scholarly journals Identifying pedagogical innovation in cultural minority classrooms: A cultural historical activity theory and appreciative inquiry perspective in the Philippines and New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ivy Samala Abella
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Pedagogical Innovation ◽  
Cultural Minority ◽  
The Social ◽  
Structural Regulation ◽  
Cultural Historical Activity ◽  
Pedagogical Innovations

<p>This is a multiple case study which investigates teachers’ pedagogical innovations in cultural minority classrooms using Cultural Historical Activity Theory and Appreciative Inquiry as theoretical lens. Pedagogical innovation refers to a new idea or the development of an existing product, process, strategy, or method in teaching and learning that is applied in a specific context with the intention to create added value or the potential to improve student learning. The purpose of the study was to investigate teachers’ pedagogical innovations in cultural minority classrooms; the ways in which teachers mediate the learning of their students through pedagogical innovations in cultural minority classrooms; and how individual teachers’ school environments promote or inhibit the implementation of pedagogical innovations in cultural minority classrooms. A total of nine teachers and their classes from five public or state secondary schools in the Philippines and Aotearoa New Zealand participated in the study. Data were collected using observations, talanoa, audio-visual recordings, and documents, which consisted of lesson plans, school newsletters, and publications. Data were analysed within and across cases using a thematic approach and a comparative approach in relation to the five standards of effective pedagogy.  The data suggest that there are two aspects to understanding pedagogical innovation in cultural minority classrooms: the tangible aspects or artefacts for learning, and the intangible aspects or appreciative mediation for learning. Artefacts for learning pertain to any human-made objects available in the learning environment such as classrooms, which are essential in engaging student learning. These are concrete manifestations of teachers’ creativity utilised in teaching and learning. Common examples of artefacts for learning used by teachers across all case studies were student modules or kits and teaching instruments such as visual aids, photos, and information and communications technology. Appreciative mediation for learning pertains to the positive and strength-based operations and/or actions, attitudes, behaviours, and outlooks of teachers, which result in student learning. These include genuine appreciation and collaboration with students, teaching initiatives, positive disposition, and self reflection.  Factors that affect the implementation of teachers’ pedagogical innovations are grouped into two: the social support system and the structural regulation of the school system. The social support system identified in the study that promoted teachers’ pedagogical innovation, and are common across all case studies, were family, community, school staff, and students. The structural regulation of the school system was found to hinder teachers’ pedagogical innovation. Examples common across all case studies are lack of and/or limited artefacts for learning, inadequate professional development for teachers, impassive curriculum, and poor student attendance.</p>

scholarly journals Identifying pedagogical innovation in cultural minority classrooms: A cultural historical activity theory and appreciative inquiry perspective in the Philippines and New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ivy Samala Abella
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Pedagogical Innovation ◽  
Cultural Minority ◽  
The Social ◽  
Structural Regulation ◽  
Cultural Historical Activity ◽  
Pedagogical Innovations

