scholarly journals An Interview-Based Study of Pioneering Experiences in Teaching and Learning Complex Systems in Higher Education

Complexity ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph T. Lizier ◽  
Michael S. Harré ◽  
Melanie Mitchell ◽  
Simon DeDeo ◽  
Conor Finn ◽  
...  

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of complex systems as a field, students studying complex systems at university level have diverse disciplinary backgrounds. This brings challenges (e.g., wide range of computer programming skills) but also opportunities (e.g., facilitating interdisciplinary interactions and projects) for the classroom. However, little has been published regarding how these challenges and opportunities are handled in teaching and learning complex systems as an explicit subject in higher education and how this differs in comparison to other subject areas. We seek to explore these particular challenges and opportunities via an interview-based study of pioneering teachers and learners (conducted amongst the authors) regarding their experiences. We compare and contrast those experiences and analyze them with respect to the educational literature. Our discussions explored approaches to curriculum design, how theories/models/frameworks of teaching and learning informed decisions and experience, how diversity in student backgrounds was addressed, and assessment task design. We found a striking level of commonality in the issues expressed as well as the strategies handling them, for example, a significant focus on problem-based learning and the use of major student-led creative projects for both achieving and assessing learning outcomes.

Author(s):  
M. Mahruf C. Shohel ◽  
Md. Ashrafuzzaman ◽  
Md Tariqul Islam ◽  
Shahriar Shams ◽  
Arif Mahmud

Emerging technologies and the digital transformation in society have changed the way teaching and learning take place. Therefore, techno-pedagogical content knowledge has become an integral approach in modern teaching and learning. This chapter explores issues related to blended teaching and learning in higher education and highlights the challenges and opportunities it possesses. This chapter also outlines how to overcome challenges to provide effective teaching and learning by exploring literature. Moreover, it categorizes challenges for discussion to identify possible solutions and outlines recommendations. In support of evidence, a case study approach was used along with a review of the literature to draw evidence for a wide range of best practices. According to the findings, the blended teaching and learning model allows students to learn freely, demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways, and develop crucial knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will help them become lifelong learners.


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Truong Trinh

This paper describes how the international, national and institutional conditions affect the primary processes of teaching and learning in the Vietnamese higher education institutions. Under such influences, the Vietnamese higher education institutions are facing both challenges and opportunities in terms of the competitions among institutions. establishment of credit-based system, quality assurance and accreditation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hammond

This paper presents a review of a sample of recent case studies on the use of asynchronous online discussion in higher education. These studies are analyzed in terms of curriculum design, assumptions about teaching and learning, and claims and reported conditions for using online discussion. The claims made for asynchronous online discussion—in particular the opportunities for interaction between learners, and permanent access to these interactions—are found to be frequently based on social constructivist principles. Asynchronous online discussion is seen as offering additional value by providing learners with experience of computer communication tools and opportunities for taking part in group work. Several constraints on participation within online forums are described. These are discussed in relation to the nature of curriculum design, software design, tutor support, and learners’ attitudes and previous experience. The conditions under which asynchronous online discussion may best support learning are set out, and avenues for future research are suggested.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 388-400
Author(s):  
Yana Diachkova ◽  
Lilia Sazhko ◽  
Liudmyla Shevchenko ◽  
Anastasiia Syzenko

In English for Specific Purposes, one of the challenges is to transform teaching and learning into a process, which focuses on the development of professional skills, enables students to become successful learners of the target language, and makes them more aware of the local and global environments. This paper aims to analyse key challenges that teachers and learners face in the classrooms and suggest a way of integrating global issues into the process of development of professional soft and hard skills. The paper studies the existing ESP literature in terms of presence of global issues, explores the perceptions of global issues among university students in Ukraine, outlines the correlation between professional skills and global competence. The findings suggest that there are numerous advantages of introducing materials based on global issues into the teaching process as it has synergetic effect of fusing professional skills, soft skills and global competence. The paper concludes that this fusion improves the skill set of a future professional and has a positive impact on the quality of higher education in general.


