ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Dwell in Possibility: PLAR and e-Portfolios in the Age of Information and Communication Technologies
Author: Brown, Judith O.
Date: 2011-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Adult Learning,Adult Students,Higher Education,Undergraduate Students,Experiential Learning,Portfolios (Background Materials),Influence of Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Prior Learning,Learning Processes,Web Based Instruction,Workplace Learning

Emily Dickinson wrote, &quot;I dwell in Possibility--A fairer House than Prose--More Numerous of Windows--Superior--for Doors&quot; (p. 657). Dickinson's simple yet profound reference to the expansive nature of poetry over prose may be taken as a metaphor for the possibilities of information and communication technologies (ICTs) over written modes of expression. Whether we identify with this analogy or not, what we can say today with some certainty is that the advent of ICTs has impacted prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) by expanding the potential for knowledge acquisition, expression, and delivery. The purpose of this article is to examine the potential of experiential learning e-portfolios to promote connections between several different types of learning--academic, workplace, and web-based. The author contends that this type of PLAR enables undergraduate adult learners to not only articulate and equate experiential learning to academic knowledge but also, and most importantly, to demonstrate knowledge visually and audibly through the utilization of ICTs. Two pilot case studies of e-portfolio development are described to support the author's position. (Contains 1 table and 1 footnote.)
Preconditions for Post-Employment Learning: Preliminary Results from Ongoing Research
Author: Salter, Linda
Date: 2011-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Locus of Control,Open Education,Maturity (Individuals),Self Efficacy,Adult Learning,Personality,Profiles,Evaluation Methods,Prior Learning,Learning Strategies,Data Collection,Questionnaires

This article describes the first phase of a two-phase, mixed-method study. The study, now in progress, explores how and to what extent willingness to engage in learning in mature adulthood is influenced by prior experiences and specific individual personality variables, such as perceived locus of control and degree of self-efficacy. Study participants in this phase are 20 active adults over the age of 50 who participate in various formal and informal programs at a YMCA in a suburb of Seattle, Washington. Preliminary results thus far are discussed with respect to how they may inform educators of mature adults in open education settings. A profile of the characteristics of mature adults likely to be engaged in learning activities is beginning to emerge. A larger sample of participants taken from the same population is now being studied to confirm or refute the value of this profile. (Contains 5 tables.)
Validation of Competencies in E-Portfolios: A Qualitative Analysis
Author: Zawacki-Richter, Olaf
Date: 2011-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Portfolios (Background Materials),Portfolio Assessment,Internet,Distance Education,Models,Student Attitudes,Universities,Masters Degrees,Foreign Countries

This paper uses the example of an Internet-based advanced studies course to show how the portfolio method, as a competence-based form of examination, can be integrated in a blended learning design. Within the framework of a qualitative analysis of project portfolios, we examined which competencies are documented and how students reflected on their competence development process using portfolios. (Contains 2 figures.)
Creating a Positive PLA Experience: A Step-by-Step Look at University PLA
Author: Leiste, Sara M.
Date: 2011-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Feedback (Response),Adult Education,Prior Learning,Adult Learning,Adult Students,Student Experience,Barriers,Facilitators (Individuals),Student Evaluation,Higher Education,College Outcomes Assessment

A prior learning assessment (PLA) can be an intimidating process for adult learners. Capella University's PLA team has developed best practices, resources, and tools to foster a positive experience and to remove barriers in PLA and uses three criteria to determine how to best administer the assessment. First, a PLA must be motivating, as described by the ARCS model. Second, it must enable success. Finally, it must use available resources efficiently. The tools and resources developed according to these criteria fall into two categories: staff and online resources. PLA programs can use both to ensure that all departments provide consistent communication to learners about the PLA process, which will foster a positive experience. The PLA online lab houses centralized resources and offers one-on-one interaction with a facilitator to assist learners step-by-step in the development of their petitions. Each unit contains resources, examples, and optional assignments that help learners to develop specific aspects of the petition. By following the examples and recommendations, learners are able to submit polished petitions after they complete the units. The lab facilitator supports learners throughout the units by answering questions and providing recommendations. When learners submit their petitions, the facilitator reviews it entirely and provides feedback to strengthen the final submission that goes to a faculty reviewer. All of these individuals and tools work together to help create a positive experience for learners who submit a PLA petition. This article shares these resources with the goal of strengthening PLA as a field. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)
Language of Evaluation: How PLA Evaluators Write about Student Learning
Author: Travers, Nan L.
Date: 2011-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Evaluators,Prior Learning,Student Evaluation,Audiences,College Students,Higher Education

