Competences, Learning Theories and MOOCs:
Recent Developments in Lifelong Learning
Karl Steffens
Introduction
We think of our societies as ‘knowledge societies’ in which lifelong learning is
becoming increasingly important. Lifelong learning refers to the idea that people
not only learn in schools and universities, but also in non-formal and informal
ways during their lifespan.The concepts of lifelong learning and lifelong education
began to enter the discourse on educational policies in the late 1960s (Tuijnman
& Boström, 2002). However, these are related, but distinct concepts. As Lee (2014,
p. 472) notes ‘the terminological change (from lifelong education, continuing
education and adult education, to lifelong learning) reflects a conceptual departure
from the idea of organised educational provision to that of a more individualised
pursuit of learning’.
One of the first important documents on lifelong learning was the report of the
International Commission on the Development of Education to UNESCO in
1972, titled ‘Learning to be. The world of education today and tomorrow’. In his
introductory letter to the Director-General of UNESCO, the chairman of the
Commission, Edgar Faure, stated that the work of the Commission was based on
four assumptions (see Elfert pp. and Carneiro pp. in this issue). The first was
related to the idea that there was an international community which was united by
common aspirations and the second was the belief in democracy and in education
as its keystones. The third was ‘that the aim of development is the complete
fulfilment of man, in all the richness of his personality, the complexity of his forms
of expression and his various commitments — as individual, member of a family
and of a community, citizen and producer, inventor of techniques and creative
dreamer’. The last assumption was that ‘only an over-all, lifelong education can
produce the kind of complete man, the need for whom is increasing with the
continually more stringent constraints tearing the individual asunder’ (Faure,
1972, p. vi).
Following the Faure Report, the UNESCO Institute for Education, which
was founded in Germany in 1951, started to focus on lifelong learning and
subsequently became the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL, http://
uil.unesco.org/home/). It was under its leadership that a formal model of lifelong
education was developed and published in the book ‘Towards a System of Life-
long Education’ (Cropley, 1980). The concept of lifelong learning also became
manifest in the ‘Education for All’ (EFA) agenda that was launched at the World
Conference on Education for All which took place in Jomtien (Thailand) in
1990 (Inter-Agency Commission, 1990). Ten years later, at the World Education
Forum in Dakar (Senegal) in 2000, the Dakar Framework for Action was
designed ‘to enable all individuals to realize their right to learn and to fulfil their
responsibility to contribute to the development of their society’ (UNESCO,
2000, p..
How lifelong learning shapes sustainable developmentRika Yorozu
Presented in the International Seminar on Empowering Community Learning Centers in Enhancing Learning Society through Education for Sustainable Development (Jakarta, Indonesia, 2 – 5 September 2014)
Learning How to Learn: Information Literacy for Lifelong MeaningEmpatic Project
EMPATIC International Workshop - Vocational Sector
Presentation by: Mersini Moreleli-Cacouris
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Library Science and Information Systems
Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki
Innovation, informational literacy and lifelong learning: creating a new cultureeLearning Papers
This article reflects on the impact of informational innovations and their interdependence with lifelong learning. Today, the object of knowledge and learning is increasingly based on digital information, which means we need to make serious efforts to construct a new culture of lifelong learning.
Storytelling and Web 2.0 Services: A synthesis of old and new ways of learningeLearning Papers
Authors: Vojko Strahovnik, Biljana Mećava
Storytelling was for a long period the only way people had to learn from each other’s experiences. Even today there are still some cultures which have a strong storytelling tradition. In this article we present the outcomes and experiences we acquired during the realization of several EU educational projects in which we combined storytelling and Web 2.0 services.
How lifelong learning shapes sustainable developmentRika Yorozu
Presented in the International Seminar on Empowering Community Learning Centers in Enhancing Learning Society through Education for Sustainable Development (Jakarta, Indonesia, 2 – 5 September 2014)
Learning How to Learn: Information Literacy for Lifelong MeaningEmpatic Project
EMPATIC International Workshop - Vocational Sector
Presentation by: Mersini Moreleli-Cacouris
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Library Science and Information Systems
Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki
Innovation, informational literacy and lifelong learning: creating a new cultureeLearning Papers
This article reflects on the impact of informational innovations and their interdependence with lifelong learning. Today, the object of knowledge and learning is increasingly based on digital information, which means we need to make serious efforts to construct a new culture of lifelong learning.
Storytelling and Web 2.0 Services: A synthesis of old and new ways of learningeLearning Papers
Authors: Vojko Strahovnik, Biljana Mećava
Storytelling was for a long period the only way people had to learn from each other’s experiences. Even today there are still some cultures which have a strong storytelling tradition. In this article we present the outcomes and experiences we acquired during the realization of several EU educational projects in which we combined storytelling and Web 2.0 services.
2015. What education do we need for the 21st century? What is the purpose of education
in the current context of societal transformation? How should learning be organized?
These questions inspired the ideas presented in this publication.
In the spirit of two landmark UNESCO publications, Learning to Be: The world of
education today and tomorrow (1972), the ‘Faure Report’, and Learning: The treasure
within (1996), the ‘Delors Report,’ I am convinced we need to think big again today
about education
My presentation at OEB21 Shaping the Future of Learning
Diverse. Collaborative. Transformative
on The New Normal is about Resilience, Sustainability, and the Social Contract
Enhancing social inclusion through innovative mobile learning in Uruguay. Cri...eraser Juan José Calderón
Case study by the UNESCO-Fazheng project on best practices in mobile learning titulado "Enhancing social inclusion through innovative mobile learning in Uruguay" de Cobo Romaní, Cristóbal [Author] , Rivera Vargas, Pablo [Author] , Miao, Fengchun [Editor] , Domiter, Anett [Editor] publicado en 2018.
A knowledge nation that develops its education system based on eLearning and extends it to social media creates the ground pillars for a sustainable society, promoting growth, welfare and peace.
LOGIC - European perspective, lifelong learning strategiesLLL Platform
LOGIC is about implementing the lifelong learning concept in Southern Neighbouring Area: Responding to the changing needs of dynamic economies, TEMPUS. Presentation made by Audrey Frith, to give the European perspective on lifelong learning at the kick off meeting, 10 March 2014. More on: http://www.project-logic.eu/
My Keynote at Alta21, 1 Dec 2021 on Quality as a catalyst for innovation and cultural systemic change for the futures of education: A new social contract.
CompetencyAnalyze how human resource standards and practices.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competency
Analyze how human resource standards and practices within the healthcare field support organizational mission, visions, and values.
Scenario
Wynn Regional Medical Center (WRMC) is the premier hospital in your area. The hospital has been in your city for over 100 years. Over the past decade, the hospital has been losing money for various reasons, though primarily due to uncompensated care. You were recently hired as the Vice President for Human Resources at WRMC, and part of your responsibilities include presenting historical information to participants of the new employee orientation.
Instructions
Create a PowerPoint presentation detailing the changing nature of the healthcare workforce. The presentation should contain speaker notes for each slide or voiceover narration. The presentation should address the following topics and questions:
Historical information on the changing healthcare workforce
How have legislation and policies changed in the past decade?
How have patient demographics changed in the past decade (baby boomers, generation X, millennials, ethnicities)?
How have patient centric approaches changed in the past decade (use of the Internet and social media to gather health information)?
Challenges associated with the changing healthcare workforce
What are some of the challenges associated with the policy and legislative changes?
What are some challenges associated with demographic changes?
What are some of the challenges associated with patients “researching” their own health instead of going to the doctor?
Current state of healthcare
What have been some of the improvements to the healthcare system over the last decade?
Resources
This
link
has information for creating a PowerPoint presentation.
Here is a
link
to information about adding speaker notes.
Here is a
link
to information about creating a voiceover narration using Screencast-O-Matic.
GRADING RUBRICS:
1.Clear and thorough explanation of the history of the changing healthcare workforce. Includes comprehensive descriptions with multiple supporting examples for each of the SUB-BULLET POINTS.
2. Clear and thorough discussion of the challenges associated with the changing healthcare workforce. Includes comprehensive descriptions with multiple supporting examples for each of the SUB-BULLET POINTS.
3. Comprehensive analysis of the current state of healthcare.
Includes a clear and thorough assessment of improvements to the healthcare system over the last decade and supports assertions with multiple supporting examples.
.
CompetencyAnalyze financial statements to assess performance.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competency
Analyze financial statements to assess performance and to ensure organizational improvement and long-term viability
.
Scenario
In an ongoing effort to explore the feasibility of expanding services into rural areas of the state, leadership at Memorial Hospital has determined that conducting a review of its financial condition will be essential to ensuring the organization’s ability to successfully achieve its expansion goals.
Instructions
The CFO has provided you with a copy of the organization’s
financial statements
. This information will be critical in evaluating the organization’s financial capacity to support the proposed expansion of services into the rural areas of the state.
You are asked to review these financial statements (which include the Income Statement, Statement of Cash Flows, and the Balance Sheet) and prepare an executive summary outlining the financial strength of the organization and evidence to support the expansion. Your executive summary should include the following:
An overview of the issue.
A review of critical financial ratios (Liquidity, Solvency, Profitability, and Efficiency) based on financial statements.
Inferences of forecasts, estimates, interpretations, and conclusions based on the key ratios.
Provide a recommendation based on ration analysis.
Resources
This
link
has information for creating an executive summary.
Grading Rubric:
1.
Comprehensive identification of summary of the issue. Includes multiple examples or supporting details.
2. Clear and thorough review of critical financial ratios--Liquidity, Solvency, Profitability, and Efficiency--based on financial statements. Includes multiple examples or supporting details per topic.
3. Clear and thorough inferences of forecasts, estimates, interpretations, and conclusions based on the key ratios. Includes multiple examples or supporting details per topic.
4. Comprehensive recommendation, based on ration analysis. Includes multiple examples or supporting details.
.
More Related Content
Similar to Competences, Learning Theories and MOOCsRecent Developments.docx
2015. What education do we need for the 21st century? What is the purpose of education
in the current context of societal transformation? How should learning be organized?
These questions inspired the ideas presented in this publication.
In the spirit of two landmark UNESCO publications, Learning to Be: The world of
education today and tomorrow (1972), the ‘Faure Report’, and Learning: The treasure
within (1996), the ‘Delors Report,’ I am convinced we need to think big again today
about education
My presentation at OEB21 Shaping the Future of Learning
Diverse. Collaborative. Transformative
on The New Normal is about Resilience, Sustainability, and the Social Contract
Enhancing social inclusion through innovative mobile learning in Uruguay. Cri...eraser Juan José Calderón
Case study by the UNESCO-Fazheng project on best practices in mobile learning titulado "Enhancing social inclusion through innovative mobile learning in Uruguay" de Cobo Romaní, Cristóbal [Author] , Rivera Vargas, Pablo [Author] , Miao, Fengchun [Editor] , Domiter, Anett [Editor] publicado en 2018.
A knowledge nation that develops its education system based on eLearning and extends it to social media creates the ground pillars for a sustainable society, promoting growth, welfare and peace.
LOGIC - European perspective, lifelong learning strategiesLLL Platform
LOGIC is about implementing the lifelong learning concept in Southern Neighbouring Area: Responding to the changing needs of dynamic economies, TEMPUS. Presentation made by Audrey Frith, to give the European perspective on lifelong learning at the kick off meeting, 10 March 2014. More on: http://www.project-logic.eu/
My Keynote at Alta21, 1 Dec 2021 on Quality as a catalyst for innovation and cultural systemic change for the futures of education: A new social contract.
CompetencyAnalyze how human resource standards and practices.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competency
Analyze how human resource standards and practices within the healthcare field support organizational mission, visions, and values.
Scenario
Wynn Regional Medical Center (WRMC) is the premier hospital in your area. The hospital has been in your city for over 100 years. Over the past decade, the hospital has been losing money for various reasons, though primarily due to uncompensated care. You were recently hired as the Vice President for Human Resources at WRMC, and part of your responsibilities include presenting historical information to participants of the new employee orientation.
