scholarly journals Communities of practice in life sciences and the need for brokering

F1000Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Tierney
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
National Level ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The Uk

Etienne Wenger’s work on communities of practice is influential in teaching and learning in higher education. A core work of many postgraduate certificate in teaching and learning (PGCert) courses for new lecturers, it is studied, in the main, as a means to understand how to support and encourage students to achieve more effective learning. Communities of practice can also be applied to academics. In the context of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and its predecessors, the gulf between research-focused and teaching-Focused academics in life sciences has widened, so that in many institutions, these two groups have evolved into two distinct communities of practice; one whose priority is disciplinary research, the other’s learning and teaching. However, in 2015, the UK government announced that a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) would be introduced into higher education in England, as early as 2017. While the exact details of TEF remain unclear, it is certain that “excellence” and “student satisfaction” will be high on the agenda. It is vital, therefore, that the two communities of practice, research-focused and teaching-focused, find ways to come together in order to ensure high quality teaching and learning. Wenger proposes that this can be done through the process of “brokering”, which allows expertise from both communities of practice to cross from one to the other, strengthening both. This should be encouraged at departmental and institutional level, but another vital origin of brokering can be forged at a(n) (inter)national level at meetings such as the SEB Annual Conference, where teaching-focused academics have the opportunity to mix with research-active colleagues. While this paper is informed by recent and current events in the UK Higher Education sector, it is of interest to academics who work in an environment where research and teaching have become separate to any extent.

Teaching and learning French – A tale of desire in the humanities

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-140
Author(s):  
Catriona Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Personal Perspective ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Close Textual Analysis ◽  
The Uk ◽  
French Language Learning

This article considers the way we talk about learning and teaching the humanities in higher education in the UK. By using the tools of the arts and humanities within the scholarship of learning and teaching, and examining a personal perspective, the author explores the transformational impact of French language learning and teaching. Close textual analysis of literary language learning memoirs highlight the sensual and physical effects of language learning that can remain muted in our everyday conversations. As a result, the author suggests that rather than lament the death of the humanities in 21st century higher education, learning and teaching a language offers a pedagogy of desire that embodies the transformation aspect of our disciplines, as we deal with the business of being human.

Sharing higher education learning and teaching resources in art, design and media

2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-39
Author(s):  
Stephen Mallinder ◽  
Debbie Flint
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Teaching Resources ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Art Design ◽  
The Uk

Wider social, cultural and technological changes are precipitating transformations in higher education. There is increasing need for universities and specialist colleges to operate effectively in a global online environment. The development of accessible and re-usable online teaching and learning materials has provided challenges to staff and institutions. This article explores aspects of the UK Open Educational Resources Programme and, in particular, the Art Design and Media Open Educational Resources (ADM-OER) Project which has sought to examine the processes, challenges and opportunities open educational resources (OERs) present to these ‘creative’ disciplines. Part of the project has explored art, design and media tutors’ perceptions of the shift to ‘teaching in public’ and we share some preliminary findings.

scholarly journals Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice Editorial 8.3

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 2-4
Author(s):  
Geraldine E. Lefoe ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
New Directions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

Welcome to the third and final issue of Volume 8 of the Journal of University Teaching and Learning (JUTLP) in 2011. As the year draws to a close we are seeing some striking changes to the higher education sector internationally. In England budget cuts have seen the closure of the twenty-four Higher Education Academy subject centres at the same time as the establishment of student fees. In Australia the cap has been lifted across the board on the number of students that can be enrolled in universities with the resultant projected increased student numbers. The focus in Australia is on social inclusion yet in England the concern for the introduction of fees is just the opposite, these will be the very students who may now be excluded. The changes in both countries see new measures of accountability and more complex regulations put in place. Will this cause people to rethink the way we teach and the way students learn? For the Higher Education Academy in the UK, new directions see the hosting of a summit on learning and teaching with a focus on flexible learning, an indicator of new directions for many institutions. In Australia, we see a renewed opportunity to investigate such changes through the opening of the Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT) and its role of recognising the importance of learning and teaching through grants and awards schemes. We hope in 2012 we’ll hear more from our authors about the impact of these transformations, as well as those changes occurring in other countries around the world, on teaching practice in our universities.

