Experiment In Higher Education Research Articles

Exavir : mise en place et évaluation de l’acquisition de compétences en pharmacologie expérimentale par des étudiants en pharmacie

With the evolution of European and French regulations on animal experimentation in higher education, taking greater account of animal welfare, the University of Angers has developed a virtual animal experimentation software named Exavir. Used for practical work (PW) in physiology, pharmacology and toxicology in the Health, Sciences, and engineering curricula, Exavir can be used to simulate various experiments for teaching purposes, in vivo or ex vivo. Thanks to an original approach integrating serious games with different scenarios, students gain autonomy and become directly involved in their learning. In addition, Exavir's collaborative and participative development approach fosters inter-university partnerships and the emergence of innovative teaching methods. A hybrid pilot study carried out on a sample of 22 students in the Pharmacy Department of the Faculty of Health showed that Exavir improved students' acquisition of teaching skills in both physiology and pharmacology, compared with practical work only based on animal organs. These encouraging results demonstrate for the first time the pedagogical advantages of Exavir and confirm the interest in developing such a platform. In this context, it appears that Exavir also opens up the possibility of adapting the practical work offered within universities, and thus responding to the changing ethical issues of the coming decades.

Artificial intelligence literacy in sustainable development: A learning experiment in higher education

IntroductionThe purpose of this empirical research was to map the capabilities and perceptions of undergraduate business administration students about artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential to answer questions related to sustainable transition in society, and to obtain information about the suitable pedagogical solution to increase the knowledge and understanding related to these themes.MethodsThe data was gathered among higher education (HE) students in a workshop that consisted of introductory lecture, answering surveys, questionnaire, group discussions, and reflective narratives on the relationship and possibilities of AI and sustainable development. In data analysis an abductive qualitative research methodology was adopted.ResultsThrough abduction new insights were obtained and new knowledge was created new knowledge regarding AI literacy in the context of sustainable development. This brought new knowledge in the context of HE studies. The taxonomy of AI literacy in sustainable development created a new reference framework for learning tasks, and course planning in HE. The findings showed that the students had difficulties solving the actual problem because they lacked knowledge and understanding of the basics of AI and sustainable development. However, in groups where one person had a deeper understanding of the concepts, the whole group began to understand the task and work on both meta-level ethical questions and practical examples.DiscussionThe assistance of AI potentially creates opportunities for developing solutions supporting sustainable development. However, utilizing this potential requires AI literacy. In this task HE plays a significant role. This study contributes to the pedagogical approach where AI and sustainable development are integrated in HE curricula.

Online laboratories and virtual experimentation in higher education from a sociotechnical-pedagogical design perspective

Online laboratories and virtual experimentation in higher education from a sociotechnical-pedagogical design perspective

Embodied Reflection of Images as an Arts-Based Research Method: Teaching Experiment in Higher Education

This paper discusses a teaching experiment in which 20 university students in Finland participated in the course Critical and Novel Approaches to Management and Organisational Studies, which familiarized them with the method of embodied reflection of images. First, the paper presents the method and the teaching experiment. Then, it presents and discusses the students’ experiences while experimenting with the method. The students’ written reflections form the data of the study, which were analyzed qualitatively using content analysis. The findings of this small-scale study show that the method of embodied reflection of images provided students with a novel perspective into management and organization, fostered collaboration, and promoted critical thinking. In addition, rational knowledge was furnished with experiential and affective modes of knowledge. Based on students’ positive feedback, the experiment succeeded in elucidating the method and its applicability in research on management and organization. This study promotes teaching arts-based research methods in higher education.

