732 research outputs found
Internationalisation of HE in the UK: 'Where are we now and where might we go?'
This paper is based on a literature review commissioned by the Higher Education Academy in 2006 which aimed to identify existing published literature and current practices of direct relevance to the Internationalisation of Higher Education in the UK. The review was based on the assumption that a range of concerns exists, that there are emerging issues and that there are inconsistencies and gaps in the literature. The project focused on a number of questions including: what working definitions of internationalisation of higher education are in currency? what meanings are attributed to internationalisation of the curriculum? what models for institutional internationalisation are emerging? and, what curriculum models are emerging/being adopted? The literature trawl identified in excess of 300 international sources of relevance, of which, more that 100 originated in the UK. This paper draws on the analysis of these sources to determine âwhere we areâ in the UK in comparison with our Western counterparts, particularly HEIs based in Australia
Innovative learning in action (ILIA) issue one: Internationalising the curriculum
Welcome to the first edition of the University of Salfordâs âInnovative Learning in Actionâ (ILIA). The journal will be published bi-annually and is intended to provide recognition for and to celebrate the good practice of staff who - across campus - strive to innovate
in pursuit of the quality learning experience. The dissemination of good practice will provide positive
encouragement to those considering new approaches to student learning and support and act as a springboard
for collaboration, shared experience, mutual support and reflection within and across schools and faculties.
The journal aims to be inclusive, therefore the Editorial Board welcomes a varied range of contributions from
those who are seasoned and experienced researchers in the field, to those who are embarking upon their first engagement with publishing in the domain; from tried and tested innovations which may be transferable to other disciplines to work in progress and embryonic developments; from academic and related staff to those
performing roles in support of student learning. The tone of the journal is quite informal, providing an illustrative rather than exhaustive overview of innovations
and authors are encouraged to describe and reflect upon their experiences in their own individual styles.
The theme of this first edition is âInternationalising the Curriculumâ a concept that is at the very heart of the
Universityâs Learning and Teaching Strategy:
ââŠpreparing students for careers that will be in the global economy and to enrich the wider student experience by integrating the knowledge and experience of our international students.â
(University of Salford, Strategic Framework 2003-2004)
Contributions that explore innovative programmes and collaborations underway at the University provide a
range of perspectives on curriculum development and design, signifying ways in which other colleagues might
pursue an international agenda in their teaching and learning practice
The Internationalisation of UK Higher Education: From âtechnical observanceâ to ârelational participationâ, the road to CAPRIâŠ
This article reflects on a review of the literature on the internationalisation of UK higher education (HE) commissioned by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) in 2006. Recent progress on some of the key themes is considered and likely issues and possibilities for the future explored. Methodology is grounded in the authorâs own experience in the context of research in the field and recent developments in assessment, learning and teaching policy and practice as they affect the internationalisation agenda. Emerging themes include global citizenship and graduate attributes at the institutional level and notions of critical thinking and phronesis as they relate to the internationalised curriculum. A key consideration is how academics may be supported in developing the internationalised curriculum. The author argues that a focus on generic graduate attributes for employability could unintentionally detract institutions from a much-needed reassessment of purposes, principles and practices required by diversity. Such reassessment implies the deconstruction of our understanding of concepts like critical thinking and critical literacy in pursuit of a curriculum that embraces multiple perspectives and provides the space to cross cultural boundaries through the deployment of threshold concepts in teaching and learning strategies. While acknowledging that facilitating border-crossing may seem quite alien to some teachers in HE, it is argued that the most effective way forward is via a research-informed and evidence-based approach to curriculum design rather than a âbest-practice checklistâ approach
Innovative learning in action (ILIA) issue three: Employability, enterprise & entrepreneurship
The theme of the 3rd issue of ILIA is Employability, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, reflecting the
University of Salfordâs Learning and Teaching Strategy and our Goal âTo produce graduates with the skills, creativity, confidence and adaptability to succeed in the labour market and make a meaningful contribution to societyâ. The creativity, problem solving and change orientation this implies recognizes Salfordâs distinctive
strengths in this regard, and provides us with a conceptualization of employability which embraces
enterprise and entrepreneurship, manifest in the form of selfemployment, but equally relevant to those working within organizations i.e. to intrapreneurship.
The contributions to this edition provide us with examples of excellent practice demonstrating how practitioners at Salford have responded to the challenge of providing a quality learning experience for our students.