<p>This is a multiple case study which investigates teachers’ pedagogical innovations in cultural minority classrooms using Cultural Historical Activity Theory and Appreciative Inquiry as theoretical lens. Pedagogical innovation refers to a new idea or the development of an existing product, process, strategy, or method in teaching and learning that is applied in a specific context with the intention to create added value or the potential to improve student learning. The purpose of the study was to investigate teachers’ pedagogical innovations in cultural minority classrooms; the ways in which teachers mediate the learning of their students through pedagogical innovations in cultural minority classrooms; and how individual teachers’ school environments promote or inhibit the implementation of pedagogical innovations in cultural minority classrooms. A total of nine teachers and their classes from five public or state secondary schools in the Philippines and Aotearoa New Zealand participated in the study. Data were collected using observations, talanoa, audio-visual recordings, and documents, which consisted of lesson plans, school newsletters, and publications. Data were analysed within and across cases using a thematic approach and a comparative approach in relation to the five standards of effective pedagogy.  The data suggest that there are two aspects to understanding pedagogical innovation in cultural minority classrooms: the tangible aspects or artefacts for learning, and the intangible aspects or appreciative mediation for learning. Artefacts for learning pertain to any human-made objects available in the learning environment such as classrooms, which are essential in engaging student learning. These are concrete manifestations of teachers’ creativity utilised in teaching and learning. Common examples of artefacts for learning used by teachers across all case studies were student modules or kits and teaching instruments such as visual aids, photos, and information and communications technology. Appreciative mediation for learning pertains to the positive and strength-based operations and/or actions, attitudes, behaviours, and outlooks of teachers, which result in student learning. These include genuine appreciation and collaboration with students, teaching initiatives, positive disposition, and self reflection.  Factors that affect the implementation of teachers’ pedagogical innovations are grouped into two: the social support system and the structural regulation of the school system. The social support system identified in the study that promoted teachers’ pedagogical innovation, and are common across all case studies, were family, community, school staff, and students. The structural regulation of the school system was found to hinder teachers’ pedagogical innovation. Examples common across all case studies are lack of and/or limited artefacts for learning, inadequate professional development for teachers, impassive curriculum, and poor student attendance.</p>

scholarly journals Changing teaching practice: The evolving purpose of the teacher in higher education

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Prue Gonzalez ◽  
◽  
Beate Mueller ◽  
Kevin Merry ◽  
Colin Jone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Future Expectations ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Subject Matter Expertise ◽  
Cultural Historical Activity

In this Editorial, we take the opportunity to expand on the second Journal of University Teaching and Learning theme, Developing Teaching Practice. Building on Editorial 18(4), which articulated changes to higher education in the period roughly between 1980 and 2021, we believe it is pertinent to explore the changing conceptions of academic as ‘teacher’. We use Engeström’s cultural-historical activity theory as a lens to consider how higher education teachers are situated in the current context of rapid changes arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. We explore possible future purposes of higher education to consider flow-on impacts on the purpose of its teachers and how their roles might change to accommodate future expectations. We assert the need to challenge the notion of the academic as a person who is recruited into higher education largely because of their subject matter expertise and maintains strong commitment to teaching expertise that is grounded in scholarship, critical self-reflection, and agency. In our various teaching and leadership roles, and consistent with the literature, we have observed paradoxical outcomes from the nexus between risk, innovation and development, driving risk aversity and risk management, with significant (contradictory) impacts on teaching, teachers and student learning. The barriers to implementing innovative curricula include questions of do students get a standardised and ‘safe’ educational experience or are they challenged and afforded the opportunity to transform and grow? Are they allowed to fail? Related, do teachers have genuine agency, as an educator, or are they positioned as agents of a higher education system? We explore these questions and invite our readers to engage in serious reflexivity and identify strategies that help them question their attitudes, thought processes, and assumptions about teaching and student learning. We welcome papers that contribute values-based conversations seeking to continue exploring ways of dealing with and adapting to change in our teaching practices, case studies of learning through failure, change and adaptation and the development of the field.

Supporting Learning Design as a Driver for Pedagogical Innovation Within an Integrated Model of Faculty Development

2019 ◽  
pp. 77-98
Author(s):  
Maria Ranieri ◽  
Juliana Elisa Raffaghelli ◽  
Isabella Bruni
Keyword(s):  
Faculty Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Learning Design ◽  
Pedagogical Innovation ◽  
Organizational Conditions ◽  
Strategic Program ◽  
Pedagogical Innovations

Research on faculty development supporting pedagogical innovation has gained momentum since effective teaching and learning are deemed a central piece for the modernization of higher education. However, the field is still characterized by a low level of conceptualization, fragmented approaches, and unclear strategies on organizational level. This chapter concentrates on the DIDe-L case, a strategic program of faculty development promoted by the University of Florence and based on an integrated approach to training. Specifically, it focuses on the “e-Learning Desk,” an institutional service ensuring instructional coaching for learning design. Through the analysis of teachers' reactions and renewed practices, the authors aim at exploring what institutional and organizational conditions may prevent or facilitate pedagogical innovation and change. Results showed that the approach characterizing the service had a positive impact on teachers' growth, although institutional obstacles like lack of recognition or support still prevent teachers to fully deploy pedagogical innovations.

