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The purpose of this paper is to identify the teaching innovations that have been implemented in higher education institutions in Asia and the perspectives of educators on them.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the teaching innovations that have been implemented in higher education institutions in Asia and the perspectives of educators on them.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 educators who were affiliated with 23 higher education institutions in ten Asian countries/regions. The interviews covered information about the teaching innovations of the participants’ institutions, the characteristics of the innovative practices and the participants’ views on them. The relationships between the characteristics of institutions and their teaching innovations were also examined.
Findings
The results showed that the teaching innovations included two main categories, namely, those which involved the use of advanced technologies and those which did not. The innovations that involved the use of advanced technologies were mainly from larger institutions, while the other category was mainly from smaller ones and had been practised for less than 1.5 years. Differences were also identified between the two categories in terms of the aims and importance of innovations, innovative features, the evaluation of innovations and improvements needed for them.
Originality/value
The results highlighted that technology is only one of the many aspects of teaching innovations, which is different from the view prevailing in the literature. They also suggested that differences in the scale of institutions (in terms of number of students) possibly influences the kind of teaching innovations adopted.
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Nancy Bouranta and Evangelos Psomas
Due to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, primary and secondary schools worldwide are deploying online teaching/learning practices, fostering and thus innovation practices…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, primary and secondary schools worldwide are deploying online teaching/learning practices, fostering and thus innovation practices. The purpose of this study is to determine the degree to which practices reflecting educational innovation are implemented in the Greek public primary and secondary schools operating under conditions characterized by the COVID-19 pandemic. Determining the relationship among these educational innovation practices is also an aim of the present study.
Design/methodology/approach
A research study was conducted in the Greek public primary and secondary schools. 522 teachers fully completed a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to analyze the data.
Findings
The findings reveal that administration-related innovation practices, teaching-related innovation practices and online teaching/learning practices are implemented to some extent in primary and secondary schools in Greece, but there is still scope for continued development. The online teaching/learning practices set the foundations for further developing a culture of fully adopting other educational innovation practices in these schools to improve education.
Originality/value
Limited research concerning educational innovation practices has focused on primary and secondary schools. The need for more studies on teaching and learning innovations that have resulted from the COVID-19 crisis is highlighted by the literature. The results of this study support the fact that online teaching/learning implemented in primary and secondary schools is positively associated with administration-related and teaching-related innovation practices, concluding that this forced change in the educational process can act as a catalyst for more changes and innovative actions.
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Education institutions persist by transforming leadership skills to manage their knowledge resources efficiently as well as enhance the lecturer’s teaching and learning innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
Education institutions persist by transforming leadership skills to manage their knowledge resources efficiently as well as enhance the lecturer’s teaching and learning innovation capabilities. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether knowledge management plays a role of mediator between transformational leadership and teaching and learning innovation in teacher education.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the primary data from 359 teacher educators across Malaysia. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to all the samples, and the collected data was analysed using structural equation modelling approach.
Findings
The data analysis indicated that knowledge management did not play the role of a mediator in this study because the direct effect of transformational leadership on teaching and learning innovation was stronger than the indirect effect of transformational leadership through knowledge management.
Practical implications
From the aspect of implications on the practice, it was suggested that all lecturers and head of departments attend clinical training and workshops on knowledge management to further understand the knowledge management processes that could enhance the quality of teaching in teacher education institutes.
Originality/value
This study is perhaps the first study to investigate the role of knowledge management as a mediator between transformational leadership and teaching and learning innovation in teacher education.
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Heléne Lundberg and Christina Öberg
Universities, when collaborating with industry, are generally assumed to be the motors for innovation. Inspired by a case on a university’s collaboration with small- and…
Abstract
Purpose
Universities, when collaborating with industry, are generally assumed to be the motors for innovation. Inspired by a case on a university’s collaboration with small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a regional strategic network (RSN), this paper aims to put forth how the university makes important contributions through transferring knowledge on innovation processes that is a teaching role, rather than sees itself as the party producing innovations. This paper describes and discusses the university’s teaching role and its consequences in university-industry collaborations for innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirically, the paper departs from a mid-Swedish RSN where nine SMEs started to work with a university. Interviews with representatives of the nine SMEs participating in the innovation project, along with university and RSN representatives, comprise the main data source. The paper analyzes the university’s teaching role and the consequences of it.
Findings
Findings point at how the SMEs developed structured innovation processes, improved their market intelligence and increased their efficiency in providing new solutions. The university facilitated knowledge, while the SMEs responded through creating knowledge both on how to innovate and in terms of innovations.
Originality/value
The teaching role, which would mean that the university stays with one of its core functions, indicates a need to rethink university-industry collaboration related to expectations and role division. Moving from producing innovations to facilitating knowledge on how to innovate, would, for universities, mean that they minimize those conflicts emerging from their various roles and indicate that the production of innovation is placed at those devoted to run and grow businesses.