Consideration of the papers and snapshots reveal how colleagues have embedded employability into teaching and learning and assessment strategies, and into frameworks of student support, in differing and innovative ways, across
the institution. As this edition of ILIA goes to print work is underway to develop an Employability Policy and
Strategy for the University. Designed to provide a coherent and progressive approach to Employability, Enterprise and Careers Education and Guidance, this Strategy will be able to build on the good practice evident both in this edition of ILIA and across the
institution.
ILIA therefore has once again provided us with a range of
perspectives on a key area of curriculum design and development. It also has provided an opportunity to reflect on practice and student learning, to share experience and hopefully to identify future areas for
collaboration
Innovative learning in action (ILIA) issue six: Innovative practice in assessment
Welcome to this, the sixth edition of Innovative Learning in Action (ILIA) which focuses our attention on the theme of innovative practice in assessment. On the face of it, innovative assessment may be regarded as any form of assessment which involves the application of a new technique, method or tool. However, to quote Graham Mohl (2007): âInnovative assessment is not just some trendy new technique dreamt-up purely to save on the amount of time teachers spend on marking, it is a genuine attempt to improve quality of learning in higher education. If we do save time in the process then all the better for our own learning.â http://www.city.londonmet.ac.uk/deliberation
s/assessment/mowl_index.html.
The range of work in this edition of ILIA demonstrates how colleagues are readily embracing this fundamental principle.
These papers and snapshots show us how contributors are actively exploring, reviewing and modifying their practice to address assessment principles and strategies helping
to produce active learners who are reasoning, critical, highly motivated, capable of self-evaluation and equipped with transferable skills to enable them to flourish in the 21st century global economy. Whilst covering diverse and extensive territory both conceptually and practically, in their entirety these works share common ground in embracing the notion of âthe redistribution of educational powerâ (Heron, 1981). Assessment therefore becomes something which is not simply âdone toâ students, but it is also âdone byâ and âdone withâ students (Harris and Bell, 1990) and is as much about enhancing the quality of their learning as it is about measuring their performance.
Some of these works may challenge traditional positions and approaches and in so doing I hope they will provide you
with a stimulating and thought-provoking opportunity to reflect on practice and student learning
Innovative learning in action (ILIA) issue seven: New academics engaging with action research 2
Welcome to this seventh issue of Innovative
Learning and Action (ILIA) which celebrates
and disseminates some of the work
produced by recent cohorts on the
Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education
Practice and Research programme. As part of
their assessment in the second module,
Learning Design and Enquiry participants
engage in action research completing a
planned, first cycle of what is essentially an
iterative process. Participants inevitably
confront action research from different
perspectives largely based on past research
experience. Some perceive themselves as
ânoviceâ researchers generally, when they
encounter this paradigm, whilst others are
seasoned researchers steeped in more
traditional approaches. Part of the
assessment therefore addresses evaluation
and reflection on action research processes
as they have been experienced and this is
included in the work presented.
The insights generated are the product of
genuine concern, interest and enthusiasm in
responding to the challenges of teaching
and learning that pervade Higher Education
today. This small sample of papers
demonstrates a heightened awareness of
issues; the student voice is apparent but it is
reinforced in conversation with academics.
The papers show how action research builds
on the authorsâ willingness to collaborate
with their students and indeed, other
stakeholders in seeking mutual
understanding of complexity and in
formulating ideas to enhance the quality of
the student learning experience. Each of the contributions has direct
relevance to both policy and practice
encouraging readers to reflect on key issues
in the context of Widening Participation.
The transition to HE is clearly a fundamental
concern. Authors explore support systems
for both students and their workplace
managers in the challenging context of
secondment to study in pursuit of CPD; the
potential of FE/HE teaching exchange as a
form of professional development to enable
lecturers and teachers to facilitate their
studentsâ journey across the sectors and the
possibilities for enhancing the academic
writing skills of students.
One common theme is the complexity
encountered in negotiating cultural
boundaries in different contexts â the
boundaries between workplace and place of
study, between one educational sector and
another and between one style of
communication and another.
A final contribution prompts us to consider
the complexities of teaching and learning
across international boundaries in exploring
the potential for enhancing learning through
the use of video-clips in a distance
learning programme.
