Stepping Out of the Classroom and up the Ladder of Learning

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Cooper ◽  
Colin Bottomley ◽  
Jillian Gordon

Academics in the field of entrepreneurship education are increasingly aware that, while class-based knowledge input is a vital component of learning, the traditional lecture-based, didactic methods of teaching and learning alone are insufficient. In an attempt to achieve ‘real, active learning’ various interactive techniques have been developed, one of which is to provide opportunities for students to ‘see, touch and feel’ entrepreneurship at first hand by working alongside practising entrepreneurs. An example of this approach is the Venture Management programme of the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde, in which students from a broad spectrum of disciplines work with an entrepreneur on a business development project. This paper presents an evaluation of the programme to date, and considers its benefits and shortcomings from the perspectives of both students and entrepreneurs. The findings of the evaluation are now shaping the future development of this programme and also of ‘Implementing Entrepreneurship’, a new elective programme in which individual students work full-time for eight weeks on a business development project with an entrepreneur. Lessons from the innovative programmes offered by the Hunter Centre will help to inform the wider debate about effective teaching and learning programmes in entrepreneurship education.

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 250
Author(s):  
Ukeme Ekpedeme Umoh ◽  
Etuk Nssien Etuk

<p class="apa">The study examined ‘Students’ Involvement in Social Networking and attitudes towards its Integration into Teaching. The study was carried out in the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The population of the study consisted of 17,618 undergraduate students enrolled into full time degree programmes in the University of Uyo for 2014/2015 academic session. The design of the study was survey design with ex-post facto approach. Random sampling technique was used to select 1730 students from the 12 faculties in the University. The instrument used for the study was ‘Students’ Social Networking and Attitude Questionnaire which was validated by an expert in curriculum studies and an expert in measurement and evaluation in the University of Uyo. Cronbach’s Alpha Statistical method was used to determine the reliability coefficient of .70 for the instrument. Two research questions and two null hypotheses tested at .05 level of significance guided the study. Mean and Standard Deviation were used to answer research questions; Independent t-test and Analysis of Variance were used to test the hypotheses. The results show that there is significant difference in involvement of university undergraduate students in Social Networking based on course of study, level (year) of study and age. Female undergraduate students’ involvement in social networking is higher than that of their male counterparts; but male undergraduate students showed a higher positive attitude towards integration of social networking into teaching and learning.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-85
Author(s):  
Samantha Jordan ◽  
Christopher Stripling ◽  
Christopher Boyer ◽  
Carrie Stephens ◽  
Nathan Conner

Students’ academic-related perceptions, beliefs, and strategies are fundamental elements that influence teaching and learning within colleges of agriculture. This study investigated students’ academic efficacy, academic self-handicapping, and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success at the University of Tennessee’s Herbert College of Agriculture. The students were academically efficacious, rarely self-handicapped, and did not doubt the relevance of their degree. In addition, a low negative association was found between academic efficacy and self-handicapping, a negligible relationship was found between academic efficacy and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success, and a moderate relationship was found between academic self-handicapping and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success. Therefore, instructors are encouraged to move past traditional lecture-based instruction and challenge their students at higher cognitive levels, which will allow students to realistically explore the complexities of agriculture. Furthermore, academic self-handicapping may be an indicator of lower academic efficacy and/or skepticism about the relevance of a student’s degree. Future research should further explore these relationships.  


