In the rapidly-changing world of the Internet and the Web, theory and research struggle to keep up with technological, social, and economic developments. In education in particular, a proliferation of novel practices, applications, and forms - from bulletin boards to Webcasts, from online educational games to open educational resources - have come to be addressed under the rubric of «e-learning». In response to these phenomena, Re-thinking E-Learning Research introduces a number of research frameworks and methodologies relevant to e-learning. The book outlines methods for the analysis of content, narrative, genre, discourse, hermeneutic-phenomenological investigation, and critical and historical inquiry. It provides examples of pairings of method and subject matter that include narrative research into the adaptation of blogs in a classroom setting; the discursive-psychological analysis of student conversations with artificially intelligent agents; a genre analysis of an online discussion; and a phenomenological study of online mathematics puzzles. Introducing practical applications and spanning a wide range of the possibilities for e-learning, this book will be useful for students, teachers, and researchers in e-learning.
The key question this book addresses is how to identify and create optimal conditions for the kind of learning and development that is especially important for effectively functioning in the 21st century. Taking a new approach to this long-debated issue, it looks at how a design research-based science of learning (with its practical models and related design research) can provide insights and integrated models of how human beings actually function and grow in the social dynamics of educational settings with all their affordances and constraints. More specifically: How can specific domains or subject matters be taught for broad intellectual development? How can technology be integrated in enhancing human functioning? How can the social organization of classroom learning be optimized to create social norms for promoting deep intellectual engagement and personal growth? Part I is concerned with broad conceptual and technical issues regarding cultivating intellectual potential, with a focus on how design research might fill in an important a niche in addressing these issues. Part II presents specific design work in terms of design principles, models, and prototypes.
E-learning is at an exciting point in its development; its potential in terms of research is great and its impact on institutional practices is fully recognised. This book defines e-learning as a field of research, highlighting the complex issues, activities and tensions that characterise the area. Written by a team of experienced researchers and commented upon by internationally recognised experts, this book engages researchers and practitioners in critical discussion and debate about the findings emerging from the field and the associated impact on practice. Key topics examined include: access and inclusion the social-cultural contexts of e-learning organisational structures, processes and identities technical aspects of learning research – using tools and resources approaches to learning and teaching practices and associated learning theories designing for e-learning and the management of educational resources professional roles and identities the evolution of e-assessment collaboration, motivation and educational evaluation. Contemporary Perspectives in E-Learning Research provides a synthesis of research, giving readers a grounding in contemporary e-learning scholarship whilst identifying the debates that make it such a lively and fast-moving area. A landmark text in an evolving field, this book will prove invaluable for all researchers, practitioners, policy makers and students who engage with e-learning.
The International Handbook of Research in Professional and Practice-based Learning discusses what constitutes professionalism, examines the concepts and practices of professional and practice-based learning, including associated research traditions and educational provisions. It also explores professional learning in institutions of higher and vocational education as well the practice settings where professionals work and learn, focusing on both initial and ongoing development and how that learning is assessed. The Handbook features research from expert contributors in education, studies of the professions, and accounts of research methodologies from a range of informing disciplines. It is organized in two parts. The first part sets out conceptions of professionalism at work, how professions, work and learning can be understood, and examines the kinds of institutional practices organized for developing occupational capacities. The second part focuses on procedural issues associated with learning for and through professional practice, and how assessment of professional capacities might progress. The key premise of this Handbook is that during both initial and ongoing professional development, individual learning processes are influenced and shaped through their professional environment and practices. Moreover, in turn, the practice and processes of learning through practice are shaped by their development, all of which are required to be understood through a range of research orientations, methods and findings. This Handbook will appeal to academics working in fields of professional practice, including those who are concerned about developing these capacities in their students. In addition, students and research students will also find this Handbook a key reference resource to the field.
Teaching, Learning and Research in Higher Education offers a combination of critical perspectives and practical advice that is ideally suited for individuals interested in enhancing their practice through analysis and critique. The aim is to promote a critical understanding of one’s own practices: to foster personal and professional formation through a reflexive engagement with one's environment and circumstances. At a practical level this means to continuously think about how to adjust practice rather than following a formulaic approach derived from any particular educational theory. Teaching, Learning and Research in Higher Education argues that academics can find space for their own agency in the midst of institutional policies and practices that serve to frame, as well as delimit and constrain, what counts as good academic work in teaching and research. This text bridges a gap between those books that provide a high-level analysis of contemporary higher education, the more practical texts on how to be a good teacher in higher education, and those texts which aim to improve teaching through better understanding of the learning process. Topical chapters include: Teacher-learner relationship, Learning groups, Practice-oriented learning, Teaching for diversity, e-learning, Assessment, Approaches to Staff Development, Quality assurance, Supervision and Research education, Doing research, and Teaching & Research. A must-have resource for higher education professions, academic developers, professionals, and anyone looking to improve their teaching and learning practices, Teaching, Learning and Research in Higher Education is also appropriate for continuing and professional development courses in the UK and teaching and learning courses in the US. Mark Tennant is Dean of the University Graduate School, University of Technology, Sydney. Cathi McMullen is Lecturer in the School of Marketing and Management at Charles Sturt University. Dan Kaczynski is Professor in the Educational Leadership department at Central Michigan University.
