A Four-Step Process to Reposition Small Schools as Sites Within Teaching and Learning Networks

2011 ◽  
pp. 149-159
Author(s):  
Ken Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Small Schools ◽  
Learning Networks ◽  
Canadian Province ◽  
Small High Schools ◽  
Small Rural Schools ◽  
Senior Students

The international problem facing small high schools in rural communities of providing access to educational and vocational opportunities that approximate those available to urban students has been addressed by repositioning these institutions as sites within teaching and learning networks in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Four inter-connected dimensions of change are outlined (technological, pedagogical, organizational, and conceptual) whereby small rural schools in this Canadian province were repositioned as sites in teaching and learning networks thereby enhancing educational and vocational opportunities for senior students. There are implications in these changes for the professional education of high school teachers who are increasingly likely to be required to teach in networked classes as well as in traditional classrooms.

The Development of Collaborative Structures to Support Virtual Classes in Small Schools

2011 ◽  
pp. 43-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Stevens
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Small Schools ◽  
Virtual Classes ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Collaborative Structures ◽  
Two Stages

The Internet and an expanding range of technologies have enabled small schools in rural communities in Atlantic Canada to collaborate in addressing problems faced by senior students through the creation of virtual teaching and learning spaces to complement traditional classrooms. In the search for appropriate ways of organizing and managing knowledge in electronic, collaborative structures, two stages of development have taken place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador: (i) e-learning for collaboration between schools through the creation of school district digital intranets, and (ii) e-learning in federated structures through the integration of school district digital intranets into a centralized organization.

Pre-Service Teacher Education for the Management of Actual and Virtual Classes

2013 ◽  
pp. 1416-1422
Author(s):  
Ken Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Professional Education ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Level ◽  
School Environments ◽  
High School Level ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Virtual Classes ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

The development of Internet-based school networks, facilitating the creation of virtual classes, has implications for the professional education of teachers who are increasingly likely to teach both face-to-face and online. In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, pre-service teachers are being prepared for networked school environments within which on-site and online teaching and learning are required. Teachers are provided with a structure within which to manage collaboration that includes learning circles and cybercells. Within networked school environments, virtual classes have been developed for teaching an expanding range of subjects at high school level.

A Dissemination Strategy for the Management of Knowledge in Rural Communities

2008 ◽  
pp. 1934-1950
Author(s):  
Ken Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Urban Migration ◽  
Canadian Province ◽  
Dissemination Strategy ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Knowledge Based Economy ◽  
Open Structures ◽  
Autonomous Schools

Schools in rural communities of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador have been reorganized in the last decade. Because of rural to urban migration and the consequent challenge to the continued existence of many small schools, new academically and administratively open structures have been established within an Internet-based environment. Accordingly, traditional closed, autonomous schools in this province have increasingly become open sites within Internet-linked teaching and learning environments. What began as a research project linking eight schools in a single Digital Intranet has been extended to include schools across the province managed by a recently established branch of the Department of Education of Newfoundland and Labrador—the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation. This chapter provides an outline of how information and communication technologies have been used to reshape education in a predominantly rural Canadian province, thereby preparing people for participation in the emerging knowledge-based economy.

A Dissemination Strategy for the Management of Knowledge in Rural Communities

2011 ◽  
pp. 221-239
Author(s):  
Ken Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Urban Migration ◽  
Canadian Province ◽  
Dissemination Strategy ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Knowledge Based Economy ◽  
Open Structures ◽  
Autonomous Schools

Schools in rural communities of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador have been reorganized in the last decade. Because of rural to urban migration and the consequent challenge to the continued existence of many small schools, new academically and administratively open structures have been established within an Internet-based environment. Accordingly, traditional closed, autonomous schools in this province have increasingly become open sites within Internet-linked teaching and learning environments. What began as a research project linking eight schools in a single Digital Intranet has been extended to include schools across the province managed by a recently established branch of the Department of Education of Newfoundland and Labrador—the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation. This chapter provides an outline of how information and communication technologies have been used to reshape education in a predominantly rural Canadian province, thereby preparing people for participation in the emerging knowledge-based economy.

Pre-Service Teacher Education for the Management of Actual and Virtual Classes

2013 ◽  
pp. 152-158
Author(s):  
Ken Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Professional Education ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Level ◽  
School Environments ◽  
High School Level ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Virtual Classes ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

The development of Internet-based school networks, facilitating the creation of virtual classes, has implications for the professional education of teachers who are increasingly likely to teach both face-to-face and online. In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, pre-service teachers are being prepared for networked school environments within which on-site and online teaching and learning are required. Teachers are provided with a structure within which to manage collaboration that includes learning circles and cybercells. Within networked school environments, virtual classes have been developed for teaching an expanding range of subjects at high school level.

Building Interprofessional Primary Care Capacity in Mental Health Services in Rural Communities in Newfoundland and Labrador: An Innovative Training Model

2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga J. Heath ◽  
Peter A. Cornish ◽  
Terrence Callanan ◽  
Kate Flynn ◽  
Elizabeth Church ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Continuing Education ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Interprofessional Collaboration ◽  
Training Model

The benefits of interprofessional care in providing mental health services have been recognized, particularly in rural communities where health services are limited. In addition, there is a need for more continuing professional education in mental health intervention in rural areas. Although interprofessional collaboration and continuing education have both been proposed to address the paucity of mental health services available in rural areas, there have been no programs developed in which the two components have been combined. This paper describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of an interprofessional continuing education program specifically designed to enhance rural mental health capacity.

scholarly journals Student Access to Information Technology and Perceptions of Future Opportunities in Two Small Labrador Communities

