bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Female Identity De-Struction in Daniyal Mueenuddin’s About a Burning Girl
Authors: Saeed Amna , Anjum Syed Sheraz
Published: May 2020

Language as a form of social practice is an essential tool to wield power and dominate the weak. What appears to be a simple narration of an anecdote may be a perpetuation of certain perspectives and a disguised manipulation of the reader. About a Burning Girl by Daniyal Mueenuddin is a text which depicts a married Pakistani woman of lower social strata struggling not just for her acceptance but also for her life. Socially as well as economically subjugated, she is a convenient scapegoat and the softest of the targets in a male dominated patriarchal society. To highlight the destruction/de-structuring of female identity through language in the text, in relation to Hodge and Kress’s (1993) analytical model, this study aims to analyze the selected text from the Marxist feminist perspective, which sees women as the exploited working class. Analysis of the representative syntagms in the selected text shows that the female subject, as perceived by the male author, is represented as a de-structured, voiceless, dead character. The study thus exposes the underlying ideology of the text and its social implication as discourse with respect to women being represented as weak, speechless objects of male manipulation in Pakistani literature.
Gender-based Socio-semiotic Analysis of Honour Killing in Pakistani Paintings
Authors: Riaz Mehvish , Rafi Muhammad Shaban
Published: May 2020

Episodes of ideological concern related to honour norms and construction of social meanings depicted through paintings are pertinent in foregrounding the social realities of Pakistan. This paper analyzes the grammar of paintings from the perspective of gender roles assumed in the context of honour. The grammar of the visual design of five paintings painted by male and female Pakistani painters belonging to different areas of Pakistan have been qualitatively studied in the light of the social semiotic framework suggested by Kress and Leeuwen (2006). The results show that women are represented as helpless, outcast and oppressed beings; while men have been depicted, indirectly through signs, as oppressors. Paucity of research in this area and implications of the analysis for gender studies, anthropological linguistics, violence studies and visual literacy, make it a significant contribution to the existing literature.
O PROCESSO AVALIATIVO NA EJA NO CONTEXTO DOS MULTILETRAMENTOS
Authors: Lígia Renata Ferreira Cardoso e Costa
Published: May 2020

A avaliação é algo inerente aos processos do dia a dia de aprendizagem, em que todos os sujeitos do processo educativo estão envolvidos. Na escola, avaliar não pode ser algo isolado. Nesse contexto, ao se tratar da Educação de Jovens e Adultos (EJA), o tema precisa de muita reflexão, pois é uma modalidade de ensino que por si só os principais envolvidos, os alunos, não se sentem atendidos em suas especificidades. Assim, o presente artigo tem por objetivo fazer ponderações sobre a aplicabilidade dos multiletramentos no contexto avaliativo da EJA a fim de modificar o baixo índice de aprendizagem, mostrando que são possíveis novas maneiras de realizar práticas pedagógicas. Para isso, foi feita uma breve reflexão sobre o fazer docente e a sua formação continuada e, logo em seguida, o ato de avaliar no contexto dos multiletramentos. O estudo em questão elegeu como procedimento metodológico a pesquisa bibliográfica na qual indica que para mudar o atual quadro do processo avaliativo na EJA, a escola não pode continuar negando o acesso à aprendizagem desses alunos, devido a avaliações sem eficiência. Percebe-se que é necessário transformar os educandos da EJA em cidadãos autônomos através de uma interação proativa própria dos multiletramentos quando bem direcionados.
TRABALHO DOCENTE PRECARIZADO NO CONTEXTO DA EDUCAÇÃO SUPERIOR
Authors: Elen Lúcia Marçal de Carvalho
Published: May 2020

Estudos sobre a precarização laboral e as transformações que envolvem o mundo do trabalho no Brasil, são cada vez mais atuais e necessários. Este texto representa um esforço, ainda que breve acerca da precarização do trabalho docente no contexto da educação superior, entendendo que apesar de todos os avanços em muitas áreas e do rápido desenvolvimento das ciências em relação aos seres humanos, o que se observa atualmente é a constituição de um trabalho cada vez mais subordinado ao capital, onde o docente tem que se adequar as determinações das agências de fomento para pesquisar (produzir), além de inúmeras atividades outras não contabilizadas em sua carga horária. Este fato vai se constituindo, portanto, em um dos fatores preponderantes para o adoecimento dos docentes. Falar em precarização do docente no trabalho é trazer para o campo das discussões uma temática que nos leva a refletir sobre o mundo do trabalho e sua transformação principalmente no Brasil, pós anos de 1990.
Escape room in education: a bibliometric study
Authors: Marin Suelves Diana , Vidal Esteve Isabel , Pardo Baldoví M. Isabel
Published: May 2020

