Work placement as a professional development programme for vocational teachers has been widely implemented. This dissertation provides insight into vocational teachers’ learning process in this... Show moreWork placement as a professional development programme for vocational teachers has been widely implemented. This dissertation provides insight into vocational teachers’ learning process in this programme within Chinese vocational education.Specifically, the first study generalised vocational teachers’ learning activities and outcomes in all various contexts with a systematic literature review, four categories of learning activities and eight types of learning outcomes were summarised. Then, the second study focused on vocational teachers’ motivational beliefs and engagement toward work placement. A quantitative analysis of questionnaire data displayed a significant relationship between them. Next, the third study utilised interviews to investigate vocational teachers’ learning activities, goals, and outcomes during work placement. The findings showed that vocational teachers employed seven categories of formal and informal activities in this programme and obtained many benefits about cognition, behaviour, emotion, and institution. The fourth and fifth studies both examined factors influencing vocational teachers’ transfer of learning from work placement to school practice. There were three categories of factors captured.The findings mentioned above contribute to a comprehensive understanding of vocational teachers’ professional learning in work placement. This will inspire policymakers, school leaders, and vocational teachers themselves to consider how to promote their learning in this programme. Show less
The current dissertation presents a review study and three empirical studies, focusing on the understanding of the state of the art of research about PjBL in higher education and the investigation... Show moreThe current dissertation presents a review study and three empirical studies, focusing on the understanding of the state of the art of research about PjBL in higher education and the investigation of the relation between PjBL and student outcomes in the context of Chinese higher education. Insights into the design and the implementation of PjBL curricula and their potential impact on student learning are informative for a broad array of higher education teachers and educational advisors. Show less
The most important factor that defines citizen science is that non-professional scientists contribute to scientific research. Therefore, it is important to recognise the perspectives and... Show moreThe most important factor that defines citizen science is that non-professional scientists contribute to scientific research. Therefore, it is important to recognise the perspectives and experiences of these participants. Projects may provide ways for participants to contribute to scientific research at different stages of the scientific process according to different levels of engagement. Understanding what motivates citizen scientists to engage in a project, and subsequently matching the project to these motivations, will help project leaders to recruit and retain participants. In addition, it is important to understand what benefits participants gain from engagement in citizen science projects. For individual projects, this will help ensure that scientists as well as participants benefit. For the wider field of citizen science, this will provide evidence of the potential impact of citizen science on participants. However, participants may also encounter challenges during their engagement with citizen science projects. Project leaders and scientists should plan in advance to address these challenges and ensure that relevant expertise is present in the project team. Keywords Citizen engagement · Participant moti Show less
This systematic review on massive open online courses (MOOCs) in higher education examinedthe research on the assessment of learning outcomes based on 65 peer-reviewed articles publishedbetween... Show moreThis systematic review on massive open online courses (MOOCs) in higher education examinedthe research on the assessment of learning outcomes based on 65 peer-reviewed articles publishedbetween 2017 and 2019. This study aims to investigate the learning outcomes, related instruments,and assessment characteristics of these instruments in MOOCs. Learning outcomes thatwere examined in the studies that were reviewed concerned cognitive, behavioral, and affectivelearning outcomes. Twenty-five types of assessment approaches were employed to examine theseoutcomes and to identify the assessment characteristics. The results indicate that a considerationof the assessment of learning outcomes at the beginning of course design could support theformulation of explicit assessment goals and, in this way, instruct learners to work towardlearning outcomes. A combination of knowledge tests and skill tasks can be used to examinecognitive outcomes in a particular MOOC. Outcome-oriented feedback rubrics are beneficial tosupport learner essay performance and interpretations of the utilization of rubrics could betterguide providers to give peer feedback. A variety of behavioral and affective outcomes reflectmultiple aspects of participant learning in MOOCs, which might contribute to better understandingby teachers and the provision of learning support. Furthermore, assessment tasksthroughout the course may differ in difficulty and complexity, which could align with differentlevels of learner motivation. The findings provide a holistic picture of learning outcomes andrelated assessment instruments in current MOOCs. Curriculum designers and teachers couldbenefit from this study to consider appropriate learning outcome variables and instruments toapply in their MOOC practices. Future research might investigate the motivation of learners toparticipate in a MOOC and how this changes during a MOOC. This could help MOOC designersand teachers to align how learners are motivated, what they want to learn, and what they actuallydo learn. Show less
Post, L.S.; Guo, P.; Saab, N.; Admiraal, W.F. 2019
This literature review on remote labs in higher education examined the empirical research on learning benefits of such labs. The aim of this study was to investigate what kinds of learning outcomes... Show moreThis literature review on remote labs in higher education examined the empirical research on learning benefits of such labs. The aim of this study was to investigate what kinds of learning outcomes were examined, how these effects were examined, and which findings these studies provided. Effects that were examined in the reviewed articles (k=23) concerned cognitive, behavioral, and affective learning outcomes. Overall, results showed positive findings with respect to all three types of learning outcomes: students gained conceptual knowledge, were engaged in the lab, and were satisfied with learning in a remote lab context. However, evaluation approaches of the learning outcomes were quite superficial, because examining the educational benefits of the remote labs was not the main focus of most articles. Future research should address this issue to provide more rigorous evidence about possible benefits of remote labs on student learning in higher education. Show less
Close connections between research and teaching are important in order to prepare students to function in an increasingly complex society. Still it is not always evident to students how they... Show moreClose connections between research and teaching are important in order to prepare students to function in an increasingly complex society. Still it is not always evident to students how they are engaged in research through the teaching they receive. The studies in this thesis all examine various aspects of student engagement in research in the medical domain. The studies aim to provide deeper insight into ways in which students experience research in teaching and the way in which students are supervised when they conduct student research projects within their studies. The context of a curriculum change at the Leiden University Medical Center was considered particularly appropriate for studying student engagement in research. Student perceptions of research integrated into teaching and student beliefs about the relevance of research to learning activities can change over the course of undergraduate education. The first two studies explore the influence of research practices in the curriculum on student perceptions and beliefs, longitudinally and in comparison to a changed curriculum. In addition, the extent to which student perceptions of research relate to student learning outcomes was investigated. Furthermore, we explored relations between research supervision practices and supervisor dilemmas while supervising thesis students. Show less
Conroy, S.; Nickel, C.H.; Jonsdottir, A.B.; Fernandez, M.; Banerjee, J.; Mooijaart, S.; ... ; Bellou, A. 2016