2002 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Della Healey ◽  
Ken Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Small Schools ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Geographic Isolation ◽  
Student Access ◽  
Senior Students ◽  
Geographically Isolated

The potential of information technology is increasingly being recognized for the access it provides to educational and vocational opportunities. In Canada, many small schools in rural communities have taken advantage of information technologies to help overcome geographic isolation for students. This article is about students in two small and geographically isolated Labrador communities. Twenty senior students were found to have varying degrees of access to information technologies. Differences were found in their perceptions of the benefits of information technology for their educational and vocational futures.

scholarly journals Exploring the Link between Rural Schools and Community Vitality

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne Thomson ◽  
Steven G. Hertz
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Small Schools ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Community Members ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Local Schools ◽  
Small Rural Schools

This project focused on the connection between a community and its schools, and the role that schools play in rural community vitality. It investigated both community members and former student experience with small schools in one rural area of Ontario, Canada. Community responses indicate that rural schools play a considerable role in the well-being of community members; former student responses indicate similar themes. Results indicated a strong link between local schools and components of the Canadian Index of Well-being. Discussion focuses on the gap between the role of schools in rural communities and the provincial policies on school closures, and how the findings suggest that new approaches to the challenges of small rural schools are in the best interests of both students and communities.

scholarly journals Diversity in health professional education scholarship: a document analysis of international author representation in leading journals

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e043970
Author(s):  
Brittany Buffone ◽  
Ilena Djuana ◽  
Katherine Yang ◽  
Kyle J Wilby ◽  
Maguy S El Hajj ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Professional ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
English Language ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Health Professional Education ◽  
Eligibility Criteria

ObjectivesThe global distribution of health professionals and associated training programmes is wide but prior study has demonstrated reported scholarship of teaching and learning arises from predominantly Western perspectives.DesignWe conducted a document analysis to examine authorship of recent publications to explore current international representation.Data sourcesThe table of contents of seven high-impact English-language health professional education journals between 2008 and 2018 was extracted from Embase.Eligibility criteriaThe journals were selected according to highest aggregate ranking across specific scientific impact indices and stating health professional education in scope; only original research and review articles from these publications were included for analysis.Data extraction and synthesisThe table of contents was extracted and eligible publications screened by independent reviewers who further characterised the geographic affiliations of the publishing research teams and study settings (if applicable).ResultsA total 12 018 titles were screened and 7793 (64.8%) articles included. Most were collaborations (7048, 90.4%) conducted by authors from single geographic regions (5851, 86%). Single-region teams were most often formed from countries in North America (56%), Northern Europe (14%) or Western Europe (10%). Overall lead authorship from Asian, African or South American regions was less than 15%, 5% and 1%, respectively. Geographic representation varied somewhat by journal, but not across time.ConclusionsDiversity in health professional education scholarship, as marked by nation of authors’ professional affiliations, remains low. Under-representation of published research outside Global North regions limits dissemination of novel ideas resulting in unidirectional flow of experiences and a concentrated worldview of teaching and learning.

Transforming higher education in Ghana in times of disruption: flexible learning in rural communities with high latency internet connectivity

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Barton Essel ◽  
Dimitrios Vlachopoulos ◽  
Dickson Adom ◽  
Akosua Tachie-Menson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Cell Phone ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Internet Connectivity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Video Teleconferencing ◽  
A Cell

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics and potential effects of teaching and learning through audio teleconferencing (dial-in) with a cell phone. In addition, the study aims to identify the associations between the audio teleconferencing and video teleconferencing in a 12-week postgraduate course. Design/methodology/approach The study is a cross-sectional survey conducted at the Department of Educational Innovations at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology from March to June 2020. The purposive sampling technique was used to sample 100 postgraduate students who registered for a course in the department. The data for the study were collected using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and 17-item self-administered eQuestionnaire. Multiple Linear Regression analysis, ANOVA, Independent sample T-test and Mann–Whitney U-test were used to estimate the differences in course achievements of students who experienced education through audio teleconferencing and those who experienced education through video teleconferencing. Findings In total, 59% of the participating postgraduate students chose to attend the synchronous online lectures via audio teleconferencing (dial-in). The participants gave a high SUS score (SUS > 80.3; Grade A; Excellent) for audio conferencing service. Among the students in the audio teleconferencing cohort, the results evidenced a strong positive linear correlation, (r (57) = 0.79, p < 0.05), between the individual adjective ratings and the SUS scores. There was marginal significance among demography of students in the audio teleconference (AT) cohort with regards to their perception about the dial-in lecture. There was no statistically significant difference, (t (98) = 1.88, p = 0.063), in the achievement test for AT students and video teleconference (VT) students. The instructors and the students were satisfied with the AT. Practical implications Based on the students’ preference, AT offers equal benefit as VT with regards to system satisfaction and perceived quality of online teaching. AT, as teaching modality, should be an option for students who reside in communities with high latency internet connectivity. It is recommended that instructors are trained on how to engage and motivate students via AT. Originality/value Higher education institutions in Ghana are facing decisions about how to continue learning and teaching through flexible pedagogy, while keeping their faculty members and students protected from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these institutions have canceled the brick-and-mortar education and other conventional learning practices and have instructed faculty to adopt online teaching through synchronous video teleconferencing platforms. However, the learning experience is not the same for students who reside in remote or rural communities with low bandwidth. There is very little research in this topic, especially in developing countries like Ghana, and the present study aims to bridge the gap in the literature by exploring the characteristics and potential effects of teaching and learning through audio teleconferencing (dial-in) with a cell phone, in the context of a 12-week postgraduate course.

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