Showing papers on "Experiential learning published in 1997"

Learning and awareness

Abstract: Contents: Prologue. Acknowledgements. What Does It Take to Learn? Qualitative Differences in Learning. The Experience of Learning. Revealing Educationally Critical Differences in Our Understanding of the World Around Us. The Anatomy of Awareness. The Idea of Phenomenography. Learning to Experience. A Pedagogy of Awareness. Epilogue.

Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice.

Abstract: Critical and autonomous thinking must take precedence over the uncritical assimilation of knowledge. Transformative learning is a route to the development of critical thinking.

A Participatory Inquiry Paradigm

Abstract: This article starts with a critique of Guba and Lincoln's outline of competing paradigms for research, in particular arguing that the constructivist position fails to account for experiential knowi...

Self-Directed Learning: Toward a Comprehensive Model

Abstract: Self-directed learning is a core theoretical construct distinguishing adult education as a field of study. Most of the concept's emphasis has been on the external control and management of learning...

The Importance of Collaborative Know-How: An Empirical Test of the Learning Organization

Abstract: In this research, I proposed and tested a model of how firms learn from their strategic alliances. Based on a survey of 151 firms, the results suggest that experience alone is insufficient for the achievement of the greatest benefits from collaboration. Experience must be internalized first, and collaborative know-how must be developed for this experience to contribute to future collaborative benefits.

Cooperative Learning for Higher Education Faculty

Abstract: This practical, "how-to" book on co-operative learning is designed to serve as a resource for faculty members at colleges and universities. It offers an overview of the co-operative learning process, including its rationale, its research base, its value, and its practical implementation. The authors also describe a variety of approaches to co-operative learning drawn from complementary movements such as classroom research, writing across-the-curriculum, computer technology and critical thinking. They begin with a basic structure for implementing a co-operative learning programme, then move progressively through more complex activities. Numerous examples of actual co-operative learning programmes are included which span a wide variety of disciplines. These examples underscore how a successful programme can bolster student achievement, increase self-esteem, and foster the spirit of teamwork. This book should appeal to those new to the cooperative learning process, as well as to established practitioners in the field.

The Foundations and Assumptions of Technology-Enhanced Student-Centered Learning Environments.

Abstract: Direct instruction approaches, as well as the design processes that support them, have been criticized for failing to reflect contemporary research and theory in teaching, learning, and technology. Learning systems are needed that encourage divergent reasoning, problem solving, and critical thinking. Student-centered learning environments have been touted as a means to support such processes. With the emergence of technology, many barriers to implementing innovative alternatives may be overcome. The purposes of this paper are to review and critically analyze research and theory related to technology-enhanced student-centered learning environments and to identify their foundations and assumptions.

Cooperative Learning, Collaborative Learning, and Interaction: Three Communicative Strands in the Language Classroom

Abstract: This article describes important distinctions among three strands of communication in the foreign or second language (L2) classroom: cooperative learning, collaborative learning, and interaction. These three strands have different connotations, which, when understood, can help us better comprehend language learning and teaching. Cooperative learning refers to a particular set of classroom techniques that foster learner interdependence as a route to cognitive and social development. Collaborative learning has a “social constructivist” philosophical base, which views learning as construction of knowledge within a social context and which therefore encourages acculturation of individuals into a learning community. Interaction is the broadest of the three terms and refers to personal communication, which is facilitated by an understanding of four elements: language tasks, willingness to communicate, style differences, and group dynamics.

Building Upon the Theoretical Debate: A Critical Review of the Empirical Studies of Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory

Abstract: This critical literature review is an attempt to build upon the theoretical debate of Mezirow's transformative learning theory by investigating what the empirical studies have to say about a perspe...

