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Lee, Yew-Jin
- PublicationEmbargoLogic of internship learning in hybrid engineering workplace settings: A sociomaterial assemble of digital tools, humans and activitiesDuring the recent pandemic, established modes of organising internships in engineering were disrupted; Internships often transitioned into hybrid formats with extensive online activity. But, empirical research on the quality of learning in engineering during these exceptional circumstances is limited. This study therefore examines internship experiences among engineering undergraduates (N = 39) in Singapore through semi-structured interviews conducted at two different time points. Thematic analysis revealed four challenges encountered by interns when access to engineering sites was disrupted. These included changes to processes of learning through the reorganisation of work routines requiring interns to adeptly utilise diverse technological tools and digital platforms for remote collaboration. Interns faced difficulties in gaining insights into the logic of engineering work through disrupted workflow. This was not helped when their learning experiences were also contingent upon the availability of meaningful work tasks. Finally, interns had to adapt to virtual and on-demand networking as a means of integrating into the engineering practice. Thus, the shift presented both challenges and opportunities for interns to learn about engineering in unprecedented ways. This research sheds light on how interns adapt during severe disruptions to engineering work environments, emphasising the importance of considering the sociomaterial context for supporting interns in hybrid workplaces.
42 61 - PublicationOpen Access
49 111 - PublicationOpen AccessThe intellectual demands and coherency of topics of reformed primary science curricula from three East-Asian regionsThe intended curriculum is arguably one of the most important components within any national educational system although those in primary science have not been subject to extensive research scrutiny. Based on reformed primary science curricula from Hong Kong, mainland China, and Taiwan, we compared them on two key features: (1) levels of knowledge and cognitive processes from their learning outcomes, and (2) coherency of topics that influence the ease, meaningfulness, and quality of learning in the subject. In the former, we coded their intellectual demands (i.e., what learners must know and do) using revised Bloom’s taxonomy while for the latter, we investigated the coverage, focus, sequence, and emphasis of topics across grades. We found that curricula from Hong Kong and mainland China generally focused on the first two levels of knowledge domains and cognitive processes while Taiwanese learning outcomes were predominantly coded as Apply. Different aspects of coherency in the intended curriculum revealed which topics were covered, their focus, and sequencing across grade divisions as well as their emphasis of topics. Our empirical research therefore adds to the small number of comparative studies in primary science curricula. It can also practically assist policy- and curriculum-making in these regions as they seek to understand and develop quality curricula in primary science.
WOS© Citations 5Scopus© Citations 6 105 151 - PublicationOpen AccessChanges in qualities and abilities of Japanese teachers through participation in Global Lesson Study on mathematics(Emerald, 2022)
; ; Ozawa, HiroakiPurpose The authors aim to determine the effects of Global Lesson Study (GLS) – a two-year, one-cycle program defined as “international cooperative lesson study through international exchange among teachers using ICT” – on intercultural competence for lesson study based on pre- and post-survey conducted for Japanese teachers.
Design/methodology/approach
In accordance with the GLS program, mathematics lesson studies on mathematics between Japanese and Singaporean elementary school teachers were conducted over a two-year period. Questionnaire surveys on intercultural competence for lesson study was conducted using 7-point Likert scale and descriptive questions with Japanese teachers (N = 5). Analysis of Wilcoxon's signed rank test and correlation analysis were conducted.Findings
Followings are identified as the effects of GLS for Japanese teachers: (1) Japanese participants felt improvement of their competence in areas of attitude, internal outcomes and outward impact. (2) Participating in a GLS led to the improvement of Japanese teachers' qualities and abilities for subject teaching related to mathematics education. (3) Improvement of intercultural competence for lesson study was related to each other, and GLS led to improvement of these competences. (4) It was meaningful to have a two-year period to assimilate and adjust to independent experience of the host and guest.Originality/value
The GLS led to teacher empowerment among this sample, not only as cooperative research, but also at the individual level of teachers where participants continued to develop lessons based on the GLS learning after study completion. This has important implications for the implementation and dissemination of the GLS.109 112 - PublicationMetadata onlySpills and thrills: Internship challenges for learning in epistemic spacesWe examine the challenges and emergent nature of learning during undergraduate internships. Much scholarly inquiry on the latter focuses on internship experiences within traditional professional domains such as medicine, teacher education, and other fields. There is less knowledge about undergraduate interns entering more fluid and recent work sectors such as Public Relations and Communication. In this study, a sociomaterial perspective guided the interest in the situated and emergent nature of learning as an intern in such tool-saturated environments. Specifically, we examined how interns learn to participate in such activities, and how they encounter and appropriate sociomaterial resources used for coordinating and performing work practices. Using a case study method, we examined internship experiences of penultimate undergraduates in communication studies (N = 38). From semi-structured interviews, strategies such as scaffolding, networking and negotiating with colleagues, and technological tools as contingent means for coping with workplace challenges were reported during the initial stage of their internship. By making visible knowledge strategies undergraduates interns employ for learning at the workplace, we call to attention the role of and access to technologies, significant others, and workplace culture in the development of professional learning in such dynamic professional settings.
