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This article explores the ways in which popular musicians in Malaysia learn the craft of Western popular music-making in comparison to those in the United Kingdom. Literature that studied popular musicians and their practices had largely focused on communities within Anglosphere regions, and there are insufficient understandings of the journeys of non-Anglosphere popular musicians to determine if their experiences coincided with those from Anglosphere nations. In this mixed method study, popular musicians from Malaysia and the UK completed online questionnaires that enquired into their experiences with formal learning, as well as the practices they engaged in. Secondary data was also harvested from literature based on UK musicians for triangulation purposes. Though the findings indicated numerous overlaps in the experiences of popular musicians from both countries, there were areas of distinction. Malaysian popular musicians were more inclined than their counterparts in the UK, to engage with formal popular music learning, to cultivate a reliance on notation, and to experience instrumental lessons that comprised more features of informal learning. Implications from this article include the need to further investigate the factors behind the disparities, and to afford increased attention towards the learning cultures of non-Anglosphere popular musicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faculty members play a valuable role in the reputation of higher education institutions and adult learners' academic success. It is imperative for faculty members to be adept at using the institution's learning management system to maintain their instructional materials and teach using a technological system. The purpose of this study was to examine the learning experiences of faculty at a state technical college who were required to participate in a new technology adoption of the Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS). A qualitative case study design was used that consisted of semi-structured interviews with eight participants, document review, and observational memos. The findings revealed that the initial training meeting was basic, the training packet was burdensome to complete, the institution's webinars and tutorials were underutilized, and participants designed their own training strategies to learn the system. Two conclusions emerged that indicated: (1) the formal learning methods were insufficient and sufficient and (2) faculty's informal learning strategies created a process of self-directed and collaborative learning approaches that more directly served their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite research indicating the advantages of collaborative learning, most formal music education continues to be in an individual format. However, collaborative strategies have been observed in other musical cultures. Through this research, we wished to study the differences in the management of group practices between three musical cultures (classical, modern, and flamenco), checking whether they originate in the formal/informal nature of their cultural tools or their mode of musical production. For this purpose, we analyzed three musical groups belonging to these three musical cultures. Each group comprised four musicians. Recordings of the rehearsal sessions and three dimensions of learning (outcomes, processes, and conditions) were categorically analyzed using the system for the analysis of instrumental learning developed by our research group. Chi-square and adjusted standardized residuals analyses demonstrated that the learning outcomes in each culture differed according to the cultural tool used (literacy, orality, or mimetic), but that the processes and social interaction differed according to the mode of musical production. The findings suggested that those who approach music from open production structures, such as modern musicians, are more collaborative than those who approach it from closed structures, such as classical and flamenco musicians. We conclude by reflecting on the origin of these production structures, highlighting the need to work from different modes of musical production in educational spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Orientation Scolaire et Professionnelle (OSP) is the property of Institut National d'Etude du Travail et d'Orientation Professionnelle and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explored the relationships between the learning experiences and musical proficiencies of a formal and an informal popular musician in Malaysia. The presence and impact of formal popular music education within popular music culture is become increasingly harder to ignore, and while this phenomenon had been examined by numerous popular music scholars, there is a lack of attention towards the implications of learning experience on acquired musical proficiencies. In this study, participants took part in semi-structured interviews that enquired about their music learning histories and musical skills tests that examined their sight-reading, play by ear, and improvisation proficiencies. The aim was to compare and ascertain the disparities between both musicians' learning histories and musical proficiencies, as well as to identify any potential relationships between learning methods and musical proficiencies. The findings showed that the musicians developed contrasting habitual music-making practices, attitudes and dispositions and musical proficiencies. Furthermore, the informal musician outdid the formal musician in almost all aspects examined in the musical skills tests. Implications from this article include the need for providers of formal popular music education to approach the study of popular music on its own terms, and develop methods of structured learning that enhances the development of virtuosity within the culture of popular music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) supports the development of vocational teacher competencies. However, it is often not clear what learning methods vocational teachers use in their CPD. This study therefore investigated the CPD practices of vocational teachers in Kenya, with a specific focus on the formal and informal learning methods used. Approach: The study used a questionnaire survey to collect data from TVET teachers randomly drawn from six Technical and Vocational Colleges in Kenya's Nairobi Metropolitan Area. Descriptive and inferential analysis of the data was used to determine how frequently different learning methods are used and to identify associations between CPD practices and teacher characteristics. Findings: TVET teachers in Kenya were found to use different learning methods depending on the availability of the learning methods and the learning goals teachers have. Formal academic learning and discussions with colleagues are frequently used while collaborative learning methods and practice-based learning activities are less frequently used. Rarely used are written reflections about practice and its outcomes. Despite viewing Lecturer Industrial Attachment (LIA) as important and therefore wishing to attend LIA, more than a third of the participants indicated that they had never attended LIA. The use of professional literature is restricted to text books with limited use of primary and secondary literature. CPD activities such as mentoring, supervising other teachers, and school visits were found to form a unique category of CPD activities that is more frequently used by teachers with administrative responsibilities. Conclusion: The limited use of active learning methods that involve critical evaluation of practices and their outcomes risks limiting the ability of vocational teachers in Kenya to transform and adopt better practices. It is recommended that vocational teachers in Kenya are encouraged to adopt a broad conception of teacher CPD that embraces collaborative, reflective, and practice-based learning.

