Blended Learning Solutions for Higher Education explores the origins, empirical foundations, and implementation of blended learning in colleges and universities. Since emerging as a third-way solution to traditional and virtual higher education models, blended learning has become a predominant learning modality in an era of rapid technological proliferation. Offering an alternative to longstanding yet flawed methodologies and assumptions about its validity, this book conceptualizes blended learning as a complex social practice mediated (...) by knowledge, institutional rules, policies, and norms as well as material factors such as technology and physical spaces. The book's original MIRACLE framework offers a research-grounded, highly practical guide to blended learning design, improvement, and long-term efficacy. From demystified history and heuristics to digitized platforms and course content to reimagined governance and regulations, these insights provide a thoughtful exemplar of blended learning's challenges and affordances along with a firm basis for integrating face-to-face and online learning, teaching, and assessment innovatively and creatively. (shrink)

Distance education has a long and complex history. It accounts for more than one-third of all higher education students in the world and, because of its very nature, has produced some of the top graduates worldwide who were unable to study fulltime and on-campus for various reasons. One of the most prestigious graduates of the DE system was the former state president of South Africa, the late Nelson Mandela. Online learning is a form of DE and fast becoming the (...) preferred method of instruction and delivery. Critiques of online learning, and of DE itself, will argue that, because of the separation of the teacher and the student, only academic skills can be taught and learnt using this medium. The so-called ‘softer skills’ – those that focus on the development of the person – are best taught in a face-to-face, traditional environment. This article focuses on a review of DE theories and models. A particular emphasis is placed on online learning theories, and how the teaching of formational learning skills can be successfully incorporated into this educational setting. The article draws from a range of studies that have been conducted, based on conceptual and empirical research evidence from various authors. Drawing from Garrison, Anderson and Archer’s Community of Inquiry framework for online education, it presents key elements that relate to the formational training of theology students. The article examines research that both supports and cautions against online learning for formative development. It concludes by suggesting a blended model of both face-to-face and online learning, where meaningful interactions between the learner and teacher take place, is desirable. The article highlights the important role that DE can play in developing the human component of education. (shrink)

Causality is the most important topic in the history of western science, and since the beginning of the statistical paradigm, its meaning has been reconceptualized many times. Causality entered into the realm of multi-causal and statistical scenarios some centuries ago. Despite widespread critics, today deep learning and machine learning advances are not weakening causality but are creating a new way of finding correlations between indirect factors. This process makes it possible for us to talk about approximate causality, as (...) well as about a situated causality. (shrink)

The natural history museum is a place where the line between "high" and "low" culture effectively vanishes--where our awe of nature, our taste for the bizarre, and our thirst for knowledge all blend happily together. But as Stephen Asma shows in Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads, there is more going on in these great institutions than just smart fun. Asma takes us on a wide-ranging tour of natural history museums in New York and Chicago, London and Paris, interviewing curators, scientists, (...) and exhibit designers, and providing a wealth of fascinating observations. We learn how the first museums were little more than high-toned side shows, with such garish exhibits as the pickled head of Peter the Great's lover. In contrast, today's museums are hot-beds of serious science, funding major research in such fields as anthropology and archaeology. "Rich in detail, lucid explanation, telling anecdotes, and fascinating characters.... Asma has rendered a fascinating and credible account of how natural history museums are conceived and presented. It's the kind of book that will not only engage a wide and diverse readership, but it should, best of all, send them flocking to see how we look at nature and ourselves in those fabulous legacies of the curiosity cabinet."--The Boston Herald. (shrink)

Presented as a retrospective speech by the president of the History of Science Society in 2038, this essay imagines a future for the profession of the history of science in the United States. Acknowledging that self-described historians of science do not fully control the subject, it considers the place of the history of science in a future university landscape in which interdisciplinary “studies” have supplanted disciplines as the fundamental organizing structure. It then situates this academic scene within a broader professional (...) landscape in which nonuniversity institutions play an expanded role in bringing the history of science directly to the public. Here the essay focuses on an imagined Science Heritage Center that blends commitments to innovative scholarly research, public history techniques of experiential learning, and updated technologies of virtual reality. It further suggests an unexpected direction for developing a collaborative “citizen history of science.”. (shrink)

Nurses are experiencing new ethical issues as a result of global developments and changes in health care. With health care becoming increasingly sophisticated, and countries facing challenges of graying population, ethical issues involved in health care are bound to expand in quantity and in depth. Blended learning rather as a combination of multiple delivery media designed to promote meaningful learning. Specifically, this study was focused on two questions: (1) the students’ satisfaction and attitudes as members of a (...) scenario-based learning process in a blended learning environment; (2) the relationship between students’ satisfaction ratings of nursing ethics course and their attitudes in the blended learning environment. In total, 99 senior undergraduate nursing students currently studying at a public nursing college in Taiwan were invited to participate in this study. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted in this study. The participants were asked to fill out two Likert-scale questionnaire surveys: CAAS (Case Analysis Attitude Scale), and BLSS (Blended Learning Satisfaction Scale). The results showed what students felt about their blended learning experiences — mostly items ranged from 3.27—3.76 (the highest score is 5). Another self-assessment of scenario analysis instrument revealed the mean scores ranged from 2.87—4.19. Nearly 57.8% of the participants rated the course ‘extremely helpful’ or ‘very helpful.’ This study showed statistically significant correlations (r = 0.43) between students’ satisfaction with blended learning and case analysis attitudes. In addition, results testified to a potential of the blended learning model proposed in this study to bridge the gap between students and instructors and the one between students and their peers, which are typical of blended learning, and to create meaningful learning by employing blended pedagogical consideration in the course design. The use of scenario instruction enables students to develop critical analysis and problem solving skills through active learning and social exchange of ideas. (shrink)