Instructions
Create a PowerPoint presentation detailing the changing nature of the healthcare workforce. The presentation should contain speaker notes for each slide or voiceover narration. The presentation should address the following topics and questions:
Historical information on the changing healthcare workforce
How have legislation and policies changed in the past decade?
How have patient demographics changed in the past decade (baby boomers, generation X, millennials, ethnicities)?
How have patient centric approaches changed in the past decade (use of the Internet and social media to gather health information)?
Challenges associated with the changing healthcare workforce
What are some of the challenges associated with the policy and legislative changes?
What are some challenges associated with demographic changes?
What are some of the challenges associated with patients “researching” their own health instead of going to the doctor?
Current state of healthcare
What have been some of the improvements to the healthcare system over the last decade?
Resources
This
link
has information for creating a PowerPoint presentation.
Here is a
link
to information about adding speaker notes.
Here is a
link
to information about creating a voiceover narration using Screencast-O-Matic.
GRADING RUBRICS:
1.Clear and thorough explanation of the history of the changing healthcare workforce. Includes comprehensive descriptions with multiple supporting examples for each of the SUB-BULLET POINTS.
2. Clear and thorough discussion of the challenges associated with the changing healthcare workforce. Includes comprehensive descriptions with multiple supporting examples for each of the SUB-BULLET POINTS.
3. Comprehensive analysis of the current state of healthcare.
Includes a clear and thorough assessment of improvements to the healthcare system over the last decade and supports assertions with multiple supporting examples.
.
CompetencyAnalyze financial statements to assess performance.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competency
Analyze financial statements to assess performance and to ensure organizational improvement and long-term viability
.
Scenario
In an ongoing effort to explore the feasibility of expanding services into rural areas of the state, leadership at Memorial Hospital has determined that conducting a review of its financial condition will be essential to ensuring the organization’s ability to successfully achieve its expansion goals.
Instructions
The CFO has provided you with a copy of the organization’s
financial statements
. This information will be critical in evaluating the organization’s financial capacity to support the proposed expansion of services into the rural areas of the state.
You are asked to review these financial statements (which include the Income Statement, Statement of Cash Flows, and the Balance Sheet) and prepare an executive summary outlining the financial strength of the organization and evidence to support the expansion. Your executive summary should include the following:
An overview of the issue.
A review of critical financial ratios (Liquidity, Solvency, Profitability, and Efficiency) based on financial statements.
Inferences of forecasts, estimates, interpretations, and conclusions based on the key ratios.
Provide a recommendation based on ration analysis.
Resources
This
link
has information for creating an executive summary.
Grading Rubric:
1.
Comprehensive identification of summary of the issue. Includes multiple examples or supporting details.
2. Clear and thorough review of critical financial ratios--Liquidity, Solvency, Profitability, and Efficiency--based on financial statements. Includes multiple examples or supporting details per topic.
3. Clear and thorough inferences of forecasts, estimates, interpretations, and conclusions based on the key ratios. Includes multiple examples or supporting details per topic.
4. Comprehensive recommendation, based on ration analysis. Includes multiple examples or supporting details.
.
CompetencyAnalyze ethical and legal dilemmas that healthcare.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competency
Analyze ethical and legal dilemmas that healthcare workers may encounter in the medical field.
Instructions
You have recently been promoted to Health Services Manager at Three Mountains Regional Hospital, a small hospital located in a mid-size city in the Midwest. Three Mountains is a general medical and surgical facility with 400 beds. Last year there were approximately 62,000 emergency visits and 15,000 admissions. More than 6,000 outpatient and 10,000 inpatient surgeries were performed.
An important aspect of the provider/patient relationship pertains to open communication and trust. Patients want to know that their doctors and the support staff associated with their care understand their wishes and will abide by them. Ideally, these conversations happen well before an emergency or procedure takes place; however, often times this information is missing from a patient's file. As part of Three Mountains' initiative to build trust with their patients, an increased emphasis has been placed on obtaining living wills from the patient as part of the intake process to ensure that the healthcare team has written directives of the patient's wishes in case of incapacitation. You will be creating a living will for a patient and provide educational information as to why the patient should fill it out during the admission process before a procedure.
Introduction:
Explain the definition of a living will and its key components. This section will provide an educational overview of the document for the patient.
Living Will Template:
Create a living will that can serve as a template to the patients. This should cover the basic treatment issues such as resuscitation, feeding tubes, ventilation, organ and tissue donations, etc. Provide instructions in the template that can be easily altered, depending on each patient's wishes.
Summary:
In this section, you will discuss the importance of this document and encourage patients to complete it. Address how this document ensures that a patient's wishes are known and followed by the healthcare team.
NOTE
- APA formatting and proper grammar, punctuation, and form required. APA help is available
here.
.
CompetencyAnalyze ethical and legal dilemmas that healthcare wor.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competency
Analyze ethical and legal dilemmas that healthcare workers may encounter in the medical field.
Instructions
You have recently been promoted to Health Services Manager at Three Mountains Regional Hospital, a small hospital located in a mid-size city in the Midwest. Three Mountains is a general medical and surgical facility with 400 beds. Last year there were approximately 62,000 emergency visits and 15,000 admissions. More than 6,000 outpatient and 10,000 inpatient surgeries were performed.
An important aspect of the provider/patient relationship pertains to open communication and trust. Patients want to know that their doctors and the support staff associated with their care understand their wishes and will abide by them. Ideally, these conversations happen well before an emergency or procedure takes place; however, often times this information is missing from a patient's file. As part of Three Mountains' initiative to build trust with their patients, an increased emphasis has been placed on obtaining living wills from the patient as part of the intake process to ensure that the healthcare team has written directives of the patient's wishes in case of incapacitation. You will be creating a living will for a patient and provide educational information as to why the patient should fill it out during the admission process before a procedure.
Introduction:
Explain the definition of a living will and its key components. This section will provide an educational overview of the document for the patient.
Living Will Template:
Create a living will that can serve as a template to the patients. This should cover the basic treatment issues such as resuscitation, feeding tubes, ventilation, organ and tissue donations, etc. Provide instructions in the template that can be easily altered, depending on each patient's wishes.
Summary:
In this section, you will discuss the importance of this document and encourage patients to complete it. Address how this document ensures that a patient's wishes are known and followed by the healthcare team.
NOTE
- APA formatting and proper grammar, punctuation, and form required.
.
CompetencyAnalyze collaboration tools to support organizatio.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competency
Analyze collaboration tools to support organizational goals.
Scenario
You are a new manager at Elliot Building Supplies International who has seen huge success in managing your global team remotely. This success has been shown in the team outcomes/production and employee satisfaction and engagement. Senior leadership has taken notice of your success and has asked you to create a presentation to share with your peers, who also manage remotely, that explains the best collaboration tools for remote teams. Also, you will explain the best way to manage effectively and create a motivating and satisfying work environment that supports collaboration.
Instructions
You will need to include the following in your PowerPoint presentation.
Presentation welcome/introduction slide.
Collaboration tools that you have used to be successful.
This should include at least 4 different types of tools.
Each type should be explained in detail, along with the benefits it provides.
Critical skills to successfully manage remote employees.
Closing slide to share final thoughts and ideas.
.
Competency Checklist and Professional Development Resources .docxbartholomeocoombs
Competency Checklist and Professional Development Resources
An important and yet often overlooked function of leadership in an early childhood program is the ability to positively influence the people in the program. For this group assignment, consider the characteristics of a leader who can support and lead teachers in reflective teaching. This type of self-reflection is the first step to understanding how a supervisor supports teachers to accomplish their goals through mentoring. For this assignment, your group will need to address the following two components:
Part 1
: Consider the following question as your group completes the competency checklist below: What might be evidence that a teacher leader possesses the competence to also be a mentor? You are encouraged to evenly divide the competencies among your group, so that each member contributes to providing brief examples of interactions while highlighting the characteristic(s) that demonstrates each competency. While this portion can be completed independently, you should then collaborate to ensure that each group member provides feedback before submitting the full collaborative document.
Competency Checklist
Competency
Describe an example of a teacher-leader with children (when acting as a teacher)
Describe an example of a teacher-leader with adults (when acting as a supervisor)
Listens well, does not interrupt, and respects the pace of the other person
Is able to wait for others to discover solutions, form own ideas, and reflect
Asks questions that encourage details
Is aware of and comfortable with his or her feelings and the emotions of others
Is responsive to others
Guides, nurtures, supports, and empathizes
Integrates emotion and intellect
Fosters reflection or wondering by others
Is aware of how others’ reactions affect a process of dialogue and reflection, including sensitivity to bias and cultural context
Is willing to have consistent and predictable meeting times and places
Is flexible and available
Is able to form trusting relationships
Part 2:
Professional Development Resources Document
–Early childhood programs have numerous curriculum options which may contribute to a need to support teachers and staff in a curriculum context they are not familiar with. Therefore, as we prepare to support protégés, we can refer to the National Association of the Education of Young Children core standards for professional development, to promote the use of best practices. These six core standards, briefly describe what early childhood professionals should know and be able to do. After reading each of the
NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation Programs (Links to an external site.)
, focus on the first four standards:
STANDARD 1.
PROMOTING CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING
STANDARD 2.
BUILDING FAMILY AND COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS
STANDARD 3.
OBSERVING, DOCUMENTING, AND ASSESSING TO SUPPORT YOUNG CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
STANDARD 4.
US.
Competency 6 Enagage with Communities and Organizations (3 hrs) (1 .docxbartholomeocoombs
Competency 6: Enagage with Communities and Organizations (3 hrs) (1 to 2 Pages)
Behavior: use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to effectively engage diverse clients and constituencies.
For this assignment, you are to explore how your community is addressing the needs of its citizens during the CoVID 19 situation. Explore how you can consult and connect with community leaders and organizations to be a part of solutions in your community. Provide a detailed account of your exploration of community needs, as well as how you participated at the community level to address the needs of your community.
.
Competency 2 Examine the organizational behavior within busines.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competency 2: Examine the organizational behavior within business systems
Provide the name of the corporation you will be using as the basis for this project.
Provide the organization’s purpose or mission statement.
Describe the organization's industry.
Provide the name and position of the person interviewed during this portion of the assignment (indicate as much pertinent information (e.g., length of service with company, previous roles in the company, educational background, etc.).
Provide the list of interview questions you asked the manager/executive.
Indicate which two - three of the following concepts from this competency that you intend to evaluate the organization/team on and describe the company’s/team’s current situation with each topic you’ve selected:
Motivational theories
Psychological contract
Job design
Use of evaluation, feedback and rewards
Misbehavior
Individual or organizational stress
Provide citations in APA format for any references
.
CompetenciesEvaluate the challenges and benefits of employ.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competencies
Evaluate the challenges and benefits of employing a diverse workforce.
Design a plan for conducting business and managing employees in a global society.
Critique the actions of organizations as they integrate diverse perspectives into their cultures.
Evaluate the role of identity, diverse segments, and cultural backgrounds within organizations.
Attribute different cultural perspectives to current social-cultural dimensions.
Analyze the importance of managing a diverse workforce.
Scenario Information
Your company has been nominated for a national diversity award associated with your efforts and dedication to diversity initiatives in the workplace and their impact on the organization and community. You have been asked to summarize your efforts for the year in a slide presentation for the diversity committee who selects the winner. Be sure to include details of the changes you made in your organization and the impact the changes made.
