OLEH
AZURA
NIM.1806335
i
KATA PENGANTAR
Puji syukur kehadirat Tuhan Yang Maha Esa Penulis ucapkan, karena berkat
rahmatnya Penulis dapat menyelesaikan resume artikel landasan pedagogik dengan
judul “Student-Centred Learning And Disciplinary Enculturation: An
Exploration Through Physics”. Laporan ini disusun untuk memenuhi salah satu
tugas Ujian Akhir Semester mata kuliah landasan pedagogic.
Penulis mengucapkan terimakasih atas kerjasama dan bantuan dari
berbagai pihak yang pada akhirnya resume artikel landasan pedagogik ini dapat
terselesaikan. Untuk itu dengan segala hormat dan kerendahan hati penulis
mengucapkan terima kasih yang sebesar-besarnya kepada:
1. Kedua orang tua penulis yang selalu memberi doa yang tak terputus,
dukungan moral dan materi yang tak terhitung dan tak terganti oleh
apapun.
2. Dr. Ocih Setiasih, M. Pd selaku Dosen Pengampu mata kulian Landasan
Pedagogik
3. Teman-teman Fisika angkatan 2018 yang telah banyak membantu penulis
dalam penyelesaian laporan ini.
Penulis menyadari bahwa laporan ini masih jauh dari sempurna, oleh
karena itu penulis mengharapkan konstribusi berupa saran dan kritik yang
membangun demi kesempurnaan laporan ini. Penulis berharap semoga laporan ini
dapat bermanfaat bagi pembaca, khususnya bagi penulis.
Penulis
ii
DAFTAR ISI
iii
BAB I
PENDAHULUAN
1
untuk secara kritis meninjau literatur; kemampuan untuk membedakan jalur
penelitian yang layak dikejar; kemampuan menulis; dan keterampilan interpersonal.
Ini memberi mereka rasa pertama tentang bagaimana rasanya menjadi seorang
fisikawan dan memudahkan transisi mereka ke karir fisika profesional.
Pembelajaran yang berpusat pada siswa dielu-elukan sebagai perubahan
paradigma menuju pedagogi yang ditransformasikan, peningkatan pilihan siswa,
jalur pembelajaran yang fleksibel dan keterlibatan siswa dalam desain kurikulum.
Menggemakan literatur ilmiah, beberapa karakteristik yang dikaitkan dengan
pendekatan yang berpusat pada siswa adalah sebagai berikut: konstruksi makna
peserta didik sendiri melalui pembelajaran proaktif dan refleksi, fokus instruktur
pada pemahaman yang mendalam daripada transfer pengetahuan atau menafsirkan
peserta didik sebagai individu dengan pengalaman spesifik (Sursock dan Smidt
2010, 31–32). Namun, pembelajaran yang berfokus pada siswa juga telah
diinvestasikan dengan tujuan utilitarian, karena dianggap meningkatkan
kemampuan kerja dan fleksibilitas siswa di pasar tenaga kerja yang tidak stabil.
2
BAB II
DESKRIPSI ISI ARTIKEL
3
“Saya sudah belajar untuk bekerja sendiri (...) Saya kira sangat penting untuk dapat
memahami hal-hal dalam fisika, untuk mendapatkan jawaban Anda tentang
bagaimana melakukannya, untuk mencoba hal-hal sendiri”.
Belajar mandiri melibatkan kegiatan seperti membaca, melakukan tinjauan
literatur atau menulis laporan. Seperti yang ditunjukkan oleh dosen bahasa Portugis,
siswa didorong untuk berkomitmen pada kegiatan dan proses yang merupakan
bagian tak terpisahkan dari rutinitas fisikawan profesional: ulasan mutakhir,
identifikasi kesenjangan pengetahuan dan potensi jalan penelitian, pertukaran
dengan anggota komunitas disiplin:
“... pergilah dan pelajari artikel-artikel ini, dan cari subjek ini, dan cobalah untuk
melihat apa yang telah dilakukan, apa yang harus dilakukan, apa yang orang tidak
pahami dan apa yang perlu dipahami dan bagaimana Anda dapat meningkatkan
pengetahuan Anda tentang ini dan itu. Dan kembali dan berdiskusi dengan saya,
dan mungkin saya akan memiliki beberapa ide, sesuatu untuk Anda lakukan,
beberapa aktivitas. Kami mengharapkan interaksi “(Dosen bahasa Portugis)
4
mengaburkan "kontingensi dan kekacauan pekerjaan empiris" dan
menyembunyikan fakta bahwa akun para ilmuwan adalah "rekonstruksi
daripada catatan" (Gooding 1990, 5). Demikian juga, praktik pedagogik
didasarkan pada asumsi luas, bidang pengetahuan yang teratur yang harus
diserap oleh siswa secara metodis (Smart dan Ethington 1995) memberikan
kesan yang salah tentang disiplin: ketertiban tersebut menyembunyikan
proses penciptaan pengetahuan yang kacau dan menunjukkan pertumbuhan
yang rapi dan sistematis. daripada pergeseran paradigma dan revolusi
(Galison dan Stump 1996; Kuhn 1962). Gambar-gambar sains positivis
dalam pengajaran dengan demikian bertentangan dengan sifat praktik
saintifik yang kurang positivis.
Sebaliknya, konstruktivisme pedagogik mengklaim bahwa konstruksi
makna terjadi selama interaksi siswa dengan lingkungan dan satu sama lain.
Ini mengusulkan metode bagi siswa untuk membangun pengetahuan dan
pemahaman, secara individu dan dalam interaksi dengan instruktur dan
teman sebaya. Dalam fisika, saran tentang metode pedagogis alternatif yang
menggugah konstruktivisme berlimpah dalam literatur. Allen, Duch, dan
Groh (1996) mengusulkan pembelajaran berbasis masalah sebagai
"alternatif yang kuat" untuk kuliah pasif. Hake (2002) menganjurkan
penggunaan strategi "keterlibatan interaktif", mengklaim mereka lebih
efektif daripada metode pasif tradisional untuk meningkatkan pemahaman
siswa tentang konsep sulit. Syh-Jong (2007) menguraikan teori yang
membumi untuk konstruksi pengetahuan siswa, termasuk strategi berbicara
dan menulis, untuk memfasilitasi pemahaman konsep sains. Leach dan Scott
(2002) mengusulkan urutan pengajaran berdasarkan pada perspektif
pembelajaran konstruktivis sosial, terdiri dari yang berikut: pementasan
kisah ilmiah; mendukung internalisasi siswa; dan menyerahkan tanggung
jawab kepada siswa.
