UNCG Hosted Online Journals (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro)
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From Teaching to Tutoring: Listening to My Inner Teacher
Get PDFTutoring lends valuable insight on how to navigate one-to-one meetings with students on improving their communicative techniques. Teaching prior to tutoring heavily shaped the role I viewed myself as having as a tutor: the tutor is not the evaluator of the communicative text or the student’s skillset in composing such texts. Instead, the tutor serves as a guide for facilitating student awareness and, consequently, student development, of their own communicative practices. This article discusses three practices I adapted from my teaching in order to better support students in my tutoring
Centering the Center in New Technology Initiatives: Integrating Communication into ePortfolios
Get PDFePortfolio technologies offer powerful multimodal communication and content creation capabilities within a context that enables the integration of all learning (Buente, et al., 2015) . Yet, many ePortfolio initiatives to date center tex tual representations of learning and sometimes integrating visual representations. The purpose of this article is to make the case for incorporating oral communication into ePortfolio initiatives and to position Communication Centers as an invaluable resources in providing campus support for such initiatives. We argue that collaborating with campus partners engaged in ePortfolio work can position Communication Centers as a leading resource for faculty and students and further the connections between oral communication, critical thinking, and student learning (see Atkins-Sayre, 2012; Carpenter Apostel, & Hyndman, 2012). To do so, we first provide a brief overview of literature on connections among the development of oral communication competencies, critical thinking, and integrative learning. Next, we outline the philosophical foundations of portfolio teaching, focusing on critical thinking, reflection, and communication. In so doing, we highlight the unrealized potential for oral communication to be an integral part of portfolio teaching and to provide students with multimodal learning experiences that complement the text-centered reflection assignments common to most portfolios. Finally, we outline suggestions for connecting Communication Centers to ePortfolio work.
Time, Labour, Texts: New English Teachers' Selective Use of Instructional Documents
Get PDFThe purpose of this article is to examine how new Saskatchewan secondary school English Language Arts teachers, under the pressure of substantial time demands, make decisions about what texts and corresponding instructional practices to use in their classrooms. The intent of this analysis is to understand why new English Language Arts teachers regularly reuse curricular materials from their colleagues and embed them in instructional practices that often run counter to their espoused philosophies of education. My analysis of this process of the reproduction of texts and practices in new teachers’ classrooms is anchored in a critical sociological perspective of schooling. I examine the relation between seemingly liberal provincial policies of teacher autonomy and curricular implementation, the role of time demands on the use of curricular materials, and the connection between the need for resources and structural demands on teacher work. I conclude by arguing the need for further research into the circulation of physical resources in schools and their impact on teacher instruction
The influence of hierarchy and layout geometry in the design of learning spaces
Get PDFFor a number of years, higher education has moved away from didactic teaching toward collaborative and self-directed learning. This paper discusses how the configuration and spatial geometry of learning spaces influences engagement and interaction, with a particular focus on hierarchies between people within the space. Layouts, presented as diagrams, are analysed in terms of teacher-to-student and student-to-student power dynamics and against an established framework of learning space principles. The paper observes that some arrangements have underlying hierarchies which subtly reinforce traditional teacher-centred power dynamics and concludes that spatial geometry and hierarchy should be considered key parameters in learning space design
The 'Cube' and the 'Poppy Flower': Participatory approaches for designing technology-enhanced learning spaces
Get PDFThis paper presents an alternative method for designing learning spaces that is driven by the input of its users. An exploratory study was undertaken at an English university with the aim of redesigning technology-enhanced learning spaces. Two provocative concepts were presented to the participants as concepts of future learning spaces. Through participatory design workshops, students and teachers reflected and discussed the values of technology and provided insight into how to effectively embed technology in learning space design. The findings provide a set of recommendations for how to integrate technology in learning spaces and present alternative designs for each given concept.Keywords: Participatory Design, Technology-Enhanced Learning Spaces, Tangible Technologies, Learning Space Desig
Connecting physical university spaces with research-based education strategy
Get PDFThis paper looks at the link between enhancing education and ensuring an innovative fit-for-purpose estate. It argues that a nuanced approach and joined-up dialogue is needed between university staff whose remit covers these areas. Using semi-structured interviews with students and staff at a research-intensive university in London, UK, the focus centres around the link between the institution’s innovative research-based education approach and its relationship to the university’s spaces. The paper outlines the institution’s approach to education and then moves on to unpack four key space principles to implement a research-based education strategy which is sensitive to a university’s physical environment
Co-Founding a Queer Archives: a collaboration between an archivist and a professor
Get PDFThis article details the creation and development of the Oregon State University Queer Archives (OSQA) as the product of collaboration between an archivist and professor. The authors provide an overview of the history of OSQA, including theoretical foundations of queer archival methods; discuss community-based initiatives that have helped to build the archive; and share lessons learned through their collaboration. They conclude by offering recommendations for others who are considering collaborations between archivists and professors on Queer Archives initiatives as well as other community-based archives in higher education settings
Innovation in libraries may be as simple as staying on the bus
Get PDFInnovation is often thought of as doing something completely new. In fact, innovation may also be viewed as an iterative process that builds on existing knowledge and, through trial and error and incremental successes, makes something better. This iterative process is the focus of this paper that expand on our presentation given at the 2016 Conference for Entrepreneurial Librarians.Using the Helsinki Bus Station Theory and other perspectives as the framework for exploring how innovation and entrepreneurship can be applied to libraries, the authors identified activities that initiate and encourage innovation in library settings. Conference attendees learned techniques for implementing interactive innovation
