scholarly journals Drafting Pandemic Policy: Writing and Sudden Institutional Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-146
Author(s):  
Erin Workman ◽  
Peter Vandenberg ◽  
Madeline Crozier

This article reports findings from an institutional ethnography of university stakeholders’ writing in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, illustrating the affordances of this methodology for professional and technical communication. Drawing on interview transcripts with faculty and administrators from across the university, the authors contextualize the role of writing in the iterative, collaborative, distributed writing processes by which the university transitioned from a traditional A–F grading scheme to a pass or fail option in just a few business days. They analyze these stakeholders’ experiences, discussing some effects of this accelerated timeline on policy development, writing processes, and uses of writing technologies within this new context of remote teaching and learning.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Keir

<div class="page" title="Page 3"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>Veronika is a recent graduate from the Honours Legal Studies program at the University of Waterloo. Her passions are socio-legal research, policy development, feminist legal theory, and crime control development. Veronika is currently working a full-time job at Oracle Canada, planning on pursuing further education in a Masters program. </span></p></div></div></div>


2012 ◽  
pp. 772-785
Author(s):  
Yvonne Cleary

This chapter explores the development of online support for writing skills in one technical communication module taught at the University of Limerick. It demonstrates the need for writing support by exploring the many complexities of teaching and learning writing skills. Central to the discussion is the principle of process, rather than product, orientation. Students on the module have been surveyed over the past two years to determine their attitudes to, and perceptions of, their writing strengths and weaknesses. The chapter outlines and exemplifies the types of writing-problems students and instructors identify. Online support is posited as an intervention which facilitates autonomous learning. The chapter concludes by discussing how online resources, and especially the university virtual learning environment, Sakai (called Sulis at University of Limerick), can support students. It also suggests related research opportunities, especially in the area of using Web 2.0 technologies to foster autonomy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
Jamal Kaid Mohammed Ali

Blackboard is a learning management system (LMS) that provides students with an opportunity to access the course at their convenience. Blackboard makes it possible for students to do online activities, interact with other students and their teachers, review instructional materials, and listen to the recorded classes. Students can also attend live lectures and discussion via virtual classes (collaborative blackboard) from homes, cafés, or from anywhere they choose. All of these features can be accessed by students anytime and anywhere. This facility might motivate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students to study effectively and efficiently. The purpose of this research is to investigate the use of Blackboard system in teaching and learning and evaluate its influence on motivating Saudi English students. It looks at the role of Blackboard on English students’ motivation from their own point of view and tries to determine whether or not students encounter issues that affect their motivation. El-Seoud et al. (2014, p. 2) believe that “the success or failure of online instruction is perhaps related to student motivation”. This study is conducted at the University of Bisha in Saudi Arabia. The sample consisted of 80 students from the English Department. This is a mixed method study of the students who use Blackboard for online learning. The study found that using Blackboard motivated students to work harder and learn better than traditional methods of learning. It also found that students believe that Blackboard is a motivating factor. Some demotivating factors have also been identified in this study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-214
Author(s):  
Ron Corso

Institutions of higher education in the twenty-first century are undergoing a transformation locally and globally from traditional pillars of learning to being more entrepreneurial in their core business. There is increasing pressure on universities to becoming more flexible and adaptable as organizations and in the graduate attributes, they imbed in their students. There is a need to build deeper links with business, to both maximize innovation and promote growth, to ensure students are equipped to excel in the workforce. This change is having a disruptive effect on the role of universities, from classical research institutions to entrepreneurial universities mimicking more of the modern workplace working environment, requiring autonomy in their decision-making and in the way new research is developed, implemented and transferred in the relationships formed within their respective regions. This article outlines work in progress on the University of South Australia’s attempts to rebrand itself as a University of Innovation and Enterprise (Australia’s University of Enterprise) in both its end-user inspired research outcomes and industry-informed teaching and learning.


