Peer coaching in a school in Cairo, Egypt: Implementation, barriers, and pathways to effective adoption

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how peer coaching was introduced in one school in Egypt and to identify barriers and opportunities for successful implementation. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology included semi-structured interviews with eight teachers, participant observation of their classes and meetings, and three focus group meetings with teachers and school administrators. Findings – Ladyshewsky’s (2017) five key aspects of peer coaching are considered in the findings: establishing peer partners, building trust between the partners, identifying specific areas to target for learning, training on non-evaluative questions and feedback, and supporting each other as new ideas are attempted. Each aspect of these is reviewed in light of the implementation process in the school. Practical implications – The study provides practical suggestions for teachers and school administrators that include considerations for implementation. Numerous connections are made to research on peer coaching that is relevant to the implementation of peer coaching in schools in Egypt and other countries in the Global South. Originality/value – The study provides an examination of the implementation of peer coaching in a school in Egypt. Thus, it contributes to the limited literature on peer coaching in the Global South. The discussion and conclusion sections consider further questions and research opportunities for effective practices in peer coaching in international contexts

Lessons Learned from Efforts at Institutional Change: Case Studies of Six OCEPT Institutions

As one part of a multifaceted evaluation of the Oregon Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers (OCEPT), a case study approach was used to enable a deeper understanding of how a diverse group of six institutions attempted to achieve OCEPT goals and to learn more about factors that facilitated or hindered their efforts. Multiple sources of data were used, with heavy reliance on a series of on-site interviews. The analytical framework included a depth and pervasiveness typology of institutional change and a view of change as encompassing meaning, organization, and effects. While goals and accomplishment levels, as well as the depth and pervasiveness of change. varied across the six institutions, OCEPT-influenced changes most likely to be sustained included: new kinds and levels of faculty collaboration; peer-led teaching and learning approaches, and attention to evidence that these approaches positively affect student course performance; increased faculty awareness of their role in teacher recruitment, with related changes in classroom practices; and, continued strengthening of access to infomiation and academic advising for those preparing to become teachers. These institutions, however, did not make significant progress on one major goal of the project—to increase the numbers of underrepresented groups interested in teaching careers. Change was affected by the compatibility of OCEPT goals with institutional and faculty culture, as well as by local collaborative leadership, the size and complexity of the institution, the presence of boundary spanners, and how OCEPT resources were used

‘Bag for Life’ – using multidisciplinary approaches in design pedagogy to develop global citizenship

As the need to integrate approaches to sustainable thinking and global citizenship becomes ever more pressing, a multi disciplinary project has been initiated at Northumbria University's School of Design to address these issues. Students from different design subject areas worked together in order to develop a set of artefacts and clothing to deal with the challenges of a seemingly pessimistic future scenario. this paper considers the learning outcomes of this pilot, presents a critical reflection on the methodology underpinning the approach and raises some fundamental questions about perspective in design pedagogy and design activism

IDR : a participatory methodology for interdisciplinary design in technology enhanced learning

One of the important themes that emerged from the CAL’07 conference was the failure of technology to bring about the expected disruptive effect to learning and teaching. We identify one of the causes as an inherent weakness in prevalent development methodologies. While the problem of designing technology for learning is irreducibly multi-dimensional, design processes often lack true interdisciplinarity. To address this problem we present IDR, a participatory methodology for interdisciplinary techno-pedagogical design, drawing on the design patterns tradition (Alexander, Silverstein & Ishikawa, 1977) and the design research paradigm (DiSessa & Cobb, 2004). We discuss the iterative development and use of our methodology by a pan-European project team of educational researchers, software developers and teachers. We reflect on our experiences of the participatory nature of pattern design and discuss how, as a distributed team, we developed a set of over 120 design patterns, created using our freely available open source web toolkit. Furthermore, we detail how our methodology is applicable to the wider community through a workshop model, which has been run and iteratively refined at five major international conferences, involving over 200 participants

Name It and Claim It: Cross-Campus Collaborations for Community-Based Learning

This article describes the value of cross-campus collaborations for community-based learning. We argue that community-based learning both provides unique opportunities for breaking academic silos and invites campus partnerships to make ambitious projects possible. To illustrate, we describe a course Writing for Social Justice that involved created videos for our local YWCA\u27s Racial Justice Program. We begin by discussing the shared value of collaboration across writing studies and librarianship (our disciplinary orientations). We identify four forms of cross-campus collaboration, which engaged us in working with each other, with our community partner, and with other partners across campus. From there, we visualize a timeline, turning from the why of cross-campus collaborations to the how. Finally, we underscore the need to name and claim--to value and cultivate--cross-campus collaborations for community-based learning

Developing e-assessment using the quiz activity within Moodle: empowering student learning

Using formative assessment within Moodle has been shown to encourage self-directed learning (Bromham & Oprandi, 2006). Our experience of using formative assessment quizzes as stand alone entities, as well as within Moodle lessons, has been used to introduce Moodle assessment quizzes over the past year in Level 1 and Level 2 Life Sciences courses. This experience has been distilled to inform the content of this workshop. Some advantages of incorporating assessments in the form of Moodle quizzes are that they allow for quick, reproducible and flexible assessment with a relatively small initial set-up cost, and substantial long-term staff and administration savings. One significant advantage is that staff and room pressures can be reduced as students can attempt the assessment at a time and location of their choice within a specified time period. This flexibility can help to reduce student stress associated with completion of a continuous assessment for their course. It is also a relatively simple process to account for students entitled to extra time during assessments. Providing clear instructions beforehand and at the start of the quiz ensures that students understand their responsibilities for completion of this assessment and ultimately the course. There are some disadvantages and limitations to the system as it currently exists, for example there is the perceived ability for students to “cheat” by completing the assessment as a group, accessing books and the internet. Strategies to account for these can be put in place and will be discussed in detail during the workshop. This workshop aims to take the participants through the initial set up of a quiz, highlighting the various question types and how these can be used to create a challenging assessment that can be quickly graded and prove informative for staff and course development. Reference Bromham L. & Oprandi P. (2006) Evolution online: developing active and blended learning by using a virtual learning environment in an introductory biology course. Journal of Biological Education 41 (1): 21-25

The metric tide: report of the independent review of the role of metrics in research assessment and management

This report presents the findings and recommendations of the Independent Review of the Role of Metrics in Research Assessment and Management. The review was chaired by Professor James Wilsdon, supported by an independent and multidisciplinary group of experts in scientometrics, research funding, research policy, publishing, university management and administration. This review has gone beyond earlier studies to take a deeper look at potential uses and limitations of research metrics and indicators. It has explored the use of metrics across different disciplines, and assessed their potential contribution to the development of research excellence and impact. It has analysed their role in processes of research assessment, including the next cycle of the Research Excellence Framework (REF). It has considered the changing ways in which universities are using quantitative indicators in their management systems, and the growing power of league tables and rankings. And it has considered the negative or unintended effects of metrics on various aspects of research culture. The report starts by tracing the history of metrics in research management and assessment, in the UK and internationally. It looks at the applicability of metrics within different research cultures, compares the peer review system with metric-based alternatives, and considers what balance might be struck between the two. It charts the development of research management systems within institutions, and examines the effects of the growing use of quantitative indicators on different aspects of research culture, including performance management, equality, diversity, interdisciplinarity, and the ‘gaming’ of assessment systems. The review looks at how different funders are using quantitative indicators, and considers their potential role in research and innovation policy. Finally, it examines the role that metrics played in REF2014, and outlines scenarios for their contribution to future exercises