation Nurses.

Frontline learning of medical teaching: "you pick up as you go through work and practice".

PubMed

Hartford, W; Nimmon, L; Stenfors, T

2017-09-19

Few medical teachers have received formal teaching education. Along with individual and organizational barriers to participation in teacher training programs, increasing numbers and altered distribution of physicians away from major teaching centers have increased the difficulty of attendance. Furthermore, it is not known if traditional faculty development formats are the optimal learning options given findings from existing studies document both positive and negative outcomes. There is a gap in research that explores how medical teachers learn to teach and also limited research regarding how medical teachers actually teach. The purpose of this study was to provide insight into how physicians describe their teaching of trainees, and the nature of their teaching development and improvement to inform faculty development programs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 physicians, with a broad range of teaching experience, purposefully selected from five disciplines: Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Surgery, and Family Medicine. A qualitative, inductive approach was used to analyse the data. Teaching was described as being centered on the needs of individual trainees, but was dependent on patient presentation and environmental context. For this group of physicians learning to teach was perceived as a dynamic and evolving process influenced by multiple life experiences. The physicians had not learnt to teach through formal education and then put that learning into practice, but had learnt to teach and improve their teaching through their trial and errors teaching. Life experiences unconnected with the medical environment contributed to their knowledge of teaching along with limited formal learning to teach experiences. Teaching practice was influenced by peers and trainees, feedback, and observation. The findings suggest these medical teachers learn to teach along a continuum largely through their teaching practice. The findings suggested that the participants' major resource for learning how to teach was informal experiential learning, both in and out of the workplace. This may have implications for faculty development strategies for medical teaching education.

Is adolescence a critical period for learning formal thinking skills? A case study investigating the development of formal thinking skills in a short-term inquiry-based intervention program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Towne, Forrest S.

Current domestic and international comparative studies of student achievement in science are demonstrating that the U.S. needs to improve science education if it wants to remain competitive in the global economy. One of the causes of the poor performance of U.S. science education is the lack of students who have developed the formal thinking skills that are necessary to obtain scientific literacy. Previous studies have demonstrated that formal thinking skills can be taught to adolescents, however only 25% of incoming college freshman have these necessary skills. There is some evidence that adolescence (girls aged 11-13, boys aged 12-14) is a critical period where students must learn formal thinking skills, similar to the critical period that exists for young children learning languages. It is not known whether it is more difficult for students to learn formal thinking skills either prior to or following adolescence. The purpose of this quantitative case study is to determine whether adolescence is a critical period for students to learn formal thinking skills. The study also investigates whether a formal thinking skills focused program can improve students' intelligence. In this study 32 students who had not developed any formal thinking skills, ranging in age from 10-16, underwent an intensive four-week, inquiry-based, formal thinking skill intervention program that focused on two formal thinking skills: (1) the ability to control and exclude variables; and (2) the ability to manipulate ratios and proportionalities. The students undergoing the training were matched with control students by age, gender, formal thinking skill ability, and intelligence. The control group attended their traditional science course during the intervention periods. The results of the study showed that the intervention program was successful in developing students' formal thinking skills. The pre-adolescents (males, age 10-11, females, age 10) were unable to learn formal thinking skills. The data indicated that there is not a significant difference between adolescents and post-adolescents (up to 16-years-old) ability to learn formal thinking skills. Both groups (adolescent and post-adolescent) showed improvement in their formal thinking skill ability after the intervention. The intervention also demonstrated evidence of improving students' intelligence scores.

Competency-based Radiology Residency: A Survey of Expectations from Singapore's Perspective.

PubMed

Yang, Hui; Tan, Colin J X; Lau, Doreen A H; Lim, Winston E H; Tay, Kiang Hiong; Kei, Pin Lin

2015-03-01

In response to the demands of an ageing nation, the postgraduate medical education in Singapore is currently in the early stage of transition into the American-styled residency programme. This study assessed the expectations of both radiology trainees and faculty on their ideal clinical learning environment (CLE) which facilitates the programme development. A modified 23-item questionnaire was administered to both trainees and faculty at a local training hospital. All items were scored according to their envisioned level of importance and categorised into 5 main CLE domains-supervision, formal training programme, work-based learning, social atmosphere and workload. 'Supervision' was identified as the most important domain of the CLE by both trainees and faculty, followed by 'formal training programmes', 'work-based learning' and 'social atmosphere'. 'Workload' was rated as the least important domain. For all domains, the reported expectation between both trainees and faculty respondents did not differ significantly. Intragroup comparison also showed no significant difference within each group of respondents. This study has provided valuable insights on both respondents' expectations on their ideal CLE that can best train competency in future radiologists. Various approaches to address these concerns were also discussed. The similarities in findings between ours and previous studies suggest that the 'supervision', 'formal training programmes' and 'work-based learning' domains are crucial for the success of a postgraduate medical training and should be emphasised in future curriculum. 'Workload' remains a challenge in postgraduate medical training, but attempts to address this will have an impact in future radiology training.

Expanding the Frontiers of National Qualifications Frameworks through Lifelong Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owusu-Agyeman, Yaw

2017-01-01

The adoption of a national qualifications framework (NQF) by some governments in all world regions has shown some success in the area of formal learning. However, while NQFs continue to enhance "formal" learning in many countries, the same cannot be said for the recognition, validation and accreditation (RVA) of "non-formal"…

Formal Operations and Learning Style Predict Success in Statistics and Computer Science Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hudak, Mary A.; Anderson, David E.

1990-01-01

Studies 94 undergraduate students in introductory statistics and computer science courses. Applies Formal Operations Reasoning Test (FORT) and Kolb's Learning Style Inventory (LSI). Finds that substantial numbers of students have not achieved the formal operation level of cognitive maturity. Emphasizes need to examine students learning style and…

Modelling Trial-by-Trial Changes in the Mismatch Negativity

PubMed Central

Lieder, Falk; Daunizeau, Jean; Garrido, Marta I.; Friston, Karl J.; Stephan, Klaas E.

2013-01-01

The mismatch negativity (MMN) is a differential brain response to violations of learned regularities. It has been used to demonstrate that the brain learns the statistical structure of its environment and predicts future sensory inputs. However, the algorithmic nature of these computations and the underlying neurobiological implementation remain controversial. This article introduces a mathematical framework with which competing ideas about the computational quantities indexed by MMN responses can be formalized and tested against single-trial EEG data. This framework was applied to five major theories of the MMN, comparing their ability to explain trial-by-trial changes in MMN amplitude. Three of these theories (predictive coding, model adjustment, and novelty detection) were formalized by linking the MMN to different manifestations of the same computational mechanism: approximate Bayesian inference according to the free-energy principle. We thereby propose a unifying view on three distinct theories of the MMN. The relative plausibility of each theory was assessed against empirical single-trial MMN amplitudes acquired from eight healthy volunteers in a roving oddball experiment. Models based on the free-energy principle provided more plausible explanations of trial-by-trial changes in MMN amplitude than models representing the two more traditional theories (change detection and adaptation). Our results suggest that the MMN reflects approximate Bayesian learning of sensory regularities, and that the MMN-generating process adjusts a probabilistic model of the environment according to prediction errors. PMID:23436989

Informal Tools in Formal Context: Adoption of Web 2.0 Technologies among Geography Student Teachers in Ghana

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gyamfi, Stephen Adu

2017-01-01

Despite the popularity of Web 2.0 technologies and their educational benefits in the 21st century classroom environment, their use for teaching and learning purposes is still very limited. This study extended the technology acceptance model (TAM) to empirically examine factors that determine Ghanaian geography student teachers' acceptance of Web…

The Influences of Socio-Demographic Factors, and Non-Formal and Informal Learning Participation on Adult Environmental Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Digby, Cynthia L. B.

2013-01-01

Multiple factors are likely to influence adult literacy regarding the natural environment and environmental issues, but very little research has been carried out in this area. The research presented in this article is intended to help address this information gap, by investigating influences on adult environmental literacy using data from a…

Insights from EducaMovil: Involving Teachers in Creating Educational Content for Mobile Learning Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molnar, Andreea; Virseda, Jesus; Frias-Martinez, Vanessa

2015-01-01

The advent of feature phones in emerging economies makes them an ideal tool to be used for facilitating and complementing education performed in a formal environment (i.e. schools). However most of the proposed applications do not take into account the wishes of the teachers to customise the applications for student needs, or easiness to re-create…

Bringing Them Together: What Children Think about the World in Which They Live and How It Could Be Improved

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serf, Jeff

2010-01-01

Attitudes towards environmental issues are influenced by many factors, including what is learned in formal educational settings such as schools and more informally, through such sources as the media, interaction with family and friends and our everyday lived experiences. This study investigated children's ideas about the environment and their…

E-Model for Online Learning Communities.

PubMed

Rogo, Ellen J; Portillo, Karen M

2015-10-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the students' perspectives on the phenomenon of online learning communities while enrolled in a graduate dental hygiene program. A qualitative case study method was designed to investigate the learners' experiences with communities in an online environment. A cross-sectional purposive sampling method was used. Interviews were the data collection method. As the original data were being analyzed, the researchers noted a pattern evolved indicating the phenomenon developed in stages. The data were re-analyzed and validated by 2 member checks. The participants' experiences revealed an e-model consisting of 3 stages of formal learning community development as core courses in the curriculum were completed and 1 stage related to transmuting the community to an informal entity as students experienced the independent coursework in the program. The development of the formal learning communities followed 3 stages: Building a Foundation for the Learning Community, Building a Supportive Network within the Learning Community and Investing in the Community to Enhance Learning. The last stage, Transforming the Learning Community, signaled a transition to an informal network of learners. The e-model was represented by 3 key elements: metamorphosis of relationships, metamorphosis through the affective domain and metamorphosis through the cognitive domain, with the most influential element being the affective development. The e-model describes a 4 stage process through which learners experience a metamorphosis in their affective, relationship and cognitive development. Synergistic learning was possible based on the interaction between synergistic relationships and affective actions. Copyright © 2015 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Learning patient-centred communication: The journey and the territory.

PubMed

Cushing, Annie M

2015-10-01

The student entering medical school is about to undergo a socialisation process that profoundly shapes their development as a professional. A central feature is the formal and informal curriculum on the doctor-patient relationship and patient-centred communication. In this paper I will chart some of the features of the student journey which might impact on learning and practice. The medical undergraduate's role is largely that of observer and learner, rather than a provider of care, so much of the formal teaching on patient-centred communication is within simulated practice. Clinical practice environments are the most powerful influences on learning about professional behaviour. Challenges for educational practitioners include how to support authenticity in learners, respond to their agendas, and foster insight to enable flexibility about communication in different contexts. Parallels between the doctor-patient relationship and the student-tutor relationship are explored for their relevance. A number of educational theories can inform curriculum design and educational practice, notably Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. Application of this and other social learning theories, together with students' reflections can enrich our planning of educational interventions and understanding of their impact. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Many Perspectives of Valuing Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duvekot, Ruud

2009-01-01

Valuing Learning is the process of promoting participation in and outcomes of (formal or non-formal) learning and as such the organising principle for lifelong learning strategies. It aims at the recognition and validation of prior learning (VPL) and further development. Four main models of Valuing Learning can be distinguished: (1) the…

Non-formal Education in the Philippines: A Fundamental Step towards Lifelong Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzales, Ma. Celeste T.; Pijano, Ma. Concepcion V.

In order to significantly contribute to human resource development, the Philippines must develop an integrated educational system of lifelong learning, with a special emphasis on non-formal education. Despite the value that is placed on formal, or sequential academic schooling, it is non-formal schooling that makes accessible the acquisition of…

55 (At Least) and Not out of the Learning Game: Older Regional Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis, Bronwyn J.

2013-01-01

This article explores older students' perceptions of formal, non-formal and informal learning in regional South Australia. Drawing on earlier studies as well as a continuing one, it compares: the study motivations of students aged 55 and older enrolled formally in university undergraduate programs; the learning motivations of University of the…

Leadership in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Perspectives of Academics in Non-Formal Leadership Roles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hofmeyer, Anne; Sheingold, Brenda Helen; Klopper, Hester C.; Warland, Jane

2015-01-01

Developing leaders and leadership are key factors to improve learning and teaching in higher education. Despite the abundance of literature concerning developing formal leadership, fewer studies have been conducted with academics in non-formal leadership roles that focus on how they develop their leadership in learning and teaching. Publication…

Adjusting the Fulcrum: How Prior Learning Is Recognized and Regarded in University Adult Education Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kawalilak, Colleen; Wihak, Wihak

2013-01-01

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) offers adults formal recognition for learning obtained through non-formal and informal means. The practice reflects both equity and economic development concerns (Keeton, 2000). In the field of Adult Education as a formal study, however, tensions exist between honouring the learner and honouring the…

Developing a grounded theory for interprofessional collaboration acquisition using facilitator and actor perspectives in simulated wilderness medical emergencies.

PubMed

Smith, Heather A; Reade, Maurianne; Marr, Marion; Jeeves, Nicholas

2017-01-01

Interprofessional collaboration is a complex process that has the potential to transform patient care for the better in urban, rural and remote healthcare settings. Simulation has been found to improve participants' interprofessional competencies, but the mechanisms by which interprofessionalism is learned have yet to be understood. A rural wilderness medicine conference (WildER Med) in northern Ontario, Canada with simulated medical scenarios has been demonstrated to be effective in improving participants' collaboration without formal interprofessional education (IPE) curriculum. Interprofessionalism may be taught through rural and remote medical simulation, as done in WildER Med where participants' interprofessional competencies improved without any formal IPE curriculum. This learning may be attributed to the informal and hidden curriculum. Understanding the mechanism by which this rural educational experience contributed to participants' learning to collaborate requires insight into the events before, during and after the simulations. The authors drew upon feedback from facilitators and patient actors in one-on-one interviews to develop a grounded theory for how collaboration is taught and learned. Sharing emerged as the core concept of a grounded theory to explain how team members acquired interprofessional collaboration competencies. Sharing was enacted through the strategies of developing common goals, sharing leadership, and developing mutual respect and understanding. Further analysis of the data and literature suggests that the social wilderness environment was foundational in enabling sharing to occur. Medical simulations in other rural and remote settings may offer an environment conducive to collaboration and be effective in teaching collaboration. When designing interprofessional education, health educators should consider using emergency response teams or rural community health teams to optimize the informal and hidden curriculum contributing to interprofessional learning.

Local Patterns to Global Architectures: Influences of Network Topology on Human Learning.

PubMed

Karuza, Elisabeth A; Thompson-Schill, Sharon L; Bassett, Danielle S

2016-08-01

A core question in cognitive science concerns how humans acquire and represent knowledge about their environments. To this end, quantitative theories of learning processes have been formalized in an attempt to explain and predict changes in brain and behavior. We connect here statistical learning approaches in cognitive science, which are rooted in the sensitivity of learners to local distributional regularities, and network science approaches to characterizing global patterns and their emergent properties. We focus on innovative work that describes how learning is influenced by the topological properties underlying sensory input. The confluence of these theoretical approaches and this recent empirical evidence motivate the importance of scaling-up quantitative approaches to learning at both the behavioral and neural levels. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Engaging students as partners in developing online learning and feedback activities for first-year fluid mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Alan

2018-01-01

Much learning takes place outside of formal class settings, yet students starting in higher education are not always well equipped with independent learning skills, appropriate self-knowledge or the required levels of intrinsic motivation This project used students as partners to develop resources that could be used by first-year undergraduates in fluid mechanics, using activities and receiving feedback through the virtual learning environment (VLE), in order to build these three attributes of independent learners. While there were significant benefits to the students who developed the resources, the target students saw much lower benefits as a result of poorer than expected engagement. The challenge this research presents is to develop activities that maximise engagement in large classes, as well as develop appropriate independent learning skills.

The role of work-related learning in the identity transformation of Canadian workers with low literacy skills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Maurice C.; Trumpower, David L.; Purse, Edward R.

2015-12-01

Workplaces are settings where power, knowledge and self are brought together in a complex social environment which includes various forms of struggle related to identity, agency, socio-cultural norms, political structures and functional practices. The purpose of this article is to uncover how formal and informal work-related learning processes influence the identity transformation of workers with low literacy and essential skills. Drawing on two recent Canadian data bases which serve as cases in this study, the position taken by the authors is that the organisational context can both facilitate and impede worker subjectivity. Various conditions, approaches to learning and training pathways are examined as they contribute to social cognitive and transformative learning theories.

Automated Decomposition of Model-based Learning Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Brian C.; Millar, Bill

1996-01-01

A new generation of sensor rich, massively distributed autonomous systems is being developed that has the potential for unprecedented performance, such as smart buildings, reconfigurable factories, adaptive traffic systems and remote earth ecosystem monitoring. To achieve high performance these massive systems will need to accurately model themselves and their environment from sensor information. Accomplishing this on a grand scale requires automating the art of large-scale modeling. This paper presents a formalization of [\\em decompositional model-based learning (DML)], a method developed by observing a modeler's expertise at decomposing large scale model estimation tasks. The method exploits a striking analogy between learning and consistency-based diagnosis. Moriarty, an implementation of DML, has been applied to thermal modeling of a smart building, demonstrating a significant improvement in learning rate.

The role of learning environment on high school chemistry students' motivation and self-regulatory processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Judd, Jeffrey S.

Changes to the global workforce and technological advancements require graduating high school students to be more autonomous, self-directed, and critical in their thinking. To reflect societal changes, current educational reform has focused on developing more problem-based, collaborative, and student-centered classrooms to promote effective self-regulatory learning strategies, with the goal of helping students adapt to future learning situations and become life-long learners. This study identifies key features that may characterize these "powerful learning environments", which I term "high self-regulating learning environments" for ease of discussion, and examine the environment's role on students' motivation and self-regulatory processes. Using direct observation, surveys, and formal and informal interviews, I identified perceptions, motivations, and self-regulatory strategies of 67 students in my high school chemistry classes as they completed academic tasks in both high and low self-regulating learning environments. With social cognitive theory as a theoretical framework, I then examined how students' beliefs and processes changed after they moved from low to a high self-regulating learning environment. Analyses revealed that key features such as task meaning, utility, complexity, and control appeared to play a role in promoting positive changes in students' motivation and self-regulation. As embedded cases, I also included four students identified as high self-regulating, and four students identified as low self-regulating to examine whether the key features of high and low self-regulating learning environments played a similar role in both groups. Analysis of findings indicates that key features did play a significant role in promoting positive changes in both groups, with high self-regulating students' motivation and self-regulatory strategies generally remaining higher than the low self-regulating students; this was the case in both environments. Findings suggest that classroom learning environments and instruction can be modified using variations of these key features to promote specific or various levels of motivation and self-regulatory skill. In this way, educators may tailor their lessons or design their classrooms to better match and develop students' current level of motivation and self-regulation in order to maximize engagement in an academic task.

Workplace learning through peer groups in medical school clerkships.

PubMed

Chou, Calvin L; Teherani, Arianne; Masters, Dylan E; Vener, Margo; Wamsley, Maria; Poncelet, Ann

2014-01-01

Purpose When medical students move from the classroom into clinical practice environments, their roles and learning challenges shift dramatically from a formal curricular approach to a workplace learning model. Continuity among peers during clinical clerkships may play an important role in this different mode of learning. We explored students' perceptions about how they achieved workplace learning in the context of intentionally formed or ad hoc peer groups. Method We invited students in clerkship program models with continuity (CMCs) and in traditional block clerkships (BCs) to complete a survey about peer relationships with open-ended questions based on a workplace learning framework, including themes of workplace-based relationships, the nature of work practices, and selection of tasks and activities. We conducted qualitative content analysis to characterize students' experiences. Results In both BCs and CMCs, peer groups provided rich resources, including anticipatory guidance about clinical expectations of students, best practices in interacting with patients and supervisors, helpful advice in transitioning between rotations, and information about implicit rules of clerkships. Students also used each other as benchmarks for gauging strengths and deficits in their own knowledge and skills. Conclusions Students achieve many aspects of workplace learning in clerkships through formal or informal workplace-based peer groups. In these groups, peers provide accessible, real-time, and relevant resources to help each other navigate transitions, clarify roles and tasks, manage interpersonal challenges, and decrease isolation. Medical schools can support effective workplace learning for medical students by incorporating continuity with peers in the main clinical clerkship year.

Workplace learning through peer groups in medical school clerkships.

PubMed

Chou, Calvin L; Teherani, Arianne; Masters, Dylan E; Vener, Margo; Wamsley, Maria; Poncelet, Ann

2014-01-01

When medical students move from the classroom into clinical practice environments, their roles and learning challenges shift dramatically from a formal curricular approach to a workplace learning model. Continuity among peers during clinical clerkships may play an important role in this different mode of learning. We explored students' perceptions about how they achieved workplace learning in the context of intentionally formed or ad hoc peer groups. We invited students in clerkship program models with continuity (CMCs) and in traditional block clerkships (BCs) to complete a survey about peer relationships with open-ended questions based on a workplace learning framework, including themes of workplace-based relationships, the nature of work practices, and selection of tasks and activities. We conducted qualitative content analysis to characterize students' experiences. In both BCs and CMCs, peer groups provided rich resources, including anticipatory guidance about clinical expectations of students, best practices in interacting with patients and supervisors, helpful advice in transitioning between rotations, and information about implicit rules of clerkships. Students also used each other as benchmarks for gauging strengths and deficits in their own knowledge and skills. Students achieve many aspects of workplace learning in clerkships through formal or informal workplace-based peer groups. In these groups, peers provide accessible, real-time, and relevant resources to help each other navigate transitions, clarify roles and tasks, manage interpersonal challenges, and decrease isolation. Medical schools can support effective workplace learning for medical students by incorporating continuity with peers in the main clinical clerkship year.

Learning in later life: participation in formal, non-formal and informal activities in a nationally representative Spanish sample.

PubMed

Villar, Feliciano; Celdrán, Montserrat

2013-06-01

This article examines the participation of Spanish older people in formal, non-formal and informal learning activities and presents a profile of participants in each kind of learning activity. We used data from a nationally representative sample of Spanish people between 60 and 75 years old ( n  = 4,703). The data were extracted from the 2007 Encuesta sobre la Participación de la Población Adulta en Actividades de Aprendizaje (EADA, Survey on Adult Population Involvement in Learning Activities). Overall, only 22.8 % of the sample participated in a learning activity. However, there was wide variation in the participation rates for the different types of activity. Informal activities were far more common than formal ones. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that education level and involvement in social and cultural activities were associated with likelihood of participating, regardless of the type of learning activity. When these variables were taken into account, age did not predict decreasing participation, at least in non-formal and informal activities. Implications for further research, future trends and policies to promote older adult education are discussed.

Merging Social Networking Environments and Formal Learning Environments to Support and Facilitate Interprofessional Instruction

PubMed Central

King, Sharla; Greidanus, Elaine; Carbonaro, Michael; Drummond, Jane; Patterson, Steven

2009-01-01

This study describes the redesign of an interprofessional team development course for health science students. A theoretical model is hypothesized as a framework for the redesign process, consisting of two themes: 1) the increasing trend among post-secondary students to participate in social networking (e.g., Facebook, Second Life) and 2) the need for healthcare educators to provide interprofessional training that results in effective communities of practice and better patient care. The redesign focused on increasing the relevance of the course through the integration of custom-designed technology to facilitate social networking during their interprofessional education. Results suggest that students in an educationally structured social networking environment can be guided to join learning communities quickly and access course materials. More research and implementation work is required to effectively develop interprofessional health sciences communities in a combined face-to-face and on-line social networking context. PMID:20165519

Merging social networking environments and formal learning environments to support and facilitate interprofessional instruction.

PubMed

King, Sharla; Greidanus, Elaine; Carbonaro, Michael; Drummond, Jane; Patterson, Steven

2009-04-28

This study describes the redesign of an interprofessional team development course for health science students. A theoretical model is hypothesized as a framework for the redesign process, consisting of two themes: 1) the increasing trend among post-secondary students to participate in social networking (e.g., Facebook, Second Life) and 2) the need for healthcare educators to provide interprofessional training that results in effective communities of practice and better patient care. The redesign focused on increasing the relevance of the course through the integration of custom-designed technology to facilitate social networking during their interprofessional education. Results suggest that students in an educationally structured social networking environment can be guided to join learning communities quickly and access course materials. More research and implementation work is required to effectively develop interprofessional health sciences communities in a combined face-to-face and on-line social networking context.

How Have Concepts of Informal Learning Developed over Time?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carliner, Saul

2013-01-01

Although the current interest in informal learning seems recent, performance improvement professionals have long had an interest in informal learning-the ways that people learn outside of formal structures. The earliest forms of learning for work were informal, including de facto and formal apprenticeship programs and the "school of…

Trainee Teachers' Experiences Using Contextual Teaching and Learning: Implications for Incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge in Instructional Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mukwambo, Muzwangowenyu

2016-01-01

Some schools do not have local formal work environments enabling learners to interact with members in community of practice. This is noticeable in schools in developing countries, including the north eastern Zambezi Region of Namibia, where the study took place. To close the gap in which trainee science and mathematics teachers who were the…

Cultural influences on science museum practices: A case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duensing, Sally Jeanne

This dissertation looks at how informal science museums and centers both reflect and create the cultural contexts in which they are embedded. Specifically, it explores the multiple cultural perspectives held by the staff of the Yapollo Science Center in Trinidad, West Indies. This study focuses on how these perspectives impact the science center's sense of mission, design of educational programs, and development of exhibits. The findings in this case study have implications for other science museums and learning environments. Through the conduct and analysis of interviews, group meetings and on-site observations, this study found that there are several cultural domains in which staff perspectives of museum practice are situated. These include the local popular Trinidadian culture, the formal school system, and international science center community practices. For example, learning in the science center is seen by Yapollo staff as a social endeavor, more than an individual act. There is an emphasis on group engagement and social learning processes in exhibit design and teaching programs. The impact of local culture is further evidenced by Trinidadian practices of social learning and social competition in steel pan learning and calypso competition. These practices inform images of learning at Yapollo. The study highlights the role of formal educational systems by discussing how staff's informal educational approaches have resulted in a dialectic with the local formal British based school system practices. The study also explores the ways staff have adapted exhibit and program ideas from the international science museum. The synthesis of these cultures creates its own cultural ways of thinking and practice about exhibits and pedagogy that form the shared common wisdom at Yapollo. Museum practice, in this context, is viewed as a culture shaping enterprise that is itself shaped by culture. It demonstrates that teaching and learning practices occur in, and can be reflected upon, in multiple cultural contexts. The findings of this study have implications for many other areas of sociocultural and educational research.

Conceptualizing School-Based Teacher Learning from Teachers' Points of View: Holistically Leveraging Formal, Informal, and Independent Learning Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Monty; Dexter, Sara

2016-01-01

Improving in-service teacher education is paramount to improving student learning outcomes, and while research in this area typically examines formal teacher learning opportunities, emerging research indicates that teachers also engage in informal and independent modes of learning. Our inquiry into how teachers learned about integrating technology…

Students' voices: the lived experience of faculty incivility as a barrier to professional formation in associate degree nursing education.

PubMed

Del Prato, Darlene

2013-03-01

Nursing faculty play an important role in constructing learning environments that foster the positive formation of future nurses. The students' construction of a nursing identity is grounded in social interactions with faculty and is shaped by values and norms learned in both the formal and informal curriculum. The informal curriculum is communicated in faculty teaching practices and relationships established with students. To acquire an understanding of the students' lived experience in associate degree nursing education and identify educational practices that support students' professional formation. A phenomenological design was chosen to study the lived experience of nursing education. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 participants. Five students participated in second interviews for a total of 18 interviews. Symbolic interactionism guided data analysis. Participants represented three ADN programs in the northeastern U.S. and were diverse in terms of gender and age and to a lesser extent race, and sexual orientation. Faculty incivility included demeaning experiences, subjective evaluation, rigid expectations, and targeting and weeding out practices. Targeting practices contributed to a perceived focus on clinical evaluation and inhibited clinical learning. Faculty incivility hindered professional formation by interfering with learning, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and confidence. Faculty who model professional values in the formal and hidden curriculum contribute to the positive formation of future nurses. Nursing faculty should be formally prepared as educators to establish respectful, connected relationships with students. Faculty should role model professional values, deemphasize their evaluative role, provide constructive formative feedback, and remain open to the student's potential for growth. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Formal and Non-Formal Digital Practices: Institutionalizing Transactional Learning Spaces in a Media Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Lange, Thomas

2011-01-01

This article examines how a classroom procedure known as PGE (Plan/Go-through/Evaluate) group work aims at integrating formal and non-formal media experiences and practices into classroom-based media learning. The study displays, on the one hand, how PGE group work emerged and was institutionally embedded in a media course. On the other hand, the…

Informal in Formal: The Relationship of Informal and Formal Learning in Popular and Jazz Music Master Workshops in Conservatoires

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Virkkula, Esa

2016-01-01

The present article will examine informal learning in popular and jazz music education in Finland and evaluate it as a part of formal upper secondary vocational musicians' training, which is typically teacher directed. It is not necessarily the best model of working in popular and jazz music learning, which has traditionally benefitted from…

Formal and Informal Context Factors as Contributors to Student Engagement in a Guided Discovery-Based Program of Game Design Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reynolds, Rebecca; Chiu, Ming Ming

2013-01-01

This paper explored informal (after-school) and formal (elective course in-school) learning contexts as contributors to middle-school student attitudinal changes in a guided discovery-based and blended e-learning program in which students designed web games and used social media and information resources for a full school year. Formality of the…

Formal and informal home learning activities in relation to children's early numeracy and literacy skills: the development of a home numeracy model.

