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Vol. 17 No. 5 (2020)

Published: 2 May 2020

Articles

  • Editorial 17.5: Strengthening our focus for a post-COVID-19 environment: Learnings from a pandemic in higher education

    Joseph Crawford, Alisa Percy, Jo-Anne Kelder, Kerryn Butler-Henderson

    The year 2020 will unlikely be one that any member of the higher education community will forget. It has posed challenges and opportunities to rethink aspects of tertiary learning and teaching, and also confirmation of some of the better practices we have engaged in. For some, the novel coronavirus pandemic has forced bad practice – such as simple and rapid digitalisation of existing curriculum – often bundled into the pedagogically-ambiguous ‘emergency remote teaching’ or ERT (Toquero, 2020). The intense pressure for academics to deliver curriculum online, typically to the exception of time for comprehensive academic development and upskilling. The practice for an overnight transition to online learning, while deemed by many to have been essential at the time, has created a myriad of future decisions to be actioned across the sector. These range from deploying future academic development workshops to transform the workforce for continued online learning to employment of educational technologists, learning designers, or similar to enable purposeful decisions of pedagogy within online learning environments. Financial constraints have tempered the deployment of additional resources, with institutions suffering from financial modelling unexpected in late-2019 budget forecasting meetings. A reduction in student enrolments from international markets offers complexity for higher education exporter nations like Australia (Marshman & Larkins, 2020). Nonetheless, there has been a resilience from the sector to ensure continuity of education under all circumstances. The role of journals like the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice during the pandemic has been to support timely publication of evidence-based practices for responses to COVID-19. This has included a need to balance the acceptance of manuscripts with pre-COVID-19 data and implications, and those authors contributing to the exponentially expanding knowledge base for teaching and learning during COVID-19. For the former, we have encouraged authors during final acceptance to reflect on their work’s role in enabling a positive response to the pandemic. For those in the latter, we have ensured that writers have considered the broader implications of their work beyond the pandemic. These decisions support manuscripts publishing in JUTLP to contribute to the contemporary landscape, and also beyond the pandemic.

    Read article: Editorial 17.5: Strengthening our focus for a post-COVID-19 environment: Learnings from a pandemic in higher education

  • Building online degrees quickly: Academic experiences and institutional benefits

    Richard McInnes, Claire Aitchison, Brigitte Sloot

    Universities everywhere are rushing to upgrade their digital learning capabilities — and, more so now, in response to COVID-19. Long term, large-scale development of online courses requires investment in digital infrastructures and collaborative curriculum design involving educational, technical, and subject-matter experts. However, compared to the resources invested in course development, there is relatively little investment in researching such development processes. Drawing on findings from a study of a strategic initiative to rapidly develop 12 fully online undergraduate degree programs in one Australian university, this paper reports on a study that aimed to capture the experiences of academic course writers. Findings show broad satisfaction with the production processes, courses created, and knowledge acquired - although also demonstrating key differences between senior, junior and casualised staff. This empirical case study contributes to knowledge about capacity building arising from large-scale, in-house development of fully online degree programs.

    Read article: Building online degrees quickly: Academic experiences and institutional benefits

  • Enabling cross-cultural student voice during COVID-19: A collective autoethnography

    Samuel Wilson, Shannon Tan, Matthew Knox, Angelia Ong, Joseph Crawford, Jürgen Rudolph

    Higher education learning and teaching has faced a significant challenge in 2020. The novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has required institutions to engage in emergency response teaching and deliver distance, online, or socially distanced delivery in most jurisdictions globally. The literature to date has focused on understanding this from the perspective of the institutions and academics primarily. For example, institutional case studies and staff critical reflections. There has been literature published on student learning, student experience, and student wellbeing during COVID-19, but these are typically constructed through an academic lens (e.g. a student satisfaction survey). This research offers a co-constructed account developed adopting a students as partners philosophy. Our research team includes four students from two countries (Australia and Singapore) to independently reflect on their experience and collectively consolidate their learning journey through the pandemic, and be mentored and supported by two academics. Our findings indicate that students feel generally disconnected from their experience. Students felt their agency was important, self-awareness and accountability enabled this. Students also reflected that changes to their learning environment had made it more difficult to create social connections. They also include opportunities to change our teaching practice to be more supportive of our students’ collective learning during COVID-19.

