Learning at Home and at School - Similarities and Differences between the Views of Learning and Learners - Assignment Example

Research paradigms Contents Understanding of the articles 3 View of learning and learners taken by the of the articles 3 Key similarities anddifferences between the views of learning and learners taken in the two articles 5 Paradigm positions of the articles 6 Aligning a practice with the paradigm position 7 References 9 Understanding of the articles The articles are based on learning and cognitive behaviour. The article “Learning in the home and at school: how working class children succeed against the odds” deals with the effects of the different pre-school or home learning activities on the learning abilities of the children belonging to the disadvantaged families. The effects of ethnic majority and ethnic minority and the backgrounds of the sample children are considered to understand the learning efficiencies among the children. AT first, I found it difficult to relate to the research process and the home learning environment (HLE). But the research modules helped me to understand the different terminologies involved in research and the various factors that are to be considered when carrying out the research process. I was able to relate between the relevant information needed for the research and the way the research process was constructed for this particular research report. In the second article, which deals with communication based innovations in theory and practice, I was able to relate to the cross comparisons, methodologies and the analysis of the data collected to quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques. View of learning and learners taken by the authors of the articles The learners in the article related to the effect of home learning environment (HLE) on the future success of the children are mostly the children belonging to the different ethnic groups like the westerners, Pakistanis and Indians. The author of the article indicates that there is a positive correlation between the ethnic majority of the children and their learning developments. The learners from ethnically rich backgrounds are seen to be more easily adapting to the requirements in the schools. This is because their learning in the pre-school days is more active and knowledge rich. The findings in the research reports are somewhat confusing as ethnic majority has seemed to play an important role in the home learning environment but at the same time it has been indicated that the learning and cognitive abilities of the children belonging to both the ethnic groups depend on several other factors like the parental qualifications, socio economic status, birth weight and several other diverse factors. The different factors affecting the home learning activities are assessed to understand the Home Learning Index (HLE). The home learning environment significantly impacts the cognitive abilities and the future knowledge and learning development of the children, irrespective of whether they belong to ethnic majority or ethnic minority groups. A better quality of home learning is likely to ensure that the HLE is high. The views of the learners are mixed and the qualitative studies significantly point at the fact that the home learning environment where active involvement of the parents is seen is highly beneficial for the development of cognitive abilities in a child (Freeman, DeMarrais, Preissle, Roulston and St. Pierre, 2007, pp.25-32). But the quantitative data collected is varying which does not point out at the perfect response of the parents and the children that were taken as the learner sample. The second article based on the commination based teaching perspectives in theory and in practice indicate that the teachers who use the communicative learning teachings (CLT) in their way of teaching related to both theoretical and practical aspects, are more successful in developing the communication and cognitive abilities of the learners. The learners are seen to use diverse communication strategies in order to fill any existing gap in their communicative process and language development (Daniels, Edwards, Engestrom, Gallagher, Ludvigsen, 2010, p.115). The views of the learners are clearer in this article which shows that the importance of communication learning teachings (CLT) techniques can be well studied by understanding the qualitative aspects of research ontology i.e. understanding the different categories of existing and reality of the learners. Also, the concepts of the researcher play an important role in formulating the positions of the learners. The research paradigm of epistemology in which the connection with the respondents is important also indicates that the position of the learners in answering the research question is critical for the research process to be successful (Evans and Benefield, 2006, pp.527-541). The qualitative idiographic strategies and instruments are efficiently followed by the learners and the purposive sampling process using the questionnaires and the semi structured interviews are useful in judging the position of the learners. A purposeful data analysis indicated that the level of responsiveness and understanding of the learners is critical for formulating an effective research process outcome. The responses of the learners seem to indicate that they are well versed with etymology i.e. they are able to understand the meanings of the terms used in the questionnaire and the interviews used as tolls in the process of data collection. The teachers and the students seem to have strong positions as learners in answering the research questions. Key similarities and differences between the views of learning and learners taken in the two articles In the article related to home based learning, the views of the learners and the learning processes are similar. The learning process indicates that the home learning environment (HLE) is critical in the development of the children in the pre-school days. The responses of the learners show a similar outcome. The qualitative response shows that the ontological behaviour of the learners is in line with the views of the learning processes. The behaviour of the learners towards the importance of home leaning and the role of different factors like ethnicity, parental involvement and birth weight, cultural and social backgrounds are similar to that