In the Netherlands, many activities have been carried out to stimulate adoption of open online education in higher education. Still, large-scale adoption by (in Rogers’ terminology) the early and late majority is not taking place. In order to achieve large-scale adoption of OER, it is crucial to know what factors will stimulate such adoption. From previous inquiries it may be concluded that inclusion of openness at the institutional policy level is a necessary but insufficient precondition. Educators are considered to be the decisive change agents in large-scale adoption. A survey conducted in Fall 2015 provided some insight into the state of affairs of adoption by educators, but the data were insufficient to draw conclusions about why there is a lack of adoption. Therefore, in Fall 2016, a qualitative research has been carried out. Educators in 5 Dutch HE-institutions have been interviewed about their actual involvement with OER and other forms of open education: what do they do, how they do it, why they do what they do, what they want to achieve, what difficulties they encounter, what support they receive? As the institutional setting or environment of the educator is expected to play an important role in the adoption process of individual educators, other stakeholders within the HE institutions have been interviewed too. The approach taken in this research is that of a mixed-method approach, combining the results of the Fall 2015 survey and the qualitative research of Fall 2016 with outcomes of several other recent surveys in the Netherlands and elsewhere. Finally, a set of actions and activities both on the level of an institution and on a national level is being proposed, that could lead to large-scale adoption of open online education by Dutch HE educators.
LINK
With the introduction of research activities in higher professional education in the Dutch higher education system, the notions of ‘research’ that were previously silently agreed upon among academics in traditional universities also came under pressure. Additionally, bothtypes of higher education actively claim to have educational programs of a different character. The ground underneath the difference is claimed to be the presence of distinct research activities. This study considers this difference through the discourse on ‘research’ of lecturers in both higher professional education and university education. In interviews, lecturers were asked to judge an argument on their own work-related activities to be ‘research’ or ‘nonresearch’. Through a network-analysis approach, the data results in five discursive building blocks that all lecturers apply in their arguments, and three discursive themes on research. Furthermore, this research indicates that differences among lecturers on discursive themes areonly partly based on institutional differences.
Author supplied: Within the Netherlands the interest for sustainability is slowly growing. However, most organizations are still lagging behind in implementing sustainability as part of their strategy and in developing performance indicators to track their progress; not only in profit organizations but in higher education as well, even though sustainability has been on the agenda of the higher educational sector since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, progress is slow. Currently most initiatives in higher education in the Netherlands have been made in the greening of IT (e.g. more energy efficient hardware) and in implementing sustainability as a competence in curricula. However if we look at the operations (the day to day processes and activities) of Dutch institutions for higher education we just see minor advances. In order to determine what the best practices are in implementing sustainable processes, We have done research in the Netherlands and based on the results we have developed a framework for the smart campus of tomorrow. The research approach consisted of a literature study, interviews with experts on sustainability (both in higher education and in other sectors), and in an expert workshop. Based on our research we propose the concept of a Smart Green Campus that integrates new models of learning, smart sharing of resources and the use of buildings and transport (in relation to different forms of education and energy efficiency). Flipping‐the‐classroom, blended learning, e‐learning and web lectures are part of the new models of learning that should enable a more time and place independent form of education. With regard to smart sharing of resources we have found best practices on sharing IT‐storage capacity among universities, making educational resources freely available, sharing of information on classroom availability and possibilities of traveling together. A Smart Green Campus is (or at least is trying to be) energy neutral and therefore has an energy building management system that continuously monitors the energy performance of buildings on the campus. And the design of the interior of the buildings is better suited to the new forms of education and learning described above. The integrated concept of Smart Green Campus enables less travel to and from the campus. This is important as in the Netherlands about 60% of the CO2 footprint of a higher educational institute is related to mobility. Furthermore we advise that the campus is in itself an object for study by students and researchers and sustainability should be made an integral part of the attitude of all stakeholders related to the Smart Green Campus. The Smart Green Campus concept provides a blueprint that Dutch institutions in higher education can use in developing their own sustainability strategy. Best practices are shared and can be implemented across different institutions thereby realizing not only a more sustainable environment but also changing the attitude that students (the professionals of tomorrow) and staff have towards sustainability.
