Paul Light’s research while affiliated with Kingston College and other places

What is this page?


This page lists works of an author who doesn't have a ResearchGate profile or hasn't added the works to their profile yet. It is automatically generated from public (personal) data to further our legitimate goal of comprehensive and accurate scientific recordkeeping. If you are this author and want this page removed, please let us know.

Publications (49)


Seeing eye to eye: An evaluation of the use of video-conferencing to support collaboration
  • Article

April 2012

·

22 Reads

·

5 Citations

European Journal of Psychology of Education

·

Paul Light

·

Student mobility and trans-national collaborative modes of learning at University level have been strongly promoted within Europe. However, such initiatives are expensive, difficult to organise and do not always attain their objectives. Recently there has been considerable interest in the extent to which computer-mediated communication between students in different countries can either supplement or substitute for actual student mobility. This paper reports an evaluation of a project in which video-conferencing was introduced in the context of an established Anglo-Spanish programme in which UK and Spanish Fashion students undertake collaborative projects in each others’ countries. Project aims included fostering and supporting second language use, providing an innovative context for collaborative art and design projects and offering an opportunity to simulate trans-national working conditions. Questionnaires, observation and interview data indicate that not all these objectives were realised, though student reaction to the technology and to the benefits it afforded for collaboration were broadly positive. The strengths and weaknesses of video-conferencing as a support to collaborative learning in this context are discussed.


Collaboration as a facilitator of planning and problem solving on a computer based task

July 2011

·

90 Reads

·

78 Citations

Recent concern in the developmental psychology literature with peer facilitation of children's learning is matched by a corresponding concern in the cognitive science literature with user-user interactions in the context of computer use. A study is reported in which 11-year-old children (N = 39) worked over three successive sessions on a problem-solving task making heavy demands on planning and information handling, implemented in HyperCard. Children worked on the computer either in pairs or individually on the first two sessions, and all worked individually on the third. By the second session, the performance of the pairs was significantly superior to that of the individuals. On the final session, with a slightly modified task, those who had previously worked in pairs showed a substantial advantage. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.


Children's Performance in the selection task: Plausibility and Familiarity
  • Article
  • Full-text available

April 2011

·

1,273 Reads

·

37 Citations

British Journal of Psychology

Three experiments exploring the effects of the activation of pragmatic schemas on children's reasoning performance are reported. Pragmatic schemas are defined as clusters of rules concerning actions and goals. Previous results indicated that by evoking ‘permission’ and ‘obligation’ schemas it is possible to facilitate adults' performance on Wason's selection task as well as that of children in a ‘reduced’ version of the same task. Experiment 1 demonstrated that both 9-10- and 14-15-year-olds (n = 160) could produce a high rate of correct performance in the complete version of the task, both when phrased in terms of a familiar permission and of an explicitly rationalized non-familiar permission. Experiment 2 (n = 40) and 3 (n = 48) demonstrated that 10-year-olds could solve the task even when the permission rule was not familiar and was plausible only in virtue of the availability of an implicit rationale. Developmental and general aspects of these results are briefly discussed.

Download

Learning Sites: Networked Resources and the Learning Community

October 2009

·

15 Reads

·

2 Citations

New Review of Information Networking

This research has been concerned with the use of networked computer resources in the context of full‐time residential university education. Topics addressed include the use of computer‐mediated communication to supplement conventional teaching and the provision of access to campus networks and the Internet from university study‐bedrooms. The research has been concerned to establish individual and social factors influencing students’ responses to networked tools and resources, including library resources, and to assess the impact of these technologies upon the experience of being a student at a campus‐based university. A broadly ecological approach has been adopted, involving the use of questionnaires, interview and usage diaries.



Les Tic dans une université : Offre homogène, résultats contrastés

October 2007

·

20 Reads

·

1 Citation

HERMES (France)

Computer-based communication is increasingly being used in support of conventional university courses. This paper offers an overview of a series of detailed studies of small scale innovations across a range of disciplines at two campus-based UK universities. Most involved asynchronous, text-based interactions involving all students on a given course and the tutor or tutors involved. Observations, questionnaires and interviews were used to establish patterns of uptake and use of the new discussion media. Findings are discussed in terms of five "rules of virtuality" (Woolgar, 2002). La communication par ordinateur est de plus en plus utilisée comme soutien pour les cours universitaires conventionnels. Cet article offre un panorama d'une série d'études fines d'innovation à petite échelle dans diverses disciplines sur deux campus universitaires britanniques. La plupart impliquait des interactions textuelles asynchrones concernant tous les étudiants et tous les tuteurs d'un cours. Des observations, des questionnaires et des entretiens ont servi à établir des configurations de décollage et d'usage des nouveaux médias pour la discussion. Les résultats sont discutés selon les cinq « règles de virtualité » (Woolgar, 2002).


Influences on the effectiveness of peer interaction: children's level of cognitive development and the relative ability of partners

April 2006

·

80 Reads

·

18 Citations

Review of Social Development

·

·

Nerys Loveridge

·

[...]