Author(s):  
M. S. C. OKOLO ◽  
O. G. F. NWAORGU

Logic, a branch of philosophy, is essentially concerned with one’s ability to reason well. It provides structured rules and principles that act as guides for effective reasoning. As such the correctness or incorrectness of any kind of reasoning can easily be verified by subjecting them to logical techniques and methods. The paper conceptualises general studies as a set of prescribed courses available in a Nigerian tertiary institution, outside a student’s area of specialisation that must be registered for and passed, usually, in the first and second years of study. The essence is to ensure that students experience balanced, rounded education and to ensure that scholarship is made relevant to the pressing needs of the society. The paper locates the bond between logic and general studies based on the fact that logic permeates all the courses taught as General Studies and, indeed, all the courses taught in the university be it medicine, geography, architecture. In a knowledge-based environment, the need for effective communication is critical and inevitable. This means that both in the delivery of knowledge as well as its acquisition, care should be taken to avoid fallacious reasoning and deception by the slippery nature and use of words. It is for this reason that a rudimentary knowledge of logic is a prerequisite for every discipline. The paper adopts an analytical and comparative method. Philosophical analysis and reflection are applied in order to evaluate and highlight the importance of logic to other disciplines. Its comparative character helps to demonstrate why logic, and no any other discipline, is most suited to act as the foundation for all other disciplines. In all, the paper demonstrates that for effective teaching and learning to take place in other disciplines, logic is essential. It also underscores the strong nexus between logic and general studies. Finally, it shows how logic can help in enriching other disciplines.    


Author(s):  
Noor A. Ahmed

Engineering is about wealth creation for the comfort and well-being of human beings. In this context, the process and experiences associated with teaching and learning of engineering concepts are pivotal in sustaining and advancing the progress of modern day civilization. However, the teaching of aerospace engineering is not easy and fraught with difficulties, as the students have to be provided with the opportunity to develop their creative skills while retaining a professional and practical base. It is also important to proactively harness the available and emerging technologies to greater effect in the learning process. At the University of New South Wales in Australia, the authors have approached the teaching and learning in undergraduate aerospace engineering from a non-conventional perspective to prepare students to be creative and become practically oriented for productive employment in the very competitive world of today. They have been experimenting and refining what is generally known as the “advanced project design study concept” used in some aerospace industries and incorporated it as an integral component in aerospace engineering studies. In the process, the authors have blended conventional methods with flight simulation as methods of enquiry and investigation. The feedback, support, and encouragement that they have received from industries, the potential employers of students, have been very positive. This chapter outlines the basic philosophies behind the authors’ approach and the methodologies and technologies used in achieving the desired outcomes.


Author(s):  
James Henri ◽  
Sandra Lee ◽  
Sue Trinidad ◽  
Alvin Kwan ◽  
Ming Lai

Over the past few years repeated calls have been made by teacher librarian educators for evidence based practice by teacher librarians. This study is an attempt to provide evidence for the adoption of innovative practice in a post-service, part time Bachelor of Education program. Part time tertiary students undertaking studies in education at the University of Hong Kong are often heard to voice the opinion that the demands of university study are excessive. While it is generally accepted that the Hong Kong lifestyle is hectic, that teachers have a heavy schedule, and that travel to and from the university campus is time-consuming, little useful data exists to allow university professors to better understand the plight of the students or to provide evidence from which action could be taken to better tailor courses to the needs of students. Likewise many assumptions are made about tertiary student motivation but these assumptions are probably not grounded in any research findings. This exploratory study was undertaken to determine the factors affecting the full-time teacher’s progress in their tertiary part-time study in school librarianship. The findings will better enable instructors to tailor teaching and learning to meet the needs of the part-time participant. Findings will also be informative for other part-time undergraduate programs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue D. Achtemeier ◽  
Libby V. Morris ◽  
Catherine L. Finnegan

Exploration of how to assure effective teaching and learning online is extremely important and timely as many institutions seek to maximize the educational benefits from this constantly developing technology. This study categorizes principles gathered from an extensive review of the literature focusing on current best practices for effective teaching and learning in online courses. It compares the presence of those principles in items gleaned from a review of assessment instruments currently in use by thirteen Georgia institutions and several national online courses. Results, which were used to inform the revision of the University System of Georgia eCore course evaluation instrument, provide a rubric for assessing and informing other instruments used to evaluate online course instruction.


