Changing the culture of teaching and learning in ICT and engineering : facilitating research professors to be teaching and learning leaders

This is the project report of a leadership project undertaken jointly by the Queensland University of Technology, University of Technology Sydney, and Monash University. Specific project objectives were to: -To build leadership capacity in teaching and learning, and to improve teaching quality in ICT and Engineering disciplines at three leading Australian universities, and -To facilitate the transference of research leadership to T&L leadership, and disseminate this transference model developed through the project within the Engineering and ICT domains to other disciplines and universities.

Shaping lecturers’ beliefs about teaching and learning in higher education in the Pacific

The aim of this study was to describe the educational experiences shaping the teaching and learning beliefs held by a group of beginning lecturers in higher education at various tertiary institutions in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs). A total of sixty three essays written by participants in an online course on teaching in higher education comprised the data for the study. A modified version of narrative analysis was used. This is a powerful methodology in qualitative research that can provide remarkable insights into individuals’ beliefs. The critical experiences that were thought to shape their beliefs in teaching and learning were identified and discussed in the light of relevant literature. The participants described a range of influences that shaped their beliefs about teaching and learning including realisation about the need to work harder and know more, the importance of independence, support systems, curriculum, qualities of a teacher, teaching and learning process, teaching and learning strategies, and learning environments. This information was useful in teaching these students and for further courses.

LSP communication in a digital age: the outcomes of teaching and learning in tertiary education

This paper discusses the changes brought by the communication revolution in teaching and learning in the scope of LSP. Its aim is to provide an insight on how teaching which was bi-dimensional, turned into a multidimensional system, gathering other complementary resources that have transformed, in a incredibly short time, the ways we receive share and store information, for instance as professionals, and keep in touch with our peers. The increasing rise of electronic publications, the incredible boom of social and professional networks, search engines, blogs, list servs, forums, e-mail blasts, Facebook pages, YouTube contents, Tweets and Apps, have twisted the way information is conveyed. Classes ceased to be predictable and have been empowered by digital platforms, innumerous and different data repositories (TILDE, IATE, LINGUEE, and so many other terminological data banks) that have definitely transformed the academic world in general and tertiary education in particular. There is a bulk of information to be digested by students, who are no longer passive but instead responsible and active for their academic outcomes. The question is whether they possess the tools to select only what is accurate and important for a certain subject or assignment, due to that overflow? Due to the reduction of the number of course years in most degrees, after the implementation of Bologna and the shrinking of the curricula contents, have students the possibility of developing critical thinking? Both teaching and learning rely on digital resources to improve the speed of the spreading of knowledge. But have those changes been effective to promote really communication? Furthermore, with the increasing Apps that have already been developed and will continue to appear for learning foreign languages, for translation among others, will the students feel the need of learning them once they have those Apps. These are some the questions we would like to discuss in our paper.

Teaching and learning sexuality in nursing education

Sexuality is recognized as part of holistic nursing care, but its inclusion in clinical practice and nursing training is inconsistent. Based on the question "How students and teachers acknowledge sexuality in teaching and learning?", we developed a study in order to characterize the process of teaching and learning sexuality in a micro perspective of cur- riculum development. We used a mixed methods design with a sequential strategy: QUAN → qual of descriptive and explanatory type. 646 students and teachers participated. The quantitative component used ques- tionnaire surveys. Document analysis was used in the additional component. A curricular dimension of sexuality emerges guided by a behaviourist line and based on a biological vision. The issues considered safe are highlighted and framed in steps of adolescence and adulthood and more attached to female sexuality and the procreative aspect. There is in emergence a hidden curriculum by reference to content from other dimensions of sexuality but less often expressed. Theoretical learning follows a communicational model of reality through ab- straction strategies, which infers a deductive method of learning, with a behaviourist approach to assessment. Clinical teaching ad- dresses sexuality in combination with reproductive health nursing. The influencing factors of teaching and learning of sexuality were also explored. We conclude that the vision of female sexuality taught and learned in relation to women has a projection of care in clinical practice based on the same principles.

