Preparing academic staff to use ICTs in support of student learning

There is pressure on academic staff to respond to changes produced by the increasing globalization of education markets, and the capacities of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to transform the ways education is delivered. This presents a serious challenge for many academics whose own formative educational experiences and professional orientations were shaped under different circumstances. This paper will focus on an innovative scheme designed to support university staff in their understanding and application of ICTs in student learning. The course was delivered to a small pilot group of experienced teaching staff who wished to explore the uses of ICTs. It aimed to provide an understanding of the available technologies, and how these might be utilized in the support of teaching, learning and assessment. Throughout the course's duration, one of the authors conducted an independent evaluative programme of research involving confidential questionnaires and observation sessions. The paper's two remaining authors have made further contributions as participant and course leader. Combining these sources of data, the paper reviews the course evaluation and discusses how staff approached the development and use of ICTs with varying levels of confidence, and with different practical issues and agendas concerning the incorporation of ICTs in teaching and learning. Placing the study's major themes within the changing contexts facing university staff, it concludes with a discussion of its wider implications for all practitioners involved in staff development that is both general and ICT-specific.     

Reflective Active Learning in a Graduate Course on Assessment

This article describes a graduate course on alternative assessment in which the instructional intervention was designed in accordance with constructivist principles. The research examines the effect of this intervention on the learning and knowledge building processes and the subsequent quality of knowledge, as evidenced in students’ learning journals. The aims of the intervention were: (a) to introduce the students to a culture which facilitates the application of alternative assessment; (b) to familiarise the students with alternative assessment instruments through their own personal experience; and (c) to enhance reflection on assessment topics so as to contribute to mindful assessment practice. The intervention included a variety of teaching methods centred on activities that involve a multidirectional dialogue amongst the course participants. The 25 participants formed a heterogeneous group as far as teaching experience, class teaching level, types of school, and reasons for joining the course. To examine the effect of the intervention, the learning journals were analysed qualitatively. As a result of the analysis two dimensions were identified: reflection and learning outcomes. The first included two categories: metacognition and reflectivity, whereas the second included three categories: personalisation of knowledge, its development and its quality. The learning journals were scored with respect to these categories and the score distributions were examined. The findings pointed to conceptual development and change occurring to a large extent in about half of the students. The article concludes with discussion of the factors which seem to facilitate the construction of personal knowledge.     

The Blending of Andragogical and Pedagogical Teaching Methods in Advanced Social Work Practice Courses

Many social work educators have endorsed an andragogical appraoch to instruction as a means to reach the diverse student population of today's classroom, without recognizing the larger debate and concerns voiced by adult education detractors. Andrgogical methods provide practical experience-related learning opportunities where self-directed learning is emphasized. Although these methods are effective and have improved social work instruction over the past two decades, there is sufficient research to support the importance of and rationale for belnding pedagogical and andrgogical techniques. This paper will highlight innovative teaching strategies and evaluation components that were used in an advanced social work practice course that blended pedgogical and andrgogical teaching methods.     

基于工作过程的“景区规划与管理”课程开发

以创新型人才培养目标为基础,详细分析了"景区规划与管理"课程目标,设计了基于工作过程的学习任务与教学内容实施方式,根据教学内容确定了相应的教学方法和考核方式,制订了实践考核内容与标准,为创新型人才培养提供了重要保障。     

SETTING OBJECTIVES AND ASSESSING COMPETENCE IN PROFESSIONAL LEGAL EDUCATION

Professional Legal Education in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is undertaken at the Legal Workshop. A problem‐based learning orientation is a prominent feature of their programme. In this paper the assessment of the problem‐based learning used in the Workshop is described. All stages of this assessment process, including setting the course objectives, defining the conditions under which the problems (tasks) will be undertaken, and setting the criteria which are the standards for the assessment of success in the task, are described. The importance of criterion‐referenced assessment in the stage of setting assessment standards is emphasised. The results of the first attempt to use this assessment method are then described, and problems emerging with the process are discussed. Although this first “reality test” reveals some difficulties with the assessment method, it is concluded that this novel and innovative teaching and assessment technique has been appropriately applied to Professional Legal Education. While some refinements are required in the implementation of the method, the overall assessment concept has been successfully developed.     