Context: Participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) supports the development of vocational teacher competencies. However, it is often not clear what learning methods vocational teachers use in their CPD. This study therefore investigated the CPD practices of vocational teachers in Kenya, with a specific focus on the formal and informal learning methods used. Approach: The study used a questionnaire survey to collect data from TVET teachers randomly drawn from six Technical and Vocational Colleges in Kenya's Nairobi Metropolitan Area. Descriptive and inferential analysis of the data was used to determine how frequently different learning methods are used and to identify associations between CPD practices and teacher characteristics. Findings: TVET teachers in Kenya were found to use different learning methods depending on the availability of the learning methods and the learning goals teachers have. Formal academic learning and discussions with colleagues are frequently used while collaborative learning methods and practice-based learning activities are less frequently used. Rarely used are written reflections about practice and its outcomes. Despite viewing Lecturer Industrial Attachment (LIA) as important and therefore wishing to attend LIA, more than a third of the participants indicated that they had never attended LIA. The use of professional literature is restricted to text books with limited use of primary and secondary literature. CPD activities such as mentoring, supervising other teachers, and school visits were found to form a unique category of CPD activities that is more frequently used by teachers with administrative responsibilities. Conclusion: The limited use of active learning methods that involve critical evaluation of practices and their outcomes risks limiting the ability of vocational teachers in Kenya to transform and adopt better practices. It is recommended that vocational teachers in Kenya are encouraged to adopt a broad conception of teacher CPD that embraces collaborative, reflective, and practice-based learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Gestão Organizacional (RGO) is the property of Revista Gestao Organizacional and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Contribution: Understanding pupils’ conceptualization of robots and programming can help teachers to avoid a disconfirmation experience by selecting more appropriate educational tools, robot designers in improving the robot design, and researchers in further improvement of the field. Background: Human–robot interaction (HRI) is affected by the actual but also expected robot’s appearance and capabilities. Multiple factors, such as age, gender, media exposure, ICT exposure, or culture, influence mental models regarding robots; therefore, it is important to investigate those for a specific cohort in the designated geographical area. Research Questions: The mental models regarding robots and programming, and the way they are possibly biased by popular culture, exposure to ICT or parental influence were studied. Research questions concerned cognitive elements of mental models, namely, definitions and knowledge of robots, and programming and how those progress in time. Also, the research studied a figurative aspect of mental models regarding robots, with a focus on anthropomorphic features. Methodology: To research the influence of the short-term HRI, four classes of eight to nine years old elementary school pupils were included in a workshop where pre and postquestionnaires were used as research instruments. Besides pupils, later in this two-phase longitudinal research, after a year of formal education in Informatics, research instruments also included teachers and parents, to investigate their influence on children’s mental models. Findings: The change of mental models under the influence of the one-time workshop was not permanent. However, a combination of maturation with informal and formal intervention supports the conceptualization of programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on how the various actors involved in a short stay abroad deal with the possibilities of learning in formal and informal situations that exist in all possible spaces and temporalities. First, we try to identify the general configuration of a short academic mobility stay. We note that formal learning takes place in parallel with informal learning. Secondly, we look at the question of their assessment based on the case of short stays in a Japanese university. These examples suggest a default assessment of learning during mobility. In the third part, we recommend rethinking the configuration of short mobility as an experience constructed by the interrelations of the actors, providing the basis for the assessment of all mobility earning without distinction of their nature.

This paper examines the role played by the learning environment, particularly in the context of guided autonomous learning as developed in language resource centres, in order to support the autonomisation process of learners involved in such training at university. How can we guide without constraining and, above all, how can we support learning that takes place increasingly outside the formal framework of the institution? What reflective tools can we offer to help learners make the link between the different learning spaces that they occupy and develop individualized paths that meet their specific needs and profiles? The focus is on learning methodology and metacognition in addressing these questions.

Learning process development, both in individual and organizational levels, does not occur only in education institutions, but from older people's experience, sharing their knowledge through the reflection stemming from Storytelling in an informal way. Faced with this context, we have analysed the contribution of Storytelling to the reflection process as a way of Organizational Learning, resulting in the proposal of a framework named ERSML Cycle of Organizational Learning (Experience, Reflection, Sense, Meaning and Learning). The results have pointed that in storytelling practices listeners are motivated to reflect through the told and recalled experiences. The ERSML Cycle represents the Reflexive and Experiential Organizational Learning, in which the interaction between the individual and the collective is generated by stories, urging reflection and resulting in learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Outreach activities increased primary school students' knowledge of microplastics. • Low and high scorers of Preservation, Utilization, and Appreciation benefited. • Preservation, Utilization and Study Group predicted knowledge. • Hands-on activities enrich science education in-school and out-of-school. Microplastic pollution is a growing issue of concern requiring appropriate classroom instruction. Educational initiatives within this context are supposed to provide relevant background knowledge, raise awareness, and ideally lead to sustainable behavior. We implemented an identical educational module within two different learning environments: formal (in-school) and informal (out-of-school). In both settings, 444 primary school students self-reliably completed hands-on activities at workstations. We monitored students' short-term (directly after the module) and long-term (after six weeks) cognitive achievement. Additionally, when examining the participants' environmental values (Preservation, Utilization) and the Appreciation of Nature, the program similarly appealed to all students independent of the environmental values' intensity. Preservation, Utilization, and the Study Group predicted knowledge levels after program participation; Appreciation did not. While Preservation positively influenced knowledge, Utilization did the contrary. Subsequent implications on learning strategies based on our results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]