Innovative Teaching Practices Research Articles

Exploring the Integration of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practice Teaching in Higher Vocational Electronic Information Profession

Exploring the Integration of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practice Teaching in Higher Vocational Electronic Information Profession

GESTÃO DA POLÍTICA EDUCACIONAL DE CASTELO DO PIAUÍ: CONTRIBUIÇÕES DO INSTITUTO AYRTON SENNA

This article aims to discuss the contributions of the educational programs of the Instituto Ayrton Senna (IAS) for the innovation of educational policy of the municipality of Castelo do Piaui. The survey was conducted by means of documental analysis of reports from the City Department of education (SEMED), of the draft of the educational programs of the Instituto Ayrton Senna (Brazil Accelerates, Binds, circuit champion and Management Note 10) and the application of questionnaire with two institutional coordinators of these programs. The results show the Ayrton Senna Institute educational programs have contributed to innovations that have structured educational policy of this municipality, which articulated a networking, managed to give positive responses in the area of education. The work, in addition to greatly improve the quality of education, ensuring the learning, also contributed to the development of innovative pedagogical practices that prioritize the right to learn of children, adolescents and young people.

Future teachers: what they think about their science education and what they do in their school practices

En el contexto de la formación inicial de maestros, se estudian los logros del programa en didáctica de las ciencias experimentales, incluyendo la utilidad que tiene para promover cambios docentes durante las prácticas escolares. Concretamente, hemos preguntado a los alumnos por los contenidos y actividades de formación del programa, sus ideas sobre la enseñanza de las ciencias en primaria y sobre lo que hacen cuando enseñan ciencias durante sus prácticas escolares. Para ello, utilizando dos cuestionarios, hemos recogido las opiniones de 131 alumnos de tercer curso del Grado de Educación Primaria al finalizar su formación en ciencias y sus prácticas escolares. Los resultados muestran una valoración muy positiva del programa en didáctica de ciencias, con un claro posicionamiento de los alumnos sobre la enseñanza de las ciencias en primaria coherente con sus presupuestos teóricos, aunque persisten algunas ideas propias del modelo transmisivo en sus planteamientos metodológicos, así como, escasa incidencia en las actuaciones docentes que llevan a cabo durante las prácticas escolares. En ese contexto, el modelo de enseñanza tradicional percibido por los futuros maestros en las aulas y su bajo nivel de autoeficacia para realizar prácticas docentes innovadoras, parecen dificultar la conexión entre los conocimientos académicos y la práctica profesional.

New challenges in education and schooling: an example of designing innovative motor learning environments

The aim of this study is to address the key topical challenges in modern teaching from the perspective of competences. A special focus is placed on examining innovative early childhood education, which is defined as the basis – acquired through innovative methods – for quality development of hereditary motor skills and performance of body movement patterns. The study looks at which factors the respondents consider important in terms of innovative teaching of motor skills, which teaching practices they apply in their work, and the correlation between the reported importance rating of individual factors and the common practice in this particular area. The study included 132 preschool teachers, 73 (55.3%) of whom work in Slovenian and 59 (44.7%) in Croatian preschools, who completed an online questionnaire. The results show that the preschool teachers believe the most important factor in innovative teaching of motor skills is coherence of the child's overall development and that the child-oriented practice has been rated as the most important self-reported innovative teaching practice. The highest correlation (r = 0.679) was obtained between creativity and innovativeness and implementing child-oriented practice and between practising innovative approaches and practising professional competences (r = 0.673).

IMPORTANCE AND PLACE OF BIOGRAPHICAL METHOD IN PEDAGOGICAL METHODOLOGY

The article covers and analyzes the biographical method of pedagogy; it defines its importance and place in pedagogy methodology based on historical-genetic approach and inter(cross)disciplinary analysis of academic sources. It establishes the current phenomenon of considerable extension in objective consideration of biographical method by social sciences and the humanities (the so called "biographical turning point") and recognition of scientific “usefulness” of this method at the theoretical level. This is the very fact which stipulated the topicality of methodological realization of biographical method as a moder way of development of theoretical and practical pedagogical activity. Currently the biographical method is an important component of methodological range of the whole system of pedagogical sciences. The biographical method in pedagogical methodology shall be considered both as the method of research and obtainment of scientific pedagogical knowledge (for example, in pedagogical history, pedagogical biography science, life-creation pedagogy) and as the important method of extensive innovative teaching practice in didactics and certain methods of teaching (literature, history teaching method etc.). It can be used when considering pedagogically adapted biographical materials about the distinguished public figures and historical figures in a certain science; in special and rehabilitation pedagogy, when considering biographical knowledge on the examples of successful physical rehabilitation and socialization; in social pedagogy during social and pedagogical counseling, in educational theory etc.. The article also reveals the academic, educatory and learning opportunities of biographical method for the development of personality of candidates for academic degree and its significant role in implementing “humanization of knowledge” in the comprehensible principle of humanization and humanitarization. It was defined that this method holds a prominent place among interdisciplinary pedagogical methods and has the forseeable prospects of further transformation into biographical pedagogy and integration with the biographical psychology

