Responsible management education from across the pond:innovations and experiences in UK business schools

The session draws upon experiences highlighted within a series of ongoing CSR/sustainability teaching days organized through the British Academy of Management CSR Special Interest Group, designed to encourage UK schools to develop new innovative curricula and to engage with the UN PRME initiative. The panel will consist of representatives from UK universities all of which are at different stages of developing responsible management curricula and have adopted different approaches towards these challenges.

Perceptions of learning and teaching quality in Higher Education:developing a culture of co-creation of value

Perceptions about the quality of learning and teaching in Higher Education has for many years focused upon the application of market based principles. This includes the notion of students as “customers” of the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) service. We argue that the application of the customer analogy is unhelpful however, as students this approach is likely to affect student expectations about the service and their judgements about its quality. The purpose of this paper is to propose a study consisting of a series of interventions to develop a culture of value co-creation at a UK based HEI. By introducing CCV principles, it is hoped to steer students away from seeing themselves as “customers”, and passive recipients of in the learning and teaching process, to one where they take responsibility for their own learning experience, to be explored and acted upon in partnership with their lecturers and other stakeholders.

Workshop: E-Books and e-Lending in Libraries – Challenges and Opportunities

The proposed event is part of the 2013 program of IFLA (International Federation of Library Association) as well IFLA – CLM Committee on eBooks and e-lending. The proposed event is also part of the activities of a research project with international participation "Copyright Policies of libraries and other cultural institutions” (2012-2014), (financed by National Science Fund of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education, Youth and Science, Contract No ДФНИ-К01/0002-21.11.2012).

Achievements and Problems in the In-service Teacher Education in Inquiry Based Style

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2015

Bringing engineering education to life – an empirical approach to learning and teaching

Learning and teaching approaches to engineering are generally perceived to be difficult and academically challenging. Such challenges are reflected in high levels of student attrition and failure. In addressing this issue, a unique approach to engineering education has been developed by the paper authors. This approach, which is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate levels, brings together pedagogic and engineering epistemologies in an empirically grounded framework. It is underpinned by three distinctive concepts: Relationships, Variety & Synergy. Based upon research, the R + V + S approach to Engineering Education provides a learning and teaching strategy, which in enhancing the student experience, increases retention and positively impacts student success [S2]. Based on the study findings, this paper shows how, by designing engineering education around the concepts of Relationships, Variety and Synergy, the student learning experience becomes one that is academically challenging yet beneficial to both students and engineering educators. The challenge is to widen and test the approach in other areas of engineering education, before going on to investigate the value of the approach in other disciplines.

‘Let’s talk about feedback’:an exploration of academic feedback practices in pharmacy education

Feedback is considered one of the most effective mechanisms to aid learning and achievement (Hattie and Timperley, 2007). However, in past UK National Student Surveys, perceptions of academic feedback have been consistently rated lower by final year undergraduate students than other aspects of the student experience (Williams and Kane, 2009). For pharmacy students in particular, Hall and colleagues recently reported that almost a third of students surveyed were dissatisfied with feedback and perceived feedback practice to be inconsistent (Hall et al, 2012). Aims of the Workshop: This workshop has been designed to explore current academic feedback practices in pharmacy education across a variety of settings and cultures as well as to create a toolkit for pharmacy academics to guide their approach to feedback. Learning Objectives: 1. Discuss and characterise academic feedback practices provided by pharmacy academics to pharmacy students in a variety of settings and cultures. 2. Develop academic feedback strategies for a variety of scenarios. 3. Evaluate and categorise feedback strategies with use of a feedback matrix. Description of Workshop Activities: Introduction to workshop and feedback on pre-reading exercise (5 minutes). Activity 1: A short presentation on theoretical models of academic feedback. Evidence of feedback in pharmacy education (10 minutes). Activity 2: Discussion of feedback approaches in participants’ organisations for differing educational modalities. Consideration of the following factors will be undertaken: experiential v. theoretical education, formative v. summative assessment, form of assessment and the effect of culture (20 minutes, large group discussion). Activity 3: Introduction of a feedback matrix (5 minutes). Activity 4: Development of an academic feedback toolkit for pharmacy education. Participants will be divided into 4 groups and will discuss how to provide effective feedback for 2 scenarios. Feedback strategies will be categorised with the feedback matrix. Results will be presented back to the workshop group (20 minutes, small group discussion, 20 minutes, large group presentation). Summary (10 minutes). Additional Information: Pre-reading: Participants will be provided with a list of definitions for academic feedback and will be asked to rank the definitions in order of perceived relevance to pharmacy education. References Archer, J. C. (2010). State of the science in health professional education: effective feedback. Medical education, 44(1), 101-108. Hall, M., Hanna, L. A., & Quinn, S. (2012). Pharmacy Students’ Views of Faculty Feedback on Academic Performance. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 76(1). Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of educational research, 77(1), 81-112. Medina, M. S. (2007). Providing feedback to enhance pharmacy students’ performance. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 64(24), 2542-2545.

