scholarly journals Embedding social innovation and social impact across the disciplines

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 242-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany Alden Rivers ◽  
Alejandro Armellini ◽  
Ming Nie
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Pedagogical Tools ◽  
Innovative Teaching ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The University

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose an attributes framework for embedding “Changemaker” – a university initiative for promoting social innovation and social impact – across the disciplines at the University of Northampton. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on the authors’ (2015) phenomenographic study that proposed five different conceptions of Changemaker held by academic staff: (1) Changemaker as institutional strategy; (2) Changemaker as critical thinking, perspective shifting and problem solving; (3) Changemaker as employability; (4) Changemaker as social betterment; and (5) Changemaker as personal transformation. The present study explores pedagogic literature to identify skills, behaviours and attributes associated with each of these five categories. Findings – Findings from this literature review inform a set of Changemaker attributes, which offers a framework to consider skills and behaviours associated with the five conceptions of Changemaker. Research limitations/implications – The conceptions of Changemaker, that form the basis of the Changemaker attributes, represent the beliefs of teaching staff at the University of Northampton. Despite inherent limitations, the approach of using practice-based empirical findings to develop pedagogical tools may be of direct benefit to other education providers as they develop their own models for teaching and learning. Practical implications – The Changemaker attributes will be used by the University of Northampton during the design, approval and review of courses to ensure that social innovation and social impact is embedded across the disciplines. Academic staff can refer these attributes when designing assessments and for inspiration towards innovative teaching practice. Originality/value – The findings of this study will provide a point of reference for other higher education institutions as they look for guidance on embedding social innovation and social impact into their curriculum.

scholarly journals University teachers’ conceptions of “Changemaker”

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 588-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany Alden Rivers ◽  
Ming Nie ◽  
Alejandro Armellini
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Social Betterment ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
The University

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a study aimed at understanding the different conceptions that University of Northampton teachers hold of “Changemaker”, an institutional initiative to develop capacities for social innovation. Design/methodology/approach – The study took a phenomenographic approach to identify a small number of qualitatively different conceptions of Changemaker among teaching staff. Face-to-face, phenomenographic interviews were carried out with 30 teachers across the university. Transcript data were analysed using thematic inductive analysis. Findings – Five different conceptions of Changemaker were found: Changemaker as university strategy; Changemaker as critical thinking, perspective shifting and problem solving; Changemaker as employability; Changemaker as social betterment; and Changemaker as personal transformation. Research limitations/implications – The outcome space of conceptions represents the beliefs of teaching staff at the University of Northampton. The approach to research and plans for the practical application of findings may be of direct benefit to other education providers as they develop their own models for teaching and learning. Practical implications – The findings from this study will inform the next phase of the project, which involves the development of a skills/attributes/behaviours matrix for social innovation education. Social implications – An initiative, such as Changemaker, works to enhance the capacities of university students to work as agents of positive social change. By building a research programme around this initiative, the findings from this work can be disseminated and used by other higher education institutions. Originality/value – The findings of this study will address the absence of literature on teachers’ conceptions of phenomena related to social innovation, social entrepreneurship and intrepreneurship. Understanding teachers’ beliefs of such phenomena is relevant to the growing number of universities that address these subjects in the curriculum.

Professional community and student engagement in higher education: rethinking the contributions of professional staff

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaw Owusu-Agyeman ◽  
Enna Moroeroe
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Professional Community ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Culture ◽  
The University

