Blended learning in higher education: professional development in a Hong Kong university

ABSTRACT

Online learning has become a ubiquitous part of the educational landscape and how teachers are supported in developing approaches to teaching online is a fundamental aspect of the students’ learning experience. Based on the implementation of a professional development course on becoming an online teacher offered in a blended learning mode at one university in Hong Kong, this article proposes that offering this type of professional development in a blended mode is very effective in facilitating enhanced usage of the university’s learning management system. In a blended mode, teachers are actively engaged with blended learning and were found to make more extensive use of features/tools in Blackboard after they attended the professional development course. Results support that offering professional development in a blended mode provides teachers with an authentic student perspective, at the same time as they take guided steps in the teacher’s role in blended learning.     

Civic learning outcomes: a step towards an inclusive higher education

An inclusive education goes beyond the acquisition of discipline knowledge or skills. Inclusion is concerned with the participation and integration of all students (regardless of their intrinsic characteristics), helping them to develop civic competences. Civic and democratic values, equality and social justice became critical dimensions in this broader concept of education. This paper argues that the incorporation of civic dimensions, such as civic knowledge, civic skills or civic values in academic curricula could be an effective step towards more inclusive education. Specifically, this work intends to explore what civic dimensions are emphasised as a learning outcome in Portuguese higher education programmes. Adopting a qualitative methodology, typologies and incidence of civic learning outcomes were analysed and compared across three academic levels (first, second and third study cycles). The results provide a better understanding of what civic dimensions are stressed by institutions. All types of civic learning outcomes have been reinforced, defining civic values, civic skills and civic knowledge as expectable learning results. Both civic values and skills are well represented while civic knowledge is the less mentioned category. The enforcement of such civic dimensions is a valuable approach to enhancing education as a collective societal endeavour and as a common good.     

Teaching for equity: insights from international evidence with implications for a teacher education curriculum

Researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers in many countries are grappling with ways to address the persistent problem of inequitable educational outcomes between advantaged and disadvantaged students. This paper reports the results of a unique cross-country, cross-cultural analysis undertaken to provide insights into teaching practices that promote equity, drawing on programmes of empirical research or syntheses of major programmes of research that worked from a complex, non-linear view of teaching and its outcomes. We analysed international evidence about teaching practices that have a positive influence on diverse students’ learning outcomes and opportunities and then compared and contrasted the results of these analyses. From the commonalities we identified, we derived six interconnected facets of practice for equity, which are general principles of practice rather than specific teaching strategies or behaviours. Building on these facets, we developed a conceptual framework that can inform an equity-centred teacher education curriculum that specifically addresses the task of preparing teachers who can make a positive difference to the learning opportunities and outcomes of diverse students, particularly those historically disadvantaged by the education system.     

Using technology for teaching and learning in higher education: a critical review of the role of evidence in informing practice

The use of technology for teaching and learning is now widespread, but its educational effectiveness is still open to question. This mixed-method study explores educational practices with technology in higher education. It examines what forms of evidence (if any) have influenced teachers' practices. It comprises a literature review, a questionnaire and interviews. A framework was used to analyse a wide range of literature. The questionnaires were analysed using content analysis and the interviews were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Findings suggest that evidence has partial influence upon practice with practitioners preferring to consult colleagues and academic developers. The study underscored the difficulty in defining and evaluating evidence, highlighting ontological and epistemological issues. The academic developer's role appears to be key in mediating evidence for practitioners.     

Three theses on teaching and learning in higher education

In our article, we explore the possibility of formulating theses about teaching as one way to use research as a basis for educational action. The theses are formulated from current educational research on teaching and learning in higher education. We also explore the potential for action and the consequences derived from the theses. With our theses, we criticise less complex ways of using research for educational purposes. Through theses we can suggest directions for action without prescribing certain methods or procedures and provide answers without reducing the teachers' possibilities for choice or diminishing their responsibility for their actions. Our exploration is an invitation to a collaborative exploration of theses on teaching and learning in order to broaden and deepen our shared basis for educational action.     

Facilitating adult learning and a researcher identity through a higher education pedagogical process

This empirical study uses auto-ethnography to describe a higher education pedagogical process that facilitated largely doctoral students in preparing their candidacy proposals through the use of specific adult learning principles. Students＇ experiences and points of view of such a learning environment were explored, including： （1） how they contributed to their peers＇ learning; （2） how their peers contributed to their own individual learning; and （3） how the learning environment impacted the process. Key factors identified as pivotal to learning to learn, include creating a learning sanctuary and trusting relationships, engaging in mutual inquiry and the co-construction of meaning, and bridging research theory and practice. These factors enabled students to expand their identities to include a researcher identity and to negotiate deep knowledge at the personal level. Throughout this article, the students＇ points of view are used to elucidate shared and diverse experiences, in addition to supporting conclusions and recommendations for practice and further study.     

