Pedagogical Challenges Research Articles

Validating an Online Learning Dexterity Survey of University Students’ Online Learning Competence

AbstractCompetent online learners have dexterity as they can manoeuvre a wide range of learning technologies and online learning strategies to learn successfully. In this study, we approach university students’ online learning competence as ‘online learning dexterity’ or an ability to manage different aspects of online learning with appropriate technological and pedagogical strategies. Aligning with emerging visions of more individualised, flexible, multi-modal, and community-driven experiences through online learning in universities, we operationalised an Online Learning Dexterity Survey instrument that assesses online learning competence through six dimensions: (1) asynchronous learning dexterity (2) synchronous learning dexterity (3) self-directed learning dexterity (4) online collaboration dexterity (5) learning technologies dexterity, and (6) learning access dexterity. Construct validity was established through confirmatory factor analysis of responses from 273 university students and discriminant validity was established through cluster analysis. The three-cluster solution show that learning technologies dexterity and learning access dexterity can be used to identify student profiles with lower confidence in their technical competencies but the other dimensions reveal students’ pedagogical challenges with managing learning, online collaboration, and different online learning modalities. The contributions of online learning dexterity factors to improving the assessment and development of university students’ online learning competency are discussed.

A Qualitative Examination of Instructor Experiences Regarding Pedagogical Challenges in Classical Guitar Education

This study investigates the pedagogical challenges faced by classical guitar instructors at Linyi University’s Music Department, with a focus on the integration of traditional Chinese musical elements into Western classical guitar education. Employing a qualitative research design, the study explores the lived experiences of 20 instructors through interviews, observations, and document analysis. Key findings reveal significant technical challenges, issues in repertoire selection, and difficulties in maintaining student engagement. The study also examines the strategies adopted by instructors, the influence of institutional support, and the impact of cultural factors on teaching practices. The results contribute to the broader discourse on cross-cultural music education and offer practical recommendations for instructors and institutions aiming to enhance classical guitar pedagogy in diverse cultural settings.

Beyond Games: Unspoken Challenges of Pre- Service Physical Education Teachers – A Pilot Study

Studies on teacher preparation highlight the importance of practical experiences such as internships in adequately preparing pre-service teachers for the demands of the profession. However, there has been a lack of focus on the specific difficulties encountered by pre-service physical education (PE) teachers during internships. This study utilized qualitative methods to examine the specific obstacles encountered by eight pre-service physical education teachers while completing their internships at private secondary schools in the northern region of the Philippines. Through thematic analysis of weekly reflective journals, four main themes were identified: personal well-being and emotional strain, classroom management and student interactions, instructional practices and pedagogical challenges, and school environment and institutional factors. The results emphasize the importance of integrating well-being strategies into PE teacher education programs, improving PE-specific classroom management training, and promoting stronger partnerships between universities and schools to offer consistent support, resources, and practical experiences for future teachers navigating the complexities of the PE teaching environment. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the experiences of pre-service PE teachers and provide practical suggestions for enhancing teacher preparation and support systems.

Bones at Home

Remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a range of pedagogical challenges for anthropology laboratory courses. In biological anthropology courses such as Human Osteology, hands-on experience is essential to achieving learning outcomes, including basic bone and feature (i.e., landmark) identification, identification from fragmentary remains, and age and sex estimation. To address the need for training that includes object-based, tactile (haptic) learning in fields such as biological anthropology and archaeology, all Human Osteology students at Mount Royal University and the University of Manitoba took home plastic model skeletons. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how well remotely educated undergraduates (REUs) met human osteology learning objectives when supported by plastic model skeletons at home. We present the results of a survey designed to test core osteological skills obtained by REUs in comparison with undergraduates educated with in-person laboratory components (IPUs) and experts in the field (zero to four and five or more years of experience). REU scores did not differ significantly from those of IPU or Junior Experts with less than five years of experience. Students performed well in bone identification but were limited in their ability to apply common sex and age estimation methods and to identify incomplete elements. Our findings reinforce the importance of haptic learning and years of experience in human osteological learning. They support the use of take-home models as valuable resources in both remote and in-person undergraduate teaching. This work is a step toward more inclusive universal instructional design that can be applied across various anthropology laboratory courses.

Building the educational future: Exploring the dimensions of STEM education through 3D printing and platonic solids in university mathematics teaching

This essay addresses the convergence of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, exploring the opportunities and challenges of this multidisciplinary integration in the context of university mathematics education. Focusing on Platonic solids, the study examines how 3D printing becomes a transformative vehicle for mathematical understanding by providing tangible representations of abstract concepts. The tangible dimensions of teaching and the intersection between science, mathematics, and art are highlighted as key factors that enrich the educational experience. Additionally, the technological, ethical, and pedagogical challenges associated with the implementation of 3D printing in STEM education are addressed. This analysis culminates in the conclusion that this integration not only prepares students for an interconnected world but also raises new questions about ethics and responsibility in the evolution of university mathematics education.

