University Teaching Practice Research Articles

Not drowning, waving: The role of video in a renewed digital learning world

While online teaching involves a range of contemporary digital tools, there are strong indicators for an ongoing place for video in a new digital learning world. For example, the use of video during the pandemic, to urgently translate on-campus lectures to online content, refocussed the argument on the role of video into the next phase of digital learning. Beyond a much-appreciated tool of convenience, what is video’s pedagogical role in higher education? This article draws from the literature, including reviews, theory, and case examples, to offer a typology to represent the role of video in university teaching practices, including intentional reasons to employ video beyond passive viewing. The typology is offered in three role types: functional purpose, academic focus (or knowledge type), and pedagogical strategy. It is recommended that university educational practitioners (including teachers, developers, and designers) consider video as multidimensional, and consult all three role types when designing video-based learning experiences, to maintain the human design processes within the complexity of teaching and learning. The typology is dynamic and adaptable to further emerging contexts. Implications for practice or policy: A typology of video roles demonstrates the multidimensional nature of video as a university teaching and learning tool, and thus signals the inherent complexity in digital teaching design practice. The video typology is offered for university educators to consult for intentional video-based learning design choices including to prompt considerations beyond passive student viewing. The typology is open for further adaptation into the future, for example, upon application to new cases.

Использование когнитивного потенциала социальных сетей в довузовской подготовке как одна из эффективных практик преподавания

Introduction. The paper aims to investigate the necessity of engaging social media in the modern educational process, especially at the pre-university stage. The paper presents the academic standards of effective university teaching practices and analyzes the prospects for extending traditional educational technologies from this perspective. In order to achieve the goal, the following tasks are highlighted: 1) to analyse the works on innovative and classical practices of university teaching; 2) to consider the process of evolution of pedagogical approaches to methodological techniques as well as changes in motivation of foreign students; 3) to formulate our own conclusions (based on practice) on the effectiveness of introducing social networks in the educational process. The working hypothesis is that social networks in the educational process at the pre-university stage are not only a distracting element, but can become a powerful motivational lever for learning the Russian language and Russian culture and become a component of attracting a wider range of foreign citizens to study in Russia. Thus, the research focused on traditional and innovative pedagogical and methodological research on pre-university education of foreign citizens, the study of the functionality of social networks in the educational space and as an element of “soft power” of the state, the peculiarities of thinking and motivation of modern foreign students. The following methods were used in the research: analysis of existing pedagogical and methodological experience, making changes to the traditional educational model of teaching, analysis and selection of methods of work with social networks in the educational process, evaluation of effectiveness. Results. The authors come to the conclusion regarding the expediency of introducing social networks (by the example of Instagram) into the traditional educational process at the pre-university training stage as the element which could increase the motivation of foreign students, expand the borders of Russian language and education in Russia and achieve many other aims.

Gender Inequalities in University Teaching Practice: An Innovative Project at the University of the Basque Country

Feminist research on gender inequalities in academia has demonstrated the need for policies in universities and scientific institutions to be oriented towards institutional and cultural change in order to promote gender equality. It has also highlighted the role of women ’s representative groups and the strategies and lines of action that organizations for equality develop through equality plans. This article describes the training experience carried out with teaching staff of the UPV/EHU, as a result of the Educational Innovation project aimed at incorporating the gender perspective in university teaching. This action is included in the Training axis of the III Equality Plan of our university. The participating professors have expressed the great value and their willingness to implement the gender perspective in all those activities that are included in the teaching practice in a reflexive way to achieve more democratic educational spaces in higher education.

Family doctors’ attitudes toward peer support programs for type 2 diabetes and/or coronary artery disease: an exploratory survey among German practitioners