The impact of technologies in all areas is one of the main points that characterize the current society. In the educational context, recently, great efforts are being made to adapt the system to characteristics and needs of the students of the 21st century. Gamification in education consist on the use of structures, characteristics, dynamics and aesthetics of games for educational purposes, to increase students participation and motivation. The escape room is a gamified activity in which one or more teams must leave a place during a limited time solving a challenge whose goal is learning. This study pretends to analyze research trends through a bibliometric study of scientific production deposited in Scopus. 32 articles were obtained for the analysis. The results indicate an increase in scientific publications in last decade, and the main mean of dissemination are journals, specially in Social Sciences field. In addition, data shows the low impact and the absence of medium and large producers. Finally, the weight of Spain highlights and the implementation of escape rooms in the Higher Education stage stands out too.
Assessing Community Impact after Service-Learning: A Conceptual Framework
Authors: Lau Ka Hing , Snell Robin
Published: May 2020

Service-learning integrates experiential learning with community service, yet its community impacts have not been systematically studied. This may reflect the lack of a conceptual model for impact assessment, and failure to investigate the end-beneficiary’s perspective. This study proposes a tripartite model, in which the community impact of service-learning is analyzed from three perspectives: that of the community partner, the end-beneficiary, and the service-learning intervention itself. The model identifies three impact domains salient for the community partner: the level of capacity for service; goals and value achieved; and new knowledge and insights gained. For impact domains salient for the end-beneficiary, the model utilises the needs fulfilment matrix developed by Max-Neef (1991), along with the concept of quality of life. It is argued that the model can accommodate the community impact generated from the community partner, the end-beneficiary and their interactions.
Staff Experiences of Victoria University’s First Year College During the Implementation of Block Mode Teaching.
Authors: Oraison Humberto Manuel , Konjarski Loretta , Young Janet , Howe Samuel , Smallridge Andrew
Published: May 2020

This report reviews the findings of staff satisfaction surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019 following the creation of a transformative and revolutionary approach to tertiary education in Australia, namely the creation of a new First Year College at Victoria University. Lectures were abolished from all units; class sizes were reduced; class timetabling was dramatically changed to allow for greater student study flexibility and accessibility; learning and teaching professional staff numbers were increased and facilities were built and repurposed. This report discusses the staff satisfaction and challenges encountered by staff in 2018 and 2019 providing quantitative and qualitative data. This data revealed high levels of satisfaction along with concerns about workload and related issues. Variations between 2018 and 2019 indicate that despite an increase in overall satisfaction, staff were concerned about awards and recognition, involvement in decisions that affected them, and receiving support to conduct their roles. The First Year College implemented a series of measures to address the issues raised in the 2018 survey. Further measures are recommended following the 2019 survey as well as future surveys that include stress levels and other psychological markers.
The use of EduBlog in initial teachers training: an experience of a teaching innovation project
Authors: Pardo Baldoví Maria Isabel , Marín Suelves Diana , Vidal Esteve María Isabel
Published: May 2020

Digital technologies are central elements of today's society. In this context to achieve an adequate degree of development of Digital Competence for professional performance is essential, as well as for life in society and the exercise of citizenship. Higher Education must actively contribute to develop Digital Competence, training students to effectively use digital technologies. That need is exacerbated in the case of initial teacher training, not only because of the progress towards a digitalized school, but also because of the fundamental role in the training of future generations. With the aim of promoting the development of Digital Teaching Competence, this paper presents an innovation project implemented in the Degree of Teacher of Nursery and Primary Education of the University of Valencia that is based on the didactic use of EduBlog. The selection of this digital tool responds to its multiple benefits on the work of curricular content, the development of digital skills and the creation of a positive climate in the classroom. The project developed with a total of 131 second-year students demonstrates that the use of EduBlog has a positive impact on the learning process and on the increase in student engagement and motivation.
Practicing 21st Century Skills in the Classroom
Authors: Perdue Meghan
Published: May 2020

In the midst of the current technological revolution, there is a thriving conversation about how society should adapt to the future of work taking place in the national media, universities, policy organizations, think tanks, consulting firms and companies. One such model for work and education under consideration is that of the role of higher education in workforce development. How well does a bachelor’s degree prepare an individual for a career in this shifting landscape of work? What is the responsibility of the university to the student – to prepare them for a career? Or to help them build the intellectual framework to build a meaningful life Incorporating the practice and development of 21st century skills into the higher education classroom does not necessarily require a great rethinking of the education model or content delivery. Rather, it could be as simple as encouraging faculty to use proven educational principles such as active learning and group-based learning into the classroom. This would allow students to practice some of the necessary skills such as communication, respect, teamwork, and problem solving into their higher education curriculum.
Shared learning between health sciences university students. Teaching-learning process of hand hygiene
Authors: Sánchez-Lorente Montserrat , Sanchis-Sánchez Enrique , Olmedo-Salas Ángela , Zurita-Round Nicole Victoria , García-Molina Pablo , Balaguer-López Evelyn , Blasco-Igual José María
Published: May 2020

