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Vol. 20 No. 3 (2023)

Published: 2 April 2023

Articles

  • The role of compassion in higher education practices

    Martin B Andrew, Kerry Dobbins, Eileen Pollard, Beate Mueller, Rebekkah Middleton

    Compassion in higher education is viewed in different ways by educators. In recent years a focus on using compassionate pedagogy and being authentic, compassionate educators has arisen. Often associated with ‘care’, compassion has been labelled at times to be ‘soft’ or even ‘fluffy’ and holding emotion. Rather, we argue – through critically exploring discourses of compassion and care – that by acknowledging higher education has a relational element encompassing purposeful and trusting relationships, interactions can hold more meaning and benefit. This Editorial seeks to position the role of compassion in higher education, challenging how compassion focused pedagogy and research can be incorporated and enacted so it can benefit the future of higher education. We consider compassion in learning and teaching practices and in assessment, looking with hope to the future where we may see educational values lived in and through our teaching practices.

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  • Leadership is needed for ethical ChatGPT: Character, assessment, and learning using artificial intelligence (AI)

    Joseph Crawford, Michael Cowling, Kelly-Ann Allen

    The OpenAI’s ChatGPT-3, or Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer was released in November 2022 without significant warning, and has taken higher education by storm since. The artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot has caused alarm for practitioners seeking to detect authenticity of student work. Whereas some educational doomsayers predict the end of education in its current form, we propose an alternate early view. We identify in this commentary a position where educators can leverage AI like ChatGPT to build supportive learning environments for students who have cultivated good character. Such students know how to use ChatGPT for good, and can engage effectively with the ChatGPT application. In building our ChatGPT argument, we acknowledge the existing literature on plagiarism and academic integrity, and consider leadership as a root support mechanism, character development as an antidote, and authentic assessment as an enabler. In doing so, we highlight that while ChatGPT – like papermills, and degree factories before it – can be used to cheat on university exams, it can also be used to support deeper learning and better learning outcomes for students. In doing so, we offer a commentary that offers opportunities for practitioners, and research potential for scholars.

    Read article: Leadership is needed for ethical ChatGPT: Character, assessment, and learning using artificial intelligence (AI)

  • The lessons learnt from emergency remote teaching to strengthen a pre-service teacher education course on lesson design

    Dean van der Merwe, Rene Levigne-Lang

    This paper reports on the lessons learnt from the COVID-19-induced emergency remote (online) teaching and learning of a one-year teacher education course. The final-year course, within a four-year Bachelor of Education programme, aimed at developing pre-service teachers’ knowledge of the nature and process of learning and how to guide and support learning in diverse school contexts. The course was planned before the COVID-19 pandemic, and teaching and learning would have taken place on campus, with limited online activities. The ensuing lockdown in South Africa resulted in university teaching and learning moving abruptly online. We investigated lessons learnt from the transition to emergency remote (online) teaching. Data were generated by conducting semi-structured interviews with 20 student teachers about their experiences of the course. The data were analysed using the constant comparative method. Analysing the data highlighted the benefits of remote (online) teaching that should be considered when using a blended approach to harness online teaching affordances. As we advance, we will implement a fully blended approach, harnessing the affordances of both online and contact-based teaching and learning.

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  • Gamification pedagogy: A motivational approach to student-centric course design in higher education

    Fiona Gironella

    This article explores the praxis of gamification pedagogy and post-secondary course design. The literature on gamified design theory and current research on its application as a pedagogy are explored. A student-centric, motivationally based gamification design model is proposed, operationalized, implemented, evaluated, and reiterated. The design process, application strategies and challenges, and resulting qualitative outcomes over a two-year implementation period of the re-designed gamified course are detailed. Student evaluations rated both the overlaid gamified structural design and the integrated course mechanics as highly motivating and contributing significantly to their success and positive learning experience. The gamified course design was able to resolve historical challenges for the identified course and increased student engagement. Gamification pedagogy proved uniquely effective for two sub-groups of students, those struggling with anxiety and second language learners. This innovative pedagogy effectively leveraged students’ unique intrinsic and extrinsic motivators to create an empowering, supportive, and highly effective learning framework.

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  • Instructional design and course delivery as meta-ensemble: Improvisatory responses to COVID constraints in tertiary music ensemble assessments.

