Learning through online discussion: a case of triangulation in research

This paper reports on issues in carrying out research into online discussion. The context is a study of a distance learning module within an MBA program. The module required students to tackle problems based on real life scenarios within small online groups. Students were studying part time and shared similar professional backgrounds. The research looked at students' overall evaluation of the module, ways in which group work was conducted, and the contribution of the tutor. The approach taken was an interpretive case study using questionnaire survey, text analysis and interviews. The main findings from the study are reported, but the focus is on the strengths of, and difficulties in, using the research methods. Triangulation of methods provides the researcher with a greater degree of confidence in reporting findings, although subjective interpretation is still needed

Virtual Learning Environments In Faculties Of Education In Spain: Changes On Student Attitude

This paper presents some results of a R+D project entitled “e-Learning system for Practical Training of University students in Education Faculties (ForELearn)”, developed in Spain by the Universidad de Granada and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education. In a first phase, through the use of AulaWeb Learning Management System, a set of adaptations and improvements of this software application have been done for the design and development of an experimental course of Practicum supervision. Next, the implementation of this course by means of a group of face to face and online seminars provides experimental data for the analysis and discussion about the point of view of users (preservice teachers) that have tracked their practice supervision with AulaWeb

Identifying and Alleviating Stress of Teacher Candidates in a Secondary Professional Development Schools (PDS) Program

Teacher candidate stress is a significant issue for candidates, students, mentor teachers, and the Institute of Higher Education (IHE) representatives who work with the candidates. Stress during this important stage in a new teacher’s career can be detrimental in many ways from causing early burnout (Greer & Greer, 1992; Schwab, 1989) to attrition (Brownell, 1997) and absenteeism. “It is during student teaching that preservice teachers begin to learn the habits of the profession and begin to develop adaptive or maladaptive coping skills for dealing with the stress of teaching” (Gold, 1985; Greer & Greer, 1992 as cited in Fives, Hamman, Olivarez, 2007, p. 918). Although the literature, especially within the past ten years, is scant there are scholars (Clement, 1999; Corcoran, 1989; Hemmings & Hockley, 2002; Hunter-Boykin & Thompson, 1993; Pigge & Marso, 1998; Schwab, 1989; Wadlington, Slaton & Partridge, 1998) who examined stress among teacher candidates during the field experience and find it to be a significant issue. There is agreement that stress levels are generally high during student teaching. In a seven-year study Pigge & Marso found that teacher candidate anxiety decreases as they progress through the teacher preparation program. This is further supported by Fives, Hamman & Olivarez who maintain that teacher candidates, who experience what the authors call high guidance as indicated by levels of support from the IHE, demonstrated lower levels of burnout at the end of their practicum than candidates with low guidance

The status quo of teacher-training courses in the Iranian EFL context: a focus on models of professional education and dynamic assessment

Given that Teacher-Training Courses (TTC’s) have responsibility for assisting prospective teachers with building up a repertoire of technical & pedagogic knowledge, the systematically evaluation of such courses is regarded as seminal (Lynch, 2003 and Peacock, 2009). Therefore, the present study is an attempt to (a) probe into the way professional expertise is acquired by preservice Iranian EFL teachers, (b) analyze the instructional content of TTC’s currently held in Iran, with a focus on teachings on Dynamic Assessment (DA), and (c) examine preservice teachers’ and TTC trainers’ opinions about the TTC’s. To this end, 9 purposefully selected TTC’s were observed, employing participant observation, and content analyses were carried out on their syllabi. Also, 107 TTC participants filled out a questionnaire, and 14 TTC instructors were interviewed; the sampling of the TTC participants and instructors was nonprobability convenient. Results of descriptive statistics showed that accounting for 84.73% of all the instructional attempts, the craft model was the most frequently prevalent model of teacher learning. Content analyses and preservice teacher questionnaire results signified that writing skill was marginalized in all the courses, and none of them included instructions on DA in their syllabi. Open, selective, and axial coding as well as content analyses of the collected data gave rise to eight themes delineating major areas fueling the current research-practice divide in the TTC syllabi. Findings of the study provide an opportunity to examine the status quo, strengths, and weaknesses of the TTC’s. The eight identified impediments to the employment of research in pedagogy could help reach a framework for factors that might induce TTC organizers to disregard the implication of relevant research findings for the courses they run

