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"Herrington, Jan"
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An Instructional Design Framework for Authentic Learning Environments
The instructional technology community is in the midst of a philosophical shift from a behaviorist to a constructivist framework, a move that may begin to address the growing rift between formal school learning and real-life learning. One theory of learning that has the capacity to promote authentic learning is that of situated learning. The purpose of this three-part study was first, to identify critical characteristics of a situated learning environment from the extensive literature base on the subject; second, to operationalize the critical characteristics of a situated learning environment by designing a multimedia program that incorporated the identified characteristics; and third, to investigate students' perceptions of their experiences using a multimedia package based on a situated learning framework. The learning environment, for preservice teachers, comprised a multimedia program on assessment in mathematics together with recommended implementation conditions for the classroom. Eight students were observed and interviewed to explore their perceptions of the situated learning environment. Findings suggest that the use of the situated learning framework provided effective instructional design guidelines for the design of an environment for the acquisition of advanced knowledge.
Journal Article
ePortfolio-Based Learning Environments: Recommendations for Effective Scaffolding of Reflective Thinking in Higher Education
In addition to providing a useful repository for learning products, ePortfolios provide enhanced opportunities for the development of advanced learning skills. It can be argued, however, that ePortfolios are not being implemented effectively towards fulfilling this important function. This paper presents an investigation of an ePortfolio environment that scaffolded the learning of pre-service teachers. The environment was embedded within the PebblePad platform and utilised the Blog function to provide students with activities that were designed to enhance and support the skills and dispositions required to undertake action research. Prompts were provided to students to scaffold the completion of an action research project and provide additional activities that supported the enhancement of reflective thinking. The research study utilised an eLearning Lifecycle that provided a cyclic framework of review and implementation. The purpose of this model was to identify design principles for future iterations of ePortfolio-based learning environments. Findings suggest that the prompts and the ePortfolio environment were effective in scaffolding students' reflective thinking. Additionally, design principles are suggested to ensure this research has both practical and theoretical significance for implementation in similar environments.
Journal Article
Connected authentic learning: Reflection and intentional learning
Authentic learning pedagogy not only allows students to engage in realistic tasks using real-world resources and tools, but it also provides opportunities for students to learn with intention by thinking and acting like professionals as they address real problems. This paper describes a research conducted in a first year university course, where social media were used to support authentic and intentional learning. Principles of authentic learning guided the design of the course, and learning tasks and activities focused on the completion of realistic and complex tasks. Students' mental effort was expended largely on the creation of polished and accomplished products, rather than on the completion of a series of decontextualised or step-by-step exercises. Importantly, opportunities for reflection were provided through the completion of a complex and collaborative task, a journal and a reflective examination. A qualitative study of two cohorts of students was conducted, as part of a larger design-based research agenda, over a period of two years. Findings showed that providing such course elements to facilitate reflection allowed students to reflect both in action as they participated in the course tasks and on action as they wrote about their learning experiences.
Journal Article
Investigating the Effects of Authentic Activities on Foreign Language Learning: A Design-based Research Approach
Achieving communicative competency in English classes has been a key goal in contexts where English is taught as a foreign language (EFL). During this process, however, integrating the difficulty and complexity of real life tasks into classroom teaching has often been disregarded. Lack of opportunities for authentic language use often results in learners' gaining extensive knowledge about the target language (know what) while they are weak in using the language in a meaningful way (know how). Accordingly, while learners can talk about grammar rules, they usually fail to use these rules for real communicative purposes in unstructured genuine settings. The present study employed a design-based research approach to investigate the use of authentic activities in EFL classes. For this purpose, an e-learning environment was created based on initial design principles of authentic activities and implemented in three pre-university level EFL classes in North Cyprus in two research cycles. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, work samples, and observations. In accordance with the findings and continuous literature review, 11 design principles were derived from the initial design principles for the EFL context in order to facilitate competency-based foreign language use.
