Global Teamwork: A Study of Design Learning in Collaborative Virtual Environments

With the recent developments in communication and information technologies, using Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) in design activity has experienced a remarkable increase. In this paper we present a collaborative learning activity between the University of Sydney (USYD), and the Istanbul Technical University (ITU). This paper shares our teaching experience and discusses the principles of collaborative design learning in virtual environments. Followed by a study on students’ perception on the courses and collaborative learning in both universities, this paper also suggests future refinements on the course structure and the main areas of collaborative design learning. Keywords: Collaborative Design; Collaborative Virtual Environments; Design Teaching And Learning</p

Helping design educators foster collaborative learning amongst design students

This paper discusses the development of online teaching resources that enable design educators to foster collaborative learning amongst students in the design disciplines. These online teaching resources will be made available through the Design Collaboration website. This website was recently set up by Northumbria University, a UK based institution, to provide an online resource for design educators wishing to develop collaborative pedagogies in design education. It currently contains case studies of collaborative student projects but lacks practical teaching resources. As a result, a research project was set up to compliment the current case studies by creating a suite of design-specific tools and resources that will help foster team management and development. Although various institutions have addressed the subject of group work and collaborative learning, there has been no online resource dedicated to the development of practical teaching tools to help design students work and learn together. This paper focuses on showcasing the range of teaching tools and resources developed through classroom-based trials. These resources have been developed specifically in consultation with Northumbria University's design educators and trialled with undergraduate and postgraduate students from different design disciplines. In addition, issues surrounding the translation of these tools into a practical, easy to use and accessible in an online format is discussed. The Icograda World Design Congress 2009 Education Conference is the ideal international platform to share these tools with the wider design education community. More importantly, we hope to grow the website by encouraging other design educators to submit case studies to the website, using it not only as a means of sharing good practice but also as a tool for reflection. The research value is two-fold (a) translating implicit knowledge of collaborative learning into a practical teaching resource and, (b) helping tutors improve their teaching practice, by linking the teaching resource to real experiences through case studies and interviews

Librarian and Faculty Collaborative Instruction: A Phenomenological Self-Study

Several models of librarian and faculty collaboration are found in the professional librarian literature. The literature on collaborative self-study research in higher education settings indicates collaborative self-study research can improve interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to teaching and research and facilitate the transfer of knowledge. A research librarian and assistant professor of special education conducted a phenomenological self-study to examine their multiple roles as researchers, collaborators, and educators who collaborated to develop, implement, and evaluate distance-delivered instructional services for public school teachers who live and work in remote, rural, and Native communities throughout the state of Alaska. Several themes emerged from this study, including: (a) the authors’ interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts resulted in increased opportunities to team teach and conduct future collaborative research; (b) the authors struggled to communicate effectively with students via audio-conference; and (c) the beliefs and practices of both authors were transformed by their participation in this self-study. The study suggests implications for further and improved interdisciplinary collaboration between librarians and faculty. The authors believe this collaborative approach to self-study research facilitates reflective and authentic teaching and research for academic librarians working in collaboration with teaching faculty.Ye

Social media in collaborative learning in higher education : a qualitative case study of teachers’ and students’ views

In this study, it was investigated how social media are used in collaborative learning in higher education and also how it can be better used in teaching and learning according to the students and teachers. The research questions of this study were: 1) How social media are used in collaborative learning by the teachers and students in higher education for educational purposes? 2) How could social media be used in collaborative learning process in higher education, according to the students and teachers? Qualitative interviews were conducted to collect the data from ten students and five teachers from the different faculties of University of Lapland and Lapland University of Applied Sciences. In conclusion it was found that, social media were not much used in collaboration with teachers by the students of both institutions. In case of teachers, it was found that all of them were using social media in their collaborative ways of teaching design and they have found social media as useful tool to deliver their teaching. Most of the students and all the teachers found social media to be useful in their teaching and learning. But there were also some challenges faced and areas of improvements identified by them. Thus the higher educational institutions should understand the importance of using social media in teaching and learning and take initiatives to overcome the current challenges identified by the students and teachers

