“Half Bricks and Half Clicks”: Is Blended Onsite and Online Teaching and Learning the Best of Both Worlds?

Blended learning, or combined onsite and online learning, is increasingly popular in higher education. This literature review investigated its effectiveness compared to traditional teaching and learning, concluding that with retention and achievement, blended learning is similar or slightly better; with interaction and satisfaction, blended teaching and learning are more effective.

An alternative to BlackboardTM? Student use of web-based textbook teaching and learning material

This paper investigates the use of web-based textbook supplementary teaching and learning materials which include multiple choice test banks, animated demonstrations, simulations, quizzes and electronic versions of the text. To gauge their experience of the web-based material students were asked to score the main elements of the material in terms of usefulness. In general it was found that while the electronic text provides a flexible platform for presentation of material there is a need for continued monitoring of student use of this material as the literature suggests that digital viewing habits may mean there is little time spent in evaluating information, either for relevance, accuracy or authority. From a lecturer perspective these materials may provide an effective and efficient way of presenting teaching and learning materials to the students in a variety of multimedia formats, but at this stage do not overcome the need for a VLE such as Blackboard™.

Practice-based film education for children: teaching and learning for creativity, citizenship and participation

Practice-oriented film education aimed at children has been hailed for various reasons: at a personal level, as a means of providing tools for self-expression, for developing creativity and communication skills. And at a social level, it is argued that children must now become competent producers, in addition to critical consumers, of audiovisual content so they can take part in the global public sphere that is arguably emerging. This chapter discusses how the challenges posed by introducing children to filmmaking (i.e. digital video) are being met at three civil associations in Mexico: La Matatena AC, which seeks to enrich the children’s lives by means of the aesthetic experience filmmaking can bring them. Comunicaciòn Comunitaria, concerned with the impact filmmaking can have on the community, preserving cultural memory and enabling participation. And Juguemos a Grabar, with a focus on urban regeneration through the cultural industries.

Students' views on the learning of kanji : A study the views and experiences of students at the Swedish universities concerning the teaching and learning of Chinese characters as used in Japanese

Kanji, the Chinese characters adopted to write the Japanese language, is often mentioned as one of the most difficult aspects of mastering said language. This is especially said about people from outside the Sinosphere i.e. PRC, Taiwan, North and South Korea, Japan and Vietnam. In the following thesis 12 students studying the Japanese language at Swedish universities were interviewed about their experiences when it comes to learning and being taught about kanji. A chapter summarizing some of the research that is relevant to this thesis is also included. Topics touched upon in this and the result chapter include the desire for more structured approach to kanji learning based on breaking down the characters into elemental components, spaced repetition (SRS), mnemonics.

'Always Connected’: Transforming Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

The argument of this chapter is that the idea that young people and students being ‘always connected’ should not be seen as being polarized into good or bad, but instead there is a need to see being connected as ‘learning at the interstices’. It also suggests that there is a need to be aware of the impact of digital governance on teaching and learning space. This chapter therefore introduce questions about the value and impact of always being connected and the impact and possible transformation it could have on teaching and learning in higher education.

Recommendations to Create a Systemic Approach to Improving the Teaching and Learning of Iowa History in Iowa’s K-12 Schools / Iowa History Advisory Council (2016)

Report from the Iowa History Advisory Council on the following goals related to the teaching of Iowa history: Identify the current status of the teaching of Iowa history and the resources available regarding K-12 Iowa history instruction. Identify current materials that are dedicated to the teaching of Iowa history at the K-12 level. Study how other states and organizations implement state and local history. Study best practices for the teaching and learning of state and local history. Develop appropriate academic standards related to Iowa history. Provide recommendations to advance the study of Iowa history at the K-12 level.