PubMed

Skwarchuk, Sheri-Lynn; Sowinski, Carla; LeFevre, Jo-Anne

2014-05-01

The purpose of this study was to propose and test a model of children's home numeracy experience based on Sénéchal and LeFevre's home literacy model (Child Development, 73 (2002) 445-460). Parents of 183 children starting kindergarten in the fall (median child age=58 months) completed an early home learning experiences questionnaire. Most of the children whose parents completed the questionnaire were recruited for numeracy and literacy testing 1 year later (along with 32 children from the inner city). Confirmatory factor analyses were used to reduce survey items, and hierarchical regression analyses were used to predict the relation among parents' attitudes, academic expectations for their children, reports of formal and informal numeracy, and literacy home practices on children's test scores. Parental reports of formal home numeracy practices (e.g., practicing simple sums) predicted children's symbolic number system knowledge, whereas reports of informal exposure to games with numerical content (measured indirectly through parents' knowledge of children's games) predicted children's non-symbolic arithmetic, as did numeracy attitudes (e.g., parents' enjoyment of numeracy). The home literacy results replicated past findings; parental reports of formal literacy practices (e.g., helping their children to read words) predicted children's word reading, whereas reports of informal experiences (i.e., frequency of shared reading measured indirectly through parents' storybook knowledge) predicted children's vocabulary. These findings support a multifaceted model of children's early numeracy environment, with different types of early home experiences (formal and informal) predicting different numeracy outcomes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Potential of the Non-Formal Educational Sector for Supporting Chemistry Learning and Sustainability Education for All Students--A Joint Perspective from Two Cases in Finland and Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Affeldt, Fiona; Tolppanen, Sakari; Aksela, Maija; Eilks, Ingo

2017-01-01

Non-formal education has been suggested as becoming more and more important in the last decades. As the aims of non-formal education are broad and diverse, a large variety of non-formal learning activities is available. One of the emerging fields in many countries, among them Finland and Germany, has been the establishment of non-formal laboratory…

Learning Conditions for Non-Formal and Informal Workplace Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kyndt, Eva; Dochy, Filip; Nijs, Hanne

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the presence of learning conditions for non-formal and informal workplace learning in relation to the characteristics of the employee and the organisation he or she works for. Design/methodology/approach: The questionnaire developed by Clauwaert and Van Bree on learning conditions was…

Outcomes of modified formal online debating in graduate nursing education.

PubMed

Vandall-Walker, Virginia; Park, Caroline L; Munich, Kim

2012-06-29

Formal debating is a process for argumentation with a long history of use in classroom settings to promote students' development of skills associated with influencing others. In an online, 14-week, MN nursing course, modified formal debate procedures and rules were used to address contemporary issues in nursing. A qualitative descriptive study of student's reflections about engaging in the debate process was conducted involving 24 of 48 students representing three sections of this course taught by three professors during the 2009-2010 academic year. On analysis, the data revealed five categories of outcomes: 1) Risk Taking; 2) Defence of a Position; 3) Coverage of all Aspects; 4) Skill and Knowledge Transfer; and 5) Critical Thinking. Additionally, factors that influenced each of these outcomes are described. Study findings support the compelling benefits of debating in online learning environments using a format modified for use online.

Why formal learning theory matters for cognitive science.

PubMed

Fulop, Sean; Chater, Nick

2013-01-01

This article reviews a number of different areas in the foundations of formal learning theory. After outlining the general framework for formal models of learning, the Bayesian approach to learning is summarized. This leads to a discussion of Solomonoff's Universal Prior Distribution for Bayesian learning. Gold's model of identification in the limit is also outlined. We next discuss a number of aspects of learning theory raised in contributed papers, related to both computational and representational complexity. The article concludes with a description of how semi-supervised learning can be applied to the study of cognitive learning models. Throughout this overview, the specific points raised by our contributing authors are connected to the models and methods under review. Copyright © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Optimization through satisficing with prospects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oyo, Kuratomo; Takahashi, Tatsuji

2017-07-01

As the broadening scope of reinforcement learning calls for a rational and more efficient heuristics, we test a satisficing strategy named RS, based on the theory of bounded rationality that considers the limited resources in agents. In K-armed bandit problems, despite its simpler form than the previous formalization of satisficing, RS shows better-than-optimal performances when the optimal aspiration level is given. We also show that RS shows a scalability for the number of actions, K, and an adaptability in the face of an infinite number of actions. It may be an efficient means for online learning in a complex or real environments.

How do physicians learn to provide palliative care?

PubMed

Schulman-Green, Dena

2003-01-01

Medical interns, residents, and fellows are heavily involved in caring for dying patients and interacting with their families. Due to a lack of formal medical education in the area, these house staff often have a limited knowledge of palliative care. The purpose of this study was to determine how, given inadequate formal education, house staff learn to provide palliative care. Specifically, this study sought to explore the extent to which physicians learn to provide palliative care through formal medical education, from physicians and other hospital staff, and by on-the-job learning. Twenty physicians were interviewed about their medical education and other learning experiences in palliative care. ATLAS/ti software was used for data coding and analysis. Analysis of transcripts indicated that house staff learn little to nothing through formal education, to varying degrees from attending physicians and hospital staff, and mostly on the job and by making mistakes.

Mapping the work-based learning of novice teachers: charting some rich terrain.

PubMed

Cook, Vivien

2009-12-01

Work-based non-formal learning plays a key role in faculty development yet these processes are yet to be described in detail in medical education. This study sets out to illuminate these processes so that potential benefits for new and inexperienced medical educators and their mentors can be realised. The non-formal learning processes of 12 novice teachers were investigated across hospital, general practice and medical school settings. The research sought to describe 'what' and 'how' non-formal learning takes place, and whether these processes differ across teaching sites. Both clinical and non-clinical teachers of medical undergraduates from one inner city medical school were recruited for the study. Through semi-structured interviews and a 'concept map', participants were asked to identify the people and tasks which they considered central to helping them become more expert as educators. Results identified non-formal learning across a number of key dimensions, including personal development, task and role performance, and optimising clinical teaching. This learning takes place as an outcome of experience, observation, reflection and student feedback. Non-formal learning is a significant aspect of the development of novice teachers and as such it needs to be placed more firmly upon the agenda of faculty development.

Restorative Practices as Formal and Informal Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Candice C.

2013-01-01

This article reviews restorative practices (RP) as education in formal and informal contexts of learning that are fertile sites for cultivating peace. Formal practices involve instruction about response to conflict, while informal learning occurs beyond academic lessons. The research incorporated content analysis and a critical examination of the…

Facilitating small groups: how to encourage student learning.

PubMed

Kitchen, Mark

2012-02-01

Many clinicians are involved in medical education, with small group teaching (SGT) forming a significant part of their work. Most facilitate these sessions by experience and common sense: less than one-third of them have received formal training in SGT. Evidence suggests small group productivity depends on good facilitation rather than on topic knowledge. Applying the fundamental concepts of SGT will lead to improvements in the quality of clinicians' teaching and in student learning. Good SGT creates the perfect environment for learning and discussion, without the need for didactic teaching. SGT emphasises the role of students in sharing and discussing their ideas in a safe learning environment, without domination by the tutor. This article provides clinicians with basic requirements for effective session design and planning, explains how to encourage student participation, how to manage students as a group, how to manage student learning, and how to recognise and deal with problems. Active facilitation and group management is the key to success in SGT, and consequently better learning outcomes. Improving the facilitation skills of clinical teachers makes teaching more effective, stimulating, and enjoyable for both tutors and students. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

Mobile learning in resource-constrained environments: a case study of medical education.

PubMed

Pimmer, Christoph; Linxen, Sebastian; Gröhbiel, Urs; Jha, Anil Kumar; Burg, Günter

2013-05-01

The achievement of the millennium development goals may be facilitated by the use of information and communication technology in medical and health education. This study intended to explore the use and impact of educational technology in medical education in resource-constrained environments. A multiple case study was conducted in two Nepalese teaching hospitals. The data were analysed using activity theory as an analytical basis. There was little evidence for formal e-learning, but the findings indicate that students and residents adopted mobile technologies, such as mobile phones and small laptops, as cultural tools for surprisingly rich 'informal' learning in a very short time. These tools allowed learners to enhance (a) situated learning, by immediately connecting virtual information sources to their situated experiences; (b) cross-contextual learning by documenting situated experiences in the form of images and videos and re-using the material for later reflection and discussion and (c) engagement with educational content in social network communities. By placing the students and residents at the centre of the new learning activities, this development has begun to affect the overall educational system. Leveraging these tools is closely linked to the development of broad media literacy, including awareness of ethical and privacy issues.

Blending Student Technology Experiences in Formal and Informal Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lai, K.-W.; Khaddage, F.; Knezek, Gerald

2013-01-01

In this article, we discuss the importance of recognizing students' technology-enhanced informal learning experiences and develop pedagogies to connect students' formal and informal learning experiences, in order to meet the demands of the knowledge society. The Mobile-Blended Collaborative Learning model is proposed as a framework to…

Informal and Formal Learning of General Practitioners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spaan, Nadia Roos; Dekker, Anne R. J.; van der Velden, Alike W.; de Groot, Esther

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand the influence of formal learning from a web-based training and informal (workplace) learning afterwards on the behaviour of general practitioners (GPs) with respect to prescription of antibiotics. Design/methodology/approach: To obtain insight in various learning processes, semi-structured…

Teacher Learning and Instructional Change: How Formal and On-the-Job Learning Opportunities Predict Change in Elementary School Teachers' Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parise, Leigh Mesler; Spillane, James P.

2010-01-01

Recent education reform has emphasized the importance of teacher learning in improving classroom instruction and raising student achievement. This article focuses on teachers' learning opportunities, including formal professional development and on-the-job learning that occurs through interactions with colleagues. Using data from 30 elementary…

The Effects of Formal Learning and Informal Learning on Job Performance: The Mediating Role of the Value of Learning at Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Yoonhee; Choi, Woojae

2016-01-01

Although research has widely recognized the relationships between formal and informal learning and job performance, empirical studies have not paid sufficient attention to these relationships. In addition, there is little understanding how individual perceptions toward learning influence the relationships between the aforementioned two types of…

e-Learning in nursing education--Challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Kokol, Peter; Blazun, Helena; Micetić-Turk, Dusanka; Abbott, Patricia A

2006-01-01

Quick changes on the field of informational communication technologies forces educational and other institutions to think about different ways of teaching and learning in both formal and informal environments. It addition it is well known that due to fast advancement of science and technology the knowledge gained in schools is getting out-of-date rapidly, so life long learning is becoming an essential alternative. As a consequence we are facing a rapid development and use of new educational approaches such as e-learning, simulations, virtual reality, etc. They brought a revolution to learning and instruction. But in general the empirical results of e-learning studies are somewhat disappointing. They cannot prove the superiority of e-learning processes over traditional learning in general, neither in specific areas like nursing. In our international study we proved that e-Learning can have many benefits and that it can enhance learning experience in nursing education, but it has to be provided in correct manner.

Crises and Resilience at the Frontline—Public Health Facility Managers under Devolution in a Sub-County on the Kenyan Coast

PubMed Central

Nyikuri, Mary; Tsofa, Benjamin; Barasa, Edwine; Okoth, Philip; Molyneux, Sassy

2015-01-01

Background Public primary health care (PHC) facilities are for many individuals the first point of contact with the formal health care system. These facilities are managed by professional nurses or clinical officers who are recognised to play a key role in implementing health sector reforms and facilitating initiatives aimed at strengthening community involvement. Little in-depth research exists about the dimensions and challenges of these managers’ jobs, or on the impact of decentralisation on their roles and responsibilities. In this paper, we describe the roles and responsibilities of PHC managers–or ‘in-charges’ in Kenya, and their challenges and coping strategies, under accelerated devolution. Methods The data presented in this paper is part of a wider set of activities aimed at understanding governance changes under devolution in Kenya, under the umbrella of a ‘learning site’. A learning site is a long term process of collaboration between health managers and researchers deciding together on key health system questions and interventions. Data were collected through seven formal in depth interviews and observations at four PHC facilities as well as eight in depth interviews and informal interactions with sub-county managers from June 2013 to July 2014. Drawing on the Aragon framework of organisation capacity we discuss the multiple accountabilities, daily routines, challenges and coping strategies among PHC facility managers. Results PHC in-charges perform complex and diverse roles in a difficult environment with relatively little formal preparation. Their key concerns are lack of job clarity and preparedness, the difficulty of balancing multidirectional accountability responsibilities amidst significant resource shortages, and remuneration anxieties. We show that day-to-day management in an environment of resource constraints and uncertainty requires PHC in-charges who are resilient, reflective, and continuously able to learn and adapt. We highlight the importance of leadership development including the building of critical soft skills such as relationship building. PMID:26696096

Crises and Resilience at the Frontline-Public Health Facility Managers under Devolution in a Sub-County on the Kenyan Coast.

PubMed

Nyikuri, Mary; Tsofa, Benjamin; Barasa, Edwine; Okoth, Philip; Molyneux, Sassy

2015-01-01

Public primary health care (PHC) facilities are for many individuals the first point of contact with the formal health care system. These facilities are managed by professional nurses or clinical officers who are recognised to play a key role in implementing health sector reforms and facilitating initiatives aimed at strengthening community involvement. Little in-depth research exists about the dimensions and challenges of these managers' jobs, or on the impact of decentralisation on their roles and responsibilities. In this paper, we describe the roles and responsibilities of PHC managers-or 'in-charges' in Kenya, and their challenges and coping strategies, under accelerated devolution. The data presented in this paper is part of a wider set of activities aimed at understanding governance changes under devolution in Kenya, under the umbrella of a 'learning site'. A learning site is a long term process of collaboration between health managers and researchers deciding together on key health system questions and interventions. Data were collected through seven formal in depth interviews and observations at four PHC facilities as well as eight in depth interviews and informal interactions with sub-county managers from June 2013 to July 2014. Drawing on the Aragon framework of organisation capacity we discuss the multiple accountabilities, daily routines, challenges and coping strategies among PHC facility managers. PHC in-charges perform complex and diverse roles in a difficult environment with relatively little formal preparation. Their key concerns are lack of job clarity and preparedness, the difficulty of balancing multidirectional accountability responsibilities amidst significant resource shortages, and remuneration anxieties. We show that day-to-day management in an environment of resource constraints and uncertainty requires PHC in-charges who are resilient, reflective, and continuously able to learn and adapt. We highlight the importance of leadership development including the building of critical soft skills such as relationship building.

Learning Multirobot Hose Transportation and Deployment by Distributed Round-Robin Q-Learning.

PubMed

Fernandez-Gauna, Borja; Etxeberria-Agiriano, Ismael; Graña, Manuel

2015-01-01

Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) algorithms face two main difficulties: the curse of dimensionality, and environment non-stationarity due to the independent learning processes carried out by the agents concurrently. In this paper we formalize and prove the convergence of a Distributed Round Robin Q-learning (D-RR-QL) algorithm for cooperative systems. The computational complexity of this algorithm increases linearly with the number of agents. Moreover, it eliminates environment non sta tionarity by carrying a round-robin scheduling of the action selection and execution. That this learning scheme allows the implementation of Modular State-Action Vetoes (MSAV) in cooperative multi-agent systems, which speeds up learning convergence in over-constrained systems by vetoing state-action pairs which lead to undesired termination states (UTS) in the relevant state-action subspace. Each agent's local state-action value function learning is an independent process, including the MSAV policies. Coordination of locally optimal policies to obtain the global optimal joint policy is achieved by a greedy selection procedure using message passing. We show that D-RR-QL improves over state-of-the-art approaches, such as Distributed Q-Learning, Team Q-Learning and Coordinated Reinforcement Learning in a paradigmatic Linked Multi-Component Robotic System (L-MCRS) control problem: the hose transportation task. L-MCRS are over-constrained systems with many UTS induced by the interaction of the passive linking element and the active mobile robots.

Structures de l'apprentissage dans les pays de l'Europe Occidentale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lengrand, Paul

1982-06-01

In West European countries, as in most modern societies, learning can be divided into three sectors. Informal education occupies the greatest space, both because of its duration and because it extends into every part of life. It happens in many and various ways and circumstances — from learning the language and socialisation in the family environment to the experiences of retirement and the third age. A large number of factors are involved, particularly married life, family responsibilities, work, the influence of mass media and participation in political activities. It is also the area of self-education. Formal education, dispensed by schools and universities, corrects and guides what is learned in the informal sector. It provides part of the necessary learning in the fields of the arts and of the sciences. However, it falls short so far as the evolution of ideas, morals and social behaviour are concerned. It also only imperfectly fulfils its function of democratization, and because of its concentration on matters intellectual, it does not promote the development of the diverse capacities of the whole person. Nonformal education resembles informal education in that it relates to life, and formal education in its structured character. It is the domain of educational innovation, especially in the context of social relationships. Through the harmonious combination of these three sectors of learning, the principles of a global and integrated lifelong education can be implemented.

The Sense of Confidence during Probabilistic Learning: A Normative Account.

PubMed

Meyniel, Florent; Schlunegger, Daniel; Dehaene, Stanislas

2015-06-01

Learning in a stochastic environment consists of estimating a model from a limited amount of noisy data, and is therefore inherently uncertain. However, many classical models reduce the learning process to the updating of parameter estimates and neglect the fact that learning is also frequently accompanied by a variable "feeling of knowing" or confidence. The characteristics and the origin of these subjective confidence estimates thus remain largely unknown. Here we investigate whether, during learning, humans not only infer a model of their environment, but also derive an accurate sense of confidence from their inferences. In our experiment, humans estimated the transition probabilities between two visual or auditory stimuli in a changing environment, and reported their mean estimate and their confidence in this report. To formalize the link between both kinds of estimate and assess their accuracy in comparison to a normative reference, we derive the optimal inference strategy for our task. Our results indicate that subjects accurately track the likelihood that their inferences are correct. Learning and estimating confidence in what has been learned appear to be two intimately related abilities, suggesting that they arise from a single inference process. We show that human performance matches several properties of the optimal probabilistic inference. In particular, subjective confidence is impacted by environmental uncertainty, both at the first level (uncertainty in stimulus occurrence given the inferred stochastic characteristics) and at the second level (uncertainty due to unexpected changes in these stochastic characteristics). Confidence also increases appropriately with the number of observations within stable periods. Our results support the idea that humans possess a quantitative sense of confidence in their inferences about abstract non-sensory parameters of the environment. This ability cannot be reduced to simple heuristics, it seems instead a core property of the learning process.

The Sense of Confidence during Probabilistic Learning: A Normative Account

PubMed Central

Meyniel, Florent; Schlunegger, Daniel; Dehaene, Stanislas

2015-01-01

Learning in a stochastic environment consists of estimating a model from a limited amount of noisy data, and is therefore inherently uncertain. However, many classical models reduce the learning process to the updating of parameter estimates and neglect the fact that learning is also frequently accompanied by a variable “feeling of knowing” or confidence. The characteristics and the origin of these subjective confidence estimates thus remain largely unknown. Here we investigate whether, during learning, humans not only infer a model of their environment, but also derive an accurate sense of confidence from their inferences. In our experiment, humans estimated the transition probabilities between two visual or auditory stimuli in a changing environment, and reported their mean estimate and their confidence in this report. To formalize the link between both kinds of estimate and assess their accuracy in comparison to a normative reference, we derive the optimal inference strategy for our task. Our results indicate that subjects accurately track the likelihood that their inferences are correct. Learning and estimating confidence in what has been learned appear to be two intimately related abilities, suggesting that they arise from a single inference process. We show that human performance matches several properties of the optimal probabilistic inference. In particular, subjective confidence is impacted by environmental uncertainty, both at the first level (uncertainty in stimulus occurrence given the inferred stochastic characteristics) and at the second level (uncertainty due to unexpected changes in these stochastic characteristics). Confidence also increases appropriately with the number of observations within stable periods. Our results support the idea that humans possess a quantitative sense of confidence in their inferences about abstract non-sensory parameters of the environment. This ability cannot be reduced to simple heuristics, it seems instead a core property of the learning process. PMID:26076466

A model of influences on the clinical learning environment: the case for change at one U.S. medical school.

PubMed

Fleit, Howard B; Iuli, Richard J; Fischel, Janet E; Lu, Wei-Hsin; Chandran, Latha

2017-03-23

The learning environment within a school of medicine influences medical students' values and their professional development. Despite national requirements to monitor the learning environment, mistreatment of medical students persists. We designed a program called WE SMILE: We can Eradicate Student Mistreatment In the Learning Environment with a vision to enhance trainee and faculty awareness and ultimately eliminate medical student mistreatment. We provide a description of our program and early outcomes. The program has enhanced student awareness of what constitutes mistreatment and how to report it. Faculty members are also aware of the formal processes and procedures for review of such incidents. Our proposed model of influences on the learning environment and the clinical workforce informs the quality of trainee education and safety of patient care. Institutional leadership and culture play a prominent role in this model. Our integrated institutional response to learning environment concerns is offered as a strategy to improve policy awareness, reporting and management of student mistreatment concerns. Our WE SMILE program was developed to enhance education and awareness of what constitutes mistreatment and to provide multiple pathways for student reporting, with clear responsibilities for review, adjudication and enforcement. The program is demonstrating several signs of early success and is offered as a strategy for other schools to adopt or adapt. We have recognized a delicate balance between preserving student anonymity and informing them of specific actions taken. Providing students and other stakeholders with clear evidence of institutional response and accountability remains a key challenge. Multiple methods of reporting have been advantageous in eliciting information on learning environment infringements. These routes and types of reporting have enhanced our understanding of student perceptions and the specific contexts in which mistreatment occurs, allowing for targeted interventions. A common platform across the healthcare professions to report and review concerns has afforded us opportunities to deal with interprofessional issues in a respectful and trustworthy manner. We offer a model of learning environment influences with leadership and institutional culture at the helm, as a way to frame a comprehensive perspective on this challenging and complex concern.

Developing an approach for teaching and learning about Lewis structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaufmann, Ilana; Hamza, Karim M.; Rundgren, Carl-Johan; Eriksson, Lars

2017-08-01

This study explores first-year university students' reasoning as they learn to draw Lewis structures. We also present a theoretical account of the formal procedure commonly taught for drawing these structures. Students' discussions during problem-solving activities were video recorded and detailed analyses of the discussions were made through the use of practical epistemology analysis (PEA). Our results show that the formal procedure was central for drawing Lewis structures, but its use varied depending on situational aspects. Commonly, the use of individual steps of the formal procedure was contingent on experiences of chemical structures, and other information such as the characteristics of the problem given. The analysis revealed a number of patterns in how students constructed, checked and modified the structure in relation to the formal procedure and the situational aspects. We suggest that explicitly teaching the formal procedure as a process of constructing, checking and modifying might be helpful for students learning to draw Lewis structures. By doing so, the students may learn to check the accuracy of the generated structure not only in relation to the octet rule and formal charge, but also to other experiences that are not explicitly included in the formal procedure.

Understanding the Construction of Personal Learning Networks to Support Non-Formal Workplace Learning of Training Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manning, Christin

2013-01-01

Workers in the 21st century workplace are faced with rapid and constant developments that place a heavy demand on them to continually learn beyond what the Human Resources and Training groups can meet. As a consequence, professionals must rely on non-formal learning approaches through the development of a personal learning network to keep…

Hard Times for HRD, Lean Times for Learning?: Workplace Participatory Practices as Enablers of Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warhurst, Russell

2013-01-01

Purpose: This article aims to show how in times of austerity when formal HRD activity is curtailed and yet the need for learning is greatest, non-formal learning methods such as workplace involvement and participation initiated by line managers can compensate by enabling the required learning and change. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative…

Recognition, Accreditation and Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning: Prospects for Lifelong Learning in Nepal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Regmi, Kapil Dev

2009-01-01

This study was an exploration on the various issues related to recognition, accreditation and validation of non-formal and informal learning to open up avenues for lifelong learning and continuing education in Nepal. The perceptions, experiences, and opinions of Nepalese Development Activists, Educational Administrators, Policy Actors and…

Learn to Lead: Mapping Workplace Learning of School Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hulsbos, Frank Arnoud; Evers, Arnoud Theodoor; Kessels, Joseph Willem Marie

2016-01-01

In recent years policy makers' interest in the professional development of school leaders has grown considerably. Although we know some aspect of formal educational programs for school leaders, little is known about school leaders' incidental and non-formal learning in the workplace. This study aims to grasp what workplace learning activities…

Connecting Formal and Informal Learning Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Mahony, Timothy Kieran

2010-01-01

The learning study reports on part of a larger project being lead by the author. In this dissertation I explore one goal of this project--to understand effects on student learning outcomes as a function of using different methods for connecting out-of-school experiential learning with formal school-based instruction. There is a long history of…

Global How?--Linking Practice to Theory: A Competency Model for Training Global Learning Facilitators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Büker, Gundula; Schell-Straub, Sigrid

2017-01-01

Global learning facilitators from civil society organizations (CSOs) design and enrich educational processes in formal and non-formal educational settings. They need to be empowered through adequate training opportunities in global learning (GL) contexts. The project Facilitating Global Learning--Key Competences from Members of European CSOs (FGL)…

Recognition of Prior Learning: The Participants' Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miguel, Marta C.; Ornelas, José H.; Maroco, João P.

2016-01-01

The current narrative on lifelong learning goes beyond formal education and training, including learning at work, in the family and in the community. Recognition of prior learning is a process of evaluation of those skills and knowledge acquired through life experience, allowing them to be formally recognized by the qualification systems. It is a…

How Teachers Learn: The Roles of Formal, Informal, and Independent Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, W. Monty; Dexter, Sara

2014-01-01

A qualitative study of math and science teachers at two middle schools identifies how their system for learning to integrate technology into their teaching goes beyond what school leaders typically consider when planning for teachers' learning. In addition to (a) the district-initiated, or formal, system of professional development (PD) and…

Recognising Prior Learning: Investigating the Future of Informal Learning, a Northern Ireland Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Hagan, Celia; McAleavy, Gerry; Storan, John

2005-01-01

Credit accumulation and transfer schemes (CATS) have developed as a means to facilitate access and the recognition and development of formal learning experiences across educational sectors and providers. Modularisation and credit developments have significantly affected the provision of formal learning opportunities over the last three decades.…

Portuguese Coaches' Perceptions of and Preferences for Knowledge Sources Related to their Professional Background.

PubMed

Mesquita, Isabel; Isidro, Sofia; Rosado, António

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyse Portuguese coaches' perceptions of, and preferences for, knowledge sources as related to professional background; namely academic education level, coach education level and coaching experience. The study's participants comprised 336 Portuguese coaches from twenty-two sports. A questionnaire was used to identify coaches' demographic characteristics and representations about their preferred sources of coaching knowledge. MANOVA using Tukey's HSD test was used to compare groups. The results highlighted that coaches perceived that coaching knowledge is built from a broad range of sources from personal coaching and playing experiences to more explicit formal, informal and non-formal learning situations. Results indicated that the coaches ascribed more importance to experiential sources such as working with experts, learning by doing, interacting with peer coaches and attending informal seminars and clinics, than to the formal learning situations provided by the national coaching certification programs. Differences, however, were found in that coaches who had a greater background within higher education (physical) and sport valued informal and non-formal learning sources more than did coaches who were defined as not coming from an academic background. The findings point to the importance of developing new learning, experientially-based, opportunities within the Portuguese context, where curricula content continues to be delivered via didactic means. Key pointsCoaches recognized that learning is obtained from a broad range of sources of coaching knowledge and each source has a particular role in the development of a coach.Experiential guided sources reached more importance to coaches as working with experts, learning by doing, attending seminars/clinics outside of the formal system and interaction with peers were the most acknowledged.The only source that is related to formal learning, national certification programs, was recognized as the less importance than all informal and non-formal learning situations.The profile of the source of coaching knowledge showed to be stable among coaches as only the academic education level differentiated the coaches' perceptions.

Portuguese Coaches’ Perceptions of and Preferences for Knowledge Sources Related to their Professional Background

PubMed Central

Mesquita, Isabel; Isidro, Sofia; Rosado, António

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyse Portuguese coaches’ perceptions of, and preferences for, knowledge sources as related to professional background; namely academic education level, coach education level and coaching experience. The study’s participants comprised 336 Portuguese coaches from twenty-two sports. A questionnaire was used to identify coaches’ demographic characteristics and representations about their preferred sources of coaching knowledge. MANOVA using Tukey’s HSD test was used to compare groups. The results highlighted that coaches perceived that coaching knowledge is built from a broad range of sources from personal coaching and playing experiences to more explicit formal, informal and non-formal learning situations. Results indicated that the coaches ascribed more importance to experiential sources such as working with experts, learning by doing, interacting with peer coaches and attending informal seminars and clinics, than to the formal learning situations provided by the national coaching certification programs. Differences, however, were found in that coaches who had a greater background within higher education (physical) and sport valued informal and non-formal learning sources more than did coaches who were defined as not coming from an academic background. The findings point to the importance of developing new learning, experientially-based, opportunities within the Portuguese context, where curricula content continues to be delivered via didactic means. Key points Coaches recognized that learning is obtained from a broad range of sources of coaching knowledge and each source has a particular role in the development of a coach. Experiential guided sources reached more importance to coaches as working with experts, learning by doing, attending seminars/clinics outside of the formal system and interaction with peers were the most acknowledged. The only source that is related to formal learning, national certification programs, was recognized as the less importance than all informal and non-formal learning situations. The profile of the source of coaching knowledge showed to be stable among coaches as only the academic education level differentiated the coaches’ perceptions. PMID:24149644

Doctoral Students as Journal Editors: Non-Formal Learning through Academic Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hopwood, Nick

2010-01-01

Much attention has been paid to formal pedagogic elements of the doctorate--supervision and other structured institutional provisions--but we know less about the role played by non-formal practices in doctoral students' learning. This paper explores the experiences of eight doctoral students involved in editing student-run journals. Editorship and…

Empowering out of School Youth through Non-Formal Education in Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mualuko, Ndiku Judah

2008-01-01

Non-formal education, defined as any organized educational activity outside the established formal system whether operating separately or as an important feature of some broader activity that is intended to serve identifiable learning clienteles and learning objective is of great importance to society. It emerged out of the feeling that formal…

Novel Hybrid Adaptive Controller for Manipulation in Complex Perturbation Environments

PubMed Central

Smith, Alex M. C.; Yang, Chenguang; Ma, Hongbin; Culverhouse, Phil; Cangelosi, Angelo; Burdet, Etienne

2015-01-01

In this paper we present a hybrid control scheme, combining the advantages of task-space and joint-space control. The controller is based on a human-like adaptive design, which minimises both control effort and tracking error. Our novel hybrid adaptive controller has been tested in extensive simulations, in a scenario where a Baxter robot manipulator is affected by external disturbances in the form of interaction with the environment and tool-like end-effector perturbations. The results demonstrated improved performance in the hybrid controller over both of its component parts. In addition, we introduce a novel method for online adaptation of learning parameters, using the fuzzy control formalism to utilise expert knowledge from the experimenter. This mechanism of meta-learning induces further improvement in performance and avoids the need for tuning through trial testing. PMID:26029916

The neural representation of unexpected uncertainty during value-based decision making.

