Loneliness through the lens of Black feminist love-politics: pedagogical practices amid pandemic online learning

Purpose Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including contact restrictions and the switch to virtual classes, loneliness has become a pressing concern for college students and their learning. This study aims to interrogate current discussions about college student loneliness through the lens of Black feminist love-politics to reimagine online pedagogical practices. Design/methodology/approach Using a broad literature base and anecdotes from personal teaching experiences, the authors contend that Black Feminist perspectives on love, care and solidarity can illuminate the sociopolitical dimensions of loneliness in pedagogically productive ways. Findings The authors explore various pedagogical practices that are inspired by Black feminist approaches that aim to promote solidarity, love and care in either virtual or in-person classrooms. These pedagogical suggestions result from the authors’ teaching experiences amid online learning and current literature in education. Practical implications The authors seek to support educators’ understanding of the most pervasive yet misunderstood emotional experiences of student learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper explores strategies for addressing feelings of loneliness within online learning-related contexts in higher education. This discussion will be particularly relevant for educators and students from historically marginalized populations. Originality/value This work focuses on the plight of community college students, a demographic that has not garnered enough attention in the educational research concerning this pandemic. In addition, this paper offers an account of loneliness that aligns with the political and ideological crisis of today and places it in conversation with Black feminist thought.

Bringing Life to Online Meetings

The future of work and learning will take place in two-dimensional, online settings, even if these virtual formats are used to augment in-person experiences. In this chapter, the author reflects on his improv theater and teaching experiences to offer practical advice on enhancing collaboration in small, synchronous online meetings, both in the classroom and workplace. Core principles include engaging selflessly, honoring the power of empty space, and bringing emotional and physical energy to each online session. The author shares lively examples from his own theatrical experience and supports the use of basic improv principles through social science, neuroscience, and workplace engagement research.

Teaching Model-Driven Engineering in a Master's Program

Model-driven engineering (MDE) is an approach to software engineering that adopts models as the central artefact. Although the approach is promising in addressing major issues in software development, particularly in dealing with software complexity, and there are several success cases in the industry as well as growing interest in the research community, it seems that it has been hard to generalize its gains among software professionals. To address this issue, MDE must be taught at a higher-education level. This chapter presents a three-year experience in teaching MDE in a course of a master program in informatics engineering. The chapter provides details on how a project-based learning approach was adopted and evolved along three editions of the course. Results of a student survey are discussed and compared to those from another course. In addition, several other similar teaching experiences are analyzed.

Transformative Lehre

Transformative teaching that involves practitioners prepares students for their role in social change processes in a way that is true to life. This guide shows how teachers can successfully shape the collaboration between students and practitioners. It introduces the basics of transformative teaching and the challenges of involving practitioners. At the heart of the guide are 13 building blocks, described in the form of checklists, which can be assembled by teachers as needed. The description of an ideal-typical module rounds off the guide, which is based on the teaching experiences of the four authors within the framework of the Reallabor Wissensdialog Nordschwarzwald.

Using and Adapting Simulated Teaching Experiences to Support Preservice Teacher Learning

This chapter provides a set of recommendations for teacher educators interested in using simulated teaching experiences to support teacher learning of pedagogical practice in the post-COVID era. Built from existing research, the recommendations from the study come from lessons learned as five elementary mathematics and science teacher educators used a simulated teaching experience to support preservice teacher learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors begin by situating this work in the larger context of practice-based teacher education and then provide an in-depth description of how five teacher educators at different universities integrated a simulated teaching experience into their elementary mathematics or science methods course. The chapter ends with a discussion of lessons learned and how educator preparation programs and teacher educators can leverage the opportunities created by using simulated teaching experiences in the post-COVID era.

Gamification for Technology-Enhanced Language Teaching and Learning

This chapter explores gamification as an innovative pedagogical strategy in language learning with the use of technology. The authors examine the construct of gamification, arguing for the need of a clear definition as many authors use various terms interchangeably. The dynamics, mechanics, and components to conform a gamified learning experience are presented. The chapter describes current research and teaching experiences on gamification and technology-enhanced teaching and learning. Two approaches are identified: the use or design of gamified apps and gamified learning experiences designed entirely by teachers and implemented with the help of different technologies. Some tools and platforms for gamification are discussed and recommendations on how to implement a successful gamified teaching intervention are provided. Two approaches to researching gamification are also proposed.

Analyzing the Impact on Teacher Preparedness as a Result of Using Mursion as a Risk-free Microteaching Experience for Pre-service Teachers

Risk-free micro-teaching affords an opportunity for pre-service teachers (PTs) to practice teaching and student engagement techniques outside of a traditional classroom setting. More time to practice teaching is often an expressed desire of PTs. Orchestrating time to practice teaching techniques learned in pedagogy courses is a difficult undertaking for teacher educators, especially while trying to ensure low-risk or risk-free experiences. As explained through this study, the implementation of a Mursion simulation to offer risk-free micro-teaching experiences for PTs served as a valuable addition to an introductory teaching course. The Mursion experience enhanced PTs’ personal preparation for teaching as well as enhancing their professionalism and lesson quality.

Study Benefits of Smartphones: Perceptions of Female Emirati Pre-Service Teacher Undergraduates

Smartphones are becoming ubiquitous and can be very useful study tools. We explored female Emirati undergraduates’ perceptions of smartphone use in the classroom. Furthermore, we investigated the age at which participants received their first smartphones, the number of smartphones to which they had access at the time of the study, and the influence of these aspects on the use of smartphones as a learning tool. An online survey of 189 participants revealed that the age of receiving their first smartphone, combined with the number of smartphones they owned or had access to at the time of the study, did not correlate with their perceptions of the usefulness of smartphones as a learning tool in a statistically significant manner. However, participants in their first year of study had fewer positive perceptions about the use of smartphones in the classroom than participants in subsequent study years. We surmise that this might be attributable, in part, to the further experiences older students have had or classes they have taken or to student teaching experiences in which they might have firsthand observed the benefits of phone use in the classroom as a learning tool.