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1 – 10 of 80Thomas Howard Morris, Michael Schön and Michael Charles Drayson
There has been an unprecedented increase in online learning worldwide, including in teacher education. However, student lurking can be a common issue, leading to a non-interactive…
Abstract
Purpose
There has been an unprecedented increase in online learning worldwide, including in teacher education. However, student lurking can be a common issue, leading to a non-interactive learning environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employed a qualitative case study with thematic analysis to examine a novel “self-directed” pre-service teacher online degree module that engaged students in regular peer-feedback, which intended to promote student engagement and interactivity. The research questions were as follows: To what extent did the seminar series represent the principles of self-directed learning and were learning outcomes effective from the process? And, how effective was the use of peer feedback?
Findings
The thematic analysis revealed that student progression and course completion was successful, and it represented some principles of self-directed learning; but (a) it cannot be presumed that pre-service teachers are competent in giving (peer) feedback and (b) pre-service teachers may need specific guidance and training for providing competent feedback.
Originality/value
This paper is highly original in respect of its combination of the self-directed learning framework with use of peer feedback, to engage students in an interactive learning environment. The present paper identifies that peer feedback is a powerful tool in online learning; peer feedback can supplement self- and teacher-assessment; but it should not be assumed that pre-service teachers are competent in providing (peer) feedback – pre-service teachers may need specific training in providing feedback.
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Thabang Donald Mokoena and Gideon Petrus van Tonder
This paper aims to determine the impact of mentorship on the development of self-directedness among beginner teachers in their initial years of teaching.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to determine the impact of mentorship on the development of self-directedness among beginner teachers in their initial years of teaching.
Design/methodology/approach
The researcher adopted a positivist paradigm to explore the situation of concern. Quantitative research was conducted, involving the collection and analysis of numerical data. Two closed-ended structured questionnaires were utilised, derived from the 40-item self-directed learning readiness scale (SDLRS) developed by Fisher and King, and a pre-determined questionnaire by Glazerman focused on the first-year teaching experience, induction and mentoring of beginner teachers.
Findings
Beginner teachers merely relying on the knowledge obtained from their studies is insufficient to achieve a satisfactory level of self-directedness when starting a teaching career. Most beginner teachers faced significant challenges in their early years of teaching due to the absence of mentoring support. In addition, most indicated that they resume their teaching duties and rely on their district for general support, guidance and orientation. Finally, the results have shown that mentoring positively impacts beginner teachers’ self-directedness.
Research limitations/implications
The first limitation was that this study was narrowed to one South Africa University part-time B.Ed honours students working as beginner teachers in different provinces at primary and secondary schools. As a result, the findings of this research might be interpreted by some critics as one-sided and not representative of the views of most beginner teachers in South Africa who are working. The second limitation of this study is the sample size. In this study, 222 responses were received. As a result, the findings of this research might be considered not representative of the target sample size.
Practical implications
The presence and effective implementation of mentoring programmes in schools can positively impact beginner teachers' professional development and retention during their first years of teaching.
Social implications
We contend that our research holds significance for international readership as it aims to garner attention towards potential research endeavours in diverse settings concerning mentorship programs for beginner teachers, specifically promoting self-directed learning. Our research offers opportunities to compare our findings with studies conducted in more comprehensive, comparative contexts and foster research possibilities in broader, contrasting contexts.
Originality/value
Based on the findings of this research, the availability and effective use of mentoring programmes would significantly affect beginner teachers' self-directedness, improve their retention rate and alleviate their teaching challenges. This study was the first research on the perceptions of the influence of mentoring on the self-directedness of beginner teachers.
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This paper aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students' employability skills and give insights into preparation for future crises that may…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students' employability skills and give insights into preparation for future crises that may happen.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing an interpretative phenomenological approach with the frame of social cognitive theory, the current study examined the changes in environmental, behavioral and personal elements of human functioning for employability skills being affected by the conditions during the pandemic.
Findings
Findings based on ten in-depth semi-structured interviews with students at universities in Vietnam highlighted that the global pandemic performed as both challenge and an opportunity for employability skills development, yet the extent to which the students can benefit from the new studying conditions attributed to each individual's initiatives in taking advantages of resources and acting against difficulties.
Originality/value
Whether the pandemic became a hindrance or a motivation for students' employability skills to develop and whether students effectively utilized an agency to overcome challenges and improved their skills after the pandemic have not yet been investigated. This study added to the body of literature regarding self-regulated learners by demonstrating agency in the learning process as well as how to manage careers and improve employability skills by making use of resources in disconnected settings.
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Douglas Sanford and Filiz Tabak
This paper aims to improve the understanding of student readiness for universal design for learning (UDL), thereby reducing a barrier to its adoption by management faculty. It…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to improve the understanding of student readiness for universal design for learning (UDL), thereby reducing a barrier to its adoption by management faculty. It explores how students’ personality (conscientiousness and openness to experience) affects their readiness to embrace UDL and investigate how that relationship is mediated by self-directed learning (SDL).
