Improving Student Engagement in Political Science Courses Through Application of Active Learning and Digital Learning Technologies

2019 ◽  
pp. 113-134
Author(s):  
Victor B. Eno
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
General Education ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Analytical Skills

This chapter explores the experiences and benefits gained from participation in Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Provost's Digital Learning Initiative (DLI) Fellowship. Participants were equipped with relevant tools for re-designing courses for increased student engagement and attainment of student learning outcomes. The program promoted expertise in retooling courses to promote student-centered learning by exposing students to digital learning tools that reflect current and emerging technology trends in higher education as well as best practices in implementation of active learning strategies. The focus was on application of technology and implementation of active learning practices in two political science courses: a research methods and general education course. These insights have improved the author's professional development competencies; importantly, the implementation of technology-based learning has resulted in improved student achievement as evidenced by summative and formative assessment measures, and the acquisition of research and analytical skills.

Information Systems Education for the 21st Century

2005 ◽  
pp. 171-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn Lowry ◽  
Rodney Turner
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Business Skills ◽  
New Graduates ◽  
Vested Interests ◽  
Research Findings

In this chapter, we consider how information systems educators might revise curriculum content and adopt student-centered/active learning pedagogical approaches to achieve a better fit between the workplace and the university ‘studyplace’. In considering What to Study, numerous research findings suggest a repertoire of ‘soft’ skills that are seen as essential to success for new IS professionals. The research findings discussed in this chapter present evidence that traditional business subjects such as Marketing, Economics, or Finance do not equate to the ‘other’ or soft business skills that employers of IS graduates are seeking in new hires. Soft skills are cultivated elements of professionalism that derive from example, reflection, imitation, and refinement of attitudes, personal capabilities, work habits, and interpersonal skills. Soft skills are seldom taught in dedicated subjects in tertiary information systems curricula. Somehow, the soft areas such as teamwork, communication skills, ability to accept direction, and others are expected to be picked up along the way through an unspecified, osmotic process. Turning to How to Study, a critical and contentious issue is determining the appropriate learning environment to best help new graduates develop soft skills and higher order thinking. Course delivery paradigms may be characterized as traditional, passive ‘teacher-centered learning’ and active ‘student-centered learning’. We argue that student-centered/active learning approaches may be more effective in helping students to cultivate and refine soft skills than those currently in use. The chapter concludes with a discussion of IS curriculum reform issues and strategies for reducing confusion, overcoming tradition and inertia, finding resources, and neutralizing vested interests, to meet the educational needs of students.

Technology and Teaching

2018 ◽  
pp. 69-87
Author(s):  
David Feist ◽  
Doug Reid
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Teacher Practices ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Technology And Teaching

Teachers at a technology diverse school explored ways to shift toward a more student- centered pedagogical practice. The project determined whether a shift in teacher practices could impact student engagement and success. The results were positive: many students had more academic success when student-centered learning activities were incorporated into their schooling. In theory, this means student learning that includes non-linear learning approaches can work in more generalizable settings than what have been expansively published in the current literature. In practice, the findings may help to inform schools dealing with current societal pressures to help their students find greater success through the use of pedagogically appropriate technology implementations and teacher support.

Emerging Technologies

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Victoria M. Cardullo ◽  
Nance S. Wilson ◽  
Vassiliki I. Zygouris-Coe
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Educational Design ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Knowledge Framework ◽  
Flipped Classrooms ◽  
Blooms Taxonomy

Emerging technologies enhance student learning through the explicit intentional educational design such as Active Learning Classrooms, Flipped Classrooms, Problem Based Learning, and Project Based Learning to empower students. Throughout this article, we will describe several emerging technologies that support learning for the 21st century using student-centered learning models. By means of vignettes, we model how a Metacognitive Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework (M-TPACK) supports the use of emerging technologies for active learning (Wilson, Zygouris-Coe, Cardullo, & Fong, 2013). Throughout all of the vignettes, we draw connections to the various emerging technologies and the level of integration using both Blooms Taxonomy (Bloom et al., 1956) and the SAMR Model: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (Puentedura, 2006).