    Read article: Enabling cross-cultural student voice during COVID-19: A collective autoethnography

  • Student perceptions of technological tools for flipped instruction: The case of Padlet, Kahoot! and Cirrus

    Seb Dianati, Mai Nguyen, Phung Dao, Noriko Iwashita, Claudia Vasquez

    Technological tools used in teaching and learning have been reported to influence their satisfaction, engagement and their continued effort in learning (Roach, 2014). The present study, therefore, investigated students’ perceptions of technological use in a flipped classroom at university level through evaluation of three different web-based tools, using the lens of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989; Venkatesh & Davis, 2000). These tools include a collaborative canvas tool (Padlet), a live polling platform (Kahoot!) and an annotation tool (Cirrus). Results from focus group interviews show that most of the students had positive perceptions of the three technological tools targeted in this study. Nevertheless, using the TAM model that draws on two indexes, namely usefulness and perceived ease of use, the findings revealed students’ mixed perceptions towards the three tools. Particularly, Padlet was perceived to be useful for both independent and colloborative learning, but less easy to use when there was too much content. Kahoot! was considered the most useful and easy to use for revision of learnt concepts. Finally, Cirrus was easy to use, but less useful for creative tasks. The results are discussed in terms of the role of technological tools in flipped learning, and implications for technologically enhanced flipped instruction are suggested.

    Read article: Student perceptions of technological tools for flipped instruction: The case of Padlet, Kahoot! and Cirrus

  • Student satisfaction with feedback in a third year Nutrition unit: A strategic approach

    Lisa Milne, Jennifer McCann, Kristy Bolton, Julia Savage, Alison Spence

    The feedback received by students on assessment tasks is a major source of their dissatisfaction with feedback generally, explaining why models of assessment continue to evolve to prioritise provision of useful feedback. Boud’s notion of sustainable assessment is an example. We argue for conceptualising the sustainability of assessment practices from teachers’ point of view as well. Assessment is a major component of teaching academics’ workloads. The time and effort required to support particular practices should be considered relative to how well these are evidenced to support student learning outcomes and enhance their satisfaction with feedback. We report on a trial of this approach, from the second phase of action research examining student and staff experiences of targeted feedback on a draft assessment in a large, final year Nutrition unit. The aim of our intervention was primarily to improve student satisfaction with the extent to which feedback in the unit assisted them to achieve learning outcomes, but also to support student learning. Our findings indicate that, in some contexts, impactful practices like providing feedback on drafts alone may not enhance student satisfaction with feedback. Reflection on our findings led us to reframe the next phase of the project more strategically, by advocating for collaboration on course-wide, programmatic assessment, as a sustainable teaching practice and to support sustainable assessment. We call for models of assessment in higher education and course and unit evaluation to be strengthened through further research examining the sustainability of assessment practices for academics, relative to learner outcomes.

    Read article: Student satisfaction with feedback in a third year Nutrition unit: A strategic approach

  • Pedagogical practice preferences among generational groups of learners: Towards effective twenty-first century higher education

    Ruth Ortega-Dela Cruz

    Facilitating learning for the students nowadays demands so much from the educators. This makes the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) more challenging as they look upon the needs of the present generation. This study sought answer to that need by determining the most preferred pedagogical practices that have impact on the students’ ability to stay motivated and learn effectively. Randomly selected higher education students including bachelor, masters’ and doctorate students were surveyed. Majority of the students belong to the so-called Net Generation. They prefer pedagogical practices that engage multiple channels of learning and on ways of assessing the learning outcomes. They thrive more on relevant, applicable, active learning and project-based tasks while working with their learning partners including faculty and students of shared interests. Results of correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship between students’ demographics, and their preferences for pedagogical practices. Analysis of Variance indicated highly significant difference in the preferences for pedagogical practices across generational groups of students. Higher education is indeed changing and thus requires continuous change and improvement on the part of educators who find comfort in utilizing the twentieth century pedagogical practices. Now that innovations and technological breakthroughs are inevitable, educators must take a stand and set the bar in promoting effective twenty-first century higher education.

