scholarly journals Can sustainability audits provide effective, hands-on business sustainability learning, teaching and assessment for business management undergraduates?

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1191-1219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Emblen-Perry
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Teaching Effectiveness ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Education For Sustainability ◽  
Business Curriculum ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Hands On Learning

Purpose This paper aims to present a novel pedagogical approach to education for sustainability within the business curriculum that adopts a sustainability audit of a fictional company presented as a case study as the focus of learning, teaching and assessment. It evaluates the user’s ability to provide the active learning called for in education for sustainability literature and hands-on learning that business management students prefer. Design/methodology/approach This study explores students’ qualitative and quantitative responses to pre- and post-module surveys and module evaluations to establish the effectiveness of focussing learning, teaching and assessment on a sustainability audit. The study, undertaken over a two-year period, adopts four indicators of learning and teaching effectiveness to synthesise, evaluate and present the findings as follows: development of sustainability knowledge and skill, employment skills, career and life skills and engagement. Findings The study finds that a sustainability audit can develop students’ knowledge and skills in all four indicators of learning and teaching effectiveness. In addition, the findings suggest it can raise students’ learning awareness and recognition of their role in the learning process. Research limitations/implications This paper reports the findings of a small scale, two-year study. As such, it presents indicative findings rather than generalised conclusions. Practical implications Designing a pedagogical approach to education for sustainability within the business curriculum around the completion of a sustainability audit can offer hands-on learning experiences that meet students’ preferences for interactive, experiential and collaborative learning within real-world environments, employers’ demands for employment-ready graduates and educators’ hopes for sustainability advocates. Originality/value This study builds on the existing pedagogic discourse of pedagogic means and methods for education for sustainability within the business curriculum. It provides insight into effective hands-on education for sustainability within the business curriculum and offers experience-based guidance to educators seeking to develop immersive, active and experiential, real-world pedagogical approaches.

Cooperation and Consumerism: Lessons Learned at a Kindergarten Mini Mall

2002 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-183
Author(s):  
Robin R. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Team Member ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Real World Application ◽  
Boa Constrictor ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Hands On Learning ◽  
Exciting Project

Sophie drapes a six-foot-long boa constrictor over her shoulders and smiles widely, pleased with her new purchase from Jimmy, the shopkeeper at the toy store. Zoë helps Joseph count out a nickel and three pennies to buy a coveted Santa Bear, and Morgan is excited about the slightly worn plaid tie he bought for his dad. These images of children engaged in hands-on learning come to mind when I think about the kindergarten mini-mall: an interactive, real-world application of many skills and concepts. Students work cooperatively to create storefronts, collect and classify items to sell at their stores, and use money as both customers and shopkeepers to make purchases. My team member, Lou Toscano, and I look forward to the start of this exciting project each spring.

scholarly journals Enhancing Privacy Education with a Technical Emphasis in IT Curriculum

10.28945/2330 ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 001-017
Author(s):  
Svetlana Peltsverger ◽  
Guangzhi Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Real World ◽  
Data Protection ◽  
Technical Approach ◽  
Learning Modules ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Privacy Breach ◽  
Hands On Learning ◽  
Technical Details ◽  
Technical Solutions

The paper describes the development of four learning modules that focus on technical details of how a person’s privacy might be compromised in real-world scenarios. The paper shows how students benefited from the addition of hands-on learning experiences of privacy and data protection to the existing information technology courses. These learning modules raised students’ awareness of potential breaches of privacy as a user as well as a developer. The demonstration of a privacy breach in action helped students to design, configure, and implement technical solutions to prevent privacy violations. The assessment results demonstrate the strength of the technical approach.

CORD Applied Mathematics: Hands-On Learning in Context

1995 ◽  
Vol 88 (8) ◽  
pp. 690a-707
Author(s):  
Leon S. Pedrotti ◽  
John D. Chamberlain
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Applied Mathematics ◽  
Learning In Context ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Hands On Learning ◽  
Real World Problems ◽  
Analyze Data

My and José are hurrying to their morning mathematic class. They are excited! Today they are scheduled to do a mathematics-laboratory assignment. Twice a week, their classroom turns into a laboratory where they use real measuting equipment—such as a vernier caliper, a carpenter's square, or a stopwatch. They collect and analyze data. They ee just how the mathematics they learn in the classroom helps them solve real-world problems. They really like these assignments.

scholarly journals The e-lang Project: Towards a Socio-Interactional Approach for Language Teaching and Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 154-169
Author(s):  
Catherine Jeanneau ◽  
Christian Ollivier
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Real World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Type ◽  
Theoretical Paper

In this theoretical paper, we present an innovative pedagogical approach to language learning and teaching. This approach is based on a dialogical conception of communication and the principle that any human action and communication is determined by the social interactions within which it takes place. On the strength of this approach, we propose an extension of the usual typology of tasks in order to include what we call real-world tasks. The characteristics of this new type of tasks are then specified. Finally, we give a concrete example of a real-world task.