2. The practice turn (latihan berubah)
Praktek berubah, meskipun lebih fokus, cocok dalam model
konstruktivis. Ini menganjurkan keterlibatan siswa dengan kegiatan yang
dipraktikkan para ilmuwan dalam disiplin yang biasanya dilakukan,
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daripada hanya belajar tentang pengetahuan yang dihasilkan melalui
kegiatan ilmiah tersebut. Duschl dan Osborne (2002) menggambarkan
giliran latihan sebagai berikut:
“Tidak sampai praktik pedagogis dan kurikulum memulai proses
transformasi dan membangun peluang bagi siswa untuk terlibat dalam
inkuiri yang memodelkan praktik otentik, melacak data hingga bukti, dan
bukti hingga penjelasan, kita dapat mengharapkan transformasi dalam sifat
ruang kelas sains.” (Duschl dan Osborne 2002, 64)
Ford dan Forman (2006) berpendapat bahwa pengajaran tetap
dibingkai oleh strategi yang mendorong akuisisi konsep kognitif atau
keterampilan perilaku karena pendekatan ini membuat pengorganisasian
pengajaran dan penilaian di sekitar tujuan pembelajaran tersebut lebih
mudah. "Putaran praktik" menantang pendekatan ini dengan mengejar
tujuan pembelajaran "sosiokultural". Pembelajaran sains terjadi melalui
partisipasi dalam penyelidikan dan praktik ilmiah (Lehrer dan Schauble
2007), menjadi proses yang berpusat pada siswa. Ford dan Forman (2006)
menyoroti, bagaimanapun, kesulitan mengukur prestasi siswa dalam
pendekatan semacam itu - rintangan potensial untuk metode berbasis praktik
seperti yang didokumentasikan oleh Airey dan Linder (2009), Berland dan
Reiser (2009) atau Duschl dan Osborne (2002). Ford dan Forman (2006)
menggambarkan praktik dalam sains sebagai membangun pengetahuan dan
memutuskan apa yang dianggap sebagai pengetahuan (terhadap apa yang
tidak). Ini menyiratkan otoritas. Oleh karena itu, mereka menyarankan
bahwa siswa harus terlibat dengan "praktik yang mendasari otoritas untuk
memutuskan apa yang dianggap sebagai pengetahuan ... jika partisipasi
mereka harus otentik dan mereka harus belajar secara fundamental tentang
apa praktik itu" (Ford dan Forman 2006, 3). Bagi Ford dan Forman, praktik
pada dasarnya adalah "interaksi" dua peran yang menangkap aspek kunci
sains - Pembuat klaim dan Cognisi klaim - yang dimainkan semua ilmuwan
pada waktu yang berbeda. Keterlibatan disipliner yang autentik datang
ketika siswa memainkan peran ini. Pendekatan pedagogik seperti itu
mencerminkan dimensi komunitas dari praktik ilmiah: “Konstruktor
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melontarkan argumen dan Critter secara terbuka mengidentifikasi kesalahan
dalam argumen tersebut, di mana presenter kembali ke pekerjaan produksi
dan upaya untuk menghilangkan kesalahan (...) melalui peran ini, ilmu
pengetahuan menghasilkan banyak akun penjelasan alam yang dapat
diandalkan” (Ford dan Forman 2006, 13).
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memungkinkan transfer pembelajaran. Oleh karena itu, siswa akan memahami
tujuan pembelajaran mereka dan penerapan pengetahuan daripada menerima
pengetahuan secara pasif. Demikian pula, Middendorf dan Pace (2004)
mengusulkan metode yang mereka sebut "Decoding the Disciplines" untuk
membantu guru mengembangkan strategi untuk memperkenalkan siswa pada
budaya berpikir dalam disiplin khusus. Mereka mengklaim bahwa cara berpikir
disiplin khusus yang eksplisit jarang disajikan kepada siswa, yang biasanya
tidak memiliki kesempatan untuk berlatih dan menerima umpan balik tentang
keterampilan kognitif, atau memiliki penilaian sistematis atas perintah mereka
atas cara berpikir penting disiplin ilmu. Mengajar siswa untuk berpikir dan
bekerja dalam budaya disiplin menyiratkan bahwa instruktur "membedah
pemikiran bawaan mereka sendiri" dan secara eksplisit merekonstruksi
keterampilan yang bagi mereka telah menjadi otomatis dan alami,
"menunjukkan kepada siswa langkah-langkah dan keterampilan intelektual
yang datang secara alami untuk ahli, meminta siswa mempraktikkan tugas dan
mengukur kemampuan upaya mereka” (Middendorf dan Pace 2004, 5).
Tersirat dalam magang kognitif adalah bahwa pembelajaran terjadi
dalam komunitas praktik di mana siswa melatih keterampilan yang diperlukan
oleh kegiatan otentik. Siswa bertindak sebagai peserta perangkat yang sah (Lave
dan Wenger 1991). Belajar menjadi proses partisipatif, dan prestasi melampaui
kognitif dan konseptual, untuk mencakup kapasitas untuk melakukan kegiatan
yang penting bagi masyarakat di mana pelajar dimasukkan, yaitu kegiatan
otentik. Melalui apa yang disebut Lave dan Wenger sebagai "partisipasi
periferal yang sah", siswa tampil di perusahaan para ahli, awalnya dengan
tanggung jawab terbatas, tetapi dengan meningkatnya akses ke peran pakar.
Collins, Brown, dan Holum (1991) berpendapat bahwa partisipasi dalam
komunitas praktik menghasilkan rasa kepemilikan, yang ditandai dengan
investasi pribadi dan saling ketergantungan.