Instructions
As part of your nomination, you have been asked to create a slide presentation including a voice recording for your entry (Voice Recording not needed). Remember your audience when giving your presentation and include the following slides:
Title slide
Highlighting the importance of workplace diversity
Discussing the points that were included in your diversity plan
Describing how culture and inclusion impact your organization
Providing examples of how diverse workgroups work together in the workplace
Gives examples of strategies used to incorporate Hofstede's cultural dimensions in a global workforce
Provides best practices for managers associated with managing a diverse, global workforce
Conclusion slide that includes a summary of why you should win this award
Any additional, relevant information
References
.
CompetenciesDescribe the supply chain management principle.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competencies
Describe the supply chain management principles through the flow of information, materials, services, and resources.
Analyze the external and internal drivers that influence supply chain principles.
Evaluate supply chain management operational best practices.
Compare the nature of logistics operations and services in both international and domestic contexts.
Apply strategic supply chain management to logistics systems.
Analyze different software systems and technology strategies used in supply chain management.
Scenario
You have just been promoted to Senior Analyst at Mitchell Consulting, a firm that specializes in providing managerial expertise in supply chain management. After completing many assignments under the supervision of a Senior Analyst, your role now allows you to make selections for clients. You are assigned a new client, Scent
Solution
s. Your new manager, Partner Ronda Anderson, has directed you to work on this case and provide analysis and options to resolve the problems directly to the client.
Scent
.
CompetenciesABCDF1.1 Create oral, written, or visual .docxbartholomeocoombs
Competencies
A
B
C
D
F
1.1: Create oral, written, or visual communications appropriate to the audience, purpose, and context.
4 points
Key Criteria: Tailors communication to purpose, context, and target audience. Clearly articulates the thesis and purpose, and supports the thesis and purpose with authentic and appropriate evidence. Provides smooth transitions and leaves no awkward gaps from point to point. Shows coherent progress from the introduction to the conclusion with no unnecessary sections.
3 points
Key Criteria: Tailors communication to purpose, context, and target audience. Articulates the thesis and purpose, and supports the thesis and purpose with authentic and appropriate evidence. Generally provides smooth transitions and leaves few awkward gaps from point to point. Shows identifiable progress from the introduction to the conclusion with no unnecessary sections.
2 points
Key Criteria: Considers the purpose, context, and target audience. Articulates the thesis and purpose, and shows some evidence supporting both. Some transitions are not smooth, and there are occasional gaps or awkward connections from point to point. There is a sense of progress from the introduction through the conclusion, but the organization may not be completely clear.
1 point
Key Criteria: Does not tailor communication well in terms of purpose, context, and target audience. Provides a weak thesis, unclear purpose, and little or no evidence to support points. Transitions may be rough or nonexistent, and there are significant gaps or connections between points that leave sections incomprehensible. Progress from the introduction through the conclusion is difficult to decipher, and there may be some material that is unrelated to thesis and purpose.
0 points
Key Criteria: Does not tailor communication in terms of purpose, context, and target audience. Lacks a good thesis and has little or no evidence to support a thesis. Transitions are rough or nonexistent, and there are few discernable connections from point to point. There is no identifiable progress from the introduction through the conclusion, and/or there is substantial material that is unrelated to thesis and purpose.
1.2: Communicate using appropriate writing conventions, including spelling, grammar, mechanics, word choice, and format.
4 points
Uses a format that is highly appropriate to the writing task and carefully tailors the style and tone to the specific audience. Aligns both the writing style and grammar usage to standards appropriate to the task.
3 points
Uses a format that is appropriate to the writing task and tailors the style and tone to the specific audience. Aligns both the writing style and grammar usage to standards appropriate to the task.
2 points
Generally has a clear purpose, but there may be a gap between the format used and the writing task. Fails to fully align the style and tone to the audience, or fails to fully define the audience for the writing task. Has some style or grammar.
COMPETENCIES734.3.4 Healthcare Utilization and Finance.docxbartholomeocoombs
COMPETENCIES
734.3.4
:
Healthcare Utilization and Finance
The graduate analyzes financial implications related to healthcare delivery, reimbursement, access, and national initiatives.
INTRODUCTION
It is essential that nurses understand the issues related to healthcare financing, including local, state, and national healthcare policies and initiatives that affect healthcare delivery. As a patient advocate, the professional nurse is in a position to work with patients and families to access available resources to meet their healthcare needs.
REQUIREMENTS
Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of the submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.
You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.
A. Compare the U.S. healthcare system with the healthcare system of Great Britain, Japan, Germany, or Switzerland, by doing the following:
1. Identify
one
country from the following list whose healthcare system you will compare to the U.S. healthcare system: Great Britain, Japan, Germany, or Switzerland.
2. Compare access between the
two
healthcare systems for children, people who are unemployed, and people who are retired.
a. Discuss coverage for medications in the two healthcare systems.
b. Determine the requirements to get a referral to see a specialist in the two healthcare systems.
c. Discuss coverage for preexisting conditions in the two healthcare systems.
3. Explain
two
financial implications for patients with regard to the healthcare delivery differences between the two countries (i.e.; how are the patients financially impacted).
B. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
C. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.
File Restrictions
File name may contain only letters, numbers, spaces, and these symbols: ! - _ . * ' ( )
File size limit: 200 MB
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RUBRIC
A1:COUNTRY TO COMPARE
NOT EVIDENT
A country for comparison is not identified.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
The identified country for comparison is not from the given list.
COMPETENT
The identified country for comparison is from the given list.
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Competencies and KnowledgeWhat competencies were you able to dev.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competencies and Knowledge
What competencies were you able to develop in researching and writing the course Comprehensive Project? How did you leverage knowledge gained in the assignments (Units 1–4) in completing the Comprehensive Project? How will these competencies and knowledge support your career advancement in management
.
Competencies and KnowledgeThis assignment has 2 parts.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competencies and Knowledge
This assignment has 2 parts:
What competencies were you able to develop in researching and writing the course Comprehensive Project? How did you leverage knowledge gained in the intellipath assignments (Units 1- 4) in completing the Comprehensive Project? How will these competencies and knowledge support your career advancement in management?
Discuss the similarities and differences between shareholder wealth maximization and stakeholder wealth maximization.
.
Competencies and KnowledgeThis assignment has 2 partsWhat.docxbartholomeocoombs
Competencies and Knowledge
This assignment has 2 parts:
What competencies were you able to develop in researching and writing the course Comprehensive Project? How did you leverage knowledge gained in the intellipath assignments (Units 1- 4) in completing the Comprehensive Project? How will these competencies and knowledge support your career advancement in management?
Discuss the similarities and differences between shareholder wealth maximization and stakeholder wealth maximization.
.
Compensation & Benefits Class 700 words with referencesA stra.docxbartholomeocoombs
Compensation & Benefits Class 700 words with references
A strategic purpose for a well-blended compensation program, one that includes various types of direct compensation, is gaining employee commitment and productivity. One of the most effective tactics for this strategy is designing a process for linking individual achievement to organizational goals.
Prepare a report to senior leaders addressing the following:
·
Explain the concept of tying performance to organizational goals.
·
Describe the different types of individual and group-level performance measurements.
·
What are the advantages and disadvantages of individual versus group-level performance recognition?
·
Discuss the options an organization has to link individual or group monetary rewards to organizational success.
·
Develop recommendations for how to implement, monitor, and evaluate such a program.
.
Compensation, Benefits, Reward & Recognition Plan for V..docxbartholomeocoombs
Compensation, Benefits, Reward & Recognition Plan for V.P. Operations
Learning Team B
HRM 595
December 19, 2017
Rosalie M. Lopez
Running head: COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, REWARD & RECOGNITION PLAN
1
COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, REWARD & RECOGNITION PLAN
2
Compensation, Benefits, Reward & Recognition Plan for V.P. Operations
Introduction
Base Salary Range
For the position of VP of Operations, the National Average Salary is $122,624. In San Francisco, the average is higher and placed at $155,946. This amount is 16% higher than the National Average (Payscale, 2016). The reason for this increase is because of experience and geography. These are the two prime factors that impact the pay scale. Another major factor is the employer. Most employers base their decision to hire an individual on the experience they bring with them. Of course, with more experience, higher pay is required. With our company cutting cost a less experienced individual would be the best fit for the position.
Standard Employee Benefit
In many cases, your employee benefits could be the turning point for a prospective employee. This benefit is a vital portion of any employee packet. These valuable benefits are used as a blanket of security in the case of any sickness, injury, unemployment, old age, or death (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy, 2015, p. 362). There is a significant difference between incentives and benefits: benefits are financial and nonfinancial compensations that are indirect to the employee. To have a competitive strategy Blossoms Up! must align their profits with the compensation package that has been already put in place. This action will help provide flexibility to the amount and the benefits available (Gomez-Mejia et al., 2015).
There are also some benefits that most companies are legally obligated to provide. Three benefits are required regardless of the number of employees that the company has. These interests involve social security, workers compensation, and unemployment insurance (Gomez-Mejia et al., 2015). Other laws must be adhered to when dealing with a certain number of individuals. When a company has 50 or more employee they must have the Family and Medical Leave Act in place and since its induction in 2015 the Affordable Care Act for Health Insurance for companies with 20 or more employees. For the health insurance to be considered standard medical, vision and dental plans must be made available to the business. These programs that must be regarded as being under the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) or a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) (Gomez-Mejia et al., 2015).
There are some voluntary benefits that we can include. We are already looking into adding a pension package using the Defined Contribution Plan as well as the 401(K) plan (Gomez-Mejia et al., 2015). Life insurance is another excellent benefit that could be added to the package as well as short-term and long-term disability insurance. Adding Vacation and PTO, and Holiday pay is .
Compete the following tablesTheoryKey figuresKey concepts o.docxbartholomeocoombs
Compete the following tables:
Theory
Key figures
Key concepts of personality formation
Explanation of the disordered personality
Scientific credibility
Comprehensiveness
Applicability
Attachment
Complete the following...200-300 words..
Is Freud's theory a viable theory for this century?
Provide reasons for
your
view.
.
Compensation PhilosophyEvaluate the current compensation phi.docxbartholomeocoombs
Compensation Philosophy
Evaluate the current compensation philosophy for your organization or an organization of your choosing (from a third-person perspective). Write a three-to-five page paper (not including the title and reference pages). Your paper should be written in a scholarly third-person tone; it should be in APA format. In addition to the introduction and conclusion, your paper should address the following:
Evaluate the organization’s current compensation philosophy and propose ways to enhance or revamp the current compensation philosophy to meet the changing needs of the organization and its employees.
Examine key factors within the internal and external environment including the mission and strategic focus of the organization, as well as the financial and cultural aspects of your organization (i.e., they cannot have a compensation philosophy where they “lead” the market if the organization does not have the financial resources) that should influence this philosophy. The proposed philosophy itself should be no more than a short paragraph.
Identify the key factors that should contribute to the organization’s development based on your proposed organizational philosophy.
Remember to write from a third-person perspective. Do not include wording like “my company’s philosophy is …” Instead include wording like “XYZ Company Name’s philosophy is …” Remember to write about the company and the company’s philosophy; do not refer to you or your connection to the company.
In addition to the text, cite at least two scholarly references to support your discussion.
Carefully review the
Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)
for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
Grading Rubric:
Total Possible Score
: 7.00
Evaluates the Organization’s Current Compensation Philosophy and Proposes Ways to Enhance or Revamp the Current Compensation Philosophy Organization and Its Employees
Total: 2.00
Distinguished - Accurately and thoroughly evaluates the organization’s current compensation philosophy and propose ways to enhance or revamp the current compensation philosophy to meet the changing needs of the organization and its employees.
Proficient - Accurately evaluates the organization’s current compensation philosophy and propose ways to enhance or revamp the current compensation philosophy to meet the changing needs of the organization and its employees. Minor details are missing.
Basic - Evaluates the organization’s current compensation philosophy and propose ways to enhance or revamp the current compensation philosophy to meet the changing needs of the organization and its employees. Relevant details are missing and/or inaccurate.
