Learning Sciences and Educational Technology

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Technology Enhanced Education".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 9765

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
National Engineering Research Centre for E-Learning & MOE (PRC) Educational Informatisation Strategy Research Base, Faculty of Artificial Intelligence in Education, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430072, China
Interests: diffusion of innovations; ICT and leadership; learning technologies; scaling and translation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore City 639798, Singapore
Interests: apprenticeship learning and epistemic change; scaling and diffusion of educational innovations; social constructivism and communities of practice
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rapid technological changes have characterized the modern 21st century, and this has had a corresponding effect on education. As educational needs evolve, it is crucial to understand the multifaceted nature of technology in order to utilize and manage appropriate technological tools effectively and responsibly. Similarly, the application of education technology is complex and requires a diverse range of knowledge from different fields (Lazar, 2015; Ferdig, 2006). With a multitude of education technology tools widely available for educators, how then can we assess the efficacy of a particular innovation? As has been reported in existing literature, innovations should be aligned to a learning theory, appropriate pedagogy, and sound research outcomes (e.g., Christensen and Eyring, 2011; Ferdig, 2006; Serdyukov, 2017).

The learning sciences could be one way of approaching the study of educational technology. The learning sciences are an emerging field that seeks to understand how individuals learn at the cognitive, social, and cultural levels (Sommerhoff, et al., 2018). It seeks collaboration between various disciplines to inform new ways of thinking about learning by inquiring into the cognitive and social processes when individuals learn. Consequently, how can you use this knowledge to optimize learning by designing learning experiences and environments that can lead to more effective teaching and learning?

This Special Issue aims to further our understanding of how learning sciences could help to inform educational decisions in innovations related to educational technology. This involves interdisciplinary research on the causes, effects, and mechanisms of new models of learning. Education technology, if not used with appropriate pedagogies and scaffolding, may not necessarily result in more effective learning. Hence, the perspective of learning sciences signals a paradigm shift in how we understand teaching and learning. In fostering scholarship on learning sciences related to educational technology, we can improve collaboration between educators and researchers, with the aim of improving policy and practice.

We welcome all papers with the aim to advance theoretical and especially practical knowledge related to the use of education technology from a learning science perspective. We strongly encourage research that elicits design principles, as well as that which contributes to the literature with empirically supported findings. Research can include case studies, empirical studies, and theoretical papers. 

References

Christensen, C. and Eyring, H. (2011), The Innovative University: Changing the DNA of Higher Education from the Inside out, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA

Lazar, S. (2015). The importance of educational technology in teaching. International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education3(1).

Ferdig, R. E. (2006). Assessing technologies for teaching and learning: understanding the importance of technological pedagogical content knowledge. British journal of educational technology37(5), 749-760.

Serdyukov, P. (2017). Innovation in education: what works, what doesn’t, and what to do about it?. Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning.

Sommerhoff, D., Szameitat, A., Vogel, F., Chernikova, O., Loderer, K., & Fischer, F. (2018). What do we teach when we teach the learning sciences? A document analysis of 75 graduate programs. Journal of the Learning Sciences27(2), 319-351.

Prof. Dr. Longkai Wu
Prof. Dr. Hung Wei Loong David
Guest Editors

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • AR, VR, and mixed reality
  • artificial intelligence in education
  • learning analytics
  • digital citizenship
  • online learning design
  • blended learning
  • neuroscience in education

