Experiential and Integrated Learning Environments – Teaching Urban Design Studio at Curtin University

Experiential Learning and Integrated Learning Environments in Architecture is a pedagogic project based on action learning (Revans, 1980) that challenges the traditional design studio teaching approach to Architectural/Urban Design and builds on Dewey (1939) and Kolb (1984) theories of experiential learning. An innovative model of teaching Urban Design to Master of Architecture students has been trailed for the first time in 2018, when the studio was set in the City of Bayswater, and has been refined over the course of 2019 in two separate study periods – Study Period 1 (Rome/Milan Study Tour) and Semester 2. This model provides students with an opportunity to collaboratively learn from and re-design the existing urban environments by immersing themselves in the very context they are studying. The proximity of the classroom to the urban setting presented an opportunity for students to draw comparisons and analysis between national and international examples and that of the surrounding urban milieu. Additionally, advanced technology supportive of distributed learning environment and intense collaboration with industry such as Hassell, Element and The Office of the Government Architect (OGA), coupled with opportunities to visit various practices, provided deeper insights and an all rounded approach to learning and engaging with architecture. Keywords: experiential learning; collaborative learning environments; architecture, urban design

Conceptual Framework for Assessing Process Variables Salient for Service-Learning Experience

Service-learning is an established pedagogy which integrates experiential learning with community service. It has been widely adopted in higher education around the world including in Hong Kong, yet the key ingredients that determine its successful impacts for its stakeholders have not been fully assessed. This study reviewed the past literature, which indicates the key ingredients that may be found in successful service-learning programmes. We identify six key ingredients: students provide meaningful service; the community partner representative plays a positive role; effective preparation and support for students; effective reflection by students; effective integration of service-learning within the course design; and stakeholder synergy in terms of collaboration, communication and co-ownership. In order to obtain an inter-subjectively fair and trustworthy data set, reflecting the extent to which those key ingredients are perceived to have been achieved, we propose a multi-stakeholder approach for data collection, involving students, instructors and community partner representatives.

Dropout and Engineering undergraduate programs at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia between 2012-2019

Dropout is a topic of significant concern to Higher Education Institutions, especially in Colombia it is considered one of the most important indicators to define higher education quality. Nevertheless, in Colombia, and particularly at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, it has been generally assessed only academic dropout. This decision has prevented understanding other types of dropouts that also occur in the university. The research group performed Multiple Correspondence Analysis to assess the relationship between dropout types (academic, dropout on request, and expiry of time limits) and variables such as sex, socioeconomic stratum, type of admission, and semester of dropout. In the results, we found a disparity between types of dropout concerning the type of university admission, sex, socio-economic stratum, and the semester in which dropout occurs. Women are related to the dropout request while men are associated with the academic dropout. Additionally, the academic dropout occurs in the first 4 semesters, and the expiry of time limits occurs in the last ones.

Practicing 21st Century Skills in the Classroom

In the midst of the current technological revolution, there is a thriving conversation about how society should adapt to the future of work taking place in the national media, universities, policy organizations, think tanks, consulting firms and companies. One such model for work and education under consideration is that of the role of higher education in workforce development. How well does a bachelor’s degree prepare an individual for a career in this shifting landscape of work? What is the responsibility of the university to the student – to prepare them for a career? Or to help them build the intellectual framework to build a meaningful life Incorporating the practice and development of 21st century skills into the higher education classroom does not necessarily require a great rethinking of the education model or content delivery. Rather, it could be as simple as encouraging faculty to use proven educational principles such as active learning and group-based learning into the classroom. This would allow students to practice some of the necessary skills such as communication, respect, teamwork, and problem solving into their higher education curriculum.

Occupational safety and health education and training: an innovative format and experience

Health begins at home and in community where people live and work, in fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being’. Experts and professionals, of all sectors and specialities, need to take account the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in all aspects of their working lives. Mainstreaming OSH into education concerns integrating one policy area – OSH – into another – education. This study started from a first analysis of an international and national OSH training offer, in which some critical aspects emerged: there are mostly sectoral training courses, qualifying some prevention actor roles, most linked to traditional risks, and primarily focused on the safety aspects rather than the health ones. The current study is related to an innovative format and experience for an integrated management of OSH in the evolution of the world of work. The concept was born from the need to train new professionals figures when the rapid demographic changes and technological innovation are changing the working world and therefore also the required skills to prevention actors. A first test has been conducted on 26 students who attended the first edition of this innovative training.