PubMed

Payzan-LeNestour, Elise; Dunne, Simon; Bossaerts, Peter; O'Doherty, John P

2013-07-10

Uncertainty is an inherent property of the environment and a central feature of models of decision-making and learning. Theoretical propositions suggest that one form, unexpected uncertainty, may be used to rapidly adapt to changes in the environment, while being influenced by two other forms: risk and estimation uncertainty. While previous studies have reported neural representations of estimation uncertainty and risk, relatively little is known about unexpected uncertainty. Here, participants performed a decision-making task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which, in combination with a Bayesian model-based analysis, enabled us to separately examine each form of uncertainty examined. We found representations of unexpected uncertainty in multiple cortical areas, as well as the noradrenergic brainstem nucleus locus coeruleus. Other unique cortical regions were found to encode risk, estimation uncertainty, and learning rate. Collectively, these findings support theoretical models in which several formally separable uncertainty computations determine the speed of learning. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching in the Field: What Teacher Professional Life Histories Tell About How They Learn to Teach in the Outdoor Learning Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feille, Kelly K.

2017-06-01

This research investigates the professional life histories of upper elementary science teachers who were identified as effective both within the classroom and in the outdoor learning environment (OLE). The narratives of five teachers, collected through semistructured and open-ended interviews, provided the data for the study. Professional life histories were constructed for each teacher participant and an analysis of the teacher narratives identified the themes of teacher development across the voices of the participants. Narrative reasoning was used to unify those themes into a hypothetical professional life history as reported in this manuscript. Implications of this research can be realized for stakeholders in the preparation of pre-service teachers as well as the development of in-service teachers. Future research regarding the early induction years of new teachers, impacts of inclusion of the OLE in pre-service teacher instruction, and teacher experiences regarding professional development relating to efforts to include the OLE in formal education should be investigated.

Professional Learning Experiences and Administrator Practice: Is There a Connection?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bickmore, Dana L.

2012-01-01

This study identified the formal and informal professional learning experiences in which school administrators engaged and the relationship between these professional learning experiences and administrator practice. The researcher developed an instrument that solicited school administrators' engagement and perceived value of formal and informal…

Community Garden: A Bridging Program between Formal and Informal Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Datta, Ranjan

2016-01-01

Community garden activities can play a significant role in bridging formal and informal learning, particularly in urban children's science and environmental education. It promotes relational methods of learning, discussing, and practicing that will integrate food security, social interactions, community development, environmental activism, and…

New Media and Models for Engaging Under-Represented Students in Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayhew, Laurel M.; Finkelstein, Noah D.

2008-10-01

We describe the University of Colorado Partnerships for Informal Science Education in the Community (PISEC) program in which university students participate in classroom and after school science activities with local precollege children. Across several different formal and informal educational environments, we use new technological tools, such as stop action motion (SAM) movies [1] to engage children so that they may develop an understanding of science through play and "show and tell". This approach provides a complementary avenue for reaching children who are otherwise underrepresented in science and under-supported in more formal educational settings. We present the model of university community partnership and demonstrate its utility in a case study involving an African American third grade student learning about velocity and acceleration.

Expanding the frontiers of national qualifications frameworks through lifelong learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Owusu-Agyeman, Yaw

2017-10-01

The adoption of a national qualifications framework (NQF) by some governments in all world regions has shown some success in the area of formal learning. However, while NQFs continue to enhance formal learning in many countries, the same cannot be said for the recognition, validation and accreditation (RVA) of non-formal and informal learning. Focusing on competency-based technical and vocational education and training (TVET) within its NQF, Ghana introduced the National Technical and Vocational Education and Training Qualifications Framework (NTVETQF) as a sub-framework in 2012. In the wake of the NTVETQF's limited success, the author of this article reasons that a lifelong learning approach could enhance its effectiveness considerably. Comparing national and international policies, he argues that the NTVETQF should be able to properly address the issues of progression from informal and non-formal to formal modes of lifelong learning within the country's broad context of education. In addition, the study conceptualises the integration of lifelong learning within a broad NQF in four key domains: (1) individual; (2) institutional; (3) industry; and (4) state. The author concludes that, for the NTVETQF to achieve its goal of facilitating access to further education and training while also promoting lifelong learning for all (including workers in the informal economy), effective integration of all modes of lifelong learning is required. Although this entails some challenges, such as recognition of prior learning and validation of all modes of learning, it will help to widen access to education as well as providing individuals with a pathway for achieving their educational aspirations.

A theoretical framework for improving education in geriatric medicine.

PubMed

Boreham, N C

1983-01-01

Alternative concepts of learning include a formal system in which part of the medical curriculum is designated as that for geriatric medicine; a non-formal system including conferences, lectures, broadcasts, available to both medical students and physicians; and thirdly, an informal system in which doctors learn medicine through their experience practising the profession. While the most emphasis in medical schools would seem to be on the formal system it is essential that medical educators (if they wish their students in later life to maintain high levels of self-initiated learning) must use all three strategies. The structure of a system of formal teaching for geriatric medicine is examined. An important objective is attitude change and it is in achieving this that geriatricians must be particularly involved in non-formal and informal systems.

Attitudes to Formal Business Training and Learning amongst Entrepreneurs in the Cultural Industries: Situated Business Learning through "Doing with Others."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raffo, Carlo; O'Connor, Justin; Lovatt, Andy; Banks, Mark

2000-01-01

Presents arguments supporting a social model of learning linked to situated learning and cultural capital. Critiques training methods used in cultural industries (arts, publishing, broadcasting, design, fashion, restaurants). Uses case study evidence to demonstrates inadequacies of formal training in this sector. (Contains 49 references.) (SK)

Gender Differences in Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Adult Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boeren, Ellen

2011-01-01

At first sight, participation rates in adult learning do not differ strongly between men and women. Further exploration, however, makes clear that differences exist at the level of the type of learning. Men participate more in work-related learning and experience more job-related motives to participate. Women take on the main responsibilities in…

[The workplace-based learning: a main paradigm of an effective continuing medical education].

PubMed

Lelli, Maria Barbara

2010-01-01

On the strength of the literature analysis and the Emilia-Romagna Region experience, we suggest a reflection on the workplace-based learning that goes beyond the analysis of the effectiveness of specific didactic methodologies and aspects related to Continuing Medical Education. Health education and training issue is viewed from a wider perspective, that integrates the three learning dimensions (formal, non formal and informal). In such a perspective the workplace-based learning becomes an essential paradigm to reshape the explicit knowledge conveyed in formal context and to emphasize informal contexts where innovation is generated.

A Play-Based Programme (Pillars of Society) to Foster Social Skills of High-Ability and Average Ability Primary-One Students in Hong Kong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Sylvia; Yuen, Mantak; Rao, Nirmala

2017-01-01

This paper describes a social skills programme implemented to enhance the social competence of Primary-one students in order to ensure a smooth adjustment after transition from kindergarten to a formal school learning environment. The participants were 122 students (64 boys and 58 girls; mean age 6.17 years, SD = 0.29 years) newly enrolled in a…

ESD and lifelong learning: a case study of the Shangri-la Institute's current engagement with the Bazhu community in Diqing, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yunhua; Constable, Alicia

2010-06-01

This article argues that ESD should be integrated into lifelong learning and provides an example of how this might be done. It draws on a case study of a joint project between the Shangri-la Institute and the Bazhu community in Diqing, southwest China, to analyse a community-based approach to Education for Sustainable Development and assess its implications for lifelong learning. The article examines the different knowledge, skills and values needed for ESD across the life span and asserts the need for these competencies to be informed by the local context. The importance of linking ESD with local culture and indigenous knowledge is emphasised. The article goes on to propose methods for integrating ESD into lifelong learning and underscore the need for learning at the individual, institutional and societal levels in formal, non-formal and informal learning settings. It calls for institutional changes that link formal, non-formal and informal learning through the common theme of ESD, and establish platforms to share experiences, reflect on these and thereby continually improve ESD.

Open Ends and Means: Inquiry as a Link between Formal Music Concepts and Informal Music Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt-Jones, Catherine Anne

2017-01-01

There is currently considerable interest in strengthening the connections between formal music education and informal, self-motivated music practices. Participants in this study were adults who were self-motivated to learn formal music concepts, but had encountered barriers to doing so independently. The study offered them individual online…

Virtual and physical toys: open-ended features for non-formal learning.

PubMed

Petersson, Eva; Brooks, Anthony

2006-04-01

This paper examines the integrated toy--both physical and virtual--as an essential resource for collaborative learning. This learning incorporates rehabilitation, training, and education. The data derived from two different cases. Pedagogical issues related to non-formal learning and open-ended features of design are discussed. Findings suggest that social, material, and expressive affordances constitute a base for an alterative interface to encourage children's play and learning.

Informal Learning and Non-Formal Education for Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Latchem, Colin

2014-01-01

The following article examines the issues of open, distance and technology-based informal learning and non-formal education for individual and community development. It argues that these two modes of education, which are estimated to constitute 70-90% of lifelong learning, are insufficiently represented in the literature of open and distance…

Open Learning and Formal Credentialing in Higher Education: Curriculum Models and Institutional Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reushle, Shirley, Ed.; Antonio, Amy, Ed.; Keppell, Mike, Ed.

2016-01-01

The discipline of education is a multi-faceted system that must constantly integrate new strategies and procedures to ensure successful learning experiences. Enhancements in education provide learners with greater opportunities for growth and advancement. "Open Learning and Formal Credentialing in Higher Education: Curriculum Models and…

Quasi-Communities: Rethinking Learning in Formal Adult and Vocational Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emad, Gholam Reza; Roth, Wolff-Michael

2016-01-01

Situated learning theories such as communities of practice provide a rich conceptual framework for analyzing the processes by which newcomers become full participants in the communities they enter. However, some research shows that these concepts have shortcomings for theorizing learning in formal educational settings especially when it comes to…

Informal Science Learning in the Formal Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Lori; Straits, William

2014-01-01

In this article the authors share advice from the viewpoints of both a formal and informal educator that will help teachers identify the right Informal Science Institutions (ISIs)--institutions that specialize in learning that occurs outside of the school setting--to maximize their students' learning and use informal education to their…

Recreational and Developmental Youth Coach Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rocchi, Meredith; Couture, A. Lauren

2018-01-01

Background: Within the field of coach development, previous research has ascertained that elite coaches learn through a variety of formal, non-formal, and informal sources. Little is known, however, about how coaches from different coaching contexts such as recreational and developmental learn to coach. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to…

The relationship between organizational leadership for safety and learning from patient safety events.

PubMed

Ginsburg, Liane R; Chuang, You-Ta; Berta, Whitney Blair; Norton, Peter G; Ng, Peggy; Tregunno, Deborah; Richardson, Julia

2010-06-01

To examine the relationship between organizational leadership for patient safety and five types of learning from patient safety events (PSEs). Forty-nine general acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada. A nonexperimental design using cross-sectional surveys of hospital patient safety officers (PSOs) and patient care managers (PCMs). PSOs provided data on organization-level learning from (a) minor events, (b) moderate events, (c) major near misses, (d) major event analysis, and (e) major event dissemination/communication. PCMs provided data on organizational leadership (formal and informal) for patient safety. Hospitals were the unit of analysis. Seemingly unrelated regression was used to examine the influence of formal and informal leadership for safety on the five types of learning from PSEs. The interaction between leadership and hospital size was also examined. Formal organizational leadership for patient safety is an important predictor of learning from minor, moderate, and major near-miss events, and major event dissemination. This relationship is significantly stronger for small hospitals (<100 beds). We find support for the relationship between patient safety leadership and patient safety behaviors such as learning from safety events. Formal leadership support for safety is of particular importance in small organizations where the economic burden of safety programs is disproportionately large and formal leadership is closer to the front lines.

Non-Formal Education in Poland and Canada--Compared: A Brief Commentary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butler, Norman L.; Griffith, Kimberly Grantham; Kritsonis, William Allan

2007-01-01

The purpose of this brief note is to compare non-formal education in Poland and Canada in terms of accessibility, and it is motivated by the fact that learning is a lifelong process because of rapid advances in technology. The theoretical framework for this commentary is supplied by the general idea that non-formal learning provides a social…

Making the informal formal: An examination of why and how teachers and students leverage experiences in informal learning environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Barbara P.

This study was an effort to understand the impact of informal learning environments (museums, aquaria, nature centers, and outdoor education programs) on school groups by developing a picture of why and how teachers and their students leverage experiences in these settings. This work relied on the self-reported visions for science education of formal and informal teachers as a means of creating a portrait or profile of the teacher visitor thus providing a new way to assess the quality of informal visits based on vision elements. Multi-level, year long case studies at six school sites and their partnering informal centers that included multiple interviews, observations (250 hours) of both school based and field trip activities, as well as focus group interviews with students two months past their field trip experience comprised the bulk of data collection activities. In addition to this more intensive work with case study teachers data was gathered from a broader group of participants through surveys (n = 396) and one-time classroom teacher interviews (n = 36) in an effort to validate or confirm case study findings. I discovered that central to informal and formal teachers' visions was a view of education as empowerment. I explored such goals as empowering students to conceive of themselves and their worlds differently, empowering students by sharing responsibility for what and how they learn, and empowering students by creating environments where everyone can contribute meaningfully. Much of what classroom teachers did to leverage the informal experience in supporting their visions of education related to these goals. For example teachers used shared experiences in informal settings as a way for their students to gain better access to and understanding of the classroom curriculum thereby increasing student participation and allowing more students to be successful. They also changed their approach to content by basing the classroom curriculum on students' interests and questions raised during visits to informal settings. Consequently teachers noted their students were better able to connect to traditional elements of school as a result of their informal experiences. Personal growth of students was also a major area of change. Increases in self-esteem, fieldtrip and classroom participation, as well as improved classroom behavior were reported and observed and improved the way the classroom functioned.

A spiking neural network model of model-free reinforcement learning with high-dimensional sensory input and perceptual ambiguity.

PubMed

Nakano, Takashi; Otsuka, Makoto; Yoshimoto, Junichiro; Doya, Kenji

2015-01-01

A theoretical framework of reinforcement learning plays an important role in understanding action selection in animals. Spiking neural networks provide a theoretically grounded means to test computational hypotheses on neurally plausible algorithms of reinforcement learning through numerical simulation. However, most of these models cannot handle observations which are noisy, or occurred in the past, even though these are inevitable and constraining features of learning in real environments. This class of problem is formally known as partially observable reinforcement learning (PORL) problems. It provides a generalization of reinforcement learning to partially observable domains. In addition, observations in the real world tend to be rich and high-dimensional. In this work, we use a spiking neural network model to approximate the free energy of a restricted Boltzmann machine and apply it to the solution of PORL problems with high-dimensional observations. Our spiking network model solves maze tasks with perceptually ambiguous high-dimensional observations without knowledge of the true environment. An extended model with working memory also solves history-dependent tasks. The way spiking neural networks handle PORL problems may provide a glimpse into the underlying laws of neural information processing which can only be discovered through such a top-down approach.

A Spiking Neural Network Model of Model-Free Reinforcement Learning with High-Dimensional Sensory Input and Perceptual Ambiguity

PubMed Central

Nakano, Takashi; Otsuka, Makoto; Yoshimoto, Junichiro; Doya, Kenji

2015-01-01

A theoretical framework of reinforcement learning plays an important role in understanding action selection in animals. Spiking neural networks provide a theoretically grounded means to test computational hypotheses on neurally plausible algorithms of reinforcement learning through numerical simulation. However, most of these models cannot handle observations which are noisy, or occurred in the past, even though these are inevitable and constraining features of learning in real environments. This class of problem is formally known as partially observable reinforcement learning (PORL) problems. It provides a generalization of reinforcement learning to partially observable domains. In addition, observations in the real world tend to be rich and high-dimensional. In this work, we use a spiking neural network model to approximate the free energy of a restricted Boltzmann machine and apply it to the solution of PORL problems with high-dimensional observations. Our spiking network model solves maze tasks with perceptually ambiguous high-dimensional observations without knowledge of the true environment. An extended model with working memory also solves history-dependent tasks. The way spiking neural networks handle PORL problems may provide a glimpse into the underlying laws of neural information processing which can only be discovered through such a top-down approach. PMID:25734662

Weaving a Formal Methods Education with Problem-Based Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gibson, J. Paul

The idea of weaving formal methods through computing (or software engineering) degrees is not a new one. However, there has been little success in developing and implementing such a curriculum. Formal methods continue to be taught as stand-alone modules and students, in general, fail to see how fundamental these methods are to the engineering of software. A major problem is one of motivation — how can the students be expected to enthusiastically embrace a challenging subject when the learning benefits, beyond passing an exam and achieving curriculum credits, are not clear? Problem-based learning has gradually moved from being an innovative pedagogique technique, commonly used to better-motivate students, to being widely adopted in the teaching of many different disciplines, including computer science and software engineering. Our experience shows that a good problem can be re-used throughout a student's academic life. In fact, the best computing problems can be used with children (young and old), undergraduates and postgraduates. In this paper we present a process for weaving formal methods through a University curriculum that is founded on the application of problem-based learning and a library of good software engineering problems, where students learn about formal methods without sitting a traditional formal methods module. The process of constructing good problems and integrating them into the curriculum is shown to be analagous to the process of engineering software. This approach is not intended to replace more traditional formal methods modules: it will better prepare students for such specialised modules and ensure that all students have an understanding and appreciation for formal methods even if they do not go on to specialise in them.

A Rose By Other Names: Some General Musings on Lawrence and Colleagues' Hidden Curriculum Scoping Review.

PubMed

Hafferty, Frederic W; Martimianakis, Maria Athina

2017-11-07

In this Commentary, the authors explore the scoping review by Lawrence and colleagues by challenging their conclusion that with over 25 years' worth of "ambiguous and seemingly ubiquitous use" of the hidden curriculum construct in health professions education scholarship, it is time to either move to a more uniform definitional foundation or abandon the term altogether. The commentary authors counter these remedial propositions by foregrounding the importance of theoretical diversity and the conceptual richness afforded when the hidden curriculum construct is used as an entry point for studying the interstitial space between the formal and a range of other-than-formal domains of learning. Further, they document how tightly-delimited scoping strategies fail to capture the wealth of educational scholarship that operates within a hidden curriculum framework, including "hidden" hidden curriculum articles, studies that employ alternative constructs, and investigations that target important tacit socio-cultural influences on learners and faculty without formally deploying the term. They offer examples of how the hidden curriculum construct, while undergoing significant transformation in its application within the field of health professions education, has created the conceptual foundation for the application of a number of critical perspectives that make visible the field's political investments in particular forms of knowing and associated practices. Finally, the commentary authors invite readers to consider the methodological promise afforded by conceptual heterogeneity, particularly strands of scholarship that resituate the hidden curriculum concept within the magically expansive dance of social relationships, social learning, and social life that form the learning environments of health professions education.

Employability Enhancement through Formal and Informal Learning: An Empirical Study among Dutch Non-Academic University Staff Members

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Heijden, Beatrice; Boon, Jo; van der Klink, Marcel; Meijs, Ely

2009-01-01

Although learning is generally perceived as a way to improve employees' current job performance, so far, no research has been conducted to explore the possible relationships between formal and informal learning, on the one hand, and employability, on the other. Though contemporary views stress the importance of the job as a powerful learning site,…

Mentoring as a Formalized Learning Strategy with Community Sports Volunteers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffiths, Mark; Armour, Kathleen

2012-01-01

The aim of our study was to examine formalized mentoring as a learning strategy for volunteer sports coaches and to consider implications for other volunteer groups in the community. Despite the increasingly popular use of mentoring as a learning and support strategy across professional domains, and the sheer scale of volunteer sports coach…

Learning & Knowledge Production in North Carolina Sea Turtle Conservation Communities of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Kathleen Carol

2010-01-01

This dissertation focused upon non-formal and informal learning practices and knowledge production amongst [adult] participants involved in local sea turtle conservation practices along the US Atlantic coast. In the United States, adult learning and adult education has historically occurred within non-formal settings (e.g., through community-based…

Space and Consequences: The Impact of Different Formal Learning Spaces on Instructor and Student Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brooks, D. Christopher

2012-01-01

This article presents the results of a quasi-experimental research project investigating the impact of two different formal learning spaces--a traditional classroom and a technologically enhanced active learning classroom--on instructor behavior, classroom activities, and levels of on-task student behavior at the University of Minnesota. Using…

Quality Enhancement and Educational Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knight, Peter

2006-01-01

There is a strong international interest in the enhancement of teaching quality. Enhancement is a big job because teaching is an extensive activity. It is a complex job because learning to teach is not, mainly, a formal process: non-formal, practice-based learning is more significant. These two points, extensiveness and practice-based learning,…

Designing a Qualitative and Flexible Case Study to Investigate the Opportunities and Challenges for Primary Education Offered to First-Generation Learners in a Rural Community in the State of Maharashtra, India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Velu, Ratika

2015-01-01

Many children from rural communities in India seeking an education are first-generation learners. These children at times find it difficult to cope with the school environment and learning the state language, which is unfamiliar to them. The parents of these children have no academic background or formal education at any level, which leaves them…

Toward Agent Programs with Circuit Semantics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nilsson, Nils J.

1992-01-01

New ideas are presented for computing and organizing actions for autonomous agents in dynamic environments-environments in which the agent's current situation cannot always be accurately discerned and in which the effects of actions cannot always be reliably predicted. The notion of 'circuit semantics' for programs based on 'teleo-reactive trees' is introduced. Program execution builds a combinational circuit which receives sensory inputs and controls actions. These formalisms embody a high degree of inherent conditionality and thus yield programs that are suitably reactive to their environments. At the same time, the actions computed by the programs are guided by the overall goals of the agent. The paper also speculates about how programs using these ideas could be automatically generated by artificial intelligence planning systems and adapted by learning methods.

Hidden in plain sight: the formal, informal, and hidden curricula of a psychiatry clerkship.

PubMed

Wear, Delese; Skillicorn, Jodie

2009-04-01

To examine perceptions of the formal, informal, and hidden curricula in psychiatry as they are observed and experienced by (1) attending physicians who have teaching responsibilities for residents and medical students, (2) residents who are taught by those same physicians and who have teaching responsibilities for medical students, and (3) medical students who are taught by attendings and residents during their psychiatry rotation. From June to November 2007, the authors conducted focus groups with attendings, residents, and students in one midwestern academic setting. The sessions were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed for themes surrounding the formal, informal, and hidden curricula. All three groups offered a similar belief that the knowledge, skills, and values of the formal curriculum focused on building relationships. Similarly, all three suggested that elements of the informal and hidden curricula were expressed primarily as the values arising from attendings' role modeling, as the nature and amount of time attendings spend with patients, and as attendings' advice arising from experience and intuition versus "textbook learning." Whereas students and residents offered negative values arising from the informal and hidden curricula, attendings did not, offering instead the more positive values they intended to encourage through the informal and hidden curricula. The process described here has great potential in local settings across all disciplines. Asking teachers and learners in any setting to think about how they experience the educational environment and what sense they make of all curricular efforts can provide a reality check for educators and a values check for learners as they critically reflect on the meanings of what they are learning.

The development and validation of testing materials for literacy, numeracy and digital skills in a Dutch context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Greef, Maurice; Segers, Mien; Nijhuis, Jan; Lam, Jo Fond; van Groenestijn, Mieke; van Hoek, Frans; van Deursen, Alexander J. A. M.; Bohnenn, Ella; Tubbing, Marga

2015-10-01

Besides work-oriented training, most Dutch adult learning courses of formal and non-formal education focus on three basic skills: literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments. In the Netherlands, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science recently initiated the development of a new adult education framework concerning literacy, numeracy and digital skills. In order to monitor the progress of literacy, numeracy and digital competencies, it is necessary to develop and validate testing materials for specific competencies. This study validates the testing materials which were developed to assess learners' proficiency in literacy (reading and writing), numeracy and digital skills based on the new Dutch framework. The outcome is that the materials proved valid and can be used in different courses referring to basic skills and adult learning, though there are still some limitations. Besides adult education professionals (such teachers and trainers), policy makers can also use the results of these tests in order to describe and monitor the impact of adult education on the lives of adult learners.

Medical students perceive better group learning processes when large classes are made to seem small.

PubMed

Hommes, Juliette; Arah, Onyebuchi A; de Grave, Willem; Schuwirth, Lambert W T; Scherpbier, Albert J J A; Bos, Gerard M J

2014-01-01

Medical schools struggle with large classes, which might interfere with the effectiveness of learning within small groups due to students being unfamiliar to fellow students. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of making a large class seem small on the students' collaborative learning processes. A randomised controlled intervention study was undertaken to make a large class seem small, without the need to reduce the number of students enrolling in the medical programme. The class was divided into subsets: two small subsets (n=50) as the intervention groups; a control group (n=102) was mixed with the remaining students (the non-randomised group n∼100) to create one large subset. The undergraduate curriculum of the Maastricht Medical School, applying the Problem-Based Learning principles. In this learning context, students learn mainly in tutorial groups, composed randomly from a large class every 6-10 weeks. The formal group learning activities were organised within the subsets. Students from the intervention groups met frequently within the formal groups, in contrast to the students from the large subset who hardly enrolled with the same students in formal activities. Three outcome measures assessed students' group learning processes over time: learning within formally organised small groups, learning with other students in the informal context and perceptions of the intervention. Formal group learning processes were perceived more positive in the intervention groups from the second study year on, with a mean increase of β=0.48. Informal group learning activities occurred almost exclusively within the subsets as defined by the intervention from the first week involved in the medical curriculum (E-I indexes>-0.69). Interviews tapped mainly positive effects and negligible negative side effects of the intervention. Better group learning processes can be achieved in large medical schools by making large classes seem small.

Medical Students Perceive Better Group Learning Processes when Large Classes Are Made to Seem Small

PubMed Central

Hommes, Juliette; Arah, Onyebuchi A.; de Grave, Willem; Schuwirth, Lambert W. T.; Scherpbier, Albert J. J. A.; Bos, Gerard M. J.

2014-01-01

Objective Medical schools struggle with large classes, which might interfere with the effectiveness of learning within small groups due to students being unfamiliar to fellow students. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of making a large class seem small on the students' collaborative learning processes. Design A randomised controlled intervention study was undertaken to make a large class seem small, without the need to reduce the number of students enrolling in the medical programme. The class was divided into subsets: two small subsets (n = 50) as the intervention groups; a control group (n = 102) was mixed with the remaining students (the non-randomised group n∼100) to create one large subset. Setting The undergraduate curriculum of the Maastricht Medical School, applying the Problem-Based Learning principles. In this learning context, students learn mainly in tutorial groups, composed randomly from a large class every 6–10 weeks. Intervention The formal group learning activities were organised within the subsets. Students from the intervention groups met frequently within the formal groups, in contrast to the students from the large subset who hardly enrolled with the same students in formal activities. Main Outcome Measures Three outcome measures assessed students' group learning processes over time: learning within formally organised small groups, learning with other students in the informal context and perceptions of the intervention. Results Formal group learning processes were perceived more positive in the intervention groups from the second study year on, with a mean increase of β = 0.48. Informal group learning activities occurred almost exclusively within the subsets as defined by the intervention from the first week involved in the medical curriculum (E-I indexes>−0.69). Interviews tapped mainly positive effects and negligible negative side effects of the intervention. Conclusion Better group learning processes can be achieved in large medical schools by making large classes seem small. PMID:24736272

Royal Engineer Geographic Technicians: Exploring their attitudes to education and training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knight, John Anthony

A creative approach is presented for understanding the attitudes of Royal Engineer (RE) Geographic Technicians (Geo Techs) to training and education. Through a grounded theory methodology, participants' experiences of learning and teaching are explored. These provide a greater awareness and perception of attitudes than have emerged through more established, formal methods of evaluating the effectiveness of training. Recent developments in technology, doctrine, requirements and operations have brought about significant changes to the range and complexity of subjects taught in the field of Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT). This in turn has increased the challenges to RE staff and students, many of whom find themselves instructing on or undertaking demanding degree level courses without the requisite formal qualifications. Grounded theory, based on guidelines rather than rigid rules, is adopted to provide a study of RE Geographic Technicians' learning experiences from the perspective of those who live it and for an interpretive understanding of their meanings to emerge. The policies, culture and social processes in which the RE Geo training takes place are explored to appreciate the influence of the training environment on learning. Data obtained through focus groups held with students and instructors, and through in-depth interviews with individuals who hold key roles associated with the course, recognises the relativism of multiple social realities in developing a rich source of knowledge on attitudes to learning. The collection, synthesis and analysis of data led to the emergence of core categories: context, commitment, expectations, motivation, qualifications, relevance and respect. Through their engagement the research participants' awareness, in particular of instructors, of Geographic Technicians' attitudes to training and education has been raised. Using the theoretical framework of communities of practice, the challenges and effectiveness of the RSMS as a learning organisation for the instructors is reviewed. By exploring beyond the routine, an insight is offered into how the quality of teaching and learning can be enhanced for RE Geographic Technicians through a better understanding of attitudes to learning. Whilst the research is focused on a specific environment the lessons identified can have relevance to other learning situations where the training and education are closely aligned to the work place or to professional practice. In particular, the way in which teacher-practitioners are inducted, developed and employed in training and education has resonance with the wider lifelong learning sector.

