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Article
Publication date: 25 November 2013

Anna Marie Johnson, Claudene Sproles and Robert Detmering

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

Design/methodology/approach

Introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.

Findings

Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

Originality/value

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 41 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 July 2020

Muhammad Mujtaba Asad, Nadia Hussain, Maria Wadho, Zahid Hussain Khand and Prathamesh P. Churi

The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has become a major driving force in transforming education worldwide. Similarly, in the last ten years, the usage of…

1064

Abstract

Purpose

The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has become a major driving force in transforming education worldwide. Similarly, in the last ten years, the usage of ICTs and e-learning in Pakistan has increased. Whereas the latest educational policy of the Government of Pakistan has focused on using ICTs and e-learning in schools and universities. The national professional standards for teachers have also suggested teachers to integrate ICTs in their classrooms and develop e-learning platforms for teaching and learning processes. However, in this study the effectiveness of information and communication and e-learning technologies integration in teaching and learning has been assessed. The context selected for this research study is a public university of Sindh, Pakistan. The research gap, which has been founded through the extensive literature review, indicated that most of the students are not able to utilize ICTs effectively. The first objective of this study is to enable students to gain wider range of knowledge and access Internet for developing a global outlook. Moreover, the second objective of this study is to develop students' capabilities of processing information more effectively and efficiently for teaching and learning.

Design/methodology/approach

By nature, this study is quantitative survey-based research study. For this purpose, data has been collected from students and teachers of English, Computer Science and Business Administration departments of targeted university, survey questionnaires have been adopted as a data collection tool. Whereas the random sampling technique is used for the collection of data by using Morgan table of sample size. Additionally, data has been collected from 100 participants, 80 of them were students and 20 were teachers, and data has been analyzed by using SPSS 22.0 software.

Findings

The findings of this study have indicated the student's level of interest toward the integration of ICTs and e-learning in science and social science courses. Similarly, the findings specify that through ICT and e-learning materials, students can learn more effectively, which can also facilitate teachers for their teaching process in this modern era of technology. Whereas the issue that has been specified through the findings is that the teachers are not encouraged by the management of the university to implement the ICT in their teaching and learning due to their concerns on the limited resources and lack of competencies.

Practical implications

For the practical implication, the findings of this study will facilitate the teachers and learners for integrating the ICTs and e-learning in their course curriculums and interactive teaching practices as per modern era of technology. Also, this study will help the provincial leader and policymakers by addressing the teachers’ concern to encourage the integration of ICT tools and develop capabilities for interactive classrooms for effective teaching and learning.

Originality/value

This is the first study of its nature that has been conducted in the Pakistani public university in rural setting, and the finding of this study will facilitate and help the institutional and government stakeholders to where and how they can effectively integrate ICTs and e-learning in classrooms for interactive teaching and learning processes in the rural Sindh.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 May 2021

George Shava and Jan Heystek

The purpose of this study was to examine the integration of instructional and transformational leadership models of leadership in sustaining quality teaching and learning in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the integration of instructional and transformational leadership models of leadership in sustaining quality teaching and learning in schools. The study sought to establish how principals integrate instructional and transformational leadership in enhancing learner performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed qualitative methods of collecting and analysing data. The principal sources of data were six face-to-face semi-structured interview questions with school principals from selected schools in rural South Africa. Qualitative evidence was collected from six principals selected through purposive sampling. The selection of participants was based on the criteria that there was evidence of employing instructional and transformational leadership.

Findings

Findings from the study provided evidence that instructional and transformational leadership approaches were used to change under performing schools. There was evidence of individualised consideration and principals supporting teachers through providing rewards and motivation. It was established that principals build a school culture that promotes successful academic improvement. The study showed that the integration of instructional and transformational models of leadership leads to a climate that promotes a culture of teaching and learning.

Research limitations/implications

The study covered six schools in South Africa. Findings from the study have implications that principals are cornerstones to achieving quality teaching and learning in schools.

Practical implications

The study was conducted in schools that were seen to adopt instructional and transformational leadership. This study is among the most important studies that were conducted in South Africa on the role of leadership in enhancing a culture of teaching and learning.