Undergraduate Students as Partners in a Writing Course: A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Assif ◽  
◽  
Sonya Ho ◽  
Shalizeh Minaee ◽  
Farah Rahim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Writing Curriculum ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Higher Education Assessment ◽  
Research Students ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Engaging undergraduate students and faculty as partners in learning and teaching is arguably one of the most important and flourishing trends higher education in the 21st century, particularly in the UK, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Students as partners is a concept that intersects with other major teaching and learning topics, such as student engagement, equity, decolonization of higher education, assessment, and career preparation. In this context, the aim of this presentation is to report on a case study, where four undergraduate students (hired as undergraduate research students) and a faculty/program coordinator collaborated in the fall of 2020 to review and re-design the curriculum of English A02 (Critical Writing about Literature), a foundational course in the English program at the University of Toronto Scarborough. This presentation will serve as a platform for these students and faculty to share the logistics of this partnership, its successes, challenges, future prospects, and possible recommendations for faculty and students who may partake similar projects in the future. Keywords: Students as Partners (SaP), writing, curriculum, decolonization

scholarly journals Supporting SoTL Development through Communities of Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 32-52
Author(s):  
Anne M. Tierney ◽  
Dorothy Aidulis ◽  
Julian Park ◽  
Katherine Clark
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Home Institution ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

Increasingly, academics are engaging with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). However, within United Kingdom higher education, the definition of and activities that constitute SoTL remain open to debate. In this article, we explore SoTL through four career histories that give insight into how SoTL has developed and played a role in the careers of four life sciences-based, teaching-focused academics in UK universities at different points in their careers. The recurring themes in the career histories include collaboration; professional development; sharing and dissemination; and funding. The career histories also highlight aspects of and the importance of communities of practice. We reflect on the role of communities of practice in supporting SoTL and discuss how communities of practice external to one’s home institution can play a role in developing SoTL and teaching practice. Internationally there is a growing focus on SoTL, and although the four career histories presented here are authored by academics based in UK institutions and focused on the UK context, the themes they reveal are widely applicable.

scholarly journals ‘I use my time more wisely…’ The implications for learning and teaching in higher education of more ‘commuter students’

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Commuter Students ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Teaching In Higher Education ◽  
At Home

In the UK students have traditionally moved away from home to study in higher education, but this is changing as a consequence of greater participation, and the shift in responsibility for financing study from the State to individual students and their families. This research under took 60 qualitative interviews with students of all ages who defined themselves as ‘commuters’, who continue to live at home whilst studying. The study found that while the students largely viewed themselves as ‘good students’ aiming to engage fully in their academic studies, the stresses and strains – and cost and time – involved in travelling - resulted in students evaluating the utility of a trip to campus, considering whether their resources would be better spent studying at home. In addition, these students tended to be less engaged in ‘enhancement’ activities, and had very little social engagement with HE peers. Commuter students achieve less good outcomes: they are more likely to withdraw early, achieve lower attainment and are less likely to secure graduate employment on completion. This paper considers the implications for student engagement and teaching and learning in higher education of a larger commuter student population, in an effort to achieve greater equity in student outcomes.

PENERAPAN iLEARNING SURVEY (iSur) DALAM MENINGKATKAN KUALITAS SISTEM INFORMASI SELAMA PROSES PEMBELAJARAN DI PERGURUAN TINGGI RAHARJA

CCIT Journal ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-354
Author(s):  
Untung Rahardja ◽  
Muhamad Yusup ◽  
Ana Nurmaliana
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The Other ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Faculty Performance ◽  
Satisfaction Measurement ◽  
Valid Information

