scholarly journals Appraising Constructive Alignment in a Construction Management Programme

10.29007/4b69 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olubukola Tokede ◽  
Linda Tivendale
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Construction Management ◽  
Management Programme ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Constructive Alignment ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Assessment Requirements

Construction Management (CM) programmes generally build on principles in traditional science and social-science disciplines, creatively applied to the construction sector. In the last two decades, there has been significant growth in the number of universities in Australia and UK, offering construction management programmes. Despite these trend, there has been dearth of studies that investigate the alignment of the curriculum content with assessment requirements in construction management subjects.This study appraises the issues pertaining to constructive alignment in construction management programmes delivered in the higher education sector. This work provides an ethnographic insight on the perceived benefits of Constructive Alignment in relation to academic performance, student experience, and student-satisfaction in the UK. Future work will compare outcomes in constructively-aligned courses in other academic institution. This work also suggest best practices for implementing constructive-alignment in the delivery of built environment courses.

scholarly journals Investigation of International Students’ Perception of ‘Community’ in a British Higher Education Institute

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrine Angela Jackson ◽  
Fay Harris ◽  
Russell Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
International Student ◽  
Global Community ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Student Community ◽  
Research Students ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Future Work

This paper investigates the perceptions of members of our international student community by giving them a voice and a platform to explore their feelings as part of a Higher Education institute in the UK and whether they consider that the university is a global environment. Our data is based on a series of structured interviews with twelve students from twelve different countries, inclusive of four postgraduate research students. Our findings reveal that our international students commonly feel part of multiple smaller communities but interestingly, they were less sure of their part within an institute-wide community. The postgraduate students’ perceptions of community were quite divergent when compared to the undergraduate perceptions, which we will continue to explore in our future work. Our data supports the perception from international students that their university is a global community, but there were distinct differences in how individuals defined it and some limitations to consider. Some defined it as students and staff of different nationalities being present at a university whilst other definitions relied on cultural characteristics within the institution as a whole. We reflect upon the implications of our research as these perceptions shape international student opinion of Higher Education institutes and what is understood by the term ‘global community’.

scholarly journals Assessment of Professional Competence in a Construction Management Problem-based Learning Setting

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Jefferies ◽  
Swee Chen ◽  
Jane Conway
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Construction Management ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Management Programme ◽  
Professional Standards ◽  
Student Experiences ◽  
Management Problem ◽  
Competency Based

This paper discusses the congruence between problem-based learning (PBL) and competencybased assessment and describes how competency based assessment has been implementedin a professional construction management programme. The design andunderlying principles of assessment approaches used to determine students' professionalcompetence through use of professional standards to frame learning and assessment arediscussed. Through presentation of preliminary findings of a case study that explores staffand student experiences in the construction management programme, the authors describethe issues and challenges they have encountered in implementing competencybased assessment in a PBL programme within the context of higher education.

scholarly journals Using Technology to Enhance the Student Experience in Large Cohort Settings: Evidence from a Journey of Innovation at the University of Manchester

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Middleditch ◽  
William Moindrot
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Large Cohort ◽  
Peer Instruction ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
University Of Manchester

The use of large cohorts in higher education poses significant challenges to institutions and lecturers required to convene in this setting. These challenges have been compounded by recent changes to higher education in the UK that have presented themselves in the form of a new fees structure, a push for student satisfaction and a technological tidal wave. This paper presents innovative approaches, from two large cohort economics courses running over three years at the University of Manchester, using methods of classroom interaction, peer instruction and social media to further engagement. We discuss data collected during this period of time through surveys and observations of how the students used these new learning tools. We have found that a move away from clickers toward utilisation of students’ own mobile devices, and in time the use of social media, meant that we were more able to adapt and evolve our teaching methods at a pace with the needs and interests of our students. We use this evidence to consider the implications and to provide advice to others teaching on large cohort courses whose ambition, like ours, is to make the large cohort class a more positive experience.

scholarly journals Building capabilities in chemistry education: happiness and discomfort through philosophical dialogue in chemistry

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 438-451
Author(s):  
Lynda Dunlop ◽  
Annie Hodgson ◽  
Joshua Edward Stubbs
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Chemistry Education ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Student Survey ◽  
Teaching Excellence ◽  
Chemistry Students ◽  
Undergraduate Chemistry ◽  
Philosophical Dialogue ◽  
The Uk

Much attention is given to student satisfaction in higher education, driven in the UK by accountability mechanisms such as the National Student Survey (NSS) and the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). However satisfaction is both limited and limiting, depending on students’ expectations and often associated with the avoidance of difficulty and discomfort. A more appropriate outcome for higher education is well-being and ability to flourish. This paper identifies a gap in undergraduate chemistry education. Talking Chemistry created an extracurricular space for undergraduate chemistry students to build capabilities to flourish through philosophical dialogue about chemistry. It involved 25 undergraduates over one academic year (2018–2019). Drawing on ethnographic observations, questionnaires and in-depth semi-structured individual interviews, we argue that philosophical dialogue in undergraduate chemistry studies opens up opportunities for discomfort that can contribute to students’ capabilities to achieve happiness and well-being by challenging students to think about their subject in new ways. Philosophical dialogue is a missing component of chemistry education, and we present a model for introducing it into higher education.

