HLRC - Higher Learning Research Communications (E-Journal)
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The use of internet-based social media as a tool in enhancing student’s learning experiences in biological sciences
Get PDFThis study explored the use of social media as a tool in enhancing student’s learning experiences, by using online instruction as a supplement to a face-to-face general education course, such as biological sciences. Survey data were collected from 186 students who were enrolled in a Biological Sciences course. The course was taught in a blended format using Facebook and Edmodo online social networks. A four point Likert scale was used to interpret the data collected. Findings indicated that, when traditional face-to-face instruction was combined with online components, students’ learning was enhanced. Findings from this study indicate that students had better experience, better engagement, and appreciated both the social learning experience gave by the online social network. Results revealed that students through student-student interaction and student-teacher interaction enhance their own experiences and improved their learning ability. The findings were used as bases in developing new practices and methodologies involving social networking tools for learning. Moreover, findings were used to design a blended format syllabus and blended learning guidelines. DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v3i4.17
Editorial
Get PDFThis Special Issue of Higher Learning Research Communications is dedicated to selected papers from the 4th International Conference on Teaching and Learning (ICTL), held in Bangkok during November 13-15, 2013. The papers reflect the exciting changes occurring in ASEAN countries, especially in Higher Education. As the 21st century brings about new social changes and economic challenges, many Higher Education institutions seek to prepare students to face a constantly changing and globalized world. In that regard, the papers selected reflect how some Higher Education institutions are preparing to achieve this goal: internationalizing their curricula and incorporating technology into the classrooms.The first three papers deal with the concept of internationalization in Higher Education. Internationalization can be seen from two different perspectives: first, from foreign students crossing borders in order to look for educational and professional opportunities and, second, from local students seeking to acquire the necessary skills to succeed in a globalized world. With this in mind, Jeannin presents in her paper research conducted in order to determine how students perceive diversity in an international university in Thailand. Understanding how different students perceive diversity in multicultural and multilingual Higher Education settings can be a useful tool when trying to achieve internationalization. Billingham, Gragg, and Bentley, as well as Ling, offer specific cases of how academic institutions can achieve internationalization. Ling focuses on an important area in terms of globalization and internationalization: language acquisition in the postgraduate context. The importance of second language acquisition is evident in a globalized world, but research on language acquisition for professionals seeking postgraduate studies is limited. In this context, Ling’s study starts to fill a void in postgraduate Higher Education research by assessing the adoption of bilingual teaching methodology in a postgraduate program.Probably, one of the most powerful tools available today for internationalization and participation in a global economy is technology. Billingham, Gragg, and Bentley focus their paper on the use of technology in order to achieve internationalization and expose students and faculty to a global experience. However, Stetz and Bauman also remind readers in their paper that, just because the technology exists, it doesn’t mean it would be useful in attaining educational goals. For instance, popular tools such as video and audio lectures can actually take away from the educational experience if not prepared carefully and taking into account the increasing number of students with disabilities moving towards non-traditional learning formats, such as online classes. The goal is not to use technology for the sake of it, but to look for ways to improve the learning process.Hartfield, and Beltran-Cruz and Cruz, present specific examples on how technology can precisely improve and add value to the learning process. Some subjects cannot have an entire online component because students need hands-on experience. For such cases, Hartfield describes how the solution can be blended education, adding an online component to a face-to-face course that requires practical knowledge. By the same token, Beltran-Cruz and Cruz explain how adding a social media component to an otherwise traditional course enhances student learning. In this case, the authors report students feel more engaged and have a better educational experience.The impact technology is having on Higher Education, both in terms of internationalization and learning outcomes, is manifest. As Al-Masum and Chowdhury suggest in their paper, access to technology in Higher Education can even help developing nations reach a larger segment of the population in order to prepare and educate its citizens to face the global challenges of the 21st century. This is why it is so important to continue encouraging research in this area and celebrate international conferences, such as ICTL, where faculty and researchers from an internationalized and digital community can connect, share experiences, and advance mutual goals
The relationship between psychological well-being and perceived wellness in graduate-level counseling students