·

Karen Littleton

Studies of peer interaction among children have generally shown that this experience aids performance, or at the very least does not result in poorer performance in relation to control conditions. Furthermore, working with a more able partner has been found to be a particularly effective form of peer interaction. In contrast, a model proposed by Karmiloff-Smith suggests that at certain phases of cognitive development children may ignore feedback and information from task activities. These two ideas were tested in a study where pairs of 6–7 year old children had to balance a beam on a fulcrum during a computer task. The performance on a post-test did not support either viewpoint. Children who were working with a more able partner were found to perform significantly worse than other children. The findings of a second study suggested that this effect may have been due to the more able children having an incomplete understanding of the computer task and they may have dominated social interaction thereby restricting the progress of the less able pupil. The findings from these two studies indicate that peer interaction can result in poorer learning outcomes, and that Karmiloff-Smith's model should include the possibility of peer interaction effects.


Understanding computer-related attitudes through an idiographic analysis of gender- and self-representations

April 2004

·

35 Reads

·

50 Citations

Learning and Instruction

We assessed girls’ and boys’ attitudes towards computers in general, and their use and enjoyment of computers for specific purposes. In addition, we obtained their self-evaluation against their ideal self, their prototype of a child who would be very good at computer-based tasks, and against their gender stereotypes (both own and other gender). The results showed no gender effects on the nomothetic global attitude scale. Significant gender effects appeared for the specific computer uses and the idiographic measures. Further, positive attitudes towards computers on the global nomothetic measure were related to less gendered idiographic perception of computer use. Confidence in global computer use was related to more gendered perception of computer use. The findings are discussed in terms of the complex ways in which social–cognitive biases are gendered, and the need to differentiate between different forms of computer use.


Gender and social comparison effects in computer-based problem solving

December 2000

·

69 Reads

·

71 Citations

Learning and Instruction

Gender differences in relation to school children's learning with computers are frequently attributed to a tendency for boys to dominate computer resources in mixed sex settings. However, the evidence relating to children's performance with computers in mixed sex groups is conflicting. This paper reports two experimental studies in which 11- to 12-year-olds worked on a computer-based problem solving task. In the first, 62 children worked in either same or mixed sex dyads, but each child had her or his own computer, and no verbal interaction was allowed. Boys out-performed girls overall, with sex differences becoming significantly more polarised in the mixed sex dyads. The second study involved 96 children, with individual pre- and post-tests, and compared co-action dyads (as in the first study) with interaction pairs, in which the pair members worked together at a single computer, with no restriction on interaction. The polarisation of sex differences in the mixed sex dyads was once again found in the co-action condition, but not in the interaction condition. Results are interpreted in terms of processes of social comparison, which appear to be more potent in this situation than any straightforward domination of resources.


Variety is the spice of life: Student use of CMC in the context of campus based study

April 2000

·

88 Reads

·

48 Citations

Computers & Education

At present, courses within British higher education institutions offer a somewhat haphazard patchwork of IT-based learning resources. Through university intranets it is now possible for many students to follow at least parts of their courses online. However, the provision available is highly dependent on local resources and individual tutors. This paper focuses on student discussion supported via computer mediated communication, but not in the context of distance learning. Rather the focus is upon campus-based study, where students are working with one another in a sustained mode over a period of time. In the context of an ESRC 'Virtual Society?' research project we have been using the online dialogues together with interviews and questionnaires to examine two third year level psychology courses at different universities. In both cases tutors used web resources to facilitate computer-mediated communication as an integral part of the course. Different contexts for learning were created by the differing stances of the tutors. One tutor took an active, participatory role whereas the other tutor remained a non-participant. Both, however, wanted to create wide-ranging discussion amongst the learners. The differing roles of tutors were associated with a marked difference in communication styles and perceived learning outcomes.


Citations (44)


... These findings are in line with earlier findings arguing that the mathematical ideas leading up to the discovery of new knowledge are gradually formulated and justified as stages progress (Brousseau, Brousseau & Warfield, 2001, 2013Brousseau & Gibel, 2005). Moreover, classroom discourse and social interaction also encourage the recognition of connections between ideas and the reorganization of knowledge (Lampert, 1986) and can have a powerful influence on academic motivation and achievement (Light & Littleton, 1999;Wentzel, 1999). Therefore, it is thought that the interaction amongst the learners in the classroom, which is quite common in a-didactical learning situations, plays an effective role in students' discovery of the mathematical knowledge at stake. ...

Reference:

Teaching Geometry Through Didactical Situations: The Case of the Triangle Inequality
Social Processes in Children's Learning
  • Citing Book
  • February 2000

... A study with philosophy students explored to what extent the use of a Learning Management System (LMS) contributed to the demonstration of a deep approach to learning: participants in online discussions had higher 'deep learning' scores and non-participants had higher 'surface approach' scores (Gibbs, 1999). Evidence was reported that 'strategic learners' demonstrated their approach by their choice of online activities (Gibbs, 1999;Light & Light, 1999). A more systematic investigation identified weak positive correlations between deep and strategic approaches and 'positive judgements about networked learning', while students with a surface approach were more likely to perceive negatively the 'value of networked learning' (Goodyear, Asensio, Jones, Hodgson & Steeples, 2003: 24). ...

