Previous research has shown that, despite the importance of programming education, there is limited research done on programming education experiences from the students’ point of view and the need to do so is strong. By understanding the student behaviour, their learning styles, their expectation and motivation to learn, the quality of teaching can be improved. The goal of this paper is to examine the connection between educational theories and student-centred pedagogy via an empirical study. While research results have confirmed student difficulties in learning programming in terms of the retention and completion rates of the programming courses, we will propose some of the solutions to overcome these challenges. We will also classify the various definitions of learning goals both theoretically and empirically in order to further our understanding in the subject field. New research opportunities are opened in the applied work of a personalised learning environment.
Peer Learning is broadly described as the development of knowledge or skills by individuals from similar statutory conditions who are learning from and with each other in both formal and informal ways. There is a considerable amount of published work on peer learning in the context of schools and undergraduate courses but little work has been developed around postgraduate levels, specifically with Masters courses. The goal of the research presented in this paper was to understand how Masters degree students perceive and engage with a peer learning activity set in a taught module. One specialist subject topic from the curriculum was assigned to each student who, during two sessions in regular teaching times, had to perform both as peer tutor and tutee in a reciprocal peer learning approach. Two questionnaires were applied - one for each role the students had to perform. Results reveal that the majority of students considered the peer tutor role undeniably positive; however, while performing as tutees, students expressed skepticism regarding the effectiveness of the approach. As the credibility of peers was evidenced as an issue (when set against these students' high expectations), this paper contends that reciprocal peer learning may not be the most suitable peer learning method for master levels.
Management education has the potential to play a vital role in today’s dynamic business environment. Management degrees continue to experience strong enrolments at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. However, despite, or perhaps as a result of this popularity, management educators face a number of challenges associated with the changing demographics of the student cohort and the large size of classes. Responding to these challenges has resulted in the need for management educators to adopt innovative teaching strategies. This special issue of the Journal of Learning Design considers a range of pedagogical innovations and reflections that are focussed on these challenges and what they mean for the ways management education is done in and beyond the classroom.
Engaging large first year classes in tertiary education poses a number of significant challenges, many of which have been addressed in the literature. One area that has not received the kind of attention it warrants is the context within which student learning takes place. This paper reports on the processes used to engage a large first year management class in an Australian university and how the context of the classes shaped activities and student responses to these activities. A key finding was the explicit acknowledgement of the role of context in shaping student behaviours and thus impacting on student engagement and learning outcomes.
The papers in this issue put paid to the simplistic objective binary that teachers teach and students learn. The complex reality is that teachers design and scaffold student learning experiences based on theoretical constructs and discipline standards. Xia ( this issue) concisely explains that “goals are set in order to reach a specific performance outcome” and that “learning outcomes can be defined in general as acting as a benchmark for ensuring teaching quality” (p. 25). These experiences are then customised to meet particular student needs and contexts and, in turn, modified for logistical reasons such as timing or access to human and physical resources. The main reason for modification, however, is clearly from student feedback. This feedback, in turn, is substantively drawn from affective responses and inherent goals and capacities which can include: prior experience, background, personality, academic background, interests, cognitive ability, quality of teaching and student expectation (Xia, this issue ).
This study examines studies on instructional design models by applying content analysis. It covers 113 papers published in 44 international Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) and Science Citation Index (SCI) journals. Studies on instructional design models are explored in terms of journal of publication, preferred model, country where the study was conducted, research method, data collection tool, data analysis method, sampling interval, and field in which the model was applied. Studies are also examined in terms of variables, focusing on connections with model used, relevant results, and orientation of the model (e.g., system-oriented, class-oriented, or product-oriented). Results identified the most preferred models as ADDIE, ARCS, Gagne and Briggs, 4C-ID, and Dick and Carey. System-based instructional design models were most common. These results show recent trends in instructional design models and will contribute to both researchers and instructional designers.
After explaining our experience with a flipped classroom model of learning, we argue that the approach brings to light the dramaturgical and mediatized aspects of learning experiences that favour a closer connection between recorded content and “live” presentation by the lecturer. We adopted the flipped classroom approach to learning and teaching in a class of over 100 postgraduate level university students, some learning at a distance, and run over two successive years. This article describes the format of the lecture recordings, class activities and assessment method. We also describe the outcome of course evaluation, and present what we learned from the process.
