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Vol. 20 No. 4 (2023)

Published: 2 December 2023

Articles

  • Developing teamwork in a multidisciplinary, multicohort curricular context: A case study of vertically integrated projects

    Malgorzata (Gosia) M Mitka, Shruti Narayanswamy, Ian Smith

    The ability to work effectively in a diverse team is a valuable skill which is transferable to many contexts. As such, it is important to build this skill through deliberate, targeted, and meaningful learning activities in higher education. The Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) model enhances team diversity by combining students from different disciplines and years of study to work together on a research project within the curriculum. Additionally, VIP provides the option to remain on the project for an extended period over several semesters and gain team leadership experience. Our research investigates the recent implementation of VIP at the University of St Andrews. Using a survey of student perceptions and analysis of student reflective writing, this case study reports evidence that the VIP model adds value to the development of teamwork skills.

    Read article: Developing teamwork in a multidisciplinary, multicohort curricular context: A case study of vertically integrated projects 745 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Conceptualising, evaluating and supporting the development of cosmopolitan values in internationalised higher education: A capabilities approach

    Stephanie J Bridges

    Internationalised higher education literature draws attention to the tension between the economic returns of recruiting overseas students and the personal, social and cultural possibilities offered. This paper advances the idea that fostering cosmopolitan values might be an educational focus for internationalisation. However, it appears that the creation of higher education learning environments which promote such values, offering opportunities for students to become more interculturally aware is yet to be achieved. Drawing on the ‘capability approach’ of Amartya Senand Martha Nussbaum, an ‘intercultural capability set’ was constructed as a means of operationalising cosmopolitan values within higher education. Analysis of data from 44 interviews with undergraduate home and international pharmacy students through the lens of capability enabled the identification of factors within the academic environment which act to promote or inhibit the development of intercultural relationships, learning and more cosmopolitan selves. Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment should be therefore examined for their potential to enhance opportunities for intercultural engagement and capability expansion, with participatory dialogue, including staff, students, university departments and stakeholders, about valued outcomes for a university education. It is argued that the capability approach provides a sound basis for operationalising and evaluating efforts to develop students with cosmopolitan values for the present and contributing as future members of society.

    Read article: Conceptualising, evaluating and supporting the development of cosmopolitan values in internationalised higher education: A capabilities approach 693 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Interfacing between blended case teaching and international case competitions as undergraduate student inquiry and literacy in Marketing programmes

    Roisin Donnelly, Roger Sherlock

    This practice example explores the inquiry-based relationship for students between case teaching and international competitions in Marketing. This work is based on the premise that undergraduate Marketing students in a College of Business should experience learning through and about inquiry and enhance their research literacy as a result. Although for many students research-oriented ways of engaging them with inquiry are fairly passive experiences, we believe student engagement in case study competitions offer a primarily active and exciting learning opportunity. In a broader sense, the framework offered by Healey & Jenkins (2009) which is explored in this example, is based on the argument that research-informed inquiry is a powerful way to reinvent or reinvigorate the undergraduate curriculum because the focus is on the student as a learner - in particular that the student can be viewed as a potential producer of knowledge - and by challenging what research and inquiry are in practice, provide interesting perspectives for the Marketing discipline to consider for future programme provision.

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  • An Evidence-Based Approach to Developing Faculty-Wide Training for Graduate Teaching Assistants

    Jenny Slaughter, Thomas Rodgers, Claudia Henninger

    In 2000, Sharpe proposed a framework for graduate teaching assistant (GTA) training based on three key principles: departmental training, faculty training, and accreditation. Sharpe’s paper culminated in a call for Higher Education (HE) institutes to adopt this framework. Whilst the principles of Sharpe’s work remain relevant, the shape and structure of HE and accrediting bodies has changed due to the increasingly competitive market environment. Herein we provide an updated framework for GTA training based around implementation at a large English Russell Group University. We identify seven key elements for effective GTA training based on literature. We then demonstrate how this framework and the key elements can be implemented in practice, using GTA role descriptors and input from staff in Departments and Faculty. We demonstrate how the framework is applicable on a broad subject basis and how training is now supporting the 950 GTAs annually who work across the nine Schools within the Faculty of Science and Engineering, at the University of Manchester. The developed modular training sessions are mapped out and are benchmarked against both the Vitae Researcher Development Framework and the UK Professional Standards Framework allowing postgraduate students to apply for HEA accreditation through Advance HE (after suitable practice). Finally, the report discusses the benefits of implementation as well as lessons for future action, providing a set of key principles for others who want to develop their existing GTA training provision or set up a new training programme.

    Read article: An Evidence-Based Approach to Developing Faculty-Wide Training for Graduate Teaching Assistants 835 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

Showing 14–17 of 17 articles