We have been studying cognition and learning in research laboratories in the field of biomedical engineering. Through our combining of ethnography and cognitive-historical analysis in studying these settings we have been led to understand these labs as comprising evolving distributed cognitive systems and as furnishing agentive learning environments. For this paper we develop the theme of 'models-in-action,' a variant of what Knorr Cetina has called 'knowledge-in-action.' Among the epistemically most salient objects in these labs are so called "model (...) systems," which are designs that blend engineering with the study and use of biological systems for purposes of simulative model-based reasoning. We portray the prevalent design-orientation in this engineering specialty and how the prevailing activity of cell-culturing in these labs transitions into a design activity for the bio-medical engineers, leading them to work with 'wet' devices. We discuss how devices, 'wet' and 'dry,' situate model-based understandings and how they participate in model systems in these labs. Models tend to come in clusters or configurations, and the model systems in these labs are epistemically salient junctures of interlocking models. Model systems in these labs evolve thereby consolidating what we want to call a 'fabric of interlocking models,' which functions as point of stability and departure in these labs. We convey a taste of such a 'fabric' for a tissue-engineering lab. We conjecture that through this 'fabric' extended developments in technology and methodology have a 'situated' presence in the workings of these labs. (shrink)

The present online volume contains the papers prepared for the 11th Budapest Visual Learning Conference – ENVISIONING AN ELECTRIFYING FUTURE – held in a physical-online blended form on Nov. 13, 2024, organized by the University of Pécs (represented by Prof. Gábor Szécsi, Dean, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Education and Regional Development), and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (represented by Prof. Kristóf Nyíri, Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences). Nyíri and Szécsi were responsible for sending out the call (...) for abstracts and inviting plenary speakers, Szécsi organized the physical surroundings. Nyíri’s task was to build up and continuosly update the conference website, as well as to edit the accepted submissions. As we indicated in the call for submissions, the conference was planned as an interdisciplinary encounter of communication and media theory, cultural sciences, sociology, psychology, philosophy, pedagogy, history, political science, picture theory, and other disciplines. We insisted on achieving new scholarly results. Especially with AI now complementing, or intruding into, the world of the internet, what image of the future can we conceive of, what new patterns of life and in particular forms of education should we strive to create? (shrink)

Background: In the university context, assessing students’ attitude, knowledge and opinions when applying an innovative methodological approach to teach professional ethics becomes fundamental to know if the used approach is enough motivating for students. Research objective: To assess the effect of a blended-learning model, based on professional ethics and related to clinical practices, on physiotherapy students’ attitude, knowledge and opinions towards learning professional ethics. Research design and participants: A simple-blind clinical trial was performed (NLM identifier NCT03241693) (control (...) group, n = 64; experimental group, n = 65). Both groups followed clinical practices for 8 months. Control group performed a public exposition of a clinical case about professional ethics. By contrast, an 8-month blended-learning programme regarding professional ethics was worked out for experimental group. An online syllabus and online activities were elaborated, while face-to-face active participation techniques were performed to discuss ethical issues. Students’ attitudes, knowledge and opinions towards learning professional ethics were assessed. Ethical considerations: The study was approved by the University Ethic Committee of Human Research and followed the ethical principles according to the Declaration of Helsinki. Findings: After the programme, attitudes and knowledge towards learning professional ethics of experimental group students significantly improved, while no differences were observed in control group. Moreover, opinions reported an adequate extension of themes and temporization, importance of clinical practices and interest of topics. Case study method and role playing were considered as the most helpful techniques. Conclusion: The blended-learning programme proposed, based on professional ethics and related to clinical practices, improves physiotherapy students’ attitudes, knowledge and opinions towards learning professional ethics. (shrink)

El estudio analiza un curso Blended Learning para identificar patrones de interacción didáctica que favorecen la construcción del conocimiento y por ende, del aprendizaje. La investigación muestra en la transición hacia la virtualidad desde la presencialidad, una apropiación gradual del aprendizaje y una orientación hacia la autonomía. Las transiciones indican mayor elaboración de contenidos significativos en lo virtual, señalando una relación entre interacción virtual intensificada, aprendizaje y menor dependencia docente. El análisis de la práctica educativa en Blended (...) Learning promueve autonomía, logros y participación mediante colaboraciones entre pares y mayor interacción social, conduciendo a resultados notables. (shrink)

