Evaluating Learner-Centeredness Course Pedagogy in Project Management Syllabi Using a Content Analysis Approach

Project Management (PM) capability continues to be a highly desired skill set in many for-profit and not-for-profit organizations across a range of industries. However, the PM field faces a talent gap, and one approach that may increase the interest in PM education is having a learner-centered pedagogy. A learner-centered pedagogy seeks to create a community of learners through the implementation of several initiatives namely, sharing power between the teachers and the students, providing multiple assessments and evaluation avenues, specifying clear feedback mechanisms, and articulating a rationale for the course by tying the course content to the learning outcomes. The goal of this research is to conduct a descriptive content analysis to examine the nature and content of the PM syllabi to gain a better understanding of how they reflect and communicate the attributes of a learner-centered pedagogy and thus help in improving the learning, teaching, and delivery of the PM curriculum. This study makes use of a sample of 76 PM syllabi gathered in 2018 from instructors affiliated with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) schools in the United States. The results have implications for the academy and the PM practice and call for improvements in the design and content of PM syllabi by including language and activities that foster the creation of a community of learners, mechanisms for offering periodic feedback, and consistent teacher-student interactions. Furthermore, it is suggested that the assessments and evaluations should be tied to the learning outcomes and incorporate “real world” experiential projects aligned with the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) areas and process groups

Evaluation of Learner vs. Teacher Centered Syllabi in Construction Management Courses: An Initial Investigation

Research indicates that retention and performance of undergraduate students increases when they perceive a cooperative and supportive educational community. The course syllabus is one of the first opportunities to influence student perception on their educational experience. Literature on syllabi suggests that learner-centered syllabi yield more positive student perceptions of teachers and the course as compared to traditional teacher-centered syllabi. Current research on the impacts of different syllabi constructs within construction education is lacking, and no studies could be found on whether these perceptions translate to student grades. This study used action research to better understand the impact of a learner-centered syllabus vs. a teacher-centered syllabus in an undergraduate construction management program. Student perception, faculty perception and student grades were measured between the learner-centered class and the teacher-centered class. The data was collected from four different classes, split among two courses, and taught by two faculty over the spring 2020 semester. Results suggested that the learner-centered syllabi appeared to motivate student engagement as well as impact both, the first impressions of the instructor and teacher-student relationship. However, it showed no difference in student grades

The Learner-Centred Status of a Brazilian University Coach Education Program

Previous research has suggested a shift from instructor-centred to learner-centred approaches in an attempt to improve coach education programs. To implement such crucial change it is essential to master the 'new language' and better understand educational contexts. The purposes of this article are to ( a) highlight new social factors indicating an urgent need to change, (b) present a learner-centred framework based on the work of a recognized group of researchers (i.e., Blumberg, Cullen, Harris, and Weimer), and (c) analyse the learner-centeredness of a Bachelor in Physical Education program, especially with respect to its sport performance area. Based on the social factors explored throughout the text and the learner centred principles, results showed inconsistencies between the conceptual orientations mentioned in the 'official documents' and the teaching processes used in the Bachelor program. Recommendations for higher education leaders and instructors are explored

Using Task-based Language Teaching to Tackle the New Spanish Curriculum: Possibilities, Challenges, and the Role of Technology

Màster Universitari de Formació del Professorat de Secundària Obligatòria i Batxillerat, Facultat d'Educació, Universitat de Barcelona. Curs: 2022-2023. Tutora: Susan Rayne Dreger Cyca[eng] The theoretical tenets of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) make it a potentially effective approach to consider to tackle the principles of the new Spanish curriculum. Thus, the following research opens with a theoretical background and literature review of the positive and negative pedagogical implications of TBLT. The study also examines the affordances and issues of technology in its synergy with tasks in what is known as Technology-Mediated Task-Based Language Teaching (TMTBLT). These explorations are complemented with discussions on the use of TBLT and TMTBLT in light of the new Spanish curriculum in general and the Catalan context in particular. To shed light on the possibilities and challenges of the approach(es), this research adopted a quantitative approach using a questionnaire to collect data on students’ perceptions on a technology-mediated task. Findings were complemented by the teacher/researcher’s observations. The sample population in the study included 48 students with different proficiency levels. The results found that TBLT may help in student motivation, in providing a competential and meaningful learning, and in fostering communicative skills. On the other hand, results identified several challenges, namely time constraints, overuse of L1, and teaching contexts that may resist new approaches. Finally, results pointed out at the affordances and issues of blending technology and tasks, namely promoting digital skills and engaging students in tasks. Nevertheless, students’ digital literacies must not be assumed given that adding the technology component may strongly affect task complexity