The role of intellectual technologies inteaching foreign language in the open informational educational environment

The article analyzes the use of intellectual technologies in foreign language teaching. The authors present a brief survey of Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 technologies paying special attention to mobile learning and Web 2.0 technology used in foreign language education. The paper evaluates the educational potential of mobile applications in foreign language education. Educational mobile applications are constantly being improved, adapting to the needs of both teachers and students, organizing and maintaining an open educational information environment using Web2.0 services. The development of technology and the emergence of new devices should be accompanied by a revitalization of research and the development of innovative educational practices, which will benefit not only individual students, but also the process of teaching a foreign language as a whole.

Innovative Teaching: An Effective Ingredient for Educational Change at University Level

Educational Change gravely needs an effective and innovative teaching methodology in universities. It is voice of the time, the innovative methods in teaching can not only meet the individual needs of the students but can produce high grade quality future professionals. To review the current status of teaching in universities, a quantitative study has been conducted. A survey based on innovative teaching practices and educational change linked with these practices have been done from the sample of 400 students of BS / MPhil / PhD and 200 teachers of BS/ MS/ MPhil /PhD level. The results have shown that still there’s a long way to go to encounter the fast changing scenario of education at higher level. Keywords: Educational change, Innovative Teaching, Ingredient, University Level

Docencia e innovación en la universidad: de concepciones y prácticas "vivientes"

<p>El siguiente artículo se focaliza en los resultados de investigación sobre la docencia universitaria particularmente en el análisis de un caso contextualizado en una asignatura de la carrera de Arquitectura reconocida como una práctica pedagógica innovadora de la Universidad Nacional del Nordeste.</p><p>En términos metodológicos se enmarca en un paradigma interpretativo de investigación y enfoque cualitativo, valiéndose del estudio de casos. Los instrumentos de recolección de datos fueron micro-entrevistas antes y después de las clases, entrevistas en profundidad, observaciones de clases y análisis de documentación curricular como el programa y plan de estudios.</p>Como conclusiones eminentes señalamos la reconstrucción de un caso de docencia universitaria cuya propuesta pedagógica y didáctica se sustentó en una comunidad de escasos recursos económicos, que actuó como escenario de la propuesta didáctica desde una perspectiva crítica, relacionando un “laboratorio viviente”, la dimensión disciplinar, el rol activo y de autogestión estudiantil y la evaluación de aprendizajes.

DIDACTIC TRENDS AND PERCEIVED TEACHERS’ TRAINING NEEDS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY

Today’s world requires people who manage their learning and professional updating processes, which claims for a change in educational practices in all levels of education. However, in Higher Education, this transformation relies mostly on teacher’s efforts to innovate within the learning environments, requiring institutional efforts to generate strategies towards educational innovation. This paper presents the analysis of didactic trends and training needs of teachers at UNIMINUTO Colombia, based on the data gathered at the Annual Meetings for Innovative Pedagogical Practices and an additional survey applied on-line, to determine teachers’ training needs and, furthermore, institutional strategies to strengthen the teaching-learning process. The study uses a mixed methodology through a concurrent triangulation design with qualitative and quantitative methods, with an exploratory scope; both quantitative and qualitative parts of the study counted on a voluntary sampling method. Trend analysis shows that the most used didactic methods are Project-Based learning, Research-Based Learning, and Collaborative Learning. However, the analysis of teachers’ appropriation of knowledge about didactics, especially on those strategies, is low or basic, which compared to the training needs expressed by teachers demonstrate that training processes in educational innovation and new teaching methods is crucial to help educational innovation initiatives to evolve. The study stablishes a trend towards the use active-learning methodologies in pedagogical practices, highlighting the necessity of teachers’ training in how and when to use them, and setting the importance of including communication skills as a topic in teachers’ training programs.

