scholarly journals Assessment strategies and employability in the environmental and engineering sectors

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Bartlett ◽  
Deborah Sims
Keyword(s):  
Early Summer ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Job Roles ◽  
Young Professionals ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
The University ◽  
Assessment Strategies ◽  
Initial Research

This case study builds on material presented at the HEA Advance STEM conference held in Birmingham, England, in January 2019 which raised the issue of assessment strategies, suggesting that, for example, examinations do little to prepare students for the workplace. The initial research has been developed to provide an analysis of the current assessments in ecology/environmental management and civil engineering and the relevance to the tasks new entrants carry out in their roles as young professionals. We have developed our initial research, carried out in spring/early summer 2019, to explore this in more depth, using a survey to investigate early career professionals’ perceptions of the usefulness of the various types of assessment they experienced at university and to the requirements of their jobs. At the same time, we asked the employers of graduate ecologists/environmental managers and civil engineers how well prepared they feel graduate entrants are for their job roles and whether they are finding it difficult to recruit applicants with the appropriate competency, with respect to both transferable and technical skills.  We argue that greater links and communication between employers and education providers would benefit the employability outcomes for graduates and ease the transition between university and the workplace and we make recommendations for competency-based assessment strategies. This research was supported by the University of Greenwich Learning and Teaching Fund.

scholarly journals Do LEGO® Models Aid Reflection in Learning and Teaching Practice?

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrissi Nerantzi ◽  
Craig Scott Despard
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Academic Practice ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Good Assessment ◽  
The University ◽  
Assessment Strategies ◽  
The Impact

In this paper we describe the use of LEGO® models within assessment of the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) offered at the University of Salford. Within the context of the PGCAP, we model innovative and contextualised assessment strategies for and of learning. We challenge our students, who are teachers in higher education (HE), to think and rethink the assessment they are using with their own students. We help them develop a deeper understanding and experience of good assessment and feedback practice in a wider context while they are assessed as students on the PGCAP. We report on an evaluation of how the LEGO® model activity was used with a cohort of students in the context of the professional discussion assessment. We share the impact it had on reflection and the assessment experience and make recommendations for good practice.

“You Can Lead the Horse to Water, but … ”

2012 ◽  
pp. 182-199
Author(s):  
Henk Huijser ◽  
Michael Sankey
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Learning Management Systems ◽  
Web 2.0 Technologies ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
The University

This chapter outlines the potential benefits of incorporating Web 2.0 technologies in a contemporary higher education context, and identifies possible ways of doing this, as well as expected challenges. It uses the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), primarily a distance education provider, as the context for many of its case study examples. In particular, it addresses the important role of the allowances of particular learning management systems (LMSs) in pedagogical applications of Web 2.0 technologies. Overall, this chapter argues that the goals and ideals of Web 2.0/Pedagogy 2.0 can be achieved, or at least stimulated, within an institutional LMS environment, as long as the LMS environment is in alignment with such goals and ideals. It uses the implementation of Moodle at USQ as a case study to reinforce this argument and explore which factors potentially influence a shift in thinking about learning and teaching in a Web 2.0 context.

Students at the center in emerging academic models: embedded information literacy and distance services in the University of Wisconsin System Flex degree

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 12-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin M. Woodward
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
University Of Wisconsin ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
The University

Purpose – As a model of competency-based education (CBE), the University of Wisconsin (UW) System Flex options present a unique case study of challenges and opportunities for embedding student-centered library services and information literacy. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, we describe strategies for engaging with the evolving Flex curriculum, the needs of an unknown student body and the role of new student support staff. The author notes the relevance of examining the library’s role in Flex at this time, given the potential for growth nationally in CBE. Findings – The challenges the author faced initially were closely tied with opportunities that once examined, formed the basis of the embedded library model for competency-based education. Further, the author found opportunities to articulate their role in Flex on their campus and share with other institutions. Originality/value – This case study is based on the author’s experiences embedding Information Literacy and Distance Services in the Flex option at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.