The accuracy and reliability is the quality of the information. The more accurate and reliable, the more information it’s good quality. Similarly, a survey, the better the survey, the more accurate the information provided. Implementation of student satisfaction measurement to the process of teaching and learning activities on the quality of the implementation of important lectures in order to get feedback on the assessed variables and for future repair. Likewise in Higher Education Prog has undertaken the process of measuring student satisfaction through a distributed questioner finally disemester each class lecture. However, the deployment process questioner is identified there are 7 (seven) problems. However, the problem can be resolved by the 3 (three) ways of solving problems one of which is a system of iLearning Survey (Isur), that is by providing an online survey to students that can be accessed anywhere and anytime. In the implementation shown a prototype of Isur itself. It can be concluded that the contribution Isur system can maximize the decision taken by the Higher Education Prog. By using this Isur system with questions and evaluation forms are submitted and given to the students and the other colleges. To assess the extent to which the campus has grown and how faculty performance in teaching students class, and can be used as a media Isur valid information for an assessment of activities throughout college.

The Influence of Assessment on Learning and Teaching

2019 ◽  
pp. 166-185
Author(s):  
Susan Hallam
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Summative Assessment ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Assessment Procedures ◽  
Assessment Research

It is debatable whether it is appropriate to assess performance in the arts. However, formal education institutions and the systems within which they operate continue to require summative assessment to take place in order to award qualifications. This chapter considers the extent to which such summative assessment systems in music determine not only what is taught but also what learners learn. The evidence suggests that any learning outcome in formal education that is not assessed is unlikely to be given priority by either learners or teachers. To optimize learning, the aims and the processes of learning, including formative, self-, and peer assessment procedures, should be aligned with summative assessment. Research addressing the roles, methods, and value of formative, self-, and peer assessment in enhancing learning is considered. A proposal is made that the most appropriate way of enhancing learning is to ensure that summative assessment procedures are authentic and have real-life relevance supporting the teaching and learning process, to ensure that learners are motivated and see the relevance of what they are learning. This might take many forms depending on musical genre, communities of practice, and the wider cultural environment.

scholarly journals Balancing Technology, Pedagogy and the New Normal: Post-pandemic Challenges for Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrysi Rapanta ◽  
Luca Botturi ◽  
Peter Goodyear ◽  
Lourdes Guàrdia ◽  
Marguerite Koole
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Expert Advice ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Learning Tasks ◽  
Science And Education

AbstractThe Covid-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for rethinking assumptions about education in general and higher education in particular. In the light of the general crisis the pandemic caused, especially when it comes to the so-called emergency remote teaching (ERT), educators from all grades and contexts experienced the necessity of rethinking their roles, the ways of supporting the students’ learning tasks and the image of students as self-organising learners, active citizens and autonomous social agents. In our first Postdigital Science and Education paper, we sought to distil and share some expert advice for campus-based university teachers to adapt to online teaching and learning. In this sequel paper, we ask ourselves: Now that campus-based university teachers have experienced the unplanned and forced version of Online Learning and Teaching (OLT), how can this experience help bridge the gap between online and in-person teaching in the following years? The four experts, also co-authors of this paper, interviewed aligning towards an emphasis on pedagogisation rather than digitalisation of higher education, with strategic decision-making being in the heart of post-pandemic practices. Our literature review of papers published in the last year and analysis of the expert answers reveal that the ‘forced’ experience of teaching with digital technologies as part of ERT can gradually give place to a harmonious integration of physical and digital tools and methods for the sake of more active, flexible and meaningful learning.

scholarly journals Cross-cultural effects of COVID-19 on higher education learning and teaching practice: A case study from Greece

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 73-89
Author(s):  
Margarita Kefalaki ◽  
◽  
Michael Nevradakis ◽  
Qing Li ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Cultural Effects ◽  
Global Pandemic

COVID-19 has greatly impacted all aspects of our everyday lives. A global pandemic of this magnitude, even as we now emerge from strict measures such as lockdowns and await the potential for a ‘new tomorrow’ with the arrival of vaccines, will certainly have long-lasting consequences. We will have to adapt and learn to live in a different way. Accordingly, teaching and learning have also been greatly impacted. Changes to academic curricula have had tremendous cross-cultural effects on higher education students. This study will investigate, by way of focus groups comprised of students studying at Greek universities during the pandemic, the cross-cultural effects that this ‘global experience’ has had on higher education, and particularly on students in Greek universities. The data collection tools are interviews and observations gathered from focus groups.

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