Alternate Dimensions of Cognitive Presence for Blended Learning in Higher Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Maurice C. Taylor ◽  
Sait Atas ◽  
Shehzad Ghani

This exploratory study sought to understand the meaning of cognitive presence for graduate students in a blended learning course. Four research questions guided the investigation, which employed a qualitative instrumental case study approach as the research design. Several data sources were used including: semi structured interviews with graduate students; a cognitive presence questionnaire; a focus group of graduate students; and a text analysis grid examining new dimensions of cognitive presence in 100 discussion posts and 20 student learning autobiographies. Findings suggest that there are alternate dimensions to understanding the concept of cognitive presence. In addition, graduate students have distinct ideas about these various dimensions and the types of pedagogical strategies that enhance cognitive development and learning outcomes. The discussion provides insights into these alternate dimensions of cognitive presence and how to help graduate students acquire higher order thinking skills in a blended learning course through the lens of adult learning.

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Ruth Zárate-Rueda ◽  
Sonia Patricia Díaz-Orozco ◽  
Leonardo Ortiz-Gumán

 This scientific article shows the results of a research process whose objective was to analyze the practices and pedagogical strategies implemented by teachers of the Industrial University of Santander (UIS) and the Autonomous University of Bucaramanga (UNAB); these teachers have students with sensory disabilities in their classrooms. For this goal, a qualitative methodology was adopted with a case-study approach; 27 subjects participated in this process: 20 educators and 7 students from the programs of Law, International Business, Accounting, Social Communication, Gastronomy, Music, and Philosophy. Based on a sample of homogenous cases of intentional type and semi-structured interviews, it was possible to conclude that, despite the significant advances made so far, it is required for universities to promote institutional guidelines articulating participatory work with the educational community. This community intervenes in the social reality of students with disabilities, as well as in the axes of accessibility and communication.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Taylor ◽  
Shehzad Ghani ◽  
Sait Atas ◽  
Michael Fairbrother

As blended learning increases in higher education, there still remains a dearth of empirical evidence that focuses on how institutions actually adopt such initiatives. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore the key factors that led to the adoption and implementation of a blended learning initiative in one medium sized Canadian university. Three research questions guided the study that was nested in the Community of Inquiry framework. Data sources included a total of 83 semi-structured interviews with students, professors, and administrators; 32 student and instructor artefacts and documents and three sets of researcher field notes. Findings indicate that a university-wide initiative needs to integrate both the lived experiences of undergraduate and graduate students in blended learning which are very different. Adoption also recognizes that as professors come to understand the meaning of blended learning, their knowledge needs and teaching practices change. These changes need to be reflected in as training is developed. In addition, widespread implementation involves several critical factors that happen at both the institutional and individual faculty level. The discussion focuses on several key markers that need to be considered along a university-wide pathway towards blended learning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Marzni Mohamed Mokhtar ◽  
Marni Jamil ◽  
Fadzilah Abd Rahman ◽  
Roselan Baki ◽  
Rohizani Yaakub ◽  
...  

It is a necessity for teachers to develop higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) into learning and facilitation (hereafter known as LaF) processes implemented in the classroom. Teachers should carefully balance the content of knowledge or knowledge they wish to convey and then integrate with other skills, especially HOTS. This research set out to examine the assimilation of HOTS into the LaF of argumentative essay writing as carried out by Malay language teachers in secondary schools. To obtain a holistic overview of the methods used by teachers in LaF, a qualitative case study approach was employed as the research design of this study. Two research participants were involved voluntarily in this study, and it was conducted at a boarding school in a district in Selangor, Malaysia. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and classroom observations with the two participants. The findings revealed that the assimilation of the KHWL model for the LaF of HOTS argumentative essay writing could be seen through (i) the pair-think-share activity; and (ii) usage of self-assessment whiteboard.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3132
Author(s):  
Leo Aldianto ◽  
Grisna Anggadwita ◽  
Anggraeni Permatasari ◽  
Isti Raafaldini Mirzanti ◽  
Ian O. Williamson

Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the disruption of the global economic sector, including for startup businesses. This encourages entrepreneurs to carry out a continuous innovation process to become more ambidextrous and continue to innovate in an effort to futureproof their business. The paper aims to provide a business resilience framework by exploring capability (innovation ambidexterity, dynamic capability, and technology capability), behavior (agile leadership), and knowledge (knowledge stock) in startup businesses. This study uses a literature review synthesis to gain a greater understanding of startup resilience and its implementation. This study also uses a case study approach in building a framework by obtaining data from semi-structured interviews with three startups owners in Indonesia. This preliminary research has identified four propositions that will be used to develop questionnaires and data collection instruments. Thus, this study provides new insights on how startups can overcome contradictory pressures for business resilience in anticipating, dealing with, and emerging from business turbulence due to the Covid-19 pandemic by considering the factors proposed in this study. The implications and recommendations of this study are also discussed in detail.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Doyle