Get PDFResearch has established that individuals who provide personal therapy to others should have stable personal and professional lives, and possess a keen and accurate perception of wellness. Unfortunately, sometimes students pursuing careers in counseling and psychotherapy have unresolved psychological issues that, if unresolved, could later affect them in their professional lives. Thus, the purpose of the study was to understand psychological well-being and perceived wellness in a sample of graduate students (N = 97) preparing to become counselors in a CACREP-accredited counseling program at a state university in Pennsylvania. It measured the participants' psychological well- being by the Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB) and their perception of wellness by the Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS). Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between psychological well-being and perceived wellness of counselors-in-training. The results of this study could have implications for additional problems such as the failure of self-care among counselors or the nonexistence or nonuse of adequate wellness assessment tools during counselor development.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v3i2.9
The Laureate English Program: Taking a research informed approach to blended learning
Get PDFThe aim of this case study is to describe the implementation of the Laureate English Program (LEP), the consequent decision to roll out blended learning across the network, and the Laureate-Cambridge University Press research partnership. Phase 1 of the research was completed in September 2012. The goal of this first phase was to gain a general understanding of student profile, computer literacy and competence, student levels of achievement, and student feedback on their blended learning experience. Six hundred and forty-eight students and 35 teachers responded to a questionnaire, which included multiple choice questions and open ended questions requiring extended comment. The questionnaires revealed that less than 25% of the Laureate student group had ever learned a language online before, which impacted significantly on student perception and use of online learning content. Furthermore, the first phase of research has revealed the impact that a complex interplay of different factors has on the relative effectiveness of these blended programs, and it has acknowledged that research is central to informed decision making in order to provide for effective blended learning.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v3i1.10
Using professional certification criteria to assess occupational safety curricula in degree programs investigating accreditation
Get PDFThe aim of this paper is to demonstrate a novel assessment method developed to determine if the curriculum from two separate safety degree programs provided sufficient opportunity for students to obtain the knowledge required for professional practice in occupational safety. The method relies on the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) examination blueprints. In the graduate program case study, over 88% of the BCSP criteria were met through an explicit means and up to 64% through assignments or better. Aggregating criteria into respective subject areas showed that the curriculum covered anywhere from 58% to 100% of the items within each BCSP topic. In the undergraduate case study, over 96% of the BCSP criteria through an explicit means, and 82.8% of knowledge items were assessed in assignments, exams or better. Aggregating criteria into respective subject areas showed that the curriculum covered anywhere from 75% to 100% of the items within each BCSP topic. Once briefed on the results, all faculty/instructors agreed that the approach helped identify strengths and weaknesses in their current curriculum. Most importantly, presentation of results acted as a catalyst for curricular discussions amongst the faculty that resulted in improvement priorities and a better understanding of student learning potential in course assignments.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v3i2.11
SciELO, Scientific Electronic Library Online, a Database of Open Access Journals
Get PDF This essay discusses SciELO, a scientific journal database operating in 14 countries. It covers over 1000 journals providing open access to full text and table sets of scientometrics data. In Brazil it is responsible for a collection of nearly 300 journals, selected along 15 years as the best Brazilian periodicals in natural and social sciences. Nonetheless, they still are national journal in the sense that over 80% of the articles are published by Brazilian scientists. Important initiatives focused on professionalization and internationalization are considered to bring these journals to a higher level of quality and visibility.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v3i3.15
e-Learning for expanding distance education in tertiary level in Bangladesh: Problems and progress
Get PDFE-learning has broadly become an important enabler to promote distance education (DE) and lifelong learning in most of the developed countries, but in Bangladesh it is still a new successful progressive system for the learning communities. Distance education is thought to be introduced as an effective way of educating people of all sections in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Open University (BOU), the only distance education provider in Bangladesh, has been trying to adopt the use of various e-learning materials for its distance delivery. This paper has tried to describe the current progress of quality e-learning for expanding distance education, identifying the major problems of e-learning in distance education at tertiary level in Bangladesh, with special reference to BOU, and finally to put forward some valuable recommendations for solving the problems. The study is based on both primary and secondary sources. It is observed from the research that e-learning is going to ensure its bright prospect as an alternative mode of education at the tertiary level in Bangladesh. There are several problems that are identified and can be mitigated and solved through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development, greater acceptance by learners, and much research in this sector in Bangladesh to face globalization. DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v3i4.17
