To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Learning formal and not formal.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Learning formal and not formal'
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Learning formal and not formal.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Moreland, Rosemary. "Towards a learning society : a study of formal, non-formal and informal adult learning opportunities." Thesis, University of Ulster, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.386104.
Full text
2
Elwick, Alex Robert. "Non-formal learning in museums and galleries." Thesis, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10443/2081.
Full textAbstract:
A ubiquitous, but under-researched, phenomenon, non-formal learning represents all learning that does not fall under the heading of ‘formal’ that is to say that it is not an organised event or package; bound by a prescribed framework; marked by the presence of a designated teacher; or result in the award of a qualification. This research primarily aimed to investigate how non-formal learning takes place in museums and galleries: specifically exploring the differences and characteristics of non-formal learning between different groups of people. As well as an extensive literature review which draws together theoretical approaches from a wide range of fields/disciplines, the thesis outlines the development of a methodological tool entitled ‘The Dual Model’ which is a combination of models of skill acquisition and cultural capital. This model represents a new approach to the investigation of non-formal learning and this thesis explores its direct implementation as an evaluative tool. Implicit learning (a form of learning which is unconscious, either whilst it is taking place or in terms of the knowledge subsequently created) represents a focal point for the research. By scrutinising contradictions in visitors’ accounts of their museums visits, possible cases of implicit learning in context are identified and evaluated; a unique contribution to an understanding of how people learn non-formally without being aware of doing so. The research confirms a typology of non-formal learning which differentiates between explicit and implicit components and also provides evidence that there are identifiably different sets of characteristics which individuals might exhibit based upon their cultural capital, their relationship with the art field and their level of skill acquisition.
3
Morgan, Anthony. "An investigation into the learning environments associated with the band and music service worlds in Northern Ireland : a qualitative comparison of formal with non-formal learning." Thesis, University of Ulster, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.342529.
Full text
4
Vimjam, Vishnu Chaithanya. "Strategies for SAT-Based Formal Verification." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/26078.
Full textAbstract:
Verification of digital hardware designs is becoming an increasingly complex task as the designs are incorporating more functionality, becoming complex and growing larger in size. Today, verification remains a bottleneck in meeting time-to-market requirements and consumes more than 70% of the overall design-costs. Traditionally, verification has been done using simulation-based approaches, where a set of appropriate test-stimuli is used by the designer. As the designs become more complex, however, simulation-based techniques often fail to capture corner-case errors. Furthermore, unless exhaustively tested, these approaches do not guarantee the correctness of a system with respect to its specifications. As a consequence, formal methods for design verification have been sought after. In formal verification, the conformance of a design to a given set of specifications is proven mathematically, thereby leaving no room for unexplored search spaces. Despite the exponential time/memory complexities often involved within the formal approaches, they have shown promise in capturing subtle bugs, which were missed otherwise.
In this dissertation, we focus on Boolean Satisfiability (SAT) based formal verification, which has gained tremendous importance in the recent past. Importantly, SAT-based approaches often alleviate the memory explosion problem, which had been a bottleneck of the traditional symbolic (Binary Decision Diagram based) approaches. In SAT-based techniques, the set of verification tasks are converted into a set of Boolean formulae, which are checked for satisfiability using a SAT solver. These problems are often NP-complete and are prone to an explosion in the required run-time. To overcome this, we propose novel strategies which utilize both structural and logical information of a sequential circuit. In particular, we devise techniques to extract non-trivial invariants of a design, strengthen properties such that they can be proven faster and interleave bounded reachability analysis with bounded model checking. We provide the necessary algorithms and implementation details in order to automate the proposed techniques. Experiments conducted on a variety of benchmark circuits show that orders of magnitude improvement in overall run-times can be achieved via our techniques compared to the existing state-of-the-art SAT-based approaches.Ph. D.
5
Barroso, Maria Margarida Tenreiro Pereira. "Cartografia educacional da Freguesia de Vila Nova de São Bento." Master's thesis, Universidade de Évora, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10174/11864.
Full textAbstract:
O presente trabalho visa conhecer e caracterizar as aprendizagens promovidas pelas principais instituições da freguesia de Vila Nova de S. Bento (concelho de Serpa), avaliando a presença relativa dos contextos formais, não – formais e informais.
Realizámos uma abordagem teórica, com o intuito de precisar alguns conceitos chave como aprendizagem, ambientes de aprendizagem e território.
Para concretizar o trabalho empírico, e tendo como base as questões subjacentes à investigação, utilizámos uma metodologia mista (quantitativa/qualitativa) com uma aproximação conceptual ao estudo de caso. O instrumento utilizado na recolha de dados foi o inquérito por questionário aplicado.
Fizemos uma recolha, análise e interpretação de dados que nos permitiram inferir:
As instituições objecto do nosso estudo constituem um potencial educativo no território analisado;
Estas instituições desenvolvem um conjunto de actividades de aprendizagem que poderão ser um recurso para o território;
Estabelecida uma relação de diálogo com a escola e outros parceiros locais, será possível potenciar novas ofertas educativas neste território.
Terminámos este trabalho, com a apresentação de algumas recomendações e sugestões, que poderão vir a integrar novas investigações;
### Abstract:
The present study aims to now and characterizes the learning’s promoted by the main institutions in the town of Vila Nova de S. Bento (Serpa), evaluating the relative presence of formal, non-formal and informal contexts.
We made a theoretical approach, aiming to precise some key concepts, like learning ambient and territories.
To realise the empiric work, and having as base subjacent questions to the investigation, we used a mixed methodology (quantitative/qualitative) as a conceptual approach to the case study. The instrument used in the recollection of data was an inquiry by applied questioner.
We made a recollection, analysis and interpretation of data witch permitted as to infer:
The institutions which we observed in our study have an educative potential,
These institutions developed a series of learning activities that might be a good source for the territory,
Establishing a relationship between the school and the other local partners, it will be possible to potentiate the learning offers.
We end this study by presetting some recommendations and suggestions that might be integrated in new investigations.
6
Adamu, Taddele. "Individual differences in second language learning in formal contexts." Thesis, Online version, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?did=1&uin=uk.bl.ethos.276152.
Full text
7
Feichas, Heloisa Faria Braga. "Formal and informal music learning in Brazilian higher education." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2006. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10020512/.
Full text
8
Arora, Rajat. "Enhancing SAT-based Formal Verification Methods using Global Learning." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/32987.
Full textAbstract:
With the advances in VLSI and System-On-Chip (SOC) technology, the complexity of hardware systems has increased manifold. Today, 70% of the design cost is spent in verifying these intricate systems. The two most widely used formal methods for design verification are Equivalence Checking and Model Checking. Equivalence Checking requires that the implementation circuit should be exactly equivalent to the specification circuit (golden model). In other words, for each possible input pattern, the implementation circuit should yield the same outputs as the specification circuit. Model checking, on the other hand, checks to see if the design holds certain properties, which in turn are indispensable for the proper functionality of the design. Complexities in both Equivalence Checking and Model Checking are exponential to the circuit size.
In this thesis, we firstly propose a novel technique to improve SAT-based Combinational Equivalence Checking (CEC) and Bounded Model Checking (BMC). The idea is to perform a low-cost preprocessing that will statically induce global signal relationships into the original CNF formula of the circuit under verification and hence reduce the complexity of the SAT instance. This efficient and effective preprocessing quickly builds up the implication graph for the circuit under verification, yielding a large set of logic implications composed of direct, indirect and extended backward implications. These two-node implications (spanning time-frame boundaries) are converted into two-literal clauses, and added to the original CNF database. The added clauses constrain the search space of the SAT-solver engine, and provide correlation among the different variables, which enhances the Boolean Constraint Propagation (BCP). Experimental results on large and difficult ISCAS'85, ISCAS'89 (full scan) and ITC'99 (full scan) CEC instances and ISCAS'89 BMC instances show that our approach is independent of the state-of-the-art SAT-solver used, and that the added clauses help to achieve more than an order of magnitude speedup over the conventional approach. Also, comparison with Hyper-Resolution [Bacchus 03] suggests that our technique is much more powerful, yielding non-trivial clauses that significantly simplify the SAT instance complexity.
Secondly, we propose a novel global learning technique that helps to identify highly non-trivial relationships among signals in the circuit netlist, thereby boosting the power of the existing implication engine. We call this new class of implications as 'extended forward implications', and show its effectiveness through additional untestable faults they help to identify.
Thirdly, we propose a suite of lemmas and theorems to formalize global learning. We show through implementation that these theorems help to significantly simplify a generic CNF formula (from Formal Verification, Artificial Intelligence etc.) by identifying the necessary assignments, equivalent signals, complementary signals and other non-trivial implication relationships among its variables. We further illustrate through experimental results that the CNF formula simplification obtained using our tool outshines the simplification obtained using other preprocessors.Master of Science
9
Pitt, Robert Michael. "Journeys into lifelong learning : experiences of adult learners returning to formal learning." Thesis, University of the West of England, Bristol, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.444529.
Full text
10
Hunter, Kierstyn. "Gendering Organizational Learning| Describing Gendered Patterns in Formal and Informal Organizational Learning." Thesis, Prescott College, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10120219.
Full textAbstract:
This study explored organizational learning from a feminist perspective, similar to feminist critiques of organizational culture, and offers an analysis of individual’s perceptions of gender dynamics in organizational learning. Mainstream literature on organizational learning is based upon gender-blind assumptions in theory and practice. This study examined those assumptions with a feminist lens. Constructivist epistemology, a feminist interpretive lens, and phenomenological and feminist methodologies guide this research, which asks, what does gender equal organizational learning look like? Fourteen senior leaders of a small New England college were interviewed to better understanding their experience of gender and collective learning at a small liberal arts college. Feminist analysis of the in-depth interviews revealed patterns of gender dynamics and a distinction between informal and formal organizational learning. Informal learning affected elements of formal organizational learning, raising questions about the ways culture is enacted in organizations. Gendered experiences of voice, participation, and power are among the key findings that problematize mainstream organizational learning theory and suggest that different genders have dissimilar experiences of the participatory and strategic development of their organization. This research sheds light on the emancipatory potential of organizational learning, showing the ways organizational learning is both aa reflection of the culture and a means to change culture and advance gender equality.
11
Fang, Lei. "Exploring Constraint Satisfiability Techniques in Formal Verification." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/27573.
