Journals (University of Staffordshire)
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The Profile of Higher Education Sport Students in England: Implications for Successful Transition and Effective Teaching and Learning Practice
Full text linkLimited studies have explored sport students experiences of transitioning into university, which is surprising considering the high annual numbers recruited to English Higher Education (HE) sport programmes. The primary study aim was to gain specific insight into the expectations, motivations, anticipated challenges and concerns of first year sport degree students who had recently enrolled at an English post 1992 university. Three hundred and thirty-four participants completed a 23-question survey, with key findings outlining the profile of students. Most notably, this indicated a high frequency of vocational entry qualifications, the dominance of expectations around employability and a general lack in confidence to successfully integrate, both socially and academically. Strategies and recommendations to inform future curriculum reform which best support the social and academic needs of modern day HE sports students are presented, as are limitations and avenues for future research
Pedagogical literacies: A hidden benefit of the jigsaw technique
Full text linkThe jigsaw technique is a cooperative learning method in which students become “experts” in different areas, before sharing their expertise in “jigsaw” groups (Aronson & Patnoe 2011). It has become well established in primary and secondary classrooms, and is increasingly advocated in higher education. However, little is known about the specific impact of the technique on the pedagogical literacies of students and teaching staff. In this study, a series of five action research cycles was implemented, in order to investigate the technique across a range of disciplines. The findings clearly point to a positive impact on pedagogical literacies for both students and staff. Benefits for students included greater engagement with the topic and reflection on their learning conditions, and the acquisition of real-world skills. Staff reported opportunities for expansion of their pedagogical repertoire and facilitation of student-centred learning. It is therefore argued that higher education practitioners in diverse disciplines should make increased use of the jigsaw technique
Implementing Immersive Virtual Reality in Higher Education: A Qualitative Study of Instructor Attitudes and Perspectives
Full text linkThe current study aimed to understand the attitudes and perceptions of higher education (HE) instructors who have previously used immersive virtual reality (I-VR) in teaching. This study employed a qualitative design by conducting semi-structured interviews with HE instructors from several disciplines and institutions. Using thematic analysis, five major themes were formulated. These included: (a) applications and benefits; (b) curriculum integration; (c) classroom logistics; (d) barriers to application; and (e) evaluation. Instructors were generally positive about using I-VR as a pedagogical tool, proposing a range of novel applications and uses. However, logistical and technical problems were prominent which made implementation and widescale adoption challenging. The implications of these prominent attitudes are discussed, alongside a range of practical recommendations for applied future practice
Heutagogy and m-learning: Conceptualising the learner journey through the Orientation, Exploration, Pathfinding and Arrival (OEPA) model
Full text linkThe use of mobile devices by learners in Higher Education (HE) invites a re-conceptualisation of what we have come to understand as learning in contemporary settings. In adopting mobile devices as learning tools, learners develop a range of technical, cognitive and social skills. As such, mobile devices can be viewed as enabling the development of wider lifelong learning and employability attributes that may be of benefit in a variety of contexts. The literature on learner-centred education continues to develop with a variety of theoretical approaches ranging from andragogy, self-regulated learning and more recently heutagogy. As a form of self-determined learning, heutagogy challenges much in traditional pedagogic practice and opens up new avenues for innovation. Heutagogy continues to evolve as a theory of self-determined learning. In this sense, the development of heutagogy coincides with technological advances, and as such provides us with an opportunity to contemplate new ways of learning, as well as new relationships and identities within learning. This conceptual paper aims to address a research problem: How can we develop m-learning to accommodate heutagogy? In doing so, this paper combines version B heutagogy with the Orientation, Exploration, Pathfinding and Arrival (OEPA) model to re-conceptualise heutagogic m-learning
Educating for future complexities in management- a vision for the future MBA
Full text linkCalls for the reform of MBA education are not new but the issue of change continues to generate work on how this could be undertaken. The MBA has become a site of contestation with differing agendas being played out from instrumentalist approaches that focus on the utility of the MBA as a management qualification to those that adopt a more holistic perspective. This conceptual paper sets out to make a contribution to this discourse through reference to heutagogy and how it may contribute to the development of managerial capability in an uncertain and volatile world. In doing so, this paper relates management learning to the capacity to make effective decisions within organisations. Higher Education is undergoing transformation with an increasing emphasis on learner-centred curricula. This paper contributes to the discourse on the future of learning in higher education
Experience, Competence, and Developing Practitioner Skills – A Personal Reflection on how an On-Site Community Engagement Programme benefits HE Sport Coaching Students
Full text linkWork-based-placements are routinely considered a key element of many universities’ efforts to increase graduate employability. Marrying the academic development of students with success in developing graduate and professional skills, presents challenges in terms of efficiency, development, overseeing meaningful experiential learning, and wider benefits. In this short paper, I reflect on a community engagement (CE) programme at the University of Chichester’s Institute of Sport, and present multiple benefits that I believe have arisen through its implementation. These range from the expected advantages of community collaboration, increasing practitioner/vocational competence and student engagement, to others such as the pragmatic benefit of increasing employability prospects for the students. Of note, reference is made to the way in which other HE staff and programmes could promote similar good practice, and there are a number of key steps (including pitfalls to be avoided) outlined that offer a framework for possible replication
James, A. and Nerantzi, C. (eds.) (2019) The Power of Play in Higher Education Palgrave Macmillan.
Full text linkBook Revie
Ashton, S. and Stone, R. (2018) An A-Z of Creative Teaching in Higher Education. Sage Publishing.
Full text linkBook Revie
Supercomplexity: Acknowledging Students’ Lives in the 21st Century University
Full text linkWe live, work and study in a supercomplex world. This paper explores whether supercomplexity could be a term that helps us acknowledge this and thus help us reframe how we talk about education, in particular widening participation education. We use theoretical works on supercomplexity and third space, a critical angle on current policy and politics, as well as our own experience, to launch this exploration and to map the educational landscape our “non-traditional” students travel through - where for our students: hic sunt dracones (‘here are dragons’)
