Collaborative Learning Environments for Autistic Children in the Inclusive School

One of the major challenges facing inclusive education for children with ASD is the identification and the removal of barriers of learning, ranging from attitudinal barriers to those related to how we organize workspaces and the conception of educational resources. The collaborative approach is one of the most effective ways of learning, and it has the benefit to develop the culture of inclusion in schools. In fact, the major challenge of the system is to personalize the educational therapeutic approach, respectively to create learning environments that generate meaningful learning experiences for each beneficiary. When the authors refer to the personalization of inclusive learning environments during pandemic period, they think both of indoor environments, but also of outdoor environments, as well as virtual environments, models of innovative practices regarding the preparation and organization of personalized collaborative spaces both in classrooms and also in learning spaces from the community, having a multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary approach in order to develop life skills.

Leadership, Vision, and Values in a Time of Change and Crisis

This chapter analyses the principles and practices of effective leadership and management in times of complex change. It presents an illustrative case study of a UK research-intensive university's strategic response to global and national changes in the higher education sector as they intersected with a profound and unexpected crisis – the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter explores emergent possibilities for practising leadership that respects the culture(s) of the academic and professional collective of a research-intensive university, while considering some of the lived contradictions and kinds of emotional labour experienced during this time of great pressure. The authors propose a new cross-cutting articulation of ‘leadership in academia' based on seven key principles as a means of bringing faculty members and professional staff into new collaborative spaces. Their conclusion highlights the importance of establishing a culture of consent to cooperation to enable institutions to navigate disagreements over policy decisions.

PLATO: a practice development approach to reconsidering student learning partnerships

Background: This article explores the use of a practice development approach to support nursing students’ engagement in learning partnerships in clinical practice settings. Aim: To reflect, using the model proposed by Rolfe and colleagues (2001), on the development of ‘PLATO’ – an educational tool to help nursing students explore their role in building learning partnerships in clinical settings. Conclusion: A practice development approach to clinical learning partnerships can support an effective learning culture. As a result, nursing students can gain greater empowerment and take increased responsibility for their learning. Implications for practice: • Facilitating learning partnerships with students is important for achieving person-centred care • Partnership working provides opportunities for true collaboration and for learning with and from our students • Developing collaborative spaces can facilitate nursing students to reflect in and on their practice

Did the Student-Instructor and Peer-to-Peer Divide Widen with Instructional Changes during COVID-19?

The rapid shift to online and HyFlex learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic caused an abrupt reconceptualization of higher education and learning communities. It also provided a fertile ground for experimentation and observation about the student experience in a highly fluid learning environment. The work presented herein was a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the student experience grounded in the theory of transactional distance. It explored the divide between students and their peers and instructors. It was hypothesized that the distance students perceived between themselves and their peers, instructors, and content was affected by the modality (in-person, online, or hybrid) in which a course was offered during the Fall 2020 semester. The Revised Scale of Transactional Distance (RSTD) instrument was deployed as a quantitative tool, and it was found that modality was a significant factor in students' perceived transactional distance. In-person classes had the shortest perceived distance between students and their instructors and peers; conversely, online courses resulted in the largest divide. A systematic qualitative analysis identified three themes in student interview data: changes in learning environments, changes in learning strategies, and changes in relationships with professors. The implications of these data were discussed and mitigation strategies including intentionality in course design and collaborative spaces were presented.

Collaborative spaces: at the intersection of design and management

Purpose Because of the differing perceptions held by each position or professional subculture, forming a collaborative and productive workplace with design and management teams can be challenging. In light of these anticipated obstacles to success in the workplace, this paper aims to ascertain the prospects for common undertakings within a business. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on an analysis of a survey conducted among design and business students who had the opportunity to work together on a joint project and present their recommendations for an actual market-based organization. Findings Despite differences between the groups, there is a common understanding of organizational goals and willingness to undertake a joint effort to achieve them. This is accomplished through leveraging one another’s professional expertise, building trust through finishing the business projects and discovering tangible end results. Any evident differences between the groups seem to complement one another, thus creating common ground for effective collaboration. Research limitations/implications This is a study of a limited number of students enrolled in two universities in Spain. To ensure generalizability, research extended to more higher education institutions is needed. Practical implications The authors strongly believe that students are the future of business. As a result, understanding how they perceive any tension, integration or responsibilities of design and management helps with curriculum development two-fold: first, student perceptions help address any issues that can increase or hinder chances for efficient collaboration; second, student perceptions address the larger issue of design–management integration in business. Originality/value The authors studied a unique environment for collaboration beyond traditional organizational divisions and allowed study behaviors of students representing two professional backgrounds.

Social innovations and sustainability of tourism: Insights from public sector in Kemi, Finland

This article proposes new insights on sustainability of tourism through social innovations. The underlying aim is to find practical ways to enhance sustainability in and through tourism, as sustainability has been criticized for its abstract nature. The marginally studied relationship of sustainability of tourism and social innovations is explored by utilizing ethnographic data on tourism, which is expected to grow in Kemi, Finland. Two examined examples of social innovations—related to social inclusion, employment, and using waste food—offer insights for tourism by bringing out non-traditional public sector perspectives and novel, multi-sectoral grass-root initiatives for coping with societal challenges at the local level. This paper suggests that sustainability of tourism can be informed through social innovations as cooperative processes, which respond to local needs and create novel solutions and social and other value at the destination. It is discussed how insights from social innovations can widen the understanding of what constitutes a tourism stakeholder, bring in the holistic, multi-sectoral dimensions of sustainability, and provide examples on the use of collaborative spaces for practical tourism planning.