Author(s):  
Lindiwe Nqobile Kunene

The teaching and learning of entrepreneurship have become critical in accelerating entrepreneurship activity in South Africa. Appropriate education in entrepreneurship provides students with skills, knowledge, and opportunities for growth and development to prosper in the field of entrepreneurship. By examining activities in the Bachelor of Commerce's (BCom) Management Major, which embeds entrepreneurship learning, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the chapter identifies gaps in its curricula design. It compares the Major with the principles that govern entrepreneurship education and curricula design theories. The chapter concludes that an appropriate curricula design for entrepreneurship development should foster learning that promotes entrepreneurship intention; it thus proposes a Management and Entrepreneurship Major that is more appropriate.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilse Lubbe

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to describe the multiplicity of the role of the Accounting academic as a knowledge agent: in terms of the discovery of new knowledge and its recontextualisation into pedagogy, as well as effective teaching and learning in the field of Accounting. Design/methodology/approach – Through a literature review and the collection of qualitative data (using purposive sampling), this study describes the Accounting academic’s role as a knowledge agent, as viewed by Accounting academics and professional accountants, with the aim of providing insight into the tensions that exist in the education of professionals. Findings – The data collected in this study indicate that Accounting academics find themselves torn between their different roles: those of researcher and teacher. Accounting academics do not feel valued in their role as teachers, as at the university, more emphasis is placed and promotion is based on research, yet the Accounting profession places more value on their teaching and scholarship role. Practical implications – There is an urgent need in professional Accounting education (trapped within a multiple principal paradigm) for some fundamental re-thinking of the focal point of research, and the knowledge agency of academe, particularly within a developing economy, such as South Africa. Originality/value – The value of this paper is in its identification and description of the tensions experienced in the education of professional accountants. The university and profession are urged to value, acknowledge and reward the multiple roles of Accounting academics.


2021 ◽  
pp. 245-248
Author(s):  
Datuk Abdul Rahim Hashim

AbstractOver the past few decades, the Malaysian higher education sector has experienced important reform, particularly guided by the Malaysia Education Blueprint for Higher Education 2015–2025 to stimulate continued excellence in the system. However, the dawn of 2020 has unfolded many challenges as COVID-19 rages across the globe bringing sudden paralysis to the whole world. Indeed, the pandemic has affected the world and greatly impacted our lives not only from a health perspective, but also from the political, economic, and social aspects. To date, universities in Malaysia have been closed for more than four months, although the Ministry of Higher Education has recently permitted postgraduate students undertaking full-time research programmes to return to the university should their research necessitate their physical presence in laboratories, workshops, design studios or to use specific equipment available only on campus. For other university students, online or virtual teaching and learning is set to continue until the end of this year, although identified groups of students will be allowed to return to the campus in stages.


Author(s):  
Despo Ktoridou

In recent years, the concept of entrepreneurship and the idea of entrepreneurship education are not novel. Entrepreneurship education at the university level is mostly taught in business schools. Entrepreneurial skills, though, are not only necessary for students who become entrepreneurs. Science and Management Information Systems (MIS) specializations are preparing students to effectively integrate into the competitive working environments of the 21st century. Nevertheless, a common observation is that it is often difficult for students to see any motivation in cultivating mainly entrepreneurial thinking through a course of Management of Innovation and Technology. Academics and practitioners, who teach related topics, especially to multidisciplinary classes, continuously seek innovative teaching and learning approaches to impose more learning responsibility on students, mainly to cultivate their entrepreneurial thinking and acting. This chapter examines the impact of Student-Centered Learning (SCL) introduced in the new multidisciplinary undergraduate course MGT370 Management of Innovation and Technology at the University of Nicosia. The study shows that students and lecturer effectively adopted SCL and commented on its worth for their teaching and learning. Further, the study confirms the implementation of SCL as a significant contribution in cultivating students’ entrepreneurial thinking in meeting the needs of the 21st century.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document