Mobile learning in medicine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serkan Güllüoüǧlu, Sabri

2013-03-01

This paper outlines the main infrastructure for implicating mobile learning in medicine and present a sample mobile learning application for medical learning within the framework of mobile learning systems. Mobile technology is developing nowadays. In this case it will be useful to develop different learning environments using these innovations in internet based distance education. M-learning makes the most of being on location, providing immediate access, being connected, and acknowledges learning that occurs beyond formal learning settings, in places such as the workplace, home, and outdoors. Central to m-learning is the principle that it is the learner who is mobile rather than the device used to deliver m learning. The integration of mobile technologies into training has made learning more accessible and portable. Mobile technologies make it possible for a learner to have access to a computer and subsequently learning material and activities; at any time and in any place. Mobile devices can include: mobile phone, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal digital media players (eg iPods, MP3 players), portable digital media players, portable digital multimedia players. Mobile learning (m-learning) is particularly important in medical education, and the major users of mobile devices are in the field of medicine. The contexts and environment in which learning occurs necessitates m-learning. Medical students are placed in hospital/clinical settings very early in training and require access to course information and to record and reflect on their experiences while on the move. As a result of this paper, this paper strives to compare and contrast mobile learning with normal learning in medicine from various perspectives and give insights and advises into the essential characteristics of both for sustaining medical education.

Educational Incongruence: An Exploration of the Disconnection between Formal Schooling and the Natural Learning of Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Layman, Sarah E.

2009-01-01

Educational incongruence exists in classrooms today. Formal schooling is often incongruent and disconnected with the natural learning of children. This can result in educational experiences that fail to meet personal and societal needs. I believe we need greater congruence between learning and teaching in order to improve current and future social…

The Potential of Interactive Learning Technologies in Formal and Nonformal Education in Rural and Urban Settings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bright, Larry K.; Simula, Vernon L.

The College of Education and Human Service Professions of the University of Minnesota, Duluth, has established a Center for the Advancement of Learning Technologies. The Center is committed to the development of interactive learning technologies which can be used effectively in formal and nonformal continuing adult education. Emphasis has been on…

Unravelling the Lifelong Learning Process for Canadian Workers and Adult Learners Acquiring Higher Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Maurice; Trumpower, David; Pavic, Ivana

2013-01-01

This article reports on a mixed methods study that investigated aspects of formal, non-formal and informal learning for workers and adult high school learners seeking literacy and essential skills. Three key themes emerged from the qualitative data: motivations for participation in various forms of learning; seeking out informal learning…

What Challenges and Benefits Can Non-Formal Law and Language Integrated Learning Bring to University Students?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atabekova, Atabekova; Gorbatenko, Rimma; Belousov, Aleksandr; Grebnev, Ruslan; Sheremetieva, Olga

2016-01-01

The paper explores the ways in which non-formal content and language integrated learning within university studies can affect students' academic progress. The research has included theoretical and empirical studies. The article focuses on the observation of students' learning process, draws attention to challenges and benefits students experienced…

Policy Review on Adult Learning: The Adult Non-Formal Education Policy of Mali, West Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gadio, Moussa

2011-01-01

This article focuses on the issue of policy development for adult learning in Mali, West Africa. On January 2007, the Malian government adopted the "Adult Non-formal Education Policy Document," which was intended to regulate the adult learning sector and federate the actions of policy makers, adult education providers, and adult…

Students' Plans for Lifelong Learning and Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plavšic, Marlena; Dikovic, Marina

2015-01-01

One of the roles of higher education is to prepare and encourage students for lifelong learning. However, no evidence can be found about students' plans for further learning and teaching related to formal, non-formal and informal context. The purpose of this study was to explore these students' plans in relation to their study group, level of…

Implementing Elementary School Next Generation Science Standards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kennedy, Katheryn B.

Implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards requires developing elementary teacher content and pedagogical content knowledge of science and engineering concepts. Teacher preparation for this undertaking appears inadequate with little known about how in-service Mid-Atlantic urban elementary science teachers approach this task. The purpose of this basic qualitative interview study was to explore the research questions related to perceived learning needs of 8 elementary science teachers and 5 of their administrators serving as instructional leaders. Strategies needed for professional growth to support learning and barriers that hamper it at both building and district levels were included. These questions were considered through the lens of Schon's reflective learning and Weick's sensemaking theories. Analysis with provisional and open coding strategies identified informal and formal supports and barriers to teachers' learning. Results indicated that informal supports, primarily internet usage, emerged as most valuable to the teachers' learning. Formal structures, including professional learning communities and grade level meetings, arose as both supportive and restrictive at the building and district levels. Existing formal supports emerged as the least useful because of the dominance of other priorities competing for time and resources. Addressing weaknesses within formal supports through more effective planning in professional development can promote positive change. Improvement to professional development approaches using the internet and increased hands on activities can be integrated into formal supports. Explicit attention to these strategies can strengthen teacher effectiveness bringing positive social change.

How evolution learns to generalise: Using the principles of learning theory to understand the evolution of developmental organisation.

PubMed

Kouvaris, Kostas; Clune, Jeff; Kounios, Loizos; Brede, Markus; Watson, Richard A

2017-04-01

One of the most intriguing questions in evolution is how organisms exhibit suitable phenotypic variation to rapidly adapt in novel selective environments. Such variability is crucial for evolvability, but poorly understood. In particular, how can natural selection favour developmental organisations that facilitate adaptive evolution in previously unseen environments? Such a capacity suggests foresight that is incompatible with the short-sighted concept of natural selection. A potential resolution is provided by the idea that evolution may discover and exploit information not only about the particular phenotypes selected in the past, but their underlying structural regularities: new phenotypes, with the same underlying regularities, but novel particulars, may then be useful in new environments. If true, we still need to understand the conditions in which natural selection will discover such deep regularities rather than exploiting 'quick fixes' (i.e., fixes that provide adaptive phenotypes in the short term, but limit future evolvability). Here we argue that the ability of evolution to discover such regularities is formally analogous to learning principles, familiar in humans and machines, that enable generalisation from past experience. Conversely, natural selection that fails to enhance evolvability is directly analogous to the learning problem of over-fitting and the subsequent failure to generalise. We support the conclusion that evolving systems and learning systems are different instantiations of the same algorithmic principles by showing that existing results from the learning domain can be transferred to the evolution domain. Specifically, we show that conditions that alleviate over-fitting in learning systems successfully predict which biological conditions (e.g., environmental variation, regularity, noise or a pressure for developmental simplicity) enhance evolvability. This equivalence provides access to a well-developed theoretical framework from learning theory that enables a characterisation of the general conditions for the evolution of evolvability.

How do early emotional experiences in the operating theatre influence medical student learning in this environment?

PubMed

Bowrey, David J; Kidd, Jane M

2014-01-01

The emotions experienced by medical students on first exposure to the operating theatre are unknown. It is also unclear what influence these emotions have on the learning process. To understand the emotions experienced by students when in the operating theatre for the first time and the impact of these emotions on learning. Nine 3rd-year medical students participated in semistructured interviews to explore these themes. A qualitative approach was used; interviews were transcribed and coded thematically. All participants reported initial negative emotions (apprehension, anxiety, fear, shame, overwhelmed), with excitement being reported by 3. Six participants considered that their anxiety was so overwhelming that it was detrimental to their learning. Participants described a period of familiarization to the environment, after which learning was facilitated. Early learning experiences centered around adjustment to the physical environment of the operating theatre. Factors driving initial negative feelings were loss of familiarity, organizational issues, concerns about violating protocol, and a fear of syncope. Participants considered that it took a median of 1 week (range = 1 day-3 weeks) or 5 visits to the operating theatre (range = 1-10) before feeling comfortable in the new setting. Emotions experienced on subsequent visits to the operating theatre were predominantly positive (enjoyment, happiness, confident, involved, pride). Two participants reported negative feelings related to social exclusion. Being included in the team was a powerful determinant of enjoyment. These findings indicate that for learning in the operating theatre to be effective, addressing the negative emotions of the students might be beneficial. This could be achieved by a formal orientation program for both learners and tutors in advance of attendance in the operating theatre. For learning to be optimized, students must feel a sense of inclusion in the theatre community of practice.

Shaping and Being Shaped by Environments for Learning Science. Continuities with the Space and Democratic Vision of a Century Ago

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavicchi, Elizabeth

2017-07-01

Environments of learning often remain unnoticed and unacknowledged. This study follows a student and myself as we became aware of our local environment at MIT and welcomed that environment as a vibrant contributor to our learning. We met this environment in part through its educational heritage in two centennial anniversaries: John Dewey's 1916 work Democracy and Education and MIT's 1916 move from Boston to the Cambridge campus designed by architect William Welles Bosworth. Dewey argued that for learning to arise through constructive, active engagement among students, the environment must be structured to accommodate investigation. In designing an environment conducive to practical and inventive studies, Bosworth created organic classical forms harboring the illusion of symmetry, while actually departing from it. Students and I are made open to the effects of this environment through the research pedagogy of "critical exploration in the classroom," which informs my practice of listening and responding, and teaching while researching; it lays fertile grounds for the involvement of one student and myself with our environment. Through viewing the moon and sky by eye, telescope, airplane, and astrolabe, the student developed as an observer. She became connected with the larger universe, and critical of formalisms that encage mind and space. Applying Euclid's geometry to the architecture outdoors, the student noticed and questioned classical features in Bosworth's buildings. By encountering these buildings while accompanied by their current restorer, we came to see means by which their structure and design promote human interaction and environmental sustainability as intrinsic to education. The student responded creatively to Bosworth's buildings through photography, learning view-camera, and darkroom techniques. In Dewey's view, democracy entails rejecting dualisms endemic in academic culture since the Greek classical era. Dewey regarded experimental science, where learners are investigators, as a means of engaging the world without invoking dualism. Although Dewey's theory is seldom practiced, our investigations cohered with Deweyan practice. We experienced the environment with its centennial philosophy and architecture as educational agency supportive of investigation that continues to evolve across personal and collective history.

Negotiating the Boundaries between the Formal and the Informal: An Experienced Teacher's Refective Adaptations of Informal Learning in a Keyboard Class for At-Risk Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costes-Onishi, Pamela

2016-01-01

The objective of this study is to address the important questions raised in literature on the intersections between formal and informal learning. Specifically, this will be discussed within the concept of "productive dissonance" and the pedagogical tensions that arise in the effort of experienced teachers to transition from the formal to…

Formal Reasoning Skills of Secondary School Students as Related to Gender, Age, School Type and Learning Abilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shemesh, Michal; Lazarowitz, Reuven

This study investigated: (1) whether boys and girls master formal reasoning tasks to the same degree at the same age; (2) if the variance of boys' and girls' performance in formal tasks could be predicted by the same cognitive learning abilities; and (3) what are the main and interactional effects of age, sex, and school type on the variance of…

The reality of virtual learning for nurses in the largest integrated health care system in the nation.

PubMed

Rick, Cathy; Kearns, Martha A; Thompson, Nancy A

2003-01-01

The health care network and hospital system within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), provides employment to more than 56,000 nursing personnel and serves as clinical education site to countless other nursing and health professional students. Nurse administrators and educators are posed with the challenge of providing an environment in which each nurse is able to gain needed knowledge, learn new skills, and share and communicate this knowledge with other colleagues. The education of nurses improves the health status of veterans while also realizing individual professional enhancement. Regional and cultural diversity of the system present challenges to education, in both delivery and content. VHA's learning organizations, the Employee Education System and the Office of Special Projects, have maximized new technologies and information systems to provide innovative, virtual education opportunities, capitalizing on the benefits of informal and formal learning, thus moving VHA to the forefront in knowledge sharing and dissemination. The Virtual Learning Center, VA Knowledge Network, Learning Catalog, and VA Learning Online provide VHA's nurses with interactive, desktop virtual learning opportunities.

BRIDGE21--Exploring the Potential to Foster Intrinsic Student Motivation through a Team-Based, Technology-Mediated Learning Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawlor, John; Marshall, Kevin; Tangney, Brendan

2016-01-01

It is generally accepted that intrinsic student motivation is a critical requirement for effective learning but formal learning in school places a huge reliance on extrinsic motivation to focus the learner. This reliance on extrinsic motivation is driven by the pressure on formal schooling to "deliver to the test." The experience of the…

Informal/Formal Learning and Workload among Ontario Secondary School Teachers. NALL Working Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smaller, Harry; Hart, Doug; Clark, Rosemary; Livingstone, David

Following up on an earlier national survey study of Canadian teachers' formal and informal learning, this study had 13 Ontario secondary teachers keep detailed logs of their day and evening activities, along with notations about what they may have learned as a result of engaging in each activity, for 7 consecutive days in late 1999, and again in…

Formal Lifelong E-Learning for Employability and Job Stability during Turbulent Times in Spain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martínez-Cerdá, Juan-Francisco; Torrent-Sellens, Joan

2017-01-01

In recent decades, international organizations have developed initiatives that incorporate lifelong learning as a tool to increase the employability of citizens. In this context, the goal of this research is to test the influence of formal e-learning on estimating employment status. The research made use of a sample of 595 citizens in 2007 and…

The Contribution of Non-Formal Learning in Higher Education to Student Teachers' Professional Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tang, Sylvia Y. F.; Wong, Angel K. Y.; Li, Dora D. Y.; Cheng, May M. H.

2017-01-01

This article reports a mixed methods study on the contribution of various aspects of pre-service student teachers' learning in initial teacher education (ITE) to their professional competence in a Five-year Bachelor of Education Programme in Hong Kong. Special attention is given to how student teachers' non-formal learning in higher education…

Learning in the Second Half of the Career: Stimulating and Prohibiting Reasons for Participation in Formal Learning Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kyndt, Eva; Michielsen, Maya; Van Nooten, Leen; Nijs, Sanne; Baert, Herman

2011-01-01

Past research has shown that, as workers age, their participation in education and training declines, which is a problem in our fast changing society and economy. This study focuses on the stimulating and prohibiting reasons for participation in formal learning activities. It investigates whether employees in the second half of their career differ…

Machine Learning-based Intelligent Formal Reasoning and Proving System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Shengqing; Huang, Xiaojian; Fang, Jiaze; Liang, Jia

2018-03-01

The reasoning system can be used in many fields. How to improve reasoning efficiency is the core of the design of system. Through the formal description of formal proof and the regular matching algorithm, after introducing the machine learning algorithm, the system of intelligent formal reasoning and verification has high efficiency. The experimental results show that the system can verify the correctness of propositional logic reasoning and reuse the propositional logical reasoning results, so as to obtain the implicit knowledge in the knowledge base and provide the basic reasoning model for the construction of intelligent system.

How physicians have learned to handle sickness-certification cases.

PubMed

Löfgren, Anna; Silén, Charlotte; Alexanderson, Kristina

2011-05-01

Sickness absence is a common ''prescription'' in health care in many Western countries. Despite the significance of sick-listing for the life situation of patients, physicians have limited training in how to handle sickness-certification cases and the research about sickness-certification practices is scarce. Gain knowledge on physicians' learning regarding management of sickness certification of patients in formal, informal, and non-formal learning situations, respectively, and possible changes in this from 2004 to 2008. Data from two comprehensive questionnaires to physicians in Sweden about their sickness-certification practice in 2004 (n = 7665) and 2008 (n = 36,898); response rates: 71% and 61%, respectively. Answers from all the physicians ≤64 years old and who had sickness certification tasks (n = 4019 and n = 14,210) were analysed. ratings of importance of different types of learning situations for their sickness-certification competence. Few physicians stated that formal learning situations had contributed to a large or fairly large extent to their competence in sickness certification, e.g. undergraduate studies had done that for 17%, internship for 37%, and resident training for 46%, respectively. Contacts with colleagues had been helpful for 65%. One-third was helped by training arranged by social insurance offices. There was a significant increase between 2004 and 2008 in all items related to formal and non-formal learning situations, while there were no changes regarding informal learning situations. This study of all physicians in Sweden shows that physicians primarily attain competence in sickness certification in their daily clinical practice; through contacts with colleagues and patients.

Job Requirements and Workers' Learning: Formal Gaps, Informal Closure, Systemic Limits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Livingstone, D. W.

2010-01-01

There is substantial evidence that formal educational attainments increasingly exceed the educational job requirements of the employed labour force in many advanced market economies--a phenomenon variously termed "underemployment", "underutilisation", or "overqualification". Conversely, both experiential learning and workplace case studies suggest…

Student engagement in interprofessional working in practice placement settings.

PubMed

Pollard, Katherine

2009-10-01

. To investigate the nature of student engagement in interprofessional interaction while on placement. Due to continuing emphasis on improving interprofessional collaboration, UK educational establishments are required to offer pre-qualifying health and social care students interprofessional education in order that they acquire relevant competencies. However, few formal interprofessional education initiatives occur in practice settings and little is known about pre-qualifying students' non-formal learning about interprofessional issues while on placement. From 2003-2005 an English Faculty of Health and Social Care conducted a qualitative study to explore opportunities for interprofessional learning and working available to students in practice placement settings. Case studies were conducted in a coronary care ward, a medical ward for older patients, a maternity unit, a paediatric unit, an integrated community learning disabilities team and a residential facility for adults with challenging behaviour. Gaining access was complex, due to variable student timetables and UK research governance requirements. Sites were therefore selected according to geographical area and timing of student placements. Details of interprofessional interaction (formal and informal) were observed and recorded. Interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 20 practitioners and 15 students. Data were analysed thematically. Student experience varied considerably. Contributing factors included the influence of doctors and differing professional cultures; mentors' support for student engagement in interprofessional working; and individual students' confidence levels. Most sites were managed by nurses and some senior nurses were proactive in involving students interprofessionally. However, many students lacked systematic support for interprofessional engagement. Students lack parity of experience concerning interprofessional activity on placement. Where they do not have systematic support, their engagement depends mainly on their own confidence. Senior nurses are ideally placed to promote environments where students can develop interprofessional competencies through systematic interprofessional engagement.

Youth Clubs as Spaces of Non-Formal Learning: Professional Idealism Meets the Spatiality Experienced by Young People in Finland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiilakoski, Tomi; Kivijärvi, Antti

2015-01-01

For many young people, youth clubs constitute a key instrument for learning outside the school curriculum. In this article, we scrutinise Finnish youth clubs empirically as spaces of non-formal learning from the perspectives of both professional youth workers and young people themselves. We propose that youth workers tend to present an educational…

Perceptions of first-year medical students towards learning anatomy using cadaveric specimens through peer teaching.

PubMed

Agius, Andee; Calleja, Neville; Camenzuli, Christian; Sultana, Roberta; Pullicino, Richard; Zammit, Christian; Calleja Agius, Jean; Pomara, Cristoforo

2017-11-07

During the last decade, global interest in the multiple benefits of formal peer teaching has increased. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of first-year medical students towards the use of peer teaching to learn anatomy using cadaveric specimens. A descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective survey was carried out. Data were collected using an online questionnaire which was administered to all medical students who were in their second year of their medical school curriculum and who had participated in sessions taught by their peers during their first year. Peer teaching was perceived as an effective method of learning anatomy by more than half of the participants. Analysis of mean responses revealed that the peer teachers created a positive, non-intimidating learning environment. Overall, participants gave positive feedback on their peer teachers. Six categories emerged from the responses given by participants as to why they would or would not recommend peer teaching. Ways of improvement as suggested by the respondents were also reported. Variables found to be significantly associated with the perceived benefits of the peer teaching program included sex differences, educational level and recommendations for peer teaching. This study brings to light the merits and demerits of peer teaching as viewed through the eyes of the peer learners. Peer teaching provides a sound platform for teaching and learning anatomy. Further discussions at higher levels are encouraged in order to explore the feasibility of introducing formal peer teaching in the medical curriculum. Anat Sci Educ. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.

Representation in incremental learning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

Work focused on two areas in machine learning: representation for inductive learning and how to apply concept learning techniques to learning state preferences, which can represent search control knowledge for problem solving. Specifically, in the first area the issues of the effect of representation on learning, on how learning formalisms are biased, and how concept learning can benefit from the use of a hybrid formalism are addressed. In the second area, the issues of developing an agent to learn search control knowledge from the relative values of states, of the source of that qualitative information, and of the ability to use both quantitative and qualitative information in order to develop an effective problem-solving policy are examined.

Science and Exploration in the Classroom & Beyond: An Interdisciplinary STEAM Curriculum Developed by SSERVI Educators & Scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, Tracy M.; Runyon, Cassandra; Cynthia, Hall; Britt, Daniel; Tracy Becker

2017-10-01

Through NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), the Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science (CLASS) and the SSERVI Evolution and Environment of Exploration Destinations (SEEED) nodes have developed an interdisciplinary formal and informal hands-on curriculum to bring the excitement of space exploration directly to the students.With a focus on exploring asteroids, this 5-year effort has infused art with traditional STEM practices (creating STEAM) and provides teachers with learning materials to incorporate art, social studies, English language arts, and other courses into the lesson plans. The formal curricula being developed follows Next Generation Standards and incorporates effective and engaging pedagogical strategies, such as problem-based learning (PBL), design thinking, and document based questions, using authentic data and articles, some of which are produced by the SSERVI scientists. From the materials developed for the formal education component, we have built up a collection of informal activities of varying lengths (minutes to weeks-long programs) to be used by museums, girl and boy scouts, science camps, etc.The curricula are being developed by formal and informal educators, artists, storytellers, and scientists. The continual feedback between the educators, artists, and scientists enables the program to evolve and mature such that the material will be accessible to the students without losing scientific merit. Online components will allow students to interact with SSERVI scientists and will ultimately infuse ongoing, exciting research into the student’s lessons.Our Education & Public Engagement (EPE) program makes a strong effort to make educational material accessible to all learners, including those with visual or hearing impairments. Specific activities have been included or independently developed to give all students an opportunity to experience the excitement of the universe.

Building Ocean Learning Communities: A COSEE Science and Education Partnership

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robigou, V.; Bullerdick, S.; Anderson, A.

2007-12-01

The core mission of the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) is to promote partnerships between research scientists and educators through a national network of regional and thematic centers. In addition, the COSEEs also disseminate best practices in ocean sciences education, and promote ocean sciences as a charismatic interdisciplinary vehicle for creating a more scientifically literate workforce and citizenry. Although each center is mainly funded through a peer-reviewed grant process by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the centers form a national network that fosters collaborative efforts among the centers to design and implement initiatives for the benefit of the entire network and beyond. Among these initiatives the COSEE network has contributed to the definition, promotion, and dissemination of Ocean Literacy in formal and informal learning settings. Relevant to all research scientists, an Education and Public Outreach guide for scientists is now available at www.tos.org. This guide highlights strategies for engaging scientists in Ocean Sciences Education that are often applicable in other sciences. To address the challenging issue of ocean sciences education informed by scientific research, the COSEE approach supports centers that are partnerships between research institutions, formal and informal education venues, advocacy groups, industry, and others. The COSEE Ocean Learning Communities, is a partnership between the University of Washington College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences and College of Education, the Seattle Aquarium, and a not-for-profit educational organization. The main focus of the center is to foster and create Learning Communities that cultivate contributing, and ocean sciences-literate citizens aware of the ocean's impact on daily life. The center is currently working with volunteer groups around the Northwest region that are actively involved in projects in the marine environment and to empower these diverse groups including research scientists, formal and informal educators, business representatives, and non-profit groups to identify ocean-related problems, and develop solutions to share with their own communities. COSEE OLC practices and studies the skills of developing these collaborations.

Strategic planning in a complex academic environment: lessons from one academic health center.

PubMed

Levinson, Wendy; Axler, Helena

2007-08-01

Leaders in academic health centers (AHCs) must create a vision for their academic unit embedded in a complex environment. A formal strategic planning process can be valuable to help shape a clear vision taking advantage of potential collaborations and to develop specific achievable long- and short-term goals. The authors describe the steps in a formal strategic planning process and illustrate it with the example of the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine beginning in 2004. The process included the active participation of over 300 faculty members, trainees, and stakeholders of the department and resulted in broad-based support and leadership for the resulting plan. The authors describe the steps, which include getting started, committing to planning principles, establishing the work plan, understanding the environment, pulling it all together, shaping the vision, testing strategic directions, building effective implementation, and promoting the plan. Articulation of vision, mission, and values informed the plan's development, as well as 10 key principles integral to the plan. Challenges and lessons learned are also described. The final strategic plan is an active core activity of the department, guiding decisions and resource allocation and facilitating measurement of success or shortcomings. The process the authors describe is applicable to multiple academic units, including divisions/sections, departments, or thematic programs in AHCs.

Decoding the learning environment of medical education: a hidden curriculum perspective for faculty development.

PubMed

Hafler, Janet P; Ownby, Allison R; Thompson, Britta M; Fasser, Carl E; Grigsby, Kevin; Haidet, Paul; Kahn, Marc J; Hafferty, Frederic W

2011-04-01

Medical student literature has broadly established the importance of differentiating between formal-explicit and hidden-tacit dimensions of the physician education process. The hidden curriculum refers to cultural mores that are transmitted, but not openly acknowledged, through formal and informal educational endeavors. The authors extend the concept of the hidden curriculum from students to faculty, and in so doing, they frame the acquisition by faculty of knowledge, skills, and values as a more global process of identity formation. This process includes a subset of formal, formative activities labeled "faculty development programs" that target specific faculty skills such as teaching effectiveness or leadership; however, it also includes informal, tacit messages that faculty absorb. As faculty members are socialized into faculty life, they often encounter conflicting messages about their role. In this article, the authors examine how faculty development programs have functioned as a source of conflict, and they ask how these programs might be retooled to assist faculty in understanding the tacit institutional culture shaping effective socialization and in managing the inconsistencies that so often dominate faculty life. © by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Qualitative Parameters for Evaluation Procedures of Non-Formal and Informal Learning Achievements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stasiunaitiene, Egle; Kaminskiene, Lina

2009-01-01

The article introduces evaluation principles of non-formal and informal learning that determine the quality of evaluation, describes stages of the evaluation procedure, differentiates their qualitative parameters and defines their criteria and indicators. It also brings in the discussion that consideration of qualitative parameters for the…

Practitioner Perspectives on Learning for Social Change through Non-Formal Global Citizenship Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Eleanor J.

2018-01-01

This article engages with debates about transformative learning and social change, exploring practitioner perspectives on non-formal education activities run by non-governmental organisations. The research looked at how global citizenship education practitioners met their organisation's goals of change for social justice through educational…

Operant Learning, Cognitive Development, and Job Aids.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harmon, N. Paul; King, David R.

1979-01-01

Examines the relationship between learning and development in the most general terms, discusses the developmental distinction between concrete and formal operational thought as manifested in adult behavior, and considers the implications of the concrete-formal dichotomy for the design and use of job aids. Notes and a bibliography are provided.…

Don't abandon hope all ye who enter here: The protective role of formal mentoring and learning processes on burnout in correctional officers.

PubMed

Farnese, M L; Barbieri, B; Bellò, B; Bartone, P T

2017-01-01

Within a Job Demands-Resources Model framework, formal mentoring can be conceived as a job resource expressing the organization's support for new members, which may prevent their being at risk for burnout. This research aims at understanding the protective role of formal mentoring on burnout, through the effect of increasing learning personal resources. Specifically, we hypothesized that formal mentoring enhances newcomers' learning about job and social domains related to the new work context, thus leading to lower burnout. In order to test the hypotheses, a multiple regression analysis using the bootstrapping method was used. Based on a questionnaire administered to 117 correctional officer newcomers who had a formal mentor assigned, our results confirm that formal mentoring exerts a positive influence on newcomers' adjustment, and that this in turn exerts a protective influence against burnout onset by reducing cynicism and interpersonal stress and also enhancing the sense of personal accomplishment. Confirming previous literature's suggestions, supportive mentoring and effective socialization seem to represent job and personal resources that are protective against burnout. This study provides empirical support for this relation in the prison context.

Does a Formal Wiki Event Contribute to the Formation of a Network of Practice? A Social Capital Perspective on the Potential for Informal Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rehm, Martin; Littlejohn, Allison; Rienties, Bart

2018-01-01

Informal learning in blended and online settings plays an increasingly important role in the continuous professional development of individuals. Yet, how do individuals engage into these types of activities? We argue that social capital theory can provide valuable insights into how people behave and decide to take part in (in)formal learning.…

Towards the Construction of a Personal Professional Pathway: An Experimental Project for the Recognition of Non-Formal and Informal Learning in the University of Catania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piazza, Roberta

2013-01-01

In Italy, accreditation of prior learning is a sensitive issue. Despite the lack of laws or qualification frameworks regulating the recognition of non-formal and informal learning, most Italian universities proceed with caution, allowing only a restricted number of credits in the university curriculum related to practical activities or to external…

Student approaches for learning in medicine: what does it tell us about the informal curriculum?

PubMed

Zhang, Jianzhen; Peterson, Raymond F; Ozolins, Ieva Z

2011-10-21

It has long been acknowledged that medical students frequently focus their learning on that which will enable them to pass examinations, and that they use a range of study approaches and resources in preparing for their examinations. A recent qualitative study identified that in addition to the formal curriculum, students are using a range of resources and study strategies which could be attributed to the informal curriculum. What is not clearly established is the extent to which these informal learning resources and strategies are utilized by medical students. The aim of this study was to establish the extent to which students in a graduate-entry medical program use various learning approaches to assist their learning and preparation for examinations, apart from those resources offered as part of the formal curriculum. A validated survey instrument was administered to 522 medical students. Factor analysis and internal consistence, descriptive analysis and comparisons with demographic variables were completed. The factor analysis identified eight scales with acceptable levels of internal consistency with an alpha coefficient between 0.72 and 0.96. Nearly 80% of the students reported that they were overwhelmed by the amount of work that was perceived necessary to complete the formal curriculum, with 74.3% believing that the informal learning approaches helped them pass the examinations. 61.3% believed that they prepared them to be good doctors. A variety of informal learning activities utilized by students included using past student notes (85.8%) and PBL tutor guides (62.7%), and being part of self-organised study groups (62.6%), and peer-led tutorials (60.2%). Almost all students accessed the formal school resources for at least 10% of their study time. Students in the first year of the program were more likely to rely on the formal curriculum resources compared to those of Year 2 (p = 0.008). Curriculum planners should examine the level of use of informal learning activities in their schools, and investigate whether this is to enhance student progress, a result of perceived weakness in the delivery and effectiveness of formal resources, or to overcome anxiety about the volume of work expected by medical programs.

Student Incivility in Radiography Education.