Paying for University: The Impact of Increasing Costs on Student Employment, Debt and Satisfaction

2005 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 106-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary Metcalf
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Student Employment ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Student Debt ◽  
Disabled Students ◽  
Course Characteristics ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

The costs of higher education in the UK have shifted increasingly from the state to the student (and students' families). In 1998, a fee contribution of £1,000 per annum was introduced for new entrants to full-time degree courses. This paper examines its effect on debt, term-time employment and student satisfaction. The analysis uses data from a survey of two cohorts of students and identifies how the impact varied with student and course characteristics. Fees led to an increase in student debt (particularly for disabled students and for students who did not receive financial support from their families) and a decline in student satisfaction. No general impact on term-time employment was identified, but term-time employment increased for students who did not receive financial support from their families. Whilst for these two groups inequality was increased, fees appeared to lead to greater equality, in terms of term-time employment, between children of graduate and non-graduate parents. The paper discusses the implications for the introduction of top-up fees in 2006.

scholarly journals Philosophical analysis of the practice of research governance in the universities of the Great Britain

2018 ◽  
pp. 45-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iryna Drach
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Research Management ◽  
Research Governance ◽  
High Quality Research ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Principles And Standards ◽  
The Uk ◽  
New Research

One of the challenges faced by the domestic universities is to increase their competitiveness in the European and global space of higher education. In view of the fact that the results of scientific work are a key indicator for the entry of universities into the world rankings, the urgent task in the system of higher education in Ukraine is to create conditions for high-quality research in universities. The solution of the problem of improving the quality of research in domestic universities is actualizing the problem of developing and using new research management mechanisms, which includes, inter alia, an analysis of the best practices of leading European and world universities. Taking into consideration the sustained leadership of the UK universities in the European and world higher education spaces, it is worth noticing an analysis of the country's experience in implementing research governance in universities, in particular, the analysis of key documents used by universities for effective research management. The purpose of the article is to analyze the experience of research governance in universities in the UK for the implementation of best practices in the higher education system of Ukraine. To achieve the goal, methods of analyzing, synthesizing, comparing, systematizing scientific and Internet sources, which enabled them to consider key documents for the implementation of research governance in universities in the UK, were used. The application of the generalization method made it possible to draw conclusions about the results of the study. The article substantiates the relevance of the analysis of Britain's experience in providing research governance conditions conducive to perfect research. The key documents of the European and national levels used in the development of the University Research Framework Frameworks have been analyzed, and their main points are outlined: criteria for assessing the excellence of research, the principles and standards of research, and the requirements for researchers at the universities.

scholarly journals Understanding student satisfaction and dissatisfaction: an interpretive study in the UK higher education context

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Ann Douglas ◽  
Alexander Douglas ◽  
Robert James McClelland ◽  
John Davies
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Interpretive Study ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Uk Higher Education

scholarly journals Communities of practice in life sciences and the need for brokering

F1000Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Tierney
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
National Level ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The Uk

Etienne Wenger’s work on communities of practice is influential in teaching and learning in higher education. A core work of many postgraduate certificate in teaching and learning (PGCert) courses for new lecturers, it is studied, in the main, as a means to understand how to support and encourage students to achieve more effective learning. Communities of practice can also be applied to academics. In the context of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and its predecessors, the gulf between research-focused and teaching-Focused academics in life sciences has widened, so that in many institutions, these two groups have evolved into two distinct communities of practice; one whose priority is disciplinary research, the other’s learning and teaching. However, in 2015, the UK government announced that a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) would be introduced into higher education in England, as early as 2017. While the exact details of TEF remain unclear, it is certain that “excellence” and “student satisfaction” will be high on the agenda. It is vital, therefore, that the two communities of practice, research-focused and teaching-focused, find ways to come together in order to ensure high quality teaching and learning. Wenger proposes that this can be done through the process of “brokering”, which allows expertise from both communities of practice to cross from one to the other, strengthening both. This should be encouraged at departmental and institutional level, but another vital origin of brokering can be forged at a(n) (inter)national level at meetings such as the SEB Annual Conference, where teaching-focused academics have the opportunity to mix with research-active colleagues. While this paper is informed by recent and current events in the UK Higher Education sector, it is of interest to academics who work in an environment where research and teaching have become separate to any extent.

Mapping UK Eportfolio Developments within a European Context

2012 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Joyes ◽  
Elizabeth Hartnell-Young
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Current Development ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
European Context ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter outlines the European context of lifelong learning and educational cooperation across member states and the relationship of eportfolios to current development. It focuses specifically on the priority given to portfolio developments in higher education in the UK through reports and policy documents and particularly through the extensive funding distributed via the Joint Information Systems Committee of the Higher Education and Further Education Funding Councils (JISC). A model is presented that was developed by analyzing current practice and a matrix for identifying eportfolio developments in relation to purposes and learning processes, useful also for mapping key areas for future work.

scholarly journals Student satisfaction or happiness?

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aftab Dean ◽  
Paul Gibbs
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Service Model ◽  
Transformative Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the purpose of the complex open system of higher education and to explore this transformative experience as personal flourishing, where students come to terms with a way of being, matching their potentiality with their agency and leading to profound happiness. There is influential, but not uncontested (Tsinidou et al., 2010), literature concerning higher education institutes as education service providers, functioning like any other business (DeShields, 2005). Eagle and Brennan (2007, p. 4) argue that academic staff as service providers are thus vital to process delivery. Using a service model and traditional corporate quality frameworks, there is a temptation to measure how a service ethos serves recipients and co-producers – students, donor, industry and sponsors – negating education’s transformative and uncertain nature, rather than taking the externality of process delivery as a guide. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a questionnaire designed and administered to two cohorts of students in different universities in the UK. It presents the outcomes as indicative results and draws preliminary conclusions on how the student experience might be engaged with to increase happiness as well as satisfaction. Findings – The results show a distinct notion of happiness which has specific attributes from those that deliver satisfaction. Originality/value – The literature on student experience and more importantly, its reporting conflate happiness and satisfaction. This research shows that they are different, and offers a new way of looking at the student experience data.

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