Abstract Learner autonomy means taking responsibility for one’s own learning and using self-regulation strategies. This ability is not innate but acquired, often requiring guidance from teachers. The focus of this paper is the design and validation of the Pedagogical Strategies for Learner Autonomy Scale (EEPAA), which was administered to a sample of 590 Mexican teachers, mostly from high schools and universities. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to group the items into three factors: student perspective, meaningful rationales, and acceptance of criticism. These factors are positively and significantly correlated with each other. The final version of the scale includes 24 items and shows high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.977). The scale helps to identify teaching styles that support learner autonomy. A higher score suggests the use of a higher number of pedagogical strategies to develop student autonomy. Resumen La autonomía en el aprendizaje hace referencia a la toma de responsabilidad sobre el propio aprendizaje y al uso de estrategias de autorregulación. No es una capacidad innata sino adquirida, que frecuentemente requiere guía docente. El presente trabajo se enfoca en el diseño y validación de la Escala de Estrategias Pedagógicas para la Autonomía en el Aprendizaje. Este instrumento fue aplicado a una muestra de 590 profesores mexicanos predominantemente de bachillerato y universidad. Se usó un análisis factorial exploratorio y uno confirmatorio, y se identificó que los ítems se agrupan en tres factores: perspectiva de estudiantes, explicaciones significativas, y aceptación de la crítica. Estos factores se correlacionan positiva y significativamente entre sí. La versión final de la escala cuenta con 24 ítems y una alta consistencia interna (alfa de Cronbach = 0.977). La escala utilizada ayuda a identificar un estilo de enseñanza en apoyo a la autonomía en el aprendizaje. A mayor puntuación se puede asumir un mayor número de estrategias pedagógicas utilizadas para desarrollar la autonomía de los estudiantes.

Learner autonomy means taking responsibility for one’s own learning and using self-regulation strategies. This ability is not innate but acquired, often requiring guidance from teachers. The focus of this paper is the design and validation of the Pedagogical Strategies for Learner Autonomy Scale (EEPAA), which was administered to a sample of 590 Mexican teachers, mostly from high schools and universities. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to group the items into three factors: student perspective, meaningful rationales, and acceptance of criticism. These factors are positively and significantly correlated with each other. The final version of the scale includes 24 items and shows high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.977). The scale helps to identify teaching styles that support learner autonomy. A higher score suggests the use of a higher number of pedagogical strategies to develop student autonomy.

La autonomía en el aprendizaje hace referencia a la toma de responsabilidad sobre el propio aprendizaje y al uso de estrategias de autorregulación. No es una capacidad innata sino adquirida, que frecuentemente requiere guía docente. El presente trabajo se enfoca en el diseño y validación de la Escala de Estrategias Pedagógicas para la Autonomía en el Aprendizaje (EEPAA). Este instrumento fue aplicado a una muestra de 590 profesores mexicanos predominantemente de bachillerato y universidad. Se usó un análisis factorial exploratorio y uno confirmatorio. Se identificó que los ítems se agrupan en tres factores: 1) perspectiva de estudiantes, 2) explicaciones significativas, y 3) aceptación de la crítica. Estos factores se correlacionan positiva y significativamente entre sí. La versión final de la escala cuenta con 24 ítems y una alta consistencia interna (alfa de Cronbach = 0.977). La EEPAA ayuda a identificar un estilo de enseñanza en apoyo a la autonomía en el aprendizaje. A mayor puntuación, se puede asumir un mayor número de estrategias pedagógicas utilizadas para desarrollar la autonomía de los estudiantes.

Remote working: once the preserve of the occasional ‘working from home’ day, has now become a fixture of post-pandemic professional life. For UK higher education staff, encompassing both academics and professional services, this shift has raised profound questions about work quality, autonomy and institutional culture. Is remote working a progressive step forward or a necessary evil that can erode collegiality and productivity? Further, and crucially, how does it compare to in-person working in different academic settings?

Learner autonomy means taking responsibility for one's own learning and using self-regulation strategies. This ability is not innate but acquired, often requiring guidance from teachers. The focus of this paper is the design and validation of the Pedagogical Strategies for Learner Autonomy Scale (EEPAA), which was administered to a sample of 590 Mexican teachers, mostly from high schools and universities. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to group the items into three factors: student perspective, meaningful rationales, and acceptance of criticism. These factors are positively and significantly correlated with each other. The final version of the scale includes 24 items and shows high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.977). The scale helps to identify teaching styles that support learner autonomy. A higher score suggests the use of a higher number of pedagogical strategies to develop student autonomy.