Full textAbstract:
Due to the widespread demands for efficient Propositional Satisfiability (SAT) solvers and its derivatives in Electronic Design Automation applications, methods to boost the performance of the SAT solver are highly desired. This dissertation aims to enhance the performance of SAT and related SAT solving problems. A hybrid solution to boost SAT solver performance is proposed as an initial attack in this dissertation, via an integration of local and DPLL-based search approaches.
Next, a different hybrid strategy is attempted that takes advantage of the conflicts in the SAT search, which plays a critical role in modern SAT solvers. Usually a learned conflict-induced clause is added back to the clause database. Although conflict-induced clauses help to block a portion of the search space, they can also become a burden due to the added cost in memory consumption and Boolean Constraint Propagation (BCP). We thus propose a novel double-layer conflict-driven learning to store only those "primary" conflict clauses back into the clause database while keeping the other clauses as pseudo Boolean constraints. With this approach our experiments demonstrate that the approach can improve both in performance and memory consumption. This work opens the door on how to assess the usefulness of conflict induced clauses.
Besides the aforementioned works about enhancing SAT solver performance and reducing memory cost, this dissertation also proposed a contributing work on the extended SAT problem solving. The current SAT solvers can provide an assignment for a satisfiable propositional formula. However, the capability for a SAT solver to return an "optimal" solution for a given objective function is severely lacking. MIN-ONE SAT is an optimization problem which requires the satisfying assignment with the minimal number of Ones, and it can be easily extended to minimize an arbitrary linear objective function. While some research has been conducted on MIN-ONE SAT, the existing algorithms do not scale very well on large formulas. This dissertation presents a novel approximation algorithm (RelaxSAT) for MIN-ONE SAT. RelaxSAT generates a set of constraints from the objective function to guide the search. The constraints are gradually relaxed to eliminate the conflicts with the original Boolean SAT formula until a solution is found. The experiments demonstrate that RelaxSAT is able to handle very large instances which cannot be solved by existing MIN-ONE algorithms; furthermore, RelaxSAT is able to obtain a very tight bound on the solution with one to two orders of magnitude speedup.
Based on the proposed powerful MIN-ONE SAT algorithm, we built a MAX-SAT solver which achieved more than one order of magnitude speed up compared with the-state-of-art MAX-SAT solver. We also discuss a promising application of this MAX-SAT solver in formal verification.Ph. D.
12
Abrandt, Madeleine. "Learning physiotherapy : the impact of formal education and professional experience /." Linköping : Univ, 1997. http://www.bibl.liu.se/liupubl/disp/disp97/ipp50s.htm.
Full text
13
Rajapakse, Rohana Kithsiri. "Formal concept matching and reinforcement learning in adaptive information retrieval." Thesis, University of Plymouth, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/340.
Full textAbstract:
The superiority of the human brain in information retrieval (IR) tasks seems to come firstly from its ability to read and understand the concepts, ideas or meanings central to documents, in order to reason out the usefulness of documents to information needs, and secondly from its ability to learn from experience and be adaptive to the environment. In this work we attempt to incorporate these properties into the development of an IR model to improve document retrieval. We investigate the applicability of concept lattices, which are based on the theory of Formal Concept Analysis (FCA), to the representation of documents. This allows the use of more elegant representation units, as opposed to keywords, in order to better capture concepts/ideas expressed in natural language text. We also investigate the use of a reinforcement leaming strategy to learn and improve document representations, based on the information present in query statements and user relevance feedback. Features or concepts of each document/query, formulated using FCA, are weighted separately with respect to the documents they are in, and organised into separate concept lattices according to a subsumption relation. Furthen-nore, each concept lattice is encoded in a two-layer neural network structure known as a Bidirectional Associative Memory (BAM), for efficient manipulation of the concepts in the lattice representation. This avoids implementation drawbacks faced by other FCA-based approaches. Retrieval of a document for an information need is based on concept matching between concept lattice representations of a document and a query. The learning strategy works by making the similarity of relevant documents stronger and non-relevant documents weaker for each query, depending on the relevance judgements of the users on retrieved documents. Our approach is radically different to existing FCA-based approaches in the following respects: concept formulation; weight assignment to object-attribute pairs; the representation of each document in a separate concept lattice; and encoding concept lattices in BAM structures. Furthermore, in contrast to the traditional relevance feedback mechanism, our learning strategy makes use of relevance feedback information to enhance document representations, thus making the document representations dynamic and adaptive to the user interactions. The results obtained on the CISI, CACM and ASLIB Cranfield collections are presented and compared with published results. In particular, the performance of the system is shown to improve significantly as the system learns from experience.
14
Bergh, Pontus. "Learning among entrepreneurs in formal networks : Outcomes, processes and beyond." Doctoral thesis, Umeå : Umeå School of Business, Umeå University, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-25691.
Full text
15
Moyer, Lisa Ann. "Engaging Students in 21st Century Skills through Non-Formal Learning." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/70949.
Full textAbstract:
National reforms, such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), Common Core State Standards Mathematical Practices (CCSMP), and Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P-21) challenge educators to provide students with dynamic learning experiences that address the needs of learners in today's society. These new standards represent a paradigm shift away from the meticulous content memorization of many state standards, toward more dynamic measures addressing the whole learner. To truly develop the leaders, innovators and thinkers of tomorrow, educators are beginning to look beyond the traditional schoolhouse walls to intertwine intentionally designed non-formal learning experiences within formal education. These non-formal experiences serve to connect seemingly disparate skills and knowledge through real-life, hands-on, minds-on learning. Embracing partnerships with individuals and organizations beyond the classroom fosters an environment seamlessly connecting life, work, and school.
Although the importance of student engagement in 21st century skills is at the forefront of current educational reforms, little has been done to assess this engagement. While standards such as Common Core State Standards and NGSS have measures in place for domain-specific 21st century skills, aside from PISA's cross-curricular problem solving test, there are few resources to measure non-domain specific engagement in these skills. Without a viable measure, detractors can argue that the term 21st century skills is meaningless and it distracts students from learning core content. Bridging the divide between skills and content is essential to build support for skills that reach far beyond isolated subject-matter knowledge. Engaging students in these skills through non-formal learning, and measuring the extent of student engagement in these skills will drive the development of future opportunities for students to hone them in creative ways.
The purpose of this study was to measure student engagement in 21st century skills while they participate in a non-formal learning experience. Once a viable measurement was developed, it was utilized to measure student percent of engagement in each specific 21st century Learning and Innovation skill (creativity and innovation, critical thinking, problem solving), Life and Career skill (flexibility and adaptability, initiative, self-direction and productivity, leadership, responsibility and accountability), and Socio-Cultural skill (communication and collaboration) while students participated in the intentionally designed non-formal learning experience of orienteering. The study also described what characterizes a viable non-formal learning experience facilitating student engagement in 21st century skills.
Analysis of data revealed the non-formal learning experience of orienteering engages students in 21st century Learning and Innovation Skills, Life and Career Skills and Socio-Cultural Skills. Specifically, communication and collaboration, critical thinking skills and initiative, self-direction and productivity comprise the largest student engagement. Engagement in leadership, responsibility and accountability, problem solving, and flexibility and adaptability are also evident. This particular non-formal learning experience facilitates very little student engagement of creativity and innovation. While not generalizable to a larger population, this study confirms that students immersed in a non-formal learning activity will become engaged in essential 21st century skills for school, life and work, therefore, this type of learning is a valuable part of instructional time within the formal instructional day and beyond.Ph. D.
16
Borchmann, Daniel. "Learning Terminological Knowledge with High Confidence from Erroneous Data." Doctoral thesis, Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2014. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-152028.
Full textAbstract:
Description logics knowledge bases are a popular approach to represent terminological and assertional knowledge suitable for computers to work with. Despite that, the practicality of description logics is impaired by the difficulties one has to overcome to construct such knowledge bases. Previous work has addressed this issue by providing methods to learn valid terminological knowledge from data, making use of ideas from formal concept analysis.
A basic assumption here is that the data is free of errors, an assumption that can in general not be made for practical applications. This thesis presents extensions of these results that allow to handle errors in the data. For this, knowledge that is "almost valid" in the data is retrieved, where the notion of "almost valid" is formalized using the notion of confidence from data mining. This thesis presents two algorithms which achieve this retrieval. The first algorithm just extracts all almost valid knowledge from the data, while the second algorithm utilizes expert interaction to distinguish errors from rare but valid counterexamples.
17
Jacobs, H. S. "Increased customer satisfaction during experiential learning." Interim : Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol 6, Issue 2: Central University of Technology Free State Bloemfontein, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/11462/404.
Full textAbstract:
Published ArticleA pilot programme was run (2004-2005) with Tourism Management students at the Central University of Technology, Free State to enhance the satisfaction levels of both the student and relevant employers during Experiential Learning. The goals were to try and better prepare students for their Experiential Learning experience by means of a formal orientation programme in addition to the normal briefing session held and to enable both students and employers to achieve higher satisfaction levels in terms of pre-determined aspects as a result of the programme. The pilot programme was based on and informed by theories of learning in cooperative education, best practice requirements as well as a study of possible benefits to all parties concerned.
18
Szakaly, Michael J. "Non-participation in formal education among active union members." Virtual Press, 2003. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1273157.
Full textAbstract:
An inquiry into why potential adult learners, employed full time and eligible for substantial tuition assistance dollars, do not participate in formal education may be of interest to administrators within higher education, labor union leadership, and adult educators. Using a descriptive approach, this study gathered evidence from 10 adults who had not participated in formal education in at least the past 10 years. The evidence collected was used to answer the question, Why do UA W-GM active union members, contractually eligible for tuition assistance funds, not participate informal education? Evidence was compiled from two one and one-half hour interviews and from a number of telephone conversations. Much of the previous research on non participation describes barriers and constraints to participation. The informants in this study spent little time discussing why they had not participated. Their discussions instead focused on how and why they had successfully engaged in many informal learning experiences.The research method used in this study is suited to provide details that indirectly provide a basis for analysis into non-participation in formal education for the selected group of informants. Analysis is provided in Chapter V. However, Chapter IV is presented in such a way as to invite readers to develop their own insights based on this sample of unique and varied experiences.Department of Educational Studies
19
Distel, Felix. "Learning Description Logic Knowledge Bases from Data Using Methods from Formal Concept Analysis." Doctoral thesis, Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2011. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-70199.