Demikian pula, Airey dan Linder (2009) mengemukakan bahwa cara
termudah untuk mempelajari sains adalah dengan melakukan sains bersama
dengan para ilmuwan. Bagi mereka, pembelajaran sains analog dengan belajar
bahasa asing, paling mudah dicapai dengan bepergian ke negara di mana bahasa
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itu digunakan, menghabiskan waktu di sana dan berinteraksi dengan penutur
asli (Airey dan Linder 2009, 40-41). Melalui konsep mereka "wacana
disipliner" yang terdiri dari representasi, alat, dan kegiatan disiplin, pada
gilirannya terdiri dari mode seperti bahasa lisan dan tulisan, matematika,
gerakan, gambar (gambar, grafik dan diagram), alat (yaitu alat eksperimental),
dan kegiatan (yaitu cara kerja atau rutinitas analitis). Airey dan Linder
mengklaim bahwa siswa perlu memperoleh fasih dalam "konstelasi kritis" mode
wacana, melalui partisipasi, untuk mendapatkan pengalaman holistik dari cara-
cara disiplin ilmu untuk mengetahui dan dengan demikian menjadi lancar dalam
wacana disipliner. Namun, seperti Collins, Brown, dan Holum (1991) dan
Middendorf dan Pace (2004) berpendapat, Airey dan Linder menunjukkan
bahwa wacana disipliner sering diterima begitu saja dalam pengajaran dan
bahwa pengetahuan dosen sebagai pengguna lancar kurang dieksploitasi di
universitas ilmu. Mereka berpendapat bahwa "paparan sederhana untuk wacana
disipliner tidak cukup bagi siswa untuk mengalami cara-cara disipliner untuk
mengetahui" (Airey dan Linder 2009, 41). Sebaliknya, Airey dan Linder (2009)
berpendapat bahwa siswa harus mempraktikkan wacana sains dalam
lingkungan yang mendukung. Dosen harus membimbing siswa, secara aktif
melibatkan mereka dalam upaya mereka untuk membuat makna dari wacana
tersebut dan cara-cara disiplin untuk mengetahui sendiri.
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BAB III
PEMBAHASAN
Materi empiris yang disajikan pada artikel ini menunjukkan bahwa praktik-
praktik yang diidentifikasi dalam literatur sebagai pembelajaran “berpusat pada
siswa” pada umumnya juga merupakan kendaraan enkulturasi siswa ke dalam fisika
baik sebagai suatu disiplin ilmu maupun sebagai profesi masa depan. Pembelajaran
yang berpusat pada siswa dan enkulturasi. Penulis menemukan bahwa praktik
khusus yang beresonansi dengan prinsip-prinsip pembelajaran yang berpusat pada
siswa yang dijumpai berkontribusi pada enkulturasi menjadi fisikawan. Seperti
yang disarankan oleh uraian di bawah ini, praktik yang dibahas berfokus pada
kegiatan siswa (bukan guru), merangsang pembelajaran mandiri, membuka
interaksi dan debat, dan mengarahkan siswa untuk membangun pengetahuan
mereka sendiri dan perspektif individu - karakteristik yang diidentifikasi dalam
literatur sebagai siswa- terpusat dan menganjurkan, dalam reformasi pengajaran
sains, dengan konstruktivisme dan pergantian praktik.
Kemudian, bagian-bagian berikut memeriksa pada gilirannya empat
kategori yang diidentifikasi dari praktik yang berpusat pada siswa: kegiatan kelas
yang digerakkan oleh siswa; belajar mandiri; integrasi siswa dalam kelompok
penelitian selama tesis dan seterusnya; penilaian berbasis penelitian / proyek
mencerminkan kepedulian instruktur dengan penalaran kritis siswa dan pemahaman
holistik.
Metode pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang melibatkan keterlibatan dengan
kegiatan otentik (pembelajaran kolaboratif, mengembangkan pemahaman dengan
membaca makalah, partisipasi dalam proyek penelitian, dll) dan yang
memungkinkan siswa untuk menjadi mahir dalam "wacana disiplin" (Airey dan
Linder 2009) biasanya menyiratkan bahwa siswa secara aktif "melakukan" sesuatu,
daripada mengasimilasi kebijaksanaan yang diterima. Konsekuensinya, mereka
juga berada di bawah payung apa yang telah ditetapkan oleh literatur pedagogik
sebagai “berpusat pada siswa”. Metode-metode ini, yang mensimulasikan kegiatan
otentik, melibatkan keterlibatan dengan "praktik biasa" dari suatu disiplin ilmu
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(Brown, Collins, dan Duguid 1989). Siswa belajar dengan melakukan kegiatan yang
relevan dengan budaya disiplin, sehingga menjadi pusat proses pembelajaran.
Terlepas dari latar belakang budaya atau kelembagaan, hubungan antara
pembelajaran yang berpusat pada siswa dan enkulturasi disiplin telah muncul di
seluruh papan. Karier profesional fisikawan, sebagai ilmuwan di bidang akademis
atau industri, umumnya akan menuntut penciptaan pengetahuan, dan karenanya
penelitian. Dapat diperdebatkan, gelar master, sering kali merupakan prasyarat
untuk gelar doktoral, sudah mengembangkan dan menguji keterampilan penelitian
siswa melalui presentasi tesis. Dalam fisika, karena itu mereka dapat bertindak
sebagai inisiasi ke karir fisikawan. Namun, seperti yang telah ditunjukkan oleh
artikel ini, berbagai pendekatan yang berpusat pada siswa di luar lingkup tesis
dapat, dalam komponen yang diajarkan dari gelar master, memenuhi efek yang
sama dari inisiasi ke cara kerja dan berpikir disipliner. Baik pembelajaran
kolaboratif dan aktivitas kelas yang digerakkan siswa mengembangkan
keterampilan argumentatif dan presentasi. Studi independen mengembangkan
keterampilan membaca dan kritis. Partisipasi dalam proyek penelitian
mengembangkan keterampilan interpersonal yang penting dalam disiplin di mana
upaya tim adalah norma.
Brown, Collins, dan Duguid (1989) mengecam pelanggaran antara "budaya
sekolah" dan "budaya disiplin". Meskipun aktivitas kelas, menurut mereka,
dikaitkan dengan budaya disiplin, pada kenyataannya: Banyak kegiatan yang siswa
lakukan bukanlah kegiatan praktisi dan tidak masuk akal atau didukung oleh budaya
yang menjadi tempat mereka dikaitkan. Aktivitas hibrid ini, selanjutnya, membatasi
akses siswa ke strukturisasi dan isyarat pendukung penting yang muncul dari
konteks. Apa yang siswa lakukan cenderung merupakan aktivitas yang buruk.
