Juggling institutional and social demands : a conversation analysis of engineering students’ interactions in self-managed problem-based learning

There has been an increase in the use of problem-based learning (PBL) - a student-centred approach involving authentic problem cases and collaboration - within the engineering disciplines in response to the demands of 21st century industry. The vast majority of PBL research over the years, however, has either focused on determining its effectiveness, or reported on staff and students’ perceptions about the approach. Much less attention has been given to the group practices that lie at the heart of PBL. Ironically, then, as a pedagogical approach that is so dependent on social interaction, we know very little about its interactional elements - about how it actually works. With the aim of opening this interactional ‘black box’, this study analysed almost 100 hours of naturalistic video-recordings involving seven groups of engineering students undertaking PBL at a UK university. This thesis reports on the findings of the floating facilitator PBL model, in which learning is effectively tutorless, with only intermittent tutor contact. Conversation analysis was used to examine students’ actual social interactions in this learning setting; to finely unpack the conversational mechanics behind PBL that have long been overlooked. Although the student-centredness of PBL made the educational experience less formal in nature, this democratisation of institutional structures also allowed ‘outside’ social norms to percolate through. Added to the absence of the tutor, PBL thus made matters more complicated for students, forcing them to balance wider social values with their newfound institutional responsibilities (i.e. to self-manage their group work). Ironically, the groups co constructed themselves as being largely detached from academia; as ‘playing it cool’ in blending in as (‘non-academic’) equals. At the same time, however, with no guiding tutor, the students also oriented to their collective need to ‘do education’. In managing this dilemma - and in an apparent resistance against being substituted for the absent tutor - they treated the workload as a collective burden to be eradicated, neutralised all displays of authority, and made use of subtle interactional strategies in self-managing the likes of knowledge disagreements and social loafing. Such findings show that students do not always engage with (tutorless) PBL as intended, and provide a case for the continued naturalistic study of such conversational intricacies.There has been an increase in the use of problem-based learning (PBL) - a student-centred approach involving authentic problem cases and collaboration - within the engineering disciplines in response to the demands of 21st century industry. The vast majority of PBL research over the years, however, has either focused on determining its effectiveness, or reported on staff and students’ perceptions about the approach. Much less attention has been given to the group practices that lie at the heart of PBL. Ironically, then, as a pedagogical approach that is so dependent on social interaction, we know very little about its interactional elements - about how it actually works. With the aim of opening this interactional ‘black box’, this study analysed almost 100 hours of naturalistic video-recordings involving seven groups of engineering students undertaking PBL at a UK university. This thesis reports on the findings of the floating facilitator PBL model, in which learning is effectively tutorless, with only intermittent tutor contact. Conversation analysis was used to examine students’ actual social interactions in this learning setting; to finely unpack the conversational mechanics behind PBL that have long been overlooked. Although the student-centredness of PBL made the educational experience less formal in nature, this democratisation of institutional structures also allowed ‘outside’ social norms to percolate through. Added to the absence of the tutor, PBL thus made matters more complicated for students, forcing them to balance wider social values with their newfound institutional responsibilities (i.e. to self-manage their group work). Ironically, the groups co constructed themselves as being largely detached from academia; as ‘playing it cool’ in blending in as (‘non-academic’) equals. At the same time, however, with no guiding tutor, the students also oriented to their collective need to ‘do education’. In managing this dilemma - and in an apparent resistance against being substituted for the absent tutor - they treated the workload as a collective burden to be eradicated, neutralised all displays of authority, and made use of subtle interactional strategies in self-managing the likes of knowledge disagreements and social loafing. Such findings show that students do not always engage with (tutorless) PBL as intended, and provide a case for the continued naturalistic study of such conversational intricacies

Sustainable Organizations

Given the multidisciplinary nature of our object of study, sustainability, we have divided this book into twelve chapters. In the first four, we cover the content required to learn how to start a business and create companies based on sustainability. The following chapters provide guidance to help translate sustainability strategies across cultures. These processes are analyzed through the Triple Bottom Line perspective, which effectively describes the primary objectives of sustainability. The last chapters analyze current trends in sustainable development, framing education as a powerful tool to facilitate the transition to more sustainable forms of development. Through these chapters, the understanding of the theoretical concepts is facilitated and examples of sustainable enterprises are made available to the reader that serves as a reference and that allow the development of practical activities

Towards A Food-Secure Future In An Era Of Uncertainty: Cultivating Resilience In Vulnerable Smallholder Food Systems

Smallholder food systems in sub-Saharan Africa and other tropical regions are at the crux of the “triple threat” of the Anthropocene: climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity. At the same time, they are considered pivotal to the global food system transformation needed to address these challenges. However, while there have been many proposed pathways to achieve desired outcomes, smallholders are often constrained in their ability to adapt and transform. Therefore, in this three-article dissertation, I use mixed methods to study traditional food security coping strategies and apply socio-psychological behavioral intention theories to understand the cognitive factors behind farmers’ decisions within a context of extreme vulnerability and uncertainty.Each chapter highlights a dimension of resilience in rain-fed small-scale subsistence farming systems in relation to the proposed food system adaptation and transformation pathways of agricultural diversification (Chapter 1), climate-resilient agriculture (Chapter 2) and sustainable intensification (Chapter 3). Specifically, chapter 1 examines household food security among park-adjacent communities, explores detrimental coping strategies as a result of persistent stressors, and problematizes the theory of diversified farming systems in the context of small and scattered agricultural plots. Chapters 2 and 3 take a behavioral approach to understanding farmer decision-making as it relates to climate-resilient agricultural practices and adoption of sustainable intensification techniques, respectively. Chapter 2 applies Protection Motivation Theory to understand farmer intention to adapt practices in response to observed changes in temperature and rainfall. Chapter 3 uses a blended Theory of Planned Behavior – Technology Acceptance Model Framework to examine farmer adoption of an agroecological rice-growing practice and philosophy developed in Madagascar. As gender equality is central to food systems transformation, we also examine the role that gender plays in smallholder farmer decision-making across chapters. In the concluding chapter, I first summarize the lessons learned vis-à-vis smallholder food system change. I then use the 7 C’s resilience framework to highlight the elements of resilience within smallholder food systems which emerged in Chapters 1 – 3; notably 1) coping, 2) connection, and 3) confidence/control. Lastly, I consider vulnerabilities embedded within smallholder farming systems which impact resilience and adaptive capacity