PurposeThis paper aims to focus on how a public policy designed to address a social problem ultimately became the place brand.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a qualitative case study approach focusing on the city of Medellín, Colombia. It draws from fieldwork conducted in Medellín over 2014 and 2015, including semi-structured interviews with an array of local stakeholders.FindingsThe paper concludes that local governments should be aware that the policymaking process can become part of their branding. It also shows the importance of the continual involvement of stakeholders in the place brand process to ensure it is a sustainable brand.Originality/valueThere are limited studies which focus on how a public policy designed to address a social problem ultimately becomes the place brand. This paper shows how a public policy, social urbanism, became the branding of Medellín.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Skakni

Purpose This study aims to examine how PhD students with diverse profiles, intentions and expectations manage to navigate their doctoral paths within the same academic context under similar institutional conditions. Drawing on Giddens’ theory of structuration, this study explores how their primary reasons, motives and motivations for engaging in doctoral studies influence what they perceive as facilitating or constraining to progress, their strategies to face the challenges they encounter and their expectations regarding supervision. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative design, the analysis was conducted on a data subset from an instrumental case study (Stake, 2013) about PhD students’ persistence and progression. The focus is placed on semi-structured interviews carried out with 36 PhD students from six faculties in humanities and social sciences fields at a large Canadian university. Findings The analysis reveals three distinct scenarios regarding how these PhD students navigate their doctoral paths: the quest for the self; the intellectual quest; and the professional quest. Depending on their quest type, the nature and intensity of PhD students’ concerns and challenges, as well as their strategies and the support they expected, differed. Originality/value This study contributes to the discussion about PhD students’ challenges and persistence by offering a unique portrait of how diverse students’ profiles, intentions and expectations can concretely shape a doctoral experience.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Alpenberg ◽  
Tomasz Wnuk-Pel ◽  
Philip Adamsson ◽  
Johannes Petersson

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine why and how municipal managers and CEOs for municipally owned companies use the environmental performance indicators. Design/methodology/approach A case study approach as a research design was used. In total, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted among managers for administrative departments and municipal company CEOs. Findings This study found that the environmental performance indicators are used by department managers mainly for resource allocation, control and for teaching the employees. The CEOs of the municipal companies use the environmental indicators for communicating with external stakeholders and see the indicators primarily as marketing tools. The main reason why the environmental performance indicators are used in the municipality can be the strong demand from the local politicians to push the “green agenda,” and therefore the managers have to comply. Research limitations/implications As in any case study, generalizations from the research should be made with care, but since this is only one municipality, further research is needed to find additional evidence. Practical implications The findings of this study have a number of implications for future practice, and it is worth mentioning that clear guidelines for how the information could be made more useful for managers at the managerial level in Växjö municipality (VM) are requested for both the municipal managers and the CEOs. Social implications Overall, this study strengthens the idea that environmental performance indicators could be used to a larger extent for communicating with external stakeholders both for municipal departments and companies. Originality/value The research adds to the literature by examining different patterns of using environmental performance indicators in a unique setting – in VM, which is called “the greenest city in Europe” and is one of the “pioneers” in environmental work and extensively uses performance indicators.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Charles Afam Anosike

Environmental degradation and socioeconomic dilemma continue to affect agricultural productivity in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Several works of literature confirm the high level of pollution and contamination of land and water as a result of over 50 years of oil production in the region. The effects of environmental pollution continue to aggravate the hardship of the local people, which generates development friction, threaten oil operation, and mutually contrive relational efforts, by so invoking mistrust between oil companies and the host communities. Sustainability programs of oil companies often provide the channel to engage and promote community relations from which projects are conceived and executed. Despite sustainability efforts of oil companies, the region continues to experience oil spills and environmental degradation.Hence, the current research explores the sustainability efforts of a multinational oil company to establish whether the company’s leadership makes environmental considerations and to identify possible corrections that could be adopted to achieve sustainable value. For this purpose, the paper employed a single case study approach using open-ended interview sessions in collecting data. Research data were gathered from a sample of 20 experienced sustainability practitioners of the oil company, partnering nonprofit organizations, and community leaders through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Data were segmented and categorized. The data analysis process revealed several themes regarding the challenges and shortfalls of sustainability programs in the region. The evidence found suggests that implementing a transparent and inclusive sustainability management system is essential to enable a systems view in contemplating sustainability programs. In so doing, oil MNCs leaders could enable effective environmental consideration in their sustainability programs to help reinvigorate productive agriculture and ensure continuing oil operation.


When SMEs are part of global value chain, the flows of information in cross-border buyer-supplier relationships which emerge from inward-outward internationalisation connections should be addressed. This study therefore investigates the learning processes of internationalising small and medium enterprises that engage in inward and outward internationalisation. Hence, this study adopts a qualitative case study approach based on ten cases of the internationalising SMEs in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews with the Managing Directors of the selected SMEs were conducted over a two-year period. Additionally, participant observations were conducted by attending the meetings related to import-export activities and documentations were gathered for data triangulation Findings of this study highlights that the relationship with key foreign suppliers empowered case firms to connect inward to outward internationalisation through collaborative knowledge sharing. The distribution of knowledge through tacit-tacit and tacit-explicit knowledge sharing underpinned by formal planning was a prerequisite for inward-outward internationalisation connections to be established.


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