Read to Succeed

This paper outlines the interim results of a continuing collaboration between a module leader and an academic liaison librarian. They identified an opportunity to collaborate on a project aimed at the reconfiguration of an undergraduate module on a professional, Early Years teaching degree, to embed support for academic literacies

El debate virtual: su interés como herramienta de enseñanza-aprendizaje en el EEES

El Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior exige que la docencia tradicional incorpore nuevas herramientas de enseñanza-aprendizaje para ajustarse al nuevo modelo educativo diseñado. El debate virtual es un instrumento de interés para cumplir dicho fin, puesto que, entre otros, permite al docente guiar y orientar parte del trabajo autónomo de los alumnos que ahora se incorpora al currículo de créditos ECTS. Las reflexiones contenidas en este artículo se basan en la experiencia docente del Área de Derecho Administrativo de la Universidad de Lleida.The European Space of Higher Education requires the traditional teaching methodologies to incorporate new teaching-learning strategies in order to adjust to the new educational model designed. The online discussion forums are an interesting instrument suitable to accomplish such an aim, since they allow the professor to guide and direct part of the autonomous work that now is taken into account in the curriculum based on the European Credit Transfer System. The reflexions contained in this article are based on the experience of the Administrative Law Area of the University of Lleida

El debate virtual: su interés como herramienta de enseñanza- aprendizaje en el EEES

El Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior exige que la docencia tradicional incorpore nuevas herramientas de enseñanza-aprendizaje para ajustarse al nuevo modelo educativo diseñado. El debate virtual es un instrumento de interés para cumplir dicho fin, puesto que, entre otros, permite al docente guiar y orientar parte del trabajo autónomo de los alumnos que ahora se incorpora al currículo de créditos ECTS. Las reflexiones contenidas en este artículo se basan en la experiencia docente del Área de Derecho Administrativo de la Universidad de Lleida.

La transformación a la virtualidad de un curso en educación superior mejora el desempeño académico estudiantil

Pandemic-forced remote teaching has highlighted the relevance of redesigning planification in order to transform face-to-face into online courses in higher education. Indeed, the type of e-learning activities, e-assessment and development of student-centred active learning tasks remains a challenge. In this work we investigated the academic performance of an online learning environment in a course with high number of enrolled students carried out in the pandemic context in 2020 and compared it to the 2019 face-to-face version of the course. The e-learning version of the course included some changes regarding the face-to-face to allow active student learning, digital learning environment, knowledge enforcement, and further exploitation of the available activities in the Moodle platform as for the face-to-face course, although the syllabus remained unchanged. This study finds both synchronous and asynchronous problem-solving based e-learning together with self-assessment and team-based continuous and individual questionnaire assessments to be valuable instructional methods that allowed higher student academic performance in comparison to the face-to-face academic student results. Furthermore, the academic performance was directly related to the student participation in both team-based and individual activities during the course, demonstrating that the adaptation of the face-to-face course to the e-learning environment was, at least, as efficient as the traditional course, despite student resistance to e-learning and e-assessment.La enseñanza remota en línea forzada por la pandemia ha puesto en evidencia la necesidad de rediseñar la planificación de los cursos presenciales a su versión en línea de manera adecuada en la educación superior. De hecho, el tipo de actividades y evaluaciones en línea (digitales), sigue siendo un desafío en la educación universitaria. En este trabajo, investigamos la eficiencia de la transformación de un curso universitario de alta matrícula estudiantil presencial a modo en línea a través del estudio del desempeño académico estudiantil. La versión en línea del curso fue llevada a cabo durante el segundo semestre del año 2020 a través de la creación de un espacio de aprendizaje virtual y comparando el desempeño académico de los estudiantes con el obtenido durante la versión presencial del año 2019, en función a su participación en las actividades de evaluación continua. Se favoreció el aprendizaje activo por parte del estudiante, generando un ambiente digital de aprendizaje amigable, favoreciendo las instancias de autoevaluación, y respetando el currículo del curso. Este estudio muestra que las actividades en línea, tanto de forma asincrónica como sincrónica, basadas en la resolución de problemas, en conjunto con actividades continuas evaluables grupales e individuales, resultaron estrategias educativas valiosas que permitieron una mejora en el rendimiento académico estudiantil, demostrando que la incorporación de actividades digitales adecuadas fue tan eficiente como el curso tradicional, a pesar de la alta resistencia estudiantil a la continuidad de la enseñanza en línea y a la evaluación digital