    Read article: Pedagogical practice preferences among generational groups of learners: Towards effective twenty-first century higher education

  • Escape rooms' pedagogical potential from female future teachers’ perspectives

    Coral I Hunt-Gómez, Olga Moreno_Fernández, Pilar Moreno-Crespo, Mario Ferreras-Listán

    Fast and easy Internet and knowledge access by just a click are some of the characteristics of the twenty first century. This means that this knowledge has been acquired fast and superficially. Thus, discernment turns into something ephemeral, because there is not a profound examination of the aspects dealt with. This is caused by the enormous quantity of information found that, in many cases, does not reflect reality. In this sense, teachers can find multitasking students that can perform many activities but without reflexively undertaking them. Education tries to solve these type of problems so the learning-teaching process is as significant as possible. Therefore, future teachers should always have tools for keeping students’ attention, as well as to raise interest in the studied subjects. Within these new tools, escape rooms are, because they not only increase students’ motivation but also encourage teamwork and reflexive learning, as the tasks to be solved are complex. However, as male and female present different perspectives towards gamification, in this work, escape rooms have been studied applying a gender perspective. In the University of Seville, Spain, a descriptive-interpretative exploratory study took place intending to analyse future female teachers’ conceptions about escape rooms. A 17-item questionnaire was applied to 99 female students of the Degree in Primary Education. Results show that subjects highly valued the ludic part of the escape rooms as a didactic activity, which fosters significant learning. Students also appreciated that the activity was close to their reality and that it was integrating students’ interests in the Primary Education classroom. The main conclusion of the study is that, even if there is room for improvement and there is a need to make them more appealing to female students, escape rooms are considered an excellent educative resource as well as an adequate alternative teaching methodology.

    Read article: Escape rooms' pedagogical potential from female future teachers’ perspectives

  • Experiential learning in higher education. A student-centered teaching method that improves perceived learning.

    Verónica Villarroel, Mariavictoria Benavente, María Josefina Chuecas, Daniela Bruna

    There is an interest in involving psychology students in early practical activities, which allow them to learn in a more meaningful and authentic way. In these instances, they must apply knowledge, solve problems and demonstrate professional skills associated with the graduate competencies that they are expected to achieve. The present work seeks to position experiential learning as a means to reach these goals. With this aim, an intervention on experiential learning with second year students from a developmental psychology course is presented, describing its design, implementation and assessment. The students observed and interviewed schoolchildren to determine an area of development in which they needed stimulation and enrichment for a healthy development. Then, they created a pedagogical tool to do so, testing its application on the same children sample. The results showed a positive perception from the students, teachers and beneficiaries of the proposal. Likewise, the students reported the perception of having learned more than in a subject in which this methodology is not used; this difference was statistically significant.

    Read article: Experiential learning in higher education. A student-centered teaching method that improves perceived learning.

  • TLABs: A Teaching and Learning Community of Practice – What is it, Does It Work and Tips for Doing One of Your Own

    Shelley Beatty, Kim Clark, Jo Lines, Sally-Anne Doherty

    Communities of Practice are an increasingly common tool used to support novice academics in higher education settings. Initiated in 2015 at a Western Australian University, TLABs is an acronym for ‘Teaching and Learning for Level A and B’ academic staff and was designed to build a community of practice to mentor junior academics; help them develop their teaching skills; and enhance academic careers. The paper describes the nature of TLABs; how it is experienced from the perspective of participants and provides recommendations for implementing a successful teaching and learning community of practice in a higher education setting.

