Choice Architecture for Nudges to Support Constructive Learning in Active Video Watching

Video-based learning is widely used today in both formal education and informal learning in a variety of contexts. Videos are especially powerful for transferable skills learning (e.g. communicating, negotiating, collaborating), where contextualization in personal experience and ability to see different perspectives are crucial. With the ubiquity of widely available video content, video-based learning is seen as one of the main strategies to provide engaging learning environments. However, numerous studies show that to learn effectively while watching videos, students need to engage actively with video content. We have developed an active video watching platform (AVW-Space) to facilitate engagement with video content by providing means for constructive learning. The initial studies with AVW-Space on presentation skills show that only students who commented on videos and who rated comments written by their peers have improved their understanding of the target transferable skill. In order to foster deeper engagement, we designed a choice architecture and a set of nudges to encourage students to engage deeper. We conducted two studies investigating the effect of nudges. The results provide evidence that the initial set of implemented nudges is effective: the students who received nudges wrote more comments, used different aspects, and there were more students who wrote comments. The nudges were particularly helpful for undergraduate students who were less experienced in self-regulated learning. Future work includes designing additional nudges to enhance student engagement by improving the quality of comments and by encouraging participation in collaborative activities.

FAIR and transparent research data

This interview was recorded in July 2020 for DocEnhance, an EU-funded project that aims to broaden the expertise of PhDs by developing courses in transferable skills. One such transferable skill is how to manage your research data in a transparent manner and as much as possible in accordance with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reproducible). Professor of computational chemistry and prorector for research and development at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Kenneth Ruud gives an introduction to FAIR and transparent research data management, emphasizing that this will not only help Science develop, but also help the career of individual researchers. First published online: July 9, 2021.

Transferable skills?

Courses in “generic” or “transferable” skills have during the last decade become an established part of the PhD-education in Norway, and they are today an important part of the academic libraries’ research support. At the same time academic writing centers and other writing support initiatives have spread widely in university libraries. “Writing” as a “transferable skill” has also advanced into the courses for PhD-candidates, accompanied by courses on search techniques, workflow issues and the publishing process. This paper will try to define actual PhD-candidate needs regarding the writing process and discuss how these can be addressed in courses in transferable skills at Norwegian university libraries. How dissertations may be structured, how research literature is reviewed or how literature searches are conducted varies strongly between different fields of research and depends a lot on subject-related factors like methodological requirements, genre conventions and research workflow. How can the libraries’ courses and internet resources meet the researchers’ demands for customized, relevant, project-related writing guidance, whilst the researchers’ projects are so totally different from each other in regard to genre, topic, method, theory and the role of writing in the research process? In the light of recent research on writing support we want to discuss current practices in courses, workshops and guidance for PhD-candidates in Norwegian university libraries and make some practical suggestions for writing education on PhD level.

Skill-based ESP Classroom: Teaching for Preserving and Enhancing Oman’s Comparative Advantages in an Era of Economic and Digital Transformation

English for Specific Purposes oriented inquiry spans different territories and domains (Basturkmen, 2013). Firmly established in the English for Specific Purposes teaching and learning practice developed in Oman’s tertiary education, this paper explores a skill-based teaching approach ascribable to its far-reaching partnership with Oman 2040 vision initiative, and 21st-century educational thinking and planning for the future. In particular, while debating current issues related to economic and digital transformation, it aims at examining student skill development in the context of an English for Specific Purposes classroom using Omani tertiary education students’ self-perceived responses. Students responded to a survey that investigated perceptions of transferable skill importance, self-efficacy, and opportunities for improvement. The results reveal that adaptability/flexibility, time management, oral communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving are the most essential student perceived transferrable skills concerning their future employability and professional success; however, the perceived opportunities to use and improve these skills as well as satisfaction with the ability to use them in the course vary, and, therefore, should be addressed when considering further development of the English for Business course curriculum and its delivery. As an outcome of this study, English for Specific Purposes program providers and educators will have a better understanding of the students’ skill-sets and provide their students with the tools and strategies they need to learn and thrive in English for Specific Purposes courses effectively.