Guest Editorial
Get PDFIt is an honor and a pleasure to have the December 2013 issue of Higher Learning Research Communications dedicate its issue to selected papers from the 4th International Conference on Teaching and Learning, held in Bangkok in November, 2013. The conference theme, Higher Learning in the ASEAN Context, highlights the emerging community of ten Southeast Asian nations and the upcoming launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. The AEC will affect higher education systems in Southeast Asia in terms of harmonization of higher education and student mobility. This emerging regional demographic gives us a glimpse of the future of transnational education.The papers selected for this issue represent research both within and outside of ASEAN, all touching on aspects of transnational education. Jeannin reports on how diversity affects students’ learning in an international classroom in Thailand. Billingham, Gragg, and Bentley (Australia) highlight technology integration as an internationalizing practice. Ling considers challenges and outcomes of bilingual teaching and learning at the graduate level in Vietnam, contributing to the postgraduate educational field, which has not been amply explored in this matter. Stetz and Bauman (US) ask us to rethink the efficacy of recording our lectures for online viewing. Hartfield (Australia), Beltram-Cruz (Philippines), and Cruz (Philippines) review new pedagogical paradigms utilizing technology. Al-Masum and Chowdhury report on problems and progress at Bangladesh Open University in bringing higher education to an underserved population.Throughout this issue, the authors bring a sense of internationality and the transnational transformation of higher education, along with the ubiquity of technology in the hands of the students and its impact on our teaching and learning styles. This issue of the HLRC Journal highlights some impacts that ASEAN and the AEC can and will have on higher education everywhere
An institutional approach to developing a culture of student persistence
Get PDFThere continues to be increasing focus on college student retention and persistence. This focus is coming from the United States federal government, accrediting organizations, and from students, parents, and the public. Given the spiraling costs of education and the fact that retention rates have not improved over time, various stakeholders are concerned about the value of a higher education credential. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the efforts of a for-profit, distance education institution to focus its resources, in an evidence-based manner, on retention and to develop a culture of retention and persistence throughout the institution. The literature review and analysis of internal initiatives demonstrated that (a) institutions must make a commitment to retention, include retention efforts as part of its strategic plan, and provide resources to support retention efforts; (b) mastery of knowledge of the research on retention and persistence is critical for designing evidence-based interventions; and (c) institutions should identify, develop, and implement pilot projects aimed at improving student progress and share results to help stimulate development of best practices throughout higher education.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v3i3.12
Editorial
Get PDFThis issue of Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC) marks the beginning of our third year of publication.We are very excited about the continued opportunity of publishing high quality academic research in the area of higher education policies and practices.During this third year, several new initiatives will be launched, including the publication of selected conference proceedings (Volume 3, No 4) and the launch of a new series (coming in 2014) highlighting the people that have dedicated their life to Higher Education.Please look for additional information in our social media pages through Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.On this issue, our authors focus on the importance and relevance that online and digital means play in reformatting, attracting, retaining, and supporting students in higher education.Invited authors highlight how the digital era has transformed higher education in several areas, including academic publishing and day-to-day teaching and learning.Rogerio Meneghini discusses SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library of Science) and its relevance in supporting open access scientific journals.The role of the SciELO index is discussed within the context of Latin American countries, with a particular focus on Brazil.Melanie Winter and Frank McCluskey write about the digital university, and the relevance of designing the online classroom experience to support the instructional design and pedagogical aims of the course.Following the theme set by the invited pieces, authors address a diversity of topics on how online teaching and learning has impacted higher education in recent years.Burkholder, Lenio, Holland, Seidman, Neal, Middlebrook, and Jobe discuss the efforts of a distance education institution to support student retention by developing an institutional culture of retention and persistence.In a case-study piece, Kruse, Bonura, James, and Potler detail the online community strategies used by a distance learning institution to successfully support the accreditation reaffirmation process.Finally, Carver and Todd analyze the student perceptions of content mastery for online courses that were redesigned to support student engagement.Throughout the papers on this issue, the authors introduce thought pieces, case- studies, and research results highlighting how the internet technology and media has impacted and transformed the teaching and learning process.They also highlight how online tools can benefit and improve the higher education community, touching multiple aspects of our every day experiences, from accreditation, publishing, teaching, learning, and retention