Very few studies (e.g., Arnold, 1998; Joosten-ten Brinke, et al., 2009) have examined the ways in which evaluators assess students' prior learning. This investigation explored the ways that evaluators described students' prior learning in final assessment reports at a single, multiple-location institution. Results found four themes; audience, voice, presentation of the learning, and evaluation language. Within each theme, further sub-themes are defined. These results are significant for training evaluators on how to discuss student learning and for institutions to consider in relationship to the purpose behind the evaluations. Further research and implications are discussed. (Contains 1 footnote.)
A Dynamic Community of Discovery: Planning, Learning, and Change
Author: Gordon, Michelle
Date: 2011-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Educational Attainment,Professional Occupations,Labor Market,Self Evaluation (Individuals),Career Planning,Online Courses,Workshops,Self Efficacy,Integrated Learning Systems,Outcomes of Education,Feedback (Response),Prior Learning

Ryerson University's Prior Learning and Competency Evaluation and Documentation (PLACED) program is funded by the Government of Ontario to engage internationally educated professionals (IEPs), employers, and regulatory/occupational bodies in the use of competency-based practices. In 2008, the authors created a self-assessment tool for IEPs that would build a portfolio reflecting an individual's knowledge and skills while introducing him or her to aspects of the Canadian workplace and labour market. The authors felt that this tool would be useful to assist IEPs in considering their career options and wanted to create an online workshop that would provide flexibility to users whose priorities were most likely work and family obligations. This short project description will capture a) why the self-assessment tool was developed; (b) how we fostered participants' self-efficacy; c) how we used Blackboard; (d) what the participants gained from the workshop; and (e) how the workshop has evolved based on facilitators' observations, participants' feedback, and an external organization's request for customizing the workshop. In working together to design the online workshop, &quot;IEPs' Self-Assessment and Planning&quot;, we focused on two main concepts: self-assessment and career planning. With that in mind, we set out in the workshop to bolster self-discovery, self-efficacy, individualized research skills, action planning, and ongoing professional development. The learning platform was Blackboard, which is used across Ryerson University in both classroom and online learning.
The Development of an Online Instrument for Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition of Internationally Educated Nurses: A Pilot Study
Author: Santa Mina, Elaine Elizabeth
Date: 2011-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Immigrants,Educational Attainment,Nursing,Prior Learning,Experiential Learning,Testing,Nurses,Vignettes,Self Evaluation (Individuals),Multiple Choice Tests,Benchmarking

A fully online prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) tool for internationally educated nurses (IENs) was developed and tested by an inter-professional team at Ryerson University. The tool consisted of two stages: a self-assessment component followed by a multiple-choice examination and narrative (vignette) evaluation. The purposes of the study were to describe the demographic profile of the IEN registered nurse (RN), to develop the benchmark responses that demonstrate competency at the entry-to-practice level of the typical IEN RN, and to describe the experience of completing an online PLAR tool. A mixed-method approach was used. Findings demonstrated that IEN RNs who immigrate to Ontario, Canada, are of various ages and come from a wide spectrum of countries. The PLAR process holds promise for an objective assessment of IEN's eligibility to write the Canadian Registered Nurses Examination (CRNE) and to meet a global need. Further testing of the tool across a broader sample is required. (Contains 5 figures and 2 tables.)
Going Online to Make Learning Count
Author: Brigham, Cathy
Date: 2011-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Adult Students,Prior Learning,Experiential Learning,Testing,Portfolio Assessment,College Credits,Online Systems,Delivery Systems

Adult students often come to higher education with college-level learning that they have acquired outside of the classroom--from the workplace, military service, self-study, or hobbies. For decades, many forward-thinking colleges and universities have been offering services to evaluate that learning and award it college credit that counts towards a degree. However, for a range of reasons, not every institution can offer prior learning assessment (PLA) in every discipline or for every student. With funding from several U.S. philanthropic organizations, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) is launching Learning Counts, a national online service that will offer students a range of opportunities to have their learning evaluated for college credit. This online service will expand the capacity of institutions offering PLA to students and provide an efficient and scalable delivery mechanism for the awarding of credit through PLA. (Contains 1 note.)
Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition: Emergence of a Canadian Community of Scholars
Author: Wihak, Christine
Date: 2011-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Adult Education,Prior Learning,Lifelong Learning,Adult Learning,Adult Students,Foreign Countries,Informal Education,Workplace Learning,Experiential Learning,Communities of Practice

Prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) is the practice of reviewing, evaluating, and acknowledging the information, skills, and understanding that adult learners have gained through experiential or self-directed (informal) learning rather than through formal education (Thomas, 2000). As our current economy and workplaces experience rapid and continuing change, PLAR offers a vital contribution to supporting lifelong and life-wide learning (Evans, 2000). Beyond significant benefits to individual adult learners in terms of confidence-building and enhanced reflective capacity, PLAR's process translates personal and workplace learning into a portable format, a common coin suitable for public recognition in many different venues. PLAR has hence become an integral feature of lifelong learning policies around the globe and is closely linked with the implementation of national and transnational qualification frameworks (Morrissey et al., 2008). PLAR scholars have a vital role in ensuring that policy and practice in this important field is informed by innovative research. This brief report describes a workshop on scholarly PLAR research, held in Ottawa, Canada on November 6 and 7, 2010 with funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). (Contains 2 footnotes.)
Evaluating Prior Learning Assessment Programs: A Suggested Framework
Author: Travers, Nan L.
Date: 2011-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Program Evaluation,Audiences,Prior Learning,Program Effectiveness,Evaluation Methods,Models,Total Quality Management

Over the past two decades, American institutions have been expected to include systematic program reviews to meet accrediting standards, either by independent or governmental review agencies. Program evaluation is critical for several reasons: it provides systematic ways to assess what needs improvement or what needs changing and it provides ways to validate practices, whether to internal or external audiences (Mishra, 2007). Most program evaluative models are focused on academic programs, which don't fit the uniqueness of prior learning assessment programs. This paper proposes an evaluative framework for prior learning assessment programs, which takes into account the type of work within prior learning assessment programs and uses program portfolios, similar to how students are asked to document their work. (Contains 1 table.)
Academic and Social Outcomes for High-Risk Youths in Manitoba
Author: Brownell, Marni D.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Child Welfare,At Risk Persons,Foreign Countries,Grade 9,Mothers,Early Parenthood,Welfare Services,Adolescents,Academic Achievement,Outcomes of Education,Poverty,Dropouts,Unemployment,Disadvantaged,Socioeconomic Status

This study examined academic and social outcomes for high-risk youths in Manitoba, using longitudinal, population-based data. All children born in Manitoba in 1984-1985 who resided in Winnipeg the year they turned 18 were included in analyses (N = 11,703). High risk youths were defined as those involved with child welfare services, living in poverty, and/or having a mother who was a teen at first childbirth. Of youths with one risk factor, 41 to 57 per cent failed to complete high school, and 84 per cent of those with all three risk factors did not complete high school, compared with only 18 per cent of youths with none of the risk factors. Multiple risk factors put youths at an even greater disadvantage. Similar poor outcomes for high risk youths were observed for performance in grade 9, unemployment in early adulthood, and teen births. The findings suggest an intractable cycle of risk and disadvantage with far-reaching social and economic implications. (Contains 2 footnotes, 2 tables, and 5 figures.)
&quot;The Teacher Education Conversation&quot;: A Network of Cooperating Teachers
Author: Nielsen, Wendy S.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Cooperating Teachers,Teacher Educators,Communities of Practice,Preservice Teacher Education,Faculty Development,Systems Approach,Student Teaching

This study investigated a professional learning community of cooperating teachers and university-based teacher educators. To examine our roles and perspectives as colleagues in teacher education, we drew on frameworks in teacher learning and complexity science. Monthly group meetings of this inquiry community were held over two school years in a suburban school district in British Columbia. Participants' current and prior experiences in the role of cooperating teacher provided rich topics for conversation. Our analysis illustrates how aspects of complexity thinking both enable and promote teacher learning, in this instance, the professional development of cooperating teachers. The study highlights (a) key tensions that allow for deeper exploration of issues, (b) the need for flexibility that is open to contingency, (c) the importance of reducing hierarchical structures to enable networks to develop, and (d) improvisation as a key ingredient for teacher learning. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures, and 2 footnotes.) [&quot;The Teacher Education Conversation: A Network of Cooperating Teachers&quot; was written with Dianne Coulter, Tina Grigoriadis, Stephanie Hardman, Lee Hunter, Jane Kinegal, Bianca Li, Jeff Mah, Karen Mastin, David Partridge, Kathleen Salbuvik, Mitch Ward, Frederick Weil, Janet White, Kang Changyun, and Gaalen Erickson.]
Teacher Supply and Demand: Issues in Northern Canada
Author: Kitchenham, Andrew
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Supply and Demand,Teacher Recruitment,Teacher Shortage,Faculty Development,Rural Schools,School Districts,Labor Turnover,Teacher Persistence,Incentives,Blended Learning,Foreign Countries

