Search Results for
"learning"

With the continuous development of embodied cognition theory and virtual reality (VR) technology, its application in teaching has been paid more and more attention by researchers. However, there are still few practical studies on the combination of VR technology and embodied learning. Starting from literature research, the paper analyzes the factors that affect the embodied learning in the VR environment; then, put forward the design principles under the support of VR based on the previous studies; finally, constructs the embodied learning design framework, combined with the two parts of study. The research chooses a course (namely Discrete Mathematics) as an example of embodied learning design case, which organizes the application facing college students in Computer Science and Technology major of Nanchang Institute of Technology. The study found that the body is indeed involved in the cognitive process, and the embodied learning based on VR can effectively improve the learning achievement and has a positive impact on learners’ learning participation and interest in learning during the experiment. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024.

Partnering a local nonprofit social agency, the authors developed and implemented a learning program for a group of older persons preparing them to conduct qualitative research within a healthcare setting as community researchers in Singapore. This paper illustrates how learning for new occupations, job identities, and work can be supported via a competency-based approach that enables and clarifies links between research work, older adult learning, and assessment. It demonstrates how learning processes and contexts matter as much, if not more than outcomes, skills, and tasks typical of conventional competency-based training. Thus, the paper builds upon but also challenges the paradigm of competency-based training. It offers a more developmental approach or strategy for older adult learning that promotes dialogic, reflexive, and hands-on/applied learning, corresponding with educational gerontology principles. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) has gained importance as an instrument for promoting the permeability of education and training systems. Despite the many advantages at the individual and social level, such as supporting lifelong learning processes, previous research indicates that RPL implementation encounters various barriers at different levels. This study aimed to investigate the facilitators of and barriers to RPL implementation for access to higher vocational and professional tertiary education in Switzerland from the perspective of RPL providers. National and organisational framework conditions as well as factors at the study programme level were considered. Data were collected via a nationwide online survey covering professional education institutions. The sample comprised 156 persons responsible for 191 study programmes at professional education institutions in the fields of engineering, economics, healthcare, and social care. A logistic regression analysis revealed that RPL implementation for access to a study programme was most likely in the following contexts: less regulated professional fields, high workforce shortage, and favourable organisational RPL policies. Furthermore, the results suggest that the attitudes towards RPL held by those responsible are decisive in designing effective interventions. © 2024 Swiss University for Vocational Education and Training. Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This paper provides a sociocultural understanding of how airline cabin crew negotiate their learning for emergencies and challenges the conventional approach of relying solely on formal training. Drawing on ethnographic methods, our research offers insights into the learning trajectory of the cabin crew of a regional airline operating in the Tasman Sea Region. While learning occurs as new cabin crew members engage with routine work practices and share experiences with their peers, performing in emergencies–a core cabin crew duty–is not situated within their everyday work. Nevertheless, we argue that learning for emergencies shows characteristics of sociocultural learning in sharing stories and negotiating the meaning of their role. By acknowledging and integrating contextualised narratives in their learning for emergencies, cabin crew can develop a deeper understanding of their role in the interplay of knowledge, values, beliefs, and stories. The study’s findings prompt a reconsideration of current aviation training programmes, and they highlight the need for a more holistic, contextually rich approach to cabin crew learning for emergencies. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Growing interest in virtual reality (VR) and its technical development has resulted in several applications for training and teaching purposes. This paper studied an immersive VR platform, hereafter referred to as IVR, developed for training in motor-manual tree delimbing as a learning tool, which is one of the first in forestry work training. The tested platform was the Husqvarna Limberjack, available for free download and publicly accessible. The platform uses an immersive VR to teach users how to delimb stems with a chainsaw. The study included four groups with different previous experience of using immersive VR as the first factor and a chainsaw as the second factor. The experiment included records of the time required to complete the tasks. That data was used in a procedural study in which the average and best times of the groups were utilized. Statistical analysis showed differences between the groups with and without experience in both factors. The learning curves showed a 12.4 to 26.7% improvement for all four groups. The IVR platform turned out to be a useful training aid, where skills can be gained before going to practice in field. © 2024 Forest Products Society.

