An exploration into student learning mobility in higher education among the Arabian Gulf Cooperation Council countries

This paper explores the dynamics of the internationalisation of higher education in the Gulf region. Exploring the presence of foreign universities, international curricula, programmes, students and academic staff, it pays particular attention to the learning mobility of students from the region. Consequently, the aim of this piece of research is to explore the current learning mobility among the GCC countries. The study makes use of secondary data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) on the global flow of tertiary-level students and a survey conducted especially for this study among students from the Gulf region. Considering the literature explored and based on data from UIS and the survey conducted, it seems that higher education in the Gulf region has expanded and that the presence of foreign universities, international curricula, programmes, students and academic staff is a positive experience overall. Although learning mobility has been stimulated in the region, much of it is regionally driven. It seems that the growth of inward learning mobility is not proportional to the growth of foreign universities in the region. The growth of outward learning mobility is predominantly driven by scholarships and the potential for growth on inward and outward learning mobility seems likely to increase in the future. The Gulf countries may enhance learning mobility through multilateral learning and research cooperation by means of scholarships and regulated commercial activities. To emerge as an international education hub, the Gulf countries must become an attractive destination for students from outside of the region as well. The region may wish to draw relevant lessons from regions such as the European Union to stimulate learning mobility.     

Student learning in higher education: a longitudinal analysis and faculty discussion

Answering a call put forth decades ago by the higher education community and the federal government, we investigated the impact of US college coursework on student learning gains. Students gained, on average, 3.72 points on a 66-item test of quantitative and scientific reasoning after experiencing 1.5 years of college. Gain scores were unrelated to the number of quantitative and scientific reasoning courses completed when controlling and not controlling for students’ personal characteristics. Unexpectedly, yet fortunately, gain scores showed no discernable difference when corrected for low test-taking effort, which indicated test-taking effort did not compromise the validity of the test scores. When gain scores were disaggregated by amount of completed coursework, the estimated gain scores of students with quantitative and scientific reasoning coursework were smaller than what quantitative and scientific reasoning faculty expected or desired. In sum, although students appear on average to be making gains in quantitative and scientific reasoning, there is not a strong relationship between learning gains and students’ quantitative and scientific reasoning coursework, and the gains are less than desired by faculty. We discuss implications of these findings for student learning assessment and learning improvement processes.     

Promoting higher order thinking skills using inquiry-based learning

Active learning pedagogies play an important role in enhancing higher order cognitive skills among the student community. In this work, a laboratory course for first year engineering chemistry is designed and executed using an inquiry-based learning pedagogical approach. The goal of this module is to promote higher order thinking skills in chemistry. Laboratory exercises are designed based on Bloom's taxonomy and a just-in-time facilitation approach is used. A pre-laboratory discussion outlining the theory of the experiment and its relevance is carried out to enable the students to analyse real-life problems. The performance of the students is assessed based on their ability to perform the experiment, design new experiments and correlate practical utility of the course module with real life. The novelty of the present approach lies in the fact that the learning outcomes of the existing experiments are achieved through establishing a relationship with real-world problems.     

Reflections on using journals in higher education: a focus group discussion with faculty

Reflective journals have become an increasingly popular tool used by numerous faculty across many disciplines in higher education. Previous research and narrative reports of journal writing have explored student perceptions of journal writing, but very little is understood about faculty perceptions. In this paper, we report on a study involving eight university faculty who teach courses with outdoor field components in the areas of outdoor recreation, experiential education, or outdoor education. We present the faculty member’s: (1) current practices of journal writing (types of journals, types of entries, process of journal writing), (2) perceptions of journal writing (rationale, quality, evaluation) and (3) recommendations to maximize the potential of journal writing. A mixed methods approach was used that included a 32‐item quantitative questionnaire and a focus group discussion. By and large, the faculty who participated in this study appreciated the pedagogical potential of journal writing. They were, however, cautious about certain aspects of the journaling process and offered numerous suggestions for improving the ‘journaling experience.’ This paper concludes with several recommendations for consideration by higher education faculty who use journal writing as an instructional technique.     