Teaching and learning sexuality in nursing education

Sexuality is recognized as part of holistic nursing care, but its inclusion in clinical practice and nursing training is inconsistent. Based on the question "How students and teachers acknowledge sexuality in teaching and learning?", we developed a study in order to characterize the process of teaching and learning sexuality in a micro perspective of curriculum development. We used a mixed methods design with a sequential strategy: QUAN-qual of descriptive and explanatory type. 646 students and teachers participated. The quantitative component used questionnaire surveys. Document analysis was used in the additional component. A curricular dimension of sexuality emerges guided by a behaviourist line and based on a biological vision. The issues considered sage are highlighted and framed in steps of adolescence and adulthood and more attacghed to female sexuality and procreative aspect. There is in emeergence a hidden curriculum by reference to content from other dimensions of sexuality but less often expressed. Theoretical learning follows a communicational model of reality through abstraction strategies, which infers a deductive method of learning, with a behaviourist approach to assessment. Clinical teaching adresses sexuality in combination with reproductive lealth nursing. The influencing factors of teaching and learning of sexuality were also explored. We conclude that the vision of female sexuality taught and learned in relation to women has a projection of care in clinical practice based on the same principles

Building a supportive environment for teaching and learning : a reflective commentary

Universities are increasingly caught in the transition between college institutions of independant academics to become managed businesses of research and teaching and learning. This is introducing substantial issues with the work, approach and personal development needs of individual academics. It is causing even greater concerns for managers within universities. The developments in University Management have increasingly become driven towards issues of finance, quality and marketing. Organizational development in teaching and learning practices has been less commonly a point of focus. This paper outlines developments of this nature at the University of Salford. Through its combination of authors it does so at whole University, Faculty and School levels. It outlines the variety of ways in which teaching and learning developments can be supported within an organisation.

Teaching and learning algebra.

El álgebra esta reconocida como una parte difícil del currículo de matemáticas; sin embargo, la comprensión del álgebra es clave en las matemáticas en general. El propósito de este recurso es explorar los problemas y las posibilidades de enseñanza y aprendizaje del álgebra, y mirar algunas de las dificultades que los estudiantes suelen tener. Sugiere distintos enfoques en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de las ideas clave.

Aligning ICT in assessment with teaching and learning : enhancing student achievement in the middle years

Student underachievement in the middle years (typically Years 4 to 9) is a concern in education. Incorporating Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in assessment that is aligned to teaching and learning has the potential to engage students in higher cognitive processes that lead to increased student achievement. To examine this proposition an investigation was undertaken into teachers’ perceptions of alignment and the implications of those for student achievement in ICT enhanced middle years assessment tasks. This investigation used a collective case study design underpinned by socio-cultural theory. Two methods were used for data collection, namely, semi-structured interviews with individual teachers and a focus group discussion with teachers and another with students. Findings revealed teachers’ perceptions that alignment: assists in mediating achievement of learning outcomes in quality middle years assessment tasks, assists in creating a challenging but supportive environment in which positive learning dispositions and success is encouraged for all students, and contributes to more rigorous use of ICT in assessment. The process of implementing alignment was found to be complex but assisted through prioritising particular practices. These findings enabled the development of eight steps which serve as a guide to the effective implementation of alignment in middle years assessment tasks.

Transforming the core business of teaching and learning in classrooms through ICT

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an integral part of societies across the globe. This study demonstrates how successful technology integration by 10 experienced teachers in an Australian high school was dependent on teacher-driven change and innovation that influenced the core business of teaching and learning. The teachers were subject specialists across a range of disciplines, engaging their Year Eight students (aged 12–14 years) in the Technology Rich Classrooms programme. Two classrooms were renovated to accommodate the newly acquired computer hardware. The first classroom adopted a one-to-one desktop model with all the computers with Internet access arranged in a front-facing pattern. The second classroom had computers arranged in small groups. The students also used Blackboard to access learning materials after school hours. Qualitative data were gathered from teachers mainly through structured and unstructured interviews and a range of other approaches to ascertain their perceptions of the new initiative. This investigation showed that ICT was impacting positively on the core business of teaching and learning. Through the support of the school leadership team, the built environment was enabling teachers to use ICT. This influenced their pedagogical approaches and the types of learning activities they designed and implemented. As a consequence, teachers felt that students were motivated and benefited through this experience.

