Sequential versus simultaneous viewing of an environment : effects of focal attention to individual object locations on visual spatial learning

We investigated memories of room-sized spatial layouts learned by sequentially or simultaneously viewing objects from a stationary position. In three experiments, sequential viewing (one or two objects at a time) yielded subsequent memory performance that was equivalent or superior to simultaneous viewing of all objects, even though sequential viewing lacked direct access to the entire layout. This finding was replicated by replacing sequential viewing with directed viewing in which all objects were presented simultaneously and participants’ attention was externally focused on each object sequentially, indicating that the advantage of sequential viewing over simultaneous viewing may have originated from focal attention to individual object locations. These results suggest that memory representation of object-to-object relations can be constructed efficiently by encoding each object location separately, when those locations are defined within a single spatial reference system. These findings highlight the importance of considering object presentation procedures when studying spatial learning mechanisms.

Path information effects in visual and proprioceptive spatial learning

Objects in an environment are often encountered sequentially during spatial learning, forming a path along which object locations are experienced. The present study investigated the effect of spatial information conveyed through the path in visual and proprioceptive learning of a room-sized spatial layout, exploring whether different modalities differentially depend on the integrity of the path. Learning object locations along a coherent path was compared with learning them in a spatially random manner. Path integrity had little effect on visual learning, whereas learning with the coherent path produced better memory performance than random order learning for proprioceptive learning. These results suggest that path information has differential effects in visual and proprioceptive spatial learning, perhaps due to a difference in the way one establishes a reference frame for representing relative locations of objects.

The experience of learning in “The Cube” : Queensland University of Technology’s giant interactive multimedia environment

In this paper we report findings of the first phase of an investigation, which explored the experience of learning amongst high-level managers, project leaders and visitors in QUT’s “Cube”. “The Cube” is a giant, interactive, multi-media display; an award-winning configuration that hosts several interactive projects. The research team worked with three groups of participants to understand the relationship between a) the learning experiences that were intended in the establishment phase; b) the learning experiences that were enacted through the design and implementation of specific projects; and c) the lived experiences of learning of visitors interacting with the system. We adopted phenomenography as a research approach, to understand variation in people’s understandings and lived experiences of learning in this environment. The project was conducted within the first twelve months of The Cube being open to visitors.

Relating Across Difference : A Case Study in Transformative Learning

This chapter examines the process of “transformative learning” for the 2008 cohort of the St. Thomas More College–Intercordia Canada (STM/IC) international community service-learning program. My primary data comes from the eight students who were part of that cohort, when I was their program coordinator. That data later became the heart of my Master’s thesis and was approved by the Research Ethics Office of the University of Saskatchewan. In this chapter I focus on three of those eight participants, outlining the critical elements of their experiences that were conducive to their transformative learning. To be sure, my sample size is too small to draw generalizable conclusions, but the quality of information I received from these students and their colleagues, coupled with the follow-up conversations I had with other educators and with the accompanying literature, supports the value of reflecting at length here about these students’ comments. I have chosen to highlight the experiences of these three participants because together they provide a range of experiences that best enables an analysis of the conditions that both did and did not lead to transformative learning. This case study suggests that transformative learning occurs through: the dynamics of vulnerability, a discovery of persisting differences within inter-personal relationships, and an experience of welcome and hospitality in the host environment. In contrast to other studies that focus on the enhanced capacities, skills and subsequent employability of participants through international education, transformative learning for these students required a relinquishing of securities, a disorientation and critical interrogation of the self, and enhanced receptivity to the newly recognized Other. Moreover, consistent with the critical-humanistic educational philosophy shared in different ways by the participants of the STM/IC program, this study suggests that international community service-learning can most responsibly contribute to good global citizenship through the construction of relationships of solidarity across difference.

Independent learning skills, self-determination theory and psychological well-being : strategies for supporting the first year university experience

The purpose of this article is to explain why the first year in higher education experience of Australian tertiary students can be improved through the explicit teaching of independent learning skills. Becoming an independent learner has many benefits, but the focus of this piece is upon the connection between independent learning and the improvement of student psychological well-being. High psychological distress levels appear to start in the first year of university education. We argue that explicitly teaching students independent learning skills is an important curriculum-based strategy that will contribute to the significant task of addressing this issue.

Emotional climate and high quality learning experiences in science teacher education

The role of emotion during learning encounters in science teacher education is under-researched and under-theorized. In this case study we explore the emotional climates, that is, the collective states of emotional arousal, of a preservice secondary science education class to illuminate practice for producing and reproducing high quality learning experiences for preservice science teachers. Theories related to the sociology of emotions informed our analyses from data sources such as preservice teachers’ perceptions of the emotional climate of their class, emotional facial expressions, classroom conversations, and cogenerative dialogue. The major outcome from our analyses was that even though preservice teachers reported high positive emotional climate during the professor’s science demonstrations, they also valued the professor’s in the moment reflections on her teaching that were associated with low emotional climate ratings. We co-relate emotional climate data and preservice teachers’ comments during cogenerative dialogue to expand our understanding of high quality experiences and emotional climate in science teacher education. Our study also contributes refinements to research perspectives on emotional climate.