The relationship between social capital and innovativeness climate in schools

PurposeProfessional learning communities that merge under the same goal in schools where social relationship networks are strong can contribute to creating an atmosphere which provides a basis for innovativeness. In this study the relationships between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities were examined through the views of teachers working at public schools. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe data of this study, which utilised correlational survey model, were collected from 734 teachers who work in the Umraniye district of Istanbul, Turkey.FindingsThe findings revealed that there is a positive and statistically significant correlation between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities. The results demonstrated that teachers’ perceptions of social capital in schools affected their perceptions of innovativeness climate and that professional learning communities had an intermediary role in this relationship. These findings showed that the richness in social relationship networks provided a basis for the development of innovative teaching practices in schools and the professional learning environments created in schools contributed to this process.Research limitations/implicationsIn this study, the intermediary role of professional learning communities on the effect of social capital on innovativeness climate was analysed via teachers’ views. In the literature no study studying the relationship between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities was found.Practical implicationsIt can be put forward that there is a need for studies that analyse the effect of the roots of social capital on innovativeness culture to identify other variables that may potentially be relevant. In addition, this study may be a contribution to the literature by providing a study on the concepts of social capital and innovativeness climate, which were studied in the fields of social sciences extensively, in educational settings and this supports the field through theoretical and empirical studies.Originality/valueThis study demonstrated the effects of the concept of social capital on innovativeness climate which provides a basis for innovativeness in educational institutions. This topic is currently on the agenda of the OECD and World Bank. Moreover, this study aims to show the intermediary role of professional learning communities in the relationship between social capital and innovativeness climate.

Innovación didáctica en Historia: un estado de la cuestión en torno a cuatro ejes temáticos.

El objetivo de este trabajo es ofrecer una panorámica a través de las diferentes perspectivas teóricas desde las que se ha venido abordando la cuestión de la innovación didáctica en la materia de Historia durante los últimos quince años. Para ello se elabora una síntesis descriptiva dividida en cuatro ejes temáticos (herramientas digitales, nuevas metodologías, transformación de la cultura docente y evaluación de la innovación), destacando una serie de conceptos y experiencias empíricas en cada uno de ellos. Entre otras cosas, tal procedimiento revela que la motivación del alumnado es el centro de interés tanto de este campo de investigación como del modelo educativo que hoy se está intentando implementar. Sin embargo, frente al exceso de optimismo y actitudes acríticas detectado respecto a este último, se de ende la necesidad de aumentar la rigurosidad a la hora de comparar discursos innovadores y prácticas educativas. The aim of this paper is to o er an insight into innovative teaching approaches in History, based on the di erent theoretical perspectives that have been tackled over the last 15 years. In order to achieve this purpose, the paper includes a descriptive summary divided into four central themes (digital tools, new methodologies, transformation of teaching culture and evaluation of innovation), with particular emphasis on a series of concepts and empirical experiences. Among other things, the study reveals that students’ motivation is of the upmost importance not only in this study, but also in the education model which is currently being sought implement. When faced, however, with overoptimism and a lack of criticism of said model, there arises the need for a more rigorous discussion to compare innovative discourses and educational practices.

Innovations in Multilingual Classroom: Exploring Teachers' Experiences

This article explores the English language teachers' innovative practices on multilingual education and their experiences on using multilingual strategies in the classroom. In order to find out the teachers' innovative practices in multilingual education and their strategies for multilingual instruction, a semi structured interview and small group discussion was taken. The results of the study concluded that English language teachers involved their students in the use of multiple languages that they know for developing content knowledge. The teachers believed that multilingual approach supports the students to be linguistically and culturally resourceful. As a part of the experiences of the use of multilingual strategies, the study identified that the teachers linked up vocabulary meaning in different language; used translation as a technique to clarify the concept; provided exposure in multiple languages, facilitated the learners to be bilingual through language transfer; encouraged students to contribute something in their own language; allowed questions in students' own languages; and used as many languages as possible as the resource pool to impart information to the students.

Global South teacher educators in digital landscape: implications on professional learning

Abstract This article explores Pakistani and Bhutanese teacher educators’ digital competences about the use of social media, digital resources and professional online communities and implications of this on professional learning. The two countries, less discussed in international educational literature, are facing a growing use of the Internet in teaching and learning. Data include a survey completed by 67 teacher educators from Pakistan and 37 teachers from Bhutan, as well as semi-structured interviews from both countries. This study provides evidence of how teachers’ interaction on social networks and the use of digital resources play a central role in the introduction of innovative pedagogical practices of teacher educators, and teacher educators remain interested in knowledge sharing through social media for their professional learning.