A Model of Work-Based Learning

Abstract: A comprehensive model of work-based learning is illustrated combining explicit and tacit forms of knowing and theory and practice modes of learning at both individual and collective levels. The model is designed to bring together epistemic contributions which are typically studied in isolation. The learning types produced from the model represent processes the intersection of which can contribute to the development of a comprehensive theory for integrating learning and work. At the individual level, work-based learning might start with conceptualization which provides practitioners with a means to challenge the assumptions underlying their practice. In experimentation, they engage their conceptual knowledge in such a way that it becomes contextualized or grounded. However, within the world of practice, in applying theoretical criteria or advanced analytical techniques, one confronts technical, cultural, moral, and personal idiosyncrasies which defy categorization. Hence, experience is required to reinforce the tacit knowledge acquired in experimentation. In fact, learning acquired through experience, often referred to as implicit learning, is the foundation for tacit knowledge and can be used to solve problems as well as make reasonable decisions about novel situations. Nevertheless, reflection is required to bring the inherent tacit knowledge of experience to the surface. It thus contributes to the reconstruction of meaning. At the collective level, conceptualization again makes a contribution in informing spontaneous inquiry but is now embedded within the more formal methods of applied science. Scientists seek to describe and explain social reality through the manipulation of theoretical propositions using the rules of hypothetico-deductive logic. The theories of applied science are often not helpful to practitioners, however, unless they are incorporated into practice. This is the purview of action learning wherein real-time experience, especially problems occurring within one's own work setting, constitutes the primary subject matter. As practitioners come together by being involved with one another in action, they may become a community of practice wherein they learn to construct shared understanding amidst confusing and conflicting data. Hence, community of practice returns knowledge back into its context such that groups learn to observe and experiment with their own collective tacit processes in action. Action science is called upon to bring the individuals' and group's mental models, often untested and unexamined, into consciousness. It is a form of “reflection-in-action” which attempts to discover how what one did contributed to an unexpected or expected outcome, taking into account the interplay between theory and practice. Applications of the model can spur conceptual and practical developments that might lead to a comprehensive theory of work-based learning. The discussion takes up such issues as transition links between learning types, their segmentation by function or process, and implications for epistemology. A sample program, incorporating many of the learning types in the model, is demonstrated. The paper argues that all eight types of learning need to be brought into consideration if learners are to achieve proficiency and become critical while learning at work.

Reflection: Bridging the Gap between Service and Learning

Abstract: (1997). Reflection: Bridging the Gap between Service and Learning. College Teaching: Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 153-158.

Nurturing Soul in Adult Learning

Abstract: There is more to transformative learning than a cognitive rational process of critical reflection. The soul of the learner must be nurtured in order to reach deeper levels of change and development.

From Organizational Learning to the Learning Organization

Abstract: This article reviews theories of organizational learning and presents a framework with which to organize the literature. We argue that unit of analysis provides one critical distinction in the organizational learning literature and research objective provides another. The resulting two-by-two matrix contains four categories of research, which we have called: (1) residues (organizations as residues of past learning); (2) communities (organizations as collections of individuals who can learn and develop); (3) participation (organizational improvement gained through intelligent activity of individual members), and (4) accountability (organizational improvement gained through developing individuals' mental models). We also propose a distinction between the terms organizational learning and the learning organization. Our subsequent analysis identifies relationships between disparate parts of the literature and shows that these relationships point to individual mental models as a critical source of leverage for creating learning organizations. A brief discussion of the work of two of the most visible researchers in this field, Peter Senge and Chris Argyris, provides additional support for this type of change strategy

Moving from task‐oriented to learning‐oriented strategies on school excursions to museums

