Collaborative Course Research Articles

Student Engagement, Accountability, and Empowerment

This article describes an experiment in collaborative course design in a midlevel sociology course. Unlike most of the literature on collaborative teaching and learning, which often deals with collaboration among students, this article discusses collaboration between the instructor and students. The students in this course collaborated with the instructor in designing the course—choosing the readings and developing the assignments—from the first day of class. Student feedback on the experiment was overwhelmingly positive. Three major themes that emerged from the student feedback were (1) higher levels of student engagement, (2) a sense of personal accountability, and (3) student empowerment. While the results of the student feedback mostly point to positive experiences, collaboration between students and instructors does bring a high level of uncertainty and extra work for the instructor involved. The article ends with some further guidance for those considering collaborative learning in their classrooms.

English

The objective of this paper was to study the productive situation of a producers' cooperative of small animals. This paper is based on the experience of partaking in the management of a cooperative of small-scale livestock producers that created an opportunity for scientific learning for the students of zootechnics at the Alagoas State University-UNEAL. The results of this study revealed that through exposure to the production culture of every business unit in the cooperative, the students confronted a range of economic and administrative aspects, a valuable addition to the educational process for the students involved. They faced the challenge of giving concrete answers to the needs of the community under their management, both individuals and as a collective, in this way cooperating with small-scale livestock producers. Furthermore, the process of performing diagnostics during university extension courses in collaboration with the members of the cooperative led to an understanding of the real information technology needs of the producers and the knowledge of the real challenges of managing and planning. It is concluded that instating programmes of collaboration in the areas of management and planning between Universities and Cooperatives can significantly promote the goal of regional development.   Key words: Cooperation, education, management, production diagnostics.

産学・地域連携PBLによる実学教育の試み

The founding philosophy of Shibaura Institute of Technology is to nurture engineers with knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to a technology-oriented country through its practical education. In accordance with this philosophy, we developed a PBL course in collaboration with industries, local government and communities as a graduate course in 2013. This paper introduces the PBL course and its educational effects in terms of engineering education.

Implementing a Collaborative Online Course to Extend Access to HPC Skills

Progress in science and engineering is increasingly tied to the effective use of computational modeling on high-performance computing systems. Expertise in parallel computing techniques is therefore required, given the current architecture of those systems. Many campuses don't offer such a course because of course load limits, a lack of faculty expertise, and/or lack of access to appropriate computing resources. As part of the XSEDE project, an initial MOOC-style course on parallel computing proved to be ineffective at resolving this problem. A subsequent blended online course with collaborating faculty from multiple institutions where students receive academic credit has proven to be a much more effective approach to creating a STEM workforce with the requisite parallel computing knowledge.

An Information Literacy Course for Doctoral Students: Information Resources and Tools for Research

The purpose of this paper is to showcase the information literacy course for doctoral students called Information Resources and Tools for Research. Turku University Library organises this course in collaboration with the University of Turku Graduate School. The course, which was started in 2012, has been organised four times so far, twice in English and twice in Finnish. The course offers training to all doctoral Programs in all of the seven disciplines present at the University of Turku and doctoral candidates of the University. In our presentation we will describe the structure and contents of the course and share our experiences of the collaboration with the University of Turku Graduate School. In addition, we will describe how the information specialists of the Turku University Library have collaborated during the course. We will also discuss the challenges of the course. Based on the course feedback, it can be stated that in general, participants have found this course very useful for their research in the University of Turku.

Innovation Through Collaborative Course Development: Theory and Practice

A pressing issue for educators is the difficulty in fostering engagement and vesting students in courses. A new pedagogical model labeled Collaborative Course Development (CCD) has evolved as a viable solution. CCD not only allows students to be actively involved in initial course design but also empowers them to make decisions about class structure throughout the term. The purpose of this work is to explain the theoretical background of CCD, outline its effective use, and detail six specific practices for implementation. The article concludes with research-worthy propositions as well as preliminary findings and a brief discussion of potential challenges.

Student performance and attitudes in a collaborative and flipped linear algebra course

Flipped learning is gaining traction in K-12 for enhancing students’ problem-solving skills at an early age; however, there is relatively little large-scale research showing its effectiveness in promoting better learning outcomes in higher education, especially in mathematics classes. In this study, we examined the data compiled from both quantitative and qualitative measures such as item scores on a common final and attitude survey results between a flipped and a traditional Introductory Linear Algebra class taught by two individual instructors at a state university in California in Fall 2013. Students in the flipped class were asked to watch short video lectures made by the instructor and complete a short online quiz prior to each class attendance. The class time was completely devoted to problem solving in group settings where students were prompted to communicate their reasoning with proper mathematical terms and structured sentences verbally and in writing. Examination of the quality and depth of student responses from the common final exam showed that students in the flipped class produced more comprehensive and well-explained responses to the questions that required reasoning, creating examples, and more complex use of mathematical objects. Furthermore, students in the flipped class performed superiorly in the overall comprehension of the content with a 21% increase in the median final exam score. Overall, students felt more confident about their ability to learn mathematics independently, showed better retention of materials over time, and enjoyed the flipped experience.