(Brown, Collins, dan Duguid 1989, 34).
Metode yang berpusat pada siswa seperti yang ditunjukkan oleh artikel ini,
membantu mengasimilasi siswa ke dalam praktik disiplin dan budaya dalam fisika,
memiliki potensi untuk menjembatani budaya sekolah dan budaya disiplin ilmu.
Selain itu, dengan mensosialisasikan siswa ke cara berpikir dan bekerja ilmuwan
profesional, pendekatan semacam itu mungkin memiliki manfaat tambahan untuk
mempersiapkan siswa untuk transisi ke dunia kerja. Mengingat meningkatnya
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perhatian reformasi baru-baru ini di Eropa, dan seterusnya, tempat kerja siswa
(manifestasi dari keprihatinan baru dengan respon pendidikan tinggi terhadap
masyarakat dan ekonomi), metode yang berpusat pada siswa seperti yang diamati
di sini - selaras dengan prinsip konstruktivisme, partisipasi dalam praktik, atau
magang kognitif - muncul sebagai cara yang mungkin untuk menanggapi keasyikan
ini, di samping memastikan bahwa siswa terlibat dalam pembelajaran yang
berharga dan bermakna.
Berbagai frase telah diciptakan untuk menggambarkan suatu pergeseran
penting pada misi dan tujuan pendidikan. Barr dan Tagg (1995) menyatakan bahwa
perubahan sebagai suatu perpindahan dari suatu Paradigma Pengajaran di mana
sekolah dan perguruan tinggi disampaikan untuk mengalihkan pengetahuan dari
guru kepada siswa dengan suatu Paradigm Pengajaran di mana sekolah dan
perguruan tinggi menghasilkan pembelajaran melalui penemuan siswa menemukan
dan mengkonstruksikan pengetahuan. Huba dan Freed (2000) menggunakan frase
pembelajaran yang berpusat pada penilaian untuk menekankan transisi pada fokus
pengajaran dan penilaian dari pengajaran ke pembelajaran. Deskripsi pengajaran
yang berpusat pada siswa berikut ini memberikan titik awal lain bagi percakapan
tentang pembelajaran yang berpusat pada siswa (student-centered learning, SCL):
Pengajaran yang berpusat pada siswa adalah suatu pendekatan pengajaran di mana
siswa mempengaruhi isi, kegiatan, bahan, dan kecepatan dari pembelajaran. Model
pembelajaran ini menempatkan siswa di tengah dari proses pembelajaran.
Instruktur (guru) memberikan kesempatan kepada siswa untuk belajar mandiri dan
belajar dari sesama siswa dan melatih keterampilan yang mereka butuhkan untuk
melakukan sesuatu secara efektif. Pendekatan SCL meliputi teknik-teknik seperti
mengganti pengalaman pembelajaran aktif untuk kuliah, menetapkan permasalahan
terbuka dan permasalahan yang membutuhkan pemikiran kritis atau kreatif yang
tidak dapat dipecahkan dengan contoh teks, yang melibatkan siswa dalam bermain
peran dan simulasi, dan menggunakan kecepatan sendiri dan/atau pembelajaran
kooperatif (berbasis tim). SCL yang diimplementasikan secara benar dapat
mengarah pada peningkatan motivasi belajar, retensi pengetahuan yang lebih besar,
pemahaman mendalam, dan perilaku lebih positif ke arah subyek yang diajarkan
(Collins & O'Brien, 2003). Pembelajaran yang berpusat pada siswa dapat juga
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dilihat dari perspektif suatu laporan yang berpengaruh dari Dewan Riset Nasional
(1999) yang mensintesiskan penelitian pada pembelajaran dan merekomenasikan
pengorganisasian lingkungan pembelajaran pada empat fokus: 1) berpusat pada
pengetahuan, 2) berpusat pada siswa, 3) berpusat pada penilaian, dan 4) berpusat
pada masyarakat. Pendekatan pembelajaran yang berpusat pada pengetahuan
tumbuh dari penelitian para pemula dan ahli yang mengungkapkan bahwa para ahli
mengorganisirkan pengetahuan mereka sangat berbeda dari pemula. Jadi
pembelajaran yang berpusat pada pengetahuan menekankan pada siswa untuk
mengembangkan pengetahuan mereka untuk memfasilitasi pengalihan
pembelajaran ke suatu konteks baru dan penerapan pembelajaran pada tantangan
terbuka seperti pemecahan masalah, berpikir kritis, dan perancangan. Pada suatu
lingkungan pembelajaran yang berpusat pada siswa, McCombs dan Whistler (1997)
menyatakan bahwa siswa diperlakukan sebagai pencipta bersama dalam proses
pembelajaran, sebagai individu dengan ide dan isu yang pantas menjadi perhatian.
Lingkungan pembelajaran yang berpusat pada siswa mengakui bahwa pengetahuan
siswa sebelumnya sangat mempengaruhi pembelajaran di masa mendatang, dan
dengan demikian, harus mencoba untuk membangunkan pengetahuan siswa
sebelumnya. Lingkungan pembelajaran yang berpusat pada penilaian memberikan
kesempatan untuk umpan balik dan perbaikan sepanjang proses pembelajaran yang
mengarah pada evaluasi dan penilaian pada akhir proses pembelajaran. Penilaian
untuk umpan balik dan perbaikan disebut sebagai penilaian formatif, sedangkan
penilaian untuk evaluasi dan penilaian konklusif disebut sebagai penilaian sumatif.
Nicol dan Macfarlane-Dick (2006) menunjukkan bahwa penilaian formatif dapat
mempromosikan pengembangan kapasitas dan sikap yang digunakan dalam
pembelajaran sepanjang hayat. Lingkungan pembelajaran yang berpusat pada
penilaian juga menekankan keselarasan antara tujuan pembelajaran dengan apa
yang dinilai (National Research Council, 1999). Akhirnya, lingkungan
pembelajaran yang berpusat pada masyarakat mengakui bahwa individu siswa
mengambil banyak isyarat dan wawasan di sekitar mereka, sehingga lingkungan
pembelajaran yang berpusat pada masyarakat memfasilitasi interaksi antara siswa
yang dipromosikan dengan pembelajaran berkelanjutan. Untuk tujuan esai ini,
lingkungan pembelajaran yang berpusat pada siswa didorong ke suatu tingkatan
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untuk secara bersamaan dalam pembelajaran yang berpusat pada pengetahuan, yang
berpusat pada siswa, yang berpusat pada penilaian, dan yang berpusat pada
masyarakat.