Faculty adaptation to emerging instructional technologies in higher education

This study examined how and why faculty adopt podcasting as an instructional technology tool in their teaching. Podcasting is an instructional technology tool being used for teaching and learning in higher education. Faculty may record lectures with audio, video, and/or PowerPoint slides to instruct students on class material. Students may access podcasts at their convenience through various devices, including mobile devices and computers. Research has shown that students who use podcasts to study for tests tend to perform more successfully on tests. This study was a qualitative multiple case study of seven California community college faculty using podcasting as an instructional technology in their teaching. Email and telephone interviews were conducted to obtain data for this study. Rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory, and specifically the perceived attributes of innovation and their rate of adoption, was the theoretical framework used in this study to help explain how faculty develop attitudes and behavior toward podcasting as a teaching tool in higher education and to provide a context for faculty adoption of podcasting as a teaching tool in higher education. This study revealed seven themes that informed how and why faculty adopt podcasting in their teaching, as well as constraints to adopting podcasting. The seven themes identified in this research using Rogers’ perceived attributes of diffusion of innovations framework and their rate of adoption (PADIRA) are: (a) Apprehension, (b) Flexibility, (c) Organization, (d) Personal Gratification, (e) Student Outcomes, (f) Technological Capacity, and (g) Training. Given the demonstrated potential of podcasting technology for enhancing teaching and learning, this study of perceived benefits and constraints faced by California community college instructors when adopting podcasting in their classroom teaching has provided insights into instructional technology adaptation issues in higher education

THE EVOLUTION OF SELF-DIRECTEDNESS IN AN UNDERGRADUATE ETHICS COURSE: A COMPARISON OF THREE COURSE DELIVERY METHODS

Many studies have investigated relationships between self-directedness and various indicators of success in university coursework but few have explored the evolution of self-directedness that may or may not occur in these settings. This study sought to discover how self-direction in learning of participants in an undergraduate healthcare ethics course evolved. Emphasis of this evolution was placed on the learner’s perspective. The study also examined the relationship between course delivery method and degree of evolution of self-directedness during the studied semester. A traditional section, a blended section, and an online section of the healthcare ethics course were studied. Within three sections of the studied course, 68 undergraduate students participated in the mixed methods study. Data collection included pre-course and post-course completion of the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS), demographic information, a pre-course survey, a standardized course evaluation survey and interviews with selected participants. While all three sections of the studied course demonstrated an increase in self-directedness as measured by the SDLRS, none of the changes were statistically significant or different when comparing results from all three sections of the studied course. The blended section of the course produced the highest mean change, followed by the traditional section and, lastly, the online section. In addition, all three sections produced comparable satisfaction scores based on the standardized course evaluation survey. The researcher’s primary discovery is that course delivery method does not impact the learner’s ability to be self-directed in learning. A secondary discovery is that one experience may not be sufficient for the learner’s self-directedness to significantly evolve. The interviews provided an opportunity to explore the experiences from the learners’ perspective. Four themes emerged from the interview sessions: internal and external motivation, outside influences and other academic experiences. Understanding these themes may assist the educator in tailoring learning experiences to guide the learner to various forms of self-directed learning. Future research may enhance the literature base by performing longitudinal studies of groups of learners through varied programs. Data obtained through consecutive semesters of coursework may assist in the development and implementation of strategies to assist and guide learners toward learning self-direction

Using technology to enhance learning, progression and achievement in higher education