Multicultural influences on group learning: a qualitative higher education study

Although the literature examining the usefulness of group projects is extensive, the link between cooperative learning, group performance and skills transfer in multicultural contexts remains unclear. Focus groups were conducted with a sample of 107 international and domestic postgraduate and undergraduate marketing students to investigate this link. Results confirm that group work facilitates the development of interpersonal skills, cross‐cultural collaboration and higher‐level learning. While there is the promise of transfer of learning to other situations, group learning effectiveness appears conditional on instructors preparing, coaching and debriefing students as to the expected benefits associated with participation in group projects throughout the semester. In addition, limited differences were observed between how international and domestic students responded to group activities, although this may (in part) be due to subtle differences in preconceived attitudes to group learning activities from the outset.     

Factors influencing faculty satisfaction with online teaching and learning in higher education

Faculty satisfaction is considered an important factor of quality in online courses. A study was conducted to identify and confirm factors affecting the satisfaction of online faculty at a small research university, and to develop and validate an instrument that can be used to measure perceived faculty satisfaction in the context of the online learning environment. The online faculty satisfaction survey (OFSS) was developed and administered to all instructors who had taught an online course in fall 2007 or spring 2008 at a small research university in the USA. One hundred and two individuals completed the web‐based questionnaire. Results confirm that three factors affect satisfaction of faculty in the online environment: student‐related, instructor‐related, and institution‐related factors.     

探讨工科类应用型本科院校师资队伍建设

高等教育是分层次分类型的,不同层次与类型的高等学校都有自己的个性.工科类的应用型院校的办学定位、培养目标的确立决定了师资队伍特色;师资队伍的区域性、行业性、"双师"型、拓展型和"三实"特色,又直接影响办学定位、培养目标的确立.坚持以工科为主,构筑"产学研"平台,培养特色明显的师资队伍是应用型本科院校一项艰巨的任务.     

西方高等教育的企业化进路

自1980年代以来,西方英美等国大学受市场化取向的公共部门改革影响,随着国家对大学公共财政资助的削减,国家在大学发展中角色弱化,市场运作机制在大学中逐步确立;大学内各种知识活动如教育与研究逐步商品化;反映到大学组织特性上,则是大学日益带有企业的特征。大学开始像企业一样,竞争求生存、回应市场调整自身“产品”质量,打造形象、借鉴企业的管理模式,考虑成本效益,追求卓越。这是1980年代以来西方国家高等教育改革的主要进路。     

美国高等教育问责制度探究

问责制在过去的二三十年间成为诸多国家教育改革的热点,是政府部门及社会公众监督管理高等教育的重要手段和形式.美国高等教育通过采用履行问责制度来有效回应高等教育利益相关方的责任诉求,同时也顺应了高等教育自身生存与发展的内在需要.我国高等教育的发展过程中也不断出现各种问题,通过研究实施有效的美国高等教育问责制度,可以对我国高等教育的改革提供一些启示和建议.     

Teaching and Research: New relationships and their implications for inquiry-based teaching and learning in higher education

In order to bring teaching and research together, a fuller understanding of how academics conceptualise research and scholarship is needed. The paper discusses different ways in which research and scholarship are conceptualised and then provides two alternative models of the relationship between teaching and research based on different conceptions of teaching and different ideas about the nature of knowledge. The paper suggests that if the relationship between teaching and research is to be enhanced it is necessary to move towards a model based on the notion of academic communities of practice. The implications for higher education of doing this are then examined. It is argued that there is a need to reconceptualise the role of higher education and to renegotiate relationships between teachers and students.     

中国高校女教师队伍发展的现状分析

This paper examines the changing status of women faculty through an analysis of statistics on China’s universities from 1994 to 2004. This paper first presents the trend of a drastic increase in women faculty members in recent years. Further details on the academic ranks of women faculty, their age and highest degrees obtained are also presented. A comparison of female representation in faculty ranks is made between China and a few selected countries. Lastly, this paper attempts to account for the low percentage of female professors in higher education. Recommendations for the professional development for women faculty are made in the end.      