Participatory Action Learning and Action Research offers a concise yet comprehensive explanation of the theory, practice and process of this emerging paradigm, methodology and theory of learning. PALAR is a transformative, collaborative and democratic process for resolving complex problems within the context of sustainable professional, organisational and community development. The book draws on real-life examples from socially and economically challenged contexts, and features critical reflections on the strengths and challenges of this evolving methodology in relation to the increased interest in community engagement and project-based learning among institutions of higher education. Analysing theory in the context of sustainable professional, organisational and community development, this book: Provides a comprehensive, research-based manual on the use of PALAR within actual research projects. Explains a means of engaging in research that promotes the mobilisation of human potential relevant in a rapidly changing society. Addresses the challenges of doing participatory research within institutions. Provides applied, specific examples of how PALAR can be adapted for use in socially and economically challenged contexts, typical of developing economies. Offers critical reflections by researchers and community participants on the challenges and uses of PALAR. Innovative, and offering clarity on ethics and research questions, Participatory Action Learning and Action Research will be of interest to both emerging and experienced researchers looking to bring about change at a personal, professional, organisational or community level.
Practical and down-to-earth, the second edition of Action Research in Teaching and Learning is an ideal introduction to the subject, offering a distinctive blend of the theoretical and the practical, grounded firmly in the global higher education landscape. Written in an accessible style to build confidence, it provides easily adaptable, practical frameworks, guidelines and advice on research practice within a higher education context. The reader is guided through each stage of the action research process, from engaging with the critical theory, to the practical applications with the ultimate goal of providing a research study which is publishable. Supplemented by useful pedagogical research tools and exemplars of both qualitative and quantitative action research studies, this new edition features chapters engaging with teaching excellence and analysing qualitative and quantitative research, additions to the resources section and a new preface focusing more explicitly on the ever-growing number of part-time academics. Action Research in Teaching and Learning combines a theoretical understanding of the scholarly literature with practical applications and is an essential, critical read for any individual teaching or undertaking action research.
Research on student learning has undergone many changes in the last decade. In particular, the research methodology has advanced in many different ways on the level of complexity of data collection and rigor of data analyses. In the quantitative research perspective, many off-line and online measures and statistical analysis techniques have been further meticulously developed. In the qualitative research perspective, a broader range of data collection tools are applied. Also the use of mixed method data analysis is increasing. Although in some research strands on student learning, the mono method approach of quantitative research is still ‘the golden rule’, in other research strands we notify more methodological creativity in mixing research paradigms and designs which can be very fruitful advancements for further knowledge development. In this book we focus on the domain of research on learning patterns in which these methodological shifts are in rapid evolution. A variety of international research cases illustrating current practices of empirical research, is presented showing how different methods of research on student learning can be applied and be useful for future research. Benefits an boundaries of the research methods are critically discussed and future perspectives are proposed.
This comprehensive and up-to-date review of learning and educational quality in developing countries, written by 16 highly knowledgeable specialists from around the world, provides policymakers and researchers accessible perspectives with the Millennium Development Goals in mind.
Digital learning proves that the digital revolution has almost no limits in the world. The extension of e-learning to digital learning has completely changed training and learning habits. In universities and companies and even at home, anytime and anywhere, innovative e-learning tools, such as online videos, e-learning quizzes, interactive games, and digital learning courses, can enhance knowledge exchange. The Handbook of Research on Scripting, Media Coverage, and Implementation of E-Learning Training in LMS Platforms considers the design and development of management systems, learner profiles, learning activities, and e-learning projects and discusses the design, development, and implementation in an LMS platform of e-learning projects based on educational engineering models. Covering key topics such as teaching practices, distance learning, and artificial intelligence, this reference work is ideal for industry professionals, administrators, policymakers, researchers, academicians, scholars, instructors, and students.
The field of education is in constant flux as new theories and practices emerge to engage students and improve the learning experience. Research advances help to make these improvements happen and are essential to the continued improvement of education. The Handbook of Research on Applied Learning Theory and Design in Modern Education provides international perspectives from education professors and researchers, cyberneticists, psychologists, and instructional designers on the processes and mechanisms of the global learning environment. Highlighting a compendium of trends, strategies, methodologies, technologies, and models of applied learning theory and design, this publication is well-suited to meet the research and practical needs of academics, researchers, teachers, and graduate students as well as curriculum and instructional design professionals.
This ebook is a selective guide designed to help scholars and students of criminology find reliable sources of information by directing them to the best available scholarly materials in whatever form or format they appear from books, chapters, and journal articles to online archives, electronic data sets, and blogs. Written by a leading international authority on the subject, the ebook provides bibliographic information supported by direct recommendations about which sources to consult and editorial commentary to make it clear how the cited sources are interrelated related. A reader will discover, for instance, the most reliable introductions and overviews to the topic, and the most important publications on various areas of scholarly interest within this topic. In criminology, as in other disciplines, researchers at all levels are drowning in potentially useful scholarly information, and this guide has been created as a tool for cutting through that material to find the exact source you need. This ebook is a static version of an article from Oxford Bibliographies Online: Criminology, a dynamic, continuously updated, online resource designed to provide authoritative guidance through scholarship and other materials relevant to the study and practice of criminology. Oxford Bibliographies Online covers most subject disciplines within the social science and humanities, for more information visit www.aboutobo.com.