A theoretical model for the authentic assessment of teaching

Over the course of the last decade, many higher education institutions that prepare teachers along with states, districts, and national organizations have sought to design new forms of assessment for preservice teachers. These efforts have stemmed from a growing sentiment that more powerful and nuanced assessment strategies are now needed to target the complexities of the knowledge that teachers bring to bear in their teaching (Shulman, 1987) as well as the subtleties of innovative teaching practice (Smith, 1990). Efforts to create new forms of assessment have sought to transcend the limits of traditional testing practices as they provide ways to sensitively document the personally and contextually complex world of teaching. This movement towards new forms of assessment for preservice teachers has been marked, generally speaking, by movement away from standardized paper and pencil tests of knowledge and skill and the use of observational checklists of teaching behaviors. These types of assessments are targeted by would be reformers as reflecting a narrow conception of teaching (DarlingHammond, Wise, & Klein, 1995). As an alternative, we hear calls for more nuanced, “authentic” forms of assessment that can capture the complexities of teaching and learning as they develop over time and across different contexts (Shulman, 1988; Wolf, 1991).

Co-teaching in an Undergraduate Clinical Skills Course: Physicians and Social Behavioural Scientists Use a Shared Mental Model to Highlight Complementary Aspects of Medical Interviewing and Physical Exam Skills.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Introduction: Interdisciplinary co-teaching by physicians (MD) and social behavioural scientists (SBS) has emerged as an innovative teaching practice in clinical skills courses, but little is known about how co-teachers operationalize instruction. The purpose of this study was to explore the shared mental model of co-teachers concerning medical interviewing and physical examination instruction. Methods: Twelve individual semi-structured interviews were conducted at Brown University. Participants were asked, " What and how do MD and SBS faculty contribute to teaching medical interviewing and physical examination skills?" Transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. Discourse analysis was also used to determine if what faculty individually described as contributing to instruction was observed by the co-teacher. Results: Physician and SBS faculty emphasized different but complementary aspects of medical interviewing and physical examination skills. Physicians focused on content, targeting clinical reasoning, differential diagnosis, economy of movement, efficiency, synthesis, and technical skills. SBS faculty focused on process,emphasizing active listening, presence, non-verbal communication, rapport building, empathy, and patient comfort. Discussion: Co-teachers consistently articulated their relative contributions to teaching medical interviewing and physical examinations. Their shared mental model emphasized the importance of both content and process, creating a learning environment supporting the development of both biomedical and patient-centred perspectives.

Academic entrepreneurship in the context of education

Purpose This study aims to extend literature on academic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial networking by examining how academics, in their role of entrepreneurial educators, network for the creation and execution of novel teaching practices in cooperation with external actors. Design/methodology/approach The empirical investigation is based on qualitative inquiry, using a case study approach. Specifically, eight cases originating at three universities in Germany, The Netherlands and Mexico were examined. The cases which constituted innovative teaching practices were selected following a replication logic. Each involved extensive participation of societal actors in course development or delivery and aimed to stimulate students to work on real life challenges and disseminate novel knowledge back to the world of practice. All courses were either introduced or taught by educators who possessed different levels and types of academic and industrial or entrepreneurial experience. Findings Based on eight cases the authors found that the networking behaviour of entrepreneurial educators is crucial for the generation of proximity with external actors and for the acquisition of key resources, such as an external actor to participate in teaching practice and for the generation of legitimacy for their innovations in teaching. The entrepreneurial and industrial experience of entrepreneurial educators emerges as an affordance to network with external actors, helping them to achieve a common understanding of the opportunity and to generate trust among them. Practical implications This study equips managers of higher education institutions with critical insights into innovating the teaching mission of the university and developing closer and stronger relationships with external actors of the university. Originality/value This study seeks to advance the literature on academic entrepreneurship by shifting the attention away from academic entrepreneurs as merely founders of spin-offs and collaborators with business on research and development towards entrepreneurial educators who see opportunities in establishing collaborations with external actors as part of their teaching activities. Further, it introduces the “social networking perspective” to this field. Vissa (2012) and Stam (2015) introduced this perspective as a logical extension to the study of the generation of social capital to reach entrepreneurial goals.

A Novel Observation on Cloud Computing in Education

Cloud computing is an emerging topic in today’s lifestyle in publications and among users. Cloud computing in educational sectors is going beyond classrooms as an essential service. The higher education, distance education, online education etc. uses the services of cloud computing for the flexibility available for the students. Cloud computing has new platforms for innovative teaching practice. In this paper, we have analyzed various educational sectors which use cloud computing as a service. We found that the above mentioned educational sectors are benefiting from the service of cloud computing. It needs some remedial actions to be done for its proper utilization as a service.