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis uses survey data from students in management courses. From these data are created multi-item constructs and control variables. A mediated regression model that uses bootstrapping to estimate parameters and standard errors generates the results.
Findings
The findings were that SDL is strongly related to student readiness for UDL and that SDL fully mediates the relationship between conscientiousness and UDL. Openness to experience, however, directly relates to UDL without any mediation.
Research limitations/implications
This research applies only to one institution and two management courses. The methodology used in this study is limited to one part of the UDL model, which is a measure of student readiness to engage in choice. Future research can extend this model to other courses and institutions and other parts of the UDL model.
Practical implications
These findings provide insight into the student characteristics that enable them to gain empowerment and motivation from the UDL approach. Implementation of UDL in management education may require learning management strategies that accommodate student readiness for UDL. This study makes progress in identifying student characteristics that explain this readiness.
Social implications
UDL can improve management education by making it more accessible to students with different personalities and learning styles.
Originality/value
This study developed a method for analyzing the applicability of UDL in management education. It also devised and implemented a new survey measure for student readiness for UDL.
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Tian Belawati, Daryono Daryono, Sugilar Sugilar and Udan Kusmawan
The paper reports a study that was intended to develop a self-assessment instrument to measure high school students' readiness for pursuing independent online learning.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper reports a study that was intended to develop a self-assessment instrument to measure high school students' readiness for pursuing independent online learning.
Design/methodology/approach
The instrument was developed through the following steps: (1) developing the draft, (2) checking the instrument's face validity and (3) testing the instrument's validity, reliability and discriminant capacity using PLS analysis.
Findings
The study has developed a tool to self-assess high school students' readiness for independent online learning. The instrument consists of 36 statement items and is statistically proven to have good reliability, construct and indicator validity and a discriminating power.
Research limitations/implications
The instrument items were designed to fit the context of Indonesian high school students. However, only responses from high school students in rather urban areas were used to test the validity and reliability of the instrument. This could imply that the instrument is only accurate in urban settings.
Practical implications
As a result of the research, a tool to assess high school students' readiness for independent online learning has been created. To better prepare students for independent online learning endeavors, the school might use the results to enhance areas that need improvement.
Originality/value
The study succeeded in developing a contextualized self-assessment tool for measuring Indonesian students' independent online learning readiness.
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Stefano Torresan and Andreas Hinterhuber
This literature review explores the potential of gamification in workplace learning beyond formal training. The study also highlights research gaps and opportunities for scholars…
Abstract
Purpose
This literature review explores the potential of gamification in workplace learning beyond formal training. The study also highlights research gaps and opportunities for scholars to develop new theories and methodologies to enhance the understanding and application of gamification in workplace learning. It provides guidance for managers to use gamification to enhance learning and engagement. Ultimately, this review presents gamification as a promising field of study to increase individual and organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature review of 6625 papers in the timeframe 1990–2020, with an update to include papers published in 2023.
Findings
This article examines the impact of gamification beyond formal learning and its potential to enhance employee productivity and well-being in the workplace. While there has been extensive research on gamification in formal learning contexts, little is known about its impact on informal learning. The study argues that the context of gamification is crucial to extending its effects and discusses the role, antecedents and consequences of game design elements in the workplace. The article also explores how the learning context relates to employee learning during work. Further research is necessary to investigate the impact of individual characteristics on work experience and performance.
Research limitations/implications
Intended contribution of the present study is the development of a theoretical framework exploring the benefits of gamification in a work context.
Practical implications
For practicing managers, this paper shows how to use gamification to increase workplace learning and employee engagement, not just in the context of formal learning—as some companies already do today—but also systematically, in the context of informal learning.
Originality/value
This study explores the impact of gamification on informal workplace learning and emphasizes the significance of the context of gamification in extending its effects to improve individual and organizational performance.
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This article focuses on the assessment of entrepreneurship competence by selected vocational teachers in Italy. The exploratory research question addresses the extent to which…
Abstract
Purpose
This article focuses on the assessment of entrepreneurship competence by selected vocational teachers in Italy. The exploratory research question addresses the extent to which entrepreneurship assessments are competence based, and the research seeks to identify fully fledged assessment programmes with both a formative and summative component, and the use of assessment rubrics. It also explores the extent to which entrepreneurship competence is referred to in school documentation and later assessed, and the tools and strategies used for such assessment.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study is part of a larger European research project promoted by Cedefop; in Italy it focused on six selected vocational IVET and CVET programmes and apprenticeship schemes. It used a wide range of instruments to ensure triangulation and multiple perspectives: analysed policy documents and undertook online interviews with experts and policy makers. At VET providers' premises it deployed: analysis of school documents; observations of learning environments; interviews and focus groups with (in schools) teachers, directors and vice directors, learners and alumni (in companies) instructors, company tutors and employers, apprentices and alumni.
