Your search found 46957 results.

Descriptors:
Interaction; Conferences (Gatherings); Educational Research; Research Methodology; Educational Technology; Computer Assisted Instruction; Cooperative Learning

Abstract:
The theme of this year's Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) 2013 conference--"To see the world 'and' a grain of sand: Learning across levels of space, time and scale"--targets a provocative challenge for CSCL, namely that the interactions of collaborative learning be understood, supported and analysed at multiple levels. As the conference call puts it, "the attention to the theoretical, methodological and technological issues of addressing research at multiple levels is highly relevant to current research in CSCL, as well as to developing an emerging understanding of the epistemological and methodological issues that will shape the intellectual efforts well into the future." The attempt to bridge across levels of analysis--in CSCL theory, analysis and practice--stands at the forefront of CSCL research today. CSCL research typically investigates processes at the individual, small-group and community units of analysis. However, individual CSCL studies generally each focus on only one of these units. Moreover, there is little data-based analysis of how the three levels are connected, although it is clear that such connections are crucially important to understanding and orchestrating learning in CSCL settings. The introduction to the last issue of the "International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning" (Stahl 2012b) proposed that the levels of individual learning, group cognition and community knowledge building may be connected by emergent "interactional resources," which can mediate between the levels. The question of how the local interactional resources that mediate sequential small-group interaction are related to large-scale socio-cultural context as well as to individual learning is an empirical question in each case. There are many ways these connections across levels take place, and it is likely that they often involve mechanisms that are not apparent to participants. This paper explores one way of thinking about how such connections can occur: interactional resources. (Contains 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

Related Items: Show Related Items

Full-Text Availability Options:

More Info:
Help | Tutorial Help Finding Full Text |  More Info:
Help Find in a Library |  Publisher's website

Descriptors:
Educational Research; Evidence; Persuasive Discourse; Research Methodology

Abstract:
This paper continues a discussion started in a special issue about the acceptability of prescriptive statements in educational research articles. In light of some ambiguities concerning what counts as a prescriptive statement, and the special issue's focus on causal relations as a requirement for the justification of prescriptive statements, a more detailed characterization of prescriptive statements and the structure of a complete argumentation for them is offered. This reveals two major obstacles to valid justifications of prescriptive statements that have received little attention before: the problem of normativity and the problem of generality. The proposed solution to the problem of normativity--that is, the impossibility to support prescriptive statements by empirical research alone--is to take into account that arguments for prescriptive statements target an audience that may agree on the values of many educational goals. The proposed solution to the problem of generality--that is, the necessity of well-established general causal regularities for the justification of prescriptive statements--requires appropriate designs for testing the generality of claims. Methodological suggestions include nested designs with quasi-representative samples of treatments as well as standard procedures for determining the cost and side effects on an agreed-upon set of relevant outcome dimensions for both current practice and any new intervention. If such steps are undertaken, prescriptive statements are no less justified in discussion sections than general descriptive claims as long as the final decision about them is suspended if the available normative and empirical arguments are not yet conclusive. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

Related Items: Show Related Items

Full-Text Availability Options:

More Info:
Help | Tutorial Help Finding Full Text |  More Info:
Help Find in a Library |  Publisher's website

Descriptors:
Neurosciences; Educational Research; Interdisciplinary Approach; Intellectual Disciplines; Literature Reviews; Vocabulary

Abstract:
Within the emerging field of educational neuroscience, concerns exist that the impact of neuroscience research on education has been less effective than hoped. In seeking a way forward, it may be useful to consider the problems of integrating two complex fields in the context of disciplinary boundaries. Here, a boundary perspective is used as a lens for analyzing the results of a systematic review of the educational neuroscience literature. Recurring vocabulary used within the literature suggests indirect use of boundary principles, including the idea of connections and bridges between disciplines, inter-, multi-, and transdisciplinarity, and reference to tools (boundary objects) and people that may be useful in the evolving field of educational neuroscience. Analyzing the educational neuroscience literature through the lens of boundary principles indicates that the boundary between the two disciplines may itself be a bridging mechanism useful for the creation of a new discipline and new knowledge. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