Full textAbstract:
Description Logics (DLs) are a class of knowledge representation formalisms that can represent terminological and assertional knowledge using a well-defined semantics. Often, knowledge engineers are experts in their own fields, but not in logics, and require assistance in the process of ontology design. This thesis presents three methods that can extract terminological knowledge from existing data and thereby assist in the design process. They are based on similar formalisms from Formal Concept Analysis (FCA), in particular the Next-Closure Algorithm and Attribute-Exploration. The first of the three methods computes terminological knowledge from the data, without any expert interaction. The two other methods use expert interaction where a human expert can confirm each terminological axiom or refute it by providing a counterexample. These two methods differ only in the way counterexamples are provided.
20
Crosta, Lucilla. "Virtual group development in formal learning contexts in Italy and UK." Thesis, Lancaster University, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.538600.
Full text
21
Cederborg, Thomas. "A Formal Approach to Social Learning: Exploring Language Acquisition Through Imitation." Phd thesis, Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux I, 2013. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00937615.
Full textAbstract:
The topic of this thesis is learning through social interaction, consisting of experiments that focus on word acquisition through imitation, and a formalism aiming to provide stronger theoretical foundations. The formalism is designed to encompass essentially any situation where a learner tries to figure out what a teacher wants it to do by interaction or observation. It groups learners that are interpreting a broad range of information sources under the same theoretical framework. A teachers demonstration, it's eye gaze during a reproduction attempt and a teacher speech comment are all treated as the same type of information source. They can all tell the imitator what the demonstrator wants it to do, and they need to be interpreted in some way. By including them all under the same framework, the formalism can describe any agent that is trying to figure out what a human wants it to do. This allows us to see parallels between existing research, and it provides a framing that makes new avenues of research visible. The concept of informed preferences is introduced to deal with cases such as "the teacher would like the learner to perform an action, but if it knew the consequences of that action, would prefer another action" or "the teacher is very happy with the end result after the learner has cleaned the apartment, but if it knew that the cleaning produced a lot of noise that disturbed the neighbors, it would not like the cleaning strategy". The success of a learner is judged according to the informed teachers opinion of what would be best for the uninformed version. A series of simplified setups are also introduced showing how a toy world setup can be reduced to a crisply defined inference problem with a mathematically defined success criteria (any learner architecture-setup pair has a numerical success value). An example experiment is presented where a learner is concurrently estimating the task and what the evaluative comments of a teacher means. This experiment shows how the ideas of learning to interpret information sources can be used in practice. The first of the learning from demonstration experiments presented investigates a learner, specifically an imitator, that can learn an unknown number of tasks from unlabeled demonstrations. The imitator has access to a set of demonstrations, but it must infer the number of tasks and determine what demonstration is of what task (there are no symbols or labels attached to the demonstrations). The demonstrator is attempting to teach the imitator a rule where the task to perform is dependent on the 2D position of an object. The objects 2D position is set at a random location within four different, well separated, rectangles, each location indicating that a specific task should be performed. Three different coordinate systems were available, and each task was defined in one of them (for example ''move the hand to the object and then draw a circle around it"). To deal with this setup, a local version of Gaussian Mixture Regression (GMR) was used called Incremental Local Online Gaussian Mixture Regression (ILO-GMR). A small and fixed number of gaussians are fitted to local data, informs policy, and then new local points are gathered. Three other experiments extends the types of contexts to include the actions of another human, making the investigation of language learning possible (a word is learnt by imitating how the demonstrator responds to someone uttering the word). The robot is presented with a setup containing two humans, one demonstrator (who performs hand movements), and an interactant (who might perform some form of communicative act). The interactants behavior is treated as part of the context and the demonstrators behavior is assumed to be an appropriate response to this extended context. Two experiments explore the simultaneous learning of linguistic and non linguistic tasks (one demonstration could show the appropriate response to an interactant speech utterance and another demonstration could show the appropriate response to an object position). The imitator is not given access to any symbolic information about what word or hand sign was spoken, and must infer how many words where spoken, how many times linguistic information was present, and what demonstrations where responses to what word. Another experiment explores more advanced types of linguistic conventions and demonstrator actions (simple word order grammar in interactant communicative acts, and the imitation of internal cognitive operations performed by the demonstrator as a response). Since a single general imitation learning mechanism can deal with the acquisition of all the different types of tasks, it opens up the possibility that there might not be a need for a separate language acquisition system. Being able to learn a language is certainly very useful when growing up in a linguistic community, but this selection pressure can not be used to explain how the linguistic community arose in the first place. It will be argued that a general imitation learning mechanism is both useful in the absence of language, and will result in language given certain conditions such as shared intentionality and the ability to infer the intentions and mental states of others (all of which can be useful to develop in the absence of language). It will be argued that the general tendency to adopt normative rules is a central ingredient for language (not sufficient, and not necessary while adopting an already established language, but certainly very conducive for a community establishing linguistic conventions).
22
Anderson-Gough, Fiona Mary. "On becoming the new accountant expert : between formal and informal learning." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.403104.
Full text
23
Visser, Alvin-Jon. "Rural students' local knowledge of learning in formal and informal contexts." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002588.
Full textAbstract:
The general aim of this thesis is to illuminate the process of learning as it occurs in formal and informal contexts. The study focuses on South African scholars attending school in rural areas where the contrast between learning in formal and informal learning contexts is more pronounced than that in urban areas. The research draws on rural scholars' local knowledge of formal and informal learning contexts in order to gain a rich insight into how cognition is situated in different learning contexts. This is accomplished through investigating the structure of the respective learning tasks, the mediators involved, the task objectives and the means for achieving these objectives in the different learning contexts. The thesis draws on a socio-cultural approach to the study of cognitive development to probe the activity of learning in a formal and informal learning context. Through the use of a context sensitive methodological methods especially Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools and techniques, it was possible to illuminate tacit local knowledge structures and to get participants to actively explicate their understandings related to learning in different contexts The research results illustrate the assertion that the activity of learning is fundamentally situated in the learning context from which it arises. Learning is framed by the community of practice which structures affordances for situated learning, through mediation, within zones of proximal development. Learning in a formal context such as the school is often abstract, rule-based, standardised and theory related. Learners also find it difficult to reflect on the learning tasks and the mediational means used in a formal learning context. In contrast, the learning which takes place in an informal setting is often practical, individualised, flexible and environment based. This learning is structured around everyday activities and is dynamically defined and supported. In a situation where a learner is exposed to dislocated learning contexts, the essential goal of educational initiatives is to bridge the gap between the two. This can be achieved through mediators creating effective zones of proximal development which facilitate the individuals adaptation between learning contexts. Exposing rural scholars' local knowledge of learning in formal and informal contexts allows for a fuller understanding of the cognitive development structured within formal and informal communities of practice. It is this understanding that is necessary to address the situation where learning contexts, drawing on different knowledge bases find ways of thinking, prove challenging and/or conflicting to the scholar.
24
Oraif, Fatmah Abdullah. "An exploration of confidence related to formal learning in Saudi Arabia." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2007. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8033/.
Full textAbstract:
Learners approach learning tasks with varying degrees of confidence and their confidence may influence the prospects of progress and success. The main purpose of the investigations reported in this thesis was to explore confidence in relation to learning, in the context of education in Saudi Arabia, focussing mainly on early university experiences. Because of access to students in Saudi Arabia, most of the sample of over 1400 students were female. Confidence is an elusive concept but it can affect many areas of life. This study seeks to explore academic confidence, to see how it relates to other aspects of confidence and to see whether any aspects of learning or the nature of learning situations relates particularly to the enhancement of confidence with learners. The study starts by exploring what is meant by confidence, specifically in an educational setting, and then moves on to consider how experiences held in memory relate to the formation and development of confidence. In thinking of confidence, it is suggested that confidence can be seen, at least in part, as an attitude towards oneself. It is how a person sees himself in the context of a task or opportunity. This study starts by an attempt to explore several aspects of confidence to see to what extent confidence is a generic characteristic and how academic confidence might relate to that. Academic confidence might be related to specific cognitive characteristics or to views of learning or to specific kinds of learning situations. Questionnaires and interviews were the approach adopted in this study. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken to establish some kind of measure of the validity of the questionnaires. Working memory capacity was measured using the digits span backwards test while examination and test data were also obtained. In every case, large samples were used in the data collection. The overall aim was to obtain a picture of the nature of confidence and to see how this was related to other attributes (which were also measured by survey) and to performance (as measured by formal examinations). The key observation is that academic performance tends only to be correlated with academic confidence. Thus, confidence is probably not a general attribute. Interviews tend to confirm the outcomes from the survey. In that working memory is a well established rate determining factor in much learning, it might be thought that that working memory capacity might be a factor in enhancing confidence but, in the context of the sample of female students used in this study, this was not found to be so. Students were asked to look at themselves in the learning process, to indicate their preferred styles of learning and assessment but, in general, few aspects seem to show any strong relationship with the development of academic confidence. However, those who expressed specific confidence in their abilities related to studying tended to be those who were, in fact, better performers as measured by examinations. Thus, students seem to be appropriately self-aware. Also, the importance of tests and examinations was seen and it did appear that results from these were a major feature of confidence growth. Attitudes to learning (following the Perry model, 1999) also tend not to correlate significantly with academic performance although there is a hint that assessment might be important. Aspects of learning style, purposes of learning, evaluation in examinations, group-working skills and academic self-perception showed few clear patterns in relation to confidence. The strong. overall impression is that preferred curriculum approaches are not very important in developing confidence although the influence of the subject teacher may be very important. Also it seems to be an innate human characteristic to seek for meaning. Memorisation is not, perhaps, the natural way forward. All of this tends to give a kind of picture of characteristics that might describe some confident students rather than give a set of criteria for developing a confident person. Although not the main purpose of the study, the patterns of results from the many questionnaires revealed major deficiencies in the Saudi education system as seen by the learners and offers an agenda for change for the future. There seemed to be an expressed interest in more opportunities for thinking (rather than memorising), for questioning, creativity and working in groups. From all of this, it might be deduced that the key feature underpinning confidence lies in simple success (reflected in speed of learning, understanding, and examination success). Thus, confidence makes it possible for students to enjoy the challenges of further learning, to take risks and to take risks in a social learning situation like group work. Perhaps the most remarkable thing is the lack of features which correlate with measures of academic confidence. Any attempt to find some kind of insight into a way of teaching and learning which generates increased confidence is not easy from the data. There are two possible reasons for this. Perhaps, different students prefer different ways and this hides any significant correlations overall. Perhaps, also, the students are so accustomed to a system which offers information in quantity and provides rewards only to those who can recall it accurately that this hides other possibilities for these students. The one thing that stands out is that success seems to lead to confidence. These students are among those who have been more successful at school in terms of examinations. The fundamental question is how to offer success to those who are not so good at formal examinations based on recall. If success is so dependent on this and confidence is not related much to other aspects, then there is a real danger that the examination system will generate a population where many are unsuccessful. The system might be leading to a destruction of confidence. It does not seem to be the style of examination but the fact of success in examinations which is an important determinant of confidence. The samples considered were drawn from those who had been successful at school. Further studies might focus on those, who were not so successful.
