A brand new ending indeed!!!!!

WOW! We have come to the end of our module. Even though I am happy that I can enjoy my holidays from now on, I felt a sense of missing. These two weeks would be a very short time but I feel I have learnt the most and became much closer with my fellow coursemates.

Firstly I would like to thank Dr Quek for being such an awesome instructor. Kids would have loved you in school I guess. I loved your personality and warmth in dealing with us teachers. Even though we were very concerned about our assignments, assessements and report writing you would always tell us not to worry and not to be stressed. SOOOOOOOOO CHOOOOOOWEEEEEEEEET. Thank you so so much from my bottom of my heart for all those treats and making sure we all well fed before giving us more work to do. (Just Joking)

Secondly, would like to thank and applause my group members Brian and Queenie. Brian is such a funny guy and he always reminds me of Elvis. His sense of humor always liven our group work. And Queenie what can I say. You remind me of the sea, calm and serene. I would love to work on future group works with you guys. All the best and maybe we could embark on a research and our Dr Quek could be our supervisor. HAHA!

Yuen Han our monitoress. Think I should appoint your monitoress for the rest of the modules also. You were such a beloved and never failed to to render help when needed. Apointed Monitoress for PDCM (Sec Y08).

Suhaimi is a darl. We are in the same area for NPCC but didnt talk much till we started our masters. All the best aka datang OC unit.

Karen the beau. Always sweet in her dealings but dun make her mad pls and all the others, Sakun, Thiilagah, Kelvin, the 2 Chongs, Airong, Sharon, Peitong (have I missed anyone out) thank you for being such a wonderful bunch. All the best and freak ooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuttttttttttt.

See YYYYYYYYYYaaaaaaaaaaaa

Session 6: Coming back to Lewins field theory

Todays session starting off with the investigative project where we had to sit in groups to complete our report on the data we collected using the SPSS from the previous session. Dr Quek went thru all the elements neccesary to complete a proper report. The report should include the abstract, introduction, the research questions, literature reviews, methodology, procedure, results, limitations, discussions and conclusions. While doing the writeup as a group, the problem my group faced is in the part of the literature review. We had to decide what we want to put in the part on the literature review. And after a bit of contemplation we decided to go back to Lewin and Murray's Needs press model the big picture.


My Reflections

While doing the writeup as a group, I realised the important of literature reviews. We have to comstantly read journal and conference papers to increase our knowledge on what has been done so far and what can be done further in any kind of research. I also realised the importance of lewin's field theory that states that Human behaviour is a function of personal characteristics and environment (See the cropped version of the Needs Press model). From this basic theory alot of other theories were developed that supported Lewin's field theory.

I also feel that there are merits in combining qualitative and quantitative research methods in a research to maximise the potential of a research.

Thank you

Reflections on session 5

Oh my what a stressful session it was. The only time I got to breathe was during the lunch break. And yes we shared a bit of laughter when we got into groups to work on the SPSS software !

a) Web 2.0 environment framework

Dr Quek took us for a ride with the web 2.0 environment framework and I was pretty overwhelmed with the number of softwares available for content sharing and social networking. Commonly used ones are the Blogspot, Ning, Myspace, Flickr, YouTube, Wetpaint, Zoho and Goowy.

My Reflection

Dr Quek said something that really triggered my brain cells that is as practitioners we should always think of better ways to improve our teaching and engage students interest with such learning environments. Being able to use the Blogspot and Wiki comfortably after these sessions, i would introduce these learning environments to my students or maybe embark on an action research with my department.

b) Case study on the use of the CPS and improving learning environment

We also looked at a beginning researcher who used the CPS in his classroom and used a modified version of the WIHIC to assess his student's learning. He only used 4 scales in the WIHIC. They were the Teacher Support, Involvement, Student Cohesiveness and Equity. One additional scale the material support which is not a scale found in the WIHIC was used in the modified version of his instrument. Modified instruments scales can come from different instruments and after assessments done and results obtained as researchers we have to work on the followup actions. We can conduct interviews or focus group discussions with our students to get feedback on the learning environement with problems and design interventions and improve.

My Reflection

I have used the CPS in my school during a staff contact time to get intsantaneous feedback for survey questions. But personally have not tried it in my classes. CPS can be another means of getting the assessment done immediately than putting the instruments like the WIHIC online or administering the instrument before and after certain types of learning environment. Modifying the instruments to suit the needs of the research question is crucial and items do not have to neccessarily come from one particular instrument but from other validated instruments. After the assessment is done what is the next step? Are there gonna be any follow up actions or interventions? In the improvement process, after the problems in the learning environment is identified, intervention is neccessary. Planning and tracking of the intervention would take 1 to 2 months and the instrument have to to administered again to see if the problem had be solved.

c) Use of the SPSS software

We had the oppportunity to use the preferred and actual forms of the WIHIC and then keyed in the results into an excel sheet, transferred them to the SPSS and data tabulated. We obtained the item, scale means, standard deviation and the reliability coefficient calculated. We also compared the means using the paired sample T test. Using all these data, we can find out which items are significant and had to be intervined and improved.