Sociology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 1026-1042
Author(s):  
Laura Connelly ◽  
Remi Joseph-Salisbury

Although literature on the role of emotions in teaching and learning is growing, little consideration has been given to the university context, particularly from a sociological perspective. This article draws upon the online survey responses of 24 students who attended sociological classes on the Grenfell Tower fire, to explore the role emotions play in teaching that seeks to politicise learners and agitate for social change. Contributing to understandings of pedagogies of ‘discomfort’ and ‘hope’, we argue that discomforting emotions, when channelled in directions that challenge inequality, have socially transformative potential. Introducing the concept of bounded social change, however, we demonstrate how the neoliberalisation of Higher Education threatens to limit capacity for social change. In so doing, we cast teaching as central to the discipline of sociology and suggest that the creation of positive social change should be the fundamental task of sociological teaching.


2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 607-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki Lawal ◽  
Stephen Akintunde

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential role of information literacy (IL) within the changing context of the e-learning environment at the University of Jos in recent years. It focuses and emphasises the role of the University library in facilitating teaching and learning through the use of e-learning platforms in teaching information retrieval skills. The paper aims to identify gaps in students’ information skills that could be addressed through IL instruction. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a case study research design while the methodology involved the administration of structured questionnaires to the two groups of respondents. Findings – Findings from the study provide useful insights to the skills challenges experienced by students and point to a need for effective collaboration between the library, faculty and management in order to promote a better approach to learning at the institution. Originality/value – By emphasising the role of the library, the paper contributes to previous studies on e-learning at the University and provides a basis for further research in this regard.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (29) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharihan Shawkat Azeez

Metaphor acts as a window into comprehending teachers’ experiences through providing insights into complex concepts of teaching and learning. As a result, it plays a crucial role in exploring beliefs about teachers’ roles in the teaching and learning process. To elicit ideas and beliefs which both teachers and students held about the role of English teachers, questionnaires were given to 30 teachers and 85 students in the University of Duhok, English Department. The questionnaire asked the subjects to provide their beliefs about English teachers’ roles by using a sentence completion task “An English teacher is…. because….”. Eight conceptual categories are introduced from the linguistic metaphors and example metaphors for each category are given in the results tables. The eight conceptual categories include: teacher as devotee, teacher as nurturer, teachers as provider / source of knowledge, teacher as cultural transmitter, teacher as authority, teacher as guider, teacher as a friend, and teacher as a nice beautiful soul. All participants expressed the same conceptual categories, but still they use different metaphors to express their views. An interesting feature of these results is that there are some parallel and overlaps of metaphors among different subjects. The findings of this study suggested subtle differences between students’ and teachers’ beliefs. This study will benefit teachers, curriculum designers, and researchers. Researchers may carry out comprehensive studies using metaphor as an investigating tool to better understand both students and teachers’ perceptions of the teachers’ roles. The results will help develop comprehensive and inclusive methods of teaching. Larger samples with variables such as gender, age, different locations, and proficiency of participants should be taken into consideration during future studies.


Author(s):  
William Shewbridge

In 2006, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) entered into a unique partnership with Retirement Living Television (RLTV). Initially driven by the practicalities of bringing a new broadcast network to air, the relationship came to influence the role of new media technology in teaching and learning on the UMBC campus. The Charlestown Project brought university students and senior citizens together to create short digital movies. The project also became a catalyst for creating human connections beyond the campus and across generations. Along the way, students formed new attitudes towards aging and community, and the campus attained an increased awareness of the power of digital storytelling.


Author(s):  
Yvonne Cleary

This chapter explores the development of online support for writing skills in one technical communication module taught at the University of Limerick. It demonstrates the need for writing support by exploring the many complexities of teaching and learning writing skills. Central to the discussion is the principle of process, rather than product, orientation. Students on the module have been surveyed over the past two years to determine their attitudes to, and perceptions of, their writing strengths and weaknesses. The chapter outlines and exemplifies the types of writing-problems students and instructors identify. Online support is posited as an intervention which facilitates autonomous learning. The chapter concludes by discussing how online resources, and especially the university virtual learning environment, Sakai (called Sulis at University of Limerick), can support students. It also suggests related research opportunities, especially in the area of using Web 2.0 technologies to foster autonomy.


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