“It Helps if You Think of Yourself as a Radio Presenter!” A Lefebvrian Commentary on the Concerns, Conflicts and Opportunities of Online Block Teaching

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated shifts in how higher education provision is offered. In one UK institution block teaching was introduced. This way of teaching and learning has brought new challenges and opportunities for staff and students. To date, little research or theoretical discussion has investigated how this hybrid approach or differences between tutors and student can arise in the use of online teaching spaces (OTS) within a block-teaching format. The present paper focuses on the institution-wide implementation of an online block-teaching model at Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. With a specific emphasis on observations and reflections on the experiences of undergraduate students’ and staff by one of the authors from the Department of Psychology who employed an online block teaching approach (6 weeks) from the beginning of block 1 during the academic year 2020/21. We provide a novel methodological advancement of Lefebvre’s (1991) Trialectic of Space to discuss how students and tutors jointly produce and experience learning and teaching within an online block teaching approach. Pre-existing behavioural, cognitive and emotional experiences of using online spaces, contribute to the curriculum, student-tutor and student-student dialogue. We also highlight the importance of community within an online block teaching approach. Applications of the Lefebvrian model (1991) to present pedagogical approaches along with avenues of future research are considered

Bridging the gap: a case study of international student teaching and computer mediated communication

International education, a broad term for a type of education that encompasses, but is not limited to foreign language study, learning about cultures and global issues, opportunities to interact with international students, and study and work abroad programs, is experiencing resurgence in higher education. Colleges and universities have come to recognize the need for graduating students who will be competent citizens in today\u27s global community. One way colleges of education are ensuring their students have the skills and knowledge to live and teach in a global society is to provide international teaching opportunities for its students. The international student teaching program at Iowa State University is one example of such an opportunity. While student teaching internationally is such an important opportunity for student teachers, we need to ensure that student teachers are gaining the most out of their teaching experiences. The use of computer mediated communication (CMC) to enhance the communication between student teachers who are teaching at international locations, and also with their supervisors back in the United States is one way to do this. The purpose of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of how CMC could facilitate communication between student teachers at international locations and their supervisors back at Iowa State University. This study also looked at the communication among student teachers teaching at different international locations. The use of CMC in the international student teaching program at Iowa State University was analyzed using the components of activity theory

Email stress and its management in public sector organisations

Email stress: what are its causes? how is it measured? can it be solved? The literature review revealed that, despite the term being well used and recognised, discussions surrounding the root cause of email stress had reached little consensus and the concept was not well understood. By its very nature, email stress theory had fallen victim to the academic debate between psychological vs. physiological interpretations of stress which, as a result of either choice, limited more progressive research. Likewise an array of email management strategies had been identified however, whilst some generated quick successes, they appeared to suffer longevity issues and were not maintained a few months after implementation in the workplace. The purpose of this research was to determine whether email communication causes employees psychological and physiological stress and investigate the impact of email management strategies in the workplace. A pragmatic philosophy placed the research problem as central and valued the differences between paradigms to promote a mixed-method approach to research. The decision to pair both case studies and action research methods ensured a framework for presenting results and an actionable solution was achieved. In direct response to the research aims an original email stress measuring methodology was devised that combined various data collection tools to measure and investigate email stress. This research design was applied and evaluated ‘email free time’ and email filing at the '''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''. Results of the study showed an increased stress response to occur during email use, i.e. caused employees’ increased blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol and perceived stress, and a number of adverse effects such as managing staff via email, social detachment, blame and cover-yourback culture were identified. Findings revealed ‘email free time’ was not a desirable strategy to manage email stress and related stressors, whereas email filing was found more beneficial to workers well-being. Consolidation of the data gathered from the literature review and research findings were used to develop an initial conceptualisation of email stress in the form of two models, i.e. explanatory and action. A focus group was conducted to validate the proposed models and a further investigation at the '''''''''''''''''''' ''''''''''''' was carried out to critique the use of an email training intervention. The results showed some improvements to employees’ behaviour after the training, e.g. improved writing style, email checked on fewer occasions each day and fewer sufferers of email addiction. The initial models devised, alongside the latter findings, were synthesised to create a single integrative multidimensional model of email stress and management strategies. The model made an original contribution to knowledge in terms of theory, i.e. to conceptualise email stress, and practice, i.e. to offer practical solutions to the email worker