This paper compares HR education in Australia and in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It explores implications for learning design in graduate HRM education in an increasingly globalised world. Beginning with a discussion of the HR profession and the competencies demanded for HR professionals and their accreditation, the paper takes an open systems perspective to argue that to provide optimal HR education (the transformation process) for the HR graduate (the product output) requires resource inputs from academe, from professional associations, and from industry. HR education comprises topics in the theory and process of HRM, general business knowledge and skills, and pedagogy that extends to industry experience and assessment and reporting. A comparison of Australian and Chinese curricula indicates similarities in terms of approximate programme weightings of general business units, core HRM, and elective units. It is recommended that curriculum design take into account the need to remain research-based academically yet industry-focused, in the context of an international workplace. A key to this is the collaborative input by academe, regulators, professional associations, and industry. The content and process is examined, with implications for education design.
Higher education providers are becoming increasingly aware of the diversity of their current and potential learners and are moving to provide a range of options for their engagement. The increasingly flexible delivery modes available for university students provide multiple pathways and opportunities for those seeking further education. In changing between and across modes, a one-size-fits-all approach is often used. That is, internal content is converted into a form deemed suitable for an external delivery. However, there is a significant problem with the one-size-fits-all approach for external students who feel or experience isolation. When compared to their internal counterparts, these students often face a number of barriers to their full participation in coursework units. These barriers may not be experienced by those engaging in these same units via face-to-face or blended enrolment modes and therefore present another type of learner to consider in the planning and implementation of learning activities online. The barriers to participation appear particularly evident in groupwork activities. The online environment also presents challenges for many academic staff who increasingly require higher levels of technological competency and proficiency on top of their regular academic workload. Drawing on reflections of several years of facilitating student learning online, this paper provides one lecturer’s perspective and critical commentary on some of the challenges faced by external students and the implications of an increasingly online delivery framework for practice.
Design and design thinking have been identified as making valuable contributions to business and management, and the numbers of higher education programs that teach design thinking to business students, managers and executives are growing. However multiple definitions of design thinking and the range of perspectives have created some confusion about potential pathways. This paper examines notions of design and design thinking and uses these definitions to identify themes in higher educational programs. We present the findings from an initial exploratory investigation of design and design thinking in higher education business programs and define four distinct educational approaches around human centred innovation, integrative thinking, design management and design as strategy. Potential directions for management education programs are presented.
The Australian Learning and Teaching Council’s Bachelor of Laws Learning and Teaching Academic Standards Statement identified “thinking skills” as one of the six threshold learning outcomes for a Bachelor of Laws Program, which reinforced the significance of learning, teaching and assessing “thinking skills” in law schools (Kift, Israel & Field, 2010). The fundamental conceptions underpinning “thinking skills” in a legal education context are “legal reasoning,” “critical analysis” and “creative thinking.” These conceptions shed light on what it means to “think like a lawyer” and help shape a professional legal identity. This paper identifies a number of acronyms used to teach traditional “legal reasoning,” drawing particular attention to IRAC, which is commonly understood within the legal academy as Issue, Rule, Application and Conclusion. An incremental development approach to learning, teaching and assessing IRAC is recommended whereby first year law students use a legal reasoning grid to a simple problem-based question before applying IRAC to a more complicated problem-based question in the form of barrister’s advice. An example of a criterion-referenced assessment rubric that breaks IRAC down into five performance standards is shared with the community of practice.
This paper aims to answer how we can increase students' engagement in a large class. We hypothesised that the use of KeyPad, an interactive student response system, can lead to enhanced student engagement in a large classroom. We tested a model of classroom technology integration enhancing the students' engagement among first year undergraduate students (n=131). This study provides evidence of significant effect of positive attitude and social pressure on the intent to use KeyPads. In turn, the intent to use KeyPads leads to the actual use of KeyPads which is directly associated with the level of student engagement. In addition, we find evidence for the relationship between extraversion and level of engagement such that compared to extrovert students, introvert students felt more engaged.