Journal Article
Design principles for integrating authentic activities in an online community of foreign language learners
Actively encouraging foreign language learners to establish a meaningful connection with the target language culture - by engaging in authentic activities with other learners and native speakers in real-world communicative contexts - is a critical goal of foreign language education. This paper describes a design-based research study that investigated how students of Italian at an Australian university engaged with and responded to a web-based learning environment which integrated authentic learning tasks to facilitate social interaction and meaningful collaborative language practice with native speakers of the target language. The findings suggest that the use of the critical elements of authentic activities actively supported student learning across different domains. A major outcome of this research was the development of a set of design principles and guidelines for the design and development of authentic foreign language learning environments that could inform and guide other language educators within their specific educational context.
Journal Article
Understanding the Complex Work of Aboriginal Education Workers in Schools
The work of Aboriginal Education Workers (AEWs) in Australian schools is complex and multifaceted, and yet it is often misunderstood, or worse, devalued. Added to this, the conditions of employment for many AEWs is often insecure, with minimal pay, few opportunities for career progression or meaningful professional development. Despite this there continues to be, as there have been for decades, research findings, policies and reports attesting to the invaluable role of AEWs in schools and communities. The theoretical standpoint of Nakata's (2007) ‘cultural interface’ is used in this paper to critically (re) examine the role of AEWs in Australian schools. Drawing from relevant past and contemporary literature, this paper draws attention to past and contemporary theorising and policy concerning the roles of AEWs. It asserts that if the work of AEWs is to be better understood and valued then it must be reconsidered in a more transformative way that benefits both the students and schools which they support.
Journal Article
Authentic online learning : aligning learner needs, pedagogy and technology
Over the past few decades there has been a substantial swing among higher education practitioners towards a more constructivist approach to learning. Nevertheless, it is still evident that many instructivist models are widely used in both classroom and online learning environments. A key challenge for educators is linking learner needs, pedagogy and technology in order to construct more interactive, engaging and student-centred environments that promote 21st century skills and encourage self-directed learning. Existing research suggests that the use of real-life tasks supported by new technologies, together with access to the vast array of open educational resources on the Internet, have the potential to improve the quality of online learning. This article describes how an authentic online professional development course for higher education practitioners was designed and implemented using a learning management system (LMS) and an open companion website. It then discusses how the initial iteration of the course was evaluated and provides recommendations for improving the second iteration. Finally it describes how the second iteration was modified and implemented. [Author abstract]
Journal Article
Immersive learning technologies : realism and online authentic learning
The development of immersive learning technologies in the form of virtual reality and advanced computer applications has meant that realistic creations of simulated environments are now possible. Such simulations have been used to great effect in training in the military, air force, and in medical training. But how realistic do problems need to be in education for effective learning to occur? Some authors and researchers argue that problems should be real, or that simulations should have ultrarealistic physical similarity to an actual context. This paper proposes that physical verisimilitude to real situations is of less importance in learning than 'cognitive realism,' provided by immersing students in engaging and complex tasks. The paper presents a description of the theory and research that provide the foundations for this approach. Examples of courses employing cognitive, rather than physical, realism are presented together with the views of teachers, authors and instructional designers. Finally, the implications of this approach are discussed. [Author abstract]
Journal Article
Student reflection and learning through peer reviews
This paper describes lessons learnt whilst using an online peer review system in an undergraduate unit for pre-service teachers. In this unit, students learn to use information technologies as part of their future teaching practice. The unit aims to foster graduates who become lifelong reflective educators by providing opportunities to explore and reflect on how they might use technology in authentic learning situations. Whilst peer review is an appropriate activity for supporting critical thinking and reflective practice in this kind of unit, it requires a number of decisions to be made in relation to student preparation and support, implementation strategy, and technological infrastructure to make it work in specific contexts. Much research has been conducted in recent years to inform educators in making these decisions. However, there are still gaps in the research, particularly in how to improve the quality and consistency of feedback that students give to each other in their feedback. This paper describes the experiences of implementing an online peer review system aiming to improve quality and consistency of feedback. This exploration has revealed that we can learn much about ways to improve our teaching practices by giving students an opportunity to review each other's work and give feedback. [Author abstract]
Journal Article