Search Results for
"deep learning"

This article aims at clarifying whether and how University Business Cooperation (UBC) can be expanded from knowledge transfer to the core field of education. Higher education institutions exert a decisive influence by teaching students to understand academic theories, methods and areas of knowledge, contributing to their cultural enrichment and development of personality, and preparing them for further work and other spheres of life. Higher education aims at establishing the basis of relevant knowledge that will help students to understand and acquire the competencies they will need in their professional lives. Universities supply graduates to the economy and that includes developing the right set of skills to acceptable levels. Consequently, an explicit goal of UBC should be to point out what those skills should be and how to target education at developing them. The competencies acquired by the flow of new graduates emerging each year from higher education institutions in the labour market is an expression of the multidimensional output obtained from the resources allocated to the higher education system. New ways for UBC are called to play a prominent role in defining both a model of teaching and learning that is better adjusted to social and economic demands and a dynamic and flexible system of continuing education to retrain people as social and economic conditions evolve. Nevertheless, the implementation of reforms in higher education calls for a deeper understanding of possible trade-offs between the diverse types of resources involved and the outcomes obtained. Resources should be examined in terms of their relative costs and the results interpreted with regard to their value to individuals and society. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to compare, and identify both similarities and differences in, affordances for vocational learning in two contrasting education systems, for construction worker and shop salesperson apprentices, in Swedish contexts. Design/methodology/approach: – Data were collected through interviews and observations in two research projects, each addressing relevant aspects of one of the focal educational systems. A framework consisting of identified goals, activities and guidance was applied in the analysis. Findings: – The results show that the affordances for learning in the examined educational systems are dependent on the learners’ access to, and participation in, workplace activities. A conclusion is that workplace demands override educational goals in both cases. Thus, the affordances for learning related to both individual and educational goals are dependent on the access to guidance during workplace activities. Originality/value: – The study highlights constraints between educational goals and workplace affordances in both apprenticeship systems, which largely develop vocational competencies related to specific workplace demands and activities. A presented model regards apprenticeships as vocational and educational training in workplaces is outlined that enable a deeper understanding of the correspondence between individual, educational and workplace goals that forms the type of activity which leads to a learning outcome. © 2016, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

This paper will explore if and how psychological strain plays a mediator role between the learning climate and job performance in a group of health workers. Although the relationship between learning climate and job performance has already been explored in the international literature, the role of psychological strain, which may hamper or deepen this relationship, has yet to be investigated. The research hypothesis is that psychological strain mediates the relationship between the climate toward learning (including also the error avoidance climate) and job performance. Data were gathered in a Public hospital in Italy. Participants (N = 61) were health professionals (nurses and obstetricians). Considering the relatively small sample size, a mediation analysis with the aid of the SPSS macro PROCESS was performed. The results show that the relationship between the learning climate (specifically its dimension of organizational appreciation toward learning) and job performance is mediated by psychological strain. The future research agenda and practical implications are discussed in the paper. © 2016 Cortini, Pivetti and Cervai.

The Malaysian Education Development Blueprint' s (2013 2025) emphasis on the holistic formation of students in line with quality human capital formation is based on the national philosophy of education. This blueprint is in line with the Government Transformation Program (GTP)' which propels Malaysia towards becoming a developed and high income country. Quality students are able to learn through formal' non formal' and informal education as well as through meaningful experience. However' what are the factors that support the creation of awareness that knowledge is essential to life? We explored these factors through the use of grounded theory methods. A total of 32 respondents comprising of trainees' employers and industry supervisors were interviewed. In order to obtain a deeper understanding' we only focused on one public skills training institute which implements best practices. The results showed that there are six main factors that contribute to an environment' which is conducive to effective learning. These factors can serve as a guide to policy makers in the implementation of a comprehensive education system' which supports the holistic formation of students. © by The Author(s).

Given the lack of research on predictors of students' learning success in vocational domains, the present study aims to identify determinants of student competence growth in the subject Accounting. Based on theoretical models (e.g., basic deep structure dimensions of instructional quality, self-enhancement theory, self-determination theory) and related published research, we hypothesized that students' improvement could be best predicted by their prior knowledge and cognitive abilities, followed by self-concept, cognitive learning strategies, motivational regulations and perceptions of learning environment characteristics. In particular, we aimed to ascertain whether aspects of the learning environment determine student competency development in Accounting, controlling for effects of key student characteristics. By means of threelevel models involving repeated measurements, we analysed data from 487 students (74 % female; aget0: M = 14.40 years, SD = 0.74) from Austrian commercial upper secondary schools in grades 9 through 11. Most of our hypotheses are supported by this data, and thus we could answer our research question as follows: The students' proficiency in mathematics, their grades from the previous school year, perceived cognitive activation and support from teachers of their basic psychological needs most strongly predicted student initial status and growth in accounting competence. However, against all expectations, cognitive learning strategies and class mean of perceived student-centred instruction were not, or were negatively, related to their competence, which indicates that the latter was perceived more often in low-performing classes. Asexpected, student intrinsic motivation and academic self-concept were related to competence in accounting. Contradictory to correlation analysis, time spent on learning in class was not significantly related to competence development at any hierarchical levelof the multilevel analysis. We discuss our results within the limitations of this present study, and their consequences for teaching practice. © 2015 Helm.