The online promotion of entrepreneurship education: a view from Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (9) ◽  
pp. 990-1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Pizarro Milian ◽  
Marc Gurrisi
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Real World ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Promotional Material ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Real World Applications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine how entrepreneurship education is being marketed to students within the Canadian university sector. Design/methodology/approach A content analysis of the webpages representing 66 entrepreneurship education programs in Canada is performed. Findings Entrepreneurship education is found to be framed as providing students with a collaborative learning experience, useful hands-on skills with real world applications and an entrepreneurial mindset. Research limitations/implications This study looks at only one type of promotional material, and thus, further research is needed to triangulate its findings. Originality/value This is the first study that empirically examines the marketing of entrepreneurship education in Canada.

Adapting CTF challenges into virtual cybersecurity learning environments

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stylianos Karagiannis ◽  
Emmanouil Magkos
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Real World ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Technical Skills ◽  
Academic Program ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Arcs Model ◽  
Hands On

Purpose This paper aims to highlight the potential of using capture the flag (CTF) challenges, as part of an engaging cybersecurity learning experience for enhancing skills and knowledge acquirement of undergraduate students in academic programs. Design/methodology/approach The approach involves integrating interactivity, gamification, self-directed and collaborative learning attributes using a CTF hosting platform for cybersecurity education. The proposed methodology includes the deployment of a pre-engagement survey for selecting the appropriate CTF challenges in accordance with the skills and preferences of the participants. During the learning phase, storytelling elements were presented, while a behavior rubric was constructed to observe the participants’ behavior and responses during a five-week lab. Finally, a survey was created for getting feedback from the students and for extracting quantitative results based on the attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction (ARCS) model of motivational design. Findings Students felt more confident about their skills and were highly engaged to the learning process. The outcomes in terms of technical skills and knowledge acquisition were shown to be positive. Research limitations/implications As the number of participants was small, the results and information retrieved from applying the ARCS model only have an indicative value; however, specific challenges to overcome are highlighted which are important for the future deployments. Practical implications Educators could use the proposed approach for deploying an engaging cybersecurity learning experience in an academic program, emphasizing on providing hands-on practice labs and featuring topics from real-world cybersecurity cases. Using the proposed approach, an educator could also monitor the progress of the participants and get qualitative and quantitative statistics regarding the learning impact for each exercise. Social implications Educators could demonstrate modern cybersecurity topics in the classroom, closing further the gap between theory and practice. As a result, students from academia will benefit from the proposed approach by acquiring technical skills, knowledge and experience through hands-on practice in real-world cases. Originality/value This paper intends to bridge the existing gap between theory and practice in the topics of cybersecurity by using CTF challenges for learning purposes and not only for testing the participants’ skills. This paper offers important knowledge for enhancing cybersecurity education programs and for educators to use CTF challenges for conducting cybersecurity exercises in academia, extracting meaningful statistics regarding the learning impact.

Experimental Vehicles Program Aides in Innovative Hands-On Learning Experiences

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Foroudastan ◽  
Brigette Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Student Development ◽  
Real World ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Solar Panels ◽  
Skill Sets ◽  
Formula Sae ◽  
Hands On ◽  
International Industry ◽  
Hands On Learning

The Experimental Vehicles Program (EVP) was created in 2004 as an umbrella program for five different undergraduate experimental vehicle design teams. These projects consist of the Solar Vehicle, Moonbuggy, Baja SAE, Formula SAE, and Solar Boat. The goal of the EVP is to foster undergraduate student development through hands-on construction of experimental vehicles with the guidance of faculty mentors and partnerships with both national and international industry leaders. Each EVP project performs a vital function in the professional development of students. The projects provide a forgiving environment in which students can test their classroom knowledge in a real-world setting and learn important skills such as leadership, effective communication, and working as a team member. Furthermore, the students in the EVP develop highly versatile and qualified skill sets that will allow them to fill various positions within the workplace. In the past 90% of EVP graduates have been able to obtain highly regarded national and international positions upon graduation due to their real-world hands-on experience gained throughout their involvement in the EVP. Each year the EVP sponsors up to sixty interdisciplinary students that come together in peer-led teams to combine and expand upon their classroom knowledge in building innovative vehicles. The successes of the MTSU EVP have been recognized by becoming the national model for hands-on engineering education; helping engineering students take classroom knowledge and apply it to real-world situations. Students work in teams to annually design, construct, and test novel vehicle designs for participation in national and international competitions. Due to the competitive nature of each of the events, students must use cutting edge technology and design methods in order to create the best entries possible. Often times this means creating partnerships with industry leaders who help mentor the students from the design conception, the fabrication, through the manufacturing of each vehicle. These partnerships benefit both the students and the companies; students are able to create real-world contacts and gain a working knowledge of the industry that they cannot learn in the classroom. Furthermore, the students are able to use the contacts to garner equipment like solar panels and wheels. Likewise, the companies are able to receive recognition at national and international competition as program sponsors are advertised on the competition vehicles. Moreover the industries are able to build relationships with future employees who have real-world experience and who have become intimately involved with specialized technology such as “green energy”.

