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European polices and instruments for teaching and learning with innovative component in higher education.

Teaching in the hybrid virtual classroom

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.

In het diepe gegooid worden

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.

Ethics in design Education, but completely different

Train inventive engineers for the future

These are hard days for companies: they have to survive in a market that has been hit by a financial crisis. Many countries in Europe have severe problems trying to overcome this financial crisis. The main remedy applied by governments is to cut back on expenditure, but on the other hand it is said that it is important for a country, and especially for companies, to invest in innovation. These innovations should lead to innovative products that will lead to profitability turnovers for these companies and, as a consequence, improve the economic conditions in a country. Universities provide students with engineering competences, like develop innovation, with which they can show a higher degree of ability to answer complex questions such as how to become players in the market again. Teaching students to become more innovative engineers, Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Department of Engineering, has designed a curriculum in which students are educated in the competence innovation. An important element in the process of teaching innovation to students is the approach of inquiring into possibilities of patents. In the second semester of the first year, students can decide to join an innovative project called: ‘The invention project’. The basis of this project is that students are given the opportunity to create their own invention and with their previously acquired knowledge and skills they design, calculate, prototype and present their invention. In a research project, the experiences of students in this Invention Project have been analysed. The goal of this study was to understand what the success factors are for such a project. The basis of this inquiry is a questionnaire to identify the opinions of students. The research was carried out in the spring semester of 2012. In total 31 students were involved in this research. The results show that there was a high degree of student satisfaction about the Invention Project focused on innovation development. Success factors for this project in the first year of the curriculum were seen: 1 to work on own inventions, 2 development of student’s perception of the total product creation process and 3 to make students see the relevance of contacts with real professionals from industry and from the patent office in their own project. Improvements can be made by: 1 helping students more during the creativity stage in the project and 2 to coach them more on the aspect of engineering a successful invention of which they can be proud. This Invention project is a interesting with which collaborations with other universities can be set up.

Teaching the Green Deal

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.