Conditions for Teaching and Learning in Religious Education (RE) : Perspectives of Teachers and Pupils at the Beginning of the 6th Grade in Sweden

In this article empirical findings from interviews with teachers of three classes of 12-year-old pupils are presented, together with questionnaire-responses from these 54 pupils. The interviews focus on teaching aims for Religious Education (RE), a subject that in Sweden, besides dealing with religion, also explores other kinds of beliefs, ethics and life questions. In the questionnaire the pupils are asked to solve four RE tasks with content that is central from a Swedish curriculum perspective. The research involves pupils at the beginning of the sixth grade and the purpose of this article is to look at the teachers’ aims and the pupils’ responses, and consider what these may indicate about conditions for teaching and learning RE in these classes. The findings show that the perspectives of the pupils at the beginning of the sixth grade seem to be rather far from the expectations of the RE syllabus. The pupils’ statements are rather vague with regard to religion as a phenomenon and there are few examples of pupils interpreting religious symbols in a way that is useful in further analysis. While existential and ethical plots, messages and point of views are comparatively easy to describe, it is harder to express multiple perspectives, reasons, comparisons and questions. A problem for the teachers in developing the perspectives of their pupils is that they find it hard to say what kind of general difficulties pupils have in RE, a fact that makes it hard to direct the teaching. Another challenge is that the teachers’ RE-aims are rather overarching and primarily related to fostering fundamental values. What improves the conditions for teaching and learning is the teachers’ concern for the pupils and their relationships with the teacher and with each other, a factor which is of vital importance for learning and which can also be used as a specific teaching method in subject matter education.

Review of The young language learner: Research-based insights into teaching and learning

Introduction For a long time, language learning research focusing on young learners was a neglected field of research. Most empirical studies within the broad area of second/foreign language acquisition were instead carried out among adults in tertiary education and it was not until in the 1990s that the scope of research broadened to include also young learners, then loosely defined as children in primary and/or secondary education (see, for example, Hasselgreen & Drew, 2012; McKay, 2006; Nikolov, 2009a). In fact, some agreement upon how to define ‘young learners’ was not properly discussed until in 2013, when Gail Ellis (2013) provided some useful clarifications as regards how to label learners within the broad age-span that encompasses both primary and secondary school. In short, based on a literature overview, she concludes that the term young learners is most often used for children between the ages of five and eleven/twelve, which in most countries would be equivalent to learners in primary school.   Thus, since young learners did not catch much scholarly attention until fairly recently, research volumes on the topic have been scarce. However, with a rapidly growing interest in examining how small children learn foreign languages, there has been a sudden increase in terms of the number of books available targeting young language learners. A first, major contribution was Nikolov’s (2009b) Early learning of modern foreign languages, in which 16 studies of young language learners from different countries are accounted for. Another important contribution is the edited book that will be reviewed here, which specifically targets studies about various aspects of second/foreign language learning among young (mainly Norwegian) learners. Bearing in mind that Norway and Sweden are very similar countries in terms of schooling, language background, and demographics – only to give three examples of similarities between these two nations – it is particularly relevant for Swedish scholars within the fields of education and second language acquisition to become familiar with research findings from the neighboring country.   In this review, the editors and the outline of the book are first described, then brief summaries of each chapter are provided, before the text closes with an evaluation of the volume. 

