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11 – 20 of over 117000Outlines a series of initiatives at both national and institutional levels which suggest that British higher education is becoming more serious about improving the quality of…
Abstract
Outlines a series of initiatives at both national and institutional levels which suggest that British higher education is becoming more serious about improving the quality of university teaching. National initiatives include the Teaching Quality Assessment exercise, the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme and the Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning. The establishment of the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education is also briefly highlighted. At the institutional level initiatives include the creation of more effective units or centres to promote learning and teaching, many of which intend to offer teacher development programmes accredited by the new Institute for Learning and Teaching. Such units also provide a valuable range of workshops, consultancy and project support in order to help universities improve their understanding of the practice and the theory of teaching in higher education. Many such units also promote research, especially action research, into university teaching and learning.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore Meka's method – an innovative teaching and training tool to teach and train students and trainees effectively to achieve desired teaching…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore Meka's method – an innovative teaching and training tool to teach and train students and trainees effectively to achieve desired teaching and training takeaways.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology is gleaned from the author's 31 years of practical experience in industry, teaching, training, research and consultancy. It places emphasis on the need to take feedback from students through their body language and mould their teaching style accordingly during the teaching session to create a compatibility and chemistry with the students. It explains humor quotient and elaborates Just a minute (JAM) session. It enlightens 80:20 teaching based on Pareto's Principle.
Findings
The paper unveils tools to inspire students and unfolds teaching techniques. It implores teachers to unlearn, relearn and learn to remain relevant and competent in the current context.
Research limitations/implications
Qualitative/action research inevitably needs to be backed up by more formal research into the topic. This paper offers an agenda for action and further qualitative/quantitative research in teaching and training methodologies.
Practical implications
The tool can be applied in teaching and training sessions. It enables improvement of training and teaching pedagogy. It is transferable wholly or partially to educational institutions and organizations.
Social implications
This innovative teaching and training tool is essential for teachers and trainers to bring out the behavioral changes among the audiences and impact the society as a whole.
Originality/value
The article offers a unique concept to add value to teaching and training so as to benefit students and participants with the help of a diagram.
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Sketches a number of issues implicated in the assessment of teaching quality in higher education. Argues that checklist approaches to measuring teaching quality have some limited…
Abstract
Sketches a number of issues implicated in the assessment of teaching quality in higher education. Argues that checklist approaches to measuring teaching quality have some limited value – and a more professional, developmental approach is preferred. However, the focus on teaching quality should not disguise the fact that the emphasis needs to be on enhancing the quality of student learning, and this is not simply a function of the quality of the teaching which they encounter. Discusses implications both for academic departments and for universities, the claim being that systemic action is necessary.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the state of production and operations management (P/OM) teaching in universities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in terms of course…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the state of production and operations management (P/OM) teaching in universities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in terms of course characteristics, objectives, content, adopted textbooks, didactic materials, teaching faculty, teaching methods, assessment tools, and course requisites.
Design/methodology/approach
Due to the exploratory nature of this study and the small population surveyed, the author employed descriptive statistical analysis such as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations.
Findings
The results show that in the majority of UAE universities offering P/OM as a college‐requirement course, it is being taught by highly qualified and well‐trained teaching faculty. The main objectives of P/OM courses are: teaching students how to analyse and understand situations from an operations perspective; understanding the links between strategy, production, capacity and core competencies; and preparing students to be able to understand how supply chains work, including the ability to forecast production levels. More emphasis is placed upon operational and tactical issues rather than on strategic issues. The most common assessment methods used in P/OM courses were found to be theoretical examinations with questions, student projects, practical examinations, and class participation. The most frequently covered topics in P/OM courses in UAE universities include competitiveness, strategy, productivity, strategic capacity planning for products and services, supply chain management, forecasting, introduction to operations management, product and service design, and management of quality. Lecturing is the main teaching method used in P/OM courses. The main didactic materials used were found to be textbooks, manuals of problems/solution and case studies, class notes taken by students, and externally produced software.
