Transformative Dialogues: Teaching and Learning Journal
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Using Service-Learning and the DEAL Model to Develop Students’ Soft Skills Upon Career Entry
Get PDFProfessionals in the academic practice fields of education and social work indicate students lack positive soft skills upon entry into the workforce. Although the call for attention to soft skills is not new, the changing generational context prompts a reexamination of these needed skills in today’s society and the workplace. Preparing first-time-in-college students beyond content knowledge can appear difficult, particularly teaching in a traditional classroom environment. In this reflection, we share the strategy of using the DEAL Model for Critical Reflection in service-learning to highlight areas for growth and positively develop these essential workplace skills, so that students are more holistically equipped for a career, to be active citizens of their communities, and to contribute to their families
Team-Based Learning in an Art and Design First-Year Studio Class
Get PDFThis case study conducted in a first-year Foundation studio course analyzes the effectiveness of using Team-Based Learning (TBL) strategies in an art and design context. Each studio class is composed of a wide and disparate range of learning levels that are dependent on factors such as cultural background, motivation, ability and/or disability, and diverse chosen majors with different background knowledge. Therefore, differentiated instruction must be built into each class, where student-centered group discussions are key to learning course content from different perspectives. Conducting research, with the support of Faculty Learning Communities focusing on teaching first-year students and inclusive pedagogy, initiated the insertion of both TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and TBL methods as a solution to those challenges. The study examines how TBL in a beginning art and design studio course promotes student engagement, active learning, and a clearer understanding of course content through student-centered discussions. The study argues that by creating consistent student teams, some of the unique challenges of learning in the first year, such as social isolation in a new environment or difficulty tackling unfamiliar content, can be solved. Establishing learning communities in the studio classroom through teamwork not only reflected an increase in overall attendance but social and academic growth. This study contributes an art and design studio-learning perspective to the research on Team-Based Learning, which has focused predominantly on TBL teaching approaches in business, health, and the social sciences
What Lies Beneath? A Systems Thinking Approach to Catalyzing Department-Level Curricular and Pedagogical Reform Through the Northwest PULSE Workshops
Get PDFWe have developed and tested a dynamic approach to assist positive, department-wide change at institutions of higher education. Here we describe a workshop strategy designed to empower faculty as agents of change. This strategy incorporates tools and concepts including systems thinking, visual facilitation, and action planning to drive transformation at the department/program level. Although our workshops were developed for life sciences faculty, the processes we adopted, and the lessons learned from the project, provide a framework for the faculty of any STEM discipline at any type of higher education institution to develop skills to effect changes in approach and pedagogy that will improve learning outcomes. While our workshops were carried out in person, we describe approaches that can be adapted for online use
“I Used to Think, But Now I Know”: Interrupting Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs about Equity
Get PDFTeacher educators face ongoing challenges of preparing future teachers—mostly White women—to meet the needs of students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Through poetic inquiry, this article synthesizes findings of a research study in the author’s Foundations of Education course in Spring 2021. After completing various readings, assignments, and activities aligned with culturally responsive pedagogy throughout the course, undergraduate preservice teachers’ (PSTs) pre- and post-assessment scores on the Learning for Justice Common Beliefs Survey were compared. Notable changes in PSTs’ responses to the first two common beliefs were evident. In addition, PSTs contributed one line to a class poem using the framework “I used to think, but now I know” and explained what learning events during the semester caused changes in thinking. The class poem revealed changes in beliefs about racial and cultural diversity, curriculum and instruction, educational systems, and teacher self-efficacy. Learning events students identified as significant included course readings, in-class discussions, media, and specific course topics and activities
Using Participatory Action Research, Narrative Inquiry, and Art-Based Research to Explore Art Educator Practices
Get PDFThis article describes a Participatory Action Research (PAR) study that took place from November 2020 to March 2021 with four art educators from the United States. The PAR team utilized narrative inquiry and arts-based research methods to investigate the potential intersections of their specific artist educator practices and the field of creative placemaking. This study showcases a PAR framework that explores the way narrative inquiry and arts-based research were useful methods of inquiry to better understand the specific artist educator practices the PAR team identified regarding their specific professional settings, community contexts, and approach to art education
Teaching Spaces: The Fourth Corner of University Learning
Get PDFTeachers hold valuable knowledge and intimate understanding of the spaces where students learn. It is important to leverage their knowledge and allow their voices to be heard in planning new spaces. This article reports on mixed methods research undertaken at the School of Law, University X to assess teachers’ views on spaces, with particular focus on two rooms – a traditional lecture room and a discipline specific Moot Court room. In this paper we present an inquiry-focussed conceptual framework; the application of which has helped us investigate and make public the perspectives of teachers regarding engagement in spaces on campus. As this paper demonstrates, it is vital that the staff voice is captured in order to inform best practice and in the planning and usage of spaces. This may be obvious but we argue is often overlooked and not leveraged to its full potential. There is also transformative potential for staff as both researchers and research participants in investigating their teaching and the impact of space on practice
