Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of, and Experiences with, Technology-Enhanced Transformative Learning towards Education for Sustainable Development

Transformative Social and Emotional Learning (T-SEL): The Experiences of Teenagers Participating in Volunteer Club Activities in the Community

Beginning with social inequities in terms of access to quality, inclusive education for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially rural teenagers who leave school early, the Holtis Association, with the support of the UNICEF Representative in Romania, developed a number of interventions intended to facilitate the transition from lower to higher secondary education of students from vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. One of the interventions was the establishment of teenagers' clubs for volunteer activities, leadership development, and participation in the community to encourage social and emotional learning. (1) Background: This study aims to investigate the extent to which participation in the Holtis club projects contributed to the development of transformative social and emotional learning (T-SEL), as observed from the perspective of the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) competencies among adolescents. (2) Methods: The study was qualitative and used focus groups for data collection. Out of the 65 active clubs, 18 were selected, and their representatives participated in the focus groups. (3) Results: Participating in the club activities, which were organized in the school, with the aim of organizing activities outside the school space stimulated and developed T-SEL competencies among adolescents. (4) Conclusions: The data, which were collected through the voices of teenagers, underlined the personal transformation from the perspective of the CASEL model competencies of SEL, and the study privileged their perspectives.

Examining pre-service teachers regulation in distance and traditional preschool design and technology education

The significance of adapting to a rapidly changing world is quite evident in the current day; thus, the awareness of how to teach students so that they can be ready to face challenges in the future is very important. Early education has a huge impact on the further development of children, so preschool teachers must be competent and use appropriate teaching and educational methods. In this study, the development of self-directed learning (SDL) of future preschool teachers is investigated by considering two variables, namely the type of study (full-time and part-time students) and the learning modalities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (pre-, during and post-COVID-19 confinement). We collected data from 418 participants and analysed them using descriptive statistics, 2 × 3 factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a two-step cluster analysis. The results show the status of pre-service preschool teachers' perceptions of their SDL development and how the variables influenced it. There were significant differences in the students' self-reported SDL skills, depending on the learning environment and the type of study. The status indicator helps educators identify and change the curriculum and how they work with students. It allows the faculty to highlight the positive aspects of the different educational modalities encountered, as well as the characteristics of the study types and their impact on the learning process to improve students' SDL skills. The results of the study may help in the design of tailored metacognitive scaffolds that take into account different modalities. Further studies are needed to investigate the effectiveness of digital open learning environments that address both SDL and preschool educational practices.

Mapping the Relationships between Self-Directed Learning and Design Thinking in Pre-Service Science and Technology Teachers

Self-directed learning and design thinking were found to be promising pedagogies for supporting education and thus supporting sustainable development goals. While some researchers have posited that self-directed learning may support design thinking, empirical research examining the relationship between these two essential skills is lacking because their shared conceptual structure has not been articulated in detail, and because they have remained siloed in design practice. This study examines pre-service teachers’ self-regulation in relation to design thinking skills to advance a theoretical understanding of design science and to overcome challenges teachers face in adopting and implementing design thinking. For this study, 158 pre-service teachers were recruited. On the first level, the empirical data collected were subjected to structural equation modelling to find and confirm significant metacognitive perspectives in design thinking, while on the second level, an in-depth analysis was conducted to find moderating effects of pre-service teachers’ metacognitive experiences and teacher education in design thinking. We argue that awareness and interpersonal skills are crucial in creative design activity, and that embracing risk, tolerance to uncertainty, and underdeveloped supervising skills might be critical elements for advancing design thinking behaviour. The findings of this study have implications for effective science and technology teaching and the learning of design thinking in teacher education, and for educators and commercial course designers to adjust the implementation of design thinking.

Enhancing Transformative Learning and Innovation Skills Using Remote Learning for Sustainable Architecture Design

The currently used educational technology with artificial-intelligence-powered solutions, although rather instrumental, may lead to discontinuity in learning, as it lacks social and emotional value, which is an essential part of education for sustainable development and results in an immersive experience through which higher-order thinking skills can be adopted. This paper aims to explore transformative learning (TL) and innovation skill improvement accommodated by transactional distance theory in a 16-week remote sustainable architecture design course. The analysis identified the following: (a) significant progress in students’ attitudes toward uncertainty and criticality while social support differs due to the influence of classmates, faculty staff, teamwork, writing and reading assignments, promoters from industry and extracurricular activities; (b) significant progress in TL achievement while innovation skill development differs significantly across the groups in which online collaborative learning was found as an influencer in creativity and motivation; (c) self-efficacy influenced by feedback in and on actions, such as essay and other writing assignments, verbal persuasions and positive social comparisons; (d) lack of development of situational awareness, continuity of learning and interactions/situations to empower teammates in handling conflicts to develop leadership ability; (e) decrease in risk-taking ability, especially in a group of students in which social support was limited due to the absence of challenging situations and tasks. The results support the use of remote intervention directed at prosocial motivations and action-focused group goals.