Abstract: Museums are best considered as venues for informal learning and yet the authors' observations were that most school classes that visit museums are restricted and structured, the students not being provided with optimal opportunities to learn in an informal manner. Although research has addressed some features of successful school group visits to museums, such as preparation and orientation, emphasis on first-hand experience, and use of worksheets, there has been little research on the role of the class teacher in facilitating learning during excursions. This study investigated strategies used by class teachers before, during, and following excursions to two venues in Sydney, Australia, offering opportunities for learning science in an informal setting. The sample chosen for the study comprised 12 school groups involving 29 teachers and 735 students in 30 classes ranging from grade 5 to grade 10. Data were collected through observation and interviews before, during, and 2–3 weeks after the visit. The results indicate that class teachers used mainly task-oriented teaching practices and made little effort to link topics being studied at school and the museum. Little congruence was apparent between the practices observed and what the literature suggested for effective planning and management of school excursions. The authors propose a framework to guide teachers in planning learning-oriented excursions based on a synthesis of knowledge of natural learning behaviors exhibited by family groups in museums and lessons from constructivist theories of learning, together with strategies reported in the literature and confirmed by this study as contributing to learning on school excursions to museums. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed81:763–779, 1997.

Experimenting to Bootstrap Self-Regulated Learning

Abstract: Modern theories of cognitive and constructive learning portray students as agents who set and pursue goals. More effective students select among cognitive tactics they use to approach goals and learn from false starts and setbacks. These students self-regulate not merely performance but also how they learn. How do students develop forms for self-regulating learning? The author suggests they experiment thereby bootstrapping newer forms of self-regulated learning from prior forms. Experimenting is an arduous way to build knowledge and it is subject to at least 3 obstacles that may be especially troublesome for young students: obtaining sufficient practice with appropriate feedback, remembering how learning was enacted, and reasoning about factors that affect learning. The author examines these issues and suggests needs for future research that investigates how students develop forms of complex goal-directed cognition that guide learning. Parents and caregivers will readily affirm that even the youngest students have a will and exercise it, sometimes with too much volition, when they explore and learn. When students adapt their approaches to learning, learning is considered self-regulated. Self-regulated learning (SRL) is implicit in many of educational psychology's contemporary topics, including cognitive strategies, learning-to-learn, and lifelong learning. Some researchers (e.g., see Schunk & Zimmerman, 1994), including myself, credit SRL as constitutive of success in learning, problem solving, transfer, and academic success in general. I (Winne, 1995) recently reviewed research to highlight two relatively neglected attributes of SRL. First, SRL is not always deliberate, complex, and metacognitive. Like other skills, SRL can reach a level of expertise at which it is enacted in automatic and simple form. Second, SRL is grounded in and expressive of deeply seated knowledge, skills, and beliefs integrated over an idiosyncratic history with learning experiences. At a particular time, a student's present state of history might be likened to a personal paradigm for learning, that is, a framework of concepts that characterize what learning is, methods for carrying it out, and what it is for. I used these two attributes as premises in drawing a controversial inference: Students do not learn to be self-regulating—SRL is inherent in goal-directed engagement

Towards a Categorisation of Cognitive Styles and Learning Styles

Abstract: This paper considers the construct, ‘style’, in the study of individual differences and learning. The origin and elaboration of learning style as a concept is discussed, tracing the influence of a cognition and a learning‐centred approach to the psychology of individual difference. The authors argue that a contemporary overview of style can contribute to a rationalisation of the theory and facilitate a greater application of learning style in educational practice. A case is made for the need to integrate more fully various models of style into a single construct of learning style.

Real-life problem solving : a collaborative approach to interdisciplinary learning

Abstract: Understanding the Research on Problem-Based Learning What Is Problem-Based Learning as Co-Development (PBL-CD) and What Are the Benefits? Planning and Implementing Problem-Based Learning as Co-Development Applying PBL-CD to Langugage, Arts and Humanities Applying PBL-CD to Science and Mathematics Applying PBL-CD to Projects Involving Multiple Schools.

Understanding Teacher Education: Case Studies in the Professional Development of Beginning Teachers

Abstract: This text reports a study of 20 student primary teachers, 10 on a conventional PGCE course and 10 on a school-based articled teacher training course. documenting their learning experiences over a two year period, the authors explore the factors that facilitate or impede the students' learning as teachers. In drawing upon these case studies together with existing theoretical models of professional development, the authors distinguish several key characteristics of learning to teach and discuss the implications of these for the design of effective school- based teacher education courses.

