Margins for Flexibility and Zones of Evolution in Transition: Exploring Students’ Conceptions and Experiences of HE Learning

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Christine Smith, Quality Enhancement: University Campus Suffolk, UK

Abstract

This paper reports on a study of first year students’ conceptions and experiences of higher education (hereafter HE) and student engagement, linked to the transition from the secondary to the post-secondary learning environment. Facets of student engagement provide a thematic frame for analysis: active learning; academic challenge; staff–student interactions; enriching educational experiences; supportive learning environments; and work–integrated learning. Two findings are highlighted. The first suggests the need for margins of flexibility in transition: aligned to individual student needs, recognizing the diversity of students’ prior academic and life experiences, and by consequence their capacity for independent learning. The second finding emphasizes zones of evolution in transition, that students see engagement as a professionally–oriented construct, in their “becoming” within the disciplinary field and from the outset of their HE study.

Keywords: student engagement, active learning, faculty-student relations

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Gamification for Enhancing Student Motivation: Research Reflections

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Richard Taylor, Higher Colleges of Technology, United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Gamification is the application of game elements (such as rewards, rapid feedback cycles, and competition elements) to a non-game context in order to motivate users and engage them in activities that they would otherwise find boring. It is exactly this aspect of gamification that has attracted the attention of educators seeking to design learning experiences that can engage learners and increase their motivation on a cognitive, emotional and social level. My research project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of gamification on higher education students’ engagement, motivation and academic attainment. This is a research project in progress, so in this paper I will describe the rationale for the study, the theoretical framework, the methodology, and the expected outcomes.

Keywords: gamification, assessment, student engagement, ESL instruction

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The Role of SoTL in Classroom Innovation

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Anne Tierney, School of Education, University of Durham, UK

Abstract

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is being promoted as an activity for teaching-focused academics in the UK. However, support for SoTL is not a priority for most institutions, and formal provision for such support may not extend beyond the postgraduate certificate in higher education that is offered for new academic staff. This paper examines the experiences of SoTL of a group of twenty-one Life Sciences academics from a range of UK universities. It explores the role that SoTL has to play in developing classroom innovation in a structured and scholarly manner, and the consequences to both teaching staff and students, if SoTL is not supported as an academic activity throughout the careers of teaching-focused academics.

Keywords: faculty development, scholarship of teaching and learning, self-reflection
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The Power of Self-reflection – Travelling the Hero’s Journey

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Julie Willans,* Academic Learning Services Unit, CQUniversity, Australia

Abstract

A simple, self-reflective tool that has been used very effectively for well over a decade in a regional Australian pre-university preparatory program (STEPS) is the use of the metaphor of the Hero’s Journey (Vogler, 2007). STEPS teachers use this collaborative tool during term time to assist students in “normalising” their STEPS journey. In tandem with the enjoyment and satisfaction many will likely experience, students are reassured there may be degrees of apprehension and confusion as they occupy a “not so sure space” (Meyer & Land, 2005, p. 5). However, it is in this space that challenge can result in significant personal transformation.

Keywords: learning skills, student engagement, self-reflection
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El Método de Casos: Hacia un Apredizaje Mejor

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James Wilkinson, Harvard University, USA

Resumen

El método de casos resulta uno de los más eficaces para el aprendizaje activo, porque involucre a los estudiantes en el proceso inquisitivo, que es la actividad clave del aprendizaje. También lo es de la investigación científica, así que los métodos inquisitivos que emplean los profesores en sus trabajos de investigación pueden ser finalmente casi los mismos que los métodos empleados en la enseñanza. Pero, el hacerlo bien resulta muchas veces difícil. Y desafortunadamente, cuando se hace mal, este método puede conducer a resultados peores que los de la pedagogía tradicional. Por eso, cuando se habla de innovación se necesita tratar no sólo sus métodos, sino prepararse para utilizarlos también. Por muy útil e indispensable que sea la innovación pedagógica, su práctica requiera esfuerzos y un largo aprendizaje por parte de los profesores. Incluso para muchos, será necesario aprender otra vez a enseñar.
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Reflection on Action: A Scholarly Activity to Ensure Quality in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: The Case of Universidad de La Serena