UX in Practice: Applying a Heuristic Evaluation Technique to Real World Challenges

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 702-703
Author(s):  
France Jackson ◽  
Lara Cheng
Keyword(s):  
User Interfaces ◽  
Real World ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Usability Testing ◽  
Heuristic Evaluation ◽  
The Real ◽  
Usability Problems ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Hands On Learning ◽  
Evaluation Exercise

Introduction Heuristic Evaluation is a usability method that requires usability experts to review and offer feedback on user interfaces based on a list of heuristics or guidelines. Heuristic Evaluations allow designers to get feedback early and quickly in the design process before a full usability test is done. Unlike many usability evaluation methods, Heuristic Evaluations are performed by usability experts as opposed to target users. That is one reason it is going to make a great challenge activity for the UX Day Challenge session. Heuristic Evaluation is a usability method often used in conjunction with usability testing. During the evaluation, usability experts evaluate an interface based on a list of heuristics or guidelines (Nielsen and Molich, 1990). There are several sets of guidelines and they are used to evaluate a myriad of interfaces from gaming (Pinelle, Wong & Stach, 2008) and virtual reality (Sutcliffe & Gault, 2004) to online shopping (Chen & Macredie, 2005). Some of the most common heuristic guidelines to choose from were created by Nielsen (Nielsen and Molich, 1990) (Nielsen, 1994), Norman (Norman, 2013), Tognazzini (Tognazzini, 1998), and Shneiderman (Shneiderman, Plaisant, Cohen and Elmqvist, 2016). Choosing the best set of guidelines and the most appropriate number of usability professions is important. Nielsen and Molich’s research found that individual evaluators only find 20-51% of the usability problems when evaluating alone. However, when the feedback of three to five evaluators is aggregated together, more usability problems can be uncovered (Nielsen and Molich, 1990). This method can be advantageous because designers can get quick feedback early for iteration before a full round of usability testing is performed. The goal of this session is to introduce this method to some and give others a refresher on how to apply this method in the real world. The Challenge For several years, UX day has offered an alternative session. The most intriguing sessions were interactive and offered hands-on training. For this UX Day Challenge session, teams of at most five participants will perform a Heuristic Evaluation of a sponsor’s website or product. During the session, participants will be introduced to Heuristic Evaluations. Topics such as how to perform one, who should perform one, and when it is appropriate to perform one will be covered. Additionally, the pros and cons of using this method will be discussed. Following the introduction to Heuristic Evaluation, teams will use the updated set of Nielson Heuristics (Nielsen, 1994) for the evaluation exercise. Although there are several sets of heuristics, Nielsen’s is one of the best known and widely accepted sets. The following Updated Nielsen Heuristics will be used:  • Visibility of system status  • Match between system and the real world  • User control and freedom  • Consistency and standards  • Error prevention  • Recognition rather than recall  • Flexibility and efficiency of use  • Aesthetic and minimalist design  • Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors  • Help and documentation Following the evaluation period, teams will be asked to report their findings and recommendations to the judges and audience. The judges will deliberate and announce the winner. Conclusion This alternative session will be an opportunity to potentially expose participants to a methodology they may not use often. It will also be an opportunity to have a hands-on learning experience for students who have not formally used this methodology in the real world. Most importantly this session is in continuation of the goal to continue to bring new, interesting, and disruptive sessions to the traditional “conference” format and attract UX practitioners.

Adaptive education applied to higher education for sustainability

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1111-1130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Earl ◽  
Robert VanWynsberghe ◽  
Pierre Walter ◽  
Timothy Straka
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Real World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Education For Sustainability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Interpretive Case Study ◽  
Real World Learning ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Purpose This paper aims to present an interpretive case study in education for sustainability (EfS) that applies VanWynsberghe and Herman’s (2015, 2016) adaptive education as pedagogy. Dewey’s theory of behaviour change is applied to educative experiences based on habit disruption and real-world learning, leading to creativity in the formation of new habits. The programme presented inverts dominant conceptions of knowledge to design innovative sustainability pedagogy. Instead knowledge resides alongside experience, cases, intuition, advice, experimentation and dialogue in the individual and collective effort to address daily sustainability challenges. Design/methodology/approach The paper reports on the outcomes of an interpretive case study (Merriam, 1998) of a higher education programme in sustainability pedagogy. It presents a series of reflections by instructors and participants in discussing the programme’s relationship with the core themes of habit, disruption, creative action and dialogue framed within the five features of adaptive education: stakeholders, real-world learning, off campus, transdisciplinarity and non-traditional rewards. Findings Through this examination, the authors found that adaptive education offered a pedagogy that simultaneously addressed the need for increased sustainability knowledge, whilst inverting its dominance. As a long-term project, the extent of the programme’s impact will be evident beyond the programme’s completion. Research limitations/implications This interpretive case study is analysed through high-level conceptual and theoretical aspects of the pedagogy rather than the particularities of the case. By putting the centrality of knowledge into question, the authors are advocating for a more experimental role for higher education in its teaching and learning. These questions are broadly applicable. Social implications There are research, learning and social benefits to this programme. Adaptive education builds capacity for future leaders and educators of sustainability. Originality/value The paper concludes with a discussion for further theorizing and research on adaptive education and EfS in higher education. This research will contribute to broader discussions of the evolving role of education in sustainability.

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