El objetivo principal del proyecto ha sido el uso de metodologías de enseñanza activa para crear conciencia sobre la importancia de la higiene de manos en la atención médica. Metodología: El proyecto de innovación docente ha puesto en práctica el aprendizaje compartido de conocimientos y habilidades entre iguales. 11 estudiantes de Grado de Enfermería, con un trabajo cooperativo e individual previo, participan en un proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje sobre higiene de manos con 82 estudiantes de Grado de Fisioterapia, utilizando Tics, talleres sobre desinfección de manos con autoevaluación, evaluación de conocimiento previo y posterior y evaluación de La satisfacción con la actividad. Resultados: La evaluación de los cuestionarios previos y posteriores revela un aumento en la cantidad de respuestas correctas. El 98.8% de los estudiantes considera que podrán aplicar los conocimientos adquiridos en su práctica profesional. La metodología aplicada se considera adecuada en un 95.1%. Los estudiantes han mostrado una gran satisfacción con la actividad. Conclusiones: los estudiantes de fisioterapia han considerado que la experiencia es muy satisfactoria y útil para la práctica profesional. El uso de la metodología de enseñanza-aprendizaje ha demostrado ser una opción válida para adquirir conocimientos y habilidades sobre higiene de manos.
A Case Study of Internationalization in Chinese Non-government Institutions
Authors: Wang Mei , Conner Lindsey , Rogers Bev
Published: May 2020

China’s non-government Higher Education sector has experienced 40 years of growth but has faced a range of problems in recent years. There is an urgent need to think carefully about future directions and approaches that non-government universities might take. Internationalization is changing the world of education and has become important strategically for Higher Education institutions across the world. This research explores what internationalization might mean and provides an understanding of internationalization in the context of Chinese non-government universities. Under the internationalization framework in Western academic literature, this study investigates the practice from a case study university in China. Data were collected through semistructured interviews along with document analysis. Participants indicated that internationalization is learning, integrating initiatives for mutual benefit and can be an accelerator for overall development of universities. Furthermore, the government and  society need to work together to create a more equitable government policy that positively encourages China’s non-government Higher Education institutions to bolster internationalization.Keywords: China, non-government institutions, internationalization
Information skills and library knowledge for higher education teachers
Authors: Sanches Tatiana
Published: May 2020

The explosion of information, not only in print, but in a digital context has become a fertile area for exploring, transmitting, and disseminating information, enabling learning and teaching, transforming and creating new knowledge. Higher education teachers need to be aware of how to train and guide their students in multiple ways to knowledge, including the ability to deal with information in print and digital contexts, so information literacy training should be a priority. This paper aims to list the skills to be developed by these teachers, preferably integrated into their professional development. Starting from the framework of tried-and-tested models, a flexible and comprehensive content structure is proposed, considering the need for their transfer to students. The importance of collaborative work with higher education libraries is stressed.
Effective integration of computational tools into Chemical Engineering studies at an international level
Authors: Garcia-Morales Moises , Roman Claudia , Delgado Miguel Angel , Lemos Francisco , Lemos Maria Amelia , Ramirez Jorge , Danila Angela
Published: May 2020

Current Higher Education students have grown up in a society characterized by the massive use of information technologies, which affects the way they expect to acquire new knowledge. In Chemical Engineering studies, in particular, traditional problem solving methods tend to bore students and, as a result, do not yield efficient learning. Fortunately, there exists a large list of software packages with specific Engineering application which, if properly used, may help create a better learning environment. Under the above premise, a project is being conducted, between 4 Higher Education institutions from 3 different countries (Spain, Portugal and Romania), on the effect that the integration of computational tools may exert on the students’ knowledge acquisition and predisposition to learn. We also aim to establish a comparative evaluation of the advantages and drawbacks of different computer software when facing typical Chemical Engineering problems. From our survey results and students’ comments we conclude that, in general, the new methodological approach engaged their interest more than the traditional one, and helped them gain knowledge on the working principles of simulations. Moreover, the use of computer software in the classroom is acknowledged by the great majority of the students as a key skill which may improve their employability prospects.
Improving international student transition to professional employment.
Authors: Wardale Dorothy
Published: May 2020