Learning Critical Legal Theory Across the Curriculum: An Innovative Course in Applied Feminism

In law schools, we are so accustomed to a single professor teaching each substantive class that we rarely question this method of teaching. Imagine instead a class taught by fourteen professors, each of whom teaches for one week to share their substantive expertise through the lens of critical legal theory. At the University of Baltimore School of Law, we offer such a course, entitled Special Topics in Applied Feminism. Throughout the semester, students are exposed to feminist legal perspectives on a wide range of substantive topics, including tax law, international law, immigration law, employment law, and many others.The course is sponsored and organized by our Center on Applied Feminism, which seeks to apply feminist legal theory to real-world problems in order to promote gender equality. The Center's activities range from sponsoring an annual conference to advocating for law reform to advising students on career choices. We sought to add an academic component for students that harnessed the talent of our colleagues outside their usual substantive course silos. We have offered the course every other year since 2010. Based on this experience and the responses of students, we recommend that more law schools offer collaborative courses.

Cross-Cultural Management Learning Through Innovative Pedagogy: An Exploratory Study of Globally Distributed Student Teams

This article presents an innovative pedagogy based on student participation in globally distributed project teams. The study questions the link between student learning of intercultural competence and this global teaming experience. Data was collected on 115 students participating in 22 virtual intercultural teams. Results reveal that students learned from the teaming experience, especially those who had more prior international experience. This study contributes to the development of the body of knowledge in innovative and collaborative pedagogy of global student teams and provides an analysis of the impact of the teaming experience on student learning as well as providing some insights on international and collaborative course design.

A Participatory Action Research Study of Collaborative Course Development Across Higher Education Programs

Collaboration is a much-used term that connotes images of teams working together to facilitate better outcomes. Being able to work with others in professional environments has become an expected part of most careers. While many courses in higher education require students to collaborate in various capacities in order to learn about working together and value differing perspectives, few faculty members teach together to model effective collaborative partnerships.This presentation will highlight findings from a participatory action research study of two Mason faculty members from different programs who developed and co-taught an integrated course about school-based collaboration for prospective and practicing educators. We will describe results from interviews, observations, and analysis of course materials related to:Developing a collaborative philosophical framework and purpose for the courseNegotiating collaborative assignments and assessmentsIntegrating our expertise to coteach class sessionsIdentifying and resolving philosophical and infrastructure challengesInterpreting student feedback and outcomes.Discussion will include:The need for university dialogue about academic collaborationThe impact faculty interactions have on collaborative effortsThe importance of curricular vision and coherence in collaborative effortsFuture research directions.

What Happens When Literary Critics and Scientists Converse?

This article discusses a collaborative course at Davidson College titled Representations of HIV/AIDS. With students, the authors look at the over thirty-year-old history of HIV/AIDS and the interwoven scientific and artistic responses to it. Not simply analyzing representations of HIV/AIDS from their disciplinary perspectives, however, they each interrogate the other's knowledge from their own position, both informing and learning as coteachers and fellow students. Their strategies also include organizing the course by issues salient to HIV/AIDS rather than major scientific/historical landmark events as might be traditionally defined; continually interrogating the historiography of HIV/AIDS; emphasizing the diverse identities and lived experiences of HIV/AIDS; exploring how stigma can thwart science and oppress others and how that has been answered by the arts; discussing concepts (such as patient zero) that, while useful for the scientist or artist, can still be problematic; and understanding how economics impacts both the art and science of HIV/AIDS. In the course students take on a prominent role as active critical thinkers, and their critical explorations of HIV/AIDS always occur at the intersection of art and science. This course imparts to students vital lessons in a world where complex global problems will increasingly demand interdisciplinary, collaborative solutions.

Running a Successful Textile Diploma Course in a Remote Indian Town - A Case Study

Indian Textile industry is unique in many ways. It is the second largest employer and depends heavily on the largest employer - agriculture. It has been successful in automating most of its operations. So, instead of employing unskilled labor, it is now looking for skilled labor and facing significant challenges in finding them - even though the national unemployment has been hovering at around 9 %. The situation demanded a different approach such as setting up textile training courses in a remote area where employment is a larger issue and working closely with the industry to develop highly employable graduates. The paper describes a successful case study ofsetting up a four year diploma course in close collaboration with the industry in a remote town of Shirpur in North Maharashtra (India). That required a team of faculty that could inspire confidence in the industry personnel and adopting progressive educational methods such as active learning and mentoring. The school was started in 2007 and has produced 200 diploma holders with cent percent placement. This is far above similar other institutes. These students from rural and semi-rural area are fetching salaries that are higher than even graduate engineers. Thus the experiment has succeeded in its twin objectives of rural development and workforce development for one of the most critical industry of the country.

DNP and PhD Collaboration: Bringing Together Practice and Research Expertise as Predegree and Postdegree Scholars.

