scholarly journals Towards best practice in course design: A case study of flexibility and collaboration between users and developers in supporting process with technology

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-97
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Thomson ◽  
◽  
Greg Auhl ◽  
Philip Uys ◽  
Denise Wood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Software Platform ◽  
Underlying Theory ◽  
Current Product ◽  
Evidenced Based ◽  
Education Courses

This paper reports on the development of an evidenced-based method guiding the review, design and development of higher education courses (programs), supported by a bespoke, purpose-specific software platform. It describes the outcome of a five-year process of development for both the method and for the supporting technology, where feedback was obtained from stakeholders across the institution, evaluated and enacted. The paper describes the best practice approaches embedded within the method, as well as the underlying theory bases and the procedures that contributed to the evolution of the current product. The lessons learned by the project team can inform others in similar higher education contexts thereby avoiding the pitfalls described.

Environmental service-learning approach in higher education – a descriptive case study on student-led life cycle assessments of university cafeteria meals

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Johannisson ◽  
Michael Hiete
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Graduate Course ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Descriptive Case Study

Purpose This study aims to share experiences of an easy to adapt service-learning approach in a graduate course on life cycle assessment (LCA). Specifically, it reports on how students helped the university’s cafeteria to assess meals by conducting an LCA for 25 meals and identifying environmental hotspots. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive case study of a graduate course at Ulm University is presented. The course included lectures and problem-based exercises, both theoretical and software assisted. A course evaluation was conducted during the course and one year after completion to poll improvement potentials, as well as its impacts on students’ everyday life. Findings It was found that although it was the first LCA for all students, the resulting LCA information of 25 different meals were homogeneous, comparable to the scientific literature and beneficial to the cafeteria’s sustainable development strategy. The concept of service-learning had a higher impact on students’ motivation than a good grade and active-learning is explicitly requested by students. The course design sensitized students to the real-life problems of LCA and made their consumption patterns more elaborate and ecological. Furthermore, this digitization of higher education could be carried out with only minor changes in the present COVID-19 pandemic situation. Originality/value As the subject of service-learning in natural sciences is still expandable, this study presents an easy to adapt case study on how to integrate such an approach into university curricula dominated by traditional learning. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this case study presents the first published LCA university course explicitly describing and evaluating a service-learning approach. The topic touches the everyday lives of students, allows comparisons between different student groups, is easily scalable to different group sizes and credits, and supports learning both how to study in small groups and cooperation between groups to ensure comparability of LCA results.

scholarly journals Intercultural competence of university teachers: a challenge of internationalization

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Zelenková ◽  
Dana Hanesová
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
English Language ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Medium Study ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Significant Deficit ◽  
Intercultural Mediators

Abstract The aim of the authors is to respond to the growing demands on the intercultural competence of university teachers due to intensified internationalization pressures on higher education, especially due to the growing number of students and teachers’ international exchanges. They report on an intercultural course design responding to this need, presenting a case study from Slovakia. First, they define the need of intercultural competence of university teachers, especially those teaching in English-medium study programmes. Then they share a) findings from a needs analysis preceding the design of a new curriculum for an intercultural competence course (ICC) at Matej Bel University (MBU) with three aims (development of linguistic, cultural and pedagogic competences); and b) results from action research during piloting the ICC course. A comparison of 2011 and 2018 surveys pointed to the growing dominance of the English language, including an increasing command of English by MBU teachers. The ICC curriculum, tailored to the pre-identified teachers’ needs, proved to be a feasible way of facilitating their intercultural competence. Its implementation revealed persistent prejudices and difficulties associated with overcoming them. It also confirmed a significant deficit in preparing university teachers for their role as intercultural mediators in English-medium courses.

Crossing the Chasm

2019 ◽  
pp. 233-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie R. Bulger ◽  
Alma Correa ◽  
Amertah E. Perman ◽  
Matthew Rivaldi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovation ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovation Theory ◽  
Community College District ◽  
Higher Education Costs ◽  
The Cost

Due to the ongoing trend of increased higher education costs, state and federal strategies have been implemented in an effort to lower students' cost of college. One such strategy gaining nationwide attention is the implementation of open educational resources (OER) to lower the cost of textbooks. This chapter describes how a higher education institution can support and scale the diffusion of OER adoption by presenting a framework based on Everett Rogers's diffusion of innovation theory, with a focus on engaging the “early majority” in this process to sustain the innovation. The development of the framework and a case study of its implementation and evaluation within a community college district are presented to guide other higher education institutions in the scaling of OER adoption. The chapter also considers influences on the framework that constrain, accelerate, or support OER adoption, and presents implications and recommendations based on lessons learned.