Related Items: Show Related Items

Full-Text Availability Options:

More Info:
Help | Tutorial Help Finding Full Text |  More Info:
Help Find in a Library |  Publisher's website

Descriptors:
Educational Research; Scientific Methodology; Psychologists; Social Values; Educational Psychology; Counselor Role; Interviews; Epistemology; Philosophy

Abstract:
Outcomes of interviews with seven educational psychologists, focused on issues of epistemological and ontological positioning, are reported. The interviews were conducted within a qualitative, biographical research paradigm which examines the ways in which a person's meaning-making is impacted upon by all aspects of their life experience. Thematic analysis suggests most participants are ambivalent about the scientific basis of their work and the contribution of peer reviewed research to their practice, and they regard the utility or social value of their professional practice as more important than its congruence with a recognised evidence base. This standpoint is compared to the philosophical position of pragmatism, which resists the assumptions of realist perspectives and contests the primacy of scientific methodology and methods in the establishment of knowledge claims. Implications for the professional practice of educational psychologists beyond the present study are discussed. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

Related Items: Show Related Items

Full-Text Availability Options:

More Info:
Help | Tutorial Help Finding Full Text |  More Info:
Help Find in a Library |  Publisher's website

Descriptors:
Validity; Test Use; Test Interpretation; Scores; Learning; Academic Achievement; Decision Making; Information Utilization; Educational Research; Theories

Abstract:
Studies of data use illuminate ways in which education professionals have used test scores and other evidence relevant to students' learning--in action in their own contexts of work--to make decisions about their practice. These studies raise instructive challenges for a validity theory that focuses on intended interpretations and uses of test scores as Kane's (this issue) does. This commentary explores implications of data use studies for elaborating Kane's approach to validation to accommodate the ways test scores are used with other sources of evidence to address users' questions. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

Related Items: Show Related Items

Full-Text Availability Options:

More Info:
Help | Tutorial Help Finding Full Text |  More Info:
Help Find in a Library |  Publisher's website

Descriptors:
Social Sciences; Foreign Countries; Educational Development; Expertise; Graduate Study; Graduate Students; Self Concept; Educational Research; Research Needs; Student Adjustment

Abstract:
This paper explores and examines the distal and proximal systems which construct social science postgraduate study in the UK and analyses the emergent identities of postgraduate students as they negotiate the multiple and interacting practices in their transition to study. The data represent part of a one-year research project, funded by the Higher Education Academy, in which staff and students from five UK universities participated. The paper takes a socio-cultural perspective and situates staff and students in the wider macro context of policy and practice surrounding postgraduate study as well as exploring the micro processes which construct the proximal experience of the transition. We argue that the silence surrounding postgraduate transition in the literature must be addressed in light of existing literature and the present research, both of which suggest that the systems which construct postgraduate study are complex and challenging to students, who do not always receive the support they require. We discuss the practices which implicitly assume expertise in postgraduate students in contrast to student self-identification as confused and struggling. Commonalities with other educational transitions are identified but we argue that there are distinct aspects to postgraduate transition which require greater breadth of research with both successful and unsuccessful postgraduate students. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

Related Items: Show Related Items

Full-Text Availability Options:

More Info:
Help | Tutorial Help Finding Full Text |  More Info:
Help Find in a Library |  Publisher's website

Descriptors:
Attendance; Instructional Effectiveness; Educational Research; Educational Environment; Creativity; Case Studies; Literature Reviews; Problem Solving; Motivation; Teachers

Abstract:
This article is based on a systematic review of educational research, policy and professional literature relating to creative environments for learning in schools. Despite the search yielding 210 documents, comparatively few empirical studies were published between 2005 and 2011 that addressed the review objectives. Only 18 studies included in the review investigated the impact of creativity on learners. There was, however, some evidence for the impact of creative learning environments on pupil attainment, confidence, resilience, motivation, problem-solving, interpersonal skills and school attendance. These findings have implications for policy, practice and research internationally. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