14
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18
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Educational Studies, 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2015.1007925
This study argues that student-centred methods in the teaching of physics can be
beneficial for students’ enculturation into the discipline and into a physicist’s
profession. Interviews conducted with academics and students from six master
degrees in physics in three different European countries suggest that student-dri-
ven classroom activities, collaborative learning and problem-solving, or integra-
tion in research groups/projects enable students to engage in practices similar to
those which are part of professional scientists’ routine. Through interactive, par-
ticipative methods reminiscent of cognitive apprenticeship, students develop a
range of abilities necessary in a physicist’s career: capacity of explanation, argu-
mentation and defence of claims; analytical reasoning; capacity to critically
review literature; ability to discern research paths worth pursuing; writing skills;
and interpersonal skills. These give them a first taste of what it is like to be a
physicist and ease their transition into a professional physics career.
Keywords: student-centred learning; disciplinary enculturation; professional
induction; physics; science education; pedagogic reform
Introduction
Students’ construction of their own knowledge and the development of complex indi-
vidual perspectives on phenomena have been identified as features of student-centred
learning (Prosser and Trigwell 1999; Prosser, Trigwell, and Taylor 1994; Trigwell,
Prosser, and Waterhouse 1999). According to Prosser, Trigwell, and Taylor (1994),
whilst teacher-focused approaches aim at transmitting information to students or at
their acquisition of the concepts of a discipline, student-focused approaches aim at
students developing or changing their conceptions. Student-centred approaches
become manifest in pedagogic methods focused on what the student does/learns
rather than what the teacher does/covers. Such methods encourage self-directed learn-
ing and interaction with/amongst students to discuss problems; envisage conceptual
change rather than knowledge acquisition; question students’ ideas; or provoke
debate by addressing issues taken for granted. In so doing, these encourage deep
learning approaches (Marton and Säljö 1976), implying that students look for the
bigger picture, for a holistic understanding of what they study, relate learning to pre-
vious knowledge and experience, seek out principles, link evidence to conclusions,
examine arguments critically and are open to intellectual challenges.
*Email: csin@cipes.up.pt
Brought onto the European higher education policy agenda by the Bologna
Process reforms, student-centred learning was hailed as a paradigm shift towards
transformed pedagogy, increased student choice, flexible learning routes and student
involvement in curriculum design. Echoing scholarly literature, some of the charac-
teristics attributed to student-centred approaches were as follows: learners’ own
meaning construction through proactive learning and reflection, instructors’ focus on
deep understanding rather than knowledge transfer or construing learners as individ-
uals with specific experiences (Sursock and Smidt 2010, 31–32). However, student-
centred learning has also been invested with utilitarian purposes, as it is deemed to
increase students’ employability and flexibility in volatile labour markets.
Against this backdrop, the study explores the benefits of student-centred learning
for students’ enculturation into the discipline of physics and into a physicist’s pro-
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 17:50 13 March 2015
Constructivism
Containing features akin to student-centred learning, constructivism and the “prac-
tice turn” figure largely in science education reforms. Pedagogic constructivism
began to influence science education in the late twentieth century (Matthews 1997),
favouring students’ active experience with the physical world. It emerged in reaction
to traditional science teaching, positivist in nature, which emphasised students’
knowledge of disciplinary concepts, presented as objective and universal. Lattuca
and Stark (1994) suggested that pedagogy at undergraduate level embraced assump-
tions of knowledge as neutral, systematically-built and objective. However, social
constructivism in the history and philosophy of science regarded science as socially
determined. That is, its intellectual content was determined not merely by natural
Educational Studies 3
laws; but scientists, too, constructed science in the laboratory (Collins and Pinch
1993; Fine 1996; Latour 1987; Pickering 1984). Additionally, linear accounts pre-
sented in published material obscured “the contingencies and messiness of empirical
work” and concealed the fact that scientists’ accounts were “reconstructions rather
than records” (Gooding 1990, 5). Likewise, pedagogic practices grounded on the
assumption of a vast, orderly knowledge area which students must assimilate
methodically (Smart and Ethington 1995) impart a false impression of the discipline:
such orderliness conceals the muddled process of knowledge creation and suggests a
neat, systematic growth rather than paradigm shifts and revolutions (Galison and
Stump 1996; Kuhn 1962). Images of positivist science in teaching thus contradict
the less positivist nature of scientific practice.
Pedagogic constructivism, in contrast, claims that meaning construction takes
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place during students’ interaction with the environment and one another. It proposes
methods for students to construct knowledge and understanding, individually and in
interaction with instructors and peers. In physics, suggestions of alternative peda-
gogical methods evocative of constructivism abound in the literature. Allen, Duch,
and Groh (1996) proposed problem-based learning as a “powerful alternative” to
passive lectures. Hake (2002) advocated the use of “interactive engagement” strate-
gies, claiming them to be more effective than traditional passive methods to enhance
students’ understanding of difficult concepts. Syh-Jong (2007) outlined a grounded
theory for students’ construction of knowledge, including talk and writing strategies,
to facilitate understanding science concepts. Leach and Scott (2002) proposed teach-
ing sequences based on a social constructivist perspective of learning, comprising
the following: staging the scientific story; supporting student internalisation; and
handing-over responsibility to students.
errors in those arguments, at which point the presenter returns to production work
and attempts to remove errors (…) through these Roles science produces consider-
ably reliable explanatory accounts of nature” (Ford and Forman 2006, 13).