WOS© Citations 1Scopus© Citations 3 152 - PublicationOpen AccessThe individual collective dialectic in the learning organizationPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to answer two interrelated questions: “Who learns and how in the learning organization?”. By implication, many theories of the learning organization are adressed that are based on a static and erroneous separation of individual and collective.
Design/methodology/approach – Four episodes from a larger case study exemplify the theoretical arguments. These were based on a longitudinal ethnographic study of a salmon hatchery and the public‐sector organization to which the former was accountable. Conceptual framework is strongly dialectical: in their actions individuals concretely reproduce the organization and, when actions vary, realize it in novel forms; organizations therefore presuppose individuals that concretely produce them. However, without an organization, there would be no aim or orientation to individual actions to speak of in the first instance.
Findings – The paper finds that individuals learn, through the production of socio‐material resources, notions of organizations which are not abstract. These resources increase action possibilities for the collective, whether realized concretely or not. Expansive learning in individuals is co‐constitutive of learning in organizations and decreasing interest in individual learning constitutes decreased levels of action possibilities for the collective.
Research limitations/implications – The paper shows that using this framework, it becomes problematic to separate individual and collective learning.
Originality/value – The paper shows that access to participation by all members is a key component as are affordances given by the organization for the development of individuals.WOS© Citations 38Scopus© Citations 45 164 202 - PublicationMetadata onlyDevelopment of a self-reflection scale for observers of mathematics lesson during lesson study(Emerald, 2024)
; ; Hiroaki, OzawaPurpose
This study aims to develop a self-reflection scale useful for teachers to improve their skills and to clarify the Japanese teachers’ characteristics during mathematics lesson observation (MLO). In MLO, it is important to understand the lesson plan in advance to clarify observation points, and we aim to develop a scale including these points.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the pre-questionnaire survey, nine perspectives and two situations for MLO were extracted. From these, a questionnaire for MLO was created. The results obtained from 161 teachers were examined, and exploratory factor analysis was conducted. ANOVA was conducted to analyze the effect of differences across the duration of teaching experience on the identified factors.
Findings
We developed a self-reflection scale consisting of 14 items with three factors: [B1] focus on instructional techniques and evaluation, [B2] focus on proactive problem-solving lesson development and [B3] focus on the mathematical background of the learning content. While duration of teaching experience showed no effect, three factors of the self-reflection scale for MLO showed a significant effect. Further multiple comparisons revealed the degree of focus was [B2]>[B1]>[B3].
Originality/value
Teachers who use this developed scale may grasp the strengths and weaknesses of their own MLO, which leads to self-improvement. The perspectives emphasized in lesson observation are the same when creating lesson plans and implementing lessons, leading to lesson improvement. Furthermore, based on the characteristics of teachers revealed, new training programs regarding MLO can lead to higher-quality lesson studies.53 - PublicationOpen AccessCoherence of topics from middle-school integrated science textbooks from Taiwan and KoreaCanonical coherence occurs when subject matter in school is organized to align with the logical structures of an academic discipline. Even though it is highly desired, this condition is an assumption that must be empirically tested, which was the rationale behind our examination of the coherence of topics from middle-school (grades 7–9) integrated science textbooks from Taiwan and Korea. We wanted to determine if textbooks here were able to present science in a way that made it conceptually easier for students to learn and the means whereby coherence was achieved. Based on a list of “standard” science topics from Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) research, our comparative study found that while the number of science topics varied by grades and region, their total numbers did not differ significantly. Both regions also focused strongly on physical science topics based on textbook page coverage even as different topics were emphasized (or not). In Taiwanese textbooks, topics were strongly grouped by disciplines in each middle-school grade (a specialist approach) whereas topics from the three main science disciplines were dispersed within each middle-school grade over an academic year in Korea (a generalist approach). Coherence of topics in both regions was found to be supported through a mix of desirable upper triangular patterns within the main science disciplines as well as buttress topics that develop disciplinary ideas over time. The results from our study can create greater awareness of the significance as well as challenges of achieving canonical coherence of topics in science textbooks, especially with respect to integrated science subjects that are extremely common worldwide.
WOS© Citations 3Scopus© Citations 5 84 153 - PublicationOpen Access“Vygotsky’s neglected legacy”: Cultural-historical activity theoryWe describe an evolving theoretical framework that has been called one of the best-kept secrets of academia: cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) is the result of proposals Lev Vygotsky first articulated, but which his students and followers substantially developed to constitute much expanded forms in its second and third generation. Besides showing that activity theory transforms how research should proceed regarding language, language learning, and literacy in particular, we demonstrate how it is a theory for praxis, thereby offering the potential to overcome some of the most profound problems that has plagued both educational theorizing and practice.
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