PurposeScholarly studies on student engagement are mostly focused on the perceptions of students and academic staff of higher education institutions (HEIs) with a few studies concentrating on the perspectives of professional staff. To address this knowledge gap, this paper aims to examine how professional staff who are members of a professional community perceive their contributions to enhancing student engagement in a university.Design/methodology/approachData for the current study were gathered using semi-structured face-to-face interviews among 41 professional staff who were purposively sampled from a public university in South Africa. The data gathered were analysed using thematic analysis that involved a process of identifying, analysing, organising, describing and reporting the themes that emerged from the data set.FindingsAn analysis of the narrative data revealed that when professional staff provide students with prompt feedback, support the development of their social and cultural capital and provide professional services in the area of teaching and learning, they foster student engagement in the university. However, the results showed that poor communication flow and delays in addressing students’ concerns could lead to student disengagement. The study further argues that through continuous interaction and shared norms and values among members of a professional community, a service culture can be developed to address possible professional knowledge and skills gaps that constrain quality service delivery.Originality/valueThe current paper contributes to the scholarly discourse on student engagement and professional community by showing that a service culture of engagement is developed among professional staff when they share ideas, collaborate and build competencies to enhance student engagement. Furthermore, the collaboration between professional staff and academics is important to addressing the academic issues that confront students in the university.

scholarly journals An examination of the views of key stakeholders on the development of learning spaces at a regional university

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barrie James Todhunter
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personalised Learning ◽  
Regional University ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
The University

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the degree of alignment between the views of key stakeholders on the development of learning spaces in a new teaching and learning building at a satellite campus of a regional university. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with six stakeholders including senior executives, technical staff, academic staff and students. The interviews were transcribed and the data analysed to identify common and differing themes on the part of the respective interviewees in relation to learning spaces in general, and in relation to the new teaching and learning building in particular. Findings – A comprehensive framework should be articulated by the university for its theme of personalised learning so that decisions can be made at lower levels of the university to operationalise the theme across academic and administrative functions. A clear definition of the blended learning pedagogy, which is proposed to be implemented as part of the personalised learning theme, should be articulated. The implications of the blended learning pedagogy for the design of learning spaces should be identified and clear design guidelines for learning spaces should be articulated. Learning spaces in the new building should be reviewed to achieve alignment with the personalised learning framework and the guidelines for learning spaces. Research limitations/implications – As this is a preliminary study with a small number of participants, a qualitative approach was taken to identify the indicative views of representatives of key stakeholders. The findings relate specifically to the context of this study at a regional Australian university. Originality/value – This paper provides valuable insights into how a university’s philosophy on learning spaces manifests itself through creation and implementation of high-level policy and how that is interpreted and actioned by a range of stakeholders across campuses, including staff and students.

scholarly journals University scholarship activities on module evaluation questionnaires at a British University

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Winch
Keyword(s):  
Student Evaluation ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
University Administrators ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Interdisciplinary Project ◽  
Faculty And Administrators ◽  
The University ◽  
Students Satisfaction

PurposeThe purpose of this study comprises the following three: (1) to ascertain the purpose of university module evaluation questionnaires (MEQs) and its reliability; (2) to evaluate University X's MEQ; and (3) to offer how Universities may be able to support their teaching staff with scholarship activities using the MEQ project.Design/methodology/approachUniversity MEQ purposes and its reliability were investigated using literature reviews. The University X's MEQ seven statements were evaluated by three university academic staff. The study was conducted at a British university in South East of England. The duration of this interdisciplinary project was for two months which was a university interdisciplinary project between 14/07/20 and 13/10/20.FindingsThe purpose for MEQs includes (1) students’ satisfaction; (2) accountability for university authority and (3) teaching feedback and academic promotions for teaching staff. The evaluation of University X's MEQ indicated that MEQ questions were unclear which do not serve reliable student evaluation results. This topic may be of interest to University MEQ designers, lecturers, University Student Experience team, University Executive Board, University administrators and University HR senior management teams.Originality/valueThe following three points are considered original to this study: (1) MEQ purposes are summarised by students, university authority and teaching staff; (2) the evaluation of a British University MEQ; (3) provides suggestions on how lecturers' scholarship activities can be supported by the university-wide initiative and umbrella network. These are practical knowledge for the faculty and administrators of higher education institutions which may be of use.