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, several changes have been forcibly made and observed in various fields and areas of society, one of which include the field of education; the foundation of the formation of intellect and knowledge. After two years of studying indoors and private educational institutions holding virtual classes, the time has finally come for students to be re- adjusted once more to the blended mode of learning; a combination of virtual and in-person classes. Thus, this study (...) aimed to investigate the development of students’ study habits and how these habits could potentially affect the students’ academic achievement or performance. The study utilized a descriptivecorrelational design to examine the impact of study habits to the academic performance of 137 senior high school students. The study made use of the Palsane and Sharma’s Study Habits Inventory, or also known as PSSHI, and using this instrument, the study has been able to procure sufficient results that will answer the present study’s problems. Using linear regression analysis, the present study found that there was a significance between the study habits and academic performance of the senior high school students, thus the study’s null hypothesis was eventually rejected. (shrink)

ObjectiveFew research efforts have substantially introduced relevant studies on Chinese students’ adaptability in relation to the ineffectiveness of blended learning mode in College English. This study is guided by social cognitive theory, and related literature has been reviewed concerning adaptability. In this study, we aim to examine the involved relationships among contextual factors, self-efficacy, motivation, and adaptability to blended learning mode among non-English majored Chinese learners in the College English course.MethodsThe quantitative research method was employed in (...) this study, and 595 respondents were eventually collected to enable the data analysis. The structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to analyze the data.Results(1) The non-English majored learners’ adaptability to blended learning mode in College English was at a low level with a mean value of 2.26, indicating that students still suffer difficulties from class conducted in blended learning; (2) the fit indices were at the level of good fit, and it suggested the structural model had an overall good fit to the data as shown:x2/df = 2.496, RMESA = 0.050, GFI = 0.956, AGFI = 0.936, NFI = 0.968, RFI = 0.959, IFI = 0.980, TLI = 0.975, CFI = 0.980; (3) adaptability was positively related to contextual factors, self-efficacy, and motivation (p< 0.001); (4) contextual factors exerted an indirect effect on the adaptability not only through the separate mediating role of self-efficacy and motivation, but through the chain mediating role of self-efficacy and motivation (p< 0.01).ImplicationsThis study theoretically extends previous studies on adaptability by investigating the affecting factors in the framework of social cognitive theory. More practically important is that this study sheds light on the impact mechanism of positive and enjoyable environment, self-efficacy and motivation on non-English majored learners’ adaptability to blended learning mode in English course, which would provide a vital insight for administrators and College English instructors to reconsider the role of learners’ responses in the mixed mode to improve their English achievement more effectively, as well as to enhance and promote their user experience of the offered blended learning service. (shrink)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preschool teachers must quickly adjust to online education. During COVID-19, teachers have been forced to embrace technology. This study investigates the lived experiences and challenges of preschool teachers. Employing the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the findings of this study were: It was found that managing parent expectations and dealing with challenging parent behavior were among the sources of stress for preschool teachers. This fear of being judged or criticized by parents could influence their teaching practices and (...) interactions with students, leading to feelings of anxiety or insecurity. Further, preschool teachers faced challenges in implementing blended learning, including technological issues, a lack of support and resources, and difficulties creating engaging online content. However, as teachers gained more experience and knowledge about effectively using online tools and technologies for instruction, these challenges became more manageable. Also limited or unreliable internet connectivity was also a significant challenge faced by teachers and students in the transition to online learning. The digital divide and various technical, bandwidth, and security concerns exacerbated it. Internet connection was a major frustration for her during online classes as it affected her ability to communicate and teach her students effectively. Moreover, preschool teachers have had to adapt to the challenges of blended learning by implementing various strategies and making preparations to guide and support their students effectively. These strategies have included using games and other engaging activities to keep students motivated and engaged, developing online lesson plans, and using online teaching platforms and tools. However, the transition to blended learning has also been a source of stress for preschool teachers. They have had to manage additional workloads and responsibilities and deal with challenges such as supporting students with varying technology access and skills. (shrink)

For over 20 years, the Schmid Training Course (STC) has offered unique opportunities for marine biology students from European universities to learn about marine model organisms. While the topics of the course have continuously changed over the years with the advent of new research techniques and discoveries, the pedagogical approach has remained largely the same – a combination of lectures, lab practicals, and field excursions. Several life science researchers, who have taught in the STC for many years, sought to bring (...) the course's pedagogical approach into the 21st century, and with the support of Erasmus+ Programme of the European Community funding, the Digital Marine project was developed. Digital Marine began in 2018 as an international partnership between the six research centers from which the STC instructors hail, and its main objective was to introduce a flipped, blended approach to learning and teaching with respect to established and emerging marine biological model systems. The Digital Marine platform, which covers 12 marine model organisms, is now publicly available. (shrink)