Influential Factors That Affect Retention and Language Acquisition in Beginning ESL Adults Students

This study explored the problem of student attrition in beginning courses of an Intensive English Program (IEP) that may affect the sustainability of the IEP. The purpose of the study was to understand the perceptions of continuing students and the factors that influenced their motivation and engagement to persist studying in the IEP. Constructivism and behavioral social learning theory guided this study. The research problem addressed the need for students to remain in IEPs and achieve second language acquisition. The research questions were designed to learn what instructional approaches motivated and engaged participants to persist in successive introductory courses. A qualitative case study design, guided by interpretive epistemology, was used to collect students\u27 opinions, perceptions, and suggestions on their experiences in their first course. The target population was beginners in a second IEP course at a community college. A purposive sample of 16 participants took part in 2 focus groups, individual interviews, and open-ended surveys for data triangulation. Constant comparative analysis using open and axial coding was used to aggregate data themes for inquiry. The findings revealed that poor student engagement, lack of mentorship qualities in instructors, and little inclusion of technology have been persistent reasons for their dissatisfaction. The project, a collaborative professional development effort, was designed for IEP instructors to gain awareness on past and current research about the andragogical framework of student-centeredness which culminated with the cooperative elaboration of a set of best practices. The social impact of the study comes from benefits that sustainable IEP programs could offer to communities with large populations of immigrants and to international visitors to empower them to achieve immersion into English-speaking societies

The Impact of Virtual Exchange on Teachers’ Pedagogical Competences and Pedagogical Approach in Higher Education

The following report presents the outcomes of a study on the effect of implementing Virtual Exchange on the evolution of teachers' pedagogical competences. In the report we use the term Virtual Exchange (VE) to refer to sustained online interaction between peers who are geographically distant and/or from different cultural backgrounds and affiliated to different Higher Education institutions, supported by their respective teachers and eventually facilitators. This pedagogical method, due to its high versatility, can be adapted to address various educational contexts, hence its growing popularity. While various aspects of students' participation in VE projects have attracted numerous research studies, little is known about how VE design and delivery stimulate, if at all, teachers' professional growth. The study is part of a large-scale research conducted within the EU-funded Erasmus+ KA3 project EVOLVE (Evidence Validated Online Learning through Virtual Exchange) into the impact of Virtual Exchange as an educational method in Higher Education contexts. The current report concentrates on how the process of designing, implementing and carrying out VE affects the teachers involved. In particular, it investigates how they view the evolution of their general teaching competence, their VE-related competences as well as their approach to nurturing student-centeredness and other active pedagogical approaches in the academic courses they teach. The study also casts light onto the motives behind VE implementation, the targeted learning objectives and teachers' perceptions of VE-related challenges

An exploration of the potential approaches to lexis-focused College English teaching and learning in the 2007 curriculum: implications for teachers