Confronting the challenges of Journalism Education in Rwanda in the context of educational reforms

Policy reforms aimed at improving access to and equity in tertiary education have meant that university classes are not only larger, but more diverse in terms of students’ competencies and experiences. Despite the increase in the size and diversity of student populations in universities, the financial, technological and human resources have not expanded at a similar rate, leaving academic programs struggling to improve the quality of educational experience, whilst teaching more students with less resources. This is particularly difficult in practice-based disciplines such as medicine, nursing and journalism, where coaching models and small-class learning experiences are seen as being the most effective way of nurturing work-ready graduates. Teaching journalism under these conditions is particularly problematic because of the dynamic changes being experienced across the media industries as a result of technological change and the changing media ecosystem.
 This article uses the University of Rwanda as a case study to examine the impact of tertiary education reforms on journalism education practices. Drawing on the ‘Practical Theory of Journalism Education’ and the ‘Educational Change Model’ perspectives, this paper calls for judicious implementation of educational reforms. It argues that by phasing the introduction of reforms, universities can better manage the change process in order to maintain quality educational experiences. However, this alone cannot ensure quality journalism education outcomes. Universities need to foster innovative teaching practices and approaches to learning in order to sustain quality when teaching large and diverse classes.
 Through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, the findings illuminate how journalism education in Rwanda has changed its original orientation and pedagogy to include strategic initiatives, teaching innovations and expanded opportunities for students in response to policy reforms aimed at promoting an all-inclusive education sector.
 
 How to cite this article: 
 JJUUKO, Margaret; NJUGUNA, Joseph. Confronting the challenges of Journalism Education in Rwanda in the context of educational reforms Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South. v. 3, n. 2, p. 49-67, Sept. 2019. Available at: 
 https://sotl-south-journal.net/?journal=sotls&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=92&path%5B%5D=46
 
 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
 To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Digital Making in Educational Projects

Digital Making as an Educational Project is an innovative educational experience that has been carried out with students of the Primary Education and Social Education degrees for three consecutive years. The experience introduces digital making as an activity in which students create an object using digital technology. In the process, they not only gain an insight into how the technology works, but also learn the content and competences of the curriculum. This innovative teaching practice was carried out as action research in order to improve traditional higher education practices. In this sense, the proposal puts the student at the centre of the process as the author and protagonist of their own learning process. The experience is based on their own interests: they decide what to make based on a given context. The students work in groups and look for what they need to learn to overcome a particular challenge, while the teacher supports the process as a facilitator, offering guidance and resources when necessary. The evaluation of the whole process is regulated via a group diary (a shared online document) and an individual diary (a blog) that the students produce. The final evaluation is not only of the printed product; the students also produce a video in the form of storytelling, in which they explain how the process evolved from the initial idea to the final impression of the object. They also reflect on what they have learned, how teamwork has worked and what possibilities they believe digital making offers in the primary and non-formal educational contexts in which they will work. All of the processes are compiled in the students’ blogs, as well as in the teachers’ field notebooks. The experience was executed in collaboration with the Digital Fabrication Centres of Barcelona. The results were organised to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of using technologies to improve higher education offering an approach in which students are at the centre of the whole process. Strengths: strong student motivation, promotion of self-directed and collaborative learning and learning by doing, and familiarisation with a transforming integration of technology as protagonists. Weaknesses: hesitance and resistance to facing the challenge, management of scarce time, large time investment by the teachers, and the difficulty of achieving in-depth reflection on how digital fabrication could be introduced in educational contexts such as primary school and non-formal contexts.

Improving political science degree programmes in the twenty-first century

Purpose This paper aims to examine the actions lecturers, universities and their administrators can take in improving and making political science undergraduate degrees more relevant in the twenty-first century. This paper will reflect on specific measures undertaken by institutions globally to equip students with unique skills to enhance the value and relevance of their programmes in the context of an increased technologically driven environment. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a qualitative approach to the review of the literature with implications for practice in examining how universities globally are applying strategies in raising students’ skill levels to enhance future workplace value. A review of select institutions obtained from the Times Higher Ranked (2019) universities was used in identifying best practices to prepare a political science student for better employability. Findings Contrary to prevailing opinions, a huge skills gap exists for filling the demand for twenty-first century political science-related careers in the public and private sector. The attainment of twenty-first century skill sets and the deployment of technology-driven teaching and learning methods are vital elements in unlocking the value of political science education and providing students with opportunities to advance their professional and career objectives. Originality/value Higher education institutions need to reconsider their strategies in the delivery of political science degrees, bearing in mind the increased use of technology and innovative teaching practices. This paper offers insight into how to tailor an exciting and relevant political science programme for the future of work.