    Read article: TLABs: A Teaching and Learning Community of Practice – What is it, Does It Work and Tips for Doing One of Your Own

  • Developing anatomy demonstrators of the future: The role of team-teaching

    Diane L Hughes, Laura Y Whitburn, Meg Colasante, Aaron C McDonald, Heath McGowan, Anita Zacharias, Rodney A Green

    ABSTRACT Recent decades have seen cadaveric anatomy teaching decline and shift from traditionally team-taught practicals in large dissection laboratories to sole-taught classes in smaller laboratories. Such changes may alter teaching quality due to loss of peer teacher interactions in class. The current study aimed to compare experiences of team-taught versus sole-taught practicals in the same course across two campuses. This paper presents on the staff experiences. The study utilised educational design research methodology for an iterative approach to solving the problem of optimising cadaveric-based teaching. Classes at the metropolitan campus were team-taught (lead demonstrator, clinical demonstrator and near-peer demonstrator, n=18) and sole-taught at the regional, smaller campus (lead demonstrator only, n=5). Demonstrators completed an anonymous online survey that explored their teaching experiences and thematic analysis of survey data was conducted. Benefits of team-teaching were captured under the themes learn-observe-support, more time with students and catering for student differences. While most team-teaching staff reported no challenges, some noted the need for time to establish effective team dynamics. Sole-teaching staff reported the benefit of consistency in teaching but challenges in providing adequate support to all students. While sole-teaching facilitates consistency in teaching, team-teaching enables staff to develop teaching expertise and anatomical knowledge from interactions with a range of demonstrators during practicals. Team-teaching facilitates knowledge transfer between staff, and this holds important workforce implications for developing anatomy teachers of the future.

    Read article: Developing anatomy demonstrators of the future: The role of team-teaching

  • Reflective peer observations of university teaching: A Canadian case study

    Heather Kanuka, Cheryl Sadowski

    The purpose of this investigation was to gain insights on facilitating a peer observation process that supports constructive feedback for continued development of effective teaching practices. The findings from this Canadian case study reveal that peer observation feedback are of value for the observed (which is well documented in the research) as well as the observer. Benefits for the observers have tended to be under-investigated and/or under-reported in the literature with respect to (1) fostering collegial relationships and (2) observing a peer whose teaching practices are unfamiliar. The findings in this study also indicate that the integration of an external observer who does scholarship in teaching and learning can provide knowledgeable feedback about pedagogical theory and course development, resulting in the reflective discussion and feedback being enhanced.

    Read article: Reflective peer observations of university teaching: A Canadian case study

  • A practical look at the why and how of supporting international students: A checklist of teaching tips

    Shelley Beatty, Kim Clark, Sally-Anne Doherty

    This paper looks at a pilot of a strategy designed to help academic staff better respond to the inclusive teaching needs of its international students. The strategy was implemented by a School in a Western Australian University and offered academic staff evidence-based information on specific techniques for internationalising curriculum content and delivery. The extent to which international students perceived lecturers had implemented the suggested strategies was subsequently evaluated. While the evaluation found the School had performed adequately in the eyes of its international students across key areas of teaching practice, it also suggested that achieving greater inclusiveness required attention to things beyond classroom processes. These broader aspects included the University’s climate of belongingness and the extent to which the curriculum content took account of international perspectives.

    Read article: A practical look at the why and how of supporting international students: A checklist of teaching tips

  • Developing a peer supported feedback model that enhances oral proficiency in French

    Simon Bernard Bedford, Anu Bissoonauth, Klem James, Ray Stace

    This article investigates the process of development for a novel online peer-supported approach that enhances oral proficiency in French at an Australian university to cope with ever more complex challenges. These challenges include students with mixed ability in the same class, reduced teaching resources and student surveys identifying a lack of speaking practice affecting confidence and performance in oral assessments. A related aim of the present study was to facilitate assessment literacy of our students by encouraging them to make links between the skills practised in class and the requirements for the final oral summative assessment. Methodology draws on educational practice influenced by a social constructivist approach to develop a learning model using online peer feedback, where more advanced learners support less experienced peers outside the formal classroom. Preliminary results reveal that although the model was deemed to be ‘generally effective’ in enhancing speaking skills and developing a better understanding of assessment literacy, it needs to enable learners to build their meta-skills across the three-year degree program to be truly effective. The conclusion explores further development and expansion of the learning approach across the French undergraduate program and makes future recommendations.