The efficiency of the use of technology in higher education teaching and learning has seen limited research which has been mainly theoretical in nature. The research aims to identify the effects of using technology to enhance learning, progression and achievement in Higher Education. The literature review identified a gap, and this study is situated here to provide a proposed solution to the identified problem. The approach taken is iterative, as it seeks to find a solution to a perceived problem. The research reviews the effect of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) on student case studies and establishes whether technology enhancement can be personalised for learners. The research comprises of three individual studies which form the research design and the construction of the pedagogical model is the result of three studies data. The first study investigates the strategic element of TEL implementation from a programme perspective. The second study gains the student voice on the implementation of TEL. The final study measures the effectiveness of TEL implementation at a module level with a focus on personalisation of learning resources. The methodology adopted is viewed through a pragmatist lens, which enables relevant research instruments to be used to find the solution through the use of mixed methods. The results from this research are used to produce a pedagogical model for the implementation of technology into teaching and learning for modules in HE programmes. The model production process identifies the impact of the major findings from the three studies and to assess the effectiveness of the proposed model before testing it statistically for acceptance. The proposed pedagogical model adds to the established research and gives guidance on the implementation of technology in taught modules in a strategic and consistent manner, offering a level of self-personalisation to support learning in the most effective way. The model and accompanying guidance add knowledge to the area, build on published research and will develop practice. The research will contribute knowledge to the area through a new way of looking at TEL pedagogy, manifested in the proposed implementation model

Διδακτική πρόταση προς την ενίσχυση του Εσωτερικού Κινήτρου και της Δημιουργικότητας στα πλαίσια της Ασύγχρονης Εξ’ αποστάσεως Εκπαίδευσης με αξιοποίηση ψηφιακών εργαλείων

Η παρούσα έρευνα αποτελεί μια διδακτική πρόταση η οποία στοχεύει στη διερεύνηση της εν δυνάμει ενίσχυσης του εσωτερικού κινήτρου σε δειγματικό χώρο μίας ομάδας μαθητών μέσω μίας πολυδιάστατης δραστηριότητας η οποία εφαρμόστηκε σε συνθήκες εξ’ αποστάσεως ασύγχρονης εκπαιδευτικής διαδικασίας με βασικό πυρήνα εφαρμογής ένα διαδικτυακό χώρο συζητήσεων– φόρουμ. Σκοπός της έρευνας αποτέλεσε η διερεύνηση του επιπέδου δημιουργίας εσωτερικού κινήτρου προς την κατεύθυνση της αναζήτησης και απόκτησης πληροφοριών σχετικά με τη θεματολογία από μέρους των συμμετεχόντων. Εν συνεχεία, διερευνήθηκε ο βαθμός στον οποίο το εσωτερικό κίνητρο συντέλεσε στην ανάδειξη της δημιουργικότητας σε συνδυασμό με την αποτύπωση της συνεργασίας και επικοινωνίας μεταξύ μαθητών που δεν ανήκουν σε κοινό μαθησιακό περιβάλλον – τάξη ο οποίοι δρουν εξ’ αποστάσεως χωρίς αυστηρό χρονικό ορίζοντα. Για την επίτευξη των παραπάνω αξιοποιήθηκαν λογισμικά μικρόκοσμων, ώστε πέρα από την ενασχόληση με το γνωστικό αντικείμενο της Αγγλικής Γλώσσας, να παρασχεθεί η δυνατότητα στους μαθητές να μυηθούν σε στοιχειώδης εφαρμογές προγραμματισμούThe following study concerns a didactic proposal that aims at the potential enhancement of intrinsic motivation in a group of students through a multidimensional activity that was applied on a distant-asynchronous learning process, the core of which was a discussion space – a forum. The objective of the study was the investigation of the level the intrinsic motivation exerted influence on searching and acquiring information related to the topic of the activities that were applied. Furthermore, the study aimed at investigating the influence of intrinsic motivation in creativity along with the cooperation and communication among students who did not belong in the same learning environment or class, students who worked distantly at different chronological patterns. For the realization of the previously mentioned, two microworld software programs were applied, so students were not only engaged in the subject of English, but also had the opportunity to be introduced to basic applications of programming