PubMed

Clark, Kevin R

2017-07-01

To examine student incivility in radiography classrooms by exploring the prevalence of uncivil behaviors along with the classroom management strategies educators use to manage and prevent classroom disruptions. A survey was designed to collect data on the severity and frequency of uncivil student behaviors, classroom management strategies used to address minor and major behavioral issues, and techniques to prevent student incivility. The participants were educators in radiography programs accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology. Findings indicated that severe uncivil student behaviors in radiography classrooms do not occur as often as behaviors classified as less severe. Radiography educators in this study used a variety of strategies and techniques to manage and prevent student incivility; however, radiography educators who received formal training in classroom management reported fewer incidents of student incivility than those who had not received formal training. The participants in this study took a proactive approach to addressing severe behavioral issues in the classroom. Many radiography educators transition from the clinical environment to the classroom setting with little to no formal training in classroom management. Radiography educators are encouraged to attend formal training sessions to learn how to manage the higher education classroom effectively. Student incivility is present in radiography classrooms. This study provides a foundation for future research on incivility. ©2017 American Society of Radiologic Technologists.

Language experience changes subsequent learning

PubMed Central

Onnis, Luca; Thiessen, Erik

2013-01-01

What are the effects of experience on subsequent learning? We explored the effects of language-specific word order knowledge on the acquisition of sequential conditional information. Korean and English adults were engaged in a sequence learning task involving three different sets of stimuli: auditory linguistic (nonsense syllables), visual non-linguistic (nonsense shapes), and auditory non-linguistic (pure tones). The forward and backward probabilities between adjacent elements generated two equally probable and orthogonal perceptual parses of the elements, such that any significant preference at test must be due to either general cognitive biases, or prior language-induced biases. We found that language modulated parsing preferences with the linguistic stimuli only. Intriguingly, these preferences are congruent with the dominant word order patterns of each language, as corroborated by corpus analyses, and are driven by probabilistic preferences. Furthermore, although the Korean individuals had received extensive formal explicit training in English and lived in an English-speaking environment, they exhibited statistical learning biases congruent with their native language. Our findings suggest that mechanisms of statistical sequential learning are implicated in language across the lifespan, and experience with language may affect cognitive processes and later learning. PMID:23200510

Financial literacy among Turkish college students: the role of formal education, learning approaches, and parental teaching.

PubMed

Akben-Selcuk, Elif; Altiok-Yilmaz, Ayse

2014-10-01

This study assessed financial literacy and its correlates among Turkish college students, with special emphasis on the role of formal education, learning approaches, and parental influences. Financial literacy was measured by the College Student Financial Literacy Survey, which assesses knowledge in four areas: general financial management, saving and borrowing, insurance, and investing. 853 Turkish university students were administered the survey (416 men, 437 women; M age = 20.3 yr., SD = 0.6). The mean percentage of correct responses was 45% (SD = 12.8%). Regression results showed that formal finance education in college, a deep approach to learning, and direct financial teaching by parents were significantly associated with higher financial literacy scores.

Social pediatrics: weaving horizontal and vertical threads through pediatric residency.

PubMed

van den Heuvel, Meta; Martimianakis, Maria Athina Tina; Levy, Rebecca; Atkinson, Adelle; Ford-Jones, Elizabeth; Shouldice, Michelle

2017-01-13

Social pediatrics teaches pediatric residents how to understand disease within their patients' social, environmental and political contexts. It's an essential component of pediatric residency training; however there is very little literature that addresses how such a broad-ranging topic can be taught effectively. The aim of this study was to determine and characterize social pediatric education in our pediatric residency training in order to identify strengths and gaps. A social pediatrics curriculum map was developed, attending to 3 different dimensions: (1) the intended curriculum as prescribed by the Objectives of Training for Pediatrics of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), (2) the formal curriculum defined by rotation-specific learning objectives, and (3) the informal/hidden curriculum as reflected in resident and teacher experiences and perceptions. Forty-one social pediatric learning objectives were extracted from the RCPSC Objectives of Training for Pediatrics, most were listed in the Medical Expert (51%) and Health Advocate competencies (24%). Almost all RCPSC social pediatric learning objectives were identified in more than one rotation and/or seminar. Adolescent Medicine (29.2%), Pediatric Ambulatory Medicine (26.2%) and Developmental Pediatrics (25%) listed the highest proportion of social pediatric learning objectives. Four (10%) RCPSC social pediatric objectives were not explicitly named within learning objectives of the formal curriculum. The informal curriculum revealed that both teachers and residents viewed social pediatrics as integral to all clinical encounters. Perceived barriers to teaching and learning of social pediatrics included time constraints, particularly in a tertiary care environment, and the value of social pediatrics relative to medical expert knowledge. Despite the lack of an explicit thematic presentation of social pediatric learning objectives by the Royal College and residency training program, social pediatric topics are integrated, taught and learned throughout the entire curriculum. Special attention needs to be given to the hidden curriculum and system barriers that may impede social pediatric education.

Non-formal learning and tacit knowledge in professional work.

PubMed

Eraut, M

2000-03-01

This paper explores the conceptual and methodological problems arising from several empirical investigations of professional education and learning in the workplace. 1. To clarify the multiple meanings accorded to terms such as 'non-formal learning', 'implicit learning' and 'tacit knowledge', their theoretical assumptions and the range of phenomena to which they refer. 2. To discuss their implications for professional practice. A largely theoretical analysis of issues and phenomena arising from empirical investigations. The author's typology of non-formal learning distinguishes between implicit learning, reactive on-the-spot learning and deliberative learning. The significance of the last is commonly overemphasized. The problematic nature of tacit knowledge is discussed with respect to both detecting it and representing it. Three types of tacit knowledge are discussed: tacit understanding of people and situations, routinized actions and the tacit rules that underpin intuitive decision-making. They come together when professional performance involves sequences of routinized action punctuated by rapid intuitive decisions based on tacit understanding of the situation. Four types of process are involved--reading the situation, making decisions, overt activity and metacognition--and three modes of cognition--intuitive, analytic and deliberative. The balance between these modes depends on time, experience and complexity. Where rapid action dominates, periods of deliberation are needed to maintain critical control. Finally the role of both formal and informal social knowledge is discussed; and it is argued that situated learning often leads not to local conformity but to greater individual variation as people's careers take them through a series of different contexts. This abstract necessarily simplifies a more complex analysis in the paper itself.

Survey of the learning activities of Australasian radiation oncology specialist trainees.

PubMed

Holt, T; Bydder, S; Bloomfield, L

2008-12-01

Trainee radiation oncologists must master a substantial body of skills and knowledge to become competent specialists. The resources available to support this are limited. We surveyed the 90 registrars enrolled in the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Surgeons (RANZCR) radiation oncology training programme to obtain a range of information about their learning activities (with a significant focus on part 1 teaching). Responses were received from 59 registrars (66% of those eligible). Trainees reported spending a median 2.5 h per week (range 0-10 h) in formal teaching activities. With regard to part 1 exam preparation, 83% reported having had physics teaching--the median quality was 5/7; 88% had radiobiology teaching--the median quality was 4/7; 52% had anatomy teaching--the median quality was 3/7. Registrars training within the RANZCR radiation oncologists training programme perceive their own clinical learning environment as generally good; however' 50% of respondents felt that more teaching was needed for part 1 subjects. This compared with only 19% of respondents who felt that more teaching was required for part 2 exam preparation. Innovative solutions, such as centralized web-based teaching, may help to address weaknesses in part 1 teaching. With increasing demands on radiation oncologists and trainees it will be important to monitor learning environments.

Gender-related differences in reasoning skills and learning interests of junior high school students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shemesh, Michal

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender-related differences in the relationship between the development of formal reasoning skills and learning interests during the early adolescent stage. For this purpose, 249 students, from seventh to ninth grade, were assessed for their level of mastery of formal reasoning skills by a test based on videotaped simple experiments. Learning interests were assessed by a written response to an open question. Results showed that adolescent boys develop patterns of formal reasoning before their girl classmates. In addition, boys tend to prefer science and technology subjects, while girls tend to prefer language, social studies, and humanities. Analysis of interactions showed that boys' tendency toward science and technology is positively correlated to their age and development of formal reasoning, while girls' tendency to the above subjects is positively related to their development of formal reasoning capacity, but inversely related to their age. Possible explanations to the above-described findings and suggestions for instructional modes that may increase girls' interest in science and technology are discussed.

A Qualitative Exploration of the Perceptions of a Special Education Professional Learning Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katz, Marc

2013-01-01

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been used as a format for encouraging formal collaboration among teachers. The topic of the completed study is the perceptions of special education teachers regarding how special education PLCs meet formal collaboration needs, particularly in terms of isolation. The problem is that special education…

Evolution and Revolution of Adult Learning: Exposition of Open and Distance Learning in Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Umezulike, Nneka A.

2015-01-01

The educational system has witnessed a number of laudable programs since inception in both formal and non-formal systems of education programs that were set up to empower adult educational skills, knowledge, decision-making processes.Correspondence education transformed into distance education which--with the advent of information and…

Management Development Experiences and Expectations: Informal vs Formal Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, Karen; Bish, Adelle

2017-01-01

Purpose: Many organisations are reconsidering their investment in formal education and training, in favour of more informal approaches to learning such as mentoring, temporary assignments, stretch assignments, and job rotation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which managers have developed capabilities for their roles thus far…

The Lessons of Non-Formal Learning for Urban Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Carol C.

2012-01-01

Non-formal learning for urban youth has a long history in the United States; it remains a source of innovation. This essay draws on literature about organizations that use community ties to encourage cognitive development and identity formation. It then describes how one youth organization in Camden, New Jersey uses presentations to the community…

Assessing, Recognising and Certifying Informal and Non-Formal Learning (ARCNIL): Evolution and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Svetlik, Ivan

2009-01-01

Certifying non-formal and informal knowledge may be a consequence of separating education and training from other social and economic activities. Specialisation and formalisation of education and training both aim to increase learning efficiency. In the emerging knowledge society, this has attracted particular attention among researchers and…

Attitude of Teachers and Students towards Formal Learning through Online Social Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akbari, Elham; Naderi, Ahmad; Yazdi, Mahdi Hosseinzadeh; Simons, Robert Jan; Pilot, Albert

2016-01-01

Despite the potential of social networks in formal learning, there should be more knowledge on the students and teachers attitudes toward such technology and more recent information in the context of the actual educational situation. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used. The instruments included a questionnaire investigate the attitudes…

Learning Goal Orientation, Formal Mentoring, and Leadership Competence in HRD: A Conceptual Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Sooyoung

2007-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to suggest a conceptual model of formal mentoring as a leadership development initiative including "learning goal orientation", "mentoring functions", and "leadership competencies" as key constructs of the model. Design/methodology/approach: Some empirical studies, though there are not many, will provide…

Transcultural Digital Literacies: Cross-Border Connections and Self-Representations in an Online Forum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Grace MyHyun

2016-01-01

Research on multicultural learning has focused on formal and local settings, such as schools, but young people are interacting with, and therefore learning from, informal settings and nonlocal contexts, including online platforms. That is, multicultural education is no longer limited to formal institutions, local contexts, or the printed word.…

An Ill-Structured PBL-Based Microprocessor Course without Formal Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Jungkuk

2012-01-01

This paper introduces a problem-based learning (PBL) microprocessor application course designed according to the following strategies: 1) hands-on training without having a formal laboratory, and 2) intense student-centered cooperative learning through an ill-structured problem. PBL was adopted as the core educational technique of the course to…

Recognising Women's Skill. EAE647 Non-Formal Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cox, Eva; Leonard, Helen

The material in this monograph is part of the study materials for the one-semester distance education unit, Non-Formal Learning, in the Open Campus Program at Deakin University (Australia). It is designed to raise issues relating to skill definition. "Choosing a Worker or How Good Are Your Job Descriptions?" explores why interpersonal or…

Self-supervised ARTMAP.

PubMed

Amis, Gregory P; Carpenter, Gail A

2010-03-01

Computational models of learning typically train on labeled input patterns (supervised learning), unlabeled input patterns (unsupervised learning), or a combination of the two (semi-supervised learning). In each case input patterns have a fixed number of features throughout training and testing. Human and machine learning contexts present additional opportunities for expanding incomplete knowledge from formal training, via self-directed learning that incorporates features not previously experienced. This article defines a new self-supervised learning paradigm to address these richer learning contexts, introducing a neural network called self-supervised ARTMAP. Self-supervised learning integrates knowledge from a teacher (labeled patterns with some features), knowledge from the environment (unlabeled patterns with more features), and knowledge from internal model activation (self-labeled patterns). Self-supervised ARTMAP learns about novel features from unlabeled patterns without destroying partial knowledge previously acquired from labeled patterns. A category selection function bases system predictions on known features, and distributed network activation scales unlabeled learning to prediction confidence. Slow distributed learning on unlabeled patterns focuses on novel features and confident predictions, defining classification boundaries that were ambiguous in the labeled patterns. Self-supervised ARTMAP improves test accuracy on illustrative low-dimensional problems and on high-dimensional benchmarks. Model code and benchmark data are available from: http://techlab.eu.edu/SSART/. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proceedings of Seminar (22nd) on Coastal and Inland Water Quality Held in Las Vegas, Nevada on 6-7 February 1990

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-01

mystic of biology and formal training compelled me to pursue aquatic biology as a career. I later learned to enjoy applied science and a teamwork...reviewing "Umnology" by Welch when he is struggling with a technical problem or a mental block. I strongly recommend this approach as therapy or a... aquatic environment. The 404(b)(1) guidelines at 40 CFR, Part 230, and ocean dumping criteria at 40 CFR, Part 220-228 provide general regulatory guidance

Incorporating leadership knowledge and skills into the dental education community.

PubMed

Slavkin, Harold C; Lawrence, Lisa

2007-06-01

Leadership has been studied for the past four decades with an emphasis upon leadership and the transformation of various cultures, especially within the private sector. It is also becoming evident that leaders and leadership skills are often derived from core personal values and perceptions of what is and what could be. This summary describes an eleven-week selective course termed "Dean's Leadership Course" at the School of Dentistry at the University of Southern California. This selective course (a non-credit elective learning opportunity outside the formal curriculum) recruits a modest team of learners consisting of faculty, staff, and students and approaches leadership within the context of a "learning organization" coupled with case-based and problem-based learning. At the conclusion of this eleven-week course, participants are granted continuing education credit. This summary encourages others in dental education to consider the compelling opportunity to nurture and cultivate leadership within the university dental school environs.

Augmenting Reality and Formality of Informal and Non-Formal Settings to Enhance Blended Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pérez-Sanagustin, Mar; Hernández-Leo, Davinia; Santos, Patricia; Kloos, Carlos Delgado; Blat, Josep

2014-01-01

Visits to museums and city tours have been part of higher and secondary education curriculum activities for many years. However these activities are typically considered "less formal" when compared to those carried out in the classroom, mainly because they take place in informal or non-formal settings. Augmented Reality (AR) technologies…

Towards a 21 century paradigm of chiropractic: stage 1, redesigning clinical learning.

PubMed

Ebrall, Phillip; Draper, Barry; Repka, Adrian

2008-01-01

To describe a formal process designed to determine the nature and extent of change that may enhance the depth of student learning in the pre-professional, clinical chiropractic environment. Project teams in the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) School of Health Sciences and the Division of Chiropractic explored questions of clinical assessment in several health care disciplines of the School and the issue of implementing change in a manner that would be embraced by the clinicians who supervise student-learning in the clinical environment. The teams applied to RMIT for grant funding within the Learning and Teaching Investment Fund to support two proposed studies. Both research proposals were fully funded and are in process. The genesis of this work is the discovery that the predominant management plan in the chiropractic teaching clinics is based on diagnostic reductionism. It is felt this is counter-productive to the holistic dimensions of chiropractic practice taught in the classroom and non-supportive of chiropractic's paradigm shift towards wellness. A need is seen to improve processes around student assessment in the contemporary work-integrated learning that is a prime element of learning within the clinical disciplines of the School of Health Sciences, including chiropractic. Any improvements in the manner of clinical assessment within the chiropractic discipline will need to be accompanied by improvement in the training and development of the clinicians responsible for managing the provision of quality patient care by Registered Chiropractic Students.

Is Amateur Astronomers’ Astronomy Knowledge a Barrier to Successful Outreach?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slater, Timothy F.; Slater, S. J.; Price, C. A.; CenterAstronomy, CAPER; Education Research, Physics

2012-01-01

Considerable effort in astronomy education research has focused on developing assessment tools in the form of multiple-choice conceptual diagnostics and content knowledge surveys. This has been critically important for establishing the initial knowledge state of students and measure impacts of innovative instructional interventions over a universe of topics. Unfortunately, few of the existing instruments were constructed upon a solid list of clearly articulated and widely agreed upon learning objectives that span an entire introductory survey course. Moving beyond the 10-year old Astronomy Diagnostics Test, scholars at the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education Research developed and validated criterion referenced assessment tool, which is tightly aligned to the consensus learning goals stated by the AAS Chair's Conference on ASTRO 101, the AAAS Project 2061 Benchmarks, and the NRC National Science Education Standards, called the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST). This multiple-choice instrument has a high degree of reliability and validity and is being deployed in a number of formal and informal learning environments. A collaborative research endeavor between the CAPER Team and the American Association of Variable Star Observers measured the astronomy content knowledge amateur astronomers, relative to widely agreed upon learning targets. We uncovered that our sample of 300 amateurs have higher than expected scores on the TOAST, significantly higher than students leaving our top-tier ASTRO 101 survey courses. Given recent learning sciences research demonstrating the potential of highly specialized languages that exist within some communities and rapidly declining membership rolls of formal amateur organizations, these scores could be interpreted as a potential communication barrier existing for engaging novices who are potential future club members. These results suggest that organizations may need to strategically clarify the nature of educational experiences they provide than can serve transformative in order to nurture a more robust pipeline of members.

Beyond Metaphor: Formalising in Mathematical Understanding within Constructivist Environments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pirie, Susan E. B.; Kieren, Thomas E.

1994-01-01

Discusses formalizing in mathematics and provides anecdotal illustrations of formalizing in a constructivist environment, using students aged 12 and 8 involved in fraction work. (Contains 19 references.) (MKR)

Toward the Characterization of Non-Formal Pedagogy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silberman-Keller, Diana

This study examined characteristic attributes of non-formal education and the non-formal pedagogy directing its teaching and learning processes. Data were collected on organizational and pedagogical characteristics in several out-of-school organizations (youth movements, youth organizations, community centers, bypass educational systems, local…

Older Lifelong Learners' Motivations for Participating in Formal Volunteer Activities in Urban Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yamashita, Takashi; López, Erick B.; Soligo, Marta; Keene, Jennifer R.

2017-01-01

In recent years, volunteering has received increasing attention as a unique form of learning, one which may complement lifelong learning programs for older adults. This study examined the underlying volunteer motivations as well as formal volunteer behaviors among older adult lifelong learners. Data from 277 members of the Osher Lifelong Learning…

Assessment and Recognition of Non-Formal and Informal Learning: A Lithuanian Case of Novice Consultants' Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burkšaitiene, Nijole

2015-01-01

This article reports the results of the investigation into institutional support provided to adults by 12 novice consultants on assessment and recognition of their non-formal and informal learning in four institutions of higher education (HEIs) in Lithuania. Using the general systems perspective and perception theory, novice consultants'…

Teachers Learning to Use the iPad in Scotland and Wales: A New Model of Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beauchamp, Gary; Burden, Kevin; Abbinett, Emily

2015-01-01

In learning to use a new technology like the iPad, primary teachers adopt a diverse range of experiential, informal and playful strategies contrasting sharply with traditional models underpinning professional development which emphasise formal courses and events led by "experts" conducted in formal settings such as the school. Since…

Oral Fluency, Accuracy, and Complexity in Formal Instruction and Study Abroad Learning Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mora, Joan C.; Valls-Ferrer, Margalida

2012-01-01

This study investigates the differential effects of two learning contexts, formal instruction (FI) at home and a study abroad period (SA), on the oral production skills of advanced-level Catalan-Spanish undergraduate learners of English. Speech samples elicited through an interview at three data collection times over a 2-year period were…

Social Media and Education: Reconceptualizing the Boundaries of Formal and Informal Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenhow, Christine; Lewin, Cathy

2016-01-01

It is argued that social media has the potential to bridge formal and informal learning through participatory digital cultures. Exemplars of sophisticated use by young people support this claim, although the majority of young people adopt the role of consumers rather than full participants. Scholars have suggested the potential of social media for…

Student Teachers' Discourse about Digital Technologies and Transitions between Formal and Informal Learning Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pöntinen, Susanna; Dillon, Patrick; Väisänen, Pertti

2017-01-01

This research is a contribution to issues of digital technology use at the interface of formal and informal learning contexts. The research was conducted in the discourse tradition and investigates Finnish teacher training students' 'manners of speaking' as resources for, and obstacles to, making pedagogical changes in response to the potential of…

New Trade and Industrial Teachers' Perceptions of Formal Learning versus Informal Learning and Teaching Proficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burns, Janet Z.; Schaefer, Karen; Hayden, Jessie M.

2005-01-01

Trade and industrial (T&I) teachers enter the classroom as content level experts who may have acquired their content expertise through a combination of formal industry training and informal on-the-job experiences. When they make the career transition from industry to teaching, they must acquire professional teaching competencies. Like the content…

Closing the Gap between Formalism and Application--PBL and Mathematical Skills in Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christensen, Ole Ravn

2008-01-01

A common problem in learning mathematics concerns the gap between, on the one hand, doing the formalisms and calculations of abstract mathematics and, on the other hand, applying these in a specific contextualized setting for example the engineering world. The skills acquired through problem-based learning (PBL), in the special model used at…

Museums and Planetariums: Bridging the Gap between Hawaiian Culture and Astronomy through Informal Education--A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciotti, Joseph E.

2010-01-01

Behavioral research supports informal education as fundamental to lifelong learning and responsible for much of what we know. Such learning occurs outside of formal schooling through venues such as the Internet, libraries, museums and planetariums. Unrestricted by the regulations of formal institutions, informal education can respond more quickly,…

Fostering Transformative Learning in Non-Formal Settings: Farmer-Field Schools in East Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Edward W.; Duveskog, Deborah; Friis-Hansen, Esbern

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the practice of Farmer-Field Schools (FFS) theoretically framed from the perspective of transformative learning theory and non-formal education (NFE). Farmer-Field Schools are community-led NFE programs that provide a platform where farmers meet regularly to study the "how and why" of farming and…

Learning in practice: experiences and perceptions of high-scoring physicians.

PubMed

Sargeant, Joan; Mann, Karen; Sinclair, Douglas; Ferrier, Suzanne; Muirhead, Philip; van der Vleuten, Cees; Metsemakers, Job

2006-07-01

To increase understanding of informal learning in practice (e.g., consulting with colleagues, reading journals) through exploring the experiences and perceptions of physicians perceived to be performing well. Objectives were to find out how physicians learned in practice and maintained their competence, and how they learned about the communication skills domain specifically. Of 142 family physicians participating in a formal multisource feedback (360-degree) formative assessment, 25 receiving high scores were invited to participate in interviews conducted in 2003 at Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. Twelve responded. Interviews were 1.5 hours each, recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by the research team using accepted qualitative procedures. While formal learning appeared important to most, informal learning, especially through patients and colleagues, appeared to be fundamental. The physicians appeared to learn intentionally from practice and work experiences, and reflection appeared integral to learning and monitoring the impact of learning. Two findings were surprising: participants' conceptions of competence and perceptions that communication skills were innate rather than learned. These physicians' ways of intentional learning from practice concur with current models of informal learning. However, informal learning is largely unrecognized by formal institutions. Additionally, the physicians did not in general share notions of professional competence held by educators and others in authority. These findings suggest the need to make implicit content and learning processes more explicit. Additional research areas include exploring whether physicians across the range of performance levels demonstrate similar processes of reflective learning.

Characterizing Pedagogical Practices of University Physics Students in Informal Learning Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinko, Kathleen

2016-03-01

University educators (UEs) have a long history of teaching physics not only in formal classroom settings but also in informal outreach environments. The pedagogical practices of UEs in informal physics teaching have not been widely studied, and they may provide insight into formal practices and preparation. We investigate the interactions between UEs and children in an afterschool physics program facilitated by university physics students from the University of Colorado Boulder. In this program, physics undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers work with K-8 children on hands-on physics activities on a weekly basis over the course of a semester. We use an Activity Theoretic framework as a tool to examine situational aspects of individuals' behavior in the complex structure of the afterschool program. Using this framework, we analyze video of UE-child interactions and identify three main pedagogical modalities that UEs display during activities: Instruction, Consultation and Participation modes. These modes are characterized by certain language, physical location, and objectives that establish differences in UE-child roles and division of labor. Based on this analysis, we discuss implications for promoting pedagogical strategies through purposeful curriculum development and university educator preparation.

Technology in the teaching of neuroscience: enhanced student learning.

PubMed

Griffin, John D

2003-12-01

The primary motivation for integrating any form of education technology into a particular course or curriculum should always be to enhance student learning. However, it can be difficult to determine which technologies will be the most appropriate and effective teaching tools. Through the alignment of technology-enhanced learning experiences with a clear set of learning objectives, teaching becomes more efficient and effective and learning is truly enhanced. In this article, I describe how I have made extensive use of technology in two neuroscience courses that differ in structure and content. Course websites function as resource centers and provide a forum for student interaction. PowerPoint presentations enhance formal lectures and provide an organized outline of presented material. Some lectures are also supplemented with interactive CD-ROMs, used in the presentation of difficult physiological concepts. In addition, a computer-based physiological recording system is used in laboratory sessions, improving the hands-on experience of group learning while reinforcing the concepts of the research method. Although technology can provide powerful teaching tools, the enhancement of the learning environment is still dependent on the instructor. It is the skill and enthusiasm of the instructor that determines whether technology will be used effectively.

An Assessment of Teaching and Learning Practices: A Questionnaire Study for Dental Educators of Karnataka.

PubMed

Meenakshi, S; Raghunath, N; Shreeshyla, H S

2017-11-01

Faculty members of dental institutions are being asked to assume new academic duties for which they have received no formal training. To succeed in new teaching tasks, faculty development through assessment of teaching skills is essential. A Self-Assessment Questionnaire consisting 18 closed-ended questions was sent to various faculty members of dental colleges of Karnataka. A total of 210 faculty members volunteered to participate in the study. The response rate was 69.8%. Data gathered were statistically analyzed using SPSS software version 16, Chi-square test, and descriptive statistics. In the present study, 27.3% of participants were unaware of andragogy, 33.3% were unaware of teachers development programs, 44.6% do not obtain student feedback after teaching, 52.6% were unaware of peer review of teaching skills, and 50% were unaware of interprofessional education initiatives. By incorporating teaching and learning skills, dental faculty could acquire competencies and academic credentials to become valuable contributors to the institution. This study emphasizes the areas of improvement in dental school learning environment, based on activation of prior knowledge, elaboration of new learning, learning in context, transfer of learning, and organization of knowledge toward learning.

Adult learning principles for effective teaching in radiology programmes: a review of the literature.

PubMed

Arogundade, R A

2011-01-01

Adult learning processes of acquisition of new knowledge, behaviours, skills, values or preferences generally occur as part of personal professional development. There is need for radiology residency trainers to understand the basic adult learning principles for effective teaching processes. To review the different adult learning styles, learning theories and educational practice as a guide for radiology residency trainers. Literature materials from journals, web articles and reputable textbooks in the last 20 years on adult learning principles in general and radiology in particular were reviewed. Most medical educators, including radiologists, lack appropriate formal training background in educational practice. The adult residency trainee brings to the learning environment high quantity and quality of experiences and some amount of control. Connection of this rich adult experience base to the learning process requires facilitation and motivation by the radiology educator, who must be familiar with the use of appropriate learning theories and educational practices. there is a general agreement about the content of good practice in adult education but a definite comprehensive list does not seem to exist in the literature. Nonetheless, understanding of the basic adult learning principles would aid the concept of guided training, where the adult residency trainee shoulders the bulk of the training responsibilities of acquisition of knowledge.

The power of associative learning and the ontogeny of optimal behaviour.

PubMed

Enquist, Magnus; Lind, Johan; Ghirlanda, Stefano

2016-11-01

Behaving efficiently (optimally or near-optimally) is central to animals' adaptation to their environment. Much evolutionary biology assumes, implicitly or explicitly, that optimal behavioural strategies are genetically inherited, yet the behaviour of many animals depends crucially on learning. The question of how learning contributes to optimal behaviour is largely open. Here we propose an associative learning model that can learn optimal behaviour in a wide variety of ecologically relevant circumstances. The model learns through chaining, a term introduced by Skinner to indicate learning of behaviour sequences by linking together shorter sequences or single behaviours. Our model formalizes the concept of conditioned reinforcement (the learning process that underlies chaining) and is closely related to optimization algorithms from machine learning. Our analysis dispels the common belief that associative learning is too limited to produce 'intelligent' behaviour such as tool use, social learning, self-control or expectations of the future. Furthermore, the model readily accounts for both instinctual and learned aspects of behaviour, clarifying how genetic evolution and individual learning complement each other, and bridging a long-standing divide between ethology and psychology. We conclude that associative learning, supported by genetic predispositions and including the oft-neglected phenomenon of conditioned reinforcement, may suffice to explain the ontogeny of optimal behaviour in most, if not all, non-human animals. Our results establish associative learning as a more powerful optimizing mechanism than acknowledged by current opinion.

The power of associative learning and the ontogeny of optimal behaviour

PubMed Central

Enquist, Magnus; Lind, Johan

2016-01-01

Behaving efficiently (optimally or near-optimally) is central to animals' adaptation to their environment. Much evolutionary biology assumes, implicitly or explicitly, that optimal behavioural strategies are genetically inherited, yet the behaviour of many animals depends crucially on learning. The question of how learning contributes to optimal behaviour is largely open. Here we propose an associative learning model that can learn optimal behaviour in a wide variety of ecologically relevant circumstances. The model learns through chaining, a term introduced by Skinner to indicate learning of behaviour sequences by linking together shorter sequences or single behaviours. Our model formalizes the concept of conditioned reinforcement (the learning process that underlies chaining) and is closely related to optimization algorithms from machine learning. Our analysis dispels the common belief that associative learning is too limited to produce ‘intelligent’ behaviour such as tool use, social learning, self-control or expectations of the future. Furthermore, the model readily accounts for both instinctual and learned aspects of behaviour, clarifying how genetic evolution and individual learning complement each other, and bridging a long-standing divide between ethology and psychology. We conclude that associative learning, supported by genetic predispositions and including the oft-neglected phenomenon of conditioned reinforcement, may suffice to explain the ontogeny of optimal behaviour in most, if not all, non-human animals. Our results establish associative learning as a more powerful optimizing mechanism than acknowledged by current opinion. PMID:28018662

Integrating Formal and Grounded Representations in Combinatorics Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braithwaite, David W.; Goldstone, Robert L.