I hope you will enjoy these papers which I
feel provide much food for thought. I am
also sure that the authors would welcome
approaches from colleagues either within or
outside their respective disciplines who are
interested in similar areas of practice
Innovative learning in action (ILIA) issue four: New academics engaging with action research
This edition of ILIA showcases four papers which were originally submitted as action research projects on the
Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice and Research programme. Within the programme we offer an environment where participants can explore their unique teaching situations â not to produce all-encompassing
approaches to Higher Education (HE) practice but to develop
an ongoing dialogue about the act of teaching.
In effect, there are no generalisable âbestâ methods of teaching because they never work as well as âlocally
produced practice in actionâ (Kincheloe, 2003:15). Thus rather than providing short term âsurvival kitsâ the programme offers new HE teachers a âframeâ for examining their own and their colleaguesâ teaching alongside questioning educational purpose and values in the pursuit of pedagogical improvement.
This âframeâ is action research which Ebbutt (1985:156) describes as: âŠThe systematic study of attempts to
change and improve educational practice by groups of participants by means of their own practical actions
and by means of their own reflections upon the effects of their actions⊠We promote âpractitioner-researchâ or
âteacher-researchâ as a way of facilitating professional development for new HE teachers, promoting change and giving a voice to their developing personal and professional knowledge.
Teachers as researchers embark upon an action orientated, iterative and collaborative process to interrogate their
own practices, question their own assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs in order to better understand, influence and enrich the context of their own situations.
The action researcher assumes that practitioners are knowledgeable about their own teaching situations and the
fact that they are âin-situâ and not at âarms lengthâ as the value-neutral, âscientificâ researcher is often claimed to be, does not invalidate their knowledge.
Thus, practitioners are capable of analysing their own actions within a âreflective practitionerâ modus operandi.
Action research is on-going in conception and well suited to examining the ever-changing and increasingly complex HE practice environment. Findings from action research are always subject to revision since it intrinsically acknowledges the need to constantly revisit widely diverse
teaching situations and scenarios across everyday HE practice. Teaching is not predictable and constant, it always occurs in a contemporary microcosm of uncertainty. Action research provides an analytical framework for new HE
teachers to begin to engage with this unpredictability on a continuing basis, that is its purpose and also its perennial challenge.
The papers presented here describe how four relatively new HE teachers have begun to address the challenge of
improving their practice within their locally based settings utilising the action research âparadigmâ
Innovative learning in action (ILIA) issue two: Enhancing student diversity, progression & achievement
Welcome to the second edition of the University of Salfordâs âInnovative Learning in Actionâ (ILIA). The journal is published biannually and is intended to provide
recognition for and to celebrate the good practice of staff who â across campus â strive to innovate in
pursuit of the quality learning experience. The dissemination of good practice will provide positive
encouragement to those considering new approaches to
student learning and support and act as a springboard for
collaboration, shared experience, mutual support and reflection within and across the faculties.
The theme of this edition is âEnhancing Student Diversity,
Progression and Achievementâ, reflecting the Universityâs widely recognised strategic commitment to widen participation, and its expertise in curriculum innovation to meet the needs of our students.
Contributors deal with a range of challenges to practitioners at key stages in the student life-cycle and
offer highly reflective insights of relevance across the University. The journal therefore provides a valuable
opportunity to share and learn from the experiences of colleagues
Innovative learning in action (ILIA) issue five: Learning technologies in the curriculum
Consideration of the papers and snapshots in this edition of Innovative Learning in Action, focused on learning
technology, will provide the reader with insights into a range of excellent and innovative approaches to the application of learning technologies to enhance learning both in the classroom and at a distance. It also provides us with examples of how learning technologies can both stimulate and support partnership with staff and students and collaborative learning and working.
This edition is particularly timely given the aim of the Universityâs 2005-2008 Learning Technologies Implementation
Plan (LTIP), which is to enhance the quality of, and access to, learning, teaching and assessment by supporting
and developing the curriculum through the appropriate and effective use of learning technologies.
The LTIP is designed to help us to reach a situation where the effective use of appropriate learning technologies
becomes part of our normal teaching, research and enterprise activities, and enhances access to our programmes by all our students whether they are learning on campus, at a distance, or in the workplace.
The emphasis at the University of Salford has consistently been on the identification and creative application of the appropriate blends of ICT and traditional methods, shaped by pedagogical, rather than technological drivers, and acknowledging and reflecting different academic contexts
and professional and vocational requirements. We have some excellent examples of how this has been achieved here, ILIA once again providing us with an opportunity to reflect on practice and student learning, to share experience and hopefully to identify future areas for collaboration in a key area of curriculum development
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