My Reflection

SPSS is an wonderful creation to obtain all the relevent data needed for analysis. Its gives us the ease of calculating the means, standard deviation and cronbach's alpha then manually using formulae to calculate these values which would take ages for a very large sample.

Thank you

Session 4: What makes up an effective learning environment or school?

A) Case study on school B

Our day started off with a group discussion on the case study of 3 schools. My group discussed on the school B. We were asked to reflect on whether school B is effective or not and whether we would send our child there by looking at all the details given about the school. Instrument SLEQ was used to assess the school. After looking at all the results of the assessment, it made me ponder on what is an effective school or an effective class environment per say.

My reflections

After five sessions on classroom learning environments and reading a couple of literature reviews, i personally feel that a classroom learning environment must be virtual, safe, personal, interactive and conductive for it to be effective.

A virtual environment is a set of teaching and learning tools designed to enhance a student's learning experience by including computers and the internet in the learning process. Curriculum can be broken into sections which can be assigned and assessed, student’s performance can be tracked, online support given for both teacher and student, inclusion of e-mail, threaded discussions, chat, Web publishing and Internet links added to outside curriculum resources. The teacher can see what a students’ sees, but the teacher has additional user rights to create or modify curriculum content and track student performance. There are a number ways this can be done like the Blackboard system used in NIE.

Violence is pervasive on television, in sports, music, video games, and even in our schools and workplaces. Schools are no longer safe havens for children. Students cannot learn in an unsafe environment. A welcoming environment is particularly important for students who are struggling in school and need extra support. It is difficult to create a balance between a safe school and a welcoming, caring environment. It is important to create a school climate that does not tolerate bullying, intimidation, and terrorism. Students who are afraid often stay away from school. A safe learning environment is focused on academic achievement, maintaining high standards, fostering positive relationships between staff and students, and encouraging parental and community involvement.

A personal environment helps learners take control of and manage their own learning. This includes providing support for learners to set their own learning goals, manage their learning, manage both content and process, and communicate with others in the process of learning. In contrast, a virtual or a Learning Management System such as Blackboard or Moodle, it is a software system designed to help teachers by facilitating the management of educational courses for their students, especially by helping teachers and learners with course administration. The system can often track the learners' progress, which can be monitored by both teachers and learners. It comprises of all the different tools we use in our everyday life for learning like the Blogs, Wiki, Myspace, Wetpaint etc.

For schools to be effective, the environment needs to be conducive to learning, allowing the pupils space and time to interact within the learning and teaching process. Creating and maintaining stimulating learning environments can be achieved through effective classroom organisation, interactive and whole school displays and a climate of innovation.

Thank you

More Session 3 Reflection

Different instruments for assessing learning environment

Learning Environment Inventory (LEI)

LEI began in the 1960s in conjunction to the Harvard Project Physics. The final version contains a total of 105 statements with 7 scale per item descriptive of typical school classes.

Classroom Environment Scale (CES)

The CES was developed by Sir Rudolf Moos. The final published version contains 9 scales with 10 items of True-False response format in each scale. Typical items in the CES includes Teacher Support and Rule Clarity.

My Class Inventory (MCI)

The MCI was the simplified version of the LEI for use among children aged 8 to 12 years old. MCI only contains 5 scales with two point Yes-No response format. Item wording have been simplified to enhance readability. Students answer on the questionaire itself then in a separate answer sheet. The typical form includes Friction, Satisfaction and Task Orientation scales.

Questionaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI)

The QTI forcuses on the the nature and quality of interpersonal relationships between teachers and students. It was developed to assess students perceptions of 8 behaviour aspects. Each item has a 5 point response scale.

Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI)

SLEI was developed to assess the uniqueness of a science laboratoy settings in science education. The SLEI has 5 scales each with 7 items and a 5 response alternatives. The Open Endedness scale was included later because of the importance of open ended lab activities.

Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES)

Constructivist view states that meaningful learning is a cognitive process and individuals make sense of the world from the knowledge they have already constructed. The CLES was developed to assist researchers and teachers to assess the degree to which a particular classroom is consistent to the constructivist view and assist teachers to reflect on their assumptions and reshape their teaching practices.

What Is Happening In This Class Questionaire (WIHIC)

WIHIC contains 7 eight item scales. It has a separate Class form which assesses s student's perceptions of a class as a whole and a personal form which assesses a student's personal perceptions of the role in a classroom.

My Reflections

Over the decades due to the remarkable growth in research in learning environment, alot of instruments were developed and validated with numerous studies and literature reviews. We have looked at some of the commonly used instruments in the study of learning environment above. The choice of the instrument to be used in crucial as it has to target the intended group, the research question and the methodology and modify the items if neccesary without changing the meaning of the items. The Moo's scheme was the guiding principle for the design of the scales and the four dimensions used are the relationship (extent pf people involvement and support for each other), personal developement (direction along which personal growth and self enhancement occur), system maintenance and system change (extent to which the environment is orderly).