BackgroundType 2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary artery disease (CAD) are chronic illnesses where adherence to a healthy lifestyle is crucial. If organisational and cultural factors are well managed, Peer support programs (PSP) can improve self-management, quality of life, and health outcomes. In preparation for launching a PSP, we surveyed family doctors (FD) about their attitudes toward such a program and about potential barriers, and facilitators.MethodsIn March 2020 we surveyed 896 FDs from five university teaching practice networks in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany, via an anonymous web-based survey. The questionnaire addressed details of PSPs, including suitable patients and FDs‘role. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics; qualitative material underwent content analysis by two researchers.ResultsA total of 165 FDs responded (response rate: 18.4%), 97% were practice owners. Respondents viewed PSPs positively (T2D: 92.0%, CAD 89.9%), especially for patients with poor self-structuring (82.7%), low motivation (76.3%) and few social contacts (67.6%). On average, FDs were able to identify 4.0 ± 3.2 patients as potential group leaders. Major facilitators reported included motivation by peers (92.5%), exercise (79.1%), and social contacts (70.1%). Waning interest over time (73.1%) and poor motivation (70.9%) were considered barriers. The majority of FDs would recommend PSPs to their patients (89.5%). They considered such a program a valuable addition to current care (79.7%). The percentage of FDs’ who expected long-term benefits for their workload was relatively low (37.6%).ConclusionsIn an exploratory survey among German FDs on PSPs, respondents viewed PSPs as a valuable add-on for T2D and CAD patients, while not expecting a positive impact on their workload. Communication with FDs on PSPs may need to highlight anticipated implementation outcomes such as benefits of PSPs to the practice.

Identifying and Monitoring Students’ Classroom Learning Behavior Based on Multisource Information

Understanding human activity and behavior, particularly real-time understanding in video feeds, is one of the most active areas of research in Computer Vision (CV) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) nowadays. To advance the topic of integrating learning engagement research with university teaching practice, accurate and efficient assessment, and analysis of students’ classroom learning behavior engagement is very important. The recently proposed classroom behavior recognition algorithms have some limitations, such as the inability to quickly and accurately identify students’ classroom behaviors because they do not consider the motion information of students between consecutive frames. In recent years, action recognition algorithms based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have improved significantly. To address the limitations of existing algorithms, in this study, a 3D-CNN is selected as a network model for classroom student behavior recognition, which increases information multisourcing and classroom student localization with high accuracy and robustness. For better analysis of human behavior in videos, the 3D convolution extends the 2D convolution to the spatial–temporal domain. In the proposed system, first of all, a real-time picture stream of each student is obtained by combining real-time target detection and tracking. Then, a deep spatiotemporal residual CNN is used to learn the spatiotemporal features of each student’s behavior, so, as to achieve real-time recognition of classroom behaviors for multistudent targets in classroom teaching scenarios. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed model, different experiments are conducted using the labeled classroom behavior dataset. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model exhibits better performance in classroom behavior recognition. The accurate recognition of classroom behaviors can assist the teachers and students to understand the classroom learning situation and help to promote the development of smart classroom.

A Review of the Evaluation System of English Language Teaching (ELT) in Chinese Universities in the Context of COVID-19

This review article begins with a brief overview of what an English language teaching (ELT) evaluation system is, and then analyzes the current state of the English language teaching evaluation system in Chinese universities in the context of COVID-19. At the same time, this review article expounds how to better establish a good evaluation system for English language teaching in the context of COVID-19 as well as for the English language studies and its application in language teaching practices in Chinese universities. Based on a series of literature analysis, the current review article has come to such a conclusion that in the context of COVID-19, the division of stages before, during and after class is relative. Therefore, the methods and means of using the formative evaluation system and the summative evaluation system are not separate and independent. It is because both formative and summative assessment systems are diagnostic in nature. The summative evaluation system has the nature of the formative evaluation system, and no formative evaluation system is an incomplete evaluation system.

Love as a macroconcept of V. Tokareva's artistic conceptosphere (on the example of collections of works "Short Beeps", "About what did not happen", "To say – not to say...")

The article is devoted to the analysis of love as the dominant concept of the artistic world by V. Tokareva on the material of the collections of the writer's works published by the publishing house "ABC-Atticus": "Short beeps" (2015), "To say – not to say ..." (2019), "About what did not happen" (2021). The purpose of this study is to examine the artistic world of the writer through the prism of the concept of "love". The solution of the following tasks contributes to the achievement of this goal: to explore the concept of "love" as a macro concept, to identify its most significant life-meaning landmarks, to analyze the structure of images that fill this concept with new content and meanings. The research methodology is based on conceptual and functional methods, there are elements of comparative and descriptive methods, component analysis of the text. The study found that the writer returns to the concept of "love" in short stories and novellas, exploring this feeling at different levels of human relationships; love for objects of the material world is considered. The macro concept "love" is the center of the writer's conceptual sphere. It is he who holds together the conceptual sphere of V. Tokareva and allows us to perceive the multifaceted art world as a single one. The writer's creativity from the point of view of the influence of artistic concepts on the formation of the conceptual sphere has been studied sporadically and requires further development. The results obtained in the course of the study can be used in the practice of university teaching of special courses dedicated to the artistic concept, as well as in conducting seminars on the history of Russian literature. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the proposed interpretation of the macro concept "love".