The effect of participation in a ``Greening the BCC Curriculum'' workshop series on the environmental literacy of a community college faculty

The purpose of this study was to develop a series of workshops designed to raise the environmental literacy of a community college faculty and facilitate infusion of an environmental perspective into the courses they teach. Data was gathered on the effect of the workshops on the level of environmental literacy of the participants as well as the persistence of any observed effect. How faculty infused an environmental perspective into their courses was also explored.^ The workshop model was developed by reviewing adult learning and change theories, case studies of workshops at other colleges, environmental education research, and results of a pilot study. Content, organization, and delivery methods from these sources were selected and integrated to create the 14 components of the model employed by the workshops in this study.^ Forty-two faculty from the North Campus of Broward Community College participated in the study. The 20 workshop participants from seven academic departments attended seven two hour workshops during the fall term of 1996, and implemented projects to infuse environmental topics into their courses the following term. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest-delayed posttest nonequivalent control group design was employed in which the 22 members of the control group who did not attend the workshops were administered the Wisconsin Environmental Survey at the same time as the workshop participants (immediately before the first workshop, immediately following the last workshop, and four months following the completion of the workshop series). This instrument, an adaption of the Wisconsin High School Student Environmental Survey, yielded three measures of environmental literacy: Affective, Behavior, and Cognitive Subscale scores.^ The repeated measures MANOVA performed using the scores of the two groups on the three administrations of WES revealed a significant interaction for group by time, so repeated measures ANOVA were performed for each of the three subscales to investigate the interaction. Tukey-HSD post hoc comparisons indicated that for all three subscale scores, the two groups were not significantly different on the pretest, but on the posttest and the delayed posttest, the workshop participants demonstrated significantly higher levels of environmental literacy. All statistical tests were performed at $\alpha$ =.05. ^

A comparative analysis of self-determined evaluations of work performance and support needs by adults with mental retardation in supported work and in sheltered workshop environments

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the self-determined evaluations of work performance and support needs by adults with mental retardation in supported employment and in sheltered workshop environments. The instrument, Job Observation and Behavior Scale: Opportunity for Self-Determination (JOBS: OSD; Brady, Rosenberg, & Frain, 2006), was administered to 38 adults with mental retardation from sheltered workshops and 32 adults with mental retardation from supported employment environments. Cross-tabulations with Chi-square tests and independent samples t-tests were conducted to evaluate differences between the two groups, sheltered workshop and supported work. Two Multivariate Analyses of Variance (MANOVAs) were conducted to determine the effect of work environment on Quality of Performance (QP) and Types of Support (TS) test scores and their subscales. ^ This study found that there were significant differences between the groups on the QP Behavior and Job Duties subscales. The sheltered workshop group perceived themselves as performing significantly better on job duties than the supported work group. Conversely, the supported work group perceived themselves to have better behavior than the sheltered workshop group. However, there were no significant differences between groups in their perception of support needs for the three subscales. ^ The findings imply that work environment affects the self-determined evaluations of work performance by adults with mental retardation. Recommendations for further study include (a) detailing the characteristics of supported work and sheltered workshops that support and/or discourage self-determined behaviors, (b) exploring the behavior of adults with mental retardation in sheltered workshops and supported work environments, and (c) analysis of the support needs for and understanding of them by adults with mental retardation in sheltered workshops and in supported work environments. ^

Workshop for Miami-Dade County Teacher Pt. 1

The Coral Gables Museum hosts a workshop for Miami-Dade County Public School teachers on the "Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow" exhibition on display the museum

The Effectiveness of an Online Workshop on Behavior Management as a Professional Development Tool for Teachers

The current study examines the effects of an online workshop pertaining to classroom behavior management on teacher self-efficacy, attitudes, motivation, knowledge, and practices. In addition, information about teacher utilization of the Internet, their opinions about professional development, and experiences with classroom management were collected. Participants included 57 1st through 5th grade special and regular education teachers. Eligible teachers were those who teach an academic subject and had at least one child in the classroom they considered as disruptive. Teachers were randomized to either a training or waitlist group. Classroom observations of teacher practices and questionnaires were utilized. Teachers in the training group participated in two assessment points, baseline and post-workshop, and received access to the online course immediately following the baseline assessment. Teachers in the waitlist group participated in three assessment points, baseline, post-workshop, and follow-up, and received access to the online course immediately following the post-workshop assessment. Findings show that all teachers had access to the Internet at home and at school and used it on a daily basis. The majority of teachers indicated having some past training on all the techniques that were presented in the online workshop. All teachers expressed satisfaction with the workshop, indicating that it should be offered again. Post-workshop, findings showed significant group differences in knowledge with a large effect for the training group scoring higher than the waitlist group on a quiz. Secondly, group differences in self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitudes with teachers’ past-training as a moderator, was examined. Past-training was not found to be a significant moderator of self-efficacy, knowledge, or attitudes. However, the main effect for training group was significant for attitudes. In addition, teacher attitudes, but not knowledge and self-efficacy, significantly predicted motivation to implement. Next, the moderating effect of barriers on motivation and classroom management skill implementation was examined. Barriers were not found to be a significant moderator. Lastly, the training group was observed to be significantly more effective at giving commands compared to the waitlist group. The current study demonstrates the potential of a low-intensity online workshop on classroom management to enhance the accessibility of teacher professional development.