A learning college for the 21st century

Abstract: Many earlier attempts at education reform have failed, causing some critics to call for a much more expansive wave of reform in which learning becomes a central focus. O'Banion presents an argument for the community college, with its strong penchant for innovation and risk-taking, as the ideal forum for creating this new learning paradigm. He proposes a provocative new concept called 'the learning college,' which is designed to help students make passionate connections to learning. The book describes in detail the six key principles that form the definition and character of a learning college. Emerging models of this concept are already in place at a handful of community colleges, and six of these pioneering institutions share their initial journeys in this book. O'Banion provides a practical guide for community college leaders who are preparing their institutions to enter the 21st century.

Psychological Processes in Cooperative Language Learning: Group Dynamics and Motivation.

Abstract: Cooperative learning (CL) has been found to be a highly effective instructional approach in education in general and this has been confirmed with regard to second language (L2) learning as well. This article investigates reasons for the success of CL from a psychological perspective, focusing on two interrelated processes: the unique group dynamics of CL classes and the motivational system generated by peer cooperation. It is argued that the affective domain of CL plays a crucial role in the educational potential of the method. This paper summarizes the specific factors that contribute to the promotion of learning gains. While the analysis concerns cooperatively structured learning only, it is assumed that the processes described have a broader relevance to understanding the success of peer collaboration in general.

Deep and surface learning: a simple or simplistic dichotomy?

Abstract: In recent years, broad evaluations of higher education in several countries have called for a greater degree of deep learning (i.e. learning with understanding) relative to surface learning (i.e. rote learning). These concepts, having been developed in the 1970s and 1980s, are now well established in the higher education literature. However, to a large extent, exploration and discussion of these concepts is missing from the accounting education literature. The present paper aims to fill this gap in the accounting education literature by introducing the full complexity of this important education literature on deep and surface learning. We show that the use of this dichotomy, which is often used as a convenient shorthand, generally oversimplifies in two key respects. First, the deep- surface distinction is relevant in analysing the following aspects of learning: student learning intentions, learning styles, learning approaches adopted and learning outcomes. The specific context in which the distinction is ...

Multimedia learning environments: Issues of learner control and navigation

Abstract: Using schema theory as a framework, we view learning as an active, constructive process. It is affected not only by learners' internal knowledge structures, but by the external constraints of the learning environment as well (Kozma, 1991). This article examines how different internal learner characteristics (e.g., prior knowledge, self efficacy and interest) and different external constraints (e.g., learner control, instructional design and level of control) influence the learning process. Specifically, we address learning from a variety of multimedia environments such as video, hypertexts, kiosks and other hypermedia within a schema theoretic approach that incorporates a constructivist view.

Rethinking Kolb's Theory of Experiential Learning in Management Education The Contribution of Social Constructionism and Activity Theory

Abstract: This article seeks to critically evaluate Kolb's theory of experiential learning from social constructionist and activity theory perspectives. It is suggested that while experiential learning theor...

How Organizations Learn: An Integrated Strategy for Building Learning Capability

Abstract: A STRATEGIC LOOK AT ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING. Developing Learning in Organizations: A Matter of Perspective. Foundations of an Integrated Strategy. HOW ORGANIZATIONS LEARN. Recognizing Your Organization's Learning Portfolio. Developing a Learning Strategy. Improving Organizational Learning Capability. Enhancing Effectiveness at Each Phase of the Learning Cycle. Assessing Learning Capability Over Time. ADAPTING AND ASSESSING THE LEARNING STRATEGY. Using an Integrated Strategy in Different Contexts. Conclusion: What is the Good of All This Learning? Assessing the Impact of Learning on Performance.