Perspectives of lifelong education in Portuguese higher education: a critical analysis of learning outcomes

ABSTRACT

Nurturing students’ continuous learning is a current trend in the higher education agenda. Curricula and academic contents should enable students to take part in stimulating learning experiences, as well as promoting both developing and training opportunities in the course of their lives and careers. Despite the relevance given to lifelong learning in the educational system, there are still some open questions: how this concept is understood and put into practice by higher education institutions? The paper aims to analyse the conceptions of lifelong learning as reflected on the learning outcomes proposed in a sample of study programs. A qualitative methodology and a data-driven approach are adopted to explore the content of the learning outcomes proposed in 10% of total study programs submitted to quality accreditation, since 2009. Generally, results reveal that higher education institutions are committed to the lifelong learning paradigm, particularly in master and PhD degrees. Students are expected to ‘invest in personal and professional development through life’, to ‘develop learning competences through life’, as well as to ‘foster lifelong learning’. This study provides a better understanding of the range of perspectives and the relevance given to lifelong learning as a valuable learning outcome.     

Development of a taxonomy of keywords for engineering education research

The diversity of engineering education research provides an opportunity for cross-fertilisation of ideas and creativity, but it also can result in fragmentation of the field and duplication of effort. One solution is to establish a standardised taxonomy of engineering education terms to map the field and communicate and connect research initiatives. This report describes the process for developing such a taxonomy, the EER Taxonomy. Although the taxonomy focuses on engineering education research in the United States, inclusive efforts have engaged 266 individuals from 149 cities in 30 countries during one multiday workshop, 7 conference sessions, and several other virtual and in-person activities. The resulting taxonomy comprises 455 terms arranged in 14 branches and 6 levels. This taxonomy was found to satisfy four criteria for validity and reliability: (1) keywords assigned to a set of abstracts were reproducible by multiple researchers, (2) the taxonomy comprised terms that could be selected as keywords to fully describe 243 articles in 3 journals, (3) the keywords for those 243 articles were evenly distributed across the branches of the taxonomy, and (4) the authors of 31 conference papers agreed with 90% of researcher-assigned keywords. This report also describes guidelines developed to help authors consistently assign keywords for their articles by encouraging them to choose terms from three categories: (1) context/focus/topic, (2) purpose/target/motivation, and (3) research approach.     

A study of sustainable assessment theory in higher education tutorials

A study of sustainable assessment theory in nine tutorial courses at four colleges demonstrated that three long-term learning outcomes improved: Independence, Intellectual Maturity and Creativity. Eight of 10 traits associated with these outcomes were validated through internal reliability, faculty and student rubrics, and faculty case studies reporting pedagogic innovations and improvements of student abilities in self-assessment. The findings suggest that sustainable assessment theory should be applied using methods encompassing a strong commitment to equity, including shared criteria for long-term learning outcomes and faculty and student monitoring of student progress towards outcomes through periodic rubrics and reflective sessions.     

A general theory of learning and teaching and a related comprehensive set of performance indicators for higher education institutions

In contemporary knowledge societies, performance indicators are an indispensable element of sustainable quality management and enhancement through monitoring and evaluating quality performance of higher education institutions. It is argued that learning and teaching quality in higher education should be approached in a holistic way, namely across the four subdomains of learning and teaching environment, teaching processes, learning processes and learning outcomes and their assessment. performance indicators related to these areas must align with a synoptic understanding of learning and teaching comprising behavioural, information processing, cognitive, social (constructivism) and humanistic theories of learning. Selected issues from a comprehensive set of about 280 performance indicators for learning and teaching are presented and contextualised. The indicators set resulted and emerged from critical reflection of research literature and explorative surveys of various informed and engaged stakeholders, from 14 public European universities, and a general theory of learning and teaching.     

Promoting student-centred forms of learning across an entire university

Many academics see themselves primarily as experts in their discipline and hold content-oriented conceptions of teaching. It can then be difficult to persuade them to adopt forms of teaching incorporating active student engagement, even though there is evidence for the effectiveness of such forms of learning. This article describes a university-wide initiative to promote student-centred forms of teaching and learning. The campaign included: models of good practice from award-winning teachers, compulsory teachers training courses for new junior teachers and teaching assistants, projects funded by teaching development grants, a diagnostic programme-level survey accompanied by counselling over results and programme reviews. Evidence of impact comes from the overall university-level results of the programme survey, which showed marked increases, over a 2 year period, on each of the nine scales used to obtain feedback on the quality of the teaching and learning environment.     