Below Expectations - Attempts to evaluate the organization’s current compensation philosophy and propose ways to enhance or revamp the current compensation philosophy to meet the changing needs of the organization and its employees; however, significant details are missing .
How to Split Bills in the Odoo 17 POS ModuleCeline George
Bills have a main role in point of sale procedure. It will help to track sales, handling payments and giving receipts to customers. Bill splitting also has an important role in POS. For example, If some friends come together for dinner and if they want to divide the bill then it is possible by POS bill splitting. This slide will show how to split bills in odoo 17 POS.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology:
Ethnobotany in herbal drug evaluation,
Impact of Ethnobotany in traditional medicine,
New development in herbals,
Bio-prospecting tools for drug discovery,
Role of Ethnopharmacology in drug evaluation,
Reverse Pharmacology.
This is a presentation by Dada Robert in a Your Skill Boost masterclass organised by the Excellence Foundation for South Sudan (EFSS) on Saturday, the 25th and Sunday, the 26th of May 2024.
He discussed the concept of quality improvement, emphasizing its applicability to various aspects of life, including personal, project, and program improvements. He defined quality as doing the right thing at the right time in the right way to achieve the best possible results and discussed the concept of the "gap" between what we know and what we do, and how this gap represents the areas we need to improve. He explained the scientific approach to quality improvement, which involves systematic performance analysis, testing and learning, and implementing change ideas. He also highlighted the importance of client focus and a team approach to quality improvement.
How to Make a Field invisible in Odoo 17Celine George
It is possible to hide or invisible some fields in odoo. Commonly using “invisible” attribute in the field definition to invisible the fields. This slide will show how to make a field invisible in odoo 17.
Students, digital devices and success - Andreas Schleicher - 27 May 2024..pptxEduSkills OECD
Andreas Schleicher presents at the OECD webinar ‘Digital devices in schools: detrimental distraction or secret to success?’ on 27 May 2024. The presentation was based on findings from PISA 2022 results and the webinar helped launch the PISA in Focus ‘Managing screen time: How to protect and equip students against distraction’ https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/managing-screen-time_7c225af4-en and the OECD Education Policy Perspective ‘Students, digital devices and success’ can be found here - https://oe.cd/il/5yV
How to Create Map Views in the Odoo 17 ERPCeline George
The map views are useful for providing a geographical representation of data. They allow users to visualize and analyze the data in a more intuitive manner.
The Indian economy is classified into different sectors to simplify the analysis and understanding of economic activities. For Class 10, it's essential to grasp the sectors of the Indian economy, understand their characteristics, and recognize their importance. This guide will provide detailed notes on the Sectors of the Indian Economy Class 10, using specific long-tail keywords to enhance comprehension.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...
Competences, Learning Theories and MOOCsRecent Developments.docx
1. Competences, Learning Theories and MOOCs:
Recent Developments in Lifelong Learning
Karl Steffens
Introduction
We think of our societies as ‘knowledge societies’ in which
lifelong learning is
becoming increasingly important. Lifelong learning refers to the
idea that people
not only learn in schools and universities, but also in non-
formal and informal
ways during their lifespan.The concepts of lifelong learning and
lifelong education
began to enter the discourse on educational policies in the late
1960s (Tuijnman
& Boström, 2002). However, these are related, but distinct
concepts. As Lee (2014,
p. 472) notes ‘the terminological change (from lifelong
education, continuing
education and adult education, to lifelong learning) reflects a
conceptual departure
from the idea of organised educational provision to that of a
more individualised
pursuit of learning’.
One of the first important documents on lifelong learning was
the report of the
International Commission on the Development of Education to
UNESCO in
1972, titled ‘Learning to be. The world of education today and
tomorrow’. In his
2. introductory letter to the Director-General of UNESCO, the
chairman of the
Commission, Edgar Faure, stated that the work of the
Commission was based on
four assumptions (see Elfert pp. and Carneiro pp. in this issue).
The first was
related to the idea that there was an international community
which was united by
common aspirations and the second was the belief in democracy
and in education
as its keystones. The third was ‘that the aim of development is
the complete
fulfilment of man, in all the richness of his personality, the
complexity of his forms
of expression and his various commitments — as individual,
member of a family
and of a community, citizen and producer, inventor of
techniques and creative
dreamer’. The last assumption was that ‘only an over-all,
lifelong education can
produce the kind of complete man, the need for whom is
increasing with the
continually more stringent constraints tearing the individual
asunder’ (Faure,
1972, p. vi).
Following the Faure Report, the UNESCO Institute for
Education, which
was founded in Germany in 1951, started to focus on lifelong
learning and
subsequently became the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong
Learning (UIL, http://
uil.unesco.org/home/). It was under its leadership that a formal
model of lifelong
education was developed and published in the book ‘Towards a
System of Life-
4. quality.
3. Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and
adults are met
through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills
programmes.
4. Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult
literacy by 2015,
especially for women, and equitable access to basic and
continuing education
for all adults.
5. Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary
education by 2005,
and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a
focus on ensuring
girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic
education of good
quality.
6. Improving every aspect of the quality of education, and
ensuring their excel-
lence so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are
achieved by
all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.
The idea of lifelong learning was supported by the Report of the
International
Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century to
UNESCO (Delors,
1996). In the same year, the OECD in its report ‘Lifelong
Learning for All’
(OECD, 1996) presented the following definition which also
refers to life-wide
learning, including formal and informal learning: ‘Lifelong
5. learning is best under-
stood as a process of individual learning and development
across the life-span,
from cradle to grave — from learning in early childhood to
learning in retirement.
It is an inclusive concept that refers not only to education in
formal settings, such
as schools, universities and adult education institutions, but also
to “life-wide”
learning in informal settings, at home, at work and in the wider
community’
(Tuijnman & Boström, 2002, p. 101).
At the same time, lifelong learning became a topic in European
educational
policies (Borg & Mayo, 2005). In 2000, the European
Commission, with its
‘Memorandum on lifelong learning’, initiated a Europe-wide
consultation which
resulted in a communication from the European Commission on
‘Making a
European Area of Lifelong Learning a Reality’ (European
Commission, 2001). In
this document, lifelong learning was defined as ‘all learning
activity undertaken
throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills
and competence with
a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective’
(European
Commission, 2001, p. 9). The knowledge, skills and
competences that were
supposed to be acquired or improved through lifelong learning
needed to be
defined more specifically.The European Commission therefore
initiated a number
of activities which centred on the identification of key
7. than in traditional
learning environments.
The importance of digital technologies has been recognised in
educational
policies for some time. In the Dakar Framework for Action, one
of the 12 Edu-
cation for All (EFA) strategies was to harness new information
and communication
technologies to help to achieve the EFA goals (UNESCO, 2000,
p. 21). Digital
technologies play an important role in the Europe 2020
framework for smart,
sustainable and inclusive growth in Europe (European
Commission, 2010a). The
Digital Agenda for Europe (European Commission, 2010b) is
part of this frame-
work and is based on seven pillars, most of which refer to
economic and techno-
logical aspects. However, the agenda does include a pillar that
is dedicated to
‘Enhancing digital literacy, skills and inclusion’ (Pillar VII).
Digital competence
was also listed by the European Parliament and Council
(European Council,
2006) as one of eight 21st century key competences, together
with the competence
for self-regulated learning (learning to learn). One important
aspect of digital
technologies is that they have the potential to support learning.
While it is not
prudent to ask if they do indeed support learning, one should
explore which kind
of digital technology can enhance which kind of learning. One
of the most recent
developments in the field of learning with digital technologies
8. is Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOCs).This is a relatively new development
and it is certainly
too early to say something definite about their potential to
enhance learning, but
they could have an impact on how we think about lifelong
learning. Although much
is being written about MOOCs, there is still relatively little
empirical evidence
concerning their potential to support learning, but it is likely
that they will stay.
From an educational point of view, I do not see the added value
of massive
participation in online courses, but there are certainly other
standpoints from
which MOOCs may seem a worthwhile adventure. I do believe
that a MOOC of
good quality will help people who are already experienced
learners to improve their
knowledge and skills in a specific area.Therefore, MOOCs are
likely to play a role
in lifelong learning.
Approaches to learning based on findings from neuroscience
seem very attrac-
tive because they are based on empirical studies of what is
happening in our brains.
It does seem that the search for meaning is a fundamental
characteristic of our
brains. However, the neural activities which take place when we
are learning are
extremely fine-grained and complex, and, while these
approaches may help us to
understand how we learn, it is still difficult to design teaching
strategies that
support brain-friendly learning. The other two theories,
10. of his quest for meaning.
Lifelong Learning and Competences
Ever since education has been practised, there have been
discussions on what to
teach. Catalogues of learning goals go back to the septem artes
liberales in Greek and
Roman times and extend to present day lists of 21st century key
competences.The
basic question has, however, remained the same: how can
education help individ-
uals to develop their personality and prepare them for life in
society?
In 1997, the OECD initiated the ‘Definition and Selection of
Competencies’
(DeSeCo project, OECD, 2001) project which was to provide a
conceptual frame-
work for the identification of key competencies to be acquired
and improved in
lifelong learning. The project’s outcome served as a foundation
for international
surveys such as PISA which were to measure these
competencies (OECD, 2001;
OECD, 2005).
In 1995, the European Parliament and Council declared 1996 the
European
Year of Lifelong Learning (European Parliament, 1995), the
main objective of
which was to raise awareness among European citizens about
the need for and the
possibilities of lifelong learning. In 2000, the European
Commission issued a
Memorandum on Lifelong Learning which formed the basis of a
European-wide
11. consultation, the results of which were published by the
European Commission in
2001 (European Commission, 2001). In this publication, the
European Commis-
sion stated: ‘In addition to the emphasis it places on learning
from pre-school to
postretirement, lifelong learning should encompass the whole
spectrum of formal,
non-formal and informal learning.The consultation also
highlighted the objectives
of learning, including active citizenship, personal fulfilment and
social inclusion,
as well as employment-related aspects’. (European Commission,
2001, p. 3). In
outlining the idea of an innovative pedagogy for lifelong
learning, the European
Commission observed that a shift from knowledge to
competence and from
teaching to learning was taking place (European Commission,
2001, p. 23).
In 2006, the European Parliament and the Council recommended
a catalogue
of eight key competences for lifelong learning:
1. communication in the mother tongue;
2. communication in foreign languages;
3. mathematical competence and basic competences in science
and technology;
4. digital competence;
5. learning to learn;
6. social and civic competence;
7. sense of initiative and entrepreneurship;
8. cultural awareness and expression (European Council, 2006).
The first three are domain-specific. Their definition,
implementation in
13. have recently been suggested.
Although there are several definitions of learning, the one
proposed by Driscoll
(2000) seems very fitting because it makes a distinction
between performance and
performance potential, thus allowing us to make a distinction
between overt and
observable behaviour on the one hand and competences as
performance potential
on the other. At the same time, it seems wide enough to include
different
approaches to learning. Driscoll (2000, p. 11) defines learning
as ‘a persisting
change in human performance or performance potential . . .
[which] must come
about as a result of the learner’s experience and interaction with
the world’.
Theories of learning were developed in behaviourism,
cognitivism and con-
structivism.They are well-established, but they explain only
relatively simple forms
of learning. They could therefore be called nano- or micro-level
theories of learn-
ing. To explain learning activities in lifelong learning, it is
desirable to have
macro-level theories of learning.Theories of this type were
developed only recently
and include learning theories based on findings from the
neuroscience,
connectivism as proposed by Siemens (2004), and generativism
as suggested by
Carneiro (2010).
Brain Research and Learning
15. 6. Every brain simultaneously perceives and creates parts and
wholes.
7. Learning involves both focused attention and peripheral
attention.
8. Learning always involves conscious and unconscious
processes.
9. We have at least two ways of organizing memory.
10. Learning is developmental.
11. Complex learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by
threat.