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To explain how technology will replace a great deal of human labor in knowledge markets using a theory of reasoned action applied to demand and theories of procedural rationality…
Abstract
Purpose
To explain how technology will replace a great deal of human labor in knowledge markets using a theory of reasoned action applied to demand and theories of procedural rationality, cost structure and system dynamics applied to supply.
Design/methodology/approach
Two illustrative scenarios are presented. The first is a third-party Best Treatments site, and its effect on the expert advice pharmaceutical representatives provide doctors. The second scenario is an online higher education business course module with embedded AI.
Findings
Both scenarios demonstrate the advantages of online expertise and teaching platforms over the in-person alternative in variable and marginal cost, ease and convenience of use, quality conformance, scalability, knowledge reach and depth and most importantly, speed of evolutionary adaptability. Despite such overwhelming advantages, a number of reasons why the substitution might be slowed are presented, and some strategies firms might adopt are discussed. Opportunities for service scholars to confirm, challenge and extend the conclusions are presented throughout the paper.
Originality/value
Increasing cost structure and adaptability advantages of online technology and AI over in-person delivery of expertise and training services are demonstrated. It is also demonstrated that the innovation-imitation cycle is accelerating because of exogenous innovation in knowledge access and online influence networks and an endogenous effect where imitators accelerate their innovation that drives innovators to accelerate their innovation, which drives imitators to further accelerate their imitation.
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Barbara Workman, Pauline Armsby, Alan Durrant and Philip Frame
The purpose of this paper is to discuss three case studies reflecting areas of innovation and creativity which CETL funding made possible through a work‐based learning CETL. CETL…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss three case studies reflecting areas of innovation and creativity which CETL funding made possible through a work‐based learning CETL. CETL sponsored evaluations of funded projects and teaching initiatives informed further curriculum developments.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a case study approach the paper explores the experiences of three different projects and the impact upon staff and students in a CETL for work‐based learning. Three case studies are used, the first describing progression from a Performing Arts Diploma to a degree, facilitated by the use of learning technologies and social networking; the second considers the impact upon experienced professionals and stakeholders involved in a new Doctorate programme by Public Works. The third case study demonstrates the importance of rewarding investment in and evaluation of learning approaches, assisted by learning technology, with the resultant development of a model which facilitates reflective learning from work activities. Case studies were focused on teaching and learning practice.
Findings
These were all programme developments which arose from practitioners and impacted upon academic practice and curriculum development. They impacted upon future learning initiatives thus demonstrating that the CETL investment impacted a wide range of learning activities at different academic levels. Dissemination of impact beyond the original project was evident through qualitative feedback and practitioner practice.
Social implications
This was more of an analytical exploration of funded innovations in teaching and learning than formal research and therefore is not presented as traditional research. However, a case for case study approach in included, but data methods not explored.
Practical implications
The CETL funding of teaching and learning innovations impacted upon work‐based learning and the student learning experience within several schools across the university. These innovations have become significant for future WBL curriculum developments within the University. It is also evidenced that additional funding for five years of the CETL project enabled projects to grow and develop over a period of time. Therefore the indications are that sustained funding and evaluations at development points contribute to embedding and enhancing academic curriculum innovations.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the importance of long‐term investment in teaching and learning initiatives and the impact that such investment can have over a period of time, particularly in relation to CETL funding, of which the long‐term effects on teaching and learning in HE are as yet unknown.
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Aidan Davison, Paul Brown, Emma Pharo, Kristin Warr, Helen McGregor, Sarah Terkes, Davina Boyd and Pamela Abuodha
Interdisciplinary approaches to climate change teaching are well justified and arise from the complexity of climate change challenges and the integrated problem-solving responses…
Abstract
Purpose
Interdisciplinary approaches to climate change teaching are well justified and arise from the complexity of climate change challenges and the integrated problem-solving responses they demand. These approaches require academic teachers to collaborate across disciplines. Yet, the fragmentation typical of universities impedes collaborative teaching practice. This paper aims to report on the outcomes of a distributed leadership project in four Australian universities aimed at enhancing interdisciplinary climate change teaching.
Design/methodology/approach
Communities of teaching practice were established at four Australian universities with participants drawn from a wide range of disciplines. The establishment and operation of these communities relied on a distributed leadership methodology which facilitates acts of initiative, innovation, vision and courage through group interaction rather than through designated hierarchical roles.
Findings
Each community of practice found the distributed leadership approach overcame barriers to interdisciplinary climate change teaching. Cultivating distributed leadership enabled community members to engage in peer-led professional learning, collaborative curriculum and pedagogical development, and to facilitate wider institutional change. The detailed outcomes achieved by each community were tailored to their specific institutional context. They included the transformation of climate change curriculum, professional development in interdisciplinary pedagogy, innovation in student-led learning activities, and participation in institutional decision-making related to curriculum reform.