Skill-based ESP Classroom: Teaching for Preserving and Enhancing Oman’s Comparative Advantages in an Era of Economic and Digital Transformation

English for Specific Purposes oriented inquiry spans different territories and domains (Basturkmen, 2013). Firmly established in the English for Specific Purposes teaching and learning practice developed in Oman’s tertiary education, this paper explores a skill-based teaching approach ascribable to its far-reaching partnership with Oman 2040 vision initiative, and 21st-century educational thinking and planning for the future. In particular, while debating current issues related to economic and digital transformation, it aims at examining student skill development in the context of an English for Specific Purposes classroom using Omani tertiary education students’ self-perceived responses. Students responded to a survey that investigated perceptions of transferable skill importance, self-efficacy, and opportunities for improvement. The results reveal that adaptability/flexibility, time management, oral communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving are the most essential student perceived transferrable skills concerning their future employability and professional success; however, the perceived opportunities to use and improve these skills as well as satisfaction with the ability to use them in the course vary, and, therefore, should be addressed when considering further development of the English for Business course curriculum and its delivery. As an outcome of this study, English for Specific Purposes program providers and educators will have a better understanding of the students’ skill-sets and provide their students with the tools and strategies they need to learn and thrive in English for Specific Purposes courses effectively.

Thinking Critically About the Fourth Industrial Revolution as a Wicked Problem

This chapter examines the Fourth Industrial Revolution as a wicked problem. By doing so, it promotes critical thinking as a key component required to manage the juggernaut that, in current discourses, has evaded such discussion and possible clarity on plans forward. Not only do the existing frameworks of managing wicked problems provide useful tools to engage with the disruptive technologies and other impacts of the so-called revolution, specific tools relating to critical thinking are explored as fundamental to a beneficial approach though such an approach is one of multiple avenues, possible short-cuts and potential dead ends. In addition, the very context of 4IR suggests a need for ensuring critical thinking as a key transferable skill required to thrive in the changing world, providing a potential catalyst to transform or reignite thinking critically about critical thinking.

DEVELOPING GEOSPATIAL SCIENTISTS – USING STUDENTS AS PARTNERS IN DRONE RESEARCH

The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook predicts geospatial careers to increase much faster than average (15%) from 2018 to 2028 with no additional on-the-job training expected. Geospatial professionals can assist in promoting these career opportunities by mentoring high school students through real-world and transferable-skill building activities. The aim is to enhance students’ awareness and stimulate their interest towards STEM education and careers, especially in geospatial data analytics. This area of study incorporates a variety of modern-day tools for analyzing and mapping the Earth. The technology used offers a radically different way in which geospatial scientist produce and use the geospatial information required to manage a large variety of communities and industries.

Academic writing support

Higher education across Europe is in transition due to professionalization of the traditional academic education. One response to these changes is to focus on transferable skills (1,2). At the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, the vision for the education strategy is that the students shall succeed both scientifically and professionally (3,4). Communication is mentioned as one of the transferable skills important to succeed professionally (4). Clear and comprehensible communication is a crucial transferable skill for pharmacists. Therefore, pharmacy students are evaluated on written communication throughout a 5-year curriculum, including evaluation of e.g. laboratory reports, essays, exams and a master thesis. Over the last decade, the proportion of pharmacy students with Norwegian as native language has decreased. A general impression is also that students in general struggle to express themselves in writing. In 2019, the Department of Pharmacy, the Academic Writing Centre and the Science Library initiated a pilot project aiming to strengthen the academic writing of pharmacy students during the first year of study. 8 seminars about assignment interpretation, text evaluation, and structure and compositions of different assignments, were planned. Further, students were to be mentored in small groups by student mentors. The aim was to provide the pharmacy students with the right tools and skills in writing various academic texts. This presentation will illuminate how University libraries can collaborate with faculties and departments by developing innovative education with the aim for students to gain generic writing knowledge and hands-on skills. We will describe and discuss the series of seminars regarding content, assignments, outcome and progress, from the Science library perspective. The seminars will be evaluated by the students and staff, and the findings will be presented and discussed.