12. Every brain is uniquely organized (Caine & Caine, 1991).
Admittedly, these are very general principles, and, although
they are in line with
findings from neuroscience (Kandel et al., 2012), they do not
allow us to fully
understand the enormously complex processes that take place in
our brains while
we learn. At the same time, understanding how the brain works
when we learn only
provides us with limited clues on how to guide and improve
learning processes
(Bruer, 1997; Goswami, 2004). Yet there are suggestions for
what is called
neurodidactics (Herrmann, 2009). Whereas this area of research
has benefited
from advances in brain research, the next two examples aim at
integrating advances
in technology and open educational resources.
Connectivism
In 2004, George Siemens published an article on the Internet
called
‘Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age’. His basic
argument was that
classical theories of learning (in behaviourism, cognitivism and
16. constructivism)
were developed when today’s technologies were not available
and that they did not
address learning that is taking place outside of people and
within organisations.
Connectivism, according to Siemens, is ‘the integration of
principles explored by
chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories’
and includes the
following principles:
1. Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions.
2. Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or
information sources.
3. Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
4. Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently
known.
5. Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate
continual
learning.
6. Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts
is a core skill.
7. Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all
connectivist
learning activities.
8. Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what
to learn and the
meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a
shifting reality.
While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow
due to alterations
in the information climate affecting the decision (Siemens,
2004).
18. One of the most recent ideas on learning was espoused by
Carneiro (2010). His
basic argument is that Open Educational Resources (OER) have
provided us with
rich opportunities for learning and that classical learning
theories such as those
presented in behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism are
unable to capture
the complexity of learning that is made possible in technology-
enhanced learning
environments. He is also critical of the concept of connectivism
as developed by
Siemens (2004) because, in his point of view, Siemens’ concept
focuses too much
on the individual. What we may need, according to Carneiro,
are new sets of
competences and different ways of enhancing social learning. In
his approach,
called generativism, he conceives of learning as a knowledge-
generating activity,
i.e. an activity which generates new knowledge out of
previously codified
knowledge. ‘Generativism understood as a constant re-creation
of knowledge
appeals to the unique human ability to derive new meaning from
experience
and to build sense out of a shared body of conventional
knowledge’(Carneiro,
2010).
Generative learning is considered to be different from
conventional (adaptive
learning). These differences are enumerated in Table I.
Learning, according to Carneiro (Carneiro & Draxler, 2008;
Carneiro, 2010),
19. is a step in a meaning-making process where data are
transformed into meta-data,
yielding information; information is transformed into meta-
information as a result
of learning, and learning in the form of meta-learning leads to
meaning (see
Figure 1); these transformations have their correspondences in
transformations
from simple to complex, from science of quantities to science of
qualities and from
product to service.
The underlying vision is that our societies which used to
be‘clockwork orange
societies’ (Carneiro, 2007) in which industrialism dominated
and which were
largely bureaucracy-led are going through a knowledge age
which is characterised
by globalisation and market-led arrangements and will
eventually become
TABLE I. Adaptive learning versus generative learning (from
Carneiro, 2010)
.
ADAPTIVE LEARNING GENERATIVE LEARNING
Adjusting to change Expanding capabilities
(preference for ‘fit’) (preference for ‘stretch’)
Coping with threats Enhancing creativity
Reacting to symptoms Looking in new ways
Capturing trends and incorporating early signs Adressing
underlying causes
Eliciting flexibility Thinking differently
Projecting trends Anticipating futures
Seeking conventional knowledge Rewarding knowledge re-
21. sustainable way’. Like
in the concept of the learning society, the quest for meaning is
seen as the
dominant aim of mankind. The learning city is where a new
humanism can grow
and a new citizenship which is acutely aware of the democratic,
social, egalitarian
(gender-balanced), intercultural and environmental aspects of
life can develop.
Self-regulated Learning
Theories of self-regulated learning may be considered to be
meta-learning theories
because they do not describe learning per se. Rather, they focus
on how individuals
organise their learning. In fact, the concept of self-regulated
learning bears some
resemblance with that of metacognition. According to
Zimmerman and Schunk
(2008, p. 1), those who know how to self-regulate their learning
‘set better learning
goals, implement more effective learning strategies, monitor
and assess their goal
progress better, establish a more productive environment for
learning, seek assis-
tance more often when it is needed, expend effort and persist
better, adjust
strategies better, and set more effective new goals when present
ones are com-
pleted’. Although several models have been developed in the
past, the best known
is probably the one proposed by Zimmerman. Zimmerman
(2000) assumes that
self-regulation consists of cycles of forethought, performance or
volitional control,
and self-reflection. Self-regulation involves ‘cognitive,
22. affective, motivational and
behavioural components that provide the individual with the
capacity to adjust his
or her actions and goals to achieve the desired results in light of
changing envi-
ronmental conditions’ (Zeidner et al., 2000, p. 751).
The concept of self-regulation of learning has recently received
greater atten-
tion in publications and policy statements in the field of
lifelong learning. Delors
(1996) in his report to UNESCO ‘Learning: The treasure within.
Education
throughout life’ listed four pillars for lifelong learning. The
first was ‘learning to
know’, which not only included the desire to know and a
positive attitude towards
learning, but also learning to learn. ‘Learning to know, by
combining a sufficiently
broad general knowledge with the opportunity to work in depth
on a small number
of subjects. This also means learning to learn, so as to benefit
from the opportu-
nities education provides throughout life’ (Delors, 1996, p. 37).
Self-regulated
learning or learning to learn is also one of the eight
competences listed in the
‘Recommendations on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning’
which were
adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in
December 2006
(European Council, 2006). The capacity to self-regulate one’s
learning has also
become a competence to be assessed in PISA surveys. The PISA
2009 study saw
it as: (1) awareness of strategies to understand and remember
24. 2012).
Digital Technologies in Lifelong Learning and MOOCs
The last three decades have seen an amazing development of
digital technologies,
allowing for an unprecedented degree of connectivity. They
seem to have become
indispensable in our daily lives and have not only entered
households and com-
panies, but also educational institutions. Much money has been
invested in ICT
for educational purposes.The expectations were that: (1) schools
would equip their
students with ICT skills, (2) schools would bridge the digital
divide and (3) ICT
would make teaching and learning more effective (OECD,
2010a).
At the European level, several policy proposals and research
programmes were
designed to foster the use of ICT for learning. In 1996, the
European Council
issued a resolution on educational multimedia software in the
fields of education
and training (European Council, 1996) which was ‘to help
improve the quality and
effectiveness of education and training systems and provide
access to the informa-
tion society for teachers, students and apprentices by giving
them an insight into
the use of these new tools and into training in the subject’
(Europa, n.d.). Based
on this resolution, a programme on ‘Learning in the information
society, action
plan for a European education initiative’ was developed.
Following the Lisbon
25. European Council meeting in March 2000, the European
Commission issued a
paper on ‘eLearning — Designing tomorrow’s education’
(European Commission,
2000). Since then, technology-enhanced learning has been a
priority in all Frame-
work Programmes of the European Commission. ICT is also one
of the four
transversal programmes (key activities) of the European
Commission’s Lifelong
Learning Programme (EACEA, n.d.).
Although the use of ICT in schools has increased in the last ten
years, it is still
quite rare. Young people use digital technologies, but much
more for leisure
activities than for educational purposes (Steffens, 2014). There
is a new develop-
ment in technology-enhanced learning that could change this
situation, particu-
larly for young people studying at the higher education level:
Massive Open Online
Courses (MOOCs). MOOCs have received a great deal of
attention in recent years
(Armstrong, 2013).While they may be considered to be online
courses which have
a long tradition in distance education, their innovative aspect
lies in the fact that
they are online courses in which huge numbers of students
participate. Some
2,200 participated in one of the first MOOCs, a course on
‘Connectivism and
Connective Knowledge (CC08) developed by George Siemens
and Stephen
Downes (https//sites.google.com/site/themoocguide). Sebastian
Thrun and Peter
28. the European Commission to promote the use of ICT in
education and training.
The European Commission is financing a number of European
projects on
MOOCs: Elearning Communication Open Data (ECO)
(http://ecolearning.eu/),
European Multiple MOOC Aggregator (EMMA)
(http://europeanmoocs.eu/),
Higher Education Online. MOOCs the European Way (HOME)
(http://home
.eadtu.eu/about), and the MOOCKnowledge project
(http://is.jrc.ec.europa
.eu/pages/EAP/OpenEduMOOC.html). EFQUEL, the European
Foundation for
Quality in eLearning (http://efquel.org/) is currently preparing a
MOOC on
eLearning Quality (EFQUEL, n.d.).The European MOOCs
scoreboard provides
an overview of European-provided MOOCs available on
different open websites
(Open Education Europa, n.d.).The list of available MOOCs is
classified accord-
ing to the providing (mostly European) countries (also included
are Russia — 14,
Turkey — 4 and Cyprus — 1) and regularly updated. At the
time of writing (June
2014), it included 673 MOOCs, with Spain clearly leading the
list (240 MOOCs).
The fact that that there are still fewer MOOCs in Europe than in
the US can
probably be explained by the time lag in the onset of their
creation. As can be seen
in Figure 3, even a lag of six months can create a significant
difference.
Discussion
29. Of the three developments in lifelong learning, the advent of
MOOCs is the most
recent. It is still too early to tell if they constitute a revolution
in higher education
or just a fad. Kartensi (2013) reviewed some 100 studies on
their use in univer-
sities. He found that proponents of MOOCs claim that they have
the potential to:
• resolve problems of access to education, such as distance, the
job-family-school
balance and high tuition fees,
• foster students’ autonomy and
• create learning communities.
Sceptics argue that:
• many of the advantages of MOOCs are actually advantages
associated with
traditional distance learning,
• success rate among MOOC participants is in general very low,
• there are copy right issues concerning course content,
• assessment for certification purposes is problematic,
• it is difficult to ensure support for the learning process which
requires students
to be highly autonomous (Kartensi, 2013, p. 33)
Our own observations are that MOOCs are not really open, in
the sense that there
is the same probability for all to participate in one. On the
contrary, studies show
that the unemployed, women and participants from developing
countries are
clearly underrepresented. The successful MOOC participant
already holds a uni-
31. It is, however, important to make a distinction between
traditional MOOCs or
xMOOCs and cMOOCs. xMOOCs seem to support adaptive
learning in the
Carneiro sense (2010); they help students to acquire knowledge,
but do not
encourage them to create knowledge. Depending on the
individual course, the
content may be presented using different media (texts, pictures,
videos) and
students may or may not be provided with different forms of
interaction, with the
learning content and with tutors and peers (through blogs,
forums, chatrooms,
skype sessions). Hence, they tend to resemble traditional
college courses. However,
in most cases, certification of participation will not be part of
an xMOOC.
cMOOCs are based on Siemens’ (2006) concept of connectivism
whose basic idea
is that those who are interested in a specific topic communicate
and interact in
order to create knowledge out of existing codified
knowledge.They therefore create
a community of learners that engages in generative learning, or,
in a broader sense,
that collaborates in the quest for meaning. As Carneiro (2010)
pointed out,
learning is an integral part of the search for meaning. This is
clearly evidenced in
neurophysiological approaches to learning. Among the 12
principles of brain-
based learning enumerated by Caine & Caine (1991), two are
directly related to
the quest for meaning: (3) The search for meaning is innate and
32. (5) The search for
meaning occurs through patterning.
In his concept of connectivism, Siemens (2006) describes
collaborative learning
that takes place in a community of people who are interested in
a specific subject.
This is reminiscent of ideas that other authors have proposed.