Research limitations/implications
This study has a number of limitations. For example, it is based mainly on a questionnaire as a tool of data collection. Questionnaires have a number of drawbacks which might affect the results of the study. In addition, the study is based only on the viewpoint of teaching faculty rather than students. Nevertheless, the implications of the study for course developers, instructors, and managers are discussed.
Originality/value
The paper is the first to assess P/OM teaching in UAE universities.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine evaluations of teaching from viewpoints of lecturers and students to reveal perceived differences in teaching performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine evaluations of teaching from viewpoints of lecturers and students to reveal perceived differences in teaching performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey is administered to lecturers and students in a large‐scale university in Taiwan. Valid samples include ten lecturers and 250 students. Upon obtaining consensuses from lecturers, 25 students in each course are randomly selected to fill out questionnaires. Lecturers are requested to fill out questionnaires designed for instructors only. Factor, cluster, and multivariate analyses of variance are applied in analyzing the survey data. Five dimensions of evaluations of teaching are extracted from students' viewpoints, including content of materials, learning condition, interaction, attitudes, and responsiveness. These five factors are used in the clustering procedure to segment courses into superior‐ and inferior‐quality.
Findings
Results indicate surveyed students in the clusters of superior‐ and inferior‐quality courses have statistical differences in seriousness of evaluations of teaching performance and how they believe the suggestions will be taken into consideration in modifications of teaching styles. However, lecturers of superior‐ and inferior‐quality courses are not statistically different in their viewpoints in how they value evaluations of teaching performance.
Research limitations/implications
Survey data in this paper are obtained from a single university. Students are able to distinguish courses of different quality in various dimensions, but lecturers seem to believe that they have done well in teaching and will not know differences in teaching performance perceived by students as of superior‐or inferior‐quality.
Practical implications
For efficient utilization of student evaluations of teaching in educational institutions, gaps in perceived differences in teaching performance from lecturers and students need to be identified and filled.
Originality/value
End‐of‐term student evaluations of teaching are used in educational institutions for assessing how well instructors do in helping students to learn theoretical and practical aspects of knowledge. Findings in this paper can be used to form a baseline for educational institutions to improve applicability of student evaluations of teaching.
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Matthew A. M. Thomas and Jacqueline Mosselson
Many researchers and practitioners in the field of comparative and international education (CIE) also work as educators, teaching CIE courses to cadres of students across various…
Abstract
Many researchers and practitioners in the field of comparative and international education (CIE) also work as educators, teaching CIE courses to cadres of students across various levels. In teaching these courses, CIE educators play a significant role in shaping the field’s future: the perspectives they privilege and the pedagogies they utilize arguably leave lasting impressions on students, who themselves go on to become teachers, researchers, policymakers, international development practitioners, and more. However, scant attention has been paid to the teaching of CIE. This chapter explores the possibilities and potential benefits of linking the teaching of CIE more deeply with both the emerging scholarship on it and the current debates and dilemmas with which the Comparative and International Education Society and CIE journals have engaged in the past few years such as decolonizing development and education. The chapter raises questions about the future of teaching CIE and concludes with a renewed call for additional research on the scholarship of teaching CIE.
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Arash Kamali, Seyyed Babak Alavi and Mohammad Reza Arasti
Based on self-determination theory (SDT), this study aims to investigate the motivational antecedents of faculty members’ continuance intention of using online teaching platforms…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on self-determination theory (SDT), this study aims to investigate the motivational antecedents of faculty members’ continuance intention of using online teaching platforms. For this purpose, we introduced a model incorporating basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS) and different motivational mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a survey study of 312 faculty members, we examined the model by structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
The SEM results revealed a positive correlation between BPNS and continuance intention. Additionally, we illustrate the importance of different types of extrinsic motivation. By presenting an alternative model, we demonstrate that the initial-use-identified regulation (one type of extrinsic motivation) has an association with continuance intention (CI). However, this association loses significance if BPNS is present within the model. Moreover, we determined that there is no significant relationship between initial-use external regulation (another type of extrinsic motivation) and faculty members' CI for online teaching. Lastly, the results revealed that pre-use amotivation and intrinsic motivation impact CI through initial-use BPNS.