Between 2014 and 2018, the University of Northampton underwent an intense 5-year period of institutional transformation that impacted its approach to learning and teaching, in readiness for its move to a brand new, digitally rich campus in September 2018. This chapter considers both the direct and indirect lessons learned from our experiences in engaging the academic community at Northampton in this large-scale pedagogic transformation and how these lessons might inform the debate about virtual universities. Key decisions and their impact on staff engagement with the project are explored through the lens of a quality enhancement model for pedagogic transformation. Ultimately, transformation on an institutional scale required strong strategic leadership and a rationale to set an unequivocal direction of travel. We reflect on how this evidence-support-agency approach to pedagogic change unknowingly prepared the university for the COVID-19 pandemic. We consider how such changes and catalysts such as a global pandemic could inform the future development of an entirely virtual university. Our experiences suggest that the creation of a virtual university will require similar lessons and activities to those used to transform learning and teaching and Northampton: Substitution and replication will not suffice. Rather, there needs to be an intentional set of interrelated processes that turn disruptions into positive and lasting change. We propose an adapted version of Northampton’s quality enhancement model for pedagogic transformation that demonstrates how the academic community might be encouraged to participate in, shape, and even own a radical and innovative development such as the creation of a virtual university and thereby mainstream large-scale pedagogic transformation.

This study addresses the attitudes of academic staff towards a large-scale pedagogic shift to Active Blended Learning (ABL). Beliefs about the shift and how it is translated into practice are explored. Four main categories are derived: 'Active Innovators' who believe change is positive and apply it to their academic practice; 'Lagging Innovators' who hold positive beliefs but fail to fully implement it; 'Sceptical but obliging' who hold negative beliefs but whose practices are consistent with the new approach; and 'Sceptical and resistant' who hold negative beliefs about ABL and actively resist implementing it in their practice. This article suggests that institutions aiming to promote large-scale sustainable change, may approach the process through two routes: (1) a pragmatic route, focused on promoting change in practice (i.e. practice generates subsequent changes to beliefs); and (2) an epistemic route, aimed at promoting changes to beliefs (i.e. beliefs change first, practices follow).

The global COVID-19 crisis continues to shape the current digital higher education landscape. This chapter explores institutional change by focusing on the preparedness of academic staff to respond to the need for rapid pedagogic adaptation. It examines the associated professional development requirements and the challenges faced. It draws from survey data provided by lecturers and tutors globally (n=136) as part of the eduCOVID19 project in 2020. By switching face-to-face practices to emergency remote teaching, academics spearheaded large-scale change in their universities. With little or no institutional guidance, they took responsibility for their own professional development to acquire the knowledge and skills they needed to teach online. Their readiness correlated positively and significantly with their digital competence and their prior pedagogical knowledge. Workload emerged as a major concern. Emotional support was a common request. Emergency remote teaching constituted an opportunity to learn about pedagogy, triggering a form of 'emergency professional development'.

This article focuses on university students' perceptions of their learning and social experiences in the context of an institution-wide pedagogic shift to Active Blended Learning (ABL). It explores students' perceived enablers and barriers to learning in the new environment. Thematic analysis was conducted on data collected through focus groups involving 60 students. Three key categories emerged: (1) learning experiences, (2) social experiences and (3) support provision. Findings suggest that quality learning experiences are necessary but not sufficient to provide a quality overall student experience. Tutors play a key role in both. Staff-student partnerships are central to promote learner engagement and a sense of belonging. Students value, above all, regular synchronous and asynchronous interaction with peers, tutors and content, enabled by sound pedagogic design and the appropriate deployment of digital technologies. Employability-focused activities that explicitly link theory and practice are regarded as an essential ingredient in learning and assessment. Students view support as a holistic term that integrates academic and pastoral aspects.

This chapter focuses on the joint implementation of blended learning and active learning. The authors analysed 152 institutional websites containing definitions of these concepts. Blended learning is commonly, though arguably simplistically, viewed as the combination of face-to-face and online components. Active learning is often described as a pedagogical approach that engages students in higher-order thinking tasks, usually requiring collaboration with others. The authors systematically reviewed the literature on active blended learning (ABL). Health sciences is the most common field where empirical studies have been conducted. Most research used quantitative or mixed data and focused on the perspective of students. The tone of the discourse is predominantly positive, with an emphasis on the benefits of ABL. The chapter concludes by defining ABL as a pedagogical approach that combines sense-making activities with focused interactions in and outside the classroom. It puts forward a rationale and a framework for the implementation and scaling up of ABL in a higher education setting.

This study identified barriers and enablers of a university-wide pedagogic shift to Active Blended Learning (ABL). ABL is an approach to learning and teaching that promotes student centredness through teaching in small groups, with a focus on sense-making activities and interactions in and outside the physical or virtual learning space. Data gathered through a survey of academic staff, followed by in-depth interviews, were analysed using thematic analysis. The normalisation and effective embedding of digital technology and small group teaching were two major enablers of pedagogic transformation to ABL. Inconsistent teaching practices and the lack of student engagement with learning activities emerged as two of the main barriers. An in-depth understanding of effective, student-focused higher education teaching is a cornerstone of large-scale pedagogic change processes. Recommendations are put forward for higher education institutions considering changes to their learning and teaching strategies.

