DESIGN THINKING AS ACTIVE TEACHING METHODOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY. COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN COURSES

In a move to go beyond pedagogical concerns for engineering teaching and learning and expand to other higher education courses and other professionals, this study compared the use of Design Thinking as a tool to pedagogically mobilize courses in Business Administration, Design, Nursing and Pedagogy. The results showed that the same pedagogical concern of engineering was shared with the compared courses. The relationships between students were fundamental for solving problems, as proposed by Design Thinking, as well as the relationships between the classes of a given course with their concerns about the professional profile that is being formed.En un movimiento para ir más allá de las preocupaciones pedagógicas por la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la ingeniería y expandirse a otros cursos de educación superior y otros profesionales, este estudio comparó el uso del Design Thinking como una herramienta para movilizar pedagógicamente los cursos de Administración de Empresas, Diseño, Enfermería y Pedagogía. Los resultados mostraron que la misma inquietud pedagógica de la ingeniería se comparte con los cursos comparados. Las relaciones entre los estudiantes fueron fundamentales para la resolución de problemas, tal y como propone Design Thinking, así como las relaciones entre las clases de un determinado curso con sus inquietudes sobre el perfil profesional que se está formando.Num movimento para ir além das preocupações pedagógicas para o ensino e aprendizagem da engenharia e expandir para outros cursos de ensino superior e outros profissionais, este estudo comparou o uso do Design Thinking como uma ferramenta para mobilizar pedagogicamente os cursos de Administração de Empresas, Design, Enfermagem e a Pedagogia. Os resultados mostraram que a mesma preocupação pedagógica da engenharia foi compartilhada com os cursos comparados. As relações entre os alunos foram fundamentais para a resolução de problemas, conforme proposto pelo Design Thinking, assim como as relações entre as turmas de um determinado curso com suas preocupações quanto ao perfil profissional que se está formando

Perspectives on the standards agenda: exploring the agenda's impact on primary teachers' professional identities

This study aimed to investigate teachers' perspectives on the practical implementation of the standards agenda and its impact on their professional identities. Q-methodology was used alongside semi-structured interviews with UK primary school teachers. The study explored the views of 25 teachers in six schools, selected through purposive sampling to give a range of individual and institutional demographics. Teachers in this research commented on the impact the standards agenda has had on parental and societal judgements that affect their identity as professionals. Teachers held differing positions on whether they experienced constraint or flexibility when implementing standards objectives. These differing positions were mainly influenced by whether they taught above or below Year 3. Teachers who found flexibility in the agenda's objectives had less occupational stress and increased ownership of their own actions and the standards agenda. Teachers' positions were complex and changed according to situational influences at a classroom level

Circular Pedagogy for Smart, Inclusive and Sustainable Education

Higher education institutions seem to be engaged in a reactive process when thinking about education for sustainable development, instead of being proactive. A every stage, educational models remain very limited to specific goals and agendas driven by the fad of the moment and without articulating a sustainable educational model that we argue should be uttered within the concepts of intercultural competencies, smart, inclusive, and sustainable education where learners engage on a circular learning process as captured by the circular pedagogy for higher education. If the academic community is serious about driving actions that help us to enact change and impact to develop a more sustainable conscious socio-economic and environmental global society, we need to rethink our education models and pedagogies so that they are attuned with the complexity of our evolving reality

A small-scale investigation into teachers' access to the regulating principles underlying the "new mathematics" curriculum in the Junior Primary phase

Bibliography: p. 101-107.This research project focuses on the "new primary mathematics" curriculum that has been implemented in the schools in the Western Cape over the past six years. The specific question I addressed was, 'What access do teachers have to the regulating principles underpinning the 'new primary mathematics' curriculum". The term "regulating principles" is drawn from the work of Paul Dowling (1993;98). In terms of this research, the regulating principles are the theoretical underpinnings to the new curriculum, which include substantially a theory of learning. I explore access to the regulating principles through semi-structured interviews with six teachers, who have implemented this new approach with different degrees of success, as measured in their own terms. I also investigate the official Teachers' Guide for Mathematics (Cape Education Department, 1993) for explicitness of theoretical underpinnings. An analysis of the teachers' guide indicated that the regulatory principles were not made explicit and the research indicates that the teachers in my sample have restricted access to these principles. I conclude that teachers who have little access to the regulating principles are constructed as a subordinate voice in relation to teacher educators, and must of necessity rely on procedure for their practice and be subject to external validation. This raises questions as to the successful implementation of the curriculum, in that it limits access by teachers to the educational debates surrounding theories of knowledge and theories of learning, and so inhibits teacher involvement in curriculum implementation. It also limits the ability of teachers to interrogate their own practice