The literature mentions various activities which enable students to participate in
scientific enquiry and to practise scientist roles: practical involvement in research
projects alongside staff (Hunter, Laursen, and Seymour 2007; Seymour et al. 2004),
learning the language of explanation and argumentation of science (Berland and
Reiser 2009; Duschl and Osborne 2002; de Vries, Lund, and Baker 2002) develop-
ing writing expertise through co-authorship and peer-review exercises (Florence and
Yore 2004; Koprowski 1997), or conference participation (Mabrouk 2009).
act as legitimate peripheral participants (Lave and Wenger 1991). Learning becomes
a participative process, and achievement extends beyond the cognitive and the con-
ceptual, to include capacity to perform activities central to the community in which
the learner is inserted, that is authentic activities. Through what Lave and Wenger
called “legitimate peripheral participation”, students perform in the company of
experts, initially with limited responsibility, but with increasing access to expert
roles. Collins, Brown, and Holum (1991) argued that participation in a community
of practice generated a sense of ownership, characterised by personal investment
and mutual dependency.
Similarly, Airey and Linder (2009) suggested that the easiest way to learn sci-
ence was by doing science together with scientists. To them, science learning was
analogous to learning a foreign language, most easily achieved by travelling to a
country where the language is spoken, spending time there and interacting with
native speakers (Airey and Linder 2009, 40–41). Through their concept of “disci-
plinary discourse” – consisting of a discipline’s representations, tools and activities,
in turn made up of modes such as spoken and written language, mathematics, ges-
ture, images (pictures, graphs and diagrams), tools (i.e. experimental apparatus), and
activities (i.e. ways of working or analytical routines) – Airey and Linder claimed
that students needed to acquire fluency in a “critical constellation” of discourse
modes, through participation, in order to gain a holistic experience of disciplinary
ways of knowing and thus become fluent in disciplinary discourse. However, just as
Collins, Brown, and Holum (1991) and Middendorf and Pace (2004) argued, Airey
and Linder pointed out that disciplinary discourse was often taken for granted in
teaching and that the lecturers’ knowledge as fluent users was underexploited in uni-
versity science. They argued that “simple exposure to disciplinary discourse was not
enough for students to experience disciplinary ways of knowing” (Airey and Linder
2009, 41). Instead, Airey and Linder (2009) argued that students should practise the
discourse of science in a supporting environment. The lecturer should guide stu-
dents, actively engaging them in their efforts to make meaning of such discourse
and of disciplinary ways of knowing for themselves.
A leitmotif across these different perspectives on enculturation, whether
expressed through cognitive apprenticeship, legitimate peripheral participation or
practising disciplinary discourses, is a focus on students’ participation in a
discipline’s authentic practices, inside a community of experts and peers, as a means
to make meaning for themselves and to grasp the rationale and purposes of the
knowledge they acquire. In this, social collaborative learning appears central.
Brown, Collins, and Duguid (1989) advocated conversation and cooperation through
6 C. Sin
Research design
This study is part of a larger research project which examined the implementation of
masters degrees in physics – in the context of the Bologna Process reforms – at the
level of learning and teaching in three European countries: England, Denmark and
Portugal (Sin 2012b). It was during data analysis that the link between student-
centred methods and enculturation emerged.
Two criteria guided the choice of countries: first, their perceived level of engage-
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ment with the Bologna Process; second, their predominant pedagogic approach,
teacher- or student-centred. England is perceived to have adopted a “stand-offish”
attitude towards the Bologna Process (Sweeney 2010). Denmark and Portugal have
fully embraced Bologna at the national level and reformed their higher education
system over the past decade. Student-centred learning has emerged as a feature
mainly of British and Scandinavian education. A 2007 report on trends observed
following the implementation of Bologna noted a
considerable divergence in Europe regarding teaching approaches and the degree to
which student-centred learning can be said to define the everyday life at universities,
with a clear northern/north-western European dominance in student-centred learning
environments and some scepticism in other parts of Europe. (Crosier, Purser, and Smidt
2007, 48)
In each country, two physics M.Sc. programmes were chosen. physics was chosen as
a high paradigm discipline, commanding high consensus over core knowledge and
methodologies, a key dimension in facilitating cross-country analysis of different
teaching and learning modes. Similarly, the programmes chosen were generic M.Sc.
degrees rather than specialised (Medical physics, Nanoscience etc., for instance, were
not included). The six programmes were located in firmly established, research-inten-
sive institutions and departments. However, they were in different stages of develop-
ment. The Portuguese physics M.Sc.’s had been in place for some three years at the
time of this research, reorganised to meet Bologna recommendations further to new
legislation introduced in 2006. The new two-year M.Sc.’s, following a three-year first
degree, were a compromise between the old five-year undergraduate degree and the
old research-heavy master. Arguably, the analysed Portuguese degrees have yet to
reach developmental maturity. In Denmark, structural changes were only marginally
required to implement post-Bologna master’s degrees. Bologna appears to have rein-
forced attention to both content and pedagogic methods by underlining the impor-
tance of learning outcomes. In England, the taught component of both M.Sc.
degrees, although recent as stand-alone programmes, built out from the final year of
the integrated master’s degrees in physics which both institutions offered.
near to completing their master’s degree. In England, staff on both programmes were
experienced academics, senior lecturer or higher, save one in each programme, who
held a junior appointment (research fellow or recently appointed lecturer). In both
Danish programmes, interviewees were all experienced academics with many years
teaching practice, some with management responsibilities for teaching boards or
committees. Both Portuguese degrees saw senior academics with long teaching
experience comprising about half those interviewed, with the remainder holding
more junior positions.
Interviews lasted around an hour and explored participants’ views on teaching
and learning, their pedagogic practices and experiences in the master’s degree. All
interviews were conducted by the same researcher (the author) in English, except
one. The interviewer also spoke Danish and Portuguese, so if respondents felt
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The next section presents an overview of student and staff references to student-
centred practices and associations to enculturation, outlining some general trends.
Yet, the caveat remains that the research was essentially qualitative in nature and the
sample rather small to yield reliable quantitative information. Then, the following
sections examine in turn the four identified categories of student-centred practices:
student-driven classroom activities; independent learning; students’ integration in
research groups during the thesis and beyond; research/project-based assessment
reflecting instructors’ concern with students’ critical reasoning and holistic under-
standing. The interview excerpts identify the respondent as a student or an academic
and their national system, as a way of showing that the link between student-centred
learning and enculturation permeates across the analysed institutional and national
contexts, reinforcing thereby the study’s contention.