Use and access to ICT in students of public secondary schools in Chihuahua City, Mexico: inclusion in teaching and digital literacy

This paper addresses the issue of the digital divide in students of public secondary schools at Chihuahua City, Mexico. It seeks to identify potential inequality of opportunities with regards to subjects’ access to information, knowledge and education through the ICT (internet, mobile telephony, broadband and television). The study takes three schools as investigative stage, using the survey as a data collection instrument, identifying patterns of behavior regarding: general knowledge of them, access to computer equipment and internet, and characterization of their use. Other aspects of analysis are the identification of the educational level of parents and access to technology resources available for academic and non-academic purposes in various application areas (home, school and social environment). The proposal concludes, that it is through the recollection of alternatives suggested by the teachers themselves to incorporate ICT for teaching purposes in a systematic and planned fashion, whose greatest reflection manifests in better digital literacy indicators.

Blogs as virtual environments for teaching and learning in Higher Education

The transformation of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into knowledge and learning technologies is increasingly becoming a matter of concern. Teaching settings associated with the use of blogs in Higher Education are presented in this paper, proceeding from an innovative learning experience of projects carried out by a group of professors between 2009 and 2013. Both, teachers and students who took part in the subjects that implemented the blog, considered it as helpful resource to create a virtual and learning-teaching environment due to the multiple potentialities it offers. Among some of these potentialities, some stand out: it makes easier the access to knowledge, promotes a more active and reflective learning, expands the social experience of learning, provides evidence about the students’ progress which helps to reorient the teaching-learning process, and encourages the critical judgment. Nevertheless, several problems related with the students’ participation and the teacher’s blog management have been identified.

Embedding university perspectives in university teaching and learning : lessons learnt and possibilities for reforming/decolonising curriculum

Embedding Indigenous knowledge in the curriculum continues to challenge traditional western perspectives on Indigenous epistemologies and cultures. This paper will initially discuss experiences of embedding Indigenous perspectives in the curriculum at an Australian university. The project was inspired by the Reconciliation Statement which ensured funding through Teaching and Learning Large Grants. Its successful outcomes included the creation of identified positions for Indigenous academics within faculties, creation of a resource hub of relevant teaching materials and consistent documentation and awareness of Indigenous perspectives through interviews and workshops. The paper concludes by critically interrogating the methodology used to conceptualise Indigenous knowledge in embedding Indigenous perspectives in a university curriculum. This paper argues for a thorough curriculum reform if a degree of decolonisation of the western constructed Indigenous knowledge and its living systems are desired.

Virtual reality or virtually real : blended teaching and learning in a Master's level research methods class

This paper examines the enabling effect of using blended learning and synchronous internet mediated communication technologies to improve learning and develop a Sense of Community (SOC) in a group of post-graduate students consisting of a mix of on-campus and off-campus students. Both quantitative and qualitative data collected over a number of years supports the assertion that the blended learning environment enhanced both teaching and learning. The development of a SOC was pivotal to the success of the blended approach when working with geographically isolated groups within a single learning environment.

Teaching and Learning Entrepreneurship for Micro and Small Businesses in the Cultural Industries Sector

Reports on an ESRC-funded, in-depth qualitative research project into 50 micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the cultural industries. Our evidence sheds light on the extent to which the teaching and learning strategies adopted by higher education, further education and other VET providers are effective in providing entrepreneurship education and training for this innovative, high skill sector. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurs in this sector learn best by being able to experiment with ideas, by “doing” and networking with others and by working with more experienced mentors in their sector. The article concludes by suggesting a more “naturalistic” approach to teaching and learning entrepreneurship for micro and small businesses in the cultural industries sector.