Findings
Assessment tasks were rarely embedded within fully fledged assessment programmes involving both formative and summative tasks, and assessment rubric for grading. Most of the time, entrepreneurship programmes lacked self-assessment, peer assessment and structured feedback and did not involve learners in the assessment process. Some instructors coached the students, but undertook no clear formative assessment. These findings suggest institutions have a testing culture with regard to assessment, at the level of both policy and practice. In most cases, entrepreneurship competence was not directly assessed, and learning outcomes were only loosely related to entrepreneurship.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation concerned the selection of the VET providers: these were chosen not on a casual basis, but because they ran programmes that were relevant to the development of entrepreneurship competence.
Practical implications
At the policy level, there is a need for new guidelines on competence development and assessment in VET, guidelines that are more aligned with educational research on competence development. To ensure the development of entrepreneurship competence, educators need in-service training and a community of practice.
Originality/value
So far, the literature has concentrated on entrepreneurship education at the tertiary level. Little is known about how VET instructors assess entrepreneurship competence. This study updates the picture of policy and practice in Italy, illustrating how entrepreneurship competence is developed in selected IVET and CVET programmes and apprenticeships.
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Carmen Jane Vallis, Huyen Thi Nguyen and Adrian Norman
Educational design patterns offer practical strategies that can be shared and adapted to address problems in teaching and learning. This article explores how educational design…
Abstract
Purpose
Educational design patterns offer practical strategies that can be shared and adapted to address problems in teaching and learning. This article explores how educational design patterns for connected learning at scale at an Australian university may be adapted to a Vietnamese higher education context.
Design/methodology/approach
12 educational design patterns that address the challenges of active learning and large teaching team management are discussed. The authors then critically reflect on their cross-cultural adaptation for the higher education context, from an Australian to a Vietnamese university.
Findings
Transitioning from passive to active learning strategies and effectively leading large teaching teams present similar challenges across our contexts. Educational design patterns, when dynamically adapted, may assist educators to teach skills that are critical for work and the future. Higher education institutions globally could enhance their practices by incorporating international best practice approaches to educational design.
Practical implications
The Connected Learning at Scale (CLaS) educational design patterns explored in this article offer solution-oriented strategies that promote a more active learning experience. This paper identifies adaptations for educators, especially those in Vietnamese higher education that respect traditional structures, cultural nuances and resource limitations in implementation.
Originality/value
Whilst educational design patterns are well-researched in the Western contexts, few studies analyse design patterns in an Asian, and in particular the Vietnamese context. More research is needed in the cross-cultural adaptation of educational design patterns that joins practice and theory.
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Lisa Bosman, Taofeek Oladepo and Ida Ngambeki
Upon graduating from university, many engineers will work in new product development and/or technology adoption for continuous improvement and production optimization. These jobs…
Abstract
Purpose
Upon graduating from university, many engineers will work in new product development and/or technology adoption for continuous improvement and production optimization. These jobs require employees to be cognizant of ethical practices and implications for design. However, little engineering coursework, outside the traditional ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) required Engineering Ethics course, accounts for the role of ethics within this process. Because of this, engineering students have few learning opportunities to practice and reflect on ethical decision-making.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper highlights one approach to integrating ethics into an engineering course (outside of engineering ethics). Specifically, the study is implemented within a five-week module with a focus on big data ethics, as part of a Supply Chain Management Technology course (required for Industrial Engineering Technology majors), using metacognition as the core assessment.
Findings
Four main themes were identified through the qualitative data analysis of the metacognitive reflections: (1) overreliance on content knowledge, (2) time management skills, (3) career connections and (4) knowledge extensions.
Originality/value
Three notable points emerged which contribute to the literature. First, this study showcased one example of how an ethics module can be integrated into an engineering course (other than Engineering Ethics). Second, this study demonstrated how metacognitive reflections can be used to reinforce student self-awareness of the learning process and connections to big data ethics in the workplace. Finally, this study exhibited how metacognitive reflection assignments can be deployed as a teaching and learning assessment tool, providing an opportunity for the instructor to make immediate changes as needed.
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Rachael Hains-Wesson and Kaiying Ji
In this study, the authors explore students' and industry’s perceptions about the challenges and opportunities of participating in a large-scale, non-compulsory, individual…
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, the authors explore students' and industry’s perceptions about the challenges and opportunities of participating in a large-scale, non-compulsory, individual, in-person and unpaid business placement programme at an Australian university. The placement programme aims to support students' workplace transition by emphasising the development of key employability skills through reflective learning and linking theory to practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilising a case study methodology and integrating survey questionnaires, the authors collected both quantitative and qualitative data with large sample sizes.
Findings
The results highlight curriculum areas for improvement, emphasising tailored feedback to manage placement expectations and addressing employability skill strengths and weaknesses.
Practical implications
Recommendations include co-partnering with students to develop short, tailored and hot tip videos along with online learning modules, including the presentation of evidence-based statistics to inform students about post-programme employment prospects.
Originality/value
The study contributes to benchmarking good practices in non-compulsory, individual, in-person and unpaid placement pedagogy within the business education context.
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