Inquiry-based learning in the arts: a meta-analytical study

This report summarises learning about inquiry-based learning (IBL) in the arts and humanities disciplines at the University of Sheffield during the period in which the Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS) has been in operation. It draws upon impact evaluation data from curriculum development projects that have been funded by CILASS in departments in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Comprehensive learning incorporating Ako – a tertiary education approach at Wintec

This article outlines the design and implementation of a scenario-based approach to teaching and learning in tertiary education, inspired from Ako, adopted at the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec). This learning approach, titled ‘Comprehensive Learning (CL)’, aligns with the holistic objective of enabling students with an active, flexible, personalised, authentic and practical approach to learning that builds upon students’ interests and experiences. The article explains the motivation and the process used in creating and applying this approach to teach some of the IT and Business modules. The main reason to implement this approach is to encourage/enable critical thinking while learning in a continuous and personalised manner. CL allows students to specialize in a context of their choice, which in turn induces learning. In addition, students are less motivated to plagiarize due to the unique nature of their scenarios, and inherent safeguards present within the approach

Comprehensive learning incorporating Ako: A tertiary education approach at Wintec

This article outlines the design and implementation of a scenario-based approach to teaching and learning in tertiary education, inspired from Ako, adopted at the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec). This learning approach, titled ‘Comprehensive Learning (CL)’, aligns with the holistic objective of enabling students with an active, flexible, personalised, authentic and practical approach to learning that builds upon students’ interests and experiences. The article explains the motivation and the process used in creating and applying this approach to teach some of the IT and Business modules. The main reason to implement this approach is to encourage/enable critical thinking while learning in a continuous and personalised manner. CL allows students to specialize in a context of their choice, which in turn induces learning. In addition, students are less motivated to plagiarize due to the unique nature of their scenarios, and inherent safeguards present within the approach

Comprehensive learning incorporating Ako: A tertiary education approach at Wintec

This article outlines the design and implementation of a scenario-based approach to teaching and learning in tertiary education, inspired from Ako, adopted at the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec). This learning approach, titled ‘Comprehensive Learning (CL)’, aligns with the holistic objective of enabling students with an active, flexible, personalised, authentic and practical approach to learning that builds upon students’ interests and experiences. The article explains the motivation and the process used in creating and applying this approach to teach some of the IT and Business modules. The main reason to implement this approach is to encourage/enable critical thinking while learning in a continuous and personalised manner. CL allows students to specialize in a context of their choice, which in turn induces learning. In addition, students are less motivated to plagiarize due to the unique nature of their scenarios, and inherent safeguards present within the approach

Introducing digital literacy skills through IBL: A comparative study of UG and PG business information systems students

This paper reports a comparative study of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) at Undergraduate (UG) and Postgraduate (PG) levels at a university in the north west of England. Both student cohorts undertook a professional, legal and ethical module centred on IT. This study focuses on how the different student cohorts approached this style of teaching, and how it impacted on overall student engagement throughout the semester. IBL was introduced in the 2009-2010 academic years; to the UG students in the first semester and the PG students in the second semester. Key observations gained from the study were unexpected in that the UG level students fully embraced the IBL approach, they maintained a high attendance level throughout the semester, and all preliminary and formative assessment work/tasks were eagerly completed. Ultimately, this developed students’ information literacy skills. PG students enjoyed the in-class IBL activities, but actively avoided module preparation and formative assessment work/tasks, and so minimized their opportunities to develop rich digital literacy skills. This study highlights potential enablers required to employ IBL techniques successfully

Research ethics and participatory research in an interdisciplinary technology-enhanced learning project

This account identifies some of the tensions that became apparent in a large interdisciplinary technology-enhanced learning project as its members attempted to maintain their commitment to responsive, participatory research and development in naturalistic research settings while also ‘enacting’ these commitments in formal research review processes. It discusses how these review processes were accompanied by a commitment to continuing discussion and elaboration across an extended research team and to a view of ethical practice as an aspect of phronesis or ‘practical wisdom’ which demands understanding of specific situations and reference to prior experience. In this respect the interdisciplinary nature of the project allows the diverse experience of the project team to be brought into play, with ethical issues a joint point of focus for continuing interdisciplinary discours

weSPOT: A personal and social approach to inquiry-based learning

weSPOT is a new European initiative proposing a novel approach for personal and social inquiry-based learning in secondary and higher education. weSPOT aims at enabling students to create their mash-ups out of cloud based tools and services in order to perform scientific investigations. Students will also be able to share their inquiry accomplishments in social networks and receive feedback from the learning environment and their peers. This paper presents the research framework of the weSPOT project, as well as the initial inquiry-based learning scenarios that will be piloted by the project in real-life educational settings