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 5635 KiB  
Article
A Combination of Real-World Experiments and Augmented Reality When Learning about the States of Wax—An Eye-Tracking Study
by Sabrina Syskowski and Johannes Huwer
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(2), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13020177 - 8 Feb 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2148
Abstract
Burning candles show the solid and liquid states of wax on a macroscopic level. With augmented reality, the submicroscopic and symbolic level of all three states of wax can be shown. The augmented reality environment developed in this study lets students test their [...] Read more.
Burning candles show the solid and liquid states of wax on a macroscopic level. With augmented reality, the submicroscopic and symbolic level of all three states of wax can be shown. The augmented reality environment developed in this study lets students test their knowledge about the position of the three states of wax. So far, how the design parameters of augmented reality learning environments influence users’ eye movement and learning performance has not been researched. Twenty-three German students between the ages of 9 and 15 form the randomized sample of this study with three different groups. AR learning scenarios were created, varying only in one design parameter: ‘congruence with reality’. Our analysis using audio, video, and eye-tracking data showed that all the participants learned mostly the same and that the participants who saw the real experiment on screen experienced the highest degree of immersion. This study indicates that the presented AR learning environment is an opportunity to learn about what exact part of a candle is burning with the submicroscopic level shown in comparison; before using the learning environment, the students were uncertain about what substance burns when a candle is lit and what function the wick has. This study suggests teachers should think about implementing learning environments such as this to help students connect different levels of representation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning Sciences and Educational Technology)
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18 pages, 2416 KiB  
Article
Investigating Student-Generated Questioning in a Technology-Enabled Elementary Science Classroom: A Case Study
by Longkai Wu, Yaohuizhuo Liu, Meng-Leong How and Sujin He
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(2), 158; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13020158 - 2 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2954
Abstract
This study is aimed at providing solutions to problems in the field of science and technology education, as well as approaches to improve its effectiveness. This study’s specific goal was to ascertain how inquiry-based learning, when aided by instructional technology, raises student success [...] Read more.
This study is aimed at providing solutions to problems in the field of science and technology education, as well as approaches to improve its effectiveness. This study’s specific goal was to ascertain how inquiry-based learning, when aided by instructional technology, raises student success and fosters their capacity for scientific inquiry. In this paper, we investigate a technology-supported intervention that facilitates students to actively generate and solve questions in a cycle of science inquiry in a primary (elementary) school. Through utilizing a question generation technology platform with a guided pedagogical framework, the teachers purposefully leveraged on students’ generated questioning to design and implement a process of creating and presenting their inquiries. The questioning-driven dialogic exchanges took place in the classroom setting, as well as during online interactions outside of the class. Our empirical study, as demonstrated by quantitative and qualitative analysis, connotes a positive causal effect of students’ generated questioning to their cognitive performances, and their noteworthy differences of attitudes towards science between the experimental and control groups. The results uphold the value of fostering students to generate questions for their inquiries and learning. We also highlight the importance of teachers’ awareness of pedagogical design and enactment, enabled by technology, in order to adapt to the profiles of students’ generated questioning for fostering productive cognitive performances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning Sciences and Educational Technology)
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13 pages, 889 KiB  
Article
Higher Education Faculty Perceptions and Needs  on Neuroeducation in Teaching and Learning
by Maria Fragkaki, Stylianos Mystakidis and Konstantinos Dimitropoulos
Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(10), 707; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12100707 - 14 Oct 2022
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3631
Abstract
Being a professor at the university is associated with the acquisition of sufficient domain knowledge and skills to teach. On the other hand, there is a constant need to update and strengthen teaching skills and contribute to an effective learning process. Neuroscience research [...] Read more.
Being a professor at the university is associated with the acquisition of sufficient domain knowledge and skills to teach. On the other hand, there is a constant need to update and strengthen teaching skills and contribute to an effective learning process. Neuroscience research provides evidence on facilitating factors to student engagement and lasting, durable learning. Toward the improvement of the learning quality in Higher Education, the development of an innovative didactic proposal based on neuroscience was undertaken. For that reason, a mixed research method was designed with the purpose of exploring instructors’ opinions and practices. Participants were sixty academics from five Greek universities. Findings include the recognition of the validity and importance of neuroeducation training. It was also revealed that academics’ theoretical declarations are not always aligned with teaching practice. Equally important is their need to deepen the comprehension of memory function for the enhancement of students’ knowledge retention. Eventual misconceptions about the brain might be present, while not all employed pedagogical methods lead to desired student outcomes such as creativity and critical thinking. In addition, it is considered useful to apply alternative, creative and authentic assessment methods based on neuroscience evidence to increase students’ interest and engagement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning Sciences and Educational Technology)
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