Blended learning motivation (BLM) is crucial for the success of blended learning, especially for students in higher vocational education and training institutions (HVETIs). This study investigates the impact of perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), and social presence (SP) on blended learning motivation. An online survey collected data from 714 students across 36 HVETIs in Chongqing City, China. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among the study (...) variables. The findings indicate social presence, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness positively influence blended learning motivation. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use enhance blended learning motivation through social presence, even though the direct effect of perceived ease of use on social presence was unsupported, with perceived ease of use indirectly influencing social presence through perceived usefulness. This study highlights the social presence's pivotal role in promoting blended learning motivation and offering insights for developing a motivational, trust-based blended learning community for students, educators, and policymakers within blended learning environments. (shrink)

Blended learning has gained increasing popularity in colleges and universities with mixed results. Precision teaching can effectively promote learning performance. The relation between perceived precision teaching and the learning performance of college students in a blended learning environment is investigated in this paper. In the research survey is featuring a structural model, 256 college students who attended blended learning courses featuring precision teaching participated. The model results revealed that PPT is directly and (...) positively related to self-efficacy and learning motivation. Self-efficacy and learning motivation are directly and positively related to cognitive, teaching, and social presence. Additionally, cognitive, teaching, and social presence are directly and positively related to learning performance. Therefore, PPT is remotely and indirectly related to learning performance. These findings provide a new perspective for the theoretical study on blended learning performance and provide a realistic reference for precision teaching practice in the blended learning environment. (shrink)

Online and blended learning (OBL) overemphasize the process of creating artifacts, producing strategies, or otherwise utilizing a “making” orientation in education. As an alternative to this making-orientation, we offer a model for relational course design founded in the philosophies of Emmanuel Levinas and Martin Buber. We examine an OBL course design focused on interfaith leadership and ethics that lends itself to the need for relational pedagogy. The focus on asymmetrical and symmetrical relationships that separate Levinas and Buber’s philosophies (...) enable rich ways of designing relational pedagogies and for resisting the making orientation. By focusing on human relationships, we demonstrate design principles through “philosophies of difference” that can be used in OBL. (shrink)

The purpose of the present study was to explore the direct influence of self-concept and self-imagination on English language learning outcomes. Furthermore, this study examined the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between self-concept, self-imagination, and ELLO. A survey questionnaire of 21 items was used in this study. We distributed the questionnaire through QR code and collected the data from 2,517 participants who enrolled in blended learning courses at the undergraduate level in Chinese universities. The relationship (...) among the variables was measured through SmartPLS-SEM 3.3.3. The outcomes of the present study indicated a direct, positive, and significant connection of self-concept, self-imagination, and self-efficacy with ELLO. Looking at indirect influences, self-concept and self-imagination, positive and significant, influence ELLO through self-efficacy. Thus, self-efficacy was indicated to play a mediating role between self-concept, self-imagination and ELLO. We can conclude that self-concept, self-imagination, and self-efficacy are the main predictors of ELLO in blended learning courses during the pandemic. Additionally, self-concept and self-imagination along with the intervening role of self-efficacy, play a more effective role in improving ELLO. Moreover, this study provided some useful, practical implications, and future research directions. (shrink)

This essay introduces this special issue on virtue ethics in relation to military AI. It describes the current situation of military AI ethics as following that of AI ethics in general, caught between consequentialism and deontology. Virtue ethics serves as an alternative that can address some of the weaknesses of these dominant forms of ethics. The essay describes how the articles in the issue exemplify the value of virtue-related approaches for these questions, before ending with thoughts for further research.

In recent years, blended learning has grown to occupy an important space in Chinese educational practice. Policymakers have developed many application strategies and platforms and are continuing to develop BL for future use. In order to apply BL in practice, key stakeholders have been using different learning management systems, digital platforms, games, hybrid courses, and various forms of social media to create a framework for BL. This study asserts that many visible opportunities have emerged in Chinese higher (...) education through the applications of BL. The advantages of BL are that it fosters stronger academic achievement, student engagement, and cognitive engagement and understanding as well as flexible and quick communication skills, faster interaction skills, technical skills, and adaptability to ever-changing educational practices. On the other hand, BL has brought about some pedagogical and technical difficulties for both learners and practitioners. This study found that most BL courses are not as effective as they could be because they do not have a strong pedagogical framework. Moreover, BL suffers from the technical incompetence of teachers and students, the inefficiency of LMSs, and the unavailability of required resources, such as certain devices and the Internet. Some higher education institutions have become pioneers in Chinese educational practice and been able to successfully adopt BL frameworks and integrate Moodle as well as other platforms and techniques. However, many other institutions’ attempts to adopt BL approaches have not been as effective. In order to better understand how and in what ways BL is being integrated into the educational system, this study overviews the current situation and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of BL in Chinese higher education. (shrink)

