Blended Learning Activities in an e-Business Course

The objectives of this study were threefold: to understand students’ perceptions of activities in a blended learning environment; to determine their preferred learning activities in this context, paralleling the four stages of Kolb’s learning cycle; and to determine the effectiveness of the blended learning used, based on scores achieved in an e-business course supported by the BLearning assessment system, a custom-designed reflective assessment tool. A mixed-methods approach was used to identify the students’ preferred activities. Findings indicate that (1) blended learning can add interest and variety to improve the students’ learning experience, (2) students prefer blended learning activities that match the first three stages of Kolb’s learning cycle (concrete experience, reflective observation, and abstract conceptualisation), and (3) data collected from the e-business course exam results show that the blended learning process was effective. In aligning teaching activities to student preferences, the notion of “teaching patterns” is introduced as the teaching perspective on these activities. Findings further indicate that blended learning activities based on the first three stages of Kolb’s learning cycle may be more suitable for students who share similar learning preferences.

Student Perceptions Towards the Use of the Mobile Flipped Classroom Approach

This study aimed at identifying students’ perception in terms of motivation, learning and engagement in using mobile flipped classroom approach based on Kolb’s Learning Cycle (1984). This quantitative study was conducted using a questionnaire to collect the data. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive analysis (percentage, means and standard deviations) utilizing the SPSS 20. The research took place in one of the top private universities in Malaysia and equipped with adequate free internet access. The researcher applied homogenous purposive sampling by selecting 40 undergraduate students registered in multimedia and computer animation course. The result showed that students had positive perceptions in terms of students’ motivation, learning and engagement in multimedia and animation course using mobile flipped classroom approach. Future research is recommended to focus on different age and a group of participants to obtain in-depth information on the implementation of mobile flipped classroom approach in a different context.

Using Modern Educational Technologies in a Law School (Based on Regional Experience)

This article illustrates the regional experience of using modern educational technologies in the Far East branch of the Russian State University of Justice. Presented is the practice of using real-life practical situations within case-methods included in the educational process and aimed at the formation of students’ practical skills by means of achieving personal success. This article considers the role and influence of the business games method on the formation of personal and professional competence in students applying for Legal Studies and studying History of State and Law and Foreign Language courses. Designing a modern lecture in accordance with Kolb’s Learning Cycle is presented in terms of increasing its efficiency means shifting the emphasis in the lecture material structuring and transitioning to a new format from memorization to acquiring lecture material.

Pendidikan lingkungan berbasis experiential learning untuk meningkatkan literasi lingkungan

Damage to the ecosystem and decline in the amount of biodiversity continues. Ecosystem damage due to human activities has become a global problem. This destructive activity reflects the low of the community’s environmental literacy. Environmental education can be a solution to improve community’s environmental literacy. The objectives of environmental education are (1) awareness; (2) knowledge; (3) attitude; (4) skills; and (5) participation. One effective method in environmental education is based on experiential learning. This article aims to explain the concept of environmental education based on experiential learning which can be an alternative integration of environmental education in schools. This article discusses the urgency of environmental literacy, how environmental education can improve environmental literacy, and detailed concepts of how to implement environmental education based on experiential learning in schools. Experiential learning-based environmental education means instilling Kolb’s learning cycle in learning and environmental education programs. The Kolb cycle consists of: (1) Concrete Experience; (2) Observation and Reflection; (3) Forming Abstract Concept; (4) Testing in New Situation. Experiential learning based environmental education will provide provisions for students to be able to design pro-environment actions or participate in providing solutions to environmental problems.

Comparing Measures of Student Sustainable Design Skills Using a Project-Level Rubric and Surveys

Civil engineers are poised to impact sustainable development. Consequently, there is a need for curricular materials to scaffold students in developing sustainable design skills. Previously, a sustainability module, based on Kolb’s learning cycle, was integrated into a civil engineering capstone course in the United States. The purpose of this study was to analyze the extent to which students engaging in the module (intervention cohort) were able to improve their sustainable design skills, as compared to a group of capstone students not participating in the module (control cohort). A Sustainable Design Rubric was used to assess students’ sustainable design performance, as captured in capstone reports. In addition, students reflected on their confidence related to several sustainable design competencies via a survey. Based on an evaluation of capstone design reports, improvement in the intervention teams’ consideration of sustainable design criteria was somewhat limited, as they more extensively addressed only 2 of the 16 sustainable design criteria compared to control teams. Intervention students reported improved confidence in more sustainable design competencies than control students (10 of 12 for intervention students; 1 of 12 for control students). For future implementations, clearer and more extensive sustainable design expectations need to be set by instructors and project sponsors to increase the execution of sustainable design and close the gap between students’ perceptions of improved skills and teams’ actual application of sustainable design criteria.

Using Kolb’s Learning Cycle to Improve Student Sustainability Knowledge

Engineers are increasingly called upon to develop and implement innovative solutions that serve a growing population, while simultaneously exploiting fewer resources and minimizing environmental impacts. As such, improvements in undergraduate curricula are needed to train students to operate under a sustainable development paradigm. A learning-cycle-based sustainability module was adapted and implemented in a cornerstone design course within a civil engineering program at a large, research-intensive institution in the United States. One cornerstone cohort participated in a peer-lecture version of the module, while the second cohort participated in a peer-discussion version. Concept maps, scored using three different methods, were used to measure changes in students’ sustainability knowledge. A self-report survey was used to measure changes in students’ perceptions of their sustainability knowledge and skills. Students in both the peer-lecture and peer-discussion cohorts demonstrated improved sustainability knowledge networks and confidences after participation in the module. However, peer-lecture students showed greater improvements in knowledge connectedness (a feature of expert-like knowledge) than peer-discussion students. Regardless of cohort, cornerstone students demonstrated greater gains in knowledge and confidence than did a cohort of capstone students who participated in an earlier implementation of the module. Future implementations may be most impactful if the peer-discussion format is integrated into early design courses.

Developing Professionals

The common path into a career in higher education and student affairs (HESA) involves undergraduate campus leadership, involvement, and mentorship from professionals in the field and leads to enrolling in a graduate program in HESA. What is less common is intentional preparation or curricula to transition undergraduates into a graduate program in HESA and a career in the field. This paper describes how one “Careers in Higher Education” course for undergraduate students at one university informed students’ decisions to enter the field. This study uses Kolb’s learning cycle (Kolb, 1984) as a conceptual and analytical framework.