This paper draws its data from two sources: a literature review of the enablers and barriers to a successful transition by migrants and international students to a professional career; and a case study of 14 post-graduate students in an Australian public university. The case study includes interviews with two students of their perception of the transition to employment. The paper identifies ten considerations for universities and students seeking to maximise success, and to minimise the time taken, to transition to a career in the Australian workforce.
“Post-it mapping”: analogical disruption in the classroom
Authors: Liste Guiomar , Buil Tamar , Delgado Juan , Pinar Jose Vicente
Published: May 2020

Educators need to prepare students for an increasingly complex and interconnected world, and traditional teaching methods can fail to help students develop some of the needed skills. We set up to combine flipped-calssroom strategies and mapping techniques with the aim to encourage creativity and adaptability while ensuring deep learning of complex theoretical concepts. A simple analogical disruption was added, in the shape of post-it notes used to build concept maps, to disturb an otherwise heavy technology-based course. Our teaching innovation has been pilot tested in a range of groups and theoretical concepts with preliminary positive feedback being reported by students.They have described the innovation as “an entertaining change”, but also referring to improvements on their information searching and critical thinking skills. Students also found that the analogical mapping activity through post-it notes encouraged participation and an active attitude in class. Overall, they reported an improved understading of complex concepts and to their independent learning skills, which appears to support the literature linking visual representations and summary exercises with high student satisfaction and improvements in meaningful learning.
Learning Outside the Classroom: A Distinctive Approach to Co-Curricular Recognition in the Australian context
Authors: Chicharo Joe Fernando , Austin Kylie , Coyle Julia , Thompson Amy
Published: May 2020

Co-curricular engagement is an essential a part of the student experience in Australian higher education institutions. Whilst there is wide acknowledgement of the benefits of students participating in co-curricular activities, formally recognising students for the knowledge, skills and experiences that they have gained through co-curricular learning has only recently emerged in the Australian context. This practice paper will describe one Australian university’s approach in developing and implementing a co-curricular recognition framework. UOWx sits at the core of University of Wollongong’s (UOW) student experience, providing holistic and transformational personal development of students. The distinctive features of UOW’s approach include developing a whole of institution approach; embedding the student voice into continuous improvement cycles; and developing an active strategy to embed UOWx with employers and community organisations. This approach has transformed student co-curricular learning at UOW, by increasing the breadth of student engagement and deepening student understanding of the knowledge, skills and experiences students have gained through their co-curricular engagement. Keywords: Co-curricular framework; designing co-curricular recognition; reflection.
Educational System Assessment: Italy And Finland, Comparative Case Study
Authors: Mattarelli Eleonora , De Santis Cristiana
Published: May 2020

Educational system assessment allows the evaluation of some learningoutcomes and permits the continuous monitoring of educational processes.The aim of this study is to explore the ways used to assess and evaluateschool systems and universities and students’ learning outcomes in Italy andFinland, two important educational realities as shown in PISA (Programmefor International Student Assessment) results (OECD, 2019). The attention isfocused on common and uncommon practices employed in each country andon perceptions that the educational system assessment creates in those whoevaluate and in those evaluated. Ten stakeholders from Italy and Finlandparticipated in focus groups or interviews one to one audio-taped,transcribed and analysed using qualitative methods. The results underlinethat the evaluation of school systems and universities helps build a largedatabase and that the evaluation process have to be made with trust betweenstakeholders involved, with innovation and awareness. The generalacceptance is increasing: stakeholders from two contexts consideredhighlight that, in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness, schoolsystems and universities need a formative assessment and evaluation inwhich everyone is involved from central educational institutions to teachersand students.
Design for Cultural Heritage at the University of Ferrara
Authors: Contarini Marina , Bernabè Anna , Manfra Marco , Turrini Davide
Published: May 2020

Alongside Teaching and Research, Italian universities are also committed to Public Engagement activities featuring teaching and cultural initiatives for a non-academic audience. At the University of Ferrara, this commitment was translated into an exhibition in April 2019, originating from a virtuous union of cultural heritage and teaching activities. The creation of the “Natura Naturata” exhibition involved the synthesis of taught courses and research by the University of Ferrara's Industrial Product Design students together with their teachers, in collaboration with librarians. In the Product Design 2 Workshop, students develop exhibition projects, starting from the curatorial concept, through the construction, up to the graphic-communicative aspects and the creation of information and teaching tools. The exhibition was created based on the study of rules used to properly protect library assets so that students could gain specific skills for the preparation of bibliographic exhibitions. It took shape in the Chemistry and Life Sciences Library Santa Maria delle Grazie to emphasize the importance of the University's tangible and intangible cultural heritage with the intention of conveying the 'world' of library collections – and also the University's historical and architectural heritage - to students, scholars, and citizens.
Improving vocational interest assessments: data complexity levels are important for social and enterprising areas
Authors: Toker Yonca , Gökalp Aysu , Açıkgöz Yalçın
Published: May 2020

