Enhancing the pedagogical value of multimedia products in higher education

Abstract

In higher education settings two aims of multimedia development and use are: to enhance student learning by changing the nature of the curriculum experience, and to improve the teaching environment. This paper proceeds from the premise that the involvement of academic developers in the production of multimedia projects has the potential to enhance the pedagogical value of the final product. The evaluation of multimedia projects is considered in relation to five issues: conceptual need, students, medium, integration, and relation to existing products. Also presented are associated questions which can be used to explore each issue, and corresponding techniques which can be used to answer those questions. Suggestions are made for ways in which academic developers might create opportunities to work on multimedia development, and specific journals are suggested to assist developers in becoming familiar with the field.     

Mind the gap. Combining theory and practice in a field experience

In this article, we describe a collegial case study conducted in one Finnish university during the last field experience in a primary school teacher education program and discuss pedagogy of supervision from university supervisors’ perspectives. The aim of the study was to clarify the role of university supervisors and try out a collegial supervision approach to combine theory and practice in a field experience. We aimed to develop student teachers’ understanding of curriculum as an enacted phenomenon in which they have agency, and enhance their understanding of the development of language skills when working with young children. Our supervision was based on the importance of situated learning and Kolb’s experiential learning model. The results showed that a theory-based approach is possible and collegial supervision can add extra value to supervision. The student teachers became more aware of the different levels of curriculum and their meaning in teachers’ planning processes. They also gained more comprehensive understanding of primary school teachers’ possibilities to develop children’s language skills every day and in all subjects.     

How and why the CAUT became involved in collective bargaining

Despite a persistent belief to the contrary, most Canadian universities prior to the 1960s did not operate collegially. They were run autocratically. Collective bargaining arose as a means of ensuring true collegiality through negotiations between equals, legally entrenching due process and academic freedom, and providing a clearer and stronger mechanism for dealing with salaries and benefits. This was a revolution from below in the governance of universities. Although the sixties are widely regarded as the age of student revolt, in Canada it was the faculty, not the students, who secured a dramatic change in the power structure of the university through collective bargaining.     

'Not Without Dust and Heat': The Moral Bases of the 'New' Academic Professionalism

This paper challenges the view that academic professionalism resides in the professional 'autonomy' of the academic, the 'self-regulation' of academics as an occupational group, and the differential 'status' of academic workers. This still influential (though residual) notion of academic professionalism, it is argued, leads to institutional stasis. What is required is greater reflexivity by academics in respect of their underlying professional values. In particular the piece challenges the academic community (of which the author is a member) to re-think academic freedom – the bedrock of professional identity within that community – in terms of increased inclusivity: 'freedom for all' rather than 'freedom for academics' The paper touches on issues relating to practice and organisational structure, but focuses primarily on the need for academics to shift the moral bases of their claim to professionalism. In so doing, it also challenges the post-Dearing consensus that the debate on academic professionalism can be adequately conducted in terms of 'standards' and 'outcomes'. A prime purpose of the paper is to promote debate and discussion by setting a different kind of agenda (a moral agenda) and by couching that agenda within a different kind of discourse (one that invites and admits moral speculation).     

Action research on a collegial model of peer observations

Observing peers for professional development is a familiar and valuable practice but not always favoured in many educational institutions. This small-scale action research (AR) was conducted in an institution where teachers are accustomed to regular peer observation, requiring each teacher to conduct peer observation and to reflect in their teachers’ portfolios. Conventionally, to fulfil the requirement each teacher finds a colleague to observe them either with or mostly without a certain focus. This study, however, employed action research methodology to inquire into a collegial peer observation model to improve this organisational practice. It aimed to promote mutual growth of the participating faculty members in an agreed area. Including the author, five faculty members, who are midcareer and experienced English language teachers, acted as members of the consultation group. In the AR project, appreciative inquiry was used when reflecting on the observed classes and during focus group interviews. As a result of this AR, at least two levels of knowledge were generated: first-person (author) and second-person (the team). The knowledge claim that this practitioner research constructed is ‘When small groups of teachers conduct peer observations focusing on a common concern, learning and collegial growth may increase.’ It is expected to lead to a third-person stage in the department and the academic community in general.     

Universities and collective bargaining

The author disagrees with Cameron's suggestion that democratization and decentralization were a mistake. As chief lobbyist of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, he argues for collective bargaining. He counters Cameron's support of the continuation of mandatory retirement with reference to the U.S. experience and points to the Supreme Court's defence of tenure.     

The Induction of Newly Qualified Teachers

This paper discusses factors that enhance induction experiences for beginning teachers. It reports the findings from case studies that explore the impact of new entrants to the teaching profession in Scotland. The data suggest that the most supportive induction processes mix both formal and informal elements, but that the informal elements such as collegiality, good communication and a welcoming workplace environment should not be underestimated. The study also highlights the potential benefits of a more collegiate environment for teachers across the career phases. Experienced teachers and new entrants had a range of experience to offer each other, thus creating more cohesive professional working which was supportive of early career teachers while encouraging reflection on practice among the more experienced professionals.     

Reconceptualising professionalism in early childhood education: insights from a study carried out in Bologna

This paper explores the issue of early childhood professionalism from a socio-cultural perspective. In particular the article is concerned with how pre-school teachers conceptualise their professionalism by making sense of the work they carry out on an everyday basis in early childhood institutions. In analysing teachers’ perceptions special attention has been paid to the socio-political and historical conditions that have contributed to shaping them. Drawing on a recent empirical study conducted within Bologna province (Italy), contemporary issues in early childhood professionalism are analysed and insights for a possible re-conceptualisation are offered through a critical interpretation of teachers’ perspectives. The findings discussed in the article highlight how a complex conceptualisation of professionalism, building upon continuous learning in relational contexts, is currently challenged by recent neo-liberal influences. In facing these challenges a crucial role will be played by teachers’ collaborative practices in the workplace that, if reclaimed as a space for collective decision-making, could potentially become an arena for rethinking teachers’ professional development in dialogue with local communities.     

Qualitative Teaching and Learning Needs Assessment for a Community of Academic Librarians

ASBTRACT

The Information Literacy Unit at Michigan State University Libraries is tasked with providing teaching and learning support to 70+ librarian colleagues at MSU. The unit was asked to conduct a needs assessment to determine supportive needs, attitudes toward teaching and learning, and to lay groundwork for expanding the ability of the unit to provide support through building trust and strengthening relationships with librarian colleagues. An interview-based method grounded in social sciences rather than an assessment with a management focus was employed to accomplish these diverse tasks, which yielded actionable insights.     

Recent Developments in Education in Singapore

This analysis of recent developments and trends in education in Singapore attempts to show how a government through a pragmatic approach to education and nation-building has tried to resolve, within the framework of a number of unchanging parameters, some of the problems posed by constant social change and a rapidly changing national and global economy. The parameters are the multiracial and multilingual nature of Singapore society, the maximisation of the potential in all its young citizens through the provision of educational opportunities, and the maintenance of equality of treatment and opportunity for all, irrespective of ethnicity, religion and language. In the final analysis, the central tenets of an ideology underpinning the education system are identified.