scholarly journals Arizona State University's President, Michael M. Crow, Shares Bold Ideas about Higher Education and Student Learning with Executive Editor, Frank Shushok, Jr.

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-9
Author(s):  
Michael M. Crow
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Ward

Educational accountability has become an increasingly influential factor in higher education. This chapter examines various government oversight and accreditation standards in Central and South America, Europe, and the United States and how student learning in higher education in music can be improved through meeting these standards. The author specifically describes music accreditation procedures of the National Association of Schools of Music and the American Music Therapy Association in the United States. Using accreditation standards as a guideline for program improvement, the author offers a variety of assessment best practices to engage higher education faculty in the assessment process, to improve instruction, to guide curricular development, and to ultimately improve student learning.


2015 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-207
Author(s):  
Gulzam Abilkasimova ◽  
◽  
Lyazzat I. Uktaeva ◽  
Laura B. Dabylova

Author(s):  
Afaf Mubarak Bugawa ◽  
Andri Mirzal

This article describes how the use of Web 2.0 technologies in the field of learning is on the rise. By their nature, Web 2.0 technologies increase the interactivity between users where interactivity is considered to be a key to success in traditional classrooms. This article reviews recent studies in the field of Web 2.0 technologies for learning and their impacts on the learning experiences and investigates relationship between Web 2.0 technologies and pedagogy in higher education on student learning. Key findings about the impacts of using social networks like Facebook, Twitter, blogs and wikis on learning experiences are also discussed. Web 2.0 technologies' characteristics and the rationale of Web 2.0 technologies in learning will also be explored.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen Tam

Purpose – This paper was written for practitioners in higher education, including academics and instructional designers who are engaged in curriculum revision. It aims to examine the notion of outcomes-based education, survey the literature and provide a critical review of the outcomes-based approach to quality assessment and curriculum improvement in higher education. The outcomes-based approach is completely student-centred, which focuses on what students know and can actually do. Sharpening the focus onto student learning outcomes goes beyond mere tinkering with traditional structures and methods; it really constitutes a paradigm shift in educational philosophy and practice. Design/methodology/approach – This paper begins with a summary of developments in institutional quality assessment and curriculum improvement in higher education in recent decades. Then, it identifies the underlying concepts and principles that characterize the outcomes-based approach for the design and improvement of curriculum and instruction in higher education. Finally, the outcomes-based approach is critically reviewed for its value from the perspectives of both practical and philosophical considerations. Findings – In so doing, it is directed to the heightening of sensitivity as to the manner and situations in which the outcomes-based approach may be employed. Originality/value – A final note is that while learning outcomes approaches are useful, care is needed to take into account the different views and perceptions of those involved in defining learning outcomes and to keep the ultimate goal of improving student learning clearly in mind. Care must also be taken to avoid rigidity and conceptual reification during implementation in curriculum and instructional design.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliott Spaeth ◽  
Amy Pearson

With the number of neurodivergent students entering Higher Education increasing, it is essential that we understand how to provide an inclusive educational experience which facilitates positive wellbeing. In this reflective analysis we draw upon our position as neurodivergent academics alongside relevant theory and literature to foster understanding and provide practical strategies for those supporting neurodivergent students. We emphasise the importance of questioning normative assumptions around expected student learning behaviours, and the negative impact that these assumptions can have upon neurodivergent students. We then provide several practical strategies that can be used to develop more inclusive practice, drawing upon principles embedded within a Universal Design for Learning approach.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Prue Gonzalez ◽  
◽  
Beate Mueller ◽  
Kevin Merry ◽  
Colin Jone ◽  
...  

In this Editorial, we take the opportunity to expand on the second Journal of University Teaching and Learning theme, Developing Teaching Practice. Building on Editorial 18(4), which articulated changes to higher education in the period roughly between 1980 and 2021, we believe it is pertinent to explore the changing conceptions of academic as ‘teacher’. We use Engeström’s cultural-historical activity theory as a lens to consider how higher education teachers are situated in the current context of rapid changes arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. We explore possible future purposes of higher education to consider flow-on impacts on the purpose of its teachers and how their roles might change to accommodate future expectations. We assert the need to challenge the notion of the academic as a person who is recruited into higher education largely because of their subject matter expertise and maintains strong commitment to teaching expertise that is grounded in scholarship, critical self-reflection, and agency. In our various teaching and leadership roles, and consistent with the literature, we have observed paradoxical outcomes from the nexus between risk, innovation and development, driving risk aversity and risk management, with significant (contradictory) impacts on teaching, teachers and student learning. The barriers to implementing innovative curricula include questions of do students get a standardised and ‘safe’ educational experience or are they challenged and afforded the opportunity to transform and grow? Are they allowed to fail? Related, do teachers have genuine agency, as an educator, or are they positioned as agents of a higher education system? We explore these questions and invite our readers to engage in serious reflexivity and identify strategies that help them question their attitudes, thought processes, and assumptions about teaching and student learning. We welcome papers that contribute values-based conversations seeking to continue exploring ways of dealing with and adapting to change in our teaching practices, case studies of learning through failure, change and adaptation and the development of the field.


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