scholarly journals A Telecollaborative International Exchange for Foreign Language Learning and Reflective Teaching

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanna Carloni ◽  
Federica Franzè
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Reflective Teaching ◽  
International Exchange ◽  
Columbia University ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The University

This chapter shares the reflections on a joint international research educational project, involving Columbia University students studying Italian, and Italian pre-service teachers enrolled in an MA in Teaching Italian as a Foreign Language at the University of Urbino, Italy. The northern hemisphere autumn term 2014 iteration of the project is taken as a case study to discuss the effectiveness of teleconferencing for foreign language learning and teaching. The results showed that the videoconference sessions positively affected the learning process of students, and simultaneously fostered reflective teaching in pre-service teachers.

Reflections on developing Technology-Enhanced Learning through staff-student partnership - a case study of using mobile devices cross-institutionally

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Elphick ◽  
Stuart Sims
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Technology Enhanced Learning ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Pilot Scheme ◽  
Integration Of Technology ◽  
Student Projects ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Enhanced Learning

Drawing upon project outputs from seven staff-student partnership projects, this case study explores the impact of a pilot programme to integrate the use of mobile devices into learning and teaching at the University of Winchester. This ‘iPilot’ was designed to give students and staff the opportunity to lead change around the integration of technology into teaching, supported by the Student Fellows Scheme (SFS). We outline the principles behind these partnerships and explore the role that having Student Fellows in a pedagogical leadership position had upon the wider project. This article represents the perspectives of both the co-ordinator of the pilot scheme and the SFS to give a centralised view of a project that was devolved to different programmes. While all of the staff-student projects had a degree of success in furthering the way that mobile devices are used in their respective programmes, many projects veered away from the principles of partnership working which were built into the initial plans for the iPilot. We reflect on barriers encountered in this project and make recommendations based on this experience of how to ensure that the key principles of enhancement are being adhered to, rather than using partnership working in a tokenistic way.

scholarly journals Editorial

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. iii-iii
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mackinlay ◽  
Martin Nakata
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
New South ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Teaching And Learning Strategies ◽  
The University

We are very proud to present this timely and significant Special Issue of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, guest edited by Katelyn Barney (The University of Queensland), Cindy Shannon (The University of Queensland) and Martin Nakata (The University of New South Wales). This collection of articles focuses on the activities of the Australian Indigenous Studies Learning and Teaching Network, an initiative funded by the Office for Teaching and Learning. The Australian Indigenous Studies Learning and Teaching Network was formed to bring leaders and early career academics in the field together to build relationships, debate and discuss central issues, and explore and share teaching and learning strategies in the discipline at tertiary level. These discussions at once untangle and re-entangle the processes, pedagogies and politics at play when Indigenous Studies becomes defined as a discipline.

scholarly journals Reflecting On Practice: Embedding Student Engagement Through Interdepartmental Partnership

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 229
Author(s):  
Catherine McConnell
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Active Participation ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
School Based ◽  
Extra Curricular Activities ◽  
Working Together ◽  
The University

This case study will reflect on the approach that the University of Brighton Student Engagement Group (SEG) has taken towards embedding student engagement across the University and through working together on the national REACT project. The SEG comprises colleagues from Engagement and Information (Quality), the Centre for Learning and Teaching and the Students’ Union. Working together - and bringing individual areas of specialism to this partnership - has provided both a productive approach to a range of aspects of student engagement and connected three areas of the university that previously did not have a joined-up approach. The types of activities the group has focused on include: recruiting School-based Student Engagement Champions; holding a Student Engagement staff away-day; attending local meetings with Champions to establish rapport and get a good idea of the context of student engagement and who the ‘hard-to-reach’ students are within each School. This paper situates the engagement of students in co- and extra-curricular activities, towards improving opportunities for students’ active participation, and student-staff collaboration. 

scholarly journals Analog Resources and Digital Limitations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyonel Perabo
Keyword(s):  
Early Career ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Old Norse ◽  
Online Support ◽  
Academic Experience ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
The University

