Enhancing social work students’ learning experience and readiness to undertake practice learning.

This project set out to evaluate the effectiveness of social work education by analysing student perceptions of the strengths and limitations of their education and training on the Bachelor of Social Work, Queen’s University, Belfast (QUB) at different stages of their ‘learning journey’ through the programme.
The author’s primary aim in undertaking this study was to contribute evidence-based understanding of the challenges and opportunities students identified themselves within contemporary practice environments. A secondary aim was to test the effectiveness of key approaches, theories and learning tools in common usage in social work education. The authors believe the outcomes generated by the project demonstrate the value of systematically researching student perceptions of their learning experience and feel the study provides important lessons which should help to inform the future development of social work education not only locally but in other parts of the UK.

Experiential Learning: Creating Meaningful Opportunities

This study examined the practice and implementation of undergraduate student internships in Ontario, Canada. A literature review revealed that implementation of internships at the undergraduate level in Ontario varies within campuses by faculty and department and also across the university spectrum, partly due to a lack of consistency and structure guiding internship practice in Ontario. Moreover, a lack of general consensus among participating stakeholders concerning the philosophy and approach to internship further complicates and varies its practice. While some departments and universities have started to embrace and implement more experiential learning opportunities into their curriculum, the practice of undergraduate internships is struggling to gain acceptance and validity in others. Using the theory of experiential learning as presented by Dewey (1938) and Kolb (1984) as theoretical frameworks, this research project developed an internship implementation strategy to provide structure and guidance to the practice of internships in Ontario’s undergraduate university curriculum.

Supporting graduate development through work based learning

The genesis of this innovation lies in the commitment of a national Irish business enterprise to the professional development of its staff in general, and to the enhancement of its Information Technologies (IT) staff specifically, in collaboration with a national Higher Education (HE) provider. A postgraduate degree, awarded by the HE provider, seeks to bring coherence and cohesion to the education and training provision for newly recruited IT graduate staff of the business enterprise, simultaneously acting both as an induction process for new staff and as a professional capacity building exercise, thereby enhancing the enterprise’s organisational learning and collective competence in the areas of information technologies, IT security and technical service management. The curriculum was designed by the HE provider in collaboration with the business enterprise to offer it to circa sixteen IT staff per cycle of delivery through a model known generally as the new apprenticeship for professional practice which uses a combination of college-based, block release taught elements, regular day release seminars and substantial work-based learning, supported by the academic staff of the HE provider and work-based support staff/mentors of the business enterprise. Academic quality assurance, pedagogical, assessment and accreditation responsibilities remain with the HE provider. (...)

Uncovering CLIL : Content and Language Integrated Learning in Bilingual and Multilingual Education.

Una guía para los profesores de idiomas con diferentes metodologías y técnicas utilizadas en la enseñanza del Aprendizaje Integrado de Conocimientos Curriculares y Lengua Extranjera (AICLE). Ofrece ideas y sugerencias prácticas sobre lo que funciona en el aula, explicaciones y ejemplos de cómo utilizar AICLE en la enseñanza primaria, secundaria y profesional para contribuir a conseguir el plurilingüismo.

CLIL : content and language integrated learning.

Los autores se basan en su experiencia en las escuelas secundarias, escuelas primarias y escuelas de idioma inglés en toda Europa para ofrecer una visión global de Content and Language Integral Learning (CLIL). Se resume la teoría que sustenta la enseñanza de una asignatura a través de otro idioma y se discute su aplicación práctica, destacando los ejes importantes para el desarrollo de la investigación y la práctica. Reconocen la incertidumbre que muchos docentes sienten sobre el CLIL, debido a la exigencia del lenguaje y conocimiento de la materia, al tiempo que presentan rutas teóricas y prácticas con éxito para todos.

Citizenship through work-related learning and enterprise.

Libro dirigido a profesores que imparten la asignatura de educación para la ciudadanía en relación con el trabajo y la empresa, en los niveles Key Stage 3 y 4 (educación secundaria). Está estructurado en cinco secciones basadas en un tema clave: definición de empresa ¿en qué consiste?, involucrarse ¿cómo puedo ser un ciudadano activo en el 'sector servicios'?, ¿cuáles son mis derechos como consumidor?, el mundo es muy, muy pequeño, y ¿cuáles son los derechos y deberes de los trabajadores? El libro incluye un CD-Rom con material de apoyo.

New Approaches in English Language Teaching : Teacher Training in the Framework of Content and Language Integrated Learning

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

Teacher education for content and language integrated learning : insights from a current European debate

Monogr??fico con el t??tulo: "Estrategias innovadoras en la formaci??n del profesorado"