Building learning communities: foundations for good practice

The School of Health Sciences at the University of Birmingham provided opportunities for the development of student learning communities and online resources within the neurological module of the BSc Physiotherapy degree programme. These learning communities were designed to facilitate peer and independent learning in core aspects underpinning clinical practice, thus laying the foundation for the development of effective clinical reasoning. This paper examines some of the problems that staff encountered, including the lessons that they learnt through the design, development, and implementation processes of the module, and the subsequent modifications that were made. Student experiences of this course are also included, as they provided staff with further insights into the ways in which these problems impacted upon their preparation for clinical practice and how the module might be improved for future cohorts. From an analysis of the problems that staff encountered and then sought to resolve, and of student experiences of the course, this paper identifies foundations for good practice in the development and delivery of innovative learning and teaching methods.     

Teaching Information Systems Management Skills: Using Integrated Projects and Case Studies

University courses in Computer Science (CS) and Information Systems (IS) are often criticized by industry for concentrating on conceptual learning while failing to provide their students with experience and grounding in managerial skills. This paper describes and discusses an innovative course In this paper the term “course” will be used to refer to a single integrated unit of study. In New Zealand such units are often referred to as “papers”. These courses can be combined together, according to various rules, to form a “course of study” which will lead to a qualification. At Massey University, a degree is comprised of 24 such courses.structure which has been developed in order to ground the teaching of IS management theory in its local context by interlinking practical projects and case studies in local organizations. The student projects are used to generate a large “cross-sectional” case study which describes several IS management problems that are occurring simultaneously in the same organization. Students are required to integrate their analysis of the problems and to recommend an appropriate series of responses which will tackle all the situations. The paper describes the rationale and organization of the course, the results of an evaluation of its effectiveness, and discusses some of the problems that were encountered during its implementation.     

汉语言文学专业创意学课程群“创造性学习”教改初探

文章阐述了"创造性学习"的内涵,明确了构建汉语言文学专业创意学课程群的背景、目标和课程设置内容。认为:构建"创造性学习"模式需要在教学内容设计上进一步加强学生学习主体性行为;在教学过程中重视学生的过程性学习阶段,发挥学习小组的作用,重视师生和生生交流;建立立体的学生成绩评价体系;在实践中鼓励学生创造贴近生活的原创性作品。反思教学改革,为提高学生创造性能力,培养创新人格提供一定的教学经验和借鉴。     

面向新工科人才培养的软件工程课程改革研究

为了有效达到工程教育与新工科建设要求,对软件工程课程进行改革实践研究,培养面向变化与未来发展的创新人才,从而满足新技术、新经济、新产业发展人才需求。课程教学基于软件产品构建,融非技术类教学与技术类教学于一体,以解决非技术性教学难题。采用与华为合作的协同育人混合式教学,加强实践教学环境建设,探索大规模网络开发课程（Massive Open Online Courses,MOOC）学习方法。从软件工程实际要求出发,逐步建设相关软硬件环境,将开发流程、文档模板、评审标准相融合形成实践指导和评价方式,满足学生求知、增能、成才需求。     

Assessment of Cooperative Learning: A Goal-Criterion Approach

The problem of assessment of non-traditional teaching techniques has long challenged educational administrators and faculty. The approach to assessment that we followed in this instance employed a model that we developed to assess group learning, variously known as cooperative learning, collaborative learning, or team learning. We applied the model to group-based case study courses that included innovative enhancements such as group exams and group-based role-play. The model required balanced representation among multiple learning criteria arranged in six goal-criterion sets, all drawn from the literature on group learning. We designed a test instrument based on the model and administered the instrument to 85 students near the end of three business strategy courses. Imbalances among criteria in the six goal-criterion sets helped identify and correct weaknesses in course design and in methods of instruction.     

《高级选线技术》课程案例化教学改革

《高级选线技术》是石家庄铁道大学道路与铁道工程、交通运输工程专业研究生一门重要的学位课程。课程涉及的内容多,而现有的以课堂基础理论为主的教学方式很难激发学生学习的积极性和主动性。在结合多年教学经验和科研的基础上,进行《高级选线技术》课程案例化教学改革,期望通过设计案例完善现有教学方法,激发研究学习的积极性,培养研究生综合素质和科研创新能力,掌握现代信息技术在铁路选线设计中的应用。     

Implementing New Pedagogical Models: Using Undergraduate Teaching Assistants in a Violence and Gender Learning Community

This article describes the use of undergraduate teaching assistants in a Violence and Gender learning community. After an introduction to the learning community structure and content, we describe the rationale for exploring this innovative pedagogical model. We present our strategies for recruiting, selecting, and preparing the undergraduate teaching assistants for this experience and illustrate how we collaborated as a teaching team. Finally, we present an evaluation of this model, using the teaching assistants' reflections on this experience, a survey of and interviews with students enrolled in the learning community, and our own assessment of this experience.     

