Seven college lecturers and two senior support staff were interviewed during 2021 about their experiences teaching in hybrid virtual classrooms (HVC). These technology-rich learning environments allow teachers to simultaneously teach students who are in class (on campus) and students who are joining remotely (online). There were two reasons for this choice: first, ongoing experimentation from innovative teaching staff who were already using this format before the COVID-19 pandemic; secondly, as a possible solution to restrictions on classroom size imposed by the pandemic. Challenges lecturers faced include adjusting teaching practice and lesson delivery to serve students in the class and those online equally; engaging and linking the different student groups in structured and natural interactions; overcoming technical challenges regarding audio and visual equipment; suitably configuring teaching spaces and having sufficient pedagogical and technical support to manage this complex process. A set of practical suggestions is provided. Lecturers should make reasoned choices when teaching in this format since it requires continued experimentation and practice to enhance the teaching and learning opportunities. When external factors such as classroom size restrictions are the driving force, the specific type of synchronous learning activities should be carefully considered. The structure and approach to lessons needs to be rethought to optimise the affordances of the hybrid virtual and connected classroom. The complexity of using these formats, and the additional time needed to do it properly, should not be underestimated. These findings are consistent with previous literature on this subject. An ongoing dialogue with faculty, support staff and especially students should be an integral part of any further implementation in this format.
Bachelor-studenten van de Hotel Management School Maastricht beginnen hun opleiding Hoger Hotelonderwijs met een semester Hotel Orientation. De module Hotel Orientation was ten tijde van het onderzoek opgebouwd uit blokken van drie weken waarin studenten zich theoretisch oriënteren en gedurende steeds een week praktijkervaring opdoen in Teaching Hotel Château Bethlehem. Zodoende maken zij kennis met alle afdelingen van het Teaching Hotel: de keuken, het restaurant, housekeeping, services en de receptie. De opleiders zien dat de praktijkweken voor de studenten een rijke leerervaring opleveren en willen meer inzicht krijgen in de leeropbrengsten om deze te kunnen benutten in het curriculum van de module en van de opleiding. Aan het Lectoraat Professionalisering van het Onderwijs is gevraagd onderzoek te doen voor afstemming van het curriculum op de leerervaringen in het Teaching Hotel. Aan de hand van een vooronderzoek, samen met medewerkers en studenten van de Hotel Management School hebben de onderzoekers de onderzoeksvraag geformuleerd: Welke perceptie hebben studenten van wat ze leren in Teaching Hotel Chateau Bethlehem? Er is voor gekozen om studenten aan de hand van drie thema’s te interviewen: leeropbrengsten uit de leeromgeving, uit de begeleiding en persoonlijke leeropbrengsten. In totaal zijn 19 interviews met studenten gehouden waarbij de interviewdata uiteindelijk zijn ingedeeld in twaalf leeropbrengsten, zoals operationele vaardigheden, visie op de bedrijfscultuur, teamwerk, rol van de begeleiders, verantwoordelijkheid nemen, professioneel zelfvertrouwen, socialisatie en leermotivatie. Voor deze leeropbrengsten is op basis van de uitspraken van studenten een beschrijvende definitie geformuleerd. De onderzoekers hebben de beschrijvingen van de leeropbrengsten met een overzicht van de deelaspecten en enkele citaten van studenten gepresenteerd in een werkconferentie met medewerkers die in de opleiding verantwoordelijk zijn voor het curriculum: het management van het Teaching Hotel, de Werkgroep Praktijkleren, de Curriculum Commissie en de Directeur. De deelnemers aan de conferentie waren blij verrast door de hoeveelheid leeropbrengsten en de positieve waardering van studenten voor de praktijkweken in het Teaching Hotel. De aanwezigen in de werkconferentie stelden vast dat het onderzoek hun signalen bevestigt en helpt om deze collectief bespreekbaar te maken. Het onderzoek laat zien dat het Teaching Hotel een belangrijke bijdrage levert aan de opleiding van eerstejaars studenten. De onderzoeksbevindingen hebben ertoe geleid dat de Werkgroep Praktijkleren de opdracht heeft gekregen om voorstellen voor het beter benutten van de leeropbrengsten te ontwikkelen.
The Education Assembly for a Sustainable Europe (EASE) project trains teachers in teaching sustainable development by designing and evaluating pre-service and in-service teacher training courses (EASE courses). These courses equip primary school teachers and pre-service teachers with the knowledge and skills required to teach lessons addressing Education for European Sustainable Development. The EASE courses intend to support teachers to gain the necessary general science knowledge about climate change and biodiversity, teaching skills to foster students’ arguing and ability to take in different perspectives and collaboratively search for solutions. This e-book reports on examining opportunities to educate and empower teachers to implement education for sustainable development goals in the context of European Grean Deal (EGD) issues. Chapter 1 delves into the educational principles underpinning the group problem solving approach. Chapters 2 and 3 detail the development, implementation, evaluation, and improvement of courses focused on education for sustainable development goals in the context of EGD for pre-service and in-service teachers. The final chapter offers concluding insights into how teachers can be better equipped to deliver high-quality education about the EGD.