Ivan Illich (1972), for
example, suggested that schools should be abandoned and
replaced by knowledge
centres. Although schools will probably never be abandoned,
Internet may be seen
as one big knowledge centre. The idea of a community of
practice had also been
proposed by Lave & Wenger (1991; Wenger, 1998).There does
exist a more specific
digital version of Ivan Illich’s idea of knowledge centres: the
school in the cloud
(https://www.theschoolinthecloud.org/) which was developed by
Sugata Mitra, a
professor of educational technology at Newcastle University. In
1999, he conducted
the ‘hole in the wall’ experiment in which he placed a free
computer in a Delhi slum.
He found that street children who were attracted by the
unknown device not only
learned how to use it, but also learned the English language. In
November 2013, the
first School in the Cloud was opened in Killingworth, England.
Since then, four
more have opened, one more in the UK and three in India,
including the first
independent School in the Cloud (TED, 2013).
Connectivism as a learning theory for the digital age has met
34. competences
which are essential for lifelong learning seems to me to be the
most important
because they are the most closely related to the human quest for
meaning. While
the current discourse on competences presents us with some
new proposals on the
issue of learning goals, we could ask if they are not proposals
with a broader vision
on the subject.
In the 1996 Delors report for UNESCO, the Commission
expressed its view
‘that, while education is an ongoing process of improving
knowledge and skills, it
is also — perhaps primarily — an exceptional means of bringing
about personal
development and building relationships among individuals,
groups and nations’
(Delors, 1996, p. 12). It wanted to stress the point that
‘education is at the heart
of both personal and community development; its mission is to
enable each of us,
without exception, to develop all our talents to the full and to
realise our creative
potential, including responsibility for our own lives and
achievement of our per-
sonal aims. This aim transcends all others. Its achievement,
though long and
difficult, will be an essential contribution to the search for a
more just world, a
better world to live in’ (Delors, 1996, p. 17).
According to the Commission, Learning to know encompasses
more than
acquiring knowledge, it also includes the desire to know, a
35. positive attitude
towards learning and learning to learn. Learning to do refers to
applying the
acquired knowledge, but also to the ‘acquisition of a
competence that enables
people to deal with a variety of situations, often unforeseeable,
and to work in
teams’ (Delors, 1996, p. 21). Learning to live together requires
people to develop
an understanding of other people and respect the values of
pluralism, mutual
understanding and peace. Finally, learning to be refers to the
development of
people’s personalities and their talents as well as to their
responsibilities towards
their communities. When we talk about personality
development, it is certainly
worth looking at theories and models developed in the field of
psychology. Erikson
(1950, 1959) proposed a life-span model of personality
development which
encompasses eight stages which he named (1) basic trust versus
basic mistrust, (2)
autonomy versus shame and doubt, (3) initiative versus guilt,
(4) industry versus
inferiority, (5) identity versus identity diffusion, (6) intimacy
and distantiation
versus self-absorption, (7) generativity versus stagnation and
(8) integrity versus
despair and disgust. One of the basic assumptions of the model
is that at each
stage, internal or external changes may lead individuals into a
crisis, and accord-
ing to how individuals manage to cope with the crisis, their
personality will
develop more towards the positive or more to the negative pole
37. of’ (Erikson, 1974, p. 124).To take care of is — or should be —
a dominant theme
in adulthood, a stage which Erikson named ‘generativity vs.
self-absorption and
stagnation’. ‘The new “virtue” emerging from this antithesis,
namely, Care, is a
widening commitment to take care of the persons, the products,
and the ideas one
has learned to care for. All the strengths arising from earlier
developments in the
ascending order from infancy to young adulthood (hope and
will, purpose and
skill, fidelity and love) now prove, on closer study, to be
essential for the genera-
tional task of cultivating strength in the next generation. For
this is, indeed, the
“store” of human life’ (Erikson & Erikson, 1997, p. 67). While
achieving ego-
identity is certainly one of the most important development
tasks, it should not be
overlooked that Erikson places at least as much emphasis on the
development of
the virtue of ‘care’ as on the fundamental route to derive
meaning and construct
sense in life.
Lifelong learning continues to be an important issue in the new
millennium
(Majhanovich & Brook Napier, 2014). In the last 25 years,
significant changes have
taken place in the way people learn and are supported in their
learning activities by
digital technologies. Learning in pursuit of the acquisition and
improvement of
competences for lifelong learning is an integral part of human
meaning-making. As
38. Albert Schweitzer once pointed out: ‘Three kinds of progress
are significant for
culture: progress in knowledge and technology; progress in the
socialisation of
man; progress in spirituality.The last is the most important . . .
technical progress,
extension of knowledge, does indeed represent progress, but not
in fundamentals.
The essential thing is that we become more finely and deeply
human’ (Schweitzer,
1965, pp. 33–41, cited from Carneiro, 2010).
Karl Steffens, University of Cologne, Institute of Didactics and
Educational Research,
Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923 Cologne, Germany,
[email protected]
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51. 1675 (fourth) edition of his Life of Donne, Izaak Walton
claimed that the author gave these lines to his wife in 1611 just
before leaving for France. Whether the details of Walton’s
account are true, the title reflects the content of the piece: a
farewell. The poem is thus in the tradition of the congé
d’amour, a consolation when lovers part.
The poem begins with the image of virtuous men mildly
accepting death. The separation of body and soul is so gentle
that those friends surrounding the dying cannot tell whether the
men are alive or not. So, Donne says, should he and his beloved
part, because they do not want to reveal the quality of their love
to the uninitiated. Here, then, is the first reason to forbid
mourning.
Through a series of elaborate metaphors, Donne offers a second
reason. When an earthquake occurs, causing only small cracks
in the ground, everyone is disturbed and regards the event as
ominous, but when planets move apart, though the distances are
great, no harm results. Earthly lovers, Donne continues, cannot
accept separation; they fear it as people do earthquakes, because
sensory and sensual stimuli make up the entirety of their
affection. Donne and his beloved, however, who love spiritually
as well as physically, are less troubled by being apart. Their
two souls, being one, remain united even when their bodies are
apart, just as gold stretches thinly without breaking.
Even if the lovers retain their individual souls, they are divided
only like the two parts of a compass used to describe a circle,
linked at the top and working in unison. When the compass
draws a circle, one point remains stationary in the center but
leans toward the other, and by remaining firmly in one place,
the fixed point guarantees that its partner will complete its
circuit. So the beloved will, by remaining at home, ensure
Donne’s return; since he will certainly come back, mourning is
inappropriate.
Forms and Devices
In “The Life of Cowley,” Samuel Johnson labeled the poetry of
52. John Donne and others of his ilk “metaphysical.” In such
writing, Johnson observed, “The most heterogeneous ideas are
yoked by violence together.” The images that Donne employs
seem removed from the occasion of the lovers’ parting: death,
celestial motion, twin compasses. All, however, carry within
them the promise of reunion, resurrection, and permanence after
change. The virtuous man does not fear death because he knows
that at the Last Judgment his body and soul will be rejoined
forever in bliss. Though Donne and his beloved are “dead”
when divided, they may part confident in having a life together
hereafter in this world. The comparison of lover and beloved to
body and soul is conventional; Donne extends the idea to make
it fresh by incorporating religious implications, a technique he
uses often in his poetry. Since both love and religion are
mysterious and forms of transcendence, the fusion of the two is
justified.
The geological-astronomical imagery that introduces the second
argument similarly promises reunion. The separation of sensual
lovers is like an earthquake in part because these people are
“sublunary”; Donne here draws on the belief that everything
beneath the moon is subject to mutability and death. Sublunary
lovers fear parting because they can never be certain that they
will see each other again. Just as the cleavages caused by
earthquakes do not necessarily repair themselves, these
terrestrial, hence inferior, lovers may not reunite.
Likening lovers to Earth and other planets is typical of Donne
and his fellow Metaphysical poets. Yet the metaphors are not
mere poetical trickery. The macrocosm of the universe and the
microcosm of the individual become interchangeable because
the metaphors convey the lovers’ feelings. Donne and his
beloved are the world to each other.
Donne and his beloved are, like the planets, beyond the realm of
change because they are joined spiritually as well as physically.
Since their love is not subject to alteration, they need not fear
parting. Moreover, medieval cosmology maintained that in
36,000 years the planets and stars would return to their
53. positions at the moment of creation. The completion of this
epoch will mark the apocalypse and resurrection. This image
thus unites with and extends the previous one anticipating the
Last Judgment.
The conceit of the twin compasses, probably the most famous of
Donne’s metaphors, similarly builds on the previous one. Just as
the planets describe a circuit in 36,000 years, so the compasses
make a circle of 360 degrees. It is no accident that the poem has
thirty-six lines. The circle is a traditional symbol of eternal
love, since it has no beginning and no end (hence the tradition
of the wedding ring). The completion of the circle once more
promises the lovers’ meeting at journey’s end.
In a curious sexual reversal, Donne likens his beloved to the
masculine principle. Hers is the foot that grows erect as his
point approaches. Hers is the firmness that, phalluslike, fills his
circle and makes it “just”; the word not only implies the
completed round and physical reunion but also circles back to
the virtuous (just) man at the beginning of the poem, so that the
poem, like Donne, ends where it began.
Themes and Meanings
The sexual imagery that concludes the poem does not contradict
the pervasive spirituality of the piece, but complements it. John
Donne has been called the poet of mutual love, and though he
may play diverse roles — the cynical lover of “The Indifferent,”
the Platonic lover in “The Relic” — he is also the advocate of
physical and spiritual love united. “Dull, sublunary lovers” rely
totally on the physical, so their love cannot survive absence.
Donne and his beloved may “care less, eyes, lips, and hands to
miss,” but they do care. The need for both types of love is
evident in the metaphor of the twin compasses. The circular
motion of the compasses, like the circular orbits of the planets
in Aristotelian physics, symbolizes heavenly love, since all
movement above the moon takes this shape. Sublunary motion is
linear, and that is the figure the two points of the compass
describe when they move together in a plane. Together, the
54. divine circle and animal line create the human spiral. Donne
rejects the duality of body and soul: Love for him is not one or
the other, but both — a single, indivisible entity.
Hence, Donne rejects the Petrarchan idealization of the beloved
as untouchable and godlike. He employs the imagery of Petrarch
in the second stanza when he speaks of “tear-floods” and “sigh-
tempests,” but in forbidding such forms of mourning the poem
distances itself from the philosophy that relies on such
metaphors. Donne’s love is human, as is his beloved. The
opening lines may imply that she is body and he soul, thereby
suggesting that he is purer than she; the second stanza dispels
such a reading, linking the lovers in the pronoun “us.” In the
third stanza, each is a planet, and later their souls are one. The
twin compasses may be understood as portraying that same
fusion, one foot being the will, the other reason. As body and
soul require each other for life, so will and reason cannot
operate independently. The sexual reversal of the last stanza
corresponds to the beloved’s assuming the controlling role of
reason, which guides the errant will; its fixedness converts the
will’s centrifugal force into the circle, a pattern of constancy.
Love reconciles opposites and accepts no mastery of one party
over the other.
In chapter 12 of La vita nuova (c. 1292; The New Life), Dante
writes, speaking as love, “I am as the center of a circle, to
which all parts of the circumference stand in equal relation.”
This passage may have provided Donne with the idea for his
famous conceit of the twin compasses; it certainly expresses the
same vision of love’s unifying and godlike power, of love as the
still center around which the world revolves and to which all
things return to find that rest that they can experience nowhere
else.
The image of the dying men that introduces the piece indicates
the fusion of Donne and his beloved as body and soul and
promises resurrection, but the focus on death is too gloomy for
the purpose the author intends. The planets have much to
recommend them as a metaphor: Again the imagery promises
55. return, and the orbits of the planets in Donne’s Ptolemaic
system describe circles. Yet if the first metaphor falls short
because of its rootedness in mortality, the second proves
equally unsatisfactory because it divorces itself from humanity.
