The design and evaluation of distributed virtual environment to support learning in global operations management

The primary goal of this research is to design and develop an education technology to support learning in global operations management. The research implements a series of studies to determine the right balance among user requirements, learning methods and applied technologies, on a view of student-centred learning. This research is multidisciplinary by nature, involving topics from various disciplines such as global operations management, curriculum and contemporary learning theory, and computer aided learning. Innovative learning models that emphasise on technological implementation are employed and discussed throughout this research.

Promoting scholarship - The way forward: Learning & teaching research in a complex environment – A typology

This paper provides a critical overview into a distinctive typology of Learning and Teaching Research developed at a relatively small, research-led UK University. Based upon research into staff perceptions of the relationship between learning and teaching research and practice, the model represents an holistic approach to evidence-based learning and teaching practice in Contemporary Higher Education.

Promoting scholarship - the way forward:learning and teaching research in a complex environment – a typology

Scholarship in learning and teaching.

On-line learning in a changing environment

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Cultural influence and learning to teach: Beginning teachers' perceptions of teacher preparation programs and school support systems

Beginning teachers in the field of English Language Arts and Reading are responsible for providing literacy instruction to students. Teachers need a broad background in teaching reading, writing, listening, speaking, and viewing, as well as critical thinking. In secondary schools in particular, beginning English Language Arts and Reading teachers are also faced with the challenge of preparing students to be proficient enough readers and writers to meet required State standards. Beginning teachers must navigate compelling challenges that exist during the first years of teaching. The school support systems available to new teachers are an integral part of their educational development. ^ This qualitative study was conceptualized as an in-depth examination of the experiences and perceptions of eight beginning teachers. They represented different racial/ethnic groups, attended different teacher preparation programs, and taught in different school cultures. The data were collected through formal and informal interviews and classroom observations. A qualitative system of data analysis was used to examine the patterns relating to the interrelationship between teacher preparation programs and school support systems. ^ The experiences of the beginning teachers in this study indicated that teacher education programs should provide preservice teachers with a critical knowledge base for teaching literature, language, and composition. A liberal arts background in English, followed by an extensive program focusing on pedagogy, seems to provide a thorough level of curriculum and instructional practices needed for teaching in 21st century classrooms. The data further suggested that a school support system should pair beginning teachers with mentor teachers and provide a caring, professional environment that seeks to nurture the teacher as she/he develops during the first years of teaching. ^

Communities of Practice and Learning in a Senior Living Environment

Adults participate in communities of practice (COP) in diverse environments. As the number of US citizens 55 years or older increases, so might the number residing in adult living environments. COP research would be valuable in such settings.

The Bennachie Colony : A Nineteenth-Century Informal Community in Northeast Scotland

Acknowledgments The investigation of the Bennachie Colony is part of a broader initiative called the Bennachie Landscape Project, a collaborative endeavour between the Bailies of Bennachie and the University of Aberdeen. To date, funding for the project has been generously provided by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in the form of a Connected Communities Grant (G. Noble PI) and more recently through a larger Development Grant (J. Oliver PI). The research that this paper is based on could not have been undertaken without the generous assistance of a large number of volunteers, university students and staff members. While it would be impossible to name everyone who has contributed, we would like to acknowledge the regular members of the “landscape group” whose infective enthusiasm for the project has provided a stimulating environment for learning and co-production. Particular thanks go to Jackie Cumberbirch, Barry Foster, Chris Foster, Angela Groat, David Irving, Alison Kennedy, Harry Leal, Ken Ledingham, Colin Miller, Iain Ralston, Colin Shepherd, Sue Taylor and Andrew Wainwright. Further assistance with fieldwork was provided by Ágústa Edwald, Patrycia Kupiec, Barbora Wouters, Óskar Sveinbjarnarson, members of Northlight Heritage and several cohorts worth of University of Aberdeen undergraduate and graduate students. We are indebted to the RCAHMS for assistance with plane table survey and to Óskar Sveinbjarnarson for help with mapping. Others have supported additional aspects of the Bennachie Landscape project or have provided specialist advice. Thanks go to Neil Curtis, Liz Curtis, Rowan Ellis, Marjory Harper, Siobhan Convery and the University of Aberdeen Special Collections staff. Access to undertake fieldwork was graciously provided by the Forestry Commission Scotland. Helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper were provided by Barry and Chris Foster, Ken Ledingham, Collin Miller, Collin Shepherd, Sue Taylor, Andrew Wainwright and two anonymous reviewers.

The Bennachie Colony : A Nineteenth-Century Informal Community in Northeast Scotland

