Journals (University of Staffordshire)
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The Simpsons in Higher Education
Full text linkPopular culture if effectively applied can be a powerful aid to learning, increasing student engagement, understanding and enjoyment. The use of popular culture in Higher Education is under explored, using the animated US TV show The Simpsons as a case study the benefits and limitations of this medium are discussed. The Simpsons has been used in a range of Higher Education settings from the humanities to the sciences for contextualising theories and concepts. The Simpsons use is examined in a range of subjects and new uses are presented, both illustrate the shows value in enhancing the learning and teaching experience
Dipping One\u27s Toes; The Innovative Use of VoiceThread in Higher Education
Full text linkThis short reflective paper describes the innovative use of the asynchronous multimedia communication tool VoiceThread. Initially the authors provide an analysis of the growing use of this Web 2.0 cloud based tool for teaching undergraduate law students in Higher Education (HE). The paper then goes on to discuss some of the practical applications of embedding VoiceThread into virtual learning environments such as Blackboard. In conclusion, the authors explore some further opportunities for VoiceThread use
Students’ perceptions of self-selected peer learning in a collaborative Chinese speaking assessment
Full text linkIt is widely recognized that matchmaking for group formation is one important factor that determines the effectiveness of peer learning. Finding peers with certain peer learning skills and content expertise is likely to induce interaction that contributes to learning performance. However, there has been relatively little attention to how students self-select their peers to work on a collaborative task while this is particularly important for university students who need to form groups by themselves. This study aims to explore (i) how students self-select peers to prepare a collaborative speaking assessment, (ii) how students perceive the peer learning process with self-selected peers, as well as (iii) the differences in students’ perceptions of the assessment interaction and performance between working with self-selected and randomly assigned peers. Results show that students choose peers from classmates whom they have interacted with before. Students are more satisfied with the interaction process and their own language skills with self-selected partners than with randomly assigned peers. The results of this study provide implications for future research to match peers for peer learning
The TEDM Principle: Improving Written Feedback
Full text linkRecent discourse on assessment literacy is supportive of dialogic practices, without addressing the concomitant challenges of workload, high student numbers and sustainability. This paper presents the findings of a small-scale qualitative study exploring teacher and student views on the effectiveness of written feedback using a ‘showing; not telling’ approach, which used a descriptive pattern of feedback as opposed to an instructional model within a peer-tutor review framework. Paramount was the use of modelling, a method of ‘showing’ students how to improve their work at the formative stage as opposed to ‘telling’ them how to improve it afterassignment completion. This modelling was practised using the TEDM principle: tell, explain, describe and model. Key findings are that the model is: effective with high numbers; positively received by students; and sustainable
Students’ Perceptions of Digital Storytelling in Higher Education
Full text linkDigital storytelling has been applied to higher education to teach hard and soft skills. Studies in health sciences show the benefit from hearing directly from patients sharing their lived experiences. In collaboration with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivor and his family, this paper documents higher education students providing feedback about 6 digital stories introduced into a graduate certificate program. This project examined whether students can improve their understanding of TBI through these digital stories while increasing their soft skills, such as empathy. In total, 37 students provided feedback. All students reported that the digital stories improved their understanding of TBI. The majority of students (89%) also rated the emotional quality of the digital stories as Extremely Good or Very Good. A qualitative analysis of students’ responses revealed the following themes: Perspective-Taking, Knowledge Gained and Suggestions for Improvement. Implications are discussed for schema and whole brain learning
The Impact of Pedagogic Research Writing Retreats on Participants’ Identities and Writing Habits: pedagogic research
No full textWriting for publication is a core activity in higher education. It serves many purposes including dissemination of good practice and the development of personal and institutional reputations. Writing is a practice that benefits from support and protected time away from the competing pressures of the ‘day job’, and one way of providing both of these is through writing retreats. In particular, pedagogic research writing retreats provide dedicated time and space to write, to develop new writing practices, and to foster a community of practice. They can be made available to both academic and professional staff. In this paper, we show how attendees learned new writing approaches and strategies such as recreating the retreat structure at home, and developed and maintained a coherent and vibrant interdisciplinary community of practice within which they reframed their identities as academic writers
McDougall, J. (2021). Critical Approaches to Online Learning. St Albans: Critical Publishing Ltd.
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Build your own equipment: Sustaining creative practice at home
Full text linkIn March 2020, the United Kingdom Covid-19 response created a huge challenge for the creative sector within higher education. With staff and students in lockdown, facilitating the study of practice-based subjects from home, without access to specialist equipment, became difficult. In response to this challenge, staff at the University of Huddersfield employed an innovative approach; demonstrating how students could build their own equipment at home from basic household items. This paper gives a personal account of this innovative approach to lockdown teaching, which has resulted in a wider re-thinking of our teaching practice. Adaptation to changing circumstances led to the evolution of teaching delivery. We include a rationale for our analogue approach and reflections on how our findings may be applicable to teaching across the creative sector and beyond
Student perceptions of the emotional and academic outcomes of participation in a group process module
Full text linkLiterature suggests that collaborative group work is conducive to productive learning. However a growing sense of uncertainty about the academic value of an undergraduate module that made use of group work led to the desire to gauge more fully students’ perceptions of this way of learning. An interpretive methodology, using a focus group and questionnaires, was employed to address the question. The importance of the maintenance of trusting relationships between the students, and between the student and tutor emerged strongly, along with the positive value of a clear and explicit direction for the group. A model for thinking about how to structure and frame such groups and how to position oneself as a tutor within such groups is proposed in response to the findings. The author concludes that paying attention to the relationship between educators and learners is vitally important within the context of group-based teaching and learning
Fostering Self-Efficacy in Higher Education
Full text linkRichie, L. (2016). Fostering Self-Efficacy in Higher Education. London: Palgrave MacMillan