Journals (University of Staffordshire)
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How effective is personal tutoring at delivering personal development planning in a Computer Games Technology department at Staffordshire University
Full text linkWithin the Games Technology program area, student engagement with the optional pastoral personal tutoring system has been long standing problem. Previous study into the system had highlighted that following the initial meeting in their first year, students did not attend subsequent meetings. This paper reviews some of the systems that have been implemented to address these problems. It asks whether incorporating Personal Development Planning (PDP) can breathe new life into a system, which currently students feel disengaged with? Through a review of the current literature, and questionnaires to both staff and students, the appeal of the new PDP provision within the current personal tutoring system can be ascertained; The results show that the current provision is an improvement over the previous system, but that both staff and students would welcome further integration of PDP into personal tutoring. The evidence shows that whilst students at lower levels may not totally appreciate PDP at that time, as they continue in academia the need to be an employable graduate motivates the student to engage with PDP. This study recommends that when a structured PDP programme has been compiled it should be incorporated into personal tutoring as a matter of course
Lockdown Learning in Art & Design: Managing a School Transition to Online Learning for Creative and Studio-Based Courses
Full text linkAt the start of the global covid-19 pandemic, it became immediately apparent that no one individual or institution had mastered all the required skills for a smooth, seamless transition from on-campus teaching to online learning. This article takes an action research approach, drawing upon the lived experience of autoethnography as a methodology to interrogate the approach of the School of Art & Design at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) to managing the challenges in the transition to lockdown learning. This article outlines the important role the School played in supporting this re-visioning for the future of blended learning at an institutional level, outlining the change management approach undertaken at NTU, and highlighting the resulting innovation that emerged as we re-visioned studio-based pedagogies for an online and blended learning landscape
Transformation through aesthoecology: affectivity, connectivity, and the role of art in promoting
Full text linkCreative thinking relies on the rupture of conventional thinking. Aesthoecology is an onto-epistemological theory that speculates on this assertion by interrogating the vital importance of affectivity and connectivity in understanding transformational events in education. This involves the exploration of notions such as liminality, emergence, and affective anticipation, all of which are features of dynamic and autopoietic systems. These are implicit in art and design pedagogy but, in addition, are transferable to the skill sets required by other disciplines. If this is the case, then art and design as a subject area have a significance not only in their own right but also in promoting, supporting and enhancing transdisciplinary learning. Rather than being progressively marginalised, our proposal sets art and design, as a manifestation of aesthoecology, ‘centre stage’ as one significant solution capable of transforming our responses to the needs of students and society, particularly in these volatile and unpredictable times
Editorial
Full text linkGLAD-HE Post-Conference PublicationResponding Reframing Re-thinkingA new era in creative education for our sector
A Flipped Learning Maiden Voyage: Insights and Experiences of Undergraduate Sport Coaching Students
Full text linkFlipped Learning (FL) is a pedagogical approach which encourages students to learn independent of academic staff and take greater ownership and responsibility for their studies. Learners are exposed to new topics outside of formal lecture settings, as they complete problem-based activities prior to attending timetabled sessions. This preparation in-advance means class-based sessions can be delivered in a highly-interactive and practical-manner, promoting self-regulated learning. Employing a qualitative approach, this study explored insights and experiences of ten sport coaching students who encountered FL for the first time during the final year of an undergraduate sport coaching programme at a North of England University. Analysis of data generated five themes related to initial expectations and experiences of FL and value of FL in supporting student engagement. Findings provide evidence to inform future curriculum reform that may be more appropriate for meeting the academic capabilities, needs and motivations of modern day Higher Education (HE) students, together with supporting the re-tooling and professional development needs of academic and support staff across the sector
High Fidelity Simulation in Clinical Skills Teaching and its Impact on Student Engagement: A Facilitators Perspective
No full textHigh Fidelity Simulation (HFS) is to be introduced into my teaching; the purpose of this study is to identify from a facilitators perspective how this may impact on student engagement and ultimately the learning experience
Reflecting on Einstein’s advice: a personal journey in creating an experiential approach to the development of undergraduate literature reviews
Full text linkThis paper presents a framework which supports undergraduate students undertaking a literature review and has been used to good effect over the last three years. The framework divides the task of writing a literature review into seven steps which if followed will guide the student through the process; a task that many undergraduate students find challenging and stressful. By providing this support the framework also alleviates the demands upon the project supervisor and reduces tutorial fatigue
‘5 Minutes With Matt’: The Innovative use of Micro Video Blogging in Higher Education
Full text linkRecent developments in online learning platforms and associated technologies have changed the dynamics of higher education by forcing practitioners to reconsider traditional assumptions of teaching and learning (Garrison & Kanuka, 2004). This has fundamentally changed the nature and parameters of pedagogy within higher education whilst also shifting the associated expectations of students (HEA, 2000). Today, face-to-face teaching alone is considered somewhat antiquated; instead an effective higher education practitioner is now someone who can draw upon a myriad of blended learning strategies (see HEFCE, 2009). Because of this, the author of this paper contends that it is a fundamental responsibility of higher education practitioners today to be responsive to such changes and to continually seek ways of innovatively ‘blending’ traditional face-to-face methods of teaching and learning with new technologies and online platforms. In this vein, this short paper provides an example of how micro-video-blogging has been used as a blended learning tool within a social science programme.
The use of video-blogging per se in higher education is in its infancy and as a consequence there are limited scholarly conversations exploring their use. Crawford (2007, p.44) refers to them as “vlogs” and defines them as ‘a weblog which uses video [rather than text] as the primary content’. In that regard Courts & Tucker (2012, p.124) describe a weblog as an online written platform ‘that allows the blogger to post their thoughts, ideas, and commentaries on a website’. Despite little empirical insight evaluating the nature and effectiveness of video-blogging within higher education, Crawford (2012) highlights their growing use as a pedagogic tool to enhance student engagement and to reflect the diversity of learning styles and preferences amongst heterogeneous student populations. A basic web search will reveal the many thousands of academic video blogs that have been made publically available by higher education institutions and their staff. However, they are often very long, bland and poorly produced – failing in their brief to “enhance” traditional teaching and learning methods. Frustrated by these limitations, the author of this paper set about identifying a solution to these shortcomings by piloting the use of “micro” video-bloggin
Reimagining reflective practice in the dance technique class
Full text linkThis paper investigates the potential to challenge pedagogical approaches that may reinforce a teacher-student hierarchy in the dance technique class. With the aim of creating more opportunities for dance technique students to engage with critical reflective thinking and develop their sense of autonomy, the researcher will share the findings of two pedagogical interventions. These interventions were conducted with first year dance technique students at a UK higher education institution. In an attempt to stimulate critical reflective thinking on both the students’ and teacher’s behalf, a range of student-centered learning and teaching approaches were explored. The implications of such approaches will be examined, and the responsibility and expectations of dance students will be considered. Furthermore, consideration will be given to the way in which such approaches might test the dance technique teacher’s own sense of responsibility, challenging them to test the boundaries of their authority. Constructivist educational perspectives and theories of critical reflective practice inform this research