    Read article: Developing a peer supported feedback model that enhances oral proficiency in French

  • Improving postgraduate students' scientific literacy and self-efficacy using international collaborative research workshops: an exploratory case study in a Chinese university

    Qing Zhang, Jingmin Wang, Ruihong Ji, Tairan Huang

    Postgraduate education in China bears the dual mission of "high-end talent supply" and "scientific and technological innovation" as delegated by the Ministry of Education of China (2017). Improve the quality of postgraduate student training and management is essential for Chinese universities to meet this requirement. This paper investigates the practical effectiveness of using a specially designed, internationally collaborative research training workshop to enhance new Chinese postgraduate students' scientific literacy and self-efficacy. The research results show that the workshop, which integrates seminar presentations and both individual and group-based student activities, is of practical significance for improving the experiences of first-year postgraduate students. The findings indicate the application of enactive mastery and vicarious learning strategies in research training workshop effectively boost students' motivation, confidence and feeling of accomplishment at their early research career, and can provide ongoing benefits to support Chinese students to further develop research skills and capabilities. The positive findings in this exploratory study can inform future research projects to examine the transferability of this research training workshop model in the broader Chinese higher education context.

    Read article: Improving postgraduate students' scientific literacy and self-efficacy using international collaborative research workshops: an exploratory case study in a Chinese university

  • Exploring modes of lecturing as a teaching method in higher education: Student attendance, preference and motivation

    Panos Vlachopoulos, Shazia Jan

    This paper presents the findings of a large-scale study conducted at an Australian metropolitan university, which seeks to compare attendance in different modes of lecture delivery and student preference and motivation for attendance. The research design collected data for three different teaching methods - on-campus lectures, live streaming utility and lecture recordings via lecture capture. The study addresses the broader question of the value students place on the modes of lecturing, as indicated by their attendance patterns, usage of lecture recordings, and preferences and motivations for the same. Overall, the study confirms the student preference for flexibility when accessing or attending lectures, with those choosing both on-campus and live streaming lecture delivery, also having a strong preference for using recorded lectures. Implications of findings of the study which was conducted pre-COVID-19 extend to a post-coronavirus world as well with implications for infrastructure and resource planning for universities with changing student demographics and flexibility requirements and challenges brought on by a global health and economic crises.

    Read article: Exploring modes of lecturing as a teaching method in higher education: Student attendance, preference and motivation

  • Enhancing metacognition through thinking instruction: A case study in a Taiwanese university

    Mei-Hui Chen

    This study investigated the impact of thinking instruction on students’ metacognition and thinking behavior. Higher-order thinking occurs when individuals use their underlying metacognitive strategies which increase the probability of achieving a desirable result. The study was designed as a case study of an intervention and a posttest-only control group design was adopted. Participants consisted of students with a variety of majors were recruited from a medium-size university located in southern Taiwan. Two classes of the Developing Thinking course, totaling 78 students, comprised the group receiving the intervention, while 196 students in six General English classes comprised the comparison group. The intervention students were introduced to thinking skills, facts and opinions, question stems, and thinking from different perspectives. The quantitative results show strong evidence that the thinking instruction exerts statistically significant positive effects on students’ metacognition. Qualitative evidence also shows improvements in cognitive awareness with students demonstrating a more consistent application of thinking skills, an increased ability to think critically with thinking dispositions cultivated, and most importantly, a transfer of thinking behavior across the curriculum and in their personal lives. The researcher suggests the value of introducing thinking instruction to promote critical thinkers.

    Read article: Enhancing metacognition through thinking instruction: A case study in a Taiwanese university

  • Flipped classroom model and self-efficacy in an Iranian English as a foreign language context: A gender-based study

    Ehsan Namaziandost, Shouket Ahmad Tilwani, Shabnam Mahdizadeh Khodayari, Meisam Ziafar, Samir Alekasir, Abbas Pourhosein Gilakjani, Murad Hassan Mohammed Sawalmeh

    This study aimed to investigate the impact of the flipped classroom model on students’ self-efficacy and the difference in self-efficacy between males and females using this model. In order to accomplish this, 66 advanced participants were selected from a private English language institute. They were divided into two equal groups, namely experimental (flipped classroom) and control (traditional) group. The students’ self-efficacy was scored before and after the intervention with the Self-Efficacy Survey. The results indicated an increase in their average self-efficacy score with the flipped classroom while the traditional classroom decreased their average score. When the genders were analyzed separately, the males demonstrated a decrease in self-efficacy while the females indicated an increase while utilizing the flipped classroom. In light of these results, some recommendations have been made.