expressed ion the learning processes (Murphy, 1999, pp.56-58). The learning process indicates that these factors are important in deciding the cognitive and learning abilities in the children belonging to different regions of the world. The responses of the sample consisting of children from different regions show similar outcomes. In the second article based on the topic of communicative based innovations done in teaching curriculums indicate that the communication learning teaching techniques are important to develop the cognitive abilities and the communicational abilities of the different learners (Lave and McCormick, 2008, p.414). The responses of the learners are same as the theories propose by the research. Paradigm positions of the articles The paradigm position of a research report depends on the beliefs and the world view of the researcher. The factors of entomology i.e. the existing beliefs of the researcher is important in deciding the direction of the reach process as well as the outcome of the research methodology. The justifications of the author and the epistemological views of the author are also important in deciding the paradigm positions of the research studies (Helsper and Eynon, 2010, pp.503-520). The knowledge and the beliefs of the author in the research related to the role of home learning environment (HLE) in the future development of the children suggest that the degree of involvement of the parents and the extra support provided by the parents to the children are significant drivers of facilitating the learning and cognitive developments in the children. This is especially true for the children belonging to disadvantaged families and disadvantaged social backgrounds (Dakers, 2006, p.15). The paradigm position of this article seems to be influenced by the views of the author related to the perspective of the learning levels in the children belonging to different ethnic and social backgrounds. The qualitative information seems to be largely based on the entomological and epistemological views of the author of the research report (Fraser, Lewis, Ding, Kellett and Robinson, 2004, p.214). It is difficult to understand the exact paradigm of this research report due to the huge number of factors and layers involved in the research study. The paradigm in general seems to be dominated by the perspective and the distinct beliefs of the author of the research report. This is suggested by the idiographic methodology followed for the research process (Kingdon and Cassen, 2010, pp.403-432). The way the research report has been built also points towards the ability of the researcher to understand the viewpoints and the responses of the learners in constructing the research report. The article belongs to the epistemological research paradigm in which the perspective and views of the author are more emphasized on while constructing the research report. The second article which deals with the communicative based learning innovations in the curriculum seems to be more based on the quantitative data collected in the research process. The responses of the sample including the teachers and the students are identified to be more critical in shaping up the research report as compared to the epistemological perspectives of the author of the research report. The semi structured interview processes and the efficiently designed questionnaires indicate at the research report being based on the data collected from the respondents. The behaviours and responses of the learners play a more critical role in establishing the contents of the research report as compared to the personal beliefs and world views of the author. The epistemic works and the theories are considered in the research but more emphasis is given to the views and responses of the learners in the research method. Psychological and epistemological perspectives are given much lesser importance in the research paradigm of this specific research report. Ontology is identified to be the base of the research process in which the behaviours and the learning outcomes of the learners are considered to be important. Aligning a practice with the paradigm position In my opinion, a research report should belong to the ontological research paradigm. This is because a research report should be more based on the responses of the learners included in the sampling process. The responses and the opinion of the learners would be more critical in reflecting the actual findings from the research study. An epistemic research study, on the other hand would be more reflective of the personal opinions and views of the researcher. The ontological theories should be more stressed upon that the epistemic theories in deciding the research paradigm. A research study based on the ontological theories are likely to be more valid and representative of the behaviour and responses of the learners considered in the research process (Roger and Duffield, 2000, pp.367-383). References Dakers, J. 2006. Defining Technological Literacy: Towards an Epistemological Framework. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Daniels, H., Edwards, A., Engestrom, Y., Gallagher, T. & Ludvigsen, S. R. 2010. Activity Theory in Practice: Promoting Learning across Boundaries and Agencies. London: Routledge. Evans, J. & Benefield, P. 2006. Systematic reviews of educational research: does the medical model fit? British Educational Research Journal. Vol. 27(5), pp. 527–541. Fraser, S., Lewis, V., Ding, S., Kellett, M. & Robinson, C. 2004. Doing Research with Children and Young People. London: Sage. Freeman, M., DeMarrais, K., Preissle, J., Roulston, K. & St. Pierre, E. A. 2007. Standards of evidence in qualitative research: an incitement to discourse. Educational Researcher. Vol. 36(1), pp. 25–32. Helsper, E. J. & Eynon, R. 2010. Digital natives: where is the evidence? British Educational Research Journal. Vol. 36(3), pp. 503–520. Kingdon, G. and Cassen, R. 2010. Ethnicity and low achievement in English schools. British Educational Research Journal. Vol. 3(3), pp. 403–432. Lave, J. & McCormick, R. 2008. Knowledge and Practice: Representations and Identities. London: Sage. Murphy, P.  1999. Learners, Learning and Assessment. London: Paul Chapman. Roger, A. & Duffield, J. 2000. Factors underlying persistent gendered option choices in school science and technology. Gender and Education. Vol. 12(3), pp. 367–383. Read More