Adaptive Learning Models for Diverse Classrooms: Enhancing Educational Equity

This review paper explores the transformative potential of adaptive learning models in promoting educational equity. Adaptive learning systems leverage advanced algorithms and digital tools to provide personalized instruction tailored to individual student needs, enhancing academic outcomes and fostering greater engagement and confidence. The theoretical foundation of adaptive learning aligns with constructivist and socio-cultural theories, emphasizing the importance of personalized and differentiated instruction. Evidence suggests adaptive learning improves academic performance among diverse and underserved student populations. However, significant barriers to implementation persist, including technological, financial, and pedagogical challenges, as well as ethical considerations related to data privacy and algorithmic fairness. The paper highlights the implications of these findings for educational policy and classroom practice, advocating for equitable access to adaptive learning technologies and comprehensive professional development for educators. The evolution of adaptive learning, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning, promises further educational equity and inclusivity advancements. Keywords: Adaptive Learning, Educational Equity, Personalized Instruction, Digital Tools

Challenges in Promoting Learner Autonomy in Blended Learning: Perspectives from English as a Foreign Language Teachers in China

Blended learning is gaining popularity as a prevailing practice in higher education worldwide. This study explores the challenges faced by experienced English as a Foreign Language teachers in promoting learner autonomy within blended learning environments. Drawing from interviews and classroom observations conducted with five EFL teachers at a private university in China, the study identifies four key challenges: technological, pedagogical, cultural, and institutional. Technological challenges revolve around concerns regarding technical support, internet reliability, and hardware availability, highlighting the need for sturdy technical infrastructure and supportive mechanisms. Pedagogical challenges include designing effective blended learning activities that balance teacher-led instruction with opportunities for student autonomy, emphasizing the importance of scaffolding learning tasks, and providing adequate support for independent learning. Cultural challenges underscore the influence of cultural factors on student attitudes towards autonomy and authority in the classroom, emphasizing the necessity for culturally responsive teaching practices. Institutional challenges highlight barriers stemming from rigid curriculum requirements, limited professional development opportunities, and a lack of administrative support, underscoring the importance of systemic support and organizational change. The findings offer valuable guidance for institutions, administrators, and EFL teachers on how to design more effective blended EFL courses. Limitations and suggestions for future studies such as larger sample size, rigorous data collection method, and longitudinal studies are provided to enhance our understanding of promoting learner autonomy in blended learning environments.

Use and application of wearable technology in football further education settings in the UK

ABSTRACT The increase in the number of football-specific industry-related qualifications offered by the post-16 education sector has grown exponentially in recent years. Due to technological advancements and access to enhanced equipment, these courses tend to include wearable technology in their curricular to support student cohorts understanding of specific internal and external load patterns. Despite these technological and education developments, there is a dearth of pedagogic research on the application of various wearable technology in post-16 football education. Using a mixed-method research design, we established the type of technology, and how it is being employed across a range of post-16 educational settings. Survey responses suggested that Global Positioning System (GPS) vests and heart rate chest strap were the most prominent wearable technology. Qualitative findings suggested that there are pedagogic challenges and barriers to using this kind of technology, a lack of understanding, and poor feedback and communication strategies. Having established some preliminary findings, a series of 1–1 interviews with identified practitioners working in post-16 educational settings explored these barriers and challenges within contextualised settings in more depth. The results identified disconnect between coaching performance and coaching education, suggesting a lack of knowledge surrounding the uses and capabilities of wearable technology used in football-related FE settings. These findings can help sport, academia and the technology industry to better align and understand in order to meet the educational needs of students seeking to enter a career in sports such as football that use wearable technology.

Staying with the Climate Trouble

In teaching about climate, when it comes to the troubling question of “what can we do?” I’ve argued that we try to help students stay with, rather than prematurely and inadequately, resolve that trouble and that we do this by inviting them into our own state of not knowing. How to stay with the pedagogical trouble of doing that, including the trouble of trying to contain the despair that an honest account of the climate crisis may provoke? This essay suggests that one approach to that question in the literature classroom is to teach texts in which characters themselves grapple with the question of “what can we do?” Ultimately, the pedagogical challenge is to help shape these textual encounters into an awareness that, especially as it is shared, despair might be something other than a terminal condition—indeed, might be a necessary passage through to whatever comes next.

