The judicious utilization of new technologies through authentic learning in higher education: A case study

Though technology holds significant promise for enhanced teaching and learning it is unlikely to meet this promise without a principled approach to course design. There is burgeoning discourse about the use of technological tools and models in higher education, but much of the discussion is fixed upon distance learning or technology based courses. This paper will develop and propose a balanced model for effective teaching and learning for “on campus” higher education, with particular emphasis on the opportunities for revitalisation available through the judicious utilisation of new technologies. It will explore the opportunities available for the creation of more authentic learning environments through the principled design. Finally it will demonstrate with a case study how these have come together enabling the creation of an effective and authentic learning environment for one pre-service teacher education course at the University of Queensland.

Dilemmas in Framing Research Studies in Engineering Education

There has been considerable debate about the need for more empirical, evidence based studies of the impact of various interventions and practices in engineering education. A number of resources including workshops to guide engineering faculty in the conduct of such studies have emerged over recent years. This paper presents a critique of the evolution of engineering education research and its underlying assumptions in the context of the systemic reform currently underway in engineering education. This critique leads to an analysis of the ways in which our current understanding of engineering, engineering education and research in engineering education is shaped by the traditions and cultural characteristics of the profession and grounded, albeit implicitly, in a particular suite of epistemological assumptions. It is argued that the whole enterprise of engineering education needs to be radically reconceptualized. A pluralistic approach to framing scholarship in engineering education is then proposed based on the principles of demonstrable practicality, critical interdisciplinarity and holistic reflexivity. This new framework has implications for engaging and developing faculty in the context of new teaching and learning paradigms, for the evaluation of the scholarship of teaching and for the research-teaching nexus.

Situating Learning: (Re)examining the Notion of apprenticeship in Coach Education

The last two decades has seen a proliferation in the provision of and importance attached to coach education in many Western countries. Pivotal to many coach education programmes is the notion of apprenticeship. Increasingly, mentoring is being positioned as a possible tool for enhancing coach education and professional expertise. However, there is a paucity of empirical data on interventions in and evaluations of coach education programmes. In their recent evaluation of a coach education programme, Cassidy, Potrac & McKenzie conclude that the situated learning literature could provide coach educators with a generative platform for the (re)examination of apprenticeships and mentoring in a coach education context. This paper discusses the merits of using Situated Learning theory and the associated concept of Communities of Practice (CoP) to stimulate discussion on developing new understandings of the practices of apprenticeship and mentoring in coach education.