Vocational interest assessments are open to imporvements to achieve higher predictive validities. One recent approach in developing interests assessments has been to incorporate more complex vocational activities in items (Toker & Ackerman, 2012). In this study we developed the Vertical Social Interests Scale (VSIS)-Data Complexity Levels to be used together with the VSIS-People Complexity Levels (Açıkgöz & Toker, 2019) to assess interests in increasingly complex activities related to the social and enterprising vocational areas. Data complexity levels in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles which are present in the work activities of social/enterprising occupations identified in the O*NET were incorporated in developing scale items. The new measure was evaluated on a sample of 238 college students., yielding a 3-factor structure reflecting high-, moderate-, and low-complexity work activities. The moderate-and-high complexity factor composites had expected associations with other interest and self-efficacy measures together with several vocational criteria, adding support to the developing literature on the importance of measuring interests for increasingly complex activities.
Augmented reality to aid retention in an African university of technology engineering program
Authors: Luwes Nicolaas Johannes , Van Heerden Leanri
Published: May 2020

Whenever complex threshold concepts are covered facilitators need to take extra care that students retain the new knowledge for future application. The problem encountered was that certain concepts, like digital logic gates with its layers of information are harder to retain. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the students’ perceptions on the possible use of a custom design Quick Response code and Augmented Reality application in an Electrical Engineering subject. Evaluation was done on Logic Design III a 2nd year subject where the threshold concepts should have been imprinted. An exploratory design is implemented with data collected using an online survey tool. The results were promising as 88.89% of students felt that they will remember the content better with the use of the application and 83.33% were positive about adopting the technology in class. The paper shows that technology like Quick Response code and Augmented Reality in the classroom is not only beneficial for improving retention but is also welcomed by students
Education technology based on a 3D model of house VirTec
Authors: Makuteniene Daiva , Ovtšarenko Olga , Safiulina Elena , Timinskas Edgaras
Published: May 2020

In modern teaching, it is necessary to use modern technological achievements to involve students in the learning process, to create and constantly develop interesting and relevant teaching materials. Educational materials in a playful form have the appropriate qualities. Game effects are associated with user participation in the interactive process and provide a high interest in the information offered. Getting feedback in the gameplay is not only an indicator of the success of the educational process but also a guide in the step-by-step movement of the student in the learning process. Simulators of different objects are effective educational material that is available to students, contains the necessary information and functions, is simple and intuitive to use. This article provides an overview of different simulators with the study of the impact of their use on the effectiveness of the educational process. One of the simulators is created in the teamwork of the project “Development of a virtual learning environment in technical higher education” (VirTec, 2018), funded by the Erasmus program for 24 months, which includes organizations from four countries: Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Turkey, and Croatia.
Challenging students to develop work-based skills: A PBL experience
Authors: Manresa Matas Alba , Berbegal-Mirabent Jasmina , Gil-Domenech1 Dolors
Published: May 2020

In today’s changing world the skills and habilities required for getting a job are rapidly changing. New trends such as globalization, data science, artificial intelligence and the never ending expansion of information and technology communications are changing the demands of the labour market. Accordingly, new skills are needed in order to succeed and get a job. As noted by the OECD, educators’ challenge lies in helping students develop their unique capacity to create, innovate and add value, skills that distinguish humans from machines. With this aim in mind, this study reports the results of a challenge-based activity (based on project-based learning) targeted to undergraduate students in Business Administration. The results reveal a positive impact of the methodologies on students’ learning process, their satisfaction and a positive improvement on a series of skills, namely teamwork, writting and oral skills, digital skills, capacity to identify and solve problems, capacity to work autonomously, analytical capacity and capacity to think critically
Supporting deep understanding with emerging technologies in a STEM university math class
Authors: Brunetto Domenico , Marchionna Clelia , Repossi Elisabetta
Published: May 2020

In this work we present an innovative learning environment format, based on student-centred activities, that may support undergraduate students to deep understanding mathematics in the first year of engineering university. In particular, we refer to the difficulties students meet in the transition from the high school mathematics to the one they meet at university, which requires a significant shift to conceptual understanding, especially in Calculus courses. The goal of this presentation is to investigate the case of multivariable functions, a topic at the foundation of many mathematical models and its application. We show the results of the first pilot study which involves 160 undergraduate students. More precisely, we report how a flipped-learning approach based on online activities and working group allows students to deep understand the main properties concerning multivariable functions.
Teaching Security in Introductory C-Programming Courses
Authors: Pawelczak Dieter
Published: May 2020