Analysing Asychronous Learning Interactions: Computer-mediated communication in a conventional undergraduate setting
  • Citing Article
  • January 1999

... Human learning and development are strongly affected by social content. There is a view of [3] arguing that learning is an individual process in which a person can be benefitted or not, according to the interaction with each other. Therefore, improvement can be obtained via communication regarding certain problems or tasks among the students, which can positively affect reflection and planning. ...

Collaborative Problem Solving with HyperCard: The Influence of Peer Interaction on Planning and Information Handling Strategies
  • Citing Chapter
  • January 1995

... This viewpoint cancels human psyche; humans and computers are alien/other to each other, not different; humans are capable of representing-of making meaning emerge in a magmatic relationship of the ensidic, imaginary, symbolic, phantasmatic; it cancels human creation, the social selfinstitution which happens through and with the historical time [1]. Recent research [2], [3], [4], [5] that surpasses a mechanistic model and discusses about the content of interaction, has encountered with astonishment the fact that, apart from emotions and easy learning, participants in interactive experiences show enhanced sociality (this was successfully realized in the Bauhaus School) [6]. ...

Situational Effects in Computer-Based Problem Solving
  • Citing Chapter
  • January 1997

... Thus, CMC channels such as mobile IM could be less effective for communication in situations where more personal interactions are required (Garton & Wellman, 1995;Straus, 1996). CMC channels could be preferred when efficient task completion is a priority, as they eliminate unnecessary social interactions (Jonassen & Kwon, 2001;Light & Light, 1999). Despite the above findings, it is still unknown whether customer experience is affected by the nature of CMC in a co-creation context associated with tourism and hospitality service. ...

Analysing asynchronous learning interactions: computer-mediated communication in a conventional undergraduate setting
  • Citing Conference Paper
  • March 1999

... All educational institutions will be required to evaluate themselves according to their responsibility for education and their students through their network at school (O'Brien et al. 2006). Also, there is rising anxiety on the higher education sector to utilize information and communication technology to free higher education from some of the restrictions of time and place that control its reach and raise its cost (Light, Crook & White 2000). Additionally, the majority of universities used to support their students with formatted resources which could be used on iPad, laptop, and their mobile phone, the implementation of social media at the same time with achieving the academic tasks such as students attendance, planning assessments, and revision for tests and exams that is also achieved faster and more organized (Khan, Kend & Robertson 2016). ...

Learning Sites: Networked Resources and the Learning Community
  • Citing Article
  • October 2009

New Review of Information Networking

... Hiervon ausgehend wurde eine vereinfachte Kartenwahlaufgabe für Kinder entwickelt. Es zeigte sich, dass schon 6bis 7-Jährige die Aufgabe bewältigen konnten (Light, Blaye, Gilly & Girotto 1989). Harris und Nunez (1996) Studien zeigen jedoch, dass schon Vorschulkinder derartige Schlussfolgerungen bei kontrafaktischen Syllogismen ziehen und unabhängig vom inhaltlichen Kontext logisch korrekt ableiten, dass Rex (eine Katze ist, die) bellt, wenn die Instruktionen geeignet gestaltet sind. ...

Pragmatic Schemas and Logical Reasoning in 6- to 8-year-old Children
  • Citing Article
  • January 1989

Cognitive Development

... In particular, it has been suggested that portrayal of viewpoint is suppressed by the tendency to show array relationships (Light & Simmons, 1983). Also, it has been shown that total and partial occlusion appear in circumstances in which the interaction between children's tendency to draw objects in a canonical orientation and their tendency to maintain array relationships dictate the need for occlusion in order to maintain the integrity of the drawing (Light & Foot, 1986;Teske, Waltz, & Shenk, 1992). ...

Partial occlusion in young children's drawings
  • Citing Article
  • February 1986

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

... In a design-led research study, Tekinbaş et al. [124] observed that community rules or agreements created by youth were effective without the traditional technological mechanisms on an after-school kid-friendly Minecraft server. Research shows that children are capable of understanding (well-formulated) rules starting at ages seven or eight [21,52,83]. They begin to construct their own rules or interpretations of rules especially through play [25,62,125,128]. ...

Pragmatic Schemas and Conditional Reasoning in Children
  • Citing Article
  • August 1988

The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology A

... Since the rise of the personal computer, researchers have been studying how well children can utilize different input devices (e.g., mouse, joystick) for meaningful computer interaction [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. The majority of this work has focused on children over the age of three, with a particular emphasis on school-aged children (4-13 years old) who may use computers for educational activities or for play. ...

It Is Best to Point for Young Children: A Comparison of Children's Pointing and Dragging
  • Citing Article
  • September 1998

Computers in Human Behavior