The core purpose of integrating inquiry-based learning strategies into STEM activities is to create a challenging learning environment that stimulates students’ active learning, thereby effectively enhancing their interest in learning, thinking skills, and practical application abilities. To achieve these goals, developing more technology-assisted tools and platforms to improve teaching efficiency and enrich the learning experience becomes crucial. Therefore, this research developed InquiryGPT, which guides students through the POEE inquiry process by imposing limitations, facilitating dialogue, and providing feedback, while avoiding over-reliance on ChatGPT. This promotes the cultivation of higher-order thinking skills through interactions with InquiryGPT, thereby enhancing students’ knowledge construction and understanding. This study, based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), examined the effectiveness of InquiryGPT. The results showed no significant difference between InquiryGPT and ChatGPT in terms of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Additionally, through analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), the study further analyzed the impact of InquiryGPT on students’ higher-order thinking skills and learning scores, proving that it significantly enhances students’ creativity, problem-solving abilities, critical thinking, and knowledge construction. © The Author(s) 2024.

This study aimed to examine the impact of mobile augmented reality (MAR) implementations on critical thinking in vocational high school students. This study employed quantitative methodology, particularly quasi-experiment with a pre-experiment method. 120 vocational high school students, who have enrolled the accounting lesson in Class X, were examined to obtain answers to the two research questions. The findings indicate that students in the experimental class, who utilized the AR in their learning process, had significant enhancements in their critical thinking skills compared with the control class. This improvement illustrates that the implementation of AR has potential to promote the critical thinking skills of the students. To better understand these results, this study also examines the enhancement of critical thinking skills based on the six indicators of critical thinking skills—interpretation, analysis, conclusions, evaluations, explaining, and self-regulations. By comparing each indicator of the critical thinking skills, there are differences between both the experimental and the control class. The experimental class showed enhancement in all indicators but with significant improvement in conclusions, evaluations, and explaining. More crucially, through the learning process, implementation of AR technologies also instills the aspect of developing critical thinking skills. © 2024; Los autores.

Career development promotes the development of key life skills, allows students to discover opportunities, connects school to work, encourages collaboration, and is instrumental in preparing students for postsecondary success. Despite this, many elementary educators struggle to seamlessly integrate career development activities into curricula. This paper will explore how to strengthen students’ foundational career skills, offer suggestions and resources on how to seamlessly integrate career development into elementary curricula, and how to celebrate and share student learning as elementary students discover their personal, career, and/or educational aspirations. © The Author(s) 2024.

During the recent pandemic, established modes of organising internships in engineering were disrupted; Internships often transitioned into hybrid formats with extensive online activity. But, empirical research on the quality of learning in engineering during these exceptional circumstances is limited. This study therefore examines internship experiences among engineering undergraduates (N = 39) in Singapore through semi-structured interviews conducted at two different time points. Thematic analysis revealed four challenges encountered by interns when access to engineering sites was disrupted. These included changes to processes of learning through the reorganisation of work routines requiring interns to adeptly utilise diverse technological tools and digital platforms for remote collaboration. Interns faced difficulties in gaining insights into the logic of engineering work through disrupted workflow. This was not helped when their learning experiences were also contingent upon the availability of meaningful work tasks. Finally, interns had to adapt to virtual and on-demand networking as a means of integrating into the engineering practice. Thus, the shift presented both challenges and opportunities for interns to learn about engineering in unprecedented ways. This research sheds light on how interns adapt during severe disruptions to engineering work environments, emphasising the importance of considering the sociomaterial context for supporting interns in hybrid workplaces. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The evolving professional landscape necessitates educational innovation to prepare students for emerging challenges. This paper explores the integration of Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Higher Education (HE) through double-degree programs, challenging the conventional perception of these pathways as independent. Recognising the transformative potential in synergising competencies from VET and HE, we advocate for enhancing students’ employability through collaborative curriculum design and shared learning objectives. Addressing limitations in the current VET-to-HE transition, we identify four criteria for successful double programs (i) coherent competency map, (ii) unified methodology, (iii) distinctive profile, (iv) own signalling. The paper concludes with a case study of an emerging dual VET/HE program in Navarra (Spain) built on the criteria outlined above. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.