    Read article: Flipped classroom model and self-efficacy in an Iranian English as a foreign language context: A gender-based study

  • Assessment practices in Philippine higher STEAM education

    Celina P Sarmiento, Marie Paz E. Morales, Levi E Elipane, Brando C Palomar

    The study explored practices of the sampled higher education Philippine STEAM educators in assessing learners. Data sourced from the database of a state-funded research on Philippine STEAM education using a Classroom Observation Protocol, included 106 STEAM teachers from purposely selected institutions drawn from 14 regions. Systematic data analysis (through data condensation, data display, and drawing and verifying conclusions) revealed that STEAM teachers used both appropriate traditional and authentic assessment tools and strategies with inclusive integration of technology. Furthermore, results showed that STEAM teachers’ best assessment practices may be categorised as: 1) assessment for career or industry readiness, 2) mounting assessment system to support instruction, and 3) collective and reflective assessment process. COVID-19 pandemic implications and policy recommendations are also offered, which may enhance assessment practices and suggest a perspective in crafting and recommending national and international standards and guidelines on assessment literacy among higher STEAM educators.

    Read article: Assessment practices in Philippine higher STEAM education

  • Addressing academic rejection: Recommendations for reform

    Kelly-Ann Allen, Gregory M Donoghue, Saeed Pahlevansharif, Shane R Jimerson, John A.C. Hattie

    The aim of this paper is to provide a number of reasoned and evidence-supported arguments and a list of recommendations for reducing the impact of academic rejection. A brief literature review examined the prevalence and negative impacts of academic rejection including its purported purposes, predictors, and consequences. Findings revealed that the topic of academic rejection is largely under-studied, with very few empirical investigations. The extant literature typically places the onus on the individual academic to deal with rejection. Few articles have recommended institutional changes to ameliorate the known mental health impacts of rejection. We propose that the discovery and dissemination of knowledge are among the core purposes of academia, and that scholars are far more likely to contribute through institutional and systemic support. Several elements of the current approaches are contraindicated, thus, we recommend several changes, at both the individual and institutional levels to reduce opportunity costs for grants and funding, improve the publication process, and promote academics’ mental health and wellbeing. When examining academic rejection through the lens of effective learning, the vast literature of feedback can support important changes to how publications are accepted and rejected. Considering the limited literature pertaining to academic rejection, we present recommendations for changes in how academic performance can be evaluated, for the benefit of both the academy and the mental health of its members.

    Read article: Addressing academic rejection: Recommendations for reform

  • Developing our students’ level of mindfulness during these unprecedented times

    Peter Reilly

    The pandemic has provoked disruptions in students' lives and studies worldwide, which has caused them to feel moderate to high levels of anxiety and stress. Universities have responded by offering online counseling and communicating self-help recommendations via their websites. Curiously, the role that professors could play to reduce this emotional hardship has been ignored in the literature. This instructional paper describes how and why three professors in Mexico include a brief, daily mindful practice in class to help their students cope with the negative emotions that may arise. Psychological and educational research has indicated that the development of mindfulness reduces emotional pain and increases one’s sense of well-being. Importantly, the focused-attention meditation described herein does not require an experienced mediator. A script to guide the practice is being used by the three professors, and could serve as a starting point for willing professors. Educators may also discover that the practice improves academic achievement because it activates executive functions (e.g. inhibitory control; working memory), thereby enhancing cognitive functioning. The paper also presents several practical implications involved with the practice, as well as initial reactions from professors and students.

    Read article: Developing our students’ level of mindfulness during these unprecedented times