Rethinking informal learning

[EN]Informal learning has been always an important source of knowledge, perhaps the most important at the workplace, but its own informal nature has caused difficulties to be recognized and introduced in the “official” ways of training and certification. TEEM conference has paid special attention to the problems associated with informal learning from the first edition of this event, and now this track continues with this significant tradition with the aim of rethinking the informal learning basis

Generation Alpha: Marketing or Science?

Introduction: The transition from the limited information environment to the extended information world has fundamentally transformed the communication and information-gathering processes. The new learning spheres (non-formal and informal learning, i.e. lifelong learning) require rethinking learning strategies

Testing a Theory of Change Model for Evaluating the Impact of Action Learning Programs

This paper reports findings from an evaluation of an executive leadership development program in a large global healthcare organization. The paper offers a rethinking of evaluation from a transfer of learning model to a more open-ended, developmental approach based on a theory of change when learning is action-oriented, emergent, informal and incidental. Included in this paper are data from the evaluation illustrating learning increases in individual, group and system capacities to effectively engage with the demands placed on leaders and organizations in a complex, global context

THE DICHOTOMY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF FUTURE IT SPECIALISTS: THE SUBJECT AND THE MEANS OF INSTRUCTION

The study shows some preferences in the choice of training and learning strategies in university educational process aimed at forming future IT-specialists’ digital competence as the main indicator of their professionalism in IT-sphere considering information technologies as being the subject and the means of instruction. The use of information technologies results in rethinking of existing approaches to organizing the educational process of higher school especially when it comes to training future IT-specialists. Information technologies integrated into all spheres of human activities and widely applied to support different industries in commercial, private and public sectors cause ever-growing demand for highly-qualified IT-specialists. In the study the authors consider the range of learning strategies used in the educational process for boosting effectiveness of IT-specialists’ digital competence formation as the main indicator of their professionalism in IT-sphere. The study was carried out among 164 future IT-specialists at three higher education institutions in Ukraine from February to May 2019. The researchers found out that all the respondents used contemporary information technologies for learning IT-disciplines, namely, all the students (100.00%) use contemporary information technologies in their formal learning, 68.80% − in their non-formal learning, 18.30% − in a wide range of educational activities that could be regarded as informal learning and only 13.20% − combining informal and non-formal learning. The obtained data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. As the core result of conducted research the component matrix of learning strategies was developed showing their hierarchy depending on three factors chosen i.e. traditional, self-directed and collaborative learning.

Rethinking Assessment: Information Literacy Instruction and the ACRL Framework

Most information literacy instruction (ILI) done in academic libraries today is based on the ACRL’s Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, but with the replacement of these standards by the new Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, there is a need to re-evaluate current teaching strategies and instructional techniques so that they can better serve the Framework’s goals. This paper explores current trends in ILI instruction and in the area of assessment in particular, since ILI assessment provides an opportunity not only to evaluate teaching effectiveness but also to reinforce the learning goals of the new Framework itself. It proposes several ways that assessment strategies can be aligned with the goals of the Framework by using guided group discussion, online discussion platforms, and social media platforms, and proposes further avenues for research in the evaluation of such strategies

Fostering a community of scholars at the University of Warwick : the Wolfson Research Exchange

This paper focuses on the University of Warwick’s Wolfson Research Exchange which opened in October 2008. It describes the varied environment that the facility offers to Warwick’s research community, and explores the service model provided. The new approaches to learning space design and the students’ expectations which informed and influenced the Research Exchange’s creation (as well as its ongoing service development) are also discussed. This case study provides an overview of the Research Exchange’s developments, successes and lessons learnt which could be applicable to other institutions exploring dedicated spaces and support for their research communities

Rethinking university assessment

Developments in globalisation and new technologies are making significant impacts in higher education. Universities in a global market are increasingly concerned to reorient their degree programmes to meet the vocational needs of the Knowledge Economy. A growing adoption of technology enhanced learning, through blended and networked learning, has the potential to transform higher education practice – but assessment methods have been slow to change. This paper argues the case for universities to align assessment methods to meet the needs of 21st Century knowledge workers. It identifies skills and dispositions associated with graduate occupations in the Knowledge Economy, informing a new conceptual model for assessment. Radical recommendations are made to faculty staff and university policymakers: instead of centring assessment on the personal, academic achievements of individuals at the end of a degree course, the focus should instead be on the quality of the collective, applied achievements of students operating in project teams

Lifelong learning and partnerships: rethinking the boundaries of the university in the digital age

Higher education (HE) in Scotland has some very specific characteristics: a relatively small number of HE institutions (HEIs), nineteen at the time of writing; a strong college sector, which makes a significant contribution to the provision of HE; an all through credit and qualifications framework, designed to support transitions between different parts of the education system and through the lifecourse; no fees for full-time HE and more than fifteen years of policy initiatives aimed at (WP). Despite all this, unequal access between different socio-economic groups has remained stubbornly persistent. Moreover, the numbers of mature and part-time students in both the university and college sectors have declined. This paper looks at some of the evidence from the Opening Educational Practices in Scotland project, which is exploring the interface between open education and WP. In the context of the widespread availability of digital devices and the rapid increase in free, open online resources, are there new strategies to promote WP and lifelong learning