Moving Beyond Trial and Error

2021 ◽  
pp. 349-371
Author(s):  
Aimee L. Whiteside ◽  
Amy Garrett Dikkers ◽  
Fredrick W. Baker III
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
The Social ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Multiple Case Studies ◽  
K 12

Through 15 years of research on social presence examining the level of connectedness among students and instructors, the authors uncovered a recurring theme: the need for districts to provide better support professional development (PD) in K-12 settings. In this chapter, they address some of the challenges in implementing PD, describe and explain the social presence model (SPM), provide evidence from multiple case studies, and summarize the key findings. The research uncovered that while online and blended teachers often recognized the need for continued support and its role in helping them be more effective educators, they often moved forward without adequate PD. Because the passion and perseverance of these teachers predict long-term success for students, districts need to have a plan in place to help them get the PD needed to maximize their experience and impact student learning most effectively. In closing, the authors offer micro-communities as one robust, socially present, easy-to-implement, and budget-conscious solution that at least partially addresses this growing concern.

scholarly journals Learning to play games or playing games to learn? A health education case study with Soweto teenagers

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Amory
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Knowledge Test ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
Reflective Journal ◽  
The Social ◽  
Educational Computer ◽  
Cultural Historical Activity

<span>The aim of this study was to investigate the use of an educational computer video game in teaching and learning. Cultural-historical activity theory is used heuristically to explore the social and cultural interactions during game play. It is argued that knowledge construction occurs when video games function as a tool to mediate learning rather than as instructional media. The unit of analysis is not the game as instruction but engagement with the game. Twelve 14 to 19 year old black orphans from Soweto, South Africa, participated in a case study. Groups of three participants, which included both sexes, played the game for at least six hours, kept a personal reflective journal, and after play answered a knowledge test and participated in a round-robin discussion. Results show that participants gained new knowledge, recognised that the game mediated their learning, identified the object of the activity and discussed how they might help their community. Results support the use of games as tools to mediate learning.</span>

Opportunities and Challenges of Emerging Technologies in Higher Education

2012 ◽  
pp. 91-104
Author(s):  
P. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
New Technology ◽  
University Of Botswana ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Pedagogical Innovations ◽  
The University

Recent unprecedented advances in digital technologies and their concomitant affordances in education seem to be a great opportunity to adequately address burgeoning demand for high quality higher education (HE) and the changing educational preferences. It is increasingly being recognised that using new technology effectively in HE is essential to prepare students for its increasing demand. E-learning is an integral component of the University of Botswana’s teaching and learning culture, however, teachers who are from a traditional educational system are often ill-prepared to change their role from the all-knowing “sage on the stage” who operated under the “transmission” model, to the “guide on the side” which adopts new technologies effectively for student learning. Therefore, this paper argues that one of the ways to achieve substantial pedagogical innovations is to bring a significant change in the understanding of the processes of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). This paper explores new directions for conducting scholarly activities at the University of Botswana (UB) to address the needs of today’s students, concluding with a call for a collaborative approach to teaching, research, and publishing to enhance student learning experience in diversified and socially rich collaborative learning contexts.

Second Life Brought to Life

2012 ◽  
pp. 437-450
Author(s):  
Kevin Yee ◽  
Jace Hargis
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Model ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Individual Needs ◽  
Individualized Teaching ◽  
The Individual

This case presents the challenges and successes encountered when a university attempts to offer a course in a new online virtual learning environment (VLE). Overcoming the resistance towards change requires many aspects—innovation, expertise, funds, culture, persistence, attitude, collaboration, willingness to take risk and possibly open to experiencing a failed event. Most importantly, there is a need for addressing the individual needs of student learning. Being able to develop networks and reach outside of those networks for expertise, input, and commitments are essential to moving forward and becoming successful at offering a unique and innovative VLE. Ultimately, the social, technological, economic, and political parameters involved in this process are all significant and requires workarounds in order to provide an innovative, individualized teaching and learning model.