The DALI project is carried out under the flag of Logistics Community Brabant. DALI is a testing ground aimed at lifting datafication in the logistics sector of the south of the Netherlands to a higher level, consequently future-proofing the sector.DALI focuses on developing knowledge-intensive logistics (smart logistics): devising, developing, demonstrating and applying new logistics working methods. The project’s aim is to create higher added value, increase the efficiency of goods flow handling, and maintain our international market position.Within DALI, 18 companies are carrying out cases in the area of datafication. The findings from the business cases are translated into generic applications for the logistics and supply chain sector and education. In addition, they are developing a community of data and logistics specialists.Partners:LCB, Gemeenten Breda en Tilburg, REWIN, Midpoint Brabant, Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat, Rijksoverheid, Provincie Noord-Brabant, Regio West-Brabant, Regio Hart van Brabant.In Dutch:Proeftuin van logistieke innovatie. DALI is een project waarin 18 bedrijven pilots uitvoeren om met datatoepassingen processen in de logistiek en supply chain te verslimmen. Vanuit deze pilots worden generieke toepassingen en tools op het gebied van data ontwikkeld voor MKB-bedrijven en het onderwijs.
This book discusses whether, and if so, how facility management (FM) can contribute toeducational achievements at Dutch higher education institutions. Although there is increasingevidence that the quality of the lecturer is decisive for the performance and development ofstudents (Marzano 2007; Mourshed, Chijioke and Barber 2010), and in addition, educationalleadership can shape the necessary boundary conditions for these primary actors to succeed,nowadays this must be considered as a too narrow conception of what good education is allabout. Up to date, in literature there is a lively debate about the effective use of facilitydesign, as a mixture of designed features of physical facilities and services, to contribute toeducation as well. We have seen many examples of the so-called human factor beingnegatively influenced by seemingly fringe events, but that suddenly appears to beprecondition for education. Too warm, too cold, too crowded, too loud, too messy, and noidea why this device doesn’t work are phrases that come to mind. We now know that the builtschool environment and facility services that are offered are among the elements that caninfluence good education. The evidence comes from a multiple disciplines, such asenvironmental-psychology (Durán-Narucki 2008; Hygge and Knez 2001), medicine(Hutchinson 2003), educational research (Blackmore et al. 2011; Oblinger 2006; Schneider2002; Temple 2007), and real estate and facility management (Daisey, Angell and Apte 2003;Duyar 2010; Barrett et al. 2013). Considering all the above, there seems to be a scientificblack box with respect to the relatively new scientific discipline of FM. Deeply rooted inpractice, the abstractions that have existed until now have hardly led to a fundamentalunderstanding of the contribution of FM to education. Therefore, the main objective of thisbook is as follows.
Examining in-class activities to facilitate academic achievement in higher educationThere is an increasing interest in how to create an effective and comfortable indoor environment for lecturers and students in higher education. To achieve evidence-based improvements in the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of higher education learning environments, this research aimed to gain new knowledge for creating optimal indoor environmental conditions that best facilitate in-class activities, i.e. teaching and learning, and foster academic achievement. The academic performance of lecturers and students is subdivided into short-term academic performance, for example, during a lecture and long-term academic performance, during an academic course or year, for example. First, a systematic literature review was conducted to reveal the effect of indoor environmental quality in classrooms in higher education on the quality of teaching, the quality of learning, and students’ academic achievement. With the information gathered on the applied methods during the literature review, a systematic approach was developed and validated to capture the effect of the IEQ on the main outcomes. This approach enables research that aims to examine the effect of all four IEQ parameters, indoor air quality, thermal conditions, lighting conditions, and acoustic conditions on students’ perceptions, responses, and short-term academic performance in the context of higher education classrooms. Next, a field experiment was conducted, applying the validated systematic approach, to explore the effect of multiple indoor environmental parameters on students and their short-term academic performance in higher education. Finally, a qualitative case study gathered lecturers’ and students’ perceptions related to the IEQ. Furthermore, how these users interact with the environment to maintain an acceptable IEQ was studied.During the systematic literature review, multiple scientific databases were searched to identify relevant scientific evidence. After the screening process, 21 publications were included. The collected evidence showed that IEQ can contribute positively to students’ academic achievement. However, it can also affect the performance of students negatively, even if the IEQ meets current standards for classrooms’ IEQ conditions. Not one optimal IEQ was identified after studying the evidence. Indoor environmental conditions in which students perform at their best differ and are task depended, indicating that classrooms should facilitate multiple indoor environmental conditions. Furthermore, the evidence provides practical information for