Following the completion of a bachelor in History, started in France but completed in Tromsø as an exchange student, I started to  develop an interest for Scandinavian History and culture, which translated in me moving to Iceland to enroll in the Old Norse Religion MA program at the university of Iceland in 2013. After graduation, three years later, I began the life of an unaffiliated early-career scholar eager to make use of my newly-acquired knowledge. Since then, I have met with a number of obstacles related to access to scientific publications and source material, as well as discovered and developed ways around such problems. Working largely outside the framework of a higher-education establishment, my academic experience has so far been characterized by the mixing of traditional research methods and resources with more informal approaches. Finding primary sources, always a capital task for researchers of older History, is the perfect example of how contemporary Old Norse scholars combine long-established resources such as scholarly editions and manuscript transcription with less well-established web-based material such as amateur translations and commentaries. Online support and networking groups, largely operating via social media pages also do play an important role in facilitating collaboration between scholars, wanna-be scholars, and other enthusiasts, as well as making less-accessible resources more widely-distributed. One such example of collaborative internet-based academic project is the current Old Norse translation network I have been a part of since last year. Gathering individuals currently or formerly employed in academia, as well as enthusiastic amateurs and prospective academics, it makes for a relevant case study. This can be used to demonstrate how contemporary Old Norse scholars must operate in a hybrid field where the ever-growing amount of online resources must nevertheless be critically balanced with traditional published sources in order to conduct research.

scholarly journals A Case Study of Topnotchers' Preparations and Contributory Attributes in Passing the Licensure Examination for Teachers

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-68
Author(s):  
Richel Albite
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Licensure Examination ◽  
Test Taking ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The University

This paper explores the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) experience of Bachelor in Elementary Education (BEEd) topnotchers of the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) Tagum-Mabini. This qualitative single case study sought to determine topnotchers preparations and attributes deemed contributory  to  successful topping of the LET. Data were obtained through interviews from  the seven (7) purposively sampled participants who were the pioneering batches of LET topnotchers in the BEEd program, covering years 2011-2015. Semi-structured in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted to gather results for an information-rich case study. Qualitative data analysis was applied identifying emergent categories and themes based on participants quotes excerpted from interview transcripts. Findings indicate that BEEd topnotchers preparations consisted of the following: goal setting and knowing oneself; interest in reading and overlearning the material; being test-wise and understanding the nature of the LET; and attending a LET review program and committing to it. Five strong contributory attributes were also revealed such as: having metacognitive test-taking skill; strong faith in God; good support system; solid foundation in college; and active participation in a study group. Majority of them expressed their College  (the College of Teacher Education and Technology) contribution and influence to their success through competency-based  instruction,  quality  faculty  and LET-type assessment. More intensive and extensive training and enhancement which focuses on the identified preparations and contributory attributes may be targeted to produce a common ground for effective teaching-learning practice for future graduates.

Sustainability and Competency-Based Learning at the University of Seville

2021 ◽  
pp. 217-236
Author(s):  
Jorge Ruiz-Morales ◽  
Rocío Valderrama-Hernández ◽  
Dolores Limón-Domínguez ◽  
Carmen Solís-Espallargas
Keyword(s):  
Primary Education ◽  
Bachelor Degree ◽  
Training Project ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Spanish Universities ◽  
The University ◽  
High Degree

The purpose of this study is to analyse the presence of sustainability in the curricula of the Science of Education at the University of Seville and to determine the perception of both teachers and students regarding sustainability competencies. The work forms part of the R+D+i “Training Project in Spanish Universities for Professionals as Agents of Change in Order to Meet the Challenges Facing Society” (EDINSOST). The methodology a case study, in which an analysis of the curriculum of the Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, and Pedagogy has been conducted. Two questionnaires have been drawn up and four focus groups established in which a total of 61 teachers and 152 students have participated. The results show that there is a low presence of sustainability in the Science of Education courses, particularly in the Bachelor Degree in Primary Education. The teachers express the opinion that they have sustainable initiatives as well as an interest in ethical models. The students express a high degree of interest in receiving sustainability training.

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