A Summer Academy Program for Prospective Teachers: Model Teaching Experiences

This article describes the project, A Summer Academy Program for Prospective Teachers: Model Teaching Experiences, of the Oklahoma Teacher Education Collaborative (O-TEC), one of the nation’s Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP). To recruit highly qualified teachers in science and mathematics, O-TEC institutions promote a program of summer academies that provide prospective teachers with opportunities to become familiar with effective teaching methods. During the academy, high school juniors and seniors explore inquiry-based teaching strategies, exemplary curricula, science and math content, and state and national standards in math and science education-all under the tutelage of mentor teachers, a Master-Teacher-in- Residence, and university faculty. The prospective teachers have opportunities to put into practice what they learn about effective teaching. For two weeks, the prospective teachers experience teaching science lessons to elementary children from neighboring school systems. These experiences help the prospective teachers perceive the challenges and rewards of teaching at a pivotal time in their lives. This material is based upon the summer academy program supported in part by the Oklahoma Teacher Education Collaborative, the National Science Foundation, and Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Oklahoma Teacher Education Collaborative, the National Science Foundation, and Southwestern Oklahoma State University

An Introduction to STEMTEC and Pathways to Change

STEMTEC is the Massachusetts Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation. The first step in preparing future teachers is to have them experience effective teaching in college science and mathematics courses. The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Teacher Education Collaborative (STEMTEC) summer institutes familiarized 150 faculty members with a variety of teaching strategies recommended in the National Science Teaching Standards. These faculty incorporated the techniques into one or more of their courses during subsequent academic years, and many of them reported on their progress during a research conference, Pathways to Change, which STEMTEC sponsored in the summer of 2000. Eleven papers, based on these conference reports, are included in this volume

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIC READING (CSR) TO TEACH CONTENT AREA READING COMPREHENSION VIEWED FROM STUDENTS’ INTELLIGENCE

This research aims at revealing: (1) whether or not Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) strategy is more effective than lecturing strategy in teaching content area reading comprehension; (2) whether the students who have high intelligence have better content area reading comprehension ability than those who have low intelligence; and (3) whether there is an interaction between teaching strategies and intelligence in teaching content area reading. This experimental research was carried out in MAN 1 Bojonegoro in the academic year of 2012/2013 from September to November 2012. The population was the first semester of Rintisan Madrasah Bertaraf Internasional (RMBI) students in the academic year of 2012/2013. The number of population was three classes (72 students) that consisted of XI-Bilingual 1, XI- Bilingual 2, and XI-Bilingual 3. The samples were XI-Bilingual 2 as the experimental group and XI-Bilingual 3 as the control group. Each group consisted of 24 students. The experimental group was treated by using Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) Strategy, while the control group was treated by using Lecturing Strategy. The post-test was conducted in form content area reading comprehension test. Before the content area reading comprehension test was administered to the both groups, it was firstly tried out to non-sample class to know the validity and the reliability of the test. Then, the data from the post-test were described using descriptive statistics and were tested their normality and homogeneity. It was found out that the data were in normal distribution and homogeneous. After that, the data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey test. The data analysis shows that: (1) Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) Strategy is more effective than Lecturing Strategy in teaching content area reading; (2) Students with high intelligence have better content area reading comprehension ability than those having low intelligence; and (3) There is no interaction between teaching strategies and intelligence in teaching content area reading. Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) is an effective strategy in teaching content area reading for both high and low intelligence students. Therefore, it is recommended that: (1) teachers should be well-trained in using Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR); (2) the students need to get accustomed to learning reading in content areas (science and social study); (3) the school needs to upgrade teachers’ competence; and (4) future researchers may conduct replication research with different sample and condition

Examination of Student-Active Learning Practices in a College/Middle School Educational Collaboration

A college and middle school student teaching collaboration was developed to interest more college students in teaching K-12 science, to enhance diversity among K-16 teaching faculties, and to inspire the K-12 students to expand their knowledge beyond their classroom curriculum. To assess our results, we used a modified Likert survey instrument and self-reflective analysis in middle school and college students, respectively. Overall, middle school students expressed satisfaction in the science learning in which they participated. In addition, college students reported that they learned specific content when made responsible for teaching material to younger students. Collaborative projects such as this one may positively impact attitudes towards math and science learning among middle school students. Research suggests that middle school girls who have positive experiences in math and science classes select further training and career options in these areas. Similarly, college students reported increased interest in K-12 teaching. Collaborative project based learning could be successfully modified by other educators for use in alternative or mainstream educational settings