Information Systems Education for the 21st Century

2011 ◽  
pp. 2791-2816
Author(s):  
Glenn Lowry ◽  
Rodney Turner
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Business Skills ◽  
New Graduates ◽  
Vested Interests ◽  
Research Findings

In this chapter, we consider how information systems educators might revise curriculum content and adopt student-centered/active learning pedagogical approaches to achieve a better fit between the workplace and the university ‘studyplace’. In considering What to Study, numerous research findings suggest a repertoire of ‘soft’ skills that are seen as essential to success for new IS professionals. The research findings discussed in this chapter present evidence that traditional business subjects such as Marketing, Economics, or Finance do not equate to the ‘other’ or soft business skills that employers of IS graduates are seeking in new hires. Soft skills are cultivated elements of professionalism that derive from example, reflection, imitation, and refinement of attitudes, personal capabilities, work habits, and interpersonal skills. Soft skills are seldom taught in dedicated subjects in tertiary information systems curricula. Somehow, the soft areas such as teamwork, communication skills, ability to accept direction, and others are expected to be picked up along the way through an unspecified, osmotic process. Turning to How to Study, a critical and contentious issue is determining the appropriate learning environment to best help new graduates develop soft skills and higher order thinking. Course delivery paradigms may be characterized as traditional, passive ‘teacher-centered learning’ and active ‘student-centered learning’. We argue that student-centered/active learning approaches may be more effective in helping students to cultivate and refine soft skills than those currently in use. The chapter concludes with a discussion of IS curriculum reform issues and strategies for reducing confusion, overcoming tradition and inertia, finding resources, and neutralizing vested interests, to meet the educational needs of students.

Accounting and Finance Students' Perceptions About Active Learning in an Economics-Lecture Classroom

2020 ◽  
pp. 18-34
Author(s):  
Sandrina B. Moreira
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Interactive Learning ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Learning Techniques

In higher education there is an increasing trend from teacher-centered to student-centered learning environments, wherein active learning experiences can play a decisive role. This chapter assesses how students perceive the use of active learning techniques within the lecture framework, traditionally accepting students as passive listeners. A survey was distributed in the undergraduate course of Accounting and Finance - evening classes, at the end of the semester, to evaluate and help refine the active learning approach conducted in an economics course. Students reported an overall positive response towards active learning, which helped them to focus, engage, and learn. They especially value the lectures as interactive learning experiences. Students' appraisal regarding the usefulness of key implementation rules like the what, when, who technique on slide-written instructions, as well as the variety of active learning activities tested, revealed the designing and testing of active learning events need improvement.

scholarly journals Transforming spaces: Fostering student-centered learning through the intentional design of formal and informal learning spaces

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jen Harvey ◽  
◽  
Claire McAvinia ◽  
Kevin O'Rourke ◽  
Jason FitzSimmons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Formal And Informal Learning ◽  
New Learning

Transforming the academic experience and success of students by building Active Learning Classrooms (ALCs) is increasing, but ALCs are still fewer than traditional classroom spaces. These new learning spaces create an inherent tension between increasing student enrollments and active learning environments. Accommodating increased class sizes does not have to exclude fostering an active learning space. We have an opportunity every time a classroom is renovated or a new building is built to intentionally acknowledge and engage this tension to positively influence student learning and success. As we renovate and construct new learning spaces on our campuses, it is not only important to understand how the “built pedagogy” (Monahan 2000, 2002) and “architecture as pedagogy” (Orr 1993, 1997) of our spaces can help or hinder more active learning pedagogies, but also how to support effective teaching in these spaces (Levesque-Bristol, 2019). While many institutions are prioritizing active learning as old classrooms get renovated, few are doing so at the broad campus-wide scope necessary to affect larger-scale culture change (Park & Choi, 2014). Two such institutions that are developing and supporting large-scale active learning spaces are the Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) and Purdue University (Indiana, USA). TU Dublin and Purdue are conducting collaborative research focusing on how each institution’s new, large-scale construction of formal and informal learning spaces is impacting teaching and learning.

scholarly journals A Comparison Of Delivery Formats To Encourage Student-Centered Learning In A Power Engineering Technology Course

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-156
Author(s):  
Mathew J. Turner ◽  
Rustin D. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Power Engineering ◽  
Engineering Technology ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
Inverted Classroom ◽  
Content Coverage ◽  
Technology Course

This paper describes a student-centered approach to a power engineering technology course using the flipped or inverted classroom as well as active learning in the form of group discussions and team problem solving. The study compares student performance and perceptions of a traditional, teaching-centered classroom to two different flipped courses: one using video lectures and one using a media-enhanced electronic textbook. The authors compared courses in the areas of 1) student performance on multiple choice and numerical analysis problems, 2) students’ perceptions of course delivery format and satisfaction with the course and instructor, and 3) technical content coverage. Results show little difference in student achievement between the course formats, strong negative reactions by students to unfamiliar instructional methods, and little difference in content coverage. The authors believe that the outcomes of this study can be attributed to the benefits of small class sizes (n<12), which naturally enable active learning to be utilized without the need for rigid and formal course structure,

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