Este artigo apresenta resultados de uma pesquisa sobre o Colégio Sagrado Coração de Jesus, localizado no Município de Bento Gonçalves/ RS, uma instituição educativa particular e católica. Como recorte temporal, contempla o período de 1956, data da criação do colégio, até 1972, ano em que a instituição apresentou interessantes mudanças em seu processo educativo, em virtude dos reflexos da Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação 5.692/1971. Esta investigação apresenta uma análise sobre a prática do ensino misto presente na cultura (...) escolar, a qual foi vivenciada pelos sujeitos no interior da escola e representada pelos seus modos de ser, de estar, de agir e de se relacionar em determinados tempo e espaço. Como metodologia, utilizamos fotografias e a História Oral, tendo como sujeitos da investigação os seguintes entrevistados: dois ex-alunos, uma ex-professora e dois moradores do Bairro Cidade Alta, região em que o colégio se constituiu dentro do município. Pelas análises produzidas a partir das fontes investigadas, concluímos que, embora o discurso para a comunidade estivesse voltado para uma educação compartilhada entre meninos e meninas, essa prática apresentou algumas divergências no interior da escola, como a própria separação dos gêneros em atividades do cotidiano escolar. As estratégias identificadas no espaço escolar, para unir ou separar meninos e meninas, apontam para uma reflexão em torno da prática do ensino misto no colégio e promovem diferentes interpretações para os sujeitos que participaram do processo de constituição dessa instituição educativa, bem como vivenciaram esses primeiros anos do ensino misto nesse colégio. Palavras-chave: Instituição educativa. Prática escolar. Cultura escolar. (shrink)

Americans have an unwavering faith in democracy and are ever eager to import it to nations around the world. But how democratic is our own "democracy"? If you can vote, if the majority rules, if you have elected representatives--does this automatically mean that you have a democracy? In this eye-opening look at an ideal that we all take for granted, classical scholar Paul Woodruff offers some surprising answers to these questions. Drawing on classical literature, philosophy, and history--with many intriguing passages (...) from Sophocles, Aesop, and Plato, among others--Woodruff immerses us in the world of ancient Athens to uncover how the democratic impulse first came to life. The heart of the book isolates seven conditions that are the sine qua non of democracy: freedom from tyranny (including the tyranny of majority rule), harmony (the blending of different views), the rule of law, natural equality, citizen wisdom, reasoning without knowledge, and general education. He concludes that a true democracy must be willing to invite everyone to join in government. It must respect the rule of law so strongly that even the government is not above the law. True democracy must be mature enough to accept changes that come from the people. And it must be willing to pay the price of education for thoughtful citizenship. Ancient Athens didn't always live up to these ideals. Nor does modern America. If we learn anything from the story of Athens, Woodruff concludes, it should be this--never lose sight of the ideals of democracy. This compact, eloquent book illuminates these ideals and lights the way as we struggle to keep democracy alive at home and around the world. (shrink)

Online and blended learning (OBL) overemphasize the process of creating artifacts, producing strategies, or otherwise utilizing a “making” orientation in education. As an alternative to this making-orientation, we offer a model for relational course design founded in the philosophies of Emmanuel Levinas and Martin Buber. We examine an OBL course design focused on interfaith leadership and ethics that lends itself to the need for relational pedagogy. The focus on asymmetrical and symmetrical relationships that separate Levinas and Buber’s philosophies (...) enable rich ways of designing relational pedagogies and for resisting the making orientation. By focusing on human relationships, we demonstrate design principles through “philosophies of difference” that can be used in OBL. (shrink)

With the continuous lockdown and staying home strategies of COVID-19, both instructors and learners have met with the presence challenges in language learning. To address the complex and dynamic relationships of different presences in blended learning during COVID-19, based on the Community of Inquiry framework, 215 Chinese English learners were obtained as samples for an empirical test. SPSS 23 and PROCESS for SPSS were utilized to examine the hypotheses. Results indicate that teaching presence has a significant direct (...) positive impact on social presence, sense of community, and cognitive presence. SP has a significant positive impact on CP and partially mediates the relationship between TP and CP. SoC is also found to impact CP and partially mediates the relationship between TP and CP. The findings also validate the chain mediating role of SP and SoC between TP and CP. Pedagogical implications are discussed. (shrink)

The study aims to build a model that predicts the behavior of the use of blended learning by English teachers of basic education in China in the environment of repeated lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines the relationships between ICT self-efficacy, organizational support for blended learning, attitudes toward blended learning, and the use of blended learning. Data were collected from 562 teachers using a survey questionnaire. Employing partial least squares structural equation (...) modeling, a hypothesized model was tested for path coefficients and predictive power. This study found that ICT self-efficacy and organizational support for blended learning are sound predictors of teachers' use of blended learning and that the former appeared to be a stronger determinant. In addition, attitudes toward blended learning can directly influence teachers' use of blended learning and mediate the relationship between ICT efficacy and the use of blended learning and between organizational support for blended learning and the use of blended learning. These three variables account for 54.7% of the variance in teachers' use of blended learning. (shrink)