A Review on the Pedagogical Challenges of Chinese Teachers on the Marxist Philosophy of Education

Marxist philosophy of education is an important part of the Chinese educational system which is a mandatory course for college students in Chinese colleges and universities. This literature review aims to explore the pedagogical challenges of Chinese teachers in teaching Marxist philosophy. This paper hopes to contribute to a comprehensive educational understanding of the relationship between ideology and pedagogy in the educational landscape of China.

An interaction analysis of a computer science co-design conversation on cultural relevance and its implications for design

This article uses interaction analysis to examine an episode moment-by-moment of how a group of educators recognized and acknowledged that a specific design decision could be harmful for a historically marginalized population of students enrolled in the district. However, once a key change was made to be more culturally responsive and considerate, new and unexpected pedagogical challenges appeared. This case serves to illustrate some of the unexpected tensions that can appear in real-time when unanticipated questions about cultural relevance are foregrounded during lesson and materials co-design. It also serves as a reminder that educational technologies are not “race” neutral.

Cognizing the Trials of Incorporating Lexical Bundles in English among Balti Speaking Learners: An Inclusive Case Study

The study aims to explore the linguistic trials of Balti-speaking English learners in using the lexical bundles in paragraph writing. Lexical bundles are linguistic terminologies that are run with a proper sequence of morphemes, and indeed, such lexical bundles possess a great role in one’s discourse and fluency. An inclusive case study approach was incorporated, focusing on a targeted team of Balti-speaking English learners enrolled to learn English as a second language in Skardu. The trials and errors of the Balti enrollees were explored in the targeted situation concerning the use of lexical bundles properly in English paragraph writing. The total lexical bundles identified in the targeted documents through textual and structural analyses were based on the fact that 'eleven were used, five were used with errors, and more than twelve were required to be added more appropriately and positively’. To improve the instructional strategies and techniques of language instructors, this study may offer great ideas to handle pedagogical challenges for language instructors in boosting instructional strategies and proficiency.

Perspectives of ELF-informed teachers in Taiwan

Abstract English as a lingua franca (ELF) represents a substantial paradigm shift in ELT because it challenges the traditional norm of standard English. Despite this changing trend, there is a gap in research on incorporating ELF into in-service teachers’ professional development (PD). Given the backdrop that (trans)disciplinary courses are expected to be taught in English in compulsory K-12 education due to the Bilingual 2030 Policy in Taiwan, this paper proposes an ELF-informed PD model and specifically examines English teachers’ perspectives before, during, and after their participation in the first nationwide bilingual in-service teachers’ PD programme. We observe a growing recognition of ELF concepts among teachers, which is evident in their understanding of the pedagogic challenges and implicit tensions in ELF practice, their validating senses of being ELF teachers, and their critical reflection on ELF-informed pedagogy. The enhanced understanding highlights an alternative approach to transforming the ‘E’ in EFL.

Unleashing creativity in STEM teacher education through scripting task pedagogy

AbstractThis paper proposes a creative pedagogical approach that aims to foster authentic STEM teacher education through incorporating scriptwriting tasks in science and mathematics courses for future secondary STEM teachers. These tasks invite teachers to create imaginary dialogues addressing specific pedagogical challenges, such as conceptual difficulties, misconceptions, or unexpected questions arising during instruction. We assert that traditional approaches to lesson planning in STEM methods courses do not provide sufficient opportunity for exploring both content and pedagogy and fostering student engagement. Hence, we propose scriptwriting‐based pedagogy as an innovative and creative way of cultivating future STEM teachers' pedagogical content knowledge. This paper showcases three examples of scriptwriting tasks implemented in secondary STEM teacher education. We elucidate the pedagogical opportunities afforded by scriptwriting and underscore its pedagogical potential for STEM teacher education.

Visualization of electromagnetic fields in a circular waveguide using Mathematica

This paper employs Mathematica for visualizing electromagnetic fields (EMF) in circular waveguides, effectively addressing pedagogical challenges related to theoretical abstraction and computational complexity. We first derive the exact solutions for guided modes, then summarize the steps for visualizing EMF using Mathematica, propose educational strategies, and showcase simulation results. The Mathematica code is provided, allowing for dynamic parameter adjustment and real-time field change observation. This approach significantly enhances undergraduate students’ understanding of electromagnetism through engaging visual and interactive learning experiences.