The challenges in the age of digitalization demand that universities qualify their computer science and engineering graduates well with respect to IT Security (information technology security). In engineering education such lectures are often offered as an elective subject, only. We propose to teach security aspects with respect to robustness and correctness already in the introductory programming course and therefore to cover at least parts of the overall field of IT Security as a compulsory subject for all students. The paper describes the integration of some rules and recommendations from the SEI Cert C Coding Standard into our introductory C programming course and discusses our experience with the course over the last two years with respect to its contents, realization, evaluation and examination.
The power of peer-review: A tool to improve student skills and unit satisfaction
Authors: Wallace Ruth , Beatty Shelley , Lines Jo , Moore Catherine , Costello Leesa
Published: May 2020

Providing higher education students with opportunities to participate in peer-review feedback activities may facilitate interaction between students and enhance academic skills. Such activities are reported to help students transition from passive to active learners whilst increasing social connectedness and developing employability skills. This research aimed to evaluate student perceptions of a peer-review of assessment process offered in an undergraduate Health Science unit at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia, and their subsequent unit satisfaction. Before students began the peer-review process, a sample assignment was used to coach them on how to provide constructive feedback. They subsequently prepared a draft of their assignment for peer-review, and then reviewed the work of another student. Pre- and post-surveys were administered to assess students’ perceptions about the usefulness of the peer-review activity. Thirty-two students completed the pre-survey wherein 94% (n=30) reported the peer-review coaching helped them prepare their own assignment and 85% (n=27) reported learning how to provide constructive written feedback. Twenty-one students completed the post-survey, 76% (n=16), reporting they modified their own assignment as an outcome of their peer-review participation. Many respondents also reported improvements in their critical thinking (76%; n=16) and written communication skills (62%; n=13). Overall unit satisfaction increased exponentially.
Good-bye email, welcome Slack
Authors: Lopez-Zafra Juan M. , Queralt Ricardo A. , De Paz-Cobo Sonia
Published: May 2020

Email is the standard in communication with university students; as a one-to-one communication device, students repeat their doubts along multiple messages, multiplying the teacher's work and preventing the participation and learning of other students. The topic forums on virtual campuses allow better a management of doubts but require the active participation of all the students to achieve a final outcome. We propose to abandon the email and traditional forums of the campuses and enter tools with a higher professional profile to manage communication with the students. The results of this first experience, carried out with more than 90 postgraduate students, encourage its mass employment in both undergraduate and postgraduate. The survey conducted over 102 students in three different subjects of two different MSc shows how Slack, the tool we used, has been highly valued, with differences depending on the studies but neither on the gender nor on the intensity of use of the social networks.
Correlation between students’ workload and attendance as related towards final grades: A case of study on Statistics for first-year Engineering students.
Authors: De la Calle-Arroyo Carlos , Rodríguez-Aragón Licesio
Published: May 2020

In this work, a monitoring experience of student workload and attendance is presented. During four academic years, from 2015 until 2019, first-year students of an Engineering degree have been asked, three times a week, to estimate their autonomous workload devoted to the Statistics subject. The monitoring strategy has been anonymous, open and voluntary and has shown a high ratio of participation: 407 students out of 433. To generate the final dataset this information has been combined with attending records to classroom-based lectures and final grades achieved. Results indicate that declared student’s workload hardly reaches the 90 hours of autonomous work established in the ECTS ratio of our university. Nonparametric comparisons show strong statistical evidences of the relationship between final grades in the subject and declared workload and attendance. We find that attendance is crucial in order to achieve a homogeneous workload along the semester and a success in the subject’s grading.
Stakeholder Management: Formulating a Primer for Practitioners
Authors: Contreras-Pacheco Orlando E. , Lesmez-Peralta Juan C.
Published: May 2020

Stakeholder management is the act of balancing the competing preferences or claims of company stakeholders for the sake of competing, collaborating, and succeeding. The present manuscript structures a primer, in the shape of a pedagogical proposal about the topic of stakeholder management. For this purpose, it introduces the reader to terms and concepts that are necessary to understand stakeholder management as an alternative way to manage organizations in both utilitarian and ethical manner. It also offers sufficient grounding in the field that enables the reader to interpret the insights of stakeholder management as a dynamic and cross-functional concept. The present work addresses practitioners, students, scholars and instructors in any topic of the business administration domain, which desires to validate alternatives to the traditional view of a shareholder-oriented way to manage.
On the Use of Bayesian Probabilistic Matrix Factorization for Predicting Student Performance in Online Learning Environments
Authors: Park Jung Yeon , Kim Jinho , Van den Noortgate Wim
Published: May 2020