Using Squeak Etoys to Infuse Information Technology (USeIT) was designed to offer expanded information technology experiences to 155 middle and high school students over a three-year period by exploiting the Squeak Etoys media authoring tool as a simulation and modeling environment. Through problem-solving activities and development of Squeak Etoys modeling projects, USeIT investigated the impact of Problem-Based learning (PBL) and utilization of Squeak Etoys on student understanding of scientific and mathematical concepts. A design-based research method was used to collect data. The results revealed that when simulation and modeling are used under specific learning conditions, a deeper level of understanding of key science and mathematics concepts is observed. In addition, problem-based simulation tasks cognitively engaged students, particularly those who otherwise did not see the relevancy of STEM content in their lives. Less motivated students developed interests in STEM content and showed confidence in their abilities to learn mathematics and science. © 2016 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Knowledge is getting increasingly more complex. Learners, from Kindergarten to higher education, require powerful tools to connect complex ideas. This paper explores the range of studies that investigated concept maps as learning, metacognitive, collaborative, and assessment tools to support integrating complex ideas. Research suggests that concept maps can be successfully implemented in a wide variety of settings, from K12 to higher and professional education. However, the effectiveness of concept maps depends on different factors, such as concept map training and choosing a suitable form of concept map to match the task and learner. Developing proficiency in concept mapping takes time and practice and should not be first introduced in higher education. Concept map training could start as early as Kindergarten and include concept map generation, interpretation, and revision. This paper concludes that, if implemented thoughtfully, concept maps can be versatile tools to support knowledge integration processes towards a deeper understanding of the relations and structures of complex ideas and facilitate life-long learning.

As nations around the world grapple with the deepening challenge of skills crunch, policies, strategies and interventions are being devised to develop and retain a competitive workforce. South Africa is not spared from the global talent war, and the persistence of skills shortages across most economic sectors makes the country vulnerable economically and socially. Legislative instruments and strategies were formulated and implemented to ameliorate the situation, but scientific evidence suggests a looming crisis due to poor monitoring and evaluation systems regarding the success of these instruments and strategies. This study develops and validates a monitoring and evaluation (ME) scale for the South African skills development context. A quantitative nonexperimental cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from 557 participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software (version 23.0). The findings show that the ME scale is scientifically valid and reliable and can be used with confidence in the South African skills development context. The findings provide scope for a validation study on an independent sample, and an evaluation of structural invariance of the ME scale across sample subgroups.

The Federal University of São Paulo, Baixada Santista Campus was founded in 2006 with five degree-granting programs in physical education, physiotherapy, nutrition, psychology, and occupational therapy. The guiding principle behind the programs' educational mission was centered on the development of health care professionals capable of working in interdisciplinary teams with an emphasis on holistic patient care. This pedagogical structure required peer-mentoring programs in order to integrate different areas of knowledge and to improve learning strategies among new generations of students. The authors' objective in the present report is to discuss the strategies and activities of the peer-mentoring program in histophysiology and gross anatomy in an interdisciplinary and interprofessional curriculum. Evaluations by students, mentors and professors are presented, along with a statistical analysis of variance comparing student performance in the module assessments according to their participation in the peer-mentoring activities. The results demonstrated that students who participated in peer-mentoring activities enjoyed a higher rate of academic success than those who did not participate. In addition, student and mentor evaluations of the peer mentoring program were highly positive. The program enabled mentors to gain a deeper knowledge of the subjects addressed in the learning modules, as well as to develop intrinsic teaching skills during their time as mentors. In short, the authors believe that the peer-mentoring program has been validated for its effectiveness in raising student academic performance. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

The paper investigates how learning and processes of becoming are shaped and enacted in retail apprenticeship in Norway. The analysis draws upon a qualitative study of managers and apprentices in different retail sub-sectors. The empirical point of departure is managers who, more or less deliberately, throw apprentices into tasks from day one. Thus, the apprentices have to handle tasks with limited instruction and guidance. The paper argues that the level of trust the apprentices are shown, and the responsibility they assume, fosters emotional engagement conducive to learning. The concept of learning environment is applied to understand the relationship between affordances and engagement. In linking the organisation of work to learning processes, emphasis is placed on how ‘being responsible’ is not merely a capacity residing within the individual, but embedded in and constituted by institutionalised work roles, task allocation and trust relations. The paper aims to nuance prevailing accounts of lack of guidance as purely detrimental to workplace learning. However, the weakly established tradition of vocational training in Norwegian retail requires a critical look into the kind of learning this practice implies. Contentious issues of throwing apprentices into the deep end are discussed. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.