Managing the multiplicities of graduate level education! Are Master’s students’ expectations matched by their experiences?

With rapid increases in student fees reflecting moves towards a QUASI Market model of Higher Education in the UK and across much of the Western World[1], many universities find themselves having to meet progressively higher levels of student expectations[2]. This is particularly the case at undergraduate level, where increases in fees over the past decade have far exceeded inflation. Yet with so much attention on ‘consumer savvy’ undergraduates, the question of whether Master’s level students’ expectations are matched by their experiences is one which remains largely unanswered. Grounded in an empirically grounded approach to learning and teaching developed by the paper authors[3], this paper sets out to being to answer this question. In doing so it makes a distinctive contribution to debates about graduate level engineering education and concludes with a number of recommendations. Discussion: The ‘MSc: Managing Expectations’ Project analyses the expectations and experiences of Graduate level Engineering Management Students over a two year period. Focusingon the ‘student experience’, three main concepts are identified as being particular relevant to enhancing learning [3]: Relationships: Variety: Synergy. Relationships: Based on empirical research, the significance of Relationships within the academic environment is discussed with particular attention being paid to the value of students’ social and academic support networks, including academic tutoring. Variety: Grounded in a statistical analysis of ‘engagement data’ together with survey and interview findings, the concept of variety critically examines students’ perspectives and experiencesof different approaches to learning and teaching. Synergy: Possibly the most important concept discussed within this paper, the need for constructively aligned curriculum is extended to reflect the students’ apriori knowledge and experienceas well as employer and societal demands and expectations. The conclusion brings the different concepts within the discussion together, providing a set of practical recommendations for colleagues working both at graduate and undergraduate level. References 1.Gibbs, P. (2001) "Higher education as a market: a problem or solution?." Studies in Higher Education 26. 1. pp. 85-94. 2.Tricker, T., (2005) Student Expectations-How do we measure up. University of Sheffield. Available from: http://www.persons.org.uk/tricker%20paper.pdf Accessed 9/10/14 3.Clark, R. & Andrews, J. (2014). Relationships, Variety & Synergy [RVS]: The Vital Ingredients for Scholarship in Engineering Education? A Case-Study. European Journal of Engineering Education. 39.6. pp. 585-600.

Building bridges for future sustainability? Breaching the research-teaching nexus in engineering education

The relationship between research and learning and teaching represents what has been described as amongst the most intellectually tangled, managerially complex and politically contentious issues in mass higher education (Scott, 2005, p 53). Despite this, arguments that in order to achieve high quality scholarly outcomes, university teachers need to adopt an approach to teaching similar to that of research (founded upon academic rigour and evidence), has long been discussed in the literature. However, the practicalities of promoting an empirical and evidence-based approach to teaching in engineering education make dealing with the research / teaching nexus a somewhat challenging proposition. Using a phenomenographic approach, bringing together and applying the findings of a mixed methodological study, the workshop will adopt an activity based, interactive approach to encourage staff to consider the challenges and benefits of adopting an evidence-based approach to learning and teaching through the utilisation of research to inform their own practice. © 2009 Authors.

National, inter-institutional, graduate modules – blended learning approaches for PhD education in Ireland

This paper is a case study that describes the design and delivery of national PhD lectures with 40 PhD candidates in Digital Arts and Humanities in Ireland simultaneously to four remote locations, in Trinity College Dublin, in University College Cork, in NUI Maynooth and NUI Galway. Blended learning approaches were utilized to augment traditional teaching practices combining: face-to-face engagement, video-conferencing to multiple sites, social media lecture delivery support – a live blog and micro blogging, shared, open student web presence online. Techniques for creating an effective, active learning environment were discerned via a range of learning options offered to students through student surveys after semester one. Students rejected the traditional lecture format, even through the novel delivery method via video link to a number of national academic institutions was employed. Students also rejected the use of a moderated forum as a means of creating engagement across the various institutions involved. Students preferred a mix of approaches for this online national engagement. The paper discusses successful methods used to promote interactive teaching and learning. These included Peer to peer learning, Workshop style delivery, Social media. The lecture became a national, synchronous workshop. The paper describes how allowing students to have a voice in the virtual classroom they become animated and engaged in an open culture of shared experience and scholarship, create networks beyond their institutions, and across disciplinary boundaries. We offer an analysis of our experiences to assist other educators in their course design, with a particular emphasis on social media engagement.