The mixed-method study investigates the effectiveness of the ARSC model. The objective of this investigation is to measure the impact of the ARCS model on the engagement levels of students in vocational college settings within a blended learning framework. It includes a pre-intervention and a post-intervention survey (n=255) along with a semi-structured interview (n=10). Students of Jiangsu Vocational College of Medicine have been involved in pre-intervention surveys, followed by a month of training implementing the ARCS model in (...) class='Hi'>blended media. Post-intervention surveys have also been conducted. Furthermore, ten students have been interviewed in-depth, individually. The quantitative analysis using paired t-test and regression analysis indicates that the engagement levels of the vocational students significantly increase after implementation of the ARCS model in blended mode, and all the elements of the model collectively significantly predict the change in the student engagement. The interview reveals certain challenges faced by the students, of which some significant ones are technical glitches, time management, confusing and unclear assignments, and so on. The findings of the study will guide the vocational teachers to tailor their blended instruction by incorporating ARCS elements to improve overall student engagement, leading to a better learning outcome. (shrink)

When machine learning, data and AI are reshaping the human experience, Peter Hershock gives us a new way to think about attention, presence and ethics in our changing lives by balancing Western technology with Asian philosophy. He explains how Confucian and Socratic ethics can make visible what a history of choices about remaking ourselves has rendered invisible, and applies Buddhist ideas to give us an understanding about the self and consciousness. Seamlessly blending ancient Chinese, Indian and Greek philosophy, Hershock (...) responds to the challenge of staying present during the age of technology. (shrink)

The heart of design studio teaching is traditionally linked to one-on-one teaching activities and to the exchange of feedback prompting many design educators to think it does not lend itself to onl...

The rich blend of theories and experiences that made the history of physics possible still now enlightens the scientific method. We stress the need to learn from this method the force of making its principles explicit, while developing a rich diversity of theories, which are often incompatible. Unity is preserved by common founding principles and their mathematical form, such as the understanding of conservation properties (energy, momentum etc.) in terms of symmetries. When moving from the inert to the living state (...) of matter, new challenges are posed, beginning with biological “heterogenesis”, as “genesis of and from diversity” in a changing space of pertinent observables and parameters: the Darwinian ecosystem. The question that is posed is how we may consistently embed the theories of the inert into biology. By naturalization we mean an analysis of physics as part of the sciences of nature, not as the science governing them all. In particular, the founding symmetry principles of physical theories, often used to “naturalize” (but, actually, to “physicalize”) other sciences, will instead be framed in more general dynamics which deal with fundamental changes of symmetries, as they apply, in our views, in all historical sciences, beginning with biology. This paper will accordingly explore the notion of (non-)conservative extension of theories in a precise mathematical sense. We stress a perspectival epistemology that promotes a dialogue of theories, in search for bridges or even unity, inspired by the method of “unification” at the core of major theoretical inventions in physics. Our main motivation is the need to go beyond the strong dualistic separation of space (or of the more general “phase space”) as a pre-given container of the dynamics of matter, that biased physics from Aristotle to Newton and, in a technically different way, even Einstein. (shrink)

A connection has long been made between music and moral education. Recent discussions have focused on concerns that certain lyrics can lead to acceptance of violence, suicide, inappropriate views of women, and other unethical behaviour. Debate over whether such connections exist at least illustrates that popular songs engage listeners with ethical issues; this arises from the unique blend of emotional and cognitive reactions to music. And while the emotional side of ethics has received less attention than other aspects of ethics, (...) it is important and music can be a powerful and unique tool to introduce the emotional aspects of ethics. Music appeals to almost everyone. Throughout history songs have rallied people to action and drawn people into deeper reflection. Music engages our emotions, our imagination and our intellect. Students already spend many hours listening to songs, some of which address ethical issues; it is thus an ideal pedagogic aid in teaching subjects like ethics. This article will discuss how carefully selected songs can encourage thoughtful reflection and critical thinking about ethical issues: a number of specific examples will be described, along with a discussion of the general practicalities of using popular songs in teaching ethics and a demonstration of how students learn to listen critically and actively reflect on the ethical messages they receive. The enjoyment of music helps to engage students with ethics and its relevance for their lives and careers. This article aims to share some of the excitement and enthusiasm that popular songs have brought to my teaching of ethics. (shrink)

Changing our minds isn't easy. Even when we recognize our views are disputed by intelligent and informed people, we rarely doubt our rightness. Why is this so? How can we become more open-minded, putting ourselves in a better position to tolerate conflict, advance collective inquiry, and learn from differing perspectives in a complex world? -/- Nathan Ballantyne defends the indispensable role of epistemology in tackling these issues. For early modern philosophers, the point of reflecting on inquiry was to understand how (...) our beliefs are often distorted by prejudice and self-interest, and to improve the foundations of human knowledge. Ballantyne seeks to recover and modernize this classical tradition by vigorously defending an interdisciplinary approach to epistemology, blending philosophical theorizing with insights from the social and cognitive sciences. -/- Many of us need tools to help us think more circumspectly about our controversial views. Ballantyne develops a method for distinguishing between our reasonable and unreasonable opinions, in light of evidence about bias, information overload, and rival experts. This method guides us to greater intellectual openness--in the spirit of skeptics from Socrates to Montaigne to Bertrand Russell--making us more inclined to admit that sometimes we don't have the right answers. With vibrant prose and fascinating examples from science and history, Ballantyne shows how epistemology can help us know our limits. (shrink)