2013-01-01

The terms "concreteness fading" and "progressive formalization" have been used to describe instructional approaches to science and mathematics that use grounded representations to introduce concepts and later transition to more formal representations of the same concepts. There are both theoretical and empirical reasons to…

Evaluating a Graduate Professional Development Program for Informal Science Educators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lake, Jeremy Paul

This study is an examination and evaluation of the outcomes of a series of courses that I helped build to create a graduate certificate. Specifically, I wanted to evaluate whether or not the online iteration of the Informal Science Institutions Environmental Education Graduate Certificate Program truly provided the long term professional development needed to enhance the skills of the formal and informal educators participating so that they could contribute meaningfully to the improvement of science literacy in their respective communities. My role as an internal evaluator provided an extraordinary opportunity to know the intent of the learning opportunities and why they were constructed in a particular fashion. Through the combination of my skills, personal experiences both within the certificate's predecessor and as an educator, I was uniquely qualified to explore the outcomes of this program and evaluate its effectiveness in providing a long-term professional development for participants. After conducting a literature review that emphasized a need for greater scientific literacy in communities across America, it was evident that the formal education enterprise needs the support of informal educators working on the ground in myriad different settings in ways that provide science as both content and process, learning science facts and doing real science. Through a bridging of informal science educators with formal teachers, it was thought each could learn the culture of the other, making each more fluent in accessing community resources to help make these educators more collaborative and able to bridge the classroom with the outside world. This bridge promotes ongoing, lifelong learning, which in turn can help the national goal of greater scientific literacy. This study provided insight into the thinking involved in the learners' growth as they converted theory presented in course materials into practice. Through an iterative process of reviewing the course generated content, I was able to piece through the many layers of this two year long program to examine the growth of these individuals over time. While all participants showed growth completing the certificate program, those who could fully invest themselves in the experiences seemed to have gained the most. These cases indicate the Informal Science Institutions Environmental Education Graduate Certificate Program was effective at enhancing the careers of formal and informal science educators. Additionally, it suggests informal science educators, although busy with their professional obligations and personal lives, can be successful in a formal graduate program designed to meet ISE needs as explicated in Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits (Bell, Lewenstein, Shouse, & Feder, 2009). The emergent model indicating connections among a person's personal life, professional life, and graduate study may also have implications for other professionals desiring to enroll in graduate school. For example, science teachers in university graduate programs may also benefit from applying this model to their lives.

Preparing registrants for mentor roles: the chicken or egg conundrum.

PubMed

McGuinness, Claire; McCallum, Jacqueline; Duffy, Kathleen

2016-12-01

The Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) Standards to Support Learning and Assessment in Practice ( 2008 ) outline requirements for the preparation of those who support nursing and midwifery pre-registration students in practice, formally known as mentors. Pre-registration nursing and midwifery programme providers, and practice learning environments (PLEs), work collaboratively to prepare registrants to undertake this role, and to help them maintain mentor status. An important NMC requirement is that registrants, when undertaking mentor preparation programmes, must be supported by experienced mentors in their workplace. This is challenging for programme providers and PLEs if there is lack of experienced mentors in the area concerned. This article discusses support for registrants when preparing to become mentors, suggests some alternative solutions and makes recommendations for the future of mentor preparation in the UK.

[Knowledge transfer in the light of changing values].

PubMed

Hahnenkamp, Klaus; Brinkrolf, Peter; Wenning, Markus; Hasebrook, Joachim

2013-11-01

Besides its formal and legal relevance, postgraduate medical education plays an important role in recruiting and retaining employees. Success of graduate education is affected by a changing environment: the former employer market is turning into an employee market. Demographic changes are taking place and a new generation of employees 'Generation Y' is entering the job market. In addition, working conditions are changing: part-time work is increasing and the learning behavior of young professionals demands more flexibility and the use of digital media. These changes and conditions will shape graduate medical education. On the one hand, medical interventions are becoming increasingly complex, on the other hand patients are getting older and sicker. Therefore, simulation-based learning will play an important role in medical training. © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York.

Approaches to Foster Transfer of Formal Principles: Which Route to Take?

PubMed

Schalk, Lennart; Saalbach, Henrik; Stern, Elsbeth

2016-01-01

Enabling learners to transfer knowledge about formal principles to new problems is a major aim of science and mathematics education, which, however, is notoriously difficult to reach. Previous research advocates different approaches of how to introduce principles to foster the transfer of knowledge about formal principles. One approach suggests teaching a generic formalism of the principles. Another approach suggests presenting (at least) two concrete cases instantiating the principle. A third approach suggests presenting a generic formalism accompanied by a case. As yet, though, empirical results regarding the transfer potential of these approaches are mixed and difficult to integrate as the three approaches have rarely been tested competitively. Furthermore, the approaches have been evaluated in relation to different control conditions, and they have been assessed using varying transfer measures. In the present experiment, we introduced undergraduates to the formal principles of propositional logic with the aim to systematically compare the transfer potential of the different approaches in relation to each other and to a common control condition by using various learning and transfer tasks. Results indicate that all approaches supported successful learning and transfer of the principles, but also caused systematic differences in the magnitude of transfer. Results indicate that the combination of a generic formalism with a case was surprisingly unsuccessful while learners who compared two cases outperformed the control condition. We discuss how the simultaneous assessment of the different approaches allows to more precisely capture the underlying learning mechanisms and to advance theory on how these mechanisms contribute to transfer performance.

Student approaches for learning in medicine: What does it tell us about the informal curriculum?

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background It has long been acknowledged that medical students frequently focus their learning on that which will enable them to pass examinations, and that they use a range of study approaches and resources in preparing for their examinations. A recent qualitative study identified that in addition to the formal curriculum, students are using a range of resources and study strategies which could be attributed to the informal curriculum. What is not clearly established is the extent to which these informal learning resources and strategies are utilized by medical students. The aim of this study was to establish the extent to which students in a graduate-entry medical program use various learning approaches to assist their learning and preparation for examinations, apart from those resources offered as part of the formal curriculum. Methods A validated survey instrument was administered to 522 medical students. Factor analysis and internal consistence, descriptive analysis and comparisons with demographic variables were completed. The factor analysis identified eight scales with acceptable levels of internal consistency with an alpha coefficient between 0.72 and 0.96. Results Nearly 80% of the students reported that they were overwhelmed by the amount of work that was perceived necessary to complete the formal curriculum, with 74.3% believing that the informal learning approaches helped them pass the examinations. 61.3% believed that they prepared them to be good doctors. A variety of informal learning activities utilized by students included using past student notes (85.8%) and PBL tutor guides (62.7%), and being part of self-organised study groups (62.6%), and peer-led tutorials (60.2%). Almost all students accessed the formal school resources for at least 10% of their study time. Students in the first year of the program were more likely to rely on the formal curriculum resources compared to those of Year 2 (p = 0.008). Conclusions Curriculum planners should examine the level of use of informal learning activities in their schools, and investigate whether this is to enhance student progress, a result of perceived weakness in the delivery and effectiveness of formal resources, or to overcome anxiety about the volume of work expected by medical programs. PMID:22013994

Improving the Conceptual Understanding in Kinematics Subject Matter with Hypertext Media Learning and Formal Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manurung, Sondang R.; Mihardi, Satria

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of hypertext media based kinematic learning and formal thinking ability to improve the conceptual understanding of physic prospective students. The research design used is the one-group pretest-posttest experimental design is carried out in the research by taking 36 students on from…

Models of Transformative Learning for Social Justice: Comparative Case Studies of Non-Formal Development Education in Britain and Spain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Eleanor J.

2015-01-01

This paper presents comparative case studies of non-formal development education by non-profit organisations in two European countries. The study aimed to explore the extent to which such activities provide opportunities for transformative learning. The research was qualitative and began with interviews with educators across 14 organisations in…

Students' and Teachers' Perceptions of Creativity, Communication and Problem-Solving in the School Curriculum: Hong Kong Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, John Chi-Kin; Chan, Nim Chi; Xu, Huixuan; Chun, Derek Wai-sun

2017-01-01

The development of generic skills is a focal issue in education policy and school curriculum reform across countries. This study in the Hong Kong context explores the sources of formal and non-formal curriculum and learning activities related to senior secondary students' perceptions of learning outcomes in creativity, communication, and problem…

State of the Art of Language Learning Design Using Mobile Technology: Sample Apps and Some Critical Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bárcena, Elena; Read, Timothy; Underwood, Joshua; Obari, Hiroyuki; Cojocnean, Diana; Koyama, Toshiko; Pareja-Lora, Antonio; Calle, Cristina; Pomposo, Lourdes; Talaván, Noa; Ávila-Cabrera, José; Ibañez, Ana; Vermeulen, Anna; Jordano, María; Arús-Hita, Jorge; Rodríguez, Pilar; Castrillo, María Dolores; Kétyi, Andras; Selwood, Jaime; Gaved, Mark; Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes

2015-01-01

In this paper, experiences from different research groups illustrate the state-of-the-art of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (henceforth, MALL) in formal and non-formal education. These research samples represent recent and on-going progress made in the field of MALL at an international level and offer encouragement for practitioners who are…

Mixed messages in learning communication skills? Students comparing role model behaviour in clerkships with formal training.

PubMed

Essers, Geurt; Van Weel-Baumgarten, Evelyn; Bolhuis, Sanneke

2012-01-01

Medical students learn professional communication through formal training and in clinical practice. Physicians working in clinical practice have a powerful influence on student learning. However, they may demonstrate communication behaviours not aligning with recommendations in training programs. This study aims to identify more precisely what differences students perceive between role model communication behaviour during clerkships and formal training. In a cross-sectional study, data were collected about physicians' communication performance as perceived by students. Students filled out a questionnaire in four different clerkships in their fourth and fifth year. Just over half of the students reported communication similar to formal training. This was especially true for students in the later clerkships (paediatrics and primary care). Good examples were seen in providing information corresponding to patients' needs and in shared decision making, although students often noted that in fact the doctor made the decision. Bad examples were observed in exploring cognitions and emotions, and in providing information meeting patient's pace. Further study is needed on actual physician behaviour in clinical practice. From our results, we conclude that students need help in reflecting on and learning from the gap in communication patterns they observe in training versus clinical practice.

Selection as a learning experience: an exploratory study.

PubMed

de Visser, Marieke; Laan, Roland F; Engbers, Rik; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke; Fluit, Cornelia

2018-01-01

Research on selection for medical school does not explore selection as a learning experience, despite growing attention for the learning effects of assessment in general. Insight in the learning effects allows us to take advantage of selection as an inclusive part of medical students' learning process to become competent professionals. The aims of this study at Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands, were 1) to determine whether students have learning experiences in the selection process, and, if so, what experiences; and 2) to understand what students need in order to utilize the learning effects of the selection process at the start of the formal curriculum. We used focus groups to interview 30 students admitted in 2016 about their learning experiences in the selection process. Thematic analysis was used to explore the outcomes of the interviews and to define relevant themes. In the selection process, students learned about the curriculum, themselves, their relation to others, and the profession they had been selected to enter, although this was not explicitly perceived as learning. Students needed a connection between selection and the curriculum as well as feedback to be able to really use their learning experiences for their further development. Medical school selection qualifies as a learning experience, and students as well as medical schools can take advantage of this. We recommend a careful design of the selection procedure, integrating relevant selection learning experiences into the formal curriculum, providing feedback and explicitly approaching the selection and the formal curriculum as interconnected contributors to students' development.

Underlying Processes of an Inverted Personalization Effect in Multimedia Learning – An Eye-Tracking Study

PubMed Central

Zander, Steffi; Wetzel, Stefanie; Kühl, Tim; Bertel, Sven

2017-01-01

One of the frequently examined design principles in multimedia learning is the personalization principle. Based on empirical evidence this principle states that using personalized messages in multimedia learning is more beneficial than using formal language (e.g., using ‘you’ instead of ‘the’). Although there is evidence that these slight changes in regard to the language style affect learning, motivation and the perceived cognitive load, it remains unclear, (1) whether the positive effects of personalized language can be transferred to all kinds of content of learning materials (e.g., specific potentially aversive health issues) and (2) which are the underlying processes (e.g., attention allocation) of the personalization effect. German university students (N = 37) learned symptoms and causes of cerebral hemorrhages either with a formal or a personalized version of the learning material. Analysis revealed comparable results to the few existing previous studies, indicating an inverted personalization effect for potentially aversive learning material. This effect was specifically revealed in regard to decreased average fixation duration and the number of fixations exclusively on the images in the personalized compared to the formal version. These results can be seen as indicators for an inverted effect of personalization on the level of visual attention. PMID:29326630

A qualitative investigation of the nature of "informal supervision" among therapists in training.

PubMed

Coren, Sidney; Farber, Barry A

2017-11-29

This study investigated how, when, why, and with whom therapists in training utilize "informal supervision"-that is, engage individuals who are not their formally assigned supervisors in significant conversations about their clinical work. Participants were 16 doctoral trainees in clinical and counseling psychology programs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using the Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) method. Seven domains emerged from the analysis, indicating that, in general, participants believe that informal and formal supervision offer many of the same benefits, including validation, support, and reassurance; freedom and safety to discuss doubts, anxieties, strong personal reactions to patients, clinical mistakes and challenges; and alternative approaches to clinical interventions. However, several differences also emerged between these modes of learning-for example, formal supervision is seen as more focused on didactics per se ("what to do"), whereas informal supervision is seen as providing more of a "holding environment." Overall, the findings of this study suggest that informal supervision is an important and valuable adjunctive practice by which clinical trainees augment their professional competencies. Recommendations are proposed for clinical practice and training, including the need to further specify the ethical boundaries of this unique and essentially unregulated type of supervision.

School Socioeconomic Compositional Effect on Shadow Education Participation: Evidence from Japan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matsuoka, Ryoji

2015-01-01

While shadow education, organized learning activities outside formal school, has grown greatly around the world, the relationship between formal schooling and shadow education has not been well investigated. This study is therefore intended to empirically test whether formal education's structure (i.e. tracking) affects students' shadow education…

Exploring the development of fourth graders' environmental identity through participation in a semi-formal nature club

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brock, Ryan J.

Nature deficit, where disconnections occur between children and nature have come to the forefront of environmental education in recent years. This study explored how fourth graders in an after-school Nature Club developed or strengthened their environmental identity, thus decreasing nature deficit. Through a program that utilized semi-formal instruction, both classroom learning and direct experiences with nature, took place over a nine week period of time. Six children were followed as qualitative data was collected and analyzed for themes that would reveal how adolescent children in the developmental stage of concrete operations developed environmental identity. The results indicate that all students strengthened their environmental identity when social aspects were embedded. Students who entered Nature Club with low environmental identity required more direct experiences with nature while those with higher environmental identity required a combination of reflective components along with nature experiences. Based upon this study, the nine-week program which combined formal and non-formal means of learning was able to strengthen environmental identity in each of the participants. A strong theme of social learning, not explicitly identified in the literature was found. Additionally, and most importantly, findings also indicate that educators, both formal and non-formal, who teach environmental education and seek to strengthen environmental identity for adolescents for early interventions need to understand the development of environmental identity in concrete operational learners at a theoretical level.

The first two years of practice: a longitudinal perspective on the learning and professional development of promising novice physical therapists.

PubMed

Hayward, Lorna M; Black, Lisa L; Mostrom, Elizabeth; Jensen, Gail M; Ritzline, Pamela D; Perkins, Jan

2013-03-01

Physical therapists work in complex health care systems requiring professional competence in clinical reasoning and confidence in decision-making skills. For novice physical therapists, the initial practice years are a time for developing professional identity and practical knowledge. The study purpose was to extend previous research describing the experiences, learning, and professional development of 11 promising novice therapists during their first year of practice. The present study examined the continued development of the same therapists during their second year of clinical practice. Seven researchers from 4 physical therapist educational programs in the eastern and midwestern United States used a longitudinal, qualitative, multiple case study approach. Eleven physical therapist graduates identified as "promising novices" were recruited using purposive sampling. Participants ranged in age from 24 to 29 years and entered varied practice settings. Data were collected for 2 years using semistructured interviews, reflective journals, and participant observation. A conceptual model describing the participants' ongoing development during the second year of practice emerged. The 3 themes were formal and informal learning, increasing confidence and expansion of skills, and engagement in an environment characterized by collaborative exchange and opportunities for teaching. The second year represented consolidation and elaboration of practice-based learning and skills. The expansion of confidence, skills, and responsibilities and the externalization of learning the participants experienced promoted professional role formation. Learning previously directed inward and self-focused turned outward, fueled by growing self-confidence. Research illuminating the professional role formation experienced during early clinical practice is not widely available. The current study and further research into the learning and development of novice practitioners may assist educators in the design of pedagogical strategies and learning environments that enhance the professional development of physical therapists.

Beginning science teachers' strategies for communicating with families

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bloom, Nena E.

Science learning occurs in both formal and informal spaces. Families are critical for developing student learning and interest in science because they provide important sources of knowledge, support and motivation. Bidirectional communication between teachers and families can be used to build relationships between homes and schools, leverage family knowledge of and support for learners, and create successful environments for science learning that will support both teaching and student learning. To identify the communication strategies of beginning science teachers, who are still developing their teaching practices, a multiple case study was conducted with seven first year secondary science teachers. The methods these teachers used to communicate with families, the information that was communicated and shared, and factors that shaped these teachers' continued development of communication strategies were examined. Demographic data, interview data, observations and documentation of communication through logs and artifacts were collected for this study. Results indicated that the methods teachers had access to and used for communication impacted the frequency and efficacy of their communication. Teachers and families communicated about a number of important topics, but some topics that could improve learning experiences and science futures for their students were rarely discussed, such as advancement in science, student learning in science and family knowledge. Findings showed that these early career teachers were continuing to learn about their communities and to develop their communication strategies with families. Teachers' familiarity with their school community, opportunities to practice strategies during preservice preparation and student teaching, their teaching environment, school policies, and learning from families and students in their school culture continued to shape and influence their views and communication strategies. Findings and implications for teacher preparation programs, teachers, schools and organizations are discussed.

Feature Discovery by Competitive Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rumelhart, David E.; Zipser, David

1985-01-01

Reports results of studies with an unsupervised learning paradigm called competitive learning which is examined using computer simulation and formal analysis. When competitive learning is applied to parallel networks of neuron-like elements, many potentially useful learning tasks can be accomplished. (Author)

Research and Innovation in Physics Education: Transforming Classrooms, Teaching, and Student Learning at the Tertiary Level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jolly, Pratibha

2009-04-01

It is well recognized that science and technology and the quality of scientifically trained manpower crucially determines the development and economic growth of nations and the future of humankind. At the same time, there is growing global concern about flight of talent from physics in particular, and the need to make physics teaching and learning effective and careers in physics attractive. This presentation presents the findings of seminal physics education research on students' learning that are impacting global praxis and motivating changes in content, context, instruments, and ways of teaching and learning physics, focusing on active learning environments that integrate the use of a variety of resources to create experiences that are both hands-on and minds-on. Initiatives to bring about innovative changes in a university system are described, including a triadic model that entails indigenous development of PHYSARE using low-cost technologies. Transfer of pedagogic innovations into the formal classroom is facilitated by professional development programs that provide experiential learning of research-based innovative teaching practices, catalyze the process of reflection through classroom research, and establish a collaborative network of teachers empowered to usher radical transformation.

Language experience changes subsequent learning.

PubMed

Onnis, Luca; Thiessen, Erik

2013-02-01

What are the effects of experience on subsequent learning? We explored the effects of language-specific word order knowledge on the acquisition of sequential conditional information. Korean and English adults were engaged in a sequence learning task involving three different sets of stimuli: auditory linguistic (nonsense syllables), visual non-linguistic (nonsense shapes), and auditory non-linguistic (pure tones). The forward and backward probabilities between adjacent elements generated two equally probable and orthogonal perceptual parses of the elements, such that any significant preference at test must be due to either general cognitive biases, or prior language-induced biases. We found that language modulated parsing preferences with the linguistic stimuli only. Intriguingly, these preferences are congruent with the dominant word order patterns of each language, as corroborated by corpus analyses, and are driven by probabilistic preferences. Furthermore, although the Korean individuals had received extensive formal explicit training in English and lived in an English-speaking environment, they exhibited statistical learning biases congruent with their native language. Our findings suggest that mechanisms of statistical sequential learning are implicated in language across the lifespan, and experience with language may affect cognitive processes and later learning. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Secrets of the Sediments: Using ANDRILL's Scientific Adventure on Ice to Transfer Climate Change Science to K-12 Audiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huffman, L. T.; Dahlman, L.; Frisch-Gleason, R.; Harwood, D.; Pound, K.; Rack, F.; Riesselman, C.; Trummel, E.; Tuzzi, E.; Winter, D.

2008-12-01

Antarctica's harsh environment and the compelling story of living and working there, provides the backdrop for hooking the interest of young learners on science research and the nature of science. By using the adventure stories of today's researcher-explorers, teachers accompanying the ANDRILL team have taken the technical science of drilling rock cores to understand the history of climate change and the advance and retreat of the Antarctic ice sheet, and translated it for non-technical audiences from K-12 school children, to adult community groups. In order to understand the important issues surrounding global climate change, members of the public need access to accurate and relevant information, high quality educational materials, and a variety of learning opportunities in different learning environments. By taking lessons learned from early virtual polar adventure learning expeditions like Will Steger's Trans-Antarctic Expedition, coupled with educators-in-the-field programs like TEA (Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic), ARMADA and Polar Trec, ANDRILL's Education and Outreach Program has evolved into successful and far-reaching integrated education projects including 1) the ARISE (ANDRILL Research Immersion for Science Educators) Program, 2) Climate Change Student Summits, 3) the development of Flexhibit (flexible exhibit) teaching resources, 4) virtual online learning communities, and 5) partnering young researchers with teachers and classrooms. Formal evaluations indicate lasting interest in science studies on the part of students and an increase in teachers' scientific background knowledge.

Policies of Adult Education in Portugal and France: The European Agenda of Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavaco, C.; Lafont, P.; Pariat, M.

2014-01-01

This article analyses the influence of the European Union's educational policies on the implementation of devices for the recognition and the validation of informal and non-formal learning within public policies on education and training for adults in European Union Member States. Portugal and France are taken as examples. The European Union's…

A Personalization Effect in Multimedia Learning: Students Learn Better When Words Are in Conversational Style Rather Than Formal Style

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayer, Richard E.; Fennell, Sherry; Farmer, Lindsay; Campbell, Julie

2004-01-01

Students received a personalized or nonpersonalized version of a narrated animation explaining how the human respiratory system works. The narration for the nonpersonalized version was in formal style, whereas the narration for the personalized version was in conversational style in which "the" was changed to "your" in 12 places. In 3 experiments,…

Participatory Research or Participation Put-on: Reflections on the Research Phase of an Indonesian Experiment in Non-Formal Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colletta, Nat J.

In the fall of 1974, I was invited to serve as a consultant to the Indonesian effort to develop a National Strategy for Non-Formal Education. The brunt of my effort concerned action research for developing and testing an empirical "Community Learning System" designed to link local learning needs with the management-resource-learning…

Cooperate to Validate: OBSERVAL-NET Experts' Report on Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning (VNIL) 2013

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber Guisan, Saskia; Voit, Janine; Lengauer, Sonja; Proinger, Eva; Duvekot, Ruud; Aagaard, Kirsten

2014-01-01

The present publication is one of the outcomes of the OBSERVAL-NET project (follow-up of the OBSERVAL project). The main aim of OBSERVAL-NET was to set up a stakeholder-centric network of organisations supporting the validation of non-formal and informal learning in Europe based on the formation of national working groups in the 8 participating…

Cooperate to Validate. Observal-Net Experts' Report on Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning (VNIL) 2013

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber Guisan, Saskia; Voit, Janine; Lengauer, Sonja; Proinger, Eva; Duvekot, Ruud; Aagaard, Kirsten

2014-01-01

The present publication is one of the outcomes of the OBSERVAL-NET project (followup of the OBSERVAL project). The main aim of OBSERVAL-NET was to set up a stakeholder centric network of organisations supporting the validation of non-formal and informal learning in Europe based on the formation of national working groups in the 8 participating…

Knowledge Contribution in a Non-Formal Virtual Setting through a Social Constructionist Approach: A Case Study of an Online Learning Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moses, Myra Gail

2012-01-01

This study explored an online learning community in a non-formal educational setting and the process participants used in order to share, create, and construct knowledge through their interactions in the online community. Participants in the study were college interns who were part of a grant that focused on providing professional development for…

Formal Assurance for Cognitive Architecture Based Autonomous Agent

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhattacharyya, Siddhartha; Eskridge, Thomas; Neogi, Natasha; Carvalho, Marco

2017-01-01

Autonomous systems are designed and deployed in different modeling paradigms. These environments focus on specific concepts in designing the system. We focus our effort in the use of cognitive architectures to design autonomous agents to collaborate with humans to accomplish tasks in a mission. Our research focuses on introducing formal assurance methods to verify the behavior of agents designed in Soar, by translating the agent to the formal verification environment Uppaal.

Posterior Cingulate Cortex: Adapting Behavior to a Changing World

PubMed Central

Pearson, John M.; Heilbronner, Sarah R.; Barack, David L.; Hayden, Benjamin Y.; Platt, Michael L.

2011-01-01

When has the world changed enough to warrant a new approach? The answer depends upon current needs, behavioral flexibility, and prior knowledge about the environment. Formal approaches solve the problem by integrating the recent history of rewards, errors, uncertainty, and context via Bayesian inference to detect changes in the world and alter behavioral policy. Neuronal activity in posterior cingulate cortex (CGp)—a key node in the default network—is known to vary with learning, memory, reward, and task engagement. We propose that these modulations reflect the underlying process of change detection and motivate subsequent shifts in behavior. PMID:21420893

A New Look at NASA: Strategic Research In Information Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alfano, David; Tu, Eugene (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This viewgraph presentation provides information on research undertaken by NASA to facilitate the development of information technologies. Specific ideas covered here include: 1) Bio/nano technologies: biomolecular and nanoscale systems and tools for assembly and computing; 2) Evolvable hardware: autonomous self-improving, self-repairing hardware and software for survivable space systems in extreme environments; 3) High Confidence Software Technologies: formal methods, high-assurance software design, and program synthesis; 4) Intelligent Controls and Diagnostics: Next generation machine learning, adaptive control, and health management technologies; 5) Revolutionary computing: New computational models to increase capability and robustness to enable future NASA space missions.

Creating healthy work environments: a strategic perspective.

PubMed

Adamson, Bonnie J

2010-01-01

Although I find Graham Lowe and Ben Chan's logic model and work environment metrics thought provoking, a healthy work environment framework must be more comprehensive and consider the addition of recommended diagnostic tools, vehicles to deliver the necessary change and a sustainability strategy that allows for the tweaking and refinement of ideas. Basic structure is required to frame and initiate an effective process, while allowing creativity and enhancements to be made by organizations as they learn. I support the construction of a suggested Canadian health sector framework for measuring the health of an organization, but I feel that organizations need to have some freedom in that design and the ability to incorporate their own indicators within the established proven drivers. Reflecting on my organization's experience with large-scale transformation efforts, I find that emotional intelligence along with formal leadership development and front-line engagement in Lean process improvement activities are essential for creating healthy work environments that produce the balanced set of outcomes listed in my hospital's Balanced Scorecard.

Qualitative Analysis of Collaborative Learning Groups in Large Enrollment Introductory Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skala, Chija; Slater, Timothy F.; Adams, Jeffrey P.

2000-08-01

Large-lecture introductory astronomy courses for undergraduate, non-science majors present numerous problems for faculty. As part of a systematic effort to improve the course learning environment, a series of small-group, collaborative learning activities were implemented in an otherwise conventional lecture astronomy survey course. These activities were used once each week during the regularly scheduled lecture period. After eight weeks, ten focus group interviews were conducted to qualitatively assess the impact and dynamics of these small group learning activities. Overall, the data strongly suggest that students enjoy participating in the in-class learning activities in learning teams of three to four students. These students firmly believe that they are learning more than they would from lectures alone. Inductive analysis of the transcripts revealed five major themes prevalent among the students' perspectives: (1) self-formed, cooperative group composition and formation should be more regulated by the instructor; (2) team members' assigned rolls should be less formally structured by the instructors; (3) cooperative groups helped in learning the course content; (4) time constraints on lectures and activities need to be more carefully aligned; and (5) gender issues can exist within the groups. These themes serve as a guide for instructors who are developing instructional interventions for large lecture courses.

Educating the Next Generation of Geoscientists: Strategies for Formal and Informal Settings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burrell, S.

2013-12-01

ENGAGE, Educating the Next Generation of Geoscientists, is an effort funded by the National Science Foundation to provide academic opportunities for members of underrepresented groups to learn geology in formal and informal settings through collaboration with other universities and science organizations. The program design tests the hypothesis that developing a culture of on-going dialogue around science issues through special guest lectures and workshops, creating opportunities for mentorship through informal lunches, incorporating experiential learning in the field into the geoscience curriculum in lower division courses, partnership-building through the provision of paid summer internships and research opportunities, enabling students to participate in professional conferences, and engaging family members in science education through family science nights and special presentations, will remove the academic, social and economic obstacles that have traditionally hindered members of underrepresented groups from participation in the geosciences and will result in an increase in geoscience literacy and enrollment. Student feedback and anecdotal evidence indicate an increased interest in geology as a course of study and increased awareness of the relevance of geology everyday life. Preliminary statistics from two years of program implementation indicate increased student comprehension of Earth science concepts and ability to use data to identify trends in the natural environment.

Approaches to Foster Transfer of Formal Principles: Which Route to Take?