Author(s):  
Janine M. Pierce ◽  
Donna M. Velliaris

To meet the challenge of bridging the digital divide among Net Generation students and Higher Education (HE) lecturers, a ‘Storyboard' methodology was piloted at the South Australian Institute of Business and Technology (SAIBT). Within an Associate Degree in Management program, a digital story-telling assessment task was introduced into a ‘Communication in Organisations' course to augment culturally diverse students' engagement with the discipline, as well as advance their English-language proficiency and academic achievement. Photos were gathered and shared over the trimester to capture students' reflections on what they were learning and how that felt at the time. Students then digitally collated the photos into a final original and introspective photo-story ‘film' that encapsulated the challenges, realisations and successes of the teaching and learning journey.


Author(s):  
Deanna Meth ◽  
Holly R. Russell ◽  
Rachel Fitzgerald ◽  
Henk Huijser

This chapter outlines the multiple ways in which Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) activities might be activated and/or realized through the processes of curriculum and learning design of a degree program. Key dual enablers for these activities are an underpinning curriculum framework, bringing a series of defined developmental steps each underpinned by SoTL, and the Curriculum Design Studio construct as a vehicle for collaborative ways of working between staff, including academics and curriculum designers and students. Drawing on evidence from the practices of four curriculum designers, examples are presented across a wide range of disciplinary areas. In many instances, SoTL not only brings an evidence base to the work, but also the potential for research outputs, thus becoming a useful lever for academic staff to engage in ongoing curriculum design discussions and evidence-informed practice. Such activities serve to mitigate against acknowledged challenges faced by academics such as lack of adequate time for such activities and the pressure to produce research outputs.


2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-39
Author(s):  
Stephen Mallinder ◽  
Debbie Flint

Wider social, cultural and technological changes are precipitating transformations in higher education. There is increasing need for universities and specialist colleges to operate effectively in a global online environment. The development of accessible and re-usable online teaching and learning materials has provided challenges to staff and institutions. This article explores aspects of the UK Open Educational Resources Programme and, in particular, the Art Design and Media Open Educational Resources (ADM-OER) Project which has sought to examine the processes, challenges and opportunities open educational resources (OERs) present to these ‘creative’ disciplines. Part of the project has explored art, design and media tutors’ perceptions of the shift to ‘teaching in public’ and we share some preliminary findings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. p478
Author(s):  
Jorge F. Figueroa ◽  
Emarely Rosa-Dávila

This article presents a study on the perspective of two higher education professors from Puerto Rico in the use of social media for the ESL classroom. It covers the millennial generation characteristics and its influence on the teaching and learning process at the university level. Several strategies within the use of social media and emergent technologies are presented. The study participants reflect on the use of social media in the classroom and present how beneficial it has been in student achievement, retention, and engagement. Several remarks are made within the use of social media for the classroom and participants expose their experiences in the ESL classroom at the university level.


Author(s):  
Håkan Eftring ◽  
Elinor Jeanette Olaussen ◽  
Helen Petrie ◽  
Merja Saarela ◽  
Tarja Ladonlahti ◽  
...  

The TINEL Project is running a series of camps for staff at higher education institution to support them in developing inclusive eLearning. The first camp was conducted face-to-face, but the coronavirus pandemic meant that the second camp was conducted online. This created a case study in inclusive eLearning in itself and allowed us to experience and reflect on the challenges and opportunities of inclusive online teaching and learning. This paper presents the structure and content of the two camps, our reflections on moving from a face-to-face to an online situation and our elaboration how the UDL principles apply to eLearning to create Universal Design for eLearning (UDeL). We found that because we already had a syllabus for the camp prepared, transferring it to an online camp did not present a great number of challenges. Some aspects of the online situation were actually advantageous (e.g. presenting all materials digitally and making them fully accessible) while others were difficult to overcome (e.g. engaging all participants in online activities and discussions). We provide a set of recommendations of how to implement the three principles of UDL in eLearning situations.


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