Christine Hamel

Barriers to Successful Implementation of Technology Integration in Educational Settings: A Case Study.

Representing issues discussed at the EduSummIT 2011 relative to essential conditions and barriers to successful technology integration, this article presents a systemic analysis of barriers that needed to be overcome for an information technology initiative (Remote Networked School project) to be successfully implemented. The analysis was conducted from an activity theory framework. Barriers were conceptualized as tensions that pulled constituents of an activity system or activity systems in opposite directions at four distinct levels of contradiction. Chains of tensions–pivotal actions that led to the overcoming of barriers were identified. Twelve exemplars illustrate how roles, policies and routines were transformed for necessary conditions to be in place in small remote schools. As emphasized by our application of activity theory, these conditions, which parallel the essential conditions formulated by the International Society for Technology in Education, can never be taken for granted by the educational agents of a specific setting. In the case presented, activity theory explains that the overcoming of barriers is an ongoing exercise as some tensions get resolved, reappear or give way to new ones.

Partnerships for Knowledge Building: An Emerging Model

Knowledge Building is approached in this study from an organizational perspective, with a focus on the nature of school-university-government partnerships to support research-based educational innovation. The paper starts with an overview of what is known about effective partnerships and elaborates a conceptual framework for Knowledge Building partnerships based on a review of literature and two case studies of school-university-government partnerships. In one case, a Ministry of Education wanted to bring more vitality into schools of small remote villages, and in the other case another Ministry of Education wanted to renew its school-based international cooperation profile. Emerging from this work is a three-component model for going to scale with Knowledge Building partnerships: Knowledge Building as a shared vision; symmetric knowledge advancement; and multi-level, research-based innovation. Characteristics of, and conditions for, effective partnerships for Knowledge Building are elaborated, and an emerging model is developed to help communities establish effective partnerships and contribute to this evolving model.

The Knowledge Building International Project (KBIP): Scaling Up Professional Development Using Collaborative Technology

Classroom-based knowledge building requires advanced pedagogies and collaborative technologies. It qualifies as disruptive innovation: progressively more impressive accounts of what students and teachers can accomplish alter beliefs regarding developmental, demographic, and cultural barriers. To establish knowledge-building communities requires effort from within as well as from outside the classroom. The Knowledge Building International Project (KBIP) has been rooted in school-university-government (SUNG) partnerships, along with their locally based networks of innovation. The chapter starts with a conceptualization of professional development in the digital era, and the main constituents of the Remote Networked School (RNS) initiative are presented. Next, a description of the SUNG partnerships follows. Emphasis is on agency, as it was observed in the RNS and in the SUNG dynamics of partnerships for classroom-based knowledge building: knowledge building as a shared vision, symmetric knowledge advancement, and multilevel, research-based innovation. Following is a descriptive analysis of the Knowledge Building International Project (KBIP 2007–2014) using Engestrom’s (1987) third-generation activity theory framework (Engestrom and Sannino 2010). Referring to Engestrom’s expansive learning cycle (1987), further analysis is provided regarding the overcoming of double binds for KBIP expansion as an activity.

Quality of classroom interactions in kindergarten and executive functions among five year-old children

Abstract The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between the quality of classroom interactions in kindergarten and executive functions (EFs) among 5-year-old children. The sample consisted of 118 children, with a mean age of 73.34 months (SD = 4.22), from 12 kindergarten classes. The quality of classroom interactions was measured using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), while the children’s EFs (working memory (WM), inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and planning) were measured using various tests conducted on the children (e.g. Forward and Backward Digit Span). The results show that emotional support in the classroom was positively correlated with EF skills among the children, in particular, those related to WM and cognitive inhibition. Moreover, the results indicate that instructional support was negatively correlated with the children’s WM. Further analyses demonstrated that gross family income reduced the association between instructional support and WM. These findings attest to the importance of emotional support for the development of EFs, particularly WM, and bring out the potential moderating effect of family characteristics (e.g. gross family income) on executive functioning.

Additional file 1: of Comparative impact of two continuing education activities targeted at COPD educators on educational outcomes: protocol for a non-randomized controlled study using mixed methods

Questionnaire on attendees’ learning. The questionnaire on attendees’ learning comprises eight open-ended questions aligned with the CE activity specific objectives. A professional translator translated the items from French to English. (DOCX 46 kb)

Comparative impact of two continuing education activities targeted at COPD educators on educational outcomes: protocol for a non-randomized controlled study using mixed methods