This two-year study (2007-2009), which examined teacher supply and demand issues in northern Canada--Fort Nelson School District (BC), the Fort Vermilion School Division (AB), the Yukon Department of Education (YK), and the Yellowknife School District (NWT)--comprised three research objectives: (a) to ascertain in which subject areas acute and chronic needs for teachers existed, (b) to investigate recruitment and retention methods for northern professionals, and (c) to ascertain preferred professional development models. The participants included teachers, principals, and hiring personnel in the research sites. Research methods included the use of an on-line questionnaire (n = 113), at least two semi-structured interviews at each of the four sites with five to ten teachers, three to five principals, and one Human Resources personnel, and researcher field notes. Findings confirm and expand upon conclusions drawn by others and demonstrate the unique needs of northern educators. In particular, we found that (a) school districts continue to struggle with finding specialist teachers in the senior high sciences and mathematics and in elementary Special Education, (b) few incentives exist for teachers to come to northern school districts and to stay there, and (c) the preferred professional development model for approximately one-quarter of these Northern teachers, administrators, and hiring personnel is blended learning. (Contains 1 footnote.)
Doing Things Differently: The Outcomes of Teachers Researching Their Own Practice in Teaching Writing
Author: Limbrick, Libby
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Writing Instruction,Teacher Researchers,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Urban Schools,Inquiry,Elementary School Teachers,Writing Achievement,Elementary School Students,Standardized Tests,Foreign Countries

In this study we investigated whether teachers' pedagogical and content knowledge of writing would increase as an outcome of teachers taking a research lens to their practice to raise students' writing achievement. Using student achievement data as a baseline, teachers examined and refined their practice using an inquiry process. The study took place over a two-year period and involved over 20 teachers from six low socio-economic urban primary schools in Auckland, New Zealand. Literacy leaders in the schools and four university researchers also took part in the inquiry project. Data collected from teachers' records, researchers' field notes, and transcripts from focus groups of teachers and literacy leaders indicated enhanced pedagogical and content knowledge of writing, as well as marked gains for students on a standardized test of writing. This study contributes to research demonstrating that, through researching their own practice and teaching targeted to students' strengths and needs, achievement in writing can be raised. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure and 1 footnote.)
Indigenous Thought, Appropriation, and Non-Aboriginal People
Author: Haig-Brown, Celia
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Indigenous Knowledge,Canada Natives,American Indian Culture,Learning,Adoption (Ideas),Cultural Awareness,Culturally Relevant Education,Communication (Thought Transfer),Foreign Countries

In this article, I explore the question, &quot;What is the relationship between appropriation of Indigenous thought and what might be called &quot;deep learning&quot; based in years of education in Indigenous contexts.&quot; Beginning with an examination of meanings ascribed to cultural appropriation, I bring texts from Gee on secondary discourses, Foucault on the production of discourse, and Wertsch on the deep structures underpinning discourse into conversation with critical fieldwork experiences extracted from years of research and teaching. Ultimately hopeful, I conclude the article with direction from Indigenous scholars on appropriate cultural protocol in the use of Indigenous knowledges by non-Aboriginal people in educational contexts. (Contains 50 footnotes.)
(Inter)Active Interviewing in Childhood Research: On Children's Identity Work in Interviews
Author: Fernqvist, Stina
Date: 2010-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Interviews,Interaction,Ethics,Children,Childhood Attitudes,Adolescent Attitudes,Self Concept,Child Development,Sociology,Adolescents,Poverty,Qualitative Research,Research Methodology,Adolescent Development

Seeing identity as work produced in interaction is a starting point in this current study, were analyzing interviews with children living in economic hardship, and how everyday life in economic hardship in one way or another becomes significant for their identity work, is the main empirical material. This article is intended to illustrate how to (a) combine James A. Holstein and Jaber F. Gubrium's (1995) active interview approach with elements from Erving Goffman's (1974/1986) frame analysis, and (b) introduce this approach as a fruitful way of analyzing children's narratives. Also, by regarding the interview as interaction and thereby acknowledging the respondents' participation in the research process, I argue that an interactive interview approach has both ethical and analytical advantages that should appeal to qualitative childhood studies.
Daughters' Perspectives on Maternal Substance Abuse: Pledge to Be a Different Kind of Mother
Author: Murphy, Anne P.
Date: 2010-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Poverty,At Risk Persons,Addictive Behavior,Grounded Theory,Neighborhoods,Substance Abuse,Mothers,Daughters,Cocaine,Interviews,Parent Influence,Urban Areas,Influences,Child Rearing,Family Environment,Parent Child Relationship,Resilience (Psychology),Racial Differences,Sexual Abuse,Family Violence,Educational Attainment,Parent Role,Fathers,Grandparents

The purpose of this grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) study was to explore the experiences of racially and culturally diverse young mothers whose own mothers abused substances two decades ago when substance abuse peaked in inner city, urban neighborhoods in the United States and to identify the factors that have influenced how they parent their own children today. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten drug-free mothers who report having been raised by a mother who was addicted to drugs, primarily crack cocaine during their childhoods. The emergent grounded theory is that exposure to maternal substance abuse has a significant and unique impact on female children throughout their lifespan, with particular emphasis at the onset of motherhood.  Among the goals the young mothers expressed is that they wanted to "be there" for their children, protect  their daughters from sexual abuse, and raise sons who do not abuse women. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)