25
Gil, de la Iglesia Didac. "A Formal Approach for Designing Distributed Self-Adaptive Systems." Doctoral thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för medieteknik (ME), 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-34195.
Full textAbstract:
Engineering contemporary distributed software applications is a challenging task due to the dynamic operating conditions in which these systems have to function. Examples are dynamic availability of resources, errors that are difficult to predict, and changing user requirements. These dynamics can affect a number of quality concerns of a system, such as robustness, openness, and performance. The challenges of engineering software systems with such dynamics have motivated the need for self-adaptation. Self-adaptation is based on the principle of separation of concerns, distinguishing two well defined systems: a managed system that deals with domain specific concerns and a managing system that deals with particular quality concerns of the managed system through adaptation with a feedback loop. State of the art in self- adaptation advocates the use of formal methods to specify and verify the system's behavior in order to provide evidence that the system's goals are satisfied. However, little work has been done on the consolidation of design knowledge to model and verify self-adaptation behaviors. To support designers, this thesis contributes with a set of formally specified templates for the specification and verification of self-adaptive behaviors of a family of distributed self-adaptive systems. The templates are based on the MAPE-K reference model (Monitor-Analyze-Plan-Execute plus Knowledge). The templates comprise: (1) behavior specification patterns for modeling the different MAPE components of a feedback loop, and (2) property specification patterns that support verification of the correctness of the adaptation behaviors. The target domain are distributed applications in which self-adaptation is used for managing resources for robustness and openness requirements. The templates are derived from expertise with developing several self-adaptive systems, including a collaborative mobile learning application in which we have applied self-adaptation to make the system robust to degrading GPS accuracy, and a robotic system in which we apply self-adaptation to support different types of openness requirements. We demonstrate the reusability of the templates in a number of case studies.AMULETS
26
Evans, Sarah Rose. "Developing dramatic facilitation practice across formal and informal pedagogic contexts." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/9304.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines how drama facilitators adapt and assess their praxis so that it can be applied effectively in different learning contexts. This research analyses the good praxis of established facilitators with comparatively little documentation to disseminate their approaches. MED Theatre, Magic Carpet, the Shakespeare Schools Festival and West Exe Technology College employ facilitators who adopt a personalised approach to their praxis, transitioning across the spectrum of formal and informal learning to engage a diverse range of learners. The concepts of formal and informal learning are defined at the outset and the particular problems they can present drama facilitators are contextualised. Finding the right tools and assessment procedures is a significant challenge in a pedagogic landscape characterised by conflicting theories, a broad range of learner needs, and multiple perceptions of what actually counts as evidence of learning to justify praxis. With an increasing number of facilitators sustaining themselves by operating within a variety of learning settings there is an emerging need to identify what skills, knowledge and considerations support the process of becoming this kind of extended professional. Initiating my investigation, I explore how the role of a drama facilitator has emerged through movements in the fields of education, Community Theatre and the arts in Chapter One. The main pedagogic theories and approaches to assessment that a drama facilitator must engage with to personalise praxis are presented in Chapter Two. Supporting the development of this expanding field of praxis, the four case studies analysed illustrate how facilitators have sustained careers as extended professionals whilst negotiating educational policy, different learners, and assessment criterion. This thesis contributes to the argument for sustaining and developing links between formalised learning and informal social learning. I challenge the competitive perception of system-centred and learner-centred approaches, re-framing them as inter-related processes in cases of good practice. Finally, I identify how facilitators are attempting to forge further community links, interrogating how this emerging field 4 may be developed by drama facilitators who share a commitment to developing the quality of learning opportunities offered in the UK.
27
Maluli, Lidiane Mendes. "Aprendizagem formal e informal dos funcionários administrativos de uma instituição educacional." Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, 2013. http://tede.mackenzie.br/jspui/handle/tede/601.
Full textAbstract:
Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:26:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1
Lidiane Mendes Maluli.pdf: 1497993 bytes, checksum: f0bfdae18a511a3b2ae8a454a71a9716 (MD5)
Previous issue date: 2013-02-06The aim of this work was to answer the following question: Which learning activities are present among the business staff of a university? The main goals were: (i) to identify and analyse which work activities, either formal or informal, bring learning knowledge to the business staff of a university; and (ii) to analyse the learning activities, formal and informal, by examining the aspects that facilitate and the obstacles that influence the knowledge acquisition. This work was made in a university in São Paulo city through a quantitative research conducted by means of a survey. The data collection with the business staff was made through a research form based on Slater (2004), adapted to this work. The main results were explored with the use of statistic tools (Excel, SPSS and SmartPLS), which allowed and the confirmatory factorial analysis (based on the final collection results and the pre-test results). The results identified that the staff learn more through informal learning activities, especially when executing their own jobs, interacting with other employees/ students and communicating with themselves. The activities executing their on job and interaction with other employees/students were considered the most important for the administrative employees who took part in the research. The factor individual learning is the one that influences the most the existence of informal learning in the Educational Institution, and it was responsible for 49% of the results in this research.
Este estudo procurou responder ao seguinte problema de pesquisa: Quais atividades de aprendizagem estão presentes entre os funcionários administrativos de uma instituição educacional? Teve como objetivos: (i) identificar e analisar quais atividades de trabalho, tanto formais quanto informais, propiciam aprendizagem entre os funcionários administrativos de uma instituição de ensino; e (ii) analisar as atividades de aprendizagem, formais e informais, examinando-se os fatores que facilitam e os obstáculos que influenciam a aquisição de conhecimento. O estudo foi realizado em uma instituição de ensino da cidade de São Paulo por meio de uma pesquisa quantitativa conduzida a partir de um levantamento (survey). A coleta de dados, realizada com os funcionários administrativos, envolveu o preenchimento de um formulário de pesquisa oriundo do estudo de Slater (2004) e adaptado para este trabalho. Os resultados encontrados foram explorados com base em ferramentas estatísticas (Excel, SPSS e SmartPLS), que propiciaram a execução da análise fatorial confirmatória (a partir dos resultados do pré-teste e da coleta final). Os resultados identificaram que os funcionários aprendem mais por meio de atividades de aprendizagem informal e em especial ao executar seu próprio trabalho, interagir com outros funcionários/alunos e pela comunicação pessoal entre eles. As atividades execução do próprio trabalho e interação com outros funcionários/alunos foram apontadas como as mais importantes para os funcionários administrativos que participaram da pesquisa. O fator aprendizagem individual é o que mais influencia a existência de aprendizagem informal na Instituição Educação e foi responsável por 49% do resultado da pesquisa.
28
Casado, Mariana Rosa Rocha. "Os roteiros pedagógicos na indústria agroalimentar do alentejo: um estudo exploratório." Master's thesis, Universidade de Évora, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10174/21029.
Full textAbstract:
O presente estudo pretendeu conhecer e descrever os Roteiros Pedagógicos de
três empresas do ramo agroalimentar na região Alentejo. As empresas foram
escolhidas pela sua expressão e dimensão na região e pela diferenciação da
área de produção.
Tendo em conta estes pressupostos no estudo, assume-se a seguinte questão
de partida:
Como foram desenhados e concretizados os roteiros pedagógicos na indústria
agroalimentar do Alentejo?
No estudo foi desenvolvida uma investigação de natureza descritiva e
interpretativa, nomeadamente um estudo exploratório.
Na metodologia da investigação, de natureza qualitativa, recorremos à aplicação
de entrevistas semiestruturadas.
Na análise e interpretação dos resultados, concluiu-se que existem diferenças
entre as três empresas estudadas, nomeadamente:
i) na forma de implementação do roteiro pedagógico
ii) na importância do mesmo dentro da estrutura da empresa
iii) nos resultados inerentes à aprendizagem em contexto não formal;
Abstract
The present study aims to understand and describe the pedagogic itineraries in
three agribusiness sector companies in Alentejo region. The companies were
chosen for their expression and dimension in the region, and the differentiation
of the production area.
Given these assumptions in the study, it is assumed the following initial question:
How were designed and are implemented pedagogical scripts in the agrifood
industry in Alentejo?
This study was developed a descriptive and interpretive nature research,
including an exploratory work.
In the research methodology of qualitative nature, we resort to the application of
semi-structured interviews.
In the analysis and interpretation of results, it was concluded that there are
differences between the three companies studied, namely:
i) the implementation of the pedagogic script
ii) the importance of it within the company´s
iii) the results inherent learning in non-formal context.
29
Georgoulas, Anastasios-Andreas. "Formal language for statistical inference of uncertain stochastic systems." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/25430.
Full textAbstract:
Stochastic models, in particular Continuous Time Markov Chains, are a commonly employed mathematical abstraction for describing natural or engineered dynamical systems. While the theory behind them is well-studied, their specification can be problematic in a number of ways. Firstly, the size and complexity of the model can make its description difficult without using a high-level language. Secondly, knowledge of the system is usually incomplete, leaving one or more parameters with unknown values, thus impeding further analysis. Sophisticated machine learning algorithms have been proposed for the statistically rigorous estimation and handling of this uncertainty; however, their applicability is often limited to systems with finite state-space, and there has not been any consideration for their use on high-level descriptions. Similarly, high-level formal languages have been long used for describing and reasoning about stochastic systems, but require a full specification; efforts to estimate parameters for such formal models have been limited to simple inference algorithms. This thesis explores how these two approaches can be brought together, drawing ideas from the probabilistic programming paradigm. We introduce ProPPA, a process algebra for the specification of stochastic systems with uncertain parameters. The language is equipped with a semantics, allowing a formal interpretation of models written in it. This is the first time that uncertainty has been incorporated into the syntax and semantics of a formal language, and we describe a new mathematical object capable of capturing this information. We provide a series of algorithms for inference which can be automatically applied to ProPPA models without the need to write extra code. As part of these, we develop a novel inference scheme for infinite-state systems, based on random truncations of the state-space. The expressive power and inference capabilities of the framework are demonstrated in a series of small examples as well as a larger-scale case study. We also present a review of the state-of-the-art in both machine learning and formal modelling with respect to stochastic systems. We close with a discussion of potential extensions of this work, and thoughts about different ways in which the fields of statistical machine learning and formal modelling can be further integrated.
