scholarly journals Assessment of Virtual Reality as a Didactic Resource in Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12730
Author(s):  
Diego Vergara ◽  
Álvaro Antón-Sancho ◽  
Jamil Extremera ◽  
Pablo Fernández-Arias
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Years Of Teaching Experience ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Latin American Universities ◽  
The University

Given that the university teachers with more experience in the use of virtual reality are those corresponding to the areas of Health Sciences and of Engineering and Architecture, this article analyzes the assessment these teachers make about virtual reality as a teaching resource in their respective disciplines. The study uses a questionnaire that assesses the technical aspects and future projection of virtual reality, its drawbacks and the perception of the different dimensions of the participants’ knowledge about virtual reality and its didactic employability. The questionnaire was answered by a sample of 423 university teachers of different genders, ages, academic level and teaching experience, whose teaching activity is developed in various Latin American universities in the area of Health Sciences or in the area of Engineering/Architecture. Their answers have been analyzed descriptively and Spearman’s r statistics and the Multifactor ANOVA test have been used to verify the existence of significant differences in their evaluations for the different variables considered, cross-referencing them with the field of knowledge. Within the main results, gaps by area, years of teaching experience and academic level in the participants’ evaluations have been identified and discussed.

scholarly journals Importance and possibilities of development of critical thinking in the university: the teacher's perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
María-José Bezanilla ◽  
Héctor Galindo-Domínguez ◽  
Manuel Poblete
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
University Education ◽  
Years Of Teaching Experience ◽  
The University ◽  
Teacher's Perspective

In our globalised, pluralistic, and often information-swamped society, critical thinking is recognised as an important competence to be developed in university education. In order to investigate this, 142 Latin American and Spanish teachers were asked about the importance of and potential for developing critical thinking in university education. Their responses were subjected to an inductive analysis, which lead to 13 categories about the reasons why it is important, and 11 categories about the potential and limitations for developing it in university education. These categories were found to remain statistically unchanged regardless of age, years of teaching experience, area of knowledge, gender and geographical area. Results show that teachers consider important to teach critical thinking at university and mainly for students to become good professionals in a complex world. Teachers believe it is possible to teach it, as long as active methodologies are used, in addition to other reasons, such as taking into account the lack of interest and preparation about critical thinking that students bring to university. Getting to know university teacher´s views about the importance and possibilities of teaching and learning critical thinking is crucial for the establishment of meaningful curriculum plans and learning activities for its development. 

scholarly journals Repurposing virtual reality assets: from health sciences to Italian language learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 21-26
Author(s):  
Alessia Plutino ◽  
Tiziana Cervi-Wilson ◽  
Billy Brick
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
Health Care Students ◽  
Italian Language ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Modern Language ◽  
The University

This paper reports on the rationale for the implementation of a pilot project using a scenario-based Virtual Reality (VR) resource, originally developed by Health Sciences at Coventry University and now being repurposed for Italian language learning as a collaborative project with Modern Languages and Linguistics at the University of Southampton. The original aim of the resource was to prepare health care students for home visits by allowing them to experience a semi-linear conversation with a virtual Non-player Character (NPC). The authors will discuss how they are planning to repurpose the resource for Italian language learning and teaching and will analyse the potential pedagogical uses within the modern language curriculum, including emotional language, employability skills, and the year abroad.

scholarly journals THE TEACHER QUALIFICATION SCHEME: A CASE OF ALBANIA

2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-27
Author(s):  
Tidita Abdurrahmani
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Novice Teachers ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Teacher Qualification ◽  
Years Of Teaching Experience ◽  
The University ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Desk Research ◽  
Induction Scheme

The study aims to analyse the results of “Teacher Qualification Exam” in Albania, and to link these results with teacher preparation curricula taught in public universities. The methodology of research includes desk research on the literature about curricula and teacher continuous professional development, elaboration of the results of the testing of 3064 teachers, analysis of the university teacher preparation curricula in terms of skills development, the elaboration of the results of questionnaires developed by novice teachers, and in depth interviews with students graduating from the education departments. As a result, the research shows the relationships amongst the curricula developed in the teacher preparation faculties in Albania, the poor results of novice teachers involved in the induction scheme, and the comparatively low results of teachers pertaining to the third category of the Qualification Scheme (novice teachers having no more than 5 years of teaching experience) in Albania. It is advisable to adopt a better professional development scheme. Key words: desk research, novice teachers, teacher qualification.

scholarly journals Assessing university guidance and tutoring in higher education: Validating a questionnaire on Ecuadorian students

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0253400
Author(s):  
María Isabel Amor ◽  
Kasandra Vanessa Saldarriaga Villamil ◽  
Irene Dios
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Integral Development ◽  
Latin American Universities ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
The University ◽  
Confirmatory Phase

This study was intended to explore and confirm the factorial structure and to analyze the psychometric properties of an instrument for university guidance and tutoring, apply it, and detect differences between sociodemographic variables. A total of 1,048 students from five universities in the province of Manabi (Ecuador) participated. The study was divided into two phases with differentiated samples. An exploratory phase, made up of 200 subjects (19.1%), and another confirmatory phase, made up of 848 (80.9%), where the questionnaire was also applied. The results supported the three-factor structure of the instrument called “Questionnaire for the Assessment of Guidance and Tutoring in Higher Education” (Q-AGT), with of a total of 21 items. The indices of goodness of fit, reliability and internal consistency of the model were considered satisfactory. The application of the questionnaire did not show statistically significant differences in the assessment of university guidance and tutoring between men and women, with a high value given by both sexes to the importance of tutoring, the demands and the competences of the teaching staff in the university. The differences were mainly found between universities and branches of knowledge. Among the main conclusions, what stands out is the achievement of a valid and reliable instrument to measure the development of guidance and tutoring in Latin American universities. This contributes to the assessment of university guidance and tutoring as a strategy for the integral development of the student- personally, academically and professionally- and as a possible protective factor against academic dropout.

scholarly journals Is There a Latin American University Model?