The Persistent Effects of Short-Term Peer Groups on Performance: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Higher Education

This paper studies the persistent effects of short-term peer exposure on long-run performance in a college setting. I exploit the random assignment of undergraduates to peer groups during a mandatory orientation week and track the students’ performance over four years (until graduation). Assignment to orientation week groups with high levels of peer ability is associated with lower performance during the first year at college and a higher probability of early dropout. These adverse effects are driven entirely by the exposure of low-ability students to high-ability peers. Beyond the first year, exposure to higher peer ability during the orientation week negatively affects selection into the college’s most popular major (business administration) and final grade point average. Taken together, the findings suggest that the composition of short-term peer groups matters for individual choices and long-run performance outcomes. This paper was accepted by Yan Chen, decision analysis.

Life story as a tool for teaching sociological imagination

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the potential of life story for the teaching of sociology to Social Work students. It contains the results of a teaching experiment in higher education which aims to foster sociological imagination among students.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a mixed methodology. The quantitative data came from a survey handed out to the students with closed and open questions. The qualitative information came from the contents of class exercises in which the students had to connect the theoretical contents of the course of sociology with the biographical narratives of different research subjects.FindingsThe results reflect student satisfaction or appreciation regarding the use of the life story as a teaching resource, as well as a successful acquisition of sociological skills and knowledge, such as critical thinking, micro-macro connection and the interplay between structure and agency.Practical implicationsLife story and narrative methods should be employed in post-secondary education as teaching instruments.Originality/valueThe study contributes to expand the reflection on narrative techniques as a pedagogical tool. The paper provides several examples of class exercises with biographical narratives that have demonstrated to be successful for teaching sociology in higher education.

Augmented Reality experiment in higher education, for complex system appropriation in mechanical design

Virtual representations are quite widely used in higher education to visualize a design model or simulation. Nevertheless, many students have difficulty grasping mechanical systems, from a 2D design plan or a 3D CAD definition.This is why we implement real system manipulations, associated with various representations, especially for students with no technological skills. Augmented reality can provide an answer to the difficulty of making the link between a representation and the real system.Since augmented reality has not yet been used in mechanical design pedagogy, the challenge was to evaluate the relevance of this technology to facilitate understanding of mechanisms. An augmented reality scenario has been implemented on an electromechanical mechanism. It makes it possible to identify components and their locations, to explore the mechanism and thus more easily identify the kinematic chain or transmission power flow for example. Two different interfaces were used by the learners (tablet and HoloLens glasses), each of which has its advantages.The first experiment was conducted with students in engineering training, as well as bachelor of technology students. During analysis of mechanism practical session, half of the workforce used augmented reality, while the others had only paper documentation and cad. At the end of the session, an assessment of the system’s understanding was conducted ‘hot’ and shows improvements for augmented reality users.Here, augmented reality is used in pedagogy, as a new medium support to pedagogy. But this experience is also relevant for introducing engineering students to a relevant technology for industry of the future, enabling them to measure the potential of augmented reality.

Promoting collaborative playful experimentation through group playing by ear in higher education

A group of 46, first-year, primarily classically trained, undergraduate students took part in an exploratory research study on Group Ear Playing (GEP) in higher education. The students attended the “Playing by Ear” component of the Practical Musicianship module, which adopts the materials and strategies on playing by ear in the instrumental lesson developed by Lucy Green. The students were divided into eight groups, then provided with audio material and were instructed to copy the music by ear as a group for 40 minutes each week for five weeks. Data were collected through individual reflective logs and end-of-programme feedback forms. The analysis of the data focused on thematic discovery from the transcripts and was achieved through open, axial and selective coding. The findings of the study suggest, first, that the students engaged in playful experimentation in a collaborative manner, where the more confident musicians supported their less confident colleagues. Second, a variety of strategies for exploring improvising was reported by the students, which included adding ornaments based on scales, changing the rhythms for variety, missing notes out and incorporating other melodic riffs. Third, although the focus of the activity was on copying music by ear from recordings, all musicians appeared motivated to improvise together rather than as soloists, in order to “change things slightly”, “make the piece sound more interesting” and fit with others’ parts. Finally, the students reported that GEP not only helped them to feel more confident about playing by ear but also to be more confident about improvising and to become more confident musicians. This study proposes that playing by ear from recordings in a group successfully facilitates collaborative playful experimentation in higher education and supports the development of learners’ listening, creativity and improvisation skills.