Originality/value
Collaborative, non-traditional leadership practices have attracted little attention in research about sustainability education in university curricula. This paper demonstrates that the distributed leadership model for sustainability education reported here is effective in building capacity for interdisciplinary climate change teaching within disciplines. The model is flexible enough for a variety of institutional settings.
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Amela Karahasanović and Alma Leora Culén
This study aims to propose a service-dominant logic (S-DL)-informed framework for teaching innovation in the context of human–computer interaction (HCI) education involving large…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to propose a service-dominant logic (S-DL)-informed framework for teaching innovation in the context of human–computer interaction (HCI) education involving large industrial projects.
Design/methodology/approach
This study combines S-DL from the field of marketing with experiential and constructivist learning to enable value co-creation as the primary method of connecting diverse actors within the service ecology. The approach aligns with the current conceptualization of central university activities as a triad of research, education and innovation.
Findings
The teaching framework based on the S-DL enabled ongoing improvements to the course (a project-based, bachelor’s-level HCI course in the computer science department), easier management of stakeholders and learning experiences through students’ participation in real-life projects. The framework also helped to provide an understanding of how value co-creation works and brought a new dimension to HCI education.
Practical implications
The proposed framework and the authors’ experience described herein, along with examples of projects, can be helpful to educators designing and improving project-based HCI courses. It can also be useful for partner companies and organizations to realize the potential benefits of collaboration with universities. Decision-makers in industry and academia can benefit from these findings when discussing approaches to addressing sustainability issues.
Originality/value
While HCI has successfully contributed to innovation, HCI education has made only moderate efforts to include innovation as part of the curriculum. The proposed framework considers multiple service ecosystem actors and covers a broader set of co-created values for the involved partners and society than just learning benefits.
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Fátima Poza-Vilches, Esther García-González, Carmen Solís-Espallargas, Leticia C. Velasco-Martínez, Abigail López-Alcarria, Ligia Isabel Estrada-Vidal, Rocío Jiménez-Fontana, Fátima Rodríguez-Marín, María Puig-Gutiérrez, Juan Carlos Tójar Hurtado and José Gutiérrez-Pérez
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the presence of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) proposed by the UN (2015) in university degrees within the fields of education…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the presence of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) proposed by the UN (2015) in university degrees within the fields of education, humanities and environmental sciences (ES) at Andalusian public institutions (Spain).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper shows an empirical analysis from a mixed methodological model on a total of 99 syllabi and training programs from nine different universities. The collection of information has been carried out through a rubric specifically designed within the framework of this body of research.
Findings
The results show that the syllabus of the subjects in the faculties of education includes the SDGs related to the social aspect of sustainability, with special focus on SDG4, SDG5, SDG10, SDG16 and SDG17, whereas others like SDG6 and SDG7 are less represented. SDGs are present in the majority of syllabus of the subjects analysed. It is certainly a positive finding which shows predisposition and a high interest on by the teachers involved. However, this is not enough as there is still a long way to go until achieving a thorough and complete incorporation of the principles of sustainability.
Originality/value
This research sheds light on the changes and transformations that the discourse linked to sustainability is generating in the university syllabi. Taking the SDG as a framework this paper highlights the most original aspects: a replicable methodology that allows diagnosing the level of curricular greening of the university syllabi is provided to other contexts the innovative value of connecting teaching with local and global environmental problems in their physical-chemical social and economic dimensions is shown and it has been possible to compare the difficulties of some universities in addressing compliance with the SDGs and curricular sustainability from a systemic and integrative perspective that will lead to methodological transformation and pedagogical renewal.
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Teaching excellence remains a contested term in English higher education (HE). This paper begins by reflecting on its complex and sometimes blurred meaning, charting the…
Abstract
Purpose
Teaching excellence remains a contested term in English higher education (HE). This paper begins by reflecting on its complex and sometimes blurred meaning, charting the divergence between academic interests in the complexity and contextual questions relating to practice development and organisational and sectoral shifts which have been driven by managerialism, accountability and “top-down” ideas of change. The authors argue that this divergence, epitomised in the development of the teaching excellence framework, has led to a confused, if ubiquitous, use of excellence to identify organisational and sector-led ideas of what it means to deliver quality teaching. However, these frameworks have become progressively detached from the complexity of practice investigated by those interested in pedagogy. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper which brings together literature from teaching excellence, organisational science, time and HE to develop an alternative approach to pedagogic development.
Findings
Based on a critique of the current, confused conceptualisation of teaching excellence, the authors offer a different narrative which demonstrates how a reconsideration of the factors is important in developing critical and challenging teaching opportunities. Based on a “bottom-up” system focusing on dialogue, sustainability and “unhasty” time, the authors argue for a re-establishing of a holistic approach in HE providers based on emergent pedagogies as opposed to teaching excellence.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates why teaching excellence has become conceptually fractured in an English context, and why a new approach to pedagogic development needs to be considered to establish a more positive and critical approach at both the institutional and sectoral levels. This paper outlines a possible approach to developing such renewal.
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