Thanks to the advances in digital educational technology, online learning (or e-learning) environments such as Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) have been rapidly growing. In the online educational systems, however, there are two inherent challenges in predicting performance of students and providing personalized supports to them: sparse data and cold-start problem. To overcome such challenges, this article aims to employ a pertinent machine learning algorithm, the Bayesian Probabilistic Matrix Factorization (BPMF) that can enhance the prediction by incorporating background information on the side of students and/or items. An experimental study with two prediction settings was conducted to apply the BPMF to the Statistics Online data. The results shows that the BPMF with using side information provided more accurate prediction in the performance of both existing and new students on items, compared to the algorithm without using any side information. When the data are sparse, it is demonstrated that a lower dimensional solution of the BPMF would benefit the prediction accuracy. Lastly, the applicability of the BPMF to the online educational systems were discussed in the context of educational assessment.
Beyond Degree Programs: How a Major University Immersed Itself in the Educational Landscape of New York City
Authors: Vazquez Batisti Anita , Pizzingrillo Michael E
Published: May 2020

In 2006 the Center for Educational Partnerships was established as the “outreach arm” of Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education. In so doing, Fordham reimagined the role of higher education to go beyond degree granting programs, faculty expertise and research opportunities. In this paper, we describe how what began in 2006 as a vision to strengthen the presence of the Graduate School of Education in New York City public schools has grown into a thriving Center that touches the lives of more than 500,000 students in grades Pre‑K to 12, thousands of teachers, and hundreds of administrators and parents throughout New York City. We outline how each phase of Fordham’s involvement and work developed during New York City’s major educational reform agenda, resulting from the New York State Legislature’s granting the City’s Major control of New York City’s 1,500 public schools in 2002.
Marking Schemes for an Authentic Group Project, Trial by Statistics - A Case Study
Authors: Bryceson Kim
Published: May 2020

This study is an analysis of two different marking schemes for an ‘authentic’ Group Project worth 50% of a first year undergraduate university agribusiness course at The University of Queensland (UQ). A number of different marking schemes for the Group Project had been trialled over the last ten years in an effort to obtain an equitable method of marking individual students doing the Group Project. In 2019, a marking scheme for the Group Project that had been successfully used previously was advertised for 2019 prior to the commencement of semester.  However, issues during the semester within some of the Groups meant that students requested a Peer Evaluation marking scheme be employed. Eventually, for a class of 105 students, both marking schemes were used in assessing students’ work and a Pearson Correlation coefficient was run on the results of the final project mark to determine how equivalent the two marking schemes were. A good correlation (0.75) between the two schemes was returned, which was also reflected in a good correlation in the comparison for the final overall mark for the whole course (0.87). These statistical results suggest that there is a good argument for the existing marking scheme to continue to be used rather than a peer evaluation, which can have behavioural issues associated with it that are difficult to resolve.
hybrid Design based research for Agile Software development (hDAS) in ISD contexts: a discovery from studying how to design MUVEs for VET.
Authors: Cochrane Todd
Published: May 2020

hDAS methodology in phases determines the tailored hDAS method. Enacting the hDAS method then leads to discoveries for and from method and methodology, which leads to further tailoring of the method. I posit, a class of ADDIE like ISD processes that intrinsically trend towards increasing complexity in their design, in order to meet newly formed theoretic perspectives. Using hDAS addresses an on-going increase in complexity of ISD, through a paradigmatic change, in which the outcome of the design is also the design process adapted to current theoretical understanding and discipline needs. The way forward, as formalised in hDAS, is tailoring of ISD through DBR and Agile software development. In this paper a context for hDAS is presented by reflection on hDAS in ISD that uses: ADDIE, Agile and explicitly tests educational theory. hDAS resolves gaps identified for each of these. By enacting hDAS a tailored ISD method is induced that meets the current theoretic and vocational understanding for the instructional situation
Student Engagement in Co-designing and Co-teaching Cornerstone Course of EECS Design and Implementation at National Taiwan University
Authors: Chang Shi-Chung , Lee Jennifer Wen-Shya , Lin Kun-You , Chen Ho-Lin , Chen Jiun-Peng , Chen Shih-Yuan , Li Chien-Mo , Xu Rui-Fu , Chiueh Tzi-Dar , Chung Hsiao-Wen , Chen Niccolo
Published: May 2020

