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Full-Text Articles in Education

Curriculum Re-Definitions And Transformations: Spinning On New Axes Within The Technological University, David Irwin Jan 2016

Curriculum Re-Definitions And Transformations: Spinning On New Axes Within The Technological University, David Irwin

Outcomes in Higher Education

Within a technological university there is an understanding of the kind of education students should possess on graduation. A primary consideration in such an institution is the requirement to "transmit knowledge and universal values and, at the same time, to contribute to the cultural, economic and social development of the local societies that they serve and that support them". This paper explores how a curriculum can be (re)shaped in a technological university context to address this requirement. This paper develops and examines a possible pathway to progress the establishment of a portfolio of academic programmes within the context of establishing …


But Is It Transformative? Quality Assurance As Co-Learning In Graduate Education, Lorayne Robertson, Wendy Barber Jan 2016

But Is It Transformative? Quality Assurance As Co-Learning In Graduate Education, Lorayne Robertson, Wendy Barber

Outcomes in Higher Education

This research explores quality in two online graduate courses by examining data sets gathered separately from the same cohort of students. Data include an institutional survey and student work outputs such as assignments and learning logs. Quality in higher education is critically important, but the means to establish it has reportedly been somewhat illusive in academia (Anderson, G., 2006). There are tensions evident in processes such as program review because it encourages faculty to reflect on their practice but is generally not course-specific. Program reviews also rely on external experts to match the evidence to standards. Barrow (1999) employs the …


Critical Skills And Critical Pedagogy In An Era Of "Permanent Crisis" In Postsecondary Education Howard A. Doughty, Howard A. Doughty Jan 2016

Critical Skills And Critical Pedagogy In An Era Of "Permanent Crisis" In Postsecondary Education Howard A. Doughty, Howard A. Doughty

Outcomes in Higher Education

"Critical thinking," is widely celebrated as a "soft" employability skill, like the communications and human relations capabilities deemed essential for work in the precarious twenty-first- century. We are told it enhances problem-solving skills and contributes to employee flexibility in the competitive global economy. Intellectually, critical thinking derives from the European Enlightenment. It favours the “scientific method,” strives for conceptual clarity and evidence- based statements. It eschews “bias” in all its forms. It opposes metaphysics and historicism, is critical of sentimental romanticism and authoritarian demagoguery, and seeks to purge “ideology” from public discourse. “Critical pedagogy” also criticizes ideology, but differently. It …


A Survey Of Emotional Well-Being Among Irish Third Level Educators, Lorna Lawless, Colm Mcguinness, Aiden Carthy, Fiona Mcsweeney Jan 2016

A Survey Of Emotional Well-Being Among Irish Third Level Educators, Lorna Lawless, Colm Mcguinness, Aiden Carthy, Fiona Mcsweeney

Outcomes in Higher Education

This study aimed to gain baseline scores of perceived levels of work-related stress, self- efficacy, emotional intelligence and well-being for Irish third level educators. A questionnaire was designed to achieve this, including an open-ended question asking participants to note their attitudes and beliefs towards training in the area of social and emotional skills. The questionnaire received 494 responses, 185 (37%) university, 238 (48%) institute of technology, 59 (12%) college of education and 18 (3%) other. Statistical analysis using a one-way ANOVA found a significant difference, with higher levels of work-related stress being reported by university lecturers in comparison to institute …


Full Steam Ahead: Building Preservice Teachers’ Capacity In Makerspace Pedagogies, Janette Hughes, Jennifer Laffler, Ami Mamolo, Laura Morrison, Diana Petrarca Jan 2016

Full Steam Ahead: Building Preservice Teachers’ Capacity In Makerspace Pedagogies, Janette Hughes, Jennifer Laffler, Ami Mamolo, Laura Morrison, Diana Petrarca

Outcomes in Higher Education

This paper explores teacher candidates’ understandings of 1) makerspace/constructionist pedagogies; 2) the issue of bullying; and, 3) working with at-risk youth, as they evolved over the course of a six-month partnership. The partnership included researchers and teacher candidates at a Faculty of Education and the teacher librarian at a local elementary school who were participating in a larger Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)- funded project that focuses on building, implementing and evaluating an effective model for a school improvement program that increases teachers’ capacity, experience and specific fluency and expertise with technologies supporting STEAM learning and …


Identifying, Developing And Grading ‘Soft Skills’ In Higher Education: A Technological Approach, Adrian O'Connor, Jeffrey Buckley, Naill Seery, Martha Cleveland-Innes Jan 2016

Identifying, Developing And Grading ‘Soft Skills’ In Higher Education: A Technological Approach, Adrian O'Connor, Jeffrey Buckley, Naill Seery, Martha Cleveland-Innes

Outcomes in Higher Education

Identifying, developing and grading soft skills, i.e., transversal cross-curricular competencies, in higher education requires the recognition of key qualities, the capacity to discriminate between these qualities and a mechanism to validly and reliability grade soft skill acquisition. This research proposes a technological infrastructure that acknowledges the importance of self-assessment, peer observation and teacher evaluation when adjudicating on subjective and often personal data. The proposal has the capacity to balance, weight and triangulate the objective and subjective evidence of soft skill acquisition ensuring the validity and reliability of the resultant accreditation. Accreditation of soft skills was in the form of digital …