The power of connection: sharing epistemological approaches to reach beyond knowledge and skill acquisition in an Australian higher education context

[Abstract]: The profiles of today‘s adult learners in higher education are complex and diverse. Supporting these students in their learning journey needs to go beyond the acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities requiring a paradigm shift in pedagogical approach. In this paper, two tertiary educators from a regional Australian university share how they support adult learners enrolled both locally and globally to connect effectively with course content and with each other. One author, working primarily in undergraduate education courses has proposed a ―Winning Formula‖ approach to her pedagogy with an emphasis on student engagement, contextualised learning and choice of learning resources. The second author who works online with postgraduate learners shares outcomes of her research in online design with a focus on the principle of the ―CHE factor‖ (qualities of Connectivity, Humanness and Empathy) which she has found is the central tenet of effective online learning and teaching. As a result of a categorical analysis of multiple data sources from their individual research activities, the two authors were able to identify a number of shared learning and teaching principles which they have found support learners in making connections between their learning and the real world environments in which they live and work. Principles, however, cannot exist in a vacuum and need to be considered according to the educational contexts within which they are applied. The authors critique these key principles and the application to their own teaching contexts and share some anecdotal comments from students. The paper concludes with an invitation to others to consider the application (and possible adaptation) of the principles to their own educational contexts

Climate change, collaboration and pre-service teachers' emergent professional identity

The study group included 74 graduate, pre-service science teachers who were following the Professional Graduate Diploma of Education Secondary (PGDES) in all science subjects, biology with science, chemistry with science and physics with science. The strong tradition of integrated science in Scotland is reflected (Inspectorate of Schools (Scotland) 1994) in the structure of PGDES programmes (The Scottish Office Education and Industry Department 1998). Scottish School science departments are organised in a variety of ways and a strong collaborative element is often present in providing a common programme of study in science during the early years of secondary schooling. Collaborative coursework on climate change was selected due to its contemporary interest; consultation on the detail of a 'Curriculum for Excellence' (The Curriculum Review Group 2004) and the absence of reported depth of experience in this content area in Scottish school science. Issues associated with climate change conform to all ten qualities of socio-scientific issues (Ratcliffe M. and Grace M. 2003. ) p. 2-3. The purpose was to simulate the collaborative working environment (Watters J.J. and Ginns I.S. 2000); to establish a 'community of practice' as suggested by the (Lave J. and Wenger E. 1991)model of situated learning; involved aspects of problem based learning (Savin-Baden M. and Howell C.M. 2004) as well as authentic assessment (Wiggins G.P. 1993); and to initiate the formation of identities as science teachers rather than 'subject specialists'. The task was based on a constructivist framework. We sought to explore aspects relating to attitudes and knowledge in the context of climate change, to collaboration and the use of ICT. Students were allocated to mixed subject groups and expected to produce reading materials for 12-14 year olds and an associated teachers' guide on a given aspect of climate change over a seven week period. The product and collaborative aspects of the task were assessed using a combination of tutor and peer assessment, including two group debriefing sessions. Students' knowledge and confidence about global warming and information relating to their experiences of collaboration were assessed using a simple pre- and post-task questionnaire developed for this task. We found that the students experienced a number of benefits and frustrations of group work task. Overall, they found the process beneficial and collectively produced a high quality resource which is available as a basis for their own teaching. The resource could be adapted for use by other teachers. The students have become more knowledgeable about aspects of climate change. They may also have considered the challenges in teaching complicated socio-scientific issues in relation to their own professional attitudes and values. A generally positive attitudinal movement took place during the period and some variation was observed between students from different subject areas

Comparing accounting designs for sustainability govenance

A draft proposal for a capital-based framework of sustainable development indicators applicable to all countries, and at all levels of public administration within them, is under consideration by an expert working group convened under the auspices of the UNECE Conference of European Statisticians. Harmonising underlying accounting and information systems should facilitate widespread adoption of a small, universal set of indicators. If implemented, the proposal's communication design could contribute to the vertical and horizontal policy integration essential for effective sustainability governance. Implementing a design that shifts some distance from existing conditions of institutional diversity and autonomy throughout at least a million provincial and local government units is, however, a significant risk. This research-in-progress report identifies one recent case study, and one current, with Australian local authorities. Integrated assessments of change over time in a local community's natural, produced, and human capital stocks have been demonstrated in one case, and of change in a local community's governance capital and social capital in another. Results demonstrate that a common understanding on how assets are distributed over time and space can be achieved without the radical, top-down innovations under consideration through UNECE auspices. The combination of tools and methods used in the case studies also yields significant insights into some of the complexities of wicked policy problems. Clarifying the meaning of 'community engagement' or 'public participation' is advanced in one case study through a relatively new development in social network analysisInternational Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM); Third Sector Study Group of European Group for Public Administration (EGPA