Emergency remote teaching or andragogical innovation? Higher education in Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic

Singapore higher education’s intraperiod response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was unique compared to other countries, being praised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its early response. Like many other countries, alarming growth in cases appeared, and careful strategies for the continuation of learning were implemented. This paper provides a critical case study and reflection-in-action (Green et al., 2020) of the Singaporean intraperiod response, exploring individual responses from a sample of six autonomous universities, two international universities with campuses in Singapore, and four Private Education Institutions. Through a defined qualitative content analysis of university documentation, scant academic literature, and government and media sources, an understanding of the pandemic response in Singapore was possible. We chose to ensure full coverage of the city-state to enable a comprehensive country analysis in contrast to the growing volume of single-institution pandemic and emergency remote teaching case studies applying a sociotechnical theoretical framework to guide an analysis between educational technology systems and the people using it to teach, work, and learn. This study identified that while tasks and technology were presented with depth, the social elements – people and systems – were often lacking accurate description. We discuss how this technical focus has practical and research implications, and how future research and university teaching and learning practice can better respond to future challenges through reflection of the sociotechnical perspective.

Book Review: Contemplative practices in higher education: Powerful methods to transform teaching and learning (by D. Barbezat and M. Bush)

This book review on Daniel Barbezat and Mirabai Bush’s book titled Contemplative Practices in Higher Education: Powerful Methods to Transform Teaching and Learning aims to provide exposure to the possibility of enhanced student experience through contemplative practices across various fields of study and across universities globally. This book review summarizes and evaluates the book with the hope that it will help readership decide if this is a book they would like to purchase as part of their strategy for student learning. This book review, based on a contemplative approach to teaching and learning at the university, is important because it can inspire faculty to implement these strategies for deeper learning within university students. Also, varied contemplative practices are introduced that cultivate the common outcome of greater focus that can serve as a foundation for an internal ethical compass of a university student. Barbezat and Bush’s book is significant to university learning and teaching practice as it challenges the notion of narrowly focused technical training and instead encourages faculty and students to examine how their thoughts and actions affect themselves and others. This book proves a worthy contribution to university learning and teaching practices across fields of study by offering an introduction and guidance on how to implement a fresh yet at the same time age-old practice to pedagogy that can cultivate deeper student learning by helping bring abstract concepts into embodied understanding.

The 4 Cs Strategy for disseminating innovations in university teaching: Classroom, Corridors, Campus, Community

University educators are encouraged to be innovative in their teaching practice, and are often recognised and rewarded for these innovations. However, the effective dissemination and consequent adoption of such innovations is still relatively ineffective, despite the development of diverse dissemination frameworks and strategies. The literature suggests the uptake of innovations is constrained especially by ‘people factors’ related to change, transition and perceived risk, which limits the effectiveness of top-down dissemination. Through a reflective methodology guided by an appreciative inquiry stance and the Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny model, the authors explored dissemination of university teaching practices. Through the Discovery phase, the authors reviewed the literature on innovation and dissemination in the context of reflective inquiry into their own experiences as innovative educators. In the Dream and Design phases, the authors used this new understanding to develop an educator-centred approach strategy for sharing innovations in ways that capitalise on people factors and the principles of persuasive influence towards effective change. The 4Cs Dissemination Strategy systematically connects innovators to their students, colleagues, institutions, and broader networks. After building a scholarly evidence base of the impact of teaching innovations in the Classroom, the focus shifts to person-centred interaction with colleagues in Corridors, across the Campus and into the Community. The Destiny phase is in progress: as a structured professional learning framework supporting innovators to become the advocates for their own innovations in practical ways, the 4Cs Dissemination Strategy has the potential to facilitate the sharing of innovative practice and enhance innovation leadership.