30
Weil, Susan Warner. "Influences of lifelong learning on adults' expectations and experiences of returning to formal learning contexts." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1989. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10019693/.
Full textAbstract:
This multi-site qualitative study focused on mature students' meanings for and experiences of learning inside and outside formal education. Its purpose was to ascertain how influences of lifelong learning shape adults' expectations and experiences of returning to a formal learning situation after a gap of at least three years. Eight cycles of inquiry were guided by continual data analysis. Sources for data collection and analysis during cycles 1-7, involving 48 participants, included life story interviews with 3S; group interviews with 21, 11 of whom were also seen individually or in pairs; conversations with students; written material; reflexive field notes. Two cycles involved follow ups of participants who had moved to another formal learning situation. Additional groups of adult learners were used in Cycle 8 to check meaningfulness and credibility of the final data analysis. In Cycles 1-7, adults spoke from the vantage points of 55 different formal learning situations, 48 of which were in higher education. The majority of participants are identified as 'non-traditional' in the higher education literature. The final analysis is presented in four main sections: learning during the initial school years; learning as an adult outside formal education; expectations of and transitions to formal learning contexts; experiences of formal learning situations, and especially higher education. An additional section summarises checks for meaningfulness and credibility of the final data analysis with study and non-study participants. The notion of 'disjunction and integration' serves to organise the final analysis. Learning experiences characterised by disjunction or integration are seen to shape a sense of 'learner identity and possibility' in particular ways. These sensitising concepts provide a way of illuminating the situation of adult learners from a perspective not currently found in the literature relating to access and mature students. The implications of study outcomes are considered with respect to current concerns to widen access to British higher education.
31
Hall, Valerie. "'Wise women' : students' use of experience in developing midwifery knowledge." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.341067.
Full text
32
Woldemichael, Andinet D. "Essays on Formal and Informal Long-Term Health Insurance Markets." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2013. http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/econ_diss/91.
Full textAbstract:
This dissertation consists of two essays examining formal and informal long term health insurance markets. The first essay analyzes heterogeneity of Long-Term Care Insurance policyholders in their lapse decision, and how their ex-ante and ex-post subjective beliefs about the probability of needing Long-Term Care affect their lapse decisions. In this essay, I develop a model of lapse decision in a two-period insurance framework with a Bayesian learning process and implement several empirical specifications of the model using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study. The results show that policyholders' ex- ante point predictions of their probabilities and their uncertainties about them have a persistent but declining impact on lapse decisions. Those who believe that their risk is higher are indeed more likely to remain insured. However, as their uncertainties surrounding their ex-ante point predictions increase, their chances of lapsing increase regardless of their initial perception biases. These results are heterogeneous across cohorts and policyholders and, in particular, show that those in the older group near the average age of Nursing Home entry have a precise prediction of their risk levels compared to the younger cohort. Policy simulations show that a more informed initial purchase decision reduces the chance of lapsing down the road.
The second essay examines the extent to which informal risk sharing arrangement provides insurance against health shocks. I develop a comprehensive model of informal risk sharing contract with two-sided limited commitment which extends the standard model to a regime with the following features. Information regarding the nature of realized health shocks is imperfect and individuals' health capital stock serves as a storage technology and is a factor of production. The theoretical results show that, in such a regime, Pareto optimal allocations are history dependent even if participation constraints do not bind. I perform numerical analysis to show that risk sharing against health shock is less likely to be sustainable among non-altruistic individuals with different levels of biological survival rates and health capital productivity. The results also show that optimal allocations vary depending on the set of information available to individuals. Using panel data of households from villages in rural Ethiopia, I test the main predictions of the theoretical model. While there is negative history dependence in transfers among non-altruistic partners, history dependence is positive when risk sharing is along bloodline and kinship. However, neither short-term nor long-term health shocks are insured through informal risk sharing arrangements among non-altruistic individuals.
33
Jobe, William. "Do-It-Yourself Learning in Kenya : Exploring mobile technologies for merging non-formal and informal learning." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för data- och systemvetenskap, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-108428.
Full textAbstract:
The educational landscape is changing and a variety of technologies and techniques are blurring the lines between traditional and non-traditional learning. This change is substantial in low-income countries: individuals in developing countries have a great desire to educate themselves and improve their quality of life. Kenyans are adequately literate and accustomed to mobile technology despite being a largely impoverished, poorly educated populace. Kenya represents an optimal setting in which to research the use and feasibility of modern mobile and educational technologies. The broad aim of this dissertation is to explore how mobile devices can catalyze and enhance both informal and non-formal learning. In particular, this dissertation explores how technologies and concepts such as mobile web apps, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and learning incentives via a smartphone specifically affect informal and non-formal learning in Kenya. The primary research question is how can learning efforts that utilize mobile learning, MOOCs, and learning incentives combine non-formal and informal learning to develop and contribute to a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to learning in Kenya? The primary method is action research. The first contribution of this dissertation is the finding that mobile web apps are currently better suited for data exchange than producing new content. The second contribution is the finding that a smartphone can enhance informal learning in a developing country with little or no scaffolding. The third contribution is the finding that non-formal learning efforts as a MOOC are shown to be a viable means of delivering non-formal learning in a developing country via a smartphone. The fourth contribution is the finding that the use of incentives such as digital badges provide a means by which to validate non-formal learning and contribute to a DIY attitude towards learning creation, where individuals can freely complement or replace a traditional curriculum.
34
Steinbeiss, G. J. (Gregor-Jan). "Minecraft as a learning and teaching tool:designing integrated game experiences for formal and informal learning activities." Master's thesis, University of Oulu, 2017. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-201704081448.
Full textAbstract:
Research has shown the educational benefits of using the video game Minecraft in areas such as sciences and educational purposes as a teaching tool to transfer knowledge. Most studies, however, address the issue from an external perspective, rather than a student-centred perspective by evaluation from the researchers’ or teachers’ perspectives. This leads to a gap of data from the participants’ perspective and its usage in education. Those studies discuss how Minecraft is used as a simple teaching tool by filling it with content. Likewise, little research has studied in detail about the pedagogical designs of the virtual learning environments, or the design of the content within the game. This study aims at examining how the chosen content design and playability of the online learning environments influence the formal and informal learning outcome of a student in Minecraft. It looks at challenges faced by teachers and students by using those designs as a tool for transferring knowledge and how those challenges are dealt with during the study. In addition, the “Steinbeiß-Ruotsalainen Model for Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning with Minecraft” will be introduced and validated. In order to do so, a design-based research project was carried out, including six face-to-face interventions. 16 students participated in those interventions and had the opportunity to access to the online content 24 hours a day over a time period of three months. The presented data was collected through observations, video data, interviews and a survey. Based on the results of the study, the research showed that gamified designed learning environments in Minecraft benefit informal and formal learning experiences. It was observed that the designed reward-based learning environments can function as a motivational tool during the formal and informal learning phases. The introduced “teacher as an online facilitator” can support the learning outcome during formal and informal learning phases in Minecraft. It was concluded that spatially divided designs for learning environments can benefit formal learning, and that designing a learning environment by simply providing content can benefit informal learning. Designs facilitating an online society in Minecraft can create opportunities to establish social connections, and self-regulated learning benefits the learning outcome. It was observed that children need time to adapt to newly designed learning environments in Minecraft, and those with previous gaming experience do not necessarily benefit more than others. Clear rules on the Minecraft-server are needed to be implemented in order to maintain a successful learning environment. By linking theory and research results it was concluded that the “Steinbeiß-Ruotsalainen Model” can be used as a cornerstone for designing educational content in the game and for further research attempts in Minecraft based on design-based research.
35
Arnhold, Sven [Verfasser]. "Data restructuring as formal preprocessing for machine learning with neural networks / Sven Arnhold." Clausthal-Zellerfeld : Universitätsbibliothek Clausthal, 2015. http://d-nb.info/1078227780/34.
Full text
36
XU, Yangyang. "Distance students’ perspectives about a formal learning management system at a Swedish university." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för informatik (IK), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-81874.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis has conducted interpretive qualitative research to investigate the impacts and limitations of LMS Moodle in distance students’ learning process from distance students’ perspectives. The qualitative data was collected from mediated semi-structured interviews with distance students participating in a Master program at Linnaeus University. Through empirical findings and analysis, the positive experiences and limitations of using Moodle in facilitating distance learning process have been revealed from distance students’ perspectives. The positive experiences include that LMS Moodle was used by distance students for interacting with other students, teachers and accessing study contents during their distance learning process. Moodle was used to know new classmates, teachers and the new learning system, recruit group members for the collaborative works, communicate with teachers and other classmates, and obtain significant information about courses. Especially, accessing study contents in Moodle easily was critical for distance students' learning. However, there were still some limitations. Distance students preferred Facebook to Moodle for student-student interaction during the process of collaborative works. The interaction with teachers was not adequate and timely for distance students. The limitations also include unsatisfactory Moodle interface design and poor usability of Moodle. Some suggestions about improving LMS Moodle in different ways had also been acquired from the research. The suggestions from distance students mainly focus on integrating Moodle with other web conferencing platforms for improving the quality of student-student, student-teacher interaction in Moodle, ameliorating the interface design of Moodle, and adding Moodle tutorials. The result will help the development of LMS based on distance students' needs and finally benefit distance students' learning process.
37
Tawileh, Wissam. "Virtual International Learning Experience in Formal Higher Education – A Case Study from Jordan." TUDpress, 2016. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A33953.
Full textAbstract:
Purpose – International experience is important to prepare university students for successful career in the globalized knowledge economy. However, learners in developing countries have limited access to international educational experiences due to travel costs and constrains, political instability that prohibit academic visits from foreign students and instructors, societal restrictions on certain groups like female students, or old educational systems that resist didactical and organizational changes. The emergence of Social Media enabled the development of interactive learnercentered virtual learning environments that enable collaborative knowledge building in online social communities.This empirical study aims to explore how to provide Jordanian university students with international academic experience during their regular study programs without travelling abroad. Virtual Collaborative Learning has been introduced and examined in this specific context due to its reported high potential for developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach – Following an educational design based approach, a Virtual Collaborative Learning arrangement has been re-designed to involve Jordanian students in a formal masters’ course with German students at the Technische Universität Dresden. Factors that affect participated Jordanian students’ perception of this experience have been examined using deep interviews and qualitative content analyses methods.
