scholarly journals Opening Online Academic Development Programmes to International Perspectives and Dialogue

Author(s):  
Catherine Manathunga ◽  
Roisin Donnelly

Professional development for academic staff in higher education is receiving increasing attention. The focus has been on providing an opportunity for academic staff to enhance their effectiveness in meeting changing needs and roles in higher education. Inherent in this changing role has been meeting the challenges of technology-infused learning environments available for use today. This chapter explores the potential of online academic development programmes to increase collaboration and dialogue amongst participants through integrating opportunities for online interaction. By spotlighting two particular postgraduate programmes in Ireland and Australia, the chapter reports on present experiences of integrating international guests and considers the future of connecting people and technology for academic development in higher education.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Stamatović ◽  
◽  
Mirjana Stakić

The paper is based on the overview and description of ten monographs from in- ternational scientific conferences held in the period between 2011 and 2021 at the Facul- ty of Education in Uţice, and is aimed at recording topics and issues discussed in them, and making suggestions for future research of problems, goals and perspectives in the teaching and learning process. The review of the monographs from these international scientific conferences showed that the interest of theoreticians and practitioners is firmly focused on general questions of education and rearing, teaching and learning, as well as questions of educational assessment and evaluation, textbook quality, and education and professional development of teachers. Topics in the field of elementary education are predominant, so in the future, it would be worth paying more attention to the current topics in the field of preschool and higher education.


Author(s):  
Davinia Sánchez-García ◽  
Emma Dafouz

Given the internationalization process of higher education across the globe, continuing professional development (CPD) of academic staff is vital to ensure the quality of teaching and learning. Under such scenario, the European Erasmus+ project “Educational Quality at Universities for Inclusive International Programmes” (EQUiiP) identifies the role of the internationally-oriented educational developer (ED) as crucial to higher education institutions (HEIs) and provides these institutions with the means to support academic staff and hereby enhance the quality of internationalized programs taught in international classrooms. Consequently, this chapter provides the conceptual rationale behind the EQUiiP project, delves into the needs of teacher education programs and the role played by the EDs, and describes the EQUiiP project and its outcomes by providing concrete examples of its inclusive CPD program. Finally, some implications and recommendations for teacher professional development, with specific reference to the Spanish setting, are offered.


Author(s):  
Nataliia Vinnikova

Nowadays, higher education is not only an essential condition for the spiritual and professional development of the individual, but also a decisive factor in socio-economic transformation.Taking into consideration changing nature of learning and teaching at higher education institutions, the need for professional development of teachers is increasing. The main purpose of the thesis is to highlight the problem of professional development of academic staff, its relevance and importance for improving learning and teaching. There will be presented a model of teachers’ skills improvement implemented at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University (Ukraine), as well as new approaches to the organization of training for higher school teachers that combine different training strategies for their development.


Author(s):  
Hubert Ertl ◽  
Susannah Wright

Education Academy which aimed at mapping the research base around the student learning experience in higher education (HE). The project aimed to 1) provide an overview of the ways in which the student learning experience in HE has been and is conceptualised; 2) provide an overview of interventions aimed at producing a more effective learning experience; and 3) review the methodological approaches adopted to investigate the student learning experience. The paper outlines the review approach adopted by this project and presents an analytical map in which reviewed studies are categorised in terms of the methods they adopt and the area of investigation. Selected findings in the areas of inventory-based studies, assessment and feedback and teaching, curriculum and learning environments are discussed. The project identified a large, but broad, heterogeneous and somewhat scattered research base, dominated by a tradition of studies using inventory methods, and otherwise by small and localised studies often conducted by practitioners researching their own subject areas. The paper concludes with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the project's methods, and recommendations for developing the student learning experience research base in the future.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 9023-9029

A key role in improving the quality of higher education belongs to the executive staff, teaching employees, and academic staff as direct performers. The purpose of the article is to analyze the possibilities of advanced training of university academic staff using innovative educational technologies based on information and communication technologies (ICT). The article notes the relevance of the search for new approaches to the organization of the professional development of the higher education system employees, as well as analyzes the experience of European countries in the professional development of university academic staff. The authors specify the requirements for the meaningful components of methodical system of training at the university, the prospects of ICT use in professional activity of academic and administrative employees of the university, training areas of university staff of different professional orientation, as well as highlight innovation areas of professional development of the academic staff in Russian universities.


Author(s):  
Caroline Steel ◽  
Trish Andrews

New technology-enriched learning spaces are a focus of institutional investment to address the identified shortcomings of traditional teaching and learning environments. Academic development, an area that has received little attention in this context, can be designed to provide strong opportunities for university teachers to re-imagine their teaching for these new spaces while also building their leadership capacity. This chapter discusses challenges that teachers face in transforming their teaching practices and proposes a model for academic development to support this. Two case studies demonstrate the flexibility and efficacy of the model and provide pointers for further adoption in the higher education context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Halvdan Haugsbakken ◽  
Shaun Nykvist ◽  
Dag Atle Lysne

As pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning continue to evolve to meet the needs of students in a rapidly changing, globalized world that is heavily influenced and reliant on digital technologies, it is anticipated that the learning environments in Higher Education will also be transformed. Consequently, this transformation of learning environments is often synonymous with the adoption of and continued focus on the potential benefits of online learning in the Higher Education sector. It is within this context that this paper reports on a small-scale case study in a large Nordic university where the learning management system, Blackboard was piloted and implemented using a top-down approach consisting of the comprehensive training of academic staff, students and support staff. The explorative approach used in this study identifies three common themes in the data as it follows a group of academic beta testers (N=23) who are involved in the initial phases of implementation. The study explores the educators’ primary use of Blackboard, whilst attempting to understand how academics perceive and interpret the role of online technologies to support effective pedagogical practices. Drawing on data from participant interviews, the study highlights the need for increased academic support for online learning design and a renewed focus on staff development of effective pedagogical practices


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-3
Author(s):  
Romy Lawson ◽  

In this first editorial of 2016 I have some exciting news to share with the readership. Firstly the journal has recently been accepted for inclusion in Scopus, with the increase in citations from the journal being mentioned as noteworthy. Thanks goes to Dr Alisa Percy for her work on helping the journal gain this recognition, as well acknowledgement to previous editors. Secondly this year we shall be publishing two special issues in addition to the three regular releases: Reflection for Learning in Higher Education, Guest Editor Dr Marina Harvey (April, 2016) Dystopia or Utopia: Emerging Visions for the Future of Learning and Teaching Practice in collaboration with the Council of Australian Directors of Academic Development (CADAD) (September, 2016)


Author(s):  
Stephen Marshall ◽  
Jonathan Flutey

The Virtual CSU is a model of distributed leadership and team-based consultancy and support which has been implemented at Victoria University of Wellington over the last four years as part of an overall plan transitioning to greater use of online, open and distance provision of higher education. The model uses ideas drawn from industry to create flexible virtual teams that act as internal consulting teams. The resulting teams combine professional and academic staff from a variety of internal units into a semi-formal group focused on specific university projects, operational needs or strategic challenges in a way that avoids the costs of formal restructuring and that provides a mechanism for professional development and facilitation of wider changes in the capability of the university.


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