In pursuit of ignorant university teachers and intellectually emancipated students

ABSTRACT The current neo-liberalization of academia threatens the historical role of the university as a safe haven where critical thinking and intellectual emancipation can take place. Instead of educating questioning and independent knowledge seekers, much teaching centres on producing employable, efficient and uncritical workers who instrumentally solve problems within the given system. This essay considers the possibilities and limitations of contesting the neo-liberalization of academia through the teaching practice of not-knowing. This is done by drawing upon the work of Jacques Ranciére and by exploring how ignorant university teaching practices might lead to intellectually emancipated students. To push our imagination and understanding, the film Dead Poets Society is used as an empirical illustration.It is shown that ignorant (university) teachers can intellectually emancipated students through the practice of not-knowing by: (1) practising our own equality; (2) announcing the students’ inevitable equality; and (3) creating spaces for intellectual emancipation for our students.

The communication and action oriented approach in the practice of university teaching

The communication and action oriented approach in the practice of university teaching

ПОВЕДЕНЧЕСКИЕ ОСОБЕННОСТИ ЦИФРОВОГО ПОКОЛЕНИЯ КАК ФАКТОР ВЛИЯНИЯ НА ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНЫЙ ПРОЦЕСС (НА ПРИМЕРЕ ОБУЧЕНИЯ ИНОСТРАННОМУ ЯЗЫКУ В МОСКОВСКОМ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОМ ТЕХНИЧЕСКОМ УНИВЕРСИТЕТЕ ИМЕНИ Н. Э. БАУМАНА)

Based on the analysis of scientific literature, the main behavioral attributes of representatives of the digital generation are revealed. The received data are the basis for updating foreign language teaching practices in a non-linguistic university. This approach allows us to rethink the principles of interaction with the younger generation of students and offer educational technologies that are in demand among future engineering specialists.

University model and teaching practices: An introspective glance to eight Chilean architecture schools

University model and teaching practices: An introspective glance to eight Chilean architecture schools

Opinions of Future Teachers on Training in Social Sciences Didactics

At present, an understanding of the teaching practices at university and the opinion of students about these practices is limited, at least in certain knowledge areas. Given this diagnosis and in the context of Social Sciences Didactics, we consider it important to analyze teaching practices and how they impact future teachers. Consequently, concerned about the quality of training offered to students, this study aims to know their opinion about which teaching practices they consider most appropriate to train in Social Sciences Didactics, once they finish the subjects related to this area. To this end, a non-experimental quantitative design has been used, involving collecting information through a questionnaire completed by 875 students from seven Spanish universities studying for the Degree in Primary Education. The data was analyzed from a triple perspective, an analysis of the descriptive statistics of the items contemplated in this research, the existing correlations between them, and a statistical analysis based on the gender variable. The results show that the treatment of controversial issues and the didactic outings outside the university classroom are the strategies most valued by the students in teaching specific content of the subject Social Sciences Didactics. The results also show significant differences in the responses to each item depending on the gender variable. We conclude that students widely value university teaching practices related to implementing active methodologies, analyzing current social and environmental issues, and collaborative work dynamics. Likewise, it is observed that women have, on the whole, a better opinion than men regarding these types of methodologies and strategies.

Mediation as a Component of Communicative Competence in Training International Relations Professionals: Collaboration Between Russia and Kazakhstan

The world lives in the era of conflict, when the safety and well-being of states or individuals to a large extent depend on the availability of well-trained professionals who are able to perform mediating functions, keeping in mind ethnic, national, political, cultural and other differences between conflicting sides. However, employers increasingly claim that todays graduates lack the skills required for conflict management and mediation even in homogeneous working environments, let alone multinational teams and international interaction. This problem is particularly relevant for the field of international relations where conflict resolution by peaceful means is very important. Countries with transition economies, such as Russia and Kazakhstan, where there is a gap between labor market requirements and university teaching practices, have been searching for new ways to educate and train young specialists. This article presents the preliminary results of a collaborative project between Petrozavodsk State University of the Russian Federation and Gumilyov Eurasian National University of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The project includes a set of dialogue- and polylogue-based learning activities with special focus on addressing any discrepancies, misunderstandings and divergence of views. The aim of the paper is to assess the impact of professionally oriented cross-border communication in the English language on the readiness of international relations students from Russia and Kazakhstan for resolving future professional disputes through mediation. The authors used formal structured questionnaires with closed-ended questions for obtaining necessary data and the comparative analysis method for interpreting them. The results suggest that systematic English-language cross-border communication in a realistic work-like environment will demonstrate the importance of mediation as a component of professional communicative competence to the students and will better prepare future foreign affairs staff for conflict resolution and mediation.