Social implications

The study has critical implications for policy making and influences on school leadership in general and the adoption of strategies, policies and models that can improve teaching and learning. The study highlights the importance of integrating leadership models.

Originality/value

This is an original study conducted in South Africa and data was conducted through face-to-face interviews to seek for opinions from participants in their original settings.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 35 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 March 2010

Wanjuan Zhong and Lisa Catherine Ehrich

The purpose of this paper is to explore two dimensions of leadership practices (i.e. teaching and learning and sources of power) used by two exemplary principals in mainland China…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore two dimensions of leadership practices (i.e. teaching and learning and sources of power) used by two exemplary principals in mainland China against a background of education reform and to identify how broader contextual factors have shaped these two dimensions of their leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory case study was used that drew upon semi‐structured interviews, observations and document analysis. Interviews were conducted with two principals, six teachers from each of the two schools and a superintendent who was the supervisor of the two principals.

Findings

The findings reveal that there are some common elements in both of the leaders' practices but also some subtle differences. Both leaders emphasise teaching and learning. One sees herself as curriculum expert; the other delegate teaching responsibilities. While both uses a top down approach, one principal uses an adversarial approach and the other a more facilitative approach.

Research limitations/implications

The study used a small sample size. It explored the leaders' practices in the light of broader contextual factors rather than personal factors or gender‐based factors

Originality/value

Given the limited empirical research conducted on female principals in mainland China, this qualitative study provides insights into two dimensions of leadership used by two exemplary principals and explains their practices in the light of critical contextual factors such as contemporary and traditional Chinese culture and the school's organisational context.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 48 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2016

Francisco José Fernández Cruz, Inmaculada Egido Gálvez and Rafael Carballo Santaolalla

Quality management systems are being used more frequently in educational institutions, although their application has generated a certain amount of disagreement among education…

1697

Abstract

Purpose

Quality management systems are being used more frequently in educational institutions, although their application has generated a certain amount of disagreement among education experts, who have at times questioned their suitability and usefulness for improving schools. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this discussion by providing additional knowledge on the effects in educational institutions of implementing quality management systems. Specifically, this study investigates teachers’ and managers’ perception of the impact that quality management systems have on one essential dimension of schools, the teaching–learning processes, with impact being understood as sustained medium- and long-term organisational change.

Design/methodology/approach

The responses were analysed and classified into a set of sub-dimensions linked to quality management processes in a total of 29 Spanish primary and secondary education schools that have used such systems for at least three years.

Findings

The results showed that, according to the respondents, the following sub-dimensions were improving as a result of implementing quality management plans: teaching and learning processes, the analysis of student results, tutoring, consideration of attitudes and values and assessment processes. Conversely, quality management systems did not seem to have a clear impact on the teaching methodologies used by teachers or on family involvement in student learning. In fact, the perceived impact in these sub-dimensions varied among teachers of public and private schools as well as when comparing different regional autonomous communities.

Originality/value

As the main objective of a school is to guarantee student learning, one of the essential purposes of school quality assurance systems is to perform all the activities aimed at ensuring high levels of student performance.

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1995

Nandish V. Patel

Much educational practice taught at teaching colleges regarding theprocess of teaching and learning is derived from a theoretical base.Less is based on lessons learned from the…

3785

Abstract

Much educational practice taught at teaching colleges regarding the process of teaching and learning is derived from a theoretical base. Less is based on lessons learned from the observation of the actual process of teaching and learning. Undergraduate teachers and mature practitioners are left with unstructured and unsystematic personal reflections of the process of teaching and learning for meeting any deficiencies they may have perceived. Soft systems methodology is an approach that can fill this lacuna. It provides a structured and systematic as well as systemic, approach for analysing actual practices in organized human activities, or human activity systems, such as the institution of education. The methodology is of particular benefit for analysing the process of teaching and learning because it does not require starting the process as an identified and precisely defined problem requiring a commensurate solution, yet it is still capable of generating recommendations for improving the process. The methodology is applied to this process to discover whether it can reveal hitherto unrecognized teaching and learning activities which can be used to improve the process in question.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 January 2023