improving the design of experimental studies, helps researchers in identifying relevant parameters, and lists methods to examine the influence of the IEQ on users.The measurement methods deduced from the included studies of the literature review, were used for the development of a systematic approach measuring classroom IEQ and students’ perceived IEQ, internal responses, and short-term academic performance. This approach allowed studying the effect of multiple IEQ parameters simultaneously and was tested in a pilot study during a regular academic course. The perceptions, internal responses, and short-term academic performance of participating students were measured. The results show associations between natural variations of the IEQ and students’ perceptions. These perceptions were associated with their physiological and cognitive responses. Furthermore, students’ perceived cognitive responses were associated with their short-term academic performance. These observed associations confirm the construct validity of the composed systematic approach. This systematic approach was then applied in a field experiment, to explore the effect of multiple indoor environmental parameters on students and their short-term academic performance in higher education. A field study, with a between-groups experimental design, was conducted during a regular academic course in 2020-2021 to analyze the effect of different acoustic, lighting, and indoor air quality (IAQ) conditions. First, the reverberation time was manipulated to 0.4 s in the intervention condition (control condition 0.6 s). Second, the horizontal illuminance level was raised from 500 to 750 lx in the intervention condition (control condition 500 lx). These conditions correspond with quality class A (intervention condition) and B (control condition), specified in Dutch IEQ guidelines for school buildings (2015). Third, the IAQ, which was ~1100 ppm carbon dioxide (CO2), as a proxy for IAQ, was improved to CO2 concentrations under 800 ppm, meeting quality class A in both conditions. Students’ perceptions were measured during seven campaigns with a questionnaire; their actual cognitive and short-term academic performances were evaluated with validated tests and an academic test, composed by the lecturer, as a subject-matter-expert on the taught topic, covered subjects discussed during the lecture. From 201 students 527 responses were collected and analyzed. A reduced RT in combination with raised HI improved students’ perceptions of the lighting environment, internal responses, and quality of learning. However, this experimental condition negatively influenced students’ ability to solve problems, while students' content-related test scores were not influenced. This shows that although quality class A conditions for RT and HI improved students’ perceptions, it did not influence their short-term academic performance. Furthermore, the benefits of reduced RT in combination with raised HI were not observed in improved IAQ conditions. Whether the sequential order of the experimental conditions is relevant in inducing these effects and/or whether improving two parameters is already beneficial, is unknownFinally, a qualitative case study explored lecturers’ and students’ perceptions of the IEQ of classrooms, which are suitable to give tutorials with a maximum capacity of about 30 students. Furthermore, how lecturers and students interact with this indoor environment to maintain an acceptable IEQ was examined. Eleven lecturers of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences (UAS), located in the northern part of the Netherlands, and twenty-four of its students participated in three focus group discussions. The findings show that lecturers and students experience poor thermal, lighting, acoustic, and IAQ conditions which may influence teaching and learning performance. Furthermore, maintaining acceptable thermal and IAQ conditions was difficult for lecturers as opening windows or doors caused noise disturbances. In uncomfortable conditions, lecturers may decide to pause earlier or shorten a lecture. When students experienced discomfort, it may affect their ability to concentrate, their emotional status, and their quality of learning. Acceptable air and thermal conditions in classrooms will mitigate the need to open windows and doors. This allows lecturers to keep doors and windows closed, combining better classroom conditions with neither noise disturbances nor related distractions. Designers and engineers should take these end users’ perceptions into account, often monitored by facility management (FM), during the renovation or construction of university buildings to achieve optimal IEQ conditions in higher education classrooms.The results of these four studies indicate that there is not a one-size fits all indoor environmental quality to facilitate optimal in-class activities. Classrooms’ thermal environment should be effectively controlled with the option of a local (manual) intervention. Classrooms’ lighting conditions should also be adjustable, both in light color and light intensity. This enables lecturers to adjust the indoor environment to facilitate in-class activities optimally. Lecturers must be informed by the building operator, for example, professionals of the Facility Department, how to change classrooms’ IEQ settings. And this may differ per classroom because each building, in which the classroom is located, is operated differently apart from the classroom location in the building, exposure to the environment, and its use. The knowledge that has come available from this study, shows that optimal indoor environmental conditions can positively influence lecturers’ and students’ comfort, health, emotional balance, and performance. These outcomes have the capacity to contribute to an improved school climate and thus academic achievement.
