Quantity versus Quality in Project Based Learning Practices

In the midst of the turbulence wrought by the global economy, it has become common to see projects as an essential medium for achieving change. However, project based learning practices - as a subset of organizational learning practices- have not kept pace with this development. To explore this concern, we have carried out a study on practices adopted by organizations for learning through projects involving nineteen companies from across Europe and from a range of different industries. We use the concepts of variation, selection and retention in organizational learning to analyze our findings and report the challenges faced by project based organizations in each of the areas highlighted. We conclude that time pressures, centralization and deferral are the key characteristics of learning in project based firms and that these impede project based members in learning from and through projects.centralization;deferral;organizational learning;projects;reflection

Why Inquiry Matters: An Argument and Model for Inquiry-Based Writing Courses

This article considers the value and implications of inquiry-driven learning for secondary and postsecondary education. In response to ongoing interest in and the need to foster inquiry in English education, we share the course model of “Ethnography of the University.” This writing-intensive course asks students to become authors of their own educations; to identify problems facing the campus community; to conduct semester-long, original research projects; and to make proposals for change. Through conducting inquiry projects, students come to see themselves as writers with real audiences, to personalize an often-impersonal education, and to connect academic with everyday concerns. Two undergraduate researchers describe their projects on student life—projects that emerged from and have continued beyond the course. By describing “Ethnography of the University” and sharing undergraduate research projects, we argue that inquiry helps students see themselves as agents over their own writing and learning. When students become agents, they can more easily write their way beyond a semester, course, or educational experience—and into the stance of writers

Organizational Member Learning and the Influential Factors: The Empirical Study of Thailand

Based on the literatures of organizational learning and change, this research continues to focus on the individual level of learning in organization. Individual learning comprises of at least the cognitive and behavioral aspects as the two represent two different phenomenon and complementary to each other. A questionnaire survey was conducted with employees of corporations in Thailand with an attempt to seek for factors in which influence the level of learning in individuals in both cognitive and behavioral contexts. Among the three influential factors, perceived negative impact from change hinders the cognitive buy-in of change initiative the most, while the general understanding of the necessity of organizational learning and change depicted as the strongest factor in inducing individual’s participative cooperation to change projects. Additionally, the overall results suggest that organizations in which are involved in organizational change movement should pay attention in educating their employees to be highly aware of the importance of organizational learning and change in general, as well as, creating more of the direct positive impact and less of the direct negative impact from any specific change movement, in order to be able to gain employees’ cognitive understanding of and behavioral cooperation to the change.Organizational Member Learning; Organizational Learning; Organizational Change; Thailand

FDTL voices : drawing from learning and teaching projects

This publication draws on insights and experiences from individuals and teams within learning and teaching development projects in higher education. It considers lessons learnt from the processes, outcomes and tangible outputs of the projects across the spectrum of the FDTL initiative, with the intention that colleagues can draw on and benefit from this experience. The overriding theme at the heart of every FDTL project has been the desire to achieve some form of positive and meaningful change at the level of the individual, institution or discipline. The continuing legacy of the programme has been to create wider community involvement as projects have engaged with the higher education sector on multiple levels - personal, institutional, practice, and policy. This publication has remained throughout a collaborative endeavour, supported by Academy colleagues. It is based around the four themes emerging from the initiative as a whole: • Sectoral/Organisational Change • Conceptual Change • Professional and Personal Development Partnership and • Project Managemen

Implementing a university e‐learning strategy: levers for change within academic schools

This paper describes the implementation of an e‐learning strategy at a single higher education institution in terms of the levers used to promote effective uptake and ensure sustainable embedding. The focus of this work was at the level of the academic school using a range of change practices including the appointment of school‐based learning technologists and e‐learning champions, supporting schools to write their own strategies, a pedagogical framework of engaging with e‐learning, and curriculum development and evaluation of school‐supported projects. It is clear that the implementation of the e‐learning strategy has led to a large and increasing proportion of our students experiencing blended learning. In addition, there are initial indications that this has enhanced some learning and teaching processes. Where there has been sustainable embedding of effective e‐learning, the following levers were identified as particularly important: flexibility in practices that allow schools to contextualise their plans for change, the facilitation of communities of key staff and creating opportunities for staff to voice and challenge their beliefs about e‐learning

