Hung, David

Research management is an emerging field of study and its development is significant to the advancement of research enterprise. Developing the science of research management requires investigating social mechanisms involved in research management. Yet, studies on social mechanisms of research management is lacking in the literature. To address this gap, this paper proposes importing methodologies and theories from other social science disciplines to study the social mechanisms of research management and to build the science of research management. The paper first articulates what constitutes the science of research management, then proposes to appropriate Design-Based Research (DBR), a methodology in education research, for building the science of research management while at the same time strengthening the theory-practice nexus. A study of education research is then presented to illustrate how DBR is used to enact the theory of homophily which is imported from sociology. It reveals an opportunity to use social designs to develop social relationships among teachers from different schools for networked learning. Such a research endeavour also has potential to advance theories of relationship-building in sociology. Inferring from the example as an analogue to what is suggested for research management, the paper advocates a way to reciprocally connect research management as an emerging research field with more established social science disciplines at large and to advance both the theory and practice of research management.

This article describes some of the key affordances for learning of the generic class of handheld computers known variously as smartphones, palmtops, and thumbtop using the Apple iPhone 3G as one of the most mature exemplars of this class-based on the authors' experiences with and reflections about the device over a period of a year. An argument is made that one of its most potentially powerful affordances is that of shifting the paradigm of educational technology away from providing learners with technological solutions ('development for learning') to that of encouraging learners to engage in interdisciplinary thinking about the design of software applications which are authentic and personally meaningful ('learner as developer').

In the Singapore education system, e-learning is fast becoming the next frontier for schools. E-learning has the potential to add great value to education, allowing modes of learning that have never been possible in the traditional classroom context. However, before we hail e-learning as the definitive step forward in education and plunge headlong into it, educators have to understand e-learning and its implications in school leadership, management,curriculum, resources and pedagogy. While a well thought through approach will bring great gains to a school, blindly plunging into it may bring great pains because the process of change can be fraught with subtle pitfalls. Using the Organisational Change Model, this article provides a framework for schools to systemically and systematically consider the issues related to the implementation of e-learning in schools and the process of change. It argues that school leaders should consider the goals, business, culture, processes, and enablers(working tools) seamlessly and coherently in order that e-learning could be anchored in the school to bring real sustainable benefits.

In this paper, we discuss metacognition against a backdrop of 21st century traversals, where learners are constantly moving and interacting across different contexts. We describe how learners’ traversals are underpinned by triadic coupling relationships between self, social others, and cultural resources. Drawing our observations from contemporary contextual spaces of online games, we articulate how a situated and embodied form of metacognition pivots the dialectics of the aforementioned coupling relationships.

This paper attempts to make sense of engaged learning. Approaches such as problem-based learning should be advocated because it is an authentic form of learning encouraging students to be self-regulated and thus metacognitive towards their own thinking and behaviours. In contrast to passive forms of instruction, where learners are not perceived to be active and engaged or reflective, we are highlighting alternative pedagogies that promote this sense of self-regulatoy actions. We describe the engaged learning framework - focusing on both problem and process - which would be necessary for authenticity in learning experiences.

Primary school learners are often engaging in learning opportunities in both inside and outside of school contexts. To understand how these different contexts afford opportunities for metacognition and self-regulation, we follow local primary school students of elementary grades five and six. In Vygotsky's work, metacognition appears as an awareness of one's own thinking processes and the way they can be controlled and directed. For Vygotsky, metacognition and self-regulation are completely intertwined in which the latter takes the forms of control over one's attention, thoughts, and actions (Fox & Riconscente, 2008). Consequently, the understanding of these important constructs supports the understanding of human behavior, learning, and development within a broader context of all human activities. To explore the learning of metacognition and self-regulation in students' learning, we draw data from an informal context: a primary school, co-curricular activities (CCA), in bowling. Interpreting from a variety of data-collection techniques such as field observations, interviews, field notes, and video recording, the research team has been observing the bowling team's practices at least once a week since January 2010. Although the school's team comprises of more than thirty students, we targeted our observations to nine of these students. A further sub-section of two participants were selected and interviews were conducted to collect information on strategic planning, self-efficacy, and knowledge application. Moreover, artifacts such as written statements of the way their families assisted in their learning in an informal context were also collected. Preliminary findings indicate that learning in an informal context affords opportunities for metacognition and self-regulation in interesting and authentic ways. In addition, students point out that learning strategies can be used in both formal and informal contexts. The findings also illustrate the importance of linking students' development of metacognitive abilities to parental mentoring in providing a fuller understanding of their learning in both formal and informal contexts.