Only with the twin compasses does the poet find that perfect
fusion of human and divine, flesh and spirit, line and circle, that
constitutes true love. The author has succeeded in his quest for
the correct language in which to couch his meaning, and in the
process of creating his poem he has moved from death and
separation to life and reunion, imitating the experience the
verses promise.
Essay by: Joseph Rosenblum
Source: Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition
36151 Topic: Wk 1 Individual: Explaining Learning Theory to
Clients
Number of Pages: 4 (Double Spaced)
Number of sources: 1
Writing Style: APA
Type of document: Essay
Academic Level:Master
Category: Psychology
56. Language Style: English (U.S.)
Order Instructions: Attached
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Reference/Module
Chapter 1 Introduction to the Study of Learning
Russ Nyland teaches a graduate education course on learning
and cognition. It is toward the end of the semester, and as class
finishes one day, three students approach him: Jeri Kendall,
Matt Bowers, and Trisha Pascella.
Jeri:
Dr. Nyland, can we talk with you? It’s late in the course and
we’re still confused.
Russ:
About what?
Jeri:
Well, we’ve been studying all these theorists. It seems like
they’re saying different things, but maybe not. Bandura,
Skinner, Vygotsky, and the others. They make different points,
but then some of what they say seems to overlap what others
say.
Matt:
I’m confused too. I read these theorists and think I agree with
that. But it seems like I agree with everything! I thought you
were supposed to have one theory, to believe one way and not
others. But it seems like there’s a lot of overlap between
theories.
Russ:
You’re right, Matt, there is. Most of what we’ve studied in this
course are cognitive theories, and they are alike because they
say that learning involves changes in cognitions—knowledge,
skills, beliefs. Most theorists also say that learners construct
57. their knowledge and beliefs; they don’t automatically adopt
what somebody tells them. So yes, there is much overlap.
Trisha:
So then what are we to do? Am I supposed to be something like
an information processing theorist, a social cognitive theorist, a
constructivist? That’s what I’m confused about.
Russ:
No, you don’t have to be only one. There may be one theory
that you like better than the others, but maybe that theory
doesn’t address everything you want it to. So then you can
borrow from other theories. For example, when I was in grad
school I did research with a professor whose specialty was
cognitive learning. There was another professor who did
developmental research. I really liked her research, probably
because I had been a teacher and was interested in development,
especially the changes in kids from elementary to middle
school. So I was a learning theorist who borrowed from the
developmental literature and still do. It’s okay to do that!
Jeri:
Well, that makes me feel better. But it’s late in the course, and I
guess I want to know what I should be doing next.
Russ:
Tell you what—next class I’ll spend some time on this. A good
place to start is not to decide which type of theorist you are, but
rather determine what you believe about learning and what
types of learning you’re interested in. Then you can see which
theory matches up well to your beliefs and assumptions and
maybe do as I did—borrow from others.
Matt:
Isn’t that being eclectic?
Russ:
Perhaps, but you may still have one preferred theory that you
adapt as needed. That’s okay to do. In fact, that’s how theories
are improved—by incorporating ideas that weren’t in them
originally.
Trisha:
58. Thanks, Dr. Nyland. This is really helpful.
Learning involves acquiring and modifying knowledge, skills,
strategies, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. People learn
cognitive, linguistic, motor, and social skills, and these can take
many forms. At a simple level, children learn to solve 2 + 2 = ?,
to recognize y in the word daddy, to tie their shoes, and to play
with other children. At a more complex level, students learn to
solve long-division problems, write term papers, ride a bicycle,
and work cooperatively on group projects.
This text focuses on how human learning occurs, which factors
influence it, and how learning principles apply in educational
contexts. Animal learning is de-emphasized, which is not
intended to downgrade its importance because we have gained
much knowledge about learning from animal research. But
human learning is fundamentally different from animal learning
because human learning is more complex, elaborate, rapid, and
typically involves language.
This chapter provides an overview of the study of learning.
Initially, learning is defined and examined in settings where it
occurs. An overview is given of some important philosophical
and psychological precursors of contemporary theories that
helped to establish the groundwork for the application of
learning theories to education. The roles of learning theory and
research are discussed, and methods commonly used to assess
learning are described. The links between learning theories and
instruction are explained, after which critical issues in the study
of learning are presented.
The opening scenario describes a situation that many students
find themselves in when they take a course in learning,
instruction, or motivation and are exposed to different theories.
Students often think that they are supposed to believe in one
theory and adopt the views of those theorists. They may be
confused by the perceived overlap between theories.
As Russ says, that is normal. Although theories differ in many
ways, including their general assumptions and guiding
principles, many rest on a common foundation of cognition.
59. This text focuses on these cognitive theories of learning, which
contend that learning involves changes in learners’ thoughts,
beliefs, knowledge, strategies, and skills. These theories differ
in how they predict that learning occurs, which learning
processes are important, and which aspects of learning they
stress. Some theories are oriented more toward basic learning
and others toward applied learning (and, within that, in different
content areas); some stress the role of development, others are
strongly linked with instruction; and some emphasize
motivation (Bruner, 1985).
Russ advises his students to examine their beliefs and
assumptions about learning rather than decide which type of
theorist they are. This is good advice. Once we are clear about
where we stand on learning in general, then the theoretical
perspective or perspectives that are most relevant will emerge.
As you study this text, it will help if you reflect on your beliefs
and assumptions about learning and decide how these align with
the theories.
This chapter should help to prepare you for an in-depth study of
learning by providing a framework for understanding learning
and some background material against which to view
contemporary theories. When you finish studying this chapter,
you should be able to do the following:
· ■ Define learning and identify instances of learned and
unlearned phenomena.
· ■ Distinguish between rationalism and empiricism and explain
the major tenets of each.
· ■ Discuss how the work of Wundt, Ebbinghaus, the
structuralists, and the functionalists helped to establish
psychology as a science.
· ■ Describe the major features of different research paradigms.
· ■ Discuss the central features of different methods of
assessing learning and criteria for assessment methods.
· ■ Explain what value-added assessment of learning is and how
it can be used to determine progress in student learning.
· ■ Explicate the ways that learning theory and educational
60. practice complement and refine each other.
· ■ Explain differences between behavior and cognitive theories
with respect to various issues in the study of learning.
LEARNING DEFINED
People agree that learning is important, but they hold different
views on the causes, processes, and consequences of learning
(Alexander, Schallert, & Reynolds, 2009). There is no one
definition of learning that is universally accepted by theorists,
researchers, and practitioners (Shuell, 1986). Although people
disagree about the precise nature of learning, the following is a
general definition of learning that is consistent with this text’s
cognitive focus and that captures the criteria most educational
professionals consider central to learning:
· Learning is an enduring change in behavior, or in the capacity
to behave in a given fashion, which results from practice or
other forms of experience.
Let us examine this definition in depth to identify three criteria
for learning (Table 1.1).
Table 1.1 Criteria of learning.
· ■ Learning involves change.
· ■ Learning endures over time.
· ■ Learning occurs through experience.
One criterion is that learning involves change—in behavior or
in the capacity for behavior. Change is a central ingredient of
learning (Alexander et al., 2009). People learn when they
become capable of doing something differently. We do not
observe learning directly but rather its products or outcomes. In
other words, learning is inferential—it is demonstrated based on
what people say, write, and do. The definition also says that
learning involves a changed capacity to behave in a given
fashion because it is not uncommon for people to learn skills,
knowledge, beliefs, or behaviors without demonstrating them at
the time they learn them (Chapter 4).
A second criterion is that learning endures over time. This
excludes temporary behavioral changes (e.g., slurred speech)
brought about by such factors as drugs, alcohol, and fatigue.
61. Such changes are temporary because when the cause is removed,
the behavior returns to its original state. Although learning is
enduring, it may not last forever because forgetting occurs.
Researchers debate how long changes must last to be classified
as learned, but most people agree that changes of brief duration
(e.g., a few seconds) do not qualify as learning.
A third criterion is that learning occurs through
experience (e.g., practice, observation of others). This criterion
excludes behavioral changes that are primarily determined by
heredity, such as maturational changes in children (e.g.,
crawling, standing). Nonetheless, the distinction between
maturation and learning often is not clear-cut. People may be
genetically predisposed to act in given ways, but the actual
development of the particular behaviors depends on the
environment. Language offers a good example. As the human
vocal apparatus matures, it becomes able to produce language;
but the actual words produced are learned from interactions
with others. Although genetics are critical for children’s
language acquisition, teaching and social interactions with
parents, teachers, and peers exert a strong influence on
children’s language achievements (Mashburn, Justice, Downer,
& Pianta, 2009). In similar fashion, with normal development
children crawl and stand, but the environment must be
responsive and allow these behaviors to occur. Children whose
language and movements cannot be expressed freely in an
environment may not develop normally.
PRECURSORS OF MODERN LEARNING THEORIES
The roots of contemporary theories of learning extend far into
the past. Many of the issues addressed and questions asked by
researchers today are not new but rather reflect a desire for
people to understand themselves, others, and the world about
them.
This section traces the origins of contemporary learning
theories, beginning with a discussion of philosophical positions
on the origin of knowledge and its relation to the environment
and concluding with some early psychological views on
62. learning. This review is selective and includes historical
material relevant to learning in educational settings. Readers
interested in a comprehensive discussion should consult other
sources (Bower & Hilgard, 1981; Heidbreder, 1933;
Hunt, 1993).
Learning Theory and Philosophy
From a philosophical perspective, learning can be discussed
under the heading of epistemology, which refers to the study of
the origin, nature, limits, and methods of knowledge. How can
we know? How can we learn something new? What is the source
of knowledge? The complexity of how humans learn is
illustrated in Plato’s Meno (427?–347? B.C.):
· I know, Meno, what you mean … You argue that a man
cannot enquire (sic) either about that which he knows, or about
that which he does not know; for if he knows, he has no need to
enquire (sic); and if not, he cannot; for he does not know the
very subject about which he is to enquire (sic). (Plato, 1965, p.
16)
Two positions on the origin of knowledge and its relationship to
the environment are rationalism and empiricism. These
philosophies are recognizable in current learning theories.
Rationalism.
Rationalism reflects the idea that knowledge derives from
reason without recourse to the senses. The distinction between
mind and matter, which figures prominently in rationalist views
of human knowledge, can be traced to Plato, who distinguished
knowledge acquired via the senses from that gained by reason.
Plato believed that things (e.g., houses, trees) are revealed to
people via the senses, whereas individuals acquire ideas by
reasoning or thinking about what they know. People have ideas
about the world, and they learn (discover) these ideas by
reflecting upon them. Reason is the highest mental faculty
because through reason people discover abstract ideas. The true
nature of houses and trees can be known only by reflecting upon
the ideas of houses and trees.
Plato escaped the dilemma expressed in Meno by assuming that
63. true knowledge, or the knowledge of ideas, is innate and is
brought into awareness through reflection. Learning is recalling
what exists in the mind. Information acquired with the senses by
observing, listening, tasting, smelling, or touching constitutes
raw materials rather than ideas. The mind is innately structured
to reason and provide meaning to incoming sensory information.
The rationalist doctrine also is evident in the writings of René
Descartes (1596–1650), a French philosopher and
mathematician. Descartes employed doubt as a method of
inquiry. By doubting, he arrived at conclusions that were
absolute truths and not subject to doubt. The fact that he could
doubt led him to believe that the mind (thought) exists, as
reflected in his dictum, “I think, therefore I am.” Through
deductive reasoning from general premises to specific instances,
he proved that God exists and concluded that ideas arrived at
through reason must be true.
Like Plato, Descartes established a mind–matter dualism;
however, for Descartes the external world was mechanical, as
were the actions of animals. People are distinguished by their
ability to reason. The human soul, or the capacity for thought,
influences the body’s mechanical actions, but the body acts on
the mind by bringing in sensory experiences. Although
Descartes postulated dualism, he also hypothesized mind–matter
interaction.