Innovative learning in action (ILIA) issue three: Employability, enterprise & entrepreneurship

The theme of the 3rd issue of ILIA is Employability, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, reflecting the University of Salford’s Learning and Teaching Strategy and our Goal “To produce graduates with the skills, creativity, confidence and adaptability to succeed in the labour market and make a meaningful contribution to society”. The creativity, problem solving and change orientation this implies recognizes Salford’s distinctive strengths in this regard, and provides us with a conceptualization of employability which embraces enterprise and entrepreneurship, manifest in the form of selfemployment, but equally relevant to those working within organizations i.e. to intrapreneurship. The contributions to this edition provide us with examples of excellent practice demonstrating how practitioners at Salford have responded to the challenge of providing a quality learning experience for our students. Consideration of the papers and snapshots reveal how colleagues have embedded employability into teaching and learning and assessment strategies, and into frameworks of student support, in differing and innovative ways, across the institution. As this edition of ILIA goes to print work is underway to develop an Employability Policy and Strategy for the University. Designed to provide a coherent and progressive approach to Employability, Enterprise and Careers Education and Guidance, this Strategy will be able to build on the good practice evident both in this edition of ILIA and across the institution. ILIA therefore has once again provided us with a range of perspectives on a key area of curriculum design and development. It also has provided an opportunity to reflect on practice and student learning, to share experience and hopefully to identify future areas for collaboration

ILR Research in Progress 2011-12

The production of scholarly research continues to be one of the primary missions of the ILR School. During a typical academic year, ILR faculty members published or had accepted for publication over 25 books, edited volumes, and monographs, 170 articles and chapters in edited volumes, numerous book reviews. In addition, a large number of manuscripts were submitted for publication, presented at professional association meetings, or circulated in working paper form. Our faculty's research continues to find its way into the very best industrial relations, social science and statistics journals.Research_in_Progress_2011_12.pdf: 46 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Strategy for Collaboration: An Operational Framework for Local Strategic Partnerships

Within the field of strategy for organisations, local strategic partnerships (LSPs) have emerged as important forms of collaborative arrangement that enables strategic decisions to be taken and implemented. The principal aim of this paper is to contribute to this subject area through the framework of collaborative strategy. The framework is used as an interpretative concept for understanding the operation of local strategic partnerships in urban regeneration, in particular their organisational structure. The research on this paper draws on information from empirical investigation on LSPs in Leicester, East Midlands. Using a mixture of interviews, observation, and documentary data, the research shows that the concept of collaborative strategy provides a useful tool for understanding partnership working. In this respect it constitutes an example of management research education and – why not – organisational success despite evidence of some dysfunctional aspects that were identified through the research

Student Perceptions of Enhancing the Internship Experience for Online Principal Preparation Programs

Principal preparation programs understand the need for relevant internship activities that bridge the gap between theory and practice (Anast-May, Buckner, & Geer, 2011; Darling-Hammond, LaPointe, Meyerson, Orr, & Cohen (2007). Principal preparation programs utilizing distance technology are also charged with meeting this expectation and the electronic learning technologies have changed learning from restrictive to flexible, accessible, and innovative (Tseng & Gardner, 2016). The internship is a widely accepted program component of principal preparation that provides the student with actual administrative experience during the certification process; however, despite the mandates from national accreditation organizations and state certification agencies, the literature is replete with criticisms concerning the effectiveness of the internship experience (Cheney & Davis, 2011; Darling-Hammond et al., 2007; Fry, Bottoms, & O’Neill, 2005; Perez et al., 2011). Limited data in the form of student feedback, especially as it pertains to learner perceptions of the internship experience, have been collected (Gordon, Oliver, & Solis, 2016). According to Thiede (2012), it is important for faculty to seek out and study what students are thinking and saying about online education as most higher education institutions’ future enrollments may be predicated upon quality online courses

Recommendation System for News Reader

Recommendation Systems help users to find information and make decisions where they lack the required knowledge to judge a particular product. Also, the information dataset available can be huge and recommendation systems help in filtering this data according to users‟ needs. Recommendation systems can be used in various different ways to facilitate its users with effective information sorting. For a person who loves reading, this paper presents the research and implementation of a Recommendation System for a NewsReader Application using Android Platform. The NewsReader Application proactively recommends news articles as per the reading habits of the user, recorded over a period of time and also recommends the currently trending articles. Recommendation systems and their implementations using various algorithms is the primary area of study for this project. This research paper compares and details popular recommendation algorithms viz. Content based recommendation systems, Collaborative recommendation systems etc. Moreover, it also presents a more efficient Hybrid approach that absorbs the best aspects from both the algorithms mentioned above, while trying to eliminate all the potential drawbacks observed