Zhixiang Chen

The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel improved teaching and learning-based algorithm (TLBO) to enhance its convergence ability and solution accuracy, making it more…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel improved teaching and learning-based algorithm (TLBO) to enhance its convergence ability and solution accuracy, making it more suitable for solving large-scale optimization issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilizing multiple cooperation mechanisms in teaching and learning processes, an improved TBLO named CTLBO (collectivism teaching-learning-based optimization) is developed. This algorithm introduces a new preparation phase before the teaching and learning phases and applies multiple teacher–learner cooperation strategies in teaching and learning processes. Applying modularization idea, based on the configuration structure of operators of CTLBO, six variants of CTLBO are constructed. For identifying the best configuration, 30 general benchmark functions are tested. Then, three experiments using CEC2020 (2020 IEEE Conference on Evolutionary Computation)-constrained optimization problems are conducted to compare CTLBO with other algorithms. At last, a large-scale industrial engineering problem is taken as the application case.

Findings

Experiment with 30 general unconstrained benchmark functions indicates that CTLBO-c is the best configuration of all variants of CTLBO. Three experiments using CEC2020-constrained optimization problems show that CTLBO is one powerful algorithm for solving large-scale constrained optimization problems. The application case of industrial engineering problem shows that CTLBO and its variant CTLBO-c can effectively solve the large-scale real problem, while the accuracies of TLBO and other meta-heuristic algorithm are far lower than CLTBO and CTLBO-c, revealing that CTLBO and its variants can far outperform other algorithms. CTLBO is an excellent algorithm for solving large-scale complex optimization issues.

Originality/value

The innovation of this paper lies in the improvement strategies in changing the original TLBO with two-phase teaching–learning mechanism to a new algorithm CTLBO with three-phase multiple cooperation teaching–learning mechanism, self-learning mechanism in teaching and group teaching mechanism. CTLBO has important application value in solving large-scale optimization problems.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Computing and Cybernetics, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-378X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 February 2018

Max Finne

The purpose of this paper is to take a professional service operation (PSO) perspective to reconceptualise a persistent pedagogical dilemma of teaching large classes into a…

1139

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to take a professional service operation (PSO) perspective to reconceptualise a persistent pedagogical dilemma of teaching large classes into a process design challenge. This enables developing a solution that reduces labour intensity and improves the customisation of teaching.

Design/methodology/approach

This work is based on a single-case analysis of an undergraduate operations management course taught at a UK-based global top-50 business school. The research process follows the design science approach where a prior course design is analysed and a redesign is presented, refined and tested using data on student satisfaction.

Findings

The course redesign is based on the flipped learning pedagogy, and uses a combination of process analysis and educational science perspectives. The redesign seems to provide the benefits to students without increasing labour intensity. The developed six-step systematic approach should reduce the labour intensity of university-level teaching operations, while providing additional possibilities for customisable in-class active learning.

Research limitations/implications

The empirical findings from the single-case design cannot be directly generalised to other contexts. However, the developed six-step systematic approach for redesigning the university-level teaching process should be applicable to other teaching operations to drive value creation and improve processes.

Originality/value

This study shows how the resource-constrained value creation of teaching operations can be improved systematically using process analysis perspectives. The work also scrutinises the flipped learning pedagogy from a PSO perspective and shows its benefits for improving teaching operations compared to traditional lecturing.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 38 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 January 2022

Gloria Lihotetso Matee, Nthabiseng Motlohi and Palesa Nkiwane

This study aims to investigate emerging perspectives and challenges which teaching staff and students in the Faculties of Business and Accounting, Health and Education as well as…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate emerging perspectives and challenges which teaching staff and students in the Faculties of Business and Accounting, Health and Education as well as Computing encountered in using Virtual Collaborative Learning during their classes in one accredited institution of higher education in Maseru district Lesotho. Previously conducted studies reveal that although similar studies to the current one have been conducted in different countries across the globe, conducting them in another different country such as Lesotho and in a different context might provide new information.