BackgroundTherapeutic patient education (TPE) improves quality of life and reduces health care utilization among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, benefits from TPE might depend on the performance of the educators and training is needed to ensure the effective delivery of TPE interventions. Based on the framework by Moore et al. (J Contin Educ Health Prof 29:1-15, 2009), we will compare the impact of two continuing education (CE) activities on TPE in regard to the following educational outcomes: (1) learning, (2) self-report of competence, (3) performance of the educators, and (4) outcomes of COPD patients who will meet the newly trained educators for TPE.MethodsWe will conduct a non-randomized controlled study using mixed methods. Educators will first participate in a CE activity on TPE that will include a role-playing simulation (experimental group) or in a lecture on TPE (comparison group) and then will perform TPE in COPD patients. Among educators, we will assess: (1) learning, by measuring knowledge about TPE, and (2) self-report of competence using self-administered questionnaires before and after the activity. Then, after the CE activity, we will assess (3) educators’ performance levels in delivering TPE by rating a videotaped TPE intervention. In COPD patients who will meet the newly trained educators for TPE after either CE activity, we will assess (4) quality of life and resource utilization using interviewer-administered questionnaires, before and after TPE. Statistical analyses will compare the experimental group against the comparison group using multivariate models. Using a semi-structured interview guide, we will conduct interviews with educators and perform content analysis. Results will be integrated in order that qualitative results further explain the quantitative ones.DiscussionTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first controlled mixed methods study to compare the impact of two CE activities on TPE in regard to four educational outcomes. We believe this study will serve as a model for evaluating CE activities on TPE. Results from this study could increase educators’ performance levels in delivering effective TPE interventions, and, in turn, COPD patient outcomes.Trial registrationThe study was registered on https://clinicaltrials.gov/ (NCT02870998) on March 15, 2016.

Using Scaffold Supports to Improve Student Practice and Understanding of an Authentic Inquiry Process in Science.

This study addressed computer-supported collaborative scientific inquiries in remote networked schools (Quebec, Canada). Three dyads of Grade 5–6 classrooms from remote locations across the province collaborated using the knowledge-building tool Knowledge Forum. Customized scaffold supports embedded in the online tool were used to support student understanding and practice of an authentic inquiry process. The research studied how the use of the scaffolds could help students to understand and put into practice an authentic inquiry process. Students created notes and used the scaffolds to support their inquiry process; however, without sufficient direct teacher modeling, coherent use of the scaffolds stayed low across activities. Pre- and posttest results show that the students gained a better understanding of the inquiry process, but low posttest scores suggest further need for direct teacher modeling of the inquiry process during science instruction.RésuméCette étude concerne les enquêtes scientifiques collaboratives assistées par ordinateur dans les écoles éloignées en réseau (Québec, Canada). Trois dyades de classes de 5e et 6e années situées dans des endroits éloignés de la province ont travaillé ensemble par l’intermédiaire de l’outil d’élaboration de connaissances Knowledge Forum. Des supports d’échafaudages personnalisés intégrés dans l’outil en ligne ont favorisé la compréhension des élèves et la pratique d’un processus authentique d’étude. L’étude se penche sur la manière dont ces échafaudages peuvent aider les élèves à comprendre et à mettre en pratique un processus d’enquête authentique. Les élèves ont créé des notes et utilisé les échafaudages pour faciliter leur processus d’enquête. Toutefois, sans une modélisation pédagogique directe suffisante, le niveau d’utilisation cohérente de ces structures est demeuré faible au cours des activités. Les résultats des tests préliminaires et postérieurs démontrent que les élèves ont acquis une meilleure compréhension du processus d’enquête, mais les faibles résultats aux tests finaux indiquent qu’il est indispensable d’augmenter la modélisation pédagogique directe lors de la phase scientifique.

La sélection d’idées prometteuses et l’émergence d’un questionnement authentique dans l’élaboration du discours collectif d’élèves du primaire | The selection of promising ideas and the emergence of genuine questioning

Cette etude se deroule dans le contexte de l’initiative l’Ecole eloignee en reseau (EER), mise sur pied depuis 2002 afin d’enrichir l’environnement d’apprentissage des petites ecoles rurales au moyen, entre autres, du Knowledge Forum (KF) comme soutien au discours ecrit collectif des eleves. Notre attention se porte sur une nouvelle fonction du KF, soit les Idees prometteuses (IPROM). Cette etude s’interesse principalement aux manifestations du processus de coelaboration de connaissances pendant l’utilisation de IPROM dans des classes du primaire au Quebec, plus particulierement de l’elaboration de questions par les eleves dans le discours collectif. A la lumiere de nos resultats, nous proposons certaines implications pedagogiques a mettre en place pour favoriser le processus de coelaboration de connaissances a l’aide de cet outil. This study takes places in the context of the Remote Networked School (RNS) initiative, set up in 2002 to improve the learning environment of small rural schools using, among other tools, the Knowledge Forum (KF) as a support for students’ collective written discourse. We focused on a new feature of KF, the promising idea tool (iPROM). This study is primarily interested in the manifestations of the knowledge co-elaboration process during the use of iPROM in elementary school classrooms in Quebec, focusing particularly on the elaborations of questions by students in the collective discourse. In the light of our results, we submit certain learning implications to be put in place to facilitate the knowledge co-elaboration process using this tool.