Utilização das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação no Ensino da Fisioterapia em Portugal

OBJECTIVO: Este estudo visa o levantamento da utilização das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC) no ensino da Fisioterapia em Portugal, nomeadamente a caracterização da utilização das TIC, por parte das Instituições que leccionam o Curso de Fisioterapia, assim como pelos professores e alunos de Fisioterapia. RELEVÂNCIA: A European Region of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy refere no seu documento European Benchmark Statement que o Fisioterapeuta deve ter competências na área das TIC, de forma a ser capaz de procurar a evidência necessária para validar a sua intervenção, bem como para gerir os dados e registos criados na sua prática clínica. Assim essas competências deveriam ser desenvolvidas durante a sua formação base, assim como os professores deveriam estar aptos a introduzir as TIC no seu processo pedagógico, não descurando o contexto institucional onde este processo está inserido. AMOSTRA: Da população, com um total de 16 instituições que leccionaram o Curso de Fisioterapia no ano lectivo de 2003/2004, foi retirada a amostra de professores e alunos. MATERIAL E MÉTODOS: Foi criado um questionário que foi validado por um painel de experts e por um pré-teste. Este questionário estava subdividido em 6 dimensões (caracterização da amostra, caracterização do equipamento, caracterização da utilização, atitudes e conhecimentos, barreiras e necessidades). ANÁLISE ESTATÍSTICA: Utilizaram-se, principalmente, os procedimentos relacionados com a estatística descritiva. RESULTADOS: Relativamente à acessibilidade na instituição, 98% dos professores e dos alunos referem ter acesso a computador com ligação à Internet. Quando inquiridos se utilizavam o computador para actividades académicas, 99% dos professores e alunos responderam afirmativamente, dos quais 35 % dos professores utilizam-no durante mais de 10 horas por semana e 28% de 5 a 10 horas, relativamente aos alunos a percentagem de utilização semanal é 42,6% de 0 a 3 horas e 36,7% 3 a 5 horas. Ainda 81% dos professores e 57,4% dos alunos respondentes referiram total concordância relativamente à importância da utilização das TIC no contexto escolar. Apesar de 84% dos professores indicarem ter conhecimentos na área das TIC, quase 51% nomeiam a falta de formação específica para integração/utilização das TIC como a principal barreira na utilização, logo seguido da inexistência de estratégias organizativas que facilitem a integração das TIC no ensino/aprendizagem (44%). CONCLUSÕES: Através da análise dos resultados deste estudo, constatou-se que, apesar da boa acessibilidade ao conjunto das TIC, no contexto institucional e domiciliário dos alunos e professores, existe uma reduzida utilização em contexto educativo, explicado pela falta de formação específica nesta área. Parece-nos então haver a necessidade de criação de programas e projectos institucionais que promovam a utilização das TIC, investindo na formação dos Professores e através da integração dessas competências no currículo de Fisioterapia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Uses and Perceptions of Online Learning Components in Hybrid Courses by Full-time Business Instructors at Comprehensive and Regional Public Universities in Oklahoma

This was a descriptive study utilizing literature synthesis, online survey methodology, and quantitative data techniques to describe best practices in using online learning components in hybrid business courses and the perceived importance and actual use of these components by full-time business instructors at comprehensive and regional public universities in Oklahoma. Ten of the state's 12 institutions participated in the study. Best practices and model theory formed the theoretical underpinnings for the study. The best practices literature revealed that the compelling advantage of hybrid courses was to facilitate interaction both within and outside the traditional classroom to maximize learning. The principles of interaction and six basic guidelines for using online components in hybrid courses identified in the literature were codified graphically in a proposed Moore Gray Hybrid Course model developed from the study. The study also found that the technology skill level and age of business faculty members wSchool of Teaching and Curriculum Leadershi