Teaching and research: new relationships and their implications for inquiry-based teaching and learning in higher education

In order to bring teaching and research together, a fuller understanding of how academics conceptualise research and scholarship is needed. The paper discusses different ways in which research and scholarship are conceptualised and then provides two alternative models of the relationship between teaching and research based on different conceptions of teaching and different ideas about the nature of knowledge. The paper suggests that if the relationship between teaching and research is to be enhanced it is necessary to move towards a model based on the notion of academic communities of practice. The implications for higher education of doing this are then examined. It is argued that there is a need to reconceptualise the role of higher education and to renegotiate relationships between teachers and students.     

初中思想政治课知行评价的研究与探索

从知行评价目标的制定、评价的方法和课堂教学改革等方面,总结《初中思想政治课知行评价的研究与探索》课题三年来所取得的初步经验和研究成果。     

Competence and usage of Web 2.0 technologies by higher education faculty

Literature on Web 2.0 experiences of higher education faculty in developing countries such as Pakistan is very limited. An insight on awareness and practices of higher education faculty with these tools can be helpful to map strategies and plan of action for adopting latest technologies to support teaching–learning processes in higher education of such countries. This survey study was aimed to examine the competence and practices of higher education faculty in Pakistan with Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, Wikis, Google Docs, Skype, Flickr, YouTube, and social networks. The study was also focused to look for what type of role faculty play while using these tools; and to find whether any significant differences in terms of age, gender, or academic discipline exist in competence and usage of these tools by the faculty. The data were collected from a sample of 246 university teachers in the spring 2014 semester. The findings of the study indicated that faculty participants reported to use Web 2.0 social tools more frequently than instrumental tools. Similarly, their competence with social tools was higher than their competence with instrumental tools. Additional results indicated that their competence with Web2.0 tools significantly differed with respect to their age, gender, and academic disciplines.     

"研究性学习"课程保障初探

"研究性学习"课程顺利实施需要有明确的保障主体和有力的保障措施.教育行政部门、社会各界和学校是"研究性学习"课程保障的三大主体,它们各自承担着不同的职责,共同完成"研究性学习"课程的保障任务.     

对学习过程基本问题的探讨

对学习心理活动的探讨是心理学家感兴趣的课题之一。从心理学的角度,研究学习理论所涵盖的四个问题:学习过程的本质、学习过程的主体、知识构建的过程和学习活动的结果。     

Evaluation of adjunct faculty in higher education institutions

The role that part‐time faculty play in higher education is changing. No longer are part‐time faculty used on an occasional basis at a few institutions. These individuals now play a critical part in the delivery of higher education to students. This study was developed to answer questions regarding how the performance of adjunct faculty is evaluated. The researcher gathered data on what sources of information were used to evaluate adjunct faculty, and how this information was used by various administrators during evaluation and reappointment decisions. The underlying goal was to develop a better understanding of current evaluation practices so that higher education administrators can ensure that quality learning opportunities are available in the classroom.     

The multidisciplinary roots of higher education research: An analysis of citation patterns

Researchers in higher education (HE) are a community of academics with backgrounds and experiences in a variety of scientific disciplines. For this reason, HE research is influenced by other disciplines from which HE researchers take theories, constructs and research methods. This article describes a large-scale analysis of the impact of different scientific fields on HE research. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the influences of psychology, sociology & political science, and economics as the disciplines that have the greatest impact on HE research. To assess this impact, we analyse citation patterns in seven key HE journals. Our empirical analysis confirms that HE research is indeed a multidisciplinary field and experiences a different impact of identified scientific fields for HE articles of different topics. We analyse the dynamics of such an impact and discuss the factors that may cause the growth of multidisciplinarity in HE research.     

高等教育的学科化研究与多学科研究

中国高等教育研究的认识论中存在着“学科论”与“领域论”的学科属性之争,由此导致高等教育的学科化研究和高等教育的多学科研究两种研究方法。高等教育的学科化研究直指高等教育学学科建设,而高等教育的多学科研究则被高等教育理论和实践证明是行之有效的方法,是目前高等教育研究的主流范式。两种研究方法各有其效用,但缺陷和不足也十分明显。在“学科论”和“领域论”两种观点在未来一段时间内仍将存在的情况下,如何厘清高等教育的学科化研究与多学科研究之间的关系是高等教育研究不断创新的关键所在。