Academic entrepreneurship in the context of education

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 951-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Rossano-Rivero ◽  
Ingrid Wakkee
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Academic Entrepreneurship ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Innovative Teaching ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
External Actors ◽  
The University

Purpose This study aims to extend literature on academic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial networking by examining how academics, in their role of entrepreneurial educators, network for the creation and execution of novel teaching practices in cooperation with external actors. Design/methodology/approach The empirical investigation is based on qualitative inquiry, using a case study approach. Specifically, eight cases originating at three universities in Germany, The Netherlands and Mexico were examined. The cases which constituted innovative teaching practices were selected following a replication logic. Each involved extensive participation of societal actors in course development or delivery and aimed to stimulate students to work on real life challenges and disseminate novel knowledge back to the world of practice. All courses were either introduced or taught by educators who possessed different levels and types of academic and industrial or entrepreneurial experience. Findings Based on eight cases the authors found that the networking behaviour of entrepreneurial educators is crucial for the generation of proximity with external actors and for the acquisition of key resources, such as an external actor to participate in teaching practice and for the generation of legitimacy for their innovations in teaching. The entrepreneurial and industrial experience of entrepreneurial educators emerges as an affordance to network with external actors, helping them to achieve a common understanding of the opportunity and to generate trust among them. Practical implications This study equips managers of higher education institutions with critical insights into innovating the teaching mission of the university and developing closer and stronger relationships with external actors of the university. Originality/value This study seeks to advance the literature on academic entrepreneurship by shifting the attention away from academic entrepreneurs as merely founders of spin-offs and collaborators with business on research and development towards entrepreneurial educators who see opportunities in establishing collaborations with external actors as part of their teaching activities. Further, it introduces the “social networking perspective” to this field. Vissa (2012) and Stam (2015) introduced this perspective as a logical extension to the study of the generation of social capital to reach entrepreneurial goals.

scholarly journals Confinamento Covid-19: Um olhar dos estudantes- estagiários de Educação Física [Covid-19 Confinement: A glimpse of Physical Education pre-service teachers]

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-60
Author(s):  
Rui Resende ◽  
Luísa Aires ◽  
Rui Araújo ◽  
Patrícia Gomes ◽  
Fátima Sarmento ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Innovative Teaching ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Organization And Management ◽  
Perceptions Of Students ◽  
The University

The suspension of all in-person teaching activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a reconfiguration of face-to-face teaching for distance learning. A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study was carried out with the purpose of examining the perceptions of students interns about the formative and pedagogical processes experienced in the context of Covid-19 confinement. Data were obtained through the analysis of the Final Reports of Supervised Teaching Practice developed by twenty-seven trainee students of the second cycle of studies in Physical Education Teaching in Basic and Secondary Education of the University Institute of Maia (ISMAI), in the academic year 2019/2020. The qualitative analysis of the data used thematic analysis strategies and codification procedures of the grounded theory. The following themes emerged: (i) Context with profound changes in the organization and management of schools, both in teaching and learning; (ii) Planning and Implementation using innovative teaching and evaluation methodologies, supported by new technologies; (iii) Evaluation with different strategies and focus on the students motivation for the discipline and (iv) Reflection, which evidences a feeling of challenges successfully overcome and (dis)virtualization of the figure of the teacher in the educational process.

scholarly journals The Effectiveness of Peer Review of Teaching when performed between Early-career Academics

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-18
Author(s):  
Richard J. Woodman ◽  
◽  
Maria B. Parappilly ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Teaching Philosophies ◽  
University Lecturers ◽  
The University