The Journal of Learning Design is about to close. Our last issue was Volume 10 (2) released in March 2017. In closing and saying farewell, we would like to sincerely thank those who have written, reviewed, read and referenced the articles we have published in our 27 issues (10 volumes). Thanks must also go to the Queensland University of Technology for encouraging and supporting the journal, particularly since our move to an OJS platform. The Journal has built a reputation for quality and diversity of approach – we have covered a wide range of disciplines and learning technologies in accessible ways. We have supported the cause of Open Access publishing and shown how being ‘open’ and ‘free’ need not compromise rigour. We have supported the cause of online publishing and shown it to be a viable alternative that does not take advantage of anyone or treat creative output as a commercial commodity. Above all, we have collectively supported the promotion of the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education. We believe we have also filled an important role to support early career academics and emerging researchers. We have learnt a great deal as editors and are grateful for the opportunities the journal has presented to us both personally and professionally. There is no sadness in closing the journal. It is simply time to say Goodbye with good grace and in the knowledge of a job well done. Thank you to all. Margaret Lloyd, Queensland University of Technology, Australia Nan Bahr, Griffith University, Australia
This paper reports on the learning designs, teaching methods and activities most commonly employed within the disciplines in six universities in Australia. The study sought to establish if there were significant differences between the disciplines in learning designs, teaching methods and teaching activities in the current Australian context, as was reported in Scott's Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) analysis (2006). Although it found a broad range of teaching approaches are used in all disciplines, it emerged that there was still some bias toward the traditional discipline stereotypes, which in some cases has been found to negatively affect student engagement.Additionally, while there was a general awareness amongst study participants about the importance of responding to student evaluations of teaching, improvements to teaching and learning practice were most commonly adopted without reference to current research or professional advice, and rarely was advice sought outside their discipline. Although a small-scale study such as this could not be said to be wholly representative of the higher education sector in Australia, these initial findings might indicate a need for administrators to acknowledge the role of quality teaching in maximising student engagement and its relationship to student retention by encouraging the study of learning and teaching as a routine part of lecturers' practice.
What constitutes design ability and design expertise in architecture? Which categories of design expertise can be identified amongst architecture students? And, which factors predict the levels of expertise? These questions are answered in a survey of architecture students in Nigeria. Based on the results, students were classified into novices, advanced beginners, competent and proficient design students. Also identified are five areas of design ability or competency, which include innovation, and knowledge adaptation. The level of expertise of the students predicted their abilities to produce innovative designs and adapt design knowledge. The levels of expertise were determined by students’ use of academic resources, motivation and family support, among others. These areas can be leveraged by educations to enhance development of expertise.
The Journal of Learning Design (JLD) has had a relatively short history of open-access peer-reviewed publication in the broad field of multidisciplinary pedagogy and learning design in higher education with a focus on the innovative use of technology. It began in 2005 and its decade of publication has coincided with a period of great volatility in higher education largely wrought by technology and changes in the demographics and location of our student populations. During this decade, learning design has received growing attention as educational institutions have grappled with shifts to blended learning, incorporation of Web 2.0 technologies in course offerings, and conduct of fully online program suites. MOOCs, certification and badging have swept us off our feet at the same time as increasing scrutiny has been applied to ensure program quality and more efficient delivery methods. The Journal of Learning Design (JLD) has been a contemporaneous witness to this period of change and, along with others of its ilk, has provided an authentic discourse of how our authors, who identify as system leaders, academics and learning designers, have addressed the challenge of a changing learning environment.
In an Australian legal education context, there is minimal research on designing and implementing a court report as a summative assessment task. This journal article attempts to fill this gap by reflecting on the journey of a legal educator who pioneered a court report for a core final year course in a Bachelor of Laws program with large cohorts and improved it over 13 semesters in six years. Integrating reflective practice into the court report enhanced its level of authenticity. Notably, this journal article disseminates an example of a court report template and a criterion-referenced assessment rubric for a reflective court report that was grounded in the literature that conceptualises 'reflective practice' and has been refined over time with the benefit of a longstanding and rich experience.
Educational planning and design processes are often described as messy but when modelled assume a tidy linearity that suggests they can be easily shared and transferred. In this paper we argue that a messy process does not mitigate against sharing and transfer and can in fact aid in developing a model that is reusable and authentic. We describe the design of an integrated and interactive blended learning environment for students while demonstrating that messiness does not necessarily preclude modelling. Drawing on Goodyear’s (2005) discussion of the use of patterns in educational design, our aim was to develop sustainable designs as a key feature, and to facilitate applicability across disciplines. By acknowledging a wicked view of design as a domain and using a rhizomatic metaphor to define and describe what we did, we provide a planning and design process for blended learning that is shareable, reusable and flexible while being neither ill-structured nor ill-defined.
This article reviews the literature on multi-sensory technology and, in particular, looks at answering the question: 'What multi-sensory technologies are available to use in a science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) classroom, and do they affect student engagement and learning outcomes?' Here engagement is defined as motivation, interest, curiosity and attitude. This review identifies tools and software from a burgeoning, yet limited literature. To answer this question, this review will include the following: defining learning styles; background on multi-sensory instruction; multi-sensory education today; STEM and the rise of STEAM; a look at some multi-sensory tools; and the benefits of using multi-sensory technologies in education.