Research limitations/implications
The results suggest that decision-makers at educational institutions should consider that extrinsic motivation has different types with different impacts and that BPNS has a vital role in faculty members’ intention to continue using online teaching platforms.
Originality/value
This study is novel because it reveals some details of extrinsic motivation effects by offering a model that combines BPNS and different types of motivation in two stages. It is important and rare that we concentrate on the almost neglected issue of faculty members’ motivational perspectives in online teaching, while the literature mainly focuses on students’ perspectives.
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Abdullah Abdulmahsan Bin Saran
The global prominence of languages and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which supports the necessity of German proficiency for the nation’s socioeconomic evolution, necessitate a…
Abstract
Purpose
The global prominence of languages and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which supports the necessity of German proficiency for the nation’s socioeconomic evolution, necessitate a deeper understanding of German teaching in Saudi international schools. This study delves into the influence of various teaching strategies on students' German writing skills. The research particularly focuses on traditional and innovative methods and considers the factors that drive these teaching approaches.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 304 students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, through a questionnaire. The relationships between teaching strategies and students' German writing abilities were analyzed using regression techniques.
Findings
The results indicate that both traditional and innovative teaching strategies positively influence students' writing skills. The regression analysis shows that the independent variables (traditional teaching strategies, innovative teaching strategies and factors influencing teaching strategies) collectively account for 68.9% of the variation in students' German writing skills. Even though a variety of techniques influence students' academic performance, the study’s findings indicate that several strategies – such as self-evaluation, pair work, oral feedback, grammar instruction and translation – have a major impact on students' German writing abilities.
Originality/value
This research brings unique insights into the German teaching realm of Saudi international schools, emphasizing the harmony between Vision 2030 goals and effective teaching methodologies. It elucidates the considerable influence of both traditional and innovative strategies on student writing outcomes. For educators in Saudi Arabia’s international educational environment, the study’s findings underline the importance of adopting student-centric approaches in the writing process, ensuring students evolve as proficient writers. Additionally, the research underscores the significant role of variables affecting teaching strategies, spotlighting their pivotal role in shaping student outcomes.
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Mihyun Kang, Katherine Cholakis-Kolysko and Negar Dehghan
The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions and attitudes of arts and design faculty on teaching sustainability in higher education institutions in the USA.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions and attitudes of arts and design faculty on teaching sustainability in higher education institutions in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
Arts and design faculty from nine universities in the USA were approached for the study, using both closed and open-ended questions in a survey instrument. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyze the collected data.
Findings
Results related to arts and design faculty’s perception of sustainability showed high confidence in teaching sustainability but lower confidence in inspiring students to take action on sustainability issues. Faculty also perceived time, resources, knowledge and support as barriers to the integration of the topic into the curriculum. This study revealed that the faculty’s attitude toward sustainability demonstrated their recognition that sustainability should be at the core of their discipline and that they support its integration into courses.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to arts and design faculty in higher education institutions in the USA. The results may not be generalizable to other fields or locations. In addition, the use of self-reported data may be subject to bias.
Practical implications
The findings of this study can inform the development of curriculum and pedagogy in arts and design sustainability education. It can also guide institutions in addressing the challenges and barriers related to incorporating sustainability into their curriculum.
Social implications
Prioritizing sustainability education is crucial in addressing global climate change and related issues. Art and design educators’ perspectives on teaching sustainability can contribute to constructing a sustainable future for everyone.
Originality/value
This study provides insight into the perception and attitude of sustainability among arts and design faculty in higher education in the USA and highlights areas for improvement such as training and resources to better integrate sustainability into the curriculum.
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