Power to the Teachers:An Exploratory Review on Artificial Intelligence in Education

This exploratory review attempted to gather evidence from the literature by shedding light on the emerging phenomenon of conceptualising the impact of artificial intelligence in education. The review utilised the PRISMA framework to review the analysis and synthesis process encompassing the search, screening, coding, and data analysis strategy of 141 items included in the corpus. Key findings extracted from the review incorporate a taxonomy of artificial intelligence applications with associated teaching and learning practice and a framework for helping teachers to develop and self-reflect on the skills and capabilities envisioned for employing artificial intelligence in education. Implications for ethical use and a set of propositions for enacting teaching and learning using artificial intelligence are demarcated. The findings of this review contribute to developing a better understanding of how artificial intelligence may enhance teachers’ roles as catalysts in designing, visualising, and orchestrating AI-enabled teaching and learning, and this will, in turn, help to proliferate AI-systems that render computational representations based on meaningful data-driven inferences of the pedagogy, domain, and learner models

INVESTIGATING THE NEEDS OF DEVELOPING A DIGITAL VOCABULARY LEARNING MATERIAL FOR MALAYSIAN INDIGENOUS LEARNERS IN ESL CLASSROOM

Background and Purpose: An intervention program becomes a necessity when a learning problem arises. To ensure the program effectiveness, pedagogical and assessment decisions rely heavily on the actual needs of learners. Hence, this study aimed to conduct a needs analysis survey to investigate the indigenous learners’ needs in terms of their attitudes towards ESL learning, favorable language skills, topics of interest and preferable modes of learning. Unlike other groups of Malaysian learners, the indigenous experience extreme ESL learning disadvantage due to their struggle to assimilate themselves in a multi-ethnic school environment.   Methodology: This study employed design-based research (DBR) methodology with the utilization of mixed-method tools in the forms of document analysis and close-ended questionnaire. These data variations aim for the breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration. Past public examination results were used to highlight the indigenous learning problems in ESL learning followed by a survey questionnaire on forty-eight (48) 13-year-old indigenous learners.   Findings: The findings reveal that the indigenous possessed extremely poor vocabulary mastery and experienced high language anxiety. Nevertheless, they surprisingly exhibited high awareness towards the potential usage of English language, and this level of awareness posits their needs and readiness to explore other means of learning which are not currently offered to them such as digital game-based learning.   Contributions: The study informs ESL practitioners on the importance of considering the needs of the targeted learners and teachers involved so that contextualized, practical, and effective instruction could be designed, developed, and successfully delivered.   Keywords: Design-based research, indigenous learners, instructional design, mixed-method tools, needs analysis.   Cite as: Wan Mahzan, M. S., Alias, N. A., & Ismail, I. S. (2020). Investigating the needs of developing a digital vocabulary learning material for Malaysian indigenous learners in ESL classroom. Journal of Nusantara Studies 2020, 5(2), 282-302. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol5iss2pp282-30

An exploratory study into human-centred design in new product development for low-income consumers

After over 25 years of decline, the global poverty rate has started to increase driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, taking millions back into poverty, most of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Low-income consumers are underserved and do not have the means to pay for or access to goods or services which are required for a minimum standard of living. These consumers struggle to find essential goods, the products do not always meet their needs or are too expensive for them to afford and the products' benefits are not easily understood. Yet the spending power and demand from consumers at the bottom of the economic pyramid in emerging markets and developing countries are motivating for global consumer goods companies. Not only does the opportunity presents financial benefit but is a social obligation to democratise new product innovations across markets. The 4As Framework (Affordability, Acceptability, Availability and Awareness) encompass factors which help manufacturers to better reach and serve low-income consumers. This framework is applied in this research to understand products meet their needs of low-income consumer across these four factors; and how designers employ human centred design to design products for low-income consumers against these factors. Human Centred Design has been employed to develop solutions to complex problems with great empathy to users and stakeholders for many years but has been gaining popularity with business and social ventures since the early 2000s. By interviewing consumers and designers, this study delved into understanding (1) the motivations and challenges of designing products for low income consumers, (2) how human centred design was being employed in the design of consumer goods for this group against the 4As framework and (3) how products currently meet the needs of low-income consumers, against the 4As framework. It was found that designers were consistently motivated by designing products for this consumer group which they believed served them. However, the constant evolution of needs, and needing to design for an affordable price were challenges. It was also found that some human centred design practices were prominent but there was more consistency needed in application, particularly when dealing with acceptability, affordability and awareness