Closing the Soft Skills Gap: A Case in Leveraging Technology and the “Flipped” Classroom with a Programmatic Approach to Soft Skill Development in Business Education
Get PDFThere is a clear “gap” between skills graduates acquire in college and skills needed to succeed in today’s competitive, dynamic workforce. This article outlines benefits and challenges of integrating “soft” skills into business curriculum to fill this “gap” through a two-pronged strategy: adopting a programmatic approach to “soft” skill development and redesigning courses by leveraging technology and the “flipped” classroom. Insights are provided from implementation in a large research institution’s undergraduate business program and, specifically, in the design of its project management course. Results are shared regarding students’ performance (assessed through computer-based simulations), perceptions, and endorsements of leadership and team building competencies at the course-level and job placement data are shared for the program in comparison to other majors in the college-level, which indicate the recommended pedagogical strategies and technology integration yield favorable outcomes. This study provides unique insights for other institutions, programs, and educators implementing competency-based “soft” skill initiatives. Implications for future initiatives and research are discussed
Using Applied Theatre and Serious Play in Long-Term Care Team Training: Lessons Learned from a Pilot Project
Get PDFApplied Theatre (AT) is an approach that uses theatre as a tool for personal or social development, and serious play is another approach which encourages inquiry through active and participatory methods to target complex problems. Both approaches have been successful in helping to explore themes such as professionalism, empathy, and communication in the context of health care education. The urgent need to address training gaps in the Long-Term Care (LTC) workforce remains a focus in teaching and educational research for health and social care sectors. This article is based on a pilot project designed to build capacity in the LTC workforce through the delivery of five one-day workshops to 99 LTC practitioners. An overview of the workshop, a description of the method and findings from a subset of the data that support this approach as effective in creating increased engagement, and enhanced learning outcomes are presented. The emergent nature of this approach necessitated regular debriefing sessions during which workshop facilitators discussed and documented the aspects of the approach that were effective and others which required iteration. Reflective fieldnotes from these debriefing sessions were key to design and delivery. Analysis of these data, along with participants’ post-workshop evaluations, individual interviews, and focus group discussions suggested the following key learnings: 1) Creating a safe space; 2) Including targeted debriefing, and 3) Valuing play. Lessons learned through analysis of this pilot study data suggest that AT and serious play-based learning activities help to create an effective educational methodology capable of engaging a diverse workforce through authentic learning experiences
Plagiarism Due to Generational Misunderstanding
Get PDFThis study explores how faculty members approach plagiarism due to misunderstanding with regard to intentional plagiarism and coaching for students through a generational lens. Plagiarism continues to mystify higher education faculty and administrators. Prior research alludes to three types of plagiarism: theft, deception, and misunderstanding. Stakeholders in higher education approach the issue of plagiarism in various ways leaving room for different interpretations of plagiarism of misunderstanding. Previous research produced three categories of misunderstanding in plagiarism: cultural, generational, and academic enculturation. This manuscript focuses on plagiarism as misunderstanding from a generational perspective. The sample includes (n=333) online faculty members. The study results note significant differences in how full-time and part-time online faculty approach plagiarism due to generational circumstances. The other significant finding displays differences between college associations in how faculty approach plagiarism issues to generational aspects
Webster’s Malfi on Waley’s Honbutai: Arts-Based Research for a Virtual Stage
Get PDFThis article speculates on the use of digital media for performative inquiry, as the subtitle suggests, a virtual stage for education and research. During the global pandemic a situation arose recalling other moments in history when a crisis prevented social gathering in schools and theatrical venues alike. Whereas educators adapted quickly to the new normal with video conferencing, artists struggled to find ways to connect with their audiences. Using a combination of fiction-based research and performative inquiry, this article imagines a technology that recreates an immersive sense of presence of a live stage production through a process called retroprojection. The aim of this research is to provide an example of creative use of current virtual reality based on its remote origin in early twentieth century modernist stagecraft.
In a similar vein to the expanded history of virtual reality, arts-based research developed from a qualitative method for inquiring into educational matters toward a more literary performance of self and others. The two main protagonists of this article are Nathan and John, connected through a dramatic dialogue as they both explore the creation of a virtual play. This historical artifact combines the texts of Webster’s Jacobean tragedy The Duchess of Malfi with the aesthetics from a theorized adaptation as a traditional Japanese Noh play, suggested by the English poet Arthur Waley in 1919. Taking this concept a step further ahead in the twenty-first century, the possibility of machine learning with a virtual performance provides another layer of meaning making for creative communication