The COVID-19 global pandemic resulted in the cancellation of face-to-face classes in Mexico, as it did across the world. This paper focuses on the experiences of 75 rural teachers in Mexico, who represent a minority in a country where approximately 80% of the population lives in urban areas. An online survey was administered to participants, who taught in a variety of schools, including K-12 and university settings. These participants shared how they changed their teaching practice, the challenges they faced, and the support they required. The digital divide represented a key challenge for both teachers and their students. In the face of inconsistent, unclear, or non-existent government support, most rural teachers showed commitment, resilience, and resourcefulness. They took control of, and responsibility for, their professional development by seeking ways to fill gaps in their knowledge and continue supporting their learners. Recommendations for institutional authorities and policy makers are discussed.

The simplified psoriasis index (SPI) was developed in the United Kingdom to provide a simple summary measure for monitoring changes in psoriasis severity and associated psychosocial impact as well as for obtaining information about past disease behavior and treatment. Two complementary versions of the SPI allow for self-assessment by the patient or professional assessment by a doctor or nurse. Both versions have proven responsive to change, reliable, and interpretable, and to correlate well with assessment tools that are widely used in clinical trials-the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and the Dermatology Quality of Life Index. The SPI has already been translated into several languages, including French, Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, Arabic, and Thai.To translate the professional and self-assessment versions of the SPI to Spanish and to field test the translations.A medically qualified native Spanish speaker translated both versions of the SPI into Spanish. The Spanish translations were discussed by comparing them to blinded back translations into English undertaken by native English speakers; the Spanish texts were then revised in an iterative process involving the translators, 4 dermatologists, and 20 patients. The patients scored their own experience of psoriasis with the self-assessment version and commented on it. The process involved checking the conceptual accuracy of the translation, language-related differences, and subtle gradations of meaning in a process involving all translators and a panel of both Spanish- and English-speaking dermatologists, including a coauthor of the SPI.The final self-assessment and professional Spanish versions of the SPI are presented in this manuscript.Castilian Spanish translations of both versions of the SPI are now available for monitoring disease changes in Spanish-speaking patients with psoriasis under routine clinical care.

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are usually six to ten weeks long. Participation tends to decrease as the courses progress, leading to low completion rates. This led to the question: Could shorter MOOCs contribute to learners’ engagement, retention and success? This paper compares two versions of Study Skills MOOC, which shared the same content but were delivered in different length formats. One was deployed as a single six-week course and the other as two three-week blocks. In total, 617 people registered for the two versions. Data sources included learning analytics, surveys and the Spanish version of the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Both versions of the Study Skills MOOC resulted in increased participants’ self-efficacy. However, learners enrolled in the version composed of two three-week blocks were also more engaged with course content, other students and the facilitators. Their retention and completion rates were higher than those in the longer version of the course. Reasons linked to goal proximity, motivation, interactions and social modelling are discussed

Understanding the reality of how course design occurs is crucial to applying the principles that underpin designing for learning in technology-enabled contexts. Although a myriad of educational rationales and design tools are available, the process of designing for learning within a course setting is a complex process. While the primary aim of designing for learning is to create pedagogically effective courses, now teachers and learning designers are frequently being asked to do something much more ambitious – to design courses that contribute to a radical transformation of the curriculum across an institution. Can design for learning meet this ambitious aim? This chapter reviews how attempts to transform the curriculum have progressed and what we have discovered about how to support practitioners through such design processes. It makes recommendations for how the field of learning design could respond to institutional imperatives for radically redesigned, technology-rich curricula.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce an evidence-based, transferable framework of graduate attributes and associated university toolkit to support the writing of level-appropriate learning outcomes that enable the university to achieve its mission to Transform Lives + Inspire Change. Design/methodology/approach An iterative process of co-design and co-development was employed to produce both the framework and the associated learning outcomes toolkit. Findings There is tangible benefit in adopting an integrated framework that enables students to develop personal literacy and graduate identity. The toolkit enables staff to write assessable learning outcomes that support student progression and enable achievement of the framework objective. Research limitations/implications While the framework has been in use for two years, institutional use of the toolkit is still in its early stages. Phase 2 of the project will explore how effectively the toolkit achieves the framework objective. Practical implications The introduction of a consistent, integrated framework enables students to develop and actively increase personal literacy through the deliberate construction of their unique graduate identity. Social implications Embedding the institutional Changemaker attributes alongside the agreed employability skills enables students to develop and articulate specifically what it means to be a “Northampton graduate”. Originality/value The uniqueness of this project is the student-centred framework and the combination of curricular, extra- and co-curricular initiatives that provide a consistent language around employability across disciplines. This is achieved through use of the learning outcomes toolkit to scaffold student progression.