Sports are as varied as the people who play them. We run, jump, and swim. We kick, hit, and shoot balls. We ride sleds in the snow and surf in the sea. From the Olympians of ancient Greece to today's professional athletes, from adult pickup soccer games to children's gymnastics classes, people at all levels of ability at all times and in all places have engaged in sport. What drives this phenomenon? In Sport, the neuroscientist Jay Schulkin argues that biology (...) and culture do more than coexist when we play sports—they blend together seamlessly, propelling each other toward greater physical and intellectual achievement. To support this claim, Schulkin discusses history, literature, and art—and engages philosophical inquiry and recent behavioral research. He connects sport's basic neural requirements, including spatial and temporal awareness, inference, memory, agency, direction, competitive spirit, and endurance, to the demands of other human activities. He affirms sport's natural role as a creative evolutionary catalyst, turning the external play of sports inward and bringing insight to the diversion that defines our species. Sport, we learn, is a fundamental part of human life. (shrink)

An invigorating exploration of the pleasures and social benefits of conversation Talking Cure is a timely and enticing excursion into the art of good conversation. Paula Marantz Cohen reveals how conversation connects us in ways that social media never can and explains why simply talking to each other freely and without guile may be the cure to what ails our troubled society. Drawing on her lifelong immersion in literature and culture and her decades of experience as a teacher and critic, (...) Cohen argues that we learn to converse in our families and then carry that knowledge into a broader world where we encounter diverse opinions and sensibilities. She discusses the role of food in encouraging conversation, the challenges of writing dialogue in fiction, the pros and cons of Zoom, the relationship of conversation to vaudeville acts, and the educational value of a good college seminar where students learn to talk about ideas. Cohen looks at some of the famous groups of writers and artists in history whose conversation fed their creativity, and details some of the habits that can result in bad conversation. Blending the immediacy of a beautifully crafted memoir with the conviviality of an intimate gathering with friends, Talking Cure makes a persuasive case for the civilizing value of conversation and is essential reading for anyone interested in the chatter that fuels culture. (shrink)

This book is inspired by a single powerful question. What is it to be great as a philosopher? No single grand answer is presumed to be possible; instead, rewardingly close studies of philosophical greatness are developed. This is a scholarly yet accessible volume, blending metaphilosophy with the long history of philosophy and traversing centuries and continents. The result is a series of case studies by accomplished scholars, each chapter trying to understand and convey a particular philosopher's greatness: Lloyd P. Gerson (...) on Plato, Karyn Lai on Zhuangzi, David Bronstein on Aristotle, Jonardon Ganeri on Buddhaghosa, Jeffrey Hause on Aquinas, Gary Hatfield on Descartes, Karen Detlefsen on du Châtelet, Don Garrett on Hume, Allen Wood on Kant, Nicholas F. Stang on Kant, Ken Gemes on Nietzsche, Cheryl Misak on Peirce, and David Macarthur on Wittgenstein. This also serves a larger philosophical purpose. Might we gain increased clarity about what philosophy is in the first place? After all, in practice we individuate philosophy partly through its greatest practitioners' greatest contributions. The book does not discuss every philosopher who has been regarded as great. The point is not to offer a definitive list of The Great Philosophers, but, rather, to learn something about what great philosophy is and might be, from illuminated examples of past greatness -- Provided by publisher. (shrink)

Background: Since 2006, the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and the National Research Foundation of Korea have taken the lead in developing an institutional guideline for research ethics. Objectives: The purpose was to identify the effectiveness of the Good Research Practice program, developed on a fund granted by the National Research Foundation of Korea, for nurses and nursing students whose knowledge and perception of research ethics were compared before and after the implementation of the Good Research Practice program. (...) Research design: This study was conducted to compare the levels of knowledge and perception of research ethics in the participants before and after the program was implemented. Participant and research context: The participants included 45 nurses and 69 nursing students from hospitals, colleges of nursing, and the Korean Nurses Association, located in Seoul, Korea. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the Institutional Research Board in Korea. Findings: Based on the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation model, the Good Research Practice program was made up of a total of 30 h of the blended learning both online and off-line. The results of this study showed that there were statistically significant differences in both knowledge and perception of research ethics in nursing students and nurses before and after the program had been implemented. Discussion: The concepts of professional nursing ethics, moral issues, and bioethics were often confused with one another and not clearly defined. Therefore, the concept and scope of bioethics, moral judgment, and overall nursing ethics should be well defined and conceptualized in the future. Conclusions: This study suggested integrating research ethics education in the nursing curriculum as a required course of study for nursing students and as part of the in-service training program for nurses in order to improve research ethics in nursing research in Korea. (shrink)