A case study of teaching and learning practice in a Chinese adult institution

Résumé: Cette recherche s'est réalisée dans une institution chinoise de formation des adultes. Il existe très peu d'études présentant la pratique de l'enseignement et de l'apprentissage en Chine. Aussi, il semble que cette étude de cas puisse être utile. Elle porte sur le personnel de formation en administration économique dans un centre de formation de Tianjin. Le but premier de cette recherche est de décrire ce qui se fait à cet institut de formation des adultes. Les aspects couverts vont de la sélection du contenu de formation et des modalités d'enseignement jusqu'à la compréhension de l'enseignement et de l'apprentissage. À partir de l'expérience des professeurs de ce centre de Tianjin, cette étude cherche précisément à décrire leurs perceptions et leurs attitudes en regard d'un enseignement centré sur l'apprentissage et développé selon un mode de collaboration. Les fondements théoriques retenus s'inspirent des conceptions andragogiques de Knowles, de celles de Brookfield qui ont trait aux rôles des formateurs et formatrices d'adultes et de Conti qui présente une conception de l'enseignement qui se développe selon un mode de collaboration. Les données sont été retenues à la suite d'interviews et de questionnaires. Ce dernier instrument a été administré à 70 professeurs de formation aux adultes. Les résultats obtenus sont décrits et analysés. Les principaux éléments indiquent que la pratique actuelle de formation des adultes à ce centre de Tianjin ne tient pas compte des principes de l'éducation des adultes présenté selon un mode de collaboration. La formation est centrée sur l'enseignement. Il est à souhaiter que cette recherche contribuera à développer une meilleure compréhension de l'enseignement et de l'apprentissage en Chine tel que perçus par les formateurs et formatrices. Quelques suggestions de recherche complémentaires sont proposées à la fin.||Abstract: The present study grew out of one Chinese adult institute. Relatively few works are available that present a view of what actually happens in Chinese adult teaching and learning practice. Accordingly, it is believed that a case study on Tianjin Institute of Training Economic Management Personnel (TITEMP) which has been working for years in varions forms of adult programs, will be very useful addition to the knowledge of Chinese adult teaching and learning. The primary purpose of the present study is to serve as an introduction to one Chinese adult institute (TITEMP) in terms of characteristics of teaching, including selecting teaching content and teaching pattern, and to expand the understanding of Chinese adult teaching and learning. Based on the experiences of teachers at TITEMP, the study seeks to investigate the issues of teacher's perceptions and attitudes of teaching and learning to obtain implications toward learning-centred and collaborative mode. The theoretical foundations include andragogical conceptions (Knowles), roles of adult teachers (Brookfield), and conceptions of collaborative teaching and learning mode (Conti). The main sources of data are: the interviews and results of the questionnaire. Questionnaire responses from 70 teachers with knowledge of adult teaching and learning are described and interpreted. The general findings of the study are that the existing adult teaching practice at TITEMP does not adequately account for the principles of adult learning in a collaborative mode with adult students. Adult learning is teaching-centred. Some suggestions for further research are offered. It is hoped and believed that this research will contribute to a better understanding of Chinese adult teaching and learning in general, more particularly to the empirical study of the teachers from teaching and learning perspective in a Chinese adult higher learning setting. The research findings will be used as basis for the exploration of Chinese adult teaching.

Technical and Didactical Scenarios of Student-centered Teaching and Learning

In this paper we envision didactical concepts for university education based on self-responsible and project-based learning and outline principles of adequate technical support. We use the scenario technique describing how a fictive student named Anna organizes her studies of informatics at a fictive university from the first days of her studies to make a career for herself.(DIPF/Orig.)

The influence of initial teacher training in future teachers' perceptions about mathematics teaching and learning

ICEMST 2014 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION IN MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY PROCEEDING BOOK (pp.865-869). Disponível em http://www.2014.icemst.com/

The impact of teacher and student perceptions in relation to their teaching and learning practices

Tesis (Licenciado en Lenguas Castellana, Inglés y Francés).--Universidad de La Salle. Facultad de Ciencias de La Educación. Licenciatura en Lengua Castellana, Inglés y Francés, 2014

The development of an eBook for teaching and learning mathematics

Mobile devices, smartphones, phablets and tablets, are widely avail‐ able. This is a generation of digital natives. We cannot ignore that they are no longer the same students for which the education system was designed tradition‐ ally. Studying math is many times a cumbersome task. But this can be changed if the teacher takes advantage of the technology that is currently available. We are working in the use of different tools to extend the classroom in a blended learning model. In this paper, it is presented the development of an eBook for teaching mathematics to secondary students. It is developed with the free and open standard EPUB 3 that is available for Android and iOS platforms. This specification supports video embedded in the eBook. In this paper it is shown how to take advantage of this feature, making videos available about lectures and problems resolutions, which is especially interesting for learning mathematics.