融入设计思维的STEAM教育:模式构建与案例分析

设计思维是当代学生应具备的适应社会发展需要的一种思维能力。如何培养学生的设计思维以及提升学生的设计能力,成为我国当前需要重点关注的重要教育问题。作为一种新的教育理念,STEAM教育在培养学生创新思维能力方面具有重要作用。首先,阐述了设计思维与STEAM教育的内涵,分析了设计思维对STEAM教育的指导作用;其次,在STEAM教育理念的基础上融入设计思维,构建符合创新教育要求的STEAM教学模式,融入设计思维的STEAM教学模式包含学习环境、课程目标、课程活动和课程评价;最后,依据该模式开发并实施了课程案例,分析了融入设计思维的STEAM课程对小学生知识学习与能力培养方面的作用。     

Improving student learning in distance education: Theory,research and practice

The aim of this paper is to examine how project-based learning in distance education can be seen to make a distinctive contribution to “improving student learning”. How has this approach to course design and assessment been put into practice in an Open University (OU) course and what assumptions about teaching and learning are involved in this course development process. The paper also looks briefly at how this project component has been evaluated by describing students’ and tutors’ experiences of learning and teaching in the form of “action research” so to reflect critically on practice and so initiate change.     

A Self-Regulated Learning Approach to Teaching Educational Psychology

In this paper, we describe an undergraduate educational psychology course that utilizes self-regulated learning as the organizing principle. The course aims to facilitate students' development in self-regulated learning and to promote students' understanding of how to embed instruction for self-regulated learning strategies into classroom teaching. In the first section of the paper, we develop the rationale for this position and identify underlying assumptions we believe should guide the development and implementation of such a program. In the second section of the paper, we demonstrate how we have incorporated these assumptions in a basic educational psychology course.     

Enhancing the Student Experience for Direct Entrants to the Penultimate Year of Undergraduate Degree Programmes

In higher education, modifications to student induction would be broadly beneficial in order to take account of the changing student population and its increasingly diverse needs. A case study of one rather innovative approach to induction is described where a pre-semester credit-bearing bridging module is mounted. This module is designed for Higher National Diplomates from the Further Education sector who have gained direct entry to the penultimate year of a university degree course. The module has five broad aims: to facilitate general integration into the university; to familiarise students with the main methods of teaching, learning and assessment that they will experience; to develop the skills necessary for successful independent study in higher education; to build self-confidence; and to improve the appropriate skills which will enhance career prospects.     

《汽车检测技术》课程的教学探索

《汽车检测技术》是汽车服务工程等专业一门主要的、实践性较强的专业课程。从教学手段、教学方法、实践教学与课程考核方式等方面对该课程进行的改革表明:通过课程教学改革,在学到理论知识的同时,提高了学生的实践能力,增强了学生的学习兴趣、自学能力与创新精神。     

Assessment moderation in an Australian context: processes,practices, and challenges

Moderation is a quality assurance process that plays a central role in the teaching, learning, and assessment cycle in higher education. While there is a growing body of research globally on teaching, learning, and, to a lesser degree, assessment in higher education, the process of moderation of assessment has received even less attention. In a context of heightened accountability and greater transparency in the tertiary sector, the formalising of moderation processes has not been a part of established practice. In light of these changes, the purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and investigate current marking and moderation processes and practices operating within one faculty in a large urban university in eastern Australia to gain insight into the challenges to effective moderation. The findings suggest the need for moderation to be considered holistically as an inherent part of teaching and learning, and the need for ongoing staff development.     

高职院校旅游管理专业“工学结合”人才培养模式系统化构建研究

"工学结合"人才培养模式的实现是一项系统化工程。通过分析旅游管理专业"工学结合"人才培养模式系统化构建要素及各要素的创新实践,指出在构建"工学结合"人才培养模式时,培养技能型、应用型旅游人才是目标;构建一套完整的旅游管理实践教学体系和课程体系是核心;建立校内外实训教学基地和双师双栖、校企互通的教学团队是基础;建设创新型组织机构,实现第三方评价是保障。