PubMed Central

Schalk, Lennart; Saalbach, Henrik; Stern, Elsbeth

2016-01-01

Enabling learners to transfer knowledge about formal principles to new problems is a major aim of science and mathematics education, which, however, is notoriously difficult to reach. Previous research advocates different approaches of how to introduce principles to foster the transfer of knowledge about formal principles. One approach suggests teaching a generic formalism of the principles. Another approach suggests presenting (at least) two concrete cases instantiating the principle. A third approach suggests presenting a generic formalism accompanied by a case. As yet, though, empirical results regarding the transfer potential of these approaches are mixed and difficult to integrate as the three approaches have rarely been tested competitively. Furthermore, the approaches have been evaluated in relation to different control conditions, and they have been assessed using varying transfer measures. In the present experiment, we introduced undergraduates to the formal principles of propositional logic with the aim to systematically compare the transfer potential of the different approaches in relation to each other and to a common control condition by using various learning and transfer tasks. Results indicate that all approaches supported successful learning and transfer of the principles, but also caused systematic differences in the magnitude of transfer. Results indicate that the combination of a generic formalism with a case was surprisingly unsuccessful while learners who compared two cases outperformed the control condition. We discuss how the simultaneous assessment of the different approaches allows to more precisely capture the underlying learning mechanisms and to advance theory on how these mechanisms contribute to transfer performance. PMID:26871902

The new formal competency-based curriculum and informal curriculum at Indiana University School of Medicine: overview and five-year analysis.

PubMed

Litzelman, Debra K; Cottingham, Ann H

2007-04-01

There is growing recognition in the medical community that being a good doctor requires more than strong scientific knowledge and excellent clinical skills. Many key qualities are essential to providing comprehensive care, including the abilities to communicate effectively with patients and colleagues, act in a professional manner, cultivate an awareness of one's own values and prejudices, and provide care with an understanding of the cultural and spiritual dimensions of patients' lives. To ensure that Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) graduates demonstrate this range of abilities, IUSM has undertaken a substantial transformation of both its formal curriculum and learning environment (informal curriculum). The authors provide an overview of IUSM's two-part initiative to develop and implement a competency-based formal curriculum that requires students to demonstrate proficiency in nine core competencies and to create simultaneously an informal curriculum that models and supports the moral, professional, and humane values expressed in the formal curriculum. The authors describe the institutional and curricular transformations that have enabled and furthered the new IUSM curricular goals: changes in education administration; education implementation, assessment, and curricular design; admissions procedures; performance tracking; and the development of an electronic infrastructure to facilitate the expanded curriculum. The authors address the cost of reform and the results of two progress reviews. Specific case examples illustrate the interweaving of the formal competency curriculum through the students' four years of training, as well as techniques that are being used to positively influence the IUSM informal curriculum.

Developing Non-Formal Education Competences as a Complement of Formal Education for STEM Lecturers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terrazas-Marín, Roy Alonso

2018-01-01

This paper focuses on a current practice piece on professional development for university lecturers, transformative learning, dialogism and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. Its main goals are to identify the key characteristics that allow STEM educators to experiment with the usage of non-formal education…

Students' Interpretations of Mechanistic Language in Organic Chemistry before Learning Reactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galloway, Kelli R.; Stoyanovich, Carlee; Flynn, Alison B.

2017-01-01

Research on mechanistic thinking in organic chemistry has shown that students attribute little meaning to the electron-pushing (i.e., curved arrow) formalism. At the University of Ottawa, a new curriculum has been developed in which students are taught the electron-pushing formalism prior to instruction on specific reactions--this formalism is…

The Effect of Picture Story Books on Students' Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roslina

2017-01-01

As a non formal education students, PKBM (a Non-Formal Community Learning Center) Medaso Kolaka students tend to encounter some difficulties in reading such as low motivation, infrequent tutors (non-formal education teachers) coming, inappropriate teaching materials, etc. This research aimed to investigate the effects of picture story books on the…

Selection as a learning experience: an exploratory study

PubMed Central

de Visser, Marieke; Laan, Roland F; Engbers, Rik; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke; Fluit, Cornelia

2018-01-01

Introduction Research on selection for medical school does not explore selection as a learning experience, despite growing attention for the learning effects of assessment in general. Insight in the learning effects allows us to take advantage of selection as an inclusive part of medical students’ learning process to become competent professionals. The aims of this study at Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands, were 1) to determine whether students have learning experiences in the selection process, and, if so, what experiences; and 2) to understand what students need in order to utilize the learning effects of the selection process at the start of the formal curriculum. Materials and methods We used focus groups to interview 30 students admitted in 2016 about their learning experiences in the selection process. Thematic analysis was used to explore the outcomes of the interviews and to define relevant themes. Results In the selection process, students learned about the curriculum, themselves, their relation to others, and the profession they had been selected to enter, although this was not explicitly perceived as learning. Students needed a connection between selection and the curriculum as well as feedback to be able to really use their learning experiences for their further development. Discussion Medical school selection qualifies as a learning experience, and students as well as medical schools can take advantage of this. We recommend a careful design of the selection procedure, integrating relevant selection learning experiences into the formal curriculum, providing feedback and explicitly approaching the selection and the formal curriculum as interconnected contributors to students’ development. PMID:29785147

Prior Learning Assessment: U.S. Experience Facilitating Lifelong Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mann, Carolyn M.

This paper focuses on the role of prior learning assessment in the life long learning of adults in the United States. The introduction stresses the increasing importance of life long learning in American society. The second section reviews prior learning and its assessment. Prior learning is formally defined as learning which has been acquired…

Teachers' Everyday Professional Development: Mapping Informal Learning Activities, Antecedents, and Learning Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kyndt, Eva; Gijbels, David; Grosemans, Ilke; Donche, Vincent

2016-01-01

Although a lot is known about teacher development by means of formal learning activities, research on teachers' everyday learning is limited. In the current systematic review, we analyzed 74 studies focusing on teachers' informal learning to identify teachers' learning activities, antecedents for informal learning, and learning outcomes. In…

Taxonomy of Teaching Methods and Teaching Forms for Youth in Non-Formal Education in the National Youth Council of Slovenia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miloševic Zupancic, Vesna

2018-01-01

Research from the field of non-formal education (NFE) in youth work emphasises the central role of experiential learning and learning in groups. The present paper aims to research teaching methods and teaching forms in NFE in youth work. The research sought to answer the following research questions: 'What teaching forms can be found in NFE for…

Participation in Non-Formal Learning in EU-15 and EU-8 Countries: Demand and Supply Side Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roosmaa, Eve-Liis; Saar, Ellu

2012-01-01

The main purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of participation in non-formal learning in different European Union member states. The paper also seeks to extend analysis of the training gap by pursuing the distinction between the supply and the demand for skills. We use aggregate data from the Adult Education Survey (Eurostat)…

An Appropriate Curriculum for 4-5-Year-Old Children in Northern Ireland: Comparing Play-Based and Formal Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Glenda; Sproule, Liz; McGuinness, Carol; Trew, Karen; Rafferty, Harry; Sheehy, Noel

2006-01-01

This paper reports on an investigation into the quality of the learning experiences for 4-5-year-old children in Northern Ireland schools in the context of the debate about play-based and formal approaches to learning and teaching. Detailed observations were carried out in 70 Year 1 classes: 38 in traditional Year 1 classes where the Northern…

Global Perspectives on Recognising Non-Formal and Informal Learning: Why Recognition Matters. Technical and Vocational Education and Training: Issues, Concerns and Prospects. Volume 21

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singh, Madhu

2015-01-01

This book deals with the relevance of recognition, validation and accreditation (RVA) of non-formal and informal learning in education and training, the workplace and society. It examines RVA's strategic policy objectives and best practice features as well as the challenges faced and ways forward as reported by Member States. Special attention is…

Migration and Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning in Europe: Inclusion, Exclusion or Polarisation in the Recognition of Skills?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Souto-Otero, Manuel; Villalba-Garcia, Ernesto

2015-01-01

This article explores (1) the degree to which immigrants can be considered dominant groups in the area of validation of non-formal and informal learning and are subject to specific validation measures in 33 European countries; (2) whether country clusters can be identified within Europe with regard to the dominance of immigrants in the area of…

Evaluating students' perception of their clinical placements - testing the clinical learning environment and supervision and nurse teacher scale (CLES + T scale) in Germany.

PubMed

Bergjan, Manuela; Hertel, Frank

2013-11-01

Clinical nursing education in Germany has not received attention in nursing science and practice for a long time, as it often seems to be a more or less "formalized appendix" of nursing education. Several development projects of clinical education taking place are mainly focused on the qualification of clinical preceptors. However, the clinical context and its influence on learning processes have still not been sufficiently investigated. The aim of this study was the testing of a German version of the clinical learning environment and supervision and nurse teacher scale (CLES + T scale). The sample of the pilot study consists of first-, second- and third-year student nurses (n=240) of a university nursing school from January to March 2011. Psychometric testing of the instrument is carried out by selected methods of classical testing theories using SPPS 19. The results show transferability of all subcategories of the CLES + T scale in the non-academic nursing education system of a university hospital in Germany, without the teacher scale. The strongest factor is "supervisory relationship". The German version of the CLES + T scale may help to evaluate and compare traditional and new models in clinical nursing education. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A case study of blended learning in a secondary biotechnology class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coe, Jacqueline

An increase in the use of technology in high schools, coupled with the need to facilitate the development of 21st century skills in our students, give us opportunity and impetus to examine the use of blended learning. This study provides important insight into how blended learning translates into the secondary school environment. For the purpose of this study, blended learning is defined by Staker & Horn (2012) as a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online delivery of content and instruction with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace and at least in part at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home. (p. 4) This descriptive single case study used qualitative analyses in an effort to answer the research questions, What are the experiences of secondary students when blended learning methods are introduced in a Biotechnology I class and how might these impact (a) the cognitive complexity of the course, (b) the level of choice students perceive they have, (c) the amount of time spent on working with the content, (d) student and teacher perceptions of blended learning, and (e) overall student achievement. Additionally, the impact of a learning-centered approach was explored. Data was gathered through teacher interviews, student interviews, classroom observations, student work, including formative and summative assignments, exit slips, surveys, and grades. Keywords: blended learning, cognitive complexity, learning-centered

K-4 Keepers Collection: A Service Learning Teacher Professional Development Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwerin, T. G.; Blaney, L.; Myers, R. J.

2011-12-01

This poster focuses on the K-4 Keepers Collection, a service-learning program developed for the Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA). ESSEA is a NOAA-, NASA- and NSF-supported program of teacher professional development that increases teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of climate-related Earth system science. The ESSEA program -- whether used in formal higher education courses or frequented by individual teachers who look for classroom activities in the environmental sciences -- provides a full suite of activities, lessons and units for teachers' use. The ESSEA network consists of 45 universities and education centers addressing climate and environment issues. K-4 Keepers Collection - ESSEA K-4 module collections focus on five specific themes of content development: spheres, Polar Regions, oceans, climate and service learning. The K-4 Keepers collection provides the opportunity for teachers to explore topics and learning projects promoting stewardship of the Earth's land, water, air and living things. Examination of the impacts of usage and pollution on water, air, land and living things through service-learning projects allows students to become informed stewards. All of the modules include short-term sample projects that either educate or initiate action involving caring for the environment. The K-4 Keepers course requires teachers to develop similar short or long-term projects for implementation in their classrooms. Objectives include: 1. Increase elementary teachers' environmental literacy addressing ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, stewardship, weather and climate science standards and using NOAA and NASA resources. 2. Develop elementary teachers' efficacy in employing service learning projects focused on conserving and preserving Earth's land, air, water and living things. 3. Prepare college faculty to incorporate service learning and environmental literacy into their courses through professional development and modules on the ESSEA website.

The Si Huan Playgroup: An Initiative to Provide Non-Formal Early Childhood Education Experiences to Children of Migrants in Beijing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nyland, Berenice; Nyland, Chris; Gao, Yang; Ng, Josephine; Zeng, Xiaodong

2016-01-01

This paper is about an experiment in non-formal early childhood education for migrant children in Beijing. The Si Huan Playgroup was set up by a group of volunteers in 2004 and is built on ideas of early childhood pedagogy, equity, life-long learning and non-formal education. Non-formal education has implications for policy makers as this is a…

40 CFR 35.938-4 - Formal advertising.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Formal advertising. 35.938-4 Section 35... advertising. Each contract shall be awarded after formal advertising, unless negotiation is permitted in accordance with § 35.936-18. Formal advertising shall be in accordance with the following: (a) Adequate...

40 CFR 35.938-4 - Formal advertising.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Formal advertising. 35.938-4 Section 35... advertising. Each contract shall be awarded after formal advertising, unless negotiation is permitted in accordance with § 35.936-18. Formal advertising shall be in accordance with the following: (a) Adequate...

40 CFR 35.938-4 - Formal advertising.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Formal advertising. 35.938-4 Section 35... advertising. Each contract shall be awarded after formal advertising, unless negotiation is permitted in accordance with § 35.936-18. Formal advertising shall be in accordance with the following: (a) Adequate...

40 CFR 35.938-4 - Formal advertising.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Formal advertising. 35.938-4 Section 35... advertising. Each contract shall be awarded after formal advertising, unless negotiation is permitted in accordance with § 35.936-18. Formal advertising shall be in accordance with the following: (a) Adequate...

40 CFR 35.938-4 - Formal advertising.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Formal advertising. 35.938-4 Section 35... advertising. Each contract shall be awarded after formal advertising, unless negotiation is permitted in accordance with § 35.936-18. Formal advertising shall be in accordance with the following: (a) Adequate...

Using the Apple iPad to facilitate student-led group work and seminar presentation.

PubMed

Davies, Mark

2014-08-01

Mobile technology has become progressively more visible within the Higher Education learning environment, and is, in the author's experience, often used casually by students to support their learning. The project outlined within this paper examines the efficacy of using such technology (Apple iPad) more formally in facilitating increased levels of interaction and group cohesion within a series of tutorial sessions involving undergraduate nursing students (n = 24). For the purposes of the project, a tutorial group was created and facilitated in which the students undertook and fed back upon a series of specific iPad supported activities. Data was collected at the mid point and cessation of the project. The outcomes were most encouraging, and indicated that mobile computing platforms of this type may indeed help students to engage more fully with learning activities and materials, and as a corollary, increase student confidence with peer presentation and feedback. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

From Lurker to Active Participant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sloep, Peter; Kester, Liesbeth

For the purposes of this chapter and section, we conceive of a Learning Network as a particular kind of online social network that is designed to support non-formal learning in a particular domain. The ‘social’ implies that we will focus on interactions between people, the ‘non-formal’ that we will not assume the presence of cohorts, curricula, etc. A Learning Network thus becomes a rather haphazard collection of people who share an interest in a particular topic about which they want to further educate themselves professionally or privately. These people, we assume, do not know of each other’s existence. In actual fact this may be different, they may be accidental or even deliberate acquaintances, for instance if they decide to join as a group. However, for the case of the emergence of sociability, we’ll take the worst-case scenario of a collection of unconnected individuals. If sociability can be made to emerge in an environment that resembles a social desert, it always will, is the argument.

Neural computations underlying inverse reinforcement learning in the human brain

PubMed Central

Pauli, Wolfgang M; Bossaerts, Peter; O'Doherty, John

2017-01-01

In inverse reinforcement learning an observer infers the reward distribution available for actions in the environment solely through observing the actions implemented by another agent. To address whether this computational process is implemented in the human brain, participants underwent fMRI while learning about slot machines yielding hidden preferred and non-preferred food outcomes with varying probabilities, through observing the repeated slot choices of agents with similar and dissimilar food preferences. Using formal model comparison, we found that participants implemented inverse RL as opposed to a simple imitation strategy, in which the actions of the other agent are copied instead of inferring the underlying reward structure of the decision problem. Our computational fMRI analysis revealed that anterior dorsomedial prefrontal cortex encoded inferences about action-values within the value space of the agent as opposed to that of the observer, demonstrating that inverse RL is an abstract cognitive process divorceable from the values and concerns of the observer him/herself. PMID:29083301

A User-Centric Adaptive Learning System for E-Learning 2.0

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Shiu-Li; Shiu, Jung-Hung

2012-01-01

The success of Web 2.0 inspires e-learning to evolve into e-learning 2.0, which exploits collective intelligence to achieve user-centric learning. However, searching for suitable learning paths and content for achieving a learning goal is time consuming and troublesome on e-learning 2.0 platforms. Therefore, introducing formal learning in these…

Contextualised Media for Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Jong, Tim; Specht, Marcus; Koper, Rob

2008-01-01

In this paper, we analyse how contextualised media can be used to support learning. Additionally, the advantages of contextualised learning and the types of learning that are fit to be supported are discussed. Our focus throughout the paper will be on lifelong learning, and the integration of formal and informal learning therein. However, we…

An Assessment of Teaching and Learning Practices: A Questionnaire Study for Dental Educators of Karnataka

PubMed Central

Meenakshi, S.; Raghunath, N.; Shreeshyla, H. S.

2017-01-01

Aims and Objectives: Faculty members of dental institutions are being asked to assume new academic duties for which they have received no formal training. To succeed in new teaching tasks, faculty development through assessment of teaching skills is essential. Materials and Methods: A Self-Assessment Questionnaire consisting 18 closed-ended questions was sent to various faculty members of dental colleges of Karnataka. A total of 210 faculty members volunteered to participate in the study. The response rate was 69.8%. Data gathered were statistically analyzed using SPSS software version 16, Chi-square test, and descriptive statistics. Results: In the present study, 27.3% of participants were unaware of andragogy, 33.3% were unaware of teachers development programs, 44.6% do not obtain student feedback after teaching, 52.6% were unaware of peer review of teaching skills, and 50% were unaware of interprofessional education initiatives. Conclusion: By incorporating teaching and learning skills, dental faculty could acquire competencies and academic credentials to become valuable contributors to the institution. This study emphasizes the areas of improvement in dental school learning environment, based on activation of prior knowledge, elaboration of new learning, learning in context, transfer of learning, and organization of knowledge toward learning. PMID:29285474

Promoting Democratic Citizenship through Non-Formal Adult Education: The Case of Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milana, Marcella; Sorensen, Tore Bernt

2009-01-01

The article presents selected findings from in-depth case studies of two non-formal learning activities organized by the Danish Folk High Schools and Day High Schools, respectively. The purpose of the empirical study was to investigate how longstanding, non-formal, adult education institutions have worked to foster the acquisition of civic…

The Influence of Investment in Workplace Learning on Learning Outcomes and Organizational Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Yoonhee; Jacobs, Ronald L.

2011-01-01

Although the importance of workplace learning has been recognized in research and practice, there is little empirical support that describes how workplace learning, including both formal and informal learning, is linked to organizational performance. This study investigated the influence of investment in workplace learning on learning outcomes and…

Formal methods technology transfer: Some lessons learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamilton, David

1992-01-01

IBM has a long history in the application of formal methods to software development and verification. There have been many successes in the development of methods, tools and training to support formal methods. And formal methods have been very successful on several projects. However, the use of formal methods has not been as widespread as hoped. This presentation summarizes several approaches that have been taken to encourage more widespread use of formal methods, and discusses the results so far. The basic problem is one of technology transfer, which is a very difficult problem. It is even more difficult for formal methods. General problems of technology transfer, especially the transfer of formal methods technology, are also discussed. Finally, some prospects for the future are mentioned.

The effects of formalized and trained non-reciprocal peer teaching on psychosocial, behavioral, pedagogical, and motor learning outcomes in physical education.

PubMed

Whipp, Peter R; Jackson, Ben; Dimmock, James A; Soh, Jenny

2015-01-01

Peer teaching is recognized as a powerful instructional method; however, there is a paucity of studies that have evaluated the outcomes experienced by peer-teachers and their student recipients in the context of trained, non-reciprocal, high school physical education (PE). Accordingly, the effectiveness of a formalized and trained non-reciprocal peer teaching (T-PT) program upon psychosocial, behavioral, pedagogical, and student learning outcomes within high school PE classes was investigated. Students from eight intact classes (106 males, 94 females, Mage = 12.46, SD = 0.59) were randomly assigned to either a T-PT intervention group (taught by a volunteer peer-teacher who was trained in line with a tactical games approach) or untrained group (U-PT; where volunteer peer-teachers received no formal training, but did receive guidance on the game concepts to teach). Data were collected over 10 lessons in a 5-week soccer unit. Mixed-model ANOVAs/MANOVAs revealed that, in comparison to U-PT, the T-PT program significantly enhanced in-game performance actions and academic learning time among student recipients. Those in the T-PT also provided greater levels of feedback and structured learning time, as well as reporting more positive feelings about peer teaching and fewer perceived barriers to accessing learning outcomes. These findings show that non-reciprocal peer-teachers who receive formalized support through training and tactical games approach-based teaching resources can enhance behavioral, pedagogical, and motor performance outcomes in PE.

The effects of formalized and trained non-reciprocal peer teaching on psychosocial, behavioral, pedagogical, and motor learning outcomes in physical education

PubMed Central

Whipp, Peter R.; Jackson, Ben; Dimmock, James A.; Soh, Jenny

2015-01-01

Peer teaching is recognized as a powerful instructional method; however, there is a paucity of studies that have evaluated the outcomes experienced by peer-teachers and their student recipients in the context of trained, non-reciprocal, high school physical education (PE). Accordingly, the effectiveness of a formalized and trained non-reciprocal peer teaching (T-PT) program upon psychosocial, behavioral, pedagogical, and student learning outcomes within high school PE classes was investigated. Students from eight intact classes (106 males, 94 females, Mage = 12.46, SD = 0.59) were randomly assigned to either a T-PT intervention group (taught by a volunteer peer-teacher who was trained in line with a tactical games approach) or untrained group (U-PT; where volunteer peer-teachers received no formal training, but did receive guidance on the game concepts to teach). Data were collected over 10 lessons in a 5-week soccer unit. Mixed-model ANOVAs/MANOVAs revealed that, in comparison to U-PT, the T-PT program significantly enhanced in-game performance actions and academic learning time among student recipients. Those in the T-PT also provided greater levels of feedback and structured learning time, as well as reporting more positive feelings about peer teaching and fewer perceived barriers to accessing learning outcomes. These findings show that non-reciprocal peer-teachers who receive formalized support through training and tactical games approach-based teaching resources can enhance behavioral, pedagogical, and motor performance outcomes in PE. PMID:25741309

Learning about systems-based practice in the informal curriculum: a case study in an academic pediatric continuity clinic.

PubMed

Balmer, Dorene; Ruzek, Sheryl; Ludwig, Stephen; Giardino, Angelo P

2007-01-01

Pediatric residents learn about systems-based practice (SBP) explicitly in the formal curriculum and implicitly in the informal curriculum as they engage in practice alongside physician faculty. Recent studies describe innovative ways to address SBP in the formal curriculum for SBP, but the informal curriculum has not been explored. We examined what, and how, third-year pediatric residents learn about SBP in the informal curriculum at one continuity clinic, and to consider how this learning aligns with the formal curriculum. A case study involving 10 third-year pediatric residents and 10 continuity preceptors was conducted at one continuity clinic, housed in a community-based, pediatric primary care center. Data were derived from 5 months (100 hours) of direct observation in the precepting room at the case clinic, semistructured interviews with residents (before and after observation) and with preceptors (after observation). Interview transcripts and notes from observation were inductively coded and analyzed for major themes. Two themes emerged in the informal curriculum. Residents perceived "our system," the academic health system in which they trained and practiced as separate and distinct from the "real system," the larger, societal context of health care. Residents also understood SBP as a commitment to helping individual patients and families navigate the complexities of "our system," dealing with issues that concerned them. Residents learn important lessons about SBP in the informal curriculum in continuity clinic. These lessons may reinforce some elements of the competency-based formal curriculum for SBP, but challenge others.

Characterizing pedagogical practices of university physics students in informal learning environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinko, Kathleen A.; Madigan, Peter; Miller, Eric; Finkelstein, Noah D.

2016-06-01

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Preparing and Supporting University Physics Educators.] University educators (UEs) have a long history of teaching physics not only in formal classroom settings but also in informal outreach environments. The pedagogical practices of UEs in informal physics teaching have not been widely studied, and they may provide insight into formal practices and preparation. We investigate the interactions between UEs and children in an afterschool physics program facilitated by university physics students from the University of Colorado Boulder. In this program, physics undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers work with K-8 children on hands-on physics activities on a weekly basis over the course of a semester. We use an activity theoretic framework as a tool to examine situational aspects of individuals' behavior in the complex structure of the afterschool program. Using this framework, we analyze video of UE-child interactions and identify three main pedagogical modalities that UEs display during activities: instruction, consultation, and participation modes. These modes are characterized by certain language, physical location, and objectives that establish differences in UE-child roles and division of labor. Based on this analysis, we discuss implications for promoting pedagogical strategies through purposeful curriculum development and university educator preparation.

Raising awareness of the hidden curriculum in veterinary medical education: a review and call for research.

PubMed

Whitcomb, Tiffany L

2014-01-01

The hidden curriculum is characterized by information that is tacitly conveyed to and among students about the cultural and moral environment in which they find themselves. Although the hidden curriculum is often defined as a distinct entity, tacit information is conveyed to students throughout all aspects of formal and informal curricula. This unconsciously communicated knowledge has been identified across a wide spectrum of educational environments and is known to have lasting and powerful impacts, both positive and negative. Recently, medical education research on the hidden curriculum of becoming a doctor has come to the forefront as institutions struggle with inconsistencies between formal and hidden curricula that hinder the practice of patient-centered medicine. Similarly, the complex ethical questions that arise during the practice and teaching of veterinary medicine have the potential to cause disagreement between what the institution sets out to teach and what is actually learned. However, the hidden curriculum remains largely unexplored for this field. Because the hidden curriculum is retained effectively by students, elucidating its underlying messages can be a key component of program refinement. A review of recent literature about the hidden curriculum in a variety of fields, including medical education, will be used to explore potential hidden curricula in veterinary medicine and draw attention to the need for further investigation.

Teaching undergraduate mathematics in interactive groups: how does it fit with students' learning?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheryn, Louise; Ell, Fiona

2014-08-01

Debates about how undergraduate mathematics should be taught are informed by different views of what it is to learn and to do mathematics. In this qualitative study 10 students enrolled in an advanced undergraduate course in mathematics shared their views about how they best learn mathematics. After participating in a semester-long course in combinatorics, taught using a non-traditional, formal group work approach, the 10 students shared their views about how such an approach fitted in with their experience of learning mathematics. A descriptive thematic analysis of the students' responses revealed that despite being very comfortable with the traditional approach to learning new mathematics, most students were open to a formal group work approach and could see benefits from it after their participation. The students' prior conceptions of the goal of undergraduate mathematics learning and their view of themselves as 'mathematicians' framed their experience of learning mathematics in a non-traditional class.

Lifelong learning in nursing: a Delphi study.

PubMed

Davis, Lisa; Taylor, Heidi; Reyes, Helen

2014-03-01

In order to foster a culture of lifelong learning in nursing, it is important to identify what the concept means in the nursing profession as well as the characteristics of a lifelong learner. The purpose of this Delphi study was to conceptualize lifelong learning from the perspective of nursing, and to identify characteristics and essential elements of lifelong learning. A Delphi Study technique in three phases was completed using an online survey tool. Data were analyzed for conceptual description, ratings of characteristics and attributes, and expert consensus in these three phases. An online survey tool was used in this study. Recognized experts in nursing education, administration and public policy participated in this study. Lifelong learning in nursing is defined as a dynamic process, which encompasses both personal and professional life. This learning process is also both formal and informal. Lifelong learning involves seeking and appreciating new worlds or ideas in order to gain a new perspective as well as questioning one's environment, knowledge, skills and interactions. The most essential characteristics of a lifelong learner are reflection, questioning, enjoying learning, understanding the dynamic nature of knowledge, and engaging in learning by actively seeking learning opportunities. Keeping the mind active is essential to both lifelong learning and being able to translate knowledge into the capacity to deliver high quality nursing care. It is hoped that a clearer understanding of lifelong learning in nursing will foster more discussion and research about intentional, active inclusion of lifelong learning behaviors in nursing curricula. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Play, attention, and learning: How do play and timing shape the development of attention and influence classroom learning?

PubMed Central

Hedges, James H; Adolph, Karen E; Amso, Dima; Bavelier, Daphne; Fiez, Julie A; Krubitzer, Leah; McAuley, J Devin; Newcombe, Nora S; Fitzpatrick, Susan M; Ghajar, Jamshid

2013-01-01

The behavioral and neurobiological connections between play and the development of critical cognitive functions, such as attention, remain largely unknown. We do not yet know how these connections relate to the formation of specific abilities, such as spatial ability, and to learning in formal environments, such as in the classroom. Insights into these issues would be beneficial not only for understanding play, attention, and learning individually, but also for the development of more efficacious systems for learning and for the treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. Different operational definitions of play can incorporate or exclude varying types of behavior, emphasize varying developmental time points, and motivate different research questions. Relevant questions to be explored in this area include, How do particular kinds of play relate to the development of particular kinds of abilities later in life? How does play vary across societies and species in the context of evolution? Does play facilitate a shift from reactive to predictive timing, and is its connection to timing unique or particularly significant? This report will outline important research steps that need to be taken in order to address these and other questions about play, human activity, and cognitive functions. PMID:23763338

Federally sponsored multidisciplinary research centers: Learning, evaluation, and vicious circles.

PubMed

Youtie, Jan; Corley, Elizabeth A

2011-02-01

Despite the increasing investment in multi-year federally funded science and technology centers in universities, there are few studies of how these centers engage in learning and change based on information submitted from various agents in the oversight and evaluation process. One challenge is how to manage and respond to this evaluative information, especially when it is conflicting. Although the center can learn and adapt in response to this information, it can also become subject to a vicious circle of continuous restructuring and production of documentation to address various and potentially inconsistent recommendations. In this paper we illustrate the effects of such a dynamic based on our experiences as external evaluators of the $25 million NSF-funded Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center. The case study presents an analysis of annual reports and strategic planning documents along with other sources of evidence to illustrate the evolution of center organizational approaches in response to evaluations by external review panels, center evaluators, program managers, and other external stakeholders. We conclude with suggestions for how evaluators may help centers ease the cost of learning and reduce the likelihood of a vicious circle. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interprofessional learning, impression management, and spontaneity in the acute healthcare setting.