Editorial: Collaboration in higher education: Partnering with students, colleagues and external stakeholders

Welcome to this Special Issue of the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice (JUTLP). This editorial provides an overview of Collaboration in Higher Education. Humans are social, inter-dependent beings, needing to be and communicate with each other. Being with other people provides an opportunity to grow and develop, creating a sense of self and identity. Together we construct, structure and restructure the stories that build the larger narratives of who we are, what we do and how we live, act and behave as people, professionals and larger communities. It is through our collaborations that we come together, and construct meaning and ourselves. As Higher Education continues to exclude and sideline, as it constrains and removes spaces and places for collaboration between service staff, faculty and students within institutions, between institutions, and with other stakeholders, there is a need to rediscover the power of collaboration. The articles included, build on practical experience, research data, personal and collective reflections, to outline how the contributors have navigated this tension to create spaces of voice and hope. Presented are case studies that are boundary crossing: across disciplinary boundaries; cross-institution collaboration; cross-boundary working; pedagogical co-creation and the re-conceptualising of learning; and students as partners, co-researchers and co-authors. Together they showcase refreshed notions of collegiality and collaboration in Higher Education that support new and more nuanced, and dynamic models of co-creation. We hope the Special Issue helps seed an ecology of collaborative practice for social justice – a more humane academia.

The challenge for university teaching and research practice in Zimbabwe: an empirical study

ABSTRACT The article examines challenges faced by academics in Zimbabwe's universities. With a particular focus on university teaching and research, the article draws upon empirical evidence from a survey study and in-depth semi-structured interviews with academics from four public universities. The survey findings suggest that years of university teaching experience, area of specialisation, professional title, and education levels are not strong determinants on the academics’ view towards political instability as one of the main issues impacting their work. The qualitative interview data provide further evidence on how all the different academics consider political instability as a factor negatively impacting university teaching and research. The most significant finding is that academics blame government policies. The article identifies the variegated market-oriented policies adopted in the university as the cause of the challenges and consequently calls for an interrogation of the policy from Zimbabwean academics and all other concerned stakeholders in higher education.

Editorial: Collaboration in higher education: Partnering with students, colleagues and external stakeholders

Welcome to this Special Issue of the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice (JUTLP). This editorial provides an overview of Collaboration in Higher Education. Humans are social, inter-dependent beings, needing to be and communicate with each other. Being with other people provides an opportunity to grow and develop, creating a sense of self and identity. Together we construct, structure and restructure the stories that build the larger narratives of who we are, what we do and how we live, act and behave as people, professionals and larger communities. It is through our collaborations that we come together, and construct meaning and ourselves. As Higher Education continues to exclude and sideline, as it constrains and removes spaces and places for collaboration between service staff, faculty and students within institutions, between institutions, and with other stakeholders, there is a need to rediscover the power of collaboration. The articles included, build on practical experience, research data, personal and collective reflections, to outline how the contributors have navigated this tension to create spaces of voice and hope. Presented are case studies that are boundary crossing: across disciplinary boundaries; cross-institution collaboration; cross-boundary working; pedagogical co-creation and the re-conceptualising of learning; and students as partners, co-researchers and co-authors. Together they showcase refreshed notions of collegiality and collaboration in Higher Education that support new and more nuanced, and dynamic models of co-creation. We hope the Special Issue helps seed an ecology of collaborative practice for social justice – a more humane academia.

Introduction of Online Language Corpora into Future Translators’ and Interpreters’ Teaching

This paper outlines some benefits from online language corpora use in translators’ and interpreters’ teaching, especially its advantages for developing target language competences, translation competences and scientific research competences of future translators and interpreters. The author shares the results of her five year theoretical and empirical studies in training students to apply online language corpora in doing their language research projects, as well as offers rationalizing contributions to existing pedagogical language corpora applications in university teaching practice. The main resultant outcome of the author’s scientific pedagogical studies has become the Research-Oriented Methodology of Gradual Online Language Corpora Introduction.