Related Items: Show Related Items

Full-Text Availability Options:

More Info:
Help | Tutorial Help Finding Full Text |  More Info:
Help Find in a Library |  Publisher's website

Descriptors:
Talent; Gifted; Public Schools; Home Schooling; Parent Attitudes; Educational Research; Interviews; Identification; Family Role; Parent School Relationship; Mothers; Parent Role

Abstract:
Homeschooling has witnessed a dramatic growth over the past decade. Included in this population are gifted and talented students, yet despite this growth there has been no appreciable increase in the research literature. To better understand the gifted homeschooling family, researchers interviewed 13 parents of homeschooled children their parents identified as being gifted. Four major themes emerged from the data: (a) "parents know best," (b) "isolation," (c) "challenges," and (d) "family roles." Findings reveal that these parents decided to homeschool only after numerous attempts to work in collaboration with the public school and that the mothers bore the primary burden of responsibility for homeschooling in these families. Though the move to homeschooling alleviated many of the issues experienced in public school, it brought a different set of challenges to these families. This exploratory study establishes a better understanding of why parents of gifted children ultimately decide to homeschool. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

Related Items: Show Related Items

Full-Text Availability Options:

More Info:
Help | Tutorial Help Finding Full Text |  More Info:
Help Find in a Library |  Publisher's website

Descriptors:
Citations (References); Translation; Primary Sources; Japanese; English; Teaching Methods; Creativity; Contrastive Linguistics; Educational Philosophy; Editing; Books; Educational Research; Criticism

Abstract:
The only available English translation of Makiguchi Tsunesaburo's most characteristic work, "Soka Kyoikugaku Taikei" ("The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy"; 1930-1934), was published as "Education for Creative Living" in 1989 with Alfred Birnbaum as the translator and Dayle M. Bethel as the editor. "Education for Creative Living", not Makiguchi's Japanese original, has been translated into 13 languages and has contributed to introducing Makiguchi's educational ideas to the non-Japanese-speaking world. In this article, the author reports findings of a comparative, cross-linguistic textual analysis of "Education for Creative Living" and "Soka Kyoikugaku Taikei". Her findings indicate that Bethel has made many editorial choices without notifying the reader, such as putting more emphasis on philosophy than pedagogy, simplifying some of Makiguchi's arguments; omitting Makiguchi's references to various scholars; and omitting, inserting and revising portions of text. These editorial choices give the impression of a simpler, less sophisticated, less well-read Makiguchi to non-Japanese readers and render "Education for Creative Living" problematic as a primary source of academic research. (Contains 2 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

Related Items: Show Related Items

Full-Text Availability Options:

More Info:
Help | Tutorial Help Finding Full Text |  More Info:
Help Find in a Library |  Publisher's website

Descriptors:
Documentation; Writing Tests; Language Usage; Language Tests; English (Second Language); Expertise; Educational Research; Evaluation Criteria

Abstract:
This article reports the lexical diversity of summaries written by experts and test takers in an empirical study and then interrogates the (in)congruity between the conceptualisations of "summary" and "summarize" in the literature of educational research and the operationalization of summarization tasks in three international English language tests in relation to their task directions and assessment criteria. These analyses show that summarization is not a uniform construct; rather, it is multidimensional in terms of its purposes, functions, and practices in real-life contexts, and as a consequence not particularly well operationalized in language tests and so in need of precise definitions for specific assessment contexts. This conclusion has implications for designing summarization tasks and assessing task performance. First, clear and transparent task directions are essential to ensure that test takers and evaluators share a common understanding of a test task; test takers need to be instructed what kind of summary they are expected to produce, particularly what information to include and to exclude. Second, because summarization may well be a unique type of writing process, it is important to employ parameters different from and additional to those for independent composition writing in order to measure the quality of a summary effectively. (Contains 4 tables and 3 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

Related Items: Show Related Items

Full-Text Availability Options:

More Info:
Help | Tutorial Help Finding Full Text |  More Info:
Help Find in a Library |  Publisher's website