The present study conducted a detailed bibliometric analysis focused on research related to Heuristic Method, Research Skills and Teaching Practice within the framework of Higher Education. For this purpose, the Scopus database was used, considering publications from 2013 to 2023. The initial analysis revealed a total of 4071 relevant records. Of these, research articles constituted the largest proportion with 60.1%. Given the relevance and volume of these articles, 2488 were selected for further analysis. However, after a filtering process, it was (...) decided to work with 2363 articles. A crucial observation of the study is the prominence of the Social Sciences in this field. With 1,693 articles, the Social Sciences accounted for a significant 39.9% of the total number of publications analyzed. This data suggests a notable inclination towards the Social Sciences when addressing the above-mentioned topics in the field of higher education. It also reflects the interdisciplinarity and diversity of approaches in contemporary educational research. It is essential to note that the methodology adopted in this study, based on bibliometric tools and the Scopus database, provides a robust and up-to-date overview of trends in educational research over the last decade. These findings are crucial for scholars, researchers and practitioners in education to understand the dynamics and recent evolutions in the field. (shrink)

History, Geography and Civics provides an in-depth and engaging introduction to teaching and learning socio-environmental education from F-6 in Australia and New Zealand. It explores the centrality of socio-environmental issues to all aspects of life and education and makes explicit links between pedagogical theories and classroom activities. Part I introduces readers to teaching and learning history, geography and environmental studies, and civics and citizenship, as well as issues in intercultural and global education. Part II explores the use of (...) media and sources, values and attitudes, assessment and creative teaching. Each chapter provides links to the Australian Curriculum, including cross-curriculum priorities: sustainability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education, and Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia. History, Geography and Civics encourages the reader to consider their own beliefs, values and attitudes in relation to their teaching and includes provocations and reflective questions to foster discussion and engagement. (shrink)

"Morality and religion have failed because they are based on duplicity and fantasy. We need something new." This bold statement is the driving force behind Richard Garner's "Beyond Morality." In his book, Garner presents an insightful defense of moral error theory-the idea that our moral thought and discourse is systemically flawed. Establishing his argument with a discerning survey of historical and contemporary moral beliefs from around the world, Garner critically evaluates the plausibility of these beliefs and ultimately finds them wanting. (...) In response, Garner suggests that humanity must "get beyond morality" by rejecting traditional language and thought about good and bad, right and wrong. He encourages readers to adhere to an alternative system of thought: "informed, compassionate amoralism," a blend of compassion, non-duplicity, and clarity of language that Garner believes will nurture our capability for tolerance, creation, and cooperation. By abandoning illusion and learning to listen to others and ourselves, Garner insists that society can and will find harmony. Richard Garner's, "Beyond Morality" delves deep into the thoughts and codes that inform the actions of humanity and offers a solution to the embedded error of these forces. An essential text for students of philosophy, "Beyond Morality" provides a groundwork for improving human action and relationships. Richard Garner is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Ohio State University. "One can discern the influence of the moral skeptic upon philosophy for as far back as one can gather any solid evidence at all, yet all too often the skeptical case has been articulated by opponents only with an eye to its refutation. All the more important it is, then, that forms of moral skepticism are sympathetically developed and advocated in the intellectual community. When first published in 1994, "Beyond Morality" was one of very few books that intelligently championed a radical type of moral skepticism; here Garner threw down the gauntlet in a firm, level-headed, and engaging manner. In so doing, he showed amoralism to have many attractions and a rich cultural history. Garner's position remains very much a live option in metaethics, and the importance of "Beyond Morality" has not diminished." -Richard Joyce, Professor of Philosophy, Victoria University of Wellington "This work is a tremendous achievement. The author's erudition is overwhelming, yet it is expressed without overwhelming the reader. He goes easily from modern to ancient thought. Some of the most difficult areas of thought are explored with such clarity that readers unfamiliar with them can grasp them readily. One of the chief virtues of this highly informative book is that it sets the problems of ethics in the context of wider areas of thought and brings them down to earth. Garner's main thesis, referred to as amoralism, is extremely important, not only to philosophy, but to all popular thinking about ethics, both theoretical and applied. He has done a magnificent job defending this important theme. This is a landmark work." -Richard Taylor, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Rochester "Garner is one of the first philosophers since Nietzsche to take seriously the idea that 'morality' might be nothing more than a sham. . . . In his hands, 'amoralism' turns out to be more appealing and humane than many thinkers' versions of 'morality'!" -James Rachels, Professor of Philosophy, University of Alabama at Birmingham. (shrink)

Through a consideration of the views of R.G. Collingwood on historical knowledge and conceptual change, this paper addresses organisational issues such as history, culture and memory. It then subjects the idea of ‘learning histories’ to critical scrutiny. It concludes that, because of their potential to become framing mental models, they may be in danger of failing to achieve the purposes for which they are used.

Originally published in 1972, this book is a systematic analysis of the objectives and methods of history teaching. The book considers the criticisms of the 1960s and 70s of history as a subject and the pressures for its replacement in the school curriculum. It examines the complex psychological background of learning history and suggests that historical understanding makes an important contribution to cognitive growth. It also stresses the important part played by historical material in the emotional and imaginative life (...) of the child. Concluding with a discussion of practical classroom methods, the author proposes objectives and characteristic concepts of the subject which may be embodied in all levels of teaching. (shrink)