According to the author’s long-term observation of College English teaching and learning in Harbin University of Commerce in China, vocabulary accumulation and rote learning made up the repertoire of College English pedagogy and this was also argued by Hird (1995) and many other Chinese ELT researchers (e.g. Yan & Wu, 2002). After 2007, the new syllabus and textbooks have been released and the Internet-based approach to self-directed learning has been put into practice in the on-line course. However, there still seems a distance to the fundamental change of College English teaching and learning. The biggest challenges might lie in the teachers’ understanding of these potential innovative approaches proposed in the new syllabus and textbooks and their cognition of the nature of language and learning, so the old questions turn up again: What do we teach? and How do we teach? On the basis of this background, this research puts focus on exploration of potential approaches to lexis-focused College English teaching and learning in the 2007 curriculum and some possible challenges confronting the teachers in aspects of their classroom practice. The issues to be investigated in this research are mainly involved with the essence of lexis or vocabulary in the College English curriculum and the potential approaches to innovating lexis-focused College English teaching and learning. In order to investigate these issues, two research methods are employed: namely literature review and documentary analysis. The former provides this research with a review of traditional College English pedagogy in China as well as the nature of language and learning from a lexical perspective. The latter tends to meet the answers of research questions via analysis of the syllabus-College English Curriculum Requirements 2007 and the textbook-New Horizon College English. Throughout the documentary investigation in this research, it is found out that lexis as the basis of language system and lexis teaching and learning as the core of language pedagogy have been stereotyped to underpin the College English curriculum development. Being required in the syllabus document, learner autonomy as a catchall term underpinned with scaffolding and interaction, is emphasized in the new textbook with assistance of an on-line course. In term of textbook analysis, it is also found out that most of the requirements set in the College English syllabus are applied into tasks and activities, in which skill-based learning, lexis-focused learning and autonomous learning are potentially put into focus. As for the conclusion, based on the potential challenges in front of College English teaching and learning and the findings from the documentary analysis in this research, some implications for the CE teachers are put forward. They are mainly concerned with lexis being the basis of language, the teacher being the learning-instructor and learner autonomy being the final goal of College English pedagogy

Student-Centered Learning in Undergraduate Level Science Post-Secondary Education and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis assesses the overall impact on undergraduate level science post-secondary student achievement outcomes of instructional environments that are more student-centered versus less student-centered (more teacher-centered). It also considers in which of four instructional events (dimensions) – Pacing, Teacher’s Role, Flexibility and Adaptation – the application of more student-centered pedagogy is more optimal for increasing student achievement outcomes, as well as considers the strength of student-centered pedagogy in each of these four instructional dimensions. Additionally, this meta-analysis considers the impact of a set of instructional and demographic moderator variables – technology use, subject matter, and treatment group class size – on student achievement. Out of an initial pool of 9759 abstracts, 96 full-text sources were chosen for analysis, yielding 141 independent effect sizes. The random effects model weighted average effect size was = 0.34, k = 141, SE = 0.04, z = 8.58, p < .001, suggesting that on average more student-centered classroom studies produce better results on achievement outcomes than do less student-centered classroom studies. However, the non-significant meta-regression result (p = 0.40) compromises the strength of this conclusion. Of the four instructional dimensions, based on simple meta-regression, only Flexibility produced a significant (negative) relationship ( = -0.09, p ≤ .05). Mixed moderator variable analysis yielded the subject matter of chemistry ( = 0.23, p = 0.03) as the best predictor of effect size; studies in which both groups used technology had a significantly lower average effect size ( = -0.18, p = 0.04) than the reference group of studies in which both groups did not use technology; and in studies in which the treatment group used technology and the control group did not, the result was not significantly different from studies in which both groups did not use technology ( = 0.07, p = 0.53). Recommendations include attending to more nuanced moderator variables when introducing student-centered strategies

Using Curriculum Mapping to Understand Information Literacy in Political Science Curricula

Article presenting a curriculum mapping study of noncore course offerings in political science curricula by an early-career librarian. It combines syllabi study and curriculum mapping methods to analyze the language of student learning objectives (SLOs) from course syllabi and to integrate SLOs with threshold concepts from the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and the AAC&U Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. The methods produce two sample sets: one of core concept representation and the other of additional observances for syllabi improvements. Results analyze the frequency and percentage distributions of threshold concepts in SLOs. The author outlines strategies for engaging faculty in information literacy and suggests how librarians and faculty might inform information literacy teaching in the department