PubMed

Bell, Elaine; McAllister, Sue; Ward, Paul R; Russell, Alison

2016-09-01

Spontaneous learning is integral to definitions of interprofessional learning (IPL) because it has been suggested that spontaneous learning can be deeply connected with the work that people do in collaboration with colleagues via their professional networks. However, its nature and the processes involved are not well understood. Goffman's theory of impression management offers a useful theoretical framework to consider the way in which interaction in the workplace connects to spontaneous learning. This article explores the current literature to investigate the usefulness of this framework to better understand and identify spontaneous learning in the workplace. Aspects such as the connections between spontaneous learning occurring in formal and informal work activities, the spaces in which it occurs, and the influence of professional networking are considered. It is proposed that research directed to developing a better understanding of the nature of spontaneous learning in IPL will assist in connecting this learning to formal IPL curricula, enhancing IPL and patient outcomes.

As technology and generations in medical education change, what remains is the intersection between educator, learners, assessment and context.

PubMed

Azzam, Amin

2013-06-01

The information era has begun to create major shifts in educational systems, including those in undergraduate medical and graduate psychiatric training programmes. Despite these changes, teaching and learning in formal educational settings remains predominately the product of the intersection between educator, learners, assessment and context. This article reviews intrinsic and external forces influencing each of these elements, such as intergenerational differences in teaching and learning styles, education technologies as they relate to delivery and maintenance of curricula, competency frameworks of assessment, and individual learning and teaching development plans. Maintaining a focus on the relationship between these factors and re-conceptualizing psychiatric education and formal medical education systems in general as a mutual two-way learning exchange between participants will promote careers of lifelong learning.

Exploring chiropractic students' experiences of the educational environment in healthcare professional training: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Palmgren, Per J; Laksov, Klara Bolander

2015-08-05

The educational environment has a significant impact on students' behavior, sense of well-being, and academic advancement. While various research methodologies have been used to explore the educational environment, there is a paucity of studies employing qualitative research methods. This study engages in an in-depth exploration of chiropractic students' experiences of the meaning of the educational environment. A qualitative approach was employed by interviewing 26 students in four focus group interviews at two different points in time. A conventional manifest and latent content analysis was chosen to investigate and interpret the experiences of the educational environment in an undergraduate chiropractic training institution in Sweden. The analysis resulted in five overarching themes: Personal growth; Being part of a community; A place of meaningfulness; Trust in a regulated system; and Scaffolding relationships. Early in the training, the meaning of the educational environment was experienced as part of a vocational community and the scaffolding of intra-institutional relationships. In later stages, the environment was experienced in terms of personal growth - balancing academic pressures and progress within the professional community - thus laying the foundations for autonomy and motivation. During the clinical training, the environment was experienced as where learning happens, thus creating a place of meaningfulness. Throughout the training, the formal and clinical environments were experienced as isolating, with little bridging between the two. A regulated system - conveying an operative organization with clear communication regarding what to expect - was experienced as important for an apt educational environment. We found that experiences of an educational environment are dynamic and change over time. When restructuring or evaluating curriculums, educational managers can consider the emerged themes as constituting facets relating to the educational environment, and thus possible learning conditions. Likewise, researchers can consider these aspects of the educational environment when: interpreting results from quantitative and qualitative inquiries, constructing and refining instruments, or conceptualizing and framing the educational environment phenomenon.

The Dysfunctions of Bureaucratic Structure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duttweiler, Patricia Cloud

1988-01-01

Numerous dysfunctions result from bureaucratic school organization, including an overemphasis on specialized tasks, routine operating rules, and formal procedures for managing teaching and learning. Such schools are characterized by numerous regulations; formal communications; centralized decision making; and sharp distinctions among…

Evolution and Revolutions of Adult Learning: Capacity Building in Adult and Non-Formal Education in Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ugwu, Chinwe U.

2015-01-01

The National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC) is the Federal Statutory Agency set up to co-ordinate all aspects of Non-Formal Education in Nigeria whether offered by government agencies or non-governmental organisations. This study looked at the existing Capacity Building Programme, the delivery methods, impact…

A Non-Formal Student Laboratory as a Place for Innovation in Education for Sustainability for All Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Affeldt, Fiona; Weitz, Katharina; Siol, Antje; Markic, Silvija; Eilks, Ingo

2015-01-01

In many Western countries, non-formal education has become increasingly recognized as a valuable addition to the traditional educational system. In recent years, a special form of non-formal student laboratories (Schülerlabor) has emerged in Germany to promote primary and secondary practical science learning. This paper describes a developmental…

Exploring Formalized Elite Coach Mentoring Programmes in the UK: 'We've Had to Play the Game'

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sawiuk, Rebecca; Taylor, William G.; Groom, Ryan

2018-01-01

Formalized mentoring programmes have been implemented increasingly by UK sporting institutions as a central coach development tool, yet claims supporting formal mentoring as an effective learning strategy are often speculative, scarce, ill-defined and accepted without verification. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore some of the…

English Language Education in Formal and Cram School Contexts: An Analysis of Listening Strategy and Learning Style

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chou, Mu-hsuan

2017-01-01

Formal English language education in Taiwan now starts at Year 3 in primary school, with an emphasis on communicative proficiency. In addition to formal education, attending English cram schools after regular school has become a common phenomenon for Taiwanese students. The main purpose of gaining additional reinforcement in English cram schools…

Formal logic rewrite system bachelor in teaching mathematical informatics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Habiballa, Hashim; Jendryscik, Radek

2017-07-01

The article presents capabilities of the formal rewrite logic system - Bachelor - for teaching theoretical computer science (mathematical informatics). The system Bachelor enables constructivist approach to teaching and therefore it may enhance the learning process in hard informatics essential disciplines. It brings not only detailed description of formal rewrite process but also it can demonstrate algorithmical principles for logic formulae manipulations.

Ways of Knowing, Sharing, and Translating Agricultural Knowledge and Perspectives: Alternative Epistemologies across Non-Formal and Informal Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mars, Matthew M.; Ball, Anna L.

2016-01-01

The mainstream agricultural literacy movement has been mostly focused on school-based learning through formal curricula and standardized non-formal models (e.g., FFA, 4-H). The purpose of the current study is to qualitatively explore through a grounded theory approach, the development, sharing, and translation of diverse forms of agricultural…

Workplace Learning in Malaysia: The Learner's Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muhamad, Mazanah; Idris, Khairuddin

2005-01-01

This paper offers a scenario of workplace learning as practiced in Malaysia. Based on survey research, the article describes learner profiles, learning provision and pattern. The analysis shows that Malaysians participate in formal workplace learning as part of their employment activities. Workplace learning in Malaysia is contextual, promoted by…

Vocational Students Experiences with Assessment in Workplace Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sandal, Ann Karin; Smith, Kari; Wangensteen, Ragne

2014-01-01

Vocational education, as part of the Norwegian upper secondary education, includes both school-based learning and workplace learning. While school-based learning is characterized by formal structures and guided by aims in the curricula, workplace learning is often informal, incidental and directed by the daily work-tasks. Assessment in workplace…

The Effects of Cooperative Learning on Self-Esteem: A Literature Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tedesco, Lucyann M.

Cooperative learning involves students working in small groups or teams to help each other learn academic material. Cooperative learning strategies are organized, highly structured methods that usually involve formal presentation of information, student practice and coaching in learning teams, individual assessment of mastery, and public…

Exploring Mobile Learning in the Third Space

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schuck, Sandy; Kearney, Matthew; Burden, Kevin

2017-01-01

Mobile learning is enabling educators and students to learn in ways not previously possible. The ways that portable, multi-functional mobile devices can untether the learner from formal institutional learning give scope for learning to be conceptualised in an expanded variety of places, times and ways. In this conceptual article the authors…

Professional Learning of Instructors in Vocational and Professional Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoekstra, Annemarieke; Kuntz, Jeff; Newton, Paul

2018-01-01

This article presents insights from a study into instructor professional learning in vocational and professional education (VPE) in Canada. While most studies on instructor learning focus on learning through formal professional development programmes, this study specifically focuses on professional learning as it happens in day-to-day practice.…

Space Strategies for the New Learning Landscape

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dugdale, Shirley

2009-01-01

The Learning Landscape is the total context for students' learning experiences and the diverse landscape of learning settings available today--from specialized to multipurpose, from formal to informal, and from physical to virtual. The goal of the Learning Landscape approach is to acknowledge this richness and maximize encounters among people,…

Teachers' Self-Initiated Professional Learning through Personal Learning Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tour, Ekaterina

2017-01-01

It is widely acknowledged that to be able to teach language and literacy with digital technologies, teachers need to engage in relevant professional learning. Existing formal models of professional learning are often criticised for being ineffective. In contrast, informal and self-initiated forms of learning have been recently recognised as…

Teacher Professional Learning: Developing with the Aid of Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kyprianou, Marianna; Nikiforou, Eleni

2016-01-01

Education is a field that constantly changes, which dictates the need for continuing teacher professional learning and development. Teacher professional learning and development can be divided into two categories: formal learning/ development and informal learning/development. This paper focuses on the experience of the presenters as coordinators…

Test of e-Learning Related Attitudes (TeLRA) Scale: Development, Reliability and Validity Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kisanga, D. H.; Ireson, G.

2016-01-01

The Tanzanian education system is in transition from face-to-face classroom learning to e-learning. E-learning is a new learning approach in Tanzanian Higher Learning Institutions [HLIs] and with teachers being the key stakeholders of all formal education, investigating their attitude towards e-learning is essential. So far, however, there has…

Academic Staff Perspectives Towards Adoption of E-learning at Melaka Manipal Medical College: Has E-learning Redefined our Teaching Model?

PubMed

Bhardwaj, A; Nagandla, K; Swe, K Mm; Abas, A Bl

2015-01-01

E-learning is the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to provide online education and learning. E- Learning has now been integrated into the traditional teaching as the concept of 'blended learning' that combines digital learning with the existing traditional teaching methods to address the various challenges in the field of medical education. Structured e-learning activities were started in Melaka Manipal Medical College in 2009 via e-learning platform (MOODLE-Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment). The objective of the present study is to investigate the faculty opinions toward the existing e-learning activities, and to analyse the extent of adopting and integration of e-learning into their traditional teaching methods. A cross sectional study was conducted among faculties of Medicine and Dentistry using pre-tested questionnaires. The data was analyzed by using the statistical package for social science, SPSS, version 16.0. The result of our survey indicates that majority of our faculty (65.4%) held positive opinion towards e-learning. Among the few, who demonstrated reservations, it is attributed to their average level of skills and aptitude in the use of computers that was statistically significant (p<0.05). Our study brings to light the need for formal training as perquisite to support e-learning that enables smooth transition of the faculty from their traditional teaching methods into blended approach. Our results are anticipated to strengthen the existing e-learning activities of our college and other universities and convincingly adopt e-learning as a viable teaching and learning strategy.

Formal verification and testing: An integrated approach to validating Ada programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cohen, Norman H.

1986-01-01

An integrated set of tools called a validation environment is proposed to support the validation of Ada programs by a combination of methods. A Modular Ada Validation Environment (MAVEN) is described which proposes a context in which formal verification can fit into the industrial development of Ada software.

Choose Your Own Adventure: Designing an Environment that Supports NASA Scientists' Goals in Education, Outreach, and Inreach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeWitt, S.

2015-12-01

What is your communication goal? That is the opening question asked in NASA's first agency-wide science communication leadership development program. Many scientists know what they want to communicate, some know to whom they'd like to communicate, but few can clearly express why they want to do it. So what? First, being clear about one's goal is critical in being able to measure success. Second, when asked to think critically about communication goals, some scientists may shift their communication behaviors and practices to better achieve those goals. To that end, NASA has designed a deep learning experience for scientists (and engineers and others) to: critically examine their communication goals; learn techniques for getting to know their intended audience; and develop and apply specific communication skills to a project of their choice. Participants in this program come into the classroom with projects that span a wide spectrum including: formal and informal education, public outreach, media interviews, public speaking, stakeholder briefings, and internal awareness-building. Through expert advisors, professional coaches and peer networks, this program provides a supportive environment for individuals to workshop their project in the classroom and receive feedback before, during, and after the project is complete. This program also provides an opportunity for scientists and other participants to learn more about communication at NASA, and to directly influence the agency's science communication culture through action learning. In this presentation, I will summarize NASA's dual-design science communication leadership development program and present some lessons-learned, participant feedback and evaluation data from the initial course offerings.

'Proactive' use of cue-context congruence for building reinforcement learning's reward function.

PubMed

Zsuga, Judit; Biro, Klara; Tajti, Gabor; Szilasi, Magdolna Emma; Papp, Csaba; Juhasz, Bela; Gesztelyi, Rudolf

2016-10-28

Reinforcement learning is a fundamental form of learning that may be formalized using the Bellman equation. Accordingly an agent determines the state value as the sum of immediate reward and of the discounted value of future states. Thus the value of state is determined by agent related attributes (action set, policy, discount factor) and the agent's knowledge of the environment embodied by the reward function and hidden environmental factors given by the transition probability. The central objective of reinforcement learning is to solve these two functions outside the agent's control either using, or not using a model. In the present paper, using the proactive model of reinforcement learning we offer insight on how the brain creates simplified representations of the environment, and how these representations are organized to support the identification of relevant stimuli and action. Furthermore, we identify neurobiological correlates of our model by suggesting that the reward and policy functions, attributes of the Bellman equitation, are built by the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), respectively. Based on this we propose that the OFC assesses cue-context congruence to activate the most context frame. Furthermore given the bidirectional neuroanatomical link between the OFC and model-free structures, we suggest that model-based input is incorporated into the reward prediction error (RPE) signal, and conversely RPE signal may be used to update the reward-related information of context frames and the policy underlying action selection in the OFC and ACC, respectively. Furthermore clinical implications for cognitive behavioral interventions are discussed.

The protective value of parental sex education: a clinic-based exploratory study of adolescent females.

PubMed

Crosby, Richard A; Hanson, Amy; Rager, Kristin

2009-06-01

This exploratory study compared the impact of sex education provided by parents to female adolescents against the same education provided in formal settings to female adolescents. Females, 16-24 years old, attending an adolescent medicine clinic in an urban area of the South were recruited prior to examination. Each patient completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. Data from 110 respondents were analyzed to compare those indicating they had learned about each of four topics from parents to those not indicating learning about all four topics from a parent. The same process was repeated relative to learning about the four topics in formal educational settings. In controlled, multivariate, analyses, adolescents not communicating with parents on all four topics were nearly five times more likely to report having multiple sex partners in the past three months. Further, these adolescents were 3.5 times more likely to have low self-efficacy for condom negotiation, 2.7 times more likely to report ever using alcohol or drugs before sex, and about 70% less likely to have ever talked about HIV prevention with a partner before engaging in sex. Differences relative to learning about the four topics in formal settings were not found. Findings suggest that teen females (attending teen clinics) may experience a protective benefit based on communication with parents. This protective effect was not observed for education delivered in formal settings.

Leadership styles in nursing.

PubMed

Cope, Vicki; Murray, Melanie

2017-06-21

Nurses are often asked to think about leadership, particularly in times of rapid change in healthcare, and where questions have been raised about whether leaders and managers have adequate insight into the requirements of care. This article discusses several leadership styles relevant to contemporary healthcare and nursing practice. Nurses who are aware of leadership styles may find this knowledge useful in maintaining a cohesive working environment. Leadership knowledge and skills can be improved through training, where, rather than having to undertake formal leadership roles without adequate preparation, nurses are able to learn, nurture, model and develop effective leadership behaviours, ultimately improving nursing staff retention and enhancing the delivery of safe and effective care.

Research and applications: Artificial intelligence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raphael, B.; Fikes, R. E.; Chaitin, L. J.; Hart, P. E.; Duda, R. O.; Nilsson, N. J.

1971-01-01

A program of research in the field of artificial intelligence is presented. The research areas discussed include automatic theorem proving, representations of real-world environments, problem-solving methods, the design of a programming system for problem-solving research, techniques for general scene analysis based upon television data, and the problems of assembling an integrated robot system. Major accomplishments include the development of a new problem-solving system that uses both formal logical inference and informal heuristic methods, the development of a method of automatic learning by generalization, and the design of the overall structure of a new complete robot system. Eight appendices to the report contain extensive technical details of the work described.

Medical School Factors That Prepare Students to Become Leaders in Medicine.

PubMed

Arnold, Louise; Cuddy, Paul G; Hathaway, Susan B; Quaintance, Jennifer L; Kanter, Steven L

2018-02-01

To identify medical school factors graduates in major leadership positions perceive as contributing to their leadership development. Using a phenomenological, qualitative approach, in August-November 2015 the authors conducted semistructured interviews with 48 medical leaders who were 1976-1999 baccalaureate-MD graduates of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine (UMKC). At UMKC, they participated in longitudinal learning communities, the centerpiece for learning professional values and behaviors plus clinical skills, knowledge, and judgment, but received no formal leadership instruction. The authors subjected interview comments to directed, largely qualitative content analysis with iterative coding cycles. Most graduates said their experiences and the people at UMKC positively influenced their leadership growth. Medical school factors that emerged as contributing to that growth were the longitudinal learning communities including docents, junior-senior partners, and team experiences; expectations set for students to achieve; a clinically oriented but integrated curriculum; admission policies seeking students with academic and nonacademic qualifications; supportive student-student and student-faculty relationships; and a positive overall learning environment. Graduates viewed a combination of factors as best preparing them for leadership and excellence in clinical medicine; together these factors enabled them to assume leadership opportunities after graduation. This study adds medical leaders' perspective to the leadership development literature and offers guidance from theory and practice for medical schools to consider in shaping leadership education: Namely, informal leadership preparation coupled with extensive longitudinal clinical education in a nurturing, authentic environment can develop students effectively for leadership in medicine.

Machine Learning Technologies and Their Applications for Science and Engineering Domains Workshop -- Summary Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ambur, Manjula; Schwartz, Katherine G.; Mavris, Dimitri N.

2016-01-01

The fields of machine learning and big data analytics have made significant advances in recent years, which has created an environment where cross-fertilization of methods and collaborations can achieve previously unattainable outcomes. The Comprehensive Digital Transformation (CDT) Machine Learning and Big Data Analytics team planned a workshop at NASA Langley in August 2016 to unite leading experts the field of machine learning and NASA scientists and engineers. The primary goal for this workshop was to assess the state-of-the-art in this field, introduce these leading experts to the aerospace and science subject matter experts, and develop opportunities for collaboration. The workshop was held over a three day-period with lectures from 15 leading experts followed by significant interactive discussions. This report provides an overview of the 15 invited lectures and a summary of the key discussion topics that arose during both formal and informal discussion sections. Four key workshop themes were identified after the closure of the workshop and are also highlighted in the report. Furthermore, several workshop attendees provided their feedback on how they are already utilizing machine learning algorithms to advance their research, new methods they learned about during the workshop, and collaboration opportunities they identified during the workshop.

Catecholaminergic Regulation of Learning Rate in a Dynamic Environment.

PubMed

Jepma, Marieke; Murphy, Peter R; Nassar, Matthew R; Rangel-Gomez, Mauricio; Meeter, Martijn; Nieuwenhuis, Sander

2016-10-01

Adaptive behavior in a changing world requires flexibly adapting one's rate of learning to the rate of environmental change. Recent studies have examined the computational mechanisms by which various environmental factors determine the impact of new outcomes on existing beliefs (i.e., the 'learning rate'). However, the brain mechanisms, and in particular the neuromodulators, involved in this process are still largely unknown. The brain-wide neurophysiological effects of the catecholamines norepinephrine and dopamine on stimulus-evoked cortical responses suggest that the catecholamine systems are well positioned to regulate learning about environmental change, but more direct evidence for a role of this system is scant. Here, we report evidence from a study employing pharmacology, scalp electrophysiology and computational modeling (N = 32) that suggests an important role for catecholamines in learning rate regulation. We found that the P3 component of the EEG-an electrophysiological index of outcome-evoked phasic catecholamine release in the cortex-predicted learning rate, and formally mediated the effect of prediction-error magnitude on learning rate. P3 amplitude also mediated the effects of two computational variables-capturing the unexpectedness of an outcome and the uncertainty of a preexisting belief-on learning rate. Furthermore, a pharmacological manipulation of catecholamine activity affected learning rate following unanticipated task changes, in a way that depended on participants' baseline learning rate. Our findings provide converging evidence for a causal role of the human catecholamine systems in learning-rate regulation as a function of environmental change.

Catecholaminergic Regulation of Learning Rate in a Dynamic Environment

PubMed Central

Jepma, Marieke; Nassar, Matthew R.; Rangel-Gomez, Mauricio; Meeter, Martijn; Nieuwenhuis, Sander

2016-01-01

Adaptive behavior in a changing world requires flexibly adapting one’s rate of learning to the rate of environmental change. Recent studies have examined the computational mechanisms by which various environmental factors determine the impact of new outcomes on existing beliefs (i.e., the ‘learning rate’). However, the brain mechanisms, and in particular the neuromodulators, involved in this process are still largely unknown. The brain-wide neurophysiological effects of the catecholamines norepinephrine and dopamine on stimulus-evoked cortical responses suggest that the catecholamine systems are well positioned to regulate learning about environmental change, but more direct evidence for a role of this system is scant. Here, we report evidence from a study employing pharmacology, scalp electrophysiology and computational modeling (N = 32) that suggests an important role for catecholamines in learning rate regulation. We found that the P3 component of the EEG—an electrophysiological index of outcome-evoked phasic catecholamine release in the cortex—predicted learning rate, and formally mediated the effect of prediction-error magnitude on learning rate. P3 amplitude also mediated the effects of two computational variables—capturing the unexpectedness of an outcome and the uncertainty of a preexisting belief—on learning rate. Furthermore, a pharmacological manipulation of catecholamine activity affected learning rate following unanticipated task changes, in a way that depended on participants’ baseline learning rate. Our findings provide converging evidence for a causal role of the human catecholamine systems in learning-rate regulation as a function of environmental change. PMID:27792728

Workplace Learning in Informal Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milligan, Colin; Littlejohn, Allison; Margaryan, Anoush

2014-01-01

Learning does not stop when an individual leaves formal education, but becomes increasingly informal, and deeply embedded within other activities such as work. This article describes the challenges of informal learning in knowledge intensive industries, highlighting the important role of personal learning networks. The article argues that…

Informal Learning from Error in Hospitals: What Do We Learn, How Do We Learn and How Can Informal Learning Be Enhanced? A Narrative Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Feijter, Jeantine M.; de Grave, Willem S.; Koopmans, Richard P.; Scherpbier, Albert J. J. A.

2013-01-01

Learning from error is not just an individual endeavour. Organisations also learn from error. Hospitals provide many learning opportunities, which can be formal or informal. Informal learning from error in hospitals has not been researched in much depth so this narrative review focuses on five learning opportunities: morbidity and mortality…

Dress Nicer = Know More? Young Children’s Knowledge Attribution and Selective Learning Based on How Others Dress

PubMed Central

McDonald, Kyla P.; Ma, Lili

2015-01-01

This research explored whether children judge the knowledge state of others and selectively learn novel information from them based on how they dress. The results indicated that 4- and 6-year-olds identified a formally dressed individual as more knowledgeable about new things in general than a casually dressed one (Study 1). Moreover, children displayed an overall preference to seek help from a formally dressed individual rather than a casually dressed one when learning about novel objects and animals (Study 2). These findings are discussed in relation to the halo effect, and may have important implications for child educators regarding how instructor dress might influence young students’ knowledge attribution and learning preferences. PMID:26636980

Technology and informal education: what is taught, what is learned.

PubMed

Greenfield, Patricia M

2009-01-02

The informal learning environments of television, video games, and the Internet are producing learners with a new profile of cognitive skills. This profile features widespread and sophisticated development of visual-spatial skills, such as iconic representation and spatial visualization. A pressing social problem is the prevalence of violent video games, leading to desensitization, aggressive behavior, and gender inequity in opportunities to develop visual-spatial skills. Formal education must adapt to these changes, taking advantage of new strengths in visual-spatial intelligence and compensating for new weaknesses in higher-order cognitive processes: abstract vocabulary, mindfulness, reflection, inductive problem solving, critical thinking, and imagination. These develop through the use of an older technology, reading, which, along with audio media such as radio, also stimulates imagination. Informal education therefore requires a balanced media diet using each technology's specific strengths in order to develop a complete profile of cognitive skills.

The discursive production of classroom mathematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Kim; Hodson, Elaine; Brown, Tony

2013-09-01

School mathematics is a function of its discursive environment where the language being used formats mathematical activity. The paper explores this theme through an extended example in which the conduct of mathematical teaching and learning is restricted by regulative educational policies. It considers how mathematics is discursively produced by student teachers within an employment-based model of teacher education in England where there is a low university input. It is argued that teacher reflections on mathematical learning and teaching within the course are patterned discursively in line with formal curriculum framings, assessment requirements and the local demands of their placement school. Both teachers and students are subject to regulative discourses that shape their actions and as a consequence this regulation influences the forms of mathematical activity that can take place. It is shown how university sessions can provide a limited critical platform from which to interrogate these restrictions and renegotiate them.

Science Thought and Practices: A Professional Development Workshop on Teaching Scientific Reasoning, Mathematical Modeling and Data Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robbins, Dennis; Ford, K. E. Saavik

2018-01-01

The NSF-supported “AstroCom NYC” program, a collaboration of the City University of New York and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), has developed and offers hands-on workshops to undergraduate faculty on teaching science thought and practices. These professional development workshops emphasize a curriculum and pedagogical strategies that uses computers and other digital devices in a laboratory environment to teach students fundamental topics, including: proportional reasoning, control of variables thinking, experimental design, hypothesis testing, reasoning with data, and drawing conclusions from graphical displays. Topics addressed here are rarely taught in-depth during the formal undergraduate years and are frequently learned only after several apprenticeship research experiences. The goal of these workshops is to provide working and future faculty with an interactive experience in science learning and teaching using modern technological tools.

Baccalaureate nursing Students’ perspectives on learning about caring in China: a qualitative descriptive study

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The need to provide humanistic care in the contemporary healthcare system is more imperative now and the importance of cultivating caring in nursing education is urgent. Caring as the primary work of nursing has been discussed extensively, such as the meaning of caring, and teaching and learning strategies to improve nursing students’ caring ability. Yet attempts to understand students’ perspectives on learning about caring and to know their learning needs are seldom presented. The aim of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the baccalaureate nursing students’ perspectives on learning about caring in China. Methods A qualitative descriptive study using focus group interviews were undertaken in two colleges in Yunnan Province, China from February 2010 to April 2010. Purposeful sampling of 20 baccalaureate nursing students were recruited. Content analysis of the transcribed data was adopted to identify the themes. Results Four categories with some sub-categories related to students’ perspectives on learning about caring were identified from the data: 1) Learning caring by role model; 2) conducive learning environment as the incentive to the learning about caring; 3) lack of directive substantive way of learning as the hindrance to the learning about caring; 4) lack of cultural competency as the barrier to the learning about caring. Conclusions Both caring and uncaring experiences can promote the learning about caring in a way of reflective practice. The formal, informal and hidden curricula play an important role in the learning about caring. Cultural awareness, sensitivity and humility are important in the process of learning to care in a multicultural area. PMID:24589087

Baccalaureate nursing students' perspectives on learning about caring in China: a qualitative descriptive study.

PubMed

Ma, Fang; Li, Jiping; Liang, Hongmin; Bai, Yangjuan; Song, Jianhua

2014-03-04

The need to provide humanistic care in the contemporary healthcare system is more imperative now and the importance of cultivating caring in nursing education is urgent. Caring as the primary work of nursing has been discussed extensively, such as the meaning of caring, and teaching and learning strategies to improve nursing students' caring ability. Yet attempts to understand students' perspectives on learning about caring and to know their learning needs are seldom presented. The aim of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the baccalaureate nursing students' perspectives on learning about caring in China. A qualitative descriptive study using focus group interviews were undertaken in two colleges in Yunnan Province, China from February 2010 to April 2010. Purposeful sampling of 20 baccalaureate nursing students were recruited. Content analysis of the transcribed data was adopted to identify the themes. Four categories with some sub-categories related to students' perspectives on learning about caring were identified from the data: 1) Learning caring by role model; 2) conducive learning environment as the incentive to the learning about caring; 3) lack of directive substantive way of learning as the hindrance to the learning about caring; 4) lack of cultural competency as the barrier to the learning about caring. Both caring and uncaring experiences can promote the learning about caring in a way of reflective practice. The formal, informal and hidden curricula play an important role in the learning about caring. Cultural awareness, sensitivity and humility are important in the process of learning to care in a multicultural area.

An examination of the impact of non-formal and informal learning on adult environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Digby, Cynthia Louise Barrett

The purpose of this research is to consider the environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, of adults in Minnesota, and possible factors that influence environmental literacy. Specifically, this study is designed to: (1) measure the environmental literacy of Minnesota adults, (2) explore possible relationships between Minnesota adults, environmental literacy variables and their demographic, non-formal and informal learning, and (3) determine the relative contribution of demographic and learning variables for predicting environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. This research was accomplished by conducting a secondary data analysis of The Third Minnesota Report Card on Environmental Literacy: A Survey of Adult Environmental Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior (Murphy & Olson, 2008). Phone interviews were completed between August and November 2007 with one thousand adults throughout Minnesota. Findings indicated that for age, education, and income, there was a weak positive relationship with environmental knowledge, attitude and behavior scores. There was a significant effect for gender and environmental knowledge scores, with males receiving higher environmental knowledge scores than females. There was a significant effect for gender and environmental attitudes, and behavior scores as well, with females receiving slightly higher environmental attitude and behavior scores than males. After controlling for the effects of demographic variables on environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, non-formal learning participation appears to be a moderate contributor to both environmental knowledge and environmental behaviors. After controlling for the effects of demographic variables on environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, informal learning participation appears to be a slight contributor to environmental attitudes, and a moderate contributor to environmental knowledge and behaviors. Overall, the results of this study suggest that participation in non-formal and informal education venues improved environmental knowledge, attitude and behavior models, providing evidence for the value and need for non-formal and informal environmental adult education venues.