International higher education policies and literature have called for students and faculty to collaborate effectively in the co-designing and co-teaching of curricula. In the fall of 2017, the Department of Electrical Engineering of National Taiwan University launched the “Creative Cornerstone Course Design for ICT+ and Engineering Education” course, which is a co-design course, to engage higher division and graduate students in co-creating and co-teaching the curriculum of a “Cornerstone EECS Design and Implementation” freshman course, which was a cornerstone course to be conducted in the spring of 2018. This paper presents the educational practice and learning outcomes of the co-design course. The implementation of the co-design course involved the following activities: (a) project- and team-based learning approaches, (b) active student partnership with teachers for designing the cornerstone course curriculum, and (c) preparatory cultivation of the students as teaching assistants for co-teaching. Learning outcome analysis indicated that freshman students significantly benefited in terms of their self-exploration of ICT-related subjects, basic professional knowledge, operational techniques, and confidence in self-learning when the cornerstone course was developed through co-designing.+ICT: Information and Communication Technology
Creating a project-based degree at a new university in Africa
Authors: Staab Laurel
Published: May 2020

African Leadership University (ALU), a network of higher education institutions, opened its second campus in Rwanda in September of 2017. In order to achieve the institutional vision to educate three million young African Leaders before 2050, the University has made efforts to embrace ‘innovative pedagogy,’ designing curricula and training its teaching staff in active learning and student-centered pedagogy. This paper provides an account of the design and inital delivery of a new degree that ALU offers to its students in Rwanda, called “Global Challenges,” a project-based degree that requires students to structure their learning around a project that they self-design that addresses a challenge facing the continent of Africa. The paper is authored by a member of the faculty of the new degree and uses qualitative practitioner-based research to describe the degree and analyse its alignment with the innovative practice of Project-Based Learning (PBL). Analysis of the degree design shows strong adherence to the principles of PBL; however, more research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness and broader impact of this new educational program.
Contributing factors to academic achievements: from community college to university in Hong Kong
Authors: Li Yeena , Li Bin , Cheung Kin , Tsang Hilda
Published: May 2020

Academic achievement of students transferring from community colleges to 4-year institutions has been a topic of interest to educational researchers globally. However, local empirical evidence remains limited on how transfer students’ learning approaches and the teaching-learning environment relate to their academic achievement in Hong Kong’s universities. The study aims at exploring the relationship between transfer students’ approaches to learning, their perceptions of the teaching-learning environment and academic achievement. The participants were 617 undergraduate students transferring from community colleges to an university in Hong Kong. Students’ approaches to learning and perceptions of the teaching-learning environment were measured using the HowULearn questionnaire. Analyses were carried out using factor analysis, Pearson correlation and linear regression. The results confirmed positive relations between students’ perceptions, approaches and achievement. Students studying in an organised manner achieved better academic performance, whereas those using a surface approach poor performance. Others might also adopt an intermediate approach to learning. The results indicate that promoting awarenesses of choosing and using appropriate learning approaches is important for fostering academic success among students.
Becoming an Expert, Ambassador or Doing Project Work: Three Paths to Excellence for Students at Artevelde University of Applied Sciences
Authors: Lievens Bart , Cappelle Karel , Matthys Liesbet
Published: May 2020

Apart from the regular curricula in higher education, institutions increasingly offer additional initiatives or honours programmes for students to excel. Artevelde UAS wants to provide similar additional learning opportunities, in which the notion of excellence is based on reflection, self-direction and ‘giving back’ to stakeholders. This paper will provide an elaboration of these opportunities, based on three research questions: (1) What project or initiative can be considered as a valid and well-defined form of excelling, (2) How do we formally structure and organize this initiative or project, and (3) How can we evaluate and validate students’ experiences of excelling? Students of (International) Business Management at Artevelde UAS can excel in three different ways: by professionalizing and becoming an expert in a certain topic or area, by becoming an ambassador for one particular 21st century skill that has been put forward and highlighted by Artevelde UAS in its mission (global citizenship, entrepreneurship or sustainability), or by cooperating with professional business partners in order to develop and implement a real-life project.
Addressing engineering threshold concepts in an African university of technology
Authors: Van Heerden Leanri , Luwes Nicolaas
Published: May 2020

Learning new skills isn’t only for the benefit of passing the exam but being able to apply those skills in a productive way. One cannot learn before one understands which is why student understanding is a priority for facilitators. This becomes especially important in threshold concepts where a student will be unable to progress to the next stage before the threshold concept is mastered, but facilitators do not focus on pedagogy as they rely on the support of instructional designers. This explorative paper looks at student perceptions of their understanding of the threshold concept in electrical engineering, logic gates, after completing a lesson designed using the proposed ten-step activity plan. The activity plan is derived from the learning theories of Gagne, Biggs, Vygotsky and Gibson. A sample of 18 students completed an online survey that focused on their acquiring of skills relating to logic gates, truth tables and Boolean algebra. Results showed a positive experience with 88.89% of participants indicating that they left the lesson with a good understanding of the threshold concept. This ten-step activity plan can assist to close the gap between instructional designer and facilitator to design threshold concept lessons based on sound learning theory.