Thank you

Session 3 Reflection

Use of the wetpaint.com website

My group did a research on one of the first learning environment gurus Dr Kurt Lewin. He was born in Prussia (a state in Germany) to a middle-class Jewish family, moved to Berlin at age 15 to attend the Gymnasium, enrolled at the University of Frieberg in 1909 to study medicine before transferring to the University of Munich to study biology. He eventually completed a doctoral degree at the University of Berlin and he first developed an interest in Gestalt psychology during his studies. He volunteered in the German army in 1914 and was later injured in combat. These experiences played a major role in the development of the Field Theory and his later study on Group dynamics, action research and experiential learning.

We created a webpage using wetpaint.com. All the three of the us had moderator rights so we could enter the website any time and add our parts of the research without meeting each other face to face. This gave us alot of ease to complete our readings and enter our individual inputs. After which we shared our website with our class and got feedback.

My Reflections

I will share the use of Wiki website to my students in my school. Wiki could be very useful in collaborative group work, gathering information and uploading individual works inside the website. I would also share this website with my fellow school teachers so that they could introduce them to their students as well. Wiki was easy to use and i did not have much difficulty adding text or formatting. Text can be typed into the word document first and can be copied over to Wiki easily. I had a bit of problems uploading pictures and formating them but i managed it with trial and error as well as getting help from my group members.

Thank you

Reflections on session 2

It was my first time driving up to NIE campus and I set off early in the morning so as to avoid the heavy traffic at BKE and Jalan Bahar exits. Before i pen down my thoughts on session 2, I would like to thank Dr Quek for her warm personality in her face to face interactions and giving us a treat during our lunch time. Very rarely lecturers do that. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Reflections on session 2:

1) Gallery walk

We actually have the opportunity to share a little of the blogs we have created. Some blogs were very impressive with added features like music, chat box and links to useful websites. I would contantly update my blog with my daily reflections as well as invite teachers and students to view my blog and give their comments.

2) E Book on How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School

We had the opportunity to view an e-book written by Bransford, Brown and Cocking, 2000. One of the effective learning environment is working collaboratively in groups and we worked collaboratively in groups on the four perspectives of a learning environment (Learner centered, knowledge centred, assessment centred and community centred). Different groups shared on what each perpectives mean, how each works and also on the concerns surfaced.

3) Group research on learning environment gurus

I was overwhelmed when Dr Quek gave us our group research title that we have to work on in groups in our first real session. My group would be working on Kurt Lewins field theory. Dr Quek also shared with us a social website, wetpaint.com where we could share and upload our research findings from home in our own free time.

Thank you

Collaboration is a ingredient for an effective learning environment

My reflections after literature readings


What attributes constitute "effective learning environment"?. This is a question which has kept educational researchers pondering for decades. In a quest for answers, recent research literatures seems to be supporting a common theme, that is: social interaction amongst learners plays an important part in the learning process; in fact, it can have a significant impact on learning outcomes.

Collaboration is one of an essential ingredient to create an "effective learning environment" as it provides learners with the opportunity to discuss, argue, negotiate and reflect upon existing beliefs and knowledge. The learner gets involved in constructing own knowledge through a process of discussion and interaction with teachers and fellow classmates.There is a need to have a purpose for the collaboration and the purpose needs to be meaningful to the learner. Thus it is important that an appropriate context is set for the collaborative activity, for example, assigning a "real world" task for learners or a problem to which all learners can relate. In addition to setting the context, there needs to be a environment through which collaboration can take place. In traditional face-to-face educational settings, collaboration mostly occurs through conversation, that is, individuals interacting with one another.

Therefore, in terms of creating an effective learning environment, four attributes surface as being important:

1) Providing opportunities to foster personal construction of knowledge.
2) Setting an appropriate context for the learning.
3) Facilitating collaboration amongst learners.

Thank you

Learning Environment Research: Yesterday, Today and Tommorrow

After reading this article on the learning environment research I knew that learning environment research has undergone remarkable growth worldwide. Particularly, Asian researchers have made major contributions to these research studies. Some questionairs that were developed in the western countries have been adapted, translated and cross validated for use in many asian countries like Singapore, Brunei, Korea, China and Indonesia.

Different instruments were used for assessing classroom environment. LEI, CES, MCI, ICEQ, QTI, SLEI, CLES and WIHIC are widely used, robust and validated instruments used in western and asian countries. These instruments have been validated in English to be used in Sinagpore but asian researchers have also translated these instruments in Chinese, Indonesian, Korean and Malay languages. While Asian researchers have an impressive record in using these instruments in their research studies but they have been less active in the development of new research instruments.

The most common learning environment research in Asia involved investigating associations between the students outcomes and their classroom environment perceptions. These studies had been carried out in many Aisan countries, in a variety of subject areas, at various grade levels, using many student outcome measures and different learning environment instruments. The use of qualitative methods such as interviews and observations demonstrated the benefits in learning environment research.

In my opinion, feedbacks from students as well as teachers perceptions of a preferred environment improves classroom environment. Students, teachers, researchers and supervisors must work together and break the past traditions by taking researchers into the front lines of learning environment research.