    Narelle Yeo, Brad Fuller, Simon Kenway

    This research considers the synchronous creation of a faculty meta-ensemble emergent in the pivot to online music ensembles in 2021. The unit of study outline for Music Ensemble Performance mandates live ensembles in a Kolb-inspired experiential learning model, seemingly impossible to achieve in a pandemic. Eric Ries advocates for necessary change in strategy, where required, without a change in vision. This was also mandated by the published unit of study outline, which limited change possibilities. In this auto-ethnographic case study, faculty created their own co-teaching meta-ensemble to model collaborative musical behaviours. Keller and Appel (2010) note the importance of live embodiment of collaborative music making for sound synchronicity through shared gestures. It was initially unclear how this could be achieved through exclusive online learning. A necessary course pivot during the pandemic showed 1. Ensemble music making is a unique complex adaptive culture, also possible to create in an online environment; and 2. Faculty can model behaviours and structures that are able to mirror ensemble course outcomes. Instructional designers can also embody the courses they teach. This has implications for other teaching and learning contexts.

    Read article: Instructional design and course delivery as meta-ensemble: Improvisatory responses to COVID constraints in tertiary music ensemble assessments.

  • The Perceived Impact of Faculty-in-Residence Programs on Faculty Development

    Luis Arabit, Leonard L. Lira, Jennifer Johnston, Lina Anastasovitou, Christine Ma-Kellams, Kyle Hambrook, Ravneet K. Tiwana, Theodore T. Tsau

    Faculty-in-Residence (FIR) programs, where students interact with faculty outside of the classroom, have shown positive effects on student success. However, most research does not look at FIR programs from a holistic perspective that examines the impact on faculty. This study investigates the perceived impact on faculty participating in FIR programs. The results add to current literature that faculty-student interactions outside of the classroom are significant for students and faculty, specifically faculty perceptions of performance in teaching and service. The results also indicate positive perceptions by faculty in research performance due to participation in the FIR program. This finding is surprising given previous research, which shows faculty who participate in FIR programs feel disadvantaged in terms of their research agenda. Furthermore, the investigation uncovers how the organizational design of the institution implementing the FIR program impacts the perceptions of program purpose and efficacy.

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  • “We learn things to solve real-life problems”: Understanding how nature of engineering beliefs situate developing pedagogical content knowledge in a modular engineering education professional development program

    Mijung Kim, P. Janelle McFeetors, Qingna Jin, Kerry Rose, Jason Carey, Janice Miller-Young, Marnie Jamieson, Samer Adeeb

    Increasing numbers of studies in STEM fields indicate that there are higher gains in student outcomes in classroom environments implementing evidence-based teaching approaches focused on learners and their learning when compared to traditional lecture-based classrooms. However, despite the compelling results, studies show that lecture is still the most common instructor behaviour in undergraduate education. Professional learning programs have been shown to be crucial in closing this gap and promoting sustained adoption of student-centred teaching approaches in undergraduate education. In order to understand how faculty members in engineering experience the development of their pedagogical understandings and practice, we invited seven engineering professors of different ranks and disciplines to participate in a professional learning program, Scholarship of Pedagogy and Application of Research Knowledge in Engineering (SPARK-ENG), designed specifically for engineering education. The participants’ interactions during the community of practice and individual and group interviews after completing their modules were recorded, transcribed, and analysed through a thematic analysis process. The study findings indicated that the participants demonstrated a complexity of pedagogical understanding and preferences toward practical aspects of engineering education based on external constraints and perceptions about engineering knowledge and engineering teaching. They further valued community-based interactions to develop pedagogical reflection and possibilities of implementation in their own classroom situations. The study points to the need for further research and discussion surrounding professors’ epistemologies of disciplinary knowledge and unique cultures of certain professions to support the development of effective student-centred pedagogies in university professional development programs.

    Read article: “We learn things to solve real-life problems”: Understanding how nature of engineering beliefs situate developing pedagogical content knowledge in a modular engineering education professional development program

  • Understanding the commencing student mindset to better support student success: A typology of first-year students’ motivation, preparedness and perceived support

    Sarah Midford, Sara James, Anastasia Kanjere

    This article presents a typology of student mindset on commencing their studies at university. Using the results of a sample of over 400 first-year humanities students enrolled in a generalist degree at a mid-tier metropolitan university, we performed a cluster analysis informed by self-reported student motivation, preparedness and perceived support. Four types were generated: the ‘Coasters,’ the ‘Reluctants,’ the ‘Passionates’ and the ‘Fight or Flights.’ The types generated exhibit a statistically significant correlation with final grade achieved. The predictive power of the generated types indicates that this form of typology is an appropriate conceptual model for understanding student success in the first-year context. As participation in higher education widens, scholarship has triggered a rethinking of the factors that determine student engagement and success across increasingly diverse cohorts. Our analysis shows that student mindset on commencing university, in conjunction with other factors including socio-economic circumstances and course preference, has significant impact on student success.

    Read article: Understanding the commencing student mindset to better support student success: A typology of first-year students’ motivation, preparedness and perceived support