Seeing through the eyes of the other

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 318-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Robert Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Environmental Design ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Immersive Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
The Social ◽  
Learning Conditions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore three diverse case studies in higher education that provide learners with innovative, disruptive and potent ways of seeing, thinking and acting. It considers pedagogical structure and phenomenological dimensions over an array of study abroad and immersive learning conditions. This paper illustrates rich and impactful ways that learning can unfold, including the unintended consequences of education that opens eyes, changes perspectives and builds empathy. Methodology This paper deploys a case study method whereby three unique programs for studio education are critically considered/analyzed. The research connects cases and delineates approaches in environmental design, whereby greater understanding and deeper knowledge can be attained. Findings This paper, through study of cases of immersive learning, reveals effective ways in which studio teaching can serve to heighten sensitivity, construct rich self/world views and render visible more profound knowledge. Such knowledge transcends disciplinary boundaries and professional borders – encompassing a fuller spectrum of awareness that includes the social, the cultural and the spiritual. Research limitations/implications This paper investigates studio-based graduate education in Environmental Design, with a particular focus on Architecture/Planning. As such, there are limitations to the applicability of discoveries and revelations. That said, the general model for teaching and learning may have value across disciplines well beyond those examined in the current research. Practical implications In an increasingly complex world, where cultures and values routinely collide, the research presents pedagogical approaches that promise to erode walls, dissolve barriers and counter fragmentation. The case studies illustrate effective ways to heighten learning beyond the ethos of traditional classes and conventional classrooms. Originality/value This paper proffers bold creative models for teaching that defy everyday strategies. It encourages moving students to places/spaces, both concrete and abstract, that challenge their assumptions, test their capabilities and permit exceptional personal/professional growth.

scholarly journals Case studies: Integrating the use of web based learning systems into student learning

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Housego ◽  
Mark Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Academic Development ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
Learning Systems ◽  
Flexible Learning ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Web Based Learning ◽  
Teaching Learning

<span>Competitive pressures on universities to adopt flexible learning are intense. Many academics and managers are responding by incorporating web based learning (WBL) tools into the teaching environment. WBL tools have proliferated in recent years, and some can be used to manage entire courses. The simplicity of WBL systems, like WebCT, TopClass and Blackboard, makes their use in teaching an option for many academics, even those operating without institutional support or encouragement.</span><p>Academics are seeking meaningful uses of these WBL systems for teaching and learning. The objective of this paper is to describe some meaningful uses with five fictional case studies based on our experiences in innovation and academic development. Our motivation is that academics and academic managers will identify one or more opportunities from the case studies to apply in their own context. Others including Hara and Kling (1999) have identified the need for this research. The case studies show ways in which teaching, learning and administration can be supported, adapted and extended with web based learning systems. Well understood teaching strategies can be improved with simple and easily implemented uses of WBL systems that can benefit on and off campus students. If underpinned by student centred teaching practices, these tools can make significant contributions to the effectiveness of teaching without also imposing an unsustainable demand for resources.</p>

scholarly journals Book review: Emerging strategies for supporting student learning by Barbara Allan

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Beeson
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Student Expectations ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Changing Times

Changing times in terms of fees, student expectations, 'millennials' etc. all demonstrate the need for the shift in thinking that creates the call for this book. The title reflects a very practical, hands-on approach and the book delivers exactly what it says on the cover. This is achieved through case studies and tried and tested methods from a number of international institutions. Specific approaches to teaching and learning are discussed and evaluated from the perspective of librarians and associated tutor roles, although it would be applicable to anyone teaching in HE or even FE.

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