Theory of Change Review: A Report Commissioned by Comic Relief

Comic Relief does three things. It raises much needed cash, it then allocates that cash to projects in the United States and in the poorest countries in the world, and it raises awareness of the issues it feels strongly about. This report is one of a series of Comic Relief commissioned learning reports. Some learning reports aim to bring the impact of and learning from some of the work Comic Relief has funded in helping change lives to a wider audience. Other reports aim to draw together learning on key issues from a range of stakeholders to inform Comic Relief's thinking and promote debate in the sector. This report aims to draw together Comic Relief staff and partners' experiences in using theory of change; to identify others in development that are using theory of change and analyse their different approaches and experience; and to capture learning from everyone to promote debate, and to help inform what agencies using or advocating for the use of theory of change do next. This report was commissioned by Comic Relief and written by Cathy James, an independent consultant. The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Comic Relief

E-Learning in Europe: Moving Forward

Based on the work of the EUNIS E-learning Task Force, this paper reports on and explores the way e-learning is developing across the European community. Information was gained from a survey of EUNIS members, and includes contributions from the E-Learning Task Force groups who investigated a range of topics. The paper outlines common issues and typical development projects underway in Europe. For example, a major theme reported by EUNIS member universities is the change from “choosing” to “using” e-learning platforms. The paper also reports on future activities and progress of the E-Learning Task Force

Academics' use of courseware materials: A survey

Learning technology has yet to enter the mainstream of higher education. The UFC-funded Teaching and Learning Technology (TLT) programme is attempting to change this by sponsoring projects concerned with courseware production and delivery. These efforts could be thwarted if the Not Invented Here syndrome prevents the use of technology-based teaching and learning materials outside the originating departments. To gain a clearer understanding of why academics have been rejecting much existing courseware, and to establish the extent of the Not Invented Here syndrome, we carried out a survey of 800 academics in eight UK universities. The survey proved to be exceptionally revealing

Giving TESOL change a chance: supporting key players in the curriculum change process

The language of ‘western’ planned and managed TESOL curriculum change aid projects of the 1980–1990s continues to have a strong influence on the terms in which the objectives of 21st century, nationally planned TESOL curriculum change projects are expressed. It is apparently assumed that teachers worldwide will be able to make the cultural and professional adjustments necessary to enable such objectives to be achieved. Many 20th century TESOL aid projects achieved their stated objectives only partially, if at all. The same remains true of much nationally planned and managed TESOL curriculum change today. One important reason for such limited success, is change planners’ failure to adequately consider what support classroom teachers will need, when, and for how long, if they are to be helped to make the above adjustments. This paper does not intend to make value judgements regarding the beliefs about teaching and learning underlying any particular culture, or the classroom behaviours that these give rise to. It represents a pragmatic attempt to present some questions that those responsible for planning TESOL curriculum change might ask, before finally deciding on the objectives of such change in their own contexts. Answers to these questions can, it is suggested, help provide information about how key players (classroom teachers) are likely to experience the implementation of objectives. Based on this information, planners can try to establish systems that will support teachers during the critical first few years of the change process, so making it more likely that the process will ultimately begin to achieve its hoped-for outcomes

Project management : learning by breaking the rules

The paper explores project management in action in a large public research organisation – NLAT which decided to change its internal organisation from team-based to project-based organisation a few years ago. A systematic and comparative analysis of 8 projects reveals that adherence to the ISO 9000’s standardized rules of project management - specific staffing and project leaders, definition of milestones ex ante, procedure manuals, and formalized learning accumulation mechanisms - had little to do with the organisations success over recent years: Looking for explanations for this success, the paper focuses on the process of transferring from one project to another, enhancing organisational learning through rules breaking. We identify three elements which encourage the accumulation of knowledge and competencies, as organisational learning: low project core staffing levels which stimulates the circulation of engineers and researchers between projects and blurs project boundaries, implementing and managing thematic projects which build on specific competencies developed in dedicated projects and encouraging ‘bricolage’ to hybridise project management with traditional hierarchical management practices.PROJECT MANAGEMENT;R&D;HIGH TECH;MANAGEMENT PRACTICES