Video-Based Discussion

2019 ◽  
pp. 128-153
Author(s):  
Leila Mahmoudi ◽  
Susie Gronseth
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Graduate Course ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Individual Personality ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Education Courses ◽  
Video Format

Video-based discussion is an emerging technology that can be used in online higher education courses as part of introduction, debate, personal exploration, and reflection activities. The video format bridges the distance gap in course conversations and offers benefits of providing contextual details, emotion, and individual personality while also enabling asynchronous flexibility. This chapter provides an overview of research in this area and describes an exploratory case study in which video-based discussion was used as part of an online graduate course. Data gathered included video postings and follow-up survey responses. Design guidelines and strategy recommendations are offered for planning and implementing video-based discussion activities in online higher education courses.

scholarly journals A Study of Quality Assessment in Higher Education within the Context of Sustainable Development: A Case Study from Czech Republic

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4769 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Vykydal ◽  
Martin Folta ◽  
Jaroslav Nenadál
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Management System ◽  
Quality Management System ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Success Factor

Quality has become an increasingly important and critical success factor at higher education institutions, particularly universities. Numerous discussions have been held about education quality in the context of sustainable development. However, the quality of that education strongly depends on the overall quality of the management system which operates at schools. The principal aim of this article is to present the approaches to the quality management systems’ development and their assessment at universities, and share some lessons learned from this area of research. Some possibilities of the ISO 9001 standard’s implementation, as well as the application of excellence models as a response to community demands, will be discussed, especially in the context of the recently-introduced Act No. 111/1998 Coll on Higher Education Institutions, which requires quality assurance and quality evaluation. A case study from The VSB-Technical University of Ostrava shows approaches, results and effects of the quality management system implementation.

scholarly journals Towards automation of operando experiments: A case study in contactless conductivity measurements

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kraus ◽  
Elisabeth Wolf ◽  
Charlotte Prinz ◽  
Giulia Bellini ◽  
Annette Trunschke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Conductivity Measurement ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Main Body ◽  
Process Data ◽  
Post Process ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Machine Readable ◽  
Machine Readable Form

Automation of experiments is a key component on the path of digitalisation in catalysis and related sciences. Here we present the lessons learned and caveats avoided during the automation of our contactless conductivity measurement set-up, capable of operando measurement of catalytic samples. We briefly discuss the motivation behind the work, the technical groundwork required, and the philosophy guiding our design. The main body of this work is dedicated to the detailing of the implementation of the automation, data structures, as well as the modular data processing pipeline. The open-source toolset developed as part of this work allows us to carry out unattended and reproducible experiments, as well as post-process data according to current best practice. This process is illustrated by implementing two routine sample protocols, one of which was included in the Handbook of Catalysis, providing several case studies showing the benefits of such automation, including increased throughput and higher data quality. The datasets included as part of this work contain catalytic and operando conductivity data, and are self-consistent, annotated with metadata, and are available on a public repository in a machine-readable form. We hope the datasets as well as the tools and workflows developed as part of this work will be an useful guide on the path towards automation and digital catalysis.

scholarly journals Information literacy outreach between universities and schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Sharon Wagg ◽  
Pam McKinney
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Situational Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The North ◽  
Outreach Programme ◽  
The Impact

Research shows that students starting higher education (HE) often lack an essential level of information literacy (IL). To address this issue, a growing number of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) engage with schools through Information Literacy Outreach Programmes (ILOPs). This paper explores the forces and motivations behind how and why HEIs engage with schools through ILOPs, and discusses their impact on beneficiaries. Using a UK research-led university in the North of England as a single case study (hitherto XXXX), this research project adopted a qualitative case study approach and used Situational Analysis to explore and analyse the data collected. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with key staff that participated in the IL outreach programme, and a model was developed to illustrate diagrammatically the key outcomes and phases of the IL Outreach Programme. Key findings revealed that the IL Outreach Programme at XXXX is an effective mechanism for bridging the social worlds of schools and HE; for creating partnerships and knowledge sharing between institutions; for breaking down social barriers and inequalities; and for developing critically aware, independent learners. The significance of this paper is that it helps us understand the impact of IL outreach programmes, and how such programmes provide schools and HEIs with an opportunity to work collaboratively and share knowledge and best practice. It also provides a valuable addition to IL literature.

The Diverse Voices Conference

2017 ◽  
pp. 190-201
Author(s):  
Chaunda L. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Diversity Education ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Education Students ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
The Public ◽  
History Of ◽  
Education Courses

As diversity higher education courses and programs continue to increase on university campuses in the United States, research remains scant on the role that diversity education conferences can play in furthering higher education students' diversity learning beyond the classroom. The aim of this chapter is to introduce the Diverse Voices Conference as a successful higher education diversity initiative in Michigan that has for seventeen years provided a safe environment for students to learn more about and speak out in support of valuing all aspects of human diversity. This chapter will highlight 1) the history of the Diverse Voices Conference; 2) the components of the Diverse Voices Conference; 3) the lessons learned regarding sponsoring the Diverse Voices Conference on a university campus in Michigan that is free and open to the public; along with 4) future directions for expansing the conference and its visibility beyond its current state.

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