New University Plan Skips Crucial Steps

I was shocked by the News & Analysis story “Daring experiment in higher education opens its doors” (8 April, p. [161][1]), in which R. Stone describes Zhu Qingshi's effort to build a new university, the Southern University of Science and Technology of China (SUSTC). I laud the goal of exploring

Wroe Alderson's Marketing Theory Seminar: an experiment in higher education (1951‐1965)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the founding and history of the Marketing Theory Seminar, often called Wroe Alderson's Seminar.Design/methodology/approachThe paper offers personal reflections and historical narrative.FindingsThe Marketing Theory Seminar was considered by Wroe Alderson to be the crowning achievement of his career. This paper was presented at the time of Alderson's death in 1965 to memorialize his work on the Seminar. It documents the key participants and themes of the Seminars from their inception in 1951 through 1962.Originality/valueThis paper was presented at the Theory Seminar in 1965 by one of its founding organizers, Edmund McGarry, and has never been published. Copyright is held by the estate of the author. While we have been unable to contact any such persons, we have published the article with a view to bringing this important document to a wider audience. We welcome any communication from the holders of McGarry's estate.

Educating technophile artists and artophile technologists: A successful experiment in higher education

Over the past few decades, the arts have become increasingly dependent on and influenced by the development of computer technology. In the 1960s pioneering artists experimented with the emergent computer technology and more recently the majority of artists have come to use this technology to develop and even to implement their artefacts. The traditional divide between art and technology – if it ever existed – has been breaking down to the extent that a large number of artists consider themselves to be technophiles. In truth this divide has never existed. Throughout history artists have always used and exploited whatever technology existed and frequently led the development of new technology that would allow them to express their creativity. For instance the ancient Greek word for art was “ τ ɛ ´ χ ν η ” (technê)—the etymological root for the word “technology”. The divide between the arts and sciences, which we consider to be artificial and harmful, was only introduced in the western educational system in the 19th century and we believe that it is high time that it was bridged or removed altogether. To this end our centre has pioneered a number of university degrees that aim to blur the difference between artists and scientists/technologists. In this paper we explore the design of such courses, taking into account the evolution of the field and the historical development of our centre, and we share with our audience our experiences, successes, and trials and tribulations in implementing such degrees in the area of computer animation, games and digital effects. We present a discussion of the syllabus employed in our highly successful undergraduate degree programme, giving examples of various assignment and assessment forms. Further, we discuss the common issues in educating technophile artists that we have identified on our undergraduate programme and the implications on the students’ learning experience arising from these.

Wissenschaftlerinnen in transnationalen Bildungsräumen. Das Beispiel der ifu

The International Women's University (ifu) constituted a multidimensional experiment in higher education, which is focused here with regard to the transnationalisation of education. This article refers to the concept of transnational educational spaces... and proposes a perspective on the development of inner-institutional transnational educational spaces. In reference to the discussions of transnational educational biographies as micro-level of transnational educational spaces... and the organizational macro-level of transnationalisation of education, which has been empirically described in higher education research and within the context of neo-institutionalism, the article draws a perspective on a meso-level of transnational educational spaces as inner institutional development. Referring to the example of the International Women's University (ifu), which provided an international setting for women scientists from all parts of the world, it is shown how intercultural communication and cooperation, a transnational setting of teaching and learning and a curriculum with a global approach have been developed as an inner institutional transnational educational space at ifu. (DIPF/Orig.)

Reinventing Ourselves: Interdisciplinary Education, Collaborative Learning, and Experimentation in Higher Education (review)

(2002). Reinventing Ourselves: Interdisciplinary Education, Collaborative Learning, and Experimentation in Higher Education. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 73, No. 5, pp. 667-669.