Originality/value – The value of this study lays in the innovative approach to provide Jordanian university students with international learning experience by integrating them in a virtual community with peers from Germany using Social Media application.
Practical implications – This study delivers empirical evidence on the potential of welldesigned Virtual Collaborative Learning arrangements to provide students with enjoyable, high-impact, immersive international learning experience at their home university. This helps universities, especially in Arab and developing countries, to grant their students a new learning experience using affordable easy-to-use Social Media solutions.
38
Leffler, Anna. "The consequences of digital extramural activities for the formal classroom." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Malmö högskola, Institutionen för kultur, språk och medier (KSM), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-40182.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this independent project is to give teachers of young ESL-students a collected knowledge of what kind of digital extramural activities the students often do on their spare time and what consequences this have for the formal primary classroom and students’ vocabulary skills. The studies used are found on EBSCO’s ERIC and SwePub, peer reviewed, published between 2010 and 2020, and all available in full text through Malmö university. Informal learning is shown to have a big impact on formal learning, especially for boys who learn mainly through gaming. Girls still score higher on English tests within formal learning, though boys who are frequent gamers score higher within the studies. Gaming seems to help boys keep up with girls in formal English as a second language. The main skill which gaming gives the students is to communicate, hold a conversation and increase their vocabulary. Since gaming is the extramural activity which seems to give the student the most, and at the same time there are students whose families could not afford to game due to costs of computer, tv, games and, in some cases, internet. This could become a socioeconomic factor which the school and the teacher need to consider, especially since results from some of the studies claim gaming to be how the boys keep up with the girls. Not to forget the students who, thanks to informal learning, speak English on a higher level and their right to be educated at their own level.
39
Brynjolfson, Robert Walter. "Maximizing informal learning in an intentional missionary training community." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only. Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) Access this title online, 2006. http://www.tren.com.
Full text
40
Goodman, Ronald David McLeod. "Onda de ritmo: aprendizagem não-formal no contexto de educação em música popular." Doctoral thesis, Universidade de Évora, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10174/26163.
Full textAbstract:
Non-formal music learning has burgeoned over the last ten years particularly in UK secondary schools and in the Netherlands, where professional performers and community musicians have brought musical leadership skills into the formal education environment. The rationale for this PhD thesis came from the lack of research into non-formal learning of musical rhythm in a formal education context. As its main aim, this study situated in the context of popular music courses at a Scottish college, investigated the benefits of non-formal learning of rhythm for enhancing formal instrumental learning. Data collection involved an ethnographic study of student, staff and alumni engagement with rhythm learning in an extra-curricular percussion ensemble, utilising an interpretive case study based on participant observation, and interviews that elicited key aspects of the participants’ non-formal learning. The ensemble researched has been in existence for twenty-five years and runs in parallel to the formal instrumental curricula. It has adopted and adapted a Brazilian model of peer teaching and learning that has sustained as a community of participation. Findings suggest that participation in the non-formal ensemble has clearly enhanced students’ learning, regarding the formal context of their instrumental learning that is both assessed and certificated, whilst by contrast the non-formal ensemble’s activities are not. Instead, it features shared musical and extra-musical learning goals that involve performances, workshops in the community and active participation in non-formal learning practices. Further to this, findings show that active participation has engendered highly effective peer teaching and learning, as central to sustaining the ensemble’s effectiveness for rhythm learners; Resumo: O aprendizado musical não-formal tem crescido nos últimos dez anos, particularmente nas escolas secundárias do Reino Unido e na Holanda, onde músicos profissionais e músicos comunitários trouxeram habilidades de liderança musical para o ambiente educacional formal. A justificativa para esta tese de doutoramento veio da falta de pesquisa sobre a aprendizagem não formal do ritmo musical em um contexto de educação formal. Como objetivo principal, este estudo, situado no contexto dos cursos de música popular de um colégio escocês, investigou os benefícios da aprendizagem não formal de ritmo para melhorar a aprendizagem instrumental formal. A coleta de dados envolveu um estudo etnográfico do envolvimento de alunos, docentes e ex-alunos com a aprendizagem de ritmo em um grupo de percussão extracurricular, utilizando um estudo de caso interpretativo baseado na observação do participante e em entrevistas que eliciaram aspetos-chave da aprendizagem não formal dos participantes. O grupo pesquisado existe há vinte e cinco anos e funciona paralelamente aos currículos instrumentais formais, e adotou e adaptou um modelo brasileiro de ensino e aprendizagem entre pares que se sustentou como uma comunidade de participação. Os resultados sugerem que a participação no conjunto não formal melhorou claramente a aprendizagem dos alunos, considerando o contexto formal da sua aprendizagem instrumental que é avaliada e certificada, enquanto que, em contraste, as atividades do conjunto não formal não são. Em vez disso, o conjunto não formal apresenta objetivos de aprendizagem musical e extra-musical partilhados que envolvem espetáculos, palestras na comunidade e participação ativa em práticas de aprendizagem não formal. Além disso, as descobertas mostram que a participação ativa gerou ensino e aprendizado de pares altamente eficazes, o que foi central para sustentar sua eficácia para os aprendentes rítmicos.
41
Alves, Liduina Lopes. "Education assessment and learning in non- formal spaces: Seara of Science UFC, stimulating the science for curiosity." Universidade Federal do CearÃ, 2016. http://www.teses.ufc.br/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=17718.
Full textAbstract:
nÃo hÃThis paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of pedagogical teaching procedures in mathematics learning of the students who participated in the basic courses of Mathematics presented by Seara da CiÃncia of UFC - Federal University of CearÃ. The relevance of this study consists identifying the impact generated from the teaching and learning relationship, making possible better achievement of mathematics contents for the students of the project, looking for scientific reflection and theoretical support to improve learning processes. Based on theoretical data, it was observed that Seara da CiÃncia was It was consolidated through this differentiated from the traditional educational process as locus of interaction and learning. This process involves understanding this space used by the Federal University of Cearà as a contribution for teaching, researching and extension programs. It includes theory, practice and the knowledge required for researches. It is necessary to understand historical sources and initiatives in order to accomplish analysis to identify the impact of course offered in Seara da CiÃncia to learning in mathematics of the students involved.The research is qualitative, based on exploratory and descriptive methodology approach regarding its general objective, adopting as technical procedure the case study. The locus of the research consists of two groups of high school students from public schools of Fortaleza - Cearà that participated of the basic course of Mathematics at Seara da CiÃncia - UFC, in the first semester of 2016. The field research data was collected through questionnaires with semi-structured questions applied to students and monitors. Besides, monitors had a guide for the interviews (field notes). Regarding the analysis of qualitative questions, the software Atlas.ti7 (Computer - Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software â CAQDAS), Version 7 was used. For some sample calculations, graphics and spreadsheets, it was used the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 21.0 for Windows. According to the analyses, it was verified that Seara da CiÃncia - UFC has an appropriate structure that supplies practical subsidies for the generation of knowledge and the incentive for the learning of mathematics. The subject involves discussions that go beyond what is presented in this research, however, it points out experiences to be considered for other reflections, taking into account the importance of the theme and the increase of knowledge acquisition in non-formal systems of education.
Este estudo busca avaliar a efetividade dos procedimentos didÃticos pedagÃgicos na aprendizagem em matemÃtica dos alunos que participaram dos cursos bÃsicos de MatemÃtica ofertados pela Seara da CiÃncia da UFC. A relevÃncia da pesquisa consiste na identificaÃÃo do impacto gerado da relaÃÃo do ensino e da aprendizagem, possibilitando maior apreensÃo dos conteÃdos relacionados à disciplina de MatemÃtica pelos alunos participantes do projeto, buscando reflexÃo e suporte teÃrico de natureza cientÃfica para a melhoria processual das relaÃÃes de aprendizado. A partir da construÃÃo teÃrica realizada, observou-se que a Seara da CiÃncia se consolidou por meio de seu processo pedagÃgico diferenciado do tradicional e contexto histÃrico como lÃcus de interaÃÃo e aprendizagens. Nesse processo, cabe o entendimento desse espaÃo utilizado pela Universidade Federal do Cearà como contribuinte do tripà ensino, pesquisa e extensÃo. Aliando a teoria, a prÃtica e os saberes necessÃrios à pesquisa. Faz-se necessÃrio maior compreensÃo das iniciativas e fontes histÃricas a fim de realizar uma anÃlise na identificaÃÃo do impacto do curso oferecido na Seara da CiÃncia da UFC ao aprendizado em matemÃtica dos alunos envolvidos. Trata-se de uma abordagem metodolÃgica do tipo exploratÃria e descritiva na vertente qualitativa quanto ao objetivo geral, adotando como procedimento tÃcnico o estudo de caso. O lÃcus da pesquisa se constituiu nas duas turmas de alunos do ensino mÃdio da rede pÃblica de Fortaleza- CE do curso bÃsico de MatemÃtica na sede da Seara da CiÃncia da UFC, no 1 semestre de 2016. Os dados em campo foram coletados atravÃs de questionÃrios com perguntas semiestruturadas aplicados aos discentes e monitores. Para os Ãltimos foi elaborado tambÃm um roteiro de entrevistas (diÃrio de campo). Para a anÃlise das questÃes qualitativas foi utilizado o software Atlas.ti7 (Computer - Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software â CAQDAS), versÃo 7 e o software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), versÃo 21.0 para Windows, para alguns cÃlculos amostrais na construÃÃo de grÃficos e tabelas. Conforme as anÃlises dos dados, foi verificado que a Seara da CiÃncia da UFC dispÃe de uma estrutura adequada que fornece subsÃdios prÃticos para a geraÃÃo de conhecimentos e o estÃmulo para o aprendizado da MatemÃtica. A presente pesquisa nÃo se esgota no recorte realizado, mas aponta direcionamentos que devem ser considerados em outras reflexÃes a serem construÃdas, tendo em vista a relevÃncia do tema e da ampliaÃÃo de saberes por meio de espaÃos nÃo-formais de educaÃÃo.
42
Guerrero, Roldán Ana Elena. "L’especificació IMS-LD per a la descripció formal d’itineraris formatius adaptatius." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/22710.