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on Lev Vygotsky’s social constructivism as the theoretical framework because it is relevant and appropriate. The study was buttressed by constructivism paradigm, qualitative design as well as a qualitative case study. A purposive sampling technique was used in this study. A sample of 35 students and 11 teaching staff from the 3 respective faculties were used as participants of the study. This qualitative case study was based on online questionnaires issued to the participants using emails for data collection. Data were generated based on the themes which emerged.

Findings

The findings of the study suggest that majority of students found Virtual Collaborative Learning helpful and a user-friendly tool. However, lack of resources, clear instructions from the teaching staff and cooperation, internet connectivity issues, as well as data expenses have been identified as stumbling blocks that discourage students’ satisfactory engagement in Virtual Collaborative Learning. The findings further revealed various strategies including encouraging students to cooperate, grading students’ participation on online platforms and consultations could be used to overcome the challenges encountered in using Virtual Collaborative Learning. For generalisability and understanding of the breadth of the students and teaching staff experiences and challenges of Virtual Collaborative Learning, the authors recommend further study to be conducted on a larger representative sample, using the established themes of the current study.

Research limitations/implications

Using face-to-face interviews and classroom observations for data collection would have been more suitable for a qualitative methodology. However, due to COVID-19 regulations that restrict contact and limit lessons on online platforms, an online questionnaire was used for data collection.

Originality/value

This research reveals emerging perspectives and challenges which are encountered by teaching staff and students while using Virtual Collaborative Learning in one institution of higher education in Maseru Lesotho.

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2017

Rekai Zenda

The purpose of this paper is to explore teaching methods that can allow learners to be creative and proactive. The learners should be able to solve problems, make decisions, think…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore teaching methods that can allow learners to be creative and proactive. The learners should be able to solve problems, make decisions, think critically, communicate ideas effectively and work efficiently. Teaching and learning are evolving and developing in many countries, with a focus concerning what is actually learned through effective teaching methods.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research was carried out, identifying effective teaching methods and exploring their roles in teaching and learning in physical sciences in selected rural secondary schools. Face-to-face interviews with physical sciences teachers, school principals and curriculum advisers were used to collect data.

Findings

A range of teaching methods that may be integrated into teaching and learning activities is identified. The teaching methods ensure that topics are discussed and explored through interaction and sharing of perspective, views and values through which new learning can emerge. Viewed from this perspective, there is a need to create a stimulating, enriching, challenging and focused environment for physical sciences learners through the use of multiple teaching methodologies.

Research limitations/implications

The improvement of science learner’s academic achievement requires also the teachers to develop new skills and ways of teaching the subject. Improving learner academic achievement in physical sciences requires an approach to improve the skills of teachers as well, which focuses on the effective use of teaching methods such as experiments. This means attempting to change the attitude of teachers to regard the processes of teaching and learning as central to their role. In addition, the achievement of learners in science could possibly solve the problem of shortages of engineers, skilled artisans, technicians, doctors and technologists for sustainable development. It is important to create conducive conditions for learning and teaching in physical sciences, and continue to progressively and within available resources, realise that collaboration, problem-solving and hands-on activities are effective teaching methods to improve learner academic achievement.

Practical implications

The learners should be able to solve problems, make decisions, think critically, communicate ideas effectively and work efficiently. The study is limited to the teaching methods used in physical sciences. Hands-on activities are essential in science teaching and learning.

Social implications

The use of collaborations, peer teachings and hands-on activities allows learners emphasise the creation of a classroom where students are engaged in essentially open-ended, student-centred and hands-on experiments.

Originality/value

The paper is original work, in which face-to-face interviews were carried out. Qualitative research was carried out. The paper could assist educators in the teaching of physical sciences in secondary schools using the identified methods. The results were obtained from physical sciences educators, school principals and curriculum advisors in South Africa. Poor academic achievement in rural areas is a concern, and therefore, the paper provides effective methods which can be used by educators in the teaching of physical sciences in rural areas.

Details

Information and Learning Science, vol. 118 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5348

Keywords

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