Acknowledgments The investigation of the Bennachie Colony is part of a broader initiative called the Bennachie Landscape Project, a collaborative endeavour between the Bailies of Bennachie and the University of Aberdeen. To date, funding for the project has been generously provided by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in the form of a Connected Communities Grant (G. Noble PI) and more recently through a larger Development Grant (J. Oliver PI). The research that this paper is based on could not have been undertaken without the generous assistance of a large number of volunteers, university students and staff members. While it would be impossible to name everyone who has contributed, we would like to acknowledge the regular members of the “landscape group” whose infective enthusiasm for the project has provided a stimulating environment for learning and co-production. Particular thanks go to Jackie Cumberbirch, Barry Foster, Chris Foster, Angela Groat, David Irving, Alison Kennedy, Harry Leal, Ken Ledingham, Colin Miller, Iain Ralston, Colin Shepherd, Sue Taylor and Andrew Wainwright. Further assistance with fieldwork was provided by Ágústa Edwald, Patrycia Kupiec, Barbora Wouters, Óskar Sveinbjarnarson, members of Northlight Heritage and several cohorts worth of University of Aberdeen undergraduate and graduate students. We are indebted to the RCAHMS for assistance with plane table survey and to Óskar Sveinbjarnarson for help with mapping. Others have supported additional aspects of the Bennachie Landscape project or have provided specialist advice. Thanks go to Neil Curtis, Liz Curtis, Rowan Ellis, Marjory Harper, Siobhan Convery and the University of Aberdeen Special Collections staff. Access to undertake fieldwork was graciously provided by the Forestry Commission Scotland. Helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper were provided by Barry and Chris Foster, Ken Ledingham, Collin Miller, Collin Shepherd, Sue Taylor, Andrew Wainwright and two anonymous reviewers.

The importance of environment for teacher professional learning in Malta and Scotland

Peer reviewed

Transformative Learning Theory and Its Relevance to Managing Group Dynamics in a Competitive Work Environment

In any environment, group dynamics would exist. How we deal with it in a competitive work environment defines who we are using transformative learning. This paper provides useful information from a number of theorists who share perspectives on the complex nature of groups.

Learning Environments in Design Studio Culture

The paper reports on a study of design studio culture from a student perspective. Learning in design studio culture has been theorised variously as a signature pedagogy emulating professional practice models, as a community of practice and as a form of problem-based learning, all largely based on the study of teaching events in studio. The focus of this research has extended beyond formally recognized activities to encompass the student’s experience of their social and community networks, working places and study set-ups, to examine how these have contributed to studio culture and how there have been supported by studio teaching. Semi-structured interviews with final year undergraduate students of architecture formed the basis of the study using an interpretivist approach informed by Actor-network theory, with studio culture featured as the focal actor, enrolling students and engaging with other actors, together constituting an actor-network of studio culture. The other actors included social community patterns and activities; the numerous working spaces (including but not limited to the studio space itself); the equipment, tools of trade and material pre-requisites for working; the portfolio enrolling the other actors to produce work for it; and the various formal and informal events associated with the course itself. Studio culture is a highly charged social arena: The question is how, and in particular, which aspects of it support learning? Theoretical models of situated learning and communities of practice models have informed the analysis, with Bourdieu’s theory of practice, and his interrelated concepts of habitus, field and capital providing a means of relating individually acquired habits and modes of working to social contexts. Bourdieu’s model of habitus involves the externalisation through the social realm of habits and knowledge previously internalised. It is therefore a useful model for considering whole individual learning activities; shared repertoires and practices located in the social realm. The social milieu of the studio provides a scene for the exercise and display of ‘practicing’ and the accumulation of a form of ‘practicing-capital’. This capital is a property of the social milieu rather than the space, so working or practicing in the company of others (in space and through social media) becomes a more valued aspect of studio than space or facilities alone. This practicing-capital involves the acquisition of a habitus of studio culture, with the transformation of physical practices or habits into social dispositions, acquiring social capital (driving the social milieu) and cultural capital (practicing-knowledge) in the process. The research drew on students’ experiences, and their practicing ‘getting a feel for the game’ by exploring the limits or boundaries of the field of studio culture. The research demonstrated that a notional studio community was in effect a social context for supporting learning; a range of settings to explore and test out newly internalised knowledge, demonstrate or display ideas, modes of thinking and practicing. The study presents a nuanced interpretation of how students relate to a studio culture that involves a notional community, and a developing habitus within a field of practicing that extends beyond teaching scenarios.

The Impact of Motor Learning on Motor Behavior and Cortical Dynamics in a Complex Stressful Social Environment

An economy of effort is a core characteristic of highly skilled motor performance often described as being effortless or automatic. Electroencephalographic (EEG) evaluation of cortical activity in elite performers has consistently revealed a reduction in extraneous associative cortical activity and an enhancement of task-relevant cortical processes. However, this has only been demonstrated under what are essentially practice-like conditions. Recently it has been shown that cerebral cortical activity becomes less efficient when performance occurs in a stressful, complex social environment. This dissertation examines the impact of motor skill training or practice on the EEG cortical dynamics that underlie performance in a stressful, complex social environment. Sixteen ROTC cadets participated in head-to-head pistol shooting competitions before and after completing nine sessions of skill training over three weeks. Spectral power increased in the theta frequency band and decreased in the low alpha frequency band after skill training. EEG Coherence increased in the left frontal region and decreased in the left temporal region after the practice intervention. These suggest a refinement of cerebral cortical dynamics with a reduction of task extraneous processing in the left frontal region and an enhancement of task related processing in the left temporal region consistent with the skill level reached by participants. Partitioning performance into ‘best’ and ‘worst’ based on shot score revealed that deliberate practice appears to optimize cerebral cortical activity of ‘best’ performances which are accompanied by a reduction in task-specific processes reflected by increased high-alpha power, while ‘worst’ performances are characterized by an inappropriate reduction in task-specific processing resulting in a loss of focus reflected by higher high-alpha power after training when compared to ‘best’ performances. Together, these studies demonstrate the power of experience afforded by practice, as a controllable factor, to promote resilience of cerebral cortical efficiency in complex environments.