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres Bernasconi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Research Universities ◽  
Normative Influence ◽  
American University ◽  
American Universities ◽  
Latin American Universities ◽  
The University ◽  
Idea Of The University

Postindependence Latin American universities developed during the 19th and most of the 20th century largely under the normative influence of a Latin American idea of the university institution. In the last few decades, factors both related to the development of higher education and external to it have combined to challenge the clout of that model. As a result, notwithstanding the persistence of elements of the old paradigm, the model of the Latin American university is now related chiefly to US research universities.

scholarly journals Toward Inclusive Higher Education in a Global Context

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Ortiz Colón ◽  
Miriam Agreda Montoro ◽  
María Colmenero Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
The University ◽  
Students With A Disability

The aim of this study was to analyse the perception of teaching staff at the University of Jaen regarding the integration of students with a disability, and to describe the interventions they use to respond to the specific needs of these students, to examine the differences that exist in teachers’ interventions for students with a disability based on their faculty. To this end, a descriptive methodology was used (n =300 teachers), and the data were gathered using a Tutoring and Attention to Special Needs in the Classroom Questionnaire (TASN-Q). The results were organised in terms of the tool’s different dimensions and, in general, revealed that the teaching staff do not consider themselves sufficiently prepared to provide an educational response to students with a disability. The best-prepared teaching staff belonged to the Faculties of Social and Legal Sciences and Health Sciences. This study confirms the need for training in special needs processes to enable university teaching staff to participate in an inclusive model.

scholarly journals Digital Content Creation Tools: American University Teachers’ Perception

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 11649
Author(s):  
Álvaro Antón-Sancho ◽  
Diego Vergara ◽  
Victoria Eugenia Lamas-Álvarez ◽  
Pablo Fernández-Arias
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Digital Content ◽  
Academic Degree ◽  
Academic Characteristics ◽  
American University ◽  
Content Creation ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Latin American Countries

This paper studies the perception of Latin American university teachers about the effectiveness of digital content creation (DCC) tools for the creation of e-learning training actions. For this purpose, the opinions of a group of 564 teachers from different universities in 16 Latin American countries have been collected and their answers have been analyzed according to different sociological and academic characteristics (gender, age, teaching experience, area of knowledge, and academic degree). The results indicate that Latin American university teachers express high levels of digital training and highly value the didactic effectiveness of DCC tools to develop e-learning training actions. This valuation is significantly higher among females than males. Gender is also revealed as the most influential characteristic in the perception of teachers about the use of digital resources in the classroom, above any other aspect.

scholarly journals Western Faculty Profile: Dr. Gregory Kelly

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zi Hao (Nemo) Liu
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Biology ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Full Professor ◽  
University Of Washington ◽  
Years Of Teaching Experience ◽  
University Of Manitoba ◽  
Postdoctoral Research ◽  
The University

Born in Winnipeg and raised in rural Manitoba, Dr. Gregory Kelly is a Full Professor in the Department of Biology at the Western University. He completed his Honors B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Zoology at the University of Manitoba before moving to the University of Washington for his Postdoctoral research and extended stay as a Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology with Dr. Randall Moon. With almost 25 years of teaching experience at Western University, Dr. Kelly has led many groups of students through the expeditions of Cell and Developmental Biology. In addition to his experiences within Canada, Dr. Kelly has also served as a visiting professor at many international universities, including: The University of Warmia and Mazury in Poland, Umeå University in Sweden, Osaka University in Japan, as well as the University of Bergen and TromsØ in Norway.

A pragmatic analysis of the speech act of criticizing in university teacher-student talk

Pragmatics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-520
Author(s):  
Dina Abdel Salam El-Dakhs ◽  
Fatima Ambreen ◽  
Maria Zaheer ◽  
Yulia Gusarova
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Student Talk ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Years Of Teaching Experience

Abstract The current study examined the realization of the speech act of criticizing by university teachers in their talk with students. To this end, role-plays were conducted with 60 university teachers (30 males and 30 females) at a private Saudi university which is characterized by its multicultural academic staff, and, hence, where English is used as a lingua franca. Recordings were transcribed and analyzed using an adapted version of Nguyen’s (2005, 2013) model of criticism strategies. The results showed the teachers’ preference for indirect over direct criticism strategies and their minimal use of modifiers, particularly internal ones. It was also found that the influence of the teacher’s gender or years of teaching experience was small while the severity of the situation was a critical factor in the choice of appropriate strategies. The results were interpreted in relation to the existing literature and the theoretical model of politeness.

scholarly journals Are Global Rankings Unfair to Latin American Universities?

2015 ◽  
pp. 12-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres Bernasconi
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Institutional Governance ◽  
American Universities ◽  
Social Mission ◽  
American Science ◽  
Global University ◽  
Latin American Universities ◽  
University Leaders ◽  
Key Resources ◽  
The University

Latin American universities do poorly in global university rankings. That is, they preform below the level to be expected of the size, GDP, and level of investment in higher education of its most advanced countries. University leaders in the region react to this yearly display of the lack of international stature of their universities by blaming the instrument. They claim rankings are biased towards the "Anglo-Saxon model of the university" and that they are unfit to recognize Latin America's universities "social mission". In this article, I challenge the notion that the message conveyed by poor placements in the rankings is irrelevant to Latin American universities. I argue that the invisibility of Latin American science to the world is caused by the lack of two key resources in Latin American universities: large enough numbers of dedicated research faculty, and good institutional governance.

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