社会学视角中的高等教育质量理论

为了理解高等教育质量,我们需要关注作为其前提的知识的作用。因为知识是大学学术工作的基础,它直接或间接地关系到高等教育文化的多样性。换句话说,知识形成了认知、诊断和处理高等教育质量问题的基础。本论文从知识的作用及知识重建的视角,分别就以下五个方面以日本为案例来研究质量保障的方法:知识的作用;知识社会和高等教育的关系;打造学习中心:日本文化和西方文化的冲突;多样化的知识:分裂、分化和冲突;探索新的大学模式。     

The emotional turn in higher education: a psychoanalytic contribution

This article contributes to contemporary debates about the significance of emotions within Higher Education. Using a psychoanalytic lens we analyse the ways in which experiences of anxiety and tension are essential for learning. The anxiety associated with learning can stimulate meaningful and reflexive outcomes but ‘learning inaction’ [Vince, R. 2014. ‘What Do HRD Scholars and Practitioners Need to Know About Power, Emotion, and HRD?’ Human Resource Development Quarterly 25: 409–420] is also possible. In adopting a psychoanalytical lens we assert the agency of both learners and teachers in scholarly relationships and we draw attention to the emotions of educators as well as students. This has important implications for teacher education and academic formation activities.     

论现代化教学环境建设

综述历史上教学环境研究的发展轨迹 ;指出目前环境研究存在的问题 ;提出环境的三分法 ;探讨目前现代化教学环境建设的原则和要求     

高校定位与高等教育系统秩序的形成

高校定位是高校对自身发展方向和发展路径的理性选择,高等教育系统秩序的形成是建立在高校定位基础之上的组织化过程。高校分类只是对高等教育系统秩序认识的特例,仅仅用高校分类与自生秩序相结合来建构高校定位机制是不够的。高等教育系统秩序的形成是一个组织化过程,既有人类理性的安排,又有自组织方式。因而,高校定位应该由政府宏观引导、社会广泛参与、高校理性选择三者共同发挥作用。     

Digitalisation in higher education: mapping institutional approaches for teaching and learning

This paper explores the digitalisation of teaching and learning understood as external processes, influenced by government and international trends and as internal processes within the institutions, in Denmark and Norway. These are countries with similarities regarding digitalisation and educational systems. In the internal processes, there was some use of digital technology in teaching and learning when initiated from administration including IT-staff, in collaboration with academic leaders. There was little or only limited reported use of technology for teaching and learning, when the processes were initiated by administration together with enthusiasts among faculty staff, who did not have leadership roles or influence on change. There was more reported use of technology in teaching and learning in Denmark than Norway. The paper discusses possible explanations for these findings and thus illuminates how processes of digitalisation are influenced by broader governance arrangements, institutional maturity and academic and administration staffs.     

Leadership and performance in higher education: a comparative analysis in Portugal and Spain

In the last decade, many changes have taken place in the field of university education. Professional practice demands that future graduates design and market products, preserve the interests of their clients, take responsibilities in public administration or participate in politics. Universities must educate professionals so that they become social leaders, consultants, advisers, entrepreneurs; in short, people with the capacity to solve problems. Professors recognise this situation; however, they do not always apply participatory teaching styles to develop these capacities in the students. This paper offers a tool to evaluate the implementation of a transformational teaching style in the classroom, developing joint work between professors and students. Its main contribution is that it assessed several teaching techniques based on this transformational style. This research was carried out in Portugal and Spain.     

LeaD-In: a cultural change model for peer review of teaching in higher education

Peer review of teaching is recognized increasingly as one strategy for academic development even though historically peer review of teaching is often unsupported by policy, action and culture in many Australian universities. Higher education leaders report that academics generally do not engage with peer review of teaching in a systematic or constructive manner, and this paper advances and analyses a conceptual model to highlight conditions and strategies necessary for the implementation of sustainable peer review in higher education institutions. The model highlights leadership, development and implementation, which are critical to the success and formation of a culture of peer review of teaching. The work arises from collaborative research funded by the Office for Learning and Teaching to foster and advance a culture of peer review of teaching across several universities in Australia.     

A comparative analysis of study satisfaction among young European higher education graduates

This article identifies those aspects of the academic environment that are associated with graduates' overall satisfaction with their higher education (HE) course. We use REFLEX data, which allow comparison among 14 European countries, based on a pooled sample and individual country regressions. Overall, the degree of satisfaction with HE studies appears to be driven to a great extent by the academic environment. The results also confirm the persistence of country-specific traits in different HE systems. This substantial variation among European countries in terms of learning environment may have an influence on subsequent employment experience. While some systems encourage independent learning through participation in research projects, others rely heavily on direct teaching as the main source of information.