MULTIFILE
Mode heeft een cruciale functie in de samenleving: zij maakt diversiteit en inclusiviteit mogelijk en is een middel voor individuen om zich uit te drukken. Desalniettemin is mode ook een raadsel op het gebied van duurzaamheid, zowel aan de sociale als aan de milieukant. Er bestaan echter alternatieven voor de huidige praktijken in de mode. Dit project heeft tot doel de ontwikkeling van een van die initiatieven te ondersteunen. In samenwerking met twee Nederlandse MKB bedrijven in de mode-industrie, willen we een of meer business modellen co-designen voor het vermarkten van circulair ontworpen laser geprinte T-shirts. Door lasertechnologie te introduceren in plaats van traditionele inktopties, kunnen de T- shirts hun CO2 voetafdruk verder verkleinen en een verstandig alternatief zijn voor individuen, die op zoek zijn naar duurzame modekeuzes. Maar hoewel de technologische haalbaarheid vaststaat, vereist het vermarkten sterke, schaalbare, bedrijfsmodellen. Via een haalbaarheidsstudie willen we dergelijke businessmodellen ontwikkelen en de commercialisering van deze producten ondersteunen. Wij zijn van plan de reacties van de consument op een dergelijke innovatie te bestuderen, evenals de belemmeringen en stimulansen vanuit het oogpunt van de consument, en de inkoop-, toeleveringsketen- en financiële kwesties die kunnen voortvloeien uit de schaalbaarheid van een potentieel bedrijfsmodel. Om praktische relevantie voor de bredere industrie te verzekeren, streven we ernaar om de resultaten te presenteren op evenementen georganiseerd door een van de consortiumpartners (in 2023), als ook om een teaching case en een wetenschappelijk artikel te ontwikkelen op basis van de resultaten van het project.
Collaborative networks for sustainability are emerging rapidly to address urgent societal challenges. By bringing together organizations with different knowledge bases, resources and capabilities, collaborative networks enhance information exchange, knowledge sharing and learning opportunities to address these complex problems that cannot be solved by organizations individually. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the apparel sector, where examples of collaborative networks for sustainability are plenty, for example Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Zero Discharge Hazardous Chemicals, and the Fair Wear Foundation. Companies like C&A and H&M but also smaller players join these networks to take their social responsibility. Collaborative networks are unlike traditional forms of organizations; they are loosely structured collectives of different, often competing organizations, with dynamic membership and usually lack legal status. However, they do not emerge or organize on their own; they need network orchestrators who manage the network in terms of activities and participants. But network orchestrators face many challenges. They have to balance the interests of diverse companies and deal with tensions that often arise between them, like sharing their innovative knowledge. Orchestrators also have to “sell” the value of the network to potential new participants, who make decisions about which networks to join based on the benefits they expect to get from participating. Network orchestrators often do not know the best way to maintain engagement, commitment and enthusiasm or how to ensure knowledge and resource sharing, especially when competitors are involved. Furthermore, collaborative networks receive funding from grants or subsidies, creating financial uncertainty about its continuity. Raising financing from the private sector is difficult and network orchestrators compete more and more for resources. When networks dissolve or dysfunction (due to a lack of value creation and capture for participants, a lack of financing or a non-functioning business model), the collective value that has been created and accrued over time may be lost. This is problematic given that industrial transformations towards sustainability take many years and durable organizational forms are required to ensure ongoing support for this change. Network orchestration is a new profession. There are no guidelines, handbooks or good practices for how to perform this role, nor is there professional education or a professional association that represents network orchestrators. This is urgently needed as network orchestrators struggle with their role in governing networks so that they create and capture value for participants and ultimately ensure better network performance and survival. This project aims to foster the professionalization of the network orchestrator role by: (a) generating knowledge, developing and testing collaborative network governance models, facilitation tools and collaborative business modeling tools to enable network orchestrators to improve the performance of collaborative networks in terms of collective value creation (network level) and private value capture (network participant level) (b) organizing platform activities for network orchestrators to exchange ideas, best practices and learn from each other, thereby facilitating the formation of a professional identity, standards and community of network orchestrators.
mechanism for fostering innovation competenceThis dissertation focuses on fostering students’ innovation competence in higher education. The research is aimed at developing instructional strategies based on theoretical design principles to aid teachers in higher education foster innovation competence in their classrooms and assess students’ innovation competence. The research was implemented within the existing curriculum of three Netherlands universities of applied sciences in which developing students’ innovation competence was the target learning goal. To aid innovation competence learning, an innovation competence teaching mechanism was developed following education design research steps. The research includes four independents sub-studies which used different research methods. This thesis shows that students’ innovation competence can be positively influenced by instruction. The findings of this study suggested that development of students’ innovation competence takes place through explicitly coordinated teaching and learning activities, design, assessment, and reflection. It was found that this innovation-supportive learning environment influenced the actual innovation competence of students and that the way of teaching (especially a better structured, balanced and more student-centred constructivist approach to teaching) had a positive influence on students’ development of innovation competence. This dissertation has shown that every student has the potential to be innovative, and that teachers can fulfil their role in recognizing the innovation potential of students by creating a teaching and learning environment that promotes and encourages innovation competence.