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Pamela Labra,* Rodrigo Fuentalba Jara, Ana María Vera, Jorge Fernández Labra, José Enrique Novoa, Jorge Pizarro Guerrero, Erika Zuñiga Fuentes, Claudia Toledo Robles, Oscar Robles González, Patricia Cortés Maldonado, Eric Troncoso Riquelme, Hernán Guiñez Guiñez, Luis Cortés Estrada, Moises Villablanca Villanueva, Ana María Villagrán Barrios, & Erico Wulf Betancourt, Universidad de La Serena, Chile

Abstract

Improving professional development in higher education is of vital importance, especially when seen in the context of (a) the increase in the number of students entering the university system in Chile who are insufficiently prepared for their studies, and (b) the increase in the number of higher education faculty hired to teach for the first time. The present study aims at summarizing the experience of the Teaching Center at the Universidad de La Serena in providing faculty with institutional
support to reflect on their teaching, i.e., to undertake a scholarly examination of the teaching-learning process in higher education.
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Strategies for Applying Active Learning

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Betty Abaroa Godoy, Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile

Abstract

Cooperative learning (aprendizaje cooperativo or AC in Spanish) is one of the strategies for active learning. Successful implementation requires the teacher to master its five components; to design a learning-teaching experience; and to nurture the class environment. In this regard, we offer a summary of experience gathered during the training of professors and student assistants, where the AC was assumed to be the guiding axis along which the class activities were designed and put into practice, and where the study of the pedagogical practice was considered essential for improving the curriculum.
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Estrategias para la Aplicación de Aprendizaje Activo

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Betty Abaroa Godoy, Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile

Resumen

El aprendizaje cooperativo (AC) es una de las estrategias de aprendizaje activo y para implementarlo, es necesario que el docente tenga una comprensión acabada de sus cinco componentes, que diseñe la experiencia de aprendizaje enseñanza y que propicie el ambiente de clase. Al respecto, se ofrece un resumen de la experiencia recogida en la formación de docentes y ayudantes universitarios en donde el AC se ha asumido como eje a partir del cual se diseñan e implementan las actividades de aula y en donde la investigación sobre la propia práctica pedagógica se considera esencial para la mejora del currículum.
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Teaching Project: “A Students’ Travel Guide to the History of the Island of Rhodes“

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Christina Antenhofer, University of Innsbruck, Austria

Abstract

This paper follows a teaching project realized during spring term 2007 from its conception to the final realization. The class “Rhodes – Platform of Cultural Encounters in the Eastern Mediterranean” was combined with a one week excursion to Rhodes and co-organized with Birgit Gufler from the Department of Ancient History. Since students often only tolerate paper presentations as a necessary task we tried to challenge them by (1) letting them elaborate our sightseeing program for the excursion together with us and by (2) asking them to elaborate their papers in the form of a “travel guide” that was then published on the department homepage.
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Ivory Tower to Lighthouse Beacon: Extreme Makeover, Academe Edition: Practical Suggestions for Adopting a Newly Assessed Course

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Valarie Meliotes Arms, Drexel University, USA

Abstract

English teachers have long recognized that “authentic” assignments involving real world tasks produce better writing because students see the immediate purpose. With the help of an enthusiastic IT group and a willing, though occasionally “reluctant” and skeptical faculty, I synthesized much of my research on pedagogy and classroom experience to develop English Alive: A Hybrid Learning Community for students from all majors. English Alive provides a multi-pronged approach to engaging students with technology that allows for data gathering necessary for assessment. We focus on authentic assignments drawn from the professions and the use of the full range of 21st century communication technology. We have reduced teacher class time in favor of more student online writing time and first hand experiences. The program is built on ‘projects” that require students to recognize the value of primary and secondary research in something as basic as describing a local community. The class also emphasizes the techniques for clarity in communication, whether the final project is a presentation, a poster or an essay.
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