Empowering Collaborative Learning: Innovative Integration of Real-Time Communication Into Hololens-Based Learning System

This study primarily aims to investigate the effectiveness of the HoloLens-based learning system, RTCHoloLS, in enhancing collaborative learning skills in undergraduate photography courses. It provides empirical evidence showing how RTC-HoloLS addresses pedagogical challenges and improves collaborative learning outcomes, offering a holistic approach to photography education. Although Augmented Reality (AR) technology helps students theoretically understand camera operations in photography courses, it lacks in promoting collaborative learning skills during hands-on practice. To address this limitation, this study introduces the RTC-HoloLS, a HoloLens-based learning system with Real-Time Communication, and compares it to the conventional video streaming-based HoloLS (CVSHoloLS). The results indicate that RTC-HoloLS significantly enhances collaborative learning skills compared to CVS-HoloLS, highlighting the importance of integrating Real-Time Communication technologies in AR learning environments. Additionally, RTC-HoloLS was equally effective for both male and female students, whereas CVS-HoloLS showed greater benefits for male students. This suggests the need to consider gender differences in design and development to ensure the learning system accommodates all students. The findings have significant implications for instructional technology design and implementation, suggesting that educational institutions should prioritize real-time communication features in AR learning tools to enhance collaboration and interaction.

The Use of Deep Learning in Open Learning: A Systematic Review (2019 to 2023)

No records of systematic reviews focused on deep learning in open learning have been found, although there has been some focus on other areas of machine learning. Through a systematic review, this study aimed to determine the trends, applied computational techniques, and areas of educational use of deep learning in open learning. The PRISMA protocol was used, and the Web of Science Core Collection (2019–2023) was searched. VOSviewer was used for networking and clustering, and in-depth analysis was employed to answer the research questions. Among the main results, it is worth noting that the scientific literature has focused on the following areas: (a) predicting student dropout, (b) automatic grading of short answers, and (c) recommending MOOC courses. It was concluded that pedagogical challenges have included the effective personalization of content for different learning styles and the need to address possible inherent biases in the datasets (e.g., socio-demographics, traces, competencies, learning objectives) used for training. Regarding deep learning, we observed an increase in the use of pre-trained models, the development of more efficient architectures, and the growing use of interpretability techniques. Technological challenges related to the use of large datasets, intensive computation, interpretability, knowledge transfer, ethics and bias, security, and cost of implementation were also evident.

EFL instructors’ perceptions of integration digital transformation in EFL learning context in Higher Education

This paper explores the integration of digital technologies and tools in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning in Jordanian Higher Education through a qualitative open-ended online survey. It highlights the perceptions of 100 Jordanian EFL instructors, each with a minimum of five years of experience, on the digital transformation in the EFL learning process. The survey, consisting of ten open-ended questions, gathered in-depth insights on the benefits, challenges, and implications of this transformation. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the qualitative data, revealing varied levels of experience, the use of diverse digital tools, and both technical and pedagogical challenges. Key findings include the positive impact of digital tools on teaching and learning experiences, enhanced student engagement, and opportunities for personalized learning and collaboration. The study concludes that leveraging digital resources can enhance EFL learner engagement and learning outcomes, inform future pedagogical practices, and shape the landscape of digital transformation in EFL Higher Education for years to come.

Pilot qualitative exploration of the impact of community asset mapping within the undergraduate psychiatry curriculum at an Irish medical school

IntroductionProviding an effective response to global health disparities requires that future doctors are better prepared to embrace a public health ethos. Asset-based approaches see people and communities as coproducers of...

Five years on: analysis of university lecturers’ experiences of the French government’s health promotion education program

BackgroundThe National Health Promotion Intervention Program by Student (HPIPS) is a French government educational program introduced in 2018, aiming at developing all health students’ health promotion knowledge and abilities, as well as implementing health promotion interventions for specific subpopulations in the general public. Its pedagogical framework was elaborated in 2018 and then evaluated by the French Council for Public Health in 2022, highlighting certain difficulties for the program to be homogeneously implemented in France. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the experiences and feedback of university lecturers in charge of this HPIPS training.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with HPIPS lecturers from various health fields and from French universities, and a qualitative content analysis was carried out.ResultsFourteen interviews were conducted during the autumn of 2022 with HPIPS program university lecturers including five doctors, three dentists, two nurses, two pharmacists, one midwife, and one physiotherapist from eight different towns belonging to six regions. Depending on the professional background, the component, and the local resources available, the teaching experience varied from one lecturer to another. A number of difficulties arose in setting up this educational program and complying with the latter legislation. The work overload was considerable, and the lecturers’ heavy commitments some lecturers to be discouraged, especially since some lecturers were not trained in health promotion abilities. Although interprofessionality was a strength of this HPIPS, it was also its main challenge. Pedagogical innovations were developed, notably through the use of digital technology; cross-disciplinary collaboration was established; and lecturers–students specific boundaries have emerged thanks to this health promotion project.ConclusionsIn France, setting up the HPIPS rapidly was experienced as a real pedagogical challenge for the interviewed university lecturers. While most of them noted the positive and beneficial contributions made by the introduction of prevention and health promotion intervention skills for health students, they also shared recommendations in order to match the ambitions and increase the HPIPS impact on the development of a culture of prevention and health promotion among health students.