Full textAbstract:
La incorporació de les noves Tecnologies de la Informació i la Comunicació (TIC) al camp de l'educació ha fet possible la creació de nous entorns per l'educació que faciliten els processos d'ensenyament i aprenentatge, afegint noves eines de treball i funcionalitats i fent possible la formació per a qualsevol individu de manera no presencial i asíncrona. En aquest sentit, la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) és una universitat sorgida de la societat de la informació que disposa del seu propi entorn virtual d'aprenentatge, un laboratori únic per a la innovació docent. Seguint la “Declaració de Bolonya” i l'Espai Europeu d'Educació Superior (EEES), el model educatiu de la UOC està centrat en el concepte d'activitat com un mitjà per a que l'estudiant assoleixi noves competències i, cada vegada més, aposta per la flexibilitat i adaptació del procés d'aprenentatge.
En aquest marc, el present treball de tesi fa servir les TIC com un mitjà per a facilitar els procés d'adquisició de competències de cada estudiant. Es proposa la creació d'itineraris formatius adaptatius (IFAs) mitjançant l'especificació IMS-Learning Design (IMS-LD) per treballar la formació adaptativa. Aquesta consisteix en proporcionar als estudiants, en cada moment, les activitats i els recursos que més s'ajusten al seu perfil, oferint a cada estudiant un itinerari concret de formació. Conseqüentment, es produeix una adaptació constant a la progressió de l'estudiant que pot afavorir el seu procés d'aprenentatge, esdevenint un primer pas cap a la personalització, un dels objectius de l'EEES.
Amb aquest objectiu, es descriu com es realitza tant el disseny conceptual dels itineraris formatius adaptatius, com la seva creació i implementació amb IMS-LD. També es descriu el procés d'edició i execució dels itineraris amb les eines seleccionades (ReCourse i CopperCore) i es mostren les limitacions existents per implementar la formació adaptativa i com s'han abordat. Finalment, per demostrar la seva viabilitat i aplicació real en un entorn virtual d'aprenentatge, es realitzen dues proves pilot en el marc dels estudis d'Informàtica, Multimèdia i Telecomunicació a la UOC. En aquestes proves pilot s'han implementat diferents itineraris formatius adaptatius creats amb IMS-LD, proporcionant les bases d'un primer pas cap a la introducció de la formació adaptativa en l'educació superior.The inclusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the field of education has made possible the creation of new environments for education that facilitate the processes of teaching and learning, adding new tools and features and making possible training for any individual using a distance and asynchronous model. The Open University of Catalonia (UOC) is a university arising from the information society that has its own virtual learning environment, a unique laboratory for educational innovation. Following the ``Bologna Declaration'' and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), the UOC's educational model is centered on the concept of activity as a means for the student to achieve new competences and, as a distance learning institution, the UOC is increasingly committed to flexibility and adaptability of the learning process. In this context, this thesis tries to facilitate the learning process of each student by means of ICT. The work presented proposes adaptive learning paths using IMS-Learning Design (IMS-LD) in order to achieve adaptive learning. Adaptive learning provides students, at all times, activities and resources that best fits their profile, giving each student a specific learning path. Consequently, there is a constant adaptation to the progression of the students that can facilitate their learning process, becoming a first step towards personalization, one of the EHEA main objectives. Our proposal describes the conceptual design of adaptive learning paths as well as their creation and implementation using IMS-LD. It also analyzes the edition and run-time processes of the adaptive learning paths using the selected tools (ReCourse and CopperCore) showing their limitations when this adaptive scenario is taken into account and providing solutions to the encountered shortcomings. Finally, as a proof of concept, we present two different experiments performed with subjects of the department of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications of the UOC. In these experiments, different adaptive learning paths have been implemented and tested using IMS-LD, providing the basis for a first step towards the introduction of adaptive learning paths in higher education.
43
Anagnostopoulou, Kyriaki. "Learning in third space : the nature of non-formal learning opportunities afforded to e-learning leaders in the workplace." Thesis, UCL Institute of Education (IOE), 2014. http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/18424/.
Full textAbstract:
Institutional initiatives set up to meet the demands of a fast changing higher education (HE) landscape do not comfortably sit within a single academic or administrative department but instead require blended professionals, with a mixed portfolio of work, to operate in third space – between the administrative and academic domains of institutions (Whitchurch, 2008). Heads of e-Learning (HeLs) in UK HE institutions are one such group of professionals who lead the enhancement of learning and teaching through the use of technology. However, one must question how HeLs continue to learn and develop in their roles as transformational leaders to meet the continuous demands posed by the ever-changing HE environment and the evolution of technology. This research explored the affordances of third space as a learning environment, questioned how learning and leadership development take place through non-formal workplace experiences, and sought to relate these back to HeLs’ perceived developmental needs. The concept of liminality (van Gennep, 1960; Turner, 1969) was employed as a theoretical framework, learning was conceptualised as socially constructed identity formation and leadership development was deemed to be a result of learning. A mixed methodological approach was employed and a unique analytical framework shed light on data derived from nine in-depth interviews. Third space environments were found to be ‘expansive’ (Evans et al., 2006), with qualities which afforded transformational learning experiences that permanently altered the ways in which one understands the world around them. Liminal conditions in third space environments provided a means of reconciling a leader’s espoused theories and their theories-in-use, whilst leadership development was linked to learner readiness and the development of credibility. Underpinned by participatory practices, the theory of ‘possible selves’ (Ibarra, 2004) offered a means of understanding transformational learning and development in third space, and brought the concept of leadership closer to active citizenship.
44
Dias, Sandro Paulo Martinho Rocha. "O treino da expressão oral, estratégias em E-learning." Master's thesis, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/12258.
Full textAbstract:
Trabalho de Projeto apresentado para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do
grau de Mestre em Gestão de Sistemas de E‐learningEste trabalho de projeto procurar preencher um das lacunas existentes na área do ensino/aprendizagem da oralidade no 3º ciclo do ensino básico e no ensino secundário. Espera‐se poder contribuir para minimizar o fosso entre o treino da exposição oral formal em relação às outras competências. Desta forma, pensou‐se construir um instrumento de trabalho que pudesse ser usado autonomamente, a distância, ou na sala de aula, mediante a disposição e organização didática do professor da disciplina. O objeto de aprendizagem aborda, nos vários ecrãs que o compõem, as várias competências envolvidas direta e indiretamente na construção de desempenhos bem sucedidos na expressão oral. Aborda elementos linguísticos e paralinguísticos, dá a conhecer a sua importância na oralidade, descreve o seu funcionamento, mostra de que forma se pode controlar/modificar o comportamento para poder desenvolver as competências associadas à expressão oral em momentos formais ‐ mais concretamente, numa exposição oral formal. O instrumento de trabalho foi construído de forma modular, sendo que cada um dos elementos será apresentado e tratado isoladamente. O objeto de aprendizagem, ao ser integrado num LMS, poderá fazer uso das ferramentas existentes nos LMS e tirar proveito de todas as vantagens que nos proporcionam, que basicamente residem na colaboração e/ou cooperação entre alunos ou entre alunos e professor. Qualquer aluno poderá participar, contribuindo com a sua reflexão, dando o seu feedback e propondo outros métodos de treino, ajudando dessa forma à (re)construção do próprio objeto de aprendizagem. Quanto ao desenvolvimento, teve‐se em atenção um conjunto de características que devem integrar qualquer objeto de aprendizagem no âmbito de uma utilização on‐line, tais como: aspeto gráfico, organização, navegabilidade, atratividade, interatividade e recursividade.
45
Jay, Mercia Vanita. "Learning outcomes towards the formal training of nurse case managers practising in South Africa." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/1540.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (MTech (Nursing))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007This study focuses on the specialised field of Nurse Case Management and the need for formal training for Nurse Case Managers (NCMs). In particular, the study aimed to establish what the outcomes should be of a learning programme for practising NCMs in South Africa. I used a descriptive survey study design. Data was collected using the Delphi technique. The Delphi technique involves questionnaires to be distributed, collation of the data returned and the distribution of a revised questionnaire for input from the participants. Each questionnaire distributed becomes a 'round' and forms part of the process of data collection. A group of experts working in the field of managed healthcare (MHC) were included as the study respondents. Consensus was reached after three rounds as to what the learning outcomes for NCMs should be. This study found that NCMs practising in South Africa require a specialised set of competencies that are not covered in the basic general nursing training. A learning programme for this area of specialisation needs to include outcomes related to relevant legislation, a code of ethics, managerial and clinical competence, administrative competence in managing contracts, good governance, research, (data analyses) and (business) reporting within the context of MHC.
46
Berg, Marklund Björn. "Games in Formal Educational Settings : Obstacles for the development and use of learning games." Licentiate thesis, Högskolan i Skövde, Forskningscentrum för Informationsteknologi, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-8627.
Full textAbstract:
From the perspective of educators, games are viewed as a medium in which the younger generation both thrive and excel. Students navigate game environments with ease and regularly solve problems, engage in advanced collaborative efforts, and communicate complex concepts and strategies to one another during their private gaming sessions at home. Games invite the player to form an understanding of intricate systems and mechanics based on participation and experimentation rather than mere observation, and on these merits games are often prophesized as a medium that will significantly change the face of education as we know it. However, while teacher interest in using games is increasing, wide-spread and successful examples of games being implemented in formal educational contexts (e.g. schools and university courses) remain rare. This thesis aims to examine why this is the case and identifies some of the more prevalent obstacles educators and developers both face when embarking on learning game projects as users and creators. In order to examine the situation from both of these perspectives, the research takes a mixed-method approach that entails extensive literature studies coupled with several studies with both educators and developers. Interviews were conducted in order to investigate attitudes and experiences, and more direct researcher participation and case studies were used to examine the processes of implementing and developing learning games as they were carried out. The studied cases and literature have revealed obstacles that indicate that “traditional” entertainment game development is incommensurable with learning game development, and that the use of games in formal educational settings introduces heavy demands on the recipient organization’s infrastructure, culture, and working processes. The conclusion of this research is that learning games embody a unique mixture of utility and game experience, and the formal context which they are to be used in significantly influence the process of developing and using them. Learning games can’t be understood if they’re solely seen as a teaching utility or solely as a game experience and to make them viable both educators and developers need to change their internal processes, their own perceptions of games and teaching, as well as the way they collaborate and communicate with each other. There are also several obstacles that are outside individual institutions and developers’ control, for example the practicalities of the economic constraints that both developers and educators work under that put the sustainability of pursuing learning games for formal education as a business into question. However, the continuous incremental improvements on the infrastructure of educational institutions (e.g. availability of technology and teachers’ familiarity with technology) can likely alleviate many of the obstacles currently inhibiting the impact learning games can potentially have in formal education.Scandinavian Game Developers
47
Finnerty, Gina. "An exploration of the texture of student midwives' non-formal learning in professional practice." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2007. http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/843623/.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis explores the transmission of craft knowledge in midwifery, examining the mediation of practice learning within mentor/student pairs. It is an in-depth exploration of non-formal learning as perceived by a sample of student midwives at various stages of their preparation programmes across England. The theoretical underpinning stems from literature on non-formal learning, incorporating Eraut's analysis of non-formal learning and Polanyi's philosophy of tacit knowledge. A sample of fourteen student midwives recorded their experiences of learning and support in clinical practice for ten days in audio-diary format. The diaries were analysed within a narrative analysis framework to capture the 'voice' of the learners, who described the challenges inherent in learning and acquiring the craft of midwifery. Discourse analysis was used to interrogate the data. This method enabled discovery of pattern and order in everyday language-in-use. Unique information emerged within students' individual interpretive repertoires. The lengthy audio-diaries illuminated contexts and linguistic expressions which conveyed the socio-cultural positioning of the student midwives. The method was found to be compatible with non-formal learning and the epistemological perspective selected because of the organic nature of craft knowledge. Student midwives' reflexive accounts identified a range of 'tools' used by mentors, which influenced acquisition of practical competence and cognition. These tools included not only physical teaching aids, but also signs, modelling and other means of semiotic mediation. This thesis reveals the power of formative learning and situated support in midwifery practice. An argument is developed for mobilising hidden, tacit knowledge which often exists on the borders of the formal curriculum.