A deliberate course of predegree intraprofessional DNP and PhD student collaboration can yield relationships that will facilitate postdegree teamwork. Working together, DNP-prepared nurses can use their practice expertise, and PhD-prepared nurses can use their research expertise to improve and change health care. This article presents 3 contexts in which predegree collaboration can occur between DNP and PhD students. Postdegree DNP and PhD collaboration can occur in 2 contexts.

Ex-situ Conservation of Indigenous, Threatened and Ethno-Medicinal Diversity of Forest Species

Madhya Pradesh is rich in plant wealth and endemic flora. As a part of conservation programme, institute has established an arboretum-cum-botanic garden in 1976, covering an area of 7.34 ha. The garden complex includes various sections situated in the campus and nursery. The main forest botanic garden is situated in 4.25 ha area and houses a wide array of forest flora including trees, shrubs, climbers and herbal plant species in various sections. Of the total species planted, over 50% were threatened and ascribed with conservation value. The garden was of scientific and educational utility. The institute provides diploma and degree courses in collaboration with Universities and colleges. The institute forest botanic garden has been registered under the network of Indian Botanic Gardens in 2005. It was one among the 140 Botanic gardens of India registered by Botanic Garden Conservation International under BGCI-Investing in Nature-India programme. Detailed online information was available on the IBGN website (http//www.ibgn.org). SFRI-BG is unique in terms of its scientific arrangement of plants. The species wise conservation status and uses pertaining to ethnic, medicinal and economic importance were described here.

Using a Collaborative Course Reflection Process to Enhance Faculty and Curriculum Development

Reflective practice is a vital skill of effective teachers and a precondition for professional growth. Lack of time, poorly developed reflective skills, or academic cultures that are not supportive of reflection may curtail reflective practice. This article describes a peer-led course reflection process designed to increase the reflection and teaching skills of faculty as well as support course and curriculum development. Department faculty perspectives on the process were examined via a survey that included open-ended and forced-choice questions (N = 10; 91% return rate). The vast majority of respondents indicated this reflective process had improved administrative aspects of their teaching (90%); enriched and informed course development (100%); was time well spent (100%); and helped faculty see how their course fit into the overall framework of the curriculum (80%). The guided, cyclical, and structured nature of this reflection process appears to be effective. The collaborative, non-hierarchical process became part of the program's culture over time. A systematic course reflection process may be of interest to academic faculty who wish to enhance and document course and curricular development.

Interviewing Dr Felipe Fregni: A Pathway to a Research Career

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Challenges in teaching modern manufacturing technologies

Teaching of manufacturing courses for undergraduate engineering students has become a challenge due to industrial globalisation coupled with influx of new innovations, technologies, customer-driven products. This paper discusses development of a modern manufacturing course taught concurrently in three institutions where students collaborate in executing various projects. Lectures are developed to contain materials featuring advanced manufacturing technologies, R&D trends in manufacturing. Pre- and post-surveys were conducted by an external evaluator to assess the impact of the course on increase in student's knowledge of manufacturing; increase students’ preparedness and confidence in effective communication and; increase students’ interest in pursuing additional academic studies and/or a career path in manufacturing and high technology. The surveyed data indicate that the students perceived significant gains in manufacturing knowledge and preparedness in effective communication. The study also shows that implementation of a collaborative course within multiple institutions requires a robust and collective communication platform.

Building collaborative research opportunities into study abroad programs: a case study from Panama

As universities increase their international study opportunities, enormous potential exists to create geography field courses that provide undergraduates and graduate students with primary research experience and intercultural collaboration. This paper draws from our experience leading a two-week collaborative field course in Panama. We outline our principles of engagement: focus on problem-oriented research; build upon local research; create a reflexive working relationship between host and home scholars; foster student collaboration in multiple study stages, including data collection, analysis and interpretation; and make results available, especially to community stakeholders. We conclude that research-driven, collaborative approaches can result in meaningful learning outcomes.

2A10 産学・地域連携PBLによる実学教育の試み : 社会に学び社会に貢献する人材育成教育プログラムの実践((31)オーガナイズドセッション:プロジェクトマネジメントとPBL-III,口頭発表)

2A10 産学・地域連携PBLによる実学教育の試み : 社会に学び社会に貢献する人材育成教育プログラムの実践((31)オーガナイズドセッション:プロジェクトマネジメントとPBL-III,口頭発表)

The Role of Large Enterprises in Museum Digitization

By actively promoting museum digitalization, Japan finds an idiosyncratic way to museum digitalization. The mode of collaboration, in which the government plays a leading role while large enterprises’ R&D capabilities and museum’s cultural dynamics are both allowed to give full play, turns these powerful enterprises into the solid backing of museum digitalization, provides a concrete solution to the common financial and technical challenges museums face in the process. In the course of such collaboration, large enterprises succeed in cultivating a number of talents who understand both business world and museum operation. Thanks to their experiences in the business world, compared with museum professionals, they play a more vital role in marketing the potential commercial exploitation of related digital technologies. The benefits large enterprises could possibly gain from such mode of collaboration - realizing social values, enhancing corporate image, for instance - help to motivate their active involvement, thereby forming a positive cycle of sustainable development.