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DK2 Academics 17 8 4 1 3 33
Students 15 5 4 1 3 28
EN1 Academics 14 12 3 3 2 34
Students 9 9 4 2 4 28
EN2 Academics 16 10 4 0 4 34
Students 13 4 0 4 6 27
PT1 Academics 19 17 10 2 2 50
Students 13 8 3 3 6 33
PT2 Academics 9 18 7 1 4 39
Students 7 14 3 1 2 27
assigned a separate sub-code and appeared separately in the code system. Nonethe-
less, since in most cases, it seemed to coincide with the thesis work, integration in
research groups and the thesis are discussed together further down.
Generally, academics tended to refer more to student-centred practices than
students, although the differences are generally rather small. However, the larger
discrepancy between staff and student perceptions of the extent of student-centred
practices in the two Portuguese institutions is worth noting: academics mentioned
student-centred methods much more than students themselves. The possible explana-
tion might lie in the timing of the interviews, in the years following the legislation
which aligned Portuguese degrees to the framework proposed by the Bologna
Process. In Portugal, the Bologna Process was both promoted and interpreted as an
opportunity to overhaul pedagogy and assign more responsibility to students for
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10
C. Sin
Table 2. Frequency of occurrences of codes for student-centred practices and codes for enculturation in the same paragraph.
Enculturation in some paragraph as
Classroom Independent Research-based Integration in research Total Enculturation
Institution/Actor activities learning assessment groups Thesis assoc. codes Total
DK1 Academics 3 1 1 2 5 12 20
Students 9 10 2 8 5 34 46
DK2 Academics 6 4 1 1 7 19 15
Students 4 0 1 1 2 8 9
EN1 Academics 9 8 0 3 2 22 31
Students 0 2 0 1 3 6 10
EN2 Academics 8 4 0 0 6 18 16
Students 6 0 0 3 6 15 18
PT1 Academics 9 8 6 3 2 28 25
Students 3 4 0 3 8 18 18
PT2 Academics 0 10 0 1 4 15 17
Students 0 4 1 1 2 8 11
learning. This suggests that the respondents in this study perceived a relationship
between student-centred practices and enculturation. The theoretical insights from
the literature on student-centred learning and enculturation suggest that this is not
coincidental. Teaching and learning methods which involve engagement with
authentic activities (collaborative learning, developing understanding by reading
papers, participation in research projects, etc.) and which allow students to become
proficient in “disciplinary discourse” (Airey and Linder 2009) usually imply that stu-
dents are actively “doing” something, rather than assimilating received wisdom.
Consequently, they also come under the umbrella of what pedagogic literature has
designated as “student-centred”. These methods, simulating authentic activities,
involve engagement with the “ordinary practices” of a discipline (Brown, Collins,
and Duguid 1989). Students learn by exercising activities which are relevant to a
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their professional evolution. The master was a semi-professional phase, where “you
kind of feel the first effects of being in a working, collegial relationship with fac-
ulty”, according to one student. He also took advantage of the possibility of trading
a course for a project and described the result as follows:
This is the first time I’ve been involved in a project like this, which is a significant dif-
ference from taking a course. When you’re doing a project like this people other than
yourself expect you to do a good job, and expect your results, and you have to sit
down and discuss with them. You have to develop all these skills.
The following sections address in turn each category of student-centred methods in
an attempt to highlight the relationship between these and disciplinary enculturation.
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In preparing for the exam I have for several courses worked together with other people
about how we do this presentation and present it to each other before the exam, and
giving critique on how they can improve and how I can improve myself. Some of the
calculation exercises have also been a joint venture with other people. (Danish student)
Such practices resonate with what Collins, Brown, and Holum (1991) described
as “exploiting cooperation”, on the grounds that collaborative learning and inter-
action were indispensable in cognitive apprenticeship. Group problem-solving,
Collins et al. argued, gives students the opportunity to experience the range of
collaborative problem-solving encountered in real-world science, as well as the
need for group consensus in opting for a solution, which demands both discus-
sion and argument. Similar to Ford and Forman’s argument, students play out dif-
ferent roles, experiencing a range of activities experts undertake. Such roles are,
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peripheral participants (Lave and Wenger 1991) learning from their instructors. The
quotes below set out some of the benefits of being a member of a “community of
practice”, benefits of which students and academics were clearly aware. These ran-
ged from general insights into the culture and practice of professional physicists
where research holds central place (Hermanowicz 2006), through to interpersonal
skills essential in a discipline where knowledge creation is a team effort (Becher and
Trowler 2001). Also, recognised were cognitive, critical and argumentation skills
and, finally, increased autonomy and self-confidence: in a Danish student’s words
“to get your hands on reality, work on your own” – a dynamic that reflects increased
access of peripheral participants’ to expert roles (Lave and Wenger 1991). Learning
appeared to be implicit, deriving from participation, observation of experts and
“doing science” alongside scientists:
In research everything is done in groups and working in a group is a very important
skill. So we try to teach them that during the master thesis where they all are connected
to research groups. But it’s not formalised in any way. And also being able to discuss
science, your particular field, is very important, not to be afraid, to show your own
stability and ask good questions. (Danish lecturer)
… in some way we’re going to know better the professors and know how life works in
physics and we get more motivated that that’s what we’re going to do. (Portuguese
student)
… to come back a little bit to this thesis work, because that’s where students start to
feel like fully-fledged physicists, and I think it’s important that they end up being able
to act a bit like researchers, posing problems and being able to attack them. (Danish
lecturer)
Research/project-based assessment
Assessment conducted through research- or project-based evaluations (rather than
examinations) featured to some degree in interviews. A British lecturer noted the
shift towards essay and coursework assessment, as “less strict (…) more towards the
independent researcher-type assessment”. Such methods sought to promote students’
critical reasoning and analytical thinking, a view endorsed by a Portuguese lecturer
who claimed that in assessing a student paper, he gave particular weight to whether
the student “was able to really grasp the literature that he wrote, was he able to write
a consistent story with good references and did he master the subject?” In effect,
assessment here tests for “deep learning” as opposed to “surface learning” (Marton
Educational Studies 15
and Säljö 1976). Concern with fostering students’ holistic understanding, individual
sense-making and capacity to relate formal knowledge to real-life phenomena –
reminiscent of constructivism – was echoed by a Danish colleague:
The main aim is to get them thinking on their own (…) I’m trying to make them inte-
grate the knowledge they had before with the formalism that we are using in the
course. Because if they cannot use the formalism, if they cannot take the mathematics,
if they cannot put that to work in practical applications in actual situations, then they
haven’t learnt anything. (Danish lecturer)
Equally interesting, project- or research-based assessment was appreciated by
students as preparation for a future research career and as initiation to disciplinary
practice:
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It was not based on exams like the standard procedure, so we had to do more work by
ourselves. We had to do some research at home, we had to present, so I think it is
important to prepare a student for a research career. It’s better than the exams.