Reinventing Ourselves: Interdisciplinary Education, Collaborative Learning and Experimentation in Higher Education (review)

Reinventing Ourselves: Interdisciplinary Education, Collaborative Learning and Experimentation in Higher Education (review)

Mass Higher Education and the Need for New Responses

Three major challenges for higher education are in the centre of the public debate in Europe. First, expansion of higher education: tertiary education enrolment surpassed 50 percent in Japan, the U.S. and Western Europe, and graduation quotas are above 50, 40 and 30 percent respectively. The expansion triggered feelings of loss exclusiveness, increased pressure for efficiency and quality and stimulated reconsiderations of the modes of diversity in higher education. Second, the spread of new technologies seems to lead not only to a more rapid turnover of knowledge, but also to new learning behaviour of students, a shift of the role of academics towards advisory activities. It also might reinforce standardisation of knowledge, steeper packing order of institutions and a cost explosion. Third, the period of managerial experimentation in higher education might be substituted by a process of sorting out the strengths and limitations of an increased managerial approach in higher education.

American Policy and the Reconstruction of West Germany, 1945-1955

1. Introduction Jeffry Diefendorf and Hermann Josef Rupieper 2. Ripping holes in the Iron Curtain: the council of foreign relations and Germany, 1945-1950 Michael Wala 3. US policy on a West German constitution Erich J. Hahn 4. American policy toward German unification, 19490-1955 Hermann Josef Rupieper 5. Marshall Plan and currency reform Christopher Buchheim 6. American policy toward Germany and the integration of Europe, 1945-1955 Gunther Mai 7. From Morgenthau Plan to Schuman Plan: America and the organization of Europe John Gillingham 8. Return to normality: the United States and the Ruhr industry, 1945-1955 Werner Buhrer 9. West German agriculture and the European recovery program, 1948-1952 Ulrich Kluge 10. Science and technology in Postwar Germany John Gimbel 11. American decentralization policy in the Ruhr coal industry Albert Diegmann 12. Technology transfer and the emergence of the West German petrochemical industry, 1945-1955 Raymond G. Stokes 13. A free university of Berlin: a German experiment in higher education, 1948-1961 James F. Trent 14. Higgs and the unions in West Germany: a study of HICOG's labor policy toward Deutscher Gewerksschaftsbund (DGB), 1949-1952 Michael Fichter 15. US military occupation, grass roots democracy, and local German government Rebecca Boehling 16. German democratization as conservative restabilization: the impact of American policy Diethelm Prowe 17. America and the rebuilding of urban Germany Jeffry Diefendorf 18. US policy toward German veterans, 1945-1950 James M. Diehl 19. Grand illusions: the US, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the European defense community, 1950-1954 David C. Large 20. The Federal Republic of Germany as a 'battlefield' in American Nuclear Strategy, 1953-1955 21. The presence of American troops in Germany and German American relations, 1949-1956 Bruno Thoss 22. John J. McCloy and the Landsberg cases Thomas Allen Schwartz 23. Sources in German archives on the history of American policy toward Germany, 1945-1955 Josef Henke 24. US High Commissioner for Germany and related records: sources for he history of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland, 1949-1955 in the US National Archives and Records Administration Robert Wolfe.

ETV Viewing Habits of Indian College Students

This paper analyses the viewing habits of Indian college students with particular emphasis on their pattern of viewing educational broadcasting. The Indian Countrywide Classroom (CWCR) is a unique experiment in higher education. This paper reveals that a large number of students, both from urban and rural areas, view general television programmes as well as ETV broadcasts though frequency of viewing is limited, and suggests strategies to improve the habit of viewing ETV broadcasts to bring about changes in the distance and media-based education.

Against the Current: Reform and Experimentation in Higher Education

Against the Current: Reform and Experimentation in Higher Education

Against the Current: Reform and Experimentation in Higher Education

Against the Current: Reform and Experimentation in Higher Education

Roskilde University Centre — a Danish Experiment in Higher Education

Roskilde University Centre — a Danish Experiment in Higher Education