48
Filho, Reginaldo Inojosa da Silva. "Uma nova formulação algébrica para o autômato finito adaptativo de segunda ordem aplicada a um modelo de inferência indutiva." Universidade de São Paulo, 2012. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/3/3141/tde-05092012-163421/.
Full textAbstract:
O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar o modelo dos autômatos adaptativos de segunda ordem e mostrar a forte conexão desse modelo com o aprendizado indutivo no limite. Tal modelo é definido com a utilização de um conjunto de transformações sobre autômatos finitos não - determinísticos e a conexão com o aprendizado no limite á estabelecida usando o conceito de mutação composta, onde uma hipótese inicial dá início ao processo de aprendizagem, produzindo, após uma sequência de transformações sofridas por essa primeira hipótese, um modelo final que é o resultado correto do aprendizado. Será apresentada a prova de que um autômato adaptativos de segunda ordem, usado como um aprendiz, pode realizar o processo de aprendizado no limite. O formalismo dos autômatos adaptativos de segunda ordem é desenvolvido sobre o modelo dos autômatos adaptativos de primeira ordem, uma extensão natural do modelo dos autômatos adaptativos clássicos. Embora tenha o mesmo poder computacional, o autômato adaptativo de primeira ordem apresenta uma notação mais simples e rigorosa que o seu antecessor, permitindo derivar novas propriedades. Uma dessas propriedades é justamente sua capacidade de aprendizado. Como consequência, o modelo dos autômatos adaptativos de segunda ordem aumenta a expressividade computacional dos dispositivos adaptativos através da sua notação recursiva, e também através do seu potencial para o uso em aplicações de aprendizado de máquina, ilustrados nesta tese. Uma arquitetura de aprendizado de máquina usando os autômatos adaptativos de segunda ordem é proposto e um modelo de identificação no limite, aplicado em processos de inferência para linguagens livre de contexto, é apresentado.The purpose of this work is to present the second-order adaptive automaton under an transformation automata approach and to show the strong connection of this model with learning in the limit. The connection is established using the adaptive mutations, in which any hypothesis can be used to start a learning process, and produces a correct final model following a step-by-step transformation of that hypothesis by a second-order adaptive automaton. Second-order adaptive automaton learner will be proved to acts as a learning in the limit. The presented formalism is developed over the first-order adaptive automaton, a natural and unified extension of the classical adaptive automaton. First-order adaptive automaton is a new and better representation for the adaptive finite automaton and to also show that both formulations the original and the newly created have the same computational power. Afterwards both formulations show to be equivalent in representation and in computational power, but the new one has a highly simplified notation. The use of the new formulation actually allows simpler theorem proofs and generalizations, as can be verified in this work. As results, the second-order adaptive automaton enhances the computational expressiveness of adaptive automaton through its recursive notation, and also its skills for the use in machine learning applications were illustrated here. An architecture of machine learning to use the adaptive technology is proposed and the model of identification in limit applied in inference processes for free-context languages.
49
Schlochauer, Conrado. "Um estudo exploratório sobre a autodireção da aprendizagem em ambientes informais." Universidade de São Paulo, 2012. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/47/47131/tde-21092012-112003/.
Full textAbstract:
Esse trabalho teve como principal objetivo investigar o processo de aprendizagem autodirigida em aprendizes adultos com formação universitária. Destaca-se a relevância de se identificar modalidades autônomas e intencionais de aprendizagem adulta, a fim de se atingir os objetivos propostos pela UNESCO relacionados à aprendizagem ao longo da vida em um ambiente de mudanças constantes e profundas do ponto de vista social, cultural, ambiental e econômico. O trabalho procura identificar, de modo específico, a incidência de projetos de aprendizagem com características autodirigida, o perfil do aprendiz e as características do projeto, a ocorrência de aprendizagem informal e não-formal e a influência das crenças de autoeficácia e da motivação intrínseca na aprendizagem dirigida. Foram utilizados dois instrumentos: o protocolo de entrevistas para estudo de projetos de aprendizagem de Allen Tough e o Appraisal of Learner Authonomy (ALA), desenvolvido por pesquisadores da Regent University, que mensura as crenças de autoeficácia para a aprendizagem autônoma. Os resultados encontrados demonstram que todos os participantes realizaram projetos de aprendizagem nos doze meses anteriores à realização da entrevista (média = 8,9 projetos/ano). A maioria dos aprendizes adultos (97,9%) realizou pelo menos um projeto por meio da aprendizagem autodirigida, sendo que mais de metade do grupo (68,1%) realizou mais projetos de aprendizagem autodirigidos do que heterodirigidos, apresentando o que denominamos tendência à autodireção (TA). As crenças de autoeficácia não se relacionaram de modo significante com nenhuma das variáveis estudadas. Os participantes com TA realizaram 83,6% de seus projetos em ambientes informais e demonstraram motivação intrínseca em 86,2% dos projetos realizados. Apresentamos um modelo relacionado sobre o aprendiz adulto autodirigido, a autodireção da aprendizagem, as crenças de autoeficácia e a motivação intrínsecaThis work aimed to investigate the process of self-directed learning in adult learners with a university degree. We emphasized the importance of identifying intentional and autonomous methods of adult learning in order to achieve the objectives proposed by UNESCO relating to lifelong learning in a profound and constant change environment from social, cultural, environmental and economic point of view. This study seeks to identify, specifically, the incidence of learning projects with selfdirected features, the profile of the learner and the project features, the event of informal and non-formal learning and the influence of self-efficacy beliefs and internal motivators in taught education. Two instruments were used: the interviews protocol for the study of learning projects by Allen Tough and the Autonomy Appraisal of Learner (ALA) developed by researchers at Regent University, which measures selfefficacy beliefs for autonomous learning. The results show that all participants were involved in learning projects in the twelve months prior to the interview (mean = 8.9 projects/year). Most adult learners (97.9%) had at least one project by means of selfdirected learning, and more than half of the group (68.1%) performed more selfdirected learning projects than hetero-directed, presenting what we call a trend to self-direction (TA). The self-efficacy beliefs did not relate with the studied variables significantly. Participants with LD held 83.6% of their projects in informal settings and demonstrated intrinsic motivation in 86.2% of the projects. We present a related model about self-directed adult learner, the self-direction of learning, self-efficacy beliefs and internal motivators
50
Torres, Maria Rita Timóteo Sim Sim. "Trajectórias de qualificação e projetos de futuro em adultos formandos de um curso de educação e formação na freguesia de Alcáçovas (2010-2012)." Master's thesis, Universidade de Évora, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10174/17519.
Full textAbstract:
O presente estudo foi realizado, através de uma abordagem qualitativa, recorrendo-se à análise de dados, por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, com o objetivo de conhecer as motivações e o perfil dos alunos de pastelaria e panificação de um curso EFA (Educação e Formação de Adultos), que teve lugar em Alcáçovas, entre 2010 -2012. A elaboração deste estudo permitiu conhecer e caracterizar, na freguesia de Alcáçovas, a relevância que uma iniciativa como a Mostra de Doçaria em Alcáçovas desempenhou no desenvolvimento local e na sua economia. Revelou, também, o papel que as associações de desenvolvimento local podem ter nestes casos e a sua importância na formação e qualificação dos indivíduos. Verificou-se que a Associação Terras Dentro tem tido um papel relevante na educação formal, não formal e informal da população, acompanhando a formação e crescimento de todas as empresas que surgem nesta freguesia e motivando, através de várias iniciativas, os empresários e potenciais interessados para a importância da formação, da modernização e da melhoria que pode representar ter pessoas qualificadas nas suas empresas. Foram acompanhados 12 formandos de pastelaria e panificação, durante o seu percurso formativo, com o objetivo de conhecer as suas motivações, antes e depois da formação, a importância que este curso poderá representar no seu futuro profissional e no aparecimento de mais postos de trabalho relacionados com esta área. Ficámos ainda a conhecer a importância que estes formandos dão às aprendizagens no presente e o que isso representa para si e para a sua família; ABSTRACT: This study was conducted through a qualitative approach, resorting to the analysis of data through semi-structured interviews, in order to understand the motivations and profiles of students from a pastry and baking course EFA (Education and Training Adults), which took place in Alcáçovas between 2010 -2012. The preparation of this study helped identify and characterize the parish Alcáçovas, the relevance that an initiative like the Show Confectionery in Alcáçovas played in local development and economy. The role that local development associations can have these cases and their importance in the training and qualification of individuals. It was found that the Lands Within Association has had an important role in formal, non-formal and informal population, following the formation and growth of all companies that appear in this parish and motivating through various initiatives, entrepreneurs and potential stakeholders to the importance of training, modernization and improvement that can represent have people qualified in their companies. 12 trainees were followed pastry and baking during their training in order to know their motivations, before and after training, the importance of this course may represent your professional future and the emergence of more jobs related this area. We also knew that these students give importance to learning of this and what it represents for you and your family.