(Portuguese student)
Such approaches aim to place students at the heart of the pedagogic process through
methods identified as student-centred (Prosser and Trigwell 1999; Prosser, Trigwell,
and Taylor 1994; Trigwell, Prosser, and Waterhouse 1999). However, these tech-
niques also have a second-order effect: that of inducting students to the cultural,
social and cognitive dimensions of the discipline. Students’ participation in scientific
practice and enquiry, as the “practice turn” suggests, is both student-centred, and, to
boot, facilitates socialisation into physics. Student-centred pedagogic methods such
as those mentioned by interviewees develop a range of abilities needed by profes-
sional physicists. Presentation and discussion sharpen students’ capacities for argu-
mentation and explanation, as well as defending critical standpoints and giving
feedback. In short, they learn, play out and acquire the roles of Constructor and
Critiquer of claims (Ford and Forman 2006). Collaborative work (i.e. collective
problem-solving) meets the same purpose. Students practise the roles normally per-
formed by scientists and learn their patterns of interaction. Individual study prepares
them for the tasks of reviewing knowledge, making sense of it, reading literature
critically, developing a wider understanding and being alert to issues and topics
worth pursuing further – essential in the physicist’s metier. By paper, essay or
report-writing, students develop writing skills – essential in scientific knowledge dis-
semination. Assessment based on such activities encourages students’ pursuit of
learning objectives beyond the merely conceptual. They incorporate the skills of pre-
sentation, argumentation, information search and retrieval, writing, analytical and
critical reasoning. Engagement with practical research projects alongside experi-
enced academics is, in effect, both cognitive apprenticeship (Brown, Collins, and
Duguid 1989) and legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger 1991). Fur-
thermore, students are familiarised with the sociocultural rules, norms and codes of
their disciplinary community. In short, the student-centred activities examined here
are opportunities for students to practise the disciplinary discourse of physics and
become fluent in a variety of its modes (Airey and Linder 2009). Developing abili-
ties such as argumentation, critical thinking or writing skills through authentic activ-
ities appears all the more evident in physics where teaching has tended to be based
on the assumption of linear, sequential accumulation of knowledge. The contextuali-
sation of such practices in a community of peers and experts – reminiscent of the
“situated” nature of learning and the relevance of activity and context-dependency
16 C. Sin
outlined by Brown, Collins, and Duguid (1989) – eases students’ progress along the
path towards becoming future physicists.
Conclusion
This study has illustrated how student-centred approaches in the teaching of physics
– resonant with constructivism and the practice turn – facilitate students’ encultura-
tion into the discipline. The analysis of the pedagogic methods came from six
physics M.Sc. degrees in six institutions from three European countries. Independent
of cultural or institutional background, the relationship between student-centred
learning and disciplinary enculturation has emerged across the board.
A physicist’s professional career, as a scientist in academia or industry, will gen-
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erally demand knowledge creation, hence research. Arguably, master’s degrees, often
pre-requisites for a doctoral degree, already develop and test students’ research skills
through the presentation of a thesis. In physics, they can therefore act as an initiation
to the career of physicist. Yet, as this study has shown, a variety of student-centred
approaches outside the scope of the thesis can, in the taught components of a mas-
ter’s degree, fulfil the same effect of initiation to disciplinary ways of working and
thinking. Both collaborative learning and student-driven classroom activities develop
argumentative and presentational skills. Independent study develops reading and
critical skills. Participation in research projects develops essential interpersonal skills
in a discipline where team endeavours are the norm.
Brown, Collins, and Duguid (1989) denounced the breach between the “culture
of schools” and the “cultures of the disciplines”. Although classroom activity, they
argued, is attributed to the culture of disciplines, in fact:
Many of the activities students undertake are simply not the activities of practitioners
and would not make sense or be endorsed by the cultures to which they are attributed.
This hybrid activity, furthermore, limits students’ access to the important structuring
and supporting cues that arise from the context. What students do tends to be ersatz
activity. (Brown, Collins, and Duguid 1989, 34).
Student-centred methods which, as this study has shown, help assimilate students
into disciplinary practice and culture in physics, have the potential to bridge the cul-
ture of schools and the culture of disciplines. Moreover, by socialising students into
the ways of thinking and working of the professional scientist, such approaches may
well have the added benefit of preparing students for the transition to the world of
work. Given the increased attention recent reforms in Europe, and beyond, place on
student employability (a manifestation of new concerns with higher education’s
responsiveness to society and the economy), student-centred methods as the ones
observed here – resonant with the principles of constructivism, participation in
practice, or cognitive apprenticeship – emerge as a possible way of responding to
this preoccupation, in addition to ensuring that students engage in valuable and
meaningful learning.
Notes on contributor
Cristina Sin is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Research in Higher Education
Policies in Portugal. Her interest areas include higher education policy implementation, the
Bologna Process, teaching and learning and quality assurance/enhancement. She is primarily
interested in the influence of recent European higher education policy and reforms on
Educational Studies 17
academic practice and on teaching and learning. In the past, she worked as a research associ-
ate at Lancaster University (UK) in the Centre for the Study of Education and Training and,
prior to that, at the Higher Education Academy in the UK, in educational projects for the
improvement of learning and teaching. She has published articles on the implementation of
the Bologna Process and on the implementation and evaluation of policies of quality assur-
ance/enhancement, generally investigating the effects on higher education teaching and learn-
ing and curriculum. She completed her PhD in Educational Research at Lancaster University
(UK) analysing the implementation of master degrees in different national settings in the
context of the Bologna Process.
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