The rationalist perspective was extended by the German
philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). In his Critique of
Pure Reason (1781), Kant addressed mind–matter dualism and
noted that the external world is disordered but is perceived as
orderly because order is imposed by the mind. The mind takes
in the external world through the senses and alters it according
to subjective, innate laws. The world never can be known as it
exists but only as it is perceived. People’s perceptions give the
world its order. Kant reaffirmed the role of reason as a source
of knowledge, but contended that reason operates within the
realm of experience. Absolute knowledge untouched by the
external world does not exist. Rather, knowledge is empirical in
64. the sense that information is taken in from the world and
interpreted by the mind.
In summary, rationalism is the doctrine that knowledge arises
through the mind. Although there is an external world from
which people acquire sensory information, ideas originate from
the workings of the mind. Descartes and Kant believed that
reason acts upon information acquired from the world; Plato
thought that knowledge can be absolute and acquired by pure
reason.
Empiricism.
In contrast to rationalism, empiricism reflects the idea that
experience is the only source of knowledge. This position
derives from Aristotle (384–322 B.C.), who was Plato’s student
and successor. Aristotle drew no sharp distinction between mind
and matter. The external world is the basis for human sense
impressions, which, in turn, are interpreted as lawful
(consistent, unchanging) by the mind. The laws of nature cannot
be discovered through sensory impressions, but rather through
reason as the mind takes in data from the environment. Unlike
Plato, Aristotle believed that ideas do not exist independently of
the external world, which is the source of all knowledge.
Aristotle’s contribution to psychology was his principles of
association as applied to memory. The recall of an object or
idea triggers recall of other objects or ideas similar to, different
from, or experienced close, in time or space, to the original
object or idea. The more that two objects or ideas are
associated, the more likely that recall of one will trigger recall
of the other. Such associative learning is reflected in many
learning theories (Shanks, 2010).
Another influential figure was British philosopher John Locke
(1632–1704), who developed an empirical school of thought
that stopped short of being truly experimental
(Heidbreder, 1933). In his Essay Concerning Human
Understanding (1690), Locke noted that there are no innate
ideas; all knowledge derives from two types of experience:
sensory impressions of the external world and personal
65. awareness. At birth the mind is a tabula rasa (blank tablet).
Ideas are acquired from sensory impressions and personal
reflections on these impressions. What is in the mind originated
in the senses. The mind is composed of ideas that have been
combined in different ways. The mind can be understood only
by breaking down ideas into simple units. This atomistic view
of thought is associationist; complex ideas are collections of
simple ones.
The issues Locke raised were debated by such profound thinkers
as George Berkeley (1685–1753), David Hume (1711–1776),
and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). Berkeley believed that mind
is the only reality. He was an empiricist because he believed
that ideas derive from experiences. Hume agreed that people
never can be certain about external reality, but he also believed
that people cannot be certain about their own ideas. Individuals
experience external reality through their ideas, which constitute
the only reality. At the same time, Hume accepted the empiricist
doctrine that ideas derive from experience and become
associated with one another. Mill was an empiricist and
associationist, but he rejected the idea that simple ideas
combine in orderly ways to form complex ones. Mill argued that
simple ideas generate complex ideas, although the latter need
not be composed of the former. Simple ideas can produce a
complex thought that might bear little relation to the ideas of
which it is composed. Mill’s beliefs reflect the notion that the
whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which is an integral
assumption of Gestalt psychology (Chapter 5).
In summary, empiricism holds that experience is the only form
of knowledge. Beginning with Aristotle, empiricists have
contended that the external world serves as the basis for
people’s impressions. Most accept the notion that objects or
ideas associate to form complex stimuli or mental patterns.
Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Mill are among the better-known
philosophers who espoused empiricist views.
Although philosophical positions and learning theories do not
neatly map onto one another, conditioning theories (Chapter 3)
66. typically are empiricist whereas cognitive theories (Chapters 4–
8) are more rationalistic. But overlap often occurs; for example,
most theories posit that learning occurs through association.
Cognitive theories stress association between cognitions in
memory; conditioning theories emphasize the association of
stimuli with responses and consequences.
Beginnings of the Psychological Study of Learning
The formal beginning of the psychological study of learning is
difficult to pinpoint (Mueller, 1979), although systematic
psychological research began to appear in the latter part of the
19th century. Two persons who had a significant impact on
learning theory are Wundt and Ebbinghaus.
Wundt’s Psychological Laboratory.
The first psychological laboratory was opened by Wilhelm
Wundt (1832–1920) in Leipzig, Germany, in 1879, although
William James had started a teaching laboratory at Harvard
University four years earlier (Dewsbury, 2000). Wundt wanted
to establish psychology as a new science. His laboratory
acquired an international reputation with an impressive group of
visitors, and he founded a journal to report psychological
research. The first research laboratory in the United States was
opened in 1883 by G. Stanley Hall (Dewsbury, 2000).
Establishing a psychological laboratory was particularly
significant because it marked the transition from philosophical
theorizing to an emphasis on experimentation and
instrumentation (Evans, 2000). The laboratory included scholars
who conducted research aimed at scientifically explaining
phenomena (Benjamin, 2000). In his book Principles of
Physiological Psychology (1874), Wundt contended that
psychology is the study of the mind. The psychological method
should be patterned after the physiological method; that is, the
process being studied should be experimentally investigated in
terms of controlled stimuli and measured responses.
Wundt’s researchers investigated such phenomena as sensation,
perception, reaction times, verbal associations, attention,
feelings, and emotions. Wundt also was a mentor for many
67. psychologists who subsequently opened laboratories in the
United States (Benjamin, Durkin, Link, Vestal, & Acord, 1992).
Although Wundt’s laboratory produced no great psychological
discoveries or critical experiments, it established psychology as
a discipline and experimentation as the method of acquiring and
refining knowledge.
Ebbinghaus’s Verbal Learning.
Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909) was a German psychologist
who helped to validate the experimental method and establish
psychology as a science. Ebbinghaus investigated higher mental
processes by conducting research on memory. He accepted the
principles of association and believed that learning and the
recall of learned information depend on the frequency of
exposure to the material. Properly testing this hypothesis
required using material with which participants were unfamiliar.
Ebbinghaus invented nonsense syllables, which are three-letter
consonant-vowel-consonant combinations (e.g., cew, tij).
Ebbinghaus often used himself as the subject of study. In a
typical experiment, he would devise a list of nonsense syllables,
look at each syllable briefly, pause, and then look at the next
syllable. He determined how many times through the list (trials)
it took to him learn the entire list. He made fewer errors with
repeated study of the list, needed more trials to learn more
syllables, forgot rapidly at first but then more gradually, and
required fewer trials to relearn syllables than to learn them the
first time. He also studied a list of syllables some time after
original learning and calculated a savings score, defined as the
time or trials necessary for relearning as a percentage of the
time or trials required for original learning. He found that
meaningfulness of material made learning easier. The results of
his research are compiled in the book Memory (1885/1964).
Although important historically, there are concerns about this
research. Ebbinghaus typically employed only one participant
(himself), and it is unlikely he was unbiased or a typical
learner. We also might question how well results for learning
nonsense syllables generalize to meaningful learning (e.g., text
68. passages). Nonetheless, he was a careful researcher, and many
of his findings later were validated experimentally. He was a
pioneer in bringing higher mental processes into the
experimental laboratory.
Structuralism and Functionalism
The work by Wundt and Ebbinghaus was systematic but
confined to particular locations and of limited influence on
psychological theory. The turn of the century marked the
beginning of more widespread schools of psychological thought.
Two perspectives that emerged were structuralism and
functionalism. Although neither exists as a unified doctrine
today, their early proponents were influential in the history of
psychology as it relates to learning.
Structuralism.
Edward B. Titchener (1867–1927) was Wundt’s student in
Leipzig. When he became the director of the psychology
laboratory at Cornell University in 1892, he imported Wundt’s
experimental methods into U.S. psychology.
Titchener’s psychology, which eventually became known
as structuralism, represented a combination of associationism
with the experimental method. Structuralists believed that
human consciousness is a legitimate area of scientific
investigation, and they studied the structure or makeup of
mental processes. They postulated that the mind is composed of
associations of ideas that to be studied must be broken down
into single ideas (Titchener, 1909).
The experimental method used often by Wundt, Titchener, and
other structuralists was introspection, a type of self-analysis.
Participants in introspection studies verbally reported their
immediate experiences following exposure to objects or events.
For example, if shown a table they might report their
perceptions of shape, size, color, and texture. They were told
not to label or report their knowledge about the object or the
meanings of their perceptions. Thus, if they verbalized “table”
while viewing a table, they were attending to the stimulus rather
than to their conscious processes.
69. Introspection was a uniquely psychological process and helped
to demarcate psychology from the other sciences. It was a
professional method that required training in its use so that an
introspectionist could determine when individuals were
examining their own conscious processes rather than their
interpretations of phenomena.
Unfortunately, introspection often was problematic and
unreliable. It is difficult and unrealistic to expect people to
ignore meanings and labels. When shown a table, it is natural
that people say “table,” think of uses, and draw on related
knowledge. The mind is not structured to compartmentalize
information so neatly, so by ignoring meanings introspectionists
disregarded a central aspect of the mind. Watson (Chapter 3)
decried the use of introspection, and its problems helped to
rally support for an objective psychology that studied only
observable behavior (Heidbreder, 1933). Edward L. Thorndike,
a prominent psychologist (Chapter 3), contended that education
should be based on scientific facts, not opinions
(Popkewitz, 1998). The ensuing emphasis on behavioral
psychology dominated U.S. psychology for the first half of the
20th century.
Another problem was that structuralists studied associations of
ideas, but they had little to say about how these associations are
acquired. Further, it was not clear that introspection was the
appropriate method to study such higher mental processes as
reasoning and problem solving, which are more complex than
immediate sensation and perception.
Functionalism.
While Titchener was at Cornell, other developments challenged
the validity of structuralism. Among these
was functionalism, the view that mental processes and behaviors
of living organisms help them adapt to their environments
(Heidbreder, 1933). This school of thought flourished at the
University of Chicago with John Dewey (1859–1952) and James
Angell (1869–1949). Another prominent functionalist was
William James (1842–1910). Functionalism was the dominant
70. American psychological perspective from the 1890s until World
War I (Green, 2009).
James’s principal work was the two-volume series, The
Principles of Psychology (1890), which is considered one of the
greatest psychology texts ever written (Hall, 2003). An abridged
version was published for classroom use (James, 1892). James
was an empiricist who believed that experience is the starting
point for examining thought, but he was not an associationist.
He thought that simple ideas are not passive copies of
environmental inputs but rather are the product of abstract
thought and study (Pajares, 2003).
James (1890) postulated that consciousness is a continuous
process rather than a collection of discrete bits of information.
One’s “stream of thought” changes as experiences change.
“Consciousness, from our natal day, is of a teeming multiplicity
of objects and relations, and what we call simple sensations are
results of discriminative attention, pushed often to a very high
degree” (Vol. I, p. 224). James described the purpose of
consciousness as helping individuals adapt to their
environments.
Functionalists incorporated James’s ideas into their doctrine.
Dewey (1896) believed that psychological processes could not
be broken into discrete parts and that consciousness must be
viewed holistically. “Stimulus” and “response” describe the
roles played by objects or events, but these roles could not be
separated from the overall reality (Bredo, 2003). Dewey cited
an example from James (1890) about a baby who sees a candle
burning, reaches out to grasp it, and experiences burned fingers.
From a stimulus–response perspective, the sight of the candle is
a stimulus and reaching is a response; getting burned (pain) is a
stimulus for the response of withdrawing the hand. Dewey
argued that this sequence is better viewed as one large
coordinated act in which seeing and reaching influence each
other.
Functionalists were influenced by Darwin’s writings on
evolution and studied how mental processes helped organisms