Educational System Assessment: Italy And Finland, Comparative Case Study

Educational system assessment allows the evaluation of some learningoutcomes and permits the continuous monitoring of educational processes.The aim of this study is to explore the ways used to assess and evaluateschool systems and universities and students’ learning outcomes in Italy andFinland, two important educational realities as shown in PISA (Programmefor International Student Assessment) results (OECD, 2019). The attention isfocused on common and uncommon practices employed in each country andon perceptions that the educational system assessment creates in those whoevaluate and in those evaluated. Ten stakeholders from Italy and Finlandparticipated in focus groups or interviews one to one audio-taped,transcribed and analysed using qualitative methods. The results underlinethat the evaluation of school systems and universities helps build a largedatabase and that the evaluation process have to be made with trust betweenstakeholders involved, with innovation and awareness. The generalacceptance is increasing: stakeholders from two contexts consideredhighlight that, in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness, schoolsystems and universities need a formative assessment and evaluation inwhich everyone is involved from central educational institutions to teachersand students.

Reforming Higher Education in India: In Pursuit of Excellence

Higher education has emerged as one of the most critical factors for the Nation’s economic, political, social and cultural growth and development. Reforming the higher education sector has become an emergent norm across the globe, especially in the developing world. India is one such emerging nation, witnessing a major shift in its ideological, pragmatic and policy directions in the last few years. The higher education sector in India has witnessed unprecedented expansion. However, given the distinctive social-political-economic context and its complexity in India, expansion in higher education is often linked with ensuring equity and access. Whereas in the developed world, expansion is often associated with quality or excellence in higher education i.e. creating world-class universities. Further, excellence in higher education is arguably the most critical component for the survival, sustenance and growth of the sector. To this end, the paper examines the convergence and divergence in policies and practices related to the pursuit of excellence in higher education and its institutions in India vis-à-vis the dominant global reforms in higher education. Erstwhile policies related to quality in higher education and the current draft National Education Policy-2019, provide a reference to the local-distinctive strategies for seeking excellence at the systemic and the institutional level, with an aspiration for global reputation. For instance, National Institutional Ranking Framework, University Grants Commission’s graded autonomy, Institutional restructuring, National Accreditation and Assessment Council and Quacquarelli Symonds- India rating and so on. The paper also sets direction on how Local strategies for global aspirations could unpack a series of issues regarding the reforms in education and delineate in what ways that these emerging global reforms, strategies are effective and appropriate to the local higher education system and its institutions.

A Systematic Assessment Framework for Higher-Education Institutions

The multiple criteria of ranking, rating and accrediting the higher education institutions in India and across globe have become de facto lens for viewing the institutions. There is an increasing number of assessment systems carried down by multiple agencies, with the public policy emphasis on higher education institutions getting assessed, it is necessary to use a systematic and systemic framework that is comprehensive for assessment. For this purpose, the paper proposes an ontological framework for assessment of higher education institutions. The ontology’s dimensions, sub-dimensions, and their constituent elements are derived from higher-education assessment systems that are well known globally and in India. The framework can help higher-education institutions: (a) assess themselves systemically and systematically; (b) highlight the bright, light, blind, and blank spots in their performance; and (c) correct their trajectory to fulfil their vision. Such framework would assist in identifying the gaps and pathways to improve their position in assessments.

Faculty management after higher education reforms – exploring the organizational structure of faculties considering their context factors

With the implementation of the new steering model (NSM), universities should align themselves more closely with management principles. Especially, the heads of faculties must cope with higher demands of management tasks. As a result, more management positions are established and organizational structures are changed. To shed light on how structures change, we investigate the faculties of one comprehensive and one technical university within Germany – which are similar in many factors – using the contingency approach. Information about context factors and the number and type of established positions is gained from a systematic analysis of their homepages. Dimensions of the organizational structure are used to interpret the results. Our comparison shows that the technical university, which has established itself as an entrepreneurial university, orients its organizational structure more towards the NSM than the comprehensive university, which is reflected by more support positions in faculty management. Thus, the profile and type of the university seem to be crucial context factors, while our study revealed that the number of students of the faculties and the number or type of degree programs are less crucial context factors.

The faculty development model of University of Milan-Bicocca: towards an integration of general and disciplinary didactics

The contribution presents the faculty development program of the University of Milano-Bicocca, called “Teaching large classes”. The objective of this paper is to illustrate the training structure of this project (launched in 2016 with a series of pilot actions that became fully operational the following year) and its recent developments. The paper intends to provide a detailed description of the three main principle that shape the structure of the training program: the continuum of immersion and distancing in training methodologies; the isomorphism between learning contents and teaching methodologies; the focus on the didactic transposition and education reconstruction process. The analysis of these principles shows that the inter- and trans-disciplinary approach of the training program is a crucial condition to the interconnectedness of the three principles in a consistent training structure. Furthermore, the multi- inter- and transdisciplinary approach allows for the development of the project with a broader scope.