The success of peer review of teaching (PRT) in shaping teaching practice during an academic’s formative years may depend on the peers’ teaching experience and the frequency of evaluation. Two Australian early-career University lecturers with no previous experience of peer review performed a single PRT on one another following a one week academic development program, a mandatory exercise for all new academic staff with teaching roles within the University. Their experiences were recorded and used in the development of a teaching philosophy. The same PRT was then repeated between the same 2 individuals for the purpose of mandatory peer evaluation some 5 years later and after gaining considerable teaching experience. This paper describes the perceived impact of the PRT process on their teaching philosophies and the potential limitations imposed by their inexperience in formative PRT and teaching itself. Despite this relative inexperience, both academics believed their initial PRT accelerated changes to their mainly teacher-focused knowledge-transfer approaches. This case study provides qualitative evidence that PRT programs can successfully shape teaching practice without the involvement of more experienced teaching faculty. Academic developers should highlight the importance of building collegiality and the scholarship of teaching and learning for early-career PRT participants.

iMindMap as an innovative tool in teaching and learning accounting: an exploratory study

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wan Noor Hazlina Wan Jusoh ◽  
Suraya Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Course Content ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Conventional Teaching ◽  
Innovative Tool ◽  
The University

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the use of iMindMap software as an interactive tool in the teaching and learning method and also to be able to consider iMindMap as an alternative instrument in achieving the ultimate learning outcome. Design/methodology/approach Out of 268 students of the management accounting at the University of Technology MARA (Terengganu), 97 students have participated in this survey to evaluate the effectiveness of iMindMap in teaching and learning. Findings Results indicate that the majority of the students acknowledged that iMindMap is more attractive than conventional teaching methods and found that iMindMap shows clearly how the points are all associated and linked together. Students could find that learning is an exciting experience and were able to visualize the whole course content remarkably via iMindMap. Originality/value This study presents an alternative instrument, which is innovative and interactive in teaching and learning, especially for accounting students where the students’ technology acceptance could also be viewed.

scholarly journals Internationalizing teacher education curricula: opportunities for academic staff development

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
Mónica Lourenço
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Staff Development ◽  
Global Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Staff Development ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of a collaborative workshop, aimed to support teacher educators in embedding a “global outlook” in the curriculum on their perceived professional development. Design/methodology/approach The workshop included working sessions, during a period of 13 months, and was structured as participatory action research, according to which volunteer academics designed, developed and evaluated global education projects in their course units. Data were gathered through a focus group session, conducted with the teacher educators at a final stage of the workshop, and analyzed according to the principles of thematic analysis. Findings Results of the analysis suggest that the workshop presented a meaningful opportunity for teacher educators to reconstruct their knowledge and teaching practice to (re)discover the importance of collaborative work and to assume new commitments to themselves and to others. Originality/value The study addresses a gap in the existing literature on academic staff development in internationalization of the curriculum, focusing on the perceptions of teacher educators’, whose voices have been largely silent in research in the field. The study concludes with a set of recommendations for a professional development program in internationalization of the curriculum.

Creative collaboration: student creative works in the institutional repository

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-31
Author(s):  
Rose Sliger Krause ◽  
Andrea Langhurst Eickholt ◽  
Justin L. Otto
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Institutional Repository ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Music Department ◽  
Eastern Washington ◽  
The University

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the music performance collection preserved in Eastern Washington University’s institutional repository (IR). This collection of recordings of student music performances is the result of an ongoing collaboration between the university?s library and music department, which serves to provide discoverability, preservation and access to a collection of student creative works, which had heretofore been a hidden collection. Design/methodology/approach This collection of student creative work was identified as a suitable project for the Eastern Washington University’s IR while it was still in the planning stages because it was identified as an existing need that the new IR could address. Much of the groundwork for the collaboration between the library and music department was completed prior to IR implementation. Thus, the library was ready to begin work on this collection once the IR was operational. Findings The student music performance collection has been a successful project for the IR, which benefits the music department by making student performances discoverable and accessible, and benefits the library by providing the opportunity to demonstrate that the then-new IR could support the university’s student-centered focus on teaching and learning. Originality/value While there is a growing body of literature on IRs emphasizing student work, there is little literature on music or other creative works’ collections in IRs, much less on creative works by students. This paper adds to the limited body of literature on student creative works in the IR by describing the development, implementation and lessons learned from the successful music performances collection.

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